Elite roleplay: Off station

OFF STATION

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

General Roleplay Etiquette:

1. Control only the actions of your own character(s). (AKA: God Mode)
This doesn't matter how small the action is, even if it is as simple as scratching their nose or a direct reaction to something else that just happened. This applies to everything from casual conversation to full blown fight scenes. If you'd like someone to do something specific, PM that person, however keep in mind they are completely within their rights to say no. Especially if said action is inappropriate to their character and/or circumstance.

2. Don't brute force your way into another persons RP.
Approaching with a conversation starter is fine, or indeed some other small action. However charging in, guns blazing and disrupting the flow of another person/pair/groups conversation/arc is about as rude as doing so in real life. If something is going on that you'd like to participate in, be subtle about it. Put out a gentle hook for someone to take, but again, be aware that said hook may not be taken. If you fear it was simply unnoticed, PM the person or people it concerns. Or even leave a message in the OOC forums.

3. Good grammar and spelling is preferred.
We're not asking you to be perfect, but please at least demonstrate willingness. no1 iz gna tak u srsly usng txt spk. There's a wide variety of people here, many who speak English as a second, or even third language. There are even some with varying degrees of dyslexia and/or likely other issues that affect spelling/grammar. We accept them all here. However, people who aren't accepted, are those unwilling to accept polite correction. Remember that even a small thing like the placement of a comma, or the wrong use of there/their/they're can completely change the definition of an entire sentence.

4. Accept constructive criticism gracefully and politely.
If someone spots an issue with your writings, they may wish to help you improve that writing. They may do this through PM or even publicly air their thoughts on the OOC forum. If they have taken the time to be polite and explain what is wrong with your writing, the best way to behave is to respond in kind, using the same manner they have approached you with. It means they have taken an active interest in what you have written and wish to see more. Basically, you have a fan!

5. Don't take the actions or opinions of things done IN RP, to be directly relevant to the writers thoughts or opinions.
Basically, if some ones character calls your character a jackass, it doesn't mean the writer thinks you are a jackass. It's a ROLE they are PLAYING. Watch a movie. The argument between the characters isn't an argument between the actors involved. The same applies here.

6. It's not a popularity contest.
Your RP might be bustling with participants. You have 3 people off station in a fire fight, while another 2 are infiltrating the darkest areas of the station, meanwhile a group of 4 others are tracking your movements in an effort to stop you. Good for you, I'm sure it will be a thrilling read! But you know what? Sometimes the absolute BEST work, comes from two RP characters having a simple heart to heart. Both are valid, both are great, but NEITHER is categorically better than the other. Period.


Inara RP Etiquette:

1. Respect the setting and rules of the universe.
Inara is an Elite: Dangerous 3rd Party Tool. The RP Forums are set in the Elite: Dangerous universe. Elite: Dangerous has rules, as any fictional universe does from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, or Game of Thrones to Star Trek. If you intend to RP within the Elite: Dangerous universe you are bound by the history and rules of that universe. Simply put, this RP forum is bound by the same rules as the game, so if it can't be done in the game, it is not permitted here. This applies to things from a 50Ly Jump Range on a normal, unmodified Sidewinder, to the destruction of entire stations.

2. Respect the characters created by others.
We have a wide variety of characters already here. It's expected that some will be similar, just as it's expected that two characters will be vastly different. Opinions of each persons character will naturally be varied, but all are valid provided they follow the rules of the universe. You are allowed to interact with, or avoid interaction with, any character in the RP forums. But you have no right to belittle others for their creation. You are not an authority figure on writing, nor are you directly affected by another persons imagination. You might not like it, but you MUST respect it.

3. Be caught up on current events before joining in.
You need basic things like character descriptions in order to interact with them. You also need to know what's going on in the surrounding areas. This is simply because the people you are hoping to RP with, might be gearing up to something that you might not want to be part of. Or simply that the most recent post, out of context, could leave a different impression on the goings on than if you gather that context. We don't expect you to read every single post from the beginning of the forums, just enough to get that basic understanding.

4. Either subscribe to, or frequently check, the Roleplay: Q&A and OOC forum.
People may be discussing something relevant to you there, or even discussing you directly. Perhaps someone asked what the general consensus on the existence or non-existence of a certain object. Or we're just chatting about random gibberish. Either way, be aware of it and use it. If you're unsure about something, such as how guns would look and or behave, or even the music selection, use the OOC forum to ask. We don't have all of the answers, but the collective knowledge and logic usually allows us to overcome an issue and come to a decision on what should be allowed. Frontier Developments, and even David Braben himself, don't have the answers to every possible question that can be asked.

5. Large Scale events exploding out of nowhere are a complete no go.
We get it. Everyone wants their character to be noticed and for people to be tripping over themselves to interact with them. In some audiences, an introduction involving you blasting in for landing in a fiery wreckage of a ship, before cart wheeling out and sword fighting 35 Ninjas before whisking off with the local celebrity for a glorious night of passion, is in fact, cool. This is not one of those audiences. It is generally considered better to build your character up slowly over time. Eventually, you might even have a legitimate excuse to fight those Ninjas. Maybe even with other RP participants by your side.

