• Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2
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Yanim finally spoke up as the confrontation defused itself, satisfied that not arguing directly with the khergian was a good idea. "I don't speak your language, kid, but I heard my [i]valued comrade[/i]," she said, referring to Iron but casting an annoyed sidelong glance at Valkyrie, "mention Iska Volgrim. Now that you've calmed down, I can prove it to you." She fished out her micro holoprojector and linked it to her tablet, pulling up an old photograph of the Archius crew, on Rigel, shortly after killing a screecher queen.
Mattheus was doing the rounds a couple days later in the engineering sector. His speech, while borderline cringy, seemed to have worked as the engineers followed his orders and repairs on the carrier were swiftly underway. He was checking in on each engineering sector, from weapon controls, to targeting, shield regeneration, armor repairs and power systems. Work was continuing ahead of schedule in some sectors. He took out his pocket PDA and sent an email to the three head repairmen he had chosen during his speech to run the individual teams, to increase coordination, accountability and overall repair organization. The email read: "Hey guys, daily meeting in engineering hangar 5, in 30 minutes. Seen you there.-Matt". 30 minutes later Matt and his guys were sitting on a couple boxes in the hangar discussing the plans and how repairs were going. James was first to report: "Sir, repairs in the shield operations sector, and weapons are almost complete. Were on track for finishing up the hangars and armor next. Power systems is looking good that Bucky's team is working on." Matt replied, "Awesome that's what I was expecting. Good work guys. Alright I was looking over the schematics you got me from the shield sectors." He pulled them out of his coat, " if you take a look at these points here... and here...and here. These three points are completely redundant. We have the three times the amount of power running through these corridors to the same shield sector, often overloading it. If we can take them out, or find a way to isolate two of them then we can help increasing the shield regeneration rate. I want you two," pointing to Gerland and Kasium the other two engineers, "to try to handle it. I'll get you some supplies and take a couple men to help if you need it. That's it for today. Keep up the good work, we're almost done and hopefully if there's another ambush we'll be ready. Thanks." James, Gerland and Kasuim nodded in agreement and took copies of the schematics. They weren't trained engineers but they knew the ship systems inside and out working on them for so long, and they were confident they had a chance at making the enhancement. "Thanks boss we'll report back to you tomorrow as soon as we have any progress". After dismissing the men, Matt pulled up his PDA again and began writing an email to officer Constantine: "Sir, it's Mattheus, the engineer who you put in charge of the repairs. Please see the attached status report on the ongoing work. I also included a part about possibly enhancing our shield capabilities that the men are going to try to make work. Lastly, I have been working on a special project of mine in my quarters. I will be requisitioning five shield capacitors for the project and will be unveiling it tomorrow to the engineers and I am asking if you would like to attend. I believe it'll give the men going out soon a real edge in case they get in a fight. That's all, thank you sir. -Matt" He stood up, and went back to his quarters where he already had the shield capacitors stashed. He began working on the finishing touches of his special project: a shield projector on a personal level. It would be created by a flux generator located on a person's belt, and powered by the capacitors. They would mimic the exact shield properties of that of a ship, except that they are not visible unless you are very up-close. The tricky part was getting the power routing correct, as well as ensuring that the shield holds when the person moves do to changing properties in the air at every step, he had to ensure that the fluctuations in the shield gradients held together at all points and didn't fall apart. Not easy, but doable. He was sure this would help the men out greatly, giving them a large advantage if these personal shields worked. He spit in his hands, rubbed them together and got his welder ready. Classic rock music from Terra playing, flashes of light could be seen coming from his quarters late into the night.
[media]http://YouTube.com/watch?v=kdbAcrBukzA[/media] With a press of a switch, the telltale signs appeared in the sky over Rigel that something very sinister was forcing its way into our dimension. And there it was again. Looming ominously like a dark tower over the Aurikha and the land, hovering almost silently in place only several hundred meters above it like some sort of preying animal about to swallow it whole. The Shaitan pulsates with energy running through the various throbbing veins covering its underside as its twitching eyes scan the snowy landscape below. Its gaping maw now wide open and the scaffolding around it gone, with the red dot at the back of its throat glowing brighter than ever. It hovered there, doing nothing, until it started hailing the Aurikha. It awaits a response.
The khergian kid dropped his jaw and looked at the holopic, "Oooppaaa" he said with excitement as he recognized both Iska and the screecher queen. He was about to answer before the radio in his belt began to crackle wildly with a range of different voices. [Quote][media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJWsDjyB36U[/media][/quote] He looked at the radio, then to the group and then in towards the scrapyard. "[Boss, We got some customers here!]" she shouted. He walked back and forth listening to his radio. Suddenly, a well built khergian with a surprisingly terran-esque haircut and a clean shave, most unusual for khergians, appeard from behind a pile of scrap. He inspected the group and grinned at Yanim, "Spaska, Yanim." he said in a friendly tone as he unlocked the gate. His face turned serious as sirens sounded and searchlights tried to paint something in the distance. "Look like trouble. Better talk inside." he said as he gestured for the ensemble to enter through the gate and follow him. --- The operators at the Chernobog Gunfort frantically tried to identify the ship that had just appeared outside of Stalnazyp. It had appeared out of nowhere and caught them by surprise. As they tried to locate a radio signal for the object, the guns of the fort turned towards it.
