Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2 - Games

Maddox glanced at Frosty. "I'm not in the mood to talk, that's why I'm keeping my distance."

[video=youtube;N3ceE43AHyw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3ceE43AHyw[/video] The handful of crewmembers who decided to show up to the meeting each entered into the planning room, a long and narrow rectangular room largely unchanged from the time when the Aurikha served in the Black Fleet. Taylor, Hariim, Bucky, Amy, Maddox, and Frosty took seats along one side of the table while Neasha, Constantine, and the chief-ranking SULP representative currently on the ship, a melora named Agami, took their seats at the other side. As Yanim prepared to take her seat at the end of the table, another door at the far end of the room slid open, and Rask, disheveled and appearing slightly hung over, gave her a quick nod before quietly taking a seat near the other executives. The holoprojector whirred to life, connecting to a direct feed of the war unfolding on Voyak. The playback was silent, allowing Yanim to talk over it, but she remained silent for a moment as the video displayed an entire city block being decimated by artillery fire as troopers from the batakya were still evacuating civilians. The crew looked at the boss, expecting her to make some kind of premeditated deep thought about what they all should think about what they were seeing, but her eyes were locked on the fiery scene. It was obvious that whatever she was about to say, it was largely off the cuff. "So..." she began, still watching the war unfold, "I want to get straight to the point. Since we put your crew together, we've done what we said we were going to do with you, and that would be getting into a lot of trouble and making lots of money. But if you think about the [I]kind[/I] of trouble that we've been buying into, it doesn't mesh with what I've told you we were supposedly fighting for. Does anyone remember the end goal of this company?" she asked for anyone in the crew to answer.

Maddox shrugged. "To bully the bullies?" He asked with a smirk while looking at Yanim.

"To liberate the oppressed, and cause some anarchy and problems for the larger factions of the galaxy." stated Taylor. She had remembered Yanim's speech before they had landed on Prospera.

[B]Squish was still cleaning the room when the meeting was announced. He moaned in discomfort as he had to choose which one. He decided to finish the room since it was almost done. They won't be angry if he was a little bit late, right? After he finished he started running towards the meeting room.[/B] "I hope they aren't too far along. Last thing I need is the meeting taking twice as long." [B]As Squish bursts through the doors, he hits his nose on the door. His nose watery from the pain, he tried to rush to a seat. His dripping nose made the floor underneath him slippery and he collided with his chair while sliding across the floor.[/B] "I made it." [B]said the Feeblian face first on the ground with his chair underneath him.[/B]