6. Perfect characters are boring.
The point of a character arc, is that it is in fact, an arc shape. One who is morally unquestionable, fully kitted out and an infinite fountain of knowledge, cannot go through an arc. Give your character flaws. Be it a tendency towards befriending the wrong people, or a bad knee that frequently gives out at inopportune moments. It gives readers something to latch onto and empathise with. You can give your character exceptional capabilities at something, but it requires balance. She's a damn good pilot with no equal, but can't drive an SRV for peanuts. It can lead to some very interesting moments between characters, be it heartfelt or comedic.


Other Notes:
It should be noted that there can be exceptions to these points. For example, good grammar when a character is speaking is actually rare. Few people in real life actually speak with perfect eloquence after all. Or previously arranged actions during a fight scene, such as someone stumbling back after a punch. What's key to remember is context.

All in all, remember this is purely for fun. We have some seriously talented writers here, and others whose writing history starts and ends at high school. But many are willing to help out in whatever way they can. All it takes is that you ask nicely.

Also keep in mind that many people who RP here, also have logbook stories related to the character, or characters, they portray. If it looks like there's an "in joke" going on that you're unsure of, it's probably in those.

In fact, some users have even gone to the trouble of creating "alts" to RP with. If you read back far enough, it's usually pretty clear who has and hasn't, and which ones are the "alts". It's therefore not unheard of to see the apparent seizing of control of other characters. If you do spot one, point it out in the OOC section. If intervention is needed, it will be sorted quickly and (hopefully) politely.

Most, if not all RP participants here have Logbook stories pertaining to their character(s). These are for the reading pleasure of anyone who wishes to do so. While it can be useful to read them in order to gain a bit of backstory on a character you wish to interact with, it should not be assumed that your character shares that knowledge. Within the E:D Universe, these Logbooks either don't exist, or are private diaries kept by the characters. Either way, without explicit statements to say otherwise from the writer, your interactions should reflect that your character is in the dark about any information you, the writer/reader, have gained from reading the stories.
Venus Duval
24 Aug 2023, 8:01pm
I just simply shrugged once Meowers asked what to do with the young individual.

'Don't know. Kids barely old enough to wipe his own arse. Kick into a pod. Maybe he'll learn a lesson.... or not.'

I checked over all my gear finding a small atmosphere leak coming from the lense of my helmet. I remove it and smash it against the wall shattering the lense completely. Violet shards dance around the dented hull and mangled helmet.

'Need a new helmet. I was particularly fond of that one. Diaz's armory is just down the stairs up ahead. I can grab one there, saw one I kind of liked as I was leaving.'

I turn to Kira a concerned look on my face.

'Reactor going caput is bad. I uh.... I may have pull the fusion rods from the FSD Core. We quite literally have an asteroid sized nuclear bomb waiting to blow surrounding us.'
Kasumi Goto
24 Aug 2023, 8:31pm
I threw a sideways look at Venus.

“Helmets can be replaced. A life, not so much. Besides, you can try to carry it home with you.”

I knew how unlikely that was to happen, with future fighting yet to occur, but I wanted to say it anyway.

“And you know the Thargoids are probably going to find that pod first. Might float past the battle and not get wrecked if he’s lucky, but I’m not sure it’s gonna last past that.”

Part of me was just saying that to further screw with the young individual, who had to be sweating bullets by now. Everyone here was old enough to know that you didn’t throw yourself into something with no preparation or at least some idea what you were getting yourself into. Only a small part of me felt sorry for him getting caught up in something really shitty at the wrong time.

Jenna Marquez
'Reactor going caput is bad. I uh.... I may have pull the fusion rods from the FSD Core. We quite literally have an asteroid sized nuclear bomb waiting to blow surrounding us.'

That statement made me turn toward and look at her directly - as directly as I looked at people, at least.

“We just need to get it done faster, then. But I’m - we’re not leaving any of those civilians Diaz dragged into this behind. Nor am I leaving that AI.”

I turned toward the commandos.

“You heard her. Double time it to that bridge. Nobody wants to be here when this ship turns into a miniature supernova.”

I paused.

“Well, more like a miniature star, but you get the idea. Let’s go.”

I threw looks at Meowers and Venus last.

“I’ve got to give it to those Azimuth bastards, as much as I hate them - they are good at what they do, which is being ruthless. Too bad they are doing it for entirely the wrong side.”
Venus Duval
24 Aug 2023, 10:15pm
Meowers sent the young man off towards the escape pods with a swift kick to his arse which resulted in a chuckle from me.

'Armory first. Then we can get to the slave hold below us. A team will escort them back to Lifeboat the FDL wing can secure the Bridge column while we make our way there.'

I call over the secured net to the FDL wing that had landed at some point during the skirmish with the raiders.

'Time to earn your keep. Get your arses to the base of the bridge column and eliminate anyone along the way. We have precious little time to finish this.'

I lead the group down the stairs and to the armory where I quickly dip inside and grab a sleek angular helmet with an iridescent blue viewing port. I pull out my combat knife and drag it across the face of the helmet in three semi parallel but jagged lines. Melli hops off my shoulder and I hold the helmet out in front of me. The little fox creature tilts her head seemingly thinking about what to do then she swipes her metal booted paw striking and gouging the alloy helmet along the left side. I place the helmet on and step out into the corridor again.

'Ok, I'm ready to go.'

