Futuristic Burning Sails [OPEN]

[Breadman]

"Just how much shit will we get on our heads from ONI?" Amy already figured it would be a lot, but it didn't hurt to ask if it could be quantified. They were already on the most wanted list, so what's a few more zeroes right now?

 

[Viper Actual]

"Yeah. Keep an eye out, though. They may have someone follow us."

"Oh believe me- I am," replied Nathalie. Her eyes were darting back and forth between various people in the crowd as she followed Damien closely. Hopefully they'd be able to make their way to the bar or at least the hangar without any further run-ins with agents on black ops assignments.

"...The way you reacted when you and that woman saw each other. You know one another. Who is she?"

Sighing, Nat glanced at Damien. She was silent for a few seconds before speaking up; "I don't know her real name. Few of my former associates does. We called her 'Duchess', she was one of the most manipulative and stone-cold agents I've ever worked with. She has a gleeful and flirty facade to mask her true behavior which is unnervingly calculating- she used to toy with and harass Vance back when we still ran with the SSOID."

Nathalie shook her head. "He got lucky though. Duchess is a trained assassin at heart and I don't think that there's a lot of people around that have caught her attention and survived to talk about it. If she's here on Shadespear then my employers are up to something and I guarantee you that it won't be anything good."

 

[Infab]

"So you're asking us to kill noncombatants on that station? I'm assuming there are given its a cargo station."

"Yes. Its is a privately owned cargo transportation service station, operated by the Brothers. Everyone aboard is under their employ, and plenty of them have extensive criminal records. They often are employed through less than legal means to transport illict goods and other items from one place to another. Intelligence agencies also use their services due to how efficient they are." explained Nonara. "Any non-combatants you encounter need to be eliminated alongside the combatants. The station must be purged of all life. If you will not kill them, due to some moral code or otherwise, my brother and Caiden will do your job for you. Understood?"

Nil nodded rapidly, grinning, while Caiden exhaled another puff of cigarette smoke.

"Just how much shit will we get on our heads from ONI?"

"None." responded Nonara, folding her arms. "ONI will want to wash their hands of it, and clense their records of all involvement with them. They have other services they can use on the eastern border. But this is important to both me and my brother. That spacecraft exists. It needs to not exist. And everyone on that station that has seen and handled it? They need to not exist as well." The way she spoke of the spacecraft and the personnel's fates was said with such intensity that it surprised Valk and Lauren. What was so special about this craft?

 

[joshuadim]

"They need to not exist as well."

"Right, that's exactly what Anora thought as well to all the people slaughtered on VOC-1." Vance replied with disgust laced on his face, "The people who couldn't fight back and weren't a threat in any way." He then looked at Valk with concern: "We're not judge, jury and executioners. Otherwise we will be no different than the Blood Corps."

 

[Breadman]

"If the spacecraft is important, why destroy it? Could simply grab it and take off with it. Strip if of any bugs ONI might have planted and deliver it to a checkpoint."

 

[Infab]

"If the spacecraft is important, why destroy it? Could simply grab it and take off with it. Strip if of any bugs ONI might have planted and deliver it to a checkpoint."

"Because it attracts the wrong kinds of people." she stated. "The longer that spacecraft exists in this galaxy, the higher the chance of someone coming to look for it. And I would like to avoid that at all costs, as would my brother."

Nil nodded, before speaking in a surprisingly serious tone. "Our technology does not belong here. Neither do others of our kind." he stated, before returning to his smile. After Nil finished, Nonara continued as she looked to Vance. "Let me put it into more agreeable terms. You will be preventing imperialism on a galactic scale, as well as the misuse of technology that does not belong to anyone other than my people. If others know of this ship's existence, word will spread. And if someone like us should be here among the galaxy's citizens, they will hear of it and start looking for it. And that will attract more of my people. I do not wish that on you or anyone else in this galaxy. They need to die."

Caiden spoke afterwards, breaking his silence. "Trust me. You don't want others like them poking around. Bad, bad shit, man."

