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

The engines whirled loudly as the Starving buzzard desended on the landing platform. Heavy troopers of the Death Vigil swarmed the location and formed lines with weapons drawn towards the aircraft. An hour ago they recieved a message that the Vultures were comming back. Nothing unusual for the shadowy hand of the Vigil to come and go with little warning. But this was not the case this time. The spaceport security had been on edge ever since the attack by Elysium forces which left the organization almost headless. To add more preasure, Archangel had left a message that send everything into a red alert. They were bringing in a living member of the Transendiance cult. And he could communicate. The ship landed and the platform leading to it's bowels lowered. The trooper aimed to the entrance expecting the worst, but were greated with something else entirely. The surviving members of the Vultures walked out slowly with a somber tone in their movement as they took position on either side of the ramp. Next came their leader. The android didnt share his underlings' mannerisms. Instead marching down the ramp as if nothing had transpired. Behind him was the overarching and menacing figure of the cultist that had come with them. Flanked by the two brothers, they followed Archangel closely. "Alright, ease up men. Don't pop your load too early now." The familiar voice of Nathaniel could be heard calming down the troops. He took a quick look towards their guests and scoffed. "You're shitting yourselves over this?" His helmet broke off into parts and rectracted back into his armor. His eyes stopped and examined Seven as the thing aproached him. When it finally stopped he spoke again. "You're one ugly motherfucker." [I]"How rude."[/I] "Huh. It [B]can[/B] speak." "That's enough boasting about your testicular fortitude, captain. " Archangel answered. "I assume you're here to take him away for tests and questioning?" "Oh, huh?" Nathaniel broke eye contact with Seven and looked at Archangel. "Oh, you didn't get the memo didt you? I'm no longer captain. In fact. We share the same rank, Deadman." Nathaniel's mouth curled into a smug smile, obviously proud of that nickname. "If that is the case, then congratulations, Horseman." Archangel answered with an unimpresed tone to his voice. "Now will you take the prisoner or not?" Nathaniel waved a few of the men closer. "Cuff the freak and take him to the labs in the palace. The Executor will want to inspect him first chance he gets." As the men moved to secure the cultist raised his hands in the air. [I]"I'll come quetly. No need for restraints of any kind."[/I] The escort left the platform, leaving the two Horsemen alone. "So." Archangel broke the sillence. "Did you do what I asked you to do?" A cold breeze blew through and the sound of distand thunder filled the air before it started to rain. "Yes, it should be transfered to your ship's databanks." He looked back towards the escort. "Do we really care that much about a group of lowlifes that much?" "They crossed the Executor and aided his enemies. You know how he's like. Remember Corril?" "How can I forget." Nathaniel shivered. It was difficult to judge if it was due to the cold or the memories, even for the machine next to him "He sold arms to both sides of that conflict like any gun runner. Poor bastard did't expect his last week in this galaxy to end like that." "Exactly. Extreme pettiness is a deep flaw to many, but to someone with that much power, it produces unexpected results. In any case, one of those lowlifes managed to embaress you, did he not?" There was a slight twitch under Nathaniel's eye. "Yeah, I try not to think about that." The sound of rain hitting the ground filled the air for a moment. "When you find them for round 2, give me a call, will you?" "You can count on it."

[I]Meanwhile on an undisclosed location on the planet Vayoama in the glactic East[/I] The sun rose slugishly over the mountains on the horizon signaling the start of the new day. The guard looked towards it from the comfrotable location in his tower while sipping his morning brew. He'd seen this scene play out hundreds of times already, but each time he took a second to apreciate it before going back to his day to day duty looking over the entrance to the base. He leaned back in his chair, cup in hand and though on what the boss had been telling them the previous night. A deal with one of the Gold dust leutenants, getting them in the big leagues that would get them far away from this damn rock and ever farther away from Sol and whoever else fighting each other. A shot at greener pastures. A place with easy targets to pick apart. "It's simple. They come with diamond dust, we move the shit arround and we get money for it. That's it. Do it enough times and we get to be part of the bigger crew." The big man's words exactly. The guard started to fantasise what he would do with his share of the money. That's a lot of booze and a lot of drugs. Maybe he could sneak some of the dust for himself. Who would notice. The loud barking from the guard dogs woke him up from his daydream. Damn mutts must have found some dumb annimal again and were barking at it. He ignored the noise and looked over the base. Most of the crew were either asleep or waking up from a night of drinking or shitting themselves from whatever they took. The pit crew were working over some vehicles while the rest were on patrols. "Yeah, it's just another shitty day." He grumbled under his breath before taking another sip of his brew. "Tastes like shit as always."

