Last chapter. The Heaven's Wing

Trade Era 1235, Day 209. 08:00 UTC
The cramped confines of the boarding craft, christened Vanguard, was filled with tension as its hull bucked slightly against the turbulence of the stellar winds. The red giant star in Sector 02.07 loomed ahead, its massive, roiling surface seen through the narrow cockpit viewport.

The Vanguard was an unassuming vessel—small, rugged, and stripped down to its essentials. It was a relic of Stellar Express’s industrial fleet, designed for breaching derelict stations and ships. Its boxy frame bristled with grappling arms, docking clamps, and cutting torches, a stark contrast to the more robust and spacious vessels the crew had grown accustomed. It had been towed into the system by a Stellar Express frigate—silent and ominous as it drifted in the distance, ready to retreat at the first sign of trouble. Once released, the boarding craft had surged forward on a burn, its engines straining to intercept the separatist station.

Erin gripped the edge of her seat, her eyes fixed on the distant ring-shaped silhouette of the research station, stark against the starry backdrop. "This thing flies like a brick tied to a rocket. Even the stellar winds are rocking it. You sure this bucket can make it in and out?"

---

Douklan, you have got one shot to approach, so you could play it safe and approach slowly or you can arrive fast and furious, shuddering violently the ship as its retros fire and killing the forward velocity at the last minute. That would make the boarding safer and any enemy fire easier to avoid but it may paint yourselves across the station’s hull if you fail by a lot.

---

Corbin, the ship’s docking and boarding systems are online. Grappling arms and cutting torches are prepped. But there is a trade-off here. Shutting down some systems or messing with the energy grid may let you approach faster or more stealthily. You have shut down non-essential ones already and done any "obvious" choices.

---

Hank, you’re the ship’s eyes and ears here. Please gimme a Program roll to let us know what you detect. We will take it from there.

---

Mercer, the Heaven’s wing is probably somewhere inside this large station. There are no informed choices here, but an educated guess could be the difference between a reasonable search and a fruitless one. Do you have any idea where you want the Vanguard to board or dock? Near the station labs? Engines? Turrets? In the middle of the ring? How do you wanna approach this?

Ok, here goes the sensors roll!

The middle would make sense in one way, equal access to he whole place, but we're not sure where to go. Station labs usually have a fair amount of information, if we can get access to them. Let's start there.

Hank, here is the station layout.

There is a large central node and a rotating ring structure with 11 frigate-sized docking bays. The current rotation of the ring should provide about 1/3 of Earth's gravity, while the central area is at zero G.

At the bottom, where the 12th bay would be, there is another structure, connected through a pinnacle, which rotates with the ring and has the greatest centrifugal forces.

If you want to use them, there are docking ports on the central node. There are also the eleven bays - if they are empty, your ship would fit inside. Last but not least, you can park anywhere and use the cutters and explosives to board the station.

Artificial gravity seems to be offline. Heat exchangers are closed. From this distance, you cannot detect any energy signatures. You haven't tried to open communications, of course, but there are no broadcasts coming from them.

---

Mercer, with Hank's results, we now know that the largest laboratory is probably the structure at the bottom. The power plant, main docking port and other major utilities are likely in the central node, in a zero-gravity environment.

Since the artificial gravity appears to be off and the station is rotating, the centrifugal forces would pull you in strange directions at the main lab. It would be more difficult to get there and move around inside, but it is feasible. The ring has a more appropriate floor/ceiling orientation and the central spire would be the easiest way in.

Looking over the readouts, Corbin considers the options. "If we're voting, I say grab one of the docking bays near the spires. We'll make less noise if we don't need to cut into things. Also, I could power down the grappling systems and cutting arms. That'd cut down our energy signature and maybe help with maneuvering."

Corbin looks to Hank and Mercer for thoughts. He refrains from bothering Douklan since the turbulence is bad enough while he's paying attention.

Mercer, not one to ignore the advice of experts, would agree. "If you think we could move through that easy enough, let's do that."

"I agree. If we can get into a bay, it might take longer to get noticed."

