Varn smiled at the answers. "Good. Now I'm sure you're the real thing. It's good to have you back. Unfortunately, I can't let you out, without Viper's orders."
After staring down Dwan and having Varn and Iska bring them to the Brig, Viper stared off in distance of Yanim's general direction before the Implant begin to glitch out and automatic reset an moment later.
The Implant systems seemed to be normal for most part and all programs resume except for one thing had changed.
Everything related to Yanim was gone, from Implant's link to the Ship records and archives had all been deleted. The State Security Prisoner data was also absent, their information along with their captured equipment was erased.
The Sanghvi rushed to hanger in moments to only find several of ATDs blasting off at unreachable speeds, Viper tired to push itself after them but was unsuccessful. The light slower had turned into an fierce storm of heavy rain and occasional thunder, finding them was going to be extremely difficult .
Viper stood frozen in the rain, everything was in ruins. The mission was an complete failure with much of crew dead, even the captain had given his life and for what? Viper asked it self over and over as it turned to watch the medical teams had completed their tasks, the remains were already loaded onboard and everything was accounted for. There was no point in staying here anymore, as the blood was washed away into flooded ditches and their adversaries had accomplish their goal, the crew was demoralized and broken.
As the rain hit the Sanghvi outer shell, the blast and noise of nearby ATD had taken Viper out of it's train in thought as the Hover bike begin racing into the rain.
"Sir! Two of our prisoners have escaped on ATD's. Iska is in pursuit of them. I'll watch over Dwan and Lion in the brig." The implant relayed Varn's massage and thus Viper spring into action.
Even if the ATD's were not made in mind for an Sanghvi's body, Viper was able to figure out in several minutes and control the rather small hover vehicle through the Sanghvi's implant. Hanger on was the hard part but Viper was able to compensate and managed to get an good grip on the ATD and prep it's engines.
Viper let the ship's drones take care and loaded up the Talon back onto the hanger's launch deck as the storm was too much the fighter and as with ships within the Panther series, had already wrecked it's dive systems in an low altitude operation due to it's starfighter nature.
The Implant flashed to show Iska position and was already patched into the security's frequency.
"This Viper, hold the Prisoners in the brig till I return. I'm following in pursuit of the SS escapees. Interrogate them if need but keep it within the limits of the UGC's laws." Viper told Varn over comms before blasting the pushing the ATD's energine to overdrive and raced over to Iska's signature.
Rask and Virin had been riding for several minutes before Iska began her pursuit. In the meantime, they spotted a pair of cargo trucks parked in close vicinity, a sign that one of the vehicles was aiding the other. Pulling in close, they realized the operators were khergian, giving them strong indication of where they had ended up. Rask wasted no time in pulling his gun, demanding a GPS device from them. By the time the pair were moving again, Iska had closed the gap considerably. As they raced toward Heidrov, Iska caught sight of them.
"I got orders to keep you here. So, I'm curious. How did you survive?"
Lion nodded. "Orders are orders." When Varn asked how they survived, Lion glanced quickly before looking at Varn. "I am going to give you the full version of what happened." He took a deep breath before continuing.
"I was in pursuit of Vorokar who got pinned down alongside most of the remaining blackjackets. He had no way out and decided to shoot himself. I told his men that they could leave freely as long as they dropped their weapons, which they did. As they raced back to their ship, I went for the bomb inside the market. I told the blackjackets there that Vorokar was dead which, of course, made them haul ass as well."
Lion paused and looked down to the floor. "As you know I began working on the bomb but since Vorokar was dead we had no code. Dwan then linked up with me and covered my six as I tried to disarm the bomb." He sighed deeply. "Sadly, there was not enough time. When there were but a few seconds left we had to run, halfway to the Archius we stumbled upon a open Khrosus shipping container, you know, those big ones that can survive the toughest climates. Anyways, we climbed in and sealed it up. A few moments later the bomb went off and we were knocked out."
"I have no idea how many hours we spent inside the container but by the time we woke up you were long gone. I managed to send out a ping to a nearby salvaging vessel which were kind enough to drop us off at a nearby planet. While there, I started working on a plan."
He glanced at Dwan. "Dwan wanted to rejoin the rest of the crew ASAP but I convinced him that, seeing as everyone thought we were dead, we could help you from the shadows."
"We hitched a ride alongside some minor diplomat with a overly long name who was going to resupply in the Sol system. There we went to my place on Mars where we stocked up and went over the intel. We found out that someone had accessed the Rigel contract a few weeks after we turned in the bounty. They had downloaded Jeremys file. Following that we grabbed the Ranger, my personal gunship, and went to Rigel where we confronted Mr Seventhian. We found a gap in their surveillance corresponding the date that someone accessed the contract details. We then went in and confronted him."
Lion rose up and leaned towards the wall. "He told us nothing. He was that spooked, which confirmed our suspiciouns that whoever had been backtracking us were the Crimson Son. After that Dwan convinced me that it would be a good time to reunite with the Archius incase the cyborg bastards were on your tail. Next thing we know we are in the middle of a battle, the rest you know."
Varn listened to Lion's recap of the events that led them to now. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about it. It didn't matter. What was important was that Lion and Dwan were back. The only remaining problem was convincing Viper to let them out.
"So that's how they tracked us down. That sleazeball bastard probably gave us up to save his own skin."
