VENDETTA - Chapter 4: Contingency
07 Dec 2024Isabella Adair-Levine
NOTE: This story contains mature themes.Previous Chapter
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DATE: 4th of December, 3310 [17:01 UGT]
LOCATION: Abandoned Listening Post LXP-52, Unknown LocationTyrese Waters
"God DAMNIT! You mean to tell me they destroyed that relay?!"
Tyrese slammed his fist down on the holotable, glaring at Gage who avoided eye contact, his arms folded and a heavy frown on his face.
"I... I guess? I don't know how they found it, but... there was nothing important there anyway. I swear. I made sure there was no way to trace anything to this base."
"I told you to stop using that GODDAMN relay, and if you covered all of your tracks properly, they wouldn't have found it. I told you I don't like liabilities, Gage."
"No, come on. Listen, Tyrese. Even if they found anything there, it's not like it matters, right? If they found us, they'd be knocking on the base doors right now! I-..."
Gage could barely finish his sentence before Tyrese suddenly launched over. His hands suddenly wrapped around Gage's throat as he was turned, twisted around and slammed down onto the holotable, choking out his pleas as Tyrese tightened his grip. The other figures in the room looked at each other, yet didn't intervene as Gage spluttered.
"You are going to fuck this all up, you goddamn idiot. I've waited THREE YEARS for this opportunity, I'm not going to let you FUCKING take that away."
Gage was practically turning blue as Tyrese's grip only seemed to squeeze harder, before he suddenly let go. He slid off the table and collapsed to the floor, gasping and heaving as Tyrese glared around the room at the other two figures nearby, before looking down at Gage again.
"Just be glad you're more useful alive. But one more fuck-up... and it'll be your head on the stake. Be glad all this shit is going down with the Thargoids, or we'd have the Federation breathing down our necks too."
"... That... l-listening post had... nothing... useful on it. I swear to you. Obviously they... already know you're coming... after that stunt you... pulled..."
Slowly struggling to his feet as Tyrese glared at him, Gage rubbed his throat as he gulped a bit, before continuing.
"Tyrese... we're on the same side. I went through all that effort to get you out of prison... I'm not going to just sell you out. That outpost doesn't matter. It's inconsequential..."
"For your sake, I hope you're right. We wouldn't want them learning anything about all your connections and past now, would we? That would be bad... right?"
Tyrese watched Gage's facial expression change... an almost dreadful look in his eyes. He wasn't stupid... he knew there was something on Gage's little outpost that hadn't been cleaned up properly. The squadron clearly had some information now that they shouldn't have been able to acquire... something that could lead to Gage, and then him. He could kill him right here, right now... but where was the point in that? No... there was a way to flip this. A way to eventually let Gage take the fall... and catch the squadron off-guard.
"We need to enact our contingency plan. We need to catch this... squadron off balance. This incoming Thargoid invasion of Sol is... perfectly timed. Not only is the Federation going to be too busy to worry about us... but this squadron seems to be joining the rescue and combat efforts. Security'll be tight but... we can catch them off guard. Send a message."
Picking up a tablet from the holo-table, Tyrese began to tap away on the screen as he synchronized it to the holotable, bringing up the data they'd collected about TITAN Contractors. He began to swipe and scroll while Gage watched pictures and text fill the holo display.
"What... what are you thinking?"
No response came as Tyrese accessed the squadron's publicly available roster of carrier assets. The Solaris... the flagship. Too high profile of a target... there'd be way too much security. Even for him, that was a suicide mission. But here was something interesting. The Azure Star...
"Well... Mrs. Levine certainly has been busy. Owning an entire carrier? I suppose that's what happens when you buy your way through life with blood money and marry a rich Federal bitch..."
"You're going to... hit her carrier?"
"I doubt they'll give it the same high security treatment as the Solaris. We'll need to scout it out... see what it gets up to. But I think we might have just found our target."
"I'll get some people together to go check it."
"No... I think I'll handle this one myself. Get me a group of your best men. We'll see how this Thargoid invasion goes down... see how the squadron reacts. And then we'll hit them."
