Post by EmperorMyric on Feb 5, 2024 11:50:13 GMT
Freeport 11: Killian Verge
Ancerious was, unfortunately, no stranger to genocide.
Freeport 11 had been one of many freeport projects set up by the Black Sail Organisation, in a bid to create a vast black-market network all over the galaxy. The project had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, to the point where most Freeports had expanded far beyond their control of influence. It saw many come and go across its massive artificial docks and business districts, from pirates to law enforcement. But every so often, a group came to it out of the ordinary.
The refugees from the Eos Consortium were one such group.
Outcasts from their own people they had fled the huge massacres which occurred when the new Grand Exemplar Insinia had come to the galaxy, eradicating all those who had failed the faith beforehand. Those who could escaped, many were hunted down, and all were being pursued. This group was no different. Taking shelter in one of the halls of the Wandering Path, the refugees numbered in the several hundred. Exhausted, hunted and with little options available to them, they pooled their resources.
They had to get off this Freeport, contact the Blinded Way, the rebel Eosians who had escaped the Consortium proper, and be finally free from persecution.
The Wandering Path, a collection of oddballs and travellers who wander the galaxy, had agreed to shelter and mediate between the Eosians and a broker. They would pay for whoever the broker could hire, a group to negotiate and secure a way out, to throw the Eosian pursuers off the scent and finally give these refugees a future.
The question is what kind of future.
----
The rendezvous point was two streets away from the Guiding Hall, a Rhizome café named Glass Strand where several business representatives were using to connect to the Rhizomes and undertake various deals. It was busy, the streets packed and noise bustling. Freeport 11 was ever a living, breathing place and those within it lived a fast-paced lifestyle. The broker in question had directed the hired team to this place, to work together and follow up a potential lead in negotiating a way off the station.
They were to receive the data packet on arrival to Glass Strand and confirmation of meet up.
They knew they were trying to help refugees, Eosians to be precise, but the exact details otherwise had been omitted. The broker had told them to watch their back.
The galaxy was, unfortunately, no stranger to chaos.
Lillian would be walking down the street at a normal pace, her steps fluid and smooth as silk. Her face would be covered by the hood of her cloak, it a cobalt color that resembled the deep blue of deep water oceans, as to not attract much attention. Her tails did certainly have other ideas, however, being outside the cloak, them a deep black with a white tip Considering she was a leader, she didn't want to stand out amongst a big crowd.
It was curious for her to show up to something like this, especially with one of her humanoid bodies, actually, the humanoid body she got as a gift from, for her, recently deceased creators. It was also more curious for her, having so many resources at her disposal, to decide to do this accompanied by other people. She had not made much contact with other beings after she made first contact with the galaxy at large, her being what was referred to as a "colonial", which she would learn after being introduced into the ANCnet would be the term for species and nations not of this galaxy.
It was strange, how she got this call. She assumes that these brokers thought her nation was populated, especially with the amount of activity. If not, well..... quite bold to send it to her, but, due to her empathy with these refugees, she decided to take the job anyways, she would get to meet new people, experience something entirely new and most importantly, help these unfortunate people.
She had learned through the ANCnet a lot of things about the Eos Consortium, for one, they were religious fanatics, with them worshipping the being called "Eos", and hating beings like her. She wasn't surprised, however. Fully sentient and powerful AIs like her had the tendency to fall either into extreme measures to do their purpose, or just turn against their creators, and for the Eosians, it appeared to be the latter. Not like they could hate her as much as she hates herself after that destruction she saw.
She would see the rendezvous point, a cafe two streets away from the Guiding hall. This place was curious for her, basically a city, however with some other undertones. She wasn't here to question about that however, just complete this mission.
A popup appeared on her wrist screen, showing the fact a factory accident had happened on the planet PSN 4. She already knew, but she needed to look as normal as possible amongst the crowd.
She would stand in front of the cafe for a second, before going inside. She would scout an empty table with no one around, and sit at it, waiting for the data packet, and to see what was going to happen in these next few hours, probably days.
Vin-Ha, otherwise known as "Vinny," quietly but purposefully made his way down the street. He had been told that the meeting place would be at a nearby café and the skimming of the details caused him no small annoyance. Vinny was quite a sight for an intelligence officer considering it's probably not often one of his kind would be see out and about. He pulled over the hood of his purple cloak at the thought. Altans, being arachnids, are uncommonly tall due to the length of their legs but this has conferred some level of intimidation and the scattered sentients out and about stayed clear choosing to mind their own business.
Vinny had been briefed about the Eosians, religious zealots were uncommon but certainly not unheard of in Altan society. Altan interest in the Eosians refugees was, on the surface, a mission of mercy. This is not quite true. The truth is that the Court, and therefore the Bureau by extension, is interested in Eosian psionics. A species capable of summoning their own "god" must be strong and acquiring knowledge that can increase Altan understanding of psionics would be to the benefit of the Potentate.
Vinny reached the café and entered. He looked around and sought for a clue, anything to guide him to where he needed to be.
Dhars Barei walked confidently to the appointed destination. A glance could tell this human was an abnormal member of his species, his tanned skin and dark red hair contrasted with the silvery seams strewn across his body, as did his clearly artificial eyes with their black sclera and faintly glowing white irises. He wore an outfit which resembled a nondescript if voluminous business suit mixed with a robe, and his head was covered with a round turban. Around his neck was a series of what seemed to be prayer bead necklaces, thin black strings connecting what must be several hundred metallic balls in rings that jingled and clinked as he walked onwards. And if one were to split his head open, of course, they’d find a spherical mass of shimmering material, pulsing and twitching as tendrils burrowed into the tissues of his brain matter.
The White Core, Major-Grade cultivator’s mind was occupied primarily with curiosity. Frankly, he didn’t even know what an Eosian was, though a quick search around the Ancnet was giving him a general idea. What a pity! He thought. These mortals and their barbaric ways. But, it couldn’t be helped. Without cultivation, they could only solve their problems by sending their heaving masses against each other, and this was the result. All the carnage of war with none of the elegance and opportunity for growth!
Well, growth in the sense that Dhars cared about. His superiors had grander ambitions, and what better way to get a foot in the galactic game than helping the oppressed who have no choice but to get in bed with interests they otherwise wouldn’t? Even if it is a small thing on the galactic scale, doing a favor like this could be a foot in the door for his masters to take advantage of later, so why not do it? After all, just as they hoped to put these Eosians, and perhaps by extension the Blinded Way, in their debt, he could certainly take advantage of the chance to have his superiors owe him a favor.
Taking a seat at the cafe, he ordered something mild and took a moment to enjoy the atmosphere, though if anyone were to spend time observing him it’d be clear he was casually scoping out anyone inside the cafe, along with whoever else will show up. Given he’ll be working with a bunch of strangers, trust is out of the question, for now. Time to get a feel for what everyone here is about, if he can.
Arkan sighed softly as he leaned against the wall of an alleyway near the area of the destination. It was a bit unnerving to receive a request from the local brokers here on Freeport 11. He wasn’t supposed to be here...or at least no one was supposed to know. As wanders walked by, not noticing the hooded Bloodcrown, he scanned the entrance of the cafe as proposed in the message. He saw more than several people enter the structure, no one really looking like they're innocent but at the same time no one looking like they're enforcers after foreign visitors. Perhaps it was the small paranoia of being compromised that made him hesitate for a brief moment.
His mind went back to the message about the Eosians who were looking for freedom from that hell system of theirs. He only heard about Eosians through the caution advisories in previous briefings and what to expect since he was operating so close to their region. It was more than enough to avoid messing or interacting with any of those madmen. However, he didn’t let the thought of the group that wishes to escape their merciless rtheroic rest in the back of his mind. Luckily his original mission window was still open. He could still gather data and maybe hear if they know anything about the Torvon’s new bankroll as well as helping these poor folks. It was risky with the 2111th not being anywhere near response distance, but since there appeared to be a group working together to get help for these runners, perhaps there’d be a sunrise ending for all involved.
Mind made up, Arkan stepped out into the street, strolling casually to the cafe. Only thing out of the ordinary was the 8 and half foot tall Trizorian stepping through the doors. He kept his hood up, which was attached to an overcoat-like drape that covered a good bit of his figure. His appearance and calm movement concealed enough to not give away any possible threatening vibes despite his towering figure and covered head that showed maybe a hint of his draping feathers underneath. Glancing around through his perperal vision, he took a seat the closest open booth he could find and sat patiently. After a moment he did seem to visually relax, his shoulders sinking slightly. It might’ve been the padding on the seat, but it appeared to be the first time he was able to sit down comfortably, even with the utilities he had concealed on his person. His guard tho, remained up as he glanced around the occupied Rhizomes that seem to fill the area with a much different vibe than what he expected.
One Week Ago, Deep Space
Vega Kaul was a mercenary, a gun for hire, an operative, a soldier, whatever the job required of her. Her race was an evolved human for very cold environments. Her skin having a layer of fur, and two large manipulatable ears being the only two real adaptations. She had made a minor name for herself in past jobs, and thus had caught the attention of the U.F.F.N. This job they were not qualified for, and they did not want to get directly into a major diplomatic incident only weeks after arriving in Ancerious. So they found someone to do it for them, quietly. Not the usual approach. The job offer came in, with a down payment the contract, and the details to be determined. Destination Freeport 11. Lega had accepted it.
An Hour Ago, Nearing Freeport 11
Vega was asleep in her own cabin onboard her very own vessel. The Sunrise Maiden, an extensively upgraded light freighter that was her own little slice of the galaxy. She awoke the sound of a rapid high pitched pinging. The woman's sensitive ears making it all that much more unbearable. She groaned, and sat up. A male voice coming over her cabins intercom. "Vega you have a transmission coming in." She rubbed her eyes and spoke harshly. Standing not bothering to get dressed as she went right to the communications suite among other things. "Turn that alarm off please."
The alarm did turn off to her relief. She moved right into the large room. It's floor, walls, and ceiling all made out of many smooth grey hexagons. All of which were cut off by a circle in the middle of the room with smooth dead space and then a blue circle full of many more smaller hexagons.
She walked right into the center of the room and the illumination provided from the hexagons dimmed out. Some form of blue scanner went up her body, and it was projected out, as the same time a mans body was projected in. Video communication with her employers.
A man in a form fitting white uniform, with some sort of naval cap. An emblem of one planet surrounded by 6 on the hat, and the shoulders of his uniform. Six stars on his chest, amongst many badges on the other side of his chest. His arms were folded behind his back. His voice was gruff, and commanding to say the least.
"Vega Kaul our contract is simple. The evacuation of Eosian refugees who have called for aid. Our own operators are not experienced in this field, and we do not wish to cause any political disasters on our colonization efforts. You should see your down payment to fund mission expenses coming in now. I am forwarding you a dossier on everything we could research on this Eos, and their 'god'. I admit I don't understand much of it, but it is the intel."
Vega nodded and spoke after her employers monologue. "Is that all?"
The man pursed his lip and added on. "One more thing... Keep violence as a last resort, and keep my involvement out of it for now. You do this well Vega and I will sponsor you as a permanent addition to our payroll."
Vega nodded slowly. "It will be done, I assure you of that."
The man nodded, but said simply. "We will see." His transmission cut out. The woman rolled her eyes as the room re-illuminated itself.
She started walking back towards her quarters. "Lucky handle the docking procedures, and get your chassis into the Basilisk."
She got right into her room and got into her gear. A black skintight under suit, followed by boots, and a much more baggy and thicker jumpsuit. Over that a reactive armor breastplate, and a gun belt for her extra batteries, and storage. Lastly a small breathing mask lowered by her neck and on top of the breastplate, and her very favorite red hood. She slung the rifle around her back, and started moving. Just as the sleek white and red spacecraft landed in it's hanger. She paid any necessary fees, then got to work.
Present, Nearing Glass Strand
The basilisk a rust orange, and silver accented armored hover truck. Six gravity engines, that could double as conventual wheels, a small bed in the back, and room for four on the interior. Six if you were really trying. The vehicle was not originally made for comfort but the effort of installing cushions along the hard metal seats had been made. A police like computer in the center angled towards the drivers seat, and a display showing the exterior in place of where windows usually would be.
The back bench seat having it's floor filled with a few boxes. MREs, some spare ammo, and a box with a simple tachyon pistol in it if she ever needed it. Many MFDs lined the dash, along with a small spherical robot. A tiny blue sensory lens, and four narrow spider like legs. It spoke as they drove nearing the café. "What do you think this job will be like, Vega?" The woman chuckled as the vehicle pulled in close to the Glass Strand. "I don't know Lucky. All's I care about is getting these poor fellas to a safe harbor, and getting my money for doing it. Now come on." She said killing the engine, and holding out a finger. The small AI climbing up on her, and moving into one of her pouches. Retracting it's limbs to be no more than a small white ball. The side of the vehicle gave a loud hiss and extended out fully to let the woman hop out. She moved right in having the rifle still slinged around her back. Today was a new day of adventure, intrigue, and hopefully some good money for the effort!
Freeport 11 was, by no means, an unknown to the Selenicans, especially for the undesirables of society who were screwed over by bureaucracy, the crushing weight of the central government to any kind of personalized employment, and any other thousands of personalized reasons. As such, there were more than a few Selenican operatives and civilians roaming around. One such agent was Le'kra. As the runt of her family, she only measured 8 foot long, eyes a piercing blue with her scales being extremely pale. She had been stationed here for a few weeks, and noticed the massive influx of similarly dressed people coming in and congregating.
However, unbeknownst to her employer and overseer, Le'kra had decided to take up a "personal assignment." Of course, no one back home knew what she planned or was getting herself into, but...she preferred it that way.
Le'kra's body structure, being so long and comparatively massive to a large portion of the humanoid lowlives and other scoundrels she met up with to get information from on a regular basis on the defectors from her home, made her an interest at worst to most. Given the presence of other Najarin, however, she blended in well enough.
"Let's see..." she whispered to herself, checking the rendezvous point again and again. "Two streets away from...huh, I've been there before."
She made her way to said rendezvous, until the creeping of doubt set in.
Those three letters burned in her thoughts. Eos, Eos, Eos. That name, those people. Religious fanatics, the lot of them. However...something was different about this lot. They were refugees, after all, seeking safety and a future away from that ridiculous religiosity. What level of belief they possessed, was to be seen.
"Nothing to be gained by sitting here." she said to herself, making her way across the busy street to the rendezvous. Who knows what sorts of misfits she would find as comrades in this endeavor.
The gig was, ostensibly, simple enough.
As he walked through the freeport, Ti'zal M'ghao and his AI assistant simultaneously did and didn't stand out from the myriad crowd. Sure, on the one hand, it wasn't exactly normal to see a Zetyan in full kit with an assault rifle walking around, let alone one that looked modified and bulked up to a rather concerning degree, and if you were to compare him to the security that patrolled the station he would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Hell, before security got his name on a whitelist thanks to his job broker, he'd already been stop-searched several times.
But on the other hand, this was a freeport, where everyone from earthly scholars to End of the Line could be seen milling about, and there were no doubt more striking sights than the drab bulkiness of his modified harness, like that strip a few lots back, or the troupe of multicolored fellows who he saw pareening around the halls earlier. Not to mention the plethora of people, lowlifes and otherwise he'd open-carrying he'd seen on the way anyhow.
Normally, he'd have gone with his lighter suit. The one he had one was nice, sure, and seeing as it cost a pretty penny to get after his contract with the Polesi folk one would be inclined to get their money's worth, but it stood out like nothing else, restricted his movement, and he'd be the ire of anyone with a gun and some suspicion. But the broker had told him this would be a big one, and seeing how he had a history with contracts going full ride he figured he would find that paycheck wanting however he could.
"Your destination is in 50 feet. The cafe with the shards above the entrance." chirped his assistant with a chipper tone, to which he responded with a silent nod. He had upgraded him from the last job's invoice, upped the chassis' leg power and made it a little bigger. Could carry heavier loads, though not by much. Good for holding pencils, or medical kits, or even a full set of power tools-though that tended to make the AI a very low rider.
He hadn't heard much about Eosians before, save for the stereotypes and what got shown on the news. First time he'd be guarding their kind, first time he'd be doing a contract that wasn't planetside, first time he would be doing a smuggling op...
There were a lot of firsts for this gig, come to think of it. Always was good to have a recordbreaker in your portfolio now and then.
As he trawled the streets, his front eyes started peeling for the cafe in question, as the rear eyes multitasked between checking the local map, and reading the local news-something about Mai, and how to invest in stocks...
As the various individuals gathered in the premises it indeed became very obvious who had been hired for this job. Freeport 11 might have had all kinds of people mixing, but such a disparate and well-equipped band of people even here looked out of place.
The café staff happily served those who had ordered refreshments, the neon shards on the entrance displaying various news pieces. Mostly updates from Aedleshaven and the stock market prices of Ancerium, still they did a remarkably nice, spiced tea, supposedly the best this side of the Killian Verge.
With all assembled and eyeing each other suspiciously a unified ping to each came up, a simple message.
Meet me in the Rhizome
It was from their broker, and it was simple enough. Each of the tables included a small interface they could use, placing a small bead on the side of their heads and connecting with the vast virtual networks of the galaxy. A small display appeared in their field of view once it was worn showing the option to jack into the Rhizome.
Mild dislocated was often what was described when entering the galaxies virtual domain. And given the sheer undiluted size of the Killian Rhizome it was enough to drive any conventional linear being insane. Thankfully the Rhizomes had dedicated areas for linear beings to exist and interact with non-linear and more, without the reality and mind breaking aspects of the true virtual world. While the Rhizomes were touted as being some of the most incredible places to visit, the groups individual connections brought them to a virtualised office, dull grey with a single painting of a boat on a wall.
As each connected it merely confirmed that the others they had seen were also on the job. Seconds later a desk manifested along with a tired looking Furrelian.
“You all made it. Good. Alright here’s the deal, we have several hundred refugees that have paid good money to be smuggled off this Freeport silently. I need you all to go and secure a deal with a cargo representative and a ship captain who can get them to the docks and off station respectively. We have two good solid choices but things can get dicey in Freeport 11 real quick so don’t take anything face value”
“Ship Captain is a Nuclean named Tobias Thorn, ex military. He has done a great deal of refugee work and smuggling people in and out of places with his legal cargo ship. Cargo representative is a RANGSI man named Tian Zul, can be pretty aggressive though and likes to drive up prices. He isn’t a charity and you wont convince him with morality, I am sending you likely spots for both.” He flicked his hand.
“Any questions?”
The woman saw the text in the side of her vision. The glory of cybernetic eyes. She moved over to a table and took a seat. Sipping on some tea, then putting on the bead.
Closing her eyes as the world was whisked away. Flickering her eyes open. She leaned against the virtual wallet and stayed silent even if approached by her fellow mercs. At the furrelian talking she raised a brow. Her mind flipped through the various trains of thought. Bribing the dockmaster? They would no doubt have to do that first. She finally spoke. "Cargo Rep, he shakable? We able to bribe em'?"
Dhars was certainly receptive to the signal, allowing himself to slip into the virtual network as his main body remained in the cafe. An adept of the electronics field, he was not unaccustomed to these sorts of things, though he was quietly grateful for the barriers within the Rhizome that kept his mind experiencing lethal amounts of non-linear perception.
"Hmmmm... Judging by his description, he seems to be a fellow most amicable to financial incentive. Though, what constitutes normal payment and bribery in a place like this is likely a thing up for debate, is it not?" Dhars replied to Vega, resting a hand on his chin and posing his body in the Rhizome such that it was leaning against one of the walls. "My masters have allotted me a certain amount of resources which I could contribute to monetary compensation, I could contribute a sum to securing the loyalties of this Tian Zul."
Vinny shook his head. Entering this virtual space, which he had never done before, was equally exhilarating and concerning. He took a moment to catch his bearings.
Glancing around he could see the whole diverse range of peoples here, he hoped they would not become a complication to his goals.
Acknowledging the Furrelian contact with a slight nod, he listened to the updates to the current mission as well as the provided options to get the refugees off Freeport 11.
He listened to the other's questions and concerns before speaking and chose to start by voicing the obvious.
"It's pretty clear that the representative will attempt to extract as much value out of this as possible, intimidation would be cheaper but that has it's own risks. Beyond that, do the refugees have a specific destination in mind? My government could provide them most gracious accommodations with some...minor stipulations."
In the back of the café a Svarthan named Tildrul Aphravosk receives the message via their massive array of cybernetics, and one of their manipulator tendrils places the bead atop their "forehead" in a special divot made for such devices, establishing the connection as their main "eyes" swap from looking at the world around them to the bland office room. A small screen showing the real world floats at the corner of their vision, split into multiple images as their pack of drones continues to survey the area.
Tildrul is very clearly M.H.E.A, as their body is neigh invisible under the second metal shell covering their plated back. It is curved and segmented just like the carapace that presumably lies beneath it, and wisps of steam float out from the vents half way along its length. Its surface is marked with numerous lines and shapes, presumably ports for various bits of gear, or slots for the drones they have to reside in. Of particular note is the set of advanced and complex optics they have in lieu of eyes, along with the very big, and presumably very powerful rifle that dominates their back which indicates them as a sniper of some kind.
They listen to what their broker says then after a moment of thought raise up onto their back half, exposing the mechanical limbs under their shell and looking over the desk at the Furrelian
"If there is to be opposition, from who is it most likely to be, and in what form? Are we to watch out for overt acts, or more clandestine threats?"
Tildrul's voice is robotic sounding and curt given how it is being produced by an automatic translator placed where their vocal cords used to be, to make up for the Svarthans inability to speak most languages naturally.
Lillian took the bead, even though she didn't really need it, she needed to blend in, so she took it and got into the Rhizome. She was used to these types of environment, being a virtual being and all. She was surprised how they were able to do something like this, make the infinite sea of information understandable to linear beings. She had already seen this place before, it was grandiose, although she didn't see all of it.
The sudden change of scenery didn't seem to phase her at all, only seeming like something interesting to her. She would pay full attention to the furrelian, not wanting to miss a detail. Her hood was now no longer covering her head, her artificial looking eyes being exalted by the cobalt blue of her iris, a scar on her right cheek, and her fox-like ears slightly twitching. Her stance was serious, and yet calm and collected.
Once the furrelian finished, she would wait for everyone else to ask their questions, before she would speak.
"To add to the offer, my higher ups have let me have a lot of resources, so I can fully add to the amount need be, however I believe we should not go beyond a certain amount, if this Cargo Representative truly is like you are describing him, he would indeed try and suck us dry of everything we have, but intimidation on a man like that would probably not work unless we are prepared for things to come."
It was a...disorienting experience for the serpent. As she retrieved one of the several beads, she inspected their construction. It was definitely small, but who knows what this thing would be able to do. Le'kra then holds the bead up to the side of her head, and begins her first, and hopefully last, visit to the Rhizome. A sudden, piercing feeling in her temple, her vision going blurry, and a serious pit in the stomach later, Le'kra comes to in the drab room. Thankfully, nothing to overwhelm the heat-sensing abilities of the serpentine creature. In fact, there was no heat at all to see, leaving Le'kra half blind to the true nature of her surroundings. The grumpy-looking Furrelian reminded her much of her superiors she had to report to on a bi-weekly basis.
The voice spoken was dull and monotone even before its muffling due to her biology, but the deal was well understood. Freeport was, obviously, a small hive of scumbags, common thieves, any number of swindlers, so it didn't take but a couple experiences trusting the wrong people and having her wallet stolen an astounding number of times to get accustomed to this...place.
However, before they returned back to reality from this virtual realm...
"Do you reckon that Eos will be after the refugees?" Le'kra asked the Furrelian, finally becoming accustomed to this place if only a little. "Knowing what we know about them, it seems likely that defectors wouldn't be taken too kindly."
Jacking in was never an easy process for Ti'zal, though not because he was netsick-easy. He just never had a chance to do it too often, too many offworld gigs, not enough free time, occasionally too much risk of being bugged. Half the ways you could do it were gimmicks anyhow; spend extra money daily for something you could work up for free at home, pay 99 milliSIGEC a month to get access to a small chunk of a big world, shell out enough money to break the bank so you can move to a fancy new rhizome world. Not worth it in the long-term unless you were some trust fund kid from Yamanakako.
But jacking sickness was something that wore off in seconds flat, no matter how bad it got, and after a moment's notice and some ogling of his AncNet feed beforehand he was in with the rest of them-in a bit of humor for himself, both the suit and his little assistant came in with him, the quick fix being a bit of tech wizardry he'd have to figure out another time. The droll office he figured was a nice setup, good and simple without any distractions. While the fully-enclosed helm wasn't exactly doing any favours for friendliness points, it allowed him to speed check through his coworkers more covertly as his front two eyes gave full focus to the furrellian. Serpent person, cyborg, merc lady, lizard people, fox girl. All looking prepa-...
...fox girl?...
...fox girl.
Maybe it was one of those vee-toober avatars his online friends liked or something. He hoped so; maybe it was saturation effect, but as he gave her a twice-over she looked a bit underequipped; maybe better with remedies than rifles? Good to have a medic.
As he listened to the furrelian's speech, and observed the round of questions, he noted most of them seemed more focused on the price point, or the people they'd be facing. Good questions indeed, but nothing about what else to expect, though. His questions thus were curt, straight to the point as he spoke. Despite appearances, his voice came through crystal clear, gruff and terse.
"Who else to watch out for? Any local gangs? And what's the maximum price we can go for? Unless all the bribe's coming from us."
"Is there anything in particular we should know about what they look like? Any notable features, clothing, voices...?" his assistant piped in, the eye gyrating and emoting a bit as it's tinny, loquacious voice filtered into the digital meeting.
"That too."
This was the first time the Raptor ever experinced the Rhizome. Getting used to the sensation the new vitural interface offered was alittle starting for a moment, but soon he didn’t let it stop him.
As the others present spoke before the Broker, he finally got his bearings, listening in on the questions that the others among poised. No questions that he could add to the cascade, he simply remained silent, waiting first to listen to any answers.
The man nodded "Yea, if you got enough money you can probably bribe him. Guy likes money I bet theres some amount he is willing to do anything for" upon the input of Dhars he gestured with his hand "Perfect, hopefully its enough to convince that cankerous old clown to help us"
"They do. The Refugees were extremely explicit that they wish to make contact with the Blinded Way, for those who don't know their some break away Eosian rebel sect. I don't stay up to all the details but they recently had a big scuffle in Amritsar inside of Minsin space, Blinded Way came off pretty good so no doubt these folks want to be somewhere with their own people. I don't expect they want to go anywhere with any other government"
At the mention of Tildruls comment about opposition the man laid back into his virtual chair.
"That's where things get spotty. Here in the Freeport you gotta watch out for thugs, but the moment people know your moving Eosians you need to start watching your shoulder. These people fetch extortionately high prices at the slave markets and many want to get their hands on them for any experiment they want. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other Eosian elements here too tracking them down. Be aware of any potential threat obvious or not obvious" He nodded to Le'kra.
"I got the personality profiles and appearances here I'm sending em now, as for local gangs I am afraid we don't have the next week to discuss that, for maximum bribe depends how much change you got in your pockets son. Last data sent, I hope you manage to get this done we are trusting you on this job, no payment until after completion. Good luck"
The individual disappeared, and the connection to the room was lost prompting them to exit the virtual space. The infomation had been sent, the shipmaster was a fairly tall and well dressed Nuclean, long fur and big eyes. Captained a ship called the Stellar Breeze which was supposedly in dock to the south a few km travel, as for the RANGSI cargo man he was a stunted old timer, screwed up aged face that looked positively angry even in his last ID photo, usually was working transportation for numerous large food outlets just to the north of here.
They had to be quick, there were surely other elements out there.
As the broker disappeared, Arkan silently browsed the information that was sent on the people of interest. The unknowns were concerning regarding these people. There were too many factors...too man interested parties should the word get out. The situation was still the same since he was laying low already on the station.
“Well...looks like were working together.” He said to himself as the last of the rhizome effects subsided. He scanned the room to locate all those who attended meeting. He hopped that one of them were better suited for negotiations. Personally Arkan wasn’t a social type as some of his ZYPHER comarades were, but he did excel information gathering and knowing who to look for and who to avoid. Perhaps he could keep an eye on the potential players that could join in this game of cat and mouse. He waited first, for the others to move, seeing where they would meet up.
As the meeting ran on and Tildruls main focus was locked onto their broker, the views of the real world in the bottom began to shift and change, the drones moving through the café, peering at those present with their camera lenses, looking for the beings in the meeting. As each of them was found, the drone that located them sat down in front of them, presumably waiting until their perception returns to reality.
Once they all do, the little drones play a message in Tildruls voice, presumably being transmitted by the Svarthan. It is fairly quiet, and hopefully only the intended recipient can hear the whispery mechanical voice coming through the drones speakers.
"I suggest we leave the café one at a time, to not draw attention to such a diverse and strange group as we would make. There is an courtyard with multiple entrances not to far down this street we can enter from separate ways, and gather in less plain sight to meet, exchange information about ourselves, and draw up a plan accordingly. I will leave first. Try and enter the courtyard trough alternative routes."
Without waiting for approval or support for the plan, Tildrul rises from his seat near the rear of the establishment and walks out of the café, before heading down the street a ways and turning a corner. The drones however stay with the people they set down in front of. It seems that the cyborg wants to keep track of their potential allies, and maintain an open channel of communication.
Dhars stood up, smiling politely as his many metal beads on his necklaces clinked against each other, but otherwise not actually acknowledging the others in the cafe, physically anyway. He messaged through Tidrul's communication channel. "If anyone else wishes to join, I shall fulfill my part of this, and contact the cargo representative for the purpose of obtaining his loyalties. As well, your method leaving this building is agreeable, I too would recommend this."
He doesn't seem too concerned about leaving the communication network to another person to handle. Evidently Dhars had his own specializations. Or maybe he's just bluffing. Either way, he exits the cafe on his own when it seems more opportune, checking his own data to figure out the way to the cargo representative. Though, he'll make his way to the courtyard first, to see if anyone else would like to join up with him.
Lillian would nod and record the answers given to them by the furrelian, it was important for this mission. They needed to be careful about this, try and not get much attention brought to them, Eos and others were probably doing stuff to also get them, so secrecy and subtleness was key. The digital space around her faded away, with the cafe coming back into view.
She saw all the people that were in the Rhizome, and seeing the drone with the message. She would also see the message sent through the channel, and think about it quickly before responding to it, she knew they had to make a plan first.
"Don't be so quick on your feet, it is better we group up beforehand, we don't want to be too reckless and mess something up for the refugees. I fully agree to meeting up in the courtyard. Be careful, however, we don't know what outside forces might be watching or waiting for us, we are already suspicious as is."
With that, Lillian would wait a few seconds before getting up from her seat and signaling the drone to come with her, she would try and access it fully later. She would take a glance at the others in the team without anyone noticing, leaving the cafe. She decided to take a long route, taking a short walk around the city before going to the courtyard, as to be less of a source of suspicion.
Vega stood from her table, and set the bead down. Saying in a hushed tone as she walked. "Outside, let's not talk here." Moving outside she started heading to her own vehicle. Not wanting to alert anyone who might be watching them.
As he jacked out of the Rhizome and returned to the real world-millesecond's nausea notwithstanding-he noted about 2 things to himself as they began to shuffle out of the cafe. First, pay coming out of pocket would be problematic if anyone was stingy. Of course, that included himself; while he had a decent amount in savings, that was the point. Couldn't save it if it was being spent on a refugee crisis. He also noted the seeming assumption of command by the lizard man-or rather, the lizard man's drones-as they followed each of them out of the cafe. Good that he was productive, but a bad sign of rashness. Given he'd hardly even waited for the messages to stop playing before going ahead with his little scheme, it didn't make a good first impression. He did have intuition, given his mention of the courtyard as a meeting zone-now if only his little drones weren't painting little targets on their backs by following them around.
He didn't speak through the drone channels, though he let his assistant give a confirmation ping. Silicon on silicon; someone out there was into the idea. He elected to let his intuition do the legwork, and soon he got himself lost under technicality. While he did humor himself with shopping, it was mostly for intel collection; seeing as the fixer wasn't exactly a local, he elected to watch for gangs of his own while on his little trip, anyone with a distinctive repeating style or any well-armed groups that seemed rather homogenous. But one could only sightsee for so long without looking too suspicious, especially as a zetyan in full kit being followed around by 2 robots, and eventually he was making his way to the courtyard, some coffee in his veins and a bag of chips slowly feeding cholesterol to his heart as he watched for the others.
With a queasy feeling in his digestive system, Vinny watched the virtual world peel away. Steadying himself with his appendages, he had placed the bead back from whence it came.
Vinny heard the sentient near him speak in a hushed voice and with a nod, followed carefully. Vinny took great care to lag behind just enough to seem unaffiliated but close enough to react if necessary.
As the group left the venue one by one there was thankfully no ready and waiting for leaping to take them down. Caution was of course warranted in any job like this and they slowly filed to meet up in the designated courtyard.
Garden was too strong a word in the Freeport, but the courtyard nearby could be approximated to the closest thing. It was an open square, filled with some plant life and various seating areas, installed to allow workers or just anyone to come and sit in the communal space. Most of it was empty, only the odd couple sitting and enjoying the open area as a change to the cramped streets along with the occasional person walking through to elsewhere.
They had some measure of privacy here at least, and even from the courtyard they could see the large spire of the Wandering Paths Hall, quite an intricate spiral of red painted metal. That was where their refugees lay, safe for now at least. They didn’t have to openly protect them in the meantime.
Still the group didn’t even know one another, just their objectives, now wasn’t the time for potential division.
