Futuristic Unlit IC

[Gradous13]

Before Otto could even pass the airlock, the sight of the rest of the team was buntly apparent as he hadn't know the true extent of their wounds and injuries. Silas had already lifted Kepler to his feet and helped him towards the med bay. Once they cleared the internal lock Otto found Kestral propped up against the wall. Otto's CLS knowledge kicked in immediately. First off was their helmets which he tossed aside. Otto check to see if she was still breathingn it was faint but noticeable, so he figure she still might be conscious "HEY, Kestrel! Can you hear me?" He said allowed in a raised yet calm voice while checking and broken bones, burns or severe bleeding that the suit might not have stopped. Kestrel's eyes were open for just a second more before she passed out "Ok come on! We're goin!" Otto said as her gently lifted her up and swiftly made his way down to the med bay.

Once below the main deck within the bay, Otto lay Kestrel down onto her side in a recovery position incase her body were to reject any stomach contents, keeping the airway clear until the doc could attend to her.

He had paused for a moment next to the table he had laid her on, making sure that she wouldn't move into a compromising position. Once Otto was satisfied he looked at Silas and Kepler before setting his eyes back to Kestrel for several minutes. He had to... Needed to be sure he had done everything he could for her. Otto took a deep breath and stormed out of the med bay up to the common area.

Quickly he went behind the bar to grab the expensive liquor he had found when he first arrived but set it aside for a cheap vodka. Otto took a glass, filled it half way and downed the drink. A moment passed as his right hand shook the now empty glass. His rage finally shown itself again as he threw the glass at the wall accompanied by a hefty bellow, shattering the silence of the room. Otto moved into his quarters to compose himself, change and then begin his checks on the ship....

 

[Solar Daddy]

Silas had brought Kepler down to the med bay as Otto took Kestrel, hoping to get them into as stable of a condition they could get, although Kestrel was looking pretty bad at this point. He had gotten Kepler to one of the few beds, and quickly helped Otto hook up Kestrel to as many life support systems as they could. She had only passed out, but Silas wasn't allowing anyone else to slip through on their first mission. He grabbed some of the medicine from the duffel bags they stole from the frigate, and after getting a correct dose, offered it to Kepler. He sighed and held his arm to keep from being too visibly anxious. After telling Richmond what had happened and encouraging him that he can get past his hemophobia and work on them, Silas lastly helped to get Kestrel into their emergency health station, which had a sealed compartment with cryogenic abilities, to help keep Kestrel in a stasis where she couldn't get worse.

Richmond had been assisting Adira in piloting during the mission, and once they had gone into FTLT, he had gone back below decks in preparation of his new visitors soon to be with him. He had hastily gotten together another roll and smoked it in anxious waiting. Hopefully the rest of the crew would be too preoccupied to worry about the smell. When they had finally gotten everyone situated (With Richmond getting close to vomiting well over ten times during the process), he had pulled Silas to the side. "Listen, I don't know if I can do this. I'm already feeling like I'm about to pass out, and I doubt you need that to deal with, in addition to everything else."

Silas sighed in response, and said, "I know you're a psychiatrist, not a medic, but right now we need your expertise. I assume you at least know a small amount about these sort of things thanks to your background?"

"Sure, but that doesn't mean I can forget my fear of-"

"Just this once, I promise you won't do it again. So what if you throw up? I'm sure people would rather be fixed than enjoy a nice, clean environment." He tried his best to build Richmond up, although he felt it didn't work too well. Either way, neither of them had a choice, and both of them had a job to do. Once Richmond had verbally agreed (on Silas's request), they went their separate ways, with Richmond attempting to care for the wounded as best he could while Silas went back above decks to check on his pilot.

The trip back felt long, with some chatter between the crew during the hour it took to get back to Madrigal Port. Silas checked over his crew individually before they landed to make sure no one was in any trouble. He had Adira check over his wounds that he couldn't check himself, and by the time they touched down, he was already compiling a list of items they'd need for repair. Once finished with the list, he trusted Otto to get the items, comprising of mostly scrap metal to patch up the holes in the ship with. Silas then went off into the city to retrieve their big payoff from Waning Stars command. It was a quick exchange, with Silas offering the data to the bounty collector and retrieved payment soon after. It was wired to his account instantly, and he thanked the worker before stepping out.

Again on the streets of Madrigal, Silas found himself reminiscing of being with his family as a young adult. He had departed with them at the age of 19, and hadn't contacted them since. He was too busy trying to work on both making himself feel satisfied with his work, and also trying to make enough money to sustain his own farm when he inevitably joins his family's tradition. Madrigal reminded him of the first time his father took him into some other large port city on his home planet. It wasn't classy, but had a type of charm to it - Madrigal was often seen as a scavenger's paradise, since the place was riddled with people who needed work and people willing to give it. This included anything from simple desk jobs, to piloting, to crew work, and even some... less legal activities.

By the time Silas got back to the ship, they had already been stationed in a dock for well over an hour. He had received an interest notice from a contact at the port, and would await this new crew member outside of his docking bay while looking over his ship - yet to be named - for any damage that would require his attention. He found no such repairs needed, but still managed to find some things that could work better if repaired sooner rather than later. He quickly grabbed his gear, brought it out, and began to work on the hull in hopes of increasing performance and reduce the likelihood of randomly exploding in space.

 

[Gradous13]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Mattias looked at his communications and found an address for a drop point.l that he was to go to. He changed out of his maintenance uniform and into dark civilian clothes. He pulled his pistol from it's holster which was still attached to the gear he used during their first mission and tucked it into his waistline on his front left. Matthias also grabbed the three extra magazines he had for the weapon and put them into the pocket of his green field coat a long with his cigarettes and flip lighter before making his way towards the airlock.

Matthias made his way down the ramp, lighting a smoke as he did and pausing for a drag at the bottom "Silas is already off..." he thought as he watched his employer walk away from the dockyard. He too made his way, the opposite way down the street to a rendezvous point marked by those delivering him his combat gear he had used while in the WS Military. The sun had been falling slowly, the gas giant warming his back as he walked, smoking a cigarette every two minutes or so. Matthias was unsure of what would go down aside from the exchange so he was on edge, even more so than he was after the mission. But his mind and his body were ready.

