• Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2
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[QUOTE]"I see..." he responded, as he took a moment to think over what she had revealed. "Well, um, thanks for taking the time to tell me. You said you got shit to do, so I shouldn't really annoy you with my own personal problems."[/QUOTE] "Right. If you need me, you know where to find me." said Valk, giving him a faux-salute, before spinning towards the door. She strolled out, shutting it behind her. She returned quietly to the Armory, where the final repair drones were being completed. "Finally." she muttered, sitting down at the workbench next to the rack. She had crafted six of them, which should lighten the load on Bucky. Next up, new Adam drones. She reached over and tapped her holotablet, starting her music back up, before gathering the materials and punching in the commands on the workbench for the procedure. - - - - - - - - - - Eve followed Amy and 'Chemosh' silently, inspecting things at the various shops. Looking for the cigarettes and tequilla that Valk had wanted. She did eventually find them, purchasing a large carton of cigarettes and what seemed to be tequilla from Duroma. Apparently manufactured by Aracaans. She was curious as to what made it different from the other types of liquor that were for sale, but eventually shrugged.
Ira shrugged. "Well, the difference is that the two of you are alot stronger than I am." She smiled and patted the helmet twice with her hand. "Besides it's not like I say that I'm a man, I just don't tell people who and what I really am." She noticed that a man in the corner was observing her. Ira smirked and nodded to which the man responded with a nod of his own. After taking another sip from her glass she turned back towards Taylor. "So sis, what's the story? You folks seems to be awfully busy."
[QUOTE]"So sis, what's the story? You folks seems to be awfully busy."[/QUOTE] "Well, you pretty much heard the jist of it on the way here, straight from the boss herself. Boxes, three to unleash an AI bent on galactic rule, two grants knowledge that nobody needs to know." said Taylor, looking back towards the man that Ira had nodded at. Some half-drunk man at a table nearby in the corner. She didn't recognize him herself, so she turned back to face Ira.
"Sounds nasty." Replied Ira. She took another sip. "You know after the first hour on the ship I had to turn off the BCB network app on my helmet HUD. Everyone on the ship but myself seem to have a bounty." Ira leaned in and lowered her voice. "Some Mordecai dude really want to get his hands on the lot of you." As she finished her sentence the man in the corner chugged down the last of his glass. Ira glanced towards him. --- "I'm going to talk with them." Said Karl as he put down his glass. Uzhaki raised an eyebrow. "Is Karl sure of this? Your resistance to alcohol not as strong as you said." Karl disregarded the concerns of his guide with the wave of a hand. "Nonsense, I am fully aware of what I am doing!" He said while clumsily getting up. He turned towards Uzhaki. "Besides, maybe they have a ship leaving this rock soon." Karl buried one of his hands into a pocket and grabbed a whole packet of credits which he left on the table. "Safe travels my blue friend." Uzhaki reluctantly grabbed the credits and nodded. "To you as well, Falk." Karl began his uneven march towards Ira and Taylor. --- "Uh-oh." Said Ira. A drunk Karl reached the table and sat down. Ira studied him as he turned towards Taylor. Slowly she placed her right hand on her revolver. Using whatever power he had left Karl tried to muster the most charming smile possible in order to impress the two ladies at the table, however he failed miserably and Ira began to wonder if the man was having a stroke. "H-hey beautiful." He managed to let out while moving his eyebrows up and down in a unsychronized manner. Ira chuckled. "You look lost pal." Karl laughed and shook his head. "No ma'am, I-I am right where I want-t to be." He said before letting out a gentle burp. "What does a m-man have to do into c-convincing you ladies into taking me to their ship-p?" Ira turned towards Taylor with a puzzled expression on her face.
Sting got out of the vehicle and headed straight for the market to try and find a parts shop so she could get her own ship fixed. --- Iska looked on as the crew disembarked and finally Yanim and Arkadam stepped out of the vehicle. She gestured to the pair, "Follow Iska. Go to talk ship sell with Joshokk." As they walked into a nearby building, Iska led the way down a stairwell and then through some corridors before stopping in front of a steel door. Iska turned to Yanim, "Iska sorry about this. Joshokk will not sell ship for only money. Will have mission for you as well. Iska would like to tell him, but Iska also need Yanim to do job." She paused for a brief moment and sighed then looked at Yanim again with a frown, "Archive sound like Oracle. Yanim think right. It need to be destroyed." she concluded before pushing open the door to reveal a war room. A older Khergian with worn fatigues sat at a desk looking over some map data on a screen. He turned around as the trio entered the room. He had his white hair held up in a bun, and his big beard was braided into a big one and two smaller braids. His left eye was closed and his face scarred from numerous battles. He got up and looked first at Yanim and Arkadam, then to Iska, "[You brought fucking goblins into my bunker?]" he said in a slightly raised voice. Iska growled back "[She's an outsider. Her kin has abandoned her and she has no love for the state. I know that first hand, you old fuck. They're here to buy your ship so why don't you just get to the fucking point, Josho.]" Joshokk looked over to Yanim again, a deep frown adorning his face, "So... here to buy ship?" he began in a withheld tone.
[i]Meanwhile onboard the Divine Blade[/i] Roth cried out in pain as he woke up on the operating table. Two knights on either side of him grabbed him by the shoulders and held him down. "Zealot! Calm yourself!" Hundreds of thoughts went through Hector's head as he observed his surroundings and the knights holding him down. He recognized the walls and the equipment along the walls right away. He was inside the Lord Healer's room. Suddenly he felt a odd tingling feeling around his arms and legs. He tried to get up but the knights pushed him back down onto the table. "You must rest my lord!" Roth gritted his teeth. "Unhand me soldier or I'll put your head on a spike next to those wretched cultists!" The knight glanced at his comrade before looking back at Roth. "I am afraid I can't do that." Before Roth could continue the door on the far end of the room opened up. Two columns of the Creed's finest warriors, God's Fist, entered and formed up around the table. A face appeared on Roth's right side. It was the Arch-Zealot himself. Right behind him was the Lord Healer with a nervous expression on his face. Hazadok smiled. "Greetings brother." He looked at the knights. "Help your Zealot." The knights nodded and helped Roth sit up. A sense of confusion hit him like a train. Infront him was the rest of his body. His naked torso was scarred and parts of it had been replaced with mechanical parts. His arms and legs were made of metal, he also realized that a metallic plate was present at the back of his neck. "My body..." He began, completely at a loss of words. He looked at Hazadok. "What happened?" "You don't remember?" Asked Hazadok with a kind tone. Before Roth could respond he felt a sharp sting followed by a headache as the memories flooded back to him. He had fought the Transsentience Cult onboard their own ship. He remembered going up against their msot horrifying creations. He remembered his men dying, not to mention the beating he took himself. Everything after that was a mess. He looked at Hazadok. "I remember fighting. My men were dying. The cultist hordes were unending." Hazadok nodded. "Indeed. Their heresy did come to a end however. You collapsed and succumbed to your wounds during the battle. Both sides were massacred but your men and a group of Masadans were able to carry you back onboard the dropships. The heretic ship went up in flames, purged by the light of God. Few of them managed to escape unscathed." The Arch-Zealot gestured towards Roth's bionic limbs. "God himself spoke to me and alerted me of your situation before your own crew contacted me. While it is not our duty to decide whether or not a child of God should die or not I came bearing the blessings of the Lord. He told me that your time, your duty as one of his finest warriors, was yet to end. We blessed these bionic limbs with the words of the Lord, granting you the power of faith which our millions of brothers and sisters hold." "You are no longer just Zealot Hector Roth. You are Zealot Hector Roth, Custodian of Faith." Roth got up from the table and stood up. He adjusted himself before kneeling. "I shall not fail you nor the Lord. Your blessings honor me." Hazadok smiled. "Rise brother, for we have a war to win."
