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

[QUOTE=Infab;52867676]Eve tilted her head. "I am a drone. What use do I have for money?"[/QUOTE] "In that case, welcome aboard." Once everyone began to shuffle away, Neasha stood by and waited for Taylor. She listened to the whole proposal. "I'm not going to act like this is a no-brainer. The Creed are no joke, but getting the UGC off our backs would reopen a lot of opportunities in the border zones. Then again, the UGC is a bit of a sham; I wouldn't be surprised if they just collapse on their own in a few years..." Neasha shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, come to think of it, a hell of a lot can happen in a really short amount of time. A few years is entirely too long... So, do what you think is best for the crew and you'll have my full support."

"Alright. I'll run it by the crew and get their opinions." said Taylor. "I'll have Jag's body prepped and transfered to the Cascade, and take it to the frigate once we get it." She gave Neasha one final nod, then headed towards the medical bay to retrieve Jag's body.

Ira followed Taylor and assisted with the body. Meanwhile Karl approached Neasha. "I want to express my condolenses; even though I did not know her for very long Yanim seemed like a good soul. Granted she was a fighter, then again we all have our battles to face, loved ones to protect and ideologies that empower and motivate us." He smiled slightly. "Where I come from death is not the end but rather the start of something greater." Karl inhaled and sighed. "Sorry for your loss." He then grabbed his things and entered the Cascade.

