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.
Jana Razeki
09 Mar 2024, 5:04pm
"Whatever works, I say. I guess old-school mechanical is less prone to breaking, anyway. Or easier to replace if it does."

I sat down, turned the seat around, and... had to raise an eyebrow at that... show, which had unfolded.

"So... you're telling me, go get one? Not really the thing I was asking so much as what to throw into those few internal spaces the ship has. I'm conflicted between the ship getting shredded less quickly but being unable to do quick patchwork on the hull without a nearby station, or keeping the hull less strong to do repairs on the fly. You've not really seen me fly with those fancy Guardian weapons, at hand of them not working by a Titan and not having them then, anyway, but let's just say it is far from the cleanest execution you'll ever have seen."

I paused for a second.

"That aside, what do you think about throwing one of those fancy caustic sinks on the ship? With all that shit getting flung around in the fighting as if the Thargoids never run out of it, and with the ship having spare utilities, that might not be a terrible idea."
Meowers
09 Mar 2024, 6:39pm
"Hm," I stopped for a second. "Yep, I admit, going against Thargoids on a FDL is not something you'd expect from a... Person conforming to what those self-proclaimed 'professionals' call... What's that stupid parlance word was, again? 'Meta'. Yeah."

"But then...", a bit of the same wild tones had creeped into my voice again for a moment, "...This may be your best decision for the lifetime."

"Or the worst, phah," chuckling, I shrugged. "Actually, sorry, couldn't pay much attention to you back there. Not more than 'average per person'. So I don't exactly know about your piloting style and habits, both good and bad. We all fly with recorders so wing leaders, instructors, and, well, I, can look at the footage and voice some opinion, but yeah, other people mostly use them to capture vids of idiots messing up the station traffic or folks flying really sorry rust-buckets."

"Can't say we don't do the same from time to time though," sounded later as a 'comment addressed to nobody in particular'.

"So, yeah. It's personal. As every non-standard decision. Might be brilliant. Might be awful. A blessing and a curse, in one: you'd be more or less your baseline standard no wonders usual common daily blah-blah-blah-okay-average, for your current proficiency level, using those standardised cloned loadouts. And that's why they're good and they have their place in the world. You take your standard simple Zachary Jameson-Duval, real name Joe Fartsmith, place into a standard simple ship and you could see what this guy is really made of. In some... Less successful cases, literally. Non-standard options can be 'yours' and fit you perfectly and you'd do wonders. Or, the opposite. Can't say for sure."

"Yeah, waitaminute...", I got up from the floor, walked to the pilot seat and opened the said locker, under the console, to the right of the main panel. A self-cooling half-litre can of black tea appeared in my hand and I pulled the ring, finally hearing that satisfying 'pop'.

"So, yeah," returning to the same place, I continued. "You can't have as much armour as Challengers or Kraits have. Yet, they don't have the same speed and handling. So, it's easier not to get hit, rather to withstand more hits. Don't be too afraid though, it isn't made of glass, you still have a comfortable amount of iron between you and them. And the firepower is simply the best you can get from a medium-sized ship."

"Internals are somewhat... Lacking, I'd say. Don't expect to have a huge cargo bay for limpets or rescued escape pods. But I have both heavy and sustainable, repair-oriented loadouts available, and they're both good. And, the cherry on top, six utility slots. A scanner, a shutdown wave neutraliser, and load up the remaining with heatsinks. Enough to rely on them completely and leave the vent laser at home, equipping Flak, or...", I slowed down my monologue, actively thinking, "Maybe I might try that new stabiliser gimmick, so I could test the five shards o' madness?.. Hmmmm..."

"Anyway," shaking my head a little as if to scatter the random thoughts away and get back on track, I continued. "So, four heatsinks. Or, three heatsinks and one caustic, I'm running that loadout in a test mode now and I should say, every day I run it, every day I think of reviewing our standardised loadout for wings. This thing is amazing. Caustic missiles aren't your concern anymore, even Hydra's, just... You know where the Thargoid missiles are coming from, right? With that thingy onboard, they can literally shove those missiles back into that place. And, the gunk they leave after they explode, it stresses the sinks and you have to eject one after, like, two seconds... But hey, just don't fly into that shit, and you'll be fine. Thing is, sometimes there are so many of them over some totally worthless ground port that, when we're done, you can't see the sun through that shit cloud. Easy to randomly wander into, during the battle. So, more confidence."