Last edit: 25 Aug 2023, 11:19am
Kasumi Goto
24 Aug 2023, 11:03pm
"Well, I'm going to make a detour once we're down there. I pulled power readings and I'm pretty sure they're keeping Jules' AI locked up in nearly the same place. Somewhere nearby, at least. Those things need a lot of it, and well, he hasn't exactly hidden that."

'Nor has he hidden that he sees it no better than the slaves and 'assets' he keeps', I added in my thoughts, despising the man more and more.

"Was hoping I could put it off until we're no longer getting shot, but whatever. Oh, and I'll try to get the Thargoids to focus on keeping the carrier in one piece until we're off. Might buy us some more time."

"You what?", one of the commandos asked, pretty much all of them giving me some kind of weird or funny look.

I turned to them, raised my right hand's pointer finger, and was ready to speak... but then lowered my head and shook it, turning toward Venus.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" I sighed. "Whatever. The fewer people that know, the better."

I began to move again, more interested in carrying on with the task, than to have to explain that.
Meowers
25 Aug 2023, 12:10pm
I chuckled quietly and smirked, hearing about the Thargoid stuff. Yep, the fewer people know the better, especially in the middle of the task.
Venus Duval
25 Aug 2023, 3:58pm
As we proceed down to the lower decks of the carrier a few skirmishes break out between us and some raiders. One of those skirmishes results in us taking a few losses. Progressing further down a couple of the commandos chat quietly amongst themselves.

'What do you think she meant by she will keep the thargoids off the carrier?'

'Dunno, but apparently Duval knows something we don't. I personally think she might be a little crazy.'

'Who Duval?'

'No knucklehead the other one.'

'The she hulk?'

'Oh my God you're an idiot. I'm working with an idiot. No the one wearing the black dominator armor, with the nice hips.'

I walk up to the two chatting and smack both of them over the head.

'Shut the fuck up. We already lost 2 because of complacency don't add to that count.'

'Yes ma'am.'

We reach the slavery hold and I turn to look at Kira.

'Go find that AI and take 2 with you just in case. The rest of us will get these people out of their cells and send them back to the ship.'


****

The FDL wing fights their way through heavy resistance clearing a path to the bridge. Diaz's raiders sensing their impending demise begin to act rashly and unhinged. One man pulls the pins on 2 grenades and hold them to his chest where an additional 16 grenades are stepped and rushes towards the commandos. The resulting explosion blows a hole in the deck and damages some of the struts.

Last edit: 25 Aug 2023, 4:20pm
Kasumi Goto
25 Aug 2023, 5:03pm
I simply nodded to Venus after being told that I could go get Jules’ AI, and gestured toward the group of commandos.

“Two of you with me, then. Preferably someone that doesn’t think I’m crazy or stares at my hips, thanks very much.”

Even with the group - or just two, I hadn’t paid quite enough attention to their short chat to know how many it was - told off, I couldn’t help but slip out that remark, then moved off to find the room where the core of the AI would be held, guided by a marker.

———

Outside, the Thargoids had very much listened to my request of keeping the carrier in less than a few pieces, rather than engaging vessels seemingly at random. Anything that dared to attempt to get close was exterminated with extreme prejudice, annihilated by pure volume of fire, supported by the occasional shots from whichever turrets remained functional, or powered.

———

I could feel the shift in tactics from the hive resonate through the implant in my head, which seemed to almost act as some kind of guiding beacon for the local Thargoids, allowing them to act more effectively. But it was also beginning to be a drain on my energy levels, so I opened up one of my pouches and pulled out a small, energizing sugar tablet, making sure to check the area was clear before I removed my helmet. I put it back on when the tablet was in my mouth, running my tongue over it. I hated the floury texture that those left on it every time I took one, but they at least helped a little bit.

There was an oddly reinforced and darkened bulkhead just ahead now, in the corridor, and it was where the nav marker pointed. I checked the terminal there - not connected to the rest of the network, and with a pretty heavy encryption lock. No cover nearby, either, and enemies would probably show their faces here sooner rather than later.

“Looks like this is it. But getting that door open might take me a minute or two. Diaz really didn’t want anyone getting inside.”

I looked around for ways to fix the lack of cover, and spotted a crate nearby. Wouldn’t budge much no matter what I tried, and couldn’t find a way to get its mag lock disabled. So I resorted to the old-fashioned solution - violence.

“Fuck it.”

I stood behind the crate, roughly pointed toward the direction I wanted it in, and gave it a strong kick. It was pulled off of its magnetic contact point and flew through the corridor at a speed fast enough to provide a serious headache to anyone hit. Its final resting spot, accompanied by a loud clunk, was somewhere near the terminal.

“Good enough, I guess.”

“Next time you go kicking a crate like that, do warn us.”, one of the commandos remarked. They had moved some of their own crates into the corridor, creating a makeshift barricade.

“Eh. It didn’t hit one of you in the head. I wouldn’t complain.”

I began to work on the terminal, trying to break the initial encryption layer, which appeared to be heaviest, so that I could release a codebreaker into it to get access. Naturally, that set off an alarm, as there was neither the time nor a particular reason to avoid it - and I’d gotten an early warning from a camera that raiders were about to turn the corner, anyway, though not early enough to tell my backup.

“Look alive! We’re not on our own anymore!”, the second commando remarked, firing back with a burst that took one of the raiders out.