[QUOTE]Elsewhere, on Suetera in the Upyri Federation...[/QUOTE] "[So why are we here, again? I thought this was more of a job for the police or ONI.]" "[The police aren't equipped for full scale, Federation-wide operations, you know. And ONI worries about the larger targets. We get the cluster groups.]" Karina Thiel gave her squadmate a look through her red bangs, before sighing and checking her rifle, an M1A3-C Carbine. It had become a near monthly thing now, these raids on these so-called 'Separatist Cults'. This was actually her first, as she had been sent here straight out of boot by command to assist in these raids. A few of her friends were sent elsewhere in the Federation, going to fight the Divinity Creed in the east and pirates in the west. She had wanted to fight Creed, but of course command thought otherwise. She gazed out the window, looking up into Suetera's almost purple sky. It was dusk on this mud ball of a planet, situated in the southwest sector of the Federation. This had once been an Insurrectionist aligned planet, long ago, so of course the Separatists that had lived would return and try to start things. They didn't know when to quit, really. The landing craft sped through the atmosphere, before decending into a large city on the surface of the planet. Kirva, the captial of the colony world, and the site of three different Separatist cult gatherings. Three gatherings that would be purged promptly. The craft touched down on pavement, landing just on the roof of an old apartment complex. Numerous Separatists had been confirmed to be living in the building by ONI and civilian witnesses. Someone had also managed to film one of the meetings of the Separatists, sending it in to the local ONI office. Plenty of evidence to use to conduct a raid on the site. They'd raid this place first, arrest of eliminate any separatists or separatist sympathisers that they found, and confiscate any paraphernalia they could find. [QUOTE][video=youtube;Esvw3fxlXXE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esvw3fxlXXE[/video][/QUOTE] The doors on the craft dropped, and soon enough a platoon of Upyri Naval Troopers filed out. Karina was amongst them, her carbine pressed into her shoulder as she moved quickly with her fellow soldiers across the rooftop. "[We search floors 80 through 45. The lower floors are confirmed clear. We focus only on the upper floors. Suetera police are covering the ground floor, so we don't have to worry about any escaping out the bottom. Do not shoot unless you are shot at first, we don't want to shoot innocent civilians. Do you understand?]" sounded off the Lieutenant leading the platoon, to which the group replied with a collective "[Yes, sir!]" A few moments later, the roof access door was breached, and in poured the troopers. Karina was one of the last few to enter, but she could already hear gunfire before she had even decended the first flight of stairs to the 80th floor. "[CONTACT!]" shouted one of her comrades, before the sounds of assault rifle fire echoed through the upper floors of the building. The Separatists knew they were coming, which wasn't hard to notice with that big landing craft up top. She stepped out into the the hall on the 80th floor to see two dead troopers on the floor at the door of the first apartment nearest her. Inside, shooting. The troopers were going room to room, clearing every one of them out. Down the hall, another pair of troopers kicked a door in before tossing in a grenade. There was a loud bang immediately following it, then the pair rushed into the door. She moved up, passing the corpses of the dead troopers, and moving down the hallway. Suddenly, an Upyri with a shotgun stepped out into the hallway on her left. He took aim, but wouldn't be fast enough to get a shot off before Karina planted a shot through his skull. "[Hostile down!]" she sounded off, eyeing his corpse before moving over to where he had emerged from. The squadmate she had been speaking to earlier, Jannik, moved up to the other side of the door. He drew out a grenade, and did exactly as those other two troopers did earlier. Pulled the pin, tossed it in, and waited for the bang. Afterwards, they rushed in. There were two Upyri inside, one with a plasma pistol while the other was wielding a carbine much like Karina's. But both were too stunned by the grenade to do anything. "[I][B][DROP THE FUCKING GUNS!][/B][/I]" Jannik shouted, but the two didn't comply. Instead, they blind fired at them, determined to kill the troopers even if they couldn't see. Both Jannik and Karina opened fire, pumping three shots into both of the Separatists. They both hit the floor, one tumbling backwards over the couch he had been standing in front of. "[Hostiles down!]" sounded off Jannik. The sweeps continued, as the Naval Tooper platoon decended down through the building. Separatists continued to fight back, including at one point using an RPG to try and kill as many of the Troopers as possible. Lucky for them, it missed, darting down the hallway and blowing a massive hole through the outter wall of the apartment complex. The shooter would end up getting a shot through the teeth, splattering one of his friends with his blood. Eventually, later on, they would finally reach and clear the 45th floor of the complex. During the raid, they lost a total of six troopers. Almost all of the Separatists had been killed, though some had willingly given themselves up for arrest. Now came the process of going through all the stuff they had hoarded and collected. Karina sighed in relief, letting her rifle rest at her side. She had plugged about 12 Separatists on the way down to where they were now. And that one with the fucking RPG scared the shit out of her. She had to drop to the floor to dodge it. Jannik patted her on the shoulder, with a smile. "[Good work. I'm gonna head back up and help with the casualties. I'll be back down afterwards.]" "[Right.]" said Karina, glancing to him. He walked off, leaving her standing in the apartment of one of the Separatists. As she stood there, she began to look around. These guys defended this shit so badly...why? What was the deal? Why was old Ker so much better than the Federation? She walked around the living room of the apartment a bit, careful to avoid bodies and blood pools, before stopping and looking at a small table next to the couch. On it was a pamphlet, a few droplets of blood staining the front page. She picked it up, looking it over. There was dozens of these scattered all across the apartment complex, apparently propaganda made to get people to join the Separatists in their endevours. She opened it up, reading it over as she waited for Jannik to get back. As she read, she occasionally looked around the room at the other pieces of paraphernalia that decorated the apartment. Large red banners with a pair of yellow stripes running down them. Ker's emblem planted dead center, as well as the emblem of the alliance of planets that had served alongside Ker around it. Pictures and models of Ker's warships, long before they had been converted into their modern day equivalents. There were even old holopictures of Ker's leadership at the time. It was almost like stepping into the Division War section of an Upyri museum. She continued reading the pamphlet as she stood there, before quietly tucking it away in one of the inner pockets of her armor as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway outside the apartment. It was Jannik, his head eventually poking through the doorway. "[Need your help upstairs. We gotta start getting rid of these bodies.]" "[Got it.]" she said simply, before lightly jogging out behind him.

