Logs from the Sevantya / #008 - "The Trap"
21 Sep 2022Tosh Vraugen
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-------------- COMMAND BRIDGE TERMINAL - 18/09/3308 - 09:30 ---------------
Login: Tosh Vraugen
Password: ****************
Authorization Code: Bravo-5-Kilo-7
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CARRIER STATUS: Nominal
LOCATION: Lemastshi - Orbiting the main star
>/ INITIATE_LOG_RECORDING
Log Title: "The Trap"
P r o c e s s i n g . . .
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Access Granted / Log recording enabled . . .
It has already been a couple of days since my meeting with the mysterious Imperial Woman in Gamma Mensae and the creepy cryo-pods I had to get delivered to Gateway, I thought our business were done, but about a week ago she made contact again, and this time with the proposal of me joining her organisation and working as a "full time operator" for her and the Empire... I'm not gonna lie, at first her proposal seemed quite interesting... joining the Empire, gaining titles and ranks, she even promised I would have my own palace in New Carthage... back when I was a kid I always dreamed of visiting those Earth like worlds... breath fresh air, touch the grass with my feet, see the ocean and see all kinds of different animals... the same dream that those born at space stations always had... it seemed too good be true, my dream was just a few steps away from becoming a reality... I remember my parents discussing about saving money to move to one of those planets, to leave that damned Wohler Terminal for good, away from the toxic fumes of the refineries, the poverty and the violence... I had to do this... for them... of course I would have to leave the Alliance and ARRC behind, abandon my crew and the Sevantya... start a new life... I spent hours thinking about this... but you know what? This is NOT me, I was borned and raised in a dirty space station, I was a "dock boy", I was taken into the pirate life, I learned to pilot and to kill, I learned what true comradery is and I learned who are the real enemies in this rotten galaxy we live in... I was not made to live in fancy palaces, to plot and conspire with nobles and senators, I was made to be in space... in my ship... with my crew, taking the odd job every now and then, risking my life in each one of them... the thrill of it... it is what moves me... it is what keeps me alive... but this bloody imperial woman wouldn't let it go... she had the means and the resources to track me and my crew... I had to get rid of her... for good.
Our next meeting would be soon, the meeting where I would be officially introduced to the Empire, once again I was supposed to head to Amnuel's Progress in Gamma Mensae, and from there an Imperial Cutter, the INV - Hyperion, would take us to Carthage... I had to come up with a plan, and fast. I gathered my lieutenants and we started to discuss how we could blow this whole operation and perhaps capture this imperial woman in the process, we spent a couple of hours brainstorming but all the ideas just seemed too risky, it was then that we realized there could be no other way, it was an all-in or die trying. Dante Rollins suggested I took a small team from our best soldiers with me to Amnuel's Progress, an elite squad, 6 men at the maximun, they would infiltrate the INV - Hyperion while I met with the woman in her suite, and then once we got to Carthage they would try to take the ship... another day, another suicide mission, we had no idea how many people there would be inside that Cutter but we were sure that her guards and that captain would be inside, so at least 10 imperial soldiers to deal with, the odds were not in our favour, but our plan would have to do.
Once again we would use my Cobra Mk3, the Marauder, to head to Gamma Mensae, after all showing up on a different ship could raise some suspicion... Sargeant Willis, one of our best soldiers, would be leading the team to infiltrate the INV - Hyperion, we have studied the Imperial Cutter ship schematics for hours, the thing is massive, but we managed to come with a decent enough plan... the plan was for them to enter through the Cargo Hold and stay there until I gave the signal, they would then proceed to my position, probably on the "Conference Room", stealthly eliminating any imperial hostile on the way, we would capture the imperial woman and take the Cutter for ourselves and travel back to the Sevantya... simple right? Easier said than done...
Tosh: Are you ready Sarge?
Sgt. Willis: Yes sir, the men are already inside the Marauder, we are ready to depart.
Tosh: Good, remember the plan, wait for my signal, then you guys move in.
Sgt. Willis: Don't worry sir, me and the boys won't let you down, the imps won't even see it coming.
Tosh: Off we go then... good luck Sarge.
Sgt. Willis: You too sir, oh and one question... what if we encounter civilians?
Tosh: Shoot to kill... we can't have any loose ends.