Yanim paused for a moment to glare in Squish's direction before turning her attention to Taylor, but judging by the latter's expression, Yanim figured that she didn't actually invite squish. She responded to Maddox and Taylor's input. "Along those lines, yes. I have a dream that I shared with you once before, one where people are free to live as they wish to live. It seems so simple, and yet it asks of us to realign the stars themselves..." She shook her head. In the holographic projection, the viewpoint closed in on a downed kanad starfighter, the pilot twisted among the collapsed control panels and completely still, eerily similar to a sight she had seen on Zeruel years earlier. "That pilot there," she said with a gesture, "we killed plenty like him, didn't we? Can you even fathom how wasteful that sacrifice is? There are thousands dying everyday because of a war of [I]egos[/I] between two empires. In all honesty, this is exactly the sort of thing we're supposed to be stopping, but we contributed to the killing instead. And that's my fault." Yanim turned off the holoprojection and appeared a bit distant. "Before we took this last job, I spoke with our contractor at Argos and we traded some flowery language about the 'greater good.' He offered up this carrier and the payday we received and managed to convince me that our goals were one and the same. "I let him convince me of this because I have an ego of my own. It's easy to believe anything when it means you're given great power and wealth, and so quickly, too... I made a grave mistake, back on Mars. I signed you all up to fight [I]their[/I] war, instead of ours. I don't know if you'll quite understand, but, I..." she looked over at Neasha briefly. "I don't believe that, unless this company grows in strength extremely quickly, my goal of preventing this sort of unforgivable wastefulness, this ongoing cycle of war, is something that can be accomplished within my lifetime. And to grow the company along those lines, we would need to take more contracts like the one we took from Argos. "I suppose it should be a bit obvious," she said offhand with a sneer, "that the ones who can afford to pay us the most are the ones who hold all the power already- the ones we set out to topple. So it's our choice, then, to choose whether this company will be a force of good, or simply a force of will." Rask, having been quiet and still this whole time, finally looked up from his hands and cursed a bit under his breath. "Good for who, exactly?" he spat. "We only have one life to live, ya know. And when I picked the first of you up, back at Virtue, I told you that were going to get into trouble, and that you'd get paid. Other than picking up the boss, you had no idea where we were going, what we were gonna do. And all of you got on the ship anyway, keh. The funny thing is, I told you all that I didn't want to hear any bellyaching over the blood we were about to spill, yeah? Didn't think the Boss would be the one to start us second-guessing." Yanim shook her head. "It's not about who we kill, Rask. It's about why we do it. Sometimes we kill an innocent or two if it means saving the crew, but self-preservation is a higher cause than self-enrichment." Now it was Rask's turn to sneer. "I'm sure, just about all the folks we went and put in the ground over the years feel the same way about us. Face it, we're bad people. It's a hell of a lot easier to accept that fact and move on than it is to sit and make excuses, [I]so transparently[/I], how we're going to somehow make everything right and fair in the end," he mocked. Neasha cut in- "this organization is about a lot more than just wet work. Our side project with the Selovehans is profitable, it's low risk [I]for us,[/I]" she said with a glance in Agami's direction, who nodded in understanding, "and it's the right thing to do. I'm sure we could have gotten a fatter contract from SULP's enemies in the planetary government, but the fact that we didn't is proof that this company can sustain its growth [I]and[/I] make the galaxy a better place." "You were always soft, serek," Rask replied, his one, sunken blue eye as sharp as a scalpel. "No, there's nothing wrong with doin' the right thing once in a while, 'specially while the risk is so low. But would we have done it if it woulda lost us money? [I]Hell no.[/I] That's why you're both full of shit, [I]hypocrites[/I]. I'm the only one talking about credits instead of right and wrong. And I know that more than a few of the crew is thinking just the same as me." Yanim looked to the crew, for once appearing crestfallen rather than indignant at Rask's attack. "He's right, isn't he?" she asked rhetorically. "I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few of you think I'm a blowhard with all my talk about liberation. I can definitely imagine that most of you are satisfied with your millions and give no fucks about whether the galaxy is rotten. But some of you care, don't you? Not just in a sympathetic sense," she said, placing her hands on the table and leaning over it, emphatically with watery eyes, "but in that we really do only have one life to live, and that it should mean something bigger than ourselves." "You can't pay the crew in good feelings, Boss," Rask joked. He continued to smile, even as no one was laughing. The room became uncomfortably quiet as the crew had the opportunity to speak their minds.

Maddox sighed. "To be honest, I don't mind the credits. I'd be lying if I said the opposite." He looked up at Yanim. "But there are few people who truly wants to do good these days." He held up his hands. "Me? I'll sleep well either way. My conscious is clean because I know that the people we've killed were armed and wouldn't hesitate a second if the roles had been reversed." Maddox then looked at Rask and Neasha. "But right and wrong is a wide concept, it is often far too simple since the world is more than just black and white." As he finished the last part of his sentence Maddox looked at Taylor briefly.

Taylor glanced over at Maddox as he finished, then between Yanim and Rask. "I do agree with Mad on the credits. But..." she said, before sitting forwards, "...I agree with Yanim. There's more to it than just the money. Its the reasons why we do the things we do. I'd rather do something that actually meant something. Maybe help people and change the galaxy for the better."

[B]Squish looked around and sat up trying to make as little noise as possible.[/B] "I joined this mission for one reason. To get results to fix my race's allergies. That is usually by going to far places and having the money. I am for making money and going places."