[B]**Somewhere in Terra**[/B] It was a sunny tuesday morning. a crisp blue sky over the capital with a bright sun to complement it. there was no school today and a Mother named Sandra thought that it would be nice to take her daughter, Emily. to the Park near Unity Square since its only a few meters away. when they got to the park. they laid down a mat in the grass and sat there while eating sandwiches that Sandra made earlier. After they were satisfied by the tasty home-made snacks. a few minutes later. she was playing with the other children in the park, Playing tag, Hopscotch and such games. while Sandra got herself into a conversation with the mothers of the children. They talked about their times when they were once teens and complained about their husbands doings as of late. While making sly jokes about topics that intrigued them. Sandra and Emily spent the whole day in the park before a rainstorm started to drizzle drops of rain onto the park. Sandra sighs and calls Emily from a distance and tells hers its time to leave, Emily says her goodbyes to her new-founded friends before going with her mother. On the way back to their house however. Emily decides to ask her Mom a question. "Mommy, I got a question" "Oh? What seems to be your question?" "When is [U]Jason[/U] going to be back?" Sandra stops and spaces out for a bit. She hasn't seen her eldest son ever since he left for his dangerous job of being a mercenary. the fear of him dying in a mysterious planet often ate her up inside. She doesn't want to experience the reek of death after what happened during the Battle of God's Refuge where she worked as a Combat Medic. she was broken out of her trance when she heard her daughter spoke again. "Mommy? What's wrong?" "H-huh? Oh! Emily.. um. Jason's kinda busy with his Job. And the other reason is that he's doing this to help us find Daddy." "But, My birthday is coming up in about a few months and I want him to stay with us for a bit.." "I also wish that too, Emily. but. Jason is working hard on his job and he wants us to be happy for him. Do you remember the time he said that he promised to get you a Teddy Bear. the biggest one you'll ever imagine?" Emily's mood changed to a more lighter one "Yup! And I hope its the biggest one he'll get!" Sandra smiles on Emily's optimism and hugs her. Emily hugs her back and they continued walking. However, Emily's question seems to intrigue Sandra to send Jason a message of how things are going with his job.

Alex and Amy were carrying their things to the Cascade. "What are we going to do?" Amy asked "Wish I could just tell you." this was the last thing she wanted to hear, but he continued "Seems like sticking with a group is safer, but how long until everything falls apart?" "Can't go anywhere else, now can we?" He tried to think of something, but he couldn't "Guess not." --- On one of the spaceport's platforms, a group of mercenaries had gathered near the ship known as Swansong. Seth had already managed to secure a separate ship to get him to his desired location, but he still had unfinished business to settle. "You're unable to get a ship of your own and require me to bail you out on this one too?" Swartzwasser crossed her arms while looking at Seth. "No, quite the opposite, I came here because I have a proposition for you. You want me to lead you to Koronova, you're gonna have to come with us and where we're going might be just to your liking." "Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Trixina is pretty nice this time of the year...Or any time of the year, really." Her silence was enough of an answer for him. He turned around to join back with his men, who were moving their gear into the ship they purchased "Remember to stop for sunscreen on the way." She couldn't believe it. He was going to meet them on Trixina? Clever bastard. One of the few true neutral places in the galaxy and one of the most restricting. She was gonna have to let him lead on if she wanted to complete her own task.

After Taylor left, János approached Neasha: "So, you remember the whole shebang regarding Chemosh, right?" he started off clunkily, "Well, there's an insidious truth behind him and Moloch, a truth I cannot get into right now, because it would just take too long to explain," he stated bluntly. "I wanted to ask if I could have access to any files regarding Chemosh, Moloch and their group that the company might have as to bolster what I know, so that I could...." his words trailed for a moment as he considered what he was going to say, "...I could leak them for the galaxy to know," he stated.