"And... Uh. That was long. But, hey, you played the right strings, so, yeah, wait..." I took a gigantic gulp from a tea can, leaving it almost empty, "...ooowwww yeaaaah. The Dark Side Of Tea. So."

"That's too boring. You know what isn't?"

I leaned forward slightly again.

"This is a real hellmachine. Sometimes you feel you should have a neural link to the controls, to reach the full potential. Flies faster than their fear, and hits harder than a hammer of doom."
Jana Razeki
09 Mar 2024, 9:07pm
"So, I guess, I should just go and get one, then, and hope I don't blow it up on the first day. I was probably going to alternate between a self-sufficient loadout and one with an extra hull reinforcement stuffed into the ship anyway, since it doesn't have the space for both. And I have some spare reinforcements around after supporting that Aegis initiative for those Titan torpedoes. But ..."

I quickly recalled a detail.

"I'm thinking of sticking a beam laser into that bottom hardpoint if I'm not fighting in deep space somewhere, so I can help with that shield stripping thing when there's no swarms to worry about. Or they have many targets to pick, even if they seem to love me. Also sometimes helps to not get five caustic missiles smacked in your face, without dropping heatsinks every five seconds. But I'm not decided on if I should go with a class three or a really big one, because the power distributor can't quite handle permanently firing anything bigger than a class three. Or if I go with a four, if I should stick to a gimbal or run it in a fixed position."
Meowers
10 Mar 2024, 3:17pm
"Class 4 laser does fine. Yeah, it drains your energy fast, but it also works better, so you don't have to fire it continuously. Also... There is a way to have both flak and laser installed, just go with three main weapons."

"I don't do that because asymmetrical loadouts make me cringe," I made a silly grin. "Call it a personal quirk. The Taranis show was a one-off... Well, eight-off occasion. Normally, I have Flak installed since this way I can get rid of the swarms and the cooling is done by heatsinks. You need them anyway, and they are cheap to synth onboard."

"Missiles... As I said, slap that caustic sink thingy and forget about them. And if you can catch five of them in quick succession, then, well... I guess you need more training, phah. And, don't forget about the speed and handling. You can turn around and slip past them."

"Yeah...", I looked in the way of the pilot seat for no visible reason, just thinking aloud. "That's not your everyday choice. But, your ship, your choice. Marshmallow did wonders throwing corpos and superpower enforcers from independent systems before, I thought she'd do the same way against the Thargoids and I was right."
Jana Razeki
10 Mar 2024, 4:08pm
"Right, so... if the class 4 where I can use it is fine, or if targeting the swarm in open space conflicts is too difficult, should I go with it fixed or as a gimbal? I'd prefer the latter, so I don't have to manually adjust every two seconds, even if it only gives about thirty seconds of continuous fire at most. And I don't think I'd be interested in one of those asymmetric configurations, either."

I looked at the pilot's seat - throne - as well.

"I guess I'll give it a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work well for me, I might think about repurposing it for bashing pirates or something like that. Or if I feel like messing with Feds or Imperials. Just throw a few frags on there and have a bit of fun. Oh, and I forgot, I went through a Viper between the Eagle and Vulture. Mostly shot down pirates with it."

And I flipped over to a different subject, not having much more to say on ships right now.

"So, because I'm curious, exactly how much more can you lift before it gets too heavy, now?"
Meowers
10 Mar 2024, 4:24pm
"Khm," a question has made me think for a moment. "I use the gimballed version to make sure I could get it firing effectively even when the ship isn't pointed at something directly. You know, getting the lead on Shard cannons, all that. But some people go with fixed. First is easier to control because hells do you have enough stuff to keep in mind and control already."

"Give it a try, yeah," I sounded lively and encouraging. "I'd be glad if you eventually like it. Surely takes some time to get used, if you said that even the Challenger feels twitchy for you. But..."

"Think of... Not of twitching in place or on the same trajectory. Think of being on the move every time, changing the way you go, getting where you should be instead of trying to get the most of your current position. You can outrun even the Basilisks easily and can turn on a pizza box, and, unlike other zippy fast ships, you can dish out pure unfiltered hatred from those four Shards or Gauss. And you still can withstand hits, even if Hydra zaps you. When they do that to me... A heart is going to be shattered, you know."

Another question confused me a little.

"Lifting? Haven't tried it since the accident, had another stuff to do... Restarting the life, you know, phah. Volunteered to carry some heavy stuff around helping in the repair workshop once and people were mildly shocked."