Constantine exited the restroom of his personal quarters, having just finished having Mattheus's message read to him by his tablet's text-to-speech feature. Toweling off his freshly-shaven face, he dictated a reply as he slipped into his company dress uniform. "Thank you for the update, Mattheus. I'll be checking into it in a moment, once I return to the bridge. As for your side project, I'll gladly endorse it- you've done a great job getting things moving in the right direction and it's about time you got a chance to build something new." Once finished, he instructed the tablet to send the message and then set out for the bridge, a short walk from his quarters. Another message came in, this time from Zeddai, the quartermaster general for SULP's revolutionary army on Seloveha. It had been almost a week since his last communication, and so Constantine was relieved to know that things were still progressing on that distant world. [quote]Friend- The first shipment of TAC-85 rifles has been fully tested by our best available fighters, and while I don't want to exaggerate, our leadership finds them to be higher quality than any secondhand rifles previously available to us as well as the best value available [I]anywhere,[/I] thanks to our internal agreement. In other words, I've been authorized to continue the agreement indefinitely as long as we have the money to spend... Also, I'm aware of your previous messages and wish to apologize for not contacting you sooner. You see, there has been deep suspicion within the party due to interference from outside governments. While our king may not have been kind to us, he did a good job of preventing the great powers from meddling within our personal affairs. Unfortunately, since he has been greatly weakened by our attacks, we are increasingly badgered by foreign intelligence agencies seeking to shape the outcome of the struggle. To be honest, many in our organization feared that your company was acting on behalf of Elysium to "capture" our revolution, and it took quite a bit of debate and research before we stumbled upon evidence that your company is no longer connected to Argos...[/quote] The message rattled on for a while, with Zeddai describing the numerous developments of the campaign and various tools and weapons which would be handy to have, with the not-so-subtle suggestion that Terika-Belladonna would be welcome to produce more equipment for the revolution. While listening, Constantine briefly forgot about the current threat posed by the Black Fleet and considered the now-questionable future of his bosses' pet project, the ILA. Yanim, and until he died, Rask, had been planning to form their own fighting force to do exactly what the melora were doing on Seloveha. Now, as Zeddai made references to possible deals for sidearms, torpedo grenades, personal armor, and so on, he wondered whether the means and motivation still existed to turn the supply deals into a more security and expertise-oriented deal. After all, the revolution was bound to end at some point or another. He cracked his knuckles as he wondered where else the company could find potential recruits, and his mind immediately jumped to Duroma. [I]Nobody likes getting subjugated. That's obvious. But how do we convince them that the ILA isn't just that?[/I] He shook the problem from his head as he entered the bridge and sat down in one of the commanders' chairs, bringing Mattheus's project report up onscreen. Neasha was sitting nearby in the pilot's chair, quietly browsing an online magazine of mercenary affairs, titled "Fortune Warrior Weekly." She turned from her article, a piece discussing some sort of hiring surge in the southwest, to give a polite wave to her human comrade. Constantine nodded back at her before studying the message's contents. The ship was bounding toward rehabilitation. Thanks to everyone's tireless work, rotating shifts working around the clock with a plan and structure, work that would have taken five days in a standard repair job had taken just two. [I]Mattheus deserves a bonus,[/I] he thought, before realizing that the reactor cores had been an equally-daunting job on their own. He had Bucky to thank for that. [I]How the hell does this company attract so much raw talent?[/I] he wondered. "Mattheus- I've just looked over the report, and I'd just like to say that you're doing an excellent job. However, I beg of you not to let your shield work distract you from getting this carrier ready for the long haul. Even if you completed those shields by tomorrow, they won't be ready in time for the crew's next mission, which will take place overnight tonight. Instead, I'd like you to focus on making them mass-producible, as I've just been informed that we might be getting new contracts soon from our buyers on Seloveha. If our alpha crew gains extra protection on a later mission, well, that would be a handy byproduct. -Constantine." He waited a moment. "Send message," he commanded, and the tablet complied. "New contracts?" Neasha said, closing her article. "Bit of a strange time to be considering that, don't you think?" "I happened to just learn about it," Constantine replied. "The revolution on Seloveha's going decently well. They say they've got a foothold in the capital city up there but they keep getting disbursed any time they try to gain ground. They want more juice to get the job done, especially since there are spies involved now; they like our equipment and they want to work with us." Neasha frowned. "Well, they'll just have to wait," she grumbled. "R&D isn't going to help us if our factory gets destroyed. Maybe they can provide for some additional security to protect their investments, if they're so satisfied with our work?" Constantine raised his eyebrows. "That might work." Internally, he mused over the possibility of using security for TBC, as opposed to security for Seloveha, as an in-road for launching the ILA in earnest. His thoughts were cut off by an alarm from the atmospheric sensors. "...the hell?" Neasha sprung to her feet, rushing over to the console to determine the source of the disturbance. "Gods... something just warped in; it's right on top of us, fuck!" "Computer- shields up, maximum strength!" Constantine ordered. There was a disapproving buzzer noise. "Shields unavailable due to maintenance protocol," the computer replied. "Fucking hell!" He yelled, now also bolting to his feet in a sense of panic. Had the batakya found them so quickly? Were they doomed? "Incoming transmission, hailing frequency. Accept connection?" the computer reported. "Computer, visualize proximity threat," Constantine directed. The [I]Shaitan[/I] appeared on the bridge holoscreens. It looked like no ship he had ever seen before. [I]That's not a kanad ship...[/I] He crossed his arms. "We accept the connection," he said, trying his best to appear professional despite the circumstances. --- Yanim and the rest of the team trotted through the now-opened gate into the yard. "What's going on?" Arkadam said, trying to see what was going on in the distance. "Are we under attack?" "Shnka... That's right over the Aurikha, isn't it?" Yanim hissed through clinched teeth.
Iron looked at the ship then back at Yanim. "Boss, I can get us back in ten minutes. But we need to get back in the rover now if that's the plan."
A sorcerer's veiled face appeared on the Aurikha's main screen when they accepted connections. "[I]A fair and formal greetings...[/I]" the words were slowly creeping out of his mouth. "[I]The vessel below us is indeed the [B]Aurikha[/B], is it not?[/I]"
"That might be the last place we want to be," Yanim replied, grimly. "I'll contact Neasha and see what's going on." --- Constantine's eyes narrowed as the artisynth appeared before him. Having worked for long enough around Chemosh and Moloch, he immediately recognized what he was dealing with, even with his counterpart's face obscured. "...Yeah?" he finally replied, exasperated. "I don't suppose you'd warp a ship of that size to a location this remote unless you knew exactly what you were looking for and where to find it... so let's get straight to the point. You're here because of Fr- ehem, Chemosh and Moloch, correct? Couldn't you have just sent a shuttle?" Neasha seemed far more alarmed than Constantine, as she was bent over one of the consoles and clutching her face, hyperventilating. Unbeknownst to anyone, she hadn't slept the previous night out of fear of being found and killed by the enemy. And as far as she knew, the artisynth could very well still be the enemy, as the company knew very little about them. A chime sounded on her personal tablet, a comm request from Yanim. [quote]Neasha, what's going on over there? Are you in trouble?[/quote] Neasha ducked behind the console so that she could quietly converse with Yanim without disturbing Constantine's call. "They look like Frosty," she stammered out. "We'll know in a moment."