The sun was just above the horizon as he closed in on an abandoned factory just outside the city. Matthias entered through the gate area which was open due to one of the gates being on the ground. "Weber Tooling" was painted in large white lettering on one of the buildings he passed while making his way into the factory center. A black car was parked with a man in a black suit leaned against it. The man pushed off as Matthias approached, three others exited the vehicle as well, they too had black suits but stayed near the car as the first made his way towards Matthias

"Thirteen, good to see you again, brother." the man said with a deep scratchy voice. He met Matthias about twenty meters from the car before stopping about five before Matthias "That is if you are really Thirteen, prove it." "I am him" Matthias replied as he brought his hands to his face. His thumbs pushed upon a set of points under his jaw while his index did so behind his ears. Matthias's face instantly became lifeless before he pulled the mask away, revealing his metal skull. A large number "13" was painted in a bright red above what would be his left eye. "Satisfied? Eleven?" "I am, come, we have what you requested..." Matthias replaced his "face" and followed the Eleven back to the car and kept his distance "But first, I have been ordered to let you know...Actual has forgiven you" Matthias instantly knew what he meant and went for his gun, but Eleven had always been faster, Eleven's body had been designed for accelerated speed and agility, while Matthias, though fast, was built more that of a tank. Three suppressed shots came from Eleven's weapon, the same kind Matthias carried.

Matthias staggered back and fell on his back after tripping on some debris. "FUCKING ASS!" "Oh dont get all fiery, these cant penetrate your armor anyways." "Yeah fuck off, just give me my gear already" Matthias stood to his feet and dusted himself off before he made his way to the car. "Dont tell me you thought the three bullets weren't going to find you? Besides, you yourself have brought he message of forgiveness as well" "I didn't forget, Fifteen got his from me as well as Nineteen" Matthias was handed a large equipment case that had a heavy duty strap to allow easier transport by foot. He opened it and looked everything over quickly before closing it up. "Send my regards to Actual." "Very well, and Otto, no more favors" Matthias replied with a nod and made his way back to the ship...

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia Camden​

‘Heya, pardon, ‘scuse me!’ Lydia dodged past the numerous people milling about the harbour, either ambiently or with purpose like her. Even still, none of them had the same fervor. She had been contacted by a ship captain—honestly, she couldn’t remember what his rank was—about joining their crew, but that was further from her mind. He had also said that there were crew members injured right now who needed attention. At least her first day on the job wouldn’t be idle. And it spared her from a lengthy awkward introduction to her new crew mates. ‘I have to save your friend’s lives right now’ is usually a good excuse not to talk.

She carried a small backpack stuffed to the brim with things. Mostly clothes, but also there was a small box into which her field suit compacted. Also included was a fairly extensive first-aid kit and another, slightly larger box.

Upon arriving at the docks, Lydia set out searching for Silas. She wasn’t sure what he would look like and she was given no name to look for in terms of the ship itself, so she just scoured the dock for the Waning Star’s symbol.

There were quite a few ships that matched that particular description, though. Distaste turned down the corners of Lydia’s mouth before she sighed and hurried down the dock, calling loudly. Agitation and anxiety graced her tone.

‘Looking for… uh… Silas Burns? Hello? Not here? Okay, I’ll just… keep going…’

And keep going she did, until someone responded to the name.

Solar Daddy

 

[Gradous13]

Otto hadn't stopped until he got to the ship where He found that Silas had returned. "So Silas, you holding up well?" Otto asked as he set down the case and sat upon it. He looked around and saw that no one was around, "Cause, to be honest, Im pretty fuckin livid...." Otto mentioned while he lit a cig. "...With what happened, I want to know how you are handling it, I have my ways, bad ways of course....but what about you?"
Silas had been tending to the ship when Otto came up, but heard him approach and waited for Matthias to adress him before turning. "I'm doing alright. Can't say I'm used to the whole captain thing yet. With Ci and all... I just hope the Stars are kind to her." Silas leaned back against the hull, giving a pause. "What's in the case? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"Just dont blame yourself for what happened, that road is self destructive..." Otto looked over at Silas and waved his hands out a bit "Hey, trust me, I'm a professional" Otto chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. He flicked the cigarette butt away from the ship and stretched his legs out. "As for the case, Its the combat armor givin to elite Waning Stars soldiers, It also contains maintenance supplies and some personal items like journals, photos and such."
Silas was impressed with Otto's ability to seemingly shrug anything like this off - it was commendable. "Elite, huh? Did you strip that off a corpse or should we be worried about a mole on the ship?" Silas spoke jokingly, standing up and taking a break from his work.
"Haha, nah, It was issued, I took it with me when they began issuing new equipment, anyways, I'll leave ya to it, got some self maintenance to do and then Ill assess what we need to order for external repairs."

After talking with Silas, Otto took the case into his quarters and opened it. There was quite a lot of inventory aside from the combat suit, old photos, several journals, some books and a couple of self aid medical kits. The two kits where taken out, one was red the other yellow. He brought them down to the med bay in order to repair the damages caused by his old comrade.


In the med bay, Otto took a counter space by the main bulkhead. He began by emptying his pocket. The three magazines, cigarettes and his communicator and lighter were placed in the corner. Otto removed his jacket and placed it on top of his items. He then took his firearm, removed the magazine and cleared the chamber, catching the live round before it hit the floor and pushed it into the magazine. The pistol and it's mag were placed onto the left side of the space he took up.

Otto finally removed the shirt. The synthetic skin which covered his torso and arms looked like it was completely scarred, but that was due to the patch work he had preformed due to the cost of the particular type that was used for him body. Otto opened the yellow case which contained a small injector along with many vials for pain relief. Otto pushed a pressure point on his forearm to reveal the injection point before he loaded one of the vials. The gun made a soft pneumatic sound as it injected the medicine. Otto took a deep breath at the same time as the medicine relaxed his body.

The injector was placed back into it's case. Next was the red case, containing many tools needed for maintenance and repairs. A scalpel, needle nose pliers, tweezers and a specialized glue that helped the skin re-bond to itself and the armor beneath the synthetic layer.

The impacts were in a tight group so that was convenient. Otto took the scalpel and cut into the false flesh, cutting a two by two inch box around the bullets. He used the tweezers to pull back the layer has he continued to cut it away from the armor plate. Once the square of skin was removed, Otto took the pliers and pulled off the mushroomed bullets from his chest. They gave little to no resistance. Now all that was left was to form the entry holes closed and use the glue to seal and reapply the synthetic skin back into place. Afterwards he would make his way to assess the damage the ship had taken.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira was leaving the ship just after Otto returned. She wore her usual jacket that would combine with her pants and boots to form a suit. It wasn't just a space suit, but also provided some resistance to certain forms of damage which, with Adira being Adira, came in handy. On her way out, she called to Silas, "Remember, you owe us all a drink, Sideburns." She smiled wryly as she walked down the dock. Him calling her to get drinks meant she would have to come back this way at some point... Meaning she couldn't get into too much trouble. Maybe, instead of getting into trouble, she could buy someing nice, for once? Something for her barren room?

