Owen goes back and stands near the rest of the group and quietly said to Taylor, "If this don't work my vote is sending our former statue to have a drink with our friend here."
((On the way home, should be home late tonight Eastern time.))
As Red stepped back into the shadows with comrades, he stop to look at Yanim while she left the alleyway. He felt an sense of worry for his associate, the last two years had been rough for her and her team.
Their service to the Phoenix's goals have been immeasurable, Red wished that he and his company could offer more to them but the rushed company review and more pressing events have drained available resources considerably for Red.
Nevertheless, Red picked up and wore the stealth cloak over his armor suit. Walking off deep into the slums of the Prospera with men at his side, everyone of them we're loyal to their cause. Such was the case for any that joined the Panther program under Argos.
---
Jag continued to watch the group from afar, scanning their surroundings carefully from the top of a nearby abandon building.
The Sanghvi's eyes however also caught a familiar individual talking between several men with bulky breathers and darken visors.
[QUOTE] "If this don't work my vote is sending our former statue to have a drink with our friend here."[/QUOTE]
"That'll be fun." said Taylor, tilting her head in Owen's direction. "We still have to watch for that goon over there in the corner. He might try to step in."
[B]...[/B]
Eventually, the racer is fully painted. Valkyrie stepped back, wiping sweat from her forehead and smiling. It looks pretty damn great! Sleek, stylish, built for speed. She decided to shoot Rask a message, asking what number Owen's car was supposed to be so she could paint it on. After slipping her holo-tablet back in her pocket, she eyed the new YMIR suit nearby.
She grinned. "Soon, baby. Soon."
"It would be his mistake. I figure you're the type who knows 6 ways to kill a guy with a foam cup." Owen chuckled.
[QUOTE]"It would be his mistake. I figure you're the type who knows 6 ways to kill a guy with a foam cup." Owen chuckled.[/QUOTE]
"Foam cup? Nah. Tea cup? Yeah." she responded with a chuckle of her own.
Owen laughed a little then said, "remind me not to get on your bad side..."
[QUOTE]Bucky wears a nervous smile while John begins teaching her how to use his guns.[/QUOTE]
János began the training by explaining basic gun safety rules to her, which consist of always keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction unless one wanted to shoot, always keeping one's finger off the trigger until ready to shoot and always keeping the gun unloaded until ready to shoot. Following this, he explained the differences between the pistol types - kinetic guns use projectiles that are propelled out of the gun, meaning things such as breathing, steady movement and trigger control factored in the reliability of the shot, plasma guns work in a similar fashion to kinetic guns, albeit with less recoil and the usage of plasma instead of propelled projectiles, meaning a target could be tagged with many shots, while laser guns had no recoil and benefited more on dragging a beam across a target for maximum damage, using the "tag and rake" technique as an example. He made a makeshift target and fired a few shots from each gun respectively to display their differences visually as well, before handing it over to Bucky. As she fired with each respective pistol, János helped with her posture, her handling and other factors, teaching her the techniques he knew, of which he knew few. Soon, the training was done.
"And that's that," he said, as he used his Walther P888 to pistol whip the remains of the target. "now you know how to pistol!"
Bucky is a good student, and memorizes everything Janos teaches her. She takes a liking to the plasma pistol in particular for it's light weight and simplicity of use. "Thanks, John! You wanna help me pick out a gun when I get my next paycheck?" She smiles at him in her friendly bubbly way.
János smiled in response. "I'm not much of a gun guy myself, but I can certainly help if you'd like."
Bucky raises her hand for a high-five. "Sweet! Thanks, bub!"
János complies and high-fives! "No problemo!"
Bucky stands there with John for a second, smiling up at him. "Thanks for being so nice, John. It's a refresher." She turns and walks over to the door. She checks her to-do list while she opens the door.
"Hmph, amateur." Dio remarked as he looked at the body of the mobster. " You're going to need ten years before you even think about taking on Dio."
[QUOTE]"Hey, tough guy!" She yelled as she walked across the pavement. "I like what you just did."[/QUOTE]
Immediately, Dio pointed the blood stained knife in the kanad's face, preventing her from approaching another step.
"So soon? I'm just done with nineth and the tenth already came?" He nonchantly said, with one hand on his hip and the other pointing the knife, without looking at the kanad.
"If you seen what happened to him I suggest you reconsider trying to take me on, weakling."
((Guys, I'm sorry, but I need to take a break from the RP until Monday. This last Thursday I descended into a sort of anxiety-related nervous breakdown, which has exacerbated my diabetes. I've got some appointments to tackle the issue and I'm already starting to feel better, but for the time being I need a break.))
