Futuristic Burning Sails [OPEN]

[Viper Actual]

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "An entire station?" She crossed her arms. "The client didn't offer an alternative? Steal the ship? I mean, you and I alone could most likely grab it without taking anyone out and without raising an alarm."

She fell silent, listening to Vance. "There are always other ways. How did the others react? I'm thinking that we could always try to persuade Valkyrie to at least let us attempt a non-lethal stealth op."

 

[joshuadim]

"This Nonara wants the station massacred, and the ship destroyed. To 'send a message'." Vance replied, shaking his head. "And nobody seems to want to try to find another way. Though I walked out just a bit ago so maybe that's changed... hopefully."

 

[Breadman]

Amy had crossed her arms in front of her before asking her question. Then when the answer came, she could only rapidly blink as more of the information was given to them to take in. It was really hard to believe. Could be an elaborate lie for all she and everyone else knew. There were rumors of intergalactic exchanges on the fringes, but nothing like what Nonara was talking about.

The information, a lump sum of fifty million credits, and the ...

She didn't hear the rest over the sum. Damn, they were serious about this weren't they? The bounty hunter barely noticed Vance leaving over it. She couldn't blame him. After what just happened a few weeks ago, it wasn't the right thing to ask from him. As for herself, she had the bigger picture in mind. For herself and her family's safety, this better not have any blowback like Nonara said.

"You said you're doing this to leave a message. Do you want specifics? Markings, uniforms, etcetera."

 

[Viper Actual]

"And nobody seems to want to try to find another way. Though I walked out just a bit ago so maybe that's changed... hopefully."

Grimacing underneath her mask Nathalie sighed. "I don't like it. It sounds like a torch and burn op to me and in that case..." She rolled her eyes; "...There's not much preventing the client from getting rid of us as well. We'd be loose ends."

She looked at Vance and shook her head. "If anything I'm thinking Valkyrie is getting set up. Client gets what they want and have a crew of wanted pirates to do it, we'd be extremely expendable. There has to be some other way to do it."

"I'll try and speak with Valkyrie once the meeting is over and if not with her then with Damien. At least he'd be able to see the reason in it."

 

[joshuadim]

He didn't like any part of this deal that Valk was making, but as he continued to try to think about it it became more apparent that there was only one way this was really going to go. For one, there was no guarantee anyone else had the information that they needed to go after Anora's underlings. And then there was no one else willing to give help after being framed for VOC-1. The whole galaxy was out for their blood and unfortunately for Vance only Nonara was the kind of being to actually be willing to help and it frustrated Vance to no end.

"...I don't think there's any way to change what's going to happen." Vance then chimed in as he shook his head. "I don't trust a goddamn word out of that Nonara. But there's no other way we get that information... if the others can't see it or haven't found a way, then I sure as shit can't. We'll have to play the butcher to get a crumb." Placing a hand behind his head and running his fingers through his hair, Vance sighed: "Do you think doing this would be worth it? Cashing in a piece of our souls so we can go after the Blood Corps?" he then asked.

 

[Viper Actual]

"Do you think doing this would be worth it? Cashing in a piece of our souls so we can go after the Blood Corps?"

"It's never worth it," replied Nathalie, shaking her head. "You and I both know that the ends does not always justify the means. We've both witnessed it and we're both still paying for some of the things we've done. I can still try to convince Damien at least but if you reckon that there's no use in speaking with Valk then, well, I trust your judgement."

Sighing, Nat nodded towards Vance. "Whatever happens we'll at least have each others backs."

"Just like old times."

 

[Infab]

"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."

"ONI has likely provided a security detail in regards to the ship. ONI Troopers, Combat Drones. Potentially battlesuits. The Viranas Brothers have likely brought in some more hired guns to assist with their own security on the station. Mercs or other criminals. The type that you pay and they don't ask questions." responded Nonara. Eve spoke up afterwards. "I can scramble communications when we arrive. The defense systems will need to be eliminated through other means."

Valkyrie spoke next. "Some of the Guillotine's fighters can deal with the defense systems. Other fighters or escape craft can be shot down, too."

"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."

"This is the only time I'm requesting something of this magnitude. If I have anything else to request of your group in the future, it'll be something far less bloody, I assure you." responded Nonara.