Adira chuckled quietly at the very idea. Her, the infamous former Captain Rik with something nice, or even more unlikely, something pretty in her quarters. What a strange, unlikely idea, no matter how very... Nice that thought was. She caught herself frowning a bit. Why did that idea seem so nice, when she wouldn't have considered it a month ago? And if that idea was so nice, why didn't she buy something pretty?

As quickly as that thought appeared, she dismissed it. She neither needed nor deserved something nice in her quarters.

Her reverie was broken by hearing a woman's voice calling for Silas Burns. Adira glanced around, and quickly spotted the young woman in question. She nodded her head to the ship she had just left and said, "Burns owns that one, he's working on it right now, too. See him? The guy with the big beard, that's the one." Adira allowed herself to glance over Lydia. The medic seemed capable enough. "I assume you're our new doctor. They'll be quite thankful to have you right now. Also, make sure you check Burns for that wound on his arm, okay? It's bad but he'll try to hide it," Adira said, then resumed walking away.

Spazzycat101

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia Camden​

As she wandered, someone interrupted her. She directed Lydia to the ship and person she was searching for.

‘Oh, excellent! Not that—not that people are hurt, but that—but that… I think you probably get—I’ll just, I’ll just go.’ Between her stammering and the speed of her talking, it was almost entirely impossible that what she was saying was understandable. But that didn’t matter, because there were people in need of medical attention, and now she didn’t have to wander aimlessly to find them. Lydia thanked the woman‘s back and then picked up her pace toward the ship. Upon arriving, she noticed the person who could only be Silas, based on what she knew. He was working to either repair or improve the hull of the ship.
‘Hello-okay, hold on,’ Lydia’s shift from the semi-formal tone of ‘hello, I’m your new doctor!’ to a more reprimanding one was visibly jarring. ‘I don’t mean to be pushy or insubordinate, or whatever you would call it, but an injured person should not be doing manual labor. Unless it was cleared by a doctor. But I just got here, so I feel like that’s a little unrealistic.’ She paused for a long moment before picking her words back up at the same near-light-speed pace. ‘I’m gonna go treat the people inside, but, uh, stop with that for the moment until I can fix you up too. Please. Doctors orders! I guess.’ She paused again. ‘Anyway! Anyway, where in the ship is your medbay?’

Solar Daddy

 

[Solar Daddy]

Silas turned to face the girl who had approached him. He had figured she was the new medic the second he spotted her, and waited patiently to hear the end of what she had to say. He could tell she was tripping over her words, and didn't want to make it worse for her. When Lydia was done talking, Silas said, "Nice to meet you too." With a hearty chuckle. "I'm Silas Burns - and I'm assuming you've already run into Adira Rik, our pilot. It's good to have someone with your skill set." Silas set down his torch to comply with what she had said about his wound, but was planning on picking it right back up when he was done giving Lydia a tour of the ship. He ascended the ladder/steps, entered the open doors of the airlock and guided Lydia down the hall of bedrooms. On the way, he stopped at Ci's room and mentioned it was now hers. He didn't linger though, and went past the hub, down the flight of stairs that led into the engine room/cargo space. After continuing down the corridor from the direction they came on the sub level, they went through a set of airtight doors - leading into the medbay.

"Here we are. It's detachable, making for a very nifty evacuation pod. We just stocked up on supplies and medicine, so everything you need should be here. If not, send me a list of what we don't have and I'll get it for us on the next run. Kestrel is in stasis right now, so you can work on her when you have the time. Kepler might need some help though. The robot looking guy. Let me know if you need help finding things or people." He turned to leave the medbay, but stopped, and gave Lydia one last comment. "Welcome to... Uh, damn, I still don't have a ship name. Uh... Welcome to the Ambivalence, Lydia." He said, smirking a bit to himself as he went off to find his spray paint.

On the way, he ran into Richmond exiting his room. Silas greeted the psychiatrist happily, excited about his new medic and name for his ship, even if it might be temporary. Silas invited Richmond to go along with him on a quick venture, seeing as he was pale and in need of some kind of human interaction. He made sure not to force Richmond, but imply he should come with. Silas stopped off in his room, dug out his old equipment, and got the cans he was looking for. He excitedly exited with Richmond, attached a rig to the top of the ship, and rappelled along the ships hull to write in hastily written letters - THE AMBIVALENCE.

When Silas had finished, he admired his work from a distance alongside Richmond, but not for long. He soon went inside the ship, hailed his team back on the Ambivalence, and they soon got underway to their next destination. He had gathered everyone into the Hub again, with some on the couch, others standing, and some enjoying the new stock of food they had managed to buy with Silas' cut of the profits from their last outing. His arm was wrapped in bandages thanks to the aid of their new medic, although he still planned on being a part of their next mission despite it.

Once everyone was quiet, Silas began his briefing. "Hello all - I welcome you back into the presence of hard working humans. We... Took a pretty big hit with that last job, but we have no worries - The outstanding man I am, confiscated some of that sensitive Icarus data we stole, and I skimmed over it a bit with some of Kepler's help. I've got us a new destination with some promising results. So! Welcome to Operation: Planet Cracker. Or at least, that's what I'm calling it. See, our friends over at Icarus are off at Kilo with some expensive mining equipment - planet cracker class. As we all know, planet crackers are illegal on settled worlds. So, what we're going to do is attempt to get the biggest payoff possible. We're going to go down to The Spec on Kilo, steal some of their refined metals, and make our way out without a problem. Then, we report the illegal mining to Waning Stars, get paid from that as well - and it'll be like we did two missions in the time of one." Silas put his hands on his hips and grinned, admiring his own intellect. "This is going to require charisma, and the ability to go with the flow and hide. We cannot be spotted while we're down there, or we'll have an entire fleet on our asses. This also means we're not bringing in any weapons except something that is easily hidden, such as knives and pistols - exclusively energy based, as they're much quieter than kinetic. We'll get there in about four hours, so make sure you're packed and ready to head out by then. See me with any questions." Silas took a pause, before continuing.

"We have a few new members of our team, I'm sure a few of you have already gotten acquainted with our new medic, Lydia. She'll be taking care of any medical emergencies and the like, such as monitoring Kestrel in her state and keeping everyone mostly alive. Our other new member isn't quite human, and sort of a last second addition - D-A1, or, Dai, as she likes to be called. We can always use an extra gun, and her capabilities with logistics and computers can help Kepler a bit, so I assume you two will end up collaborating every now and then. Oh, and one last thing before you all go - I just wired the cuts of the last job to everyone's accounts. You'll have enough ZF to last you a month, easily. And as a last celebratory announcement, I have personally set aside some money to pay for a round of drinks whenever we all get the chance to go out - possibly after this job. Enjoy the beauty of Porphyrion, everyone. Dismissed!"