As the group assembled within the courtyard, it was Dhars who broke the silence, cupping his fists and inclining his head. "So, you are all the ones I shall be working with, hm? Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I am Dhars Barei, of-" He smiled slightly, stopping himself. "Ah, well, my masters have demanded uncharacteristic discretion in this instance. I shall say I hail from the Divine Lotus Blossom Empire, yes? I am but a humble White Core, Major Grade life form, so forgive my weakness. I am simply here to facilitate the transfer of these refugees to their desired location. I merely have a basic mastery of electronic warfare, so if there are any light security measures preventing this goal I could assist. Though-" He looked to the man who'd given them all a drone companion, not to mention the android. "-I concede I may be outmatched in this. Perhaps it is my finances which are my primary asset in this situation. I am most prepared to wield them as a means to obtain the loyalty of this cargo master."
Leaving the Rhizome was as disorienting of an experience as entering it, Le'kra would follow along with her comrades out into the courtyard, finally her bearings return to her.
"Seems like you all are my coworkers here. I'm Le'kra, of the Selenican Republic. I've been stationed here for quite a while now, so I'm not exactly in need of an introduction to the Freeport." She would go silent for a short while, thinking about how to disclose her strengths while not giving away her fellow Selenican operatives on the Freeport. What to say, what to say... "You've probably seen my people around here before, and among them I'd say I have more than a little intel-gathering experience. Didn't help against the damn pickpockets, though." She would say, laughing a bit at the last sentence. "Anyways, I'm not here on an official mission. More like I want to hurt Eos in the future, those..." she would catch herself before going into a rant about the religious zealots. "Never mind me."
The first to arrive at the court yard due to leaving first and taking the shortest route Tildrul at first seems to be a bit out of it, starring off into space, seemingly less present than they were before. Only once two others arrive do they seem to get back to normal.
As more and more of the group arrives, their drones return to the cyborgs body, slotting into place as if for recharging. Finally, after all their drones are back they speak, revealing that even in person their voice is artificial sounding and robotic.
"Greetings all. I am Tildrul Aphravosk, of the Svarthan Trust MHEA, long range reconissance and sniping division."
They glance at Dhars as they speak about EM warfare before they continue.
"My drones are unsuited for E-war operations I am afraid. They are however excellent in terms or recon and threat identification, as their sensors can penetrate almost any man portable stealth systems.
But that is not my main specialty. No, I center on raw combat, as if I am not mistaken, my arsenal is the largest and most potent of us all. However apart from these two things I cannot do much in the way of provideing finances or operating in more clandestine channels."
The bland space was nevertheless welcoming to the armor-clad zetyan, as he and his assistant sat nearby on a bench, under the false shade of what Laulapedia called a mulberry tree. Alas, as his coworkers filed in, the one thing he wasn't much for finally reared it's head: socialization. He wasn't too fond of it, and while he was capable of sustaining a meaningless conversation for an acceptable length of time his armor didn't exactly spell out 'friendly' and his speaking style didn't scream 'inviting'. At the very least, they didn't seem weary of the fact he was a zetyan in the first place-or, if they had heard of his species' reputation, they had elected to keep distaste to a work-safe minimum. Seeing as he couldn't get by without just grunts and mumbles, he spoke after the lizard man-Tidrul or whatever-his armor filters adding layers to his voice as he went through the roulette.
"Ti'zal M'ghao. Private security contractor." He poused for a moment, unsure of how to elaborate."...Zetyan. I shoot stuff, it dies."
His assistant, to his chagrin, was far more amicable to the whims of conversation, as it emerged from it's perch on the bench armrest and chirped a monologue and a half in a tinny voice.
"And I am Serial Number J-051856729NN-5, PAI Assistant! It is nice to meet you all!"
"...Johnny. Call it Johnny."
"Thank you, mr. M'ghao! I am a capable holding platform for many devices large and small, as my owner can attest! I am equipped with a data uplink and sharing slash subnet establisher system, load-bearing system capable of holding up to 10 pounds of objects and material, coffee-maker, email write-and-send system, live camera feed transferrant system, phone functionality-"
"It can hack okay and show you cam feeds. And hold stuff."
"Yes, thank you! If you wish, I can establish connection this very moment!" As it said that, anyone with cybernetics would receive a ping, and if their cyberware had the capabilities for it a little 'yes-no' box would appear in their field of view. "My owner is also very capable as well, as not only does he come with years of experience, his armor is capable of withstanding-"
"Don't jack me off, please."
"As you wish, sir!" If nothing else, it had boundless positivity-or atleast, programmed boundless positivity.
Ti'zal made a closing remark as it returned to 'sitting' on the arm rest it had claimed as home, something undefinable barely present through the warped intonations that came through the harness.
"Gets excited sometimes. Likes to talk... a lot."
"I was a former translation assistant before you bought me, sir!"
"...cool." His gaze shifted to the next to speak, sighing internally out of relief he hopefully no longer had to socialize.
After taking a small walk around the block, observing and tracking different places, people and events, wanting to be able to capture what the city was like, giving a bit more info to her. Once arriving at the court yard, she observed the relative safety and privacy they had, and was all for it. She listened to the others speak first, wanting to hear them before mentioning anything about herself, she was still somewhat undercover, as of now. She removed the hood of her cloak, being sure no one else was observing. At that moment, her ears twitched several times, finally free to stretch after a while under the hood, and with her tails following suit. Her hair would fall onto her shoulders, it silky and soft, being a tad shiny with the light.
She observed everyone a bit closer, being quite amused at the rag tag team that was here. Of course, she respected them, they were chosen for a reason, and knew, or at least assumed they had very good capabilities that fit the job. She enjoyed hearing about these strangers, something she hadn’t done in a long time. It reminded her of better times for her...
She would stop reminiscing and continue listening to everyone.
She found the assistant quite cute and amusing, it seeming so childish and full of innocence. She took a liking to it... he? Whatever. Although, it seemed its handler wasn’t much for conversation, at all, not that she minded, people are people, and she dealt with many who had similar attitudes and personalities. Once the pair were done with their turn, she took the opportunity to introduce herself.
"Greetings. My name isn’t very important, but for the sake of trust, you can refer to me as Lily. I am a jack of all trades, basically, but my very best strong suit being diplomacy and talking. Among other things, I am proficient in hand-to-hand combat, know my way around most guns, but I have no intention of killing anyone unless absolutely necessary, and I am quite proficient at E-war and technology in general"
Most of this was true, although most of it also was a cover, but she wasn't lying, she knew this things.... maybe not so much the gun part, with so many guns in the galaxy.
Arkan arrived quietly as the party gathered together. The small courtyard showing no signs of monitors or being supervised, allowing him to relax abit. It was surprizing to him that so many different agents from different nations were here. Some appear to be freelancers while others appeared to be here for other purposes he wouldn’t understand. Fearing no reprisal for his undercover identity in their current location, the bloodcrown also chimed in.
“I’m simply known as Arkan.” He kept his hood however, covering the majority of his beak.
“I’m an agent of a special branch of the ZYPHER empire...so technically, ‘I’m not officially here’ if you get my gist.” He said.
“Luckily my objectives here are already completed so I have no further reason to be here aside from what currently sits before us.”
Vinny clicked his mandibles nervously. He knew he'd eventually have to reveal something, it was the way of these international operations that some information would need to be shared as a show of trust. Vinny thought carefully about his next words before speaking.
"A pleasure to meet you all," Vinny clicked his mandibles once more. "I am Vin-Ha but you may call me Vinny for short and I hail from the Altan Potentate. I am a agent of the Imperial Special Operations, this much I have been authorized to tell you. The Throne, and therefore ISO, is interested in the Psionic abilities of these refugees and have ordered to me to assist in this operation."
Vega lingered behind slightly. Keep an observant look around them. She eventually entered the courtyard with everyone else. Pulling her hood down. Humanoid with squited eyes, and very long pointed ears. Her skin coated in a very thin layer of fur. Some sort of winter adapted humanoid? She crossed her arms over her armored chest, and over the rifle hanging loose on it's sling. "Vega Kaul, merc. I can fork out money if needed, specialize in close to mid range combat, know my way around the less than savory types. My partner can hack, do the sneaky shit." Her voice was ever so dry in tone. She cusped at her belt, and lifted up a palm sided perfectly spherical ball. Made of a seemless very shiny white metal. Part of the balls indenting to show a small glowing blue eye, and four long narrow legs popping out. It's voice was synthetic, but had inflection to it. Unlike it's humanoid partner. "Vega call's me Lucky! A pleasure." It rapidly crawled up her arm, and stopped at her shoulder. The woman not so much as looking at it.
"Now let us get to why we are here, hmm? My two cents is we give the dockmaster a sigec to shut up, and let the Captain move. After which we meet up with the captain and tell him the cargo we want to move. Show him everything is ready to go right away. Even better if we split up, and do both at once."
She paused then spoke again. "I have a vehicle to get around nearby, spare guns if anyone needs one... Everyone has a communicator of some kind, correct?"
Freeport 11: Killian Verge
The man screamed.
"It would be most prudent to answer the question and beneficial for your body"
The man could barely reply, shackled to the chains dangling from the ceiling his naked and beaten body writhed as Anuk removed one of his ribs. The rooms only illumination was the fire that played across Anuks head, a member of the Castigation Order, if anyone knew true pain it was him. What he was inflicting upon this lost soul was nothing compared to what he had endured to earn redemption.
"I... I told you, I don't know where they are"
"And yet you helped them get here, you have to have either helped them to a further destination or overheard their next step. Tell us and this all can end, we will even undo what we have done" The third voice in the room came from on the edge of the fires light, bright orange robes revealled one from the Order of the Flame. Poltis had nothing but distain in his voice, these run away heretics he felt were beneath him and yet he was zealous to ensure they got their justice.
"I don't know!" The man cried in return, the backroom for the dock office now looked like a charnel house as Anuk began to make another incision into the mans chest. He cried out again.
"By the creators decree you WILL tell us what you know or we will take you apart in a way that will make you wish for pain" The mewling man tried to speak and Anuk stopped what he was doing.
"They... Moved on, had to find shelter, some kind of palace for wanderers I don't know the details... Please I just wanted the money..."
"Of course you did, like all those who are lost. If you had given us this information to start with you wouldn't be in this position. You have only your own darkness to blame for this" Poltis growled. Anuk cut the chains, letting his ruined body fall to the floor.
"May the creator judge your soul" The Castigator hummed before bringing down the kinetic blade and beheading him.
"We have our destination. It wont be so easy to assail. We observe and we act when needed, the next step awaits"
"I believe these drones should allow us to remain in touch with one another, though any sort of redundancies may be useful. That said, I intend to visit the cargo master now. Anyone who wishes to accompany me may do so, though I doubt it will be a difficult matter. Indeed, I would recommend those of you focused on violence accompany the refugees." His smile turned a touch wicked. Dhars Barei was not unfamiliar with these sorts of jobs.
"After all, you can never be certain who might try to make trouble, yes? If problems arise, they will most likely be targeting our poor Eosians. Best to prepare for that. Those of you who are experienced in hacking, I suggest a means of obscuring your appearance from any security cameras, or disabling them, especially when moving the clients. I have been doing so myself. Now, if you will excuse me, I shall handle the issue of Tian Zul, if you would allow me."
Dhars turned to leave, though he kept an ear out for any further comments.
Tildrul speaks up, keeping their voice a bit more subdued to try and prevent eaves dropers who may have arrived after the group from hearing. Their drones are once again floating around the group, their many cameras watching for all kinds of targets.
"I agree with this notion. It is far more likely our cargo comes under attack than the customs officer. I would recomend those with significant funds at their disposal head to the customs office, so that would be primarily Dhars, but I think Lilly, Arkan, and Le'kra would do best accompanying them. Ti'zal, Vinny, Vega, and I should then go to the cargo at the same time.
Further more my drones are still availible for those who lack their own comms, or desire their sensor suite.
Any objections to my proposed grouping?"
"You're forgetting about the captain. I can go with Dhars I'll provide the funds. I wish to give him enough money he will not even want to ask who we are, or what we want.... Plus I have a car, we'll get their faster."
Vega moved to leave as well. Starting to leave with Dhars. "Let us know if no one gets to the captain, we'll pick up the slack and deal with him too."
13 October 2022
"Ahah, well, let's not be hasty." Dhars chuckled as Vega moved to follow him. Overall, he certainly gave off an air of suave confidence, though how much was natural and how much was a front couldn't be discerned. "After all, men driven by greed, they'll be happy to take an opportunity to extort us beyond reason. Let's make sure not to overplay our hand so he doesn't ask for a sum we can't provide, yes? Best to start small, see what he demands. Find a middle ground."
And besides, the smaller the sum he parted with, the more esteem he earns in the eyes of his masters. Frivolous spending if a lesser amount would have sufficed would only earn less merit when he eventually gave an accounting of this affair.
"Though-" He shrugged. "If you feel so inclined to use your money in such a manner, I shall not stop you."
"You'd be a fool to trust basically anyone here. They're mostly two-timers who're looking to scam anyone out of any money they have." Le'kra would chime in, lighting s cigarette, a habit she picked up from her father back home. "I learned that the hard way when they kept swiping my stuff. Anyways, I'd agree with Dhars on this. We can't let them extort us. Sure, saving the refugees is a bonus, but the real winners here will be our wallets at the end of it. Though, something tells me we won't be unaccompanied on this mission. Given what we know about Eos, there's a too-high-for-comfort chance that they'll be sending folks after the refugees. So I'd advise we stay on our toes unless we wanna piss off one of the largest zealot conglomerates out there."
Lillian would think for a second, thinking about the best course of action in this kind of situation. All of these factors had to be held, money, character, specialities, and most of all, Eos. From what she could gather, this kind of move was not looked upon fondly by then, but she didn't know to exactly what extent, if they would simply just revoke citizenship, or something much worse. But, better safe than sorry in this kind of situation. So, her two cents came in.
"First off, calm down, we should actually plan before we go in, or else we fuck this up. Second off, I agree with us splitting off into three different groups, but we should all mix. Dhars, Le'kra and I should go to the cargo office, we need funds but we also need diplomacy and info, or else we will be milked for everything we have, thankfully Le'kra here seems to be our woman of choice for this. Ti'zal M'ghao, Johnny and Vin-Ha should seek the captain, Ti'zal doesn't seem like the most talkative person, but Vin-Ha and Johnny should be able to deal with that. As for the cargo bay, the muscle is needed in case gangs or other forces want to get with them. Vega Kaul, Arkan and Tildrul Aphravosk are the perfect fit."
"I find this to be the best mix, muscle in every group, and diplomacy in the two sides. If one of you sees yourself unfit for the job or see yourself better in diplomacy or muscle, please, do say. These refugees are in great danger, so, even though I would love to talk more right now, we can do that once we're on our ways. Third, the drones are pretty good for communications, although, with your permission Tidrul, I would like to make some small mods to the drones to make them more efficient for this operation."
Arkan nodded to Lillian's decision, while keeping and eye on the surroundings. That comfortable feeling of them having some form of controlled privacy made him nervous and anxious for the moment that feeling were to disappear.
"The drones do make it easier for us to remain connected to each other without using comms. The radio chatter no doubt would be heard by any listening post on this station." He added in.
"The problem with buying our way in, is that it is a two way door." he added backing Le'kra's statement.
"We'll need a back up plan in the event that such a ticket out isn't as smooth." He gently patted hiis gear under his cloak, a subconcous action to make sure he had his trap tools.
Ti'zal's tracking of the conversation, from their perspectives, was a little... well, to be blunt, not-there. Under that mask, he followed along well enough; the lizardman wanted him to go to cargo with him, the furry lady, the bug. Fox lady had other ideas-wanted him to go with the bug and talk to the captain, squeeze some room for the cargo bay out of the little rodent. That both parties picked the two most likely visually intimidating members of the party to go after the captain was not lost on him-hopefully he was a man of reason, or barring that one whose principles could be malleated at the barrel of a gun.
"...I'll go where I'm needed." He said with a shrug, standing up but not yet moving to leave. He turned to his assistant, who now hovered a little above his shoulder on 2 pairs of spindly legs. "If you wanna say something."
"If I may, it seems both parties want you to go to the captain in first order. However, Lillian's plan seems the most well-balanced, and may heighten our chances of success."
"Also, seeing as Vinny will be coming with us in both plans, it is nice to be working with you!" The construct now spoke to Vin-ha, while Ti'zal gave a 'mm' and a little nod-though given his disposition, and a slight pause he made beforehand, one had to wonder if it was genuine or just courtesy.
Vinny, listened to Lillian. Their plan was solid and dealing with a lowly captain would be a trivial matter. He waited for the others to voice their thought before speaking. "The captain should be easy enough to deal with. If needs be I'm sure my government could..." He paused and clicked his mandibles. "see that the dear captain is properly compensated for his troubles."
Then Vinny turned to Ti'zal and their construct. He paused and then said 'Forgive me, I am not quite used to informality, my culture is highly stratified and formality is quite strict. It is, as you say, nice to be working with you as well." Vinny gave half-bow half-nod to keep a sort of soft professionalism.
"I can not render payment while I am not there, and I do not understand you placing me here when time of is the essence... I do have the speediest way to get both teams to their destinations... But I will concede this plan." She sighed and pursed her lips. Her narrow eyes flicking between the group.
"I also recommend getting overwatch of the compound for our assets, but not entering directly. Eyes are likely already on us." She gave a small nod to everyone. "I will concede with the group consensus, however... The contract comes first, always."
"I am likewise in agreement with the plan proposed by Lillian. It covers all our bases rather nicely and gives each group greater flexibility. On the topic of securing overwatch, I will aim to do just that. My drones, cybernetics, weapons, and skills give me the best possible load out to watch over a position from afar and spot foes."
Tildrul has begun to move closer to those they will be acompanying, namely the augmented human mercenary, and Trizorian. They do however adress Lillian as they move.
"As to modifying my drones, well that depends on what exactly you are going to do with them. Certain features, such as their compatability with my armor and their optical load outs must remain and not be reduced."
"I'm all for Lilian's plan. Extracting some intelligence shouldn't be too tiresome if we play it off right." Le'kra would reply, snubbing out the cigarette she started earlier. "And I assume all of the locations we need to go are already marked, no need to scout 'em out."
To Cargo Office
With Lillian’s plan agreed upon the group swiftly set off, initially they were all going in the same direction and moved together but slit enough to make that they were not solely one unit. The Freeports streets were packed with random shops, street vendors, crowds and vehicles battling to get through the areas that were not main highways. It was cramped, loud and hard to navigate as they pressed on. Soon they reached the dock and cargo areas at the edge of the Freeport, the huge open doorways and portals allowing large cargo containers and haulers through onto the Freeports transit system.
It was here that the groups split off, Dhars, Le’kra and Lillian were heading for the office, likely place to find Tian Zul or at the very least a place where they could ask for his location. Vega Kaul, Arkan and Tildrul Aphravosk also came too, acting as the muscle and putting on stern faces.
It was needed.
The cargo docks were huge open affairs of constantly moving containers, ships, docking clamps and overhead cranes, the noise was tremendous, and the ever-flowing nature of the job meant that the dock workers (all of who were gangers in some way shape or form) were constantly rotated in and out of the job, this was never tired. To watch individuals come onto their turf was enough to draw looks from many who paused to eye up the arrivals. It didn’t take long for one, particularly short man, to stand in front of the group of 6 and plant himself arms crossed.
“And who the fuck are you? What business do you have ‘ere?”
To the Captain
As the majority of the group split off to the cargo docks Ti'zal M'ghao, Johnny and Vin-Ha took a turn and headed for the regular docks. They were not less spacious, or chaotic in their operations, but at least these docks were not the domain of gangers. People came and went here in their thousands every hour of the day, as ships docked and undocked to countless parts of the galaxy. There was no official ‘customs’ on Freeport 11 but there were areas where individuals could ask for help or get information.
The docks were a honeycomb set up, and just looking up from the entrance you could see the curvature of the station through the massive amounts of ships in various docks that stretched up above them. Somewhere in here was their captain and a ship that could hopefully take the refugees to safety.
Dhars smiled pleasantly. "I and my associates are here to see Tian Zul, noble sir. A matter of personal business." A deliberate move, using his name. An implication of familiarity combined with the serene confidence radiating off of the cultivator was intended to have the workers under the impression he was off to do something important with someone he was familiar with, hopefully reducing any suspicions they might harbor or questions they might have. His exotic collection of comrades could also have added to that impression, but one could never be sure.
"If you would be willing to direct us to his workstation, we would be most grateful." An implication of reward? Perhaps.
Though some might have the misconception of cultivators as maniacs obsessed with fighting, anyone who had more experience would recognize in Dhars right away the bureaucratic obsequiousness that many also seem capable of putting on without even thinking. (edited)
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down man." Le'kra would say to the short man first, assuming a more conversational tone than what she had previously done. "We ain't here to encroach on anyone's business, we don't care about that, we're lookin' for this guy called 'Tian Zul,' y'know where we can find 'em?"
She would then take her hands out of the pockets on her clothing, being sure to show the aggressive man that she doesn't have any weapons despite the small pistol she keeps in her inner coat pocket, roughly matching him in height, not quite staring the man down and keeping a safe distance from him. If things go dicey, it'll be a bit of a conundrum to get themselves to the cargo transporter they're looking for if this man is affiliated with him.
Lillian observed the other two talk, making sure to put her hands in front of her, as to signal no weapons on her. She of course had other methods of stopping this guy or any others if things got dicey with anyone, so was the nature of this place and the job. She sighed, a small HUD appearing in front of her left eye, small letters scrolling through. It seemed she was preparing something. Her eyes turned to the man in front of them, walking in the middle of the both of them, being the tallest of them.
"Like my colleagues said, we are looking for the man named Tian Zul. We wish to... do some business with him. We do not come to harm any of you, we just want to talk and help everyone in the end. So, if you're so kind, could you tell us where he can be found?"
Her voice sounded professional, diplomatic, near pristine and with a soothing tone. Her body expressed no intention of harm, although, appearances can be deceiving.
Bustling. Crowded. Full of life. And with enough surface area to classify as a small city.
To say the area was growing more unappealing by the second would have been a gross understatement; if they'd have done a cursory sweep Ti'zal would've taken finding the quartermaster in a heartbeat. No way he, or likely his spiderlike coworker would bother to search this place for more than an hour at most-and that was pushing it. He suspected neither of them had what it would've taken to speedread through every ship, especially with crowds like these.
Thankfully, they had someone who could.
"Johnny." He spoke now to his assistant, who perked up. "Do a sweep, code 14-5. Looking for a ship, Stellar Breeze. Captain's Nuclean. Both applicable, see refs. Full auth."
"...command processed!" It chirped after a moment, rising up on four stilted legs and disappearing into the crowd. A buzz on their earpieces now heralded it's voice. "I will remain in touch through radiowaves, and will direct you once located!"
"Good." He muttered, turning then to Vin-ha. "We wait for it to buzz."
Johhny, meanwhile, was gliding above the crowds, growing more and more distant from the two every second. Though it was scanning every ship it could pass by, it was also on the lookout for secure terminals and security cameras; if it could jack into the systems and gain authorization, they'd be able to pinpoint the ship far faster than if they were just looking around. Only problem there being station security, but worst case scenario it wasn't something a few millicents couldn't fix.
Tildrul seems to be moderately on edge, if the periodic small eruptions of steam from their shell are anything to go by, and it soon becomes apparent why. As a sniper, being so close to their enemy was not natural to them, and they would much rather be following the group from afar, and preferrably a height, ready to neutralize high value and powerful targets from afar.
As the man approaches them, the crab stays silent, since their role is not to negotiate, but rather just look scary. To that end, they subtly move the barrel of their gun down, not aiming it at them man just yet, but achieving a position where they can react faster. Of course, even with its magnetic fluid option, using their big gun would be overkill, so they silently order their cybernetics to prepare their side arms, namely a compact, very fast firing coil SMG, and their huge chemically propelled "hand gun".
Outside Cargo Office
"Personnel business aye? I dont think I have ever been a noble before, are you try'na pull me leg?" He man bigged himself up as much as possible, although he was still tiny compared to many of the party.
"Yea I know who Tian Zul is dont tell me the calm down! And not harm any of us? Why you thinking you looking for a fight? Man you off porters are so up yourselves" The man spoke loudly, bringing over more gangers who homed in on his voice, some carrying heavy tools and others looking like they were flexing their large augmented muscles.
"Look Tian Zul is a pretty busy man, and we took have got a lot of work to do, why don't you come back later aye? Before you say something that further upsets my crew"
Dockyards
Johnnys scans turned up the ship they needed, located several sectors up above them.
Reportedly according to the information it was set to be leaving within 3 hours. Hopefully they could reach it before then.
The elevators for dock goers were the best option to get upwards, freely moving between the different floors and sectors of the dockyard taking people to ships to leave or from ships as they arrived. Stepping into the elevators they began to head upwards.
But below standing out in the crowd, and making their way into the Freeport entry section, were a pair of Eosians in full armour.
Vega moved forward pushing herself to the front of the group if needed. She didn't look down, and kept her chin up high. Showing off as much confidence as she could. Both hands currently on her firearm, but in a relaxed position. "We have a matter we need to speak to him for, the kind I am sure you know well. 500 MicroSigec, as soon as you send me your details, and we can be on our way to Tian Zul without issue." She took her right hand off of her gun reaching it out for a handshake. Asking coldly. "Deal?"
"I have found the ship!" exclaimed the little robot in the earpieces of Vinny and Ti'zal, data streaming into them like water from a tap. He grunted in response, mulling over the data.
"...six sectors above, dock four... three hour layover.... hm." He nodded to himself, doing quick arithmetic as he scanned the area. They had time-barring complications. "Elevators. Over there." He motioned to one of the many elevator sections that lined the walls, almost like industrial lifts as they lifted the myriad masses up and down, disappearing into the ethers of greebles and pipes.
The only problem now was traffic-and one easily solved with a little intimidation. As he began to push his way through the crowd-while he didn't like to play himself up as a big tough guy, the persona sure made it easy to get where you were going-he sent another communique to Johnny, who remained in the upper levels above.
"Resume sweep. Repeat last, mod. Captain only, full auth."
"Command processed, sir! I shall look for the captain now!"
"Hold one moment Ti'Zal, look there," Vinny gestured to the fully armored Eosians. Vinny let out an excited chitter from his mandibles. "Perhaps they are expecting trouble, we should as well."
He considered for a moment, "If they are in full armor, we can likely assume that they are the hunters and not the hunted..."
The cultivator raised an eyebrow and stepped away as Vega made his move, giving the impression that matters had moved beyond him. Perhaps he was just a spokesperson for this clearly dangerous group of individuals. He'd tried his best to be polite for the sake of keeping things quiet, but oh no, now there's no telling what might happen. Dhars was definitely shameless when it came to pulling these sorts of moves.
Tildrul watches Vega move in, their body moving even closer to the floor than it already was. Steam still seeps out around their base, but it soon slows to a stop as the rim of their shell presses to the floor. The vents on Tildruls back start to slide almost entirely closed emitting far less steam than before.
Inside the shell, the safeties on their weapons flick off, ready to deploy at a moments notice but still not visible externally. Their eyes swap from normal light to seeking out electrical and chemical signiatures, seeking for hidden weapons or cybernetics as they begin to plot targeting solutions in the event of the worst.
However should the gangers pay any attention to the crab in the back, all they would see is them sinking down to the ground, the flow of steam from their body decreasing.
Lillian sighed at the comments made by the small man in front of them, she was kind of disappointed, she was just trying to be polite. But, she knew that these people were no ordinary people, especially with them dealing with such a... shady business model. She let Vega do her thing, not being one for bloodshed, but understood that there were bigger things at stake, and if they didn't hurry up, who knew what kind of powers would do to the poor refugees.
She flicked her wrist before her, a holographic display appearing before her eyes. She quickly navigated through the software, before appearing on what seemed to be a banking app. She walked up next to Vega, signaling the easy way to transfer the money to the designated account, before looking at the man.
"We can do this quickly and quietly, I can do the transaction here and now, cleanly and without any suspicion by outsiders. I understand your circumstances and whatever opinions that you might have about us, but we just don't really mind that if we can do "good business". So, take the deal or nah?"
Her tone of voice was rather polite, and yet it reinforced her attitude and posture that emanated calm but calculating.
Arkan simply stood silent, watching how the workers and their speakers responded. They clearly didn't trust or interested in their presence, other than ready to start swinging. His overcloak not moving, but his hand on his weapon in case they wanted to choose the 3rd option.
Keeping his head covered in the hood, he eyed the workers who were closer to armed as the deal was offered.
Outside Cargo Office
The man and the dock workers for a moment bigged themselves up too, the announcement of a payment illiciting silence which turned into an awkward dangerous powder keg. But the man seemed to smirk.
“Well I think for 500 I can make sure everything’s in order, come on boys back to work. Tian Zul is further in, up in the dock offices on your left, if anyone asks I let you through” He pulled out his PDA and tapped a button to receive the funds.
“Pleasure doing business with you”
The crews relaxed as they filtered off back to work and the man wandered off, leaving the group to move in further to the staircase up to the offices which all overlooked the massive docking bay. The men who worked here were slightly better dressed, but still gave them suspicious side glances. As they reached Tian Zuls office, they could already hear him shouting in a thick Asian RANGSI accent.
“No care! No deal! You scum have swindled before, No deal!” He clearly was not very happy, especially when he looked up to see the group at his doorway.
“Who are you? What you want?”
Dockyards
As the Eosians entered they walked past the ‘security’ of the freeport, the guards clearly not wanting to screw around with fully armoured fanatics. It meant likely somewhere in this dock was their vessel, and that they were very much aware of the refugees now. Speed was to be of the essence.
The tactic of intimidation to clear through the crowds worked, many getting out of the way as they reached their desired sector and dock. Thankfully the further they went from the main entrance the less the crowds became until they were mostly groups of people and more cargo. Stepping onto their spar the sleek chrome like blue of the Nuclean transport ship hit them immediately, this was their place.
Crew were currently doing final onloading, using gravity cranes to lift various payloads into the ships bays. Most of the crew looked Nuclean, but a few humans and even a Zentheran could be spotted. The approaching group was quickly seen.
“Uh hello there, is there something we can do for you?”
"Hold one moment Ti'Zal, look there," Vinny gestured to the fully armored Eosians. Vinny let out an excited chitter from his mandibles. "Perhaps they are expecting trouble, we should as well." He considered for a moment, "If they are in full armor, we can likely assume that they are the hunters and not the hunted..."
"...fuck me." The armored Zetyan cursed under his breath as he watched the duo push into the crowd, beelining for the elevator. One of Tildrul's drones caught his eye, a little sleek disc broken up by lines and near-imperceptible panels that hovered over his shoulder like a less personable Johnny. He didn't quite know how it worked, but the active comms uplink it had with his suit was all he needed from it.
"Alcon, docking. Two bogeys, full kit, moving at speed. Get hasty and keep an eye."
An image sent itself unheeded with Ti'zal's transmission; not that he noticed nor cared. As the elevator reached their destination, he sent one more radio transmission to Johnny, who was hovering near where the Stellar Breeze and having no success finding the captain.
"Johnny, elevators. Two bogeys down by six, cause a delay. Full auth, make it quick, relink."
"Ah. I will do my best, sir."
"Mm."
He then turned to Vinny speaking as they got off the elevator. "You got any tricks, now's the time." He patched the arachnid a data link to Johnny, opening an avenue for the insectoid to assist however it could.
And Johnny, in the meantime, breezed right over to the elevators, a nimble body bringing it's form to the nearest network access panel and the zeroes and ones in it's head doing their level best to figure out how to stall an elevator system designed to ferry around hundreds of bodies at once...
...as they approached the bay zone, Johnny relinked with the duo, returning to the invisible perch that was above Ti'zal's left shoulder-albeit only because the other one was hogging the right. It greeted them in a familiar chirping tone.
"I have done as requested, sir!"
"Did it work?"
"...I am unsure."
"How?"
"I've inserted some errors into where I think the appropriate lines of code are, but the elevator went down before I could verify my success."
"...you couldn't just-?"
"Well, the effects are only apparent once the elevator stops. At least I was not detected!"
"You sure?"
"Well, I didn't get kicked out by the administrator and defence systems, so I would believe so!"
"...if security shows up in five i'm buying you a new anteprogrammer."
"Completely understandable!"
Their little conversation over, the final approach to the docking bay was otherwise uneventful. As the one who called them out gazed at them-a Nuclean in all their beaverish, blue-robed glory-Johnny moved unheeded to speak, an action that was silently appreciated by the local conversationalist that owned it-though, if fate willed it, not for long.
"Hello! We wish to speak with your captain, regarding matters of refugee transport. We are told he has experience! The matter is also rather urgent."
"Very urgent." Ti'zal gave a small chime to Johnny's statement, if only to impress the crew with the knowledge of 'get us where we're going right now please thank you'.
Le'kra had attempted to deal with the shortstack before, however her allies had stepped in to handle it for her. No complaints from her, however. Less money out of the Selenican's already light pocket. With the approach towards Zul's office, the shouting became louder and more distinct even to the muffled earcaps of the serpent. Hopefully their approach would not be a failure. Beginning the conversation with her short stature and the angry tone of Tian Zul would be challenging to say the least.
"My apologies for such the sudden arrival on our part, but we are a group of independent freighters, looking to get our start in this galaxy here. We're here to see if we'd be able to purchase some cargo space onboard one of your glorious ships."
The lie would be needed, as the attitude of this man towards the Eosian refugees is unknown, and given his brash demeanor, a front like this would be more likely to work than being upfront.
Dhars smiled as he looked over the the target, letting one of his compatriots do the talking this time. However, one of the seams on his skin near his ankle split open, and something small, metallic, and with a fair amount of legs crawled out. Whenever Tian Zul wasn't looking his way, Dhars would guide his drone to towards the nearest crevice or underside of something it could adhere itself to.