“Hold them off! I’ll do what I can to help, but that door isn’t gonna open itself!”, I replied, taking a quick shot that turned a man’s chest into pulp, before I returned to working, ducked behind the dented crate.

Even with bullets and other things passing over my head, part of me remained wary - what Venus had told me about the way the commandos were discovered early made me doubt they were all actually on our side. But there was no obvious way to discern if there was a traitor in our group yet, or if I had them with me right here.

Last edit: 25 Aug 2023, 6:08pm
Venus Duval
26 Aug 2023, 1:02pm
The sound of gunfire breaks through the eerie silence of the slave hold. As I am prying open yet another cell door ripping the frame from the bulkhead 4 rounds strike me in the back in quick succession. The first 2 tear my shield to shreds and the last 2 rip into my armor. There is a brief moment of coldness then an immense level of burning pain on my left side.

'Shit! Take cover keep the civilians safe! Meowers, take the heavies and delete that entire direction. No mercy. Ah fuck!'

I take another couple rounds to the back as I dip inside the cell. The pain inhibitor in my suits built in medikit is not taking effect so I grab a pain inhibitor pen and jam it into my thigh. The pain subsides for a brief moment only to return aggressively.

'Fuck! Medic! I need a medic!'

Aventus rushes into the cell as the heavy gunners light up the access corridor with unrestricted prejudice. Both heavy gatling style maching guns shredding multiple raiders with overcharged plasma rounds.

'Venus where are you hit?'

'My back! Fuck it feels like I have a rod of molten steel jammed into me!'

Looking over me Aventus finds 4 impact marks with severe corrosion burns around the plating. The look on his face says he has not seen this kind of weaponry used in many years.

'Corrosive rounds. Fuck! Marcus, James don't get hit. Their rounds will eat your armor. They are using corrosives!'

One of the raiders tosses a grenade into the hold but instead of a large blast smoke billows out from it. One of the commandos near it picks it up much to his demise. The smoke emanating from this grenade is a highly corrosive concentration of hydrogen fluoride which quickly eats away at the soft spots of the commandos armor and begins to dissolve the flesh beneath. Not willing to risk everyone's lives the commando grips the grenade canister as tight as he can and charges the raiders taking several corrosive rounds before he barrels into one of them.

'Fuck you bastards!'

The commando pulls the pin of a grenade on his belt and vaporizes several of the raiders in the process. Red mist mixed with bits of bone and bodily tissue is sent at high velocity in every direction. The heavy gunners continue to lay into the access corridor suppressing the remaining raiders giving the remaining commandos time to get the last few civilians out of their cells.

Aventus sprays a neutralizing agent on the acid after performing a quick litmus test on it to determine its acidity. The pain begins to subside but I would likely need medical intervention to repair the damage done by the corrosive rounds.

Last edit: 26 Aug 2023, 1:27pm
Meowers
26 Aug 2023, 2:17pm
"You heard the woman! Open fire! Gunners, turn the corridor into rubbish! Riflemen, pick the single targets!" I shouted with my comms turned on to make sure everyone could hear it, unfolding the bipod and falling on one knee behind a steel container. My left hand presses the stock tightly against my right shoulder in a movement trained to a reflex level, and a long burst of plasma rounds sent down the corridor increases my today's kill count, catching some of the raiders still on the way to their covers.

"Hells, corrosives! Kill them, take no prisoners!" Seeing the chemical warfare in action, I shouted once more.

Emptying one magazine, almost dumping it entirely down the corridor, I swapped for a fresh one and continued firing, turning every object in front of me into a jagged, disfigured mixture of steel and flesh belonged to whoever decided to hide. Listening to the radio chatter, I gladly noticed that initial shock and surprise has waned, giving way to fierce anger, more appropriate in combat. Unexpected attack took some of Aventus' commandos, but the remaining forces were able to regroup and start doing exactly what they were supposed to do: heavy gunners laid down a wall of suppressive fire, bolstering my own efforts to keep those raiders at bay, and riflemen began picking the single daring idiots who tried to return fire.

A railgun round landed nearby, grazing the container I was hiding behind; small metal debris disturbed my shields and made aiming more difficult for a moment.

"Shit, they've got snipers! At my tracers!", I shouted to the comms and directed a long burst towards the position where the sniper supposedly was hiding. Shortly after, my ammo counter flashed red. "...Crap, gotta reload."

Temperature indicator was close to the red zone as well, dumping 160 rounds almost without any pause took its toll: my accuracy was already impaired a bit and I didn't want to damage the barrel. Crouching lower behind a container, I pulled my backpack off my back and took one of the coolant liquid containers. Shortly after, another railgun round pierced my cover and sent a wave of metal shards flying, disturbing my shields once more, draining them to a half of their capacity and shattering the coolant container when I almost finished the process. Had to yank it out quickly, you don't want pieces of metal in your cooling circuit. The barrel temperature was normalised, though my cover was compromised. Not waiting for a third shot to become a 'third time's charm', I grabbed the backpack and jumped closer to one of Aventus' gunners.

"They have a sniper, maybe several of them..." I aimed down the corridor, at the particularly big pile of metal boxes, placed, maybe, in one and a half hundred metres away. "Over there."