"While I'd rather die than betray any of my friends, can you relly blame Seventhian for telling the Crimson Son? I mean, we're talking about a intergalactic syndicate comprised of invisible cyborgs." Said Lion.
He paused. "How many did we lose during this battle?"
Iska had taken a side route and parked under a small rock on a cliff head overlooking Heidrov.
Looking through her binoculars she could see the two kanads riding into the tradepost.
Smoking a cigarette, she murmured to herself, trying to understand what the two escapees had in mind.
Looking over the tracker she noticed the two ATDs going towards an unregistered vehicle.
Iska grew suspicious and looked over the motor-registry for the Archius and noticed that Yanims ATD was not only missing, it was gone.
Iska puffed a bit on the cig and threw it away, "[Oh little ice princess..]" she sighed, starting up Isoro and headed down to Heidrov.
"There is a certain trust between those who issue a contract and those who take it. Your anonymity should be preserved to avoid situations like this. But Sevethian is now fucked either way. If the Crimson son wont get him, the Union's top boys will once they read the report. As for our casualties, besides the captain, we lost Saint Tissod, Zarbon and few other's who's names I can't remember."
[i]1 Hour Ago[/i]
“This Supreme Council is in session everyone!” The head councilman demanded everyone to silent themselves, Harken Saw was beside Vara once again. Unlike the last time they were here, it was at a very large room, consisting of at least a thousand seats encircled. Like a supreme court back in the old days. The councilmen filed their work, adjusting the current situation.
“This is going to take long isn’t it?” Harken Saw muttered to himself, he and Vara probably waited an hour to address their concerns but they were afraid it would take many more to get to their big speech.
Now the Council would like to address a few statements regarding the Botan Government and their methods on terrorism. An alien in his elder years, grey thin lines of hair coughed, adjusting his tie. He was overlooked by everyone as he stood in the center.
“Lardr Cia, you represent part of the Botan Party. Is that correct?” One of the councilman asked for him to clarify if that is the major case. “Correct.” He spoke towards the Council.
“Mr. Cia, while you may not be a direct representation of the Botan Government, many races have noted that the Botan Government’s methods on eradicating criminal infestations around your system through unorthodox means.” Cia stood silent, allowing the Council to continue despite his objections.
“Despite the fact that we ordered a restriction on the Botan Government’s eradication attempts on terror to be limited inside their boundaries. It is given that contrary to that restriction that the Botan Army has disobeyed that order and is continuing to disrupt other major neighbor’s order. Not to mention other subjects. “Yes, however you are mistaken. The Botan Army responds only through immediate threats and self-defense among our society. Going through those boundaries ensures that the people of Botan will not be harmed by any means.” Jackson spoke out, giving a valid point.
“True Mr. Cia. But, rules are the direct law of the UGC. If Botan wishes to state their claims to uplift that restriction then how come there hasn’t been any requests for it?” Another councilman asked.
“Not to mention, the Botan’s unorthodox means inside of their boundaries. While you are perfectly allowed to do any necessary actions within your state of affairs, many races have demanded if these methods have gone too far over simple concerns.” Derrick Meers said in account for all members.
“These concerns are the threat of the people, any action involved is necessary to make sure no other threats can be created. It is simple logic.” Cia reasoned.
“Perhaps.” Derrick Meers pulled out a file, nodding to one of his associates approving the use. He placed the file onto a nearby desk, unveiling its contents. “But I am not saying your reasons are wrong, in the direct context.” Derrick pulled out at least three papers specifying the details of Bolag.
Meers scanned through all the specific details he highlighted for important details. “Operation: Hammer Fall. A classified operation among the Botan Army. ”
Cia was confused, who exactly gave him this kind of information in the first place? Whatever the case was, this wasn’t going to be good. “Sigma Unit was dispatched at 0900. Especially during the presence of speculated terror groups such as the Divinity Creed. One main objective was to secure a very important person from Theta Hollow; a base of operations for Divinity Creed. However, according to statement from Lt. Tor, signed officially that there were no Divinity Creed outposts nor a presented threat. But there was indeed an important person named David Redfield. David Redfield according to this paper was an important member of the Lunar Children.” Meers presented, earning a sense of confusion from the entire scene.
“He however was visiting Bolag for refuge, apparently he decided some members of the Lunar Children have decided to atone for what they’ve done. Refuge in Theta Hollow; however, in reality was simply a large underground city of civilians. David Redfield and other former members of the Lunar Children. Despite some minor resistance from citizens, David Redfield and other former members of the Lunar Children were captured at 0100. Lt. Tor and his unit were ordered to eliminate witnesses of the operation. Meaning shoot to kill. All. That’s not all, once this cover-up was done the Botan Army has authorized Ultra Zhorazine to erase Theta Hollow from history.” He exclaimed to the crowd, earning grasps and minor shock. The people sitting were easily displeased at this information. Harken Saw just sat there bored while Vara clearly disproved of it, but knowing the Botans perhaps their goals on extinguishing terrorists have gone a bit too far.
“Lt. Tor and all of his Unit were advised to follow strict protocol. Anyone who would expose the information to friends, family, and the public, will be dealt with harshly.” Some people shook their heads.