Vega was surprised at her comrade dishing out the wallet, but remained silent. Slinking into the background on the way there in silence. She lingered near the back keeping clear line of sight to Tian. Her brow raised at Le'kra's comment. Trying to hide her surprise and worry. She kept her face calm, and let out a soft exhale. Not saying anything to not under mind where they might be trying to lead the lie to. Adjusting her grip on her gun as well. Expecting the meeting to go south.
With the dockyard situation diffused Tildrul vents their steam, timing it to coincide with other similar releases of pressure from the machinery around them, as they move with the rest of the group into the office of the RANGASI human. The crab once more takes up position in the back, this time not reading their weapons just yet. However they remain alert, their view not only on the business at hand but on the sights from their other drones.
Tildrul suddenly receives the message from the Zetyan, listening as the order their drone to locate the hostiles, and scout for any good ambush spots. They then open their comms to all their allies present and speak wordlessly to them, their camera eyes shifting about nervously and steam venting from their shell as a slight hint of anxiety builds.
"I would suggest we move these proceedings along. Ti'zal has reported two hostiles, full Eosian kit approaching the location we are supposed to head towards. My drones have confirmed as much. i am sending the images to you now, if your augs are compatible."
As promised, those with compatible cyberware recive the images from both Tildrul's drone and Ti'zal's, showing the Eosians by the dockyards.
Lillian was happy that the... offer had worked so well, and let her group finally meet the man they needed. Unfortunately, she recieved the notification of the Eosians already being in Freeport. She muttered a barely audible "shit" under her breath, not wanting Tian Zul to hear her, and noticed the Lotus official performing suspicious acts, she needed to act quickly, lest Tian Zul got suspicious of them because Dhars wanted to do something not fit for the situation. She cleared her throat and composed herself to talk to Tian Zul, giving an aura of professionalism and business sense.
"Hello Tian Zul, my name is Lillian, I would introduce my comrades here, but we are on a tight schedule right now, so I will get to it. We wish to pay you to smuggle some Eosian refugees away from Freeport 11 and get them in contact with Blinding Way. Blinding is a rebel group to Eos, you don't need the details right now. Point is, we are willing to pay the just amount you wish for to get them off station. We need this quickly, or else Eos themselves might get here and destroy whatever chances we have to do business."
Lillian sounded serious, and yet composed and extremely aware of the precarious situation they had as of now. She crossed her arms in a respectful way to Tian Zul, not wanting to piss him off.
"So, what do you say? How much for a deal?"
Outside Cargo Office
"Glorious!? Pah I wish, you very funny, I have met many like you" The man was small, very small and frail. Clearly very aged Tian Zul still kept himself up and forward, with self confidence and pride practically radiating off of his old body. He wore a dockworkers overalls with a high visibility jacket and a large radio strapped to his belt along with a hard hat.
He seemed somewhat nonchalant until Lilian spoke up, his eyes stayed as they were until she got to the point of smuggling Eosian refugees came up, his tiny beady eyes opening wide and worried.
"Refugee!? Eosians!? No no no no no deal! No deal! I don't smuggle refugees! I don't deal with Eos! No no no, not good at all you need to leave at once!"
The old man who looked frail now seemed to spur to life in a burst of activity stepping forward and pointing at the door with his left hand and making a 'shoo' gesture with his right aggressively like he was trying to push them out. The other couple of dock worker admins were looking at each other concerned as Tian Zul continued to insist. At least Dhars was having better luck, breaking into the shipping and dock manifests and showing various containers and their times to leave. Unfortunately all the containers and dock facilities were taken up for the next few days with various amenities, food and high quality aeromobiles for various clients. It would be tough getting space even without this sudden response.
"No deal no money! Leave for all our sake!"
Dockyards
The response to asking for refugee transport caused some of the Nuclean crew to turn to each other with concerned looks, a couple of nods later and the same one who had called to them gestured for them to follow the crew inside the ship.
"It might be tight but the captains always open to help that sort of thing, you better come talk to him and such depends how many you got" As the Nucleans took them inside the sleek and advanced transport ship the results came back from the disruption. The Eosians had been delayed as the lift had become stuck, on a completely different floor of the dockyards from the main entrance to the freeport. It would buy them time.
But how much was anyone's guess.
They found the captain on the bridge, the Nuclean filling out virtual paperwork before turning to look at the two who entered.
"And you are?"
Seeing just where the conversation had led Vega took a step forward towards the man. Swiping at her own gauntlet, and then turning a hardlight screen around. Showing 3 sigecs ready for transfer. A lot more money than a merc really should have. She spoke flatly, not acknowledging the bribe she was offering. "We don't need your help. We need your ignorance towards a vessel. You will not be referenced. I will ensure that personally."
Vega kept her head high. Not looking down to him with her head, but her eyes. Her face kept in an even expression
Behind them, Tildrul levels his huge weapon directly at the mans chest, his camera eyes all moving to look at him. Their lenses spiral down to points as red targeting lasers flick on. In their cold mechanical voice, seemingly shifted to be slightly deeper and carry a more menacing tone, they speak as well.
"Your silence will also suffice. I doubt that a replacement can be found quickly enough to hamper our needs, especially if an investigation has to be carried out to identify your body."
As if to drive home the point, the weapon makes an audible chambering noise, as Tildrul loads something into its breech
Dhars said nothing, though he seemed content with either option. He'd taken a back seat as others began negotiation, content to use his new access point to try and do some snooping around. With his connection into the system he tried to see if he could create an opening through the selective deletion of schedule chunks. If it seemed possible, he'd definitely mess with scheduling to create a slot that would let the Eosians slip on in before anyone realized what was wrong, but if that would cause too much trouble he'd need to reconsider it. For now he just tried to look politely apologetic. No harm in seeming like the reasonable person now that things were getting hot.
As the trio entered the room, Johnny was the first to speak, the tin blabbermouth's eye turning into a happy upwards arrow as it introduced itself. Ti'zal shadowed him, with Vinny likely following in on his left.
"Hello! I am Johnny, this is my owner Ti'zal, and this is Vinny! Mind not the appearances, we are friendly folk!" It 'gestured' with one of it's needle-esque legs to the other two, before continuing-the zetyan concluded he could complain about the descriptor of 'friendly folk' when there weren't Eosians on their tail. "We are here on behalf of a client anon, looking to requisition a space on your ship for refugees as soon as possible. If you wish, I can forward you details, and we can decide on a price point from there-time is of the essence."
"Ten minutes or less." said Ti'zal, curtly. A little ping popped up on his notifications-the delay was a success. Mission success-he wouldn't have to waste money buying something sketchy off the blacknet again.
Lillian was mentally hitting herself against the wall. She didn't realize just how much these people didn't like Eos, or how much they feared them, and she messed up big time. She cringed visibly at how it had to come to her team trying to intimidate him, but she did no move against the actions being commited by her colleagues. There was no backing down now, or else the refugees would be screwed by the powers trying to get them back. She looked at the SIGEC being placed for transfer, and knew that silence was an equally good choice. She sighed at the sight she had just made, and decided to set down another 12 SIGEC for transfer. It was a drop in the ocean from the amount she could make, and she wasn't really in this for the money, anyway.
"Look, I don't want you to be in danger because of us, so your silence is also appreciated. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be"
She turned her voice into an extremely serious, cold voice. She hated every second of it, yet it was necessary.
Outside Cargo Offices
“You don’t understand! It not about the money!” Tian Zul waved his arms as if trying to get the group to understand.
“Money good, but money don’t equal life! Eosians find out, Eosians know, they hunt you down, the don’t kill quick, they kill family I won’t do it” He crossed his arms.
“Silence wont help, they track manifests and dock stock, insane thorough! I saw, I fought, Eosians on Klendathu. Worst memories of my life! They kill with glee; their faith is insane! Find somewhere else to move refugees, I won’t help, can’t help they will find you and harm you!” Despite the clear amount of 15 SIGEC, enough to make anyone rich instantly, the man was still refusing.
That alone showed how serious this was. And the setting up of a time slot for the refugees in the system would still need dock workers to remove the bulk cargo from the containers and sign off in the first place, which Tian Zul would be aware of, it would be extremely tricky.
“Maybe Mercy without Borders help, they have hospital set up near docks, try there but I not help you” He was absolutely adamant.
Dockyards
“Refugees aye? I won’t ask how you got the information that I help smuggle them but all I need to know is who, where and when. 5 SIGEC for a trip, and if you want it asap you gotta get them to me, I won’t be able to transport the people here. I can get them off station, but I am leaving in 5 hours, if they aren’t on this ship by then I can’t help you” The Nuclean Captain was precise and to the point, nodding to each of the three in turn.
“Just tell me it isn’t more Orillians at the very least, they are trouble even when wanting to escape their space”
"Thank you for the lead. We'll be off." Lekra would say, bowing a bit before turning around and beginning to leave the man's office.
She had known that it wouldn't be likely that he'd be willing to help. Eos were infamous, and infamously brutal at that. However, the lead was right for the taking, and she would not be the last one to pick up its trail.
A good distance of walking down the docks gave the serpentine woman time to think, and especially about how it seemed fated the Eosians and Selenicans were to be enemies. A chance encounter in seeking to bring freedom to those under oppression, like they were, ended in flames and the unfortunate fate of the Admiral for that mission. "It was a mistake and then some to intervene" was the common consensus within the SR, having lost the majority of the task force which had arrived. What irony, then, that she was helping refugees escape. The Selenican government was quite judicious over the freedoms you had back home, so...would it be right to continue this then support the government which keeps its own citizens behind lock and key?
Such were the doubts she was having about her allegiance, but the task at hand took precedent.
"Yes, they are refugees. I don't know who they are, but we should be able to find that out soon. I'll be sure to get the intel to you as soon as possible. I don't believe they're Orillians, though, so no worries there." She would say to the captain, hoping her colleagues would hold up her slack.
Ti'zal nearly flinched at the mention of 5 SIGEC-he wouldn't even think of spending one unit, let alone enough to football throw someone out of the poverty line. The rest was easy enough, though when the Selencian spoke up he couldn't control his side-eye. 'When did they get here' flashed in his head-he'd never stated what ship they found on the chatter, nor did he radio for backup at any point. Perhaps the drones led her here? But then, how did they get past the rest of the crew. The questions were many, and the answers eluded him.
At the captain's prompt response, the construct 'nodded' in turn. "Very well-I will wire the details to you." Barely a second later, the coveted information showed up in the Nuclean's inbox, and if he had cybernetics the message would bring itself up to his field of view. It included everything-including who it was. "Payment may not be immediate, but my colleages I'm sure can be prompt in this matter! Right, sir?" Silently, the robot then sent a message to Ti'zal, popping up in his armor's field of view-'You should wire the team'.
"Right." A prompt nod, and he turned away, near-whispering into his conn as Johnny turned back to the captain. If there was a window to the outside in the room, he would move to peer outwards-he was antsy about any protracted waiting times. "Who here has 5 SIGEC to piss away?"
Arkan, feeling the air int he room shift from the unwillingness, started to observe his surroundings. He turned his attention to the rear of the office. They clearly were in fear of the Eosians retaliating from any kind of assistance they could offer. With the way things were going, they would naturally want to defend themselves. His concealed hands switched from his weapon to one of the flashgrenades in his trap gear, ready to deploy it should things turn hostile.
Time was of the essence and it felt like patience was wearing thing on ether side. He took a deep breath and changed his gaze back to Ti'zal, curious at what the further action would be.
"Oh?" Dhars raised an eyebrow. This was beyond his expectations. Stepping forward, he smiled broadly and had his little bug try to cut the cameras in this room, if any. "Mmmm... Well~" And with a sudden blur of movement leapt to grab the man by the throat. "No sudden movements now." His mouth didn't move as he spoke, the sweetened tone distorting as if coming from a radio transmitter, and it became clear to the unfortunate cargo master that the transhuman's teeth were metal, and sharpened to points. "But if I just force you to do what I want, you won't be culpable, right? Be rational now, you're just the victim of forces beyond your control at this point. You can even keep the money~ Or I can just kill you and do it myself. Think about it. The Eosians are a maybe problem. I'm right here~" Dhars regretted resorting to violence, but at this point time was of the essence if there really were Eosians on the station. And maybe if he acted quick enough he could get the man to comply before anyone else could react, implicating the rest of the party in his actions and forcing them to get moving.
Tildrul seems to have been just about ready to blow apart the mans upper torso when Dhars made his move. The crab stops as the lunge forward was made, taking a moment to reassess the situation, before deciding to just play along, and possibly even give the man more reason to cooperate. They push their way up to the front of the group, and rear up on the back half of their legs, exposing their underbelly, complete with gushing steam, wriggling legs, and a horrifying crustacean like mouth. They speak, their mouth spraying frothy steaming spittle as their mechanical voice box does its work.
"I would do as you are told, if you value your life so much. After all, what my college said was true. We can do what we need ourselves, regardless of if you are alive, or unhurt. And if you make us go through that, I will see to it that it looks like you helped us willingly, and then we just removed a lose end. I am CERTAIN that Eos will want to get vengeance on someone, and if you are already dead, then I hate to think of what they may do to your family to satisfy their desire for revenge. But if you help us, well, we can make it seem like you had no choice in the matter, and maybe even make you "disappear" for just long enough to take your family, and the money, and run away somewhere safe."
28 January 2023
Lillian grimaced at the acts being done by her colleagues, her more diplomatic method failing at a simple lack of understanding. She didn't think this method was inefficient, quite the contrary, it worked a lot in short term. But long term, these things were... dangerous, especially with a man like Tian Zul with the influence of Eos at hand. It was painful to watch such force being needed, especially with how the more trigger-happy Svarthan seemed, she wondered what would've happen if Tidrul moved first.
"...While it seems... quite threatening, they are right. Eos will seek someone to blame and use for vengeance. It would be in your best interest if you seemed to have no choice in the matter, especially with us being in the room. If you would like to preserve your life and of the ones you love, you will accept our offer."
Lillian started nice and diplomatic when she first started talking, but now... she sounded mad. She sounded threatening, wanting to intimidate the poor sod, although she screamed mentally at the sight.
"Oh, and don't worry about any camera footage, we are very prepared to alter and change data. You just act like an innocent, and we give you what you want, capiche?"
Dockyards
The captain seemed to nod at the agreement.
"As long as you pay before we leave, how many are we transporting and to anywhere in particular? Thank god their not Orillians." He sighed.
"But I must ask, is there risk in this? Something like this seems awfully sudden" He raised an eyebrow at Ti'Zal, Lekra and Vinny.
Outside Cargo Offices
The small and frail RANGSI man was helpless as the Cultivator picked him off the ground, feebly fighting back he tried to kick and remove the things hands but it was a futile attempt, he had no chance of resisting Dhars strength.
"You-You have no- Idea what your D-Dealing with" He scrambled and struggled. But eventually he relented.
"I-I will help, p-put me down"
"I-I can get transport for your r-refugees b but it will take some time" His comment was at least genuine. Organising transporters and cargo haulers to move the people over to the proper dockyards and the Nuclean ship would take time, and it would be at least somewhat obvious to anyone who happened to be watching the Hall. Better than the whole lot walking at least.
It seemed like a deal had been reached as a comm unit buzzed on one of the desks, it was from the man they had dealt with earlier.
"Hey boss, it seems like we got more company, they dont look here to ch-" The link cut as a slight rumble could be felt in the room and distant cries and screams heard through the walls"
"I-I told you... W-We have to move quickly"
Dhars smiles amiably and sets the man down. "Wonderful~ Oh, my masters will be just delighted that things are going so well, haha!~" The words on the comm have his neck practically snap the way it whirls to stare at the device, grin fixed on his face before turning to the cargo master. "Very well!" He seems practically giddy, and his voluminous robes are rustling in a way they shouldn't given he only has four limbs. "Wonderful wonderful wonderful-" Establishing good relations with the group helping the refugees would be a boon in itself, the sounds of combat only seem to excite him further. Maybe he's not usually as suave and stable as he's been putting on...
"To you, sir? No, I don't think so." Le'kra would say, trying her best to remain calm and not let the captain onto the potential risks herself. "My apologies but I don't know how many we're bringing, and specifically, we're trying to get them to the Blinded Way. That's all I know, unfortunately, but thank you for your time sir."
Hopes were running quite high as Le'kra relayed the needed info to the Nuclean captain, determined to save these people. She may not have known them, but dammit, slighting Eos was worth it.
"Several hundred, no particular destination." noted Johnny, as Ti'zal awaited confirmation that someone did, in fact, have 5 SIGEC to piss away, while Johnny continued to talk. "We may have company soon, but if all goes by quicky I have it on good authority there will be no risk to you or your crew! My owner is a very capable combatant, and should any bad actors come around he'll be able to deal with them handily!"
That Johnny was trying to advertise his services in the middle of a smuggling op would have to be something to tell him off about later. The most important matter was the money. Again, he reached out on the conn, giving a ping and broadcasting to all the party, while halfheartedly nodding at Johnny's statement. "Need 5 SIGEC over here. Five. Anyone have that kind of money? Not a charity."
"Got fuckin' dammit... Thanks for co-operating with us. The sooner this is dealt with, the better. More money for you, more stress for us. Fuckin 'ell..."
Lillian was absolutely tired of the situation, but she resisted the stress and let the person do their job. She was quite sure the Eosian refugees were anxious for this, especially since the sound of combat loomed close. She wasn't one for fighting out of her own volition, but if it came to defend someone else, and for the body she was using, she would do it. Thankfully, they also had a metal crab called Tidrul for the job, Ti'zal and his companion, and whatever... Dhars was doing.
She looked at the broadcast, sighing and tried to give Ti'zul some peace of mind.
*"Don't worry, I have plenty. I can pay all the SIGEC needed, just let them do the job first. If you want I'll send it to you directly."
She heard some skirmish going on, making sure to be discreet.
"You all ready for a possible firefight? Cause seems the more zealot Eosians might be here."
Tildrul seems contented by the mans compliance, as they sit back down on all their legs, and move back a bit to give the man room.
"You know what's good for you, I like that. Well, just to be sure, I think we had best go about editing any security footage and..."
The crab seems just about ready to detail more of their plan, when the communication comes in. As the screams start the crab instantly whips around and presses their way to a position further back from the door but keeping everyone important out of their line of fire. Their large weapon recedes into the slot on Tildrul's back it rests in, as a series of clanking and whirring noises indicate something powerful sounding has been loaded. The crab switches their eyes to thermal cameras trying to draw a bead on the Eos through the walls, as one of their recon drones moves to fly out the back and around the building to provide additional targeting data.
"I am ready. As soon as I have a solution, I will give them a taste of a high velocity APFSDS round on a big OAC charge."
"I'll go see what's going on." Arkan spoke up. His hands rolled over several different devices under his cloak, before resting on a Kilimond grenade charge as he approached the door to the office.
Once he exited the ship office and headed towards the docking clamp, he maintained his low presence while carefully closing the door, surveying the area and approach, deciding on what trap to use in order to stop them.
//I'm gonna secure us a route and see what were dealing with.// Arkan spoke through the drone's communications as he placed several small flash charges on the wall leading to the docking corridor.
Dockyards
"Transporting several hundred Eosians to Eosian rebels?" He turned to some of his crew "That's something I never thought I would be doing. You realise how much devastation the Eosians have caused this galaxy yes? How much damage they caused to my people and the Ecumene? Millions dead due to their religious overtures. You say we will have company, you better deal with them if they come for us. We are not equipped for a standup fight"
With a nod to the crew those outside loading onto the ship picked up the pace.
"You better get them here on time. I hope you understand I wont put my ship or crew at such risk if their being pursued. The last thing I want is to be jumped by an Eosian ship" His eyes narrowed.
Outside Cargo Offices
As the man was put back on the ground he slumped into a chair.
"I will do it quickly but it take time, and they here oh god they will kill us all!"
The offices seemed to be clear of any signatures, but the large open loading and unloading cargo area had clearly been hit hard by something. Heavy crates containing a variety of substances such as food, clothing, medical supplies and everyday items imported or sold by many were scattered about the area, thrown into the air and crashed to the floor by whatever strong charge had been thrown. 5 bloodstains which seemed to be the remains of people were spread out in a circular direction, and another 8 mangled bodies were laid out either thrown into containers or crushed by them.
Several dock hands were running for their lives, all from a trio of white and gold individuals.
Two of them were armoured, each carrying wave rifles, the third was just wearing robes, bright red and orange, the symbol of the reclaimer order emblazoned on them and a fire danced above his head.
The group in the offices had the height advantage, and could see down over the cargo docks from a series of gantries. But these were also Eosians, they were known fighters capable of holding their own and even surpassing tougher foes they could be unpredictable, but the fact they were here and didnt know the group was present could also aid them. They could choose to fight, or try slip away.
The choice was theirs.
"Of course, sir. It's our priority, and as I said, we're very capable of dealing with 'company'." intoned Johnny, who in a pointed display of restraint didn't bother to correct the captain's viewpoint of who he was transporting. Silently, the assistant sent a ping to the rest of the group, a polite if unconcise message telling them that the captain was compliant and to get the refugees squared away.
The robot didn't need to even ping Ti'zal for him to get the jist, as with a nod the Zetyan departed outside and immediately started keeping eye for their conspicuous golden pursuants. Out of earshot of the captain, he now spoke as normal into his radio. "Yeah, fuckers we saw on the way up probably found a way around now. Send the money to Johnny, get the refugees on the way, captain's leery and I'm taking point."
Tildrul carefully aligns the sights of their weapon to rest square on the forehead of the one wearing the robes, their drone feeding them targeting data from outside as their thermal vision lets them peer through the walls at their foes heat signature. Barely audible whirring noises come from their armor as the cannons position is shifted minutely to stay on target
"I have a solution on their leader, and am ready to execute him. If I take the shot the other two will however most likely make a rush towards us. How well are all of you in a fight? Bear in mind we are up against Eos troops so it will not be easy by any margin."
Arkan, who was calmly pressed against a wall near the entrance ramp to the office as he heard Tildrul's response. After observing the rather decorated Eosian soldiers.
"I'm pretty good...but" he returned to the gaze to his corner.
"...from the look at that gear on them, it'll probably only take one of those rifles to level the office." He said softly as he rested against the wall, making sure he was completely hidden.
"If we fight them, I recommend we ether incapacitate all 3 of them at once, or lure them away so we can get the refugees." he suggested. If the Eosians approached the office ramp, they'd trigger the flash charges on the threshold the moment they cross it...an outcome that would probably only startle them at least or effectively stun them enough but would force them to go aggressive.
"I got flank if we go loud, but i only got some explosives and some grenades that'll more than likely not impale their armor." He also has his rifle, but thats not recommended at the suspected range. Still he prepped his kilimond grenade and set it to impact. If anything it'd create a quick cover in need.
"Unless you have a better idea, they're about to get flashbanged if they walk towards the office."
Dhars looked to the others. "Let us handle them." He ran a hand through the many bead necklaces ringing his neck. With a twist of his fingers he snapped the string, just as a hole split open on a seam located on his neck. With a wide grin, he thumbed the first of the beads into the opening, others following as his body seemed to pull them down his through. Hiding his ammunition as mundane decorative trinkets was standard practice for the cultivator.
This whole situation was thrilling! Helping these refugees to build his sect's network was one thing, but collecting combat data against a powerful enemy such as this had its own substantial payout! It may not have been the intended mission but the blood burning in his veins told him he couldn't refuse such an opportunity.
"This body of mine is not just for espionage. Say the word and I'll join my power with yours."
"We are talking hyper zealous, very advanced opponents. The only ones with us with enough firepower to be able to damage and maybe kill them are Tidrul and maybe you Dhars."
Lillian quickly pulled out two railgun revolvers, checking their capacity and looking at the others, scanning them quickly before looking back at the Eosians.
"I can try and access any tech they have on them, but considering that it's foreign in nature, I can't fully guarantee me being able to even incapacitate a weapon, I'll try anyways... Alright, didn't think I would ever have to do this, but if necessary, I can either overclock the magnets and superbattery on this to give me one powerful shot on each revolver, or take out the battery and use it basically as a grenade, if anyone is willing to shoot it."
Lillian began trying to access the systems of the Eosians, knowing full well the consequences of if she wasn't able to. Just to make sure, she had section cutting on the ready to cut the connection so she wouldn't die due to a virus.
Dockyards
"Go then, get them to us and we shall see about trying to save these... People" The Nuclean captain intoned to those in front of him. The choice was theirs, rendezvous with the group in the Cargo areas or withdraw to the refugees themselves to check on them and prepare them for possible transport.
Because getting several hundred panicked people into containers was going to be a hard time.
Outside Cargo Offices
As the group readied themselves for a confrontation the sharp cries of those mangled but not quite dead dock hands could be heard from outside the offices.
It was then that the leader, the infrared blur on Tildruls sights, turned to face him down the sight. He put out his arms as a gesture of non violence.
"I am calling the group of beings currently in the Offices. Yes I am aware you are up there, I can see your auras. I believe we have things to discuss. Your Auras do not fit the others here and judging by the overwhelming feeling of panic by the man up there with you I can assume that you have something to do with the ongoing situation. I wish to talk, not fight. My quarrel and that of the Eostine is not with you and yours, but with others who have abandoned the path and seek to join a sect which is both radical and dangerous to the galaxy"
His guards did not move.
"But believe me, lost ones, should you choose violence I will not hesitate to bring the fury of the creator down upon you. I am but one of many, there is no reason for us not to discuss things civilly, a choice these men here chose poorly"
Dhars looked to the others, his previously bloodthirsty demeanor almost violently pushed aside. "I've already gone and loaded my body, I can negotiate if you wish. In fact, close range would suit my arts better, if things go wrong. Haha. Though, the longer we keep these people occupied, the more time we have for our associates to escape. This would be most amenable, would it not? We need only stall until the work is completed, and then kill if need be." He seemed to be almost sad that the Eosians were trying to negotiate, but seized on the new opportunity without any hesitation.
Nodding with it's display, Johnny moved to follow Ti'zal out to the dockyards, motioning for the others to follow as well. As it returned to their liege's side, the PAI began to chitter once again.
"Should we check on the refugees, sir?"
"...dunno."
"It would be beneficial to square our charges away beforehand, no?"
"Yeah. Need a guarantee on position. White fuckers are somewhere."
"I can keep watch if you wish, while you and the others check on the refugees."
"...do that."
"Sir." With a 'nod', Johnny then departed from the position above Ti'zal's shoulder, making headway for the nearest wall as to climb and gain a much better vantage point. Ti'zal, meanwhile, opened up on their local radio to speak with the three who had come with him while he began to make headway to his new destination.
"Right. You three, with me. We find the 'fugees, sort them, prep for transport."
Tildrul shifts some of their eyes to Dhars, and vents some steam from his back in approval while shifting some more eyes towards Lillian, and speaks. Despite this his aim never strays from the head of the leader, and one of his eyes remains steady on target.
"That is a very good idea Dhars. The longer we can distract them the better. I suggest you and Lillian, who I belive has experience in negotiations, head down to them. I will remain here, ready to engage at your discretion, as my weapon will serve better in long range engagements than up close. If you posses Near field magnetic induction communications I could even talk to you in your mind, with very little chance of being over heard."
Outside Cargo Offices
Damn this stupid tail... Lek'ra would think, trying to move as fast as her body would allow, gripping the floor as she heard the Eosian speak, having arrived just after his offer.
His voice was strong, firm, and not unlike that of the President's with his tone. The others were tallking about leaving with Tildrul remaining. She would open a radio channel to the crablike being.
"Hey, Tildrul." She'd say to the Svarthan, "It'd be rotten leaving you dry here, but..."
She would look deeper into the offices, KNOWING that's where those damnable Eosians were, but...she couldn't fight. She was a spy, not a soldier. The fear and pressure were mounting, constantly building on top of each other, almost taking over her will. But, she remained with her ally.
"I don't have the firepower to back you up. We need to slow them down through negotiation."
She would rise from behind whatever cover she had managed to take, offering a sign of peace to the Eosians, despite her hatred of them.
"Greetings, soldiers of Eos' will. I did not come here to fight you, merely to speak, as you desire. What is it you wish to speak about?"
Lillian closely analyzed the words uttered by the Eosian, trying to make sense of it. She had heard of things like biosonars, even just regular sonar for use in spotting enemies behind cover. What was strange to her was the use of the word "auras", including how the Eosian could also detect emotions and feelings. She quickly thought of different possibilities.
May biosonar? No... too low end for them.
Some sort of chemical tracker? Hm.... no, nearly impossible to detect through these walls...
Then an epiphany came to Lillian's mind. She had read before about different types of psionics and "souls", in which most living creatures had a nominal effect on a called "psionic field". It was something Lillian truly was uneducated on, being from a universe that didn't have any form of psionics. Then, one question came into her mind.
Can they see me?
"I don't know if exposing myself would be idea. You heard what they said, right? The whole "I can see your auras" thing?"
She pulled up a holographic screen showing her body's specs, showing the bio-synthetic nature of it, and therefore her true nature as an AI.
"Thing is, they might see you, but I don't think they can see me. I'm an AI, I have no soul, and I don't think I have an effect as of now on the psionic field. Ask one of them how many we are, maybe we can-"
Lillian overheard the Selenican talking to the Eosians. She flinched in surprise and fear of the entire operation going awry from that one action, but she also saw the potential of the act.
"For fucks- Shit. Dhars, you go out, I'll stay here just in case. From what I've heard, these Eosians aren't very friendly towards my kind. Better to not expose myself in case."
Dhars calmly walked out, his hands held outwards with palms outstretched and a broad smile on his face. "Greetings, honored peers. Your civility touches the heart of this mere disciple. Just what is it that you intend to discuss?"
Near Order Hall
Ti'zals idea to check on the refugees given everything going on was a smart one. Making his way through the bustling streets it took time, but thankfully Johnny got a much better vantage and view giving him a report before he himself saw. At the entrance of the Hall of the Wandering Path, stood three figures. Two in Orange robes and one in White, clearly Eosians, currently talking to one of the Halls keepers. There were more Eosians than they thought, but they hadn't opened fire or caused a scene, did they know the refugees were inside? Even if they didn't getting them out with the Eosians around was going to be impossible. Already a crowd was forming watching the Eosians and the Halls Keeper talk, but it was impossible to hear what they were saying from this distance.
Still a man seemed to walk out from the crowd, attracting the attention of everyone, he held his hands up palms open and began to talk to the Eosians and Keeper. He looked Restevian with short hair, but again Ti'zal or Johnny needed to get closer.
Outside Cargo Offices
"Ah finally" The Eosian turned to both Lek'ra and Dhars.
"I am glad you did not come here to fight, regardless of popular belief we are not bloodthirsty crusaders. We are just humble servants of Eos will and wish to complete our tasks as simply as possible as do we all." He made the sign of the Eye of Eos on his chest and gave a slight bow.
"I have come here, as have others from my sect, to learn the whereabouts of those of my race who sadly turned from the graceful path and now supposedly seek to join a dangerous and fanatical sect of the Eostine Faith. I had hoped the dockyard staff could tell me, but they were more interested in material greed and threats" He gestured to the dead bodies littering the floor "But seeing you here with the dockmaster and how much you all stand out you strike me as the types to possibly know something about this. I know there are others of you up there still, very strategic and smart. But I do not want conflict. Do you know of the refugees?"
"...shit..." Ti'zal muttered to himself aimlessly as he pushed through the crowds, watching the occasion through a datalink in his harness's visor. One Eosian was already too many, let alone three, and while he couldn't speak for Eosian culture nor why they hadn't bothered to start shooting yet he knew orange robes at minimum meant very bad things. He chose then to go wide, making his way to the 'sides' of the hall as to avoid immediately being spotted.
"Johnny, get closer. Need eyes. Now." He spoke far more gruffly and hastily than usual, the voice modulator on his armor making it almost seem like a snarl.
"Sir." The robot responded in kind, chipper remaining yet gradually coinciding with a grave seriousness. The skittering robot clambered along the walls, then the ceiling like a spider, careful to stay in shadow as to avoid wandering eyes catching a glint of reflection. Ti'zal, meanwhile, spoke into the radio, communicating with the rest of the team as he watched from the sidelines.
"Bogeys at the hall. Three, stalled at entrance. Can't take on three. Need a backup plan, now or never."
Arkan, still held his position silently so far he felt unnoticed, the murdering heat glare from the 3 Eosians not glancing in his direction. Remaining clam, trying to keep a sense of where they are, he subtly replied to Ti'zal.
"I'm down here on the otherside, but taking them on is not a good idea unless we can take all 3."
"Strongest thing is some explosives and my rifle but they're well armored. However, they wish to talk. Hopefully that gives us a moment to think." He said.
"I probably take the one closes to me if we have to, but that leaves the big one" Still maintaining his stoic expression he looked up towards the ceiling, trying to spot any ideas in the large docking area.
Le'kra's multiple hearts were pounding like drums, struggling to maintain a calm exterior against this wretched Eosian, his robes and words those of a priest, a man of the Divine Being, but his actions reeked of the stench of Hell itself. He was a hypocrite, claiming to be acting in the word of his god, while acting against it. At least, that's what she thought of the man.
"I am glad to see you aren't open to shooting first." she'd say, firm and quite loud, still terrified for her life and the lives of the refugees should she fail. "I am not your enemy, nor do I wish to appear as such, but I desire the knowledge of why you seek these refugees. You had said that they are traitors to the faith, yet you repay the deity with bloodshed and violence of those not traitors."
She would pause for a moment, struggling to maintain composure with the Eosian, pressure building like a hydraulic press crushing her lungs and mind, struggling to continue. She hated the Eosians, despised them with whatever malice she could muster, but...to be standing before guards of their faith, she couldn't help but feel, if not impressed, but a feeling of duty and respect which mirrored her own to her nation. But instead of to a banner, they followed a god.
