Title of Marque Part 5
21 May 2024Vodan
Following from Favors Part 4"It's too hot for our load out, we gotta bail" called Kia under a hail of lasers and high speed ordinance.
Two wings of FDL's equipped for capital ship assault high tailed away from the fight chased by the Jesters forces and Imperial SS ships. The plasma assault FDLs did their best to protect their torpedo boat counterparts, but they were out numbered.
"There's a new contact. Registered as an indi rescue ship. Follow me Kai; they'll have to watch their fire if we buzz a civi" suggested Phresh doing his best not to get blasted out the sky by a practically fast Clipper "And get this cling-on off me"
Kai left her target to a wingman, and broke off to lay some plasma into the Clipper. Four barrels flashed off prismatic shields, and a beam let Kai vent the excessive heat into the target as well.
"Thats it, run along home lil kitty" taunted Kai getting into the fight.
"Lamb said no killing IS ships. She'll be fucked if they get pissed off enough to dig" said Phresh sighing with relief now he wasn't under heavy assault.
"Oh fine" Huffed Kai settling on taking out the Clippers power converter. "Now lets play Ring Rround the Rosie with this scavenger till we can jump. We'll be right back once our shields have recharged"
Nine FDLs buzzed the Long Road, dragging vengeance behind them. Kai and Phresh had delt a hammer blow to the Jester, and now they were going to have to pay for it. Kai lost two wingmen, and Phresh lost one before the assault FDLs managed to jump to supercruise.
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It had been so long since Bell had eaten solid food. With the Jester on battle stations, it had been quite easy for her to sneak up to the mess hall and raid the stores. Two guards had to die, but she didn't kill the cook. You never fucked with the cookie. They were almost as important as the captain, but far more likely to make your life unbearable if you pissed them off. She hovered just above a bench at a long table, letting her legs keep her in place, chewing on a cut of cold meat dipped in a delightful sauce she had found.
In her other hand she held her pad. It displayed a grid of boxes. Most of them were yellow, but a few were black. After a little while the yellow ones started turning green, but the black ones stayed black. The yellow boxes indicated her men that had awoken in their pods, and were waiting for the stims and combat drugs to bring them to fighting fitness. With most the boxes green, Bell dipped a sizable chunk of the salty meant into the playfully yellow sauce, and pressed the ok button under the grid.
She had no idea where her men were, some of them may not even be on the Jester with her, but they knew their job. Chaos. After wiping the tips of her fingers on her lips, she listened intently as she function-checked her weapons. It would have been nice to hear screams and gun fire in the bowls of the Jester, but sabotage was stage one. Her men would start killing only if they were discovered. Right now, a few dozen drugged-up raiders were emerging from pods in light armor, carrying loaded weapons looking for the nearest vital systems to fuck with. They weren't Vodan's best and brightest, they had to be pretty dumb to volunteer for a one-way mission after all, but you don't need experts to break things.
Going back to her nice safe pod was an option. Bell could even take an escape pod, but staying on the Jester was much less bother. At worst, she'd be taken prisoner on the orders of the Jesters wishy-washy captain, and escape was Bells specialty. For now, a little sabotage of her own wouldn't go amiss. No air on this deck was a small, but good start.
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"Keep it slow, we want to keep our EM profile as low as possible. It'll take longer, but we need to approach from the opposite end. That damn interdiction field is still interfering" the pilot informed Lambast's boarding specialists. "Kai and Fresh have taken out the defenses on the port side of the Jester. Plan your breech point from that side, and I'll drop you right on top of it"
The squad leader had drilled assaults like this a thousand times. He'd seen enough active drops to be called a vet, but never as ops leader. Lamb maybe a bitch, but having her take the blame for everything that could happen on an op had been a shield he didn't know he liked having.
"Ok, you heard the fly-boy" He said bringing up a port side plan of the Jester.
Kai and Fresh sent their latest data from their attack, updating the intel the breach squad had.
"We got a clean approach here, so lets figure out how we're going to crack this tin can"
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"Stop running and bring the hurt people, we got back up dropping soon. Every one fit, back in the fight, the rest of you find cover and come back to the barn as soon as it's safe. Anansi can take it" Lied Vodan.
The Anansi was in a lot of trouble. The attack was stressing its defenses, making Vodan choose between shielding, or weapons power on the fly.
"I want them looking at us, and not what's coming. Heat up the fly-bys, and smack-talk the fuck out of anyone you're firing on. I'll give that little cow surrender or die"
Thade stepped up to get look at the situation report Vodan was consulting.
"You want to try the lame dog? It's dirty, even by our standards, but I'll buy us a bit more time, and times what we need" he suggested.
"Yeah I see where you're coming from, but if we pull the white flag, then attack it'll give the Anansi a reputation we don't want. Save that shit for a day we ain't got back-up coming. For now, give me an open com. I wanna talk to "Said Vodan, opening his long coat, so he could put his hands in his pockets.
"Now hear this. Anyone that's thinking of surrendering to a little girl, let me know, and I'll get you a pwitty dwess, so you'll look just
precious at Red's next tea party. As for you Jade, you're playing with the big boys now, and you don't even measure up to your dad; and he was a wannabe piss-ant too. Take your tricorn hat off, and give it to ya ships cat; that flea-bag'd make a better Red Jade. I'm coming for you."
Thade shook his head and bore his teeth. "Sounded a lil desperate to me Vodders. If those ships don't arrive, we're fucked"
"Well, stop complaining and look for a way to un-fuck us. We got like, three aces in the hole. Just gotta pull the god damn things out before the Anansi is crippeled"