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

Roth simply stared at the hooded figure while several smaller groups of crusaders and knights rendevouzed with his current squad. While the crusaders looked worn, as one would after having his or her faith tested, the knights (as well as the Masadans) stood proud next to their zealot. "You and your kin represent one of the purest forms of heresy. It is not up to the individual man or woman to play God and the bodies of all living creatures, including those of lower xenos, should remain untouched." He pointed with his sword. "It is you who will meet your demise this day, for the servants of Satan and other dark beings will never win over the righteous and enlightened."

Yuga put her saucer and cup down on her desk, circled around and took a seat in her chair. She motioned for Vakarus to take a seat in a sofa chair, which was of a bigger size than the rest of the furniture in the room. Yuga had had it ordered for Vakarus. As Vakarus took a seat, Yuga tapped per fingers together and inspected him, "I have splendid news. After a few discussions with the admiralty I have managed to place you as my second in command on the HMSS Ryojin. Further more, I've received a briefing of our next assignment." she said in a slightly upbeat tone. She slid a envelope to Vakarus across her desk and her eyes narrowed and her tone changed, "It might go against some of your principles but I assure you that the rewards from this assignment is beneficial for the both of us."

Vakarus picked up the envelope and read it down to each detail. He then put it back on the desk and looked at Yuga. "It would be an honor, Yuga'atvan. I will follow you to the realm of the dead if I have to."

Jason stopped crying after hearing a familiar melody play from the next cabin. It reminded him of something that he hadn't had for awhile and it was called home. He felt like he was back at his house in Terra, listening to his Mother playing her Violin when he was still young. this would often distract his mind of thinking about where his father is. Jason sat on his bed and inched towards the wall where the sound was coming from. taking in the melody that was playing in the other room. Jason then realized that Valk's cabin was next to his. "Valencia sure does play quite well.. Wouldn't hurt to listen more of it, I guess." Jason then pulled his legs closer to and wrapped it with his arms while Jason closed his eyes to feel the rich melody playing.

((Its Valencia, not Valerie.))

((I keep mistaking Valk's name with another character))

