Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Games

Markus shuffled along, carrying Maddox and answered without looking at Jag "Well I'll tell ya what, mate. I don' precisely care for any o' this shit. All I know is that our boss lady better be payin' a fuckin' fortune fer' this bloody haul."

"Simple and to the point," Jag said while walking along side them, it's back was arched with signs of an limb in it's walk. "A good quality to have, Marksmen Markus. Too many of you soft-carbons, especially of the Terran derivative, get themselves loss in finding an higher purpose in their assessments." "Most of the time it compromises the mission or at worse, gets them killed." "And I do agree with you, the faster this mission is over and we get our fair share for 'saving' this world, the better." Jag said with an tone of annoyance sipping into it's last words, aggravated at baring this planet's gravity for so long.

[Sorry I've not posted in a bit. Life's been picking up lately, and y'all know how that goes.] Bucky works to get the Muramasa set up for its next task, pulling power from unoccupied decks by disengaging gravity plating and shunting power away from unnecessary systems such as lighting. All that extra power is now available to the command crew to redirect as they see fit. With that done, Bucky gets to work trying to restore some function to the flak cannons. -------------------------------------------- Hariim lands deftly on the Muramasa's ramp thanks to the motion-assist systems in his suit. He minds the others as they come aboard, and starts tying into the Muramasa's sensors and communications systems almost on reflex. He pings the captain. "Captain, all away team members safely aboard ship. I'm getting into ship's systems to supplement operations. Specific instructions?"

[QUOTE]"Captain, all away team members safely aboard ship. I'm getting into ship's systems to supplement operations. Specific instructions?"[/QUOTE] Taylor stepped up next to him, since she had just walked into the room, and placed a finger over her mouth. Like she was shushing him. "We have an issue with comms. Somehow, Black Fleet hacked in and hijacked them. Don't know if they're still listening in. Need it fixed and secured, ASAP. Gonna need a secure line to the boss as well as the Cataract if we're gonna finish the mission here."

Jason tried to move the radio into other parts of the hill for a better signal, but. still no contact. He decided to rest a bit from talking to static and inspect the VRI. "Mint Condition, A really rare find too... I wonder what's taking them so long to respond?"

Hariim nods and immediately commences operations within the ship's computers. He breaks out every trick in every book he knows, and begins cleaning out his home turf with zeal. Of course, he brings in Itasha's equipment along for the task. How could this hardware have been out of his life for so long? Hariim also sets up a secure line to the Cataract over his own suit systems, since those are secured and hardened against EWAR and hacking tech. "One moment, Cap. Spidering."