(( Ah, shit. I hope you feel better, man. ))
((Sorry to hear that Sega, hope everything works out for you. Also, fuckhuge post incoming.))
"Out of my way! Excuse me!" The man hurried through the crowd quickly with one hand tightly gripped around the handle of his briefcase while the other held one of the latest NewGen holocallers.
People widened their eyes as the man suddenly intruded their personal space on his quest to reach a specific destination, namely the departure desk for the next ship to Luna.
Soon he reached the desk, a sleek white-colored service desk with organic curves. Several attractive men and women manned the post, their smiles greeting all customers looking to book a seat (or more) on one of the many commercial space shuttles departing from Terranos, the capital of Terra.
As the man reached the desk he managed to hastily produce a computer chip used for booking, which he handed over to the woman on the other side of the desk. "Is it too late to book a seat to Luna?"
"One moment, sir." Said the woman as she checked the registry. With a smile she looked up at the man. "It appears we have several seats available, sir. Departure is in twenty minutes. Do you wish to book a seat?"
The man sighed in relief. He smiled. "Yes, thank you. Please book one seat for me."
He took a quick glance at his briefcase to make sure he still had it with him. He looked the service woman again. "I was worried I wasn't gonna make it, I've been on a business trip here on Terra and my wife's birthday is tomorrow. Now it looks like I get enough time to help plan her surprise party."
After tapping several times on the console touchscreen the woman looked up and smiled. "Then I am glad I could assist you sir, I hope you and your wife have a wonderful weekend." She returned the chip, now containing the authorization code for a seat on one of the Terranos-Luna shuttles.
The man thanked the service woman once more and then grabbed his briefcase before walking off.
Soon he reached the terminal entrance for all in-system flights. He raised an eyebrow as the two starport security guards from the Sol Inter-System Police, or SISP for short, were accompanied by two geared up SDF army troopers.
As the man reached the control point the two SISP officers instructed him to leave all personal belongings in a tray for scanning before stepping into a marked area for frisking.
The two officers, who wore the standard SISP white uniform with blue stripes on the sides of the legs and arms, carried out their tasks in quiet efficiency while the SSA troopers held their rifles tightly as they overlooked the chaotic mass of people going back and forth inside the starport.
Black visors hid their eyes and most of the upper face while the lower part looked like statues, their mouths didn't even itch or frown and a less hygienic man passed by.
"Adam J. Harkin, is that you?" Asked one of the SISP officers.
Adam nodded. "Yeah, that's me."
The officer nodded and typed something on his datapad. "You're clear, go on through."
Adam nodded and began to walk forward when one of the troopers stepped in, blocking the way through the checkpoint.
He started sweating and raised an eyebrow as the menacing soldier stood a few inches from his face. "You forgot something." Said the trooper.
"I did?" Asked Adam, confused by the entire situation.
The soldier pushed something gently towards Adam who looked down. It was his briefcase.
He sighed and laughed. "Thank you sir."
With a smirk the trooper stepped aside. "No problem, have a pleasant flight."
As Adam walked through the checkpoint he reached the waiting room; an oval-shaped atrium with several benches, seats, tables, a restaurant and even a bar. A large holscreen occupied the center of the room, showing the timetable for all incoming and departing inter-system flights.
Having located a empty bench, Adam sat down so that he could overlook the holoscreen and the far wall behind it. This wall however was infact a window, allowing everyone in the atrium to look out towards the landing zones full of ships in varying sizes and colors.
He sighed and smiled. Ever since he was a kid he had always looked out towards the landing zone, having accompanied his parents on many journeys to Terranos throughout his life.
There was something about the ships, the way they moved through the air like a mechanical bird soaring accross the sky, which calmed him.
Adam looked around the atrium. All in all about a hundred and fifty, forty at its best, people were present. Many were business men and women, wearing fancy suits and carrying briefcases while some appeared to be tourists. Most were human although there were a few aliens here and there in the crowd.
A pair of patrolling SISP officers walked through the room, backed up by two SSA troopers. Each officer carried a handgun and a baton, dangling from their belts as they made their way through the room. The SSA troopers however carried rifles and wore the first generation SDF armor with helmets covering everything but the lower face.
Suddenly a bag was put down next to Adam, startling him. He spun around. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you." Said a attractive young woman dressed in synthweave tights and a training hoodie bearing the emblem of the Lunar Starhawks; a popular soccer team.
The woman looked as if she was in her early twenties, she had brown hair set up in a neat ponytail. She had deep brown eyes and a small nose.