As Yanim sprinted across the hangar toward the elevator which would carry her to the upper deck, en route to the bridge, Rask and Neasha joined up with her. Constantine, acting out a plan which had only been given the roughest of preliminary discussion, prepped the Aurikha's crew for possible combat against Argos pursuers. "What the hell is happening, Yanim?" Rask shouted. "Who's attacking? Tell me!" "I don't know if they'll attack or not, but Argos considers us hostile now." Yanim replied over her shoulder. The three of them skidded to a stop inside the lift while Neasha pulled out her tablet, watching to make sure that the Aurikha's launch sequence was proceeding as planned. If need be, they would launch on autopilot. "What?" Rask asked, incredulously. "How did that happen? Did you go an' tell them we've got another Archive?" As the elevator surged upwards, Yanim shook her head. "I told Red we knew more than he thought we did and that we stood opposed to the Archives being used, even if we had to destroy them. The Death Vigil attacked in the middle of the meeting and stole one of the Archives away; damn poor timing if you ask me-" "No fuckin' kidding!" Rask screamed at her so forcefully he erupted into a coughing fit. "What... what the hell were you thinking? When was this discussed?" "On the shuttle ride to the headquarters," Yanim answered, looking past Rask as if his input was unneeded. Rask shoved her, forcing her to acknowledge him. "They were our top source of income! How dare you just... decide, without me. You didn't think to ask what I thought? Did you think I'd be okay with this!?" "I know what you would have said," she snapped, "you would have had a spine! All you want is to make easy money when there are things this company should be standing for. And that's not how we're doing things, Rask, not anymore. Have you forgotten how the last meeting went? Were you too drunk?" "[You retarded, starry-eyed, good-for-nothing [B]bitch![/B]]" Rask punched her in the face as the elevator doors opened, Neasha sliding out of the way as the two kanads began to throw blows, eventually rolling into the hall in a ball of swinging fists and profanity. They were oblivious to their surroundings as Neasha took off down the hall, trying to get the ship off the ground, but another observer had just rounded the corner. Rask ended up on top of Yanim, pinning her face-down and repeatedly drilling the back of her head with one punch after another until his fists were red with blood. At that moment, he was kicked so hard in the side that two of his ribs were broken- he flopped over, ready to writhe in pain, but Arkadam wasn't done with him. Over the last few days, as Yanim had tried to make amends with Arkadam for their past, filled with misunderstanding and repeated injury, he had grown to dislike Rask. Rask was egotistical, masquerading as pragmatic. He constantly talked shit about people who weren't around and couldn't defend themselves, and that included Yanim and Neasha. Thinking back to the first time they had encountered each other, on Terra two years prior, he wasn't any different. Worst of all, however, was the fact that while both men had come from the Kanad SS, Arkadam had been a respectable public official at the hands of Bureau II, while Rask was one of the fascist, Vizier-cock-sucking jackboots from Bureau III. The same bureau which was currently hunting both of them. Arkadam considered this as good a reason to punch a man as any. The two had received similar hand-to-hand training, making them roughly equal in technique, but Rask had already been roughed up in the fight and couldn't put up a proper defense. Arkadam easily worked him over, kicking at his legs and lower body any time he tried to back up and popping him in the face and head any time he tried to protect his broken ribs. Rask got in a few shots of his own, but he was tired; he couldn't follow through when he needed to, and Arkadam forced him further and further back, until his back was against the wall and all he could do was duck left and right as the younger opponent bruised his face and legs. When Rask finally covered his head, exposing his sides again, Arkadam leaped forward and busted another rib with a rising knee. Rask slid down the wall in agony, begging for mercy in wheezing breaths. "...nough! Enough! Get off him!" Yanim was shouting. Arkadam turned around to find her being helped up by a number of workers who had happened upon the scene. He hadn't heard her yelling to that point. "I'm sorry, I was seeing red!" he explained, but Yanim shook her head reassuringly and waived the concern away. She pointed at Rask while looking to the SULP workers. "Brig," she said, before beckoning Arkadam over. The Bureau II agent shuffled over reluctantly, and Yanim grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned in close, looking over his face to see if he was badly bruised. "Oh, good, good. You're not hurt," she said as the ship rumbled, beginning to leave the ground. Yanim looked over he shoulder to the end of the hall, where the entrance to the bridge was. "I need to get up there and tell Neasha where we're going, but first..." Her voice trailed off and she smiled, slyly, before quickly kissing Arkadam when no one was watching. "Thanks. We'll talk later." Yanim trotted down the hall, leaving Arkadam bewildered in front of the elevator. "You tried to kill me once!" he yelled after her, in confusion rather than objection. "Well I'm glad that I missed!" she replied with a sneer. She slipped into the bridge and called up the navigation console's map, quickly checking over possible destinations to speed off to. As the Aurikha thundered into the vacuum of space, its radar systems detected no hostiles. If they went to warp fast enough, they'd be safe. "I've laid in a course for Duroma," Neasha explained, "just to get us moving. Are you okay?" "I'm fine," Yanim replied quickly. "Rask is in the brig. And Duroma's no good. The crew needs a new ship with more firepower on it and we're not going to find it on Duroma." Neasha turned around in her pilot's chair, looking concerned. "We're not going to find much anywhere that's safe... And what we can find isn't going to be cheap." Yanim brushed a bit of hair out of her eyes as she fixed her cap. "Well then we'll have to compromise. The crew can handle a little bit of danger, but I can't pay Terra prices for a new vessel. We have to go east." "...How far east?" --- [quote]Attention, crew. We have managed to escape confrontation and are currently traveling to [B]Rigel[/B]. There, we hope to secure the production of a new fighting vessel to replace the Muramasa permanently. As of now, Constantine is your direct operational leader. That is all.[/quote] Rask heard the announcement and cursed Yanim under his breath. This was the worst position the company could be in, and yet she sounded so secure, so confident. And that punk, Arkadam, what gave him the right to do what he did? Rask had watched Yanim nearly execute him a few years back, and now he's coming to her rescue? The melora marched him into the brig, right past Maddox's cell and into the next one. The two couldn't see each other, but they could hear anything said in the brig as it was largely empty and full of echoes. Rask laid on the floor and groaned, waiting for medical attention to arrive.