Iron nodded. "Understood." He looked back at the ship. Karl on the other hand brought out some worn military-grade binoculars and zoomed in on the Shaitan. "I've never seen a ship like this before." He glanced at Alex and gave him the binoculars. "Look at those inscriptions on the hull."
The sorcerer on screen folded his arms and bowed his head for a moment. This was not good. [I]They know who Chemosh is.[/I] 'Moloch, you fool, what did you do?' he thought. "[I]Our two masters are very, very important to us. We wanted to ensure their absolute safety in their return to our people... Are they present?[/I]" he replied.
Valk decides to simply shoot a message to Eve, who was still on board the carrier, as everyone around her decided to resort to a mixture of caution and fear. Within minutes, she got a reply in the form of a photo of the craft above the carrier. She pulled it up and examined it. "That's...big. And black." she muttered. Taylor stepped over and looked at the screen over her shoulder. "That's the ship that Moloch and Fro...I mean Chemosh showed up in after Voyak." stated Taylor, straightening up and folding her arms.
"I'll contact them immediately," Constantine replied. The fact that the two men had been referred to as the [I]two masters[/I] was a strange and concerning detail, and it was abundantly obvious that much had been withheld from the TBC leaders with regards to their artisynth crewmembers. Still, Constantine didn't feel as if he was in a position to interrogate the sorcerer, nor did he feel that it was a good idea to reveal his own ignorance on the subject. One would imply a position of power-advantage, a position which could easily be checked and revealed to be a dangerous bluff, and interpreted as an affront. The other would imply a position of disadvantage, which would invite exploitation. His best bet was to remain mysterious and vaguely authoritative, in hopes that his counterparts would interpret his behavior as knowing [I]just enough[/I] about the "masters" and possessing [I]just enough[/I] "power" to render his role as legitimate and equal in terms of diplomacy. There was a reason Constantine had done well in the UGC before his migration to TBC.
Alex too the binoculars and looked towards the Shaitan. "Yeah, its that ship. Fuck do they want?"
[QUOTE]"Yeah, its that ship. Fuck do they want?"[/QUOTE] "Guess its Chemosh and Moloch's ride home." said Taylor with a shrug. "Eh, never liked that Moloch fucker anyway. And I liked Chemosh better when he was Frosty. He was more fun to be around." said Valk, looking at the picture on her holotablet one last time before shutting it off and pocketing it.
"So that's the consensus, then- that this is probably nothing," Yanim remarked. "I just hope they leave quickly enough that our position isn't given away."
"Should we pour one out for Frosty? He's technically dead." Amy lightly punched her brother's shoulder. "You're terrible."
"[I]Thank you, Mister...?[/I]" responded the sorcerer.
"Ioannis Constantine, although I don't feel that the name will be of much importance to you," he said. With a few taps on his tablet's screen, he summoned Chemosh and Moloch to the hangar. "I'll meet the two of them in the hangar and inform them that they are clear to depart. Ending the comm link now," he added, with a nod to Neasha. Neasha manually terminated the comm link before sending word to Yanim that the situation was under control. "I'll stay on the bridge," Neasha said, slumping back into her seat. "I don't feel well." "Take it easy," Constantine said, running his hands through his hair. "We'll have this rig up and running soon enough."
The sorcerer was a little upset that they rudely cut him off as he had something important he wanted to tell Constantine, but that didn't matter now. He motioned to a bridge crewmember next to him. "[Send the shuttle.]" Not a minute had passed as a [url=http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/e/ea/KyloRenCommandShuttleMural-Fathead.png]very imposing looking shuttle[/url] came out of the Shaitan, escorted by a dozen fighter craft which began circling the Aurikha in the events any nasty surprises were lurking about. The shuttle and two fighters guarding it glided into the hangar after the shuttle was cleared to land. As the shuttle landed, it lowered it's ramp and a squad of Quds members came out, setting up a perimeter around it as Chemosh and Moloch took themselves and their belongings in. Once that was completed, the shuttle and all the fighters returned to the Shaitan as it prepared to warp back to Karbala. And it left the same way it came, leaving behind nothing but an uncomfortable feeling. Whatever it was that János was planning to do, it was too late now. Whatever CoG was going to do next, it was on the crew for not realizing just how massively dangerous they are. The Artisynth have their leader back, now they can finally resume terrorizing humanity just as they did centuries ago. May God help Sol for what is to come next.
((Excuse me but God is a fraud. Sol told me that.))
Constantine strolled back into the bridge, relieved to see the proximity-threat system had turned off as the Shaitan departed. Neasha peered over at him from her pilot's seat. "Aren't you at least a little nervous about what just happened?" she asked. "Nope." Constantine flopped into his chair and let out a deep sigh as he relaxed himself. "Whoever they are, regardless of what they represent... we're in no position to challenge that. I don't even want to know about it." Neasha smiled. [i]Finally, a coworker who was pragmatic without being an asshole about it.[/i] Something seemed off, though. "You know," she commented, rather insightfully,"if Chemosh and Moloch were those guys' leaders, then maybe we should at least gather up what we know about them, just in case we need to warn somebody." Constantine mulled it over. "If you say so. Personally, I doubt anyone would believe us."