…
A man was seen placing a Nomad Mk 4 Helmet, strapping it in as he gestured his men to move out. He unslinged his rifle which possibly contained a purple aura at the tip, suggesting a completely new type of energy. “Subject: Harken Saw, Nicole Vara, Objective: Capture.” The men stood completely still, feeling the movement inside a red dark interior. The soldier nodded at their odds and chances. He activated his holographic wrist.
"Auditor Sertum, we are near the systems ETA 10 Minutes copy."
"..."
"Godspeed Sir, to be honest I wish there was an alternative. But I will not complain, I've done a service and I'm grateful."
"..."
The man deactivated the device and sighed for the last time. He saw his men at the doors utilizing a small compact device, glowing purple each second. "Crimson Elite, we gather here to provide our brothers the strength and deception we need to finally put an end to HarkArk's reputation. The Leadership Constable has gifted us a weapon only the responsible may wield. We must prove them we are worthy!" He shouted. The rows of men nodded and accepted the challenge.
…
“The representatives of the United Galactic Community have requested a statement from the Botan Party, bringing you here today.” Derrick Meers said. Suddenly an alarm sounded off. The entire assembly went quiet and still. Harken Saw narrowed his eyes, observing everyone’s reactions. What exactly is going on? Security hurried to the scene, barging in to the doors. Suddenly at least a dozen men dressed in uniform saw the room. “This is a UGC Emergency. We have an unidentified fleet in orbit! Everyone remain calm and follow all instructions!”
The head security enforcer ordered everyone, the people went hysterical. Harken Saw heard large crowds of whats, hows, and panic. He got out of his seat and gestured Vara to do the same. A man sitting around the court room turned to another man sitting down perfectly calm. Both nodded to each other, rising from the seats and walking to the nearest guard. “Please this is not a drill, take your seat and-
The man tased the guard, falling down on the floor. The man deactivated the shapeshifting module and revealed himself as a HarkArk Privateer. The crowd panicked as the guard fell down, incapacitated. The Privateer fired his rifle up to the ceiling, An enforcer aimed towards the Privateer, shoot to kill. Another man also deactivated the module, in realty another Privateer was into the midst. The Privateers fired at the enforcer, hitting him at the torso. The Privateers from two quickly increased to 10 as the people in disguise planned this all along
Derrick Meers raised his hands up as well as the councilmen themselves. The crowd hurried to the exit doors once the Privateers gestured them to leave immediately. The only ones remaining was the Council, Harken Saw, and Ms. Vara. The Privateers observed the council. “How dare you Harken Saw! You and your damn dogs don’t have the right to disrupt the peace!” A Kanad councilman yelled, pointing his finger at the masked man. “All Councilmen members, leave, now.” The squad demanded. The council quickly nodded hurrying to the exits to evacuate. There were only three people left. Harken Saw stared at these Privateers, clenching his hands into fists. He turned to the only council member left: Derrick Meers. He turned back.
“Let me guess, you have the direct balls to betray me like this?! Who the hell are you?” Harken Saw demanded at the squad. The squad kept a far focus on Harken Saw, making sure he’s not sudden. One of the troopers dragged the guards out of the room, locking it shut with an electronic. Derrick Meers lowered his hands, sighing.
“The Richter is displeased with you.” Derrick Meers walked down to the same floor, looking at him with a blank expression. “Why do you insist on fighting?” He wanted to know, Harken Saw was at his boiling point, his eyes stared directly at Meers. “Oh I insist because I see an asshole! You know what happens to people that backstab me! I murder them.” Harken Saw barked at him, leaving Meers unfazed. One of the Privateers walked up to Harken Saw, gesturing him to kneel. Harken Saw gave him the dirtiest eye. “I didn’t expect you to hide behind a façade Derrick, let alone the Crimson Son.” The trooper forced him to stay down, Vara gritted her teeth.
“Ms. Vara, while you weren’t involved in the mess originally, I’d rather stay down just to get this over with.” Meers insisted. She replied, beside her superior. “What does he mean by mess?” Vara asked him. Two Privateers in reality Crimson Son members cuffed both in unbreakable wields. Derrick walked up to Harken Saw, checking his suit jacket for the half completed Oracle.
“Look, you should have stayed away from this. Derrick said to him. “Everything would have been okay, but you made us desperate.” Harken Saw simply chuckled, looking down at the floor. Derrick gave him contemptuous look. "Of course I made you all desperate, look at you, hiding out of sight out of mind. The Crimson Son has truly fallen to their idiocy." He hissed at them. "Why do you still call us that?" Derrick Meers asked him. Harken Saw narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, the name stuck with me for years." Harken Saw went silly with him, Meers sighed. "How long can we hold out before the device arrives?" Derrick asked to one of the soldiers. "We already have the fortifications set up, tho I cannot confirm this armor is sufficient enough compared to the standard suit." He answered. Meers nodded. "What about casualties? Any civilians in the cross fire?"
"Negative Principal."
"Good, we'll communicate with the upcoming reinforcements. I want Harken Saw and his assistant out of this system. We'll find a way to place him in a prison faculty." Meers answered. Harken Saw laughed and almost got up, getting forced by a soldier. "The hell you will! By my hands I will butcher all of you until your entire society falls in disarray! You won't survive what's coming to you!" Harken Saw roared at the top of his lungs, getting taken away as well as Ms. Vara. Both were pulled out of the room as four soldiers escorted them. Derrick Meers looked at each and every one of them. "You've all realized what will most certainly happen correct?" He asked him sincerely. "Affirmative sir."