Maddox chuckled. "This company changes its chain of a command as fast as brothel goes through clients." "What's the news?" He asked Rask.

"You're awfully chipper for a guy I just shot," Rask replied. "Yanim an' I had a disagreement. That's all. I won't be in here long."

Maddox grunted with an amused tone. "Not the first time I've been shot nor will it be the last." He sighed and looked up into the ceiling. "I find it funny how sure you are, considering how the last time Yanim had a disagreement with someone it either ended with her inspiring others to commit mutiny or her shooting a certain someone in the legs." "Tell me Rask, do you see the potential for this company? Not for TBC to become some [i]revolutionary army[/i] but rather a true force to be reckoned with." Maddox paused, as to let his question sink in. "My ancestors used to rely on a single term for protection. It was called [b]nuclear deterrence[/b]. In the TBC's case you can replace 'nuclear' with 'ancient artifact of unknown power'. You see Rask, people fear what they don't understand. If you'd tell them "Hey, I have a magical alien rock. Back off." they would play it safe, out of fear, and back down." Maddox paused again, a grin had formed across his bloodied face. "TBC has leverage right now, why not use it to grow rather than risk it on something which really isn't of your concern like some civil war on a backwater planet nobody's heard about." "Think about it and when you're done, well, you know where to find me." Maddox said chuckling.

Yuga looked at Vakarus with her sleepy eyes. "Good. Everything has been arranged. We will move as soon as we get the confirmation from our agent." she said, putting the envelope into her desk. She released some vapors, not from her compass this time, but her personal vaporizer, shaped like an old terran pocket watch. She looked out of her window as she took a sip of her tea.

Vakarus stood up and approached the window. "In Vakrosia there's a saying: "Livarii aran dorath ilien onuuk"." He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Yuga. "It means [i]'The winds whisper of what is about to come.'[/i]" He turned back to observe the horizon and sighed. "May the Gods help us."

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, boyo. I've had complete control over the operational accounts since Voyak. There was a lot of money in there, so I couldn't help but set aside a little 'insurance fund.' And unlike that cunt who keeps making enemies everywhere we go, I know the proper way to go and build relationships. Look at these SULP laborers we've got all over the ship; you think they care more about Yanim's plans than their own little revolution? I've been makin' the rounds, greasing palms. Speakin' the universal language, ya know? And now there's a good number of 'em that seem to think that I'm the boss. Funny, that. So yeah, I won't be in here much longer. "But yeah, I hear what you're sayin' about the Archive. Problem is, just how frightening can the stupid box be, keh? Yanim must've learned somethin' on the way to Athens but she sure as hell didn't say anything to me about it. She grabbed a few of her favorites and strolled on over to Argos HQ and apparently decided they all needed to be destroyed- the Archives, I mean. But even if the damned things are weapons, that only works if the whole galaxy knows what they're for... "...but if they turn out to be somethin' monstrous, I'd say you're thinking [I]too small.[/I] I'd rather use them the way [I]my[/I] people used nuclear weapons, teres," he mused, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. "No threats, no deterrence- that's how that status quo gets maintained, ya hear me? Action is the only way to build something big. Keh, heh, heh." Rask was quiet for a moment before sitting up and speaking again. "But even if you're not on my level exactly... I don't think you're one of them. I mean, you never were, but that's besides my point. I don't think I can use you in the long run, but I think we could help each other in the near future."

Sting jumped out of her truck, dressed shoddily in her trousers and a worn tanktop with a pinup and the text [I]Nice legs! When do they open?[/I]. She was carrying her shotgun with one of her lower arms while the 3 other gestured sporadically, "God forbid I get to sleep of a damn bender 'fore you people start raisin hell an all that mess." she said with a mumbling voice. She walked right over to the circle of people and looked at Taylor while standing in a vary assertive stance with her hand on her sides, "What in tarnation is goin on on here, woman?"

