"Looks like he has a plan at least. Our mercenary troubles don't stop there though. Captain, can you share what you uncovered?"
Jeremy stood out and become the bearer of bad news once again. "When everyone split up after the incident I noticed a message on my holo band from Viper saying to meet at an old restaurant. I went and realized that Viper wasn't there. Instead these mercenaries were there, I asked what happened to Viper but they are preventing me from seeing her." Jeremy exhaled
"They asked me to deliver a package to Termina Central saying it will help us on taking down the Crimson Son. If we don't, then Viper only has 48 hours to live. So yes we have to save Viper, again." Then everyone groaned. "Personally these mercenaries threatening someone from our group doesn't make them an ally anyway whatsoever. Especially when we don't know what this package is, I think they're trying to be apart of this."
"Great, more badguys..." Said Lion before leaning towards one of the bridge control panels. "Once we've saved Viper I suggest lying low for awhile. Infact, I know just the place for that."
Dwan remained quiet for the entire meeting, carefully listening. The fact that the mole has been killed is a relief, but the fact that Viper is currently being held hostage caused his heart to drop. He has dealt with hostage situations once or twice before, but both were in fantasy worlds. As he heard that they need to deliver a package to Termina Central, a thought entered his head. He could potentially ask to take the package to Termina himself, use his caldiur (to travel to a random universe and then re-enter this universe, except end up at Termina) to get there, and deal with the hostage situation himself. But he doesn't trust the others enough to reveal his secret and suggest the idea.
Dwan lays onto a wall, continuing to stay quiet.
"Too soon to tell if we have to stay a low profile, Harken Saw might get us or something." Jeremy pressing his hand against his forehead. "What place?" He asked to Lion.
Pippin sent a message to Lion, "Hey, need any more help?"
"My old home on Mars. Tight security, been empty since I joined the Archius and lots of defenses and other means to make our prescence go under the radar."
Lion suddenly received a message from Pippin. While waiting for the rest to reply to his idea, he sent a message saying "Bridge. Now.".
The bridge of the Perikal, a Black Fleet strike craft roughly the size of a destroyer, was darkened aside from the lights of the instrument panels and holoscreens. There were very few windows on the ship, as its surfaces had to be utterly smooth and uniform to maintain maximum stealth capabilities. From bow to stern, from every angle, the Perikal was coated in vantablack carbon nanotubes and was, therefore, one of the stealthiest ships available to the kanad race- the captain was not keen to spoil such an advantage by allowing those windows to glow.
Seated at a secure comm-station to the left of the captain was Colonel Vorokar, dressed from head to tow in the equally-dark uniform of [I]Gaharya Kakom Vanik Rin[/I], State Security Bureau III. In the SS, Bureau I was tasked with domestic intelligence and assisting law-enforcement. Bureau II's task was much the same, except abroad; it was the branch to which field agents like Orik Rozel and Arkadam Sidikan belonged.
Bureau III was different.
"Order," was the only mission of Bureau III. Unlike every other intelligence office of the Collective, GKVR, as it was usually called, was not beholden to the due process of law. "Liberty" was not even a priority to the Collective, and so it comes as no surprise that GKVR was established to suppress dissent, prevent the spread of sensitive information, and ensure loyalty throughout the ranks of the government and the military. GKVR was considered so essential to the preservation of Collective leadership that they were permitted to issue orders to the Black Fleet if needed, and despite the fact that many of these orders came from lower-ranking officers, it was commonplace for Black Fleet Generals to defer their own judgment and refrain from countermanding the GKVR.
The Perikal was constructed to serve as a GKVR command post in addition to its role as a strike vessel, essentially equivalent to the role of submarines in aquatic naval war. Its crew was divided into two halves- those who worked for the Black Fleet (ironically) wore white uniforms trimmed in red, while those who worked for GKVR wore an imposing black ensemble which earned them the nickname "[I]oschdokri[/I]," or [I]blackjackets[/I]. However, as of that afternoon, by order of Weikan HQ, both crews would be working together on a common mission.
The crew of the Archius had been found, and the ship they were currently flying was identified using aerial photography. They would provide the key to locate the true Archius and any components aboard which belonged to the Oracle. As General Ikall had put it in his general bulletin in the early hours of the morning: "Private interests [U]must not[/U] come into possession of the Oracle. All methods are permitted."
[Oh shit, more stuff's about to go down. Gratz on gold by the way.]