The ship had already taken off, the Vultures sitting inside. Each briefed on what to do. This mission was going to be a cakewalk if everything Archangel told them is true. The 'man' himself was standing behind Specter's seat. Examening the map and working on the best course of action once deployed. Suddenly the comms lid up with a message from back home. "It's the boss! Pay attention!" Archangel turned around and started projecting the hologram. Mordecai looked around, examening the men and women as if they were there right next to him. "You all look so eager to perform this task. I assume Archangel briefed you on what you have to do." The hologram started to walk around in a circle. looking each soldier. "There has been a change of plans however. An unknown for now element has entered the field and is unclear on who's side they are. For now you will proceed as planned. Archangel will instruct you on any changes to the plan should they be needed. I already gave them to him before begining this conversation. Whatever the Tri-Enterprise is want from that forsaken excuse for a planet, I want it. Understood? Good. Now if you gentlemen and ladies would excuse me, I have a meeting with the press." And with that the hologram was gone. Specter spun around in his chair and looked at Archangel with an anoyed face. "Does he really have to be so vague when describing things?" "Just keep us on course. When we get there I'll give you new instructions if I have to." [I]5 minutes later on Gibel[/I] "How do I look?" "Like a million credits, sir." The guard said with a forced smile. "Just a million?" Mordecai chuckeled."I have to put more effort into my appearence then. Well, lets get this show started. No doubt the hounds will be out for blood. Lets give them what they want. Cue the music." [video]https://youtu.be/aXCM0lZxh4U[/video] Mordecai walked out from behind the stage, the spotlight following him as he walked to the podium to adress the public. The music playing over the speakers as he moved with the confidence and swagger only a man who cheated death and laughed in it's face could. He stood on the podium while waiting for the score to finish, giving a short wave to the gathered crowd, smug expresion on his face, the whole time. "Well that was a fine tune, don't you all agree?" He said after the music stoped."Now, I know why we are all here so lets cut right to it. Yes, I was announced dead, yes there was an attempt on my life by a rival organization and yes I survived that attempt. I survived because I am made of stronger material than my rivals would believe, because they are too weak to do what is necesary to end me and because in reality I hold all the cards in this little game they want to play. Some of you may be wondering why I'm so eager to show myself in the open so soon. Well, my words would ring hollow if I didn't. Hell, lets do one better. You."He pointed at a guard as he took a step off the podium. "Get the rest of your coworkers and get out of the room. And don't come back untill I'm done with this conference. Look now, you would be disruptors of balance. I'm giving you a free shot. Come on! Take it! Take your shot to end me! Make me an example or a martyr! Now is your chance!" After finishing his boasting, there was a solid minute of silence. Mordecai broke it. "You see. I'm the one with the advantage. The people of Gibel and all Death Vigil occupied territory will sleep without fear, knowing that I and the new council will be watching over them. I'll now take questions from the press. You there, you go first" "GNN representative Jack Horlum. You said new council. What happened to the old one?" "They proved that they could not be trusted. The conspiracy against me was led by them, so I had the old council...disposed of. Next question, you there." "Valderama from Intergalactica here. What are your plans going forward after the attack exactly?" "I'm glad you asked. For now we will gather our strenght and set our sight on the ones who are to blame for this. Both internaly and externaly. Those who have been identefied as traitors are now facing trial, but will most likely meet their end at the wrong side of a firing squad. I have zero tolerance for nests of vipers in my back yard. Those who have aided the vipers however are to meet a more grewsome end. As of now, the Deth Vigil is at war with it's foe. Next question. You, at the back" "Marsath Cofiera. Representing Galaxy today." "Oh that tabloid. I'm surprised that they let you in here with the real journalists. Go on ask away and waste everyone's time." "Does the attack have anything to do with the activities of the Vulture squads? The one's you have been sending on black ops mission to sabotage, kill and intimidate your oposition? The same one's that have recently had a scuffle with the Tri-Enterprise and terrorised small towns on Duroma? Not to mention you moving in on Prospera for some reason." Mordecai looked at the reporter. Somehow this worm had gotten his his hands on some very sensitive information. Trouble is, does he have any way to prove any of that. He never let his guard down as the questions kept on comming. He smilled and let out a short laugh. "The great journalists from Galaxy today ladies and gentlemen. Give them a hand. Now I did say you can ask a question, not several, but I will anser them all. The Vultures as you call them, are nothing more than an elite unit under my command. Think of them as tough bodyguards for special night out on the battlefield. They really don't do anything besides stand near me, so I don't know where you're getting the whole black ops mission from. Perhaps it's the color scheme. And why would I send anyone to Duroma? That dusty little mud planet is unimportant. You mention a scuffle, but no location or reason. Do we even know if it happened then? And finally Prospera. My father was from the United Kingdom, my mother was a Las Vegas escort. They met, they had me as a result. I spend my youth in that city of vice before it was burned to the ground by crazed fanatics ofcourse. Prospera just reminds me of home and I would like to have some property there. Now I think that's all the time I have for you. This conference is over. Thank you for your time." Mordecai walked quickly behind stage and waved one of his men there to come closer. "Track that last reporter. Don't let him out of your sights. He knows too much. Somebody is bleeding information and I want to know who." "What do I do once I find them, sir?" "Report back to me. This is not something I'll let slip."