"And so I ask, why must those have perished? I share no love for those who don't seek negotiation first, but must a punishment for that be death?"
Dhars allowed Le'kra to speak first, inclining his head and scanning the individuals in front of him. An eyebrow raised as she played her hand. An uninvolved bystander might not have such investment in the issue, but someone who had actually been aiding the refugees would be exactly the person to say something like that. Best to deflect.
"Hm hm, I suppose your temple has indeed acquired quite the... reputation. As for her words on justice, they certainly move my heart." Dhars said, completely deadpan, his presence next to his companion that of quite detachment, as if he just happened to be here when all this nonsense had gone down. "Though, as you have said, you are merely humble servants, are you not? This person's concerns, I certainly understand them, but at the same time, how strange would it be, if such noble warriors like yourselves arrived with any but the most righteous of intentions. Surely this is but some misunderstanding." Dhars was using a lot of words to say very little.
Tildrul hisses back a mechanical retort to the snake as his weapon remains trained on the preist, shuffling his body to avoid a collateral on his allies
"Diplomacy is fine, its just not my thing. You talk, I will be ready to take the shot if needed. Best to strike first."
With that the crab goes back to preparing for violence. Despite how well meaning and civilized their foes sound, Tildrul knows its all a facade. They are just seeing if they can buy off his team to kill them when they are distracted or if they have to kill them now given. No, better to be ready for an inveitable fight.
Outside Cargo Offices
The man raised an eyebrow to Le'Kras comment.
"They threatened us with death if we did not hand over our material wealth and equipment. If non-believers threaten the good deeds of the faithful then their lives are forfeit. It is very simple, would you not kill if your life was threatened and put in peril? Eos has no quarrel with bloodshed and violence child, those are tenets to be used against the heretic and the irredeemable."
"It is of course likely a misunderstanding. These men who are now dead were not your friends or associates I imagine. Now, I ask my question again simply, do you know of the escaped Eosians? Where I may find them?" One of the escorting Crusaders tightened the grip on his gun slightly.
Near Order Hall
Ti'Zals situation was bleak but he could at least hear the conversation now.
"They are harbouring individuals that must be brought back home"
"You have no power over our holding and no sovereign control over our halls Eosian"
"People please, it is not difficult to co-operation with these Eosians, but at the same time I must ask why pursuit such people? If they chose to leave then that is their destiny. There is no reason for bloodshed"
"None may turn from Eos light. You have 1 hour to bring them out, or we will turn your hall to dust"
The conversation was short lived as the Eosians walked away. The new arrival seemed to scratch his head and comment to the hall master.
"I may have a way to get those refugees out"
Dhars shrugs. "I am on my own business here, yes? We have no issues with your quarry. Certainly, your words are of utmost concern. Some wicked band of demonic individuals spreading their roots elsewhere would be most horrible! I cannot say that I would know much about it. Though, this reminds me of the time during the era of Three Dragons, when-"
Dhars launches into a lengthy expository rant, unprompted. Stalling for time.
Arkan took a soft sigh of relief as the Eosians took their step away. Making sure they're completely gone from view, Arkan moved to collect the trap he had rigged at the entrance to the office.
//Well with those guys walking around, this has gotten abit difficult. Did i hear one of you had a plan?// Arkan asked as removed the flashmines from the threshold before calmly returning to the floor, observing the area around for anything that could help for their eventual return.
"1 hour." Ti'zal noted to himself, watching them push through the crowd away from the hall. "Ok. Good. Plenty of time..." He began muttering and denying some rapid fire plans only to himself, silently pinging Johnny to rendezvous with him and Arkan as he silently watched them all. Eventually, he turned to Arkan, as his small companion returned to that one spot above the shoulder it so favoured.
"Should look for alternate routes out. Eosians are watching, probably. Eye around. Ask the hall people." He paused for a moment, eyeing the unfamiliar Restevian that stood near the door. "Ask him too. Good?" He then waited for a response from the other, nodding and motioning for them to begin moving to the hall, though not quite beginning so yet himself.
"Dammit..." the serpent was thinking, figuring out that morality wouldn't stall them. "I don't want to end up dead, but...I can't risk selling them out...How do I...?"
Again the beating of her hearts were filling what could be thought of as her ears, her previous beliefs shattered. No, they weren't hypocrites, by no means. But they were, for lack of a better idea, delusional. At least, to her knowledge.
Before she could speak however, her instincts took over, forcing her to scurry away from the open line of sight to the Eosian, panicked beyond measure. Her sidearm would almost certainly prove to be nothing but a nuisance to them and she was outnumbered even with backup, so fighting wasn't an option. However, diplomacy didn't seem to work either so...what was to be done?
A short prick of radio static would emit into the nearby Svarthan's receiver. "We're gonna need to be ready for a fight." the female voice of Le'kra would say, clearly shaken and scared, quiet as a mouse. "Don't shoot first, but the second they fire, hit em. I won't be much use, but I'll take shots wherever I can."
The serpent had the vast majority of her body hidden behind a wall, obscured by clouds of dust and smoke from the previous firefight. It wasn't the best cover, but it was better than nothing at all.
Lillian messed around with her pistols, trying to see how she could at least hurt the heavily armed Eosians. She knew the moment her identity was exposed she would quite possibly cause the start of the shooting. She looked at Tidrul, his quite massive gun seemed perfect for a killing, and yet it was quite possible it would just annoy the Eosians. She separated the energy chamber of one of her pistols, ready to use it as a grenade.
"I hope you're ready for anything, Tidrul. Don't know how much they'll appreciate an AI tagging along to help their unfaithful. Let's hope these two can ease us out of here."
She chambered her second pistol, grip tight, mind ready. She was not about to lose her original body.
As Dhars stalled them the Eosian at the front watched as Lek'ra clearly lost her nerve and moved off. His eyes narrowed, especially as Lilian fiddled with the pistols at her waist. He simply held up a hand.
"That is enough, I have heard your message. Now if you will excuse us we wish to speak to the dockmaster here, he is the one to converse with about transportation in and off station. I bid you a good day in his holy name" The Eosians moved off, away from the group and towards the offices where Tidrul was standing ready. The Crusaders seemed on edge, as did the holy man but they made no attempt to suddenly attack or decieve their foes. The question was would they let them reach the dockmaster, who was now cowering behind his desk.
--
As the individuals made their way towards the Hall the conversation between the Hall master and the unknown individual became clearer. The Hall master was stating that he already had individuals looking for a way out.
"I have 3 transports in Dock 55 ready to go, all cargo passenger liners, small but they can fit the refugees. We can likely transport the refugees there using regular cargo transports, delay the Eosians. Think your having supplies delivered, I have a few men who can help defend the transports too. We can have them to safety in 3 hours tops"
"And you will take them where?"
"Blinded Way, best place for them to be with their own although not the insane jihadist ones." The Hallmaster seemed to think.
"I think its a good plan. An alternative should this one not work. I did not catch your name young man?"
"Call me Jonan"
"Ah." Dhar's smile widened slightly as the Eosian's turned away. Something rippled underneath his voluminous robes, and two things happened at once. Dhars suddenly darted to the side, seeking cover, and several gun barrels extruded from his clothing, firing bursts of the same metal beads he'd shoved from his necklaces into his internals. No more stalling, it would seem. Time to escalate.
And escalate Tildrul does.
The giant rifle on their shell bucks back, the exhaust venting from slots on the side of the frame. The extremely heavy explosive charge sends an APFSDS round streaking out from the barrel with a thunderous hypersonic CRACK.
The frangible metal rod punches through the wall with ease, aimed straight for the Eosian leaders forehead.
As the rifle recoils down, Tildurs cybernetics lock another round into the chamber his eyes flitting over the scene to identify the success of their strike and determine their next target. (edited)
"Dammit, this moron actually is shooting?!" Le'kra would think to herself, the piercing noise of the rifle crackling through the air. Her pistol wouldn't be able to do anything but plink off of the armor of these Eosian guards, but she made a promise, and a promise she planned to keep. Leaning around the corner, she'd unholster her pistol, a small railgun miniaturized many years ago and a family heirloom of hers, and let loose a few cartridges into the general direction of the Eosians. The whistling and bangs of the rounds traveling through the air ringed throughout her head and ears, adrenaline pumping from her two hearts all throughout her body.
"If I fucking die here, I'm blaming this damn Svarthan!" She thought, before leaning back behind the cover of the wall.
...this was unexpected.
Whoever the John Doe was, he was planning on the same thing they were. Inadvertent competitor? Unknowing contractor? Whatever the case, confusion mounted as Ti'zal made a confused grunt - though at the very least, the priest hadn't decided to ditch them for greener pastures. Johnny began communicating with his owner in turn, observing the duo as they conversed.
"Sir? What... should we do?" Though the PAI wasn't able to express true emotion, the artificial inflections masked it well enough.
"...no idea." he replied, eyeing the Restevian-seeming man with a narrowed gaze.
"Should I contact the rest of the team, then? Perhaps-"
"I'll talk. You keep watch."
"Aye, sir."
After sparing a glance to where the Eosians might have wandered, Ti'zals comms lit up as he connected with the rest of the team. A picture from Johnny was forwarded to Tildrul's silver drone, and after a moment of confirmation he prepared to speak-
-and recognized the telltale sounds of heavy gunfire from the other side.
"Motherfucker." He cursed almost instinctively, his voice reaching over the radio before he realized his mistake and cut the feed for a short moment to collect himself.
"ALCON. See picture. Got an unknown, trying to evac VIPs before we can. Engage with agent now or wait for unknown to fuck off?" A short pause, as he politely waited at the sound of a railgun going off indoors. "Inform before you're dead. Please."
The Eosian leader died instantly, the round punching through his head with little time to react. His white robes stained with blood as it splashed all up the two Crusaders who stood at his side. They were already raising their weapons before their leaders body hit the floor.
One of them took a few rounds from Le'kra, one seeming to punch through the armour and draw blood in the Eosians lower abdomen but he did not flinch. It was now their turn.
One of the two Crusaders, the hulking forms in their resplendent now blood stained white and golden armour, levelled the gravitic shotgun towards where Dhars had hidden in cover and opened fire. The knot of force, smashed straight through one of the heavy crates effortlessly, sending shrapnel and metal fragments clattering across the dock area. The weapons were short ranged, but they were devastating in their ability to inflict crippling damage or killing blows.
The second, wounded Crusader did not seem to shoot at Le'kra, instead pulling a small device from one of his pouches he hurled it through the air into the entrance of the offices, the gravity grenade primed and ready to detonate. He may not have been able to shoot Tildrul but he could drive him out of the cover he was in.
They had to deal with two and quickly, no doubt with blood already spilled every Eosian in the Freeport would now know.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Le'kra would hear in her head, her internal voice running quick. "Whatever those two're doing they're damn good at it."
A couple more shots ring out and the almost etherial sound of the Eosian's gravitic shotgun being fired rang in her ears with shrapnel and debris being spun into a vortex following the path of the gun's shot. It didn't seem aimed for her, though, so she should be...
"What's this...?" She'd think after seeing a small device flying for a little. Her brain went into overdrive soon after realizing -- a grenade, a bomb, something -- it was about to blow! "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!" She'd think, diving away from the corner and where the device landed, not thinking for but a moment before acting. Some debris was coating her outfit and some shrapnel tore through it, cutting her left arm at the bicep, searing pain ringing through her body, but dulled by the shock and adrenaline rush of combat. It seems now, then, that it's kill or be killed -- and Le'kra wasn't determined to meet her maker here.
"Hm hm hm~" Dhars was thoughtful as he skittered to additional cover on all fours, voluminous robes concealing the nuances of his movement as a series of gun barrels protruded haphazardly from the cloth. That was dangerous! He'd gotten some wounds too. Nasty. But this sort of urban combat was Dhar's specialty. He'd been worried that armor would be too powerful for his guns, but this seems rather doable. If anything heavier appears though... well, best to deal with that as it comes! For now he made a break for another place to hide, guns firing wildly in the direction of the surviving Eosians.
"ALCON. Respond." Ti'zal said again, clenching his fist as he listened to the fight escalate like a staircase. "Respond....damnit all, fucking amateurs, fuck fuck fuck." He cursed to himself once again, shaking his head. The Eosians would surely be on their tails now, no-one just got in a gunfight with their kind and got away with it. No plan survives contact with the enemy, not even one without conflict in mind.
Silently, he signaled to Johnny to return. He wouldn't be asking them for any input now, would he? Not when they were busy getting themselves killed. Pushing through the crowd, the Zetyan made an imposing sight as he pushed his way through the waves of flesh and towards the two conversing men, a hunk of metal and polymer with two drones now resting upon his shoulder breaking the tide of men and women.
"Sir." He said, once he was past the motley and within reasonable speaking distance. "Transport's ready. VIPs need to get going. Limited time."
...
He paused for a moment, glancing at the man named Jonah before formulating a half-baked plan. "Got the same idea. You want to help?"
Lillian took cover as she felt the impact of gravitic waves hit her, form. She wasn't hurt, but her body was recovering from the hit. She scanned the immediate area to find the exact location of the Eosians. She had hoped that bloodshed could've been prevented, but now it was a fight for survival. Not only for them, but for the Eosians fleeing their oppressors.
"We need to deal with those two right now! Hope that the next batch are still far enough away for the refugees to be able to escape in time!"
Lillian got up from the floor, her body recalibrating before grabbing the core of one of her pistols and chucking it at the closest Eosian like a grenade. The core began to heat up and destabilize in midair as she shot the thing three times so it would blow up in the zealot's face. Her body and mind accelerated, getting inputs and perceiving them at rates much faster than a normal being. It was her original body on the line, and she would not lose it.
As the fire was exchanged, Arken ducked behind a container. He peeked out and spotted the remaining Crusader tossing a device. A soft curse as it was too late to stop him from throwing the likely grenade.
"Lets see you catch this"
However a soft click setting to Impact, the raptor threw the kilimond grenade towards the crusader's hiding spot. On impact, it would explode into a depleted kilimond star.
As the grenade flies through the air towards them, Tildrul realizes that they will not have time to throw it back or escape the building through any regular exits. But the can still perhaps save themselves.
Quickly aligning their sights on the trooper that threw the grenade, the crab seals the vents that manage the weapons recoil befoire they push off into the air, and fire the weapon. The shot is terrible and will most likely go horribly wide, but that is not the point of it.
No, as the huge weapon tries to kick back, it suddenly finds there is almost no resistance to its travel, and as such it launches Tildrul backwards, carrying him across the room before the huge bulk of the heavily augmented crab tears a hole in the thin walls of the office. They fall to the docks, their weight cracking the ground as they writhe and wriggle on the ground for a moment and at last manage to right themselves. They may have escaped the gravity grenade, but they are indeed in a far less favorable position.
The Crusaders were not just soldiers.
The Paladins were soldiers, no, they were a religious martial order. Warfare was their entire existence. Crusaders were chosen at birth, inducted and indoctrinated into the order and brought up in harsh and unforgiving circumstances. They were expert combatants, well equipped and assigned to be powerful special forces or escorts for key dignitaries specially the Order of the Cleansing Flame. Where a normal Eosian may fall to wounds, a Crusader will keep going, their body conditioned to keep fighting even after sustaining critical wounds. Unbreakable, mental fortresses made up their mind. They were proud to fight and die for the Eostine.
Another burst of fire scattered off the laminate plasto-ceramic armour that they wore, Dhars firing the burst wildly as he leapt to another point of cover. Already the whine of the gravitic weapons was piercing the air, famed for their destructiveness they were the perfect weapon of deliverance against foes of the faith.
One put another shot out towards Dhars, only to be flung backwards as the overheating pistol Lilian threw exploded in close proximity. Melting the Crusaders front armour the man took a moment to get up, a second later however he was hit by Tildruls shot, the round punching clean through his chest killing even the hardened crusader instantly.
As the gravity grenade went off in the offices, utterly wrecking them and killing those few poor souls who had chosen to try keep cover the form of the Svarthan impacting the floor caused the last Crusader to fire a blast in his direction. The whine of the weapon discharging before Arkens grenade flew through the air. A second later the Crusader was killed, crushed into a ball by the grenade.
In almost the blink of an eye the combat was over.
--
The man looked to Ti'zal before smiling.
"Trying to help the refugees as well? Yea more help is always worth it. I have a personal ship ready to go that can carry them and I think I can get transportation sorted its just moving them out of this place without them getting shot up by Eosians. Any ideas? The names Jonan by the way" He held out his hand.
Arkan did a quick check of the Crusader's positions, confirming theyhave departed this realm one way or the other before looking towards the office. The Grenade that was tossed to the office clearly did it's damage.
"You guys still alive up there?" Arkan called on the radio before looking over to the walkway back to office before pushing aside the door, shoving an unknown object thatmay have been furnture or a body from the doorway.
"...well...that's not promising" he said to himself as he peeked in
The Svarthan are know for being highly ressitant to compressive forces and as such gravity weapons, with their hydraulic musculature, tough bodies, and overall redundancies to keep themselves from being flattened under their planets immense atmosphere and gravity. As such Tildrul just has enough time to hunker down and brace for the surge as it washes over him. He can feel it pull and tug at his body like an immense lethally powerful fire hose. Tildrul is pushed back by the strike sliding across the harbor as the gravity waves try to tear their body apart but in the end his peculiar biology manages to save his life.
As it subsides, Tildrul unclenches their body and looks at their internal diagnostic before swearing softly under their breath. Their body is largely intact, and its innards are even operating at acceptable levels despite the damage taken by both the fall and the gravity wave, but his exposed main weapon is utterly ruined, having been warped and shorn off at the breach, leaving him with only his comparatively small side arms.
After a moment of gathering their thoughts, they hear the radio call and respond
"I am alive but I am no longer "up there" so to speak. I am now outside behind the office on the ground level."
The lack of gunfire was almost more deafening than the sounds of the shootout. Le'kra was almost screaming in pain, biting down on a piece of cloth from a ripped-up piece of her shirt, only hardly big enough for her mouth. Her arm, it was bleeding, thrashed open by a piece of wayward metal. And it fucking burned, her breaths ragged and pained, one of her long and slender hands trying to form a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding.
DAMMITTT! She'd shout into her makeshift gag. "Fuck...fuck I need a doctor..."
Rising from the piece of cover she had taken, her long body would begin trudging through the rubble towards the nearest exit. Her movement was sluggish. The warmth drained from her slowly throughout the fight, slowing down both her fighting and her thinking. The cold...the cold, the oldest enemy of the Selenicans. She could only beg to whatever God existed to that the dock had a doctor or some kind of med bay...
"Ti'zal M'ghao. PSC." He said while returning the gesture, eyes scanning to see if the crusaders had decided to return from where they had come from. "Same situation. Ready transport, ready funds. Just need quick route..."
He paused for a moment, then turned to Johnny. "Johnny, go find the ship. Any 'visitors', shout it. Check cams first. Look for good routes." Johnny silently 'nodded' with a digital eye, then whizzed off to who knows where. As it moved, it multitasked by flitting through whatever cameras in the dockyards it could find, eyeing for a very specific Nuclean ship at sector 6^9, dock four.
He then returned his focus to Jonan. "Have backup, over by cargo. Dealing with some. Evidently others. Could come around to help once done." He paused again, seeming to think for a moment as his head tilted to the closed chapel. "Your ship big? Few hundred bodies in there."
"Hmm. This is unfortunate." Dhars said as he crawled out of position, robe shifting under him as numerous weapon barrels twitched, extruded, retracted. "I suggest moving to the transports and setting up a defensive perimeter. We will be hunted now, so that ship is our best route off of this station."
This is all becoming a bit dangerous, despite the thrill running through him at the confrontation there was no denying it was a single move a way from going horribly. His thoughts couldn't help but turn towards escape routes as he looked for any signs of further trouble.
The tinnitus had set in. Even with a robotic body, tinnitus would always be an issue by design. As she got up from the gravitic blast, her scanners scouted the room and everything around the battle they had just fought. Several bio-signs less, though it seemed the Eosians were among the missing bio-signs. Her body recalibrated as the tinnitus finally left, the scratches and dents left in her skin and endoskeleton beginning to heal.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Lillian said, a sigh emanating from her lips. She looked at the direction of the Svarthan, trying to see how the crab was doing. "Tildrul, if you're not too heavily damaged I recommend scouting the area, better make sure there aren't more Eosian crusaders coming along. Le'kra, you doing alright?" She asked, wondering about the Selenican's position.
Hearing a small noise coming from some rubble, she walked towards it. She scanned again for bio-signs, looking for Le'kra. Her eyes widened as she sensed that the snakes' pulse was staring to drift off.
"Le'kra, report yourself now! Are you okay?" She asked again, concern filling both her mind and voice.
When she found the Selenican trudging sluggishly, her heart sank. Le'kra was quite clearly losing blood, a massive gash on their arm. She rushed towards the Selenican, noticing a great decrease in temperature.
"Fuck, Le'kra has lost and is still losing a lot of blood. If anyone can get a doctor or find the nearest medbay, that would be greatly appreciated! I will do some first aid on her, but considering the blood she's probably lost, we should count her out of the fight."
Lillian tried to lay the Selenican down, grabbing the semi-loose improvised tourniquet and tightening it even more. She stared at the giant gash with great concern, not having much in the way of coagulant on her. She wasn't really sure it would work on the Selenican anyways. She gritted her teeth as she looked at Le'kra with remorse, body and especially her hand beginning to warm.
"I'm going to cauterize the wound, alright Le'kra? This will hurt."
She looked at her hand, it glowing and radiating with heat. Her batteries indicated red, the inefficiency of heating up a certain part of her body draining a large portion of it. She held fast, as she placed her hand on the open wound. The sound of burning flesh was an unpleasant yet familiar sound, the smell of live meat being cooked even more so. A burn in the shape of a hand was what remained of the spilling blood, the wound now cauterized.
Lillian's blood substitute began pumping, acting as a form of coolant to calm and cool down the searing hot hand. Her internal body temperature increased, her internals working less as she radiated heat outwards. Lillian sighed as she stayed by the Selenicans side.
"I stopped the bleeding, however she still lost a lot of blood. Please try and find the nearest medbay!"
"Yea the ships big enough don't worry, its a retrofit civilian hauler. From the Union one of their old junkers. Perfectly good for moving near 800 people around if needed. Its just across from here in one of the private docks way closer than the main dock and they wont be expecting it. I think I can get some guys together to fight the bastards too if needed but we don't have many and we will be fighting Eosians. One of their Crusaders is worth like 20 men..." Jonan sighed.
"Ill pull some strings though" He walked off to the side to make the call.
The route to the Nuclean ship and the main dock was indeed longer than the route Jonan described, and already Johnny was picking up several white silhouettes of Eosians between them and the dock. They knew someone was trying to get the civilians out.
As the group got themselves together, conducting medical triage and more Tildrul could thankfully confirm they were alone for the time being. No other Eosians were in the area, and the dock workers in the surrounding sections had ran for it when the shooting had started. They were alone.
And more interestingly... So were the transporter trucks just across from the entrance, their large containers were empty about to be stuffed full of Dino-Nuggies. They had an opportunity to take them for themselves and grab the civilians, but Le'kra was badly injured unless one of the others could do something to help her she did not have long left. Already likely Eosians were on their way, the loss of a Order member and two Crusaders was no small one and would likely be investigated immediately.
It was a tough situation and choice.
"F-F-FUCK!!!" Le'kra would scream as Lilian, a proverbial mother to several Selenicans already, began to burn the wound shut -- at least a stop-gap to keep the bleeding from getting too much worse. Any work Lilian would do would keep her alive just those few crucial minutes -- just long enough, just enough time.
"A-Aghh, FUCK!" She'd yell again, battlefield first-aid never being something she was trained in.
From her pained screams, it'd be easy to imagine Le'kra was terrified -- and she was. Her vision would periodically black out, every time she was unsure if it'd come back, and every time it went out, she'd miss more and more time. Whatever adrenaline kept her going through the fight had well and truly gone, and all that was left was a scorching, searing pain in her arm. The smell of burning scales and flesh permeated her nostrils, almost prompting her to vomit, a truly gnarly and vile stench.
However, Lilian couldn't stay as a medic, she had to go. There were other lives to save, and Le'kra would begin trying to brace herself against the wall with her right arm, her long tail trailing. Every few feet she travelled, another wave of pain seared through her arm. She was determined not to die, trying to scrape her way back into the freeport.
"TILDRUL! P-please..." she'd radio over to the crab, collapsing onto the ground once again, her strength slowly being sapped. Was this her fate? To die defending hundreds who would never know her name? Only time would tell.
Tildrul was already in motion as the snake radios to him, his low armored form hurriedly coming up next to her and inspecting the work Lillian did on their ally.
"Hold still Le'kra. I need to get those tight clothes off you and fast. Please for give me for this." Moving quickly, the crab lets their arms move out from under their frontal shell, and using the massive cybernetic digging claws easily tears away the tight clothing still on Le'kras body, leaving her form somewhat bare, but that is a necessary sacrifice.
Those same claws and their smaller ones then hoist the snake up onto the rounded long back of the crab, their condensers already closed almost all the way, however a faint trickle of steam still seeps out hopefully warming up their friend without harming them too much. Manupilator arms and tnedrils rise up to secure the snake, preventing her from slipping off as Tildrul starts to trudge quickly through the harbor, their body layout making for a very smooth ride even at essentially a run for them. Even as they rush out of the dock they radio and yell at those they are leaving behind.
"Grab those trucks and get to the evacuees, on the double. I will take our wounded friend here to a medical center and then to my own ship for evac if we cannot meet up again. Do not worry about me."
Tildruls drones quickly return to their master, as he sends them scouting the area around himself, checking not only for the nearest medical location, but also for any Eosians potentially on route, and ways to avoid them if needed. As he bulls his way through the crowds, he speaks to the snake upon his back>
"Stay with me Le'kra. Dont close your eyes. Force yourself to stay awake. I have got you."
Dhars moves along with the rest, eyes out and guns twitching for any sign of pursuit. He seemed to have accepted the risk of a companion's death, gaze distant, though given his eyes are artificial he may simply be scanning for threats. If needed he would help supporting her weight, but otherwise his priorities were elsewhere.
For a being like himself this sort of situation simply happened. It could have been him. That was the nature of the struggle.
For a moment he did speak though, addressing the wounded alien if they heard or not.
"I am not familiar with alien biology, but if you are anything like my kind, focus on your goals. Do not let them out of your sight. Remember this and stay conscious. Good luck."
As Jonan pulled aside, Ti'zal elected to open the comms feed as well. He cursed to himself, watching the white silhouettes of Crusader armor eke out in the crowds in pictures that Johnny forwarded to him - 3-4 minimum, probably more, and if the shooting he heard was any indication 3 was way more than they could reasonably take. They were on most of his GPS routes as well; the only clean one was one of the longer ones, and given they were already in the crowd he doubted that would be the case for long.
Hopefully, the client didn't care about who got them out so much as why.
"HEY." His filtered voice would crackle over the radio, irritated at not having received a response in several minutes even with the firefight. "Got help and better route. Main is compromised, Eosians in way. Get to church, sound off. We need regrouping."
As one last action, he had Johnny forward the pictures of Eosians to those with cybernetics; Tildrul, Dhars, Lillian, the lot. Something that would certainly get a radio response now, given what he heard before.
With the pictures of the Eosians spotted and their rough location sent to the other group it did not take long for Lilian, Dhars and Arkan to hop aboard the cargo trucks. Thankfully they were a very simple design, manufactured by Halcyon Dynamics almost 60 years ago the design had been copied, copied off copies and redone so many times that almost 500 different companies were engaged in patent legal disputes over who got to make it. As such in the meantime anyone was free to produce their simple and reliable frames. Getting them running was child's play as the three large haulers were driven from the docks to the church, knowing where the Eosians were made it much easier, although the crowds along streets made it a bit of a nightmare.
Still Dhars, Arkan & Lilian arrived with the haulers just outside the back of the hall where food and more was delivered.
They just had to get people in and moving fast.
--
Tildrul and the heavily wounded form of Le'kra were having an easier time somewhat. The Svarthans size and speed of movement in a hurry meant that everyone quickly spotted him and got out the way preventing them from being bogged down in street crowds or vendor markets.
They found a clinic, a small corner place down one of the main streets, whos staff currently tending to usual perscriptions of drugs and minor doctor waiting list patients were startled when the two practically burst through the front entrance.
The receptionist, a Noviy, looked up in confusion and a bit of fear.
"...D-Do you have an appointment?"
Tildrul bellows at the receptionist, their tone urgent and certainly amplified a bit by their cybernetics, but not angry or harsh merely full of concern.
"No we do not, but she is dying, and needs immediate medical attention! I can pay for treatment, but it needs to get done NOW! There is no time to lose, or she may very well die right here."
Tlidrul angles their body slightly to rpesent the form of Le'kra to the receptionist, hopefully showing of the severity of her wounds and rapidly deteriorating state to emphasize the necessity of rapid treatment. His claws and feet tap nervously at the floor beneath him, producing a clattering thunking sound like a mechanical typwriter being abused by some frenzied author as their metal legs and claws strike the tieled floor of the clinic.
Dhars slinked off to the side, looking as unobtrusive as a cyborg in flowing robes could be, as he scanned the area for threats, guns twitching. If any Eosians appeared he intended to have the first shot. Any sign of security cameras would also see them being disabled with a silenced shot from one of his smaller calibers. Best to be thorough. This whole ordeal felt quite unnecessary, but he didn't fancy his chances of going it alone. Sticking with a group gave him the best chance of survival.
By the time the haulers had arrived, Ti'zal had already taken initiative. Johnny whizzed around a slowly growing crowd of refugees, the members of the Blinded Way in a huddle being ushered from the church by the friendly PAI while Ti'zal stood at guard. The thrum of the arriving trucks caused him to release some stress from his shoulders, only to regain them when he saw the food loaded in their rear ends. Complication after complication - if Jonan hadn't offered help by now, the zetyan would have started to grow stress wrinkles.
As soon as the food was unloaded, thrown wherever, the zetyan and his assistant immediately began ushering the growing crowd along into their holds. Soon, however, Johnny was alone in his duty. Ti'zal was no people person, and he had other questions to ask of his team. Seeing Dhars scouting the area gave him some reprieve - atleast someone else was conscious enough to play guard.
"Took long enough." Ti'zal's artificially filtered voice crackled through his harness speakers as he approached her, a slight growl to his voice in irritation. "What happened?" A pause, as he looked around. "Where's the crab? Snake? Dead?"
26 September 2023
She held her hand out slightly to the Selenican being taken away from her care. She knew Tidrul was a capable fighter, he had proven it directly in front of her and everyone else. Yet, she couldn't help but feel insecurity as the pair left to find urgent medical attention. She held her arm back, looking down at the ground with some sorrow in her eyes. She remembered the faces of those she had lost, the faces of the children she cared for.
Once a mother, always a mother.
She hurried with Dhars, driving the haulers to the rendezvous point. She kept scanning and scanning, wondering if another Eosian team would come in and attack again. She knew it was a ticking clock, one that could blow up violently for everyone involved and around them.
-
She jumped off the hauler, it coming to a complete stop after the fact. She holstered her remaining pistol, it still cooling off after the shootout. She shook her head, her eyes firm.
"We got hit by some Eosian Crusaders back there, managed to make it out alive. Consider Le'kra out of action, she was badly wounded but she's currently with our big crab friend."
She motioned to the haulers, opening up their storage compartments to get ready for the next step of the process.
"We were able to steal some of these. They're not the best but they'll get the job done. You get anything from your end? Are we ready to start hauling the Eosians away from this place?"
Arkan hopped out as Dhars scanned the area, adding his eyes by looking around.
"Area's clear for now" He growled softly
"Won't have enough time to place a temporary trap, we should start gathering the people and getting them in now." He spoke towards Dhars as he backed towards him, observing the area infront of the Haulers.
The hardest part is now beginning in Arkan's mind. It reminded him of an older scenario where he escorted a medic and group of civilians from a battlefield. At the very least, this time they had some form of viehcles.
The receptionist freezes for a moment in genuine worry and fear before two of the medical staff clearly watching through an internal one way mirror open the door and beckon the two through.
"Come on we don't have much time get her into the theatre and we can try do what we can!" The clinician, wearing the robes of Rondam Science Inc. helped carry Le'Kra to the operating table, startling and disturbing several other small rooms where patients were being seen to.
"Looks like she has taken internal damage... Shes bleeding inside, substantial blood loss, surface lacerations and cuts... Likely internal bruising, possible broken bones... Get me medical nanite shots now and prep for surgery!" He cried out before turning to Tildrul "This may take a while I suggest you go wait while we do the work don't worry we wont let your friend die"
---
As the Blinded Way crowds were led into the container haulers the food that had been just placed to one side had begun to attract quite a crowd, it worked to their advantage given it would be difficult to navigate through for anyone wanting to get past, but it also was a good hiding spot for potential enemies. The Order members were aiding in the herding and seating of the refugees who looked on the edge of panic now they knew the Eosians were here for them and they were now being forced to move somewhere else.
Just as the last of the refugees were getting into the last free spaces in the haulers Dhars would see three Crusaders approaching, one of them pointing towards the trucks.
"This is Jonan, it looks like you got some company I suggest you get the hell out of there, I got my guys covering the route but you gotta move now" The message came to Ti'zal over a voice link, just in time for shouting in the crowd to become apparent.
A moment later one of the Crusaders opened fire in the crowd, the noise was horrific like the shattering of glass and meat as a whole host of people were quite literally pulped and spread across the area, the rest of the crowd being knocked down from the force of impact some dying from being trampled or crushed. Screaming followed, and a stampede began as bystanders crushed each other to escape.
