Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 47: Airlock

"Cadet Steel, we are here to pick you up!" The soldier called out. Actually he was one of the members of the private military company called Red Sanix Mercenaries. Seems they were getting direct control of this operation.

Steel dropped the weapon and moved over to the vehicle. Wise saluted him as he stepped inside. It was jarring to realize that this was the typical human infantry. They wore vests and other gear that signified their uniform. But there was nothing that would protect them from space or heavy laser fire. freewёbnoνel.com

The door closed as he stepped inside. He could see what the drivers saw from the full length video monitors. "Welcome aboard, Cadet. Command said if we wanted to infiltrate that ship we needed you." The leader who wore a special shoulder armor informed him.

"Understood." Steel answered as he stood in the center of the shaking vehicle. The mercenaries wore black uniforms with red filled in certain spots. The officers and special units were marked by special shoulder armor plates. The commander had a red one with a viper on it. Then there were two white ones with red crosses, likely medics. The last one was dark blue with several white dots on it.

"Hey kid, why do you imperials wear such heavy armor? Are you scared of something?" One of the soldiers asked jokingly, trying to provoke Steel. The commander heard the joke as well but ignored it. Seems they do not hold him in high regards, or even like him.

Steel thought about ignoring him but decided against it. Actually he had an idea, "because my empire has pride in its infantry. So they do not mind spending the extra units to keep its prized soldiers alive. Of course you could have the same protection if you did not spend all your money on hookers and prostitutes." Steel's response earned a chorus of laughter from the rest of the unit.

Unit cohesion, if he wanted to survive with them. He had to make himself at least feel like an ally. If that meant making a joke out of insult then so be it. If he recalled they were in the front most armored vehicle.

Hopefully whatever plan they came up with will work out. Because as they closed in on the side of the ship all he could think about was that this had to be a blind spot in the enemy's surveillance. Because the side was severely damaged from what looked like grinding against something. Likely any surveillance equivalent technology was too far damaged to be usable.

"We are coming up on our destination. Prepare for combat!" The commander called out. Steel quickly checked his sidearm and made sure his sword was still accessible. It was a shame he was down a main weapon.

The vehicle screeched to a halt. Then they quickly shuffled out of the vehicle. There was not even a moment of hesitation as they stormed out with their weapons drawn and ready for combat. This unit had likely seen plenty of combat together, it almost made him envious in a way.

He watched as they formed up around the vehicle becoming a blockade before they quickly moved to the side of the ship with Steel following quickly behind them. Pulling out a handheld scanner.

"Steel, find the entrance we need. Command thinks there should at least be an airlock on this ship." The commander explained as they formed up along the blindspot. The second vehicle stopped right by them and a new group emerged but considering their emblem he was not that surprised. This new group is the station's policing tactical unit, they were nicknamed Oculus Nine for some reason. They were equipped with riot gear which consisted of bullet resistant chestplate, a full head helmet, a riot shield, and various heavy laser weapons.

The heavy laser weapons were less lethal then even Steel's sidearm. Solid state weaponry was heavily regulated in the Vexical Empire, mostly to ensure large shipments of weapons are not stolen from the empire. The current emperor actually doubled down on this idea and people in possession of solid state weapons that are not part of the military are supposed to be detained on sight.

"Ah…" Steel found a hatch. He walked over to a completely decimated area that looked like the rest. He ran his glove along the jagged and damaged ship hull. "Well this is something I can't get through with technology."

"Something wrong?" The Red Sanix Commander asked while walking up with the Oculus Nine commander.

"No… just annoying." Steel pulled out his sword and started cutting out roughly where the hatch was located. He could roughly see the outline but the hull was too damaged for him to be exact so he spent a few minutes cutting and then recutting before-

WHOOSH! KUR-THUNK!

The hatch detached and fell from the hull with a gust of wind rushing out of the ship as the airlock he had cut into pressurized. He quickly checked his sword and it was as unmarked as before. He was starting to wonder what could damage it. Especially since his scans came up with nothing about the composite of metals.

