Heartbreak117

  A burst of kiic projectiles punches many holes through the thick bst door. After wasting nearly all the ammo on a useable ial Raptor, the door finally gave way to sheer metal fatigue and armradation. The otion kicks up a rge cloud of dust in the corridors of the Battlestar that lingers even after the Raptor has stopped firing. Moments ter, figures wade through the yet-to-dissipate smoke clouds, their fshlights shed some light oh ahead. I am one of the first to step through the dusty obstruy shield is poised to greet whatever surprise may lie ahead. Right behind me is the rest of 3rd Ptoon and members of the Joint Task Force, which are the Sisters of Battle and Samander Space Marines. Overall, the positio have much ge, if any. Now that the bst door is a no-factor, we are to be one of the vanguards that explore the paths forward. Ideally, we are to determihe locations of the Pegasus' bridge aor room.

  Looking around, we're inside one of the bays and corridors that form up the strut that ects the flight pod we were in with the rest of the Battlestar. Itlerstar Gactica series, this is probably one of the bays they used to service Vipers. Unfortunately, the site cks the luster it used to have, scarred with battle damages and marred by years of disuse. That said, there are some new holes oal walls directly opposite us, formed by my wanton use of a Raptor's MAow those are new, and I 't help but idly think that Pegasus would have made a protest about me shooting inside her if she could.

  Hey! How uncouth of you!

  But anyway, moving on.

  Ironically, the Vipers that are in the bay are in a much, much worse state than the ones we found outside. Some have their insides gouged out, while others are burned into husks. What the Hell happeo you all? Did someone sabotage these ones or something? Most of the damages I see are internal, with only some sp bullet holes from stray shots... I 't say for sure though as the passage of time clearly isn't kind to whoever or whatever is in this particur bay. I shrug before taking my position slightly forward from the rest, tug behind a colpsed pile of crates. I look down at a ser, tucked behind my shield ao a set of energy packs, to check the enviroal data.

  "Air is breathable, no toxitai. However, be careful when you approach the Vipers. Those things run on nuclear fusion and the ser shoike when you're hem. Not to the point of harmful, but enough to stay wary anyway."

  "Then it's a good thing we all got our masks on." Sergeant Johnson steps up near me before turning around and ss the rest of the service bay. "Anything oion sensor?"

  I shake my head. "ive."

  Weiss, who is stig with me as my Battle Buddy, also says a ive. "Sensor-skull returns nothing on the horizon, at least for now."

  Johnson nods. "If only shits stay as chill and silent as this room is..." The Sergeant looks at the human husks dotted around the bay. "But knowing us Froggers' luck, we may as well see some live kers by the end of the day."

  I shrug with a zy smile behind my rebreather. "At least we all know that they're pitifully under-protected against our sers. One good hit to their torso then... Poof, kers go g."

  Weiss deadpans. "Is that supposed to be an attempt at a funny pun?"

  I raise my head as if basking in the praise. "Sometimes, my iy frightens even myself."

  Weiss groans. "Why did Midy think giving you recaf was a great idea...?"

  "Because Ein is more unventionally effective when given recaf in an enviro with external pressure." es the voiama who has donned her helmet, much like the rest of the Sisters and Samanders. "I presume Sergeant Johnson attest to that quite well."

  Johnson nods, chug. "It's as you've said, Midy. Pardon my crude words, but when shit hits the fan, give Ein her recaf and she will wipe away all your worries. You better pick up the skill to know when and where to give Ein her dose, Rookie."

  Weiss blinks her eyes rapidly at Johnson for the suggestion. "Is that supposed to be a joke, sir?"

  Johnson replies, speaking facts. "No, it's a freaking tactic, Rookie."

  Chapter Master Tu'shan ughs lightly when he sees Weiss slump i due to my ridiculousness. "As amusing as it is to see your banter, it appears we all are ready to proceed, isn't that right?"

  There's a few nods here and there before Johnson says. "Alright, boys and girls, forward! With any luck, we'll be smashing some e soon enough!"

  With Johnson's encing words as the cue, I move out of my cover, with Weiss and the rest of 3rd Ptoon trailing near me. We hug the walls, with srifles, or spistol in my case, pointing front, up, and down. 3rd Ptoon ss for any threat directly ahead of the B Party, while the Sisters of Battle bread clear the occasional room behind us. Due to their sizes, the Samander Space Marines pick up the unenviable task of sh up our rear fnk. Although we have fresh units guarding our initial iion point and preventing potential fnkers, one 't be too careful expl the unknown. What if our reserves fail to notice or taihreat, leaving it shing at our unsuspeg backs? That is not something the B Party wants to happen, so the Samaake to proteg our rear very seriously. If anything break past them to hit the Sisters of Battle or even us 3rd Ptoon, then Holy Emperor we're so fucked.