"You said you're doing this to leave a message. Do you want specifics? Markings, uniforms, etcetera."

Nonara motioned to Caiden, whom spoke up after exhaling another puff of smoke. "White Roses. You know, the flowers." he stated, "We'll leave 'em on some of the bodies."

 

[SniperComZero]

"...So then that takes care of any escapes, their defense systems, and their comms. Really, when you're putting a battleship up against a cargo station, it's like a cop stomping on a baby." Weird analogies aside, Olivia's back found itself leaning against the railing, with the hint of a grin on her face. Past the whys of getting the job, seemed like it'd be all easy picking for the crew. A little too easy, even. "...Reckon we should probably land and beeline for that craft, too. If I were ONI, I'd put all my guys next to that super duper important thing that I really wanna protect, so best to catch 'em off guard. I like the chances of taking on dug in shithouse mercs more than I do taking on a prepared force of whatever whacked out psycho training shit ONI puts their ops through. That, and it's better that we give 'em some sporting targets instead of letting your other pirate goons find 'em and get used as target practice."

Olivia paused for a second. "...Still. Dunno why we can't just steal the ship, depressurize the place with a couple shots then let him bust his tech himself... but. Hey. That first crazy bitch dropped a whole colony and destroyed a planet just to frame us, and sure as hell would do it again. What's some blacksite smuggling ring run by complete jackoffs in the grand scheme of things?" Of course, Olivia wasn't entirely convinced of the whole 'extragalactic threat' part of the story, still. "As long as it's all in service of the greater good..."

"...Right?"

 

[Infab]

"Whatever it takes to get to Anora." muttered Valkyrie. Zadra, whom had been quiet most of the time, looked to Valkyrie for a moment as Nonara nodded in response. "Then its settled. I'll send Eve the coordinates for the station, and one quarter of the payment will be sent to you up front. You'll get the rest, and the information on Dazik, when the job is complete."

"Alright." responded Valk, glancing to Eve and nodding. A moment later, the holographic form of Nonara faded from view, and Caiden slipped the small disk shaped projector back into his jacket pocket. Nil grinned again. "This is absolutely exciting!" he said, giggling a bit. Caiden cut him a look, before finishing off his cigarette and standing. "Let's go get this over with." said the man, thumping the cigarette butt aside into a nearby trash bin. Nil followed behind him, quickly hopping up from his seat and jogging behind Caiden as they moved for the stairs. Valk, Eve, and Zadra got up, following after with the rest of the group in tow.

The others that were in the bar, whom hadn't joined them in the meeting, quickly gathered up with the group as they moved towards the exit. Aesha arrived, following behind Zadra as they walked. "So what's the job?" she asked, as they emerged out of the second entrance to the bar into the semi-packed hallways outside. As Damien arrived, glancing between Valk and the pair of Nil and Caiden. Valk's response was brief. "Kill everyone on a cargo station owned by a pair of criminals named the Viranas Brothers, and destroy a ship belonging to Nil that the Prestige crime syndicate captured and auctioned off to ONI. Has to be destroyed before ONI gets their hands on it. Toss some white roses on some bodies as a message to the Prestige and the Viranas Brothers to not fuck with Nonara or her brother's stuff ever again. If we do it, we get fifty million credits and information on Dazik."

Aesha and Damien's eyes both widened. And Valk noticed. "I should also mention that destroying that ship prevents some goons from a few galaxies away from swinging by and fucking everything and everyone up." she stated, looking mainly at Damien. Damien raised an eyebrow, glancing to Nil as they walked. "...Right." he muttered in response. Hard to believe. "...You know this makes us look more like Anora--"

"No, it fucking doesn't. And if you don't want to fucking do it, you can sit on the Guillotine with Vance." interrupted Valkyrie, her voice raised slightly. Damien went quiet, narrowing his eyes. "...I'm going with you." he eventually said. He glanced back to the others, and immediately saw Lauren giving him a wicked grin. Forcing him to frown.

As the group walked away from the Quicksilver, one of the men standing outside watched them depart. Hidden quite well amongst a small group of other mercs, talking amongst themselves. He exhaled a puff of smoke from the cigar in his mouth, before tapping his left ear with his finger. "They're on the way out. Caiden Valentine and the gimp are with them. Any changes to the plan?"