 

[joshuadim]

"Then why can't we just throw this ship of yours into a star, make all of it completely unrecoverable and destroy any data they might have on it?" Vance replied, frustrated that Nonara continued to justify such things. "There's people on there handling cargo completely unrelated to your prize, why should they pay the price for something your kind misplaced. Seems more you're doing this less out of a charitability towards the galaxy and more covering your own mistakes."

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja listens to the short but pretty straight forward briefing, when Nonara asks if there's questions, she goes to speak but is cut off by Vance's question then the others. She waits until there is a pause then asks her own question, "If we do this job right, can you find me someone who can repair my implant? It's in a malfunctioning state and uh, there's no technical documentation on it and it's... well it's one of a kind for many reasons I'd rather not disclose just yet. It needs a specialist with advanced facilities though, nothing like what's on Shadespear."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Nil's cheery attitude was infectious, and Shelby struggled with keeping his facade of the neogoth tech specialist nobody up when he wanted to smile and chime in with the others. They had the best attitude yet of anyone he had met while on the run. Not to say his fellow crew were bad, but some were the dreary or otherwise unstable type, and it was hard to connect with them on an energetic level. Lauren seemed to have a party streak, but she was also the boss's kid and seemed a bit reckless. Aesha on the other hand was super cool, and super busy.

A few things stood out in a somewhat concerning way. Nil seemed a little too enthusiastic over the prospect of killing once it became clear he and his partner were the cleanup for them if they didn't kill all their targets. That was a little... scary. And something about the way they put an emphasis on the ship not being for their kind had a weird ring to it. Everything felt anxious and it didn't mix well with his earlier excitement; he was very grateful he didn't indulge in his candy before coming here.

"Um what if we... what if we, like, put some people in handcuffs and put them in prison? If they're criminals then surely they have a bounty, r-right? And if them talking about what they saw is a problem then we could, like, you know... use some mind wipe tech. Just make them forget all about it and... and stuff."

 

[K0mori]

No one really seemed to notice as Vixaya caught up to the rest of the team on the second floor of the Quicksilver. Not only was she carrying the last remaining bites of a large bacon cheeseburger on a pretzel bun in one hand, but also a large cup of a new drink she had never tasted before- something the Terrans called soda. It was the perfect sweet counterbalance to the blast of savory flavor of a high quality burger. She was certain now that humans were better cooks than kanads.

She listened for a bit using her translator as the conversation hung on the notion of acceptable targets. It seemed that Shelby, and especially Vance, were concerned about Nonara's directive to kill everyone involved with the transportation of their spacecraft. Personally, Vixaya didn't really care. She had killed an innocent on VOC-1 without being fully conscious of her actions. The same was likely to happen again on future missions, a reality that she had come to accept when she decided to become a hired gun. It wasn't really her place to decide who gets to live or die, anyway. Why trouble one's self with the morality of the issue? The galaxy was never fair in how it doled out fates, and innocent people were killed without reason all the time. Her job was to carry out the mission, and if anyone were to feel remorse for that happening, it should fall on the head of the one giving the orders.

And Nonara didn't seem concerned.

"[She has the information we want, so she should set the terms,]" Vixaya interjected in her ghostly monotone. "[I'm willing to do what's necessary. You all can stay behind if it bothers you.]"

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja listens to her compatriots express their moral issues about just slaughtering an entire station, given what they were accused of, it makes sense they wouldn't want to actually slaughter a station for real this time. However, given the way Nil and Non were talking about the sort of problems not doing a complete extermination would cause, she realizes murdering the entire station would probably be the cleaner solution to the issue. While she's not on board with wholesale slaughter, she understands that sometimes shit can't be helped.

She speaks up, "I'm not a big fan of the idea of going on a killing spree with no survivors, but given the sort of gravity of the situation they're explaining, cleaning out that station wholesale is probably the least messy way to deal with this situation. Yeah, civilians are gonna probably die, but if this ship is as big a problem to galactic stability as they make it sound, it might be for the best to leave moral outrage at the door. I know you guys are trying to clear a bounty for doing this sort of thing and trust me, the irony isn't lost on me, but I'm sure these two did the math and determined this to be the best course even if it means some unfortunate deaths along the way."