"In his name release our people!" The front Crusader shouted raising his gun once more.
Tildrul readily complies, letting the doctors swiftly take Le'kra away to be operated on. Even as she is carried through the doors into the operating room, he turns part of his mind inwards to listen to the comms chatter from his other allies, and shoots them a quick status update.
Le'Kra delivered to hospital, receiving treatment now. Will remain with her to ensure security. Do not wait for us at extraction point if we do not arrive. We will evac via my own craft in that case.
With that taken care of the Svarthan finds a spot in the waiting room, their eyes peering at both the entry way, and the door to the operating room, their vision slipping both up and down in the light spectrum to hopefully give advanced warning of any undeirables approaching their position.
She held her hand out slightly to the Selenican being taken away from her care. She knew Tidrul was a capable fighter, he had proven it directly in front of her and everyone else. Yet, she couldn't help but feel insecurity as the pair left to find urgent medical attention. She held her arm back, looking down at the ground with some sorrow in her eyes. She remembered the faces of those she had lost, the faces of the children she cared for. Once a mother, always a mother. She hurried with Dhars, driving the haulers to the rendezvous point. She kept scanning and scanning, wondering if another Eosian team would come in and attack again. She knew it was a ticking clock, one that could blow up violently for everyone involved and around them. - him(zetyans/AOM) She jumped off the hauler, it coming to a complete stop after the fact. She holstered her remaining pistol, it still cooling off after the shootout. She shook her head, her eyes firm. "We got hit by some Eosian Crusaders back there, managed to make it out alive. Consider Le'kra out of action, she was badly wounded but she's currently with our big crab friend." She motioned to the haulers, opening up their storage compartments to get ready for the next step of the process. "We were able to steal some of these. They're not the best but they'll get the job done. You get anything from your end? Are we ready to start hauling the Eosians away from this place?"
"...'course." He muttered to himself, before continuing. "Yeah, ready in five. Rev up." He waved back to the truck, then pinged Johnny silently to start routing the crowds harder as he moved back to defensive position and watched for the distinctive white and gold.
"Heard-" was all Ti'zal managed to speak over the radio before the distinctive bass-pulse chunk of the gravity guns turned part of an unaffiliated crowd to mush. The sound made him jump, curse and turn with reflexes and precision that had to have been trained, as he leveled the sights of his gun onto the triage.
He didn't immediately fire, but began immediately moving straight to the nearest truck. They were down two, who knows where the others went. He'd lost track - a damned mistake. Driving was his punishment, as Johnny swiftly returned to the invisible perch above his shoulder. A sharp rat-tat-tat came from his rifle, as Ti'zal burst-fired in their direction as precise as he could before practically ripping the truck door open and jumping in.
As he started it up, the radio crackled with his voice, a gruff sound yet bereft of his vocal modulators that only shouted seven words as he put the cumbersome vehicle in gear, eying Jonan's escape route.
"DHARS. LILLIAN. FOLLOW ME AND FUCKING DRIVE!"
Arkan hopped back onto the truck, his Rifle out.
"I'll cover our rear" He growled. Leaning against the frame of the truck, he pulled out another Kilimond grenade, setting it to wide impact. It would at least create some cover against the incoming wave fire. With a quick arm, he tossed it down the alleyway. A quick bounce and it exploded in a wide kilimond crystal wall. Wasn't higher than the walls of the building,b ut enough to create a cover
Le'kra hardly managed to hold onto her life during the trip from where she was fatally wounded to here. The good doctors and nurses...she could only hope that with her ever-drifting consciousness they could keep her stable. Her lucidity was fragile, speaking sometimes to people or things that weren't there, constantly drifting in and out of reasonable thought. The adrenaline was well and truly gone, and nothing but searing pain was in her arm ... not that she could do anything about it.
Dhars made a fighting retreat, internal guns taking potshots at the oncoming crusaders as he shamelessly used bystanders for cover along with whatever else was available. At the sound of the truck starting he already figured what was going on, attempting to skitter back and latch on to it as it moved. Ideally the side not facing the deranged crusaders, but if so he'd try to swing over the top to get to the side opposite.
Tildrul would wait for a while, watching others be seen to and enter the clinic. Around 15 minutes would pass, each passing painstakingly slowly and making the wait all the more agonizing. Finally the doctor would step out and beckon him in.
"Your friends stable, we stemmed the internal bleeding and cleaned up all the cuts and bruises. We dont have Selenican blood on hand here so we are using a universal type for now. It may make her tired for a few months as a result its not quite as efficient for non human species. But we have done what we can, she is gonna be alive and ok" He places his hand onto Tildruls armoured carapace.
"You can see her if you want, she is awake, but likely in a great deal of pain. I... Dont know your situation but I know you likely want to get out of here quickly. The internal nano-patches we administered will hold but any seriously strenuous activity may break them and it will take a while of rest before they reknit themselves. She can move, but not fast and try to keep her rested"
Pulling back to curtain the doctor would reveal Le'Kra on the surgery bed, now looking a great deal cleaner and cared for.
---
The return fire from Ti'zal and Dhars was not the only sporadic fire that erupted at the Crusaders. This Freeport was its own namesake, and as the crowd stampeded away from the Crusaders some pulled small firearms or automatic weapons, spraying the Eosians with fire. Rounds bounced off their now blood soaked white armour as two of the Crusaders took several more shots, pulping nearby defiant individuals and continuing to advance at a running pace, their feet deftly moving over the veritable carpet of corpses and half dead laying in front of them.
The Kilimond grenade would buy them a few seconds, its projected hardlight wall taking the impact of a grav shot before a second shattered it.
Scared, the Blinded Way refugees packed themselves as tightly as they could aboard the remaining container vehicles as Lilian, Dhars and Ti'zal began to drive away with Arkan hanging on in the back to give covering fire.
Another grav blast was aimed for the rear of Lilians truck, last in the convoy but the range dissapated it just enough so that it gave the truck a jolting speed boost. Now away from the three Crusaders the convoy of vehicles sped down various streets that Jonan had laid out for them to pursue.
"Keep driving and dont stop!" Jonans voice rang over the radio as gunfire could be seen and heard from on top of the buildings they passed. Two dead Paladins also littered the side of the road along with several armed bodies. it seemed Jonan was upholding his end of the bargain to protect these people.
"Your nearly there dont stop!"
They were rapidly approaching one of the smaller docking areas, until two Crusaders rushed out into the road, both opening fire on Ti'zals truck. One was shot down from a rooftop but the gravity shots at close range only gave the Zet a split second to act.
Tildrul remains on edge the entire duration of their wait, their camera eyes moving around constantly. At any moment they expect to see their pursuers barge into the hospital to kill him and the injured Le'Kra and he is not sure he can stop them if they do. However at last the doctor approaches him and calls him forward.
Listening to the doctors words with a heavy "heart", Tildrul emits a burst of steam in relief when told the good news. As the doctor places a hand on their armored shell, they are careful to close the vents nearest to it top prevent any unfortunate incidents before responding to them.
"Thank you so much. Yes, I will be leaving with her as soon as possible and keeping her rested should be no issue. I can carry her again if I must, and it may even be faster to do so in any case." Tildrul approaches their injured companion, the top of their armored body all that rises above the edge of the bed and into Le'kras field of vision.
"How do you feel Le'Kra?"
Le'kra's thoughts were beginning to coalesce into reasonable form, the short rest and marvels of Ancerious proper's medicine keeping her alive beyond what she could expect. Short, shallow breaths entered in and out of her mouth, provoked by her lungs. Her arm still felt as if being stabbed by needles, however, the bleeding stopped. She would live.
"T-Thank you, doctor." She said, breaths shaky and weak.
Brought out to her friend, the Svarthan who saved her life, a warmth welled inside the serpent woman -- grateful happiness.
"I'm...not great. Arm hurts like Hell, but I'll live." She answered, slowly. The pain was great, taking up much of her thoughts -- however, while speaking to her friend, the sensation dulled to a drone.
"I'm not in fighting condition. If possible, we need to get out...but finish the mission first. I'll stay here till I get further word."
There was something animal in the way Ti'zal violently swerved left as Johnny yelped in surprise, something that couldn't be instilled by even the most rigorous training but could be eked out by veterancy and the heat of the moment. Perhaps inside his truck, the mass he was charged with guarding had just suffered bruises and compression damage from suddenly being flung against the side of the truck wall by momentum, but as the entire passenger's side of the truck's front was pasted into a crumpled mess of steel, wire and shattered glass momentum damage cemented itself as the preferable alternative.
His next action was far more cogent, his foot slamming down on the accelerator pedal barely moments after. There was no way but forward, and if Ti'zal simply rushed past the same wreckage that was to his left would be applied to the truck's rear, and there would be far more to worry about than ergonomics. The damaged truck sputtered and roared as he charged towards the Crusader on the road, aiming as best he could to clip him with the damaged side through the kaleidoscope of broken glass.
He hadn't noticed the piece of steel puncturing his upper right thigh armor, nor that Johnny had just lost one of his spindling legs to another that had snapped up and broken it during the impact, adrenaline and shock working together to peel the veil over his eyes. If luck was on his side, they wouldn't be stuck in this station long enough for either to matter.
Arkan's hulking figure, nearly flew out of the truck as Ti'zal rather violently maneuvered. He felt held on to the loading bar that was on the side of the truck as refugees and unknown items went bouncing, one landing on his back.
"Grh..." He grunted before stabilizing himself, feeling he truck accelerate forward.
//Would be appreciated if you could take some easier turns...we don't really have seat belts back here.// Arkan spoke as he reached back to check on the object that hit him. Luckily it wasnt the person who was situated immediately behind him and rather it was someone's personal belonging. What it was exactly, he didn't know or care at the moment as he retrained his rifle to the rear.
Lillian yelped as she felt the truck increase in momentum with the gravitic grenade failing to do its job spectacularly. She did however use the boost to her advantage, speeding up enough to get away from the chasing Crusaders. She silently cursed herself out for bringing such an important body to such a risky and volatile mission. She just hoped that she could actually get the job done before they were blown to kingdom come.
She switched between looking at the road in front of her, at the Crusaders trying to get them and at the rear-view mirrors trying to check if anything way following them. She reacted quickly as Ti'zal seemed to nearly crumple his truck and flip it over on its side. She saw the fire coming through from the rooftops, sputtering out stressed thanks and near incomprehensible muttering to herself.
fuckfuckfuckineedtogetmyshittogethertherearepeopleinthebackofthistruck
She was depending on fate in that moment, unable to do much as she found herself protecting the rear end of the convoy.
"How far out are we from our stop?!"
"Dont mention it. Try to stay out of trouble although given the situation I doubt thats a realistic possibility for you two. Either way good luck" The doctor would smile and give a bit of a wave, a couple of the medical staff aiding Le'Kra off the bed and to one of the more waiting areas ready for the next patient. They were slow and moved with her so as to not inflict any unnecessary pain. But she was right, the mission was still very much on.
---
The world was almost ringing for Ti'zal as he slammed the accelerator. The passenger side of the truck was gone, annihilated into a tangled mess of metal and glass where the gravity blast had utterly pulped it. The rear of the truck had been spared the devastation with those inside thankfully only suffering minor wounds from being thrown around. The engine too was now making poor noises now, clearly having taken some damage with the compartment crumbled. The gears shifted with a horrible grinding noise but Ti'zal sped on bringing the truck around at speed.
The Crusader was moments from shooting again, the Zet couldn't get there in time. But two rounds impacted the Crusader from one of the rooftops causing him to stagger backwards. It was all he needed as the trucks mangled side smashed into the Eosian and sent him straight under the tiers causing a rather violent series of bumps.
"Not long now! Just a few more turns and your there!"
Jonans voice was true they were near one of the smaller docks. More firefights were erupting on the rooftops as they twisted and turned, the damaged truck clearly on its last legs as they rounded the corner to the entrance, a large open bulkhead with various buildings surrounding it. A dead Eosian was sprawled across the road and before them various men and women dressed in regular clothing holding weapons waved them down.
"Alright bring them in through quickly!" One shouted, raising a barrier and standing aside so they could drive through into the large open dock. A small ex Capitol corvette was there waiting for them, as was Jonan.
As Le'Kra is moved, Tildrul follows closely in her wake ensuring she is not over exerting her recently patched up body. At the mention of leaving her however, he simply shakes his fore shell, clearly a sign of disapproval despite how limited the motion is. Their tone is serious when they reply, emphasizing the importance of their words.
"Thats not gonna happen, for several reasons. First, I will not leave you here for our enemies to find and kill as consolation. I cannot and will not no matter what you say. Second, even if I was willing to leave you here defenseless, I would achive nothing. By last report our remaing companions are already almost to the extraction point with the cargo, and if they had to wait for both of us to catch up, they would just linger over long and be in danger as well.
No, no. The mission is finished for us, at least in all practical terms. I already informed them that I will be taking you to my own ship and extracting there, so they do not have to wait. We can all meet up later if we so choose, but for now the top priority is getting out before our foes give up chasing our companions and double back looking for make up kills on us."
As Le'Kra is moved, Tildrul follows closely in her wake ensuring she is not over exerting her recently patched up body. At the mention of leaving her however, he simply shakes his fore shell, clearly a sign of disapproval despite how limited the motion is. Their tone is serious when they reply, emphasizing the importance of their words. "Thats not gonna happen, for several reasons. First, I will not leave you here for our enemies to find and kill as consolation. I cannot and will not no matter what you say. Second, even if I was willing to leave you here defenseless, I would achive nothing. By last report our remaing companions are already almost to the extraction point with the cargo, and if they had to wait for both of us to catch up, they would just linger over long and be in danger as well. No, no. The mission is finished for us, at least in all practical terms. I already informed them that I will be taking you to my own ship and extracting there, so they do not have to wait. We can all meet up later if we so choose, but for now the top priority is getting out before our foes give up chasing our companions and double back looking for make up kills on us."
"Well, then let's get the hell out of here." She replied, irritation in her voice as she thumped the latter half of her tail against the ground in displeasure.
She had no purposeful thoughts of malice against the Svarthan; her displeasure was more a symptom of dulled pain, marking every thought with its irritating presence. She took the first move, beginning to leave her impromptu saviors, turning back to them and giving some form of salute to the doctors and nurses.
After leaving the clinic, she expected Tildrul to follow with the clinking of their legs against the floor, not paying attention to if he did or not.
"Actually...I'm sorry." She said to him, regretful of her earlier ire. "You saved my life and here I am complaining at you."
Her earlier missions in this sector were not easy, but...never life-threatening. The idea of her government simply throwing her life away as if she was a useless pawn deeply unsettled her. She knew of what happened to those who openly spoke their mind against the Selenican regime, her best friend whisked away to God-knows-where to be tortured. Victim to pounding in her skull of anxiety and fear, she maintained a stoic expression as she slithered forward subconsciously gripping her empty holster. Now was her chance to leave it all behind. The Trust were allies to the Selenican regime, but...maybe, just maybe, she could escape.
Dhars was quick to get on to the ship. This was all beginning to go out of control, but he'd fulfilled his end of the bargain. It was time to leave, and swiftly. He'd cover his allies if needed, right until things got too hot. Right now he was fully in survival mode. His blood, or its synthetic equivalent, was racing. He felt alive. It was rare to be this greatly challenged. But staying alive was more important, so he stayed behind cover and took potshots at any Eosians rearing their heads while waiting for everyone to board.
"Dont mention it. Try to stay out of trouble although given the situation I doubt thats a realistic possibility for you two. Either way good luck" The doctor would smile and give a bit of a wave, a couple of the medical staff aiding Le'Kra off the bed and to one of the more waiting areas ready for the next patient. They were slow and moved with her so as to not inflict any unnecessary pain. But she was right, the mission was still very much on. --- The world was almost ringing for Ti'zal as he slammed the accelerator. The passenger side of the truck was gone, annihilated into a tangled mess of metal and glass where the gravity blast had utterly pulped it. The rear of the truck had been spared the devastation with those inside thankfully only suffering minor wounds from being thrown around. The engine too was now making poor noises now, clearly having taken some damage with the compartment crumbled. The gears shifted with a horrible grinding noise but Ti'zal sped on bringing the truck around at speed. The Crusader was moments from shooting again, the Zet couldn't get there in time. But two rounds impacted the Crusader from one of the rooftops causing him to stagger backwards. It was all he needed as the trucks mangled side smashed into the Eosian and sent him straight under the tiers causing a rather violent series of bumps. "Not long now! Just a few more turns and your there!" Jonans voice was true they were near one of the smaller docks. More firefights were erupting on the rooftops as they twisted and turned, the damaged truck clearly on its last legs as they rounded the corner to the entrance, a large open bulkhead with various buildings surrounding it. A dead Eosian was sprawled across the road and before them various men and women dressed in regular clothing holding weapons waved them down. "Alright bring them in through quickly!" One shouted, raising a barrier and standing aside so they could drive through into the large open dock. A small ex Capitol corvette was there waiting for them, as was Jonan.
Ti'zal's foot only left the accelerator the instant the truck was through the impromptu barrier, the shrieking whine and crunch of the machinery as it struggled to bring it to par almost something he could get used to. And it only hit the brake mere moments before it seemed ready to careen into the corvette's docking bay, another swerve made right as the Zetyan bid the truck to drift, the rear exit angled as much to the corvette as he could get it. A ping from Johnny finally informed him of both their injuries, and after a moment to the construct's chagrin he bade it retract the needle-thin legs so he could stuff it in one of his suit pouches.
As the truck came to a shuddering stop, most likely the last time it would ever do so, Ti'zal almost fell from the cabin trying to get out, not from his injury but from sheer haste. But his feet planted on the ground, and adrenaline dulled the pain. Soon his hands had thrown open the doors to the truck and the refugees came pouring out, only accentuated as he shouted "GO!" through his armor as he followed them to the ship.
He took point near where Jonan was, rifle aimed square from where they came from as he anticipated the shine of gold and white on his armor display. As he waited, tensed and ready, he offered his compliments to Jonan - a very distinct rarity.
"Shit. Might work with you again. More than prepped for this."
Arkan hopped off of the transport as soon as it stopped. Landing with a thud, he turned to help the younger refugee who was directly behind him for the ride.
"Keep moving for the ship and don't stop" he growled to the people before moving a strut near the bay's enterance, across the way from where the others had perched. Checking his gear, he had a few remote explosives left he could use. only enough to stop a few of them with well placed points. Taking the 2 small explosives, he tossed one and the other at the closest spots that he'd predict they would traverse before bracing his rifle against the strut.
"Last Phase my friends." Arkan shouted towards Tizal and Jonan
—"Fuckfuckfuck lets GO!"
She pressed the pedal as hard as she could, feeling it strain under her physical strength. She could hear and feel the movement of the Eosians in the back of the truck. The sight of such an escapade would probably bring forth a lot of eyes, but she couldn't care less if it meant that these people would get a new home.
The moves that Ti'zal did made her proud for moments before she too had to focus on the situation. As soon as she caught up, she pressed the breaks hard and drifted slightly to the side, the truck wanting to flip over before falling on its four tires again. She jumped out quickly, signaling the last of the eosians.
—"Go go go! Don't stop until they tell you so!"
She grabbed her remaining pistol, looking at its battery and sighing. She looked at Ti'zal, Arkan and Jonan, nodding before preparing her cyberwarfare section.
—"Last shot to get them out safely. Drinks are on me if we all make out of this alive."
She cracked her neck, placing herself in a defensive position. She let her mind run faster, time slowing down for her.
Tildrul and Le'Kras mission was over, but they had survived it and that was what counted. You couldn't get paid if you were dead and despite having to slowly weave their way through potential Eosian packs around the Freeport their path was pretty much clear, the Svarthans ship was wholly fine as well within its dock allowing the two to get to safety and escape the Freeport entirely should they choose.
The same wasnt so clear or easy for the others.
As the trucks came skidding into a halt the Eosian civilians piled out, running for the ship as Jonan and his other men along with Dhars helped direct them up the umbillical connectors and into the ship. They would be safe there at least as Eosians to Ti'zals annoyance did indeed appear down the street they were coming from. Grav shots and kinetics went back and forth as Jonans men helped to fend them off, the trucks that were now empty being used as an impromptu barrier. Lilian and Arkan assisted as their trucks were emptied, holding off Eosians with well placed shots.
Two small explosions from Arkan signalled his devices going off taking down two Paladins who were shredded by Shrapnel.
"Alright that's the last of them on! Everyone get into the hangar and to the sides my ships gonna withdraw, ill meet up with her later. She is gonna provide covering fire" Jonan patted them on the back to move off a moment back round behind the hangar doors as the ship, which the crew had refused Dhars entry to for some reason, rapidly retracted the docking clamps. Two turrets, both point defence rotary guns, spooled up and sprayed thousands of rounds down the open hangar bay door and into the road tearing the ground and Eosians apart.
After such a sudden display the vessel left dock, leaving Dhars to move back over to them. As the smoke and noise cleared, the dead and dying Eosians were all that could be seen. Jonans men that remained with him stood down.
"Good work, I am pinging you the money now that was originally promised to you, don't worry just lay low and get off Freeport so they cant find you" Jonan smiled.
Tildrul and Le'Kras mission was over, but they had survived it and that was what counted. You couldn't get paid if you were dead and despite having to slowly weave their way through potential Eosian packs around the Freeport their path was pretty much clear, the Svarthans ship was wholly fine as well within its dock allowing the two to get to safety and escape the Freeport entirely should they choose. The same wasnt so clear or easy for the others. As the trucks came skidding into a halt the Eosian civilians piled out, running for the ship as Jonan and his other men along with Dhars helped direct them up the umbillical connectors and into the ship. They would be safe there at least as Eosians to Ti'zals annoyance did indeed appear down the street they were coming from. Grav shots and kinetics went back and forth as Jonans men helped to fend them off, the trucks that were now empty being used as an impromptu barrier. Lilian and Arkan assisted as their trucks were emptied, holding off Eosians with well placed shots. Two small explosions from Arkan signalled his devices going off taking down two Paladins who were shredded by Shrapnel. "Alright that's the last of them on! Everyone get into the hangar and to the sides my ships gonna withdraw, ill meet up with her later. She is gonna provide covering fire" Jonan patted them on the back to move off a moment back round behind the hangar doors as the ship, which the crew had refused Dhars entry to for some reason, rapidly retracted the docking clamps. Two turrets, both point defence rotary guns, spooled up and sprayed thousands of rounds down the open hangar bay door and into the road tearing the ground and Eosians apart. After such a sudden display the vessel left dock, leaving Dhars to move back over to them. As the smoke and noise cleared, the dead and dying Eosians were all that could be seen. Jonans men that remained with him stood down. "Good work, I am pinging you the money now that was originally promised to you, don't worry just lay low and get off Freeport so they cant find you" Jonan smiled.
The zetyan could only admire the devastation wrought, grimly nodding as he watched a few of the dying move and cry out. The adrenaline beginning to leak from his body, he finally became aware of the pain in his thigh, cursing a little in zettish as he limped slightly, his free hand feeling at the rebar poking through it idly before retracting it with a muffled hiss.
"Lay low", "get off Freeport". Easier said than done with full kit and a piece of steel puncturing your leg, but as he looked at Jonan he held a kind of respect for the stranger, the miracle man who conveniently appeared right at their darkest hour. Perhaps it wasn't in the original contract, but the job was done, and he'd come more than prepared. What else could he offer to him than a token of appreciation?
For Jonan, he received a ping back - the Zetyan's contact information. He didn't say anything beyond "thank you", only nodding once Jonan's gaze came to him and limping off matter-of-factly, but the message was clear - 'I'd quite like to work with you again'. As he swiped two or three of the weapons from the fallen Crusaders, a rifle or two, a pistol, he concluded that this was something he could get used to.
Out through the hangar, into the crowd. A personal transport was in Sector 5, level 5, dock thirty. Twenty-minute walk at most. He could manage that.
"Well, then let's get the hell out of here." She replied, irritation in her voice as she thumped the latter half of her tail against the ground in displeasure. She had no purposeful thoughts of malice against the Svarthan; her displeasure was more a symptom of dulled pain, marking every thought with its irritating presence. She took the first move, beginning to leave her impromptu saviors, turning back to them and giving some form of salute to the doctors and nurses. After leaving the clinic, she expected Tildrul to follow with the clinking of their legs against the floor, not paying attention to if he did or not. "Actually...I'm sorry." She said to him, regretful of her earlier ire. "You saved my life and here I am complaining at you." Her earlier missions in this sector were not easy, but...never life-threatening. The idea of her government simply throwing her life away as if she was a useless pawn deeply unsettled her. She knew of what happened to those who openly spoke their mind against the Selenican regime, her best friend whisked away to God-knows-where to be tortured. Victim to pounding in her skull of anxiety and fear, she maintained a stoic expression as she slithered forward subconsciously gripping her empty holster. Now was her chance to leave it all behind. The Trust were allies to the Selenican regime, but...maybe, just maybe, she could escape.
Moving up next to and then past the serpent, the Svarthan takes the lead, guiding Le'Kra through the crowds by simple agreement, heading towards the docks and their waiting shuttle. They hear the annoyed outburst, but say nothing in response, at least until they hear the apology. A soft series of steam bursts rise from their shell, seemingly the equivalent of a small chuckle.
"It is okay. Your dedication to the mission is commendable, and if the time table were not so far along I might have considered dropping you off at the ship and then meeting back up with our peers."
Peering at his companion with one of their rear mounted eyes, Tildrul notices her expression and the gripping of her empty holster. Moving along in silence a moment more, they finally speak just as they reach the small shuttle and prepare to board it.
"You know, your wounds have not fully healed yet. Perhaps it would be better if you remained with me and Civym a... while longer. Until you are ready that is."
Their tone makes it clear that they picked up on Le'Kars agitation, and are ofering them just what they seek. However the choice is still hers, and Tildrul says nothing more as he slides into the shuttle and starts the engines, only glancing back once he is fully seated, as if to wordlessly say "Well, what will it be?"
Dhars just smiled, supremely pleased to have gotten away with this little caper.
"Laying low seems quite enjoyable after what has transpired. I do think that this went well. My masters will be pleased to know I succeeded, and indeed, I look forward to working with you further, should the need arise."
He had little to say here. He did the job and did it well. Took down a worthy opponent or two in combat to boot, an extra treat for a combat model like himself.
Arkan nodded. No more trpa gear, and making sure he had nothin that was left behind that could tie back to ZYPHER he tuned to them as they were entering the shuttle.
"I've already signaled my ride home. Unfortunately its another dropship i'll have to meet on the lower level." he growled in a low voice, before offering a rather subtle fist bump from his cloak.
"I wish you all safe travels" He said
"This was a rather, interesting event to end the evening with."
She sighed heavily, her body having exerted more energy and force than it had for the last several years. The heat she emitted from her hand still rung in her mind, as she felt the joy of helping people once again. She didn't care for payment, she didn't care for congratulations.
She just wanted those people to be safe.
—"Don't really need to lay low here, I have my own ride. However I can say... it was an interesting experience with you all."
A smile tugged her lips as she nodded at her comrades
Years of self imposed isolation had been her norm for the longest time. But now, she had helped people, and made connections to new people. Only downside was that she had now directly led to the death of several Eosians troops, and she would wonder if that would bring any problems in the future.
Ah well, that could wait for another day. She had a few things left to do before her precious body would leave Freeport.
—"Good travels, and may the universe be kind to you."
And so, she walked away.
Moving up next to and then past the serpent, the Svarthan takes the lead, guiding Le'Kra through the crowds by simple agreement, heading towards the docks and their waiting shuttle. They hear the annoyed outburst, but say nothing in response, at least until they hear the apology. A soft series of steam bursts rise from their shell, seemingly the equivalent of a small chuckle. "It is okay. Your dedication to the mission is commendable, and if the time table were not so far along I might have considered dropping you off at the ship and then meeting back up with our peers." Peering at his companion with one of their rear mounted eyes, Tildrul notices her expression and the gripping of her empty holster. Moving along in silence a moment more, they finally speak just as they reach the small shuttle and prepare to board it. "You know, your wounds have not fully healed yet. Perhaps it would be better if you remained with me and Civym a... while longer. Until you are ready that is." Their tone makes it clear that they picked up on Le'Kars agitation, and are ofering them just what they seek. However the choice is still hers, and Tildrul says nothing more as he slides into the shuttle and starts the engines, only glancing back once he is fully seated, as if to wordlessly say "Well, what will it be?"
Le'kra didn't show surprise at the Svarthan picking up on her thoughts, her body language betraying her yet again. He was offering...an out. An escape.
"...You know..."
Le'kra took out her official ID card, staring at the ID number she was given by the Selenican government.
"To hell with the SR."
With a quiet resolve and conviction and a lighter in her pocket, Le'kra lit the plastic card ablaze, letting the fire reach critical amounts before throwing the melted plastic away. Her choice was made.
"Let's get the hell out of here, Tildrul."
She offered him a hand, though the respect of this gesture would probably be questionable to the non-humanoid Svarthan.
Jonan nodded to the Zetyan, a smile on his face indicating that it seemed he was more than willing to work with the individual again. The money was in their bank accounts and everything had gone (roughly) according to plan.
Refugees were safe, job paid for.
Jonan gave the group a curt bow and wished them luck as he himself withdrew to another less battered dock for the ship to pick him up. Only when out of line of sight did he merely walk into an empty service corridor, the Golden strings connecting to his men, all Synopticon soldiers in civilian dress becoming visible.
"Mission acomplished, I have the Eosians and they will be with you shortly. Somewhat short of the projected numbers but it will be enough."
Jonan spoke out loud, the gentlemen in front of him appearing from thin air.
"Very good child. They will be instrumental in our great works just like the Ixlo, you have done so very well Jonan. Come home, trouble is brewing in Borealia and Laikos wants all of us present"
"Very well Elder, I thank you for the praise. It seems all of us will be Running on Faith then?"
"Oh yes. We have grand moves ahead of us"
Ancerious was, unfortunately, no stranger to genocide.
Freeport 11 had been one of many freeport projects set up by the Black Sail Organisation, in a bid to create a vast black-market network all over the galaxy. The project had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, to the point where most Freeports had expanded far beyond their control of influence. It saw many come and go across its massive artificial docks and business districts, from pirates to law enforcement. But every so often, a group came to it out of the ordinary.
The refugees from the Eos Consortium were one such group.
Outcasts from their own people they had fled the huge massacres which occurred when the new Grand Exemplar Insinia had come to the galaxy, eradicating all those who had failed the faith beforehand. Those who could escaped, many were hunted down, and all were being pursued. This group was no different. Taking shelter in one of the halls of the Wandering Path, the refugees numbered in the several hundred. Exhausted, hunted and with little options available to them, they pooled their resources.
They had to get off this Freeport, contact the Blinded Way, the rebel Eosians who had escaped the Consortium proper, and be finally free from persecution.
The Wandering Path, a collection of oddballs and travellers who wander the galaxy, had agreed to shelter and mediate between the Eosians and a broker. They would pay for whoever the broker could hire, a group to negotiate and secure a way out, to throw the Eosian pursuers off the scent and finally give these refugees a future.
The question is what kind of future.
----
The rendezvous point was two streets away from the Guiding Hall, a Rhizome café named Glass Strand where several business representatives were using to connect to the Rhizomes and undertake various deals. It was busy, the streets packed and noise bustling. Freeport 11 was ever a living, breathing place and those within it lived a fast-paced lifestyle. The broker in question had directed the hired team to this place, to work together and follow up a potential lead in negotiating a way off the station.
They were to receive the data packet on arrival to Glass Strand and confirmation of meet up.
They knew they were trying to help refugees, Eosians to be precise, but the exact details otherwise had been omitted. The broker had told them to watch their back.
The galaxy was, unfortunately, no stranger to chaos.
Lillian would be walking down the street at a normal pace, her steps fluid and smooth as silk. Her face would be covered by the hood of her cloak, it a cobalt color that resembled the deep blue of deep water oceans, as to not attract much attention. Her tails did certainly have other ideas, however, being outside the cloak, them a deep black with a white tip Considering she was a leader, she didn't want to stand out amongst a big crowd.
It was curious for her to show up to something like this, especially with one of her humanoid bodies, actually, the humanoid body she got as a gift from, for her, recently deceased creators. It was also more curious for her, having so many resources at her disposal, to decide to do this accompanied by other people. She had not made much contact with other beings after she made first contact with the galaxy at large, her being what was referred to as a "colonial", which she would learn after being introduced into the ANCnet would be the term for species and nations not of this galaxy.
It was strange, how she got this call. She assumes that these brokers thought her nation was populated, especially with the amount of activity. If not, well..... quite bold to send it to her, but, due to her empathy with these refugees, she decided to take the job anyways, she would get to meet new people, experience something entirely new and most importantly, help these unfortunate people.
She had learned through the ANCnet a lot of things about the Eos Consortium, for one, they were religious fanatics, with them worshipping the being called "Eos", and hating beings like her. She wasn't surprised, however. Fully sentient and powerful AIs like her had the tendency to fall either into extreme measures to do their purpose, or just turn against their creators, and for the Eosians, it appeared to be the latter. Not like they could hate her as much as she hates herself after that destruction she saw.
She would see the rendezvous point, a cafe two streets away from the Guiding hall. This place was curious for her, basically a city, however with some other undertones. She wasn't here to question about that however, just complete this mission.
A popup appeared on her wrist screen, showing the fact a factory accident had happened on the planet PSN 4. She already knew, but she needed to look as normal as possible amongst the crowd.
She would stand in front of the cafe for a second, before going inside. She would scout an empty table with no one around, and sit at it, waiting for the data packet, and to see what was going to happen in these next few hours, probably days.