  Stray thoughts aside, other than the occasional human husks in the hallways and quarters, we fail to e across anything meaningful. It takes around half an hour before we finally cross over to the main hull of the Pegasus. Surprisingly, it's not sealed at all and we make it deeper into the Battlestar without much fanfare. After rep to the rear units that it's safe to push forward a up another line of defehe B Party resumes our exploration.

  "So, which path should we take?" I ask, ing across a fork in the road.

  Mama suggests. "Trust yut and pie, Ein. The other path be explored by the eam."

  I nod, before stepping forward. "Then, far left it is."

  Once more, we set out into the dark belly of the Pegasus.

  Seriously, is that how you treat a dy?

  Bar some soft bahe B Party proceeds with retive silence. A semi-perma fixture is the sounds of our boots, both soft aallic, kig against the floor and doorways. How do we eve into those locked rooms, you may ask? Our Servo-skull be quite handy. Or, in the case that a door is rightfully sealed or jammed, Chief Librarian Vel'a straight-up punches and rips open the door. Apparently, having Space Marines means you don't o worry about lubrig your doorway. .

  Still, the deeper we go, the easier it is for us to see that something is not quite right.

  "Other than utter desotion and human corpses, anyone else mao gleam something of savorae asks after walking out of a ruined tina.

  A few members of the B Party shake their heads. I go on to say. "None so far, Sister Tsavorae. That, in itself, is a cause for caution."

  Tu'shan agrees. "Indeed. We saw kers ba the hangars alongside human husks. Yet, so far, we only see the human parts."

  Weiss chimes in. "We e across signs of bat, a great many of them, so where are the kers? Surely the crew of the Pegasus mao kill some of them?"

  Johnson adds. "What if the kers blitzed the life support on the voidship? Maybe they did it so fast that the crew couldn't mao defeat even one ker?"

  "It is a possibility." I nod, still maintaining my caution as we make our way forward. "But then that begs the question. Where are the kers?"

  Mama hums before asking. "Where do they o go to disabled life support?"

  I reply. "If they couldn't disable it remotely, the kers must seize the bridge or the voidship's engineering room."

  Mama then turns to Tsavorae. "tact the rear line, ahem to be on the lookout for potential ambush by engineering."

  "At once, ess Superior." Tsavorae obliges.

  The versation then dies down as once again, there's little to be said about the state of the Battlestar. Pegasus must have been glorious, for a time, but then humanity decided to be stupid and ruined what could have been a great defender of mankind.

  Aww~! I think this is the first time someoually said something nice about me.

  I stop suddenly, pressing myself against the left side of the corridor and croug down in the blink of an eye. Weiss, demonstratirange adaptability, immediately perches right behind me. Her srifle is holding slightly over my head, aiming down the well-lit corridor, thanks to our fshlights. Without hesitation, the rest of 3rd Ptoon also cim their positions. Those who , settle behind some solid cover in the hallway. Most opt to breato nearby rooms, taking cover ihem and only poke their srifles out. Though slightly surprised by our sudde well-oiled aama leads her Sisters of Battle to form an overpping field of fire with that of 3rd Ptoon. More than that, she has Tsavorae and her Fireteam guarding the vents and other avenues of approach. The Sisters are poised to prevent us from being fnks from the sides where there are interected bulkheads. Lastly, Tu'shan has the bulk of the Samanders set up a bastion of green to guard our backs. Uhe Guards or the Sisters who still require enviroal cover, the Samanders just stand there, menagly.

  Gulp I wish I could help but... Yeah, I pretty much 't. Morale support it is, then.... Don't make a mess of my inside, any more than it already has, at least.

  I trust my instinct, so without looking around, I ask. " someone check the motion sensor? I have a strange feeling like we are being hunted."

  Chief Librarian Vel'a replies. "Let me do you oer." For some reason, I feel there's a smirk beh his helmet.

  The Samander Saned Psyker then els his energy, broadcastiherigs of sorts at regur intervals. It's faint, nearly uable if not for my experience pying with my Abyss Totem Stigmata. What Vel'a is doing right now is like echolocation, the pings allowing him to deteent in the fined space of the Pegasus' hull. The effectiveness of this teique is eveer than the ser built into a Space Marine's helmet at deteg enemies, but faltering at doing anything else.

  "I have detected multiple unknowns ing toward us. They're cold, unalive, and will soon e into our sensors' range." Vel'a reports. "It appears you have a good instinct, Corporal."

  I nod before asking. "Rules of e?"

  Mama is the oo reply. "If they gaze at you funny, scrap them."

  I grin. "In that case, don't bme us Guards if we hog all the kills, Mama."

  Ehm... Should I be ed?

  Heartbreak117