[I]About a mile away, Istasha surveys the perimeter of the outpost with a high magnification thermal imaging scope, counting the number and location of guards and relaying them to Johannes, hiding in the shadows beneath an outcropping of rock about a hundred meters from the guard tower.[/I] [B]"One in the tower ahead of you, looks complacent. Quiet sector. Scanning for the rest."[/B] [I]Johannes holds up two fingers and circles them in the air for Istasha to see he got her message and was waiting for a recon. He wasn't sure which merc group this was. He'd lost count a few weeks ago. Hopefully Istasha would pick up an emblem and identify them.[/I]

The radio hissed. "You alive up there?" "Yeah boss. Don't worry about it." The guard answered. "The dogs on the south side are barking again, but other than than, we're fine." "I'm sending someone to check it out. Remember. The shipment comes in today. So keep your eyes peeled." "Sure sure." "Silver corsairs are moving up and I dont any fuck up, understand?" "Yeees." The radio turned off. "Paranoid asshole."

[I]Johannes keys his mic and whispers to Istasha[/I][b] "Guard just checked in. Take the shot.[/b] [I]Istasha adjusted her rifle's scope elevation for the range, centered her sights on the guard's head, waited until he settled and stopped moving around, exhaled, and pulled the trigger. A quiet click, then the quiet "fsh" as a fin stabilized discarding Sabot self correcting micro missile launched from the barrel, the gasses from the launch diverting into the baffles of a suppressor to dampen the noise of firing charge. A hundred meters after the round exited the muzzle, the sabot fell off, the fins popped out, and the tiny engine flared to life and sent the 12mm non-explosive micro missile silently screaming towards the guard's head.[/I]

The guard could faintly hear the a slight whizing in the air, which forced him to turn arround. [URL="http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/022/860/soldierheadshot.JPG"]Grave mistake.[/URL]. The bullet entered and promptly exited his skull leaving a tunnel where his face used to be. The body collapsed sillently in the tower.

[I]As soon as the body dropped, Johannes launched himself up into the tower by forcing his water-galinstan mixture out from pressurized nozzles in his boots and freezing it as it exited. He landed gracefully next to the dead guard on the toe of one boot, his knee, and his non-dominant hand, making no more than a sort thump. The water mixture left behind quickly melted and, assisted by the nanites in it, followed Johannes where it froze over the pool of blood under the guard to stop it from spreading. He glanced around the guard tower then inched forward and peeked over the side wall to get an idea of the complex layout and guard count.[/I][b] "I'm in. Move to a better vantage point to provide overwatch.[/b] [I]Istasha keys her mic twice to indicate a yes and then moves to a higher section of the large rocky hill she was on.[/I]

From his vantage point Johannes could see the full scope of the base. To the left he could see the gate where the vehicle with the shipment was meant to come in. The north was the barracks where the drunks and burnouts were recovering from the previous night and a few others were patrolining the are. To the south he could spot the motor pool where the dogs were still barking and one of the guards was looking into the reason for the racket. Next to them was the motor pool where the wrench monkeys were fixing up the vehicles of the group. Finally, to the east he could spot a small building that most likely served as the command post.

[i]Johannes surveyed the area for any guards, and, when he was sure it was clear, dropped down from the tower and made his way towards the potential command post building. If they kept records, they'd be there. He wasn't very optimistic, though. Pirates were not exactly well known for their clerical abilities. After a few minutes of creeping towards the building, using objects and shadow for cover, he arrives and peeks through a window.[/i]

Johanes could see inside the building through the window two guards. They were both standing in front of the door to the servers and were having minor chit-chat. "You saw the game last night?" "Yeeep. Lost 50 creits on that one. Fuckig Valhalla." The other one grumbled as he tossed his cigaret budd to the ground before fishing out another one. "Hah, thats what you get for being a loser betting on other losers." "Shut up." "Hehehe. Did you fix the hole in the fence the boss told you about?" "Eheh, about that..." The other one looked nervous for a second before lighting up his cigar.