"Negative. Deadlock and Carnifex are just cherries on this sundae. If Cutter and his men can't handle them, we will. Get back to your ship. You know where the intercept location is. And bring some raincoats."

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja feels this rotting pit form into her stomach as the gravity of her situation sinks in further, she is really gonna be an honest to goodness murdering pirate scumbag. She feels the cold feet setting in as she has her own doubts about the station. Maybe she can sit this one out without completely sitting it out, maybe gun a turret on the Guillotine or some gunship they deploy to deal with the defenses, it would prevent her from having to see the faces of the people dying on the inside. She really does not have a horse in this race, she's just being dragged along for the ride whether she wants to go or not. Her hand brushes over the new gun she has and the glances at the markings on her new space suit, will they be enough to keep her safe? She's not a cyborg or some hardened warrior, she's never actually been shot, stabbed once and cut a few times but never shot. Hundreds of questions and what ifs flow through her head as she walks, clouding her mind and any awareness she has.

She asks aloud to Valk, "Is it possible for me to pilot my mech on this? She did mention hardsuits and such, I doubt I could fit through the hallways and smaller rooms, but I could probably stomp out anything in the cargo bays themselves, might also create some shock and awe value. Distract them from the rest of the team coming in." She thinks about the sensation in the somatic link, it would greatly help in depersonalizing from the combat, allowing her to sort of wade through it like it's a dream.

 

[joshuadim]

"You and I both know that the ends does not always justify the means."

"Then it has to be a necessary evil..." Vance muttered as he continued to ponder over the situation. "I made a promise that I would get Anora. For Dan, and the family he left behind. Maybe just this once it has to be done. I don't have to like it, but that's the way things are nowadays." It made him feel like a hypocrite to even start justifying it to himself, as it was entirely selfish to consider such things through that lens. And yet as Vance though it out the result, if they aren't screwed over by Nonara, would mean they can finally start striking at the Blood Corps. As he walked off to find Valkyrie, a thought dwelled in the back of his mind that hurt the most of all: How would the doctor think of me in this situation? He felt as though he knew the answer, and it made him angry at himself even more.

---

It didn't take long to find everyone else streaming out of the Quicksilver, either heading back to the markets or back to the ship. Either way, it wasn't difficult to spot Valk in the distance talking to Lauren and Damien and as he approached he did so with caution. It was likely that his words, while he spoke with the best of intentions, didn't strike the right cord with some people and that likely included Valk. Nonetheless, as he approached he cleared his throat: "I assume this means we're doing this... purge?" he asked, not necessarily masking his distaste for the entire situation. "Fine. If this means getting closer to hurting the Blood Corps then... then I'll have to live it down."

He then pointed straight at Valk: "But this can not be something you justify further on. We cannot keep going on this path like this otherwise we'll be no better than the people that wronged us."

 

[K0mori]

Heading back downstairs, Vixaya parted ways with the group almost as soon as they left the Quicksilver. Valkyrie had accepted Nonara's terms, which was all that really mattered. The only ones who'd still want to talk about the mission ahead would probably be those who had objections back at the meeting, and Vix wasn't about to waste more time turning a simple matter into a complicated one. They probably despised her now, like her family back on Kannadys, but Vixaya didn't really care about that, either, as long as they stayed out of the way. They could think of her as bloodthirsty murderer if that was the impression she gave off, but the truth of the matter is that she didn't love the act of killing.

In fact, she held no strong feelings about it whatsoever.

Her tablet gave a chime as it received confirmation that she had been sent a portion of the initial payment. She had expected this, and was already near the boutique shops where she had purchased her jacket by the time it arrived. Another few rows, and she was near the custom weapons store where she bought her cutter claws, and again, she spotted the kiosk where smokes and vaporizers were sold. This time, there was a kanad standing at the counter, purchasing something, and out of curiosity, Vixaya stopped and watched them from a distance.

The shopkeeper pulled out a handful of what looked liked rolls of disc-shaped hard candies wrapped in cellophane. Vixaya watched money trade hands before the kanad opened one of the rolls and broke off a candy, putting it in his mouth as he walked toward a store display to look into the window. After a few seconds, a very brightly-colored orange vapor began to rise from the corners of his mouth. Lolling it around on his tongue a bit revealed that the disc, and the saliva it was melting into, was glowing brightly with some kind of enzyme-triggered reaction. With a long, drawn breath, he pulled some of his own vapor cloud in through his mask, then breathed it back out again.