Amy wasnt sure what to think of it all. She had joined the crew for only a short while and had already gone through so much. And yet, past experience from even before joining the crew forced her to speak her mind. "Yeah. The alure of money and fame is a strong one. Considering what we just went through, about as strong as getting fucked like a cheap whore if we're gonna do it for just money." She spoke those words with bitterness and looking straight at Rask while doing so. Moving her gaze to the rest of the table, she continued. "After what happened. I'd be walking out the door. Goodbye. Never see each other again. But I can't. And neither can my brother. You know why? Because of people like the ones she's talking about. Men like Mordecai, women like Gretha Zwiling and men like my father. All of them sentient shit, profiting on war and misery. Like that its in short supply. If working for this company actually gives me an oportunity to say a heartfelt Fuck you to them, then fuck it, I'm in. If I die, at least it would mean I don't have to run anymore." She looked back to Rask. "And with all due respect sir, you'd be taken a lot more seriously while not drunk." And you sound like an old bitter man, with the only credability is that your face looks like someone took a cheese grater to an iguanna. She wanted to say that. She was close to doing in, but that would probably end up with him getting even more pissed off. "Call me naive, call me idealistic or whatever you have going on in your head, but I'm sick of running and hiding. Whatever the boss is building, I want in."

[B]Squish goes and finds a big piece of paper and writes on it. He begins waving around the paper that says "Join the cause of curing Allergies."[/B] "This is a much better cause to get behind, join me everyone."

Frosty saw that Yanim's eyes were watering a bit, and decided to chime in case she started to cry. "I... did not join this crew voluntarily, and yet, I am still here. Not because of the money we earn, but because the only alternative I have is, well, [I]so much worse[/I]..." He glanced at Taylor for a moment. "I am not still here because of the 120 million credits I supposedly earned back on Voyak, infact I donated all of that away, but because I feel like I am making a difference with people I know I can trust! It does not matter how small our efforts are, it only takes one broken chain to destroy the anchor. I mean, to me, money does not matter one bit. As you may know, I come from a time long since past and so much has changed that if you gave me a million credits, I wouldn't even know what to do with it. Such things have no value to me whatsoever, whatever money can buy will inevitably fall apart and fade away in time, but the memories I have of making the galaxy a better place will stick around forever. And money can't buy a better galaxy." ------------------------------------------ (( Is it alright if I have Molo retroactively be in the meeting? )) Moloch simply stood in the corner watching the whole scene took place. He didn't feel like it was his place to speak up, though he felt a little disgusted as if he was in the middle of a meeting for hippies.

((oy vey fuck it Mercy is now retroactively in the meeting.)) Mercy had walked into the meeting a little bit late, but just enough to hear Yanim start talking about her long winded speech about 'making everyone free'. She sat down and put her feet on the table. Mercy quietly chuckled, "Well... I believe zhat some people here have a [i]lot[/i] to learn. Zhe way I see it, doing anyone any good is only going to be a temporary thing. Sure, you may help zhem for a bit, perhaps even a long while. But someone, or a group of zhose people, is going to take all of zhat away, to have zhe power bestowed upon the masses for zhemselves. It may be for some ideological bullshit, or maybe zhey're just an honest powergrubber. Eizher way, 'freeing people' won't last. Some despotical, power-crazy tyrant is just going to come in and replace zhe one zhat was before him." "...Hell, even zhose people who brought about that [i]'oh so great change'[/i] could slip and turn into zhe tyrants zhat zhey were trying to defeat. It's like zhe saying, you eizher die a hero, or live long enough to become zhe villain. It's happened before in history, and, well, I believe zhat it will happen again without a doubt. Mercy shrugged to cap off her contribution. "I... am possibly in zhe minority here. But, well, zhose are my two credits."