"Yeah. I see, let this be known that the sacrifices made here will be at best devastating but I want you to know we are worthy to ascend." Derrick Meers stated. At most occupied they saluted to him. "Loyalty." He muttered looking around. "Dedication." His breathing feel agitated but soon he was willing to accept it. "Order." His lips flexed.
"You know why I became such a wealthy man? I crossed my boundaries, participated in a few deals." Harken Saw explained to one of them. "Silence."
"Oh but you must know. I'll be honest with you, I am not a nice man. I was very... different in my hey day." Vara immediately turned to Harken Saw. "Please, don't." She insisted. "Experiences have scarred me to the point, but hey we play the hand we are dealt with." Harken Saw kept going. Vara shook her head. "Too much purity; you spoil yourself you're taken advantage of. Too much impurity; you've already corrupted yourself. I don't believe in petty ideals, they are, overrated... How about you?" Harken Saw asked him. Before he had to answer Harken Saw kicked him against the walls, Vara aided her as she jumped at one of the men, intertwining her legs grabbing his torso only to throw him off. Harken Saw charged at the man that attempted to fire, knocking him out of bounds. He kicked the gun away just in time before back kicking another man. "Let's move!" Harken Saw ordered, running to the exits only to find them locked.
"Genius plan." Vara deadpanned. "I'm full of ideas, but tactical planning isn't one of them." He muttered, looking around to find any alternatives. He spotted a window above the wall. He turned to Vara, insisting they must. "No."
"Imprisonment or death, I'm not considering one of those."
A short minute as the glass busted out as Harken Saw fell at least 10 ft. He could feel the blunt injury in his ribs but hopefully ignored it. Nicole came out of the building a second later, plummeting to the ground. Both rose from the ground, clothes seamed with tears. They immediately ran to a safe point as right now. "Where's our escort vehicle?!" Vara shouted. "Possibly parked within hundreds of security. Many others too."
"Great, how exactly are we going to get out?!"
"Unless you want to flex your muscles you're going to have to pick my pockets out to get the remote activation." Harken Saw said, receiving a frustrated Vara. "Make it quick, I don't know what else might come at us at this time."
...
[i]Present[/i]
A small ship at full speed was sitting through space, floating aimlessly. Harken Saw and Nicole have just performed such daring tasks in their part. Now time was of the essence. They changed to INTERGALACTIA ever since their departure.
[quote]BREAKING NEWS: “Sorry, we interrupt recent news programming to give you a very exclusive video footage live from Odenia. This- is, ah we would like to roll live please..”
A girl in her twenties, is seen running to the colossal building in front of her, in a mass of hysteria as people evacuate. “This is Misa Flores here live in Odenia where the UGC Court Building has currently been evacuated due to unknown men holding hostages. A few hours ago there has been an incident regarding gun shots and a mass evacuation at the UGC Building. Right now, large groups of security forces are en-route to counter the unknown men in the building. Right now there are recent witnesses that have claimed that a fleet of HarkArk Privateers has been sighted since these course of events and we cannot confirm any details that there were any victims harmed.” She saw at least a dozen security enforcers preparing to amass a raid towards the building but a bit careful.
“Clear out Ma’am!” One officer forced her to keep a far distance from the building. “Witnesses have made specific statements that Harken Saw, the CEO of HarkArk was sighted before these series of events happened. Whether its pure convenience has not gone to close. UGC Security is currently enforcing all people to evacuate from the system." Misa turned to the UGC Building, noticing a strange aura of purple encircling the environment. “What… Umm, there’s a slight oddity coming out of the Building, I, I um maybe it is a good idea to move away at least not far. What…*zzzzz* What’s going on…?*ZZZzzzzz* The oddity, its *zzzzzzzzz*…. Oh god…ZZZZZzzzzzZzzzzZ*
“We pardon.. the interruption, I- the.. Odenia. Its, its gone… gone.” The broadcast immediately switched to standby. [/quote]
Vara closed her eyes in silence as Harken Saw looked out. "Well, there goes everything I've made. Shattered." Harken Saw, Vara turned to him. "Is that what you're worried about?!"
"What? I'm worried about a lot of things. By the time a day passes we're basically terrorists of the Galaxy. We had no options but to leave." He closed his eyes. The sense of odds against them were turned up to the third degree. This was certainly the Darkest Hour. "We must get to Termina Central. Close all trade ports. Contact our Privateers immediately." Vara stared at him, thinking through what actions might affect their future. "What about the planets?"
"I don't know. But if this False Flag Operation was keeping us at bay, chances are high enough that they've might have gotten those pieces already." He was afraid to say. The everlasting devastation left a bad taste in his mouth. He along with Vara haven't felt this way in a long time.
"So." She broke the bubble. "What do we intend to do?" Harken Saw opened his eyes, clenching his now released hand. "The game has changed." He gave her one final look as he wizened his eyes.
"We end it."
Dwan couldn't believe what he heard. Not only did Jeremy die, but Tussor and Zarbon too! Whilst he can guess in what way Zarbon died, he couldn't bring himself to think why Tussor decided to join in the fighting. Having acted as Tussor's shrink at times, he knew how Tussor would always order premium vodka to drown his sorrows, speaking of his mutation poorly. He knew Tussor was sorta miserable.