[i]Johannes creeps around to the door of the building and knocked hard on it three times, taking a chance and standing in front of it a little less than a meter from the entrance, hands clasped behind his back.[/i] [i]Istasha, watching, radios him.[/i][b] "What the fuck are you doing? Have you lost the rest of your frostbitten mind?" 'No. I'm going to pose as a Silver Corsairs officer here to inspect. I'll go inside to speak with them in front of a window, when I key my mic, take out the one closest to the window. I'll get the other.' "Heavens above you have lost your mind. Alright Johan. But when I have to run in and save your ass you owe me a pitcher."[/b]

The guards turned their heads towards the door. "Who the fuck knocks here?" The smocker looked towards it with confusion and suspicion. "Stay here and keep and get ready for anything." The guard opened the door while his collegue rested his finger near the trigger. "And you are?" He asked while inspecting Johannes.

[I]Johannes inclines his hear slightly but does not change his visor from its frosty white appearance. For all intents and purposes he is faceless.[/I][b] Lieutenant Handsen of the Silver Corsairs. I was sent to inspect the facility and inspect your servers for potential malware and snooping bugs prior to the arrival of our product.[/b][I] He pauses for a moment, apparently waiting for something, then speaks again.[/I][b] Are you going to invite me in?[/b]

The guard looked back at his collegua, confused. "Are we expecting someone?" The other guard simply shrugged. The first guard looked back an Johannes. Wondering if he should let him in. He considered the fact that he had already slacked off on his duties given to him by his boss and that fucking up more would probably lead to termination. "Sure, come on in!"

[I]Johannes nods and steps inside, closing the door behind him. He looks around, then turns to face the guard that let him in.[/I][b] Let's start with your servers.[/b]

"Server is in the back. Just through the door." The guard by the door responded. "Just be quick about it, yeah?" The second one added.

[I]Johannes had nodded and started for the door when the other guard spoke. He paused, then turned to face him. He stared, faceless, at the man for a few moments before quietly speaking.[/I][b] Excuse me?[/b]

"Get in and do your job!"

[I]Johannes walks up to the man and jams his armored finger into his chest to enunciate his point as he speaks in terse, even words.[/I] [b]"My JOB is to ensure that you incompetent, backwater, piss-poor excuse for pirates are up to the task of handling our shipment of Diamond Dust, something I very much doubt considering the shoddy state of your "complex" and state of your crew. The very fact that I was able to enter your base through an [I]unguarded fucking hole in the fence[/I] and approach what I can only assume is what passes for a "command center" to you lot without so much as a peep from a guard speaks volumes about your so called security. The only reason you fuckwits got this contract is because you were the cheapest bidder, and one word from me regarding the ineptitude displayed here tears that golden ticket right the fuck out of your hands. So I suggest you show a little goddamn respect."[/b][I] Johannes turns from the man and looks at the other evenly.[/I][b] "I will require you to log into your servers so I can install the sweeping program. After you."[/b] [I]He gestures to the door[/I]

"Boss is gonna have your ass in a sling for that hole bro." The second guard said as he was fidling arround to open the door. The first guard rubbed the back of his head as he was wondering what his boss would do to him because of that hole. That is, untill something clicked. "Hey, wait a second. If you were send to make sure things went smoothly, why did you go through the hole?"

[I]Johannes turns to face the guard and clears his visor so he can see the look of pity and disgust on his face.[/I][b] "If my job is to ascertain the security of your compound does it not make sense that I would test it? Honestly, have you fried your brain with drugs that badly?"[/b]

His eyes shifted from Johannes and back to the other guard. "Get the boss! We got a rat!"

[I]Johannes sighs as he blanks his visor and keys his mic twice to Istasha.[/I][b] "Shouldn't have done that."[/b][I] A mile away, Istasha, watching through her rifle scope on a bluff, centers her crosshairs on the one guard visible through the window and pulls the trigger, sending another 12mm micromissile down range towards the guard who unlocked the server room door. At the same time, Johannes whips his pistol up out of his holster, aims it practically point blank at the first guard's chest, and pulls the trigger twice in quick succession, sending two 405 grain 45 caliber explosive tipped rounds screaming towards the man's chest at 2100 feet per second.[/I]