Constantine looked up and down the table at the other executives; Rask and Mercy seemed to be the only ones at odds with the tone of the meeting. Having heard the crew's input, Constantine adjusted his tie absentmindedly and smiled. "I know that you all haven't really met me yet, but I'd like to say that it's both an honor and a relief to say that I think I made the correct decision by joining this company." "What the boss is building," Rask said quietly, eyes locked on Amy, "...is a house of cards. Be very careful who you place your trust in, dear." He stood up, leering at all the critical faces in the room, including Yanim, who, having been reinforced by her comrades, was standing a little straighter than before. "Where are you going?" Yanim asked him, flatly. Rask shrugged. "[Takin' a piss,]" he answered in Kanad. "[Send me the minutes when the tea party's over.]" He shuffled out of the room. "Ms. Terika," Agami addressed, "Ms. Kyral has voiced her support for continued involvement in my people's struggle. If I may suggest something... I believe that there are other, similar conflicts throughout the galaxy at this moment, especially in the northwest quadrant. In fact there is an entire market based around funneling support to separatist and revolutionary movements like ours. Although many of these planets have little to offer economically or in the way of organized military power, I'm sure that repeated interventions could build for TBC a broad base of popular support throughout the region." Constantine nodded. "The northwest is often overlooked, but I made it my area of interest when I worked for the UGC. The south and the east have old habits that will be hard to snap, but with so much upheaval in the west, there's potential to develop a lasting legacy." "Not to mention," Neasha added, "if we make a shit ton of small, profitable contracts with lots of these movements, we could corner that market Agami was talking about." Yanim's eyes lit up. "A monopoly on uprisings," she mused. She smiled at the crew. "That's a goal that I think we on the Aurikha can work towards. But as for you all, if you're serious about your desire to upend the system, I think that we should continue to maintain a presence in the more developed parts of the galaxy. But since we're down a ship and waiting for a replacement, for the time being we'll need you to maintain a low profile. That means no more trips to the border zone." The crew was relieved to hear that they wouldn't be headed to Sirgas and Voyak again. "We need to travel to Attica first," Neasha said. "It would be the easiest and most secure way to provide the crew with the equipment they've been requesting. They've got really good shipyards down there, too." Yanim nodded. "Of course, I was already planning to meet with Red again and voice my opinion on our 'partnership.' To be honest, I'd [I]really[/I] like to know what the hell the Archives are." She turned to the crew to clarify: "Our contractor at Argos, Red, warned that knowledge of the Archives' purpose would only be a liability for us. I believe the humans have a phrase- 'ignorance is bliss,' yes? Well, they have a saying on my planet that goes 'the last to know about the hail is the first to split their head.'" "Interesting take," Constantine remarked. "Until I catch onto the trail," Yanim elaborated, "and we can investigate the Archives further, I think we should keep an eye out for opportunities to immediately stunt the spread of oppression. Keeping the company profitable is still a major concern, but I believe that we should institute a new rule. We will no longer compromise our overall mission, even if it strengthens the company. Although we will continue to kill and destroy, it will serve the common cause of all people."

Bucky shrugs. "To put in my two cents, I'm here because I like the original mission and because I wanna see more of the galaxy. I did my Voluntary Societal Integration so I could go beyond the life designed for me, so wherever this company goes I'll go with it. The mission is just a feel-good bonus." ------------------------------------------------------------------ Hariim processes his thoughts and offers his own answer: "I concur with Taylor. The purposes behind our actions are as important as the actions themselves."

Markus entered his old room, which was now cleaned out. He walked up to the locker and opened it. On the inside of the door was photograph of five men in FTR gear. Markus took the photo out of the door and looked at it slightly, is face in a slight frown. The men in the picture were Markus' accomplices that had gotten him into pirating and mercenary work. The two standing up in the back were Markus and Charles Dungroe, and were the last of the five still alive. The others had lost their lives on the way. From the left on the bottom row was Richard Novis, who got shanked while they were still imprisoned on Vorago. Next to him was Andre Seegson, who died in the riot that gave the Marauders control over Vorago. Lastly, Johan Powell, who became Boorang food on a hunting trip gone wrong. Markus chuckled a bit. Those boys knew that one should only look after ones own. And Markus still had his end of their bargain to fulfill. He picked up his transponder and entered his mothers number. "Hey Ma. Just hit one o' the biggest scores. I'll be sendin the share yer way soon. Their part's are in there as well, just go 'bout the percentage." He put the transponder away and put the photo in his pocket, leaving the room and heading back to the Cataract.

"Understood, ma'am." said Taylor, nodding. So for the time being, just keep doing what we're doing but actually try and help people in the process. Sounds good to me. She glanced to the rest of the members of the crew in the room with them.

(Hey, I said I was against it. I need money.)

((You're a minority.)) Maddox nodded as Yanim finished. "Sounds good to me. When do go to Attica?"

Jason decides to go out of his cabin and take a little walk seeming that he was bored again. However he stumble across the planning room where the meeting is taking place. Without any knowledge of it. Jason opens the door and had gotten a bit nervous as some crew members were there. Giving the impression that Jason has just missed something important. "Um.. Did i miss something?"

Mercy shrugged once more as the execs finished up, "Well, I have no qualms, so long as I continue getting paid."

