Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2
3,232 replies, posted
János put his hand on his chest; "I apologize, my brig's information hadn't yet updated when I arrived, bit chaotic right now, you could imagine," he lied, making up an excuse.
"So, Ryvik, tell me... how's your day been?" he started off with an innocent enough question.
Ryvik was silent for a moment in disbelief before sneering. "Let's see... my whole unit was killed off by rock-eaters, my commander abandoned me, I watched my sister and her lover get tortured and lobotomized, respectively, I made a suicide pact, I learned..." he paused, realizing that if he were to reveal that he was a clone, there was little chance of convincing the crew that he could be used as a bargaining chip, which might prove to be a lifeline. "...I learned what real evil looks like," he said, shifting attention to the doppelganger.
János noted the two pauses Ryvik made, knowing now that he had blindsided him with his question. He had several avenues to approach this conversation from, but with the second pause, perhaps it may be better to pursue the evil comment... for now.
"Sounds like you had a really rough day, my sympathies," he started off, genuinely sympathizing, "But 'real evil'? What are you referring to?" he asked, deciding to follow Ryvik's line of thought. He'll have to find a way to link it back to one of the other avenues, otherwise he'll have to blindside him once more with an out of nowhere question.
"We called it Killer-Gemini inside the bureau," Ryvik said, hanging his head and putting his hands on the back of his neck. He shivered a bit, clearly not wanting to remember all the details. "So... your crew has seen it, that thing that looks like my sister... It, she, is... terrifying. All the horrible things I've seen in my line of work, at the very least, I understand them, but I don't understand her. I don't know where she came from or why, fucking why, she's the way she is."
János shivered too, remembering what he had seen back on the Cascade.
"Killer-Gemini, huh? Then that must be what I've heard whispers about from the crew when they came back," he replied with a shiver, attempting to play the angle that he wasn't present when this all went down. "...maybe even connected to this whole [I]Bloody Fox[/I] thing..." he purposefully muttered to himself to see if he could trigger a response.
"Could you possibly tell me more about her?"
Ryvik glared as he stared at the floor, struggling to remember everything he had heard the doppelganger say during the previous two days, along with his own background knowledge. "About a month ago, I was on Spirra, helping break up an attempted putsch against the government. I doubt you're aware of it, but Spirra's been a hot spot for anti-Collective activities ever since the 'big one' twenty years ago," he began, referencing the first Kanad-Sanghvi War. "It was bombed all to hell, and it still hasn't recovered fully. They say we're holding back resources, exploiting them... never mind, it's not relevant. The point is that I had to go there and take part in breaking up the attack, and rescue hostages.
"Well, she was there too, at some point... I didn't know until after the fact, when I was shown a photograph. She was a real dead ringer, but I didn't see the significance until Prospera. I worked with an agent there named Zhesid. He assisted me while I rummaged through the trail your company left behind when it was busy sparking the Madness. Zhesid had a bright career ahead of him. I would have liked to work with him again," he said, finally looking János in the eye, alerting the interrogator to what came next. "We started calling her Killer-Gemini after what she did. Not just Zhesid, but his whole unit. Ambushed, killed, dismembered.
"I- I didn't realize she was following me. Enough time had gone by that I thought it was coincidental. But she told me, when we crossed paths, that she wanted me to 'watch her watch me,' that she had held off killing me because she wanted that satisfaction... But she was close the whole time," he added quickly, getting angry. "I should have fucking known, when Vixe tried to tell me," he said, clenching his fists and choking back tears.
János periodically nodded while Ryvik spoke, with his expression appearing sadder as he spoke. With Ryvik clenching his fists and choking back tears, he replied.
"My god, that is just..." he began, shaking his head to the horror Ryvik had just described. Being followed by a doppelganger of one's sister can't do well for one's psyche.
"Are you going to be fine? D-Do you need a moment?" he stuttered purposefully, because it makes him appear even more sympathetic.
Suddenly realizing that János was pitying him, he got a hold of himself. "No. I'm fine, just listen for a moment- Vixe told me that she had a run-in with another blackjacket. Killer-Gemini has been using the name Damya Sidikan to sneak around on Collective ships. I... I should have recognized that name immediately. I really should have. At the incident two years ago, at Hanza, where Yanim got her criminal record, Damya was one of General Vorokar's lieutenants who went MIA. She looked a lot like my sister; hell, Yanim even used her old ID to kidnap someone on Terra, for fuck's sake..."
Ryvik trailed off grumbling to himself, seemingly blaming himself for what followed. "So... 'Damya' came here to Rigel, and we crossed paths at Stalnazyp while your crew was busy attacking Vostokrebh. She said she wanted to kill Iska Volgrim, but I got in the way. I was there to capture the same woman, and she got in [I]my[/I] way, and in the end we almost killed each other. She managed to take out half my team along the way, and Iska got the other half. I had to drag myself out of there and almost bled out, and I came back to base to find that Yanim had gotten herself captured.
