Futuristic Burning Sails [OPEN]

[K0mori]

"Have you considered listening to music? To help you learn?"

Nil nodded rapidly. "Oh yes! Music can help quite a bit when it comes to learning new things!" he said, "We never really had music back home. My makers and commanders always saw it as sort of a 'needless noise'. Everything had to have a very specific purpose!"

Nil, having interjected before Vixaya had a chance to answer Shelby's question, came as a bit of a relief. The kanad's exposure to music, in her youth, was very limited due to her handlers' ceaseless preoccupation with the war. She rarely had the time to explore the innumerable genres or discuss them with her peers, and of course she had never bothered to ask what sort of songs her father liked, or if he even liked music at all. So, it seemed that she had something roughly in common with Nil, which made telling the truth less embarrassing.

"[Same,]" she said blankly, before continuing in English again. "I not know lots music. Some music... cartoons... Kosok music..." she roughly explained, before her eyes drifted a bit, and she began reciting a song in the Kanad language. There was no variance in her tone where there clearly should have been, and so only the rhythm and cadence of the words made it clear that it was actually a song. She only recited a few lines:

"Sar dar syaren Sakaya sekikat,
rahr span zizh- rah shadetat.
Zhiki zhiki, Sakaya sekikat,
radi dar yak rah logorat het:
dar Zizh Takaki..."

Briefly, before looking back up at the two, Vixaya smiled almost nostalgically. The expression disappeared very quickly. "Want human music, human cartoons... for learn."

 

[joshuadim]

Vance offered an 'mhm' at Olivia's last remark as he listened to her explanation regarding the combat advantages and techniques of such systems. There wasn't really much else he could say as this wasn't his field of expertise, but could appreciate the tactical explanations of things that a mech can offer. At least, as much as a straightforward boots-on-the-ground kind of soldier that he has been fighting as the whole time. "I prefer being closer to the surface, in the heat of things. But I can appreciate the kind of firepower and support things like mechs bring to a battle. The right place at the right time... one of these suckers can change the tide of the battle. Or rather, three of them in our case..." Vance commented as he looked at the other mechs that were in the vicinity. "I just hope that it's put to use more against the Blood Corps than absolute strangers in the future."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

In the midst of the conversation, Shelby suddenly held his breath as he noticed Katja pass in the distance, going elsewhere. To the mech bay, maybe. Not a place he would want to follow her. She was bigger than him, anyways, and he needed to make sure when the time came he was more than ready to confront her the right way. Which probably would involve a gun, since that was about all he had.

He almost missed Vixaya speaking up, and he glanced around quickly at her as she began to speak, rather than sing, lyrics to a song from her home. It sounded rather melancholic to him, though a lot about the Kanad struck him that way. He didn't know the language so he couldn't gauge the content - a love song, or maybe something harsh. "I... I can send you some music. And cartoons, too, I think. You know, like, um... Castilian anime, maybe some Sol stuff. Plenty of other good studios out there but I think Castilia does it best." One of the few things they did well at all.

Still rather high-strung, and a little tense, he brought up his terminal and composed a data message for Vixaya, sending one large playlist her way that was predominantly starpop; and, unbeknownst to him, he had sent some of his own music along in the mix. Also attached were a couple first episodes to some anime he liked, most of it low-corporate and devoid of upper entanglements from big executives. Most of the episodes, despite them varying in content, looked hand drawn, like old Earth anime from before the 21st century. He had learned that browsing message boards and by now considered himself an expert on the nuances of animation, despite having no skills himself in that department. At the very least, a number of shows featured his music, so that was cool.

A quick swipe through the shows and he wondered if it was appropriate to send her anything featuring mechs, but since she was a pilot, he figured she would probably find it entertaining. One of the shows was positively ancient, Gundam, it was called, always a popular classic despite going through several remakes. He had seen clips from the original and it was amazing to see how far they had come.

"I sent you some stuff," he said, somewhat timidly, glancing back down the hall as if he was looking for someone. "I don't know if it is to your tastes, or if these are the right type of cartoons, but I have plenty to share."

 

[SniperComZero]

Olivia quirked up an eyebrow towards him. "...I mean. I'd call you a fuckin' masochist for thinking like that. No way in hell I'd get bullets put into my ass just for some knight's honor of pulling the trigger with my bare hands." ...Of course, her altercation with Kalashi earlier on in the day didn't really give her any room to talk.