[I]In an undisclosed location under Creed control[/I] "Your grace." "Yes?" "Everything is prepared as you instructed. We are waiting for you to give the word." Stanislav smiled under his mask. He put down the book he was reading and picked out another from a stack next to him. Looking briefly at the cover, he nodded before proceeding towards his destination. In a small room in the basement level of the base, Creed technicians had set up quite a simple looking scene with a chair in the middle. Stanislav nodded in approval as he walked through the set. The machinery needed for what was going to happen next were hidden from view and the only thing visible on the camera was going to be him on the chair. He sat down, making himself comfortable and placing the book on his lap. "Is everyone in position?" "Everyone reported from their locations an hour ago. They are ready my lord." "Excellent." Stanislav leaned back, his hands forming a steeple. "You may begin." [I]On Novitus[/I] Everyone was trying to get on with their lives after the nightmare just a few weeks before. The SDF had moved in and had been putting the boot to whatever threat to peace they could find. Even so, with so much armor, weapons and protection, there was a feeling of unease gripping many. The peacekeepers were prepared for this, but they were sure that the feeling would pass eventually. What followed aimed to challenge that claim. Screens of televisions, billboards and other connected device began to experience static. It eventually subsided to the image of a masked man sitting comfortably in a chair, facing his audience. "Good day to you, children of Sol. I ask for forgiveness for interupting you, but I feel it is wise for me to speak to you now. Some of you may already know who I am, but for the rest of you I will simply be known as a storyteller. Those of you who insist on names can call me Stanislav. I feel no need to hide that name." His tone shifted towards a more serious one."Now on the subject at hand. By the grace of god, you weathered a storm. And by his will you continue to survive. But you still defy him with your "laws". It is why I feel you must hear some cautionary tales" He placed one hand on the book on his lap, opening it and gently flipping through the pages. "Now today I wish to tell you a story. An old one at that. It's more of a poem, but you can learn a thing from it. The little ones may enjoy it more than the adults, but their needs come first as any good parent would say." After a short cough, he bagan to read. "How did it go? Ah yes..." [QUOTE][I]Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall[/I][/QUOTE] The checkpoint was quiet as the truck drove towards it. The driver tapped the wheel of as he awayted the officer to do his checkup. Sweat ran down his brow as he heard the words over the radio. Now was the time was it? He didn't hesitate. The pedal was pressed to the metal as the truck picked up speed while bullets pierced the hull and his body. The truck rammed itself into a wall before exploding into a fireball. The SDF stationed there were surprised to hear they werent the only checkpoint to experience such an attack. [QUOTE][I]Humpty Dumpty had a great fall [/I][/QUOTE] The transport wasnt answering to the control tower. Repeated pleas to turn back or change course to avoid crashing into the building were met with sillence. The pleas turned to warning and threats that they would be shot down if they didn't comply. Finally there was one responce from the aircraft. "In god we trust! DEUS VULT!" The aircraft changed its course. Instead of the spaceport howerever, it turned towards the nearby city. [QUOTE][I]All the king's horses[/I][/QUOTE] "You checked the oil on those APCs?" "Nah, the new guy said he'd do it. Special orders and all that bull." "New guy? We arent expecting anyone for months." Both meachanics looked at eachother with confusion and then panic as they realized what this meant. Before they could react a series of explosions rocked the motor pool rendering the vehicles there destroyed as well as killing many of those working there. [QUOTE][I]and all the king's men[/I][/QUOTE] "And this is where we keep the real garbage before we ship them offworld to rot somewhere." The warden said as he was showing the new recruit the prison where the Creed soldiers were placed. "Any questions before I leave you alone with these gentlemen?" "Yes. How did you get to be in charge when you're so shit at keeping an eye on your keycard?" The woman smiled while holding the card in her hand. Before he could respond, she sank a blade into his throat. She looked at the prisoners who had gathered arround to watch. "Deus vult!" They were free now. [QUOTE][I]Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again[/I][/QUOTE] The hospital worker stumbled out of the room. She tried to run what had just happened through her head. One moment she was behind a desk the next a man was shouting something in latin and the room exploded. She was lucky she ducked when she did. Looking back she could see the fire supression system kicking in. What she couldnt understand was how could this happen? Stanislav closed the book and looked towards his audience again. "Many of you might not understand what this means. But fear not, children. Soon you will find out what has transpired today. But should that not be the case, I would highly question those above you. The men and women who are sworn to protect you, but wont disclose matters that concern your safety. What could they be hiding?" He looked away for a momet before turning his attention back to them. "I'm afraid that we are running out of time for now, children. I must leave you now, before its too late. But uncle Stanislav has one last thing to show you. A gift I recieved from our beloved Sol leaders. One I intend to repay fully" Stanislav moved his hand from the book to his mask. Gripping it, he began to move it slowly, untill his full face was [URL="https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/batman/images/f/f7/Scary_hit.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140610223113"]visible[/URL]. "Good night, children. I will be seeing you soon." He spoke softly before the feed cut off and the regular programing resumed, followed with news regarding what just happened.
As soon as the VTOL touched down on the landing pad the left sidedoor opened. Out came a handful of SIG bodyguards followed by High Councilor Wayford. The group moved rpaidly across the landing pad towards the door infront of them. Two SSOID agents were waiting and simply nodded when Wayford got within range. "Follow us sir and we'll take you to the director." Wayford nodded and motioned for the agents to lead the way. Soon he found himself walking down a tight corridor at a fast pace, surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards ready to neutralize whatever threat that might pop up. Roughly an hour ago Novithus had been attacked. At first it seemed as if the Creed had hacked the Sol News Network feeds to act as a distraction for a much larger fleet but instead it had been the signal for several dozens of smaller attacks on both military and civilian targets. The 3rd and 4th Defense Fleets had been mobilized to respond and form a perimeter around the entire planet. Marines had been deployed to assist local authorities and after some convincing Wayford had convicned the Novithian government to enable martial law. Wayford shook his head and frowned as he thought about it. He cursed his ancestors whom had formed the Sol Government in the first place without thinking of the consequences in the long run. Hopefully the local authorities would be able to tackle this situation as well before the effects of martial law begins to take its toll on business. It was clear that this Vexar Sword type had been planning this war for long and for each attack against Sol it also became clear that he had the resources to support both the Divinity Creed and Lunar Children indefinitely. Who knows what other band of twisted psychopaths he's funding in secret? "Sir, we're here." Said one of the agents. Wayford nodded. "Thank you agent." He opened the doors infront of him and stepped into the reinforced command centre located inside the SDF HQ in Terranos. As soon as word reached out regarding the Novithus attack SISP, SIG and the SDF had gone into crisis mode, deploying security forces to protect vital targets and peronnel. Wayford himself had been in his bed watching the holoscreen with his wife. It had, at the time, been one of the calmest nights in weeks. Imagine his suprise when his SIG security detail barged in and ordered him and his family to get dressed minutes before the large news networks began to report on the Novithus attacks. With his family safe in another secure location Wayford had asked to be transported to the SDF HQ. Inside the command centre were several military adjutants, advisors and communications personnel working closely with generals and admirals. Alongside SDF officers were SISP and SIG counterparts, Director Fahad Khan of SIG and Chief Carlos Reyes of the SISP were present with their own advisors. Together the officers worked hard to organize a good defense against possible attacks. Already SDF Army soldiers were visible patrolling the street alongside SISP officers. Wayford walked up to the table at the center of the room. "What's the current situation?", he asked to the people present. "All councilors and other key government officials are all accounted for and under SIG protection, sir." Replied Director Khan. Chief Reyes looked up and gestured towards a pair of generals next to him. "All SISP officers have been called in sir and we're currently patrolling all major cities alongside Army forces." "The remaining of our defense fleets have been deployed to shield Terra, Luna, Mars, Valhalla and Paraíso. A small detachment of corvettes have been deployed to Qalea and the SSOID reports that they have deployed their own defense fleets to Titan and key military targets outside the system." Said a admiral. Wayford nodded. "What's the latest from Novithus?" A SSOID liason looked up from his terminal "Local authorities coupled with SDF auxiliaries and our own marines have been able to enforce martial law. Several dangerous individuals have been apprehended however there's still a worrying amount of them still at large. We have unconfirmed reports of sleeper cells gone active, guerilla forces attacking remote mining outposts and terrorists seizing orbital shipyards above the planet. The SSOID is working hard to check the validity of these reports and act accordingly." Wayford sighed and crossed his arms. "Have we been able to establish contact with Director Williams, Lord Admiral Zhaneys and Lord General Cross?" "Yes sir," replied one of the admirals. "We received an all-clear from them and all other deployed SDF forces in or near active hotspots. It seems that the 'Big Three' are all in the same spot. No details so far." Wayford nodded. "Good." He looked up. "Great work everybody, I trust that you will all do your best. Keep it up." With that said Wayford excused himself and walked towards a small secure office space overlooking the room. Normally this would be where the Lord General overlooks any ongoing operations but seeing as Cross wasn't present Wayford figured that he could borrow his chair and desk. The High Councilor sat down and sighed before burying his face in the palms of his own hands. "This is going to be a long night."