"... Okay... you got it."
Chucking the tablet down on the holo-table, Tyrese grabbed his helmet from the surface and tucked it under his arm as he turned around, promptly heading towards the exit of the room. Attacking this squadron... well... that was a big move. He knew they'd only come down harder. But... all he needed was just one shot. One moment where he could draw Isabella out... and make her pay for all those years in prison. All his men that she killed. The plans she ruined.
He didn't care if that was at his expense... as long as he could have that one moment to make her suffer like he had.
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DATE: 6th of December, 3310 [14:05 UGT]
LOCATION: T.O.C. Azure Star H7V-BXH, Luyten 674-15Tyrese Waters
IDENT: {H7V-BXH Flight Control} "[Lakon India-Charlie-Hotel-Zero-Seven, you are cleared for docking on landing pad one-zero. Please abide by all security screening protocols and enjoy your stay.]"
The Type-6 vectored for approach as Tyrese guided the flight stick with a careful hand, bringing the ship in for landing. The landing gear popped out from the underside as the ship neared the pad, carefully coming to a halt just as contact was made. The vessel lurched as magnetic clamps locked it to the pad, the drives powering down before the pad began to descend, pulling them down into a hangar.
Keeping the ship's systems in a standby mode, Tyrese disengaged the seat and rose to his feet as he turned and stepped around the chair. Approaching the door that led out of the cockpit, he tapped the console and allowed the doors to part before he stepped through, entering a small hallway. He traversed it to a rear section of the ship, passing through another door and entering a small passenger bay which held six seats, four of them occupied by helmeted figures wearing casual flight suits and jackets that rose to their feet as he entered.
"Right. We're here. Everyone sticks to the plan. Josiah, you're with me. Owen and Dalton, you off-load the food cartridges and water. Ben, you find an access for the hangar and get ready to upload that program I gave you. Understood?"
With prompt nods, Tyrese walked through the passenger bay, proceeding through the rest of the ship as the team followed. Making his way through the interior as he descended towards the lower decks, he soon came to a door that led to the rear ramp of the ship. A few taps of the console, and the door parted with a hiss, the hydraulic mechanism of the ramp lowering it down as the pad below became visible.
He exited the ship, helmet obscuring his face as he looked around the hangar - at least what he could see while still under the ship. Now that they were touched down, some ground crew began to approach with two armed soldiers, clad in heavy black and silver armor. With a slight nod, he gestured to the other two members of the crew to handle that as he split off. Owen and Dalton moved to the side to make contact with the security, starting to talk away while Tyrese pulled a PDA from his jacket pouch, tapping away at the screen as he pulled up a map of the fleet carrier... at least the most relevant sections. All they had to do was get to a busy enough hallway... that shouldn't be too hard.
Stowing the PDA once he'd memorized the section of the map once more, Tyrese turned and began to walk over to the security element that seemed to have dismissed the other two members of his team. While they went to off-load cargo, he approached the soldiers with a friendly wave as Josiah followed.
"Hey, fellas!"
The soldiers looked up at Tyrese, hands holding their rifles against their chests as they seemed to give him a once-over, before one of the soldiers spoke.
"You the pilot?"
"Yes-sir! We heard there were some open orders for food cartridges, water, the likes - and decided to help out. This Thargoid war sure is something, huh?"
"Yeah. Stand still, you need to be scanned. Standard protocol."
"Ah, no problem."
Tyrese watched as the soldier reached for his belt and drew a tool, its flat sensor panels unfolding as he pointed at Tyrese. His earpiece alerted him to the detected scan as he studied the soldier's gear. So... this was Centurion SF. It reminded him of his old outfit in many ways. Mercenaries... well-trained and well-armed ones. Only their uniform and armor seemed more congruent... more official. And of course... those blackened visors to keep the mystery. How intimidating.
"Hm... Taylor Williams, is it? You're clean. Off-load this cargo and move along. Unofficial ships are not to be docked for an extended period of time."