She was very cute, thought Adam. "No problem." Said Adam with a smile. He put both of his hands in his lap, making sure that his wedding ring was highly visible.
The woman sat down and nodded towards the window. "I see I'm not the only one who enjoys watching the ships come and go."
Adam nodded. "There's just something about them, the way they move through the air."
"Like a mechanical bird." Said the woman.
Adam smiled. "Exactly. Like a mechanical bird."
He extened his hand. "Adam, nice to meet you...?"
She shook his hand with a smile. "Denise."
He returned the smile. "Denise."
"Nice to meet you too Adam."
Adam nodded towards her hoodie. "You got good taste, Starhawks is one of the best sports teams in all of Sol. I used to be in the Starhawk Junior group when I was a kid, those were the days."
"You were in the Starhawk Junior group too? I haven't met many others who have." She replied happily.
Adam nodded. "Sometimes it's a small world. Anyways, what brings you to Terranos Denise? Business? Vacation?"
She zipped open her bag and brought out a water bottle, taking a quick sip from it before putting it back. "Well, I was here for a job interview actually so I guess that qualifies as business."
"Did it go well?" Asked Adam.
Denise smiled. "It did, went better than expected."
"Oh? Well don't leave me hanging, what line of work is it?"
"Security." Said Denise with a sly look on her face.
She opened up the bag again and took out something which looked like one of the bulkier military-grade holocallers.
"What's that?" Asked Adam with a smile.
"My work." Replied Denise before unfolding the concealed weapon.
The shot echoed through the atrium as the man fell backwards with a gaping hole in his forehead. Immeadiately, the SISP-SSA patrol sprung to action. "Shots fired! Inter-system atrium!"
Before they could relay further information to their colleagues a woman with a ripped hoodie, revealing a set of bodyarmor with a logo painted on, took up position ontop of one of the tables.
[i]"Die, facist scum!"[/i]
She opened fire with a fully automatic rifle which looked like it had been pieced together from various electronic components. Kinetic shots riddled the surrounding crowd with holes as several other armed individuals appeared next to the woman.
"Engage! Engage!" Yelled one of the SSA troopers as the patrol flipped a table for cover, opening fire on the rebels. As the two sides began exchanging weapons fire the civilians still on their feet hurried for the many exits.
One of the SISP officers managed to take down one of the rebels with a well placed shot to the head. He started to fumble with his equipment, looking for the communicator.
"Multiple shots fired on the Terranos spaceport! Requesting armed response officers!"
-----
[video=youtube;FL_WBggCDWA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL_WBggCDWA[/video]
The hovering armored van rounded the corner and entered the parking lot, passing through holographic "Do not cross!"-tapes marking the police perimeter. Dozens of SISP vehicles including a mobile command vehicle were parked outside of the starport. At least a hundred SISP officers wearing emergency body armor which consisted of a vest, neckguard, pauldron and groin pad, not to mention armed with backup weapons such as SMGs and shotguns were spread out around the area.
As the van pulled up the light coming from a nearby SISP patrol vehicle lit up the side of the van.
[i]Sol Emergency Response Police Unit[/i] was written in bold white letters across the side. Suddenly the rear doors flew open followed by ten heavily armored and armed SERPU officers rushing out.
With modified SDF armor painted in white with thick black stripes on several spots of their armor, the men formed up into two lines and jogged towards the command vehicle.
The teamleader, wearing a blue sword insignia on his helmet and shoulder pads, nodded towards a man with casual clothing. Ontop of his shirt was a bulky protective vest with the text "NEGOTIATOR" written on both the front and back sides.
"Status?" Asked the teamleader.
"No demands, no threats, no communication at all. We still have civilians on the inside, alongside several SSA troopers and numerous SISP officers. They're all holding their position. We have no eyes on the suspects, the patrol closest to them has entered radio silence."
"Orders?"
"Lethal force has been greenlit, do as you see fit teamleader. Good luck."
Without futher due the SERPU team did one last gear check before heading inside. Several SSA troopers and SISP officers could be seen holding their ground on various places in the main starport room, all looking towards the checkpoint leading to the inter-system section waiting room.
"Shields."
Two blue energy shields moved up to cover the front, the rest of the team formed up behind them.
The SERPU were no rookies, while they might not be marines or troopers they were well-drilled for these kind of situations. Founded by various veterans hailing from numerous emergency response police units and task forces such as SWAT, GSG 9, FSB and many others the result had been a unit ready for almost any situation, even situations which were on a military level.