The crowd quickly moved aside as a teargas grenade came soaring through the air. A hooded man ran up to it, grabbed the device and tossed it back the wall of riot police. Above a SISP dropship directed its searchlight on the large mass of rioting civilians. Another man took out a lighter and ignited a molotov cocktail before hurling it towards the shieldwall. One of the riot troopers used his energy shield to block the fiery projectile, creating a small pool of fire which divided the two groups. Behind the shields a SISP officer with a megaphone stepped forward. "Cease all hostile activity now or we will disperse you with force!" In response a rock came flying, nearly hitting the officer in the head. He growled and pulled down his visor. "Pacify the street!" A short horn could be heard just before the shieldwall started to advance, clashing with the civilians. Talwin Williams took a sip from his glass of khergian [i]Myagkiy[/i] as he looked out his office window and down to the chaos below. Following the death of administrator Keith Williams and the act of terror on the event held to honor those who had given their lives while in service of the SDF civil unrest had erupted as the people demanded a response to one of the most brutal anti-Sol attacks in years. Williams grimaced as the strong mixture of orlok, glacial water and tonic poured down his throat. He shook his head and turned around towards his desk. Just as he sat down the doors opened and a soldier wearing a woven cloak above his armor stepped in. The soldier stopped infront of the desk and did a quick salute. "Director Williams, Strikeforce Titan is pleased to report mission success." Williams raised an eyebrow. "Show me." Titan nodded and pulled out a tablet from one of his utility pocuhes. "We downloaded the report onto this tablet. We were surprised to find at all but the archeologist we hired wasn't one to turn down a challenge." The director started up the device and looked at Titan. "Did you find the bunker?" After pulling off his helmet, Titan nodded. "Yes sir. Nature had covered the entire bunker but its main antenna. A unusually large tree had grown around it, we suspect it was feeding from the static energy. In any case the archeologist digged up the bunker. As far as he know it was just some ancient defence structure home to a long-forgotten armory." "While that is true the contents of the armory were far from special and he is not aware of we were really after in there." Williams nodded with a satisfied smile. "Did you pay him?" "Very handsomely." "Good. Thanks for your work soldier. You and your team have earned the week off. Dismissed." Titan nodded, put on his helmet and left the office. Turning his attention towards the tablet, Talwin opened up the report. ----- [i] 16th August, 2071 North Korea Lieutenant Carlos Garcia, 5th EASDI Special Forces Brigade World War Three[/i] The soldiers jogged next to the [url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71236376/Starpath%20RP/WW3%20EASDI%20APC.jpg]APC[/url] which was driving through the sleepy village surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland. "Make sure to stow all the ammo onboard! We're not leaving anything for the AAWP." Said Garcia. The marines infront of him nodded and went to work. Garcia shook his head. "Problem, L-T?" Asked Foster as he walked up. "New message from command. We're packing up from here. Apparently the AAWP are sending half of Asia towards us so all units are heading back to Seoul." Foster gestured towards the village. "What about the villagers? We're just leaving them?" Garcia put his hand on Foster's shoulder. "Relax sergeant. The villagers aren't our people. They're the AAWP's." Foster nodded. "Yes sir." Garcia observed his men, both EASDI [url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71236376/Starpath%20RP/WW3%20EASDI%20SF%20Trooper.jpg]special forces[/url] and [url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71236376/Starpath%20RP/WW3%20EASDI%20Marines.jpg]marines[/url], move across the village as they readied supplies, ammunition and vehicles for moving. The road to Seoul was long and they couldn't afford to stop just because they had forgotten a box of ammo or two. He sighed and looked at Foster. "Have you seen the Quds?" Foster shook his head. "Not today sir. Truth to be told, I've been avoiding them. It's bad enough to fight alongside them but sleep next to them? I prefer the ground to be honest." Garcia chuckled. "I hear you sergeant, I hear you. I'm not a fan of them either but we're damn lucky to have them with us in combat- regardless of their... habits." Before Foster could say anything one of the EASDI marines came running towards Garcia. "L-T! Sir! The Quds needs to speak with you now." Garcia nodded. "Lead the way soldier." After crossing several streets and taking a shortcut around a APC being loaded up, the soldier led Garcia and Foster towards the house inhabitated by the village elder. Infront of it were two large crowds, one consisted of villagers in worn civilian attire and the other soldiers dressed in uniforms with black and white digital camouflage. Above their uniforms they wore green plate carriers and belts. Each belt had a glowing battery on the back. Inbetween the two groups were several marines struggling to keep the groups apart. "Calm down!" Yelled one of the marines. Garcia stopped a few meters away. "Stand down soldiers!" Both the civilians and the Quds soldiers turned towards Garcia. "Give me a sitrep, soldier." Said Garcia as he walked up to the marines at the center. One of the marines, a corporal, gestured towards the crowds. "I'm not sure what started it but the Quds were arguing with the villagers. Alot of bad words were exchanged sir and when my squad and I stepped in they were five seconds from turning this into a brawl." "Nonsense!" Said a voice from the group of Quds soldiers. Two soldiers wearing dark facemasks above their faces stepped forward. One of them had black shoulderpads, a symbol of his rank as a Quds squad leader. Garcia sighed. "Chemosh." He said flatly. Chemosh bowed his head. "Greetings lieutenant Garcia." Garcia grunted and turned his attention to the second figure. "Beherit." Beherit nodded but remained silent." Garcia turned towards the marines. "You're dismissed. Prepare to move." The corporal nodded. Garcia then turned back to face Chemosh. "Why were you arguing with the villagers Chemosh?" Chemosh scoffed underneath his mask. "There was no argument lieutenant, but merely a misunderstanding." He gestured towards the villagers. "My men overheard the villagers talking about treason. They were planning to sabotage our vehicles, allowing the AAWP to capture us." He grinned. "I went to see the village elder to confirm this rumor." Garcia turned towards the crowd of villagers who now appeared to be very uncomfortable. He then turned back to Chemosh. "I don't blame them. They didn't ask to get occuppied. But they are civilians and as soldiers, you and your men are obligated to not make their lives even shittier by beating them up." He shook his head. "Either way it doesn't matter, command have ordered us back to Seoul. Get your men ready to move." Chemosh and Beherit exchanged a look of confusion. "Why are we to retreat? The AAWP have paid dearly trying to stop us." Garcia nodded. "They did but now they're pissed. I've seen you and your men in the field Chemosh but not even you can go up against one third of the AAWP military and expect to cause any notable damage." Before Chemosh could say anything Garcia held up his finger. "This is not up for discussion squad leader! Pack your things and get ready. I want you, Beherit and twenty of your men for the rear guard. Dismissed." Garcia then walked away with Foster wlaking next to him. "They didn't look too happy about that, sir." "No, they didn't. But they're probably happier alive rather than lying dead in the mud." Foster smirked. "Hoorah." Beherit turned to Chemosh. "Chemosh, you know as well as I do that these [i]heathens[/i] will reveal our whereabouts once the AAWP forces enter this valley. It would be in our best interest to ensure the safety of our people as well as Garcia's men." Chemosh looked at Beherit. "What do you propose?" "That these traitors never speak again." Chemosh looked at Garcia and Foster who were walking off to oversee the packing. He stroked the edge of his mask and turned to Beherit, nodding. Thirty minutes later the convoy of trucks, APCs and recon vehicles were on the move. As the convoy reached a hill overlooking the valley where the village was one of the cars pulled over. Garcia marched out. "Chemosh, we've reached the first marker. What's your status?" The road behind the convoy was empty and there were no vehicles leaving the village. "Where the hell are they?" Asked Garcia while Foster brought out his binoculars. He suddenly turned pale. "Sir. You need to see this." He said with a shaky voice. Garcia took the binoculars and zoomed in on the village. He felt the hair on his arms and neck spike as he looked at the village. Quds soldiers were herding the villagers towards the main barn housing their supplies. Beherit could be seen holding a speech ontop of a broken down car while Chemosh stood still with his arms crossed. Soon all civilians were inside the barn and a pair of Quds troopers closed it up with a wooden plank. Chemosh gestured towards the structure and before Garcia could react the soldiers opened fire. Foster and two nearby marines readied their weapons as the gunfire echoed across the valley. After opening fire on the barn Beherit and two others walked up the barn and planted several small incendiary devices. Three loud bangs could be heard just before the building was engulfed in a raging fire. The orange colors were reflected across Chemosh and Beherits masks as they turned around to leave. Shortly after three open-top reconnaissance vehicles left the village. "Jesus Christ..." Muttered Garcia with a low tone.