[QUOTE]"What in tarnation is goin on on here, woman?"[/QUOTE] Taylor turned around at the sound of Sting's voice, and noticed her standing there, dressed as if she had just got out of bed. Which was very likely. "We're on our way to Rigel to get a better ship." said Taylor, "As I'm sure you heard over the intercom. Before that, we were in a rush to get away from Argos and Death Vigil."

Sting flicked the shotgun over her shoulder and rubbed her chin withe one of her upper hands while her lower hand were still on her sides. "Rigel. Well shot that damn rock is colder than hell. But them ice folk make some damn fine party liquor!" she said with a chuckle while giving Iron a nudge. She stopped chuckling when she noticed Iron wasn't having it and her expression turned serious, "Not that you'd know anything bout that, ya sumbitchin straight edge hippie." She mumbled something for herself before she took off back to her truck to get changed.

Amy was sitting in her cabin, the wait was starting to get to her. Maybe the news would help her relax. She pulled out her holo-tablet and switched to one of the networks. [QUOTE]You are tuned in to GNN! Number one source for keeping up to date of this bussy galaxy! [B]Record amount of promotions on Unification day in 234 years![/B] Today, the Ayr empire has more than one reason to celebrate as the traditional Unification Parade was held as today's promotions beat out the previous record. An notable occurance during the Unification day parade was the promotion of Yuga of house Shuur, a former merchant captain in the ITC, to Captain in the ISF. Captain Shuur will be put in charge of a new task force that will look after imperial interest outside if its borders. [/QUOTE] Amy jaw dropped as she heard Yuga's name being dropped. She couldn't believe it, but after looking at the [URL="https://i.gyazo.com/4f52e72e2e909f2f32de65d7b5cd6229.png"]screen[/URL] carefully, she was convinced it was the same person that was her captain just a few weeks prior. "Hopefully me or Alex arent on her shitlist." She continued to watch as the story switched. [QUOTE][B] Deathtoll contiues to rise in Attica.[/B] The rescue teams continue to dig through the damaged elevator shafts and demolished office rooms. What's worse is the fires that started in the basement area of the building, further causing difficulties in extracting any possible survivors in the lower levels. Argos continues to decline commenting on the leaked correspondence between the head of security and the assailants. In which he said and I quote "The people in those elevators mean as much to me as shit on my boot." The reason for the attack continues to be unknown, but its speculated at best that the assaliants were after something in the vaults and assasinating key figures. More on the situation as it develops. [/QUOTE] "What the hell is the old bastard doing?" --- Recent events didnt sit well with Alex, another sudden attack that left them in Argos crosshairs, the Death Vigil would probably strike again and he was beggining to worry that his old man would actually find them and try to get his hands on them. He didnt like putting other people in danger like this, but what could he do? Thanks to Sol, he didnt have anywhere to go, neither did Amy. Even if he did leave TBC, the Creed would come looking for them to get to him, again, putting other in danger because of his own sake. Maybe he needed to consult someone before taking any further action. Ahh fuck it, if there was one man he could turn for father-like advice it would be him. "Hey Porter, can you drop by the mess hall. I need to talk to you."

[quote]"Hey Porter, can you drop by the mess hall. I need to talk to you."[/quote] Porter sighs, getting up from his over sized, reinforced office chair in his office and heads out. He traverses the ship, not meeting anyone, and enters the mess hall. Spotting Alex sitting down at a table, Porter joins him, scooting in on the other side. "Yes?" he asks while he lays both elbows on the table, crossing his arms.

Alex leaned back in his chair. Eyes locked on Porter. "You remember what I told you about my old man?"

Porter scratches his helmet, "Yeah, I think I remember him trying to chase you and your sister."

Maddox chuckled. "I like what you're saying." He tossed a small bolt into the air and catched it on its way down. "But yes, truth to be told I wasn't planning on staying here forever nor did I plan on making a name for myself." "While recent events may suggest the opposite I'm not usually someone who makes poor decisions. Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this far. Ontop of that I'm not blind, I know I'm a dead man walking and that once you and Yanim think I've done enough weapons I'll end up getting tossed out the airlock." He chuckled. "The SDF teaches its soldiers to never go in without a plan. What I wonder is wether or not you will be part of my plan in the near future?"

