*****
     The jump to Gruna Garu was mostly uneventful.  The ship was experiencing
several systems malfunctions, but nothing that worried the Legionaires.  After
several days aboard the KNEIS-ENAU, the Legionaires felt well accustomed to
ship board life.  Training was intensive while accelerating and all were
pushed hard during deceleration as well.  
     Apparently Captain Peiper received some disturbing news while at Hargut,
for shore leave was restricted to one day and the KNEIS-ENAU departed port
early.  Luckily, the Legion was already well equipped from the earlier layover
in Araks and only some small consumable stores were needed.  Training
continued...
     After several more days of acceleration toward Rhianna, Lt. Birrkh pulled
the Legionaires into the dropship bay to brief them on the current situation
and some possible courses of action.  Earlier in the day, Centurion Vit'Atik
had inspected all of the Legionaire's spacesuits, combat exoskeletons, and
body armor.  Centurian SaisWing had also taken special interest in each FEK as
well.

     As Grr entered the bay, he noted the other Legionaires seated in a
semicircle around a holographic projector.  The Legionaires were seated by
team and their data pads were out, ready to receive the lieutenant's brief.
All seemed charged - action seemed eminent.
     Lt. Birrkh entered the dropship bay area.  The KNEIS-ENAU thrummed softly
in the background as all listened to their orders.  The lieutenant activated a
fleet holographic projector and began:

     "Legionaires, recently we have been experiencing some serious
difficulties with pirates in this sector of the Rim.  We are unsure of their
ultimate goals, but their intentions are clear.  Fleet Intelligence has
provided its best approximation...
                 ( A low murmur followed by several groans.)
     ... of the threat we are facing."
     Lt Birrkh turns to the hologram which depicts the Rhianna System.  There
is a pulsing red line that intersects Alcazzar and terminates at 'Jump Point
Alpha.'  There is also a wide blue oval that encompasses the last quarter of
the red line.
    "Our current situation looks something like this.  Several pirate vessels
have been operating in the Gruna Garu/Rhianna Systems.  They have boarded many
commercial vessels and stolen tons of valuable cargo.  It has been mostly
interstellar ship engine parts, weapons, munitions, technological items, and
always the entire crew.  The vessels themselves are sometimes striped as well
of these items.  The pirates always attack in large numbers and have at least
one capital ship, usually a heavily armed merchantman, involved in the fray.
There is no ID for the group doing the raiding, but the methodolgoy is always
the same."
     "Recently the UPF has been experiencing trouble with its communication
satellites in these areas.  It is unknown if the two things are connected.
The KNEIS-ENAU is enroute to one of the affected satellites now.  After some
analysis, we will know more about ths aspect of our mission."
     "A UPF scout ship had an encounter with a large merchantman several days
ago while in the Gruna Garu System.  The ship registry and IFF indicated that
she was the RHIANNA DANCER, a Streel MC merchantman."  [A replica of the
vessel expands to a red tinted image of a hull size 18 freighter, well armed.]
"This ship, has remained at large for some time.  Intell estimates thirty
pirates total working her as a resupply/loot exchange point for their
activities.  We believe she is fully capable of a fight and has good
maneuverability.  She does have a weakness - her sensor package is weak and
damaged from the encounter with the scout.  She depends heavily on smaller
ships for advance warning of danger and defense."
     The image rotates showing a battered hull, pock marked and burned from
many skirmishes.  The rotation stops and a small white triangle focuses your
attention on a damaged sensor column and partial dish reception uplink.
    "This will be a key element for us if we are to see action against this
ship.  As I'm sure you have guessed, we will be used as the boarders if we run
into this lot.  Surprise is half the battle, right?" the lieutenant says as he
grins.  
    Lieutenant Birrkh gives the Centurions several specific instuctions on
prepping the teams and the dropship for pending actions of the sort he has
outlined.  He concludes by saying, "I expect to run into these scoundrals
before long if we stay in this system, so everyone stay loose.  I want to
'smoke 'em' if we get the chance.  Dismissed!"

   There are a lot of questions following the lieutenant's brief, but there is
really no more information to pass.  Everyone knows that the satalites are the
priority right now and only a chance encounter will bring them face to face
with any of the pirates.
*****

    "All hands, this is the Captain.  'Condition Blue', I say again,
'Condition Blue.'  Prepare for jump in three minutes.  This is the Captain,
out."
[EEEEENT-ACK, EEEEENT-ACK, EEEEENT-ACK...]
     The KNEIS-ENAU vibrates smoothly, but acceleration has dropped off.  The
Legionaires were all strapped into the dropship, suited and combat ready.  The
lieutenant always liked to be ready for anything 'just in case.'
    "Rhianna, here we come...I hope..." mutters Legionaire Galofree to
himself.
There is one violent lurch and....