 

[SniperComZero]

Olivia'd gotten there just in time, apparently. She'd stopped off at the bar for a bag of nondescript, generically branded 'spicy' crisps... in which she's not sure there's any kind of plant matter in the things. Remarkably hard to find actual food whenever you're out in space. She'd need to ask Valk to send a couple guys over to pick up the generator, and that Nil guy creeped her the hell out with how unerringly upbeat he was being with the rest of the team.

Briefing in, people seemed awful cagey about the job already. Somehow she felt like this was gonna be a theme running forward.

"They're noncombatants. Not civilians. We used to bust these kinds of cargo smuggling rings all the time back in occupied territory. And it's remarkably fuckin' easy for a 'noncombatant' to pick up a gun off a dead guy's corpse and blast your buddies in the back." That's how she justified it to herself, anyway. There was one crucial question going through Olivia's mind, though. "So... if we've gotta clear every room on that station to make sure there isn't a heartbeat that isn't ours, and scuttle some weird prototype ship... why not just have someone blast some high-yield explosives through the station and turn the entire thing into debris? Seems like you're powerful enough to get your hands on some."

 

[Infab]

Nonara gave Vance a glare, but chose not to respond. Her attention was next directed to Shelby. "...Yes, let's arrest them all, and hand them over to the police, who would simply turn around and let them go thanks to their ONI ties." she said, rolling her eyes. Afterwards, she looked to Vixaya, Katja, and Olivia. "Finally. Progress. Yes, we did the math. Yes, this is the best way."

She shook her head, as she continued. "The ship is not a prototype. Its is actually a custom model specifically made for my brother due to his former occupation. He knows how to destroy it without you having to move it or using large amounts of explosives on it. As the station itself, killing everyone aboard also serves as a message to the Prestige as well as the Brothers who own the station. If the station is obliterated... not much of a message is left."

She then looked to Katja. "...Let my brother look at your implants as soon as possible. He will relay their design and description to me, and I can make a proper judgement call afterwards. Understood?"

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja nods after glancing towards Nil, she's not sure how she'd feel about the Mapplethorpe wannabe poking around in her neck, especially after the glance she got from Caiden on the stairs when Nil shook her hand. She looks over at Olivia, "I'm with you on that, everyone on that station can very easily pick up a gun and start shooting back, especially if they feel threatened enough by our actions. Plus, given the sort of reputation she's implying about the station, I doubt even the 'non-combatants' there are perfectly innocent people who did nothing wrong. The place sounds like a grey market where the official inspections are only kept to superficial areas where they can't actually see how the sausage is made."

 

[Breadman]

"I hate to agree with them, but reality is that if they're with criminal pasts and working with an organization like ONI, then the non-combatants on that station likely have enough blood on their hands to drown us with it." Amy rationalized the information she was getting from their new clients, as ghoulish as it may be. Wouldn't be the first time she's been part of something like this, but it never made the idea of killing others who can't fight back easier. She had been fortunate enough to not directly harm any actual civilians or innocents so far. Hopefully these two didn't fuck up in their calculations.

"Now you have a question that's burning me. The ship has alien tech even for us, this is supposedly to stop some imperialist ambition and you're trying to keep a very large gap between us and the rest of your people. Who or what are you?"

 

[Infab]

"Now you have a question that's burning me. The ship has alien tech even for us, this is supposedly to stop some imperialist ambition and you're trying to keep a very large gap between us and the rest of your people. Who or what are you?"

Nonara went quiet for a moment, before glancing to Nil. Nil returned the same look. A moment later, Nonara waved away whoever was nearby her where she was. Once they were gone, she looked back to Valk and her group. "...I am known as Non. The 'ara' part was tacked on when I arrived in this galaxy, to make my name seem more 'normal' for humans. I am one of a race called the Orsina, who control most of what you all know as the 'Triangulum' galaxy. The Triangulum galaxy is the second closest galaxy to this one, the first being the Andromeda galaxy." she explained. "...The Orsina are totalitarian, imperialistic, consume all the resources they comes across, and either enslave or slaughter all who resist. I don't wish for this galaxy to suffer the same existence as my own. Purging that station, and destroying Nil's ship, will help to prevent that."

