Security Captain Karl Fitch led his men towards the crash site. Everyone marched quickly and in solid formations, keeping their eyes open. They knew it was a pirate ship that had crashed and were armed and armored for the fight ahead. Pirates were often dealt with up in space, as many had died facing the defense fleets. But on the rare occurrence that any made it planetside, that was when he and his men went to work.
The captain was a big man, standing at six feet in height, and was heavily built. He didn't have an ounce of fat on him, but was just... big. His salt and pepper hair was cut long enough to style, but short enough where people took him seriously. His dark brown eyes carried a level of seriousness in them, but also a sense of humor. His features were a blend of European and Mediterranean, which was what made him handsome.
Karl served in the Federation military for over twenty years, rising to the rank of Major in the Army, before he opted for early retirement. The soldier had become tired of seeing his friends die when off on various missions. He was a Spec Ops soldier, one of the best, and the Federation had been sad to see him go. It turns out, though, that fate had other plans for him.
About a year into his retirement, he was offered the job here on Veldhern. It was a far cry from the life he'd known, much cushier than what he was used to. Karl didn't mind this, as he knew that any potential friends here at work had a much lower chance of dying on his watch. He'd made some friends and finally felt like he wouldn't have to worry about them whenever they were off on patrol.
The thing that had changed his life the most was meeting Bianca Hamilton. Bianca was a doctor with one of the pharmaceutical firms and a trauma surgeon that had set up shop on Veldhern station. They'd met after one of the rare pirate planetfall attacks, where several of his men had been seriously wounded. She was the one who'd looked after them and saw to their speedy recovery.
It was afterwards, when he'd had some free time, that he'd gotten up the courage to ask her out to dinner. She'd turned him down, thinking it was a romantic gesture, as she wasn't interested in seeing anyone. But Bianca changed her mind when he told her it was merely for her saving the lives of his men. Karl had no idea that night would be the one that would forever change both of their fates.
It was during dinner, while they were chatting, that Bianca had warmed up to him considerably. She was leery of the dinner, as many men had tried to get into her pants, as she was not only stunning, but wealthy. Karl had no interest in her money, as he was making four times what he'd made as a Spec Ops soldier in the Federation. That night had ended with her giving him a kiss, without him having to ask for one.
Shortly after, they'd started seeing each other regularly. With how things were developing between them, it wasn't long until Karl proposed and this time, she'd said yes. That had been two years ago, and now Karl had a proper family. Bianca was his wife, with their twin daughters, Lisette and Lynessa and a son on the way. He smiled to himself as he brought his mind back to the task at hand.
"Distance to target?" his stern baritone voice called out.
"One kilometer, sir!" the radar tech replied.
"Half pace, guns up and stay alert!" he commanded.
Though it was rare that any unauthorized craft got to Veldhern's surface, he had trained his men and women relentlessly. Just because they had a straightforward job didn't give them any reason to slack on their training. Karl's constant exercises and drills that he ran had brought the unit together as a tight-knit group. Some had complained, but they didn't last long. Those who stayed soon saw the results of their training, after their first firefight.
Not a single soldier had been lost that day, when a pirate destroyer had entered the atmosphere, attempting to bombard the villas. His team had intercepted the destroyer, boarded it and in a matter of minutes, had assumed control by storming the bridge. The pirates they had faced were brutal, but sloppy and undisciplined. Such sloth in face of true adversity saw many of them wind up as corpses.
After they had taken the bridge, they'd brough the destroyer down to the planet's surface and systematically cleared it. Once the ship was clean, it was sent to drydock, refitted and pressed into service for the second fleet. That bit of effort saw Karl's pay go up substantially, and he wondered how this encounter would go.
They were less than five hundred meters from the ship, as its shadow loomed over them. Every soldier spread out in groups of three, fanning out to search for survivors. Though they were only at half strength, Karl thought it prudent to leave the other of his force behind. Keeping the vacationers and investors safe was top priority, and he didn't want them to only have a token force defending them.
"Deploy drones for thermal scans," he commanded, speaking into the mic at his collar.
The wreckage was in sight, and it appeared the hull of the destroyer was in decent shape. It was bent slightly and had hull ruptures across its surface, but that wasn't anything that some time in dry dock couldn't fix. There were also a few fires burning, but most of those were of some plants and foliage getting caught in the intense heat of the ship's hull.
"Thermal scans show negative for any hostile contacts outside of the ship. They must be waiting inside," Lieutenant Torres replied, keeping him in the loop.
"Switch the drones' scans to visual and audio. I want every inch of this ship covered when we breach," he told her.
"Yes, sir!" the Lieutenant responded, delegating the order to the rest of them.
"Sir, I believe we have a way in!" one of the fresh recruits called out.
Captain Fitch moved over to the man, with his own squad right behind him. He glanced over at the crash site and smiled. Everyone had done their sweeps admirably, taking positions so none of them could be ambushed or isolated. He stepped lively, making it to the young man's team, which was positioned by a breach in the hull. It was large enough for a man to walk through, but only just.
"Good find, rook! Drone recon?" Fitch asked.
"Negative contacts, sir. It appears that the crew died on impact," the young man stated, showing his captain the readout. There were corpses strewn about the deck, with none of them moving in the slightest. A quick thermal scan showed their bodies were rapidly cooling, meaning that none of them were alive.
"OK. Three teams in, I'll lead, and everyone stay close. All other teams secure the perimeter. Lieutenant Torres set it up," he ordered, before raising his assault rifle and walking inside.
"Yes, sir!" she replied, before barking orders for the remaining teams to establish a perimeter.
Karl couldn't help but smile to himself, as he remembered what it was like to be a young soldier. The Latina had a lot of fire within her, a fact that made her something of a desirable woman for most of the men. Many of them were disappointed to learn that she was married to two men and had no interest in adding a third. Still, it didn't stop them from fantasizing about her, which was allowed, as long as no one acted on it.
The nine men kept together, keeping their heads clear and eyes open, looking for any sort of trap. The drones moved ahead of them, keeping them informed of what lay ahead. So far, it was nothing but exposed wires, battered paneling, and pirate corpses. Because of this, they stayed relaxed, but didn't let their guard down.
Before long, the three squads made it to the bridge, taking in the scene of carnage that lay within. Blood, gore and viscera was splattered everywhere, with most consoles either off or sparking. There were a few of them that were still working, as the bridge itself looked like it had almost been bent in half. The team moved carefully, not wanting to slide down into the other half of the room.
"Powell, what have you got?" Fitch asked his tech and one of his squad members.
"So far, it seems like there few systems still online. Let me check and I can give you a proper damage assessment," the man replied, seating himself at the console. He tapped a few sequences and brought up the diagnostics of the ship, before his eyes widened.
"Sir, we need to get the fuck out of here!" the man shouted, jumping to his feet.
"What is it?" he called, following on the man's heels.
"They have set the reactor to blow! We have five minutes to evac the site!" he shouted back, finding his way through the corridors to the exit.
"Lieutenant, break the perimeter and evac! The ship is gonna blow!" Karl shouted into his mic.
"Copy that!" the woman replied, issuing orders to clear the area. It was maybe two minutes before the squads cleared the ship, trying to catch up to their fellow soldiers. Another three before they saw their figures, moving behind a rocky outcropping, trying to take shelter. Mere seconds after they reached the rocks is when the deafening explosion came, darkening the sight of the security teams.
******************************
