"Tate's whole squad is down sir," Foss, the communications and scanning officer stated.
"What? I would have gotten a direct alert if they came under fire," Sergeant Cameron Steadman replied, flipping the armoured cover to her command display open. The flat screen on the inside of her wrist scrolled to Sergeant Tate's team and for a moment she was puzzled at the results. "Medical, confirm what I'm seeing."
Officer Rawdon nodded. "Their bodies are being stressed by-" he trailed off.
"It's gravity. They're using artificial gravity," Steadman flipped the display cover closed and waved Foss towards the main console on the darkened bridge. "Inform Command that we're going to try a hack into their life support systems. Get jacked in."
"Using the command codes we received in the crew's surrender? If they'll resort to using gravi-"
"We don't have a choice. Do it."
Foss moved to the command seat and began looking for a data port to connect to. "This would be easier if they left a wireless receiver on somewhere," he grumbled.
Steadman looked across the large command centre of the Triton. With semitransparent floors and the lights of the squad leaving the deck beneath the place had an eerie feeling she couldn't shake. "Anything on scans Foss?"
"Nothing, ma'am."
She glanced at the sighting on her rifle as she waved it across the front of the bridge. "Where did they go? There's a group in the ship auditorium, the habitation areas and a berthing, but that doesn't account for enough."
"I don't know sir, Command's last count looked good before we docked," replied Foss.
"Command, verify your encounter scan. I need these numbers to add up,"
"Command here, we've verified twice. According to this you should have readings on five hundred more people. Did you consider a shielded compartment?" An officer from Battlecruiser 1128 answered.
"If there were a shielded compartment, then we'd have a great big blacked out area instead of missing individuals. Are you sure you were able to track all the ships they launched?"
"Absolutely certain. We don't make mistakes up here, Sergeant,"
"Don't get testy, I'm only-"
Foss's whole body jerked as sparks leapt from the side of the command seat. His high pitched scream filled the comms and the bridge as he violently thrashed and writhed. One of his squad mates ran towards him.
"Don't touch him! Stay back!" Steadman shouted.
It was too late. The soldier ran headlong into him with the intention of knocking him free of his contact with the chair, and he succeeded, but in that instant the power coursing through Foss's body carried through to him.
"Check him!"
Rawdon ran forward with his medical scanner, taking a reading on both men at once. "Gone. There's nothing to resuscitate."
Steadman glanced at her command display briefly to confirm her medic's readings.
"Damn, takes a lot of juice to get through our armour," commented Jenkins, one of her more seasoned squad members.
"Retreat. We'll join squad five and head for one of their main computers," Sergeant Steadman said as she began backing towards the main entrance to the bridge.
The doors came to life, slamming shut in a quarter second. Most of her squad jumped.
"Command," She addressed. "There are active systems aboard. Scan and confirm."
Her squad looked to her for directions, glancing around the large darkened bridge nervously with their rifles held up.
"Command!" She glanced at her command screen and saw her wireless link had been severed.
Several gunshots pierced the air, echoing up from the deck beneath them. She whirled to catch sight of what was going on and saw rapid flashes of light from below, heard gunfire that was completely foreign. The foreign weapons made a low pitched, electric snapping sound every time they fired, and their shots came in bursts of twenty or more shots per second. "Move to support squad five!" She ordered, leading the way to the ramps at the side of the bridge that would take them to the lower command centre.
Half way down the ramp something from above caught her eye. She looked up to see the squad mate behind her collapse to the ground and his rifle get snatched away by an invisible hand. She sighted where she estimated the assailant was and was just about to open fire when a hand grabbed the back of her helmet and pulled her down the ramp.
Cameron's rifle went off, the rounds impacted harmlessly against the ceiling. When she reached the bottom of the ramp she tried to get to her feet only to find them kicked out from under her, her rifle was ripped out of her hands and before her eyes appeared a tall man in black armour, his heavy sidearm lowered to point directly at her head. "How much time do we have now that your people are under attack?"
"How much time?" Cameron asked, unsure of the question.
"How much time before they get to safe distance and blast us until we're an empty hull?"
She'd never seen Caran Enterprises do anything like that once boarding teams had been dispatched, but in that instant she realized it was possible, the whole corporation had just been bought out. "I don't know Regent Galactic’s policies."
"What are you? New?" The towering figure asked, cocking his head. "Who are you after?"
Her training came back to her; never reveal operational details. "I'm Cameron Steadman, Boarding Sergeant with Caran Ent-, Regent Galactic. We are executing a sector wide warrant for this ship and several of her crew." she said mechanically.
"Don't shut down on me, God dammit! I can't leave you alive behind me unless you give me something here."
"I'm Cameron Steadman, Boarding Sergeant with Regent Galactic. We are executing a sector wide warrant for this ship and several of her crew."
The dark figure pressed his foot down on her chest plate hard and tipped her helmet up with the toe of his boot.
With a start she realized what he was doing and struggled frantically, grabbing at his leg and squirming under the relentless weight of his heel.
When he pried her helmet up enough to see the under lining of her armour, he fired.