Elite roleplay: Off station

OFF STATION

Your ship, deep space, anything that is not happening inside the Citi Gateway or Ingaba...

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28 Nov 2022, 3:41pm
“Maul no!” warned Willow.

She couldn’t blame him, there were two Goids hiding in the dark that had ambushed them, and another one lit up as it drifted across Willows view to pursue Mauls Krait Mk2. Willow had spent a bit of time around Thargoid sites scavenging metas and Goid artefacts, so she was used to dealing with them. This group seemed to have a much more aggressive posture then she was used to, and she’d never seen a group of thee, no, four; another one passed close behind the Bramble.

The Cyclops that was scanning Willows ship broke off to join the chase; as it turned, its engines illuminated a Corvette sitting silent and dead in space, but before Willow could decide what to do, her covas told her an energy surge was detected. Goids only used their Shutdown Fields on a jump interdiction, or during combat, not at the start. These Goids were pissed.

She turned to give chase and put max power to systems. The best she could do for Maul now was fire off her Neutraliser and hope he got away; fighting four of the lager class Goids would be suicide. Maul’s ship was eclipsed by the alien centuries, and they were already getting lost in the dark; Willow could only hope he was still in range of her Neutraliser. She followed them, and let luck decide if she had the timing right as she squeezed the trigger. Another idea had come to her in the brief flight.

It was selfish, but then so was bailing at the first sign of trouble, so Willow didn’t feel too bad. As soon as her Neutraliser fired, Willow pulled back towards the Corvette and lit it up with her light rig. After a quick orientation, she found where the cargo hatch should be and aimed to marry up her Python’s bay with the Corvettes. As long as the Goids were chasing Maul, they went paying attention to the Bramble.

It took some fancy stick work, but Willow managed to quickly dock, stabilise the two ships, and power down her systems. She hung in her seat for a moment to let her heart slowdown and wipe the sweat from her brow. There was no point waiting to see if the Goids came back and fell for the power-down, so at last she unbuckled and floated to the prep room where she got all her tools ready to breach the Corvette and see if she could fly it back. Reporting the position of a lost ship was worth 5%, bringing it back, 10%.

By the time Willow was cutting the locks on the Corvettes cargo hatch, she had felt the rumble of a Goid passing close by a couple of times, but she wasn’t burned up and spaced, so it seemed like her gamble had paid off. She only hoped Maul had managed to jump out before the Goids decided to open fire on him. The locks were cut, so she charged up the hatch motor and opened it.

Although the instruments had said the pressure was equal, there was still a bit of a pull that sucked Willow towards the cavernous cargo module above her. She stopped herself by catching the edge of her hatch. Her light beamed into the space beyond, it was empty so Willow pushed her tool box up there and then the rest of her equipment, before she followed them.

Flipping up the little screen on her computer, Willow looked for a path to the power generator, and then a beam leaped from the darkness and struck her in the back. Another hit her side, and the last one she was aware of hit her face plate. She hadn't activated her shield.

She opened her eyes again and someone was pressing her into a hard surface with a personnel scanner in her face. Automatically, Willow reached for her plasma pistol; before she had even finished closing her hand around it, the person in a masked pressure suit struck her in the face with their elbow. A second blow made Willow drop the pistol, but she was hit twice more. Once it was clear Willow had no fight left in her, the attacker re-started the scan.

“Willow Thorn sir, the scavenger that picked up the pod” said a heavily accented female voice.

“Right right, and no one else on her ship?” asked a man’s voice over the coms.

“No sir. Want her gone?” asked the woman brining her own pistol up to Willows head.

“Willow Thorn” mused the man’s voice. “Descartes went ham on one of those local fuck-nuts you hired when he grabbed her didn't she?”

“Yes sir. She white knighted the shit out of him”

“Ok cool, looks like we got us some bait. Now all we gotta do is get a message to the primary, and then I guess we’ll be collecting full pay so long as she brings it with her”

“Sir, Thorn was traveling with someone else that jumped as soon as the Thargoids took a sniff. That ship is still in low-power coms range”

“Well that’s perfect. Use Thorn as a meat shield, and make it real fuckin obvious they’ll not even be chunks of her to save if they fuck us around. I’ll leave it to you frau Emmeline, get creative”


Last edit: 16 Feb 2023, 2:37pm
28 Nov 2022, 6:48pm
He wasn't exactly sure how he got out of there or what had happened but Maul found himself in a different system than he was previously in. The dreaded trembling in his hands returned as he throttled down to collect his thoughts and try to sort out what had happened. That was quickly interrupted by the chime of a voice com request originating from the exact ship Willow and him had been hunting for. He clenched his shaking hand and pounded a button to accept the call.

