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
08 Dec 2022, 9:44pm
Maul looked at the clock ticking away on one of the ships HUD panels.

"I dunno, it wasn't too long before I contacted you though. Been maybe an hour or close to it? We'll approach your vette carefully. So, silent running to keep heat sigs low just incase anyone or...anyTHING is out there."

The distance tick down on the ships HUD as they approached the signal and after a few minutes both ships ripped our of supercruise. Maul quickly set The Ghoul to silent running and turned on the ships night vision to no avail.

"Damn it." He muttered before turning on his ships lights and slowly rotating the ship around.

A short distance from the drop in point, two ships could be seen. One Willow's and the other Descartes' Corvette.

"Okay, they're either on one of those ship or if they did scram, they had someone ready nearby for pickup."

Part of him had hoped they'd taken Willow's ship. At least then he'd have a better chance of tracking it.

"Alright, you good for a little spacewalk? Looks like Willow breached your ship's cargo hatch. Should be able to get in there. We'll approach lights off and slow. Don't wanna wake up anything that might be in the dark."

Maul slowly approached the two abandoned ships, stopping a distance away enough to leave room for Descartes.

"I'll gather my tools and weapons. You going inside as well or would you rather have lookout duty out here....in the black...alone...?"

He wasn't trying to scare or persuade Descartes, rather he was trying to make another worse option available to make what he was about do seem less terrifying to himself.
09 Dec 2022, 5:54pm
"We need to find Willow and get her released. Everything else can wait."

'Being out in the black alone
' summed up most of my life in a few words. It's what I do most of the time. Too long. That's how I got into this mess in the first place. If I had spent more time around other people. . . No sense dwelling on that - or the future. The past's gone, the future has yet to happen. We can change neither. The existential problem is to find Willow.

"Wait here while I check out my ship. See if there's anyone or anything useful still there. Then I'll see if I can get into Willow's."

I manoeuvred my Mamba carefully into the gap between the ships. It's not the smallest most easily handled vessel. Built for speed, equiped for fighting, and nothing else. Struggled into a suit and picked up a couple of small arms, not looking forward to what came next. I don't like 'spacewalking'. I would be very vulnerable out there. It didn't take long. The personnel hatch to the cargo hold on the 'Vette was open. The hold was empty. No surprise there. The whole ship was cold and empty. Everything was shutdown. Apparently undamaged. I examined the edge of the blast proof cockpit door. Intact. I briefly checked out the multiple distributed RAID systems. Intact.

"Nothing on my ship Maul. Willow's next."

One Python is much the same as another. The systems were all on standby. It was probably fly-able. Apart from that, nothing useful.
09 Dec 2022, 10:07pm
"Wait a sec, Willow's ship is still powered?!" He was so nervous at first arrival that he hadn't been minding his sensors. Looking out into the empty dark had him in a high state of alertness though and it didn't take long for him to notice the blip appear.

"Even if it's in a standby state, I'd bet the external and internal cameras have been rolling this whole time. We might be able to see the ship that dropped in and picked these guys up. Maybe even get a rough trajectory of where they were going next." Maul was resisting the urge to fist pump in his seat.

He was shaking again but this time felt different. Excitement, anger, nervousness...a combination of them all?

"Lemme set The Ghoul to low power and grab my backpack. I'll pop over there and see what I find."

After gathering his weapons, throwing a few gadgets and a couple of custom E-Breaches in his backpack, he lowered to landing gear of the Krait to exit out the front of the ship that was closest to Willow's.

A couple bursts from the micro thrusters attached to his backpack and a little maneuvering later, he was stepping a magboot onto the open cargo bay of the Python.

"Alright, I'm on board. I'm going to make my way towards the flight deck and start poking around in the ships systems. So...uh...you've like, cleared every room that isn't behind an AuthScan....right?"


Last edit: 09 Dec 2022, 11:01pm
13 Dec 2022, 3:14pm
'Authscan? What's that? And no point in both of us being here and leaving two ships out there. He's not thinking. We just need to find Willow and swap her for me.'

"Everything is open and I've visually checked everywhere."

'This madness has gone on for too long. The idea that someone is be prepared to go to all this trouble, just for the sake of sevearal worthless historical artifacts makes no sense, it's illogical and pointless. What's just as bad is spending so much time and money collecting them in the first place. My obsession
.'

"I'm on the flight deck.


Last edit: 13 Dec 2022, 5:58pm
15 Dec 2022, 10:51pm
The flight deck doors slid open and Maul stepped through with pistol in hand. He gave Descartes a nod as he passed her and made his way to the one of the consoles that housed a monitor. After he was certain the coast was clear, he holstered his pistol and briefly poked around on the touchscreen monitor. An unsatisfied look crept across his face as he sighed. He then pulled one of the floor panels up underneath the console and delved into the nest of wires.

Maul hummed to himself as he snipped at a few wires and connected others.