Back at the armory of the Aurikha, Yanim carefully explained how deliveries would work for her customers with SULP. Rask slipped into the room quietly, his pale face even more stark than usual as he walked directly into the space of the conversation between Yanim, Beshyem, and Myaga. "<Ah, General Rask,>" Myaga spoke, her words relayed by a pocket translator. She gave him what she must have thought was a kanad salute before continuing, "<we were just speaking about plans for cooperation-making. Melora will come work for Terika Belladonna.>" "They're supplying a hundred workers for our assembly lines to help offset the cost of the manufacturing run," Yanim clarified. Leaning in with a skeptic eye, she asked Rask- "[What happened?]" "[The crew is safe- both ships. We're working on comm security now.]" He replied before noticing the concerned look on Myaga's face. Suppressing the ill-feeling in his gut, he cleared his throat and put on his best façade. "That sounds like a good way to start a partnership. Maybe this'll blossom into something more, keh." Meanwhile, on the bridge, Neasha worked with Hariim (albeit from across the galaxy) on a plan to remap the comm lines across new frequencies, as well implement a more secure encryption system. The work was slow and difficult, as each new change had to be implemented without revealing over the airwaves exactly what was being done. Rey, having recovered from his ordeal repairing the engines of the Cataract, soon joined them, and eventually the three ships were fully secure. ((No need for a roll on this one.)) "Alright," Neasha said, huffing a sigh of relief. "Make sure to clear the ship's vocomm cache and reset it before you enable the new protocol or else you might end up losing it in the event of power failure," she explained, remembering the console controls of every facet of the Muramasa's bridge as if it were the back of her hand. Istasha replied- [quote]Okay, Hariim is handling it now. See you on the new line.[/quote] "Over and out," Neasha said. Just before switching off the old frequency for good, Neasha overheard a kanad voice, but a quiet one, as if it were another figure standing in the Yovek comm room, far away from the consoles... [quote][I've placed the bulletin... ...they'll be looking for the major's truck in all six northern sectors... ...can't escape... ...of course... [B]...the Archive...[/B] ...the human from Sparrowhawk...][/quote] Neasha gasped sharply as she overheard the words, spoken in the kanad language. She had learned quite a bit from her years working with Yanim and Rask, and so this critical information had fallen right into her lap. There was a commotion on the comm line as someone must have realized a channel was open. [quote][Relax. They just closed the line. Most of them don't even speak a civilized language, so what would it even matter?][/quote] "[Civilize this,]" Neasha spoke in perfect kanad before cranking the pickup volume to maximum and pressing the microphone into the console's speaker, unleashing a deafening wave of feedback over the line. She then closed the channel as a flurry of insults in three different languages began gushing in, and reconfigured the Aurikha onto the new channel. Before saying anything to the crew, however, she needed to report her discovery to the Boss. --- A reconnaissance drone screeched through the cloudy air overhead as Jason, sitting quietly in his stolen truck, began to dial through the comm in search of the Muramasa's signal. While serving on the Sparrowhawk, he had taken note of the specific frequency of his supposed future employer, but he didn't have the ability to decrypt their reply, should they send one. As poor luck would have it, the various crews of TBC had just fully overhauled their comm systems anyway, and no one was listening for the old frequency aside from the SS (and Jason was smart enough not to speak into a channel currently full of kanad chatter.) He slunk down into his seat, unable to believe that -of all things- he was actually [I]bored.[/I] At this point, it was almost tempting to drive back toward Vohmdash to look for a different job, rather than holding out for the Muramasa, but he discouraged himself from doing so. Something had to go his way, and indeed, the Muramasa crew would soon have reason to seek him out. --- Things finally began to progress. The two sister ships had found a place to touch down while the comms were restored and the away team showered and dressed their wounds. The Cascade reunited with the Cataract and a quick exchange of crew took place: Istasha was returned to the Cataract to assist Rey, who had been largely overtasked during the preceding mission, and Johannes was sent to bolster security in exchange for an extension of Mercy's service on the Muramasa. The heavy bombs built by Toothache (who had joined the Cataract temporarily) were loaded into the Muramasa's heavy missile bays while the targeting beacon was hoisted into the Cataract's hangar bay so that it could more easily be dropped in mid-flight. Rask, having regained his bearings after the earlier scare, appeared via hologram for the second time that day. [quote]First off, I'd just like to say that... well actually, there's nothing to say about it. The situation earlier was [I]fucked,[/I] and you all did the best possible job we could have asked. With that out of the way, we have an interesting bit of news, which we've just run by Checkered. The Archive at Yovek, ya know? It's, uh... It's missing.[/quote]

Yuga raised one of her eyebrows as the news of the missing Archive came in. She looked over to Taylor, "There was an unidentified channel trying to contact us before the comm overhaul. Now, we don't have the information on our system any more, but perhaps you'd like to contact him anyway." she said with her usual minimalistic tone. She extended her compass to Taylor with a call button on the display, "Don't worry. I have run the encryption by with Mr.M'baal. you have 3 hours of call time before the SS have most likely cracked the code."

