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.
Meowers
19 Aug 2023, 2:03pm
"Hmmm... Depends," I replied. "Should we attack right after the jump? Or, are we still trying to follow their schedule? I have some suggestions here, and you heard one of them back then in the restaurant, though this particular one is doable only in case of the latter option."
Kasumi Goto
19 Aug 2023, 2:22pm
I looked directly at Meowers, seeing as she was the one who replied to me first.

“You’ll have to remind me what that suggestion was, because I sure don’t remember it. Might’ve been too busy talking about… uh, you know, that.”
Meowers
19 Aug 2023, 2:58pm
"Ah, that..." I looked at Kasumi, our eyes met for a moment, and I let a roguish half-smile appear on my face briefly.

"Khm. Okay. Back to the serious mode. So, if we're sticking to the 'schedule' that says we should move in, like, next day... We may order our support wing to spread out and patrol our target system and surroundings, going in shifts, from now on and until the planned arrival time. Seeing any new Azimuth vessel on their sensors, those pilots should send a signal to the rest of us. So that we shouldn't be too late, and, in ideal, we won't be late at all."
Venus Duval
19 Aug 2023, 3:27pm
I adjust my self to be looking away from the window and directly at Kasumi. The smile on my face fading away to a look of worry. The peace I had felt just moments prior washed away in an instant.

'Get Silvia and Melli and run. As fast and as far as we can.'

A hint of fear can be heard in my voice as I think about the possibility of them arriving. I shake the thought out of my mind and continue.

'Put us in a system around 25ly out. I have my autopilot selecting a random system at its max jump range and 25 should be outside that window. Would hate to have a group of raiders show up at the carrier by accident. RNG is a funky thing sometimes.'
Kasumi Goto
19 Aug 2023, 3:33pm
Meowers
“Khm. Okay. Back to the serious mode. So, if we're sticking to the 'schedule' that says we should move in, like, next day... We may order our support wing to spread out and patrol our target system and surroundings, going in shifts, from now on and until the planned arrival time. Seeing any new Azimuth vessel on their sensors, those pilots should send a signal to the rest of us. So that we shouldn't be too late, and, in ideal, we won't be late at all."

I gave Meowers an equal, naughty look back, then switched back to a more serious demeanor.

“Well… I’m not sure.”

I paused, gathering my thoughts, so that I was clear when I spoke. Otherwise, I had a tendency to mumble a lot in somewhat incoherent fashion.

“I think we shouldn’t wait - like I said, there’s a chance Azimuth decide to speed things along, and if the carrier is discovered, that will probably send Diaz running too. Which we don’t want. Even that aside, if we get Azimuth to show up, they’re going to get in on fighting, and I’ll have to remain outside to deal with their transport. And that’s probably going to attract the Thargoids.”

I sighed, well knowing how it would be connected to me, even if I didn’t have anything to do with them showing up.

“So, we should attack immediately. Go in, grab what we need, and bug the hell out of there before things to completely out of hand. I’m not planning to hang around outside fighting, unless I really have to.”

Hearing Venus’ response, I looked at her.

“Alright. I’ll put it out that far. But if those idiots think about touching my carrier, they’ll have a lot worse to worry about than an unarmed Cutter. And I guess we agree here on doing things quickly, but if I get the opportunity, I’ll pull some data off that carrier too.”

I didn’t want to say it, but I had a strong feeling, a premonition, perhaps, that things were going to go to the worst possible outcome. And the aura that permeated between the three of us made me think that it wasn’t just me.
Meowers
19 Aug 2023, 4:21pm
The more Kira told about our next course of action, the more distinctive was that vicious, predatory smirk on my face. Then, when she finished talking, I replied.

"That's what I was about to suggest as my second option. If we aren't sticking to the schedule... Let's go and hit 'em. Hit 'em fast and hit 'em hard."
Venus Duval
19 Aug 2023, 4:45pm
'Then let's get moving. I'd like to keep as much element of surprise as we can get.'

I begrudgingly activated my mag boots and with a soft click they make contact with the floor. I let out a sigh as my armor reacts and gives me the sensation of 1g by activating servos throughout the suit to give a sort of resistance to movement so make things more natural feeling. The look on my face turns to disappointment as my muscles and joints regain the feeling of "weight" on them.