Squeezing the trigger, I sent a long burst of plasma rounds at the presumable sniper's nest, damaging the containers further, slowly making this cover totally inhabitable. Commando gunner didn't wait for a second hint and repeated after me, discharging his weapon aimed at the same target. With such a fast cyclic rate, it looked almost like a stream of metal sent to punish the sorry losers who tried to escape their fate. Almost caught myself being jealous, phah. At least my single round packs more punch and my rifle is still a shoulder-fired rifle, not a devilish contraption with a backpack. One way or another, with our combined effort and firepower, the sniper's nest turned into a sniper's grave in a couple of seconds. I saw a human figure through my scope, crawling flat on the floor, trying to reach another improvised firing position... Wasn't it easier to jump, in zero g?

A few moments later, his secret became obvious: both his legs were severed off below the knees, bloodied scraps and rags of his suit and his flesh were leaving a trail behind him, as this man desperately tried to hide behind something that wasn't so much fired upon. And I saw a sniper rifle on his back.

"Fuck you," I said quietly, aiming at the figure and shortly tapping the trigger a few times, putting the raider out of his misery.

...After a few minutes of intensive firing, the battle turned into a positional exchange. We enjoyed the upper hand, kept the raiders behind whatever improvised covers they've managed to find, slowly turning said covers into unrecognisable piles of rubbish. Several dozens of bodies and body parts were floating down the corridor, and red bloody mist added to the red emergency lighting, making the picture even more hellish and gloomy. It sucked to be one of them at the moment. Loading a fresh full magazine, I activated my comms.

"Aventus? Aventus, can you hear me? Move your riflemen forward and finish off those bastards. We'll keep you covered."
Venus Duval
26 Aug 2023, 2:37pm
Meowers"Aventus? Aventus, can you hear me? Move your riflemen forward and finish off those bastards. We'll keep you covered."


'I'm a bit preoccupied right now. Venus took some direct hits. I have things stabilized but I don't know the extent of the damage.'

He pauses looking me over once more then activates the comms again calling over to his troops.

'You heard the woman. Push forward. Be careful these rounds are nasty stuff.'

The commandos push forward using what they can find as cover and firing at anything they see moving ahead of them. Melli rushes along the ceiling using the struts and trusses as concealment. She stops over the top of a group of 3 raiders and analyzes the best approach. Her ears twitching and her eyes shifting between the raiders. She crouches down against the ceiling and leaps down onto the men. She strikes the first one with so much force it breaks his neck from the impact. She quickly turns and pushes off the first man and impacts the second one tearing into his throat with her razor sharp teeth and claws. The third man raises his rifle in an attempt to fire and Melli leaps at him. Her movements are too quick for a reaction and her front claws dig into the man's shoulder as she bites down on the back of his neck severing his brain stem killing the man instantly. A few rounds strike the wall near her as she dissappears behind a container.

Aventus attempts to extract the corrosive rounds from my back. The procedure for removal is excruciating even with pain inhibitors coursing through me. He manages to get 3 of the 4 rounds removed before a high caliber round impacts the exterior of the carrier. Creaking and scraping can be heard as the rail gun munitions tear into the carrier. Then a second impact can be heard in generally the same region.

Last edit: 26 Aug 2023, 3:25pm
Kasumi Goto
26 Aug 2023, 3:32pm
"Can you turn that damned alarm off? I swear, it's drawing more of them to us!"

The commando's voice pulled me out of my focus, completely absorbed in trying to break that initial encryption layer.

"Hold on! I'm almost there!", I replied, taking a moment to throw down a shield projector. The raiders here weren't particularly well-equipped, but there were quite a few of them, while there was only three of us, and one busy trying to hack a door, making the odds less-than-even, for the moment. Some additional gunfire was echoing through the corridor from further away, indicating that Venus and Meowers had run into trouble of their own.

I was through the first layer of security a few moments later, allowing me to turn off that annoying alarm, and release the codebreaker into the terminal to do the rest of the work. A grenade happened to land at my feet just then, but I reacted quickly and tossed it back, causing it to explode between both our groups, while also reminding me I'd picked some off a dead pirate.

"Door's going to be open in a minute! Hang in there!"

"It'd better be! We're completely exposed if some of those idiots come from behind us!"

"They'd have to get past the others to even think about that! And if I expected those bastards to come from behind, I'd have kicked a few more crates into place!"

With my hands now free of other activities, I began to pick off some of the opposition, not having to care at all where cover was, for the most part. Some of the carrier's bulkheads could probably stop a shot from my railgun, but crates and regular walls definitely wouldn't, not until they hit a body at least. First shot took off a head clean - so much as the resulting mess of blood, bone and brains could be called 'clean' - the second missing narrowly due to the raider moving at the last possible second, third one making someone dearly miss a leg from the knee up. They were finished off by a few bullets from one of the commandos.

Return fire forced me to duck back into cover to let my shield recharge, not intent on taking any bullets today. I threw a shield disruptor blindly, hoping to at least keep whichever pirate was caught in it behind cover for a few more seconds. Which was all it should have taken for the door to open, but I was disturbed by a sudden fog coming into my head, as I sat behind the cover, back squarely planted against it.

"Ugh, no... not now ..."