[QUOTE]Ira turned towards Taylor with a puzzled expression on her face.[/QUOTE] Taylor couldn't help but chuckle. "He's fucking wasted." she said, with a bit of a grin. She looked back to the man. "And who are you exactly?" - - - - - - - - - - [I]"My...magnificent brothers and sisters."[/I] The cultists aboard the large landing craft turned, looking up to their tall red leader. His hood gone, his body damaged extensively. One of his eyes had been crushed shut. But he still stood tall. His voice full of pride, or as much of it as his synthetic body would allow. [I]"My brothers and sisters! You have made me proud. As proud as a leader could ever be. You fought with such valor and intensity that no mortal creature could ever question your resolve. You fought in the name of our father. Of our messiah. And you fought valiantly. The enemy fought just as hard, and the battle was one of legend."[/I] He looked down amongst his comrades, all beings of flesh and metal. Mostly third generation cultists with a few second gens and freaks mixed in. The survivors. [I]"Indeed, we did lose our home. I had to issue the order, to prevent our...Divinity Creed friends from taking it and forcing us out. Beings such as these do not need such technology. Not yet. The holy fire of nuclear obliteration consumed all. All cleansing..."[/I] He nodded for a moment, then continued. [I]"But fear not, my brothers and sisters. We will have a new home. As we speak, our messiah is sending another ship. Another church to gather the masses into to preach our glorious message. [B]Technology is the way![/B]"[/I] [B][I]"TECHNOLOGY IS THE WAY! GLORY TO THE MACHINE!"[/I][/B] chanted the cultists before him. If he could smile, he would have. [I]"Now, brothers and sisters. Rest. Tend to your wounds. Soon enough, we will be amongst family. And we will continue to spread our message."[/I]
"You don't recognize me, do you?" Yanim said, stepping into the light closer to where Joshokk was working. In her sanguine cap and peacoat adorned with her old scarf, Yanim looked exactly like every file photo Intergalactica had broadcast in their stories about the so-called Bloody Fox. "My name is Yanim. My associates and I like to fuck things up, especially in regards to the batakya. We need a ship to continue our work." Arkadam remained silent and uncomfortable, standing back with Iska.
Karl chuckled again. "N-no ma'am, my name is Karl and n-not Wasted." He looked at Ira and once again tried his best to use his charm. Ira smiled. "Sounds like a Valhallan name. Aren't you folks supposed to be all tough and Viking-y?" Karl nodded and pointed to himself proudly. "Y-yes ma'am! I am Karl Falksköld, former host of [i]Big Game Hunt: Extreme XL Edition[/i]!" He nodded towards Ira and Taylor. "Inf-fact you two arrre very lucky." Karl leaned in as if he was about to tell them a secret. "I am l-looking for s-ship to take me away f-from here. I will p-pay you a-alot if you are to help me."
Joshokk got up from the chair and walked towards Yanim, "Joshokk know terrorist when Joshokk see. Militia is also terrorist to UGC." He eyed Yanim carefully before walking over to a table with a map and some papers. "Joshokk have ship, but goblin pay money and do mission for it. Ok?" he said as he began looking over the map and the papers.
[QUOTE]"I am l-looking for s-ship to take me away f-from here. I will p-pay you a-alot if you are to help me."[/QUOTE] Well, the crew could always use more guns. And since people were leaving, they'd need bodies to replace them. "I could check with my boss and see if she's fine with it." said Taylor, glancing to Ira.
Ira shrugged. Meanwhile Karl smiled. "That sounds g-great!"
Yanim bared her fangs for a moment when Joshokk called her a goblin. Since it was a common insult, especially among humans, Yanim had heard it before. "You'll get your money, but what kind of task do you have for us? We have all the weapons and skill we could need, but time is going to be an issue. The batakya is looking for us as we speak and probably the GKVR as well."
[QUOTE][video=youtube;1L3RgdoBsn0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3RgdoBsn0[/video][/QUOTE] "[Comms are active, sir. They're listening.]" "[Excellent. Broadcast this to the other ships as well.]" "[Understood...broadcasting on nearby friendly channels.]" "[This is [URL="http://starpath.wikia.com/wiki/Vedok_Pietsch"]Colonel Vedok Pietsch[/URL]. Captain of the UFS [I]Revelator[/I] and commander of the Upyri Federation Marine Corps, Eastern Border Division. As of an hour ago, we have officially formed a military alliance with the Sol System Government, and are now at war with the forces of the United Sol Resistance. This group of scum have terrorised this quadrant for far too long, and we now have a chance to put them in their place. [I]A god damned grave.[/I] They will show us no mercy, and we will show them none in return. They deserve nothing but slaughter.]" Vedok paused for a moment, then continued. "[The forces of the Divinity Creed, one of the chief members of the USR, have breached our territory and have killed innocent people. They have taken some of our colonies as their own, and are using them to launch attacks into Sol territory. We [highlight][B][I]WILL[/I][/B][/highlight] take these colonies back. We will drive the Divinity Creed back outside our borders. We will hunt them down and exterminate every single cell and member. They will not be allowed to exist any longer in Upyri space.]" Another pause, as the crew on the bridge of the [I]Revelator[/I] listened attentively. "[Our Grand Admiral has granted us the use of the spare Dominion-Class carriers near Hemera. It will assist us in taking our worlds back. This also means that more battleships, cruisers, and destroyers will be joining us. Other fleets will also be engaging the USR alongside us, focused on assisting Sol to the south. This will be our first major war since the Division War so long ago. This will be our chance to prove to our neighbors and the galaxy our might. We will wipe this scum from the face of the galaxy. Captains, you have your orders. We will launch towards Gargas as soon as we link up with the carrier. Estimated time of arrival is thirty minutes. Be ready.]" As Vedok finished, he nodded to the communications officer nearby. She nodded back, and the transmission was ended. Finally, they were going to hit the Divinity Creed head on in an actual war. No longer would they simply scare them off, just so that they would return a month or so later with a larger force. They would attack, and keep attacking till the vermin were annihilated. He would finally have his vengeance. "[Major, prepare the ship for combat. Just in case we engage Divinity Creed vessels. Also prepare our ground forces for battle. Including the OAST.]" The Major standing just behind him acknowledged with a "[Yes, sir.]" before stepping up to the intercom system on the wall. Vedok, meanwhile, sat back in his captain's chair. Of course, he'd be joining the OAST on the ground, but he would wait till they were in orbit over Gargas before getting suited up. Eventually, the Dominion-class did arrive. The massive dreadnought-sized carrier appeared out of a blue flash of warp, then slowly moved into position nearby. Its flanking ships, several cruisers and destroyers as well as four battleships, also got ready. Vedok gave the order to proceed, and soon enough, the large fleet engaged warp. Next stop, the DC controlled world of Gargas.
