<<>> ______________________________Part1_____________________________________ First Lt. Rick Konig had just finished a rather large meal in the mess of the EFS Normandy and was heading back to his quarters to rest up a bit before his next duty assignments a clearance officer in the hanger. On the way he nearly ran into Lt. Hiatt who was rushing around the corner. "Hey Chief, sorry, are you all right." "Yup," Replied Konig. "But I think I hurt myself today, Cookies serving his beef stew and biscuits. I think I hurt myself." "Really? Well I'd better get down there then." and Lt. Hiatt nearly ran towards the mess. Once Konig reached his quarters he laid down on his cot and picked up his portable message display and set it on his chest. He also picked up a replica of an ancient Roman gladius, idly swinging it while cycling through his messages, all of which were the usual from his subordinates going to and leaving their posts. Nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden Konig's intercom came on and Capt. Henrys' voice came over the intercom. "Chief, I need to see you in my ready room, ASAP." The suddenness of this unexpected message made Konig jump, slightly cutting his thumb on the gladius's blade. After getting up with some discomfort to his stomach, Konig got up and made his way to the bridge. Once he reached the bridge of the Normandy Konig noticed a heavily armed Exo-Fleet shuttle approaching the hanger on the viewscreen. Konig paused to admire the shuttle as it went through its docking procedures. Ensign Thorist noticed Konig admiring the shuttle and jokingly stated with a wry grin, "It's OK, no one's doing anything illegal on the bridge." That shook Konig out of his reverie and he gave a slight laugh and cleared his throat, stating, "That's good. See that it stays that way." and with that he proceeded to the Captains ready room. In the ready room Capt. Henry was lecturing Lt. Rhodes, Lt. Rothland, and Cpt. Jose. "Thank you for joining us Lt. Now all we have to wai..." Capt. Henry was cut off on mid sentence as the door opened once again as LtCo. Hobbes ran into the room and gave a crisp salute. "Sorry I'm late sir, I was in the mess." "Cookies serving biscuits again isn't he?" asked the Captain dryly. "Yes sir." Hobbes and Konig replied almost in unison. "Right. Now down to business. Last week the ExoFleet sent out a decoy freighter to draw out a pirate frigate that's been disrupting commerce for nearly a month. The freighter was unarmed, and unmanned, but it held some weapons parts just to make it look tempting enough to capture. Now it's our job to in term capture the pirate frigate." Commander Hobbes and Lt. Konig both let out slight gasps. "Now" Henry continued, "Commander Hob..." Just then the intercom came on in the ready room came on and Ensign Thorist came over the speaker. "Sir, the assault shuttles have just landed and their cargo has disembarked." "Thank you Ensign." Henry replied "Now as I was saying. Commander Hobbes. Your E-Frames will cover the assault shuttles, and eliminate any pirate space support fighters. Captain Jose, your troops will be dropped on surrounding asteroids with rocket launchers and pick off the frigates defenses, then assist in eliminating any pirate fighters that fly by your positions. Lt. Konig I am placing you in command of the boarding party. I also ordered an additional platoon of troops to assist you in your boarding actions. Your job is to eliminate or capture all resistance aboard the frigate. Lt. Rothland. I need a detachment of your crew to pilot the pirate frigate back to Mars and salvage any new knowledge of pirate technology. Lt. Rhodes your job is to ensure that your personnel and supplies are ready, for many casualties. Now, all of you prepare to disembark at 0300. So I suggest that you all get some rest, and Chief, you might want to meet your partner Sergeant First Class Thaldas. Dismissed" Konig went down to the passenger quarters to meet SFC Thaldas. Upon reaching SFC Thaldas's quarters, Konig pushed the entrance button and gave his identity. The door slid open and there stood an average sized man with slightly curly brown hair and a large scar running from his cheekbone to his chin. "Come in Lt." beckoned Thaldas in a moderate baritone voice. "So your the officer whose going leading us through this eh? I've read your training record and it's quite impressive, now are you ready for the real thing?" "Well we'll see soon enough. Have you had any experience fighting pirates?" "I've been through a few scenarios against them. In fact once they tried to boarded the ship I was on. It'll feel good return the favor." Konig and Thaldas continued their conversation of tactics and strategies for about an hour until Thaldas said, "Well, I've got to rest my troops up. I'll see you on the shuttle tomorrow." Konig left for his own quarters to get some rest. On the way he passed a couple of jump-privates who gave their normal "Good afternoon, sir." and Konig overheard one say "Lucky regulars, get all the fun." Konig ignored them, which made them pause and turn around, obviously trying for an argument. Once Konig reached his quarters he saw Lt. Rhodes leaning against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. "Can I help you Lt.?" Konig asked. "Chief, I was wondering if I could get an estimate of the kinds of injuries we're most likely to see in sick bay?" "Well if the frigate doesn't have gravity after the 'Frames blast it for a while, so it could get ugly. You may want to open up a shock ward, for most injured going from zero-G to a gravity environment are most likely to go into shock and it could worsen their condition. Other than that just hacksaws and bandages should do the trick." Konig finished trying to make a joke out of a bad situation. "Not funny, sir." she replied. I put medical personnel on both the Normandy's shuttles so that could help, but will we have to work on any of the pirates?" "Only of they surrender and are shot up." Konig replied. "Thank you sir." she said as she headed back to the sick bay. "Glad to help Ma'am." Konig replied as he headed back into his quarters to dream his illusions of grandeur of the battle. "At 0245, Konig was all suited up and headed towards the arms room. Once Konig received his rifle with its grenade launcher and ammunition, he headed to the hanger only to see that half of his own troops and most of SFC Thaldes's troops were already there. SPC Beyman called the hanger to attention as Konig entered. Konig then boarded the shuttle to assist the crew with pre-maintenance checks on the shuttle and each other's equipment. Finally the shuttle doors closed and the hanger opened. The shuttle exited the hanger and throttled up towards where the frigate was. During the ride Gamma squad raced past the rather slow shuttle, along with the dropship carrying the jumptroops. Looking out the rear viewport Konig saw the medical shuttle following behind. Just then the pilot said, "Sir, there it is up ahead." Sure enough as Konig made his way up to the cockpit he saw the frigate boarded with the freighter. "OK, lets tear 'em apart." Konig said as the dropship began dropping off its troops and laser blasts flew everywhere as the E-Frames engaged the enemy. _____________________To be continued__________________________