Dwan, back to the wall, looked as down as he was when Riker died. "We'll make the Crimson Son pay. And when we do, we'll tell them we whipped their asses!", he said in a aggravated tone.
In the rush of the situation, Viper pushed the ATD over its limits in an attempt to catch up with Iska who was in pursuit of the two State Security officers who had escaped from the Archius's Brig earlier.
Viper was able to reach up with Iska after burning out the poor vehicle cooling system and completely destroying the engine, causing it to cash into the ground.
The Impact was largely avoided by Viper, who used the cash's momentum to propel the Sanghvi through the air and roll as it's shell hit the snow, nearly burying itself before managing to dig though and ran for the rest of the way.
It seem that Iska's signature was entering the nearby trading port of Heidrov that loomed overhead, Viper body was beginning to creak and ached as the hash gravity of these worlds was unpleasant, to say the least to an Sanghvi but pressed on regardless.
The checkpoint up ahead was fairly empty, old guard towers and rusted chain link fences surrounded the primer with occasional guard patrolling along these poorly maintained defences as the planet was nothing more than an oversized comet with this miniscule trading post being the only thing of real importance.
Heidrov was an industrial-looking construct five stories high in a field of warehouses and cargo containers. It was roughly shaped like a three-sided pyramid with its tip missing, ringed by six, elevated landing pads for medium-sized freighters to dock at. Parking their bikes in an open lot near the south-facing entrance, the two blackjackets hustled into the building's lowest layer, below all of the landing pads and facilities.
"[Do you know who we're looking for?]" Virin asked. Rask didn't answer; he had a hunch, but he wasn't sure of it. The bottom floor of the building was simply an empty concrete foundation with a number of pipelines and electrical installations. It was dark due to sparse electric lighting, and the natural light which would have come from outside was blocked by rainclouds. They brandished their rifles and watched each other's back until they reached the center of the room.
"Spaska, [I]kadaren[/I]."
The two men were startled by the sound of Yanim's voice. They both turned toward the source, only to find her tablet propped up against a fuel pipe. Annoyed, they walked over and retrieved the device, finding that Yanim was watching through the device's camera.
"[So it is you,]" Rask said. He turned to Virin, "[she's an engineer from the Archius. She came by our cell and asked a bunch of questions, do you remember?]"
"[Barely, I think I was just coming around. Hey, who the hell are you anyway?]"
Yanim frowned. "[I'm an engineer from the Archius,]" she parroted. "[Actually, that's not true anymore. I'm a freelance technician, and a criminal too, thanks to you assholes. My name is Yanim, but I've been thinking about changing that, too.]"
"[Why did you help us break out?]" Rask questioned.
Yanim shrugged. "[I thought there were a lot of differences between us when I spoke to you before, but you can't get too attached to principles out here. A lot of people are trying to kill me, Rask, and so I need to kill them first; nothing else matters. You were right when you said that personal feelings don't mean shit when your only purpose for living is killing.]"
"[So what do we have to do with it?]" Virin demanded.
"[Take a look at yourselves. You're not blackjacket material. The only reason you were recruited was because you're disposable, and right now, you shouldn't even be alive. What do you think would happen if you tried to go home now? If they don't dispose of you, they'll just put you on some other suicide mission. Out here, you're free to do what you want, and I'm offering you good pay to do what you're best at.]"
"[You've got to be joking,]" Rask replied. "Keh! [Listen to me, you're-]"
"[No, you listen to me, dumbshit! I've lost my right to go home, the people I've trusted out here turned out to be spies and moles out to kill me, and now the only thing I've got left are my guns and my money. I've got only one thing on my mind. Sooner or later, you're going to realize you're in the same position as me.]" There was a long silence as Rask and Virin thought about their predicament. The state had likely frozen their accounts- they were poor, but dangerous, and had no home to return to. Yanim was the same, except she had money. Rask was the first to see it.
He shook his head. "[Alright, you're the boss,]" he said with a sigh. Virin looked at him with a mixture of outrage and confusion. "[What the fuck could we do otherwise?] He said to Virin. "[I don't even have enough money for a dry set of clothes to change into.]"
"[Meet me on the third floor,]" Yanim said. "[We'll talk about what comes next.]" The tablet turned off, and Rask placed it in his pocket.
"[Are we really going to trust her?]" Virin asked, incredulous. "[She must hate us after what we did.]"
"[At least we know where she stands,]" Rask concluded.
"Oh they will pay, especially for what they did to the Cap." Said Lion while clenching his fist. Suddenly his anger turned into confusion, Lion turned around from the wall. "Guys, you need to see this."
Suddenly a holoprojector came to life and started projecting a replay of some recent news footage about a hostage situation on a nearby wall.
"Why would Saw take hostages? Something's really off about this."
After scanning the encampment and surrounding area, Viper decided that rather the sneaking through this excuse of guard primer, the Sanghvi would simply walk over to the checkpoint's entrance instead of potentially getting shot
Unfortunately, this was proved wrong after an solid lead slug hit the Sanghvi's shoulder, ricocheting into snow and knocking back the Sanghvi a few feet but was unable to penetrated due to the Viper's hardened shell and the relatively low velocity of the projectile at the speeds of sniper's outdated slugthrower.