A tiny sound, like a whimper, escaped Vixaya's mouth as she gravitated toward the kiosk. Envy. She wasn't very familiar with the feeling, but it had fallen over her like a raincloud. The cashier would eventually explain to her the mechanism- the candies were called fireballs, and were illegal back in Kosokom due to an addictive chemical called kivotine. The candy contained crystals which would dissolve in one's mouth before reacting with air, vaporizing in the process, billowing into a scented cloud which could penetrate the filters of a kanad's mask. He also made some pitch about an herbal component that could treat anxiety or increase her focus, but even if she cared about such a thing, she didn't need any extra convincing.

Moments after stepping away from the counter, she unwrapped one of the candies and popped it into her mouth. The chemical reaction was immediately hotter than the salesman had made it out to be, and she nearly spat it out in surprise. Covering her mouth with her hand for a moment, she forced herself to keep sucking on the fireball until she trusted herself to handle it. Fascinated, she looked into the palm of her hand to find a splatter of neon green, and soon, wisps of green smoke began to rise from between her fangs. It tasted vaguely like fruit, but sickly-sweet. [Perfect.]

Vixaya made one more stop as she headed back toward the Mordred, and walked out with her first-ever makeup kit. She had no idea when she was going to bother learning how to use it, or why she was bothering with all of this, but each purchase gave her a little rush, a little gratification, which she had never had before.

Maybe Lauren was right, and this was good for her.

 

[Infab]

"But this can not be something you justify further on. We cannot keep going on this path like this otherwise we'll be no better than the people that wronged us."

"I don't need to fucking justify it. Not to you or anyone else. I will do what I need to do it order to hunt that bitch down and kill her." she replied, almost spitting the words out. She then marched past him, continuing on towards the market. Eve followed silently, but Zadra and Damien hesitated to follow. Both allowing everyone to continue on. Zadra glanced to Damien, whom was staring at his mother as she walked away. The look on his face spoke volumes. He didn't like this. Not at all.

Eventually, he walked away, following after them. Zadra, meanwhile, looked at Vance. "...This isn't like her." she said softly, shaking her head before patting Vance on the shoulder and following after the group.


The journey back to the Mordred took a few minutes, the group having to wait on the elevator to arrive at the market place again before they could board. In the meantime, Valkyrie sent messages to Typhon, Drav, and Kalashi. Giving them the rundown of the mission as well as letting them know they were heading back to the ship. She also mentioned the mech part that Olivia had purchased, which Drav agreed to swing by and pick up once she and Typhon were done shopping.

The ride down was mostly quiet. Valkyrie had already let everyone know what her intentions were. Lauren did eventually speak up, commenting on Vixaya's newly acquired stuff and grinning. "Very cool. You're on your way, Vix." she said. She thought about seeing Vix going into that fetish shop, and considered asking about it, but decided to leave that thought alone.

As the group arrived back on the hangar floor, they noticed something odd. Walking through the crowds back towards their own hangar, they noticed that there was significantly less guards than there had been previously. Aesha commented, glancing about. "Guess its shift change. They do it what...six times a day?" Lauren shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me. I stopped paying much attention to them around the third or fourth time I came here."

Emerging into their own hangar, they noticed something else. The hangar workers had been replaced by armed pirates. With their supposed leader standing in front of the Mordred, almost posing. A human with heavily tanned skin, a short mohawk of dreadlocks, a red vest with the emblem of a flying black crow emblazoned over the heart. A white shirt with a few red splotches here and there, and some worn cargo pants completed the rest of his look. He also bore a large, nasty looking machete in one hand and a kinetic pistol in the other.

"Blackwell's Reavers! My my, it's been a fuckin' while." he said, his voice bearing a strange accent from Terra. Valkyrie and the other seasoned members of the group recognized the pirates near immediately. The Black Crow Corsairs, a privateer band. Their leader, however, wasn't here. "And it looks like ol' Deadlock and that fuckin gimp are with ya! Excitin' stuff." continued the man.