"...Like I said. Under the assumption this place is mob-run, then I'm hardly gonna lose sleep over it. If they've got any fuckin' competence at all, they're hardly gonna be staffing their big fuck off smuggler base with civvies, like I know the Navy wasn't hiring Joe fresh outta college just to sweep the deck floors. It's either other assholes who we got carte blanche on, or it's... y'know. Indentured." Olivia put her elbows down onto her knees, resting her chin atop her fists. "Still. Miffs me why they wouldn't just send us to blow a hole in the place and take the ship wreckage out of it to toss into a star. Since, y'know, clearly that other criminal dickhead didn't give a shit about civvie casualties. Sending a message. Sheesh. Just buy a fuckin' holoboard to put in front of the thing, y'know?" She had a slight pout before leaning on just one fist, the other hand waving in the air. "Or just sneak a team on to steal it. Y'know, you and that other, fuckin', OID one... though. If ONI were guarding it-- heh. Fuck, that'd be a hell of an interstellar incident."

 

[joshuadim]

"Or just sneak a team on to steal it. Y'know, you and that other, fuckin', OID one... though. If ONI were guarding it-- heh. Fuck, that'd be a hell of an interstellar incident."

Vance was quiet as Olivia's not-so-subtle hatred of SSOID, and people who were at one point associated with it, came back up and grouped him with that agency again. What exactly does she have against me? Or Nat as a matter of fact? he pondered for a moment. Tilting his head slightly he then asked: "I know you probably hate SSOID like any reasonable person should. But I'm not one of them, never was. I might have temporarily worked for them, but I was never a part of their regime. Especially when they lied about most of what they do after thawing me out... and yeah I probably was a fool for wanting to believe them but given my situation..." He stopped for a moment, catching his words before regaining control of his thoughts: "What do you hold against me or Nathalie? Especially after she likely will never see home ever again."

 

[SniperComZero]

Olivia tipped her head in the opposite direction as Vance as she regarded him with a curious expression. "Guess the best way I could sum it up is that you can take the spook outta the agency, but you can't take the agency outta the spook. I'm not the kinda person who likes gettin' friendly with people who look like they keep a fuckin' log book on every time one of their friends talks, eats, and pisses. Same reason I don't like Valk's other kid, wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. And, y'know. My heart bleeds for her not bein' able to see home again, but, and you're a grunt, you'll get me with this. None of us ever do. War fucks with people. Messes with'em 'till what they thought was home is something totally unrecognizable and hostile to 'em when they come back, or 'home' turns 'em right around and lets the door hit'em on the ass on the way out without so much as a hello. There's a reason so many vets end up spouse-beaters, mercs, and suicide statistics. You'n I? We got lied to, same as every other poor fucker that joins up with the SDF thinking they're doing something good, only difference being you got bumped up to spook importance. Her? She joined up with SSOID willingly. 's like a pirate. She knew what she was getting into. If the water was too deep she shouldn't've fuckin' dived into it."

Olivia straightened herself up on the step, reaching into her back pocket for a crumpled packet of cigarettes. Flicking the top open, she had to fiddle with it, taking the baton between two of her fingers, pinching to straighten the thing out. Not that it helped much, but enough that she could at least put the thing between her lips and gnaw on the filter while she lit it. "...'sides. It's not like OID's some thing that operates in a vacuum. Came from somewhere, gets its orders from somewhere." She took a long drag, exhaling over the railing of the maintenance step. "Whole fuckin' system's rotten to the core."

 

[joshuadim]

"The system can be rotten, but people can change. I've seen it countless times where people were on the brink and redeemed themselves. I don't judge them on their worst mistakes, but on their ability to pull themselves out of that hole." Vance replied with a genuine conviction as he straightened himself, "I believe in the best of people, because without that there's no one you can truly trust to stand with you. That's why I trust Nathalie, because she did what was right even when the whole system, the politicians, bureaucrats and everyone in between, was against her and paid the price for it."

 

[Infab]

Several hours passed, as the Guillotine warped from point to point. Avoiding primary shipping lanes and nearing the territories of both the Federation and Sol as it went. They would have to skirt things pretty closely, but eventually they would arrive on the eastern side of the galaxy. Boome was within a few jumps, but they weren't going any further in that direction. Instead, they'd have to skirt up the eastern border of the Federation. The Iostea system, inside which Kalien Station was located. The system itself was rather barren, consisting only of a star, some small insignificant planetoids, and large asteroid belts. Its location, however, was perfect for a black market shipping station to be. Good could be sent there, processed, and sent elsewhere inside or outside the Federation. And it was a small enough system that it could be easily overlooked by others.