Vin-Ha, otherwise known as "Vinny," quietly but purposefully made his way down the street. He had been told that the meeting place would be at a nearby café and the skimming of the details caused him no small annoyance. Vinny was quite a sight for an intelligence officer considering it's probably not often one of his kind would be see out and about. He pulled over the hood of his purple cloak at the thought. Altans, being arachnids, are uncommonly tall due to the length of their legs but this has conferred some level of intimidation and the scattered sentients out and about stayed clear choosing to mind their own business.
Vinny had been briefed about the Eosians, religious zealots were uncommon but certainly not unheard of in Altan society. Altan interest in the Eosians refugees was, on the surface, a mission of mercy. This is not quite true. The truth is that the Court, and therefore the Bureau by extension, is interested in Eosian psionics. A species capable of summoning their own "god" must be strong and acquiring knowledge that can increase Altan understanding of psionics would be to the benefit of the Potentate.
Vinny reached the café and entered. He looked around and sought for a clue, anything to guide him to where he needed to be.
Dhars Barei walked confidently to the appointed destination. A glance could tell this human was an abnormal member of his species, his tanned skin and dark red hair contrasted with the silvery seams strewn across his body, as did his clearly artificial eyes with their black sclera and faintly glowing white irises. He wore an outfit which resembled a nondescript if voluminous business suit mixed with a robe, and his head was covered with a round turban. Around his neck was a series of what seemed to be prayer bead necklaces, thin black strings connecting what must be several hundred metallic balls in rings that jingled and clinked as he walked onwards. And if one were to split his head open, of course, they’d find a spherical mass of shimmering material, pulsing and twitching as tendrils burrowed into the tissues of his brain matter.
The White Core, Major-Grade cultivator’s mind was occupied primarily with curiosity. Frankly, he didn’t even know what an Eosian was, though a quick search around the Ancnet was giving him a general idea. What a pity! He thought. These mortals and their barbaric ways. But, it couldn’t be helped. Without cultivation, they could only solve their problems by sending their heaving masses against each other, and this was the result. All the carnage of war with none of the elegance and opportunity for growth!
Well, growth in the sense that Dhars cared about. His superiors had grander ambitions, and what better way to get a foot in the galactic game than helping the oppressed who have no choice but to get in bed with interests they otherwise wouldn’t? Even if it is a small thing on the galactic scale, doing a favor like this could be a foot in the door for his masters to take advantage of later, so why not do it? After all, just as they hoped to put these Eosians, and perhaps by extension the Blinded Way, in their debt, he could certainly take advantage of the chance to have his superiors owe him a favor.
Taking a seat at the cafe, he ordered something mild and took a moment to enjoy the atmosphere, though if anyone were to spend time observing him it’d be clear he was casually scoping out anyone inside the cafe, along with whoever else will show up. Given he’ll be working with a bunch of strangers, trust is out of the question, for now. Time to get a feel for what everyone here is about, if he can.
Arkan sighed softly as he leaned against the wall of an alleyway near the area of the destination. It was a bit unnerving to receive a request from the local brokers here on Freeport 11. He wasn’t supposed to be here...or at least no one was supposed to know. As wanders walked by, not noticing the hooded Bloodcrown, he scanned the entrance of the cafe as proposed in the message. He saw more than several people enter the structure, no one really looking like they're innocent but at the same time no one looking like they're enforcers after foreign visitors. Perhaps it was the small paranoia of being compromised that made him hesitate for a brief moment.
His mind went back to the message about the Eosians who were looking for freedom from that hell system of theirs. He only heard about Eosians through the caution advisories in previous briefings and what to expect since he was operating so close to their region. It was more than enough to avoid messing or interacting with any of those madmen. However, he didn’t let the thought of the group that wishes to escape their merciless rtheroic rest in the back of his mind. Luckily his original mission window was still open. He could still gather data and maybe hear if they know anything about the Torvon’s new bankroll as well as helping these poor folks. It was risky with the 2111th not being anywhere near response distance, but since there appeared to be a group working together to get help for these runners, perhaps there’d be a sunrise ending for all involved.
Mind made up, Arkan stepped out into the street, strolling casually to the cafe. Only thing out of the ordinary was the 8 and half foot tall Trizorian stepping through the doors. He kept his hood up, which was attached to an overcoat-like drape that covered a good bit of his figure. His appearance and calm movement concealed enough to not give away any possible threatening vibes despite his towering figure and covered head that showed maybe a hint of his draping feathers underneath. Glancing around through his perperal vision, he took a seat the closest open booth he could find and sat patiently. After a moment he did seem to visually relax, his shoulders sinking slightly. It might’ve been the padding on the seat, but it appeared to be the first time he was able to sit down comfortably, even with the utilities he had concealed on his person. His guard tho, remained up as he glanced around the occupied Rhizomes that seem to fill the area with a much different vibe than what he expected.
One Week Ago, Deep Space
Vega Kaul was a mercenary, a gun for hire, an operative, a soldier, whatever the job required of her. Her race was an evolved human for very cold environments. Her skin having a layer of fur, and two large manipulatable ears being the only two real adaptations. She had made a minor name for herself in past jobs, and thus had caught the attention of the U.F.F.N. This job they were not qualified for, and they did not want to get directly into a major diplomatic incident only weeks after arriving in Ancerious. So they found someone to do it for them, quietly. Not the usual approach. The job offer came in, with a down payment the contract, and the details to be determined. Destination Freeport 11. Lega had accepted it.
An Hour Ago, Nearing Freeport 11
Vega was asleep in her own cabin onboard her very own vessel. The Sunrise Maiden, an extensively upgraded light freighter that was her own little slice of the galaxy. She awoke the sound of a rapid high pitched pinging. The woman's sensitive ears making it all that much more unbearable. She groaned, and sat up. A male voice coming over her cabins intercom. "Vega you have a transmission coming in." She rubbed her eyes and spoke harshly. Standing not bothering to get dressed as she went right to the communications suite among other things. "Turn that alarm off please."
The alarm did turn off to her relief. She moved right into the large room. It's floor, walls, and ceiling all made out of many smooth grey hexagons. All of which were cut off by a circle in the middle of the room with smooth dead space and then a blue circle full of many more smaller hexagons.
She walked right into the center of the room and the illumination provided from the hexagons dimmed out. Some form of blue scanner went up her body, and it was projected out, as the same time a mans body was projected in. Video communication with her employers.
A man in a form fitting white uniform, with some sort of naval cap. An emblem of one planet surrounded by 6 on the hat, and the shoulders of his uniform. Six stars on his chest, amongst many badges on the other side of his chest. His arms were folded behind his back. His voice was gruff, and commanding to say the least.
"Vega Kaul our contract is simple. The evacuation of Eosian refugees who have called for aid. Our own operators are not experienced in this field, and we do not wish to cause any political disasters on our colonization efforts. You should see your down payment to fund mission expenses coming in now. I am forwarding you a dossier on everything we could research on this Eos, and their 'god'. I admit I don't understand much of it, but it is the intel."
Vega nodded and spoke after her employers monologue. "Is that all?"
The man pursed his lip and added on. "One more thing... Keep violence as a last resort, and keep my involvement out of it for now. You do this well Vega and I will sponsor you as a permanent addition to our payroll."
Vega nodded slowly. "It will be done, I assure you of that."
The man nodded, but said simply. "We will see." His transmission cut out. The woman rolled her eyes as the room re-illuminated itself.
She started walking back towards her quarters. "Lucky handle the docking procedures, and get your chassis into the Basilisk."
She got right into her room and got into her gear. A black skintight under suit, followed by boots, and a much more baggy and thicker jumpsuit. Over that a reactive armor breastplate, and a gun belt for her extra batteries, and storage. Lastly a small breathing mask lowered by her neck and on top of the breastplate, and her very favorite red hood. She slung the rifle around her back, and started moving. Just as the sleek white and red spacecraft landed in it's hanger. She paid any necessary fees, then got to work.
Present, Nearing Glass Strand
The basilisk a rust orange, and silver accented armored hover truck. Six gravity engines, that could double as conventual wheels, a small bed in the back, and room for four on the interior. Six if you were really trying. The vehicle was not originally made for comfort but the effort of installing cushions along the hard metal seats had been made. A police like computer in the center angled towards the drivers seat, and a display showing the exterior in place of where windows usually would be.
The back bench seat having it's floor filled with a few boxes. MREs, some spare ammo, and a box with a simple tachyon pistol in it if she ever needed it. Many MFDs lined the dash, along with a small spherical robot. A tiny blue sensory lens, and four narrow spider like legs. It spoke as they drove nearing the café. "What do you think this job will be like, Vega?" The woman chuckled as the vehicle pulled in close to the Glass Strand. "I don't know Lucky. All's I care about is getting these poor fellas to a safe harbor, and getting my money for doing it. Now come on." She said killing the engine, and holding out a finger. The small AI climbing up on her, and moving into one of her pouches. Retracting it's limbs to be no more than a small white ball. The side of the vehicle gave a loud hiss and extended out fully to let the woman hop out. She moved right in having the rifle still slinged around her back. Today was a new day of adventure, intrigue, and hopefully some good money for the effort!
Freeport 11 was, by no means, an unknown to the Selenicans, especially for the undesirables of society who were screwed over by bureaucracy, the crushing weight of the central government to any kind of personalized employment, and any other thousands of personalized reasons. As such, there were more than a few Selenican operatives and civilians roaming around. One such agent was Le'kra. As the runt of her family, she only measured 8 foot long, eyes a piercing blue with her scales being extremely pale. She had been stationed here for a few weeks, and noticed the massive influx of similarly dressed people coming in and congregating.
However, unbeknownst to her employer and overseer, Le'kra had decided to take up a "personal assignment." Of course, no one back home knew what she planned or was getting herself into, but...she preferred it that way.
Le'kra's body structure, being so long and comparatively massive to a large portion of the humanoid lowlives and other scoundrels she met up with to get information from on a regular basis on the defectors from her home, made her an interest at worst to most. Given the presence of other Najarin, however, she blended in well enough.
"Let's see..." she whispered to herself, checking the rendezvous point again and again. "Two streets away from...huh, I've been there before."
She made her way to said rendezvous, until the creeping of doubt set in.
Those three letters burned in her thoughts. Eos, Eos, Eos. That name, those people. Religious fanatics, the lot of them. However...something was different about this lot. They were refugees, after all, seeking safety and a future away from that ridiculous religiosity. What level of belief they possessed, was to be seen.
"Nothing to be gained by sitting here." she said to herself, making her way across the busy street to the rendezvous. Who knows what sorts of misfits she would find as comrades in this endeavor.
The gig was, ostensibly, simple enough.
As he walked through the freeport, Ti'zal M'ghao and his AI assistant simultaneously did and didn't stand out from the myriad crowd. Sure, on the one hand, it wasn't exactly normal to see a Zetyan in full kit with an assault rifle walking around, let alone one that looked modified and bulked up to a rather concerning degree, and if you were to compare him to the security that patrolled the station he would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Hell, before security got his name on a whitelist thanks to his job broker, he'd already been stop-searched several times.
But on the other hand, this was a freeport, where everyone from earthly scholars to End of the Line could be seen milling about, and there were no doubt more striking sights than the drab bulkiness of his modified harness, like that strip a few lots back, or the troupe of multicolored fellows who he saw pareening around the halls earlier. Not to mention the plethora of people, lowlifes and otherwise he'd open-carrying he'd seen on the way anyhow.
Normally, he'd have gone with his lighter suit. The one he had one was nice, sure, and seeing as it cost a pretty penny to get after his contract with the Polesi folk one would be inclined to get their money's worth, but it stood out like nothing else, restricted his movement, and he'd be the ire of anyone with a gun and some suspicion. But the broker had told him this would be a big one, and seeing how he had a history with contracts going full ride he figured he would find that paycheck wanting however he could.
"Your destination is in 50 feet. The cafe with the shards above the entrance." chirped his assistant with a chipper tone, to which he responded with a silent nod. He had upgraded him from the last job's invoice, upped the chassis' leg power and made it a little bigger. Could carry heavier loads, though not by much. Good for holding pencils, or medical kits, or even a full set of power tools-though that tended to make the AI a very low rider.
He hadn't heard much about Eosians before, save for the stereotypes and what got shown on the news. First time he'd be guarding their kind, first time he'd be doing a contract that wasn't planetside, first time he would be doing a smuggling op...
There were a lot of firsts for this gig, come to think of it. Always was good to have a recordbreaker in your portfolio now and then.
As he trawled the streets, his front eyes started peeling for the cafe in question, as the rear eyes multitasked between checking the local map, and reading the local news-something about Mai, and how to invest in stocks...
As the various individuals gathered in the premises it indeed became very obvious who had been hired for this job. Freeport 11 might have had all kinds of people mixing, but such a disparate and well-equipped band of people even here looked out of place.
The café staff happily served those who had ordered refreshments, the neon shards on the entrance displaying various news pieces. Mostly updates from Aedleshaven and the stock market prices of Ancerium, still they did a remarkably nice, spiced tea, supposedly the best this side of the Killian Verge.
With all assembled and eyeing each other suspiciously a unified ping to each came up, a simple message.
Meet me in the Rhizome
It was from their broker, and it was simple enough. Each of the tables included a small interface they could use, placing a small bead on the side of their heads and connecting with the vast virtual networks of the galaxy. A small display appeared in their field of view once it was worn showing the option to jack into the Rhizome.
Mild dislocated was often what was described when entering the galaxies virtual domain. And given the sheer undiluted size of the Killian Rhizome it was enough to drive any conventional linear being insane. Thankfully the Rhizomes had dedicated areas for linear beings to exist and interact with non-linear and more, without the reality and mind breaking aspects of the true virtual world. While the Rhizomes were touted as being some of the most incredible places to visit, the groups individual connections brought them to a virtualised office, dull grey with a single painting of a boat on a wall.
As each connected it merely confirmed that the others they had seen were also on the job. Seconds later a desk manifested along with a tired looking Furrelian.
“You all made it. Good. Alright here’s the deal, we have several hundred refugees that have paid good money to be smuggled off this Freeport silently. I need you all to go and secure a deal with a cargo representative and a ship captain who can get them to the docks and off station respectively. We have two good solid choices but things can get dicey in Freeport 11 real quick so don’t take anything face value”
“Ship Captain is a Nuclean named Tobias Thorn, ex military. He has done a great deal of refugee work and smuggling people in and out of places with his legal cargo ship. Cargo representative is a RANGSI man named Tian Zul, can be pretty aggressive though and likes to drive up prices. He isn’t a charity and you wont convince him with morality, I am sending you likely spots for both.” He flicked his hand.
“Any questions?”
The woman saw the text in the side of her vision. The glory of cybernetic eyes. She moved over to a table and took a seat. Sipping on some tea, then putting on the bead.
Closing her eyes as the world was whisked away. Flickering her eyes open. She leaned against the virtual wallet and stayed silent even if approached by her fellow mercs. At the furrelian talking she raised a brow. Her mind flipped through the various trains of thought. Bribing the dockmaster? They would no doubt have to do that first. She finally spoke. "Cargo Rep, he shakable? We able to bribe em'?"
Dhars was certainly receptive to the signal, allowing himself to slip into the virtual network as his main body remained in the cafe. An adept of the electronics field, he was not unaccustomed to these sorts of things, though he was quietly grateful for the barriers within the Rhizome that kept his mind experiencing lethal amounts of non-linear perception.
"Hmmmm... Judging by his description, he seems to be a fellow most amicable to financial incentive. Though, what constitutes normal payment and bribery in a place like this is likely a thing up for debate, is it not?" Dhars replied to Vega, resting a hand on his chin and posing his body in the Rhizome such that it was leaning against one of the walls. "My masters have allotted me a certain amount of resources which I could contribute to monetary compensation, I could contribute a sum to securing the loyalties of this Tian Zul."
Vinny shook his head. Entering this virtual space, which he had never done before, was equally exhilarating and concerning. He took a moment to catch his bearings.
Glancing around he could see the whole diverse range of peoples here, he hoped they would not become a complication to his goals.
Acknowledging the Furrelian contact with a slight nod, he listened to the updates to the current mission as well as the provided options to get the refugees off Freeport 11.
He listened to the other's questions and concerns before speaking and chose to start by voicing the obvious.
"It's pretty clear that the representative will attempt to extract as much value out of this as possible, intimidation would be cheaper but that has it's own risks. Beyond that, do the refugees have a specific destination in mind? My government could provide them most gracious accommodations with some...minor stipulations."
In the back of the café a Svarthan named Tildrul Aphravosk receives the message via their massive array of cybernetics, and one of their manipulator tendrils places the bead atop their "forehead" in a special divot made for such devices, establishing the connection as their main "eyes" swap from looking at the world around them to the bland office room. A small screen showing the real world floats at the corner of their vision, split into multiple images as their pack of drones continues to survey the area.
Tildrul is very clearly M.H.E.A, as their body is neigh invisible under the second metal shell covering their plated back. It is curved and segmented just like the carapace that presumably lies beneath it, and wisps of steam float out from the vents half way along its length. Its surface is marked with numerous lines and shapes, presumably ports for various bits of gear, or slots for the drones they have to reside in. Of particular note is the set of advanced and complex optics they have in lieu of eyes, along with the very big, and presumably very powerful rifle that dominates their back which indicates them as a sniper of some kind.
They listen to what their broker says then after a moment of thought raise up onto their back half, exposing the mechanical limbs under their shell and looking over the desk at the Furrelian
"If there is to be opposition, from who is it most likely to be, and in what form? Are we to watch out for overt acts, or more clandestine threats?"
Tildrul's voice is robotic sounding and curt given how it is being produced by an automatic translator placed where their vocal cords used to be, to make up for the Svarthans inability to speak most languages naturally.
Lillian took the bead, even though she didn't really need it, she needed to blend in, so she took it and got into the Rhizome. She was used to these types of environment, being a virtual being and all. She was surprised how they were able to do something like this, make the infinite sea of information understandable to linear beings. She had already seen this place before, it was grandiose, although she didn't see all of it.
The sudden change of scenery didn't seem to phase her at all, only seeming like something interesting to her. She would pay full attention to the furrelian, not wanting to miss a detail. Her hood was now no longer covering her head, her artificial looking eyes being exalted by the cobalt blue of her iris, a scar on her right cheek, and her fox-like ears slightly twitching. Her stance was serious, and yet calm and collected.
Once the furrelian finished, she would wait for everyone else to ask their questions, before she would speak.
"To add to the offer, my higher ups have let me have a lot of resources, so I can fully add to the amount need be, however I believe we should not go beyond a certain amount, if this Cargo Representative truly is like you are describing him, he would indeed try and suck us dry of everything we have, but intimidation on a man like that would probably not work unless we are prepared for things to come."
It was a...disorienting experience for the serpent. As she retrieved one of the several beads, she inspected their construction. It was definitely small, but who knows what this thing would be able to do. Le'kra then holds the bead up to the side of her head, and begins her first, and hopefully last, visit to the Rhizome. A sudden, piercing feeling in her temple, her vision going blurry, and a serious pit in the stomach later, Le'kra comes to in the drab room. Thankfully, nothing to overwhelm the heat-sensing abilities of the serpentine creature. In fact, there was no heat at all to see, leaving Le'kra half blind to the true nature of her surroundings. The grumpy-looking Furrelian reminded her much of her superiors she had to report to on a bi-weekly basis.
The voice spoken was dull and monotone even before its muffling due to her biology, but the deal was well understood. Freeport was, obviously, a small hive of scumbags, common thieves, any number of swindlers, so it didn't take but a couple experiences trusting the wrong people and having her wallet stolen an astounding number of times to get accustomed to this...place.
However, before they returned back to reality from this virtual realm...
"Do you reckon that Eos will be after the refugees?" Le'kra asked the Furrelian, finally becoming accustomed to this place if only a little. "Knowing what we know about them, it seems likely that defectors wouldn't be taken too kindly."
Jacking in was never an easy process for Ti'zal, though not because he was netsick-easy. He just never had a chance to do it too often, too many offworld gigs, not enough free time, occasionally too much risk of being bugged. Half the ways you could do it were gimmicks anyhow; spend extra money daily for something you could work up for free at home, pay 99 milliSIGEC a month to get access to a small chunk of a big world, shell out enough money to break the bank so you can move to a fancy new rhizome world. Not worth it in the long-term unless you were some trust fund kid from Yamanakako.
But jacking sickness was something that wore off in seconds flat, no matter how bad it got, and after a moment's notice and some ogling of his AncNet feed beforehand he was in with the rest of them-in a bit of humor for himself, both the suit and his little assistant came in with him, the quick fix being a bit of tech wizardry he'd have to figure out another time. The droll office he figured was a nice setup, good and simple without any distractions. While the fully-enclosed helm wasn't exactly doing any favours for friendliness points, it allowed him to speed check through his coworkers more covertly as his front two eyes gave full focus to the furrellian. Serpent person, cyborg, merc lady, lizard people, fox girl. All looking prepa-...
...fox girl?...
...fox girl.
Maybe it was one of those vee-toober avatars his online friends liked or something. He hoped so; maybe it was saturation effect, but as he gave her a twice-over she looked a bit underequipped; maybe better with remedies than rifles? Good to have a medic.
As he listened to the furrelian's speech, and observed the round of questions, he noted most of them seemed more focused on the price point, or the people they'd be facing. Good questions indeed, but nothing about what else to expect, though. His questions thus were curt, straight to the point as he spoke. Despite appearances, his voice came through crystal clear, gruff and terse.
"Who else to watch out for? Any local gangs? And what's the maximum price we can go for? Unless all the bribe's coming from us."
"Is there anything in particular we should know about what they look like? Any notable features, clothing, voices...?" his assistant piped in, the eye gyrating and emoting a bit as it's tinny, loquacious voice filtered into the digital meeting.
"That too."
This was the first time the Raptor ever experinced the Rhizome. Getting used to the sensation the new vitural interface offered was alittle starting for a moment, but soon he didn’t let it stop him.
As the others present spoke before the Broker, he finally got his bearings, listening in on the questions that the others among poised. No questions that he could add to the cascade, he simply remained silent, waiting first to listen to any answers.
The man nodded "Yea, if you got enough money you can probably bribe him. Guy likes money I bet theres some amount he is willing to do anything for" upon the input of Dhars he gestured with his hand "Perfect, hopefully its enough to convince that cankerous old clown to help us"
"They do. The Refugees were extremely explicit that they wish to make contact with the Blinded Way, for those who don't know their some break away Eosian rebel sect. I don't stay up to all the details but they recently had a big scuffle in Amritsar inside of Minsin space, Blinded Way came off pretty good so no doubt these folks want to be somewhere with their own people. I don't expect they want to go anywhere with any other government"
At the mention of Tildruls comment about opposition the man laid back into his virtual chair.
"That's where things get spotty. Here in the Freeport you gotta watch out for thugs, but the moment people know your moving Eosians you need to start watching your shoulder. These people fetch extortionately high prices at the slave markets and many want to get their hands on them for any experiment they want. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other Eosian elements here too tracking them down. Be aware of any potential threat obvious or not obvious" He nodded to Le'kra.
"I got the personality profiles and appearances here I'm sending em now, as for local gangs I am afraid we don't have the next week to discuss that, for maximum bribe depends how much change you got in your pockets son. Last data sent, I hope you manage to get this done we are trusting you on this job, no payment until after completion. Good luck"
The individual disappeared, and the connection to the room was lost prompting them to exit the virtual space. The infomation had been sent, the shipmaster was a fairly tall and well dressed Nuclean, long fur and big eyes. Captained a ship called the Stellar Breeze which was supposedly in dock to the south a few km travel, as for the RANGSI cargo man he was a stunted old timer, screwed up aged face that looked positively angry even in his last ID photo, usually was working transportation for numerous large food outlets just to the north of here.
They had to be quick, there were surely other elements out there.
As the broker disappeared, Arkan silently browsed the information that was sent on the people of interest. The unknowns were concerning regarding these people. There were too many factors...too man interested parties should the word get out. The situation was still the same since he was laying low already on the station.
“Well...looks like were working together.” He said to himself as the last of the rhizome effects subsided. He scanned the room to locate all those who attended meeting. He hopped that one of them were better suited for negotiations. Personally Arkan wasn’t a social type as some of his ZYPHER comarades were, but he did excel information gathering and knowing who to look for and who to avoid. Perhaps he could keep an eye on the potential players that could join in this game of cat and mouse. He waited first, for the others to move, seeing where they would meet up.
As the meeting ran on and Tildruls main focus was locked onto their broker, the views of the real world in the bottom began to shift and change, the drones moving through the café, peering at those present with their camera lenses, looking for the beings in the meeting. As each of them was found, the drone that located them sat down in front of them, presumably waiting until their perception returns to reality.
Once they all do, the little drones play a message in Tildruls voice, presumably being transmitted by the Svarthan. It is fairly quiet, and hopefully only the intended recipient can hear the whispery mechanical voice coming through the drones speakers.
"I suggest we leave the café one at a time, to not draw attention to such a diverse and strange group as we would make. There is an courtyard with multiple entrances not to far down this street we can enter from separate ways, and gather in less plain sight to meet, exchange information about ourselves, and draw up a plan accordingly. I will leave first. Try and enter the courtyard trough alternative routes."
Without waiting for approval or support for the plan, Tildrul rises from his seat near the rear of the establishment and walks out of the café, before heading down the street a ways and turning a corner. The drones however stay with the people they set down in front of. It seems that the cyborg wants to keep track of their potential allies, and maintain an open channel of communication.
Dhars stood up, smiling politely as his many metal beads on his necklaces clinked against each other, but otherwise not actually acknowledging the others in the cafe, physically anyway. He messaged through Tidrul's communication channel. "If anyone else wishes to join, I shall fulfill my part of this, and contact the cargo representative for the purpose of obtaining his loyalties. As well, your method leaving this building is agreeable, I too would recommend this."
He doesn't seem too concerned about leaving the communication network to another person to handle. Evidently Dhars had his own specializations. Or maybe he's just bluffing. Either way, he exits the cafe on his own when it seems more opportune, checking his own data to figure out the way to the cargo representative. Though, he'll make his way to the courtyard first, to see if anyone else would like to join up with him.
Lillian would nod and record the answers given to them by the furrelian, it was important for this mission. They needed to be careful about this, try and not get much attention brought to them, Eos and others were probably doing stuff to also get them, so secrecy and subtleness was key. The digital space around her faded away, with the cafe coming back into view.
She saw all the people that were in the Rhizome, and seeing the drone with the message. She would also see the message sent through the channel, and think about it quickly before responding to it, she knew they had to make a plan first.
"Don't be so quick on your feet, it is better we group up beforehand, we don't want to be too reckless and mess something up for the refugees. I fully agree to meeting up in the courtyard. Be careful, however, we don't know what outside forces might be watching or waiting for us, we are already suspicious as is."
With that, Lillian would wait a few seconds before getting up from her seat and signaling the drone to come with her, she would try and access it fully later. She would take a glance at the others in the team without anyone noticing, leaving the cafe. She decided to take a long route, taking a short walk around the city before going to the courtyard, as to be less of a source of suspicion.
Vega stood from her table, and set the bead down. Saying in a hushed tone as she walked. "Outside, let's not talk here." Moving outside she started heading to her own vehicle. Not wanting to alert anyone who might be watching them.
As he jacked out of the Rhizome and returned to the real world-millesecond's nausea notwithstanding-he noted about 2 things to himself as they began to shuffle out of the cafe. First, pay coming out of pocket would be problematic if anyone was stingy. Of course, that included himself; while he had a decent amount in savings, that was the point. Couldn't save it if it was being spent on a refugee crisis. He also noted the seeming assumption of command by the lizard man-or rather, the lizard man's drones-as they followed each of them out of the cafe. Good that he was productive, but a bad sign of rashness. Given he'd hardly even waited for the messages to stop playing before going ahead with his little scheme, it didn't make a good first impression. He did have intuition, given his mention of the courtyard as a meeting zone-now if only his little drones weren't painting little targets on their backs by following them around.
He didn't speak through the drone channels, though he let his assistant give a confirmation ping. Silicon on silicon; someone out there was into the idea. He elected to let his intuition do the legwork, and soon he got himself lost under technicality. While he did humor himself with shopping, it was mostly for intel collection; seeing as the fixer wasn't exactly a local, he elected to watch for gangs of his own while on his little trip, anyone with a distinctive repeating style or any well-armed groups that seemed rather homogenous. But one could only sightsee for so long without looking too suspicious, especially as a zetyan in full kit being followed around by 2 robots, and eventually he was making his way to the courtyard, some coffee in his veins and a bag of chips slowly feeding cholesterol to his heart as he watched for the others.
With a queasy feeling in his digestive system, Vinny watched the virtual world peel away. Steadying himself with his appendages, he had placed the bead back from whence it came.
Vinny heard the sentient near him speak in a hushed voice and with a nod, followed carefully. Vinny took great care to lag behind just enough to seem unaffiliated but close enough to react if necessary.
As the group left the venue one by one there was thankfully no ready and waiting for leaping to take them down. Caution was of course warranted in any job like this and they slowly filed to meet up in the designated courtyard.
Garden was too strong a word in the Freeport, but the courtyard nearby could be approximated to the closest thing. It was an open square, filled with some plant life and various seating areas, installed to allow workers or just anyone to come and sit in the communal space. Most of it was empty, only the odd couple sitting and enjoying the open area as a change to the cramped streets along with the occasional person walking through to elsewhere.
They had some measure of privacy here at least, and even from the courtyard they could see the large spire of the Wandering Paths Hall, quite an intricate spiral of red painted metal. That was where their refugees lay, safe for now at least. They didn’t have to openly protect them in the meantime.
Still the group didn’t even know one another, just their objectives, now wasn’t the time for potential division.
As the group assembled within the courtyard, it was Dhars who broke the silence, cupping his fists and inclining his head. "So, you are all the ones I shall be working with, hm? Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I am Dhars Barei, of-" He smiled slightly, stopping himself. "Ah, well, my masters have demanded uncharacteristic discretion in this instance. I shall say I hail from the Divine Lotus Blossom Empire, yes? I am but a humble White Core, Major Grade life form, so forgive my weakness. I am simply here to facilitate the transfer of these refugees to their desired location. I merely have a basic mastery of electronic warfare, so if there are any light security measures preventing this goal I could assist. Though-" He looked to the man who'd given them all a drone companion, not to mention the android. "-I concede I may be outmatched in this. Perhaps it is my finances which are my primary asset in this situation. I am most prepared to wield them as a means to obtain the loyalty of this cargo master."
Leaving the Rhizome was as disorienting of an experience as entering it, Le'kra would follow along with her comrades out into the courtyard, finally her bearings return to her.
"Seems like you all are my coworkers here. I'm Le'kra, of the Selenican Republic. I've been stationed here for quite a while now, so I'm not exactly in need of an introduction to the Freeport." She would go silent for a short while, thinking about how to disclose her strengths while not giving away her fellow Selenican operatives on the Freeport. What to say, what to say... "You've probably seen my people around here before, and among them I'd say I have more than a little intel-gathering experience. Didn't help against the damn pickpockets, though." She would say, laughing a bit at the last sentence. "Anyways, I'm not here on an official mission. More like I want to hurt Eos in the future, those..." she would catch herself before going into a rant about the religious zealots. "Never mind me."
The first to arrive at the court yard due to leaving first and taking the shortest route Tildrul at first seems to be a bit out of it, starring off into space, seemingly less present than they were before. Only once two others arrive do they seem to get back to normal.
As more and more of the group arrives, their drones return to the cyborgs body, slotting into place as if for recharging. Finally, after all their drones are back they speak, revealing that even in person their voice is artificial sounding and robotic.
"Greetings all. I am Tildrul Aphravosk, of the Svarthan Trust MHEA, long range reconissance and sniping division."
They glance at Dhars as they speak about EM warfare before they continue.
"My drones are unsuited for E-war operations I am afraid. They are however excellent in terms or recon and threat identification, as their sensors can penetrate almost any man portable stealth systems.
But that is not my main specialty. No, I center on raw combat, as if I am not mistaken, my arsenal is the largest and most potent of us all. However apart from these two things I cannot do much in the way of provideing finances or operating in more clandestine channels."
The bland space was nevertheless welcoming to the armor-clad zetyan, as he and his assistant sat nearby on a bench, under the false shade of what Laulapedia called a mulberry tree. Alas, as his coworkers filed in, the one thing he wasn't much for finally reared it's head: socialization. He wasn't too fond of it, and while he was capable of sustaining a meaningless conversation for an acceptable length of time his armor didn't exactly spell out 'friendly' and his speaking style didn't scream 'inviting'. At the very least, they didn't seem weary of the fact he was a zetyan in the first place-or, if they had heard of his species' reputation, they had elected to keep distaste to a work-safe minimum. Seeing as he couldn't get by without just grunts and mumbles, he spoke after the lizard man-Tidrul or whatever-his armor filters adding layers to his voice as he went through the roulette.
"Ti'zal M'ghao. Private security contractor." He poused for a moment, unsure of how to elaborate."...Zetyan. I shoot stuff, it dies."
His assistant, to his chagrin, was far more amicable to the whims of conversation, as it emerged from it's perch on the bench armrest and chirped a monologue and a half in a tinny voice.
"And I am Serial Number J-051856729NN-5, PAI Assistant! It is nice to meet you all!"
"...Johnny. Call it Johnny."
"Thank you, mr. M'ghao! I am a capable holding platform for many devices large and small, as my owner can attest! I am equipped with a data uplink and sharing slash subnet establisher system, load-bearing system capable of holding up to 10 pounds of objects and material, coffee-maker, email write-and-send system, live camera feed transferrant system, phone functionality-"
"It can hack okay and show you cam feeds. And hold stuff."