 

[Vudukudu]

Kepler had largely handled his own injury. It had been relatively shallow and merely a flesh wound, so a regimen of stolen painkillers and regular cleaning had sufficed. It'd inhibit him slightly for the next few days, but he had ways to make up for it. He'd spent most of his time since they jumped out jacked into the bridge's computer station, lying in a near comatose state as his mind danced among the data. He'd been careful to mask his sifting and searching, as, after all, files typically had markers for their access dates. Editing them retroactively was child's play, but a step he had to take nonetheless. With his work for Silas done, he turned towards more personal pursuits.

It took some time to thoroughly prepare, but he was familiar with the process by now and had streamlined it somewhat. To keep it untraceable, and secret even from his crew, he bounced the signal a few hundred thousand times, both as a security measure and as a way to further engage with the Machine God. When he finally reached his destination, he found himself viewing a plain white field. At any given time, hundreds of thousands of digital personas, each of them a red robed robot of slim build, knelt prostrate in rows and columns, stretching beyond his field of view. Looming in the distance, floating at the edge of the horizon, was a massive black cube, each of its faces carved with an infinitesimally small maze of green lines. The Machine God was further than it had been last time. In their endless search to discover the Spark's resting place, its home machine, its followers took many twists and turns. Their combined processing power, borne of the weak flesh, often made such errors. Still, the Triangulation must continue.

Joining the procession, Kepler's persona shimmers and vibrates as it moves towards the front of the crowd. Here, he is more than a wandering computer expert. Here, he is of considerable rank and authority. As a rather mobile member of the congregation, he has contributed a vast quantity of data, and as such, has earned his place towards the front. Before reaching it, however, he is interrupted by the call to Silas' briefing and disconnects, sending his consciousness hurtling through the void and back to his body. Shuffling somewhat unsteadily to join the rest of the crew in the Hub, Kepler takes his place in a corner of the room, arms folded in the sleeves of his robes as he listens. It is a worrisome description, and one that leaves him rather concerned for their well-being, but it is not his place to argue.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira came back to the ship with a bag in her hand and dropped it in her room before going to the meeting. She listened to the speech, and couldn't help but think about how risky this new mission was. Sure, it could have a huge payoff, but it could also be lethal. But then again, all of their jobs had that risk. This one just made it more apparent. Not to mention, maybe sticking it to Icarus would be pretty cathartic, considering Adira had her own issues with them, especially in the very recent wake of a death of their crewmate.

The new crew members were of distinct interest. An AI was an interesting member because, well... They weren't common, especially not a rogue one that didn't have a master. These kind of robots were expensive, and they didn't just run off on their own to join a ship like theirs. Hopefully, the AI's old owner wouldnt come looking for her.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia Camden​

Considering she had been organizing and reorganizing what little supplies there was in the medbay and checking on Kestral’s condition with a frequency just short of paranoia, Lydia was nearby enough that she was the first to arrive for the next mission’s briefing. As Kepler entered, she shot him a glare; she was bitter that he had insisted upon treating his own wounds. Lydia would have fought him over it if he didn’t have wounds that could be worsened.

At the mention of the ‘last mission’s loss’ she deflated a bit. Though she hadn’t been there at the time, Lydia still felt like the death was on her shoulders.
But there would not be another, she silently insisted. Not while she’s around.
When Silas elaborated upon their next mission, Lydia realized that keeping to that resolve would require much more active effort than she had anticipated. Because a mission like that could certainly be lethal, even if every crew members’ want for self-preservation was fully functioning.

Lydia did not enjoy the beauty of Porphyrion. Rather, she spent her time checking up on Kestrel, packing her first-aid kit. Next was making sure her little med-aid bot that unpacked from the box in her backpack was working as smoothly as it could, and doing the same for her prosthesis. Lydia wasn’t expecting any problems, and there weren’t. She patted the bot and folded it back up into its box.

 

[IrishFire]

Dai's eyes scanned the room as she listened to her new master give out instructions to the rest of the crew, cross referencing each individual within her database in an effort to put names to faces. A few turned up with limited results, but the crew's identities seemed to mostly under wraps. It quickly became apparent why when the captain began to give out details of their next mission, as well as the mention of 'heavy loss' in the crew's previous mission. As Silas wrapped up his announcements to the group Dai soon found herself alone in the room as the others had filtered out, to their personal quarters or various parts of the ship.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: ASSIST CAPTAIN SILAS.

But the captain had whisked away before she could ask him what her next task was, leaving her to wander aimlessly until she had found her way to what she assumed was the ships technology wing. The bright screen lit up as she neared the computer station, running her hands over the keys before sitting in the chair. 'If I am to assist the captain and crew to the utmost of my ability it would be imperative to log the ships information into my own database.' Dai settled back into her seat and stretched both hands over the keys. Her eyes glazed over as her hands shifted apart, small wires spreading out from the cracks and into the keyboard. All of the files stored within the computer flashed across the screen at a rapid pace. Dai's eyelids flickered as the upload ended after a minute and half, her eyes and hands returning to their normal state. 'Ships log upload completed successfully.' Now all that was left was to await further instructions from the captain.

 

[Gradous13]

Matthias walked into the common area, he noticed two new members. He composed himself, stood in the back and would listened intently to the mission briefing

A stealth mission with a big payout while fucking around with Icarus ops, right up his alley. It was, for the most part fine by him as long as they infiltrated at night but he wasn't happy about not being able to use kinetic weapons. Sure they made noise even when suppressed, but they don't emit light like energy weapons, and that's why he didn't use energy, as a persons is liable to second guess what they heard in the middle of the night. However, he was fine with getting close and personal with a knife even if his hand to hand was lacking.

"Yes I have questions, will we be infiltrating at night fall and will we split into groups? How are we going to extract said metals quietly? Also, one suggestion, we should have someone scout ahead by maybe a half hour just to get eyes on and report activities before the main group arrives."

Lydia and Dai were also introduced, to which Otto was pleased to see a doc with medical training and high motivation, while Dai intrigued him, she, being an Android that wasn't violent in general was exceptionally rare to him. That being said he would be wary of her."

When the briefing ended Otto quickly returned to his quarters, leaving the door slightly open and began a full inspection of his reacquired armor and cleaning of his weapons. Neo-psychedelic rock with dark undertones played in the background but only loud enough to fill his room. He sat back in the chair with his feet up on the small desk meticulously looking over every piece that made up his armour, writing down everything he noticed...