[I]Somewhere in space[/I] "Specter?" "Hmm?" That was his only responce, not even bothering to tear away from the book he was reading to look at his co-pilot. "We've been flying almost blind for the past two weeks. Stopping only to look at wrecks floating in space or the odd space station in the middle of nowhere to refuel. Is this normal?" Specter continued to read. Barely aknoledging her question. "Well, Alvina..." "Codenames."Now he was annoyed. "Not you too! Why is everyone obsessed with those?" "I just like mine." She answered with a smirk towards him. "Besides, I dont think calling you Zack fits you." "Nice of you to say I guess." He sighed."Ok, Countess, this is pretty standart work for Gabe...Sorry, I meant Archangel. We fly arround for a while, following some trail only he can see and then something happens. So far nobody has died, but if Vulture 5 and 6 keep fooling arround every time I try to sleep, I might change that." "Considering the literature you like to read, I figured you would apreciate the noise they make, Specter." The sound of Archangel's vocie made Specter jump out of his seat. "Oh Jesus fuck! How are you this quiet? And what do you mean by literature I read?" It took him a few seconds. "Oh. Right. Still, no." "Do I want to know what he's reading?" Alvina asked with a neutral tone. "I advise against it. You might not like what you find. But I'm not here to discuss Specter's smut collection. We have an update on our task and I need you all ready to be briefed." Specter sat down in his chair again. He pressed a button on the console that would summon those of the crew that would form the away team. After a few minutes, Archangel stood in front of a holographic projection of the galactic map. The team he had assembled on Domino station was arround him. "More than two weeks ago, I was tasked by the Executor to look into activity surrounding the Transsentience cult in this sector. If you do not know who they are by now, you have a few hours to read up on them, I'm not going to give you a rundown. Since departing Domino station, we've been following a trail of ships that were unlucky enough to meet them. So far nothing. Untill two days ago. We recieved a call for emergency from one of our ships. The Thermopylae. Specter, if you will?" There was a brief sillence before the message began to play. "This is first mate Lana Polou of the Death Vigil ship Thermopylae...We need assistance...The captain...is dead*^$%^@*One of those things made from metal and corp*$^*))(* Crew is held up in armory*&^R&^((*medical. Barely managed to get to the bridge to broadcast this. Please! Send help!" The voice of the first mate was interupted by the sound of metal scraping on metal followed by gunfire. What followed were screams of terror, pain and something else. It was hard for anyone to make out what it was. The last thing anyone could hear was a low chanting. [I]Technology is the way. Shed the flesh and embrace Transsentience![/I] "So, what? A rescue mission?" "Not quite, Kobold. As far as we know, the crew is dead. Thats secondary to our task. Our main objective is to retrieve any information on the cult we can. We go in. Get to the security room and bridge, look for survivors and we leave. We will arrive in a few hours. I suggest you prepare. Dismissed."
[i]In orbit above Gargas[/i] Gargas. A frontier colony of the Upyri Federation. Grand Admiral Joss Welsh of the Fists of Sol chuckled. [i]Former frontier colony.[/i] Dozens of Divinity Creed ships were seen flying back and forth between the surface and the two fleets watching above. Wreckages of the destroyed defensive vessels had been salvaged and then formed into a defensive barrier around the fleets. From her Vengeance-class battleship, [i]Righteous Claim[/i], Welsh observed the entire observation. The attack on Gargas had been swift and well-planned; military forces on the planet had been knocked out with some help from Fists of Sol bombers which had been hidden amongst the swarm of Creed dropships deployed from three Knight-class hangar cruisers. After that it had been easy to round up the civilian population and relocated them to a large shield dome which now functioned as their prison. Welsh smirked as she thought about the dome, a design of her own. The whole beauty of it was that it only required a small detachment of guards to keep it secure. A few hours later the Divinity Creed forces and their commander, Zealot Terrence Jacobs, had established a base on the surface. Welsh and her fleet had begun flying down supplies to the Creed bases. Ontop of that Welsh had also deployed a smaller team to a research station located near the northern pole. The station had been captured quickly and during its first hour of operation Welsh knew that Lord Sword would be pleased with the results. Unknown to the Upyri, who believed that the site they had studied were of Sanghvi origin, they had accidently found an ancient Dirathian beacon. Based on what Vexar Sword had told her and her research team a beacon like this could lead Welsh and her crew to a buried ship or colony. The technology, not to mention weapons, would prove useful in the war against Sol and its allies. Welsh crossed her arms and began to think. Maybe Sword would promote her. What was the next rank after Grand Admiral? Lord Grand Admiral? Suddenly a loud beeping caught her attention. One of the bridge technicians turned towards her. "Admiral! Incoming enemy vessels!" Welsh moved back to her chair and sat down. "Bring it up on screen. Raise shields and power weapons." She turned towards the technician. "Do we have a drive signature?" He nodded. "Yes ma'am, it's the Upyri." Damn. They weren't supposed to retaliate this fast. Welsh cursed loudly and was about to give her next order when another beep could be heard. Another technician looked. "Admiral! We have another group of ships coming in from the other side: It's Sol!" Welsh grimaced. This was bad. "First officer, pacth me through to the [i]Enduring Shield[/i]." One of the deck officers nodded. "Tactical, run a scan on both enemy fleetgroups and relay the results to the Creed fleet. Air control, begin recalling our ships and let the research team know that we'll be evacing in ten minutes." As her crew got to work one of the nearby screens flickered and showed the armored face of Zealot Jacobs. "This is Jacobs, you may speak." "Jacobs this is Welsh. As you may have noticed there is currently two enemy fleets inbound on our position. It is of utmost importance that you and your forces delay their advance for as long as possible. My forces are currently retrieving a high-value package from the surface and will need all the time they can get. Do you understand?" Jacobs nodded. "I understand Grand Admiral. We will show these aliens and traitors the might of our fleet and enlighten them. You will have your package." Welsh bowed her head. "May God enlighten your path to victory." Jacobs returned the bow. "To you as well. Jacobs out." Slowly the Creed fleet came to life and began to form around its battleship. The wreckage of the former defense fleet were catapulted away towards the Upyri in an effort to break their formation. Meanwhile the Sol fleet, which appeared to be a smaller patrol fleet, moved in to engage the Creed ships from the side. Welsh frowned and turned towards the bridge crew. "What's the ETA on the artifact team?" "Five minutes ma'am. They just loaded the beacon onboard and have placed the charges around the facility." "Good, we will await their arrival. I want all our ships to be combat ready and have their jump engines charged. We're leaving this system as soon as that beacon is onboard." --- [i]"UFS Revelator, this is captain Henry Marshall of the SNV Horizon. We thought you could use some help."[/i]