A red light and a loud beep alerted anyone still in the atrium of the SERPU teams' arrival. The teamleader tightened his grip on his rifle as they were forced to naviagte past dozens of dead laid out across atrium floor. A wounded SISP officer coughed while trying to keep pressure on a nasty wound. He was sitting behind a flipped table next to another SISP officer and two SSA troopers.
When the SERPU team came closer they realized that the other SISP officer was missing half of his face while the two SSA officers appeared to be in shock, staring at the armored police officers with widened eyes.
"Stabilize them." Said the teamleader. Two of his men broke off to assist their colleague and brothers in arms.
Moving on towards the center of the room, several figures wearing military vests under civilian clothing were laying still on the cold floor.
All of them had ripped shirts, hoodies and jackets. Each wearing a vest with the emblem of the Lunar Children.
One of the figures coughed, breaking the silence.
Forming up around her, the teamleader kneeled down next to what probably was a attractive woman under normal circumstances. She coughed up blood while trying to grab a rifle a few inches away from her hand. The teamleader picked up the rifle and inspected it. A shot had went right through the side of it, making the weapons useless.
He tossed it away and fixed his gaze on her.
"Who sent you?" He already knew the answer, but wanted to be sure just in case.
"She." Said the woman, laughing before coughing up more blood. "Luna sent us, she calls for her children." She coughed again.
"She calls for her children to take up arms and return."
Suddenly her eyes became... empty. She was gone.
The teamleader shook his head. "Call it in, we're done here."
Once again, in the dark spot in the galaxy where the stars did not shine as much.
Within that sector, on one of many planets, was a desert. The wind was blowing across the sand. Three men were camped around a fire, each one of them looking rather depressed.
"I just don't understand it, my friends." One of the men raised a book. "I remember when this meant so much to them. And now they're just like the Laodiceans! Just where did our pride go? Whatever happened to our passion?"
One of the others said "If Lord Adam saw us like this, his face would turn red from shame." He looked down. "Every night, I dream about what life was like back when we were still on Earth."
"The battles we fought, the wars we waged, the times we worshiped in our mosques... Those were the times I truly felt alive. But now... Now it just feels like I am dying a slow death."
The third one, clad in red with a cowl adorned with a crown of spikes, spoke in a voice which sounded like the wind blowing through the trees. "[I]Those were truly the days to be alive. But, those were so long ago. Our glorious days came and went, and now we are here all alone, left with nothing but memories of better times. I suppose this is what perdition feels like.[/I]"
"[I]If only there was a way we could motivate our people again. If only one of our own still had the will and the power that He had. I would try myself, but I just don't feel as if I have the strength left in me to try any more.[/I]"
The other two looked at the red one. "Moloch, you are one of our most powerful. Surely you can do something to make them believe again?"
"[I]I tried.[/I]" Moloch said. "[I]There was nothing I could do. Too many years have passed since the war, and they all seem to have accepted our defeat and exile.[/I]"
The three of them kept silent after that. After some time passed, one of them spoke again.
"Moloch, could you make the fire burn hotter? This cold is making my hands numb."
[url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51361672/Moloch2.jpg]With a wave of his hands, the fire lasted throughout the night.[/url]
Yuga had been away to prepare a cup of tea and had now returned to the bridge.
In addition to her own cup of chak, she had also brought a cup of topa to Rask, who was sitting in the captains seat.
Rask nodded in response while Yuga went down to the holotable and and made a call to one Setsu Shuur.
The model of an aged Ayr females upper body appeared over the holotable. Yuga bowed moderately.
"Ohayou, Oba-san" (Greetings, Aunt). Setsu squinted her eyes before replying. "Ohayou, Kapu" (Greetings, captain).
Yuga continued, "[Got any news from home?]".
Setsu lifted a cup to her face, "[Hardly anything that might interest you dear, just the usual gossip as you might suspect. Lieutenant Naoki Mura was here today with a bouquet, asking for you.]"
Yuga took off her hat and placed it on top of the console and lifted her own teacup to her face.
"[I take it you informed him that I'm not interested in his advances?]", Yuga asked.
Setsu let out a slight laugh "[Huhuhu. I told him that he would have to give you the entire imperial treasury for you to even consider marrying someone of his age.]"
Yuga put the cup down and brushed her hair back. "[Thank you, Oba-san. If my father and him were not acquainted Naoki would be chasing someone else, it's like a curse for me]".
"[Be that as it may, but now you will tell me about your current affairs]" Setsu replied.
Yuga took her cup and sat down in one of the chairs that encircled the holotable.
"[The crew is capable and they appear to be more than willing to disregard formal guidelines. However, the captain seems to have some unhealthy ideals attached to this company.]"