"Maybe I have to ask our techs to make me some custom equipment... Like, my personal record was one hundred sixty before that... Generator accident. And the doc said I'm now...", air quotes time. "'six to seven times' stronger. Maybe I should try instead of doing the maths and getting some really weird numbers."
Jana Razeki
10 Mar 2024, 5:26pm
"I didn't really mean lifting in the sense of weights. Just, in general. But I guess you don't have a perfect idea yet."

I shrugged.

"Still find it a bit funny that those cell treatments had this effect. Though I can't imagine what the reactions were to that around here. As for where getting zapped by a Thargoid is concerned... I usually try to knock off one of their hearts when they do that, too. Or do as much damage to it as I can. Those damn Hydras are tough. And that slowdown effect is no fun when you're getting shot at, well, attacked, by two of them at the same time. Don't ask how I know."

I looked out of the cockpit for a second, not for any specific reason, and kept my tone a bit lower as if to not have anyone listen in, even though it was just us two.

"Mind sharing the details of how exactly that 'thing' happened, or is it all ..." I made a gesture with my right hand "... classified and all that, military stuff?"
Meowers
10 Mar 2024, 8:51pm
"Yeah, those prog-cells are no joke. I heard that, phah... They can make a granny look like a teenager again. Though I guess it's just an exaggeration and a sales trick. Anyway, look," I spread my arms to the sides and pointed both index fingers at my face. Then, I made two 'straight angle' figures with thumbs and index fingers and placed them above and below my face as if capturing it into a camera frame. "We look like peers now, or close to it. But I'm thirty five. Can't say I argue, phah."

"And you don't have to tell me how to get fired upon by two Hydras at once, phah, I know it too well... Than a pilot probably should. So, here's a trick: if caught in a lightning attack, and there are too many of them around, slam your silent running button, activate a heatsink, full thrust, all power to the engines and boost the heck away. Eventually, they will lose you. Of-bloody-course you're no fighter after that, until repairs, but it's better than 'just frantically trying to escape' as I saw some people do."

"As for the details of the operation.. Hm," I finished the tea can and got up from the floor to get myself another one, "Only the names and the exact details are classified. I can tell you, in broad strokes."

"So, that's... A story", popping another tea can open, I got back to the place where I sat, "Friggin Azimuth. Or, to be more correct, a group tightly connected to Azimuth. Secret installation, no signals in, no signals out. Planet covered in thick jungle and dense clouds. Tricky direct non-FTL communications, roads making weird knots so you can't just get from A to B, three or four security layers even their lower-level employees had no idea what's happening next and where, and all that. Human experimentation, concentration camps, cloning, brainwashing, in the worst way possible, as they like to do."

"But nobody knew until it was too late. Initially, we got on that trail following a bunch of Far God cultists, our command wanted to figure out what they were up to, gathering on a presumably unpopulated planet, far away from anything inhabited. Maybe some clues on Thargoid activity or whatever. So, a platoon of soldiers assigned to me, dropship ready, equipment checked, here we go. To stay a few minutes behind and land right after them. We only had to question them, in a non-violent way, run ID checks, and arrest those who are from any radical, terrorist branches."

"Turned out, the entire planet was a death trap with Azimuth mercs crawling all over the place, hidden by treetops. They had ships, AA towers, all kinds of stuff, and we couldn't call for reinforcements, since that would've made our location visible for them. I had thirty six troops, they had hundreds, if not thousands. So, we were forced to hide too, and I've made a decision to push forward, find a central facility, get the schematics of that place with geo-coordinates, and hold it under control until the strike team arrives. Calling the large force right away would've probably scared them off, they could've evacuated their masterminds and burn everything to ashes, along with the victims, and then restart the same business elsewhere. We had to find the heart of that shit and uproot it."

"And we've spent like five days in that hellhole. Sleeping in the jungle with predators lurking around, going from one facility to another, searching for the main one. Fighting Azimuth guards. Trying to help the victims, but, in most cases, it was too late already. To give you an idea of what we saw down there... Imagine professional rescue teams, people who see all kinds of ugly shit daily. Some of them required psychological counselling after that."

"So, then we found it. And the madman boss of this funny place, mutated to shit, glowing eyes, I swear his arm had regrown to almost a quarter of its length in ten minutes after I shot it off. And the friggin power plant was his lair. No doors and no windows, only the underground access, and everything covered in those... Thargoid-like tentacles, like they grew from within the building, creeping into the corridors. I chased the bastard when he tried to escape and ended up isolated there, one on one with him, having all my ammo spent on his mercs, my troops outnumbered fuckloads to one, and our comms suppressed so that the strike team couldn't pinpoint our location."

