Huh?
Well … here it comes.
I found a hidden corner near a service tube entrance, and settled down to wait for the expected rush of government goons.
And then eight 20-something men double-timed into Docking Bay One, and silently took up covered positions facing the bay door in an arc, with one older person directing them with hand signals. All way too organized for even militia types. One even set a claymore on a magnetic clamp right next to the center of the bay door.
I just sneaked further back into the shadows … I wasn’t even sure these folks were on our side. I just plugged my ears.
I wasn’t much of a fight, apparently the JBTs were expecting sheep-like civilians or some gang-bangers holding their weapons sideways. Things looked like they were going downhill for the Feds after the claymore went off, so I snuck into the service tube, and headed for the next Docking bay over, number Five. I cracked open the service hatch, and saw another small group of operators in civilian drag, with somewhat grown out 0-0.5 Navy Reg haircuts, mopping up blue-helmeted thugs.
Who invited the SEALs?
The next hatch revealed a somewhat shaken non-military person next to a thrown emergency docking release … heh. No shuttle to salvage, but the JBTs aren’t walking home. I shut the hatch on Bay Four and moved on.
Bay Three, the big one, was a shooting gallery. A very large group of colonists, men, women, and even some children, were potting JBTs. A bunch of dead goons were scattered about in front of the Bay Doors. Most of them looked like they were drilled between the eyes … heh. The rest were trying really hard to use their own dead as cover … and it wasn’t working very well. No gang-banger idiots or surrendering civilians here … nope, just not a situation that was covered in the JBT training manual.
I smiled, closed the hatch, and moved on to Docking Bay Two and the cargo area. One unarmed colonist was letting the air out of the cargo lock … the JBTs inside were somewhat angry about it … they hadn’t bothered with vacc-suits. Oh well.
I continued my circuit back to Bay One, cracked the door, and watch the small group of operators mop up, and stack salvaged JBT weapons into a luggage pod. I noted the number on the pod, and closed the door.
Just who the hell are these guys?
I closed the hatch, and went back to join the Bay Three turkey shoot, which was still thumping away and in progress … I wanted to bag at least one JBT myself before the fun and games ended.