Another warp brought the Guillotine directly to the system, and right next to Kalien Station. As soon as the capital ship warped in, fighters were immediately deployed from their launch bays as some of the Guillotine's hull defenses opened up on any defensive structures on the station. Kinetic shots, missiles, and highly focused lasers pelted the structures, piercing and obliterating them before they could spin about to fire on the pirate battleship. And soon, a hostile ship appeared nearby. An Upyri vessel, but bearing a different paint scheme compared to traditional Federation vessels.

"Aratrum-class light cruiser just warped in! Far side of the station!" called out the tactical officer Taenya, looking over her shoulder towards Roku. "Shit. Prep the railgun. I'll move us into position to engage. Keep an eye out for hostile fighters and bombers!" he responded, gripping the controls a bit more tightly as he proceeded to slowly move the Guillotine to a better location. Taenya spun back around, tapping on her screen before speaking into the microphone on her headset. Down in the central section of the vessel, the massive railgun system came to life. The huge machinery which operated the loading mechanism began to move, moving a cone shaped round the size of a small building into position. The pirates inside the Fire Control section of the weapon prepared themselves as well, jumping into their seats and beginning to flip switches to power the rails which would accelerate the projectile.

The Guillotine's engines shifted into full thrust, moving the ship forward while the boosters on the sides of the ship began to turn it. The cruiser, by this point, had already launched fighters and bombers to engage the battleship. They, however, would come under fire from the Guillotine's defensive points as well as from the pirate fighters that had been launched upon arrival. Laser fire, kinetic shots, plasma bolts, and missiles began to dart all around the station, as fighters fought one another alongside the larger ships.

Minutes later, the Guillotine had turned enough to face the light cruiser, whom was now attempting to move out of the battleship's line of fire. But it was a bit too late now. The fire order was given by Taenya, as soon as the Guillotine had the shot. And a moment later, the pirates inside Fire Control pulled the trigger. The projectile exploded out of the bow of the Guillotine, darting through the space between the two large ships at an insane velocity. The shot collided with the cruiser's starboard side, tearing through the cruiser like a nail through wet paper. A massive, violent explosion followed, as the heavily damaged reactor inside the cruiser ruptured. It ripped the cruiser in half, with smaller explosions going off in other parts of the ship's halves.


Elsewhere on the Guillotine, two craft prepared for launch inside of their respective hangar bays. The Mordred, which Valkyrie and the group would be using, and the Claymore, which was the assault craft that the other team of pirates would be using to board the station. The group had been gathered in the Mordred's hangar by the time the battle had started, but managed to hear the railgun being fired after a few minutes. Valk raised an eyebrow, glancing up towards the ceiling of the bay, before looking back to the others who were standing near the Mordred's cargo ramp. "Well, we just shot something." she muttered, "And it better not have been the station."

She slipped a headset onto her head, flipping the mic down and tapping it once. "Alright, here's the game plan." she said. "The Claymore will launch first. They will swing around to the far side of the station, near where Caiden said the station's personal quarters are. They will breach in, and kill any hostiles they encounter. Thin their ranks a bit. Once they let us know that they've secured a foothold, we will launch in the Mordred and swoop into one of the cargo bays. The mechs will be deployed, and we will proceed with this purge."

Nil looked about at the others, smiling. "I spoke to my sister, and managed to change her mind. We don't have to shoot civilians!" he said, cheerfully. Valk nodded. "I've already informed the Claymore's team of that. But if a civilian picks up a weapon, do not hesitate to shoot them."

She then pointed at Katja and Vixaya. "Get your mechs, and bring them here. Katja, you can ride on top of the Mordred when we launch. Vixaya, squat your mech down and you can stick your mech in the Mordred's cargo bay. You'll deploy once we land in the station. Olivia, you'll be on foot with us for now. You'll get the chance to drive your mech when we head after Dazik."

 

[SniperComZero]

Olivia suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at the sentiment. "Yeah, but that sure as hell ain't gonna excuse the worst shit someone's done, 'specially if it's someone who rocked up with some batshit intelligence agency, and they managed to pick all the worst choices consistently." Her head perked up, and she held her hand up. "Hear that? Sounds like we just got to the party." Olivia stood up, reaching up to punch a button on the back of her mech to release the cockpit, kneeling over to allow access. As the rest of the crew filtered into the hangars, Olivia was suiting up into her armored flight suit, and idly finishing loading a couple magazines for her mech's rifle.