"Decided to rig the generator to explode. With both myself and that scumbag. And the explosion was a landmark for the reinforcements, so it took them only a few minutes to find my squad. They entered the battle, ended the Azimuth dogs, downloaded the recon data and coordinates found by my troops, ended the Azimuth dogs in other facilities, rescued the victims and then deleted the place from the map entirely. And everybody lived happily ever after, or something like that."

"How did I survive? Maybe a miracle, maybe my old armour suit saved me, but it seems like I've been thrown away through the gap in the collapsing walls a few moments before the chain reaction turned the building into a fireball. That madman... They couldn't find anything bigger than a toenail. Regenerate this, arsehole. So... A month and a half later, I woke up in the Aegis HQ hospital being... Like this. Can't say I mind it, phah."
Jana Razeki
10 Mar 2024, 9:03pm
“Fun for the entire family.”, I sarcastically remarked to that story. “Can’t say I’m surprised to hear Azimuth behind it. Nobody seems to have taken their claims that they’re just an ordinary arms manufacturer now seriously.”

I paused for a second.

“Still don’t understand how those idiots even got to stay around after that nonsense with the Proteus Wave. Any other company in the world would have been torn to absolute shreds after such a failure, but somehow, those morons are still allowed to exist.”

I sighed.

“Well, anyway. You really just called me here to have a bit of a chat after the whole rescue thing for Kira… Kasumi? Whatever you prefer to call her now. Still trying to get my brain to call her by what she wants now, even knowing her real name.”

Still had things I could say, but I wanted to avoid too many subjects at a time being in the discussion.
Meowers
10 Mar 2024, 9:43pm
"I dunno, pffff," I shrugged with a silly grin, "You replied with something like 'we could meet rather than texting' so here we are now and I don't know what to do either, phah."

"And those morons exist maybe entirely by their shadow connections. Once, I brought proof of them making deals and being so nice and friendly with a slavery group. Defunct now because they're dead. And... I personally made sure they're dead, to say simply. Kira, Kasumi, whatever you want to call her, were there too, doing the same."

I sighed too.

"This shit is so complicated. And bloody. Deaths everywhere. Do you know how to stop it?", the last sentence was said in a grotesquely-desperate yet ironic tone.

"And it's easy for me to call Kasumi by that name. I've known several people like that, who wanted to be known and called by a different name, but didn't want to go through the bureaucratic shitride of an official name change. Documents, property, bank accounts, everything. This can be very vomit-inducing, I'd say. I'm not a dumbest person in the world but seeing those official forms and having to fill them makes me feel like my brain had turned into a cotton candy."
Jana Razeki
10 Mar 2024, 9:56pm
“Funny you should mention that name change thing. I did it myself but I might’ve been spared most of the paperwork because I was just building things from the ground up once I got away from all the idiocy and bullshit that surrounds Feds and Empire like that caustic death shell around what’s left of Taranis. Although I didn’t change too much, just a little bit.”

I sighed, leaning forward.

“Yeah, got a lot of shitty memories of that time. But maybe a first meeting isn’t the best time to go into that. Haven’t really told anyone anyway, other than basic details when asked where I’m from. Most people are even surprised when I tell them ‘I used to be an Imperial’, if they ask where I’m from, but I don’t have their silly accent. They just made that one up to sound like rich snobs and look down on the Feds. And I’ve been trying to leave all that behind.”

I scoffed at the whole ‘accent’ thing, and quickly decided to add to that.

“Oh, and no one’s looking for me, by the way. Last time I spoke to my family must’ve been I don’t know, six, seven years ago. And I only did that so those idiots stopped looking for me when I had no intention to return.”
Meowers
11 Mar 2024, 12:46am
"Ah, no worries," I waved my hand lightheartedly. "And I used to be a Fed. Not a Fed-to-the-bones though, just born there, in a kind of shitty backward community, on the outskirts where nobody really cares."

"And the same about 'family'," air quotes were perfectly fit there. "Mum tries to send me a message or two every now and then but I don't really want to go there and see them. A perfect product of their parenting techniques, I'd say, nobody to blame except themselves."

"Head is full of shitty memories too," I half-grinned, half-scowled. "Therapy, pills, flashbacks, bad sleep, all that. Friggin handbook. But, fuck them, it takes more effort to bring me down. And now, hey..."