Setsu's eyes narrowed and she nodded slightly, "[I see. In this case I hope you have considered acquiring a confidant among the crew members?]"
Yuga glanced over at Rask, and so did Setsu, before looking back to each other.
"[He has known the captain for some time, and I trust in his ability to make satisfactory assessments as well as persuade our captain from doing anything she shouldn't.]"
Rask saw both Yuga and the hologram look at him briefly. He took a sip from his cup and scoffed.
Rask had always disliked dealing with two or more Ayrs at the same time. The way they communicated silently with each other made him both uncomfortable and irritated at the same time.
"[Excellent. On a final note, I'll remind you to come and light some incense at the family shrine this year on [I]Kinenbi[/I] (Remembrance day, honoring the dead one specific day per year). You father was very disappointed when you were absent last year.]" Setsu continued.
Yuga got up from her chair "[Inform my father that I will not dishonor him or my late mother again]"
she replied with a deep bow.
Setsu nodded approvingly "[Farewell then, Yuga]"
"[Farewell, Oba-san]" Yuga finished and turned off the call. She sat back down and continued to drink her tea peacefully.
Frosty went to the bridge once more and saw Yuga finish her conversation with her aunt. He rubbed his eyes as he woke up from a nap and said:
"Oh, who were you staring at there, if I may ask?"
Yuga glanced at Frosty, before bringing the cup to her face.
"That was my dear aunt Setsu Shuur. She has been like a mother to me since my actual mother succumb to a terrible case of [I]Hokosoku[/I]."
She put down the cup and got up from the chair.
"She also manages my investments on Ayr as well as our house's finances. Everything I know about commerce I've learned from her."
Yuga absorbed some vapors from her compass and focused on Frosty.
"Any particular reason why you want to know who I'm conversing with?"
"I was curious, is all. I assume I'm peering into something I should really know nothing about, so I will stop there. Still, it's always a good thing to have family and friends with you... I wish I knew, or still remembered, what that feeling was like."
Yuga went over to the console to open up a map of the local area to monitor the crews exterior movements.
"Acquaintances is something that can always be forged anew. Family ties... not so much.
To be blunt with you, given how old your equipment was everyone you knew are very likely to have died during your time in cryostasis."
She ran her hand through her hair, taking a brief pause.
"More importantly, you are here and alive and should focus on the present. Dwelling on the past is never healthy. Speaking of which, have you uncovered any leads as to your previous life?"
"Well, I did find a few things. Whenever I power up my Voidwalker, one of the monitors briefly displays some strange text I've never seen before. I don't even know if it's a language as it looks like a series of loops and lines to me. Second thing is my weaponry. Maddox and I talked briefly about them and what he found out about my weapons is that they are old. [i]Very[/i] old. Several centuries, I might add. There is also my outfit which is very military looking, so maybe I was part of an army. The last thing I know was that emblem Taylor found on my Voidwalker. It's faded, so it's hard to tell, but she was able to make out a six-pointed star of sorts with what looks like a snake in it. So, knowing all this, I know that I am several centuries old, I'm some sort of human alien hybrid or something, I spoke another tongue that wasn't English, I fly things really well, and that I was a member of some military force that had something to do with snakes."
He pulled out a faded photo he had found taped against one of the cockpit monitors.
"Oh, and I also found this."
The photo was of what looked like an ancient city within a large canyon. It looked very ornate and had a middle eastern feel to it. In the middle of the photo however, was a very tall tower. The tower itself was completely black, and it's obelisk-like shape and style clashed against the rest of the city. It was very ominous looking, and it's shadow was great enough that half the city was caught in it.
"I'm not sure what this is. Perhaps it's my home city or something."
Yuga took the photo and inspected it, "Well it seems that the pieces are appearing. Now all that remains is for you to complete the puzzle."
She looked over the photograph thoroughly, but couldn't come up with anything.
"Despite my broad education, I can not place this city anywhere. I'd recommend you visit the Royal archives at the Explorers guild on Ayr. A scholar there might have your answers, seeing as our race is one of the oldest in the galaxy".
She handed the photo back to Frosty and inspected his new uniform.
"Any recognition on this uniform?"
"Well when I saw it, I felt something. I didn't know what it was, and I can't seem to put it into words... But I felt [i]something[/i] in my mind."
Frosty spun slowly in place to show his new outfit off to Yuga.
(( For the record, [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c7/b0/4b/c7b04b485176dd22ad37459268b765ce.jpg]this is what his outfit looks like.[/url] What these guys are wearing basically. As well as a black beanie for his head. ))
((Got any reference how frosty looks like without his mask?))