Neasha's expression soured as she remembered the terrifying moment the Shaitan warped in directly over the Aurikha. "An 'insidious truth,' huh? I don't doubt it. We've got plenty of info thanks to Boss uploading all kinds of shit on the ship's intranet, but it'll be a pain to sift through. And you're right, this is really no time to discuss those freaks if you're planning on going with the crew. Speaking of which..." she added more candidly, "are you sure you want to go with them? I might be misunderstanding, but I've been suspecting for a while that Rask and Yanim have been mishandling you. You're supposed to be an interrogator, right?"

János was surprised to hear Neasha actually refer to him as an interrogator. "Well, yeah, that's my profession. I ended up becoming a warden because interrogation felt under the position, from what I was told when I was applying," he told her.

Neasha cynically chuckled a bit, shaking her head. "And they sent you into literal warzones... Okay, so that's one thing Constantine and I are going to get straightened out, I can promise you that. It made sense for everyone to play multiple roles in this company when we couldn't even afford name-brand chili in the canteen, but things have changed a lot since then. It might be a little riskier in the short term, with the kanads looking for us the way they are, but you might be better off staying here on the Aurikha," she explained.

Surprised once more, János wasn't sure what to think of the offer, and made sure to address that: "Hm, maybe, but I've been thinking for a while now, especially after Chemosh left, about leaving myself. I've got a very loose trail right now that may lead me to discover who I actually was before being put in this android body, and at least one of my proprietary parts has kicked the bucket, so while I may be able to keep myself going for quite a while more, even longer if I stayed out of 'warzones' from now on, I don't know how much longer I'll last," he confessed, "And there's also that whole leaking info thing. I can imagine the possible dangers, and I'd rather much do it after I'm done with everything, both professionally and personally," he said much more quietly and candidly. "However, I do still feel a sense of duty, especially with my failures in the company, and if I'm still needed, then I'll stay for as long as I am," he revealed.

Neasha sighed. Members of the crew were leaving left and right, quickly eroding the collection of expertise that made the Muramasa crew so formidable to begin with, and given the precarious future of the company, it was the exact wrong time. She would need to begin a hiring drive as soon as the Aurikha gets off the planet, perhaps even before, drawing on any of the local khergians who feels like making some quick cash... Except, she was already reconsidering that sort of approach; luring in high-dollar mercenaries might provide a quick influx of talent, but it wouldn't be sustainable. They needed a very particular type of person who was willing to make this line of work into a career. "I can't keep you from leaving, but if it makes any difference, I'm sure we'd approve some PTO for your [I]journey of self-discovery...[/I]" She rolled her eyes before smiling. "Anyway, either stay or go. You're welcome either way."

János pondered for a moment - if he were to leave with the crew, then he would be able to immediately start on his personal plans, but he considered what he had just said, about possibly lasting longer if he stayed on the Aurikha without any further action. If he understood Neasha, then this may mean he may finally have a job closer to what he recalled his old job was, having an office and just interrogating people that were sent his way. Constantine could use help with that prisoner anywho, and he's pretty sure everyone's forgotten about Thommas, so it would probably be good to deal with him before he left. Also, despite Hestia's reassurance, he would want to keep Ravis company and assist in his recovery if need be. And who knows how many hands the Aurikha needs right now? He's probably not the only one to have received this offer either, he thought, since, for instance, he hadn't seen Bucky around, so he wasn't sure whether she was already inside the Cascade. After a solid minute, he finally answered: "In that case, I'll stay here on the Aurikha then," he finally answered, "though we can discuss that PTO when the time comes," he said in a joking manner, he didn't see the need for one.