"Willow!?" Maul called out.

"Not exactly." An unfamiliar heavily accented female voice responded through static.

"Who is-"

"It really doesn't matter who we are." The voice interrupted him. "What does matter is that we captured your little girlfriend after you scurried out of here. Kind of pathetic how fast you decided to abandoned her."

The woman's words dripped with sarcasm.

Maul sat silent with his sweaty face in his shaking hands. He'd done it again, made another rash decision that led to someone that was barely even connected to him into danger.

"We want Descartes. We'll contact you again in 10 hours. I think that's a rather generous amount of time and to make sure you understand how serious we are about this..."

A video request prompt appeared on the coms screen. Maul ripped his hands from his face and accepted it. A video feed struggling to maintain a steady resolution appeared on one of the holo screens. It looked to be a feed from the point of view of the wearers Insight device. It was dark. Flashlights trailed across a dark cargo hold, eventually landing on a person holding a disoriented and wounded Willow down by the neck.

"The fuck!" Maul shouted, nearly leaping from the pilots chair at the holo screen.

At that moment, a pistol came into view of the video feed. The barrel was pushed into the palm of the barely conscious Willow.

"Hey. hey! Wait! Don't do this! I'll get Descartes!" Maul shouted again with desperation this time.

Situations like this, is exactly the kind of things he was telling Willow about that made him the way he is. Things like this can change a person and usually not for the better. She'd already been beaten, that was bad enough.

"You better."

A loud bang occurred, accompanied by an immediate scream. The feed and call was ended.

Maul knew there was no way in getting back to that ship in time to do anything and even if he did they'd likely just finish what they started on Willow.

"Damn it, to fuc-"

He was sweating, shaking, feeling angry, helpless. The spiral was beginning. He unzipped and reached into his jacket pocket taking a few of the blue and red tablets without accounting for what and how many.

Slamming the coms button he typed in Descartes' info he'd scraped from the Nav beacon scans and sent her a voice message.

"Descartes, this is Maul. That hacker you told off at the bar." There was a heavy pause. "I need- Willow needs our help. There's been a big fuck up. We found your ship but things went south and now she's...she's being held hostage. They want you. They've already...hurt her. We've gotta do something, she's in serious danger."

Maul ended the recording. He wished now that he'd never accepted to meet with Willow. If he'd never come out here, they'd have never found the ship. Maybe things would have been different but no, with his involvement this could have only went one way. But he was determined to fix this one way or another.
28 Nov 2022, 8:40pm
INCOMING VOICEMAIL

"Descartes, this is MAUL. That hacker you told off at the bar." . .. "I need- Willow needs our help. There's been a big fuck up. We found your ship but things went south and now she's...she's being held hostage. They want you. They've already...hurt her. We've gotta do something, she's in serious danger."


MY QUICK REPLY

'How badly is she hurt.
Who are they.
Where are they.
Where are you.'


'We found your ship
.

What. Tell me she hasn't teamed up with Mr. Unreliable and jumped into a system he suggested. What in the name of Pollux was she thinking. If he's hurt her....
30 Nov 2022, 4:06am
Maul tried to calm himself and regain composure.

“She looked to have been beaten. They shot her hand before the video feed cut. Not sure who they were. They must have been hiding on your ship in an attempt to ambush you on return. There were thargoids all around your ship as well. I’m currently sitting in some empty system in the Coalsack. The Goids chased me out of there. I targeted the first system I could and jumped.”

The words spilled from him like a stream, very little pause between each one. Maybe it was the Push, making him hyperaware? He took a few deep breaths and continued.

“We’ve gotta do something.”

Enough people in his life had been harmed because of him. If there was a chance to stop it, even just this once, he had to try. Enough was enough.

“They said they’d contact us in 10 hours. I’m assuming with a meet location or demands or something. I really don’t know. They just told me they wanted you.”
01 Dec 2022, 1:01pm
'Stay Calm. Consider your response carefully.'

"So, where did you abandon her, surrounded by Thargoids, and ready to be beaten up and shot?"