 

[Solar Daddy]

Silas turned his attention to Otto and his questions. "Kilo is face locked to Porphyrion, and the place that Icarus is ripping open is on the border between day and night. It should be dark enough to be able to get around mostly unnoticed." He said, leaning back against the wall. "From what I read in the document, it seems like someone's found some high value metal, and Icarus wants to see if they can find more of it. Right now there shouldn't be too much to offload from the mining area - maybe a few cart fulls. That being said though, if this metal is worth Icarus to risk interplanetary relations at even a hint of it being there - I think it's worth checking out. We take what we find, return the ship, and attempt to enter FTLT in orbit. We'll most likely have to split up to try and slip past the security." Silas brought out his datapad and tapped away, until he managed to pull up a map of the planet on the large display in the hub. Silas zoomed in on a spot near the northern pole, then pointed to an area between the daylight boundary.

"Here's where it's taking place, it's a mountainous region for Kilo, since most of it is barren desert. This is good, since it means we might have a few dark places to hide the Ambivalence. Adira and I will coordinate an exact landing spot on the way there. Dai, Kepler, I want you two to see what you can do about any cameras or lights they might have posted up, maybe there'll be a control center for them. Otto and I will scout ahead before the mission starts, see if we can find some points of interest. When we get back, Otto, I want you to pair up with Lydia, I need you two finding and clearing any stray patrol groups, and marking the ones that are too large for you to take out. We want a clear way back. Lastly, Adira and I are going to find the best path for carting the materials back to the ship. For now, Richmond will stay with the ship and report back to us the status of everything there. Let's get this done people."

Once they approached the destination, Adira had them set down in a region shaded by the tall arching crags that stuck up from the ground like sharp knives. She had landed them using her precision skill, which luckily got them out of view in a heartbeat once they got into orbit. They had waited a moment to see if any of the frigates had spotted them, but it seemed they were in the clear. Silas prepared for the scouting mission, grabbing an energy sidearm and, for once, ditching the heavy armor he liked to protect himself with. He was in rather plain clothing, with a simple harness over his chest to carry a few trinkets he might need during the mission. Once he had everything he needed, Silas went out to the airlock and awaited Matthias, fumbling with the gears and parts he kept in his pocket at all times. Out the window, he could see the large dug up areas where the planet crackers had begun their mass mining, leaving huge elevation differences between city-sized chunks of rock. It was mostly dark, with only the peaks of the crags and the mountainous discarded mining waste sticking up into the light. Above the surface were clearly visible ships, mining away from orbit in search of the precious metal. In addition, there were also plenty of Icarus frigates, just like the one the crew had been on in the previous mission.

When Otto was prepared, the two of them exited the airlock and stepped into the hot dusk air. Even with the sun perpetually setting, it was still blazing. Silas held out his energy pistol and sweeped quickly around, before stepping down onto the sand and rock. "Alright, let's find a tall place and see what we can get a look at." Silas scoured the landscape, before pointing off to a fairly close crag of rock sticking from the ground like a small, steep mountain. "That looks like a good place to start. We'll have to get out of the shade but we'll be able to see everything for miles."

Otto dawned his combat suit and armor, did a few checks with his HUD and imaging options. He attached the helmet to his armor. Satisfied he walked to the armory and chose a mid weight rifle and a decent amount of ammo. Otto kept his pistol, mainly for a hold out weapon, but attached the supressor and loaded subsonic ammunition.

Silas had been waiting for him at the air lock. The two exited the ship into the AO. With his weapon at the ready he scanned opposite of the area Silas looked at. Silas pointed out a possible OP to which Otto studied the area the would go through "looks like there is a lot of cover out there, Im wondering if Icarus thought ahead for once and put defenses out here" Otto wasn't sure why Silas took only a pistol but it was his choice, however his lack of armor was a concern for him so he took point as his armor wasn't really a factor in his mobility and capabilities. Otto turned to Silas, "Im ready" he said and slid his helmet over his head, the eye lenses flared red and then green before turning black.

Silas nodded to Otto, and proceeded through the darkness with him towards their destination. On the way, plenty of ships flew by overhead, and loud mining equipment rumbled through the hills like tiny earthquakes. They climbed the rocky terrain towards their destination, which only took half an hour to reach. They wouldn't stay long, they just needed to survey. Once they reached the summit, Silas crouched down to avoid being seen, and eventually went prone, bringing out a set of binocs. He scoured the landscape, where they could easily see sparsely settled land with only a few buildings here and there. Silas made note to Otto about a building with a large antenna that soared into the sky, with a beacon on top. "That's gotta be comms, and where security is housed. Off to the Southwest." He also spotted a larger ship that had docked to the Northwest, and pointed out to Otto. "That's gotta be the ship they're loading cargo into."

Otto observed everything Silas pointed out. He moved his left hands finger's in a way that allowed his hud to zoom in up to six times. Otto looked towards the comms tower "Security seems to be on the lighter side, however that's subject to change. See those metal boxes scattered around? They could be either sensors, static sentries or just ventilators, it's hard to say but with interplanetary regulations it would be very difficult for Icarus to ship such sentries or sensors to a neutral area within the system, even if war ships are permitted." He commented before turning his attention towards the cargo ship "That area has far more personnel, that must be why the tower has such fewer numbers. I also dont think that cargo ship is a disguised frigate, similar size but with the amount of escorts flying around I doubt it, still, it might be wise to send a scan to Kepler, he might see something we can't."

"Good idea, keep your eyes open for any kind of mass movement from the troops, or activity from the ships up above." Silas pulled out his datapad, and tapped away before holding it up, still low to the ground, and made a quick FLIR scan and then an image processor to quickly identify objects of interest on the field. After a short time, the image came back with small blips that indicated a few things - the ship was Forger class, marking a single class under the Halcyon cruiser they had been on previously. "It looks like most of the weapons were swapped out for increased cargo space. Icarus must've converted it entirely for this purpose." He sighed. "I'm still worried about the orbital ships above us... Hm, when you and Lydia head out, get close to that ship and see if you can pick up any radio chatter. I want to make sure they're not taking off soon. They could potentially have a new batch of that unknown precious metal on board, and we want it. I sent the images and data to Kepler, I hope he can analyse it by the time we get back." Silas stowed away his datapad and slowly crept backward, before making his way down the sloped surface with Otto.