Nodding along, helmet at her side, she was ready for a quick, easy job. Right up until-- "Olivia, you'll be on foot with us for now."

That really blew the wind out of Olivia's sails, she was, for lack of a better term, entirely gobsmacked. Why in the fuck is Valk keeping her out of her own mech? Is she just being a petty fucking bitch because of what happened earlier? "Valk-- you can't be fucking serious. My mech's the one out of the lot that's got the best chance of actually clearing the fucking corridors in there and giving backup-- since fuckin' god knows those things ain't gonna fit in the hallways standing."

 

[Infab]

"Valk-- you can't be fucking serious. My mech's the one out of the lot that's got the best chance of actually clearing the fucking corridors in there and giving backup-- since fuckin' god knows those things ain't gonna fit in the hallways standing."

Valk looked to Olivia, frowning a bit, before pointing at the Mordred. "Its an issue of weight and trying to fit it in there. We'll already have Katja's mech on top, and Vixaya's mech in the cargo bay. We'd have to squeeze yours into the bay next to hers. The issue with weight would be next, because that's three fuckin' mechs, each easily weighing a few tons. It's gonna fuck with how the Mordred flies."

She then waved a hand back towards Olivia. "Which means you come with us on foot, or you wait here. Aesha can come back to get you with the Mordred once she drops us off inside the station." she stated, "Your choice."

 

[SniperComZero]

...Oh. There were clearly some mental gymnastics in Olivia's head visibly written across her face at the explanation she was given, looking at the Mordred. Well, it'll be a lot heavier, so there's no air drag... but trying to stop, the inertia... She cleared her throat, looking back at her own mech. "Yeah-- uh. Y'know, I can wait for a pick-up. I guess. Two mechs'll be just fine for securing a hangar for us."

 

[Viper Actual]

"Understood. It should take me no more than a minute or two to process and decrypt the information once you locate all of it."

Nodding, Nathalie approached one of the access points herself. "Let's not waste any time then." She looked at Damien briefly. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

*
​

Dressed in her combat uniform, Nathalie stepped forward which placed her next to Olivia. "Captain," she began, clearing her throat, "Kovak could easily find an opportunity to rendezvous with us aboard the station if she deploys on the Claymore. They could no doubt use the firepower."

Glancing briefly at Olivia, Nathalie straightened up and looked Valkyrie in the eyes. "We need her as much as anyone on the first wave. She's lethal in that mech of hers, just ask anyone she served with- or read her service record like I did."

 

[K0mori]

Vixaya's whole body tensed up at the first sign of trouble, but she kept calm and listened to her instructions. Having been given the order to prep her mech for transport, she answered Valkyrie with a crisp "yakka!" before sprinting toward the C-355. Swiftly climbing the ladder, she pulled herself into the tube-like cockpit on her belly and jammed her key into the ignition port. However, by turning it the opposite direction, she merely engaged partial functionality- just like humans of a bygone era would put their vehicles into accessory mode. Then, she flipped a set of toggle switches which instructed the mech to lower itself to the ground, fold and lock its legs for transport, and deploy wheels.

A few seconds later, when this was accomplished, Vixaya felt the machine bob upward a few inches off the ground as the rubberized wheels pushed out of the bottom of the craft. She then took hold of the control sticks and tilted them, using the left hand as a throttle and the right for her steering, creeping the machine through the hangar at barely 5 mph, its top speed in this configuration, until it hit the Mordred's cargo ramp and began to climb. Although slow, the craft was able to roll itself into the smaller ship without much difficulty, and soon, Vixaya was engaging a safety break and removing her key.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

While a potential argument is brewing around Valkyrie, Olivia, and whoever else might nose in, Typhon fortunately isn't there to take part.. The destruction of a carrier just past one of the hangar windows is much more interesting for him. The little camera built into his helmet captures the moments the railgun blows it in half and the footage is sent to the rest of his brothers in the Lions. Once that's done, he takes one more look at the message Valkyrie sent Drav and him back on Shadespear detailing their orders and their rules of engagement. It seems simple enough; find their target, destroy it, and leave no witnesses of their activities. It's nothing he hasn't done before during his many years of service within the Quds. Having finished reading, he checks his gear one more time before rejoining the others. He's carrying a few first aid kits, and a surgeon's kit too, but only one of them unfortunately as he needed to make space for extra mags and other equipment. Finally, as he does before every mission, he performs a strange ritual by briefly removing his helmet and wiping his face with his hands.