     Legionaire Dorch, assisted by Legionaire Blackhar, skillfully utilizes
the small maneuvering thrusters to take the 'QUICKDEATH' out of the dropship
bay.  The Osakar Centurion, Mi'naak, observes from the command seat, centered
and behind the two Dralasites.
     "Blackhar, arm the 20 TAMARAK missiles, power the repulsor laser turret,
and arm our 20mm autocannon." (tic)
     "Affirmative." (tic)
     The dropship gracefully slips from benearth the KNEIS-ENAU, firing its
twin chemical thrusters in response to Legionaire Dorch's commands.  Two banks
of missile pods extend from the stub Delta V wings of the 'QUICKDEATH.'  A
small turret of 20mm auto cannons under the cockpit begins to move, following
the position of Blackhar's eye spots.  
    Mi'naak conects the input cable to his helmet and the DIS-VIS begins to
scroll targeting data for the repulsor turret before his eyes.  "Ready to
smoke 'em," he thinks.
     The merchantmen fills the forward viewport.  A scorched Wartech MC symbol
appears on the side of the HS 11 vessel along with large black letters
GANDRATICA.  Adrift and seemingly powerless, GANDRATICA is a battered hulk
with many parts and metal shards floating around her.
     "Take us in closer to that Dorsal lock...there," says Mi'naak.  "Put us
down next to that, by SOP with the turret facing entry lock.  Don't forget to
shunt power to the magnetic landing struts." (tic)
     "Roger.  Magnetic struts powered and extended." (tic)
     "Lt Birrkh, this is Centurion Mi'naak.  Twenty seconds to touch down."
(tic)
     "Confirmed.  Depressurize troop deck, "replies Lt Birrkh.
[kashhhhhhHHHHHHHHHhhhhhisssssss....sssss] 
    The Legionaires all stand in the flashing red light of the troop
compartment.  Weapons are checked a last time and all watch as Centurion
SaisWing reaches for the pad that will open the rear doors.  Lt Birrkh signals
him to open the doors and the vastness of space yawns beyond the downward
sliding hatch.
     "Magnetics on!" says the Humma Centurion.
     Gradually the shifting stars out that back hatch reveal the battered hull
of an old merchantmen.  The dropship descending on her levels off and settles
with a bone-jarring thud [Ka-CHUNKK].
     Legionaire Galofree mutters, "[Grrowr]...remind me to give that blob
Dorch some lessons on touching down!..."
     The lights inside turn a green and no longer pulse.  Lt Birrkh calmly
states, "OUT - get a move on.  Haur, secure the hatch.  Team 2, you are in
first.  Team 1, you are security, move!"
     The legionaires spread out around the hatch, their black spacesuits with
Legion white exoskeleton and body armor is bulky, but managable.  
     Legionaire Haur has no difficulty opening the outer airlock.  He is the
first in, followed immediately by Lt Birrkh and Team 2.  Weapons ready, the
Legionarie drop to the deck inside, each rapidly taking a corner of the inner
lock.  
     On direct comm to Captain Peiper, Lt Birrkh sends, **"Sir, we are in.
There is no atmo and the ship is dark.  We will need to cut the door of the
inner lock.  It is jammed partially open.  What's beyond looks to be a mess.
Continuing mission..."**  Switching to internal unit comms, he says,
"Legionaire Haur.  Begin to cut us a path in there.  Team 2, prep to take the
right corridor and locate the engine room.  keep on the lookout for
friendlies.  Team 1, once we are in, you are with me.  We go for the bridge
down the left corridor.  Understand?" (tic)
     "Roger!... Affirm (tic)  Aye, sir...."
     A large semicircular secton of the hatch falls away sometime later.  The
edges still glow from Legionaire Haur's cutting.  "We're in," (tic) he says.
Team 2 jumps at Centurion SaisWing's command and head off down the right
corridor.  Lt Birrkh watches their now mauve-ish armor and bouncing UV
spotlights panning over the corridor through his own UV monical... He looks
back at the open airlock above the watches as Team 1 drops in, one at a time,
and deploys itself by the book.  He smiles inside his helmet.  
     "Let's go.  Move out!" (tic)
________________________________________________________

Stand by for a little more descriptive data on the ship.  Be thinking about
individual actions.