"Somehow, when Damya arrived at Vostokrebh, she was spotless, not a scratch on her," he warned, giving János an almost crazed look. "I- I blew her fucking hand off, and she stood there cracking jokes about it while showing me she was fine... I don't know how..." Once he had finally calmed himself down, he explained the most important detail of all. "When we were there at the hospital, before security arrived and gave us a chance to escape, she was ranting at us, toying with us. And she denied what everyone assumed - that she's a clone, I mean, - and the way she talked about seeing one of the surgeons alive 'again' and how she seemed to have some past relationship with Arkadam that was somehow different from Yanim's...
"Yanim talked with her as if she wasn't even real, like she was an apparition... something supernatural. And, I don't know what to make of her either. The next time I saw her, on the Viokhmar, I told Vixe to crash the ship and kill everyone. And when that didn't work, I ran like hell; I wasn't going to let her catch me. But the thing I'm most afraid of," he said, swallowing hard, "is that if our fight at Stalnazyp didn't wound her, and didn't even slow her down... then what if we had really crashed that ship? Is it even [I]possible[/I] to kill her..?"
János dreaded the possibility Ryvik presented at the end, especially with everything he had told him. At the very least, he's probably gotten more out of him than Constantine has. An awkward silence began, as neither party knew what to say following the hypothetical, and he knew he had to break it.
"Aa- a- I don't know," he responded, befuddled by everything he had just heard, "Let's just hope she doesn't find us now..." his voice trailed, before trying to bring it back to something he mentioned.
"You mentioned something about your commander abandoning you," he brought up what Ryvik had mentioned earlier, "does this abandonment in some way connect to this whole affair with Killer-Gemini?" he attempted to combine his question with potentially erroneous information in an attempt to get him to respond with the correct answer.
"No," Ryvik replied immediately. "No it doesn't."
After having said so much, it was clear that he was withholding information again.
"I was to kill or capture my sister or die trying. It's as simple as that."
While János' expression didn't change, he damned himself for letting that one slip. However, he still had cards up his sleeve, and he intended to play every single one of them.
"I see," he replied, "speaking of your sister, if I may ask, how was your relationship with her prior to, well, all this?" he asked candidly, choosing to refer to Yanim as Ryvik did, rather than call her his boss.
Ryvik didn't like this line of questioning either, and didn't want to indulge a clear attempt to manipulate him. "That's not relevant anymore," he replied, fiercely. "She changed, and I changed, and now she's dead. So what if I used to look up to her? How does that help you?" he asked, pointedly.
János shrugged.
"It doesn't," he replied bluntly, "I'm just trying to get a conversation going, that's all. You're in your right to say whether my line of questioning is discomforting you," he leveled with him, though hiding his intentions at the same time.
"You're free to say whatever you want, and you have the same right to not say anything, a right you've been using," he subtly called him out in a friendly manner, "whether it is venting about issues in your own life, or saying what is it you like to eat in your own free time. I'm here for you," he smiled.
Ryvik was annoyed at János' faux-friendly demeanor. Even if he put a smile on the situation, Ryvik wasn't about to forget where he was- in the belly of a ship belonging to a band of outlaws, many of which, like the commander just outside the door, wanting to retaliate for the loss of their leader. He had divulged everything he knew about the doppelganger because it was so obvious what a danger she posed to everyone, on both sides, but finding further common ground between the two would be almost impossible. He took a breath, and realized that János' entire job revolved around that impossible task.
"...Yeah," he replied, begrudgingly. "I get it. That man out there - Constantine, was it? - he said he wanted to know 'what the kanads know' about your company. ...And how long it would take to figure out where this ship is. I might know where we are, because Yanim divulged that information when her partner was about to... you know... but I don't know if anyone..." he thought hard for a moment. "The surgeon, I think her name was Gataska. She's the only one who heard the location who might still be alive. 'Damya' found us in there and started shooting everyone, but she was still alive when we left. I don't know if she survived."
János was surprised by not just Ryvik continuing the conversation, seemingly on his own terms, but also by the fact that Yanim divulged where the ship could be - [I]could be[/I], since she could've lied.
"Oh, so that was something he asked you about, was it? Interesting," he commented, wanting to appear as he knew when it was obvious he didn't.
"If we take into consideration everything you've said about Killer-Gemini, then it is quite likely she's dead too. However, if you know of anyone else that survived this whole ordeal, that may cast doubt on that possibility," he stated, since he recalled Ryvik mentioning that Vixe character being on the Viokhmar.
"I couldn't tell you how many survivors there are in total," he commented. "Other than your crew, there were probably a few dozen survivors throughout the ship, and I know I saw a number of them gunned down by the khergians," he said with disgust. "The captain of that ship, Vixe, probably escaped with her life, but she has no idea where the Aurikha is. She wasn't there in the operating room until Damya arrived, and was knocked unconscious. From the time she woke up to the point we were separated, after the crash, I was by her side, and it was never mentioned to her."