"Right... however, I was wondering if you had a cafeteria aboard this carrier? Our food printer on the ship broke down... old pile of junk. Plus, it's that usual nutrient paste crap and we don't want to break open the food cartridge crates. Me and my crew - we could use a bite to eat."
The soldier seemed to hesitate, looking over at his subordinate before he nodded.
"Fine. Head to the habitation deck, there's a cafeteria not far. If you follow the signs, you can't miss it."
"Great! We won't be long."
Waving Josiah along, Tyrese began to make his way to the hangar lifts. He'd be damned... that actually worked. That Amaya woman knew what she was doing when it came to security shielding... that simple scan failed to pick up the compact explosives hidden under his jacket. That was the first part over with, at least. Approaching the lifts, he moved and tapped on the console, calling the lift and entering it once the doors opened.
Once inside the lift, it was as simple as tapping the console for the habitation deck as the doors closed with him and Josiah inside. The turbolift began its ascent as it travelled through the intra-rail transport system of the carrier. To think Isabella owned this carrier... yet didn't even bother giving it better security systems. Typical.
The lift doors parted with a ding as Tyrese stepped out into the hallway. It led to a junction further ahead, bustling with crew with security sprinkled throughout. He glanced back at Josiah, gesturing for him to take the left while he took the right. Both split off their respective directions, meshing with the scattered crowds as he took in the design of the hallway, noting structural pillars and signs... screens showing the scrolling GalNet news. Thargoids invading the heart of the Federation... wreaking havoc not far from where this carrier was. How poetic for the Federation to get a taste of its own medicine.
Unzipping his jacket, Tyrese squeezed past some crew, sliding his hand into his jacket as he detached one of the flat explosives, no larger than the size of his palm, but thickly packed with explosive and fragmentation. With a swift hand, he walked past a pillar and stuck the device to it, concealed in the slight shadow of the pillar. Advancing to the next one as he grabbed the second explosive, he performed the same action of attaching it to the next pillar. Crew and people went about their business, too focused to notice.
The third explosive stuck to the final pillar with a quiet thunk, before Tyrese turned and began to trace his steps back. He keyed his radio twice to give the signal to the others, heading back towards the lifts before he heard a shout behind him. He glanced back, only to see two soldiers weaving their way through the crowd... focused on him.
"Hey, you! Stop right there! HEY!"
Tyrese increased his pace as he passed the first pillar he attached his explosives to, quickly keying the radio again as he continued to head for the lifts.
"Josiah... I hope you've planted those explosives. Dump the remainder and get back to the lift."
IDENT: {Josiah H.} "[Shit. Did we get compromised?]"
"In a second. Run."
"I SAID STOP!"
Pulling the detonator from his jacket, Tyrese promptly flicked the safety off, before turning around as he looked at the two soldiers who broke through the crowd. There was barely any time for them to shout or make out what he held before he quickly stepped behind the nearest pillar and squeezed the trigger.
The hallway suddenly exploded in a deafening cacophony of shredding metal and screams, an intense flash flooding the corridor and engulfing the immediate vicinity of the explosives in orange flame. Bodies fell as shrapnel ripped through the air, peppering the walls and people alike. Smoke shrouded the corridor with an ominous glow as flickering lights and sparks bled through the soot. The same occurred further down the hallway where Josiah had been, the resounding boom echoing and reverberating in the tight confines of the carrier.
Standing up from his cover as he peered out, Tyrese saw squirming figures screaming in pain, crew limping and scrambling to their feet. The two soldiers that pursued him now laid limp against the opposite wall of the hallway, blood pouring from cracks in their armor and their shattered visors. Alarms began to blare as he took in his handiwork... smirking to himself.
"What the fuck happened?"
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Tyrese looked over at Josiah before he shrugged.
"Decided to keep things interesting. Let's make ourselves scarce before the carrier goes on lockdown."
Josiah needed no further encouragement as he quickly turned and began to run for the lifts. Chucking the detonator towards the pile of broken bodies and debris, he looked up at one of the cameras overlooking the hallway. With a raised hand, he waved slowly. Whether Commander Levine saw that or not... it didn't matter to him. He'd have his opportunity sooner than later to say hello.