Valkyrie took a brief pause after finishing her song, listening to Yanim's voice over the intercom, before deciding to play just one more song. Just to see if she could play like she used to. She positioned the violin again at her neck, prepared the bow, and [URL="https://youtu.be/HLgBejh5TLA?t=47s"]played another piece.[/URL] The music filled her cabin, and spilled out into the halls of the Cataract. She grinned a bit as she played. Yep, she still had it. Once the song finished, she set her violin aside in its case, and looked over the others stuff. Well, better go give those subscriptions to those that ordered them. She was doing this simply because she wanted to see the reactions of the people that recieved them. Porter, Jason, and Amy didn't seem the type to order porn...so that just knocked it down to Markus and Mercy. She smirked. Looks like our resident nurse has a bit of a fun side. She grabbed the little subscription chips, and pocketed them as she headed out of her cabin and down the hall towards the brig. Markus would be first. She stopped by his cabin and grabbed his holotablet before continuing on. Once she arrived, she strolled over and stood just outside his cell. "Did you order C or B category?" she asked simply, sliding his holotablet into the cell. - - - - - - - - - - - - Taylor shifted her stance, folding her arms. An ice planet. Wonderful. Looks like she'd have to bundle up, though her power armor would handle the temperatures for the most part. She glanced over at Iron, before hearing the faint sound of music coming from the Cataract nearby. Violin music? Who bought a violin? She shrugged off the thought after a moment, and drew out her holotablet. She read over the news sites, seeing the reports of the incident at the Argos building. Right on time. She continued reading and saw the story about the Ayr Unification Day celebration. And saw that one of the Ayr that had been promoted looked awful familiar. Oh [I]wonderful[/I], Yuga's a captain again. Taylor rolled her eyes, and continued on reading through the other stories.

Markus looked up from his bed, "C. I know I look rough, luv, but I ain't some kind o' freak." he said with a smirk. He got up and pick up the holotablet. He opened it up and quickly looked over some of the content to see that it was the right one. He turned to Valk with a raised eyebrow, "An particular reason ya buyin me this... illicit material?" he asked with an amused tone.

[QUOTE]"An particular reason ya buyin me this... illicit material?"[/QUOTE] Valkyrie chuckled. "A man's gotta have his 'special stash', you know. Women too. Besides, you're one of the [B][I]very[/I][/B] few people I'd consider a friend on this boat, so I thought why the hell not." she replied, straightening up and peering into his cell. "Seen Mercy around? Gotta give her her's too." she continued, before pulling the other chip from her pocket.

[QUOTE]Yeah, I think I remember him trying to chase you and your sister.[/QUOTE] "There is more to it. I dont know if the name Stanislav Koronov means anything to you, but that's the man who's been hunting us for the better part of a decade now." Alex leaned in closer, putting his elbows on the table. "You probably figured me out by now. The knoledge of the Creed, the training I have been giving Valk and this" He pointed towards the tattoo on his left wrist. A chain with various religious symbols attached to it. Porter didn't interupt him so far, he was just listening intently to what the chef had to say. "Ever since I could remember he was there, shadowing me and Amy. He had plans for us. A dinasty to continue his reighn of terror. He believes himself to be send by his god to punish the guilty, not caring who they are. Torture, firebombing, gassing, you name it, he did it. And he wanted to pass that on to us. He almost did. If it wasnt for mom, he would have done it. I dont know how she ended up with him, but she was his shadow. Whenever he would snap at us and threaten us, she would come and try her best to undo the damage. I still dont know what she did to deserve being with him, but she instilled this will of defiance in us. One day...things changed. I dont know what he did...maybe I blocked it out of my memory...but she was broken. She didnt live past the night and the following morning I started my knight training. Untill the age of 16 I carried a deep hatred for that man, but I couldnt show it. I studdied fighting, logistics, his mantras and whatever else he threw my way. He wanted me to be a leader, I wanted to get the hell out. One night I snuck on board a ship that was leaving for supplies, ended up doing odd jobs for a bit before ending up with a pirate crew. The captain said she'd sell me back to the Creed if I wasnt such a good cook. To cut that part short. She didnt like the Creed and wanted to bomb them. I just pointed to the base and they got to work. I managed to rescue Amy before the chaos started. The next ten years we spend laying low under different names, away from his eyes where he couldnt find us. Untill Maddox. Fucking clown." He paused for a moment and looked at Porter. "I wanted to tell you everything so you would get a good idea of the man that is chasing us is like and why I fear for the other's. Even if Amy and I do leave, he would come looking for you to get to us, so that is out of the question. I want to tell Taylor this as well, but I dont know if this will even be an issue with the way things are going. But you, I had to tell you. You are in charge of security and should know this so you could make the right call. So, what do you think big guy?"

