Elite roleplay: Off station

OFF STATION

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

General Roleplay Etiquette:
Show more

Inara RP Etiquette:
Show more

Other Notes:
Show more
09 Sep 2024, 11:10pm
"Ok."

I attached the line as centrally as was possible on my belt, then gave it a good tug to make sure it wouldn't come loose, following with a thumbs up sign.

"Remember... do it, carefully. You, do not, want me swinging around."

Probably better to issue that reminder, because if I started swinging here, it wasn't me who would get pulled around. Very much not so, considering all of the added mass on what would otherwise have been a mostly similar body.

I doubly ensured the magnetic attachment for my weapons functioned correctly as well, then. It would not do to have them go flying off into the vacuum, even if they could be found again afterward.
10 Sep 2024, 6:29am
Vasil Vasilescu "You two are the professionals, so I'll let you do your work. If you need anything, let me know. I'll hang around for a bit but need to make an official appearance for ERS. Let me know if you need anything."


"Actually Vasil, if you don't mind, I could use some backup over at the station the Anansi is being kept at. I can pop over and do some prep work while you make that 'official appearance'." It always felt odd when Lambast talked business and it felt just as odd hearing it from Vasil. "I used one of Vodan's men to upload the previous hack into the Anansi's systems. So, I ain't quite sure I'll be able to sway another to do my dirty work. Reckon it'll be hands on this time. Need a second set of eyes to confirm the hack goes through from the outside and watch my back if shit goes topsy turvy and WIllow seems to have her hands full."

Maul too had taken note of the incoming scans on his own vessel from the random ships that had appeared in the area. Something suddenly felt off.

"I know you said you're just an old scout but I gotta hunch that there's a bit more than that, eh? How comfortable are you with a gun?" The smirk on his face was almost audible through the comms. "Ya know, for self defense."
10 Sep 2024, 2:03pm
Kasumi Goto"Remember... do it, carefully. You, do not, want me swinging around."


As soon as my companion signaled she was ready, I pressed the button for the airlock. The heavy door hissed open, revealing the mesmerizing yet deadly expanse of space beyond.

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, floating out of the airlock with Kasumi tethered behind me. Almost immediately, I felt the tug of inertia as her mass pulled against the anchor line. But once that moment passed and I activated the propulsion system for a cautious push, we were on our way.

The journey to the asteroid was far from smooth. It felt like trying to tow a small boat with a rope. I had to constantly adjust the thrusters, each movement requiring careful consideration to avoid sending us spinning off course.

“Watch out,” I called out over comms, my voice strained with effort.

Space debris floated around us, repeatedly forcing me to adjust our trajectory to avoid collisions. At one point, a small piece of debris came alarmingly close to my suit, causing a momentary panic as I worried about potential damage. Thankfully, it missed me by a hair’s breadth.

“You okay back there?”
10 Sep 2024, 3:28pm
“Yes.”, I answered, feeling a little tense… but mostly because we were approaching an Azimuth facility again. “Maybe, small rock, bumped my helmet.”

It probably hadn’t even left a scratch in the black paint. I’d spotted it coming toward me but our velocity was relatively low, so it didn’t pose a particular risk, and I didn’t want to chance throwing off our so far steady movement, by raising my arm to divert the barely palm-sized rock off its collision course. Nor would it have been big enough to impart any change in momentum significant enough to be concerning.

“How, much further?”

It was a little hard to judge the distance, and the way sensors were scrambled by whatever the local rocks were made of - plus any possible scrambling by Azimuth - didn’t allow for accurate measurements. It seemed like the facility itself also had to be operating at a low power level, to further avoid detection.
10 Sep 2024, 7:48pm
Maul Montresor "I know you said you're just an old scout but I gotta hunch that there's a bit more than that, eh? How comfortable are you with a gun?" The smirk on his face was almost audible through the comms. "Ya know, for self defense."


“I’ll help whatever way I can. Just be aware that while I can usually hit what I aim at, in thrity years I have never needed a weapon for contract negotiations or stellar chartography.”

