You request Captain Hogarth's permission to join the boarding parties. He approves and you head to the wardroom to prepare yourself with the rest of the Marines entering the Star Settler. You grab a small First Aid kit, a compact phaser, and a handheld scanner for finding trapped colonists. A message comes over your communicator from the patrols that entered the ship first. The Star Settler's environmental systems were running, if barely. They say the air is stale, but breathable.

You get in line with the third group entering the ship, the presences of you and Lieutenant McClusky making your group the official command group for the rescue mission. This becomes obvious when panicked voices suddenly come over the communications network and everyone else goes silent, waiting for orders.

The sounds of combat echo down the passages to you. A look of concern crosses your face as you and the Lieutenant listen to the reports from the advance scouts. They had come under attack in one of the larger cargo storage bays. You make a mental map of the area as you hear reports of relative positions of Marines and enemies. With a few quick hushed orders, you and Lieutenant McClusky grab another patrol group and each take command of a group to go support the scouts. The two of you plan seperate routes into the cargo hold. Before heading out, you try to contact the bridge of the Star Settler and verify whether or not it is their security forces attacking your Marines by accident.

The reply from the colony ship's captain is less than encouraging. “Just after launch, a group fought to take over the ship. They wanted to divert the ship to some remote location. They didn't say what would happen to the crew and other passengers, so I can't imagine it was anything good. Our Chief Engineer sabotaged our FTL engines, and was killed for his efforts. They locked out the bridge and sent out the distress signal and you arrived before we could redirect Communications.”

You ponder her words for a moment. “What about your security personnel? Were they able to have any impact on the mutineers?”

“This is a ship bound for a planet to colonize. We carry no important passengers or have any technology that isn't generally available. A security force would only uselessly drain resources. There was no reason to have a force on board.”

You shake your head at the lack of preparedness of the crew for any situations. “Understood. We will make a move on the cargo hold. Any other information you may have on mutineer locations would be helpful. Just relay the data to our bridge and they can give it to us via automatic HUD relay.”

You and Lieutenant McClusky head out with your patrols. When you are near the cargo hold, you split off and make your way to another entrance. On a prearranged signal, you burst through the entrance, you and the Marines with you firing at the positions of the attempted mutineers. Your job is to pin them down while Lieutenant McClusky and her team come in behind them. In less than two minutes, the entire cargo hold is once again under control. After a similar battle in Engineering and clearing a few remaining mutineers from outside the bridge, the Star Settler is once again under control of its original crew.

You signal your ship that it is now clear to send in Medical and repair crews. You and Lieutenant McClusky greet them at the airlock door before exiting the colony ship together, hand in hand. After 18 hours, the Star Settler is ready to continue on under her own power. You continue with your ship without any further issues from the sublight engines. Over the next few months you, Captain Hogarth, and the rest of the crew detail the planets of three systems and flag one as full of valuable minerals. During the tour, you spend almost as much of your free time around the Marine quarters with Lieutenant McClusky as you do in your own quarters. At the end of the tour, the two of you are happily married and transfer to planetside duties. Three years later she gives birth to a pair of twins that keep you almost as busy as your time in space. While you do look longingly up at the stars now and then, you wouldn't trade in any part of your life now for the joys of space travel.

The End

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