"Alrighty then, that's that done." He said to himself, scuffling back to his feet.

Pressing a button on his chest harness to quick release his backpack, he pulled out an E-Breach and slotted it into the side of the monitor. After a moment the screen turned purple and smiley face with its tongue out flashed across the screen.

He glanced over at Descartes as a progress bar filled.

"Not the talkative type, huh?"

He was interrupted by multiple holo screens suddenly projecting around the pilots seat.

"Ah! It worked!"

Maul scurried towards the chair glanced around the displays that were showing feeds from the ships cameras.

"Now we just roll em back a bit and..."

Suddenly an Anaconda appeared in one of the feeds.

"Ku...no...pegos?.....Kunopegos?" Maul butchered the pronunciation of the name written across the ship as he read it aloud.

He pulled a wire from his wrist computer and plugged it into the flight control panel to download the video file.

"That name ring any bells what so ever?" He said, turning around to Descartes.
16 Dec 2022, 6:00pm
"I take it you haven't heard from Willow's abductors."

He didn't look as unpleasant this time. He didn't smell as unpleasant. 'Onionhead' came to mind. Is he on it, off it. He looked sober, competent. Confident in his role as an expert in his field. He ignored me and started talking to himself - thinking out loud. I really had no reason to dislike him, but...

"Sounds like a cross between Norse mythothology and Greek. Never heard of it."

I took a step back, crossing my arms across my chest, feeling uncomfortable for no particular reason and turned to look at the image.

Impatiently, "How long ago was that here?"

More importantly we needed to know where it was now. We need a plan of action.
16 Dec 2022, 8:23pm
"Time stamp on the file says about an hour and a half ago. Must have showed up after those Goid's chased me out of here and the coast was clear."

Maul opened the galaxy map and a holo projection filled the space between him and Descartes .

"They appeared to have been heading the direction of HIP 62154. Nothing else notable in that direction."

He then opened the system map for the system.

"Might have stopped by Fort Xeno to top off fuel and supplies before the trek back to the bubble. That would also explain why they said they'd contact me in 10 hours. Gives them plenty of time to get to wherever it is they're headed and get the meet set up. But that's just a guess."

Maul stepped through the projection towards Descartes. His face stoic and his tone serious.

"We get to that system and I can do a scan on the Nav and see where they may have been headed. Hell, they may even still be in system. If we can cut them off and catch em with their pants down...that'd be even better."

He grabbed his backpack that had been carelessly floating near the console and reattached it to his back harness. Attempting to discreetly pop another tablet of Push in his mouth from his jacket pocket in the process.

"We'll find these pricks and get Willow out of this mess."
17 Dec 2022, 5:20pm
Stepping closer, too close, he briefly stopped talking to pop something into his mouth. I could smell his breath. Should have kept my helmet on. Whatever he took was keeping his mind sharp. Grudgingly had to admit that he was making sense, had a good idea about what to do next. If we could just get ahead of them. Why did he make me feel so uncomfortable.

I just hoped they were not heading for Imperial space. I'd spent some time pledged to 'Baby Blue', convinced that my sitting duck heavy hauler needed prismatic shields. And started the long slow process of climbing the Imperial ladder for a cutter. I would be logged and recognised. Not good. How much did Maul need to know. My mind was racing.

"Sounds like a good idea, we should get back to our ships and make a start."

I thought sure that it had happened more than an hour or two earlier.

"I only met her recently, feel very fond of her." I hesitated. " I feel responsible for getting her into this. I am responsible."

Stepping towards him I put my hand on his arm.

"I'm relying on you."
17 Dec 2022, 10:08pm
Maul had such little interaction with anyone in so long that his first reaction was to pull his arm away from Descartes hand but he fought the urge and chose not to. When they'd first met back on station, he recalled her being short and to the point with him. Cold in a way. But things had took a turn for the worse and she seemed to be feeling just as responsible for this as he was feeling. They'd have to work together to sort this out. After glancing at her hand, he looked down at the floor of the flight deck. Avoiding eye contact.

"You're not solely responsible, you know. I honestly should have never agreed to meet with you two. Everyone I work with anymore seems to get sucked into this...I don't know...like...aura of bad luck or something. It seems to permeate to anyone I come in contact with."

He shook his head, disregarding what he'd just said. It was stupid anyway.

"We'll get Willow out of this. We've just got to work together." He said, attempting to sound confident.

"....And I know how I appear to everyone, you know? I mean, I'm usually a fucked up mess anyway but things are....worse right now. We've just crossed paths at a shitty time in my life and..."

He stopped before he started to sound like he was making excuses for his bad decisions.

"Listen, I refuse to lose another person because of my own dumb fucking choices. We WILL get Willow back. I...we have to do this."
18 Dec 2022, 7:17pm
Sensing his unease I moved my hand away. He looked as uneasy and guilty as I felt. A bit too close to dropping our shields. He was in a bad place, trying to make amends for something in his past maybe.