Valkyrie grunted as she came to a stop, her hand on her sidearm. "Cutter." she spoke, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Guessing Lynch is around too?"

Cutter chuckled, before motioning around with his machete's tip. "Nah, boss ain't here! Told me to come try my luck with ya first. Brought some of my boys here with me too!"

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja finds it rather unfortunate that their trip back to the Mordred had to be interrupted by... these people. She narrows her eyes slightly and her hand quietly drifts towards the grip of her newfound Upyri tool of death. She's partly in the back of the crowd so this shouldn't be readily apparent. She looks towards Valk as if expecting the go, this was different from the station slaughtering job they just got handed, this is self-defense and it's do or die. Katja mentally steels herself, she also worries that while she's physically fit, the gun might give her a bit of trouble in the recoil department. She's not built like Drav or Vance who could probably quite easily handle something like the little PDW at her hip. She quickly tries to remember the basics she was taught prior to the Ardent Pilgrim mission, hoping it's enough to face off against a bunch of cutthroat assholes.

 

[Viper Actual]

As Vance wandered off Nat couldn't help but feel just a little bit sad knowing that someone so geniunely good would force themselves to carry out something as amoral as butchering an entire station. Vance deserved much, much better though Nathalie knew that before all of this would come to a close the crew would have significantly more blood on their hands.

The only balancing factor here is our mission and the pure evil actions of Anora and her crew.

Sighing, Nathalie couldn't actually believe what she was thinking. Good. Evil. Is life no longer a greyscale or am I just losing my grip?

*
​

Prior to entering the hangar Nathalie gently nudged Vance. "By the way, I spotted an old associate of ours before when Damien and I were on our way to the meeting."
Glancing to her left and right Nat lowered her voice; "Duchess and a squad of SSOID agents. She didn't look quite as gleeful as she did all those years ago but I'm positive it was her."

"Whatever she is doing all the way out here though is anyone's best guess." Nathalie shrugged. "I'd rather not stick around and find out."

Just then the Mordred came into view alongside a crew of pirates. Carefully, Nathalie intentionally moved in behind the group as to vanish out of view before cloaking herself and disappearing entirely.

 

[joshuadim]

Valk's reply, or rather the level of vitriol in it, surprised Vance as he watched her storm off elsewhere. Although it seemed he wasn't alone in this sentiment judging by Damien's reaction and Zadra's words. At least he knew there were some people close to her that shared the same feelings... although they would have better luck in helping her find reason than a random stranger like him. As Zadra left following her comment, Vance shook his head and followed them back to the hangar. There was nothing left for him to search for on this station anyhow, and he preferred to leave as soon as possible to get the whole ordeal done and over with sooner rather than later.

On the ride down, Nathalie informed him of none other than Duchess being on the station as well which got him to still for a moment. Now he really wanted to get off as soon as possible, he'd rather not come across the possibility of having to deal with her again. "SSOID in this kind of place is never a good thing." he muttered as he stepped off the elevator once it arrived. However as luck would have it, trouble would find them like a bloodhound would find its mark as a group of privateers made themselves comfortable near the Mordred to confront them. Vance knew nothing about them but surmised they were after their bounties. He counted how many there were in his head and slowly reached his ray gun from the inside of his suit jacket as he stayed behind the others on purpose as to not reveal his weapon. With a click, he initialized the battery cells in the weapon as it gave off a soft hiss signaling that it was ready to be used should the need arise. For the time being however he kept it under his suit jacket for the time being as to remain incognito.

This "Cutter" wasn't particularly smart it seemed, considering he and his goons didn't have their element of surprise anymore. If they had been smart, they would have attacked without this grand gesture of showmanship which was a common flaw with many of these kinds of shooters. "Right, am I supposed to care who you are?" Vance asked in a mocking manner, seeking to strike at the man's ego as he walked closer up to the front of the group.

 

[SniperComZero]

Olivia was feeling pretty... uh. Good was a relative term, considering that they were about to engage in some wholesale slaughter for people who may or may not be innocent but probably aren't? Shit. She just needs to take a couple of her pills beforehand and it'll all be fine. Or, less rough, anyway.