When they returned, Silas announced to the crew, "Alright team, the path to the Southwest looks the most clear. I believe that area to be the security station, the lone building with the comm tower outside. You can't miss it - Kep, that's you and your squads goal. If you can't find a way to turn those cameras into our favor, stop all communication with the ground team and meet back up with us on the ship. Gather what data you can. Lydia and Otto can head right for the ship, and see if you can find a manifest of the things on board. Report it back to me when you've got more information. Adira, and I will be in touch if you need us."

 

[Epiphany]

By the time the briefing broke, Kestrel was awake.

She'd sustained some mild internal injuries from that missile proximity explosion but simply hadn't woken up until this point. Medical examination and the bay's limited sensor suite were sufficient, coupled with her own brought-aboard medical history, to pinpoint the problem lay with her implant. Kestrel looked normal enough on the outside, appearing as little more than a rather fit, athletic and reasonably attractive blonde. On the inside, though, were millions of miniaturized iron carbon composite alloy rods threaded through every nerve. To a doctor, the rods and their linked micro conductors suggested an impossibly complicated parallel nervous system that augmented or possibly replaced the original.

Only the explosion had knocked it off-line. And given it was alien technology, made by an unknown species more than a century gone, trying to troubleshoot it was risky at best.

Fortunately, the implant had troubleshot its own situation and rebooted after the impact damage it'd sustained was repaired. Kestrel simply woke from her coma, dimly aware she'd been in an explosion and quickly realizing how much time had passed. By the time Lydia returned to the medical bay, she'd catch Kestrel out of her patient robe and half-dressed. If the doctor insisted on further examination, the blonde soldier grudgingly complied but otherwise reported being fine for returning to duty, sending a message to the Captain with words to that effect in fact.

"I'll say this, Dr. Camden" she said to Lydia, smiling once introductions were made. "You're a damn sight easier on the eyes than Dr. Richmond. Now, let's get me back into action so I can earn my keep aboard this ship."

 

[Vudukudu]

Upon learning that an android has joined the crew, and that he will be expected to work with it, Kepler is anything but pleased. Fortunately, he's not the most outwardly expressive, and keeps it to himself. The followers of the Spark love most machinery, the more complicated the better. Androids, a bastard facsimile of life, do not receive equal appreciation. To him, it is a corruption of all things the Machine God represents - efficiency, quality of design, elegance. This.. thing, before him, is a cruel mockery of human life, possessing all the structural weaknesses of a biped and the programming flaws which come with pretending a mind of circuits should emulate one of flesh. He could not fault the thing called Dai, but he could fault its creator for his sin.

Still, he keeps quiet on the subject and does nothing more than add several more layers of security to his own information on the bridge computer. He was already resentful that it had dared interface with his work space without his permit, but fortunately it could not commune and enter the Triangulation, where its presence would be disruptive. Such a connection required organic systems, a decision he had always questioned before but found especially wise given the current circumstances.

With his private work done, he decoupled from the computer station and returned to preparing for the mission ahead. If they were striking at night and his foes weren't equipped with appropriate night-vision, they'd likely rely on energy weapons. In the dark, distance was harder to gauge and solid projectiles had some drop as well as less illumination than the flash of an energy bolt. He was glad to not be restricted to the clumsy space suit of last mission, and instead donned his crimson robe and affixed a shield generator belt to his waist. Arming himself with his needle pistol, he wrapped up by connecting a commlink directly to his interface port.

When Silas gave orders, Kepler gave little more than a brief nod. "Understood. Preliminary analysis of the target freighter indicates substantial exterior modification that suggests a similar level of interior modification. This unit initially suspected it was lacking weapons, but comparative study of a baseline model suggests a false engine has been added to the rear section. If my study of pirate tactics is correct, the second lowest stern engine actually houses a missile tube bearing a nuclear warhead to deal with pursuers. Without a full-spectrum scan this unit cannot ascertain further noteworthy features." He explained, throwing up a holographic image of the typical Forger model in comparison to one he'd thrown together quickly based on the picture, highlighting the few things he considered anomalous. "As far as other information, it appears they have constructed a half-dozen anti-infantry sentries along the compound, judging by their height and positioning, as well as a few anti-air turrets and floodlights. At least, if designing their security was in this unit's hands, it is how I would have done it."

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia Camden​

As she went over things after the briefing, equipment, personal wellness check and all, Lydia was much more tense than usual. That tension all but sprung when she found Kestrel up and walking. The doctor had struggled to manage what would have been an explosion of anxious worry.

As politely as she could she urged Kestrel to please stop, please do not do anything strenuous. Kestrel, please. There was very little straightforward about Kestrel’s medical history, and even with all that was provided it was still fairly difficult to understand. But recovery from an explosion, thought Lydia didn’t know the magnitude of this one, was a tricky process with any creature made of flesh. Considering that, Lydia did oblige to perform a quick but more thorough examination of Kestrel’s wounds with her begrudging agreement.

‘Absolutely not, you’re not going on this mission. Not at all, nope nope nope!’ Lydia gently tugged the back of the collar of Kestrel’s hospital gown in the direction of the bed. ‘I appreciate the compliment, but no. If I had more of say, then nobody would be going on this mission. So you are not.’ Lydia packed up the medbay materials as she spoke. ‘It’s life-threatening enough to all those who aren’t injured, so no. Next mission, perhaps, because it’ll probably be less dangerous and you’ll most certainly have healed by then. But not this one.’

Lydia sighed heavily as she finished putting away the medical supplies.

‘I don’t know anyone here very well yet. I do know that Silas is stupidly stubborn when it comes to following a doctor’s orders, nd Adira seems similar.’ Lydia’s tone was scathing for just a moment, before it turned dark. ‘But my point is I don’t know you well enough to tell whether or not you’ll entirely disregard what I just told you and try and sneak onto the mission anyway. I really, really hope you aren’t. Because people stubborn like that are just that much more difficult to keep alive, and I have every intention of keeping everyone alive.’ Rather suddenly, Lydia’s demeanor flipped like a switch. ‘Anyway! Good news, you’re fine to go roaming around as soon as we leave for the mission, just don’t do anything like, like lifting heavy objects, I guess. Go out of your way not to hurt yourself, please.’

In her quarters for her final preparations for the mission, Lydia donned her field suit and listened intently to Kepler’s analysis of the ship while again reorganizing the contents of her first-aid kit. When she ran out of things to order and categorize, she began collecting every little thing that had altered the space into a pile. It was not much at all.

When the time called, she was ready to leave at the ship’s exit. Anxious and pale-faced, but ready.