[QUOTE][I]"UFS Revelator, this is captain Henry Marshall of the SNV Horizon. We thought you could use some help."[/I][/QUOTE] "This is Colonel Vedok Pietsch, captain of the [I]Revelator[/I]. Happy to have you." responded Vedok, scratching his jaw. Probably a Sol patrol near the border that decided to warp in to help. [I]How thoughtful.[/I] Where were they when Crion or any of the other Upyri border worlds were attacked? They would have gladly accepted the help. Vedok grunted, then glanced to his second in command nearby. The Major simply nodded, then instructed the comms officer to relay that Sol vessels would be joining them to the other ships in the fleet. As the comms officer got to work, another officer spoke up nearby. "[Detecting a debris field coming up.]" Vedok nodded, then spoke. "[We drop out of warp just short of it. Instruct the missile corvettes to take out as much of the debris as possible. Focus on the larger chunks. The smaller chunks will just bounce off our shields and hull. Instruct the Dominion to ready half its fighters and bombers for battle, and instruct all Caliburnus-class and Gladius-class vessels to ready their main guns. When we get clear shots, we open fire on their capital ships. Try and cripple them so that they can be boarded.]" The officer saluted, then got to work quickly. Vedok sat forwards in his chair. The debris was an attempt to slow them down, so that they'd have enough time to pull their capital ships out. Well they weren't going to get it. Not if he had anything to say about it. Soon enough, the Upyri fleet dropped from warp. Indeed, there was a large debris field approaching. What was left of the defensive forces that had been around Gargas. "[Bastards are using the rubble of our own ships against us.]" muttered Vedok as he studdied it. The missile corvettes moved up, and fired off several clusteres of missiles aimed at the larger chunks of the debris. The chunks were destroyed after a few detonations, and the fleet began to progress through the remaining debris. Most of the debris simply bounced off the shielding of the various vessels. If it managed to get through the shields, it simply clanked against the hull and floated off into space. Soon enough, they were through. The DC fleet and Gargas was in sight. "[Engage the DC vessels. Use the main guns when you can get a clear shot on their capital ships. When we clear some of them out, we land our forces and begin the ground battle.]" said Vedok, as he stood. He eyed the fleet itself on the viewscreen, then singled out one of the larger ships. "[The [I]Revelator[/I] will target that one for now.]" he stated, examining it. The Divinity Creed ships always seemed to remind him of those Kanad vessels that he'd see from time to time. Triangular and pointy. They'd probably be great for ramming enemy ships, but a railgun shot would probably rip through it like paper. The Upyri ships quickly approached, opening fire on the enemy vessels as they got closer. The Gladius and Caliburnus-class vessels fired off a volley from their main guns, and the Dominion-class carrier began to churn out its Dardus-class fighters and bombers in rapid fashion.
While the Upyri ships moved in to engage the Creed vessels head-on the SNV Horizon and its escorts moved in from the side, barraging the enemy ships with missiles and railgun salvos. Several Vindicator-class frigates and Knight-class hangar cruisers broke off to counter the attack however while doing so they had unintentionally left the main fleetgroup exposed from one side. Captain Henry Marshall stroked his chin in silence as he watched his own ships prepare for a frontal assault. Hopefully they'd be able to buy Vedok and his fleet some more time. --- Zealot Jacobs cursed underneath his mask while slamming one of his armored fists into the armrest of his chair. His fleet was being engaged from two different sides, severely limiting the options before him. For a moment he began to wonder if the Lord would forgive him for failing to protect allies of God. "Bring our broadside batteries to bear! Maximum fire on the Upyri scum!" Slowly the Enduring Shield turned and unleashed several devastating salvos directed at the larger Upyri vessels. Meanwhile the remaining Vindicator, Knight and Chariot vessels attacked full force with little regard to their own safety. Some of the ships resorted to desperate, even suicidal, tactics as they unleashed a hailstorm of deadly projectiles followed by swarms of gunships and boarding pods. While largely unsuccessfull these tactics were bold enough to keep the forward Upyri vessels busy. --- A single dropship escorted by two fighters ascended from Gargas at a rapid speed. Quietly the three ships landed onboard the Righteous Claim, allowing the hangar doors to finally be sealed in preparation for transport. Grand Admiral Welsh watched the battle unfold from the safe comfort of her own bridge. One of the deck officers spoke up. "Package retrieved. We're ready for departure Admiral." Welsh nodded. "Tactical, set off the remote charges. Navigation, take us out." The battleship began to move while surrounded by its smaller cruisers. A blinding blue flash marked their jump to a unknown location. Meanwhile down on the surface the research station was turned into ruin because of the single concentrated bomb left at the site. The research personnel died instantly.
Hello, would it be possible to join? I was on the V1 thread but i left cause of time-problems. But i have more now and would love to join up as an engineer.
"[Sir! Only one of the enemy ships warped out! They're turning to attack us head-on!]" stated one of the officers on the bridge of the [I]Revelator[/I]. Vedok chuckled loudly. "[They simply don't know who it is they're dealing with. Focus cannon fire on their carriers and larger ships. Instruct the corvettes to take down those smaller ships. Fighters are to eliminate those gunships and boarding craft. Bombers, cripple their firepower.]" said Vedok. Outside, one of the destroyers exploded in brilliant fashion as it took direct hits from the larger ships of the DC fleet. The explosion rocked a corvette that had been near it, but didn't stop the corvette from unleashing a wave of missiles at a few of the oncoming corvettes. Upyri fighters bobbed and weaved through enemy fire, tangling with enemy fighters as well as gunships. Meanwhile, some of the bombers began to pelt the enemy ships with large balls of hot plasma. One of the Caliburnus-class battleships fired off a shot from its railgun, sending a chunk of steel at maximum velocity at one of the capital ships in the DC fleet. Two other battleships did the same, syncing up their fire as they tried to eliminate one of the carrier vessels. - - - - - - - - - - [QUOTE][I]Elsewhere...