[Media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nQkqnDEanE[/media] Charles Dungroe stepped out of his ship with a few marauder recruits in tow. From the platform one could see the re-purposed mining colony below, which had turned into a shanty town, ships of varying sizes and with different banners as far as the eye could see. Charles turned to his men and gestured with his arm out over the settlement, "All right you greenhorns. Welcome to Rooks wharf." As they walked down to the streets one could easily see that this was the center of pirate controlled space. Brawls outside of bars, brothels, markets for all kinds of goods and groups of all kinds of crews clumped together with their mates filled the streets. The greenhorns looked around in awe at the spectacle, but Charles remained unfazed. He had seen this many a times before. As the entered a square one could see a corpse being strung up, hanging down from a walkway. He his face was carved to show a permanent sad smile, his eyes carved out and wearing a dirty cape with the sol colors. His body was riddled with bullet holes and plasma burns and around his neck hung a sign which read [I]SOL RAT[/I]. Charles turned to his men, "Looks like we're in festive spirits to be hangin out decorations, eh boys?" he said with a grin. His men chuckled in response. As they walked further one of the greenhorns ran up to Charles, "So boss, what're we 'ere for exactly?" Without turning his gaze Charles responded, "Captain Crow's got some information that Daggers want's us to look into." The ensemble walked onward through the crowd, heading to the [I]Jolly Hangman[/I], located on the top of a hill. ---- [I]Meanwhile, in the security precinct on Jugmach CS[/I] The officer on duty was beginning to feel irritated, not because Sting, the only person locked up at the moment, had been playing a harmonica. But because she had played the same song for 3 hours straight. He got up form his chair and walked over to the cell, "I'm gonna have to ask you to quit that noise ma'am." Sting stopped and shot him a glare, "Ain't against law to do entertainage, hoss." The officer frowned, he was 8 hours into his shift and she was getting on his nerves. "If you insist on bothering me I'll have to use force." he said in a slightly aggravated tone. Sting sprung up onto her bed and stretched her arms out, "What're you gonna do? Open up that gate so I can put your fist down your sumbitchin throat?" The officer had had enough and pulled out his taser, shooting Sting to giving her a mild shock. After twitching on the floor for a brief moment Sting practically flew up against the bars, "I'm gonna rip these god damn bars wide open an barbecue your ass in molasses, son!" The officer folded his arms, "You can't break those bars." he replied with a chuckle. Sting let out a furious scream and pried at the bars with all her might, but they did not budge. Sting the relaxed and viewed the bars with a mixture of perplexity and disappointment. "Ahh hell, I reckon you right.". She jumped off the bars and crossed all her four arms while she frowned at the officer. "If you don' like havin me here, then you best let me go, sheriff." she continued. The officer sighed, "Your bond is 1200 galactic credits, and you stay here for a month unless you pay." he explained calmly. Stings jaw dropped and she smacked her forehead with both her upper arms so it sent her hat flying, "1200?! Do I look like I'm made o' cashie monies?" The officer chuckled a slightly, "That's what we thought. Looks like I'm gonna have to listen your hillbilly music for the next month." Sting then suddenly jumped back at the bars and used her tail to whop the officer right in the groin. He jolted up slightly and fell over in pain. "An' it looks like I'm gonna be beatin your smartass for the next month, your space yankee sumbitch." As the officer winced in pain on the floor, Sting picked up her hat and sat down on her bed with her legs crossed. She then took out her harmonica again and resumed playing [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONQc0Y_zDrw[/media]