Viper tired to communicate with through Implant, patching into the guard's frequency as another slug, then another splattered or deflect off the Sanghvi's armored shell.
"[Damn, how many rounds is this-]" One of the sharpshooter's comments in khergian before being interrupted.
"[Sta-]" Viper tries to say before being cut off as another round lands an hit on the Sanghvi's shell and stunning it.
"[By the gods, How many rounds is this thing is going to take!]" The sniper yelled as the sound of another magazine being loaded into his rifle as he spoke.
"[Attent-]" Again Viper tired to say through the arguing to only receive another lead slug bouncing across it's shell.
"[Statnik! I thought you fixed this forsaken com relay!]" An khergian yells over the intercom in anger as sounds of metal being slammed and pulled is heard under his deep voice.
"[Halt your-]" Viper once again tried to get the stubborn guards as yet another lead slug struck against the Sanghvi followed several other shots.
"[Alright, everyone fire on my mark! One..]" An young guard yells over the frequency, giving the Viper an moment of breath.
"[What in the gods are you idiots wasting all of the ammunition out on wildlife-]" A new and gruff voice had managed to be even louder than the other khergian yelling and boosting over each other.
"[Two!]" The young and eager guard yelled, seemly unaware of the other voices talking on the frequency.
"[Please don't-]" Viper pleaded with annoyed tone it's voice.
"[Three!]" The young khergian said to fellow comrades as the sound of his rifle breach being cleared.
"[Wait, who is this-]" The older khergian said over the intercom with confused tone in his voice before being interrupted himself.
"[Fire!]" The young khergian yelled as the guard towers all lighted up with muzzle flashes, the combined power of their rifles managed to push the Sanghvi into the snow, stunning it momently as Viper laid dazed in the snow as the sounds of the guard's bickering one another is faintly heard through the Implant as the sounds of an underpowered engine powering a vehicle as it struggled to push itself through the thick snow.
The Sanghvi tired to muster enough energy to pull itself up from the snow, only face a line of khergian guards in front of their rusted and primitive jeep's headlights. Their Slugthrower rifles were drawn out, wearing surplus and worn out khergian military jackets as their officer stood in front of his men, his shadow was higher than that of comrades as right headlight began to flicker.
The officer had his hands behind his back and was in upright stance, wearing the same khergian military jacket as his comrades but was in much better condition than others along with the outdated khergian military officer hat.
"Xeno, speak name." The officer said with an authoritarian tone to Sanghvi as he reached into his jacket, pulling out a cigar.
Viper took a moment to stand but froze when the guards aimed at weapons at the Sanghvi, the officer put his palm towards them, causing lower their weapons and letting the Sanghvi stand as the officer pulled a lighter from his jacket.
"Viper Solari, UGC, Peacekeeping branch, Rank: Ensign." Viper told the officer, he responded through simple palm towards it's he lighted his cigar, taking a several puffs from it.
The Sanghvi looked on in frustrated at the uncaring officer, seemly bored at the situation as he took a few moments to smoke his cigar before looking back at Viper with an cold stare from his scared,aged face.
'So why here? There is nothing but snow and ice." He asked the Sanghvi as he turned to look at Heidrov and raised his arm to point at it . "Less than ten thousand people on rock, just shipping and processing here."
He said before turning to look at the Sanghvi. "[And nothing else but misery.]" He whispered under his breath in khergian as he looked towards the falling snow, taking another puff from his cigar.
"[Look, I need to find some unlicensed Kanads-]" Viper asked in khergian before being interrupted by officer who violently cough, throwing his cigar into the snow. The surrounding guards began to mumble and whisper to one another as the officer turned to the Sanghvi with full Attention.
"[Those little bastards...Rouge..In my primer.]" The officer whispered after his coughing fit. His face was red with anger as his eyes turned to the Sanghvi's head. "[And What did....These pieces of....I mean, Kanads do?]" The officer asked, bareilly holding back his rage as asked the Sanghvi.
Iska rode around the complex trying to locate the entrance which they had used to enter the main building when she heard shots and shouting. She steered her bike in its direction. When turning a corner she noticed a bunch of Bolgans standing around Viper.
Getting of her bike she sowly began walking towards the group. "[Bolgans, shes with me]" she shouted, realizing that there was gonna be a whole lot of persuading since the Bolgans and the Volgrims weren't exactly fond of each other.
But when the captain turned around she noticed his yellow facial markings and felt a huge relief.
The troopers may have been slackjawed Bolgans but if their captain was a Levko then convincing them was gonna be much more easier.
"[You are the cap round here right?]" she asked the captain, but was interupted by one of the troopers, "[Cap, shes a Volgrim and shes tresspasing. We should shoot her already]" he said while slowly raising his rifle.
The captain kicked the rifle out of his hands and gave him a right hook which sent him tumbling into a snowpile. "[Your chieftain had you exiled here Mirko, I call the shots now and don't you fucking forget that]" he said with a calm voice.
He turned his attention to Iska once again. Iska explained that they were mercenaries who were chasing wanted criminals who had escaped on the planet. They had tracked them to this facility and were gonna leave as soon as they were caught.