Hissing through her teeth once some boisterous, loud asshole made his presence well and truly known to the crew just before they were about to depart. "...Y'know, if you were smart, you'd have laid out some kinda ambush while we were on our way into the ship..." Not to say Olivia wasn't cautious of the surroundings, scanning the rest of the hangar for anyone who'd be lying in wait. But, the absence of any guards around reminded her more of a prison shanking than it did any professional bounty catching scheme. Valk did seem to know 'em... but she didn't seem happy to know 'em. "...So, that means you either wanna talk, or, that you're a fucking moron."

 

[Infab]

"Right, am I supposed to care who you are?"

"Well, we're the ones who's gonna be draggin' all your corpses off to had over to Sol! Hell of a bounty you fucks have on your heads." replied Cutter, twirling the machete in his hand. "Millions and millions of creds. Each! A man'd be set for life." He then muttered under his breath at the end. "And maybe Sol would finally give us our fuckin' pardons."

He lifted the machete, pointing the tip at Vance. "Boss doesn't care if we bring ya in alive or dead. Dead means less of a hassle to transport. Only thing I'm tryin' to figure out is if we should make it quick, or extremely fuckin' slow!" he stated, before chuckling. "Slow's a little more my style." He then glanced towards Olivia as she spoke up."

"...Y'know, if you were smart, you'd have laid out some kinda ambush while we were on our way into the ship... So, that means you either wanna talk, or, that you're a fucking moron."

"Smart is payin' off the guards to look the other way. Smart's plantin' a mole in just the right place to know exactly where you're gonna be! And smart is bringing enough firepower to cut your asses in half if we need to. So why would I allow ya to get to your ship at all? What, with those two big guns on it! We'll kill you out here on the hangar floor and be done with it." he said, before pointing his machete at her next.

Lauren spoke up next. "Really shows which one of you has actual balls. You being here, instead of your boss." she said, moving her way to the front of the group. "If your boss was here, I'd finish what I started years ago! Maybe cut his brain out in the process. Always wondered if it really was the size of a peanut."

Lauren's statement forced another chuckle out of Cutter. "We'll, he ain't here! I am." he remarked afterwards. "And we're savin' you for last. Might have some fun with you, before we hack your fuckin head off. Least we can do to repay you for killin' seven of our boys and carvin' up the boss's face."

Surprisingly, Nil had something to say as he moved towards Cutter. "Look, Mr. Cutter. We're a little busy right now! We have things to do, and stations to raid! So could you please remove yourselves from our path? I'd rather not have to get violent!" he said, as he strolled across the hangar towards the privateer. Cutter grunted. "Oh, you'd rather not?" he muttered. Suddenly, a moment afterwards, Cutter snapped up his pistol and fired off a single shot.

Most of group looked on in shock as the bullet ripped through Nil's head, forcing the young man to stumble backwards and drop to the floor. Caiden, however, didn't react much beyond a simple sigh. "...He shouldn't have done that." he muttered, reaching behind him. He drew from his belt what appeared to be a kinetic pistol of his own, racking the slide as he waited patiently for what was to come next.

Nil started to move, the jet black pool that surrounded his head quickly seeping back into his body as his wound mended itself. It wasn't long before his eyes popped open, colored as black as the blood that had oozed out of his skull onto the floor. "That wasn't very nice of you, Mr. Cutter." were the words that flowed from Nil's mouth, the young man climbing to his feet. The words gave off a sinister sound, distinct and more alien than anything the group had heard before.

 

[Breadman]

Amy didn't say a word during the entire exchange. She had no idea who this Cutter is, nor did she care. She cared even less who his boss was. Just another deadbeat pirate that wants a swing at Valk and her kids. She counted the goons and measured out their chances before Nil tried to charm them enough to leave...and get shot for his troubles. She was more surprised at the jet-black substance that started to leak from his head, than him getting his head almost blown off. While others looked at the body, she looked at Caiden. He was calm as can be. At most he was annoyed. Her eyes darted back to Nil's body as it sprung back up and started to talk. The tone of his voice now unnerving her. What the hell was he?

"You guys should probably run." She pulled out her own gun out of reflex more than anything. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Nil. "You can probably still make it if you hurry, since your boss is about to become a organ donor." The bounty hunter glanced at a few of the other pirates.

 

[Viper Actual]

As hinted by the privateers rather blunt statements and the incredibly foolish act of shooting first.
That said, Nathalie- now but a faint shimmering shadow carefully treading across hangar floor-prepared to flank the group of enemies.