I look to Kasumi and Meowers and nod. No turning back now we were heading into the storm. Unsure of what truly lie ahead yet determined to succeed.
Kasumi Goto
19 Aug 2023, 4:57pm
I simply nodded, used my wrist computer to locate a suitable system for the carrier jump, just over 25 light years away from Diaz’s location, and set it as the destination. Then, I put a determined look on, and looked at Meowers and Venus.

“Diaz’s reign of terror - ends - today.”

I left a deliberate, short pause between those words. I wasn’t certain if we could yet take him down, but if there was even a slight chance of having that time, I would take it. The pending jump alert going off added to the feeling that I hoped to portray through the sentence, as if to finalize our course of action.
Venus Duval
19 Aug 2023, 5:44pm
-About 30 minutes later-

Sitting in the cockpit of Slipstream on the surface of the carrier I watch as Aventus and the boarding party liftoff from the Normandy.

'Good luck Aventus. See you in the storm.'

'You as well Venus. Kasumi, Meowers I'll meet you both in the hangars lets get this bastard.'

The comms for Aventus' ship drop off as Lifeboat blips out of the system and into Pleiades sector bf-z b2. Aventus drops into the system and contacts the Queen Anne's Revenge for the location of the carrier using the access requests laid out in the file.

'Queen Anne's Revenge this is SV-44A, SVI-4004 we require your location.'

'You're early. What is the reasoning for this?'

The commando posing as the scientist takes over the comms and answers.

'Your lack of security measures concerned us. Reports of a raid of your outpost at Garnder Point reached us. We adjusted our schedule due to the risk of information leaks.'

There is a tense pause and the man swallow hard hoping the ruse will work.

'Very well. Proceed to the beacon we just sent you.'

Aventus transmits the location to the assault fleet and myself in so we don't have to hunt the ship down. They drop into the location as the carrier disappears into the total blackness of the planetary body, making visibility near zero. Aventus requests docking access and there is another tense pause as Engineering and flight control try to validate the ship registration. The flight control officer calls over the net breaking the silence.

'Why are you utilizing a different ship?'

'The same reason we are early, you dull human. Give us access or we will annihilate your carrier for insubordination.'

The threat was a bluff but the science officer hoped the flight control team would believe it.

'Very well proceed to the marked landing pad.'

The ship begins its approach towards the carrier slowly.

****

I grip the controls of Slipstream firmly, take a deep breath and depart from the Normandy.

'Right Kasumi, Meowers keep an eye out for the docking approval. Godspeed.'

I begin a premium injection for the FSD to give it the extra range it will need to make the jump. I throttle up and put all pips to engines and systems. The FSD engages and I jump into Pleiades sector bf-z b2.

Upon entering the system I do a quick scan and note that the system is empty and devoid of anything remotely life like. I target the carrier location provided by Aventus, which is located at the closest high metal content body to the single red dwarf star. I drop in about 20km from the carrier to give myself the best chance at remaining unseen. I shut off FA and hit the boost quickly popping a heat sync and disabling any unnecessary systems to keep the ship as cold as possible.

My nerves start to run high as I approach the carrier. I approach from what could be considered the bottom side of the carrier out of view from the bridge. The darkness of space is amplified by the shadow cast on the carrier and surrounding area by the celestial body. The graphite paint of my ship is all but invisible to the naked eye. I activate my ships night vision and target the comms array. I fire off a limpet drone which makes contact and begins to download a security override daemon.

As I make my way to the ships airlock I instinctively reach for the tether realizing what I had just done as I step off the ship. I quickly release the tether and push away from the cutter leaving it behind. Things had been going entirely way too smooth when the silence is broken by an emergency comms signal.

'SHIT! We've been made. All troops converge on the carrier now! Marcus get that fucking machine gun to the boarding ramp now! We need heavy suppressive fire!'

The comms cut off as the sounds of heavy machine gun fire erupts into what I can only assume is a group of Diaz's raiders.

"God damn it! I knew it was going too smoothly."

I activate my jetpack as I hear my ship spool up the thrusters and quickly boost off closing down a single exhaust vent to bring temps up to allow it to be detected by enemy ships. I hear over the open channel my pre-recorded message play.