While a good chunk of the crew had found themselves at the meeting or elsewhere, Valkyrie found herself sitting in the cargo bay of the Cataract. She was going back over the tattoos on her arms, her shirt off as she breathed some color back into the art that had faded over the years. Next to her, her holotablet was faintly playing music as she worked, audible over the sound of the tattoo gun's buzzing. [QUOTE][video=youtube;qykmob6NB8g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qykmob6NB8g[/video][/QUOTE] She found herself thinking over the stuff that happened since she joined the crew. How they had been sort of upsetting the balance of power wherever they went. Fucking the Mafia over on Prospera, and forcing the Kanads into another war with the Sanghvi while killing some peacekeepers in the process. Well that was all fine and dandy with her. She was a pirate. Fucking with authority figures came with the package, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. She didn't care if it helped out 'the little man', though. She was more focused on the big ass paychecks that they were getting for doing it, and killing a few fuckheads along the way. If it came down to it, she'd fuck over the little man too if she'd get loads of credits out of it. A toothpick hung loosely out of the corner of her mouth, which she swapped from the left to the right side corner. She was really craving a cigarette, but she wasn't about to break her streak now. She continued filling in the large tattoo on her left forearm, the emblem of Blackstar. Lots of black, of course, so it was a bit more painful than the rest of the stuff.