I crossed my arms on my chest and tilted my head to the side, raising the chin slightly.

"...Now I'm ready to strike back. Poor fuckers."

"So no need to go into the shitty memories if you don't really need to do it. It'd be enough to know that I understand some shit about them. And, those who care too much about where you are from and who's your family... They don't really care about you, as a person."
Jana Razeki
11 Mar 2024, 1:01am
I simply shrugged.

“I’m more just saying I find it a little funny to see people be totally confused when they get curious about my background and I tell them that. And maybe I sometimes do it on purpose to annoy any Imperials in the same room - their well-mannered nonsense and representing ‘high standards’ prevent them from doing anything more than looking really offended. Which is really amusing.”

I breathed out through the nose.

“And well, like to think it’s far behind me now. I got to see the worst of both Fed and Imperial ‘culture’, so I can safely say both are as bad as the other, just in different ways. Can’t speak to the Alliance, but at least I’m not inclined to mess with them either. As for the memories… yeah, I don’t know. Do my best not to think of it, at least. I’d probably be further if I didn’t get a Titan almost dumped on my head right as I was getting set up properly, with my pilot’s license and all. Think I was out doing some delivery work when that thing arrived, because no one was sure exactly when it’d arrive that day. And you probably remember that our response was basically just ‘Throw whatever is locally available out’ with no real plan from anyone. Too busy trying to piss on each other because it turned out Salvation was actually an idiot.”

I paused, primarily to catch my breath.

“I’d probably not really be here to have this chat if I’d been sleeping or just in the system - my home system - when the Titan made itself comfortable. Not sure how I feel about having a wrecked one in the backyard either though. I’d rather it leaves entirely. Especially when we don’t know what exactly happens after that explosion, or how repairable the damage is.”
Meowers
11 Mar 2024, 1:12am
"Hmmmm...", my sight wandered to the side aimlessly as I collected my thoughts, "It looks like... Well, there's at least one positive thing about having no home. You can choose other place to keep your stuff in if the previous one gets wrecked."

"And those Titans and that bloody godsdamned war..." I scowled, "I still can't understand people who project Salvation's idiocy on millions, billions of innocents who died or get their life shattered by this war. Almost had a falling out with Kasumi about that and I guess she won't be so happy to see me after her return, now since one of the Titans got destroyed and I'm getting ready for another assault."

I spent a few seconds just being silent and breathing.

"What happens after the explosion? We have only one way to find out. Investigating the remains once they stop being that hot. But we don't have time to wait. Every minute the other seven stay alive, more people die. And most of those people are innocents. Non-combatants."
Jana Razeki
11 Mar 2024, 1:28am
“Honestly? Biggest issue I have with the whole attacking Titans thing isn’t really attacking them but… how can I put this… I hate those sounds they make. It’s like they want us to feel shitty for killing them and knowing how it came to this war, just really fucks with my brain. Not a fan of that. Also not really a fan of the idea that the only way to destroy one of those things is by literally cooking it alive, then turning it into a giant nuke that makes ours look like toys. Thought we were over those kinds of things after the mycoid and the latest megalomaniac superweapon. But then, I guess we are shooting ourselves over frozen rocks.”

I gave it a moment before continuing.

“Maybe it’s also the people that are still left on them. And you know what? I do think we should maybe be trying to figure out what the Thargoids are really up to. Won’t lie that what they’re doing is kind of shitty, but I’m not really sure if this is really as much of an extermination war as it’s made out. Like, those funny spires, for whatever reason they avoided planting them in any system that we owned and instead where there’s no human stuff. But if we just make them leave, it’s back to not having a clue and waiting for the next headbashing contest. Also doubt that if the Titan core still works afterward, it would be too inclined to provide answers after we roasted and nuked it alive.”

I took a deep breath.

“If the other Titans leave, they’re also gonna take the people still left on them, with them. And I don’t know if that’s a better fate than getting vaporized… probably vaporized. I’m still not even sure if any of my friends are on Oya, dead or if they ran off into deep space or to Colonia. Sure haven’t heard anything, and no one that’s been recovered… you get the idea. I guess I could make a last few attempts to get whoever I can out when the Titan is about to go and the Thargoids are more busy running off instead of becoming a star with it, but there’s only so many that can be rescued in a day. And Aegis hasn’t exactly released any official figures for ‘how many’ are left.”

Last edit: 11 Mar 2024, 1:50am

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