"Yes, thank you! If you wish, I can establish connection this very moment!" As it said that, anyone with cybernetics would receive a ping, and if their cyberware had the capabilities for it a little 'yes-no' box would appear in their field of view. "My owner is also very capable as well, as not only does he come with years of experience, his armor is capable of withstanding-"
"Don't jack me off, please."
"As you wish, sir!" If nothing else, it had boundless positivity-or atleast, programmed boundless positivity.
Ti'zal made a closing remark as it returned to 'sitting' on the arm rest it had claimed as home, something undefinable barely present through the warped intonations that came through the harness.
"Gets excited sometimes. Likes to talk... a lot."
"I was a former translation assistant before you bought me, sir!"
"...cool." His gaze shifted to the next to speak, sighing internally out of relief he hopefully no longer had to socialize.
After taking a small walk around the block, observing and tracking different places, people and events, wanting to be able to capture what the city was like, giving a bit more info to her. Once arriving at the court yard, she observed the relative safety and privacy they had, and was all for it. She listened to the others speak first, wanting to hear them before mentioning anything about herself, she was still somewhat undercover, as of now. She removed the hood of her cloak, being sure no one else was observing. At that moment, her ears twitched several times, finally free to stretch after a while under the hood, and with her tails following suit. Her hair would fall onto her shoulders, it silky and soft, being a tad shiny with the light.
She observed everyone a bit closer, being quite amused at the rag tag team that was here. Of course, she respected them, they were chosen for a reason, and knew, or at least assumed they had very good capabilities that fit the job. She enjoyed hearing about these strangers, something she hadn’t done in a long time. It reminded her of better times for her...
She would stop reminiscing and continue listening to everyone.
She found the assistant quite cute and amusing, it seeming so childish and full of innocence. She took a liking to it... he? Whatever. Although, it seemed its handler wasn’t much for conversation, at all, not that she minded, people are people, and she dealt with many who had similar attitudes and personalities. Once the pair were done with their turn, she took the opportunity to introduce herself.
"Greetings. My name isn’t very important, but for the sake of trust, you can refer to me as Lily. I am a jack of all trades, basically, but my very best strong suit being diplomacy and talking. Among other things, I am proficient in hand-to-hand combat, know my way around most guns, but I have no intention of killing anyone unless absolutely necessary, and I am quite proficient at E-war and technology in general"
Most of this was true, although most of it also was a cover, but she wasn't lying, she knew this things.... maybe not so much the gun part, with so many guns in the galaxy.
Arkan arrived quietly as the party gathered together. The small courtyard showing no signs of monitors or being supervised, allowing him to relax abit. It was surprizing to him that so many different agents from different nations were here. Some appear to be freelancers while others appeared to be here for other purposes he wouldn’t understand. Fearing no reprisal for his undercover identity in their current location, the bloodcrown also chimed in.
“I’m simply known as Arkan.” He kept his hood however, covering the majority of his beak.
“I’m an agent of a special branch of the ZYPHER empire...so technically, ‘I’m not officially here’ if you get my gist.” He said.
“Luckily my objectives here are already completed so I have no further reason to be here aside from what currently sits before us.”
Vinny clicked his mandibles nervously. He knew he'd eventually have to reveal something, it was the way of these international operations that some information would need to be shared as a show of trust. Vinny thought carefully about his next words before speaking.
"A pleasure to meet you all," Vinny clicked his mandibles once more. "I am Vin-Ha but you may call me Vinny for short and I hail from the Altan Potentate. I am a agent of the Imperial Special Operations, this much I have been authorized to tell you. The Throne, and therefore ISO, is interested in the Psionic abilities of these refugees and have ordered to me to assist in this operation."
Vega lingered behind slightly. Keep an observant look around them. She eventually entered the courtyard with everyone else. Pulling her hood down. Humanoid with squited eyes, and very long pointed ears. Her skin coated in a very thin layer of fur. Some sort of winter adapted humanoid? She crossed her arms over her armored chest, and over the rifle hanging loose on it's sling. "Vega Kaul, merc. I can fork out money if needed, specialize in close to mid range combat, know my way around the less than savory types. My partner can hack, do the sneaky shit." Her voice was ever so dry in tone. She cusped at her belt, and lifted up a palm sided perfectly spherical ball. Made of a seemless very shiny white metal. Part of the balls indenting to show a small glowing blue eye, and four long narrow legs popping out. It's voice was synthetic, but had inflection to it. Unlike it's humanoid partner. "Vega call's me Lucky! A pleasure." It rapidly crawled up her arm, and stopped at her shoulder. The woman not so much as looking at it.
"Now let us get to why we are here, hmm? My two cents is we give the dockmaster a sigec to shut up, and let the Captain move. After which we meet up with the captain and tell him the cargo we want to move. Show him everything is ready to go right away. Even better if we split up, and do both at once."
She paused then spoke again. "I have a vehicle to get around nearby, spare guns if anyone needs one... Everyone has a communicator of some kind, correct?"
Freeport 11: Killian Verge
The man screamed.
"It would be most prudent to answer the question and beneficial for your body"
The man could barely reply, shackled to the chains dangling from the ceiling his naked and beaten body writhed as Anuk removed one of his ribs. The rooms only illumination was the fire that played across Anuks head, a member of the Castigation Order, if anyone knew true pain it was him. What he was inflicting upon this lost soul was nothing compared to what he had endured to earn redemption.
"I... I told you, I don't know where they are"
"And yet you helped them get here, you have to have either helped them to a further destination or overheard their next step. Tell us and this all can end, we will even undo what we have done" The third voice in the room came from on the edge of the fires light, bright orange robes revealled one from the Order of the Flame. Poltis had nothing but distain in his voice, these run away heretics he felt were beneath him and yet he was zealous to ensure they got their justice.
"I don't know!" The man cried in return, the backroom for the dock office now looked like a charnel house as Anuk began to make another incision into the mans chest. He cried out again.
"By the creators decree you WILL tell us what you know or we will take you apart in a way that will make you wish for pain" The mewling man tried to speak and Anuk stopped what he was doing.
"They... Moved on, had to find shelter, some kind of palace for wanderers I don't know the details... Please I just wanted the money..."
"Of course you did, like all those who are lost. If you had given us this information to start with you wouldn't be in this position. You have only your own darkness to blame for this" Poltis growled. Anuk cut the chains, letting his ruined body fall to the floor.
"May the creator judge your soul" The Castigator hummed before bringing down the kinetic blade and beheading him.
"We have our destination. It wont be so easy to assail. We observe and we act when needed, the next step awaits"
"I believe these drones should allow us to remain in touch with one another, though any sort of redundancies may be useful. That said, I intend to visit the cargo master now. Anyone who wishes to accompany me may do so, though I doubt it will be a difficult matter. Indeed, I would recommend those of you focused on violence accompany the refugees." His smile turned a touch wicked. Dhars Barei was not unfamiliar with these sorts of jobs.
"After all, you can never be certain who might try to make trouble, yes? If problems arise, they will most likely be targeting our poor Eosians. Best to prepare for that. Those of you who are experienced in hacking, I suggest a means of obscuring your appearance from any security cameras, or disabling them, especially when moving the clients. I have been doing so myself. Now, if you will excuse me, I shall handle the issue of Tian Zul, if you would allow me."
Dhars turned to leave, though he kept an ear out for any further comments.
Tildrul speaks up, keeping their voice a bit more subdued to try and prevent eaves dropers who may have arrived after the group from hearing. Their drones are once again floating around the group, their many cameras watching for all kinds of targets.
"I agree with this notion. It is far more likely our cargo comes under attack than the customs officer. I would recomend those with significant funds at their disposal head to the customs office, so that would be primarily Dhars, but I think Lilly, Arkan, and Le'kra would do best accompanying them. Ti'zal, Vinny, Vega, and I should then go to the cargo at the same time.
Further more my drones are still availible for those who lack their own comms, or desire their sensor suite.
Any objections to my proposed grouping?"
"You're forgetting about the captain. I can go with Dhars I'll provide the funds. I wish to give him enough money he will not even want to ask who we are, or what we want.... Plus I have a car, we'll get their faster."
Vega moved to leave as well. Starting to leave with Dhars. "Let us know if no one gets to the captain, we'll pick up the slack and deal with him too."
13 October 2022
"Ahah, well, let's not be hasty." Dhars chuckled as Vega moved to follow him. Overall, he certainly gave off an air of suave confidence, though how much was natural and how much was a front couldn't be discerned. "After all, men driven by greed, they'll be happy to take an opportunity to extort us beyond reason. Let's make sure not to overplay our hand so he doesn't ask for a sum we can't provide, yes? Best to start small, see what he demands. Find a middle ground."
And besides, the smaller the sum he parted with, the more esteem he earns in the eyes of his masters. Frivolous spending if a lesser amount would have sufficed would only earn less merit when he eventually gave an accounting of this affair.
"Though-" He shrugged. "If you feel so inclined to use your money in such a manner, I shall not stop you."
"You'd be a fool to trust basically anyone here. They're mostly two-timers who're looking to scam anyone out of any money they have." Le'kra would chime in, lighting s cigarette, a habit she picked up from her father back home. "I learned that the hard way when they kept swiping my stuff. Anyways, I'd agree with Dhars on this. We can't let them extort us. Sure, saving the refugees is a bonus, but the real winners here will be our wallets at the end of it. Though, something tells me we won't be unaccompanied on this mission. Given what we know about Eos, there's a too-high-for-comfort chance that they'll be sending folks after the refugees. So I'd advise we stay on our toes unless we wanna piss off one of the largest zealot conglomerates out there."
Lillian would think for a second, thinking about the best course of action in this kind of situation. All of these factors had to be held, money, character, specialities, and most of all, Eos. From what she could gather, this kind of move was not looked upon fondly by then, but she didn't know to exactly what extent, if they would simply just revoke citizenship, or something much worse. But, better safe than sorry in this kind of situation. So, her two cents came in.
"First off, calm down, we should actually plan before we go in, or else we fuck this up. Second off, I agree with us splitting off into three different groups, but we should all mix. Dhars, Le'kra and I should go to the cargo office, we need funds but we also need diplomacy and info, or else we will be milked for everything we have, thankfully Le'kra here seems to be our woman of choice for this. Ti'zal M'ghao, Johnny and Vin-Ha should seek the captain, Ti'zal doesn't seem like the most talkative person, but Vin-Ha and Johnny should be able to deal with that. As for the cargo bay, the muscle is needed in case gangs or other forces want to get with them. Vega Kaul, Arkan and Tildrul Aphravosk are the perfect fit."
"I find this to be the best mix, muscle in every group, and diplomacy in the two sides. If one of you sees yourself unfit for the job or see yourself better in diplomacy or muscle, please, do say. These refugees are in great danger, so, even though I would love to talk more right now, we can do that once we're on our ways. Third, the drones are pretty good for communications, although, with your permission Tidrul, I would like to make some small mods to the drones to make them more efficient for this operation."
Arkan nodded to Lillian's decision, while keeping and eye on the surroundings. That comfortable feeling of them having some form of controlled privacy made him nervous and anxious for the moment that feeling were to disappear.
"The drones do make it easier for us to remain connected to each other without using comms. The radio chatter no doubt would be heard by any listening post on this station." He added in.
"The problem with buying our way in, is that it is a two way door." he added backing Le'kra's statement.
"We'll need a back up plan in the event that such a ticket out isn't as smooth." He gently patted hiis gear under his cloak, a subconcous action to make sure he had his trap tools.
Ti'zal's tracking of the conversation, from their perspectives, was a little... well, to be blunt, not-there. Under that mask, he followed along well enough; the lizardman wanted him to go to cargo with him, the furry lady, the bug. Fox lady had other ideas-wanted him to go with the bug and talk to the captain, squeeze some room for the cargo bay out of the little rodent. That both parties picked the two most likely visually intimidating members of the party to go after the captain was not lost on him-hopefully he was a man of reason, or barring that one whose principles could be malleated at the barrel of a gun.
"...I'll go where I'm needed." He said with a shrug, standing up but not yet moving to leave. He turned to his assistant, who now hovered a little above his shoulder on 2 pairs of spindly legs. "If you wanna say something."
"If I may, it seems both parties want you to go to the captain in first order. However, Lillian's plan seems the most well-balanced, and may heighten our chances of success."
"Also, seeing as Vinny will be coming with us in both plans, it is nice to be working with you!" The construct now spoke to Vin-ha, while Ti'zal gave a 'mm' and a little nod-though given his disposition, and a slight pause he made beforehand, one had to wonder if it was genuine or just courtesy.
Vinny, listened to Lillian. Their plan was solid and dealing with a lowly captain would be a trivial matter. He waited for the others to voice their thought before speaking. "The captain should be easy enough to deal with. If needs be I'm sure my government could..." He paused and clicked his mandibles. "see that the dear captain is properly compensated for his troubles."
Then Vinny turned to Ti'zal and their construct. He paused and then said 'Forgive me, I am not quite used to informality, my culture is highly stratified and formality is quite strict. It is, as you say, nice to be working with you as well." Vinny gave half-bow half-nod to keep a sort of soft professionalism.
"I can not render payment while I am not there, and I do not understand you placing me here when time of is the essence... I do have the speediest way to get both teams to their destinations... But I will concede this plan." She sighed and pursed her lips. Her narrow eyes flicking between the group.
"I also recommend getting overwatch of the compound for our assets, but not entering directly. Eyes are likely already on us." She gave a small nod to everyone. "I will concede with the group consensus, however... The contract comes first, always."
"I am likewise in agreement with the plan proposed by Lillian. It covers all our bases rather nicely and gives each group greater flexibility. On the topic of securing overwatch, I will aim to do just that. My drones, cybernetics, weapons, and skills give me the best possible load out to watch over a position from afar and spot foes."
Tildrul has begun to move closer to those they will be acompanying, namely the augmented human mercenary, and Trizorian. They do however adress Lillian as they move.
"As to modifying my drones, well that depends on what exactly you are going to do with them. Certain features, such as their compatability with my armor and their optical load outs must remain and not be reduced."
"I'm all for Lilian's plan. Extracting some intelligence shouldn't be too tiresome if we play it off right." Le'kra would reply, snubbing out the cigarette she started earlier. "And I assume all of the locations we need to go are already marked, no need to scout 'em out."
To Cargo Office
With Lillian’s plan agreed upon the group swiftly set off, initially they were all going in the same direction and moved together but slit enough to make that they were not solely one unit. The Freeports streets were packed with random shops, street vendors, crowds and vehicles battling to get through the areas that were not main highways. It was cramped, loud and hard to navigate as they pressed on. Soon they reached the dock and cargo areas at the edge of the Freeport, the huge open doorways and portals allowing large cargo containers and haulers through onto the Freeports transit system.
It was here that the groups split off, Dhars, Le’kra and Lillian were heading for the office, likely place to find Tian Zul or at the very least a place where they could ask for his location. Vega Kaul, Arkan and Tildrul Aphravosk also came too, acting as the muscle and putting on stern faces.
It was needed.
The cargo docks were huge open affairs of constantly moving containers, ships, docking clamps and overhead cranes, the noise was tremendous, and the ever-flowing nature of the job meant that the dock workers (all of who were gangers in some way shape or form) were constantly rotated in and out of the job, this was never tired. To watch individuals come onto their turf was enough to draw looks from many who paused to eye up the arrivals. It didn’t take long for one, particularly short man, to stand in front of the group of 6 and plant himself arms crossed.
“And who the fuck are you? What business do you have ‘ere?”
To the Captain
As the majority of the group split off to the cargo docks Ti'zal M'ghao, Johnny and Vin-Ha took a turn and headed for the regular docks. They were not less spacious, or chaotic in their operations, but at least these docks were not the domain of gangers. People came and went here in their thousands every hour of the day, as ships docked and undocked to countless parts of the galaxy. There was no official ‘customs’ on Freeport 11 but there were areas where individuals could ask for help or get information.
The docks were a honeycomb set up, and just looking up from the entrance you could see the curvature of the station through the massive amounts of ships in various docks that stretched up above them. Somewhere in here was their captain and a ship that could hopefully take the refugees to safety.
Dhars smiled pleasantly. "I and my associates are here to see Tian Zul, noble sir. A matter of personal business." A deliberate move, using his name. An implication of familiarity combined with the serene confidence radiating off of the cultivator was intended to have the workers under the impression he was off to do something important with someone he was familiar with, hopefully reducing any suspicions they might harbor or questions they might have. His exotic collection of comrades could also have added to that impression, but one could never be sure.
"If you would be willing to direct us to his workstation, we would be most grateful." An implication of reward? Perhaps.
Though some might have the misconception of cultivators as maniacs obsessed with fighting, anyone who had more experience would recognize in Dhars right away the bureaucratic obsequiousness that many also seem capable of putting on without even thinking. (edited)
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down man." Le'kra would say to the short man first, assuming a more conversational tone than what she had previously done. "We ain't here to encroach on anyone's business, we don't care about that, we're lookin' for this guy called 'Tian Zul,' y'know where we can find 'em?"
She would then take her hands out of the pockets on her clothing, being sure to show the aggressive man that she doesn't have any weapons despite the small pistol she keeps in her inner coat pocket, roughly matching him in height, not quite staring the man down and keeping a safe distance from him. If things go dicey, it'll be a bit of a conundrum to get themselves to the cargo transporter they're looking for if this man is affiliated with him.
Lillian observed the other two talk, making sure to put her hands in front of her, as to signal no weapons on her. She of course had other methods of stopping this guy or any others if things got dicey with anyone, so was the nature of this place and the job. She sighed, a small HUD appearing in front of her left eye, small letters scrolling through. It seemed she was preparing something. Her eyes turned to the man in front of them, walking in the middle of the both of them, being the tallest of them.
"Like my colleagues said, we are looking for the man named Tian Zul. We wish to... do some business with him. We do not come to harm any of you, we just want to talk and help everyone in the end. So, if you're so kind, could you tell us where he can be found?"
Her voice sounded professional, diplomatic, near pristine and with a soothing tone. Her body expressed no intention of harm, although, appearances can be deceiving.
Bustling. Crowded. Full of life. And with enough surface area to classify as a small city.
To say the area was growing more unappealing by the second would have been a gross understatement; if they'd have done a cursory sweep Ti'zal would've taken finding the quartermaster in a heartbeat. No way he, or likely his spiderlike coworker would bother to search this place for more than an hour at most-and that was pushing it. He suspected neither of them had what it would've taken to speedread through every ship, especially with crowds like these.
Thankfully, they had someone who could.
"Johnny." He spoke now to his assistant, who perked up. "Do a sweep, code 14-5. Looking for a ship, Stellar Breeze. Captain's Nuclean. Both applicable, see refs. Full auth."
"...command processed!" It chirped after a moment, rising up on four stilted legs and disappearing into the crowd. A buzz on their earpieces now heralded it's voice. "I will remain in touch through radiowaves, and will direct you once located!"
"Good." He muttered, turning then to Vin-ha. "We wait for it to buzz."
Johhny, meanwhile, was gliding above the crowds, growing more and more distant from the two every second. Though it was scanning every ship it could pass by, it was also on the lookout for secure terminals and security cameras; if it could jack into the systems and gain authorization, they'd be able to pinpoint the ship far faster than if they were just looking around. Only problem there being station security, but worst case scenario it wasn't something a few millicents couldn't fix.
Tildrul seems to be moderately on edge, if the periodic small eruptions of steam from their shell are anything to go by, and it soon becomes apparent why. As a sniper, being so close to their enemy was not natural to them, and they would much rather be following the group from afar, and preferrably a height, ready to neutralize high value and powerful targets from afar.
As the man approaches them, the crab stays silent, since their role is not to negotiate, but rather just look scary. To that end, they subtly move the barrel of their gun down, not aiming it at them man just yet, but achieving a position where they can react faster. Of course, even with its magnetic fluid option, using their big gun would be overkill, so they silently order their cybernetics to prepare their side arms, namely a compact, very fast firing coil SMG, and their huge chemically propelled "hand gun".
Outside Cargo Office
"Personnel business aye? I dont think I have ever been a noble before, are you try'na pull me leg?" He man bigged himself up as much as possible, although he was still tiny compared to many of the party.
"Yea I know who Tian Zul is dont tell me the calm down! And not harm any of us? Why you thinking you looking for a fight? Man you off porters are so up yourselves" The man spoke loudly, bringing over more gangers who homed in on his voice, some carrying heavy tools and others looking like they were flexing their large augmented muscles.
"Look Tian Zul is a pretty busy man, and we took have got a lot of work to do, why don't you come back later aye? Before you say something that further upsets my crew"
Dockyards
Johnnys scans turned up the ship they needed, located several sectors up above them.
Reportedly according to the information it was set to be leaving within 3 hours. Hopefully they could reach it before then.
The elevators for dock goers were the best option to get upwards, freely moving between the different floors and sectors of the dockyard taking people to ships to leave or from ships as they arrived. Stepping into the elevators they began to head upwards.
But below standing out in the crowd, and making their way into the Freeport entry section, were a pair of Eosians in full armour.
Vega moved forward pushing herself to the front of the group if needed. She didn't look down, and kept her chin up high. Showing off as much confidence as she could. Both hands currently on her firearm, but in a relaxed position. "We have a matter we need to speak to him for, the kind I am sure you know well. 500 MicroSigec, as soon as you send me your details, and we can be on our way to Tian Zul without issue." She took her right hand off of her gun reaching it out for a handshake. Asking coldly. "Deal?"
"I have found the ship!" exclaimed the little robot in the earpieces of Vinny and Ti'zal, data streaming into them like water from a tap. He grunted in response, mulling over the data.
"...six sectors above, dock four... three hour layover.... hm." He nodded to himself, doing quick arithmetic as he scanned the area. They had time-barring complications. "Elevators. Over there." He motioned to one of the many elevator sections that lined the walls, almost like industrial lifts as they lifted the myriad masses up and down, disappearing into the ethers of greebles and pipes.
The only problem now was traffic-and one easily solved with a little intimidation. As he began to push his way through the crowd-while he didn't like to play himself up as a big tough guy, the persona sure made it easy to get where you were going-he sent another communique to Johnny, who remained in the upper levels above.
"Resume sweep. Repeat last, mod. Captain only, full auth."
"Command processed, sir! I shall look for the captain now!"
"Hold one moment Ti'Zal, look there," Vinny gestured to the fully armored Eosians. Vinny let out an excited chitter from his mandibles. "Perhaps they are expecting trouble, we should as well."
He considered for a moment, "If they are in full armor, we can likely assume that they are the hunters and not the hunted..."
The cultivator raised an eyebrow and stepped away as Vega made his move, giving the impression that matters had moved beyond him. Perhaps he was just a spokesperson for this clearly dangerous group of individuals. He'd tried his best to be polite for the sake of keeping things quiet, but oh no, now there's no telling what might happen. Dhars was definitely shameless when it came to pulling these sorts of moves.
Tildrul watches Vega move in, their body moving even closer to the floor than it already was. Steam still seeps out around their base, but it soon slows to a stop as the rim of their shell presses to the floor. The vents on Tildruls back start to slide almost entirely closed emitting far less steam than before.
Inside the shell, the safeties on their weapons flick off, ready to deploy at a moments notice but still not visible externally. Their eyes swap from normal light to seeking out electrical and chemical signiatures, seeking for hidden weapons or cybernetics as they begin to plot targeting solutions in the event of the worst.
However should the gangers pay any attention to the crab in the back, all they would see is them sinking down to the ground, the flow of steam from their body decreasing.
Lillian sighed at the comments made by the small man in front of them, she was kind of disappointed, she was just trying to be polite. But, she knew that these people were no ordinary people, especially with them dealing with such a... shady business model. She let Vega do her thing, not being one for bloodshed, but understood that there were bigger things at stake, and if they didn't hurry up, who knew what kind of powers would do to the poor refugees.
She flicked her wrist before her, a holographic display appearing before her eyes. She quickly navigated through the software, before appearing on what seemed to be a banking app. She walked up next to Vega, signaling the easy way to transfer the money to the designated account, before looking at the man.
"We can do this quickly and quietly, I can do the transaction here and now, cleanly and without any suspicion by outsiders. I understand your circumstances and whatever opinions that you might have about us, but we just don't really mind that if we can do "good business". So, take the deal or nah?"
Her tone of voice was rather polite, and yet it reinforced her attitude and posture that emanated calm but calculating.
Arkan simply stood silent, watching how the workers and their speakers responded. They clearly didn't trust or interested in their presence, other than ready to start swinging. His overcloak not moving, but his hand on his weapon in case they wanted to choose the 3rd option.
Keeping his head covered in the hood, he eyed the workers who were closer to armed as the deal was offered.
Outside Cargo Office
The man and the dock workers for a moment bigged themselves up too, the announcement of a payment illiciting silence which turned into an awkward dangerous powder keg. But the man seemed to smirk.
“Well I think for 500 I can make sure everything’s in order, come on boys back to work. Tian Zul is further in, up in the dock offices on your left, if anyone asks I let you through” He pulled out his PDA and tapped a button to receive the funds.
“Pleasure doing business with you”
The crews relaxed as they filtered off back to work and the man wandered off, leaving the group to move in further to the staircase up to the offices which all overlooked the massive docking bay. The men who worked here were slightly better dressed, but still gave them suspicious side glances. As they reached Tian Zuls office, they could already hear him shouting in a thick Asian RANGSI accent.
“No care! No deal! You scum have swindled before, No deal!” He clearly was not very happy, especially when he looked up to see the group at his doorway.
“Who are you? What you want?”
Dockyards
As the Eosians entered they walked past the ‘security’ of the freeport, the guards clearly not wanting to screw around with fully armoured fanatics. It meant likely somewhere in this dock was their vessel, and that they were very much aware of the refugees now. Speed was to be of the essence.
The tactic of intimidation to clear through the crowds worked, many getting out of the way as they reached their desired sector and dock. Thankfully the further they went from the main entrance the less the crowds became until they were mostly groups of people and more cargo. Stepping onto their spar the sleek chrome like blue of the Nuclean transport ship hit them immediately, this was their place.
Crew were currently doing final onloading, using gravity cranes to lift various payloads into the ships bays. Most of the crew looked Nuclean, but a few humans and even a Zentheran could be spotted. The approaching group was quickly seen.
“Uh hello there, is there something we can do for you?”
"Hold one moment Ti'Zal, look there," Vinny gestured to the fully armored Eosians. Vinny let out an excited chitter from his mandibles. "Perhaps they are expecting trouble, we should as well." He considered for a moment, "If they are in full armor, we can likely assume that they are the hunters and not the hunted..."
"...fuck me." The armored Zetyan cursed under his breath as he watched the duo push into the crowd, beelining for the elevator. One of Tildrul's drones caught his eye, a little sleek disc broken up by lines and near-imperceptible panels that hovered over his shoulder like a less personable Johnny. He didn't quite know how it worked, but the active comms uplink it had with his suit was all he needed from it.
"Alcon, docking. Two bogeys, full kit, moving at speed. Get hasty and keep an eye."
An image sent itself unheeded with Ti'zal's transmission; not that he noticed nor cared. As the elevator reached their destination, he sent one more radio transmission to Johnny, who was hovering near where the Stellar Breeze and having no success finding the captain.
"Johnny, elevators. Two bogeys down by six, cause a delay. Full auth, make it quick, relink."
"Ah. I will do my best, sir."
"Mm."
He then turned to Vinny speaking as they got off the elevator. "You got any tricks, now's the time." He patched the arachnid a data link to Johnny, opening an avenue for the insectoid to assist however it could.
And Johnny, in the meantime, breezed right over to the elevators, a nimble body bringing it's form to the nearest network access panel and the zeroes and ones in it's head doing their level best to figure out how to stall an elevator system designed to ferry around hundreds of bodies at once...
...as they approached the bay zone, Johnny relinked with the duo, returning to the invisible perch that was above Ti'zal's left shoulder-albeit only because the other one was hogging the right. It greeted them in a familiar chirping tone.
"I have done as requested, sir!"
"Did it work?"
"...I am unsure."
"How?"
"I've inserted some errors into where I think the appropriate lines of code are, but the elevator went down before I could verify my success."
"...you couldn't just-?"
"Well, the effects are only apparent once the elevator stops. At least I was not detected!"
"You sure?"
"Well, I didn't get kicked out by the administrator and defence systems, so I would believe so!"
"...if security shows up in five i'm buying you a new anteprogrammer."
"Completely understandable!"
Their little conversation over, the final approach to the docking bay was otherwise uneventful. As the one who called them out gazed at them-a Nuclean in all their beaverish, blue-robed glory-Johnny moved unheeded to speak, an action that was silently appreciated by the local conversationalist that owned it-though, if fate willed it, not for long.
"Hello! We wish to speak with your captain, regarding matters of refugee transport. We are told he has experience! The matter is also rather urgent."
"Very urgent." Ti'zal gave a small chime to Johnny's statement, if only to impress the crew with the knowledge of 'get us where we're going right now please thank you'.
Le'kra had attempted to deal with the shortstack before, however her allies had stepped in to handle it for her. No complaints from her, however. Less money out of the Selenican's already light pocket. With the approach towards Zul's office, the shouting became louder and more distinct even to the muffled earcaps of the serpent. Hopefully their approach would not be a failure. Beginning the conversation with her short stature and the angry tone of Tian Zul would be challenging to say the least.
"My apologies for such the sudden arrival on our part, but we are a group of independent freighters, looking to get our start in this galaxy here. We're here to see if we'd be able to purchase some cargo space onboard one of your glorious ships."
The lie would be needed, as the attitude of this man towards the Eosian refugees is unknown, and given his brash demeanor, a front like this would be more likely to work than being upfront.
Dhars smiled as he looked over the the target, letting one of his compatriots do the talking this time. However, one of the seams on his skin near his ankle split open, and something small, metallic, and with a fair amount of legs crawled out. Whenever Tian Zul wasn't looking his way, Dhars would guide his drone to towards the nearest crevice or underside of something it could adhere itself to.
Vega was surprised at her comrade dishing out the wallet, but remained silent. Slinking into the background on the way there in silence. She lingered near the back keeping clear line of sight to Tian. Her brow raised at Le'kra's comment. Trying to hide her surprise and worry. She kept her face calm, and let out a soft exhale. Not saying anything to not under mind where they might be trying to lead the lie to. Adjusting her grip on her gun as well. Expecting the meeting to go south.
With the dockyard situation diffused Tildrul vents their steam, timing it to coincide with other similar releases of pressure from the machinery around them, as they move with the rest of the group into the office of the RANGASI human. The crab once more takes up position in the back, this time not reading their weapons just yet. However they remain alert, their view not only on the business at hand but on the sights from their other drones.
Tildrul suddenly receives the message from the Zetyan, listening as the order their drone to locate the hostiles, and scout for any good ambush spots. They then open their comms to all their allies present and speak wordlessly to them, their camera eyes shifting about nervously and steam venting from their shell as a slight hint of anxiety builds.
"I would suggest we move these proceedings along. Ti'zal has reported two hostiles, full Eosian kit approaching the location we are supposed to head towards. My drones have confirmed as much. i am sending the images to you now, if your augs are compatible."
As promised, those with compatible cyberware recive the images from both Tildrul's drone and Ti'zal's, showing the Eosians by the dockyards.
Lillian was happy that the... offer had worked so well, and let her group finally meet the man they needed. Unfortunately, she recieved the notification of the Eosians already being in Freeport. She muttered a barely audible "shit" under her breath, not wanting Tian Zul to hear her, and noticed the Lotus official performing suspicious acts, she needed to act quickly, lest Tian Zul got suspicious of them because Dhars wanted to do something not fit for the situation. She cleared her throat and composed herself to talk to Tian Zul, giving an aura of professionalism and business sense.
"Hello Tian Zul, my name is Lillian, I would introduce my comrades here, but we are on a tight schedule right now, so I will get to it. We wish to pay you to smuggle some Eosian refugees away from Freeport 11 and get them in contact with Blinding Way. Blinding is a rebel group to Eos, you don't need the details right now. Point is, we are willing to pay the just amount you wish for to get them off station. We need this quickly, or else Eos themselves might get here and destroy whatever chances we have to do business."
Lillian sounded serious, and yet composed and extremely aware of the precarious situation they had as of now. She crossed her arms in a respectful way to Tian Zul, not wanting to piss him off.
"So, what do you say? How much for a deal?"
Outside Cargo Office
"Glorious!? Pah I wish, you very funny, I have met many like you" The man was small, very small and frail. Clearly very aged Tian Zul still kept himself up and forward, with self confidence and pride practically radiating off of his old body. He wore a dockworkers overalls with a high visibility jacket and a large radio strapped to his belt along with a hard hat.
He seemed somewhat nonchalant until Lilian spoke up, his eyes stayed as they were until she got to the point of smuggling Eosian refugees came up, his tiny beady eyes opening wide and worried.
"Refugee!? Eosians!? No no no no no deal! No deal! I don't smuggle refugees! I don't deal with Eos! No no no, not good at all you need to leave at once!"
The old man who looked frail now seemed to spur to life in a burst of activity stepping forward and pointing at the door with his left hand and making a 'shoo' gesture with his right aggressively like he was trying to push them out. The other couple of dock worker admins were looking at each other concerned as Tian Zul continued to insist. At least Dhars was having better luck, breaking into the shipping and dock manifests and showing various containers and their times to leave. Unfortunately all the containers and dock facilities were taken up for the next few days with various amenities, food and high quality aeromobiles for various clients. It would be tough getting space even without this sudden response.
"No deal no money! Leave for all our sake!"
Dockyards
The response to asking for refugee transport caused some of the Nuclean crew to turn to each other with concerned looks, a couple of nods later and the same one who had called to them gestured for them to follow the crew inside the ship.