'Marcus Diaz! Your day of reckoning has come. Catch me if you can you dirty rat bastard. I'll end your miserable existence myself.'

I enter the access port and rush to engineering. Rifle at the ready.

Last edit: 19 Aug 2023, 6:10pm
Kasumi Goto
19 Aug 2023, 8:56pm
"You'll need the luck more than we do."

That was my response to Venus as I watched the Cutter take off. I hadn't shown it directly, only through subconscious body language if anything, that I still didn't feel particularly comfortable around her - but that was not a matter to take into consideration where we were headed, nor did it have a place there.

I, and presumably everyone else around the fleet, had the location of Diaz's carrier by now. It wasn't long after the Cutter had left and transitioned into hyperspace that I received a signal, displaying a progress bar of a limpet breaking into the security systems of the carrier.

"Oh, you guys are about to have one real headache to deal with ..."

The remark, directed at myself, came out in a low tone. I took off, and joined the fleet, opening a comm channel to Meowers first.

"Hey, you coming, ... Ina? Muir? Whatever you want to be called."

I switched the channel to all ships present in the immediate area, the carrier behind us operating with minimal lighting and active transmissions to reduce chances of discovery.

"I think it's about time we get stuck in. Silvia and Venus are waiting for us over there, so let's not disappoint them. Give those bastards a good show when you arrive."

My mind isolated itself from the positive responses coming from the channel, getting a course put in to Pleiades Sector BF-Z b2. Then, switch back to the channel between me and Meowers.

"Two jumps for me. I'll see you on the other side."

Open the main channel again.

"Nobody piss any Thargoids off on the way. Just let them pass if they pull you. Not that I'm hoping they will."

I paused, taking a deep breath.

"First wing, keep... er... Muir's Fer-de-Lance covered. Everyone else, you're with me. Keep the small bastards off me, and I'll blast anything else that's in the way out of the void. Now let's go. I'm done waiting."

I began to accelerate the large Federal warship forward, hitting the boost key to clear mass lock faster. As soon as I was out of it, I began to charge for the jump, expecting the others to follow, or not be far behind.

First jump went smoothly, dropping out clean next to the primary star of my waypoint system. During the second, just as I thought it was taking oddly long, the lighting shifted over to a greener color, with the words 'WARNING! HYPERSPACE CONDUIT UNSTABLE' appearing on the top right of the HUD, and I was met with the usual signs of a Thargoid hyperdiction.

I quickly stabilized the ship and slowed it down once it dropped out, intent on simply letting them perform their usual shutdown and scan routine, even though I could have resisted it and flown away with the field neutralizer I had on the ship.

"I'll be a little late. Thargoids think I'm interesting today.", I calmly announced over comms, hoping the transmission would get through to the others.

Much to my surprise, no shutdown field passed over my ship, even as I pointed its nose at the Interceptors that had pulled me out. Nothing special - only a Cyclops and a Basilisk, the former approaching first. Rather than performing a scan, it flashed in a unusual, darker blue color. Asking if I required assistance.

No. Not yet. If I need help, I'm going to call for it.

I knew this information would be transmitted through the link my implant had to them, flawlessly at a range this short. The Cyclops flashed in a green, acknowledging color, then turned away with its companion and proceeded to leave. As did I, the FSD safety cooldown having finished by now.

It didn't take long to reach the carrier after locking its location in the nav system. The recon limpet had broken into the carrier's security by now, and I got to work.

"Ts. For something that valuable to that idiot slaver, he sure didn't spare much for its security. Let's see ..." I clacked my tongue a few times as I saw the exposed internal systems. "You're making this too easy on me." One tap of a button. "Now your comms are mine ..."

More button taps, disabling the long-range transmitter first.

"No calling for help, assholes."

I then set the system to flood the pirate channels with garbage, either to slow down coordination, or render it near impossible.

"... and now you're going to have to worry about a lot of noise. Oh, and here's a little gift from me. Enjoy working through this."

One last prompt resulted in a nasty worm getting released onto the carrier, which would disable a variety of systems, including authorization scanner points, and cause a whole lot of mess on others at random. I specifically excluded communications, which was broadcasting a strong white noise signal to all of the pirate ships in the area, while exempting ours on a different channel, so that we could receive the docking prompts. And definitely stopped it from interfering with waste pumps.