"Men ba a'emal khewd aw ra gurama khewahem dashet." he mumbles before putting his helmet back on.

When that's done, he silently walks back to rejoin the group; being quiet to them as is usual.

 

[Infab]

"Captain," she began, clearing her throat, "Kovak could easily find an opportunity to rendezvous with us aboard the station if she deploys on the Claymore. They could no doubt use the firepower."

Glancing briefly at Olivia, Nathalie straightened up and looked Valkyrie in the eyes. "We need her as much as anyone on the first wave. She's lethal in that mech of hers, just ask anyone she served with- or read her service record like I did."

This time, Caiden spoke up as he adjusted the sling attached to the machine gun in his hands. "The station's crew quarters are too small for her mech. She'd be stuck in whatever room they breach into." he said. "If there's one thing I remember about that place, its the low ceilings in some of the rooms and halls."

Valk glanced to Caiden, before looking to Nathalie. "...And the Claymore can't carry mechs. Only people. Its a heavy gunship. So even if I wanted her to go with the Claymore's group, she couldn't unless she went on foot."

As Valkyrie finished up her statement, a pair of fighters darted by the hangar bay's opening. A pirate fighter chasing what appeared to be a Feddie fighter. It wasn't long after they disappeared from view that one of them exploded. And they would figure out which one as the pirate fighter zipped back by. Valk soon turned her attention to Vixaya, whom had backed her mech into the Mordred's cargo bay, before looking over towards Typhon. As silent as ever. "Change of plans, Typhon. Nonara doesn't want us shooting non-combatants. If they pick up a weapon, though, ventilate them." she said to the doctor.

And soon, she received some comms chatter through her headset. She tapped the side of her headset, and soon the rest of the group was hearing the same thing. "Mordred, this is Claymore. We're headin' out. I'll let ya know when the assault team is inside." Valkyrie's response was prompt. "Copy, Claymore. Tell 'em to watch their asses."

She then pointed to the Mordred. "Load up, boys and girls. We head out as soon as we get the signal."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Change of plans, Typhon. Nonara doesn't want us shooting non-combatants. If they pick up a weapon, though, ventilate them."

Typhon frowns back at Valkyrie at this unexpected change of plans. A change of which he’s certain these newcomers might’ve had something to do with, and he glares at each of them. He thought the point was to not leave anyone alive to tell the Federation that the Reavers were here and blew up their specially classified cargo, but it seems that was just too much for these people. He wonders to himself if this is what it’ll be like any time this pirate crew does pirate things.

“I am assuming she has her own methods to handle any witnesses?” he asks.

 

[Infab]

“I am assuming she has her own methods to handle any witnesses?”

Valk shrugged. "Dunno. She probably does. Nil and Caiden would be the ones to talk to if you want to know. I just know what Nil told me." she responded, as the others began to board the Mordred. Katja soon arrived with her mech, and it wasn't long before other Reavers in the hangar brought over a heavy lift to place the mech on top of the Mordred. Once the magnetic clamps activated, locking the mech's feet to the hull of the Mordred, the lift was moved back out of the way.

The cargo ramp shut, after everyone was aboard, and the Mordred was soon being prepared for action. Olivia, whom had to wait for now, moved back next to her mech and the other Reavers. And soon it was time to go. "Claymore to Mordred. The station's been breached. Assault team has established a foothold. No hostile contacts yet." cracked a voice over the group's comms. "Copy, Claymore. We're heading out now." responded Valk. She glanced down to Aesha, whom nodded and spun back around in her seat.

The Mordred lifted off the hangar bay's floor slowly, as Aesha adjusted to the added weight in the cargo bay and on the hull. It was tricky, but soon she managed to get used to it. And then, the Mordred slipped out of the open hangar bay. Out into the blackness of space.

Debris drifted here and there, bits of fighter craft and the light cruiser hanging around in zero gravity. Fighters still continued to move around the station and Guillotine, keeping an eye out for hostile contacts. It seemed all the defenses of the station had been taken care of, as well as enemy fighters. Eve, sitting at the Mordred's comms terminal, was hard at work. She had hacked into the station's communications before they even left the Mordred, and was scrambling everything she could with a massive flow of data and malware. They wouldn't be able to get anything out through the influx of information that Eve was pouring into them. And she seemed to do it all with relative ease, her fingers flying like lightning across the keyboard before her.