 

[SniperComZero]

There was a sort of exasperated sigh out of Olivia at the mention of 'a message' being sent. Turning herself around so that, conveniently, the holographic figure wouldn't be able to read her lips. "'Course it's about a fucking message. Can't just get a job done cleanly and send a video, just massacre everyone instead. Fuck me."

RIght as she turns around... apparently just, two of them are actually extragalactic aliens, how fun. And... judging by how remarkably goddamn human the two of them look, probably some kind of weird shapeshifter. Or they get really good plastic surgery. "...I'm not gonna get paid enough for this shit-- Y'know, first of all, I could probably list five other groups of assholes in this galaxy that do the same thing. Fuck, if humanity wasn't so hellbent on fighting each other we'd probably be fuckin' plowing through everyone else. Second, this is starting to sound way more important than tossing out some family heirloom when you're trusting destroying some sort of intergalactic spook ship to... well. Y'know." Her head pivoted around to the rest of the group. "Pirates. Not all'a which're on board with the job's details." ...No it, it still felt as weird as the first time she called herself a pirate.

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja stares in a state of disbelief, not only are there aliens in her home galaxy of the Milky Way, but now she has to contend with aliens from another galaxy potentially coming over and wrecking things? Jesus, this is getting out of hand. She scratches the back of her neck, "Eugh, I think the issue with this is that, you're trusting a ragtag bunch of pirates and not a professional team of soldiers to do this job." She looks over at Olivia, "Something tells me that, if her kind came over to this galaxy and started fucking with us, it'd be bad news for all the races here. Given they can traverse between entire galaxies, it would imply their technology is more advanced than ours by a fair bit."

 

[Infab]

Nonara pointed at Eve and Valk. "I'm trusting Eve and Valencia to do it. The rest of you follow Valencia's orders, correct?" she stated, raising an eyebrow. Then, she motioned to Nil and Caiden. "I would rather those two do it alone, but we can't risk anyone escaping that station. Thus the need for you."

"And I shall see it done." responded Eve. Valk glanced to Eve, eyeing the drone. That was a rather quick reply. "... If we do this, you'll hand over all you know about Dazik?" asked Valk, leaning forward and clasping her hands together. Nonara nodded. "The information, a lump sum of fifty million credits, and the services of Nil and Caiden in the future. Should you need their assistance, of course."

Lauren chimed in. "Sounds good to me. If any of the rest of you don't like it, you can sit on the Guillotine and stare at the fuckin' walls." she said, a smirk inching across her face.

 

[K0mori]

"[If they stay behind,]" Vixaya said, coldly, "[the rest of us should share in their cut of the money.]"

She took a very long and loud sip from her now-empty soda cup.

 

[joshuadim]

Vance was practically dumbfounded to hear people, even Amy, justify such actions they were planning on taking which not only left him flabbergasted but also infuriated as his eyes darted to several people in the room, Amy, Olivia and Valk in particular, before shaking his head and heading for the door of the club. Once outside he took a deep breath of air to gather his thoughts as he walked off elsewhere. Anywhere but that goddamn club. Vance thought to himself as he fumed to himself. He had made compromises before for the sake of other people's lives, or for the greater good, but there were lines he swore to never cross. And yet, getting that information was perhaps the best way of avenging VOC-1 and getting one step closer to dismantling the Blood Corps and its leadership.

By now, he really did miss how much simpler things were back in the day. Things were often more black and white than... this. Yet he didn't have that luxury of being a boy scout for a long-defunct state anymore, charging into battle with the idea of righteousness and morality on his side. It seemed as though here in this time, no matter what choice he chose it would result in the same outcome. Either he would participate in this purge, as Nonara described it not too dissimilarly as to what the Blood Corps did to VOC-1, or he would be a bystander who did nothing as people who didn't deserve to die on that station would end up being executed. At best, it was being an willing accomplice to allow such actions to transpire.

