Episode 1: The Crash

Clang
Mag-boots connected to the cold metal floor. Papers, scrap metal, and pieces of broken furniture floated past the reflective glass panel in the helmet, nearly obscuring his vision. He had seen a few figures rushing out of the room as the window had broken, so there was life on this side of the station still. The attack had gone more or less as planned, now all that was left was to get inside and get to the Corporate vaults...

Andrew Pynes pressed hard on the controls, sending the frail little sidewinder into a tailspin out of the way of a flock of missiles heading in his direction. He felt the impact on the rear shields of the small ship and cursed under his breath. Not that there was much he could do about it now. The shield level indicator on the right side of the console started blinking as more enemy fire came in his direction.
"Dammit, these things weren't built for combat..."
For the first time since launching, Andrew thought maybe he had made a mistake in taking this rustbucket out to defend the Point. Looping around sharply, nearly missing a radar array on the side of the station, he returned fire and was rewarded with the sight of two attack drones losing control and crashing into the shields on the station itself. Diverting as much power as possible to his propulsion systems, Andrew spiraled down and away from the remaining Eagles, and tried to gain some cover on the opposite side of the station. He almost pulled up on instinct into the station as another enemy fighter appeared around the corner, and narrowly avoided the resulting debris of the dogfight he had stumbled into. Shaking his head he increased his thruster speed and tried to avoid what fighting he could.

*****

The wail of the sirens wasn't quite drowned out by the sounds of panic from the crew and residents on Bakewell Point. Blast shields lowered over the windows, guards started appearing almost out of nowhere, directing civilians and pilots alike to 'remain calm' and 'return to your quarters'. Ilona was having none of it. She marched through the crowds of screaming civilians in the hub, heading for the security office. A few guards tried to stop her, but she put on her best 'don't even try' face, and pushed past, luckily getting lost in the growing crowds before anyone could stop her. Arriving at the door to the central security office, she knocked hard, huffing impatiently as she waited for the door to be opened. After an annoyingly-long wait, the door creaked open, and she barged in, pushing an unfortunate new recruit aside. "I demand to speak with the Head of Security immediately. We are under attack if you weren't aware." The young man, steadying himself from Ilona's attack, muttered some apologetic reply and scurried off into the offices. Moments later an older man, well-dressed but less-well-kept, appeared, breathing laboriously and stopping to lean on the front desk. 

"Can I help you, Miss....?"
"Downing. Ilona Downing. You may remember me, Officer... Owens, was it?" 
Ownes sighed heavily. "Yes, Ms. Downing, we all remember you. That is to say, what can I do for you this time?"
Ilona sat down in front of the desk as if the station wasn't under immediate threat. "I've come to negotiate the terms of our grounding, specifically the recent development of a rogue squad-mate that has --" 
"--that has stolen your ship, broken the terms of your contract with Pallaeni General, and exited the hangar without the go-ahead from ground control and is currently zipping through the black around this station like a crazed gadfly? Yes, I think I'm aware of Mr. Pynes' infractions."
Ilona was taken aback for a moment, before regaining her composure. "I'm sure, then, that you are aware that we wanted no part of this... let's call it unorthodox strategy." 
"I had assumed as much, Ms. Downing, you and your team's status here in the station will not be harmed because of this man's actions."
"Thank y--"
"However, he will be taken into custody upon returning to the station, and I will require your full cooperation in regards to any investigations regard this behavior."
Ilona stopped and thought for a moment. This was certainly a snag. She shook her head. 
"Very well, if that's what it takes." 

*****

Oz screeched to a halt, hold up a hand and ducking back around the corner from which they had just come. Laurence and Carmella back-peddled desperately to keep up with the man's breakneck speed. Oz nodded towards the passage ahead of them, indicating three armored figures, all carrying heavy kinetic weapons and sporting red-and-black pirate colors. Carmella nodded in response and waited for them to pass the end of the hall before running silently after them. Oz and Laurence followed more slowly, coming around the corner just in time to see Carmella strike the last pirate across the front of his helmet, rendering him unconscious on the ground. The young woman shrugged. 

"See? Quick, quiet, effective." 

"Impressive, but not the time to show off." Laurence was already going through pockets, looking for tablets, communicators, anything that might lend a clue to the reason for the attack. 

"Hurry up, there's probably more coming. Breach behind us isn't the only one, clearly." Oz holstered his pistol and started dragging one of the incapacitated figures back around the corner in the hopes of hiding them. 

There was an explosion somewhere distantly on the opposite side of the bulkhead beside them, and an impact of some kind that shook the floor. Struggling to regain their balance, the crew gave up and started back off down the hall. Doubtless, that was another breach from outside, and they didn't want to be caught if the hall depressurized. 