'Does he have a sense of guilt?

The last place I want to be is the same place as those apparently sentient aliens. Only once had I seen a live one. Hastily checking out an unrecognised, non-human signal. It reminded me of an ancient sea creature on the Earth. Despite thinking they were benign creatures of some kind, I left post-haste.

It now appears that they are launching unprovoked attacks on planetary bases and space stations.

"I need the co-ordinates. It's going to take more than ten hours to get anywhere near the Coalsack."

It would take more time to aquire a more suitable ship than to take my Mamba. At least it could outrun most things if neceessary
01 Dec 2022, 8:23pm
Maul swung the keyboard mounted to a pivoting arm out in front of him and began typing the coordinates.

"Sending the system and planet coordinates to you now. We picked up a signal near one of the gas giants in the system."

He pushed the keyboard away. Being under this kind of pressure along with adrenaline that accompanied it, was exactly where he excelled.

"Do I make shit decisions just for the adrenaline high? Do I put people and myself in danger because I find it fun? Do I-" He shook his head to hush his thoughts.

The drugs in his system were definitely heightening his senses and his mind was racing. He needed to talk or his head was going to explode. His mouth tried to keep up.

"Listen, about the people on your ship, they contacted me using your ships com systems, ran their live feed through it as well. So, I'm guessing that since they'll be contacting us with a meet location and now that they have bait in the form of Willow, they'll bail and ditch your ship. If we can get back to your ship and they haven't blown it to pieces, it may have enough juice in the power plant to let me dig through your ships security systems. We might be able to dig up footage of what really happened to you and who exactly boarded your ship."

There was a very short pause for breath.

"That is unless you already have a hunch as to who it might be?"
02 Dec 2022, 6:57pm
Is this the time to 'come clean?'

"Contact them if you can. Tell them I'm on my way."

I lost no time, copied the co-ordinates into the Nav-Com and plotted a course. Hoping that Maul's guess about dumping my ship, (since they must have searched it by now), and holding Willow as 'bait' might be correct. Something, though, didn't add up. I need another brain, another viewpoint, to come up with suggestions. Do, I make the same jump as Willow' and 'trust' her hacker? What did I have to lose.

"Maul, put that massive, underworked brain of yours into gear. I need a second opinion. If these are the people that captured my ship in the first place, then why might they leave me out there in my escape pod? They could have kept both me and my ship. It makes no sense to take a hostage after they had already let me go once."
02 Dec 2022, 8:19pm
Maul pondered on her question for a moment.

"I don't know. Your ship looked pretty fucked up. So I'm guessing it wasn't your ship they were after. Then you being found by Willow makes me think they weren't after you either. Seems like they were leaving you there to rot."

An eyebrow twitched slightly, he then looked at the coms panel, as if he were looking directly at Descartes.

"What were you doing out here anyway? Were you transporting anything?"
02 Dec 2022, 8:58pm
"Not exactly."

OK, here goes, a little.

"I was updating cartographic data. And I just happened to be carrying a few things of value. Things that are unusual, rare, very desirable amongst certain - uh - collectors. Small things of no intrinsic value."

That was enough to be going along with. If they knew where to look, they would have found them, idiots. But still didn't explain why they left me. Unless Willow, just happened' to find me before they could pick me up.
03 Dec 2022, 7:38am
"Right, well, maybe these guys were after whatever you were carrying. I know folk who've been killed for less. If it's something they want and they're crazy enough, they'll do whatever it takes to get it."

Realizing that was a bit negative, he tried to change tone.

"But hey they left you alive so...maybe these are crazy people with standards! I've met a few of those before too."

He peered out into the darkness of the coalsack, shivers running down his spine.

"Listen, with this Goid war popping off, I'm not feeling safe out here. What's our next move? Heading back to the ship?"

Maul was scared, there was no denying that. It's why he ran in the first place, but with his mind set on turning this situation around whilst finding some sort of peace within himself and the simple honest fact that he just hated being alone, he was ready to do whatever needed to be done. As long as it wasn't sitting still in the silence and staring out into the black.
03 Dec 2022, 5:43pm
"Simple, we collect my ship, pay off Willow's captors with a 'small reward' for for their trouble, then go back a little later and blast them to pieces as a warning."

Don't mess with me. I need my Corvette in one piece. I'll sacrifice a collectable or two.