He turned back and broke into a jog as he made his way back to the lifts. It wouldn't be long before the lockdown affected the lifts too... but for now, they had some time. Entering the lift where Josiah waited, Tyrese punched in the hangar number and watched as the lift doors closed, right as CSF security rushed past in the hallway ahead, some turning towards the lifts.
"Looks like they're onto us, boys. Get ready for a hot departure."
"What the fuck happened there, Tyrese? We were supposed to leave the carrier and then detonate the charges?"
"Now you sound like Gage. Everything is going according to plan, relax."
Josiah didn't seem very enthused about that answer, but didn't protest further as the lift continued its journey, before coming to a slow halt as the doors opened with a ding. Stepping out into the hangar lobby, he saw the same security element still near their ship. They'd have to be dealt with. Keying his radio, Tyrese quickly began to approach as he saw the soldiers arguing with two of his team, cargo littering the pad nearby in stacks along with a magnetic forklift.
"Ben, get the hangar lockdown overridden. Owen, Dalton, get ready to deal with those guards."
Reaching into his jacket, Tyrese pulled a thick military knife from a sheathe hidden inside as he flipped it into a reverse grip. He neared the soldiers who were getting rather argumentative, their hands reaching for their weapons.
"This ship is not leaving the carrier. Put your hands behind your back now or we will-..."
The first soldier's sentence gurgled to an end as Tyrese drove the knife into his neck, piercing the suit as blood coated the blade. He pushed it deep, the soldier going limp and collapsing. In shock, the second soldier tried to turn and raise his rifle, only for Josiah's fist to meet his visor. He stumbled, squeezing off a few rounds into the pad floor before one of the others near the ship quickly sprung into action and promptly buried a knife into his throat. Watching as the corpse was guided to the floor, Tyrese stepped over the body closest to him as he gestured to the team.
"Right. Get in the ship. Let's get out of here."
IDENT: {Ben M.} "[Program's uploaded, looks like the lockdown lifted. Coming back.]"
"Good."
Entering the ship via the ramp, Tyrese sheathed his knife and jogged towards the cockpit, navigating the hallways and doors as he soon entered and stepped around the flight seat. Taking a seat as he brought the ship online, he took the controls and tapped his finger on the stick, waiting for the all-clear impatiently as red lights and alarms blared through the hangar.
IDENT: {Josiah H.} "[Right, we're all aboard. Let's go!]"
Ensuring the ramp was closed, Tyrese quickly requested pad ascent and waited as the hangar doors above began to part. Despite the lockdown being lifted, that didn't stop the flight control from bitching at him.
IDENT: {H7V-BXH Flight Control} "[To the ship on pad 10, you are not clear to launch! Disable your engines and cease take-off immediately! I repeat, you are not clear to launch, and we are authorized to use lethal force!]"
Muting the flight control comms as he began to power up the engines, Tyrese began to apply vertical thrust as the ship's engines groaned, wrenching it from the magnetic clamps of the pad. The Type-6 lurched violently as it broke free just as the pad reached the top, hitting the boost as the rear thrusters flashed to life and sent the ship soaring over the carrier's flight deck. The turrets engaged as they filled the darkness of space with streaks of bright beams, narrowly glancing off the ship's shields as it quickly dove over the carrier's nose, pulling hard to avoid getting hit.
Coupled with the relatively slow tracking of the turrets and the sudden maneuvers of the nimble little cargo ship, the ship was soon to leave weapons range as it sped off into the stars, leaving the Azure Star far behind as the ship sped off into the black, its heat vents starting to glow as the Frame Shift Drive hummed to life. With the message sent, the ship blinked away into nothingness as only a transient blue trail remained of its presence... yet the echoes of what they had done would carry far and wide. Enough to reach Commander Levine... and that was all that mattered.
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Credit: Written together by CMDRs Radiumio and Maple, imagery created by CMDR Radiumio and story provided by CMDR Maple. Thank you so much for reading!
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