[QUOTE]First off, I'd just like to say that... well actually, there's nothing to say about it. The situation earlier was fucked, and you all did the best possible job we could have asked. With that out of the way, we have an interesting bit of news, which we've just run by Checkered. The Archive at Yovek, ya know? It's, uh... It's missing.[/QUOTE] "Missing, sir? Another party might have swiped it during our op. Did one of the other merc groups hit the airbase during the chaos?" said Taylor, before looking over at Yuga. [QUOTE]"There was an unidentified channel trying to contact us before the comm overhaul. Now, we don't have the information on our system any more, but perhaps you'd like to contact him anyway....Don't worry. I have run the encryption by with Mr.M'baal. you have 3 hours of call time before the SS have most likely cracked the code"[/QUOTE] "Alright. I'll do it now so that he'll know what we know." she said, motioning to the holographic Rask before tapping the call button on the compass. Maybe it was that mysterious third party that had taken the Archive?

Jason awoke from his mini nap to discover that the Comms device is picking up a signal, Jason presses the receive. "Hello? Muramasa Crew, if you are picking this up, I'm Jason Bradley from the Sparrowhawks. My team was shot down by the Kanads when i arrived in the planet, I helped them escape but, got myself captured instead. i managed to break myself out with this thing called "The Archive" and now i'm on a small hill near Vohmdash, My condition is still normal but, i sustained wounds during my breakout. I'll pop flares for you guys when you come down here. But better hurry up cause the Black fleet might be hearing these comms and sending their guys on me. Over" Now Jason all has to do is wait.. Or fight when the Black Fleet comes.

Yuga looks over to Hriim, "Mr.M'baal, can you pinpoint his location with the comms?"

Vakarus looked at Taylor. "Taylor'atvan, I recommend sending Cascade to recover this 'Jasonbradley' and the archive. Should you wish, I will safely escort him myself." ----- Maddox was lying in one of the medbay's beds while Markus and Mercy chatted on the far side of the room. While his body had not yet entirely recovered he could control his neck, torso and arm muscles. In his hands was his touchpad which he used to view the latest news from the SNN; [quote][i] - Reporters left in awe after Death Vigil's Mordecai holds a special press conference. - The United Sol Resistance declares war on Sol and their allies. - Sol mobilizes the SDF for a offensive campaign led by Lord General Cross, auxiliary forces are being mobilized to act as defensive support units. - SSOID have placed a standing reward of 3 000 000 credits for information which could assist the SDF against the USR. - Mysterious fleet spotted travelling through isolated systems. - Another three colonies fall into USR control after brief battles resulting in the complete destruction of the locals, trade hub world of Aspix among the list. - Despite military tensions the intergalactic ArmsCon kicks off on Mars for the 27th year, dozens of high-profile military officials are present in the hopes of finding the next big weapon. SDF to unveil their updated arsenal. - Sol Gravball semi-finals over after the Terran Blackbears win with 5-2 against the Martian Mantas. Final against last years winners, the Lunar Starhawks, set for next week. [/i][/quote]

Hariim thinks for a second. "Uh, yeah. Just give me a second to run a few things. I'm cleaning out the ship's systems one byte at a time, and it's eating up a lot of my runtimes. Ship's computers are clocked to the max I can run them at." Hariim replies, tasking a daemon to handle the comm tracking. The little digital minion is programmed to methodically cycle through each of the most efficient ways of tracing a signal, and then to compare and collate the results of the trace. It's a bit slower than just an all-out brute force method, but ought to be able to complete the trace well within a few minutes thanks to the general impressiveness of modern computers. ---------------------------------------------------------- Elsewhere, Bucky is tending to her beloved ship. She's been running around getting things fixed or reconfigured or generally back to normal as quickly as she can.