There is no chance that we're going to not be noticed, so the goal is to remain outside as a target for as little as time as possible. To that end, Douklan is punching the rockets in a protracted burn to reach the station before the defenders can aim and launch missiles. The vehicle is bucking and vibrating like mad; the noise is incredible, forcing everyone to yell to be heard. He nods at the suggestion of finding a bay to enter. "ANYTHING TO GET OUT OF LINE OF SIGHT! YOU POINT OUT THE BAY, AND I'LL GET US THERE."

The Vanguard screamed through space, its engines roaring in a furious protracted burn that shook the entire craft like it was about to come apart at the seams. Douklan’s hands were locked on the controls, his knuckles white as he fought the violent vibrations threatening to tear the stick from his grasp.

"WE’RE COMING IN HOT!" he bellowed over the deafening roar. His hands gripped the controls with determination. "YOU POINT OUT THE BAY, AND I’LL GET US THERE!""Station turrets are lighting up!" Hank shouted from the sensor display, his voice strained. "We’ve got incoming!"

The automated defenses roared to life, sending streaks of plasma fire lancing through the void. The first salvo missed wide, burning bright trails against the backdrop of the red giant’s glow. Douklan jerked the controls, and the Vanguard tilted sharply, dodging another volley.

Erin squinted at the station ahead. Meanwhile, somebody said a bay number and Douklan didn’t wait for confirmation. He yanked the controls, sending the Vanguard into a sharp dive. Another burst of turret fire erupted behind them, missing narrowly as the craft hurtled into the shadow of the station.

---

The station loomed large in the viewport now, its angular structure dwarfing the Vanguard. Plasma fire raked the void behind them but faltered as the ship’s angle brought them into the station’s blind spot.

"Bay doors are still closed!" Douklan growled, his eyes locked on the approaching structure. "Get ready to improvise!"

The docking bay grew closer and closer, the closed doors an ominous wall blocking their entry.

Start at the beginning, 1.

---

The rest of that is out of his experience.

Corbin stands ready to work the breaching system should the hack not be effective.

Hank attempts to remotely hack the doors. He doesn't know the difficulty, but he hopes to get through anyway!

... Sorry guys. Bad roll!

"We’re sitting ducks if those doors don’t open..." Erin said, turning to Hank, who was already bent over the control console, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

The station’s security protocols were robust, layers of encryption and failsafes designed to prevent exactly this kind of intrusion. "This thing’s built like a fortress. Give me a second." - he answered.

Hank grit his teeth, diving deeper into the station’s network. His console flashed red as another layer of security blocked him. His eyes darted across the schematics displayed on his console. He toggled through subsystems one after the other until something caught his attention—a small, overlooked emergency feature buried in the station’s protocols. "Wait! There’s an EVA safety override for personnel retrieval. If I can trick the system into thinking someone’s out in space, it might open the emergency hatches!"

"Then do it!" someone shouted from behind them.

Hank’s fingers flew across the keyboard, his mind racing. He accessed the station’s emergency systems and faked a distress signal. The interface buzzed with error codes, forcing him to reroute through auxiliary circuits. He patched into the station’s external sensors, feeding it false data: the profile of a lone human figure drifting in the vacuum, oxygen rapidly depleting. The station’s AI hesitated for a moment, processing the input, before finally triggering the emergency protocols.

Ahead of the Vanguard, a small section of the hull near the docking bay doors split open, revealing a narrow personnel airlock. It was just big enough for a single spacewalker—definitely not meant for a spacecraft.

Corbin heads for the shuttles hatch, "I'll go, once inside I should be able to manually open the doors. If someone actually get's 'rescued' maybe it'll confuse the AI for a bit."

Erin turned sharply in her seat, her brow furrowed with concern. "That’s a hell of a risk, Corbin. What if the station's gunners figures it out, or worse, what if someone’s waiting for you on the other side?"

Maya, on the other hand, just stepped forward, placing a hand on Corbin’s arm. "Be careful," she said softly with a smile.