The Claymore floated in place on the far side of the station, the heavy gunship's guns moving to and fro as it also kept an eye on things. It was visible only for a few moments, as the Mordred zipped in towards the open cargo bays of the station. A few moments before breaching the bluish field that covered the bay's entrance, the Claymore's pilot's voice crackled through comms again. "Claymore to Mordred. Assault team has engaged hostiles. Combat drones, mostly white with blue markings. A battlesuit has also been spotted. Watch yourselves coming in."

And immediately after breaching the field, the Mordred came under fire from assault rifles and other weapons. Nestled among the many cargo containers and crates inside the large cargo bay were soldiers and bipedal combat drones, both clad in mostly white armor with blue accents. ONI troopers. "Putting us down in the closest open spot!" called out Aesha, as shots ricocheted off the hull. The Mordred's main guns opened up, firing off bursts of plasma at any troops that they could single out. The ONI Troopers quickly moved into cover, avoiding the large bolts before peeking out and firing more shots at the Mordred.

As soon as the Mordred lowered close to the floor, the ramp dropped. "LET'S GET FUCKIN' ROWDY!" shouted Lauren gleefully, as she barreled down the ramp and vaulted off onto the cargo bay's floor. "Move into cover asap! Vix! Roll that mech out and open up on anything taking shots at us! We need to secure the bay!" barked Valk, quickly following after Lauren.

 

[Viper Actual]

"Understood," replied Nat as Caiden spoke. She followed up with a nod towards Valk before excusing herself, offering Olivia a brief shrug before ascending up the ramp.
Captain's orders was captain's orders- no point in wasting precious time to let potential hostiles dig in. After all, initiative is a precious battlefield commodity.

When Mordred breached the station Nathalie vanished into thin air though even in her cloaked state there was no point in charging down the ramp lest she wanted to get riddled with holes by mistake or through sheer dumb luck.

 

[Breadman]

Before the assault began Amy didn't engage much with the rest of the group. Olivia was about to have another confrontation by the sound of it before backing down. The bounty hunter just rolled her eyes. She was just doing some last minute checks on her gear. Everything seemed fine. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard that certain people won't be targets. Hopefully that will calm down some of the less flexible members as well as her own conscience.

When the action started she stood back. Her place wasn't at the front, but the back. Allowing the others to break through, she maneuvered carefully and took aim at any incoming reinforcements to thin them out.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

It wouldn't be long now before they launched their attack. Shelby had retreated to his cabin to outfit himself with his combat gear, all graciously granted to him from the armory under Drav's permission. This time he had procured an armored bodysuit, tight and formfitting, but with all the necessary padding and protection needed for going into a fight. This wasn't anything at all like the massacre on the station, or the ambush in the hanger bay - this was a premeditated battle he was being thrown into, and he had not the training, desire, or willpower to wade in without ample protection. The suit was pressurized, though there was no airtight helmet with it, just a basic combat helmet and rebreather; the latter of which he tucked onto his belt. The helmet was a must, and he lowered it over his delicate blonde locks with a small wince.

The ship shuddered slightly and he gulped. There was no way out of this now, not unless he pretended to be ill. And then he'd probably get in trouble. He was still feeling the after affects of the cookies.

Gradually, his eyes drifted towards the dark space beneath his cot. There was no way out of this physically speaking, but there were alternatives. You're already fucked up, what is just a little more? Before he realized it, he was on his knees fishing out the black case from beneath the bed. He placed it beside him and stared at it for a moment, his entire body shivering with revulsion and fear. How many times had he seen this same case in the back room before a show? They had never pretended to hide it from him when they sat him down and gave him whatever shot he needed that day. He only had it because he intended to throw the damn thing into space the second he got the chance to do it, but then he settled on just selling it. And yet... here it remained. The poison of his life.

He opened the case, holding his breath, and looked out over the dozen large glass vials within, and the innocuous injection gun looking like a prize shooting pistol, with pearl and silver inlays. Uppers, downers, resuscitation liquids - anything that could be injected and was necessary to keep a performer alive and moving. It had nearly killed him more than once.