[QUOTE=Infab;51023879]Missing, sir? Another party might have swiped it during our op. Did one of the other merc groups hit the airbase during the chaos?[/QUOTE] Rask rapped his fingers against the side of his mask as he pulled up the relevant info on his screen near the comm station. "Well," he replied, "we've got a lead. Our serek tells us she heard 'em mention that the Sparrowhawk was somehow involved with the theft. You see, uh, she overheard someone speakin' on the compromised line... you know, never mind about that, it isn't important. Point is, we contacted Captain Cheng from the Sparrowhawk, and he says he thinks a guy named, let's see here... uh, Jason Bradley- he said he lost track of this guy somewhere in Vohmdash. He also said the sucker was trying to get in contact with us before the mission ever started, so if anything, he's actually been looking for us. We've even got his job application right here; Yanim and I haven't been checking the drop box since Prospera and so we didn't know, keh. Not 'till just now." Rask paused as Yuga and Taylor discussed the incoming signal. It seemed suspicious, as the SS must have known that the crew would wrest control of the comms eventually, but after Yuga's assurances that the line was secure he nodded his approval at Taylor's intention to connect to the source. Given the circumstances, it seemed like the right course of action. [quote]Hello? Muramasa Crew, if you are picking this up, I'm Jason Bradley from the Sparrowhawks. My team was shot down by the Kanads when I arrived in the planet, I helped them escape but, got myself captured instead. I managed to break myself out with this thing called "The Archive" and now I'm on a small hill near Vohmdash, My condition is still normal but, I sustained wounds during my breakout. I'll pop flares for you guys when you come down here. But better hurry up cause the Black fleet might be hearing these comms and sending their guys on me. Over.[/quote] The bridge crew noticed Rask via the hologram rolling his eyes, or at least his one good one, before responding. "Find him and pick him up, quickly, keh. I'll leave it up to you to decide how to accomplish your tasks. This mission's about to get a lot simpler. [Mission Update] Current Objectives: ✔ Gain entry to Dyatiq ✔ Retrieve fire bombs and false attack beacon * Retrieve Jason Bradley and Archive I * Destroy two Dyatiq targeting stations * Escape Voyak Canceled Objectives: ✘ Retrieve Frosty's body ✘ Destroy or disable at least half of the missiles ✘ Assault Yovek Airbase Hariim set about triangulating the signal. It wasn't a complicated job at the surface level, but he needed to be careful not to use methods which would allow the enemy to locate the current "camp" of the two TBC ships. He used his "daemon," a digital agent, to find a solution to the problem, and it worked quickly- CH Estimate: 3/4 [B]Actual: 4[/B] Roll Passed. The coordinates, which were accurate down to a resolution of 100 meters, appeared on the navigation console. It was now up to the crew to decide how to get Jason and his precious cargo onto the ship, but they needed to act quickly as at any moment, he could be discovered by the enemy. --- Ryvik had only just arrived on Mars when his communicator alerted him of State Security's findings on Voyak. Huffing and puffing on the poor supply of nitrogen, he threw the device down onto the snow and sand mixture of the area surrounding Korolev Station. "How did she get so far ahead!?" he demanded of his temporary assistant on Mars, Reagan Marlow, a human woman who was almost certainly working under a pseudonym. The SS held only the most tenuous grasp within SSG boundaries, and Ryvik had officially entered its space under a [I]diplomatic[/I] visa. Reagan, tall, blonde, and weathered from years of hard living on humanity's ever-expanding frontier, wasn't altogether familiar with the kanad race as she had spent most of her life in the southwest quadrant. She wasn't sure whether to call the furious little goblin next to her by his first or last name, and so she took the safe option and used his rank: "I couldn't say, Lieutenant. Whatever she was doing here, it wasn't meant to be a long stay." "Well that's a relief," Ryvik spat, choking slightly on his words as he was already out of breath from his outburst. "I wouldn't want to stay on this planet any more than necessary. Yanim probably thought the same when she arrived here. It should be easy to piece together a timeline of events from her arrival until her departure. The sooner we get it done, the sooner I'll be gone." "Alright then..." Reagan replied. "So where do you want to begin?" Ryvik eyed her with disdain, as the answer seemed obvious. "What can you tell me that I don't already know?" he demanded. Reagan crossed her arms. "Did you know that there's a black market weapons vendor operating out of this base?" Ryvik paused for a moment, and then grinned. His fangs sent a chill down Reagan's spine. "Well, isn't that delightful?" he replied, reinvigorated.

"Understood." said Taylor as she nodded to Rask's hologram. She then spoke into the compass, answering Jason's call. "Sit tight, we're on our way." she said simply, before closing the line. Now to gather the team to go get him. She reached over and opened up the ship's intercom. "I need volunteers to retrieve a wounded operative as well as his precious cargo. This is a top priority, search & retrieve run. Report to the bridge if you're up for it." She turned to face Yuga. "Tell the Cataract that we're gonna need their dropship ASAP. We need to get to him before the SS find out where he is. And we [B][I]have[/I][/B] to get the Archive." She then looked to Vakarus. "I need you to stay here to operate the guns just in case the SS find us again. Better safe than sorry."

Vakarus nodded. "As you wish, Taylor'atvan." ----- Maddox looked up when Taylor's message was broadcasted across the intercom. "No rest for the dead." He slowly got up and made his way to the bridge, fully restocked and somewhat rested. "Maddox, reporting in."

