“This is dropship Mustang to jumpship Vagabond, requesting docking authorisation”. The pilot sat back with an expression of intense concentration, acutely aware of his commander standing beside him, wearing a similar expression. This should be a mere formality, since these rendezvous were scheduled weeks in advance…but Fate was always ready to surprise the unwary.

The reply came back slightly marred by static, “Mustang - you are cleared for docking. Proceed to docking point 3 on the underside of the ship.”

“Roger that Vagabond, lining up on docking point 3. ETA 3 minutes”.

“Copy that Mustang, standing by”.

“Are the Elementals prepared?” asked the commander, turning to look at his second-in-command.

“Aff, Star Colonel – they await your signal”.

“Good. Have them deploy when we get to within 200 metres. That should give them enough time to gain access to the jumpship before they can mount any kind of defence. Remind Star Commander Kotare that they are to avoid any unnecessary damage”. He knew the commander of the battle-armoured troops was a good warrior, but he could be a little over-enthusiastic at times.

He was also tense as this mission had to be executed quickly and without error if it was to succeed. There were another two dropships lining up behind his to take their positions on the Vagabond. If any of them were able to dock or even get close enough to interfere, the mission might have to be abandoned. The element of surprise was paramount. If the jumpship crew got wind of their intentions they would not hesitate to open fire. The Tramp class vessel carried 8 extended range large lasers, which were capable of causing serious damage to their lightly armoured Mule class dropship. Its anti-missile systems would also largely negate the Mustang’s missile launchers. In any case, he had no wish to fire on the jumpship…if it came to that, the mission was lost.

The junior officer nodded, “As you wish Star Colonel”. He turned and left the bridge, heading for the cargo bay where the star of armour suited infantry awaited the order to go. He could have notified Nathan Kotare over the ship’s intercom but felt it more appropriate to speak in person to the giant Elemental commander.

Back on the bridge, Star Colonel Derrick Howell watched as the pilot guided the vessel closer to the long, slender jumpship. As they approached, he guided the Mustang away from the course that would take them to their assigned berth, instead bringing it towards the jumpship’s port side. This prompted an immediate query from the Vagabond. “Mustang, you are deviating from your designated course, is there a problem?”

The pilot waited a few moments before responding, “Vagabond, this is Mustang, our station-keeping thrusters are malfunctioning…having trouble maintaining course”.

He thought he heard a muttered curse on the other end of the comm-link. “Copy that Mustang, can you fix the problem?”

Another pause, “We think so – can you give us some time?”

A sigh. “Affirmative. Abort docking sequence and we’ll guide you in for another run when you’re fixed up”.

“Copy that. Will advise when we are ready”.

The pilot brought the dropship around in a hard turn to port, lifting the nose slightly to bring them over the jumpship’s long hull. As the Mustang drew level with the mid-section access hatch, he slowed the eleven thousand ton vessel until it was doing just a few metres per second.

The cargo bay where the Elementals were waiting depressurised and the bay door opened. The first point jumped from the doorway, their momentum carrying them across the intervening space to the larger vessel. The Mustang’s pilot then banked sharply to the right, cutting back across his original course and moving away from the jumpship. He engaged and cut the thrusters erratically to simulate engine trouble.

The first two Elementals landed, carrying with them vibroblades. They quickly got to work cutting through the hatch around its locking mechanism. Vibroblades, normally used by techs to cut away damaged armour and structural components when repairing mechs and vehicles, used power packs that generated high frequency sound waves. These ultrasonic waves caused the blade to vibrate so rapidly, the only way you could tell it was working, was the low-pitched hum it generated. Normally they glowed white-hot with the friction generated by cutting, but in the cold vacuum of space they remained cool and grey.

The blades wielded by the two Elementals quickly ate through the thin hatch plating. Oxygen vented from the ship’s interior in a stream of frozen gas and the compartment depressurised. They would have to work quickly as alarms would be set off on the bridge. The locking mechanism took a little longer to cut through but it eventually yielded and drifted into the ship’s interior as the Elemental who finished the cutting punched it free of the hatch with his battlesuit’s armoured fist.

The junior engineer on the Vagabond’s bridge jumped as the alarm sounded. “Captain, we have a hull breach in Cargo Bay One”.

“What the hell? How did…” He got a grip on himself. “Are any of the crew in there?” The skipper’s voice was taut with concern.

“There’s a repair team down there working on the environmental controls”, replied the chief engineer. He punched a button on his control console to link his com unit to the cargo bay. “Orton, this is Wilson. Whats going on down there?” He immediately realised the futility of his query. Senior Engineer Orton Halliwell and his crew would be fully occupied with saving themselves. Anything he said would probably only confuse the situation. Still, he had to know if his men were okay. “Orton, can you hear me? Have you evacuated the cargo bay?” He waited for a reply but heard nothing. “Halliwell, where the hell are you? Answer me, dammit!” He tapped a series of commands into his terminal.

Captain Koto Noriyuki turned to him. “What are you doing?”

