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Calin: Regaining the Edge. Chapter Three Sitting in the evening air Calin was staring as the sun slowly crossed the horizon and the night came on. The last week had been pleasantly filled with getting to know Den and some of it's inhabitants. The similarities to his lost childhood were painful, but the thriving community that the people of Den had built was a joy to observe. Just before sunset the Kitts were sent home from their classes. The noise and joy they emitted were to much to remain glum in their presence. Leonard was correct in his numbers, out a population of over 2200 people, about 900 were children. Watching them soothed him and made him jealous of their happiness. Calin's guard came up as a soft foot step fell to his right. Looking over his shoulder he saw Bright Eye Songmaster, Leonard's oldest son walking toward him. Bright eyes' mane was braided and hung down to his shoulders. Calin chuckled to himself. Leonard had told him that the young Felin lady who cooked and cleaned for him had decided to claim his son and that bright Eyes was not running too fast. From the 'Hairdo' which had been broadcast only this weekend as one of the new fads from the capital of the settlement. Bright Eyes was caught and everyone in Den knew it. "Calin, I need to talk to you. There is a group of refugees coming to Den. And I thought you needed to be aware of it before they arrived." Bright eyes Deep voice rolled across the hill where Calin had been sitting. "Why, what is the issue? Your father said you occasionally get refugees and others. Why should I be concerned about this arrival?" "They are from some of the survivors from The Bloody Capital Venture. The FPM agreed to accept them and the Felins for the most part are being sent here to integrate into our colony." At the mention of the ship's name the memories came back in a terrifying rush. **************************************** It was the itching. Calin hated EVA Ops. His fur never laid right under the tight thermal suit and his tail always felt constricted in its sheath. He knew that the suit was a very good light combat unit with armor and sensors that could keep him alive in a hard vacuum fight, but it itched. "Heads up. This is the tactical situation. The cargo ship pinged us. Before we could hail them sensors saw it go dead in space. We saw several small power flares moving off toward one of the inner planets. There are two in the life band. At least one probably has a habitable atmosphere and maybe they have a base or emergency hidey hole there. We are going to send in four scout teams on a courier with two Hornet interceptors to provide cover. Team one will proceed to the engine room and secure the ..." Calin glanced around the ready room. Four pilots, a medic, and three other scout leaders sat and listened to the tactical officer. Lieutenant Rasin was a Ursa. Her massive form was deceptive. No one who had ever sparred with her would ever call her slow. Her mind and thought processes also put a lie to the slow pondering bear myth. Calin brief thought back to an Op where her quick plan off the cuff had pulled an entire team and the objective out from under the thumb of a Praetorian Guard unit. "Calin, You and your team have the command center and the forward crew compartments. Gills is the best hack we have in the scouts and I want him on the computer core ASAP. Priority on recover of the log, manifest, and charts. Capt. L wants to send any evidence we recover to the FPM. She believes this ship has been running supplies to slavers and needs those records so the FPM can look for clues on their side of the fence." As Lt. Rasin turned her attention to the other two scout teams, Calin began to watch the other members of the brief. Parrot was probably going to be flying one of the Hornets. Good place for his talents. He couldn't shoot Baby in a hard vacuum and his eyes or special sense could not be jammed. The other three pilots were just acquaintances. The three other scout leaders he knew well. A Felin, an Avi, and a Lupin, he'd worked with all of them before and each was very competent. The Lupin, Rann Sisseton, was a friend and good at what he did. Usually it was combat recon. He and Calin had been upping one another friendly ever since Calin joined the 'Promise's' crew. The chief Medic was no surprise. Tom Twohands' skill was only surpassed by his wive as a medic and he had more time as a combat and EVA medic. Despite being a norm he was fearless and completely devoted to his friends. Calin had no worries about care. Tom had literally torn a Siam assassin apart with just a scalpel and his bare hands to protect his other wife and two injured people in a headhunter attack. A short time later Calin was standing on the outer hull of the cargo ship 'The Bloody Capital Venture.' Looking around the visible damage told him a story. Small holes