 

[Epiphany]

Spazzycat101
Plainly annoyed at being grounded, Kestrel nonetheless went along dutifully with the doctor's examination. She hopped back on the medical bay table and stripped right back out of her suit that she'd been halfway into. Yielding to the doctor's medical exam, Kestrel winced at a few sore places but otherwise evidenced little to no pain. And, indeed, a few days of coma had given the bruising and battering she'd received in the explosion a chance to heal. Internal organs were harder to see and riskier but the presumed advanced technology available could confirm she didn't have any real internal injuries.

"So, if you had your say, no one would be going on this mission," Kestrel said, repeating Lydia's words back to her, making conversation to give herself something to do. "Is it that dangerous then? Silas and Adira seem the level-headed sorts, especially Silas. Hard to imagine he'd pick out a job he knew would get us all killed."

Kestrel chuckled then at Lydia's familiar complaint. "Everyone in space tends to be stupidly stubborn when it comes to sticking to their job. At least, everyone off of a Crusader-class generation ship. Where I come from, you listen to the doctors because that's their role. And they listen to me when it comes to security matters. We each have our role to play and whoever's authority has precedent in a situation is the one that gets listened to. Sadly, yours trumps mine even back on my homeship, especially pre-mission, so fair enough."

Once Lydia released her, Kestrel once more changed for her more formal ship-duty bodysuit. While she dressed, she looked over the doctor and frowned a little. "So, you're going out there too? Be safe, Doctor. If it's really that dangerous, keep yourself alive too. We need you. Besides, even in a galaxy as large as this, there's a shortage of blondes with that hair color." Kestrel winked at Lydia and then left the other woman to get ready.

Solar Daddy Dragongal
Once released from the medical bay, Kestrel made her way up to the bridge to find whoever intended to stay behind. Presumably finding Silas and Adira there, Kestrel cleared her throat and said "Hey boss. Captain. Nice to see you both. Sorry about what happened back there. I should have zigged instead of zagged, I guess. I hear we have a new mission up. Doctor's confined me to the ship, though. Mind if I take over tactical or something, so I could do something useful since I'm stuck here?"

 

[Dragongal]

Working as a scout would be easy enough for Adira, it was right up her alley. Her only question was if Silas could keep up. Adira's suit was already damage-resistant, and with a bullet-proof vest under it, it was as good as light armor to her. Her gun was silent and she was a pretty damn good shot. But the question was if Silas could keep up with her. Adira was used to the occasional sneaky dealings, and she was slender enough to be able to get through some tight spots if need be, even with her suit and kevlar. Silas was a pretty big guy, though. In the end, Adira decided that she'd just have to be extra prepared to cover them.

Adira looked up at Kestrel and smiled slightly. It was good to see their fighter back in good health. Evidently, their new doctor was pretty good at her job. "No need to apologize, I'm just happy that you're okay. As to your position in the next job...." Adira looked over to Silas. It would be useful to have Kestrel back in the fight, but if she was hurt, then it would be amoral to send her out. Not to mention, why risk someone as skilled as her when the doctor herself banned her from being part of this mission.

At the same time, Kestrel was a highly trained fighter, and probably knew her limits well. Adira slowly said, "Maybe you can go with Otto and Lydia, if you really are certain that you're up to it." Adira just prayed that she wouldn't be given reason to regret this. Their mission would take them right into dangerous territory. Speaking of, she and Silas needed to get going for their part of the mission, which was scouting out the route that woul dbe best for getting materials back to their ship.

 

[Solar Daddy]

Silas had pondered what was asked of him. From what he knew of Kestrel, she seemed the type to know what she could and couldn't do. He hoped his intuition was right, as the next thing he said was, "You'll pair up with Otto, so Lydia can keep a eye on you. Try not to overdo it, we're going to need you for the next job too." Silas updated everyone's HUD, putting Kestrel in the tab with Otto and Lydia. "Alright, you're in their comm channel. Make me proud, people. Let's get going!" Silas adjusted his rig a bit and made sure he had everything before exiting the hatch once more with Adira by his side. They instantly began their trek towards the large ship in the distance, hoping to find some sort of easy pathway for them to take whatever materials they got through. Climbing up a small incline then squeezing through a crevasse, Silas spoke, "I sure hope these guys aren't cheap and went with the hover carriers rather than the wheeled types. This'll be a real pain if we have to cart those things wheel barrow style through all this." One the other side of the crevasse, after testing out the stability of the ground, he stepped out and walked along the lit pathway, only about a half meter wide along a large sinkhole, roughly a kilometer in diameter. He tried not to move to fast, and stayed as crouched and hidden as possible in hopes of not being seen by anyone. He glided along the coast of the sinkhole for a while longer, before finally reaching a level area where they could go downhill and get out of the sunlight. "This is looking pretty flat and straightforward, we can probably get those materials pretty far if this stretches on a few more kilometers to the ship."

 

[Epiphany]

Tough spot to be caught in. On one hand, a doctor was a doctor. Even a Cavanaugh should follow their orders. It was their role on the ship, after all. But then, this wasn't the Mutter's Spiral. And while the doctor's expertise normally trumped her own, Kestrel suspected her augmentation had been the real issue with her unconsciousness and no one knew much about that, except the missing aliens who'd put it in her.

Experimentally, she stretched, went through several demonstrative katas for close quarter defense and hopped on the balls of her feet several times before settling back down. "Just a little sore, sir," she said to Adira. "And stiff from lying in a bed. I won't be a liability."

And that was true, as far as she knew it. There was no good reason not to join them, and some very good reasons to help out. If this mission was dangerous, if it involved the prospect of exchanging fire, she was a Cavanaugh. This was literally what she'd been bred to do. Staying behind was inimical to the woman she was. Besides, if the doctor was along, then the blonde could keep an eye on her, just as Adira said.

Gradous13 Spazzycat101
Tapping into the comlink with her conventional comm implant, Kestrel said "Otto, I'm your backup. Doctor, I appreciate your concern and you can tap my vital monitor feed and watch me the whole time if you like. I'm fine, though. And this job sounds dicey enough, you need all hands on deck. I'll be with you both in five minutes, I just need to get suited up and grab my guns."

Already on her way to her quarters, she added, "So, Otto, how do you want to do this?" Ordinarily, she would be planning an op like this herself but she hadn't had time to go over the intel. Besides which, she was supposed to be taking it easy, doctor's orders. Following Otto's lead would also provide some valuable insight to the man's tactical background for that matter.

 

[Gradous13]

Still suited up from the scouting with Silas, Otto took extra ammo as a precaution. Better to have it and not need it. He made his was back out side and fired up a cigarette while thinking over the terrain between their objective. Ways to infiltrate and egress, areas to avoid and to take advantage of.

