Xeno Core

There are more burned-out circuits than he'd expected. Entire sections of the targeting computer are down, white smoke billows from the protective case.

Pulling another sheet of integrated circuitry out and tossing it aside, Gelly realizes there aren't enough replacements. The micro factory is also busy, replacing spent ammunition in preparation for another battle.

Sighing, he decides he'll have to make the charred components work. He looks through the pile for the least damaged circuit boards, setting them aside for later. Next he takes the least usable boards and begins carefully removing useful subcomponents.

Returning to the parts he set aside earlier, after carefully comparing damaged components with pieces he could replace, he finds that he should be able to finish fixing the targeting computer.

He sacrifices some of the less vital subprocesses in order to make it work, but it will do for now. He looks at the mess left on the floor, and stacks it all into a spare storage container. They can be taken to reclamations later, for now he decides to head back to the command deck. Along the way he passes Uhgun, who he informs about the useless components Gelly left in the computer room.

When he arrives he sees the large craft on the main display. Finally getting a good look at it, he takes his time to absorb the details.

The ship is round, almost globular, but mostly hollow. It doesn't create a large enough gravity wake, so it must be. A single large spike extends along the inside of the hollow sphere, visible through the circular opening on the front. Round engines protrude minutely from the back, to propel the strange craft.

Seeing Gelly arrive, Tollek turns in the command chair to face him. "We think the smaller craft nestle inside when they really want to move. Otherwise, we still don't know what the spire in the center is for."

Gelly nods. Walking over to his station he says, "It's no movin' very fast, though. Maybe it needs the wee ships to reach full speed."

"Then why send the fighters after us," asks Kali, "if they knew they wouldn't be able to outrun us if we won? Isn't that bad strategy?"

"Yes, if they wanted to get away. No, if they want to lead us by the nose," answers Tollek. "Even if it is a trap, we need more information about how they operate."

"Any sign 'o pilots in the wreckage?" Gelly looks over at the excited Scout.

She shakes her head, long crest swaying as she does. "Nothing, no biotraces at all. But we're getting something from that thing. There might be a single occupant."

"It's still ignoring our attempts to communicate," complains Tollek. "But we have a good idea where it's going. The only star nearby, Pung-fi. Scouting teams have checked out Pung-fi before, though, and it was lifeless but no sign of a deathworld."

"We'll be within spitting range by the end of the shift, Jim," reports Mar Lummer. Supplies as low as they are, Mar has little else to do besides pilot. Knowing the odds against them, they had taken minimal food and parts, trying to give Kalibern the best chance they could.

"Gel, I want you to take Bella and three of our best in the Springkick. Get aboard that vessel and find out what you can," orders Tollek. He stands up and walks to the war room, the door shutting behind him.

---

Aboard the Springkick, partially repaired but fully rearmed, Gelly and crew look at projected images of the alien vessel. They are unable to locate anything resembling a docking port on the outer ceramic surface of the spherical ship.

Having no better ideas, Bella suggests flying into the hollow and looking for a place to land. None of the others object so she increases Springkick's speed, causing the lights to dim slightly at the increased power draw.

Deciding he wanted as many different skillsets as possible on this mission, Gelly had elected to bring Uhgun, Tulson, and Kali as his assualt force.

All of them are dressed in mark four vaccuum armor. Uhgun stands out in his striped orange and yellow but everyone else wears matching black and yellow, with ranks indicated on the right shoulder, front and back. When the suits become widespread enough ship symbols may join, adorning the left shoulder, but for now that remains unnecessary.

Mos Denn really had registered the Tserri crewmembers as an irregular division, with all the perks that entails. Looser restrictions on formalities, looser dress code, even increases in pay grade. The division is entitled Heavy ExtraVehicular Engagement Experts, shortened to HEVEEs. Hevees, in honor of their armor.

To earn these extra privaledges, Uhgun is expected to put himself in certain situations. In this case that meant he gets to jump out of the shuttle and gather intelligence from the outside before getting picked back up at the end of the mission. Or dying in his suit slowly if the mission fails. Uhgun chooses to think positively as he's flung from the airlock, a pleasant smile on his furred face.

Bella takes the Springkick in a series of tightening circles, spiraling slower as she looks for a place to land.

"It all looks smooth," she says angrily. "Does anyone else see... Anything?"

After Tulson and Kali agree that the inside looks featureless, and after confirming that Uhgun is clear, Gelly fires a single missile at the base of the central spire.

They circle around one more time, their slowest pass yet, while waiting for the debris to clear. Matching velocities with the craft above the point of impact, they see that only minimal damage has been done. A thin layer of sooty residue and some light pitting is all that is left behind.

Issuing an order to hold position, Gelly then lines up the kinetic rifles mounted on the front of the ungainly craft. He holds down the firing stud, directing projectiles in a slow line across the scorched surface of the strange carrier ship. Small shards of ceramic fly from the impacts, leaving gouges behind on the thick armor.

Switching to Uhgun's personal frequency, Gelly contacts him through the two way communicator built into their suits. "Change 'o plans. I want ye to collect some 'o the shards I broke loose and get yerself back aboard."

It doesn't take him long to climb adroitly along the curved surface of the massive vessel, using suction cups deployed by his four gauntlet-claws to move safely around. After gathering samples of the tough material he clambers back inside the airlock.

Once Uhgun is safely inside, Gelly begins shooting at the scar he had already inflicted upon the otherwise gleaming alien vessel. The repeated impacts chip away at the thick ceramic armor, shards and spent slugs alike ricocheting into space. The lack of reaction from any guiding force is intimidating.

They run completely out of slugs during the attempt, leaving a deep rend that taunts them. He ends up resorting to missile barrage before finally penetrating into the sterile and airless interior of the gigantic craft.

Darkness greets them as they peer inside the silent void. Gelly sets a timer on his comms and sends the file to Bella.

"Bella, you and Uhgun wait in the Springkick. We might need ye to save our backsides. If'n ye've heard nothin' from us by the time this goes off, get back to Jim with the samples," Gelly says before he, Kali, and Tulson jump out of the small craft and into the shadowy depths that await them.