The captain scratched his chin. "[You and your friend here can search for them.]" he said while he gesture for Viper to go and join Iska. He signaled the guards which all started walking in different directions. He turned back to Iska and Viper "[Were gonna man the towers and the perimiter, and if we catch them...]" he lifted up his jacket sleeve which showed a tattoo of 3 chainlinks, "[ I'm gonna see to it that thise fuckers get exactly what I got from them]". The captain went on his way and Iska turned to Viper. "We must hurry now, or kanads will be in more trouble." she said to Viper as they began walking to the central warehouse. "Captain can get rask and Virin, but we warn Yanim" she said with a troubled voice.
"Captain can get rask and Virin, but we warn Yanim" she said with a troubled voice to Viper, Viper nodded back to Iska. "Affirmative, I suspect that they don't plan on staying much longer and neither shall we." Viper said as they walked through courtyard that laid beyond the fortified entrance. Guards running back and forth through the district, pulling over and searching every and all vehicles they came across from top to bottom. Their searches were harsh, pulling out their occupants and laying along side of the road, often at gunpoint.
Viper looked towards the main central loading den. "There most likely going to hiding out within there, hoping to hitch a ride through most likely non-negotiable means." Viper commented as the sounds of gun shots could be heard in the distance as several armored cars began roaming the streets, their searchlights piecing through the cover of the night.
The third floor of the Heidrov trading port was Spartan in design, featuring only a few amenities for passing freight crews to enjoy while their cargo was either loaded or unloaded on the second. There was little to obstruct Yanim's view of the surrounding area, since the third floor had more windows than any other part of the building. While the elevator lift noisily carried Rask and Virin up the inverted incline of one of the pyramid's edges, Yanim slowly paced around the almost-empty room, planning out her moves while Skada, having finally been taken out of the ATD he had been connected to, trotted along behind her.
There was a 40-meter ship with light armaments parked outside, waiting to depart precisely at the beginning of the hour. Captain Neasha Kyral, the ship's owner, valued her break time and had flatly rejected Yanim's request to hire her vessel. She was a serek, reptilian in appearance with a blazing pattern of red and gold scales which framed her smug face with its self-assured smile. "No kanad steps foot on my ship," is all she had to say when Yanim offered to pay for the trip. She then returned to drinking her cocoa, and simply held up her hand in response to the follow up questions.
The Serek race had been known for piracy many centuries earlier, and fought a long and difficult war with the Black Fleet as a result. Given the extreme fragmentation of their species across the galaxy and the extraordinary poverty suffered by many of their remaining colonies which persisted to that day, it was clear which side ultimately won the war- but it was ancient history, as far as both sides were concerned. Neasha was just being a bitch.
"Your loss," Yanim replied, mysteriously. The door opened, and the two blackjackets entered the room. "[Glad you could make it,]" she greeted them. "[I just heard gunshots, were you followed?]"
"[It's hard to see out there, haven't you noticed?]" Rask replied, bitterly. "[We'll find out soon enough, I guess. Is that our ride out of here?]" Rask pointed at Neasha's ship.
"Yakka. [It should do just fine, don't you think?]"
(Okay guys, I swear I won't do this again. What's ahppening?)
[QUOTE=liberalllama;48484939](Okay guys, I swear I won't do this again. What's ahppening?)[/QUOTE]
[Oh boy. Strap yourself in.
After State security was defeated, Lion and Dwan went to defuse a bomb on the space station. They couldn't do it and Dwan tried to put it through a portal into another universe. That sorta failed and the bomb blew up. Lion and Dwan survived because they went to another universe. The rest of the crew didn't knew this and started taking their anger out on the remaining State security on the ship.
Everyone starts dealing with the loss of their the two. Meanwhile, Lion convinces Dwan to return to their universe to help the crew again. They go to Mars, then Rigel and then start tracking down the crew.
The crew are contacted by the Crimson son, who have a friend captive. It's obviously a trap, so they get ready for it. It looks like it wasn't enough, because the Crimson son kick their asses and kill Captain Jeremy. During the battle, Lion and Dwan show up to help. Unfortunetly, Viper, Iska and Yanim are suspicious about them and they get locked up in the Brig.
It looks like Yanim had a mental breakdown and abandoned the crew and freed the two State Security prisoners. Iska and Viper started chasing after them, while Varn remained to guard the Brig. While all this is happening the Crimson Sun made a move on Harken Saw and threw a wrench in his plan.
As always, if I missed something or got something wrong, yell at me over PM or Steam."]
(Okay so let's say Pippin left becuase he thought all this was too much for him. Pippin wasn't a soldier, this wasn't something he could do. Then maybe one of you contacts him, tell's him what's happened, and now he's pissed)
[Yanim did assign him to maintenance duties, so he may still be on the ship. I forgot to put it in the previous post. Sledge is a pseudo terminator now.]
(Sledge needs to stop getting himself into trouble)
(Edit: I like what I said, if it's okay, can one of you have contacted me to update me on the situation?)
Iska and Viper enterd the warehouse and headed up to the rest area on the third floor.
"Civilians on the floor, no weapons" she said to Viper whilst putting away her LMG.
They entered the cantina and looked around, a small quiet place on this worn out tradestation, the only ones in it were the crews of the docked freighters passing by for cargo runs.
Iska spotted Yanim with Rask and Virin at a table in the corner. She shook her head and turned to Viper.
"We don't fight, Iska only talk to Yanim." she explained, "Keep eyes on other kanads".
In the corner there was a radio playing khergian classics
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xQH9zwC9Vk[/media]
Iska began walking towards the table.