Itasha's bullet it's mark. Sending what remained from guard flying in several directions. The one in front of Johannes was less lucky. The round exploded his chest into a shower of gore. The room looked like a scene from a cheap horror flick. Seconds later, everyone was on high allert. The loud explosions made for a poor choice of stealth. Near the entrance of the base a convoy had stopped waiting for a responce from the gate. The man sitting in the passanger seat of the armored car was becoming more and more impatient. "Where are those idiots, da gi eba v guza! Promise them drugs and they dont even show. Kopeleta!" He got out of the vehicle and started to walk towards the entrance when he heard the explosions. He stood in his tracks and adjusted his coat. "Eto kvo bilo." He motioned to the convoy. "Go! See what's going on. I'll take the truck with the shit back. Not risking the product." The armored cars smashed through the gate while the truck pulled back. Whatever was disrupting their business, the Gold dusts were going to put down.

[B]"Watch the building. Don't let anyone get inside. The servers are here, I'm gonna see if they have what we came for." 'Hurry, Johan' "I'll try"[/B][I] Johannes opens the door to the server room and goes inside, closing and locking it behind him. He prowls around looking for an interface, and eventually finding it, sits down and plugs a transfer drive into one of the interface slots. The drive immediately turns on and initiates the breaker software inside that attempts to circumvent any active security and gain access to the file structure.[/I]

The Corsair started grouping together while aproaching the buidling. Getting in was a good way to flush whatever rat was inside. Meanwhile the armored vehicles from the Gold dusts parked nearby. They were already heavily armed in case the pirates tried to bite off more than they could chew. They didn't move to attack however. Prefering to let the psychos try and brake the doors down.

[i]As the program attempts to crack into the server's security, Johannes goes about spraying the doorknob to the door out of the server room with his refrigerant, so whoever touches it next will have their hand frozen to it. He also sets up a few tripwire spike mines on the floor facing the door, so when it opens, the mines will activate and shoot sharp tungsten spikes out of the door into any entrants. Farther away, Istasha takes shots at a few of the Corsairs approaching the building, starting with those closest to it.[/i]

The Corsairs's assault was slowed down to a crawl as Istasha's rounds pieced several of them. Killing them instantly. The rest managed to claw themselves inside the building. The first pirate had his hand freeze to the doorknob, prompting his buddy to bust out the axe. Not bothered by the former's protests to the idea, he went axe crazy and hacked the door(and the hand) open. The pirates smiled thinking they caught an easy pray. The smile's quickly dissapeared when the mines detonated. The spikes shot out and eliminated two of the men. It now came down to Johannes and the four men in front of him. Meanwhile outside, the Gold dust seargent was analyzing the situation and he didn't like the results. They trusted the product to these people? Waste of time and money. "We came, we checked it out and we're not happy. Pop smoke canisters to conseal our movement from that sniper. Engineers, set up the white phosphorus bomb. Ebi go toq i gi ebi onezi melezi!" The mercenaries got to work. One of the armored cars opened up from the back to reveal the equipment. One of the mercs took out a canister from it and set it down, a second later a thick layer of smoke started to fill the air, making it difficlut to observe what was happening. Under the cover of the fog, the engineers started to get to work arming a bomb with intent to burn the base to the ground. It didnt take long for it to start beeping, signaling the few minutes left for everyone alive to scatter.

[i]As soon as Istasha observed the smoke dispersing from the canisters, she switches rounds from her hollow-point micromissiles to high explosive micromissiles. She takes aim at the tires of the armored cars and fires off two rounds for each tire on the side facing her for each armored car, hoping to disable them. Inside, Johannes had been pressed up against the wall waiting for the mine to go off. As soon as it did, he turned and stepped thru the doorway, unsheathing his combat knife and growing a sharp bladed gauntlet of frozen metal-ice around his non-dominant hand. As he stepped forward, he jabbed the knife up into the jaw of the first Corsair, the gauntlet went for the underarm of the second, angled towards his heart and lung.[/i]

The shots rang out through the air...and did nothing. The seargent noticed the rounds hitting the vehicles. He raised his right arm in the air and with his hand he formed a universal, bur very rude gesture. Just in case the sniper would catch a glimpse. He lowered his hand before climbing back in the vehicle. The mercenaries started to leave. Inside the building, the remaining pirates decided to go at Johannes all at once, not one at a time. Outside, the bomb was ticking down.