Ryvik seemed to be very cautious about Vixe, as if trying to discourage further questions about her.
---
The Cascade broke through a foggy drift of snow into an open valley, and far below, the crew could see Stalnazyp, looking surprisingly sleepy after the violence which raged through the night. On the outskirts, where there was a refueling depot for cargo vessels, the Durandal was parked and ready for its new crew. There was a very fresh coat of paint on the exterior, brazenly displaying the company's now-famous logo. The khergians were apparently very confident that the UGC and kanads would keep their distance after the absolute ass-kicking they had received. The dropship descended, finding open space in the same field where the Cataract had set down the night before, and the opening of the passenger compartment to the crisp air brought a welcome reprieve to the stinking, sultry atmosphere of the overcrowded cabin.
Outside, onlookers quickly noticed their arrival and began to get the word out. A number of militia vehicles pulled in moments later, as a crowd of friends, relatives, and brothers in arms to the recently-freed prisoners mobbed the vessel.
As the Khergians moved off the Cascade, Taylor stepped off behind the mob. She looked about, wondering if she could pick Iska out of the crowd if she were here. Valkyrie remained where she was aboard the Cascade, sitting back in her seat with her arms folded behind her head.
Out of one of the vehicles, Iska stepped out with a smile addorning her face.
Making her way towards the crew she patred shoulders and passed greetings to the freed militia fighters.
But as she approached the TBC crew her smile faded and her brow furrowed.
She walked up to Taylor and looked at her with a emotionless face.
"...I've got something to give to you." said Taylor, her own expression a bit remorseful. She dug in her pocket, before drawing out Yanim's medallion. As she held it out to Iska, she explained what had happened to Yanim back at the base, and aboard the kanad frigate. "...she died a short while ago." she said, when she finally finished.
János noted Ryvik's caution when talking about Vixe. Perhaps it connected in some way to the thing he's trying to keep under wraps? He couldn't be certain, but he could drive a question about her that in some way connected to what he said.
"Hm, alright. So, Vixe, according to you, knew not of the location Yanim revealed," he repeated to confirm.
"Now, you said something about Vixe trying to tell you that Killer-Gemini was close. Did she have connections to this General Vorokar you spoke of, or if not, any knowledge over the missing Lieutenant Damya?" he tried to link several sentences he made into a coherent sounding question. It may backfire like his earlier abandonment question, but he had to try.
"No, she didn't know," he replied quickly. "She's batakya, while the real Damya, Vorokar, and I are all GKVR. She shouldn't have had any connections to us, but she knew me because I actually transferred in directly out of naval college. I would have been a batakya officer myself if I hadn't have been recruited."
János nodded confidently - sure, this info didn't mean much, but it was some extra progress.
"Alrighty! In that case, how did she know that Killer-Gemini was on your tail? Did she confide to you, or was she unable to?" he asked.
Iska looked at the medallion, noticing the small emblem that Yanim had added to it. She balled her fist tightly sround it, but then looked back.
She saw the militia re-united with their clansmen and the faces of rejoice among them. She turned back to Taylor.
"Light beast win in end..." She said with a small smile on her face and a miniscule tear running down her face which she promptly wiped away.
She regained composure and but the medallion around her own neck, back on its original place after two long and bloody years.
"Ship ready, like Iska promise." She continued, gesturing to the splendid vessel.
She put her hand on Taylors shoulder, "If some time come back to Rigel, Iska is ally. For Yanim."
Ryvik seemed to be growing more impatient. "I told her what she needed to know to stay safe. I don't think I even used the term Killer-Gemini around her." He eyed János distrustfully, before getting a suspicion. "Did you capture her, too? Is that why you keep asking about her?"
"What? No!" János denied the surprising accusation.
"You're the only one that had been captured. I keep asking because, if you permit me to be blunt, you seem to be hiding information in regards to her. I don't know if this may be because of personal reasons, whatever they may be, or professional reasons, but I'm getting the impression that you're being vague over her escape," he told him transparently.
"On the matter of her not knowing the location that Yanim revealed, you seemed to have been truthful, so I chose not to push the matter, but you're still being vague on the topic of her escape. While you reserve the right to not speak on the matter if it discomforts you, I would still like to know why you are obstructing this seemingly irrelevant information," he asked politely.
[QUOTE]"Ship ready, like Iska promise." She continued, gesturing to the splendid vessel.
She put her hand on Taylors shoulder, "If some time come back to Rigel, Iska is ally. For Yanim."[/QUOTE]
Taylor smiled, and nodded. She looked up to the Durandal, then back at the crew aboard the Cascade. Everyone was pretty ready to get going, so it was time to say goodbyes. "Well, we should get going. Glad we could help out." said Taylor, as she looked back to Iska. Inside the Cascade, but still visible, Valkyrie waved a hand at Iska.