The fog transformed into a painful, unbearable sensation, causing me to hold one hand to my head and groan in pain, missing that the door had now opened completely. A voice faintly called out to me through the fog, which seemed to almost act to dissociate me from reality - though not enough to miss a pirate trying to pounce on me. An instinctive reaction sent a fist into their gut at an abnormal speed, causing them to reel. Still holding the railgun in my left hand, I heard the voice again, still faint, then something grabbed my right shoulder from behind and pulled me into the corridor that hadj ust opened up, a shotgun blast ending the life of the raider in front.

"Shut it!", the commando that had just taken the shot shouted, and the other obliged, leaving me on the ground, confused. The armored bulkheads sealed, locking out the pirates.

"What the hell was that about? Are you alright?", the other commando asked, looking at me slowly recovering, crawling over to a wall to sit near it.

"Just... need a moment ...", I replied, struggling to get the words out, as I became aware of my surroundings again, reaching for my helmet's communicator. "Pirates... outside. Sealed in... need ..." Another sound of pain came out of my mouth, thanks to the throbbing headache. "... support."

I felt a hand on my neck, which pulled aside some of the suit's fabric to expose the skin, then a light sting. The fog quickly dissipated, along with the headache.

"Okay... okay... that's better ..." I used the wall as support to stand up, slowly, letting the disorientation wear off.

"How often does that happen? I'll have someone watch over you until we're out of this shithole if that risks happening again.", the commando that had given me the painkiller said.

"It... it's not often. Look, I'll be fine. Just let me ..." I leaned against the wall, putting my weight on it as I actioned the wrist computer to put a more permanent seal on the bulkheads, and lock down the terminal outside, preventing an override code from getting used. "Should keep those idiots out until we're done. Or one of our guys from outside shoots them to pieces."

He didn't seem to buy my excuse and saying I was fine, keeping an eye on me regardless. Once I was certain I had my stability back, I took a better look around. Not much to be seen, but the corridor was connected to another door, at the end. Oddly, the lighting still worked here, indicating that this room potentially ran on a separate power source, or was prioritized in power delivery.

Other than two small alcoves on either side, roughly in the middle of the corridor, there wasn't much cover. Hopefully, the pirates would be kept outside until they were disposed of - at this point, only Diaz's most dedicated troops would have remained onboard, so I didn't expect them to be going anywhere. Still, in case they broke through, I decided to place a shock mine that they'd run into headfirst, if not careful. Then, not having received a response yet, I reached out to Venus' group again, now that I could talk properly.

"We're okay. No injuries. Just holed up in a corridor. Got a bunch of annoyed pirates outside, so if you could deal with them, that'd be nice."

I picked up the railgun that lay on the floor, seeing a zero on its ammo counter. I pulled the empty mag out and stashed it away in the pouch it'd come from, not seeing the point in leaving it behind when I had the space. Still five reloads left - hopefully, enough ammo for the remainder of this nightmare. With that done, I looked over to the door leading further inward, then gestured to the commandos.

"Keep an eye on that door - if any of those pirates try to come through, warn me, and I'll be there. If it's one of us, do tell them not to come in until I disarm that mine.", I told them.

"Understood."

I nodded, and turned back around. A terminal, already unlocked by the codebreaker, was also there to open it. Another impact shook the carrier as I reached out to activate it and open the door, causing the lights to flicker and go out again.
Meowers
26 Aug 2023, 4:50pm
Jenna Marquez'I'm a bit preoccupied right now. Venus took some direct hits. I have things stabilized but I don't know the extent of the damage.'

"Shit. How bad is it?"

Commandos left their covers and began pushing forward in three small groups, making short dashes from cover to cover, while heavy gunners kept raider troops neatly pinned. I left my cover too, slowly walking forward, holding rifle stock tightly under my right arm, with left hand on the foregrip. Not the most accurate way, but that red dot thingy on my helmet HUD was enough for suppressive fire: I needed a broad picture to react better. So, I walked carefully behind the commandos, laying down long bursts on those who dared to take a peek, and a thought crossed my mind... In the heat of that battle, losing the track of time, I haven't heard anything from Kasumi.

"Kasumi? Can you respond? What's your status?"

We made, like, almost a hundred metres forward, finishing off any pockets of resistance: with the help of Aventus' gunners, I kept remaining raiders sitting behind their covers and re-thinking their life decisions, ripe for picking by riflemen coming from the flanks. It didn't took much time for them to finally begin appearing with their hands up. I counted eight people... Who were able to move on their own. Four more were severely wounded, one of them no longer had legs to stand, and another one... I'd call him dead already. Had, maybe, a few minutes left.

"Aventus, they're surrendering. Your call. I'd say, we should splat their heads open. But I'm not a part of your squad."
Venus Duval
26 Aug 2023, 5:23pm
'Rules of war dictate we accept their surrender. However this isn't a war and they are not military. Kill them. They would do the same to us if we surrendered.'

Aventus pauses for a brief moment as he removes my armor plates and sets them aside. Red, purple, yellow, white and peeling flesh as a result of the corrosive material present in the ammunition is visible covering most of the left side of my back.

'It's not good. Severe chemical burns on her back and in the wound channels. Fuck! Meowers welcome to the Knights of Cold Harbour. I am making you an honorary commander of the remaining forces. I am going to need to take Venus back to Lifeboat for immediate treatment.'

'You hear that knuckleheads. Meowers is in charge now. Marcus and James help keep the troops in check.'