With that done, I dropped out of supercruise ten kilometers out from the carrier, where fighting had already kicked off, and wasted no time in getting my weapons out. The two huge plasma accelerators of the Corvette glowed like two blue eyes of death, waiting to obliterate any target unfortunate enough to be their target.
Meowers
20 Aug 2023, 5:31pm
"It's just Ina for you," I replied on the comms, seeing Kasumi's Corvette starting the hyperjump routine.

Locking my nav system onto her destination system, I gave it a few seconds to calculate the optimal route, which was three jumps in total. And two, using one FSD injection boost. Not that I was short on them, I've had, like, fifteen more or so, but something in me kept 'em for the 'right moment'. But why this one wasn't the right moment? Applying a FSD boost, I ran another series of plotting and, finally, nav computer settled on two jumps total.

"Starting the jump sequence... Now," I announced over our secured channel and activated the hyperdrive. Soon, a swirling tunnel of matter and energy enveloped Marshmallow, that was now travelling between systems at a speed several hundreds, maybe even thousands faster than light.

The first system on my route wasn't anyhow interesting; I accelerated to travel around the star and get a clear sight of the final waypoint and activated the hyperjump sequence once more.

On the final approach, my comms received a long-range message from Kasumi, it was screwed up and full of interference usual for Thargoid frequencies. Normally, it wasn't a good sign, but not today, since, and I love the irony this life throws at me sometimes, out green arse friends shouldn't have been hostile. I ran a recovery algorithm on the transmission.

"I...be a li...e late. Thar...s think I'm inter...ng today," and her voice sounded calm.

Reaching the slavers' barge, I emerged from the cruise mode and activated the heatsink to break any target locks they might have on me, as well as for generally making my signal difficult to pick up, and locked my own targeting on the carrier. Turning 90 degrees, I boosted and diverted as much power to the engines as possible, drawing a ten kilometres wide circle around the carrier, waiting for Kasumi to join the party and unleash her cyber-warfare surprises.

The battle had already started at that moment, lines of laser beams and railguns pierced the void, followed by bright discharges of plasma launchers, though from that distance I really hadn't any clear picture of the situation. Except noticing that battle took place quite far away from the carrier, which meant that turret IFFs were still active and we couldn't get any closer.

A short bright flash was a sign of a ship dropping out of cruise mode nearby. One ship. Should've been Kasumi's Corvette... And it was.

"Looks like we're set now. Waiting for clearances."
Venus Duval
20 Aug 2023, 8:41pm
With the alarms blaring sneaking around the carrier was quite literally out of the question. As I approach an intersection of corridors, I hear some yelling from some of Diaz's raiders.

'God damnit get this door open!'

'We are locked out of all of our systems! Everything is offline for us!'

'Figure it out!'

I peak around the corner and see 2 men pounding on a door in front of the engineering room. I aim down the red dot sight on my rifle and open fire on the two goons. One of the men drops to the floor rather quickly and I notice they were just a crew member no shields or weapons. The second man turns as a few rounds are absorbed by his personal shield. He turns aims his rifle and fires at me. The supercharged plasma round overwhelms my shields quickly and manages to maintain enough plasma to strike my chest plate leaving a large scorch mark on the armor. I duck around the corner, pull out a grenade from my belt and toss it around the corner. The man screams out and rushes towards the intersection getting caught in the blast before he makes it.

I rush down the corridor to the engineering room, pushing through the smoke filled hallway tripping over the remains of the raider who had died from the blast. Once I make it to the door I pull out my energy link device and switch it to overload. I short out the control panel and the door opens a few inches then jams. "Damn it! This couldnt be going any worse" I thought to myself. I replace the energy link and grip the door and door frame. I strain for a few seconds trying my aboslute hardest to overpower the mechanical blockage. The door slams open as I manage to apply enough force to break the jammed door free. Several of the engineers in the room rush towards me in an attempt to prevent me from accessing the ships engine controls. I open fire on them not caring if they had families waiting for them to return home nor thinking that maybe they are slaves being forced to work on this carrier as that is likely something Diaz would do.