"D'akha?" Ryvik replied, infuriated. "Vixe is a [I]friend[/I] of mine. Let me tell you something about my work; for the last two years, I've been following my sister, and now your crew, from place to place around this galaxy. And everywhere I went, you left a trail of destruction behind you, and killed I-don't-know-how-many kanad and allied soldiers along the way. On a professional level, I'm forced to care about your reasons, your goals, and your hopes and dreams as the fucked up individuals you are, so that I could take an educated guess as to where you might show up next, or what your next target might be. But on a personal level, I think you're all despicable, and I couldn't care less about why murderers do the things you do.
"The last thing I want to do is give you all a reason to keep her name in mind. She knows jack shit about you. Forget about her. That's all I'm going to say."
János sighed.
"I don't think you understood the point of me pushing this issue. With everything you've told us, we have no reason to keep her name in mind. Let me recap everything relevant that you've stated;
"Vixe had attempted to tell you that Killer-Gemini was close behind. We have an assumed gap of time, and we have you and Vixe together once more, this time at the hospital, where you met her once more, and you stayed by her side once she awoke. Then the two of you headed to the Viokhmar, taking Yanim and Arkadam with you, and the two of you agreed to a suicide pact. Logically, you'd be all in the same space, as to watch Yanim and Arkadam. At some point onboard the Viokhmar, you end up seeing Killer-Gemini again.
"If Vixe were a friend of yours, your claim of running like hell as to avoid being caught by Killer-Gemini following the crash wouldn't make sense, especially considering your statement that you had remained together. If you had known her since naval college, and had remained friends since, then the more logical thing would be to abandon Yanim and Arkadam as bait, a distraction to allow you two to escape. But, you were caught, meaning that you had to have assisted Vixe in her escape. And that's the part that confuses me about your current standing on this matter.
"If she knew not of the supposed location of this ship that Yanim revealed, then we have no reason to care about her, a fact that someone like you would realize. There is absolutely nothing relevant about her that would prevent you from revealing how she had escaped, absolutely nothing. Her escaping even has its benefits, since she can corroborate on the events that occurred in Vostokrebh, including Killer-Gemini's existence and detrimental involvement. We would have no reason to care, Ryvik.
"You may have your right of silence, but you cannot deny the logical issues I've presented to you. You have no reason not to tell us how you helped her escape, yet you choose to sidestep the issue. Why?" he finished his analysis of the ordeal. It may have been for naught, but maybe, just maybe, it may work.
Ira walked up to Taylor. "We're set, just waiting for your order." She nodded at Iska. Meanwhile Karl was busy saying goodbye to the Khergians. Having grown up in a village with a mixed Human-Khergian population Karl knew both the language and their drinking manners.
"What I said..." Ryvik began, gritting his teeth in frustration. "What I said was, that Vixe tried to tell me about an encounter she had at Vostokrebh. She told me she had run into a blackjacket named Damya Sidikan, and that she had been extremely uncomfortable. That this 'Damya' had showed her something in a trunk that looked dangerous, with blades and cables... I was too busy trying to catch up with my old school friend to put any thought into it. But given that name- 'Damya Sidikan...' I should have been the one to remember and catch it, right then and there. And now, in hindsight, I realize that the trunk probably contained that freakish tail thing Killer-Gemini used to butcher Zhesid and his unit on Prospera. So I feel pretty damned stupid now.
"But Vixe was [I]oblivious.[/I]" Ryvik emphasized. "She had no idea who she was dealing with, so when she crossed paths with Killer-Gemini a second time, just before she arrived at the surgical ward at the Vostokrebh hospital, she must have thought she was just this fictional Lt. Damya. So she got knocked out, I carried her to safety, and then she woke up, and [I]then[/I] I explained to her just who she had encountered. We went to the Viokhmar looking for safety, but the enemy caught up to us on the ship. Your crew was already threatening to break out, so when we saw that Killer-Gemini had somehow gotten aboard the ship, that's when we decided to scuttle ourselves and settle the whole matter for good. I still don't know exactly why we failed."
János nodded, taking in the additional details.
Ryvik opened his mouth to speak again when a realization struck him. Vixe had known that Ryvik was a clone, and therefore disposable, before she had agreed to kill herself to stop the enemy's escape. The gesture seemed far more meaningful in hindsight, and he wished he could tell her how brave she had been. He covered his feelings with bitterness. "The other thing- when I told you I ran from Killer-Gemini, I never said I went alone. I was only trying to explain that I had no desire to stand and fight. Vixe went with me to the exterior of the ship, and we were trying to escape together when I fell down a hole into the upper decks. I told her to go on without me, and by my best guess, she made it.
"So congratulations, Ace Attorney," Ryvik spat, throwing his arms out to either side, "you blew this case wide open! And, bonus, you didn't have to waste anyone's time to do it... it's not like the people who brought me in [I]knew the same exact details of Vixe's escape,[/I]" he added sarcastically. "Now quit badgering me... if I have to take a beating from the human shitstain out in the hall, so be it. I've had it with you."