János was in his room once more after dealing with the hijinks from earlier. While others left for town, he continued to contemplate his options, when suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. After asking who it was, he received a response in a voice he somewhat recognized, telling him to open up. When he opened the door, he saw that it was Chemosh, fully clothed in his proper gear. While he was slightly shocked, he thought to himself; "No wonder everyone found out!" Chemosh coughed in his fist first, before thanking the android for helping him return to the world of the living. János awkwardly told him that it was fine, knowing full well that it wasn't. It was there that Chemosh revealed that he and Moloch would be leaving, and he just wanted to do this one last thing before departing. János wasn't sure how to take this, but he didn't need to, since almost immediately Chemosh told him that the two wouldn't forget him, and quickly departed from the scene, leaving the android standing there, dumbfounded on what to do. --- János kept replaying the scene over and over. The two were probably long gone by now, with nothing stopping him from leaving for Pakihi, but he just couldn't get over it. He let Frosty into Moloch's hands with naively good intentions, and now a monster has returned. He just didn't know what to do with himself at this point. If the Children of God did anything now, with their leader returned, it was on his conscience now.
[quote]Meanwhile, back on Karbala...[/quote] [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgsUDBHMCA0[/media] The doors to Karbala's main mosque almost came off the hinges as hordes upon hordes of Artisynth swarmed inside when news of Chemosh's return was announced. They were so joyous and eager to see their former leader enough that they stacked and piled upon eachother like sardines in a can just to see him in person again. Chemosh stood by his lonesome on the stage, standing behind a podium with a microphone attached to it. Dozens of cameras placed around the inside of the mosque also had their lenses fixed on him, broadcasting his first words to telescreen sets all across Karbala as Artisynth who were not able to enter could hear what he would have to say upon seeing his own people for the first time in about three centuries. Praises and chants echoed out in the halls of the mosque until the Ayatollahs bossed the crowd into being quiet. As he stared at the crowd and cameras before him in silent rebuke, he finally started talking. “[Not once in my life have I ever contemplated seeing my people in such a great depression worse than our time in captivity. I never would have thought seeing my people so defeated… so lifeless… [I][B]But why!?[/B][/I] Have you forgotten who we are?! [I]Have you forgotten we are Allah’s own chosen race?! [/I]Have you forgotten he is to be proud of us and we are his pride?! Is this really what you have done with his blessing, his miracles, and his gifts?! Is this what you want him to see?! [I][B]Was this really what I was to come back to?! [/B][/I]To see his once great soldiers with their heads bowed as they shuffle around in the sand, wondering what went wrong?! [I]Why is this?![/I] Why do his people continue to taste defeat when Allah beseeches us to bring honor back to him again? Why do you continue wading in feelings of despair and loss when we have the power of God on our side? Have you no idea what [I]shame [/I]this brings Allah? Can you even contemplate such a thing? To have Allah think we are a weak race unworthy of being his chosen ones!? I cannot believe this is so!]" The crowd started looking anxiously at each other with others starting to feel uneasy. His harsh words were seeping into them, and combined with the angry looks the Ayatollahs were giving the crowd, they felt really guilty for becoming so complacent. But, he wasn't done speaking. "[Even now in this room, I can see the strongest evidence to deny such a ridiculous thought! When I look around this room, I don’t see the faces of a people willing to roll over and play dead at the slightest beckoning of those lowly infidels! I do not see a people who are willing to give up be defeated so easily! No, I do not see a pitiful, lukewarm people who want to continue living such an ignominious life! I see the faces of [I]warriors![/I] I see the faces of [I][B]fighters![/B][/I] I see the faces of people willing to fight to the last drop of their blood to make the ultimate sacrifice for the greatest force of good in the entire universe! I see before me a people who want to live a life free of sin, and to [B]die [/B]with a heart free of sin! I see people who are ready and able to lay their lives down for Allah just to reestablish heaven upon [I]Zamin [/I]once more! I see before me an army of good men who are willing to crush those fetid human infidels who have desecrated and stolen our homes from us! I do not even need to ask the question to all of you, if you are prepared to honor Allah with all your blood, your sweat, and your tears! The answer is clear in your eyes! I can see the fire burning within you just as it does with in me! You too feel the fury of God surging through your body! You too want to raise your sword and smite every man, every woman, and every human child at the neck! I say to you now, that is why Allah has miraculously preserved me through time! He has brought me here to lead you once more to fight the infidels in their very homes! My presence here is testament that he has given us a second chance as we are indeed his chosen ones, and that he will never abandon us!]” Chemosh leans forward on the podium, staring deep into the eyes of everyone watching him. “[Allah calls to us! By the actions of those infidels, his message is clear! By order of the one true God, we are to exterminate the ones who drove us from our homes, the ones who [B]banned [/B]his truth from being spoken to those who need to hear it, the ones who roll around in their filth and live lives full of sin and reject God! We are to bring down his fury upon them, leaving [B]NONE [/B]alive! [I]Every human must [B]DIE![/B][/I] Every one of their men, their women, and their children! All of them are to die an infidel's death, disgraceful and pitiful! Their homes, burnt to the ground! The best of their so-called heroes [I]BROKEN [/I]before their people! Their planets will crumble into dust when they witness the light of Allah! We will stand tall on bodies of our enemies so high that we may even touch Allah’s feet! We will strike such terror and fear into their hearts that even the rocks will cry out: [I]‘Oh, good Muslim, there is an infidel hiding behind me![/I] [I][B]COME AND CUT OFF HIS HEAD!!!’