blown through parts of the hull in non critical areas said the crew intended the ship to be left as scrap in system where it could be recovered and repaired. The crew probably assumed the 'Promise' was a pirate who would take the cargo and leave the hulk floating where it could be recovered.. Laughing to himself Calin thought" If the ship is intact enough Chuk had more than enough power to tow it back to Sherwood." As a soft tone echoed in his ear, "Scout Six te charge it set. I barely readn ny power in tere. Evn gravity seem be down. Nae atmospere on oter side, sould be clean blast." Came Tips soft voice over his com. "Affirm. Hold till I get the go ahead." Calin replied. Switching channels he aimed his tight beam at the courier. " Scout Mama, We got the fire ready how soon can we start on the smores?" "Calin, if you 'Mama' me one more time I'll be sure to schedule my hand to hand with yours for the next month. Everyone is almost ready but Rann has found his Starboard Cargo Bay still has power and atmosphere. So he is going in soft. There might be some crew in there and we could use some info and or evidence for FPM. Hold your position I'll tell you when to go." Rasin's soft contralto growl came back. "Affirm. Will wait Go," replied Calin. Switching back to the team channel he quickly briefed Gills and Tips. Afterward he pulled out his Sweeper and checked the setting and charge. Calin Shook his head ruefully. He really didn't care much for Sweepers, but their anti personnel use made them great in shipboard actions. Sweepers emit a powerful EM field which can temporarily short circuit nervous systems. They also could disable electronic devices such as fire and forget drones. Add that to the lack of chance of stray round causing a hull breech a lot of Marine and Spec Op teams demanded them. Calin just preferred a mil grade laser if he was going into a hot zone. "GO! GO!," came across the com as Lt. Rasin initiated the operation. A bright flash and the hatch Tip had set popped off and out into space. Moving with the skill of long hours of practice Calin and Tips affixed the portable air bubble to replace the lock. As the team was ready to seal the bubble behind them, the entire ship shuddered violently. " Rasin, repeat Rasin, what is the sitrep? I repeat what is the sitrep? " Calin Yelled into his com. He could tell that the blast had come from the starboard rear and he needed to know if his team needed to vacate. EVA Ops could go south for any number of reasons and he did not want to lose his team in a fouled Op. "Attention Boarders this is the Executive officer of the 'Venture'. You will evacuate my ship or I will kill my hostages. You will pull out of missile range and make no effort to interfere as the ship departs the system. After we are at translation we will release our hostages in emergency evac bags." Calin and his team froze awaiting orders. If it was a bluff they would go in hot and take out the Exec. and whatever crew he had but if it wasn't. The telltale for the command secure com flashed on his HUD. Switching Calin said " Rasin what is going on.?" " Victoria just got burned. She is making best possible speed back to Promise. Rann's team was hit by an anti-personnel battery that just popped active on our screens. Dammit!, we were fooled. This isn't a cargo hauler. It's a Trojan. Don't move out of the lock till I clear it. They may be looking for skeet." "'Venture' stand down and prepare for boarding teams to enter and inspect you for contraband cargos. I am Lt. Rasin of the licensed privateer 'Redeemer' and you are suspected of smuggling and are hereby ordered to comply." The ship gave a series of shudders from the aft and Calin's heart lurched. Those were missile launches. The Courier and Parrot were the only targets in the area and fear for his friends gripped him tightly. "Gills, that just turned the corner on my order, Open that Hatch. Tips set your sweeper to max. Gills drop the sweeper get out that laser. You're support. We go in fast if it isn't one of our crew we fire and collect the scraps after we are done. Gills is the hatch clear?" "I beleev yas. I nae see any larms r traps. Calin is we turned?" Gills quietly replied. Calin looked at both members of the team and smiled. "It aint good. We are the only assets on this wreck we can count on. There are two more teams but we don't have their sitrep. So we do this the really hard way. First we take out Nav. Second we take out any armories we locate. Third we disable drive. Fourth we assault and gain control of any opposing forces. That way the calvary can find us, reach us, not be shot up, and take the prisoners off our hands so we can get to the lounge and the after debrief faster. Clear?" As his own smile was returned by Tips and Gills, Calin's grin turned feral. " Gills open the hatch. These bastards need to learn why not to give us reason to plays with sharp and pointy things."