Ryvik struggled onto his feet, pain shooting up and down his extremities as he shuffled over to his cell's bed. His mind was wrapped up with thoughts about Vixe, and he wanted badly to hide his face. [I]Why? Why did János have to make him think so hard about her?[/I] He missed her, his only real friend in a world which felt as if it was unraveling. If only he could tell her how he felt.
---
[video=youtube;LwjFfQoZGSE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwjFfQoZGSE[/video]
Unfortunately for Karl, as much as the locals wanted to buy the crew a round of drinks, the crew had no choice but to shove off again.
They made their way up the ramp and into the hangar of the Durandal, its polished, mostly-clean surfaces were a far cry from the dirty, beaten-down vessels the crew had become accustomed to during the previous month. It was reminiscent of the moment they first boarded the Muramasa, only around 40 days prior and yet feeling like an eternity gone away. The crew had shrunk since then, gone were the fresh faces and short fuses; only the professionals remained. They walked in silence through the brightly-lit tunnels, up the lift and toward the bridge. There was a distinct sense of a new beginning, that if everything they had heard came true, that soon they would be surrounded by a new batch of recruits who would be put to the fire- but hopefully, not to such a brutal extent.
Eve took her seat as the temporary pilot while Taylor sat in the captain's chair. The bootup sequence was initiated, and unlike their first ship, everything was OEM on the software side of things- no strange, unexplained strings of code or cryptic warnings scripted in Kanad. The lights and the holograms on the heads up display were simple and familiar, and when it came time for the title to be signed over, a comm signal hailed them. It was the Aurikha.
[quote]NEASHA: I see you've collected your bounty, crew. Does everything appear to be in order? No spots they forgot to paint? Heh heh... Now listen, there's two things I need from you. First, Taylor, I need you to lean into the bio scanner and let it get a clear view of your eye.[/quote]
On the arm of the captain's chair, a small device unfolded with a crystalline tip. A blinking light below signaled its readiness, and so Taylor ducked down, allowing the scanner to get a read on her face. When it finished, there was a soft chime, and on screen, the words appeared: "Owner registered: Taylor Caine"
[quote]NEASHA: Congratulations, captain. Boss let me know in secret what she was planning to do, and I want to honor her memory. The Durandal might be under contract, so long as you work for us along with your crew, but one day, if you decide to walk your own path separate from us, the ship is yours. We'll continue to outfit you with the best weaponry we can buy and produce, and Constantine will be working on our contacts on Seloveha and elsewhere... Our company still has plenty of untapped potential, and I intend to guide us toward that bright future. I'd like to think I have Yanim's guiding spirit with me, but with Rask's common sense. But, as much as I'll try to fill their shoes, I'm not the most charismatic leader. The crew will need someone to look up to as an example of what they all can achieve. That can only come from you, Taylor.[/quote]
Valkyrie, standing at the rear of the bridge, scoffed. But as saccharine as the words were, she knew that Neasha's confidence was well-placed. Similarly, the clouds of doubt hanging over Alex and Amy began to subside. They felt better protected inside the Durandal than they had been inside of either the Muramasa or the Aurikha. Markus was there as well, disinterested, instead paying close attention to his bank account. With a smile, he watched as his pay rolled in. Since the khergians had waived the price of the ship, the payment went directly to the crew, which to this point weren't sure if their efforts would be adequately rewarded. Ira smiled. Neasha and the company heads had not only placed their eggs in the right basket, they had done so in such a way that even if the Aurikha were to be discovered and destroyed, the remaining crew aboard the Durandal would be free and able to pursue new horizons.
They thought about the jobs ahead, and the friends they had left behind. They thought about the injured and the ones who stayed to look after them. It was a ragged operation, but the threads which held it together were stronger than steel.
[B][Mission Complete][/B]
[quote]NEASHA: And one last thing... I had another talk with Yanim, before she set out for Stalnazyp, and she had one more directive for us. You have made a name for yourselves in this galaxy which won't easily be forgotten. You're the rogues who took nothing but an over-gunned corvette and punched the galaxy's biggest empires [U]in the face.[/U] You're the punks who entered a second-hand car into a fixed sporting event and humiliated everyone so thoroughly that it [I]caused a revolution.[/I] You put food on the table with one hand and firebomb the oppressors with the other. [I]Everyone[/I] has heard of the Muramasa crew.
So from here on, the Durandal will be known as the [B]Muramasa II[/B], to keep that mystique alive. So when the galaxy needs a black knight, an ace of spades, or a pillager out for fun, they'll know who to call. You're our brand, Muramasa. Keep making us proud.[/quote]
---
[B]Summary of the Prologue:[/B]
On January 8th, 2385, the Muramasa, a ship belonging to the Terika-Belladonna Company, docked at the lunar trade port of Virtue in the Sol system. Under the directive of the company's first lieutenant, Rask Vor'Pangn, the ship took on a rookie crew and departed for the eastern border planet of Itara, an isolationist agricultural state which has recently been occupied and placed under control of the Kanad Collective's Black Fleet. Their unmet employer, Yanim Terika, supposedly awaited them there, having stayed behind from a previous mission in order to assassinate a public figure named Kupro Kupra. However, en route to the planet, the new crew was informed that Yanim had not reported on the success of her mission, and had likely been captured.