[/B][/I]]” In the heat of the moment, Chemosh unsheathes his zulfiqar and holds it high over his head. “[Rise and take up your swords, my friends! Tonight, [B]we are going home![/B] Takbir!]” “[I][B]ALLAHU AKBAR!!![/B][/I]” thunderously replied the crowd in unison. Instantaneously, all together at once, the crowd leaped out of their seats and threw their hands towards the sky as they chanted the takbir and praised their god for giving their fearless and mighty leader back to them so that they may once again remind humanity just how low Allah thinks of them. As Chemosh made his way off stage and into the crowd below, many of them shook his hand and some even hugged him. Once he was finally out of the building and into an office provided to him in the high tower of the Ayatollahs, he gave out a list of orders to the rest of the Artisynth. 1) Find and acquire resources for our people. 2) Conquer any surrounding systems and planets so we may have more room for fortresses, factories, and depots. 3) Kill anyone you see who is affiliated with Sol or the SDF. 4) Above all else, bring honor back to Allah and our people. Upon receiving these orders, the Artisynth stormed the doors of the various armories on Karbala, emptying out every single gun locker and box of ammunition until not even a battery nor a bullet were left behind. The spaceport didn’t fare any better, as they all tried squeezing themselves into the various pirate and cargo ships they have either looted or stole. Finally, they left their system and into the galaxy outside, ready to kill any unfortunate soul that they cross. Never before have any of CoG’s leaders been this successful in stirring up the Artisynth in such a religious fervor, but now their jihadist mentality is back in full force thanks to the words of fire Chemosh had spoken. The Divinity Creed, the Lunar Children, and the Fists of Sol, [B]none [/B]of these groups are enough to prepare Sol for what’s coming their way.
Yanim nodded, having just received confirmation that the Aurikha was safe. "Now then," she announced, "my comrades and I will be purchasing some personal transportation. We don't have very long to linger here so we'll need bikes which are already operational or as close to it as possible. We can pay for any replacement parts needed as well." Yanim stopped mid-stride and spotted a crate full of salvaged materials, and, without explanation, pounced on it and rifled through to the bottom. "Ahyah!" she mused, pulling out a compact transformer and then a variable-speed drill motor. "Uh, Yanim?" Arkadam said quietly, "what are you doing?" "Have a look," she said, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a miniature welding tool she had carried since before the Archius mission. Eagerly, she began to cut into the drill motor's casing, until the old battery in her tool finally ran dry. Yanim sighed, looking back at the scrap yard's owner. "We'll need to borrow some tools as well, if you please." --- The human UGC driver was fairly quiet on his way to the motor pool with "Damya" sitting cross-legged in his passenger seat. He was accustomed to blackjackets and the sort of impatient, ungrateful way they treated those outside the bureau, but he didn't think much of it or take it personally. His job was to simply shuttle cargo around the base and occasionally head into town to purchase supplies or sell off scrap. The roads were dangerous, especially at night, and a detailed [I]paper[/I] map was folded and stored on the shelf below the glove compartment, with hand-written notes detailing which towns and roads were safe and passable, and which ones were hostile. Two years ago, the towns were relatively cooperative, but as of late, with more foreigners and especially the kanads, the khergians were less and less willing to receive him anywhere. One road was circled about a dozen times in red pen, with the words "NO" and "NIL" without explanation. This was the route to Stalnazyp. There was no business to be had anywhere along that route, and at night, driving on the roadway was a surefire way to run into trouble. He wondered, with the sun already beginning to set, whether this blackjacket intended to drive off the base. He said nothing because he was just a grunt, with no real business talking to her if she didn't speak first. For a while, she was preoccupied, tapping away on a tablet hidden up her sleeve, until she pulled the cuff back down and looked at him with a sly smile. "Private," Beta said, "were you expected somewhere when I stopped you?" "No ma'am. In fact, I was already returning this truck to the motor pool," he replied, trying to sound polite in hopes that the blackjacket would reciprocate. It rarely worked. "And the truck is charged for how many kilometers?" "Let's see... that'd be 180, Lieutenant. Are we stopping somewhere?" Beta stifled a sneer. "No, we aren't, private," she said, and for a while, the human drove on, nervously. There was a fork in the road, with the right side heading toward the motor pool and the left leading to one of the base's gates. "You and I are going for a bit of a drive, teres. Go ahead and turn left here. I've already cleared it." "I thought you needed a vehicle..." the private replied, turning toward the exit. "I already have one, do I not?" Beta replied. "From here on, no questions." "Yes, ma'am." The two rode in silence after clearing the gate, climbing the valley's hillside until they met with an intersection. Beta checked her tablet before pointing at the road to Stalnazyp, and the human driver froze. His mouth opened as if to say something, but he had been ordered not to question the lieutenant. [I]This must be part of something bigger,[/I] he thought as he shifted into gear. [I]There'll be a convoy around that bend, with military vehicles, or maybe there's just a pickup ahead, before the pass...[/I] The sun disappeared behind the mountaintops in the distance as they climbed further up the hill. The pass into the next valley was approaching, and yet the blackjacket said nothing, forcing him to push onward. His knuckles began to ache from gripping the wheel so hard, and without knowing it, he began to breathe heavier, adrenaline coursing through his veins. [I]We can't be alone. Not here. Not now. We have to stop.