"So, we should make a start."

Stop wallowing in your own bad decisions
.

"Have you had any dealings with the Empire?

Time to clear up a few things.

"This might all be connected to a certain corrupt head of security who, shall we say, seems to think I owe him something. He's been 'interested' in me for some time."

True, but an understatement.


"He won't stop until he gets what he wants."
19 Dec 2022, 2:45am
Maul’s gaze quickly met with Descartes’.

“I grew up in Fed space myself, but me and the big 3 really never got along. Still don’t actually.”

He scratched at his beard and furrowed his brow while staring at the floor as he continued.

“Had a massive galaxy wide Fed bounty on my head for a few years because of some crazy corpo lady’s scheme. I wound up zeroing the wrong guy. Which is exactly what they wanted. I was their perfect little scapegoat, ya know? Young…eager…hungry for creds…”

He was rambling…almost…reminiscing in a way?

“Ah sorry, I just…sometimes I talk too mu-“

Nervously clearing his throat, he forced himself to get to the point that he was truly interested in.

“….but why would this head of security fella think you owe him anything?”
19 Dec 2022, 1:31pm
When her senses came back Willow expected darkness but the small room was well lit. Her hand throbbed painfully making her curl over to cradle her wounded appendage. That's when she realised her wrists were bound with some sort of cuffs limiting her motion. Eventually, the pain subsided enough so she could hold her hand up to the light and inspect the hole left by the bullet that had passed through her palm. Some synthetic skin had been sprayed on the wound most likely to stop blood from floating around.

Willow saw she wasn't wearing her mav-suit anymore, it was just the skin-tight under-layer meaning she had no shield gen or tools to use. She stood holding her hurt hand against her chest; she wasn't feeling gravity, it was inertia so she suspected she was on a ship in supercruise. Now her mind was working, Willow could feel the vibration of the ships engines through her feet. There was a pack of nutri-paste and a bottle of water in a clear fronted container on a wall, so Willow, remembering what her dad had said, took the food opening the tear-off tab with her good hand and teeth.

While she sucked the paste out of the pack, she played with the door on the little container to see if it had any useful parts, but it was just a door. There were two proper doors in the cabin; one was very clearly the entry and that was locked, the other was a flimsy internal door that separated the head from the rest of the cabin. A toilet had lots of moving parts Willow could use providing she could get to the water pump.

Looking up, Willow saw a camera lens flush with the wall above the heavy door. Now she knew she was being watched, fear come back along with a fresh wave of pain from her hand. She sat down on the bed again looking up at the lens feeling tears well up in her eyes.
19 Dec 2022, 3:44pm
"Long story. I came into a great deal of money he thought should belong to him. And we shared an interest in historic documents that were banned a few hundred years ago - I've collected a few. He wants them or the money, or both."

How much more does he need to know. The Old Man, my benefactor. The unexpected inheritance when he died. I looked into the middle distance remembering everything he'd done for me. The loan of a battered old Eagle, the cut of ten percent of any profit I made. The tip-off's for valuable salvage. His funeral.

The Imperial security officer with a sideline in intercepting valuable cargo, LTD's or Void Opals.. The dodgy insurance recovery deals. Does it matter? All seems so pointless, futile now. What do I need with any of that.

Seems we were both feeling sorry for ourselves.

"Let's get back to our ships. Maybe Willow's family business can recover my Corvette later."
21 Dec 2022, 1:08am
Maul nodded in agreement.

“I’ve got this location logged on my ships computer. After we get Willow back we’ll see to getting these ships recovered.”

“Right, let’s head out. Once we’re in system we’ll start the search for their ship using the Nav. Try and see where they were headed.”

He took a step and stopped to turn back to Descartes.

“…But if we do wind up following them into Imperial space, I’ve got your back. Goids might scare the shit out of me but people…they tend to just piss me off. Especially ones like your head of security pal.”

Giving her a thumbs up, he turned and began to head back towards the cargo bay to board his ship.
29 Dec 2022, 3:43pm
Commander Kohatu was growing old and bitter. As the Imperial security officer increased in years he diminished both in physical size and power. His profitable side-line in the piracy business - sending his own little fleet of unmarked ships to intercept a valuable cargo from time to time - was over. Bribes for people in high places to turn a blind eye were no longer required. Insurance agents no longer rewarded for easing the release of payments.

His middle-man, most of whose personal fortune had passed to a young protege, was dead. The blue-eyed blonde women, whom Kohatu had grown to desire and hate in equal measure, had become his twisted obsession. He wanted her and everything she had. He wanted her rumoured collection of ancient banned books and documents. Most of all he wanted her. At last she was within his grasp.



I had a change of heart. Re-boot my Corvette. Use that. It contained the sum of my life's work. It was my life. While the computer plotted a new route I armed a frag-cannon with incendiary rounds, and emptied it into the Mamba from 2,000 metres. New start.

"Let's go Maul."

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.