The rendezvous soon became a rescue mission, and Rask was forced to lead an away team to assault a city police department in an effort to locate Yanim. By the time her location had been determined, the local authorities were already in the process of turning Yanim over to the kanads, who wished to prosecute her as a terrorist. Rask then lead the team to intercept and recover her. Meanwhile, Neasha Kyral, the company's second lieutenant, lead a ship-based crew into combat against the Black Fleet itself, helping to delay Yanim's extradition and clearing a path of escape for the crew. In the end, the new crew recovered Yanim and escaped the planet with only a single casualty, inflicting severe losses on the kanads and the native tetrian collaborators who assisted them.
[B]Summary of Chapter 1:[/B]
After a brief stopover at the Albitsky Asteroid Field, the Muramasa crew traveled to Prospera, a gambling Mecca in human space. Yanim had learned that the kanads were using a security agreement with the tetrians to manipulate the flow of the interstellar food trade in hopes of causing a shortage in vulnerable border states. The human factions had boycotted tetrian goods out of suspicion of this intent, but the kanads were successfully skirting regulations by selling to the human crime syndicate "the Mafia," whose throwback aesthetic shaped the resort planet Prospera into a corrupted cyberpunk Las Vegas. The crew was ordered to find a way to sabotage the F-Max Grand Prix, a major sporting event that the Mafia was attempting to fix for a massive profit. Yanim hoped that the syndicate would negotiate if brought to heel, but the reality was far messier.
After bribing and assaulting key racers and Mafia figures, the crew entered its pilot, Owen Jackson, into the Grand-Prix. Owen, a former race driver, managed to pull off an upset victory despite rampant Mafia efforts to cheat the race in favor of their patsy. As a result, recently-ascended Mafia leader Donatello was assassinated, and two of his sons became rivals in a mob war. Meanwhile, Red, the mysterious Argos contact with which Yanim has worked in the past, appeared on Prospera to offer the crew a job. Richard Briggs, an YsCom official who sought war against the flagging trade conglomerate Tri-Enterprises, was due to be assassinated. The killing was meant to look like an accident, but after Tri-Enterprises' Asset Protection PMC intervened, kidnapping Briggs, the crew was forced to assault them directly and killed Briggs in the process.
The crew then traveled to Mars, entering into another contract with Argos to retrieve a pair of unexplained devices from the planets Sirgas and Voyak, where war was threatening to break out at any moment. Although the crew had just saved the east from a food crisis, they would have no time to rest as they brought their guns directly to the front lines.
[B]Summary of Chapter 2:[/B]
By January 18th, the Muramasa had arrived at Voyak in pursuit of one of two mysterious Archives. The crew had taken a vote to decide whether the sanghvi or the kanads would be better collaborators to recover the second of these devices for Argos in a complicated quid pro quo deal, and had chosen the sanghvi. Their job was to destroy a missile defense base operated jointly by the UGC and Black Fleet forces at Dyatiq, which would signal the sanghvi on Sirgas to capture and return an Archive. The crew would then assault Yovek Airbase, a Black Fleet stronghold, to recover the second Archive.
The activities of the first day ended in failure- Frosty, the crew's resident starfighter pilot, was shot down over the planet's capital city, and two away-team members, Amy and Valkyrie, were taken out of action during an assault on Dyatiq which was ultimately aborted, and which required Yanim to hastily purchase another ship and crew to rescue the first. A second away-team, meant to recover Frosty's body, instead encountered a strange mystic named Moloch, apparently belonging to Frosty's unknown race who had recovered the body instead, and restored it to life. After bringing this stranger back to the Muramasa, a standoff between Captain Yuga Shuur and Moloch resulted in a crew mutiny and Yuga's replacement with Taylor Caine, a human mercenary.
Meanwhile, Rask used the opportunity to increase his power within TBC, becoming the operational leader in charge of the Muramasa's mission while Yanim was busy courting buyers for the company's new weapons division. Rask worked with Checkered to develop a new plan: the crew would use airstrikes to disable key radar stations around Dyatiq which would leave the base unable to distinguish a real attack from a false one. The new sister ship, the Cataract, would carry out the false attack. This plan required special bombs produced within the capital's industrial district, which were driven out in a dangerous high-speed chase on the freeway. After the crew's harrowing escape from authorities, they learned that the Archive at Yovek had been stolen.
The thief was another human mercenary, Jason Bradley, fresh off the allied ship Sparrowhawk, whom had been captured by the Black Fleet while attempting to locate the Muramasa crew in search of a new job. Jason escaped imprisonment and stole the Archive after overhearing of its importance. The Muramasa crew thus only had to rescue Jason to recover the Archive, but this was no small task as he had attracted the fury of the Black Fleet preemptively. The crew achieved this aim and then bombed the radar stations, successfully executing the arrangement made with Argos. Upon fleeing the planet, however, the crew was attacked once more, this time by the Death Vigil, which also wished to obtain the Archives. However, despite practically destroying the Muramasa, the Vultures weren't able to locate the Archive, as the device had been handed off to the Sparrowhawk for delivery in a shell game gambit.
