"Hmm, we just got another message, it's about time now."
Floating around in zero gravity, River glanced at the Wyrm's terminal before poking the girl sleeping spread out like a starfish right next to her.
"Mu?... Ah, already?"
Stifling a yawn, Jessica stretched her body, making every single vertebra in her back pop before rubbing her eyes and removing the drool that had been sticking to the edge of her mouth for a few hours now.
"Yeah, already. It seems Mike is moving up the schedule, we're at contingency plan B7 by now, but I suspect it'll move up to B8 in a bit."
The plans River mentioned were something she had created together with Mike in case of a variety of emergency situations with the alphabetic suffix designating disaster type and the number after being an indication of how dangerous the current situation was.
"... I still can't believe you guys put that thing together…"
Just glancing at the extremely detailed document which was about 50 pages of small, compact and technical text made Jessica shutter. Not only had she been forced to read it all, but River had also tested Jessica on her knowledge after.
"Well, given what we've been through there's no way we'll ever allow anyone to get the better of us… Never again."
-
Stepping into the transport that would take him to 'interrogate the prisoner', Mike gave the two pilots a nod that they returned with a salute before Mike sat down and got strapped in.
(They really let me keep my sidearm… That was a mistake.)
Not failing to notice that his pilots hadn't been informed about what they were actually doing, Mike considered shooting them dead and stealing the transport, but sadly the shuttle wasn't equipped with an FTL drive so stealing it would be pointless.
Not that stealing the transport was the only thing he could do to it, not by a long shot.
(Let's see… What kind of payload should I use?... Let's go with you.)
Arguably Mike's suit was more dangerous to the Solar royal guard than Mike's sidearm, not only was it running the best firmware Mike could've gotten his hands on in Interstellar online, but it was also outfitted with a substantial amount of electronic warfare suites.
Having picked a 'package', Mike quickly injected it into the transport's subnet before he commanded it to piggyback off of the ship's laser comms.
(Well, that was easy… I guess it isn't really fair to use exploits that won't be discovered for another few years but then again, fair fights are for losers.)
Because Mike's avatar came from Interstellar online which was a few years ahead of the world he currently found himself in, Mike's already impressive edge in electronic warfare was only exacerbated even further.
"Sir, we're arriving now."
"Oh, thank you, pilot, thanks for the trip and stay safe out there."
"Will do, sir."
Immediately onboard the prison barge (which was nothing more than a crudely refitted cargo transporter), Mike was immediately relieved of his sidearm by a squad of fully outfitted marines. Escorted into a cell Mike tried to object but was hit in the face with the butt of a stock in response.
"... Rude."
"Why hello Mike, I knew it was a mistake to trust you."
Announcing his presence with the same happy mood as always, Dan's opinion of Mike had kind of tanked lately.
"Calm your tits dude, the situation is under control."
"Yeah right."
"Just be ready, we're moving soon."
Sensing some people were coming, Mike shut up after reassuring Dan. Scanning the makeshift prison, Mike didn't fail to notice the smart locks on the cell doors and the series of all seeing cameras which captured everything inside the otherwise mostly empty prison.
"Captain… Or rather Mike, I'm sorry things ended up this way."
"No you're fucking not commander, be a bit more honest with yourself."
Slightly surprised at seeing fleet commander Thorson in person aboard the prison barge, Mike put on a cocky grin beneath his tinted visor as he prepared for interrogation.
"Okay then, I'm really happy this happened Mike, there's nothing I hate more than you mercenaries, fucking good-for-nothing parasites."
Revealing his true feelings on Mike, Thorson revealed himself as the elitist career soldier he was. To Thorson, mercenaries were nothing but greedy pirates only tolerated by the state because they were only slightly more useful than actual pirates only because money could control them.
"I guess the queen didn't like me either?"
"That old hag? She's a coward who abandoned the crown world at a parasite's suggestion, I am in control here, and things are going to remain that way."
(Well that's certainly a surprise… Looks like the marines around him are on his side, but I wonder about the rest of the fleet.)
"And you think you can do things better?"
Barely able to keep his laughter down, Mike continued prodding the fleet commander as he continued his interrogation.
"Fuck yeah I do, that hag was nothing but a demented old bitch. It's the duty of nobility like myself to make sure the stock of our nation is strong."
"So not only are you an elitist douche, but you also don't have a shred of loyalty left in that dry old copse of a body… He'll fit in great with the Eden elite, don't you think so too Dan?"
Turning his attention back to Dan, Mike figured he had everything he needed from the fleet commander and therefore started ignoring him and his marines.
"Yeah I bet he would, those fools have long since stopped caring about our great lord, all they want is more power."
Speaking directly past Thorson in a language he didn't understand, the commander got red in the face as he tried to take back control of the conversation, only Mike and Dan continued to ignore him.
"Get ready."
"Get ready for what?"
Without understanding what Mike and Dan were saying as they kept their tones neutral, Thorson also failed to notice the change in the air.
For all the time he had spent as a career soldier, most of Thorson's time had been spent as an armchair commander.
"We are a go in 10, grab at least one weapon please."
"... Sure."
Glancing down at his wrist-mounted console, Mike successfully lost Dan right as the progress bar on the display reached 90%
As Thorson's pack of marines opened Mike's cell to beat him up, Mike chose to act.
Right after the first marine entered the cell, the door slammed shut behind him, taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Mike tackled the marine against the prison bars and relieved him of his pistol before capturing and securing a brand new human shield.
"... Why would you do that Mike? That marine's pistol is locked to him."