I rush into the engineering room and make my way to the primary control panel. I look around at the different buttons and panels, each one meticulously labeled, making it particularly easy to know that nothing on the main panel will disable the ships FSD. One button stands out being labeled "Do Not Touch. FSD Core Shutdown." I quickly pull up the carrier FSD Core codex on the control panel and take not that shutting down the FSD core will result in the Fusion reactor needing to be replaced before the system can be restarted. "This process removes the core from the containment zone causing rapid cooling, and irreparable damage to the primary core. Only shut down when absolutely certain you are replacing the primary core." I read the words out loud and press the button initiating the FSD Core Shutdown.

I close the screens and attempt to access the IFF and turret defenses quickly finding that both have access codes rrequired and unfortunately none of the Engineering team had the appropriate security profile for it. Not having any luck with the systems I call over to Kira and Meowers.

'Hey change of plans. I can't get into the turrets and docking computers. There is some form of encryption profile in place on both of them. Oh shit! Make it quick please, I've got some problems down here.'

The comms cut out as the sounds of gunfire errupts from a group of about 6 raiders enter the engineering room. I duck down behind the console as several rounds strike the console directly in front of me.

****

Aventus and his crew of commandos is holed up inside the anaconda holding off Grenshaw and his crew of boarding defense troops. Rounds from heavy machine guns placed at the top of the Lifeboats boarding ramp tear into the raiders attempting to board the ship to eliminate the group of ground troops boarding the Queen Anne's Revenge. Scorch marks from plasma rounds and grenades litter the boarding ramp and hangar floor.

Grenshaw sits directing his troops to attempt to flank around the anaconda and breach the airlocks to get into the ship to flank the commandos inside.

Last edit: 20 Aug 2023, 9:13pm
Kasumi Goto
20 Aug 2023, 10:29pm
"Give me a minute! Got trouble of my own to deal with here!"

That was the only response I could manage to Venus at this moment, busy dealing with a Krait, that itself was being pestered by one of the FDLs of our fleet. I'd been trying to maneuver into a good firing position, but I had it now as the enemy ship's movement stalled out, caught in a boosting turn.

"Eat this, fucker!"

I pulled the trigger on all my weapons, watching a large chunk of shield integrity disappear from the impact of two huge plasma accelerator rounds, while the burst laser and beams quickly continued to strip away at it. The telltale pulses of a shield cell bank began to appear, but it was to no avail. The next salvo of plasma fire pierced through before the bank had spun up, and some of the damage went on to the hull.

The pilot at the helm of the Krait attempted to boost forward, a move cut short by the scramble spectrum effect taking hold of the thrusters for a moment, while I continued to close in, holding the trigger on the lasers down, power plant targeted. The focused burst laser especially tore larger holes into it, and the two plasma accelerator rounds that followed severely damaged the fusion core.

"Critical breach detected in enemy vessel's reactor.", EDI reported, in her usual calm manner.

No time for me to slow down, so I simply diverted energy to shields and kept the momentum, passing through the ship as it exploded. Temperature spiked to dangerous levels for a moment, but that worked in my favor, as I momentarily slipped into weapon range for the carrier - but the haphazard fire from its turrets indicated a struggle to differentiate my heat signature from the quickly dissipating ball of plasma that was once a Krait. Their angry glow followed my ship as I moved away again, but without firing, unable to hit well at this distance.

"Who's next?!", I shouted over comms, carried by the excitement of battle.

A trio of pirates, witnessing their companion's demise, had actually been trying to pester me, only managing to chip away at my Corvette's reinforced prismatic shield. Two shield cells were also ready as in-battle replenishment, if required. I swung around to engage, only to realize I had more important matters to worry about.

"Someone get those idiots off my back! I don't hack well under fire!"

A trio of FDLs from our side, plus the one that had been dealing with the Krait, quickly gave my attackers something to worry about, and I let the ship drift to about twenty kilometers of distance as I reactivated the link to the recon limpet. I gazed over the chaos caused by my worm onboard for a moment, feeling quite satisfied, then began to work.

"Advanced encryption, huh? Might actually be a bit of a challenge...", I remarked to myself in a low voice. "Or it would be, if it wasn't me."

I switched over to the private channel between me and Meowers.

"I'll need another minute or two to get those turrets out of the way. You'll know when you can dock when I send the signal." I paused for a moment. "And by signal, I mean the turrets will begin to light up any of those pirate ships that are still within their range."