"Damn kid, are those standard issue for the military?" One of the Oculus officers asked.

Steel ignored him as he sheathed the blade before pulling himself up into the ship. Walking up a diagonal walkway to a functional door. He pulled out his hacking device and plugged it in. Immediately frowning as he began deciphering the foreign programming language. It would take awhile to convert his programs so he would just have to do it 'raw' so to speak this time. Then he could quickly just plug it in and open it up after he finished it.

"How long is this going to take?" One of the Oculus Nine asked him.

"I am learning an entirely new programming language then creating a program that can hack into the system and open doors for me. I apologize if I take at least ten minutes to achieve such a feat." Steel responded sarcastically. Then he focused completely and fifteen minutes later the Oculus Nine and mercenaries were beginning to get fidgety.

"We have managed to keep the Victorium contained to the docks while we have destroyed the other ship but we are at a stalemate because we want to capture this ship without destroying it." The mercenary commander informed them.

"Done." Steel called out interrupting the conversation he only heard the end of. He started putting away his devices making sure to only keep out his hacking device. He was only the support on this mission. They would have to do the bulk of the work. He figures the command staff set it up this way so he would not be owed too much, especially since he has not been paid all of the debt the military owes him.

"Okay, give us a moment to form up." The commander nodded and started talking to some of the officers and mercenaries. Steel moved to the edge and waited for the signal, as he watched them form up he looked over their weapons. They were using standard laser rifles; they were the cheapest form of weaponry but against those Victorium shields they might not do much. After a few moments the commander nodded, "open the door."

Steel complied and the door slid open. The mixed group spilled into the corridor. He could hear them calling out that the hallway was clear. Then he followed behind them. But as he stepped into the hallway that could fit three people stacked on top of each other and eight side by side he noticed something.

For the normal person it would be unnoticeable but for him. He picked up on it immediately. It was a surveillance device and the blinking lens was indicative of it alerting someone of the breach.

"Okay it does not look like we have been discovered so-" The commander started.

"Actually we have," Steel interrupted and pointed to the surveillance device. "Do we have a destination in mind because we should probably stay mobile."

"Yes the bridge, once there we need you to disable any form of self-destruction so we can capture the ship." The commander explained as he started getting the group ready to move.

"In that case we should head down this way." Steel pointed in a direction deciding on the quickest course to the bridge. It would take them roughly ten minutes of walking simply because of the size of the ship. But then he had to add in the resistance they would receive.

As they neared their first corner they came across a group of Ola, the small monkey-like species, that works under other species in the Victorium. This branch seems to be covered in hair similar to the Tacole. The Ola were armed with plasma pistols and rifles he had seen the Victoium use before and some had an energy shield that looked to be handheld.

They clicked and screeched at each other as they fired at the group of humans, managing to injure a few before the humans had wiped them out with a wave of laser fire that scorched them and killed them. It seems the Ola were not privy to personal shields like the other races were.

"Well that was not too hard. What exactly are the military struggling against?" One of the Oculus Nine arrogantly asked with a tone of sarcasm.

"Those are the Ola, they are a lower tier race within the Victorium. The Tacole are the ones we have to worry about. They have personal shields that will be difficult to get through." Steel explained, "honestly the Ola might be the easiest part about this whole thing."

They grumbled at Steel but he figured it was better they knew now rather than be surprised later. They moved through the ship but as they got closer they met less and less resistance. It was odd because it would usually be the opposite, especially since they clearly knew which direction they were going.

"Hey this could be-" Steel started as he wanted to voice his concerns.

"A trap? Probably but it is not like we have much of a choice in the matter." The mercenary commander cut him off, having already realized the same thing. Sometimes Steel forgets that not everyone is as incompetent as most nobles are.

They took half an hour to arrive at a set of doors that led to the bridge he had seen on the ship schematics that he had already downloaded when he was learning the programming language that the Victorium were using.