Otto heard his comms click within his helmet and quickly clicked a button on his belt to switch to an earpiece that extended from his armor yoke.

It was Kestrel letting both Lydia and Otto know that she was coming on the mission. Otto was pleased that Kestrel was up and moving, and if she was confident in her status, then Otto was ok with her joining in. "Welcome back, Ill be outside waiting for the two of you" he replied. It was good Kestrel was back, for Otto it meant the mission was now a little easier, especially since he doesn't the combat abilities of the ship's new doctor who would be joining them.

Kestrel came over the comms again, inquiring about the plan of action for their part. "We will enter the AO from the southwest with Kepler's team and break off to our objective to the northwest, this way if we take contact before or during our entrance we will have maximum survivability."

Otto paused to finish his smoke before continuing, grinding the cigarette butt into the ground "After we break off, we will need to be cautious with our movements due to the anti-infantry sentries confirmed by Kepler, the upside to this is there is a lot of cover and even more concealment within the killzone. This area is about one hundred meters from the break off and from there it's eight hundred meters of killzone before we reach a large rock formation which will be visible from the break off. This will be our rondevue point. After that we will observe enemy activity and report to Kepler's team before making further moves."

Taking a soft deep breath, Otto cleared is throat before moving on. "I will take point followed by Kestrel and Lydia, you will take rear. It will be easier for you, should one of us gets hit to move to the casualty as one of us will more than likely be in an advantageous position to cover you and support your movements. We will take our time going through the zone, we can get through unnoticed if we do. Any thoughts or questions?"

Epiphany Spazzycat101

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia Camden​

Silas has added Kestrel to the comm channel.
Lydia asked herself if they were kidding. She didn’t know anyone here well enough yet to know if they were, but she hoped. That hope was refuted when Kestrel tuned in to ask what she should prepare for.
Lydia’s face was no longer pale with fear but beet-red, but nobody could tell that when she pulled her hood down over her face. When Kestrel suggested that Lydia hook up her patient’s vital feed to her comm, she nodded sternly, forgetting that Kestrel couldn’t see her.
Otto went outside. Lydia remained in, waiting until Kestrel arrived rather before joining him. The medic listened grimly to the plan.
Lydia did not like the word ‘killzone.’
But she did not object.
Instead she waited for their departure, tapping her fingers harshly on the medi-bot’s box and not looking up from the floor until Kestrel arrived. At that point she stood suddenly and stopped her crewmate for a moment to quickly connect Kestrel’s vital feed to her diagnostic cybernetics. She could gather more with her cybernetics than any ordinary doctor, yes, but additional monitors could never hurt. Lydia’s eyes flashed bright yellow for a moment beneath her hood before she nodded and joined Otto outside.

Epiphany Gradous13

 

[Solar Daddy]

*The area that Otto's team would find before them was a large stretch of sturdy sand that reached on for eight hundred meters or so. In this span of area, there was plenty of activity from the mass of soldiers and sentries. The large crags that stuck up from the ground blocked the sun from the spot they'd enter through, but after this, the rest of the area was lit up brightly from the perpetual dusk. There were three patrols of squads of six checking the perimeter at all times, each able to circle the entire encampment in twenty minutes easily. On top of this, sentries were placed around the site aiming at all of the most easily identifiable points of insertion. Still, there were plenty of places to enter unnoticed easily by a trained eye.

The large cargo ship in the distance was firing off its thrusters every few minutes, a clear sign that the pilot was testing the systems and preparing to leave soon. The group probably had no more than an hour before takeoff. By the time the group would reach the insertion point Otto chose, one of the patrol of guards would just miss them. In addition to the patrolling guards, there were plenty of workers and enforcers in the encampment that littered the place. Luckily for their team though, there was plenty of cargo to hide behind, with many other objects such as temporary buildings and panels that blocked line of sight. it wouldn't be impossible for them, but they'd more than likely need to make some kind of confrontation to get through. Past that, the ship wasn't too much further away, but by that point the shadows from the mountains in the distance darkened the area. It would provide plenty of shade for them to pass through that part unnoticed.

*For Kepler's team, the path to the nearest clearing would be as unforgiving as the other team's path, with plenty of small pathways to squeeze through, as well as areas of lit exposure to try and sneak through unnoticed. Past this, after about three hundred meters, they'd encounter a small overlook, with a ravine separating them from the communication sight, about two hundred meters deep and wide. It was a shallow enough slope with plenty of dead vegetation for cover from the harsh sun, but the stretch was no doubt going to be monitored by the aforementioned turrets in place guarding the compound. The few sharp crags that stuck up from the ground in the ravine, however, could provide plenty of cover for them to move up slowly with.

Past this, there would be a minimal amount of guards - ten at max, lazily around playing cards, cleaning their weapons and doing poorly committed patrols through the entirety of the fifty-meter compound. However, two, rather sharply focused guards stayed at the main entrance of the door to the comm building, well lit and set with a locked door. It's clear that one of the guards would have an access key to it, almost ensuring confrontation with them would be necessary, whether by luring out or just praying no one saw them take the guards out.

*During the entire time, the loud, sudden thump that reverberated through the entire area of both teams shook the land, and provided a loud enough noise that if timed perfectly, could mask the sound caused by gunfire, an attack, or otherwise loud activities. The loud thumps are caused by the planetcracker ships in low orbit, firing bolts of ionized blasts to open up the earth in the distance - a completely visible process, making it easy to time the loud noises for synchronized take downs.

 

[Vudukudu]

Kepler assembled his team with a few slight head-nods, running diagnostics on his cybernetics and popping his blades a few times out the front and back to insure they were moving properly. Satisfied that his systems were operational, he checked his needle pistol one last time on his way to the armory to pick up a carbine. With this sort of engagement range potential, having a weapon with a larger profile would probably prove useful. Needles didn't do particularly well at distance, or in open air. The projectiles are light and slow compared to conventional ammunition - gravity, or a particularly strong wind, tampers with them. Still, up close, they were quiet enough to justify carrying it on his person.

Headed to the exit ramp, he adjusted the strap on the carbine to keep it across his chest, then connected to his on-board computer. An overhead scan of the area rendered as a holographic image in his right eye, altered by various blinks and eye movements. He pinged each team member's comms system, and one by one, colored dots materialized on the image. Closing his eyes for two seconds, he activated a plotting feature and let the software pick out a series of routes accounting for the terrain before picking one. With a quick three blinks, the image disappeared, restoring sight to his right eye.

"Team Two, gather on my position." He signaled over comms, turning back to face the ship. He thumbed the safety on his carbine on and off idly, then raised it to his shoulder a few times to practice the motion and adjust to the sight.