"Nothing to be gained sitting there at risk from your local Goids. Try the ship if you feel safe there, if not, find somewhere safer, or better still, pick up a spare pilot if you're near enough to a station. We'll be needing one to recover my ship. I should be with you soon."
03 Dec 2022, 10:52pm
Heading back to a station and getting another pilot involved in the already messy situation seemed like too big of a risk to even attempt. He instead jumped back to the system that Willow was taken in and waited a distance from the main star, watching for Descartes to arrive.

While waiting, he skimmed over what little footage he was able to record from Willow's captors. There were a few low resolution frames of one of the people holding down Willow but not much else. He sent along what bit he had to Descartes.

"It's not much but do you recognize anything about these people? Uniform or anything? I know some crews run certain colors or symbols on their suits. We'll find out more if your ship is still in one piece and I can get that security footage...or if they're still there I guess we'll find out real quick if you know them or not."

Glancing over his shoulder to the few weapons he had hanging on the magrack in back of the flight deck, he thought back to a time where his life wasn't as crazy and dangerous. It was becoming difficult to recall those memories these days. Everyday seemed like it's own personal hell but at the same time it was all somehow beginning to feel like the same.
04 Dec 2022, 6:13pm
She's out there.

'Simple'. Who am I kidding. Don't have the slightest idea what to do, apart from getting Willow out of the hands of whoever has her. How? I'm an explorer, a trader. I buy things. I sell things. I can point my ship and take pot-shots at anyone tempted to attack me. I can fend off pirates or jump way from them. I'm not a hostage negotiater. Is Maul?

Dropping out of hyperspace always hurts my chest. Even more so now, still bruised on the inside. Orbiting the star a barely safe distance helps to sheid my heat signature. Where is he?

A message.
'...do you recognise anything'

"Maul, no, nothing familiar about them. Where are you."

What do we do, charge in like heroes? Negotiate? Sneak up like thieves in the night? And where are the 'Goids? At last, a thought, an idea. Willow's family. Maul should be able to locate them, message them. Worth considering.

"Maul, how about we call in Willow's family of salvagers?"


Last edit: 05 Dec 2022, 12:49pm
06 Dec 2022, 5:20pm
"I wouldn't even know where to begin on trying to contact them. I was given minimal info on Willow when I accepted this gig and she didn't give me much more after the fact. Hell, I didn't even know your name until we started looking for your ship and Willow had to tell me more so I could help."

He began charging the FSD to engage supercruise.

"Listen, those dickheads probably split from your old ship with Willow in tow the moment they saw they were clear of the Goids. Considering they mentioned they'd contact me again in 10 hours with a meet location, I'd almost guarantee it actually."

The Ghoul entered supercruise and thus his heat signature would allow Descartes to see his blip on her sensors. The cocktail of drug tablets he'd been tossing down his gullet was finally starting to calm his nerves again. He was thinking more clearly.

"I say we drop in and see what they left behind and hope that the Goids got bored and left after...well...after I got scared and took off."

"I've got some weapons over here on my ship. If your old ship is still in one piece when we get there, we can pop inside and take a look around. Maybe being there will help you remember what happened to you in the first place."

He spotted Descartes' blip on his sensor and approached the star as well for a little refueling.

He chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, Willow told me about the whole 'you not really remembering' thing and explained the situation with your pod. She kinda talked a lot once we weren't face to face actually. She seemed pretty upset, was taking some shit out on me."

There was a brief pause in the coms.

"Guessing y'all had a bit of a falling out?"

He began scrolling the Nav panel to target the nearest planet to the wreckage so they could start heading that way after refueling.
07 Dec 2022, 2:21pm
'Falling out? What's bugging him. I left her in hurry because we were getting too close and I'd already dragged her too far into my own murky world. And for what. An obsession. That was a mistake. My mistake. And I thought she was being evasive about something. He doesn't need to know about that. But he's right, she does seem to converse more easily when she's not face to face. What's all that about.'

I checked my scanners more carefully. A heat signature. His ship's detectable. Buckle up tight.

"OK Maul. Let's go check out my Corvette."

I want it back. In one piece. My own little priceless, portable library.

"How long since they contacted you. We don't want them turning up unexpectely out of the black."

Hopefully the 'Goids have lost interest now there's no apparent threat. Divert all my power to the engines for all possible thrust and boost, just in case. No way I'm hanging about if they're still around.

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