The Marauder and our kill squad were ready, we departed to Gamma Mensae, it didn't take long to get there and the plan was going smoothly, our boys managed to get into the cargo hold of the INV - Hyperion while I was meeting the Imperial Woman and in less than an hour we were in Carthage, she ordered the pilot to take us into the low-orbit of New Carthage, the capital planet of the system, and I must say, the planet was beautiful, even from this altitude you could see the mountains, the green fields and the wide blue ocean, the place of my dreams... my parents dreams... the imperial woman, alongside the captain I met at Amnuel's the first time I've been there, took us to this "Conference Room" inside the Hyperion, there were some fancy food and drinks awaiting us, and a beautiful view of the planet... Before we started our negotiation, I went to the bathroom and gave the signal to Sgt. Willis, the operation was about to begin.
Tosh: Well, now that we are all cozied up, how about you tell me your name? No point in keeping it a secret anymore.
Imperial Woman: You are right... my name is Seraph Stahl, one of the Senators that represents Carthage in the Imperial Senate and also the owner of Cryo-Zak Corporation.
Tosh: Cryo-Zak?
Seraph Stahl: Well, people know our corporation by a different name, but that is not important right now Tosh, what is important is that we discuss your future, take a look at New Carthage, your future home.
Tosh: It is beautiful...
Seraph Stahl: Isn't it? You will love it here, right now my personel is working on your new accommodation, this planet will serve as your main base of operations and as soon as we are finished with the formalities we will have your ships and equipments transfered.
Tosh: A new life awaits...
Seraph Stahl: Indeed, no more hanging with pirates, lowlifes and the rest of the Alliance vagabonds, you will be an Imperial Operator, who knows, maybe the Emperor herself may request your services, and let me tell y...
Imperial Captain: My lady, we may have a problem, I'm unable to contact my man in the lower decks.
Seraph Stahl: Wait what do you mea...
Before the senator could finish her sentence she was interrupted by the explosion of a breach charge, Sgt. Willis and his men managed to clear the ship and reach us, the Imperial Captain tried to reach for his gun but a single shot to the head of an AR-50 made sure he didn't. The fancy white dress with purple and gold details that Seraph Stahl was wearing was now covered in blood and pieces of cephalic mass, you could see in her eyes... that ruthless woman was perhaps for the first time in her life feeling fear.
Sgt. Willis: Sir, are you alright?
Tosh: Bloody hell Sarge... damn good work... (cough)
Seraph Stahl: Wha-What have you done!?
Tosh: (cough) Did you seriously think I would join the Empire?
Seraph Stahl: Y-y-you are a dead man Tosh Vraugen! You hear me?! You stupid fuck! You could have left that miserable mercenary life of yours!
Tosh: And be a puppet of the Empire? You guys represent everything I've been fighting against over all these years.
Seraph Stahl: Damn, I should have seen how dumb you are... so what now? Gonna put me down too?
Tosh: I wish... but there are people that could have better uses for you.
Sgt. Willis: Sir?
Tosh: Zap her.
Seraph Stahl: You motherfu... (bzzzzt)
Tosh: Now lets take this ship and get back to the Sevantya... well done Sarge, are your boys alright?
Sgt. Willis: No casualties sir, the mission was a success.
Tosh: Good... (sigh)... lets get out of here...
That was it, the mission was a success, we took control of the INV - Hyperion, Seraph Stahl was unconscious but alive, and we suffered no casualties... I couldn't ask for a better outcome... in just a couple of minutes we landed at the Sevantya, the crew received us cheering, Dante's plan worked, and now we had a brand new imperial vessel in our fleet, I told Esteban to completely reset the ship software and remove any trackers or other tech that could give our position away, we were finally free from the claws of Seraph Stahl and the Empire... We locked Seraph Stahl in a prison pod, there would be no way for her to escape or contact the Empire, kinda ironic really... she put those people in cryo-pods and send them to god knows where, and now she is the one locked inside a prison pod about to being sent to god knows where... heh... karma is a bitch I guess...
After some rest, I reunited again with my lieutenants, we now had to decide what to do with Seraph Stahl, most of us just wanted to jettison her into space, but we ended up deciding in turning her to the Alliance, considering she was sending cryo-pods to laboratories into Alliance territory, it was only fair that they had her for investigation, maybe they will be able find out who is supporting this operation and what they are doing with these people in the cryo-pods and what is this Cryo-Zak Corporation, I loaded her prison pod into the Marauder and we dropped her in a military facility in Alioth, hopefully the Alioth Council will be able to figure out what is going on. As for me, well, I feel ashamed for even thinking on betraying the Alliance and my comrades, one should never betray those that welcomed you with open arms, I've said it before and I will say it again, joining ARRC and the Alliance were the best things that could have happened to this old mercenary and his crew, we finally have a purpose and something to fight for... I would rather die a free man than being a puppet to the Empire or the Federation... Glory to the Alliance! Glory to Freedom! Tosh Vraugen, signing out.
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