Yuga raised one of her eyebrows at Taylor, "Understood, but may I suggest another course of action. As we are carrying the payload for our final objective, perhaps it would be best to store the Archive on another ship." She walked over to the console and took her hat off and swept her hair back and sent a transmission request to the Cataract, "I suggest we launch all ships and depart at once. Once we reach our new employee he will come with us and we will proceed towards our final objective. The cascade will bring the Archive to the Sparrowhawk and taken off-world as soon as possible. The Cascade will then return to assist us and the Cataract in the final operation." A small hologram appeared from the console of Captain Sharpe, "Sharpe here." Yuga turned to the hologram and gave Sharpe a quick glance, "Just a moment, Captain Sharpe." she replied before turning her attention back to Taylor. --- Markus had began putting on his gear in the medbay, after Mercy had taken a quick look at the small burn she had concluded that it would suffice with some healing salve and had begun helping Jag with his injuries. He watched Maddox depart and followed shortly after. As he entered the bridge he slung the rifle over his shoulder and nodded at Taylor, "Le's hustle up and get the fuck outta 'ere."

"Okay Jason.. You have yourself a Date. now its your time to make that happen" Jason grabs hold of the Comms radio and then runs back to the truck. he places the comms radio beside him in the back seat and grabs two wires that lead to the Truck's Heavy MG. he grabs the Monitor Pad that was placed alongside the Truck and then inserts it into the auxiliary ports, The Monitor Pad turns on automatically and shows the surroundings in the eyes of the MG's camera. currently, the MG is set to Manual control via The Monitor pad. "All i have to do now is wait for them"

[I]Way to force me into a decision Yuga[/I], Taylor thought. She wanted to let the team go get him in the Cascade, so that it'd give them the time to finish repairing the Cataract and Muramasa. Now they'd be rushing right on into the op while still completing repairs. Lets hope the engineering crews can do their job properly while on the move. She grunted under her breath, and looked from Yuga to Captain Sharpe. "Captain Sharpe, its Captain Caine of the Muramasa. We've received a transmission from an operative of the Sparrowhawk that managed to escape SS custody and has the Archive. The plan is as follows. All ships will depart. We go get him, and put the Archive on the Cascade. The Cascade will bring it to the Sparrowhawk, which will then take the Archive off-world and out of play. The Cascade will then return to us for the final part of this op. Sound good?" She looked back at Mad and Markus, upon hearing their voices. "If we go through with this plan, [I]we'll be[/I] [I]hustling[/I] alright..." she responded, before looking back at Sharpe's hologram.

Yuga frowned as she Taylor gave the order, communing with her privately, "The longer we stay the more jeopardized this operation becomes. Getting the archive out of our way is the best course of action. And if we move on the objective now we still have the element of surprised. We have to finish this as soon as possible as we happen to be chased by a formidable fleet with vengeance on their mind on account of our operatives having eliminated a great number of their soldiers and pilots." She paused and her frown changed to a satisfied expression "But I'm glad you are willing to see reason in such a demanding position." she said with gloating tone.

[I]"You just forced me to order everyone right back into the fray without the proper repairs to the ships. We'll be flying over enemy positions probably protected by anti-aircraft weaponry with [B]already[/B] damaged ships. You're asking me to see the reason in that?"[/I], thought Taylor, locking eyes with Yuga as they conversed mentally. Well, sorta conversed, since Yuga could read Taylor's mind and not vice versa. [I]"I know we need to hurry the fuck up. I know that the Kanads are after us. But if we needlessly rush things and cut corners, we're going to get fucked over eventually. And it won't be pretty."[/I]

Yuga kept her gloating expression as she put her hand behind her back, "Terran soldiers are usually famed for being inexperienced with the more complex train of thought, so allow me to point out I merely suggested this plan. You had no obligations to put it into action as you are the Captain." She began walking around the holotable looking over the map with the location where Jason would be "Or perhaps you feel like such final decisions should fall on someone else and that you are only in this position of power because emotionally loaded votes got your predecessor out of it." She stopped and leaned on the holotable, looking at Taylor with a frown yet again, "If we move now we decided when to strike and that gives us about the only advantage we can get right now. Or perhaps we should stay and repair the ship and make a hasty and unorganized launch if the Black fleet locates us. In such a occasion the cascade may not even have returned and then our primary objective and four of our employees would be without an escort and in danger, should they also encounter the fleet." She opened her compass and released some vapors, "Thusly, a coordinated launch with clear goals, splitting our fleet into groups that have equal amounts of protection on our own terms seems to be the most logical option." Once again she donned a smirk and her gloating voice returned, "But of course, that is merely a suggestion, [I]Captain Caine.[/I]" --- Markus leaned in towards Maddox and nudged him, looking at Yuga and Taylor having a seemingly silent stand-off, "Ya think we're interrupting somethin' 'ere?" he whispered with a slight hint of confusion.