I could easily find the required ID on the system, or at least one with the necessary clearance to access turret controls and docking clearances. And, as luck would have it, the mayhem caused by my worm had left a security node exposed, allowing me to sneak into personnel databases. One of the bridge officers had the required access level and codes, which I quickly copied over, and plugged in.

Authentication took longer than I wanted, but the system accepted the codes, and I worked on docking systems first, removing all pirate and Azimuth identifiers from their list of accepted ships, then added those of ours. I repeated the same for the turrets, and, with a certain grin on my face, hit the big red button that would let them loose. It became more pronounced as confusion spread over the pirate's comms.

"What the hell? Why are our turrets firing at us?"

"One of those bastards must've turned them on us! Get out of - "

The second transmission ended in static, probably the ship that was busy getting turned into shreds in the distance at this very moment - I could see the fireball from even this far.

"There we go. Docking and turrets are now under our control.", I announced to the - our - fleet, and began to close distance again, switching back to the dedicated channel to Meowers.

"Shall we go in? And you'll have to tell me why your pilot's ID is 'Meowers' one day."

'If we survive this', I added in my thoughts, then saw a few additional contacts drop in, five in total. Roughly six kilometers from my position, heading straight into the carrier's kill zone. They weren't pirates, and one of them was an Anaconda bearing a singular identifier.

"Damn... that wasn't part of the plan.", I said, forgetting that I was still on comms, and selected the open channel between our ships.

"Second wing, change of plan! Drop whatever you're doing and slow those new arrivals down! Looks like Azimuth got curious about things!"

"Understood. Priority targets?"

"Keep those escorts busy. I'll handle that transport - it's not going to get a chance to get anywhere near the carrier."

I flicked the comms switch to off temporarily, as I allowed a second remote connection to the carrier.

"EDI, get in there and take over those turrets. Support our ships where you can, but that transport is the priority target. As soon as it gets into range, light it up."

The blue sphere representing the AI popped up on a holo-projector, as it replied. "Of course, Kira."

It remained active as I closed in on the transport, already opening fire from afar, all my weapons modified to work at longer ranges to some degree. That Anaconda was only heading toward its doom, whether its crew knew it or not. And I would be their executioner. They wouldn't be able to dock, unless they forced their way inside, but there were no chances they would get to do even that.

The escort of the transport evidently saw what I was attempting to do, and started to focus on me instead. But I didn't care. At the very least, my shield would hold until there was nothing left of that Anaconda. And if it didn't, I would gladly give myself to see it reduced to rubble, and give Diaz no chance of handing Silvia over.

A whole slew of additional contacts suddenly dropped in, momentarily pulling me out of my focus, and making me doubt our chances, where I'd been convinced of them prior. Those odds were untenable without the carrier's support.

"Damn it! Everyone, get into the carrier's kill zone! Use that damn thing as cover if you need to!"

Hopefully, Meowers had already gotten well clear of that mess and either docked with the carrier, or be near it. 'Something' suddenly became agitated in the back of my head, and moments later, a number of frameshift anomaly warnings popped up.

"Oh, for... whoever is still listening, get close to me! And whatever you do, do NOT shoot at those things! They're friendly!", I said over our fleet's comm channel, and moved my ship to a central position above the carrier, overtaking the transport, which I'd barely gotten a chance to lay into.

There, I hovered my right pointer finger above the trigger for the shutdown field neutralizer, knowing what was about to come.

"Things are getting real busy out here, Venus. Hope you've got that carrier stuck in place for us."

More or less as I finished that sentence, there was a noticeable flash of light roughly around the FSD chamber of the carrier, as electricity sparked across its hull. Then, the Thargoids arrived, and time seemed to slow down as they left their Witch Space portals. I saw two Hydras, a Medusa, a number of what I presumed to be Basilisks, and a good few smaller support craft. Thankfully, no Scythes.

I diverted all available power to systems and fired off the neutralizer a few seconds after the energy surge warning appeared, hoping to get as many of our ships, or all of them, within its radius. I couldn't tell if it protected the carrier as well, or if it had its own form of protection, much like the anti-xeno capital ships.