Another shudder passed through the ship, and he knew it was now or never. He fumbled with a familiar vial of a lavender colored liquid and poured some into the ready tube of the injector, and snapped the tab closed. A button activated the gun, and a red flashing ring appeared around the mouth of the injector. He almost couldn't bring himself to do it, but he did. The metal was cold against his neck and the injector emitted a tiny beep, flashed green, and a needle shot out into his neck, depositing the highly refined amphetamine derivative. The memories more than the sting caused him to drop the gun, and he stared down in horror at the open case before him for having gone through with it. He didn't want to kill anyone, and he didn't want to get killed. It is the only solution and you know it.

Then, almost as an afterthought and consolation, he grabbed a cookie from his drawer, and ate it.

Grasping his sunglasses, he stuffed them on over his eyes, snatched up his gun, and hurried to catch up with the others. It wouldn't be long now. And maybe, just maybe, by the end of it all he would still be around to deal with Katja.

"LET'S GET FUCKIN' ROWDY!" shouted Lauren gleefully, as she barreled down the ramp and vaulted off onto the cargo bay's floor.

Shelby was smiling to himself from his seat, cradling his submachine gun. He couldn't believe he didn't like helmets before this - he could bounce his head against the back of the seat without feeling anything at all. Lauren was very excited, and that made him excited, too. He could hear everything. People were talking and he was quite certain he could also hear their thoughts, because he could hear voices yet some people's mouths were not moving.

He followed the others down the ramp and almost stopped moving, fascinated at all the flashes of color from around the cargo bay they had landed in. Idly, he realized, they were being shot at, which wasn't very fun, so he scampered over to a place to get behind and sat down. He remembered he was holding a gun, so he poked it around the corner towards the bad guys they were here to kill - all of them, something like that - and he yelped with glee as the gun vibrated in his arms with an explosion of light. The vibration more than anything made him calm and excited all at once.

He wanted more, and more, and more - so he kept shooting. And a full, pristine white smile never once left his face.

 

[K0mori]

"Move into cover asap! Vix! Roll that mech out and open up on anything taking shots at us! We need to secure the bay!"

Vixaya had been inside the cockpit of the C-355, waiting for this command. As soon as the cargo ramp touched the floor, she turned the key to the opposite side to fully activate her machine. Her last thoughts were a brief annoyance at this subpar deployment method- going into battle from transport mode was reckless and stupid, but drawing fire toward herself for a moment or two until her mech could stand up would at least help protect her comrades...

And then, nothing. Her mind was an empty room, protected from thoughts and feelings as her hands went to work controlling the machine around her. The cockpit cradled her dormant body as the C-355 entered the hangar, keeping her so isolated from the fury of battle that she might as well have been floating in space. Rifle shots pinged off the side of her cockpit, barely audible, like rain falling against a window. It didn't bother her at all.

Her response was completely impersonal.

The C-355 stood up rather quickly, its weapons unlocking and returning fire with heavy machine gun rounds.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Dunno. She probably does. Nil and Caiden would be the ones to talk to if you want to know. I just know what Nil told me."

Typhon shakes his head. 'Didn't think so.'

And just as quietly, he climbs onboard the Mordred and waits to deploy; having checked his gear and equipment already. He gives one last slap to the back of his neck to get his auto-injector ready in case he needs it.

"LET'S GET FUCKIN' ROWDY!"

With such a grand entrance completely destroying any need for stealth, Typhon forgoes his submachine gun for that new Crimus revolver he had bought earlier. He’s seen what kind of damage it can do, especially to himself, so it shouldn’t have any problem penetrating right through whatever armor these troopers are wearing. Wanting to test this theory from the back of the group where hopefully the others will be shot before him, he aims it at the nearest ONI trooper, charges up a shot, and fires away.

 

[SniperComZero]

"She's lethal in that mech of hers, just ask anyone she served with- or read her service record like I did."

She did fucking what? It's pretty hard for Olivia to not look outwardly, and entirely miffed at Nathalie, while the entire team gets their asses up the ramp. Isn't she meant to not be in the OID anymore? How in the fuck does she just get that? Does Sol just hand that kind of shit out for free? Sheesh, it's like she's trying to prove the exact point that she gave to Vance as to why Olivia doesn't like her.