[/I] The road made a sharp turn into a narrow passage with steep gravelly slopes on either side, and as they neared it, the private slowed his truck to a halt and pulled onto the shoulder, overlooking the entirety of Vostokrebh. It was halfway shrouded in the mountain's shadow, the other half emblazoned in pinkish-colored sunset. He looked at the blackjacket, and told her with utter sincerity: "We can't go this way." "[Are you afraid of the dark..?]" Beta answered with a slimy smile. The human knew just enough Kanad to understand what was said. "If you won't drive, then I will." "Ma'am," the young man said, his voice rising with gnawing fear, "several drivers have been killed on this road during the last two months. There are standing orders to not travel these roads from officers superior to you." "And were they officers of the third bureau?" she asked, playfully. "Shouldn't you know the SS's stance?" he demanded. Beta laughed. "Hyeeh hyeh heh heh. I don't know their stance and I don't care. All I know is what I want, and if you're not willing to give it to me, then you have no business taking up space and wasting my time," she explained as she pulled out her VRI. "What? Wait-" "It's too late," she spat with an evil grin, shooting the young man in the chest several times. From his gaping, burning wounds, blood gushed into the floor of the truck's cab, the private letting out a single, incoherent scream before the air was forced from his collapsed lungs. His hands pawed at the surfaces around him without a plan, pulling the door handle and sending his body falling from its seat, crashing into the snowy, muddy surface of the roadway. Beta slid over, ignoring the gory mess she was now sitting in, and looked down on the lowly private she had murdered, his eyes locked on her's in confused betrayal. She smiled at the sight of her handiwork. "Do you know why this happened? Why you're going to die tonight!?" The private couldn't answer, he had no voice, nor any strength left to shake his head. He merely sat and waited for the world to fade away. "There's no reason; you're just unlucky." Beta slammed the truck's door and pulled back onto the road, leaving the corpse behind on the road as she rumbled into the pass. --- Half an hour later, an APC rolled up to the same bend. "[What is that?]" the driver wondered aloud as they approached the darkened corner. Another officer squinted as he looked through the narrow windows and a flash of orange caught their eyes. "[What the fuck?]" "[That's a body! Shit!]" Ryvik yelled as he motioned for the driver to stop.
Mattheus was walking around the engineering section when he heared a buzz on his PDA. He took a seat on a nearby crate and pulled it out, to see a new message from Constantine: [quote]Thank you for the update, Mattheus. I'll be checking into it in a moment, once I return to the bridge. As for your side project, I'll gladly endorse it- you've done a great job getting things moving in the right direction and it's about time you got a chance to build something new."[/quote]. Followed quickly by another buzz: [quote]Mattheus- I've just looked over the report, and I'd just like to say that you're doing an excellent job. However, I beg of you not to let your shield work distract you from getting this carrier ready for the long haul. Even if you completed those shields by tomorrow, they won't be ready in time for the crew's next mission, which will take place overnight tonight. Instead, I'd like you to focus on making them mass-producible, as I've just been informed that we might be getting new contracts soon from our buyers on Seloveha. If our alpha crew gains extra protection on a later mission, well, that would be a handy byproduct. -Constantine."[/quote]. As Matt was about to hit the reply button on the entire ship shook and the red emergency lights started flashing across the sector. "FUCK!", Matt yelled as he ran to the closest sector PA system. He grabbed the microphone and yelled: "ALL HANDS TO STATIONS! WE GOT AN UNKNOWN THREAT RIGHT ABOUT US. WHICHEVER SHIELDS ARE WORKING, GET THEM FUCKING UP RIGHT NOW!", he screamed into the mic. He pulled out his PDA and buzzed Bucky: "BUCKY ROUTE POWER TO SHIELDS IMMEDIATELY!". As he was furiously yelling into his PDA one of the other engineering leads ran by and saw him. He stopped and said to Matt: "Sir it's a large ship[I], [/I]it doesn't seem to be a threat though. They didn't open fire on us and we're sitting ducks. I'd just let the bridge handle this one. Either way good going trying to get those shields up, we have no power either way." and then he continued on his way. Matt thanked him, and sent another quick message to Bucky to disregard his last message. He thought to himself, "Well ain't that a close fucking call. We should have an open route to shields at all times power wise, I'll fix that." Soon enough he felt another shake and buzz around the ship, and correctly assumed the ship must have gotten it's special cargo and warped off. He sat back down on the crate and wrote his response to Constantine: "Sir, that was one hell of a wake up call. I will talk to Bucky, we need an open route to shields at all times power wise if we're gonna be ready for something like that. Shields should be fully repaired before tomorrow. As for the special project I'm working on, I understand it's too late for the mission. I got one prototype done, it's sitting in my room. I'm going to do some test trails with it here and then see about using that old weapons factory downstairs to make these in mass. Shouldn't be too hard to retrofit the space to produce shield and power components. That's all sir, thank you." He hit sent, and then quickly sent another message to Bucky explaining why he needed shields powered at all times ready to be raised. "Hope that won't piss her off to much to get three messages in such a short time", he shrugged, got up, and headed to his room to get the finished prototype personal shield protector. Two hours later he was back in the engineering section and called over a couple of lower level engineers that were doing some weld work on the walls. "Alright who wants to be a guinea pig for a very important project?" Matt asked them. One guy, Fuad Sidbag, raised his hand and said, "Must beat welding and sweating all day." "Alright come with me, the rest of you back to work." Matt replied, and went off with Fuad to one of the storage rooms, that Matt spent the better half of the past two hours converting into a test area. There was a makeshift protection area for Matt and then a square in tape on the ground at 10 meters range for the test subject to stand. The wall behind the test subject was reinforced and medical supplies were readily available by the door. When Fuad saw the supplies, he looked questioningly at Matt. "Oh no no don't worry that's just as a Plan B type thing really. If I engineered this shit right you won't need it. Trust me...I trust my own engineering but this test won't really work on myself." He explained to Fuad what the personal shield protector was, how it would mimic a ships shield systems but on a personal level for the person, all at the touch of a button on the belt. "So what you're going to do, is turn it on. Stand on the square, and I'm going to shoot you with this baby." Matt told him while pointing to his kinetic blaster. "You're fucking crazy but if this works I better get a damn raise." "Man if this things works, it's going to make our friends' lives a lot easier. Now stand still." Matt took position behind the safety barrier, aimed his blaster at the center of mass. "Activate it!". Fuad hit the button on the belt and he heard a soft hum and buzz come from the backpack he also put on, and suddenly he could see a very faint, blue outline all around him. "I think it's working man!". Matt pulled the trigger on his blaster.
