21

Evan reloaded in anticipation of the stopgap formation change, but not before a quick scan of her surroundings. According to Cade their orders gave them leeway to make zone assignments ancillary to the present objective of intercepting the attempt on C217's cargo. Understandable, if the party's Demenaguers managed to get the bay door open then the cargo onboard C217 could be considered lost. As one or two well placed explosives would be enough to damage the Cinnabark beyond use for construction. But the careful placement of the explosives, or projectiles, wasn't only to maximize the damage of the cargo. It was actually in the raiding party's long term interests to minimize damage that could affect the Crusader's ability to operate.

Seemed like a conflict of interests right? Wrong! Because some three decades ago the LCF enacted a system that helped moderate Crusader traffic across the Expanse. And one of the programs this system employed involved categorizing known raiding party's according to the threat they posed to convoys. Raiding party's that earned high ranks would be actively avoided through careful route preparation and scheduling, effectively limiting the number of convoys they'd be able to attempt raids on.

Some argued that this would make higher ranked raiding party's more desperate for successful visits and therefore more destructive and violent, but others argued the corresponding increase in rank as a result would lead to greater scarcity overall. Leading to a cycle that would wear down any given raiding party's resources and motivation to continue. In the event convoys were unable to rule out a possible visit from a high ranking party, the LCF would respond by raising that particular convoy's crew requirements. In other words only personnel with the necessary qualifications had the option of joining the convoy's crew roster.

Given such convoys would be much more dangerous, incentives for joining became a necessity to make sure crew rosters could be filled in a timely matter. It also wasn't unusual for LCF higher ups or Convoy Commanders to put in requests for certain personnel who fit the requirements. Not unlike the request put in for multiple sharpshooters to be on this convoy to New Kantler. Incentives ranged from increased pay to recommendations for job opportunities.

To bring things back around, straight up destroying a Crusader or rendering it inoperable would raise a raiding party's rank substantially. Something party leaders needed to consider if they wanted to manage their resources properly. A larger raiding party while having higher chances of success would also expend more resources during raid attempts. Meaning they'd have to increase the number of raid attempts and visits overall to break even or be in the black. But even that could be circumvented if the party got their hands on a particularly valuable cargo. Hence the significance of keeping a convoy's manifest under wraps prior to departure and even after the fact when the convoy was en route.

Naturally Hussards developed methods for gauging a convoys value, most of which involved analyzing a convoy's reactions to their movements. For example, a convoy with fragile cargo might make adjustments to its route immediately in an effort to avoid them or do the exact opposite and act like their presence was of no consequence. A form of reverse psychology. Regardless party's often made approaches for the sole purpose of gauging the response it would elicit from the officers on deck, the Convoy Commander, or both.

Evan could go on forever about the different strategies employed by both sides to gain the upper hand, but her job was shooting stuff that threatened the convoy. Best to leave all the other stuff to the Convoy Commanders, communications officers and weirdos like Cade who got off to stuff like this. Speaking of Cade...where did he go?

Seems that in the small amount of time she'd been contemplating things he had wandered off. We'll maybe not wandered. Wandered implied the person didn't have a set destination in mind, where as everything Cade did had some form of logic behind it. Lux hated that about him, or so she always said whenever they got around to a night out.

The barely perceivable sound of a Crusader's aeriform engine revving caught her attention then, signaling C217 had begun pulling forward. Evan readjusted her posture and aimed down sights, she'd start by taking out the raiders acting as an escort for the demens. They'd likely commence cover fire as soon as the Crusader pulled forward all the way. But she also needed to make sure none of the raiders took advantage of the opening presented by the formation change to rush the strong side platform. "..." And that would be where Cade went. If not to defend the strong side platform himself, he'd at least gone downstairs to tell either Nocks or Tristler too. Considerate jerk.

As the full view of C217's rear finally came into view, Evan got busy. Both her and one of the security officers aboard C384 peppered the area around the bay door with iron, startling the pair of demens who'd been moments away from blowing the locks. The raiders operating the bikes they mounted wobbled a bit but didn't give ground, determined to make full use of the ruckus their comrades on board were making. Abruptly Evan was forced to change targets as several Volts began trying to shoot the gap between Crusaders. Fortunately the limited space between them, almost dangerously so, made it easy to anticipate their lines of approach.

She'd just taken out the gunner of said approach when the sound of a small blast caught her attention. Fuck! They'd blown off one sides worth of locks! But its not like they could just ignore the strong side! Trusting Cade or someone downstairs would handle things, Evan refocused her efforts on deterring the Demens flocking around the bay doors. Knowing they'd already gotten one of the locks off seemed to invigorate the nearby raiders who became more bold in their approaches of the rear. Here's when picking her targets took on a whole new level of importance.

A feronetic rifle's magazine was only so large, and the seconds it would take to reload were more than enough to destroy the remaining locks. To her dismay she also realized that the Demens had managed to plant spikes along the edges of the rear at some point. Meaning they now had the option of clinging to the sides of the Crusader to continue working. While that might make them easy targets, it also meant taking out the bikes didn't guarantee they'd be out of the fight.

Evan had no choice but to watch the body language of the Demens closely, while simultaneously keeping their escorts in check. Easier said than done. Their sharpshooters could pull that off no problem, but they were stuck on the front decks searching for the rocketeer.

As a Volt who'd been firing on her position went down, so did Evan's internal reload counter. Two shots. She only had two more shots before she'd have to reload, not nearly enough to stop the number of raiders closing in on bay doors from the opposite side. She could only hope whoever was on C384 was as conscious of ammo usage as her. Now that's a bad sign. Relying on hope to get through a crisis. If it's not tangible, it can't be counted on. One of many lessons bestowed upon her and the other students during her academy days. Another bad sign. She needed to keep her mind in the present where her targets were. And once she was through with them, they too would be things of the past.