Vasil showing up anywhere near the Anansi might lead to fireworks if he was spotted. However, if things did not go as planned, intentionally being spotted might prove enough of a distraction to allow Maul the opportunity to grab what he needed and slip away. He’d definitely need something faster than the Long Road and more robust than the Always Lost.

The Onoarea would be the best bet. Built for quick VIP extraction, the clipper could nearly keep pace with a Mamba and its layered defenses helped it last long enough to get away from whatever was chasing it.

“Let me know where to meet you. I’ll have to pull another ship just in case things get sketchy.”
10 Sep 2024, 10:48pm
"Okay, so you guys be carful, you got that? I know you're like, real men and shit, but raiders are not to be fucked with lightly, you know?"

Now she had time, Willow started feeding everything she had on Ophois, Anansi, and any other ships or pilots Vasil had said were from the raider fleet into a computer search. Traders shared information about who had used a cargo scanner on them, and reported criminal actions where public record. Bounty boards where a great place for reports about Raider A, flying ship B, last seen in system X. All that, along with local security records were on publicly accessible reports somewhere.

When Willow was looking for someone or something, and the physical trail was hard to follow, this is where she looked. If anyone had seen the Ophois, and reported it, sha had a chance of running across that information. It would be old information, and somewhat unreliable, but it was better than nothing. And it was something to do while she waited for her ships systems to help her rebuild the Ophois jump wake.

"Yeah so, I'm starting to think the professors advice to hire some guns was like, real good advice, you know? Like, I don't want to put a downer on your like, valiant quest and shit, but can I telepresence over and get a picture, like, in case I have to do the other thing I'm good at, okay?"

Thanks to staying mostly in one place, Willow hadn't had to put a new entry in her Book of the Dead for a long time. She almost put those two axe men in there, but that would have left some hard to answer questions out in the open, and she wouldn't want Alice to answer them.
11 Sep 2024, 4:49am
Willow Thorn "Yeah so, I'm starting to think the professors advice to hire some guns was like, real good advice, you know? Like, I don't want to put a downer on your like, valiant quest and shit, but can I telepresence over and get a picture, like, in case I have to do the other thing I'm good at, okay?"


"Guns complicate things. I've already pissed the captain off enough that if I get spotted, things will only get worse if it looks like we showed up for a fight."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, but if you want a picture just in case, I don't mind." He knew Willow took things like this seriously and did not want to diminish her concerns. "Only thing I ask is that if there is anything left, don't do anything fancy. Just put it in a capsule and shoot it off into space to wander around the void."
11 Sep 2024, 9:37am
Kasumi Goto“How, much further?”

It was a little hard to judge the distance, and the way sensors were scrambled by whatever the local rocks were made of - plus any possible scrambling by Azimuth - didn’t allow for accurate measurements. It seemed like the facility itself also had to be operating at a low power level, to further avoid detection.


“Almost there,” I said.

As we neared the asteroid withe the facility, the anchor line became more of a hindrance. The inertia generally made it difficult to maneuver, and I had to use more energy than anticipated to keep us on course while looking for a suitable landing spot. The propulsion system was working overtime, and I had to carefully manage the power to ensure we had enough for the return trip. Slowing down gradually, with a final burst of propulsion to reduce our landing speed even further, we touched down on the rocky surface.

I anchored myself and then helped Kasumi secure her footing. We stood there for a moment, catching our breath and taking in the surreal landscape. The asteroid’s surface was a harsh, desolate landscape, dotted with jagged rocks, its ground uneven, with sharp ridges and loose gravel that shifted underfoot. Navigating the rough terrain would be no easy task. Each step had to be carefully set to avoid slipping or stumbling on the unsafe ground. Maybe things would be easier once we approached the crater where the station was located.

“Well, we made it,” I said with a hint of a smile in my voice. Despite the challenges of the terrain, we had made a safe landing. Now the real work could begin.


Last edit: 11 Sep 2024, 9:45am
11 Sep 2024, 1:24pm
“Well, this… will be fun, to navigate.”, I remarked, with a slight hint of sarcasm in the voice.