“Overriding the automatic lockdown – we have to give them time to get out”

When the atmospheric pressure dropped below a critical level, the ship’s internal bulkheads, which separated the various compartments, locked automatically until pressure was restored, to prevent air loss throughout the entire ship”.

“We’ve got to seal the compartment and contain the breach!”

“I know that, sir, but not until I know my men are okay. We have to give them time to evacuate”.

“They have sixty seconds…then you seal those damn doors!”

“Aye, sir”.

Using the claws on their battlesuits, the other Elementals swiftly hauled themselves aboard and fanned out into the cargo bay. The scene was one of chaos. With the ruined access hatch venting the bay’s atmosphere into space, dozens of small, unsecured objects flew through the air, riding the airstream until they exited the ship. These represented a genuine hazard to the Elementals. If their suit visors were damaged by an impact from a piece of flotsam, they would be in serious trouble.

Dodging and fending off the flying debris, they advanced quickly to the bulkhead that led to the next bay. Point Commander Serin arrived just in time to find Halliwell shepherding his bewildered and scared crew of techs into the forward shuttle bay. Turning round in the doorway for one final check to make sure no-one had been left behind, his jaw dropped as he saw five enormous armoured figures striding towards him like something from a nightmare. He’d seen Clan armoured infantry before on holovids during the invasion of 3050. Up close and in person they were more terrifying than anything he’d experienced in his life. He moved towards the door controls but he only managed a single step before the lead Elemental fired a burst from its laser rifle, all three shots hitting him in the chest. He slumped to the floor, lifeless.

The rest of the crewmen, unarmed and wearing only standard techs overalls, simply cowered against the walls, clinging to any convenient handholds as Serin strode through the door and covered them with his rifle while the rest of the Jaguar infantry caught up.

He stared at them impassively from behind his Elemental suit’s darkened ferroglass visor. He spoke loudly to make himself heard over the rushing air. “Resist and you will die. Co-operate and you will earn the chance to serve Clan Smoke Jaguar”. They didn’t exactly look thrilled at their options, but none of them looked as though they were about to make trouble.

The bulkhead door began to descend from its recess in the ceiling. Serin spotted it and reached out with his suit’s battle-clawed left arm, catching it as it dropped. His formidable physical strength, combined with the suit’s powered claw was enough to stop it dead.

A red warning light flashed on chief engineer Emmett Wilson’s console as the bulkhead door failed to seal. He muttered a curse. What else would go wrong today? He wondered. He stabbed the button to close the door twice more and each time got a blinking warning light. He called across to the comms officer, “Yoshi, get hold of Simmons and tell him to get an EVA team suited up and check on Bay 1”

The comms officer nodded. “Aye, sir”.

Nathan Kotare and Point Commander Karel joined Serin and his men in the service corridor that led to the shuttle bay. Serin let go of the bulkhead door and it hissed smoothly into place, sealing the corridor from the cargo bay with its rapidly diminishing air atmosphere. Lights on the control panel next to it switched from red to green as an airtight seal was confirmed and pressure levels began to climb back to normal.

Emmett Wilson blinked in surprise as his console told him the bulkhead door was now apparently closed. He shook his head. Better let Simmons and his team check anyway – could be a computer glitch.

Nathan waited for the other two Point Commanders to join them before addressing them. “Split up and sweep the ship. Work your way towards the bridge. Round up any crew you find and assign guards…we will need them to repair the ship and operate it if we are to complete our mission. Shoot to kill only if you must”.

His four subordinates replied as one. “Aff, Star Commander”.

The five Points of infantry began sweeping the ship, moving quickly and methodically from one compartment to the next, rounding up any crew they found and mowing down any foolish enough to attempt armed resistance with machine gun and laser blasts. The jumpship crew were poorly equipped to deal with armoured infantry and only managed to put up a token resistance before they were overwhelmed. Those that surrendered were placed in holding rooms for the time being. Engineer Eugene Simmons and his crew of EVA suited techs were among the last to be caught.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the bridge. Inevitably, word of the hijack had reached them through the last-ditch warnings over the ship’s comm. system from those crewmembers with the presence of mind to do so. Noriyuki and his senior officers had made a vain attempt to secure the ship’s nerve centre by sealing the access door. A pair of Elementals blasted it from its frame with a few bursts from their laser rifles. Captain Noriyuki and his men stared at the Clanners, scared and bewildered.

Nathan strode to the front of his men and addressed the bridge at large. “I am Star Commander Nathan Kotare of Clan Smoke Jaguar. I have taken possession of this ship and you are all now my bondsmen”. He allowed himself a cruel smile. “If any of you wishes to dispute my claim, make yourselves known now”. Unsurprisingly, no-one spoke up.

From the bridge of the Mustang, Star Colonel Howell watched in satisfaction as the other two dropships broke off from their docking approaches. One of his first orders, once the Elementals had gained control of the ship, had been for the Vagabond’s gunners to fire warning shots from the jumpship’s extended range large lasers. The civilian dropship captains, stunned by this unexpected hostility, immediately hailed the jumpship, demanding an explanation. When their calls went unanswered, they turned their craft around and headed back for the safety of Baldur.