Chapter 54

　　In an out-of-the-way system, far from any inhabited planets or well-patrolled routes, a Starship floated in the darkness of space above an icy world. Unremarkable, its star was a red dwarf, a tiny pinprick of light thousands of light seconds away from its surface, leaving it dark, cold and isolated.

　　Over two dozen space-capable Mechs waited patiently at the designated coordinates, their machines a motley collection of antiquated Light Classes, only some designed for space combat. Most were adapted with booster packs and thrusters.

　　The brigands waited for their mark to come out of the Jump. The hackers had alternated its destination coordinates to bring it directly to them. Based on the manifest, it would be lightly crewed and carrying high-tech parts destined for Caledon.

　　"Everyone get ready. It should be arriving in moments." Their leader, a long-haired, older man with a scruffy beard, spoke gruffly to the others. Piloting a Modified Scout Mech, Samson was the longest-serving member of their group. He had boarded dozens of Starships, and the others followed his orders as a veteran.

　　The leader of the pirates watched a timer on his HUD as it approached the appointed time. The manifest was an estimated time. Sometimes, these traders were delayed, making the wait tortuous as they floated in the void.

　　"Spatial anomaly detected, incoming Starship." One of the members on board their ship communicated, carefully watching their highly attuned sensors. As soon as their target appeared, they would turn on the Jump Inhibitor, keeping it locked to their location long enough to board.

　　An undulation appeared in space above the nameless ice planet. The stars behind it twisted and warped in their vision as a Starship materialized. Its metallic surface shimmered from the haze of heat the Jump created.

　　"Now!" Samson yelled, his Mech burning a trail in the darkness toward the isolated ship. Behind him, dozens of other mobile suits sped to close the gap before the Starship could detect them and deploy its security forces.

　　"Inhibitor activated. It`s not going anywhere." The crew member confirmed. Some of the Pilots in Samson`s group cheered as they sped toward the target, their minds filled with the thought of the upcoming payout.

　　Halfway to the target, its storage bay doors opened, its response to their attack quicker than Samson expected. It didn`t matter if they did. The intel said they would only have a handful of outdated Mechs and rookie Pilots. Once they saw Samson`s Mechs, they would quickly surrender.

　　"Wait&something isn`t right." The crewmember on board the Pirate Starship spoke, his voice laced with confusion as he tried to make sense of the sensor readings.

　　"I`m detecting an overlapping Inhibitor Field. Why would they do that?" The Crew member finished.

　　Before Samson could respond, a flight of Mechs burst out of the target`s hold. Two, eight, fifteen, the number of Mech he was seeing increased, with no end in sight. Worse, they were all brand new space-combat variants.

　　Their Pilots were skilled and coordinated, immediately forming squads and closing the distance between their attackers, working together to drive a wedge between the Pirate`s Mobile Suits, isolating them.

　　What had started as an assault on what Samson had thought would be an inferior enemy evolved into a stalemate battle against an equal-numbered, well-equipped security force. The only edge Samson and his people had was their combat experience. They were fighting against inexperienced but well-trained Pilots.

　　The bright lights of Lasgun fire pierced the dark void of space, the explosions of short-ranged, high-yield missiles, and the crimson energy of PPCs. The coordinated efforts of the target`s security forces prevented Samson`s group from dealing fatal blows, while his own people`s experience gave them a slight edge. Losses on both sides were minimal.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

　　"Retreat! Spool up the Engine! I want to get out of here as soon as we land!" Samson shouted as a Bluish-White beam of energy shot past his HUD. Only a last-minute instinctual maneuver saved him. Returning fire, he continually moved towards their Starship, his troops falling back in waves.

　　"No good! That Starship has an Inhibitor on board." The crewmember shouted, trying desperately to punch through the interference, but the Engine refused to Spool. The Inhibitor created a subspace distortion, destabilizing the Jump.

　　Samson cursed, his voice echoing through the cockpit of the Light Class Mech before he calmed down.

　　"Then we strike through and destroy the target. Everyone on me." Samson intended to form an arrowhead formation to pierce through the enemy line and attack the Starship. Once it was gone, at least some of his people could escape this battle.

　　"Multiple spatial anomalies detected! We`ve got three Starships incoming!" Samson cursed again at the shouted words from the crewmember. His Mech`s vision turning to look behind their ship as the space undulated, twisting and warping until three Starships appeared well outside the combat zone.

　　Zooming in for a closer look, Samson saw they were painted black and red, a House Symbol of a red stag prominent on the side. Immediately, the storage holds of the ships opened, unleashing dozens of more Mechs, along with a hulking behemoth of a Machine, three times the size of the others.

　　It sped across the distance, far outpacing its companions. It wielded a long-barreled PPC cannon in one hand and a sniper variant Heavy Lasgun in the other, its four wings` spread out, trailing a line of fire from its thrusters.

　　"Incoming Communication, All Channels." A mechanical voice spoke in Samson`s cockpit, automatically displaying a face in his HUD. It was a handsome young man, his long hair perfectly coiffed, wearing a black and red uniform.

　　"This is Baron Caledon. You are all under arrest for Piracy. Discard your weapons and power down your Mobile Suits. Failure to comply will result in your immediate elimination." The Baron`s words were punctuated by a streak of crimson fire from the massive Assault Class Mech speeding towards them.

　　The attack brushed past the motionless pirate Starship, a warning shot to demonstrate that it could be struck at any time.

　　Samson was shocked at the display. He didn`t think an attack could reach them from that distance. Re-evaluating, he realized that a single Mech could wipe out his entire crew, let alone the hundreds of brand new Nyx` Mobile Suits now surrounding them.

　　"Stand down. Do as they say." Samson ordered, tossing away his one Heavy Lasgun and powering his Mech`s reactor to a minimum, only sustaining life support and the visual sensors. Dozens of his companions followed, drifting motionless in space while they were grasped by the Baron`s House Guard and dragged to one of the three waiting Starship`s holds.

　　Samson`s last glimpse of open space was a boarding crew forcing their way into their Starship, likely quickly subduing the few people he had left and securing their ship.

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　　Kal watched with satisfaction as his forces secured the Pirates, dragging nearly forty Mechs to the storage hold. They would be scanned for threats before being placed inside, their occupants removed and restrained for interrogation.

　　"That went well," Talha commented, watching her grandmother in Rise` guard the prisoners, her weapon trained on them for the slightest hint of resistance. The young woman wanted to be out there but had been placed in command of the ship.

　　"Confirmation from the boarding crew. The Starship is secured, their downloading the flight data now." Talha stated from the center console. Kal, Talha and Samuel were in the command center of the Marauder`s former Starship, leading the operation.

　　This was the first group of Pirates they had found after nearly three weeks of operations. They had secured over a dozen different planets. Their local governments had been more than happy to come under his Barony`s protection, placing their security forces under his House Guard`s command.

　　Unless the Emperor commanded otherwise, they would likely be formally inducted under his Title, and their governments restructured after centuries of neglect. Kal shook the thought from his mind. That was a problem for much later.

　　"That Starship is old! We searched the registration number on the Net. It belonged to a trader that reported it stolen decades before the rebellion." Talha informed him, pulling up the information.

　　"Old Ship. Busted and barely functioning Mechs. This will be like shooting fish in a barrel." Talha finished. Kal frowned. The feeling of unease he had felt for weeks now grew stronger.

　　"Let`s go see what our prisoners have to say for themselves," Kal said, turning away from the display and heading towards the storage deck.