Viper nodded to Iska and kept its eyes on the kanads at the end of the cantina, slowly walking behind Iska, keeping it's distance from the kanads.
The few bar occupants were confused about the situation but they either just kept their heads down, trying not to be part of this or quietly walked out of the room.
"[...so if we get picked up by border patrol or anything like that, we've got our excuses if we need them, and you'll be playing your role. Then what?]" Rask was doing most of the talking while Virin watched the entrances.
"[We'd be armed to the teeth by then, and with a solid crew we won't get boarded. If they try to force us in we can cut away and rely on ECMs-]"
"[Here they come,]" Virin interrupted. Yanim turned to see Iska and Viper entering the room. She sighed, knowing that this would be a difficult goodbye at best. No matter what happened in the next few moments, she hoped that she would not have to fight her closest friend from the Archius so soon after fighting side by side with her. Virin reached for his sidearm but Yanim stopped him.
She stood up, a bittersweet smile on her lips. The ground between them closed until they were within calm speaking distance, while Viper and the blackjackets stared each other down from slightly further apart, unsure of how the scene was about to unfold.
"My friend," she said softly, "you've found me." Yanim glanced to the ship outside. "You know what I'm about to do, I think. And I think you want to stop me, and I'm... happy that you came here to try. But I don't think you can dissuade me, despite what we've been through."
Iska looked at Yanim, her face forming into a frown. "Iska not here to stop you." she said with a heavy sigh. She took a glance over at Rask and Virin, shooting them some last angry looks.
Looking back to Yanim, Iska continued, "From Iskas village, shaman have story about life" she explained, "Inside there is beast of light and dark and they fight"
She tried looking for a reaction from Yanim, but her professional expression remained unfazed.
Iska fished out her clan necklace, adorned with the Volgrim emblem and colors. She threw it to Yanim.
"Beast who is fed, wins" she said turning around to walk out the door. She walked past Viper in case she had anything to say. Iska stopped and gave Yanim on last look, "Feed right one, [I]Sekadera[/I]"
she concluded and walked out the door, headed down the stairs and went to find her bike.
Viper walked on little closer to Yanim after Iska had finished her speech, causing a slight reaction from Rask and Virin, Sanghvi and kanad relations were....troubled to say the least but kept their weapons lowered on Yanim's command.
The Sanghvi looked down to Yanim."[Neither will I get in the way of your choice..]" Viper's implant spoke in Kanad tongue. "[I only hope that your new path brings you to pace and beauty of the void.]" Viper said before glancing at the ground.
"[Rather than facing the horrors of it...]" Viper said as it began to turn to the doorway, taking one last look at Yanim as it reached the doorway. "[Farewells, Yanim.]" Viper said, slowly turning back to the walkway out. Walking over to Iska's bike outside.
"Viper," Yanim said as she had nearly left the room, twirling Iska's necklace around her fingers before balling a fist around the tightly-wrapped memento, "[someday I'll return this to her. Whatever you might think of my choices, don't forget that it was the Archius that introduced me to terror.]" Viper paused a moment. "[I gave you all my best, even as that ship destroyed my life. Now, I take charge in the dark.]"
Once Viper had left, the blackjackets sighed with relief- Yanim had been right to restrain them. "[So,]" Virin said at last, "[now that those friends of yours have cut you loose, how do we get out of here without the port security detail shooting us down?]" As he said this, the other two suddenly became aware of the sirens and searchlights outside.
Yanim sneered. "[They won't be a problem,]" she said as she walked over to Neasha, still quietly enjoying her break, reading her tablet, sipping on cocoa, oblivious to the standoff that just occurred and the siege which was unfolding around her. The two others joined her, standing menacingly in front of the captain. "I think it's just about time to go," Yanim insisted.
Neasha looked up, confused and indignant. The barrel of Yanim's VRI-74 hovered inches in front of her eyes which widened with sudden realization. The two blackjackets seized her and she cried out, and the sparse civilians throughout the floor froze in shock at what was taking place. They dragged her outside, onto the gentry way to the landing pad where her ship was waiting. As they proceeded, searchlights noticed the silhouettes of the fugitives as they approached their escape vessel.
"Yanim!" Rask shouted.
"[Keep moving!]"
Iska and Viper were on their way out of the base when there was a thunderous explosion behind them. It originated in the utility floor of the trade depot when a gas pipeline ruptured, over-pressurized in an act of sabotage skillfully calculated by a rogue engineer. As the power distribution systems also located in that room were destroyed, a catastrophic electrical blackout occurred throughout the port. The searchlights, defense systems, and radio towers ceased functioning, leaving the khergians figuratively and literally in the dark. With the battery-operated devices left at their disposal, all their resources were tied up fighting the gas fire of the first floor.
And far above them, cloaked in the shade of a raging storm, the darkened freighter disappeared into the overcast.
Iska spun her bike around about a kilometer outside of the tradeport when she heard the explosion.
Looking back the shimmering lights from the fire painted the landscapes as a faint siren could be heard echoing over it. Looking up she noticed a ship taking off in the middle of the smoke pillar. Looking at the scene her face formed into a frown again.
"Pime hirvo o nalki" [the dark beast is hungry] she whispered to herself.
After loosing sight of the freighter, she steered the bike back to the Archius.
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