"I think I've heard you mention it. Hall of Heroes right?" Jeremy asked. He wondered what was its description if this was Lion's base then surely he was probably packing a shit ton of firepower.
"Valley of Heroes, it's monument to all soldiers that have died in service of the SDF, as well as for former soldiers. A small area to the north is full of luxurious militaristic villas that serve as homes for high-ranking officers."
Lion paused and projected a hologram from his eye, showing a square-shaped building surrounded by a thick circular wall.
"While this hologram isn't very detailed, I think you get the picture."
"Oh right, sorry." Jeremy pardoned his mistake, looking at the sphere-like hologram. He turned his attention to the crew. "Right now we should stay on guard. I heard these mercs are packing a lot of men for the job but that's alright. We've fought their kind before and we have the military training and equipment to give them a good fight. Any questions before I dismiss all of you?"
Lion disabled the hologram and shook his head. "No questions." He then went for the armory to make sure that all of the Knight armors were ready for combat.
Iska sent the drone away to Yanims Quarters and turned to Jeremy, "Iska would like to speak alone with Captain"
Jeremy nodded to Iska, placing his hands on his hips. "Sure." He gestured to move somewhere private. "What's on your mind?"
"No questions captain." Varn did a short salute and went after Lion down to the armory.
Lion opened up a military crate next to the armor racks. Inside were a few armorpads and some webbing gear. Despite having a body meant to last in combat, it hadn't stopped Lion from developing a unique version of the KUAS for himself.
Basically it was just a few more armor plates akin to shoulderpads, elbowpads, kneepads and some extra bodyprotection alongside some extra pouches for ammo and utilities.
He finished gearing up just as Varn entered.
"Hey Varn, what do you think?" Asked Lion as he gestured towards the extra armor.
Dwan, because he had no questions, walked back to the bar. Passing by the mess hall, he noticed everything was clean now. He returned to the bar, getting behind the counter. He started cleaning the glasses.
Iska crossed her arms, but her tough facade was accompanied with a troubled expression.
"Captain, If is not to much to ask, when the ship is clear need to take detour to Rigel." She paused, noticeably weighed down about what she was going to reveal. "Iskas father passed away, and Iska must put him in ancestral tomb and light family torch." Iska explained, pausing once more. "Iska will be happy if this is possible. Sometime, we must deal with mercenaries first."
Varn observed the armor, that Lion made. "Looks like your building these to stop a tank shell or withstand an artillery barrage."
Jeremy was saddened, he could relate to a father passing. The death of a loved one is terrible and Jeremy knows deep down she was hurt. "I can understand, my father passed away too." Jeremy gave her a straight, he sighed and realized the answer. "Do what's best for your sake. I won't stop you." Jeremy gave a reassuring smile.
[90 pages, we've gone far.]
Lion chuckled before moving on to the equipment table. "Don't know about that, what it will do however is prevent any shots from hitting any of my internal pieces."
Lion then picked up his rifle from the table, inserted a powercell and disengaged the safety. "Let's hope that these mercs aren't stupid enough to mess with us."
"I've been fighting with and against these chuckle-fucks since the age of 2. Pardon my French. I know their tactics and had Collin add them to the data-base a few moths ago. We'll be more than ready for them."
"Ten-four on that!" Lion then did a quick salute before heading down to the hangar. There he began preparing Roughrider for combat.
A tear formed in Iska's eye, and she wiped it away. She did a Khergian gesture, lifting her hand to grab thin air and bring it to her chest. "Remember fallen" she whispered, giving Jeremy a smile.
As she walked out she stopped in the door and turned to Jeremy. "we prepare for war?" she asked, with a slightly excited smile.
"Definitely. No holding back." Jeremy declared for the first time ever. He had to admit his confidence has increased ten-fold since everyone went back to the ship. It was almost a breath of fresh air as he welcomed the source of conflict. The incident of Picaea may have weakened their spirits but that was a realization that things will get worse. Yet, he can never doubt their reliability to adapt to their situations.
For once, they were about to unleash the gates of hell.
Pippin walked onto the bridge, but he didn't see lion anywhere. (guys i've been busy, sorry, whats the situation?)
[We're preparing for a merc attack on the Archius Crew Varn said will be here. Then Jeremy talked about an unknown faction blackmailing Jeremy to deliver a package or else Viper will die within 48 hours. Then another enemy is showing up.]
Lion sat silently in the cockpit of Roughrider. He took out the photo of him and Val which he then placed on the cockpit dashboard. "Just a few more days, babe."
-Snip-
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