In a way she pitied these privateers. Partially because they still expected a pardon from a galactic power that'd rather have them die than welcome them into their borders and partially because she knew what this crew- Valkyrie's crew- was capable of.
As Caiden racked his firearm, Nil revived himself and Amy gave Cutter and his men a thirty second head-start Nathalie made her move.

Decloaking, the wanted agent was now moving towards the privateers from their left, throwing a small stun grenade at them in the hopes that it would give the Reavers an advantage.

 

[SniperComZero]

"The two big guns on it? That you're closer to? When you could've--" Olivia really shouldn't be wasting her breath on these wastes of air. By the time his next words were coming out of his mouth, a deep, disgusted grimace formed on Olivia's face. Fucking pirates. At least someone could respect a terrorist for having some kind of greater cause. These assholes? Murder, rape and pillage, all in the name of their own ego. Worse than dirt.

Train of thought got cut off by a shot ripping through that other overly-chipper weirdo's head, Olivia scrambling for the nearest piece of cover that she could find. Right for that same overly-chipper weirdo to get up and look really, really pissed off. Alright so, weirdo shapeshifter, she was right. At least that thing was on her side. "I sure hope you clowns are ready to say hi to those other seven assholes you were talking about, then!"

 

[joshuadim]

Cutters boasting and grandstanding just further reinforced the idea that the man was way too full of himself. Vance wanted to say something until a shot rang out and Nil dropped to the floor with a hole in his head... except he got back up right after. It wasn't often Vance saw someone get up after having their brains blown out, but Nil was entirely unfazed by the shot which got Vance to still for a moment before quickly shifting into combat readiness. His thoughts on Nil's miraculous survival could wait as Vance drew his ray gun and strafed sideways, aiming to shoot at the closest goon as fighting began.

 

[K0mori]

Vixaya had been silent during the entire lead-up to the confrontation, having only returned Lauren's earlier compliment with a nod. However, the moment Cutter pulled the trigger on his weapon, all the calm in the kanad's demeanor disappeared as she sprung backwards, ripping her new pistol out of its holster and in the process, forcing its plasma cartridge into the receiver. The case containing her ZVI clunked onto the floor nearby, and in a blur of shimmering black clothing and neon green vapor, Vixaya swept the SMG off the floor and into her off-hand, and backpedaled toward cover, firing instinctually at any enemy who might prevent her from getting there.

 

[Frankafurter]

Katja hears the gunshot and darts for the nearest piece of cover she could pick out from the options around her. Her arm comes up to shield her head while she runs, "FUCK!" She dives behind one of the cargo containers and grabs onto her SMG, making sure it's loaded before seeing the kinky gimp stand up from having his head ventilated. Now the voice he speaks in is far more chilling to her than the boastful bullshitting of the privateer ringleader. She cowers in cover with only one eye poking around the bit to keep an eye on what Nil was doing next. She notices that several others of the group have made their moves as well, she flips the safety from S to E and holding it firmly in both hands before starting to take potshots at any of the privateers dumb enough to keep standing out in the open. The gun dealing tweaker was right, the recoil system is impressive, she barely feels the kick even though just by the sound of the gun, it's definitely slinging some heavy shots out. She bumps the selector from E to F and refocuses into taking two to three round bursts at any targets of opportunity, her brain devoid of anything thought other than 'Shoot them quickly!'

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Nil getting shot shook Shelby from his shield of mild anxiety; after having dealt with the tense meeting on them having to kill a bunch of people, and Nil and his sister being... not from this galaxy, it proved extra shocking to see said alien go down from a single shot to the head. And then get back up. The others were already exploding into action and Shelby, now broken away from being frozen in spot, hurried into the nearest piece of cover he could find as the shooting began. He unzipped his jacket and pulled out his T-shaped submachine gun, reaching behind his back to the bundle of magazines he had with him before slotting in a large magazine of the armor piercing, .45 bullets. Drav had warned him the gun shot really fast.

Taking a deep breath and gritting his teeth, Shelby quickly glanced out around his position behind a small forklift. Then, holding his gun out with both hands steady, he squeezed the trigger, letting loose an entire full magazine spray at the nearest of the privateers.