"Hmm..." Porter leans back in his seat. Audible creeks in the metal are heard from the weight distribution. "I've heard the name, your dad, but I never looked into him much." He thinks some more, then lifts his head to speak, "Spilling the beans to Taylor when she has much on her mind probably isn't the best right now. We don't know if Maddox 100% revealed your position to your father. He only knows you are registered, not where you work nor your occupation on the ship. It's a mystery to him, but I doubt that there will be a lot of time before he figures out where you are... I think that until we get confirmation... somehow... that Koronov is coming our way, I'd wait on telling Taylor. Unless, of course, we're able to solve this whole archive mess we got ourselves into. Then I think would be the time to talk away. If he get's the jump on us, be sure to come to me right away. I've been a good meat shield in the past," he chuckles, followed by a hacking cough, "Forgot I need to switch masks, pardon me," he pumps his chest, followed by a deep sigh. "So that is my take on the whole situation you and Amy are going through. Maybe one day we'll get the jump on your papa and we'll settle the entire thing. However, I doubt that we'll be able to solve this diplomatically, with the whole 'savior from god' kind of deal. 99% of the time they end with violence. If that's the case, I'll use the BFG just to be safe. Even if I am five meters away from him. One less religious tyrant out of the galaxy, the better everyone else is." Porter smiles under the mask, hoping his words offered some comfort to Alex.

Porter's comforting words didnt fall on deaf ears, but it did little to ease Alex's worries. "You're right. Taking this to Taylor right now would just put more strain on her and it feels like she's already taking care of a ship-full of kids who dont want to play nice with each-other. I'll bring it up later if things have calmed down. Hopefully dad wouldn't have paid us a visit by then." He leaned back in his chair in a more relaxed pose. "That thing about the 99% ending in violence. You have experience?"

Porter looks down to his hands, "Yeah... I'm not proud of it. Most religious people I come across are peaceful folk. They mean no harm. Just the extreme ones are the ones that cause the most trouble. Once they bury themselves into thinking they are the one true man, there's no coming back. Only two cases have they come back to reality. One was an elderly man that was under the influence of drugs. The other was a child, similar to what you and your father share. Born and raised to believe in themselves as 'the savior' and built a nice group of extremists. We took them down; I personally killed the father. My regret is doing it right in front of his son. The kid is in his teens right now, studying at some university for engineering, I think. Took a few years to get him to realize that his father was a nutcase."

After Maddox was escorted, János listened in on what had happened when Amy asked Frosty what had happened, looking pretty shocked that something like this had happened. After she tossed Markus his beer, she handed him the expired canned food and told him it was for the Vulture. He nodded and handed it over to Thommas. After that, he went into his office, updating Thommas' report with all the new info he had gained. He remained in his office up until he heard the announcement that they were leaving and that they might have to get ready for combat. He began getting ready.... until he heard that they had managed to escape confrontation. He sighed in relief. He sat back down and sent his report to Taylor and Yanim, as they'd be more than likely interested in knowing that Thommas had told him thus far. After sending it, he got up and did some stretching before leaving his office. As he left his office, he saw Valkyrie standing in front of Markus' cell. "What's going on here?"

Frosty woke up from yet another nap as the voices of Valkyrie and Markus woke him up. "Oh my God, Valkyrie, please! I do not want to listen to the foul and rancid noises this man would make while pleasuring himself!"