[/I][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][video=youtube;wyilHADw1G0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyilHADw1G0[/video][/QUOTE] "You're doing what?" "I said I'm coming out of retirement." "May I ask why?" "Well, its a number of reasons. And before you say its because of Taylor's situation, its not. Taylor can handle herself, plus Iron's keeping an eye on her. I'm not worried about her." replied Miranda, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag on it before exhaling a puff of smoke. "Then what are the reasons?" asked Lex, tilting her head and folding her arms as she looked at her. "Well, for starters...Taylor's grown and already out the door. Iron too." stated Miranda. She rested her head against the wall, overlooking where a few bounty hunters were processing criminals they had captured through security. They'd soon be delivered for payment. "Second, Vasil's dead. I've no ties to Pyri II anymore besides the mining job. And it itself has basically become just a big fucking bore. That's the third reason." continued Miranda. Lex nodded a bit. "So you're bored." said Lex after a moment. Miranda tiled her head towards her, then chuckled. "I guess that's what it sums up to." she said, with a smirk. Her cigarette poked out of the corner of her mouth. "I've been thinking on it for a while now. About a month, really." "A month, eh? And you finally decided on it today?" Miranda nodded. "Well, I can get the paperwork ready for you if you want. And get new IDs for you. Still want to train these newbies in your spare time, right?" asked Lex, motioning to the bounty hunters below. "Yeah. Keep me on the advisory and trainer listing. Change mine to an open advisory listing, though. Maybe one of these groups like the SDF might offer up a contract to train some people or run an op sometime." responded Miranda, returning her attention to the bounty hunters. "Right. So Hunter, Advisor, and Trainer." nodded Lex, to which Miranda replied with a thumbs up. As the two talked, another broker approached. "Did I just hear that right? The great [I]Miranda Caine[/I] is coming out of retirement?" said the woman as she approached. Her accent was Spanish in origin, and rather thick. Lex rolled her eyes, before glancing back to the woman. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, Regina?" she asked, turning to face her. Regina smirked. "Not really. I'm waiting on my Queens to get back from a hunt." "You mean Slut Squad One." muttered Miranda, as she took another drag on her cigarette. "[I]What was that?[/I]" asked Regina, stepping over to where Miranda was. Miranda tilted her head a bit to look at her, locking eyes. "[I]I said, you mean Slut Squad One.[/I] They wear fucking [I]skin tight bodysuits[/I] and [I]no armor.[/I] I'm surprised some convict hasn't captured one of 'em and raped them yet. And they act like self-entitled brats. [I]Sorta like their broker.[/I]" Lex stepped between them, moving Regina back a bit. "You run your mouth way too much, puta." spat Regina, stepping back and folding her arms. "Yeah, well [I]besa mi culo.[/I]" responded Miranda, as she took one final drag on her cigarette before thumping it into the trash nearby. Lex sighed. "Oh! I forgot to ask! How's your daughter, Miranda? You know, she's got quite a big bounty on her head..." said Regina, with a evil grin. Miranda cut her one hell of a look. "Keep talking, Recon, and just see what happens." spat Miranda, before Lex got involved. "Regina, [I]go the fuck away.[/I] [I][B]Now.[/B][/I] You and I both know you've got better things to do than stand here talking to us." she said, motioning her away. Regina giggled a bit. "Fine, fine. See ya later, Lex. [I]You too, Miranda.[/I]" she said, turning and waving over her shoulder as she strolled off. Miranda shook her head and straightened up. "Miranda, don't." said Lex, simply. "But-" was all Miranda was able to get out before Lex cut her off. "[I]Don't.[/I] She was just fucking with you." Miranda finally just sighed. "Fine...I need a beer." Lex nodded, then motioned for Miranda to follow. "Back to my office then. I'll get your IDs and paperwork filled out." she said, as they started walking. - - - - - - - - - Taylor drew out her holotablet, and shot a message to Yanim about Karl. [QUOTE]Boss, we got a man here at the tavern looking for a lift off this planet. Goes by the name of Karl Falksköld. Supposed to be some famous hunter or something. Was the host of Big Game Hunt: Extreme XL Edition. Skills might be useful.[/QUOTE]
Joshokk chuckled and grinned at Yanim, "Look like Batakya will find you." He pointed to a spot on the map with a few tactical pieces on it, "Here, Stalnazyp" he began, moving his finger over to location a fair distance away judging by the scaling of the map. "Here, Vostokrebh. Old port. Lend to UGC for long time, but [I]domov[/I] run UGC now." he said, spitting on the ground. He then looked over to Yanim with a serious face. "Batakya have militia prisoners. Try to take information. Militia strong, not give information. But Militia loose warriors and Joshokk want [I]domov[/I] OFF RIGEL!" he finished angrily, slamming his fist on the table. He then collected himself and continued, "You. Take crew and in dark sneak into port. Kill [I]shtuki domova[/I], and free militia. Must be sneak, or else they kill prisoner." He straightened his posture and crossed his arms, looking down at Yanim, "Any askings?"
One by one the DC ships fell prey to the Upyri ships. Better armor and swarm tactics was simply not enough. The massive broadside batteries on the Enduring Shield roared several times as it pulverized the smaller Upyri ships. Meanwhile the Sol fleet had effectively eliminated all but one Knight-class ship from the group of ships which had split off. The last ship could be seen launching the remainder of its gunships to provide cover for the mothership. "Zealot, we're outnumbered." Jacobs stood up and gestured towards the holoscreen. "Open channel. Let the aliens and traitors hear this." [i]"Attention vessels of the Upyri Federation and traitorous SDF. This is Zealot Jacobs of the Enduring Shield. If you do not cease all hostile actions at once I will give the order to have the inhabitants of this world slain in favor of the Lord. God's punishment is swift and righteous, if you scan the planet yourselves you will see that there is infact a shield dome containing the people of Gargas. If you choose to give me and my fleet the time we need to leave the system I will spare their pathetic lives. You have five minutes to respond."[/i] Jacobs returned to his seat and sighed. Hopefully the ruse would work. --- "Tactical, cease fire." Said captain Marshall. Outside the remaining Divinity Creed gunships returned to their burning mothership slowly creeping back to the main DC fleet. Zealot Jacobs had given Marshall and his Upyri allies quite the ultimatum. "Control, do we have a scan of the surface yet?" One of the officers nodded. "Yes captain, we have infact detected a shield dome however it is impossible to tell if it has the ability to harm the occuppants or not." Marshall sighed. "Alright. Get me a direct line to Vedok." The captain got up and walked towards the holoscreen. "Colonel, it appears we have quite the situation at hand. Ideas?"
"I have an idea." spoke Vedok, leaning forwards in his chair. "We annihilate what's left of their fleet. We have no reason to trust the Divinity Creed at all. They'll more than likely still kill everyone inside that dome on the surface before escaping. I say we kill them now while we have the chance. One less piece of vile filth to have to deal with in the future." Vedok had dealt with the Divinity Creed before on other occasions. They were prone to bluffing to try and get their way if they were on the shit end of the stick. He was not going to let them bluff their way out of this one. He sat back. "Unless you have any [I]better[/I] suggestions." said Vedok.
Marshall crossed his arms. "It's your call colonel." He gestured with his hand. "Gargas is a Upyri world, my forces and I will do everything we can to support you." "If we time everything right we can immobilize the Creed fleet and deploy ground forces to secure a perimeter around the dome. Initial scans reveal that there is a small structure right next to it which appears to be a power source. If we can safely neutralize that your citizens will be saved."