Ducking into a room and shutting a blast door behind them, they stopped to catch their breath in what looked like a small sitting room. Collapsing at a table, Laurence slapped down a folded piece of paper. 

"Found this...on one of the guys...back there." He panted "Map of the station."

He unfolded it, showing the others a crudely drawn map of the interior of the main floor of Bakewell Point, with a route planned out in red. 

"Leads right to the main corporate vault. Apparently, there's something inside they want." He flipped the paper over. On the back was a more-detailed drawing, a sketch of an intricate box circled again in the red with a series of symbols scrawled beneath it. The crew looked at each other briefly and nodded. Oz ran over to the blast door to input the code to open it, only to have a red light flash in response and a computerized voice say 'access denied: containment compromised. Remain calm, help will arrive shortly."

*****

Andrew cut power to the Dauntless's engines and veered right, narrowly avoiding the laser-fire from one of the few remaining Eagles that were still buzzing around the port. He shook his head in frustration and fumbled to shut off the COVAS alert tell him that his shield systems were compromised. "I know. I know already!" he slammed his hand down on the button and took a moment to collect himself, powering the thrusters back up to skirt along the surface of the station. 

Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He barely had time to react before a limpet from one of the pirate ships attached itself to the hull of the ship and he could hear the telltale screaming of metal on metal. "Damn it..." he tried to shake the thing off, but to no avail. "Fine, if that's the way you want it..." he started heading back to the spaceport of the station, keeping an eye on the hull integrity. 

*****

As Ilona stepped out of the security office, the communicator on her wrist beeped insistently. Rolling her eyes she switched it on. "Yes? This had better be worth my time." 

"Ilona! Thank god, okay we found a map. They're here for something in the vault, this isn't just-"

Static cut the line and Ilona shook the device angrily. "What?"

"The vault! There's some sort of box in the vault!" Oz's voice could be heard more clearly now. "This isn't an attack, it's a heist! Get someone to the vault!"

"There is a limit to my influence Oz-"

"I know, I know, just-" the static cut in again. 

Ilona shut off the comm and turned back towards the security office, only to find the blast shield over the door and no lights to be seen on the other side. She sighed heavily. "Fine, fine, don't mind the pirates, just hide until it's all over. Typical."

Checking the map of the floor at a nearby terminal, she quickly plotted a course in her head to the vault and took off down the halls. 

*****

The young man shouldered his weapon and pressed the button to retract the visor on his helmet. He looked back to the two others securing the hall behind him as he lifted his comm to his mouth. "We're in, boss. Vault's just down this hallway. What's the thing look like again?"

"You'll know it when you see it. Big box, bunch of glowy bits, hard to miss it."
"Right. Goin' in." 

The pirate made his way down the hall, the others following him. They stopped at a corner and he motioned the other two around. He waited a moment and when there was no gunfire he followed, only to stop in his tracks. Standing in front of the vault door was a woman in a formal uniform, black hair blown back by some unseen gust to frame thin features and pale skin dramatically, her eyes flashing angrily in his direction. The two other members of his squad were frozen in place, and at first, he thought they were as surprised as he was. But as he took a careful step forward, and then another, he could see that their faces were twisted in pain and their bodies shaking, trying to escape some unseen force holding them in place. 

"Get... back..." the woman growled through gritted teeth. "I'm not...letting you into...this vault." 

The initial shock wearing off, he leveled his weapon at her. "Right. An Aug. Nice trick ya got there, missie, but I've seen this a hundred times. Nothing a bullet can't fix." He fired, just as she dove aside, the bullet ricocheting off the vault door and his companions were suddenly released from the woman's concentration. 

"You two, get the box. I'll take care of her." His companions rushed forward to the security terminal as he whirled around to find where the woman had gone. Looking back and forth, he saw nothing, and slowly started backing into the now-open vault door. "Get that thing ready for transport. And be more careful with the detonator this time!" 

The woman appeared from around the corner at the end of the hall and started running to the security terminal. The young man laughed and turned away as the vault door closed behind him. 

"Proud of yourself? Real quick thinking on your part there!" he jabbed as the vault locked audibly. 

He nodded to the pirate placing explosives on the vault wall.

*****

Ilona heard an explosion from within the vault, and the sound of air rushing out of it into the vacuum beyond. The security feed on the terminal beside her showed the three pirates being sucked out into space with the intricately decorated box. Just before the feed crackled out, she could see the figures activating their own personal propulsion systems and maneuvering their way out into the void beyond.