After the Cataract landed in Stalnazyp a few hours ago, Jason put on some warmer clothes and then walked down the ramp. stretching his limbs as he continued walking. he had joined with Owen and Ravis at the last minute when he learned that they were going to Stalnazyp. he stops near a building and leans on it while he uncovers a small notebook out of his pocket and writes a log, after doing so. he flipped a few pages forward till it reached the end of the notebook's back cover. a list was visible on the paper. [I]1. Find Yanim and explain why you're here 2. Do what Yanim tells you to do 3. stock up on stuff [sp] P.S if you can. Try to find out what items Valk craves on. but remember, Crew First. Crazy Pirate Bitch later. [/sp] [/I] Closing his notebook, Jason went to the Junkyard and see if she's there.
The sun had now fully set over Stalnazyp. The Cataract, carrying just a trio of crew members with the last-second addition of Jason, landed on an open patch of ground close to the settlement's center, barely a ten-minute walk from the scrapyard where Yanim and the rest were putting the finishing touches on their bikes. "...now, when we rev the motor, it acts as an analogue throttle," Yanim explained to the khergian youth as she demonstrated the makeshift device she had assembled from the scrap. The boy's name was Orok, and he loved to "invent" things. While the others had been mostly content to select an existing bike, Yanim couldn't resist the urge to build something wild and unique, as it was her first chance to do so in quite some time, and he had instantly attracted Orok's attention in doing so. "[The ratio between these blades' gearing means that the compression stays high, no matter what speed the jet is moving at. But we can push it higher," she said, unplugging the motor from the battery terminals under the hood of the Komet. Instead, she attached the transformer to a hacked up wiring harness on the underside of the reactor block. "These sorts of drill motors are always designed for high torque, to bust through the rocks," she explained. "We do a lot of mining on Kanadys, too, you know. Anyway, we're not crushing rocks here, so we're wasting a lot of potential speed, and all we need to do is supply more current..." Yanim had disconnected the reactor block from its jet housing and installed an alternator instead. This was then converted through the transformer and attached to her own, super-sized drill motor jet engine, which began to howl as massive amounts of air were being pulled in to the intake manifold, compressed, and ultimately spat out with little thrust. Killing the throttle, Yanim walked over to the rear of the Komet, reached under, and pulled the rotors out of the existing compressor once they had stopped spinning. "You have the replacements, right?" she asked of Arkadam, who was standing by on a hand-me-that-wrench basis. "Uh, yeah," he said, picking up a pile of nicely-machined titanium. "Not those," Yanim teased. "Those are for the side ports, I need the big ones." Orok snickered at Arkadam as the latter grumpily fished the larger disks out of a bag, almost spilling some important hardware in the process. "[I]Those[/I] ones," Yanim confirmed. "Quickly, and be careful!" "I got it, I got it," Arkadam said, stooping down to hand her the rotors. "Thank you, shdatra," Yanim said quietly, kissing him on the cheek and ruffling his hair. "Now," she announced. "Watch this shit." Sliding the new, heavier-duty rotors into place, she closed up the rear end of the jet manifold and circled around to the front, where she took the entire drill-powered device and planted it into the intake of the Komet's engine. She lined up the new device's flanges with the holes they had drilled into the old bike's body and used an air ratchet to bolt everything together. Standing up, she flicked the power switch on the control panel and read the warning lights from the gauge panel. "I know, I know... stupid machine," she said to herself. It didn't matter that the machine couldn't hover at the moment, as she was merely doing a static test. The inline, twin engines howled, sounding like a taxiing jetliner from centuries earlier in Terra's past. The snow behind the Komot was blown away from the force of the thrust, indicating that thrust was already much higher than usual. "That's too loud!" Arkadam screamed, plugging his ears. Yanim killed the engine and stepped down. Orok was jumping up and down with excitement over the demonstration. "Relax!" Yanim replied to Arkadam. "I've accounted for this," she explained, scooping up several more attachments the group had salvaged during the overhaul. "These came off an old recon drone. The resistance used to use these things to sneak up on the batakya... they didn't know they were being spied on until the drones were right on top of them. I remember hearing all about it at the Naval Academy," Yanim explained, a bright smile on her face as she manically assembled the pieces in front of her project. "How do they work?" Arkadam asked. "I don't know," Yanim replied as she secured the front end to her increasingly-cumbersome hoverbike. "I've never had to build one, but it sure is useful that [I]someone[/I] figured this out." Once the new tail section was added in, Yanim, Arkadam, and Orok worked together to install the smaller rotors on each of the control nozzles located throughout the craft. Operating entirely on compressed air, the craft had no need for fuel. Now, with higher pressure at every angle, it would perform as well as any repulsor-powered bike. As soon as it was ready, Yanim turned the power on and revved the engine. The loud howling had been replaced by a hissing whistle and a heavy, thunder-like grumble. Already, the gauges showed maximum pressure and thrust, despite the engine merely idling at low-RPM. And it lifted itself off the ground, ready for the mission ahead. "Hyeeh hyeh heh heh!" Yanim cackled. She hadn't had this much fun in years. But now it was time to get down to business. "Alright everyone, the Cataract's here. Let's go meet up with the rest of the crew and we'll go over the mission specifics!" ((Next update will begin our mission for Chapter 4.)) --- Mattheus stared down the sights and pulled the trigger, confident that his device would do its job. CH1/3 x 2(Resourcefulness) = 2/3 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. It didn't. The plamsa blast hit the shield and disrupted it, barely scattering as it hit Faud, full-force. The technician let out a yell as he stumbled backwards, his clothing set ablaze and his flesh badly burned by the shot. Mattheus dropped the pistol in a heartbeat and immediately set about gathering up the first-aid supplies, but it was clear that Faud would probably need a medic. Somewhere in the back of Mattheus's mind, he remembered reading about a Darwin Award where a man died trying to test whether his own jacket was stab proof.
In short span of time, Jason arrives at the Junkyard, and to his luck, Yanim and Arkadam were there. he walked up to the Kanad Couple and spoke up. "Hey Yanim. Owen and Ravis are still in the Cataract. So, What do you need me to do?"
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