((I seriously just noticed that Karl was trying to talk to Neasha. I didn't mean to ignore it.)) "Good. Now that that's settled, I need to go check on Arkadam and make arrangements for Yanim," she said as she turned toward the exit, but Karl had reappeared and wanted her attention. She accepted his condolences, replying, "Boss didn't really see it that way, but I do. This company is going to prevail, and we've all got a role to play." "I'm still not used to being the leader of things. I've had plenty of good - and bad - examples," she confided in János as Karl returned to the Cascade, "but leading others is something that I suppose has to come with time. Now, if you'll excuse me-" she began to say before gasping, as Arkadam was lumbering into the hangar. His current emotional state was implacable. "Is everything alright?" Neasha asked him. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Arkadam stiffly nodded. "I have something," he said, holding out a clenched fist. "What's that?" she asked, holding out her palm, into which the kanad deposited the necklace Iska had given Yanim two years prior. "She always kept it with her," he said, mysteriously. "I have a suspicion that Iska will want to know." Neasha looked down at the memento, sadly, before smiling at Arkadam. "Thanks, 'Kadam..." she trailed off, looking at the Volgrim Clan emblem on the chain, when she noticed a smaller medallion etched with the Winking Fox logo- an addition Yanim had made in secret at some point. "Boss really missed her these last two years. She'd be happy knowing this got back to her." Arkadam nodded again, more slowly and deliberately. "I need help. Rest. Medicine." Neasha looked up, concerned, but realized that Arkadam was only having difficulty communicating and wasn't trying to express any sort of emergency. "You remember the way back to the medbay, right?" "Yes, thank you." He replied, flatly, before shuffling away in a fog. Neasha turned back to János. "Go ahead and meet up with Constantine in the brig, then, and tell him that I'm transferring you to warden duty here. I'm sure he'll appreciate the help. I need to get this to Taylor before they take off," she explained. The two of them saluted each other, awkwardly, and with a bit of embarrassed laughter, they each moved on. Neasha trotted over to the Cascade and looked into the crew compartment, only to curse a bit under her breath when she remembered that Taylor was probably off retrieving Jag's body. "Alex," she said, "could you hold this until Taylor gets back? It needs to get back to Iska Volgrim."

János nodded as Neasha confined in him. He subsequently remained quiet, albeit weirded out, as Arkadam entered the scene and spoke with Neasha. After being told to head to the brig, he saluted her, awkwardly, and with a bit of embarrassed laughter, and headed straight to the brig. He made a quick stop to leave his things where they previously were on the Aurikha, in his formerly-temporary quarters. He thought of sending messages to the crew about his transfer, but wondered whether Neasha would be the one to reveal that. Nevertheless, he considers planning ahead and writing thank you messages to those of the crew that he was closest with and helped him during his time at the company. Arriving in the Brig, he noted where Constantine was, and saluted him, before explaining himself. "Neasha has transferred my warden duties from the crew to the Aurikha," he smiled awkwardly, "happy to help with anything you need."

Constantine was standing in the hall of the brig, looking in on Ryvik's cell when János arrived to speak with him. The now-second in command seemed stressed, more so than Neasha for the first time since arriving at Rigel. "Hm? Oh, good! I could really use some help with [I]this one[/I]," he said, motioning angrily at Ryvik. János looked into the cell and found him seated on the floor, leaning against the wall in pain and exhaustion. Constantine continued to grumble at him. "This shitball is quoting UGC regulation at me, not even an hour after Terika and Arkadam showed up here halfway tortured to death... He doesn't give a shit, and I'm about to break out the goddamn jumper cables and go medieval on his ass." János stared at Constantine for a moment.

[QUOTE]Alex, could you hold this until Taylor gets back? It needs to get back to Iska Volgrim.[/QUOTE] "Yeah, sure." Alex picked up the medallion from Neasha. "She'll get it as soon as I see her again."

János stared at Constantine for a moment, and sighed in disbelief. This did [I]not[/I] align with his style of interrogation, at all! He lowered his voice so that Ryvik wouldn't hear them. "That 'shitball' may have vital information! From the sounds of things, he's stubborn, but believe me, going 'medieval' won't help anything. Unless he's a cold blooded killer, like Thommas was until I softened him up by going outside my own zone via intimidation, you're not going to get anything out of him by using 'enhanced' interrogation techniques, if I may put them like that," he criticized quietly, "you gotta be nice, be their advocate in face of an organization that may not tolerate them."