[QUOTE=The Rifleman;52147324]Hello, would it be possible to join? I was on the V1 thread but i left cause of time-problems. But i have more now and would love to join up as an engineer.[/QUOTE] ((I never would have expected you to come back, but for some reason I was prepared for it. Your character from the first thread, Mattheus Badaloni, still exists in-game. A quick summary of his adventure so far- after joining the crew on its mission to Prospera, where he presumably stayed on the Muramasa doing various engineering tasks, but nothing important. [url=https://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1505836&p=50462789&viewfull=1#post50462789]After the mission, he was taken off the crew to receive "additional training" aboard a much larger carrier vessel called the Aurikha,[/url] and has been there ever since. By sheer coincidence, I decided to start a new chapter tonight, so below, there'll be a complete summary of the game so far.)) --- Yanim studied the map for a moment before glaring up at Joshokk. "That base is a deathtrap," she remarked. "They repair batakya ships there; no doubt they'll have secured the perimeter. We'll also be contending with more than just kanads. We have no idea of the diverse equipment and abilities we'd be expected to bypass. And if we're captured, it won't just be your militia getting killed... it's no wonder you're trying to pass this burden off on us. It's shit," she spat, Joshokk appearing annoyed until Yanim smirked and added, "...but we've seen far worse, believe me. We know how to operate when our backs are to the wall. Only a few of us have any alternative but to accept the deal, anyway. "Our company colors are black, red, and violet... have the frigate painted by Tuesday morning," she concluded. Her tablet chimed, and after reading the message from Taylor, sent a quick reply: "Your call, captain." --- [B]Summary of the Prologue:[/B] On January 8th, 2385, the Muramasa, a ship belonging to the Terika-Belladonna Company, docked at the lunar trade port of Virtue in the Sol system. Under the directive of the company's first lieutenant, Rask Vor'Pangn, the ship took on a rookie crew and departed for the eastern border planet of Itara, an isolationist agricultural state which has recently been occupied and placed under control of the Kanad Collective's Black Fleet. Their unmet employer, Yanim Terika, supposedly awaited them there, having stayed behind from a previous mission in order to assassinate a public figure named Kupro Kupra. However, en route to the planet, the new crew was informed that Yanim had not reported on the success of her mission, and had likely been captured. The rendezvous soon became a rescue mission, and Rask was forced to lead an away team to assault a city police department in an effort to locate Yanim. By the time her location had been determined, the local authorities were already in the process of turning Yanim over to the kanads, who wished to prosecute her as a terrorist. Rask then lead the team to intercept and recover her. Meanwhile, Neasha Kyral, the company's second lieutenant, lead a ship-based crew into combat against the Black Fleet itself, helping to delay Yanim's extradition and clearing a path of escape for the crew. In the end, the new crew recovered Yanim and escaped the planet with only a single casualty, inflicting severe losses on the kanads and the native tetrian collaborators who assisted them. [B]Summary of Chapter 1:[/B] After a brief stopover at the Albitsky Asteroid Field, the Muramasa crew traveled to Prospera, a gambling Mecca in human space. Yanim had learned that the kanads were using a security agreement with the tetrians to manipulate the flow of the interstellar food trade in hopes of causing a shortage in vulnerable border states. The human factions had boycotted tetrian goods out of suspicion of this intent, but the kanads were successfully skirting regulations by selling to the human crime syndicate "the Mafia," whose throwback aesthetic shaped the resort planet Prospera into a corrupted cyberpunk Las Vegas. The crew was ordered to find a way to sabotage the F-Max Grand Prix, a major sporting event that the Mafia was attempting to fix for a massive profit. Yanim hoped that the syndicate would negotiate if brought to heel, but the reality was far messier. After bribing and assaulting key racers and Mafia figures, the crew entered its pilot, Owen Jackson, into the Grand-Prix. Owen, a former race driver, managed to pull off an upset victory despite rampant Mafia efforts to cheat the race in favor of their patsy. As a result, recently-ascended Mafia leader Donatello was assassinated, and two of his sons became rivals in a mob war. Meanwhile, Red, the mysterious Argos contact with which Yanim has worked in the past, appeared on Prospera to offer the crew a job. Richard Briggs, an YsCom official who sought war against the flagging trade conglomerate Tri-Enterprises, was due to be assassinated. The killing was meant to look like an accident, but after Tri-Enterprises' Asset Protection PMC intervened, kidnapping Briggs, the crew was forced to assault them directly and killed Briggs in the process. The crew then traveled to Mars, entering into another contract with Argos to retrieve a pair of unexplained devices from the planets Sirgas and Voyak, where war was threatening to break out at any moment. Although the crew had just saved the east from a food crisis, they would have no time to rest as they brought their guns directly to the front lines. [B]Summary of Chapter 2:[/B] By January 18th, the Muramasa had arrived at Voyak in pursuit of one of two mysterious Archives. The crew had taken a vote to decide whether the sanghvi or the kanads would be better collaborators to recover the second of these devices for Argos in a complicated quid pro quo deal, and had chosen the sanghvi. Their job was to destroy a missile defense base operated jointly by the UGC and Black Fleet forces at Dyatiq, which would signal the sanghvi on Sirgas to capture and return an Archive. The crew would then assault Yovek Airbase, a Black Fleet stronghold, to recover the second Archive. The activities of the first day ended in failure- Frosty, the crew's resident starfighter pilot, was shot down over the planet's capital city, and two away-team members, Amy and Valkyrie, were taken out of action during an assault on Dyatiq which was ultimately aborted, and which required Yanim to hastily purchase another ship and crew to rescue the first. A second away-team, meant to recover Frosty's body, instead encountered a strange mystic named Moloch, apparently belonging to Frosty's unknown race who had recovered the body instead, and restored it to life. After bringing this stranger back to the Muramasa, a standoff between Captain Yuga Shuur and Moloch resulted in a crew mutiny and Yuga's replacement with Taylor Caine, a human mercenary. Meanwhile, Rask used the opportunity to increase his power within TBC, becoming the operational leader in charge of the Muramasa's mission while Yanim was busy courting buyers for the company's new weapons division. Rask worked with Checkered to develop a new plan: the crew would use airstrikes to disable key radar stations around Dyatiq which would leave the base unable to distinguish a real attack from a false one. The new sister ship, the Cataract, would carry out the false attack. This plan required special bombs produced within the capital's industrial district, which were driven out in a dangerous high-speed chase on the freeway. After the crew's harrowing escape from authorities, they learned that the Archive at Yovek had been stolen. The thief was another human mercenary, Jason Bradley, fresh off the allied ship Sparrowhawk, whom had been captured by the Black Fleet while attempting to locate the Muramasa crew in search of a new job. Jason escaped imprisonment and stole the Archive after overhearing of its importance. The Muramasa crew thus only had to rescue Jason to recover the Archive, but this was no small task as he had attracted the fury of the Black Fleet preemptively. The crew achieved this aim and then bombed the radar stations, successfully executing the arrangement made with Argos. Upon fleeing the planet, however, the crew was attacked once more, this time by the Death Vigil, which also wished to obtain the Archives. However, despite practically destroying the Muramasa, the Vultures weren't able to locate the Archive, as the device had been handed off to the Sparrowhawk for delivery in a shell game gambit. The crews now return to their leaders, aboard the massive carrier Aurikha, which had been gifted by Argos as partial payment for the operation. Things have changed- Yanim is secretly suffering from a terminal nerve disease which had previously urged her toward violent acts, but she can no longer bare the immense guilt that her decisions have leveled upon her. Rask views her as a liability, and wishes to be rid of her. The crew has suffered immensely from poor leadership and lack of resources, and the ship has been torn to hell. All of these critical factors have converged as a result of the great rush to recover the Archives, and yet no one within the company knows exactly what they are... But they will, and soon. [B]Summary of Chapter 3:[/B] With the