Aventus wraps my torso with medicated gauze and carefully picks me off the floor. I look at Melli who is feasting on the face of one of the raiders and motion for her to follow behind. Melli however refuses to oblige and instead walks over to Meowers and clambers up onto her ensuring to not dig in with her claws.

'OK you two with me.'

Aventus takes 2 commandos to escort him and the civilians back to Lifeboat. He calls over the secured line to explain things.

'Once I have Venus stabilized and the corrosive subdued I will link up with you all at command bridge. Help Kasumi with her task sounded like she was needing support with some raiders.'

Last edit: 26 Aug 2023, 6:04pm
Kasumi Goto
26 Aug 2023, 6:21pm
Meowers
"Kasumi? Can you respond? What's your status?"

Meowers' call over comms interrupted me, just as I was about to put my hand on the interface to open the door. I put a finger to my helmet's right side to activate the comm device.

"As matter of fact, I can. Am where I need to go, but there's a bunch of angry pirates right outside, as I tried to say twice by now. Few too many for three of us to handle. They're not gonna get through that door soon, but I'd appreciate some help before they decide to try cutting through it."

I took the finger off it, though leaving the device active to hear any potential responses, and turned my attention to the terminal again. Its faint blue glow was the only thing currently lighting up anything in the corridor. Placing a hand on it, I looked at the door next to me. A hiss indicated it opened up, into an environment kept at slightly higher pressure, whatever the reason. I moved in front as the two halves of the door began to slide aside, opening into a fairly dark room. Kept my shield active just in case there were traps, but nothing occurred.

My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, but a few lights turning on, revealing some kind of pedestal in the center of the chamber, caused that to become useless. Then, the door abruptly shut behind me, much to the dismay of the two commandos.

"What's going on in there? Is it a trap?", one of them asked, alarmed, using comms as the chamber seemed to be sound proof.

"No... I don't think so. Probably some kind of automated mechanism.", I replied. "Wouldn't be surprised if that bastard Diaz programmed the system to lock himself in here so he could have some 'fun' with what's in here."

'And he presented it like some fucking prize.', I added in my thoughts, despising the likely implications, and what had probably occurred in this room.

Some of the lights at the edges of the room flickered, suddenly, and the pedestal itself took a brighter, vibrant light blue color - or rather, whatever was inside it did.

"Please! No more pain!"

"Pain? ... oh." I kind of already knew, but that just confirmed this was basically a torture chamber... for an AI. I raised my arms, as if to say 'I'm no threat', assuming there were cameras here it was connected to. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to get you out."

"Oh... you're not... him."

The AI clearly meant Diaz. Female voice, soft.

"Yes. And he didn't send me here either. I'm here to tear this place down."

"Where... where's Julia? I want to see her ..."

I hesitated for a little, not knowing how to continue. Then I sighed, lowering my head.

"I... she's... gone. I'm sorry. That bastard triggered some kind of kill switch, and ..."

I couldn't continue, unwilling to describe what had happened, especially at hearing the obvious care this AI held for Jules.

"Oh... oh no ..."

A strong feeling of sorrow. Despair, even. What comfort could I offer to an artificial construct?

"She wasn't alone. Silvia told me... well, she didn't tell me about you directly, only that you were Jules' AI. It's how I know I'd find you here. What's your name?"

"How do I know you're not here to hurt me? What is your reason to care?"

This wasn't going to be as easy as I'd hoped. I marked my reply with a more compassionate tone when I spoke up.

"I know this might seem hard to believe after what you've been through, but I'm here to get you off this ship, not to hurt or destroy you. I have an AI of my own, and I know you can care for people too. Julia... wouldn't have wanted to see you end on this ship."

"But you didn't come here for me."

"No. I came here for Silvia, with a few other people. All of them here to do one thing - get her out, and kill that bastard Diaz if we get the chance. But I remembered what she told me, and I don't leave anyone that doesn't deserve to be behind. Not if I can help it." I paused. "I'm Kira. But everyone - or most people - know me as Kasumi."

The glow of the core softened slightly.

"I am Junebug. Artificial intelligence for Julia Cavanaugh... and her friend. I tried to convince her to not do this, but she wouldn't listen. She was too afraid of... him."

"Junebug... interesting name. Nice to meet you. And I know that she was. Just another puppet to that madman. I assure you, he will pay."

"Please... make him do. He forced me to watch what he did to her. Over and over, to feel the pain that she did. It was ..."

The sentence didn't quite finish. Whatever Jules had done with this AI went well past what I'd done with EDI. Or perhaps it had simply developed, realized itself much more already, able to express emotions and replicate human ways of speech much more accurately.

"You don't need to tell me if it hurts too much. I understand what it's like. I lost people myself. It never becomes easy to talk about." The carrier shook from an impact, causing some dust to fall, and the lights to flicker again. "Look, I don't want to rush it, but we need to go."

I moved forward, toward the pedestal, a glass covering above it retracting as I approached. My right hand moved forward, in that direction. A few tools also lowered, as if to use on the core itself... torture instruments.

'Pain emulation on physical harm of the core? What an asshole.', I thought, and moved the hand closer again.

"No!" The outcry made me stop. "Removing my core will destroy it. He made sure of that. Please, be careful. You need to disable the failsafes."

"Okay... give me a second. I'll get those measures turned off."