It didn't matter to me. Azimuth thought they had an advantage to press, but they didn't account for any Thargoids to join the fray. And I knew they were on our side, even if I hadn't consciously called for them. As such, the carrier was exempt from their targeting, but there were still a lot of the Black Flight ships, and I had to expect them to have some kind of rapid response force to Thargoid threats in place, too.

Hopefully, the two sides would keep each other busy for long enough that we could take Silvia and remove Diaz from the picture for good. For now, however, only the transport mattered, and we definitely had superior firepower now. I let go of the field neutralizer's trigger when the energy wave passed over us, and diverted all power to weapons, as the Anaconda's lights flickered and it began to drift. Targeting set to the reactor bay.

"Now! Everyone, hit that damn ship and leave nothing behind!"

My focus heightened to the point of blocking out whether anyone else was hitting the transport, beyond me noticing a Hydra focused on pounding it as well. Its shield quickly dropped, but the assault didn't relent. I tore into the armored hull without mercy, watching lasers carve into it, followed by plasma rounds, moving ever closer, until my ship made contact at full boost speed.

A ball of fire enveloped my Corvette as the weakened hull of the Anaconda gave up and split into two, internal components and bulkheads getting torn apart as over two-thousands tons of steel forced their way through at supersonic speeds. Heat warnings lit up on my HUD, but the moment felt almost... serene. Like much-needed relief and vengeance toward Azimuth. But I was not done yet.

"I'm heading in now. That bastard won't know what's coming for him."

The announcement was mostly for Meowers and Venus, but the remaining ships on the fleet had a good reason to be aware as well. Luckily, nobody was firing at me, and under EDI's control, the carrier turrets were very carefully targeting only Black Flight and raider ships. On top of that, the Thargoids appeared to honor the agreement made with them, sparing the carrier and our escort ships.

Once I landed, I sent the Corvette down into the hangar, picked up my weapons and other gear, and donned my helmet. The actual hard part was just about to begin.
Meowers
21 Aug 2023, 4:55am
A view of Kira's ship entering the battle and dipping its claws deep into one unlucky Krait made me regret having an Anti-Thargoid setup for a moment. For a short moment, since I've been able to provide a bit of support, utilising unconventional low-emissions hit-and-run tactics, not something I do usually, but something I know about. I dropped another heatsink and boosted towards the battle, picking up a target with its shields already low or stripped off. Happened to be an Anaconda: big target, hard to miss. Poor bastard already had one of our support Fer-de-Lances running circles over it, and, considering that I fly a ship of the same type, my sudden appearance could've been unnoticed.

Those big ships are... Predictable. Keeping my eyes on Anaconda's trajectory, I picked a spot where we could meet, and hit the boosters; allowing Marshmallow to reach her maximum speed, I activated a second heatsink and took aim at the aft section of the Anaconda. Hypervelocity shrapnel was designed to tear down Thargoid ships, with their strengths and weaknesses in mind, but you simply can't argue with elementary physics, and dozens of sharp pellets, accelerated to six kilometres per second, were ready to conduct a lesson.

Brief moment was enough for me: without activating the main thrusters, staying almost invisible and certainly untargetable, I let the inertia forces drag me closer and discharged the magazines of my four cannons, twenty shells in total. Poor bastard might've thought they'd collided with an asteroid, shrapnel hit the engines of the Anaconda, turning bulkheads into a mess of jagged and twisted metal, piercing through armour and shattering the modules, sending a wave of metal debris into space. Anaconda went out of control and began spinning helplessly, leaving a trail of smoke and burning fuel leaking out of mauled engines and fuel lines. Engaging another heatsink, I kept moving forward at my maximum speed, away from the crippled opponent which was an easy target now, and whoever attacked it first didn't waste the chance, finishing off the Anaconda with a well-placed railgun salvo.

"There we go. Docking and turrets are now under our control," Kira's voice sounded over the comms when I've been selecting a target for a next run. Ah, okay then. I was needed down there, onboard the carrier, personally, ASAP. Wasting no time, I turned towards the carrier and sent a docking request, closing in quickly. Hacked systems answered automatically, lighting up one medium-sized pad on the side that was closer to me: the override was in effect and whoever was in control of landing procedures, couldn't do anything with that.