Either way, there's not much for Olivia to do in the meanwhile. She can look over at Katja's mech, and wonder why they're bringing that thing along first, instead of her mech. She can look out the hangars and see... well. Shit. She was under the impression that this place was just some sort of criminal haven that ONI'd only just have taken one hangar for, but those were definitely some Feddie fighters. Though. They could've just gotten 'em off sur-- yeah, they probably actually just bought them surplus from the feddies. She wanted to make sure that she was in prime shape going in, so she reached into one of her flight suit's pockets. Pulling out a prescription bottle, and dumping out one, otherwise inconspicuous white tablet. Stimulant, that, supposedly, helped one keep their focus and wards off fatigue. At this point, Olivia couldn't really tell whether it did work or not, but, the stuff hadn't made her teeth fall out, yet, so it was probably better than whatever hyperdrive hopped up pirate shit she'd get as go-juice around here.

She took the pill in her palm, raising it to her lips and forcing it down with a harsh swallow, a grimace forming over each edge. This was always the worst part, just looking like she was tweaking out for a few seconds-- muscles clenching up and foot incessantly tapping over the ground. One. Two. Three... Exhale. Whoofh. She clenched her fists a couple times, before finally putting the helmet over top her head. Olivia raised her head as the thick rubber webbing inside the helmet shot out, to form a collar that sealed around her neck, and practically merged with the rubber of her pressure suit. Taking a tube from her backpack, and screwing it into the intake port of her mask. All set up, and if she needs to, she can flick a switch to pressurize the thing and keep herself safe from the emptiness of space. Pretty nifty thing, for how simple it is. Only problem ends up being how little protection the thing offers by itself, for how much it hampers mobility. Oh well, not like that'd matter inside the mech. She just hopes she gets a pickup soon, it'll get boring without her there.

...That, and the thing starts to chafe like a bitch if she's standing around too long.

 

[joshuadim]

Vance was about to respond to Olivia before the alert rang through the ship that indicated their arrival and he simply walked off to collect his materials for what was to come. As he put on his combat suit, as tattered as it was, and holstered his ray-gun he took a moment to steel himself. He was about to embark onto a station, with pirates and a ragtag group of survivors, to murder a bunch of people. He hoped by this point there was confirmation that no innocents that would be on board would be hurt as he walked over to the staging area. Thankfully, it was made clear that Nil had actually followed through with talking to Nonara with the promise that no innocent should be harmed by anyone there.

Apart from that, Vance was willing to get his hands dirty against ONI and whatever other nasty elements were aboard the station as he simply unholstered his weapons and activated its charge which made it come alive with a gaseous hiss for a moment as he got himself ready and in position. Once the ramp lowered and Lauren's rowdy call to action was sounded, Vance focused entirely on the task at hand as he moved out from the Mordred's opening and fired on the closest ONI goon as he strafe ran towards the nearest piece of cover available to him.

 

[Frankafurter]

After the bar visit, Katja had taken a nap only to be awoken by the call to arms. She heads down to where the others are and receives her orders. She mounts into her mech and gets the systems warmed up. She hopes this medical injector works when she disconnects, with that she commits to the somatic link, the mech becomes animated in that oddly fluid and natural way like it was a person. She makes her way to the Mordred and mounts up on it using the mag-clamps they installed earlier.

Sure enough, the shit hits the fan as soon as the Mordred departs and arrives in the station. She quickly dismounts and lands on the cargo bay deck with a juddering thud. The first thing she targets is a makeshift support weapon position ONI had managed to sneak in, the coilgun that comprises the entire right arm of the mech emits a thunderous clap of a hypervelocity slug breaking through the air, with just as much visual drama as cobalt sparks and spumes of ionized matter from the slug leaving the barrel belch out from the muzzle. The slug hurtles in the support weapon team's direction. The right arm hums with intense electricity as the capacitors quickly try to recycle back to full charge for the next round while the ammo loader slots another slug into place. She sweeps the twin lasers from the left arm in a raking beam towards a small ONI fireteam in an effort to burn them away. The movements of the mech and the level of accuracy the relic can put out with a human pilot joined to computer aided targeting and tracking is frightening to behold. This combined with the reaction times she's exhibiting with the chassis shows that the UNGSI eggheads who designed it definitely were considering that the mech couldn't be overly cumbersome to use. There's a vent of flames out the top of the mech's left shoulder after a protective hatch pops up to show two tubes, one tube now launching a missile out and the guidance system driving it towards one of the more heavily armored combat drones.

To those witnessing the tear of destruction from Katja, it's probably confusing to them as to how someone like Katja is such rampaging bull in the fight, maybe the somatic link dampens some emotional reactions, maybe she's just a latent psychopath, the answer will likely never be given though. Not without some plying of alcohol at least.