The crews now return to their leaders, aboard the massive carrier Aurikha, which had been gifted by Argos as partial payment for the operation. Things have changed- Yanim is secretly suffering from a terminal nerve disease which had previously urged her toward violent acts, but she can no longer bare the immense guilt that her decisions have leveled upon her. Rask views her as a liability, and wishes to be rid of her. The crew has suffered immensely from poor leadership and lack of resources, and the ship has been torn to hell. All of these critical factors have converged as a result of the great rush to recover the Archives, and yet no one within the company knows exactly what they are...
But they will, and soon.
[B]Summary of Chapter 3:[/B]
With the Muramasa having seen its last battle, the crew was reassigned to the Cataract, conveniently available after the angry departure of the latter ship's original crew. Only two stayed behind, including Arkadam Sidikan, a former Collective State Security officer with a history of romantic exploitation and near-deadly revenge from Yanim. Having disturbed a hornet's nest by interfering in the now-catastrophic Second Kanad-Sanghvi War, the Aurikha and all of its occupants traveled to the northern fringes to do various small jobs and build connections. While there, Yanim worked tirelessly to find information about the Archives. As she would discover, there were three Archives in total, with the third being held somewhere on Oltanis, a remote world devoid of civilization. After some discussion, the crew came to acknowledge responsibility for their role in whatever happens with the mysterious boxes.
The debate over the company's role produced deep divisions. Rask, wishing to wash his hands of the Archives and seek out wealth instead, sharply criticized the crew for contemplating their moral obligations. He was overruled, however, and the crew traveled to Oltanis. After they retrieved the final Archive, Yanim interfaced directly with the machine through her neural implant and spoke directly with a powerful, ancient being, known as Starvis- in truth a moon-sized sentient computer system embedded within the planet of the same name. Starvis explained that it was originally designed to contemplate the physics, implements, and strategies of war, but that it soon achieved a higher understanding and wished to end war entirely. Its three Archives were the key to ending its imprisonment, and once assembled at the pole of the planet, the being's plan could be set into motion to bring immortality and tranquility to all beings.
However, if only two of the Archives were to be brought forward, the bearer would be able to control Starvis and unleash its great destructive powers. To avoid this calamity, Starvis promised to prevent Argos from learning the same secrets from the two Archives it possessed, giving Yanim plenty of time to devise a way to arrive at the same moment and deposit the third Archive, preventing disaster. Yanim was initially conflicted by the sudden revelations, but after speaking with Taylor, Hariim, and Bucky about the implications of Starvis's release, the group decided that a better course of action would be to destroy at least two of the Archives. They then travelled to speak with Red on Athens, where Argos held its headquarters. In the midst of communicating her unwillingness to work with Red any further, Yanim was interrupted by a surprise attack by the Death Vigil, which recovered one of Argos's Archives.
The Aurikha fled from Athens, now enemies with Argos as well as the Vigil. The sudden turn of events caused Rask to fly into a rage, attacking Yanim for spoiling plans he had been making for after he supplanted her. Arkadam arrived and defeated him in the nick of time, having been inspired by Yanim's attempts to make up for years of troubled interactions. As it would later be revealed, Yanim had always secretly desired to develop a relationship with him, as she had once seen his potential. The two quickly fell in love. However, all was not well on the crew. Maddox, having been exposed as a spy for Sol, had a psychotic lapse and was placed into the Aurikha's brig, permanently. There, he would team up with Rask in an effort to escape, betray, and ultimately destroy the company.
Using the company's money in his role as operational leader, Rask bought and bribed his way for freedom, and enlisted Maddox's help in escaping from the Aurikha. Meanwhile, Yuga, now an officer of the Ayr Imperial Fleet, arrived with Vakarus as her ally as well as a detachment of kanad vessels in a massive effort to halt and board the Aurikha. Instead, the Terika-Belladonna crew fought fanatically, eventually landing hard in the wastelands of Rigel, where, with the help of the Boome Marines, they killed Rask and Maddox and drove the ayr and kanads back in a heroic stand. Now, they seek a means to escape again, as their enemies will no doubt find them before the Aurikha is fixed. They must purchase a new ship to truly replace the Muramasa. For now, they take refuge in Stalnazyp, the home of Yanim's dear friend and former crewmate, Iska Volgrim.
In the midst of all the fighting, the crew has been shaped by extreme pressure, becoming an unbreakable diamond, with the same courage and heart which once defined the Archius crew. The beginning of the end is coming as "Frosty," now Chemosh, Moloch, and Valkyrie all plan their futures outside the company, and Yanim, no longer hiding her illness, seeks a future for her friends that will outlast herself. Arkadam has secretly promised to marry her before she dies, fulfilling one of her final wishes, but one glaring problem remains- Starvis. The entire crew is now aware of the menace, but can they gather their strength in time to stop Argos and the Death Vigil from unleashing disaster?