The chaos of ongoing combat was a good cover for me and Marshmallow: dropping a pair of heatsinks along the way, I was able to make through unnoticed. Couldn't help but send more shrapnel at a Vulture daring enough to cross my way, unaware of my presence, though. Flashes and electric sparks covered the hull of a small ship, telling me that I was successful, however, I didn't have time to chase another target: reaching the landing pad, I immediately requested to take Marshmallow down to the hangar deck. Leaving the systems on standby for a quick take-off and retreat, I locked everything with my personal access code and get up from the pilot seat, planting my magboots on the floor with an audible metal clank.

"Ah, damn it," I noticed that my AXDF patches were still on their places on the armour suit: on both arms and chest. Thankfully, they were quick-removable, so I detached them and put into a storage box under the pilot seat: they don't need to know who I am. At least not without any detailed ID scans... Which should mean nothing once I find that Azimuth was cooperating with slavers, something AXDF command would like to know. Ah. They know it already. To say, another episode of mad scientists using shady criminal types for their dirty work.

Then, my personal loadout. I fixed the rifle sling on the clamp over the right shoulder so that I won't lose it in zero-G, put my Big Funny Bag with ammo on the back and placed my knife and pistol where they should've been, ankle attachment and holster respectively. My rifle already had a full magazine loaded, six more were in the bag, two on the belt on my lower back, below the backpack, and four attached to the outer sides of my thighs, on their belts, two per side. Thirteen mags in total. 1040 rounds. A recipe for a good party, if you ask me, and if you don't mind me being so heavy. Getting out of the ship, I added the local frequency to my suit comms, and it was already full of orders, reports, swearing and echoes of gunfire: seems like Aventus' team get in the thick and needed a bit more firepower to get out of their hangar. Slavers didn't want them roaming all over the carrier, obviously.

"Hold on there, I'm coming."

Last edit: 21 Aug 2023, 5:01am
Meowers
21 Aug 2023, 9:01am
"Approaching your position now, give me a sitrep," with my voice slightly laboured, I enquired Aventus, running down the corridor to their hangar.

His squad was still pinned down, unable to punch through Diaz's defences mounted around the bottleneck point: the ramp between the hangar itself and the hangar access corridor. Bandit troops took positions behind containers, machinery, bulkhead corners and rained down heavy fire, making any progress almost impossible. It seemed to me that whoever was in command of these cut-throats, thought that Aventus' commandos will be the only headache today. Phah. Unlucky bastard.

Instinctively crouching, trying to stay in the shadows of containers, scarcely placed in the corridor, bulkheads and any other temporary covers, I was able to reach the hangar where the battle took place. I noticed the slaver troops in the corridor... And they noticed me. Luckily, they weren't aware of my intentions and didn't know who I am: from such a distance, I was just an armed human figure to them. I activated the magnetic pads on my knees and elbows and dropped flat on the floor; magnetic bipod leg tips touched the metal shortly after and I took aim, holding rifle stock pressed tightly against my shoulder with left hand. When those poor idiots realised what was just about to begin, it was already too late.

I squeezed the trigger, sending a five seconds long burst down the corridor. Plasma rounds don't care what they hit, whatever they hit, gets destroyed, shattered, scorched. Several cargo containers turned from temporary cover into a shower of metal debris, with their contents broken and sent chaotically flying in zero gravity. Deep scorch marks decorated the walls and ceiling, some of my rounds went through the wall panels and hit the high-voltage lines, causing them to throw a violent outburst of sparks. Lights went down, toxic smoke began filling the air, and the fire suppression system kicked in, covering a wide area behind the ramp in foam. Flashing red emergency lights provided a proper background for the dark red clouds of human blood.

"Suppressing fire!.. Get your... folks moving!" I shouted over the comms to Aventus, in the pauses between following shorter bursts. A depiction of panic and chaos is always a pleasant sight if you see it through your own scope.

Depleting my first magazine, I replaced it quickly, throwing the empty metal keglet away, and continued firing, in short bursts, keeping bandits pinned with their heads down, crushing the covers even further. And hoping that Aventus heeded my call. Surprise effect wasn't going to last long, and I don't want them regrouping to hit me in the back or shower with grenades.

"Take the goddamn ramp... And pick me up!... I'm in the open here!"

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