Maddox shrugged. "Beats me. For all we know they could be yelling at eachother, just not out loud." He looked at Markus. "Either way, this archive-thing better be worth it."

Taylor's blood was boiling, her fists balled tightly. Usually, Valkyrie was the only one to get under her skin this way. This was someone else entirely. Alright, Taylor. Breathe. You can't do what you usually do in this situation. You're Captain now, and have more responsibility. This also isn't Valkyrie we're talking about. Her hands loosened, and she took a deep breath. [I]"We go with the plan as laid out. Thank you for your suggestions, Yuga."[/I], thought Taylor. She finally spoke up, looking back at Markus and Mad. "Just standby for now." she said simply. She returned her gaze to the hologram of Sharpe. "We launch as soon as our personnel are transferred from the Cataract to the Muramasa." She had remembered that some of their personnel were still on the Cataract, mainly the critically wounded.

Captain Sharpe finally replied in the affirmative as the final preparations got underway. "Gaokah, get Captain Cheng on the horn and make sure he's ready to move." "Yes, captain," she answered before sending a ping to the Sparrowhawk. Outside, Melody and Ravis assisted with the transfer of the Muramasa's wounded comrades back onto their own ship. Overhead, the sun was setting, and it seemed that the final phase of the operation would happen under the cover of night. Rey and Wilson took their positions within the hangar and made sure that the Cascade was still in top condition. Once everything was laid out, the Cataract announced its readiness to the Muramasa. --- Jason's eyes were growing tired as he stared at his monitor pad. Several times he believed he saw something creeping around in the shadows, but upon closer inspection, he couldn't pinpoint anything. He was becoming more and more paranoid. In truth, a threat was closing in, but would he see it before it could attack him? (Auto Roll) CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. Yes... Yes he would. All at once, his eyes began to rearrange the shifting shadows into humanoid shapes- the Black Fleet had clearly spotted him on one of their surveillance flights, and were now trying to ambush his vehicle. He considered his options: enemy air support was the greatest threat, and whether he stood his ground or attempted to break away, its intervention seemed inevitable. However, if he played along with the ambush, pretending not to notice them until the last moment, then he could delay the enemy from changing tactics and possibly give his allies enough time to intervene. The clock was ticking. [B]Three Turns Until Ambush.[/B]

As soon as they got the okay from the Cataract, Taylor gave the go-ahead to launch. "Lets hope we can get to Jason and the Archive in time." she said, her arms folded as she stood next to the map. She stepped over a few moments later, tapping the ship's intercom. "Bucky, how's the repairs coming?"

Yuga, still wearing her smirk, nodded to Taylor and began overlooking flight paths for the upcoming objectives. --- Markus sat down on a chair at one of the consoles on the upper level of the bridge. He leaned onto the console and looked towards Taylor, "Ay cap, that there archive was a list o' names, right? Whatta ya reckon them suits want with it?" (Also bed, cya)

[QUOTE]"Ay cap, that there archive was a list o' names, right? Whatta ya reckon them suits want with it?"[/QUOTE] Taylor glanced over at him, then shrugged. "Who knows? Its obviously pretty important, if the SS had it in their possession."

While the Cataract flew about, doing risky and dangerous maneuvers in the snog filled skies above Sirgas. Hestia stood her place aside both Amy and Valkyrie, making sure to have stable enough to be moved at the first possible to the Muramasa's medical bay. Eventually, after the battle had concluded and their ships stetted once more beyond the UGC and Collective's reach. Hesita gently disconnected two cables running along her the steel frame of her back. The screen that made up her face momentarily slowly lighted back up to her normal yellow hue. With her patients ready for movement, she turned towards her assistant, Amelia seemed be resting after enduring the harsh G-forces during the Cataract's flight. Tilting her head in an amused matter, taking an few steps to her and gently bending down to reach her eye level. "Time to rise and shine, Miss Weinheart," Hesita said in an caring and low tone, "We've got every important work to do."