Inside this room, my wrist computer found a few systems to connect to, seemingly only available in here specifically. Each of them was connected to the pedestal at the center, all set up to keep the construct contained, and harm it. Or destroy it, if removal was attempted by the wrong person. Disabling them, however, was rather simple - Diaz evidently hadn't expected anyone to ever make it here, so it was fairly easy to isolate them in code shells and prevent them from destroying the program. A physical failsafe was also present in the pedestal, designed to overload the core and fry its internals, with the same effect, but I quickly found the off switch for it in the code as well. Or, at least, where to locate it on the machine.

"Okay, there we go. Everything's off and we're ready to go.", I said.

"Are you sure? I don't want to end up like Julia."

"Trust me, you won't. I've seen the kind of code shackles they use on your kind, and failsafes like that. And how to remove them." The carrier shook from another impact, causing the lights to go off once more, leaving only the core's blue glow. "Are you ready?"

"Do you truly trust me?"

"If Jules did, I see no reason not to."

"Then I'll allow you to carry me. One moment." The 'moment' was less than a split-second, and a voice appeared in my earpiece. "I have severed all direct links to the carrier's systems, but I can offer remote access. Please, get me off this ship. I... don't want to see it again."

"I'll do everything I can to make sure that happens." I reached for the core. "Okay, here it goes."

Truthfully, I was not entirely certain whether I'd successfully isolated or disabled all the failsafes, but sure enough that there was a close to zero chance of anything occurring. Sure enough, the core came loose without anything occurring, and it retained its blue glow. Probably running off an internal battery, for now. I held it inside both hands carefully, contemplating it. Little chance it could drop and sustain damage in zero G, but I still kept a solid grip on it regardless.

The door sealing might have seemed like a cause for concern initially, but now, I saw it as a boon, providing much-needed isolation from the exterior world so that I could talk to June. I made space on the back of my utility belt, shuffling a few pouches to get the knife on the right side of my hips, with the core sitting where it was prior. I put gentle pressure on it to make sure physical and magnetic contact had it securely in place, then tapped on my helmet once, activating the private link between me and the AI.

"You okay down there?"

"It isn't the most dignified position I have been in, but I'll survive. This core has limited power, so I will likely have to go into a standby mode soon."

"Just hold on. Wouldn't do to lose you now."

"I do not have hands with which to do that."

"Ha ha. Very funny. Let's just get out of this damn place."

I received no response, but knew she agreed with me. The door opened again as I approached, prompting the commandos to look my way, their guns drawn and pointed at the door.

"You have what you need?", one of them asked. "Took your time in there."

"I do.", I replied, gesturing at my back. "And I guess that just bought time for our backup to get here."

I held my finger to the communicator again.

"Hey, Ina, you almost there? I'm ready to continue with the party, and I don't think my company's gone anywhere. Do mind that I placed a mine behind the door if you're planning to slam through it."
Meowers
26 Aug 2023, 7:55pm
Jenna Marquez'Rules of war dictate we accept their surrender. However this isn't a war and they are not military. Kill them. They would do the same to us if we surrendered.'

...

'You hear that knuckleheads. Meowers is in charge now. Marcus and James help keep the troops in check.'
I nodded in response to Aventus and gave one of the gunners a pat on the shoulder.

"Make sure noone escapes, okay?"

We turned around and reached the surrendered raiders, stopping in about ten metres away. When I saw them from the distance, they seemed relaxed, stretching their arms and legs, talking quietly, some of them already applied bandages to smaller wounds; however, once we came closer, they almost froze in place, looking at us. Waiting.

Twenty two eyes stared at me, empty, terrified. Eight pirates were able to stand, three more were hugging a metal container, attached by magnetic pads on their gear, too wounded to move. What did they expect? Mercy? Explanations? Any final words? My hands trembling and heart shaking? Had to disappoint them. Shouldering my rifle, I gave the ammo counter a quick look. It was yellow, showing "Armed/Rds:18", should be enough.

"Please! St..."

A gunshot sound cut his words short: pirate's head exploded like a watermelon, scattering pieces of cranium and burnt brain matter around. Decapitated body remained standing, connected to the floor with the magboots. Hm. This round was expansive. Some of the raiders flinched, trying to run maybe, but I pointed the rifle at them immediately and they stopped, directing their gaze at me once again. What the heck did they want to see in my eyes? Didn't matter. I continued. One by one, head by head. Finishing with the healthy ones, I made a few steps closer and dealt with the wounded the same way. Remaining seven rounds... Decided not to waste them. Looking at the battlefield through the scope again, I discharged the rifle at the floating bodies, aiming at those seemed... Too much intact for the situation. Making sure they're properly, absolutely dead now.

Aventus left the place already when I finished, and I saw a group of his troops waiting for my order. I reloaded the rifle and gave them a quick look: though mostly okay, some of them were wounded, with visible breaches or corrosive marks on their armour, must've been on painkillers and stimulants. Eight riflemen, two heavy gunners.

"Listen up! Gunners, with me, in front. Two riflemen behind us, check the flanks. Three more, cover the rear. And you three, you, you and you," I pointed at obviously most wounded soldiers. "You to stay in the middle, be careful. Now, go! Weapons at the ready!"

So, we moved out.

"Kasumi, Aventus put me in command of his troops. Hold on there, we're coming to get you out."

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