Muramasa having seen its last battle, the crew was reassigned to the Cataract, conveniently available after the angry departure of the latter ship's original crew. Only two stayed behind, including Arkadam Sidikan, a former Collective State Security officer with a history of romantic exploitation and near-deadly revenge from Yanim. Having disturbed a hornet's nest by interfering in the now-catastrophic Second Kanad-Sanghvi War, the Aurikha and all of its occupants traveled to the northern fringes to do various small jobs and build connections. While there, Yanim worked tirelessly to find information about the Archives. As she would discover, there were three Archives in total, with the third being held somewhere on Oltanis, a remote world devoid of civilization. After some discussion, the crew came to acknowledge responsibility for their role in whatever happens with the mysterious boxes. The debate over the company's role produced deep divisions. Rask, wishing to wash his hands of the Archives and seek out wealth instead, sharply criticized the crew for contemplating their moral obligations. He was overruled, however, and the crew traveled to Oltanis. After they retrieved the final Archive, Yanim interfaced directly with the machine through her neural implant and spoke directly with a powerful, ancient being, known as Starvis- in truth a moon-sized sentient computer system embedded within the planet of the same name. Starvis explained that it was originally designed to contemplate the physics, implements, and strategies of war, but that it soon achieved a higher understanding and wished to end war entirely. Its three Archives were the key to ending its imprisonment, and once assembled at the pole of the planet, the being's plan could be set into motion to bring immortality and tranquility to all beings. However, if only two of the Archives were to be brought forward, the bearer would be able to control Starvis and unleash its great destructive powers. To avoid this calamity, Starvis promised to prevent Argos from learning the same secrets from the two Archives it possessed, giving Yanim plenty of time to devise a way to arrive at the same moment and deposit the third Archive, preventing disaster. Yanim was initially conflicted by the sudden revelations, but after speaking with Taylor, Hariim, and Bucky about the implications of Starvis's release, the group decided that a better course of action would be to destroy at least two of the Archives. They then travelled to speak with Red on Athens, where Argos held its headquarters. In the midst of communicating her unwillingness to work with Red any further, Yanim was interrupted by a surprise attack by the Death Vigil, which recovered one of Argos's Archives. The Aurikha fled from Athens, now enemies with Argos as well as the Vigil. The sudden turn of events caused Rask to fly into a rage, attacking Yanim for spoiling plans he had been making for after he supplanted her. Arkadam arrived and defeated him in the nick of time, having been inspired by Yanim's attempts to make up for years of troubled interactions. As it would later be revealed, Yanim had always secretly desired to develop a relationship with him, as she had once seen his potential. The two quickly fell in love. However, all was not well on the crew. Maddox, having been exposed as a spy for Sol, had a psychotic lapse and was placed into the Aurikha's brig, permanently. There, he would team up with Rask in an effort to escape, betray, and ultimately destroy the company. Using the company's money in his role as operational leader, Rask bought and bribed his way for freedom, and enlisted Maddox's help in escaping from the Aurikha. Meanwhile, Yuga, now an officer of the Ayr Imperial Fleet, arrived with Vakarus as her ally as well as a detachment of kanad vessels in a massive effort to halt and board the Aurikha. Instead, the Terika-Belladonna crew fought fanatically, eventually landing hard in the wastelands of Rigel, where, with the help of the Boome Marines, they killed Rask and Maddox and drove the ayr and kanads back in a heroic stand. Now, they seek a means to escape again, as their enemies will no doubt find them before the Aurikha is fixed. They must purchase a new ship to truly replace the Muramasa. For now, they take refuge in Stalnazyp, the home of Yanim's dear friend and former crewmate, Iska Volgrim. In the midst of all the fighting, the crew has been shaped by extreme pressure, becoming an unbreakable diamond, with the same courage and heart which once defined the Archius crew. The beginning of the end is coming as "Frosty," now Chemosh, Moloch, and Valkyrie all plan their futures outside the company, and Yanim, no longer hiding her illness, seeks a future for her friends that will outlast herself. Arkadam has secretly promised to marry her before she dies, fulfilling one of her final wishes, but one glaring problem remains- Starvis. The entire crew is now aware of the menace, but can they gather their strength in time to stop Argos and the Death Vigil from unleashing disaster? [B]Chapter 4[/B] [video=youtube;BL9_HxGgSUw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL9_HxGgSUw[/video] [quote]February 10th, 2385 I've given the crew a day of rest and recovery as we wait to see whether the batakya's going to pick us off... They haven't arrived yet, so we're going to go ahead with our raid tonight and see if we can get that frigate- Durandal, and get the alpha crew back into space with the Archive to keep it safe. We have a few hours before we need to get moving again, so the crew can purchase any last-minute equipment they might need from the locals. I've given them all some allowance to purchase "company vehicles, really, anything they can find that'll tackle this snow. I wish I had the supplies to build some ATDs, but that sure as hell isn't happening... Oh, and I've called for Ravis and Owen to meet us here at Stalnazyp with the Cataract. I need to make sure they're properly equipped, so I've asked for them to bring as much of the discarded materials left behind by those troopers we killed, day before yesterday, as they could reasonably gather in a half hour. I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty. -Yanim[/quote]
[QUOTE]"If we time everything right we can immobilize the Creed fleet and deploy ground forces to secure a perimeter around the dome. Initial scans reveal that there is a small structure right next to it which appears to be a power source. If we can safely neutralize that your citizens will be saved."[/QUOTE] "We will continue attacking the enemy ships. You may neutralize the power source for the dome. We will send Marines to assist. Lets get this done and quickly." said Vedok. He turned to his weapons officer on the bridge. "Resume fire on the capital ships. We end this now." The officer saluted, and forwarded the order to the other ships in the Upyri fleet. A few moments later, the ships opened up once again. Missiles and railgun shots darted through the space between the armadas. Vedok followed up his order with a glance to the Major next him and another command. "[Get us over Gargas, and deploy the OASTs planetside immediately.]" "[Aye, sir.]" was the response. The [I]Revelator[/I] moved closer to the planet and deployed numerous pods from its side as it assumed orbit. The various minivan-sized pods rocketed towards the surface at high speed, slamming into the ground a few minutes later.
As the Revelator and its escorts resumed its attack the SNV Horizon and the rest of the SDF ships began deploying OMS pods destined for the imminent area around the dome. Meanwhile Jacobs cursed once more as his ruse had failed. "Order all our vessels to ram to the enemy scum. Prepare the ship to jump." One of the Creed crewmen looked up. "What about our ground forces Zealot?" "God will provide for our brothers and sisters on the ground." Muttered Jacobs. With that said the Enduring Shield began to spin up its engines while its escorts overcharged their own systems to catapult them into the Upyri ships. --- Several loud [i]thump[/i] sounds could be heard as the heavy-duty OMS pods hit Gargas. It would mark the first, and hopefully the last, time SDF personnel had been deployed on the planet. Squads of six orbital marine shocktroopers poured out from each pod and began to engage the light enemy forces consisting primarily of Divinity Creed crusaders. As the squad leaders barked out orders the rest of the troops either took up defensive positions or formed up to storm the small command structure which doubled as the shield generator. Onboard the bridge of the Horizon one of the deck officers turned his head towards captain Marshall. "Captain, marine team leaders report that a initial perimeter has been secured. They're currently working their way towards the generator." Captain Marshall nodded. "Understood. Make sure that we get some guardians and shields down there to support them. Control, divert a third of our active fighter pickets to provide air support for the ground forces." "Yes sir, will do." Replied one of the officers. Marshall turned back towards the screen. "Colonel, SDF forces have successfully secured a perimeter around the shield. They'll have the generator analyzed and, hopefully, destroyed within minutes."