Within minutes, Taylor and Ira had Jag's body ready for transport. He had been placed on a collapsable gurney, which they rolled out and to the Cascade. She had placed his implant in her pocket for safe keeping, to give to new owner when the time came. Eventually they arrived, collapsing the gurney and carrying it up the ramp.

Ira fastened the gourney and secured it properly. She looked at Taylor. "Are we good to go?"

"Taylor, a moment." Alex tried to get her attention, medallion in hand "Neasha wanted me to give this to you, it's for Iska Volgrim."

[QUOTE]"Are we good to go?"[/QUOTE] "Yeah, if everyone's got their stuff." said Taylor, glancing to Ira. She looked around towards the others and the Khergians, before looking to Alex as he spoke up. [QUOTE]"Neasha wanted me to give this to you, it's for Iska Volgrim."[/QUOTE] Taylor stepped over and took the medallion, looking it over. Probably something Iska had given Yanim, and Neasha wanted to return it. "Alright. I'll see that she gets it." she said, slipping the medallion into her pocket. She continued a moment later. "Everyone set? If you haven't got your stuff off the carrier, now's the time to do it. We're heading out and not gonna see the carrier for a week at the least. Last call, boys and girls." she said, looking around the bay of the Cascade before looking back to Alex. "I've got something to talk about with you and the rest of the crew when we're on the Durandal and out of here."

Karl did a thumbs up. "Good to go." Ira nodded. "All good here."

The Cascade rumbled to life again with Eve at the helm. Neasha, currently speaking with Mattheus and a handful of assembled repair workers, turned and saluted them, hopefully not for the final time. The dropship rose from the ground as its rear door closed, sealing the heavy passenger load inside. It backed out of the hangar and reoriented itself toward Stalnazyp, and with a roar, catapulted itself into the sky. --- "Be nice?" Constantine repeated, exasperated. "If you want to try to convince him he's anything other than a bag of secrets that we're going to wring dry, be my guest. But you can be sure that if he doesn't start talking, I'm going to hurt him something awful."

Karl held onto his rifle and looked down into the floor. He glanced to his sides at the Khergians and the rest of crew. He then looked at Taylor. "So what's our next move captain? Get to the ship and bolt?"

[QUOTE]"So what's our next move captain? Get to the ship and bolt?"[/QUOTE] "Those are our orders. We leave the planet, and we meet back up with Neasha the others in a week at minimum." stated Taylor, as she found a seat aboard the Cascade and sat down.

János shot Constantine a look, one of great disappointment. "Could you at least open his cell for me then?" he quietly asked, sternly, which Constantine did. He turned towards Ryvik's cell, put on a tired yet friendly face and went in. He approached the kanad who was leaning against the wall. "Are you badly hurt?! Do you need any help!?" he called out to Ryvik in a concerned manner.

Ryvik looked up at János, unimpressed, as the door closed behind him. Constantine lingered in the hall as the two held a private conversation. "I'm fine," he lied. The medical staff at Vostokrebh had sealed his wounds up, but he was still in pain all over, especially thanks to surviving the crash of the Viokhmar. "Who the hell are you?"

János didn't buy Ryvik's response, since no normal person would be just sitting on the floor like he was, especially considering the cell had a place to lie down on, the bed. But he decided to sit on the floor too, to level with him. "Me? The name's János Celofán; I'm the warden," he said in a friendly manner, "Who're you?" he asked back.

"The Warden?" he repeated, skeptically. "How do you not know who's locked up in your own fucking jail? [I]Akhana duzst...[/I]" János already suspected he knew who the prisoner was, as the look of disappointment in his raspberry-colored eyes was strikingly similar to the one Yanim gave him practically every time they talked. "Liutenant Ryvik Sidikan, GKVR," he spat out. "You work for my sister, or [I]did[/I], I suppose."