Is it worth becoming the thing you hate most for the greater good? Vance pondered to himself as he continued to walk. Is it impossible to be decent in indecent times? As he walked, deep in thought, he almost didn't notice that up ahead were Nat and Damian walking themselves. He gave a solemn wave towards them, hoping for better company than what was in the Quicksilver. At least he could confide his doubts to someone he knew then.

 

[SniperComZero]

Olivia blinked hard enough it nearly made her eyes water. Fifty million? Well, assuming their part of the crew is getting the premium merc bonus, maybe she is getting paid enough for this shit. Can't say she didn't expect Vance to leave the room, but she could see where he was coming from. Sort of.

Problem felt like the crew was scratching itself up between people diametrically opposed to each other. Vixaya's bordering on eerie with how little she gives a shit about how they do the mission reminds Olivia more of some stoney-faced, morally bankrupt merc that'd run a crowd through with bullets if it was the 'most effective' way of getting their job done. On the other hand, Vance's obsession with doing right by everyone's not letting him see the full picture that the longer that crazy colony-dropping bitch is alive, which is, the longer it takes for the crew to find her, is a bad thing for the whole galaxy. Katja'n Amy seem to have their heads screwed on mostly right, anyway. Lauren's little quip gives Olivia the impression that she's just in it for the money, and Shelby's... well. Shelby. Completely clueless, from the sound of it.

"Yeah. Right... so, we got any idea how fortified this place is? Can't imagine too much, since it's some dinky border cargo station, but, if they've got back-up from ONI... I dunno. I figure if they know they've got this fancy ass alien ship, then it's gonna have something more protecting it, or at the very least, the assholes who owned it have some beefed up security. Best bet's either sending a team in to knock comms and probably power out, or just shock and awe and blast their comms and defense systems to shit from the outside, I reckon. Get some fighters out, put up a perimeter and storm the place from there."

...Of course, it does run through Olivia's head that she might be a bit optimistic with that, but, Valk's crew has multiple battleships, and a whole ass planet. Surely she's got a squadron or two for top cover, right?

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja watches Vance leave and frowns, she's not entirely enthusiastic about the situation either but this is a matter that you can't play the paragon of righteous justice on. She realizes that it's people she's gotta kill, it's not pleasant by any stretch. Hell, she's not entirely sure she can just go through and shoot everyone she runs into. It's one thing in self-defense but it's another when the person is fleeing from you. How Non explains the situation, it sounds extremely serious, the kind of serious that could have far worse ramifications than what this Anora person might be cooking up. She doesn't want to see the Milky Way get burned down to ashes and defeating Anora would be pointless if they end up having to fight a far stronger foe afterwards that outstrips anything they could do to stop the oncoming tide. The price tag for doing the job means little to her, while the extra capital would mean potential upgrades and modifications and better equipment for her mech, it's blood money to an extreme she's not quite able to stomach accepting just yet. She glances at Lauren who seems to be excited at the prospect and grimaces a bit. She looks back to Non on the holofeed, "I don't have to like it, but I'll do the job asked of me. Don't expect me to make a habit of murdering an entire space station though."

 

[Viper Actual]

As Nathalie and Damien finally neared the Quicksilver bar Nat noticed that Vance was moving away from it and greeted them both with a wave. Returning the gesture, Nathalie remained silent until the three of them were close enough to hear one another without yelling. "Did we miss the meeting?" Asked Nathalie.
Upon closer inspection however she noticed Vance's expression and, knowing that something was on his mind, she glanced at Damien. "Go ahead. I'll be with you shortly."

When Damien left Nathalie refocused on Vance, nodding. "What's up? Did something happen?"

 

[joshuadim]

"Tell me, is massacring an entire cargo station worth the getting the location of Anora's ONI friend?" Vance asked Nathalie, "Because that's what that criminal underlord wants us to do in exchange for the information we need. All because of a ship that they want destroyed. I want to avenge VOC-1 and the people that died there as much as any other person, but doing this means killing people on that station who can't fight back and have nothing to do with that thing they want obliterated. We lose sight of the plot at that point." By now Vance was walking in circles, thinking to himself and voicing himself to Nathalie.

"I just... I refuse to believe this is the only way." he then said, "We shouldn't have to stoop to the levels of the Blood Corps to get back at them."