     Centurion SaisWing snaped, "2nd Team, keep your distance, you are too
tight.  Legionaire Haur, take the bug's place on point.  Keep your eyes open -
we aren't  sure who is still on this tub." (tic)
     Ultra-violet lamps played over the bulkheads, illuminating miles of
pipes, tubes, and steel framework supports.  For a brief moment they all
glowed in the lamplight only to return shortly to the cold blackness of space.
Wires of various shapes and functions hung where parts and machinery seemingly
were ripped from their staunchons.  The eerie mauve wash did nothing to lift
the dark feeling that this was indeed a ghost ship.  
     Steel hexagonal grating below the magnetic boots vibrated under the
pounding of the Legionaires.  Occasionally there were missing grates and piles
of equipment parts for the intrepid force to avoid.  
     At the first intersection in the long corridor, the Legionaires
encountered a series of wielded grates from the floor that formed a barricade.
     "Possible contact. Team 2 hold position.  I'm checkin' it out...," (tic)
said Haur.  The burly man turned his U/Vs to encompass the grate, walls, and
flooring of the intersection.  
     "Carefully, Legionaire.  There may be some booby-traps."(tic) replied
SaisWing. 
     "A pitched battle here, Centurion.  Lasers, some sort of edged weapons,
knives maybe... tangler, smoke grenades.  A big scuff here. (tic)  Grate was
sliced open like a paper bag, so... maybe vibro blades?... (tic)  No
bodies...." (tic)
     Centurion SaisWing breaks in, "Haur, Galofree, and Ditz'Ik take the left
of the T-corridor.  Galofree, you are in charge.  Work your way aft looking
for bodies and any indication of who did this.  Meet the rest of us in
engineering in twenty minutes."  (tic)
     A small rise in the Yazarians lip indicated satisfaction at his
Centurion's choice.  "Aye."(tic)  "Let's shake a mane."(tic)
     The Centurion turned to the remainder of his team.  "You lot are with me
through this breech in the grate.  There is no flooring here so walk the
walls.  Carefully.(tic)  Medic Deshaka, you are in the center of the group.
Keep a sharp eye out."  (tic)
    Grr watched as the small group with SaisWing moved through the barricade
and disappeared around the next corner.   Something didn't feel right here.
    When he turned back, his team was looking at him for instruction.  Ditz'Ik
was alert and guarding the passage which they had just come down.  Legionaire
Haur had a grim scowl visible behind his faceplate.  Grr could not tell if the
situation or the Centurion's choice of command prompted that expression.
    
*****

   Everyones moves by 15 Mar please.  Feel free to e-mail me about the ship.
It is  generally like the freighter on page 7 in KH (top right).  I'm looking
for questions!  I will be online Sat at 10 and at noon.  If anyone wants to
get in a chat room for this, I will be available.  E-mail me and each other!




*****

     Lt. Birrkh and 1st Team continued down the main corridor.  It had only
been a few moments since 9 Troop had penetrated the dark hull of the
GANDRATICA, but already a strong sense of forboding was growing within each
member of the team.
     "Centurion Mi'naak, this is Lt Birrkh." (tic)
     "Copy, sir, " replied the Osakar dropship commander.
     "Dust off - take up position 10 clicks to starboard, weapons hot.  We may
be a few minutes here." (tic)
     "Affirmative."
     The Legionaires felt the vibration of the dropship de-coupling its
magnetics and firing the main thrusters for seperation.  It did little to
improve morale.

     Legionaires Arimos, Akahi, and Sugg were working their way down the long
corridor trying to get to the bridge.  All three had noted the emergency
ladder rungs that ran horizontal to the grating on which they now magnetically
traversed.  Somewhere inside the bulkhead on their right was a large elevator
shaft.  
    Earlier they had passed through a set of pressurized blast doors that had
been blown open with a large quantity of 'kaboomite.'  The lieutenant seemed
anxious to get to the bridge - and for once the unit seemed to be in
agreement.  
     Multi-colored wires swayed in the zero gravity.  Several broken pipes
supported large frozen geysers that had erupted into the corridors.
Pressurized water vapor that froze in the vacuum now partially blocked the
Legionaires path.
     Through his large oval ultra-violet monocle, Akahi could see the signs of
the battle that had been waged on these docks.  Several large burn marks on
the bulkheads seemed indicative of both rafflers and laser weapondry.
      "Id LOVES the dark, but this SUX," (tic) stated Sugg.  "It REMINDS Id of
the time Id SPENT two standard weeks ...(tic)"
      "Kkleer the net, Szugg (tic) and if you (click) hollar into your mic one
more time, (click-click) I'll szockk you (click-clack) in the brigg, (tic)"
announced Centurion Vit'Atik.
     "OK warriors.  Let's not get sloppy," (tic) warned the lieutenant.  He
had just come back on line after making a brief sitrep to the hardass Captain
of the tramp freighter they sailed in on.  "You'd think he was the CO of the
battleship QUASAR with the way he acts..."  thought Legionaire Arimos.
     The team re-oriented themselves at the end of the long corridor.  They
now faced another large blastdoor.  Beyond this was deck four;  this would be
the recreation deck.  Arimos looked at the data-pad that contained the ships
schematics he had pulled from fleet archives while Akahi opened the blocked
blast door.  
     The group of Legionaires passed through the now empty open deck and noted
the rupture in the hull that allowed one to view open space beyond.  Another
blast door, which had been destroyed, opened to crew quarters on deck three.
     Several barricades had been beaten back by the boarders - whoever they
were.  In several of these areas, large frozen globuals of various race's
blood hung suspended next to the broken defenses.
     "Where are the dead?"(tic) asked Akahi.
     "Alright, calm down.  Everybody grab a partner and begin to search these
crew compartments.(tic)  Akahi, you come with me to the bridge.  I want to try
to pull some information and records about what the hell happened here.  Maybe
we can give the rest of the men a hand powering this scrap heap up as well.
Report anything you find immediately.  Move out!"(tic) responded Lt. Birrkh.

*****
__________________________________________________________________

OK guys - what ya gonna do?