"Oh, is it?"
Pointing the pistol directly towards Commander Thorson, Mike's face turned into a full-on shit-eating grin as the progress bar on his terminal reached 100%
"Nobody knows what's happening! FUCK EM UP!"
"Gladly!"
As Mike planted a shot right between the eyes of the former fleet commander of the solar navy royal guard, Dan's prison cell shot open.
"Wha!- KILL THEM!"
Reacting in a manner that befitted their elite status, the Marines sprung into action.
Only their training quickly became their downfall.
"Shit, my gu!-"
With Mike having taken control over the smart locks on the marine's guns and designating their attackers as friendly VIPs, the Marines were easy pickings for both Dan and Mike.
"Leave one alive!"
"Roger!"
Seeing Mike's plan (whatever it was), was starting to work, Dan did as he said and left the last marine alive
"W-wait!"
"Count yourself lucky buddy, I chose you for a very specific purpose, complete it and I'll let you live."
"S-sure, I'll do anything you want, just don't k-"
"Yeah yeah yeah, save it… Now, WHERE THE FUCK IS MY PISTOL!?"
-
"We are go, 30 seconds."
"Ready, we are committed for jump."
Strapped into her seat inside the decompressed cockpit of the Wrym, Jessica did her best to thrust in River and Mike's plan as she committed for a jump that would under all normal situations be suicide, Jessica's fist clenched around her controls as she took a deep breath.
Instead of going to the recon mission they had been assigned to, River and Jessica had been waiting for Mike's messages just a few light seconds away from the Solar navy flotilla that was currently in the long and arduous process of refuelling their entire fleet using a small division of specialised refuelling vessels.
"Go for jump."
"Going for jump."
With such a small distance to travel, the short trip to hyperspace would be akin to an FTL jump between systems, only the duration of the jump was only a few seconds whereafter the Wyrm would find itself right next to, or already inside the flotilla.
In an instant, the space around the Wyrm warped as the space around it compressed, then as quickly as the physics-shattering phonon had started it ended once again and the Wyrm found itself in the middle of a war zone.
"What the fuck!?-"
"The plan worked!"
While the former commander had been on a self-incriminating tirade, Mike took the liberty of broadcasting everything he said across the entirety of the fleet-wide network, splitting the navy into two opposing sides who both declared the other to be filthy deserters of the cause, guilty of mutiny.
Having arrived in the middle of this clusterfuck, River dodged wildly to the side as a fusion torpedo went right past the Wyrm. The torpedo wasn't aimed at the Wyrm that had just warped out of supercruise, instead, its target was a fast destroyer a few kilometres away, a target which had just entered its 'sprinting range'. Reaching its target instantly, the torpedo ignited into a bright flash. This kind of mayhem was happening all over the place, the formerly coherent royal guard was tearing itself apart.
Mike was fully aware of what he had done, he knew a lot of people, people he had worked with for the last while and considered comrades would die because of his actions. Some of them would die in the infighting that was occurring right now, while others would die of starvation, abandoned as their supplies ran out in derelict hulks long after the fight ended while the last unlucky few would die being converted to the Eden faith.
"Pick up the beacon, let's get a move on!"
"Right… Found him, locked on cords!"
With both sides having way too much to worry about, Jessica was easily able to reach the prison badge marked by Mike's beacon and dock with it.
"What the hell is happening now!?"
"I'll explain later Dan, now get on the fucking boat!"
"Who the hell is this!?"
"Later!"
"Don't tell me you're friends with a-"
"I SAID LATER! STRAP THE FUCK IN!"
Calming down the momentary confusion, Mike managed to get everyone seated and strapped in before River suggested the next step in their grand plan.
"Good, then let's get the fuck out of this place!"
Without missing a beat, Mike blocked River's attempt from priming the FTL drive and interrupted with a comment before she broke something important.
"We can't travel to the core without support!"
".... FUCK! OKAY!"
"My ship!"
"Your ship!"
With no use in arguing, River surrendered control and switched to the role of operator together with Jessica.
"Let's light the tires and kick the fires!"
Taking control of the Wyrm after a long time of just directing the fight from the deck of a capital ship, Mike wasted no time at all shaking off the rust.
"Call up the Valourant! If we're lucky they're on the right side of this fucking mess."
"Contact established!"
"Jacky! This is your one and only chance to survive this, so listen the fuck up!"
After a brief silence, a voice that definitely didn't belong to Mike's former XO came through from the other side.
[Captain, this is the acting commander of the Valourant, sysops John. Jack is dead… We're here, Captain, we're yours to command.]
From John's tone of voice, Mike didn't hear anything but loyalty. The sailors aboard the Valourant realised no one would win this little civil war they were doing, so the only choice was to thrust Mike.
"Roger John, how are you doing on supplies? Specifically fuel and amenities."
[Standby.]
Hearing a bit of static and quick conversation on the other side of the line, Mike signalled River to get the Wrym's FTL system online and warmed up.
[Sir, we're good for 50 light years, getting ready for jump.]
Catching up on Mike's intent, the crew of the Valourant disengaged from the fight and started warming up its FTL drive as the Wyrm's mainframe received a request to link its own drive with the Valourant's.
[Go for jump sir, your authority!]
"Roger Valourant, punching it!"
Having primed their own drive and selected a target, Mike spun up the Wyrm's drive and primed it.
"Jumping in 5… 2…"
As space warped around the Wyrm, the last thing Mike saw on the scanner before it jumped to hyperspace was a fusion torpedo entering its sprinting phase and aiming straight at the Valourant.