[B]Summary of Chapter 4:[/B]
A frigate named the Durandal was chosen as the crew's next vessel shortly after arriving in Stalnazyp, but it proved to be a prize that money could not buy alone. The khergian militias, endlessly harassed by kanad intruders operating out of UGC bases on the planet's surface, refused to sell the ship unless the now-infamous Terika-Belladonna Company agreed to attack the nearby repair station of Vostokrebh and rescue around two dozen militia fighters being held by the GKVR. Yanim, eager to prove herself a reformed soul to her old friend Iska, confidently took up the job and demanded that khergians have the vessel painted in TBC livery "by Tuesday."
An elaborate plan to break into the massive base was put together, involving motorcycles, a lightning advance, and the element of surprise, came together over the course of two days. Iska lent her village's artillery to the plan as well, but soon things began to go awry. When the crew attempted to infiltrate the base, they were discovered, beginning a long, painful slog to the center, where an elite force was eventually brought to counter them, led by Kyrskada, the vengeful leader of the kanad crew which had failed to capture the Aurikha two days prior. Dio was killed in the onslaught, and Yanim and Arkadam nearly joined him. After isolating the captain from her crew, the Black Fleet and the Peacekeepers quickly overwhelmed and forced the remaining crew to surrender.
Meanwhile, in Stalnazyp, an unwitting clone of Ryvik Sidikan was dispatched to capture Iska, unaware of her involvement in the attack on Vostokrebh. Instead, he crossed paths with a highly-unwelcome intruder: the one variously called Killer-Gemini, Damya, and her preferred name, Beta. At first believing Beta to be a clone of his sister, Ryvik was horrified by her capacity for ruthlessness, and was nearly killed in the attack. Fleeing back to Vostokrebh without his crew, he returns to find the base on fire, and upon seeing his true sister in a feeble state, being tortured by his comrades in the SS, Ryvik feels more confused than ever about his place in life. When Beta arrives, seemingly unharmed from their fight from earlier, Ryvik finds himself protecting his former targets, as well as an old friend, Captain Vixe Sidikan, as they run to the heavily damaged frigate Viokhmar, where the rest of the crew has been imprisoned awaiting transport.
Unwilling to let their comrades be taken by the kanads, the remaining operatives within TBC, along with allies from the Boome Marines, made their own assault on the base at the last moment, rescuing the khergian prisoners in the process but barely missing the takeoff of the Viokhmar. Instead, a combination of the imprisoned crew revolting and killing Sergeant Kyrskada, the khergian artillery landing a barrage on the Viokhmar, and Beta's appearance on the lower decks was enough to convince Ryvik and Vixe to crash the ship intentionally and kill all on board. A last moment sacrifice from Owen Jackson, piloting the Cataract alone, was all that prevented total annihilation. In the aftermath of the crash, Beta found Yanim helpless, intending to kill her and take her place, but was stopped by Jag, who died protecting the Boss while Ryvik and Vixe attempted to escape.
Ultimately, the crew would survive the plummet, capture Ryvik, and stumble upon Beta's secret- that she was, in fact, Yanim from an alternate universe, brought about by the influence of Dwan, a being capable of moving between universes which had inadvertently broken Yanim's faith in others during the Archius mission, who had been tricked by Beta into believing in her goodwill. As a result of this encounter, Yanim left the field of battle carrying Beta's computer pack, and Beta with Yanim's, each an identical component of their YS-X neural implants. The crew returned to the Aurikha to offload the wounded, where Yanim would eventually die of her various wounds and illnesses, while Arkadam was found to be a shambling wreck after a horrific brain injury inflicted by his captors at the GKVR.
Neasha, now in control of the company, was forced to urge the crew onward, as it was unclear whether the Aurikha's location had been compromised or would be discovered. Those who were willing and able departed again for Stalnazyp, eventually collecting the Durandal, rechristened the Muramasa II, and set out for new horizons. But what they don't know is that Arkadam has ignored Yanim's wishes and turned to Starvis for help escaping his nightmarish predicament, and Beta has walked away from her encounter carrying conclusive proof that TBC is in possession of a third and final Archive, which she intends to bring to the Death Vigil's attention, setting the wheels in motion for a fateful moment in galactic history. But it will take time for all of the pieces to fall into place...
[B]Intermission[/B]
[video=youtube;qU50CMtQecc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU50CMtQecc[/video]
The engines on the Muramasa II announced the next chapter of the crew's adventure with a thunderous boom as the frigate lifted off from Stalnazyp. Racing toward the heavens, a potential deal to have their UGC bounties cleared provided the first clear sense of a brightening future the crew could now look forward to. There was a sense that the loose ends were finally being reconciled.
((I'll do a timeskip when I feel the moment is correct.))
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2