At least the almost non-existent gravity would make it easy to hop around, while still being just about enough to drag us back down… very slowly, that was. And we had the landmark of the Azimuth site to go with.

“Will, we still need, this?”, I asked, tugging at the anchor line - until we made the journey back to the ship, I didn’t see much of a need for it. Possibly could even be more of a hindrance than helpful at keeping us together, even if fully extended for additional freedom of movement. Nevermind that it could get snagged on stuff.

“I, would also like to mention… I do not like, low gravity hopping.”

Which totally had nothing to do with the excessive lower half’s mass being restrictive to movement. Nothing at all.
11 Sep 2024, 4:49pm
Vasil Vasilescu"Only thing I ask is that if there is anything left, don't do anything fancy. Just put it in a capsule and shoot it off into space to wander around the void."

"The eternal traveller, got it. "What about you Em? Any requests?" asked Willow getting ready to telepresence over to Vasil's ship.
11 Sep 2024, 5:31pm
Kasumi Goto“I, would also like to mention… I do not like, low gravity hopping.”


“I don't really care whether we hop, walk, run or crawl on all fours... The main thing is that we get to our destination somehow.” I replied.

“And preferably undetected.” I added quickly as I detached the anchor line my companion had pointed out from my suit. “Mhm... we might as well leave it here, otherwise it will be more of a nuisance than a benefit.”

Shortly afterwards, I also got rid of the propulsion unit on my back.

“Maybe we'd better hide this stuff here somewhere, preferably so that you don't stumble over it straight away, but find it again if necessary.”
11 Sep 2024, 5:40pm
“Unless, you have magic, or magnet plates under the ground, we hop.”

Walking normally in near-absence of gravity was impossible, and I didn’t see any metal panels placed around to allow magnetic contact to function. I detached the anchor line from my belt as well, after looking around, as it was not needed right now.

“Where, to best hide this? I, would not know.”

Unless the material composing this asteroid was not very dense, trying to dig a hole in it would be difficult. But then, the chances of it getting found when just left out here in the open were… relatively small, too. I double checked my weapons were still there, before continuing.

“You, decide. I, will follow, when you move.”
11 Sep 2024, 5:55pm
“Maybe the best place to put our stuff is up ahead between the two larger boulders,” I suggested as I pointed in that direction with my outstretched, gloved hand.

“You shouldn't be able to see it from further away, but the formation is distinctive enough for us to find it again as soon as we get close. We just need to memorize the approximate coordinates.” I added as I studied the displays inside my helmet.
11 Sep 2024, 7:39pm
“Or, just… note them.”, I suggested instead, thinking that would be much easier to memorize than remember… however these coordinates were being generated. Center of mass of the asteroid, maybe… or the ship’s location.

“But, ok. Good spot. So, go?”

I raised my right hand and tilted my head in that same direction, in an inquiring manner. I was certainly ready to move… or try to not make a horrible embarrassment of myself trying to cross the very low gravity environment.
11 Sep 2024, 8:06pm
With a nod of agreement, I pushed off from the ground, my movements slow and deliberate in the low gravity of the asteroid. Each hop carried me several meters forward, my body floating gracefully before touching down again. The sensation was nice, almost like flying.

As I approached the two larger boulders, I carefully scanned the area, looking for the perfect spot to hide our equipment. I found a small crevice between the rocks, just large enough to conceal the anchor line and propulsion unit.

I crouched down and tucked the propulsion unit into the crevice, covering it with some loose debris to further camouflage it. Satisfied with my work, I stood up and took a moment to memorize the surroundings. The distinctive formation of the boulders would serve as our landmark, and I made a note of the coordinates displayed on my helmet’s HUD.

“All set,” I said. “Now please hide the anchor line, and then let’s move on to the base.”

Post a reply

You must be signed in to post here.
ROLEPLAY ONLY! Respect the universe settings!
If you are new here, please try to at least partially involve in the ongoing stories and conversations instead of establishing a completely different "arc". You can always turn it to a different story later.