Seeing that no one noticed him enter the planning room, Jason sneakily goes out of the planning room and sighs as it wasn't important for his taste. Jason goes back to walking out his boredom, he soon comes across the cargo bay, thinking that it would be a nice silent place to take a short nap or a quick remembrance of his time with the Sparrowhawks. However. He didn't noticed Valk was there due to focusing his mind on something else. [I]"I wonder what the squad is doing. They can't be slacking off on their jobs could they? I trained those guys to fight hard and follow orders but. I guess you can't force something that new fresh-faced reserves can't do."[/I] Jason chuckled and pulls out a small photo, A squadron of 15 mercenaries gathered near a [URL="http://www.creativecrash.com/system/photos/000/223/760/223760/big/Type_61_main_battle_tank_06.jpg?1340036983"]tank[/URL], while some where standing on the ground, some mercenaries where sitting on the tank, there in the middle was Jason, smiling alongside his comrades, also. a caption written with a sharpie was visible from the bottom part of the photo. [B]"Spectre Squad,[I]Venatio est specialitate".[/I] [/B] Jason smiled at the photo, an old reminder of the good old days he used to have. As soon as Jason puts the photo back into his pocket, he hears the buzz of Valk's Tattoo gun. Jason turn his head to where the buzzing was coming from and noticed Valk doing her tattoo. Jason then immediately spoke up "Oh. Hey Valk, didn't noticed you were here."

[QUOTE]"Oh. Hey Valk, didn't noticed you were here."[/QUOTE] She looked up, raising an eyebrow. Oh great, its him again. She rolls her eyes, then returns to work on her tattoo. "Yeah. Been here [I]the whole time.[/I]" she muttered, as she continued work on the Blackstar emblem. She shifted the toothpick in her mouth again. "What's with the picture? Old unit? Family? Girlfriend? [I]Fuckbuddy?[/I]" she asked, glancing up to Jason's pocket where he had stuffed the picture.

Jason pulled out the photo from his pocket again then sat beside Valk and started to explain to her the picture. "This is the old squad I used to work with when I was still in the Sparrowhawks. back then, We were just a bunch of new reserves that joined the company. then one day, We were assigned with a new squad leader. that guy was almost like a father to us, taught us everything we needed to know, Tactics and Formations and all that malarkey, did missions as well. but they were really just hostage rescues and civil protection contracts, A few months later we were gathered up in the training field, ready for our daily routine to start with the Squad Leader, but the Squad Leader didn't show up. We soon found out that he went missing the other night. Couple of hours later, I was assigned as the Squad leader because of how well I did in the training phase, days later. we had our first real mission. Track down an Illegal arms trade in some Abandoned Town in Terra."

"Let me guess, some guy shot your Squad Leader. As for the mission, you went in guns blazing and killed the bad guys and captured the guns." she said, finishing the Blackstar tat. She looked it over, before looking at Jason. "Am I right?"

"Yeah, We found a bloody uniform in his room however, the strange thing is that its the only thing we can find that's bloody, the whole room was clean of any blood or bullet shells. We looked for any bullet holes in the uniform and saw that he had 2 shots to his lower abdomen area. we can't find the body however. It seems like the guys responsible for that either wanted him alive or wanted to carry the body as proof of a dead target. As for the Mission. Tactics had to be in play here and there. The town was a fucking ruin. Large debris was everywhere in the streets and some areas where impassable unless you break some walls. It then took a turn for the worse when the bad guys decided to patrol the area with a tank."

"Ah, so they brought in armor. Did you bring explosives, or did you have to do something clever?" asked Valkyrie as she began working on another tattoo. This one wasn't a pirate or merc related tattoo. Simply one she had done as sort of filler between the others.