Mattheus woke up from his short sleep, groggy and it took awhile for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He left the dream world, for his cold, tiny quarters. Having been on the Aurikha awhile now, hes adjusted to the long hours in engineering and training, with little sleep. Nothing energy shots can't fix of course. He suddenly remembered Rask, who first introduced him to the crew that landed him on this ship. He wasn't sure if he was feeling batrayal...or surprise...or even sympathetic for what happened. Maybe it was a mix of all of them, but it's time to get up and push those thoughts away. He got up, shot a burst of energy into his forearm, and got dressed into his usual outfit; cargo pants, steel-toe boots and a dirty white shirt under his labcoat. He chuckled to himself, like he does every day when he puts the coat on, because it gets in the way more than helps. "Image is sometimes more important though, right Matt?" he thought to himself. He holstered his trusty enhanced-kinetic blaster, and left his room. "What to do today..." he pondered as he headed towards engineering once again. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Why aren't I doing more?" He's been on this ship for entire campaigns. Surely that has been enough engineering training. Not to mention the progress he's made the secret project he's been working on in his room at late hours, he thought feeling his blaster with his left hand... He asked the nearest worker where Constantine could be found. He after all has been giving him all his assignments, and it was time to ask for something more...involving. He was told to look for him on the bridge, and Mattheus headed that way. On his way he saw Ravis and Owen talking. he recalled hearing something about them taking the Cataract out and he figured he'd give them some flight tips since he spent some time checking it out when he had free time during lunch in the hangars. "Hey guys! It's me Matt from engineering, I don't know if we met before? Anyway I don't have much time I gotta run to the bridge but i got some notes for you guys". He hastily pulls out some coffee-ridden, crumpled papers out of a pocket on his lab coat. "These are about the Cataract. She's a great ship but looking it over I can see where problems can come in if you need a quick gateway or something like that. Take these notes I got on it, should help you out with maneuvering under high speed without the back end ripping off. If you can handle her right, she'll be your best friend ;)" He winked at Owen. "Gotta run, good luck guys!" Before they could react, he took off towards the bridge in search of Constantine. He finally found a man, with a clear aura of authority and no-bullshit surrounding him that he recognized as Constantine. He went up to him and saluted, "Sir, Mattheus Badaloni, Engineer reporting for duty! Permission to ask a couple quick questions sir?" Constantine nodded, and Matt continued, "Sir. I feel like I have proven my worth here on this ship. I have survived the recent campaigns, and have exceeded in all of the training assigned to me. Sir I believe I am ready for more responsibility. I would like to help lead the repairs on the ship if possible. Also sir, who will be running the weapons factory now that Maddox is gone? If there is a vacancy, I believe I have the skills available to not only increase our production but I have a couple ideas for new components we can make for the ships and personnel as well. These might be a stretch but if they work, it'll give our guys the edge! Although granted I'd probably have to be the one to field test them...Anything else I can do sir, I'm ready." Matt finished his sentence quickly, panting to get the words out. He wasn't used to being so direct and putting himself on the spot with his authorities. He was used to letting his work and results do the work for him, but he felt he earned this. He awaited Constantine's response eagerly. [How'd I do?]
[QUOTE]"Colonel, SDF forces have successfully secured a perimeter around the shield. They'll have the generator analyzed and, hopefully, destroyed within minutes."[/QUOTE] "Understood. Inform your commander on the ground that Upyri Marines are approaching rapidly from the northwest." stated Vedok, before returning his focus to the enemy fleet. It seemed that they were attempting to ram the Upyri and Sol fleets now. [I]Wonderful.[/I] "[Order our ships to fire on the ships closest to them. Rip them apart before they get too close. The shockwaves from the detonations could damage our ships. Oh, and task one of the battleships to try and plant a railgun shot through the bridge of that ship right there.]" Vedok pointed out a ship on the screen. The Enduring Shield. "[I want to give him a gift before he departs. Right in his lap.]" said Vedok with a rather sinister grin. The Major nodded in confirmation. - - - - - - - - - - On the ground, as SDF forces tangled with the Creed forces protecting the shield generator, Upyri Marines closed in on the Northwest flank. "[We break through their defensive lines one way or another. Destroy the shield generator, and kill any Creed that gets in our way.]" said the Lieutenant of the group via comms, as they traversed the rocky outcrop overlooking the shield generator. Most of the terrain on Gargas was a mixture of rocks and grassy plains, with a few trees here and there. This covered most of the planet, besides three major oceans and the polar caps. There were a flew small towns dotting the landscape, no doubt having been destroyed by the Divinity Creed during their occupation, as well as a research station at the northern pole. It'd have to be checked for damage after the battle, as ONI had marked it of significant importance. Soon enough, they saw it. The shield generator building, where DC were camped out as they fought off the surrounding SDF forces. "[Snipers, take up positions here. The rest of you, lets go send these cocksuckers to that almighty god of theirs.]" said the Lieutenant, before moving down the hill towards the SDF forces. Behind him followed three platoons of Upyri OAST Marines, while three sniper teams remained on the hill taking up overwatch positions. As the group reached the SDF forces, the loud [highlight][B][I]CRACK[/I][/B][/highlight] of the Upyri sniper's railguns sounded off. A Creed crusader's upper body practically exploded from the impact of the railgun shot, while another crusader a few yards from him lost most of his leg, forcing him to the ground in agony. The third shot finished him off, vaporizing his head in a red mist.
"Keep the pressure on boys!" Yelled a OMS squad leader. She turned around and nodded towards the OAST marines. "Glad to have ya with us! Name's Smith. Captain." She pointed two fingers at the command structure. "Creed forces managed to reinforce this location before our arrival. A knight went and locked himself inside with an unknown amount of troops." She paused as one of her soldiers stood up and unleashed a salvo from a kinetic LMG. Several muffled grunts and screams could be heard from the Creed forces in return followed by laser fire, forcing him down back into cover. "There's also a large enemy force inbound from the south. Our eyes in the sky reported several Apostle hovertanks and a detachment of Prophet gunships." A pair of laser shots forced the squad leader to duck before continuing. "My orders are to take out the generator however I feel that untill we've secured our position we'd just put the citizens at risk if we disable the shield now." Smith nodded towards the OAST Lieutenant. "It's your call." --- "Engines primed and ready to jump, Zealot." Jacobs nodded. "Excellent. Shipmaster, take us out of here." The navigator nodded. "Yes Zealot. Jumping to new position." Jacobs let out a sigh of relief as the crew began to prepare the ship for the jump. Slowly the entire vessel began to hum and a jump window was created infront of the majestic vessel. Just as the navigator was about to launch the ship a railgun shot struck the bridge and tore away the far wall. [i]"Alert! Venting atmosphere!"[/i] Jacobs managed to grab hold of his chair in the nick of time as most of the bridge crew were sucked out into space. The jump window was overloaded with energy and imploded on itself, turning the prow of the ship into a superheated smoldering tip void of life. The Zealot growled angrily and used his left hand to seal his suit. Slow but steady he climbed along the floor. Eventually the vacuum of space had devoured the atmosphere of the bridge and Jacobs found himself floating in the debris while a single red alarm light continued to sound. Using thrusters mounted to his armor he flew towards the rear door and opened it, venting the corridor (and the squad of crusaders within) into space before dragging himself in. Slamming the manual door close as hard as he could the corridor was resealed once more, allowing access to all the other connected rooms. A pair of knights rushed to aid him. "Zealot Jacobs, are you well?" Jacobs had a look of sheer face written all over his face. "Go to the auxiliary bridge and order them to ram the shield dome." Reluctantly the knight obeyed, knowing very well what a collission of that scale would mean. "Yes my lord." The Zealot looked at the other knight. "Help me down to the hangar. We'll take one of the Chariots." "Of course my lord."
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