"It might be tight but the captains always open to help that sort of thing, you better come talk to him and such depends how many you got" As the Nucleans took them inside the sleek and advanced transport ship the results came back from the disruption. The Eosians had been delayed as the lift had become stuck, on a completely different floor of the dockyards from the main entrance to the freeport. It would buy them time.
But how much was anyone's guess.
They found the captain on the bridge, the Nuclean filling out virtual paperwork before turning to look at the two who entered.
"And you are?"
Seeing just where the conversation had led Vega took a step forward towards the man. Swiping at her own gauntlet, and then turning a hardlight screen around. Showing 3 sigecs ready for transfer. A lot more money than a merc really should have. She spoke flatly, not acknowledging the bribe she was offering. "We don't need your help. We need your ignorance towards a vessel. You will not be referenced. I will ensure that personally."
Vega kept her head high. Not looking down to him with her head, but her eyes. Her face kept in an even expression
Behind them, Tildrul levels his huge weapon directly at the mans chest, his camera eyes all moving to look at him. Their lenses spiral down to points as red targeting lasers flick on. In their cold mechanical voice, seemingly shifted to be slightly deeper and carry a more menacing tone, they speak as well.
"Your silence will also suffice. I doubt that a replacement can be found quickly enough to hamper our needs, especially if an investigation has to be carried out to identify your body."
As if to drive home the point, the weapon makes an audible chambering noise, as Tildrul loads something into its breech
Dhars said nothing, though he seemed content with either option. He'd taken a back seat as others began negotiation, content to use his new access point to try and do some snooping around. With his connection into the system he tried to see if he could create an opening through the selective deletion of schedule chunks. If it seemed possible, he'd definitely mess with scheduling to create a slot that would let the Eosians slip on in before anyone realized what was wrong, but if that would cause too much trouble he'd need to reconsider it. For now he just tried to look politely apologetic. No harm in seeming like the reasonable person now that things were getting hot.
As the trio entered the room, Johnny was the first to speak, the tin blabbermouth's eye turning into a happy upwards arrow as it introduced itself. Ti'zal shadowed him, with Vinny likely following in on his left.
"Hello! I am Johnny, this is my owner Ti'zal, and this is Vinny! Mind not the appearances, we are friendly folk!" It 'gestured' with one of it's needle-esque legs to the other two, before continuing-the zetyan concluded he could complain about the descriptor of 'friendly folk' when there weren't Eosians on their tail. "We are here on behalf of a client anon, looking to requisition a space on your ship for refugees as soon as possible. If you wish, I can forward you details, and we can decide on a price point from there-time is of the essence."
"Ten minutes or less." said Ti'zal, curtly. A little ping popped up on his notifications-the delay was a success. Mission success-he wouldn't have to waste money buying something sketchy off the blacknet again.
Lillian was mentally hitting herself against the wall. She didn't realize just how much these people didn't like Eos, or how much they feared them, and she messed up big time. She cringed visibly at how it had to come to her team trying to intimidate him, but she did no move against the actions being commited by her colleagues. There was no backing down now, or else the refugees would be screwed by the powers trying to get them back. She looked at the SIGEC being placed for transfer, and knew that silence was an equally good choice. She sighed at the sight she had just made, and decided to set down another 12 SIGEC for transfer. It was a drop in the ocean from the amount she could make, and she wasn't really in this for the money, anyway.
"Look, I don't want you to be in danger because of us, so your silence is also appreciated. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be"
She turned her voice into an extremely serious, cold voice. She hated every second of it, yet it was necessary.
Outside Cargo Offices
“You don’t understand! It not about the money!” Tian Zul waved his arms as if trying to get the group to understand.
“Money good, but money don’t equal life! Eosians find out, Eosians know, they hunt you down, the don’t kill quick, they kill family I won’t do it” He crossed his arms.
“Silence wont help, they track manifests and dock stock, insane thorough! I saw, I fought, Eosians on Klendathu. Worst memories of my life! They kill with glee; their faith is insane! Find somewhere else to move refugees, I won’t help, can’t help they will find you and harm you!” Despite the clear amount of 15 SIGEC, enough to make anyone rich instantly, the man was still refusing.
That alone showed how serious this was. And the setting up of a time slot for the refugees in the system would still need dock workers to remove the bulk cargo from the containers and sign off in the first place, which Tian Zul would be aware of, it would be extremely tricky.
“Maybe Mercy without Borders help, they have hospital set up near docks, try there but I not help you” He was absolutely adamant.
Dockyards
“Refugees aye? I won’t ask how you got the information that I help smuggle them but all I need to know is who, where and when. 5 SIGEC for a trip, and if you want it asap you gotta get them to me, I won’t be able to transport the people here. I can get them off station, but I am leaving in 5 hours, if they aren’t on this ship by then I can’t help you” The Nuclean Captain was precise and to the point, nodding to each of the three in turn.
“Just tell me it isn’t more Orillians at the very least, they are trouble even when wanting to escape their space”
"Thank you for the lead. We'll be off." Lekra would say, bowing a bit before turning around and beginning to leave the man's office.
She had known that it wouldn't be likely that he'd be willing to help. Eos were infamous, and infamously brutal at that. However, the lead was right for the taking, and she would not be the last one to pick up its trail.
A good distance of walking down the docks gave the serpentine woman time to think, and especially about how it seemed fated the Eosians and Selenicans were to be enemies. A chance encounter in seeking to bring freedom to those under oppression, like they were, ended in flames and the unfortunate fate of the Admiral for that mission. "It was a mistake and then some to intervene" was the common consensus within the SR, having lost the majority of the task force which had arrived. What irony, then, that she was helping refugees escape. The Selenican government was quite judicious over the freedoms you had back home, so...would it be right to continue this then support the government which keeps its own citizens behind lock and key?
Such were the doubts she was having about her allegiance, but the task at hand took precedent.
"Yes, they are refugees. I don't know who they are, but we should be able to find that out soon. I'll be sure to get the intel to you as soon as possible. I don't believe they're Orillians, though, so no worries there." She would say to the captain, hoping her colleagues would hold up her slack.
Ti'zal nearly flinched at the mention of 5 SIGEC-he wouldn't even think of spending one unit, let alone enough to football throw someone out of the poverty line. The rest was easy enough, though when the Selencian spoke up he couldn't control his side-eye. 'When did they get here' flashed in his head-he'd never stated what ship they found on the chatter, nor did he radio for backup at any point. Perhaps the drones led her here? But then, how did they get past the rest of the crew. The questions were many, and the answers eluded him.
At the captain's prompt response, the construct 'nodded' in turn. "Very well-I will wire the details to you." Barely a second later, the coveted information showed up in the Nuclean's inbox, and if he had cybernetics the message would bring itself up to his field of view. It included everything-including who it was. "Payment may not be immediate, but my colleages I'm sure can be prompt in this matter! Right, sir?" Silently, the robot then sent a message to Ti'zal, popping up in his armor's field of view-'You should wire the team'.
"Right." A prompt nod, and he turned away, near-whispering into his conn as Johnny turned back to the captain. If there was a window to the outside in the room, he would move to peer outwards-he was antsy about any protracted waiting times. "Who here has 5 SIGEC to piss away?"
Arkan, feeling the air int he room shift from the unwillingness, started to observe his surroundings. He turned his attention to the rear of the office. They clearly were in fear of the Eosians retaliating from any kind of assistance they could offer. With the way things were going, they would naturally want to defend themselves. His concealed hands switched from his weapon to one of the flashgrenades in his trap gear, ready to deploy it should things turn hostile.
Time was of the essence and it felt like patience was wearing thing on ether side. He took a deep breath and changed his gaze back to Ti'zal, curious at what the further action would be.
"Oh?" Dhars raised an eyebrow. This was beyond his expectations. Stepping forward, he smiled broadly and had his little bug try to cut the cameras in this room, if any. "Mmmm... Well~" And with a sudden blur of movement leapt to grab the man by the throat. "No sudden movements now." His mouth didn't move as he spoke, the sweetened tone distorting as if coming from a radio transmitter, and it became clear to the unfortunate cargo master that the transhuman's teeth were metal, and sharpened to points. "But if I just force you to do what I want, you won't be culpable, right? Be rational now, you're just the victim of forces beyond your control at this point. You can even keep the money~ Or I can just kill you and do it myself. Think about it. The Eosians are a maybe problem. I'm right here~" Dhars regretted resorting to violence, but at this point time was of the essence if there really were Eosians on the station. And maybe if he acted quick enough he could get the man to comply before anyone else could react, implicating the rest of the party in his actions and forcing them to get moving.
Tildrul seems to have been just about ready to blow apart the mans upper torso when Dhars made his move. The crab stops as the lunge forward was made, taking a moment to reassess the situation, before deciding to just play along, and possibly even give the man more reason to cooperate. They push their way up to the front of the group, and rear up on the back half of their legs, exposing their underbelly, complete with gushing steam, wriggling legs, and a horrifying crustacean like mouth. They speak, their mouth spraying frothy steaming spittle as their mechanical voice box does its work.
"I would do as you are told, if you value your life so much. After all, what my college said was true. We can do what we need ourselves, regardless of if you are alive, or unhurt. And if you make us go through that, I will see to it that it looks like you helped us willingly, and then we just removed a lose end. I am CERTAIN that Eos will want to get vengeance on someone, and if you are already dead, then I hate to think of what they may do to your family to satisfy their desire for revenge. But if you help us, well, we can make it seem like you had no choice in the matter, and maybe even make you "disappear" for just long enough to take your family, and the money, and run away somewhere safe."
28 January 2023
Lillian grimaced at the acts being done by her colleagues, her more diplomatic method failing at a simple lack of understanding. She didn't think this method was inefficient, quite the contrary, it worked a lot in short term. But long term, these things were... dangerous, especially with a man like Tian Zul with the influence of Eos at hand. It was painful to watch such force being needed, especially with how the more trigger-happy Svarthan seemed, she wondered what would've happen if Tidrul moved first.
"...While it seems... quite threatening, they are right. Eos will seek someone to blame and use for vengeance. It would be in your best interest if you seemed to have no choice in the matter, especially with us being in the room. If you would like to preserve your life and of the ones you love, you will accept our offer."
Lillian started nice and diplomatic when she first started talking, but now... she sounded mad. She sounded threatening, wanting to intimidate the poor sod, although she screamed mentally at the sight.
"Oh, and don't worry about any camera footage, we are very prepared to alter and change data. You just act like an innocent, and we give you what you want, capiche?"
Dockyards
The captain seemed to nod at the agreement.
"As long as you pay before we leave, how many are we transporting and to anywhere in particular? Thank god their not Orillians." He sighed.
"But I must ask, is there risk in this? Something like this seems awfully sudden" He raised an eyebrow at Ti'Zal, Lekra and Vinny.
Outside Cargo Offices
The small and frail RANGSI man was helpless as the Cultivator picked him off the ground, feebly fighting back he tried to kick and remove the things hands but it was a futile attempt, he had no chance of resisting Dhars strength.
"You-You have no- Idea what your D-Dealing with" He scrambled and struggled. But eventually he relented.
"I-I will help, p-put me down"
"I-I can get transport for your r-refugees b but it will take some time" His comment was at least genuine. Organising transporters and cargo haulers to move the people over to the proper dockyards and the Nuclean ship would take time, and it would be at least somewhat obvious to anyone who happened to be watching the Hall. Better than the whole lot walking at least.
It seemed like a deal had been reached as a comm unit buzzed on one of the desks, it was from the man they had dealt with earlier.
"Hey boss, it seems like we got more company, they dont look here to ch-" The link cut as a slight rumble could be felt in the room and distant cries and screams heard through the walls"
"I-I told you... W-We have to move quickly"
Dhars smiles amiably and sets the man down. "Wonderful~ Oh, my masters will be just delighted that things are going so well, haha!~" The words on the comm have his neck practically snap the way it whirls to stare at the device, grin fixed on his face before turning to the cargo master. "Very well!" He seems practically giddy, and his voluminous robes are rustling in a way they shouldn't given he only has four limbs. "Wonderful wonderful wonderful-" Establishing good relations with the group helping the refugees would be a boon in itself, the sounds of combat only seem to excite him further. Maybe he's not usually as suave and stable as he's been putting on...
"To you, sir? No, I don't think so." Le'kra would say, trying her best to remain calm and not let the captain onto the potential risks herself. "My apologies but I don't know how many we're bringing, and specifically, we're trying to get them to the Blinded Way. That's all I know, unfortunately, but thank you for your time sir."
Hopes were running quite high as Le'kra relayed the needed info to the Nuclean captain, determined to save these people. She may not have known them, but dammit, slighting Eos was worth it.
"Several hundred, no particular destination." noted Johnny, as Ti'zal awaited confirmation that someone did, in fact, have 5 SIGEC to piss away, while Johnny continued to talk. "We may have company soon, but if all goes by quicky I have it on good authority there will be no risk to you or your crew! My owner is a very capable combatant, and should any bad actors come around he'll be able to deal with them handily!"
That Johnny was trying to advertise his services in the middle of a smuggling op would have to be something to tell him off about later. The most important matter was the money. Again, he reached out on the conn, giving a ping and broadcasting to all the party, while halfheartedly nodding at Johnny's statement. "Need 5 SIGEC over here. Five. Anyone have that kind of money? Not a charity."
"Got fuckin' dammit... Thanks for co-operating with us. The sooner this is dealt with, the better. More money for you, more stress for us. Fuckin 'ell..."
Lillian was absolutely tired of the situation, but she resisted the stress and let the person do their job. She was quite sure the Eosian refugees were anxious for this, especially since the sound of combat loomed close. She wasn't one for fighting out of her own volition, but if it came to defend someone else, and for the body she was using, she would do it. Thankfully, they also had a metal crab called Tidrul for the job, Ti'zal and his companion, and whatever... Dhars was doing.
She looked at the broadcast, sighing and tried to give Ti'zul some peace of mind.
*"Don't worry, I have plenty. I can pay all the SIGEC needed, just let them do the job first. If you want I'll send it to you directly."
She heard some skirmish going on, making sure to be discreet.
"You all ready for a possible firefight? Cause seems the more zealot Eosians might be here."
Tildrul seems contented by the mans compliance, as they sit back down on all their legs, and move back a bit to give the man room.
"You know what's good for you, I like that. Well, just to be sure, I think we had best go about editing any security footage and..."
The crab seems just about ready to detail more of their plan, when the communication comes in. As the screams start the crab instantly whips around and presses their way to a position further back from the door but keeping everyone important out of their line of fire. Their large weapon recedes into the slot on Tildrul's back it rests in, as a series of clanking and whirring noises indicate something powerful sounding has been loaded. The crab switches their eyes to thermal cameras trying to draw a bead on the Eos through the walls, as one of their recon drones moves to fly out the back and around the building to provide additional targeting data.
"I am ready. As soon as I have a solution, I will give them a taste of a high velocity APFSDS round on a big OAC charge."
"I'll go see what's going on." Arkan spoke up. His hands rolled over several different devices under his cloak, before resting on a Kilimond grenade charge as he approached the door to the office.
Once he exited the ship office and headed towards the docking clamp, he maintained his low presence while carefully closing the door, surveying the area and approach, deciding on what trap to use in order to stop them.
//I'm gonna secure us a route and see what were dealing with.// Arkan spoke through the drone's communications as he placed several small flash charges on the wall leading to the docking corridor.
Dockyards
"Transporting several hundred Eosians to Eosian rebels?" He turned to some of his crew "That's something I never thought I would be doing. You realise how much devastation the Eosians have caused this galaxy yes? How much damage they caused to my people and the Ecumene? Millions dead due to their religious overtures. You say we will have company, you better deal with them if they come for us. We are not equipped for a standup fight"
With a nod to the crew those outside loading onto the ship picked up the pace.
"You better get them here on time. I hope you understand I wont put my ship or crew at such risk if their being pursued. The last thing I want is to be jumped by an Eosian ship" His eyes narrowed.
Outside Cargo Offices
As the man was put back on the ground he slumped into a chair.
"I will do it quickly but it take time, and they here oh god they will kill us all!"
The offices seemed to be clear of any signatures, but the large open loading and unloading cargo area had clearly been hit hard by something. Heavy crates containing a variety of substances such as food, clothing, medical supplies and everyday items imported or sold by many were scattered about the area, thrown into the air and crashed to the floor by whatever strong charge had been thrown. 5 bloodstains which seemed to be the remains of people were spread out in a circular direction, and another 8 mangled bodies were laid out either thrown into containers or crushed by them.
Several dock hands were running for their lives, all from a trio of white and gold individuals.
Two of them were armoured, each carrying wave rifles, the third was just wearing robes, bright red and orange, the symbol of the reclaimer order emblazoned on them and a fire danced above his head.
The group in the offices had the height advantage, and could see down over the cargo docks from a series of gantries. But these were also Eosians, they were known fighters capable of holding their own and even surpassing tougher foes they could be unpredictable, but the fact they were here and didnt know the group was present could also aid them. They could choose to fight, or try slip away.
The choice was theirs.
"Of course, sir. It's our priority, and as I said, we're very capable of dealing with 'company'." intoned Johnny, who in a pointed display of restraint didn't bother to correct the captain's viewpoint of who he was transporting. Silently, the assistant sent a ping to the rest of the group, a polite if unconcise message telling them that the captain was compliant and to get the refugees squared away.
The robot didn't need to even ping Ti'zal for him to get the jist, as with a nod the Zetyan departed outside and immediately started keeping eye for their conspicuous golden pursuants. Out of earshot of the captain, he now spoke as normal into his radio. "Yeah, fuckers we saw on the way up probably found a way around now. Send the money to Johnny, get the refugees on the way, captain's leery and I'm taking point."
Tildrul carefully aligns the sights of their weapon to rest square on the forehead of the one wearing the robes, their drone feeding them targeting data from outside as their thermal vision lets them peer through the walls at their foes heat signature. Barely audible whirring noises come from their armor as the cannons position is shifted minutely to stay on target
"I have a solution on their leader, and am ready to execute him. If I take the shot the other two will however most likely make a rush towards us. How well are all of you in a fight? Bear in mind we are up against Eos troops so it will not be easy by any margin."
Arkan, who was calmly pressed against a wall near the entrance ramp to the office as he heard Tildrul's response. After observing the rather decorated Eosian soldiers.
"I'm pretty good...but" he returned to the gaze to his corner.
"...from the look at that gear on them, it'll probably only take one of those rifles to level the office." He said softly as he rested against the wall, making sure he was completely hidden.
"If we fight them, I recommend we ether incapacitate all 3 of them at once, or lure them away so we can get the refugees." he suggested. If the Eosians approached the office ramp, they'd trigger the flash charges on the threshold the moment they cross it...an outcome that would probably only startle them at least or effectively stun them enough but would force them to go aggressive.
"I got flank if we go loud, but i only got some explosives and some grenades that'll more than likely not impale their armor." He also has his rifle, but thats not recommended at the suspected range. Still he prepped his kilimond grenade and set it to impact. If anything it'd create a quick cover in need.
"Unless you have a better idea, they're about to get flashbanged if they walk towards the office."
Dhars looked to the others. "Let us handle them." He ran a hand through the many bead necklaces ringing his neck. With a twist of his fingers he snapped the string, just as a hole split open on a seam located on his neck. With a wide grin, he thumbed the first of the beads into the opening, others following as his body seemed to pull them down his through. Hiding his ammunition as mundane decorative trinkets was standard practice for the cultivator.
This whole situation was thrilling! Helping these refugees to build his sect's network was one thing, but collecting combat data against a powerful enemy such as this had its own substantial payout! It may not have been the intended mission but the blood burning in his veins told him he couldn't refuse such an opportunity.
"This body of mine is not just for espionage. Say the word and I'll join my power with yours."
"We are talking hyper zealous, very advanced opponents. The only ones with us with enough firepower to be able to damage and maybe kill them are Tidrul and maybe you Dhars."
Lillian quickly pulled out two railgun revolvers, checking their capacity and looking at the others, scanning them quickly before looking back at the Eosians.
"I can try and access any tech they have on them, but considering that it's foreign in nature, I can't fully guarantee me being able to even incapacitate a weapon, I'll try anyways... Alright, didn't think I would ever have to do this, but if necessary, I can either overclock the magnets and superbattery on this to give me one powerful shot on each revolver, or take out the battery and use it basically as a grenade, if anyone is willing to shoot it."
Lillian began trying to access the systems of the Eosians, knowing full well the consequences of if she wasn't able to. Just to make sure, she had section cutting on the ready to cut the connection so she wouldn't die due to a virus.
Dockyards
"Go then, get them to us and we shall see about trying to save these... People" The Nuclean captain intoned to those in front of him. The choice was theirs, rendezvous with the group in the Cargo areas or withdraw to the refugees themselves to check on them and prepare them for possible transport.
Because getting several hundred panicked people into containers was going to be a hard time.
Outside Cargo Offices
As the group readied themselves for a confrontation the sharp cries of those mangled but not quite dead dock hands could be heard from outside the offices.
It was then that the leader, the infrared blur on Tildruls sights, turned to face him down the sight. He put out his arms as a gesture of non violence.
"I am calling the group of beings currently in the Offices. Yes I am aware you are up there, I can see your auras. I believe we have things to discuss. Your Auras do not fit the others here and judging by the overwhelming feeling of panic by the man up there with you I can assume that you have something to do with the ongoing situation. I wish to talk, not fight. My quarrel and that of the Eostine is not with you and yours, but with others who have abandoned the path and seek to join a sect which is both radical and dangerous to the galaxy"
His guards did not move.
"But believe me, lost ones, should you choose violence I will not hesitate to bring the fury of the creator down upon you. I am but one of many, there is no reason for us not to discuss things civilly, a choice these men here chose poorly"
Dhars looked to the others, his previously bloodthirsty demeanor almost violently pushed aside. "I've already gone and loaded my body, I can negotiate if you wish. In fact, close range would suit my arts better, if things go wrong. Haha. Though, the longer we keep these people occupied, the more time we have for our associates to escape. This would be most amenable, would it not? We need only stall until the work is completed, and then kill if need be." He seemed to be almost sad that the Eosians were trying to negotiate, but seized on the new opportunity without any hesitation.
Nodding with it's display, Johnny moved to follow Ti'zal out to the dockyards, motioning for the others to follow as well. As it returned to their liege's side, the PAI began to chitter once again.
"Should we check on the refugees, sir?"
"...dunno."
"It would be beneficial to square our charges away beforehand, no?"
"Yeah. Need a guarantee on position. White fuckers are somewhere."
"I can keep watch if you wish, while you and the others check on the refugees."
"...do that."
"Sir." With a 'nod', Johnny then departed from the position above Ti'zal's shoulder, making headway for the nearest wall as to climb and gain a much better vantage point. Ti'zal, meanwhile, opened up on their local radio to speak with the three who had come with him while he began to make headway to his new destination.
"Right. You three, with me. We find the 'fugees, sort them, prep for transport."
Tildrul shifts some of their eyes to Dhars, and vents some steam from his back in approval while shifting some more eyes towards Lillian, and speaks. Despite this his aim never strays from the head of the leader, and one of his eyes remains steady on target.
"That is a very good idea Dhars. The longer we can distract them the better. I suggest you and Lillian, who I belive has experience in negotiations, head down to them. I will remain here, ready to engage at your discretion, as my weapon will serve better in long range engagements than up close. If you posses Near field magnetic induction communications I could even talk to you in your mind, with very little chance of being over heard."
Outside Cargo Offices
Damn this stupid tail... Lek'ra would think, trying to move as fast as her body would allow, gripping the floor as she heard the Eosian speak, having arrived just after his offer.
His voice was strong, firm, and not unlike that of the President's with his tone. The others were tallking about leaving with Tildrul remaining. She would open a radio channel to the crablike being.
"Hey, Tildrul." She'd say to the Svarthan, "It'd be rotten leaving you dry here, but..."
She would look deeper into the offices, KNOWING that's where those damnable Eosians were, but...she couldn't fight. She was a spy, not a soldier. The fear and pressure were mounting, constantly building on top of each other, almost taking over her will. But, she remained with her ally.
"I don't have the firepower to back you up. We need to slow them down through negotiation."
She would rise from behind whatever cover she had managed to take, offering a sign of peace to the Eosians, despite her hatred of them.
"Greetings, soldiers of Eos' will. I did not come here to fight you, merely to speak, as you desire. What is it you wish to speak about?"
Lillian closely analyzed the words uttered by the Eosian, trying to make sense of it. She had heard of things like biosonars, even just regular sonar for use in spotting enemies behind cover. What was strange to her was the use of the word "auras", including how the Eosian could also detect emotions and feelings. She quickly thought of different possibilities.
May biosonar? No... too low end for them.
Some sort of chemical tracker? Hm.... no, nearly impossible to detect through these walls...
Then an epiphany came to Lillian's mind. She had read before about different types of psionics and "souls", in which most living creatures had a nominal effect on a called "psionic field". It was something Lillian truly was uneducated on, being from a universe that didn't have any form of psionics. Then, one question came into her mind.
Can they see me?
"I don't know if exposing myself would be idea. You heard what they said, right? The whole "I can see your auras" thing?"
She pulled up a holographic screen showing her body's specs, showing the bio-synthetic nature of it, and therefore her true nature as an AI.
"Thing is, they might see you, but I don't think they can see me. I'm an AI, I have no soul, and I don't think I have an effect as of now on the psionic field. Ask one of them how many we are, maybe we can-"
Lillian overheard the Selenican talking to the Eosians. She flinched in surprise and fear of the entire operation going awry from that one action, but she also saw the potential of the act.
"For fucks- Shit. Dhars, you go out, I'll stay here just in case. From what I've heard, these Eosians aren't very friendly towards my kind. Better to not expose myself in case."
Dhars calmly walked out, his hands held outwards with palms outstretched and a broad smile on his face. "Greetings, honored peers. Your civility touches the heart of this mere disciple. Just what is it that you intend to discuss?"
Near Order Hall
Ti'zals idea to check on the refugees given everything going on was a smart one. Making his way through the bustling streets it took time, but thankfully Johnny got a much better vantage and view giving him a report before he himself saw. At the entrance of the Hall of the Wandering Path, stood three figures. Two in Orange robes and one in White, clearly Eosians, currently talking to one of the Halls keepers. There were more Eosians than they thought, but they hadn't opened fire or caused a scene, did they know the refugees were inside? Even if they didn't getting them out with the Eosians around was going to be impossible. Already a crowd was forming watching the Eosians and the Halls Keeper talk, but it was impossible to hear what they were saying from this distance.
Still a man seemed to walk out from the crowd, attracting the attention of everyone, he held his hands up palms open and began to talk to the Eosians and Keeper. He looked Restevian with short hair, but again Ti'zal or Johnny needed to get closer.
Outside Cargo Offices
"Ah finally" The Eosian turned to both Lek'ra and Dhars.
"I am glad you did not come here to fight, regardless of popular belief we are not bloodthirsty crusaders. We are just humble servants of Eos will and wish to complete our tasks as simply as possible as do we all." He made the sign of the Eye of Eos on his chest and gave a slight bow.
"I have come here, as have others from my sect, to learn the whereabouts of those of my race who sadly turned from the graceful path and now supposedly seek to join a dangerous and fanatical sect of the Eostine Faith. I had hoped the dockyard staff could tell me, but they were more interested in material greed and threats" He gestured to the dead bodies littering the floor "But seeing you here with the dockmaster and how much you all stand out you strike me as the types to possibly know something about this. I know there are others of you up there still, very strategic and smart. But I do not want conflict. Do you know of the refugees?"
"...shit..." Ti'zal muttered to himself aimlessly as he pushed through the crowds, watching the occasion through a datalink in his harness's visor. One Eosian was already too many, let alone three, and while he couldn't speak for Eosian culture nor why they hadn't bothered to start shooting yet he knew orange robes at minimum meant very bad things. He chose then to go wide, making his way to the 'sides' of the hall as to avoid immediately being spotted.
"Johnny, get closer. Need eyes. Now." He spoke far more gruffly and hastily than usual, the voice modulator on his armor making it almost seem like a snarl.
"Sir." The robot responded in kind, chipper remaining yet gradually coinciding with a grave seriousness. The skittering robot clambered along the walls, then the ceiling like a spider, careful to stay in shadow as to avoid wandering eyes catching a glint of reflection. Ti'zal, meanwhile, spoke into the radio, communicating with the rest of the team as he watched from the sidelines.
"Bogeys at the hall. Three, stalled at entrance. Can't take on three. Need a backup plan, now or never."
Arkan, still held his position silently so far he felt unnoticed, the murdering heat glare from the 3 Eosians not glancing in his direction. Remaining clam, trying to keep a sense of where they are, he subtly replied to Ti'zal.
"I'm down here on the otherside, but taking them on is not a good idea unless we can take all 3."
"Strongest thing is some explosives and my rifle but they're well armored. However, they wish to talk. Hopefully that gives us a moment to think." He said.
"I probably take the one closes to me if we have to, but that leaves the big one" Still maintaining his stoic expression he looked up towards the ceiling, trying to spot any ideas in the large docking area.
Le'kra's multiple hearts were pounding like drums, struggling to maintain a calm exterior against this wretched Eosian, his robes and words those of a priest, a man of the Divine Being, but his actions reeked of the stench of Hell itself. He was a hypocrite, claiming to be acting in the word of his god, while acting against it. At least, that's what she thought of the man.
"I am glad to see you aren't open to shooting first." she'd say, firm and quite loud, still terrified for her life and the lives of the refugees should she fail. "I am not your enemy, nor do I wish to appear as such, but I desire the knowledge of why you seek these refugees. You had said that they are traitors to the faith, yet you repay the deity with bloodshed and violence of those not traitors."
She would pause for a moment, struggling to maintain composure with the Eosian, pressure building like a hydraulic press crushing her lungs and mind, struggling to continue. She hated the Eosians, despised them with whatever malice she could muster, but...to be standing before guards of their faith, she couldn't help but feel, if not impressed, but a feeling of duty and respect which mirrored her own to her nation. But instead of to a banner, they followed a god.
"And so I ask, why must those have perished? I share no love for those who don't seek negotiation first, but must a punishment for that be death?"
Dhars allowed Le'kra to speak first, inclining his head and scanning the individuals in front of him. An eyebrow raised as she played her hand. An uninvolved bystander might not have such investment in the issue, but someone who had actually been aiding the refugees would be exactly the person to say something like that. Best to deflect.
"Hm hm, I suppose your temple has indeed acquired quite the... reputation. As for her words on justice, they certainly move my heart." Dhars said, completely deadpan, his presence next to his companion that of quite detachment, as if he just happened to be here when all this nonsense had gone down. "Though, as you have said, you are merely humble servants, are you not? This person's concerns, I certainly understand them, but at the same time, how strange would it be, if such noble warriors like yourselves arrived with any but the most righteous of intentions. Surely this is but some misunderstanding." Dhars was using a lot of words to say very little.
Tildrul hisses back a mechanical retort to the snake as his weapon remains trained on the preist, shuffling his body to avoid a collateral on his allies
"Diplomacy is fine, its just not my thing. You talk, I will be ready to take the shot if needed. Best to strike first."
With that the crab goes back to preparing for violence. Despite how well meaning and civilized their foes sound, Tildrul knows its all a facade. They are just seeing if they can buy off his team to kill them when they are distracted or if they have to kill them now given. No, better to be ready for an inveitable fight.
Outside Cargo Offices
The man raised an eyebrow to Le'Kras comment.
"They threatened us with death if we did not hand over our material wealth and equipment. If non-believers threaten the good deeds of the faithful then their lives are forfeit. It is very simple, would you not kill if your life was threatened and put in peril? Eos has no quarrel with bloodshed and violence child, those are tenets to be used against the heretic and the irredeemable."
"It is of course likely a misunderstanding. These men who are now dead were not your friends or associates I imagine. Now, I ask my question again simply, do you know of the escaped Eosians? Where I may find them?" One of the escorting Crusaders tightened the grip on his gun slightly.
Near Order Hall
Ti'Zals situation was bleak but he could at least hear the conversation now.
"They are harbouring individuals that must be brought back home"
"You have no power over our holding and no sovereign control over our halls Eosian"
"People please, it is not difficult to co-operation with these Eosians, but at the same time I must ask why pursuit such people? If they chose to leave then that is their destiny. There is no reason for bloodshed"
"None may turn from Eos light. You have 1 hour to bring them out, or we will turn your hall to dust"
The conversation was short lived as the Eosians walked away. The new arrival seemed to scratch his head and comment to the hall master.
"I may have a way to get those refugees out"
Dhars shrugs. "I am on my own business here, yes? We have no issues with your quarry. Certainly, your words are of utmost concern. Some wicked band of demonic individuals spreading their roots elsewhere would be most horrible! I cannot say that I would know much about it. Though, this reminds me of the time during the era of Three Dragons, when-"
Dhars launches into a lengthy expository rant, unprompted. Stalling for time.
Arkan took a soft sigh of relief as the Eosians took their step away. Making sure they're completely gone from view, Arkan moved to collect the trap he had rigged at the entrance to the office.
//Well with those guys walking around, this has gotten abit difficult. Did i hear one of you had a plan?// Arkan asked as removed the flashmines from the threshold before calmly returning to the floor, observing the area around for anything that could help for their eventual return.
"1 hour." Ti'zal noted to himself, watching them push through the crowd away from the hall. "Ok. Good. Plenty of time..." He began muttering and denying some rapid fire plans only to himself, silently pinging Johnny to rendezvous with him and Arkan as he silently watched them all. Eventually, he turned to Arkan, as his small companion returned to that one spot above the shoulder it so favoured.
"Should look for alternate routes out. Eosians are watching, probably. Eye around. Ask the hall people." He paused for a moment, eyeing the unfamiliar Restevian that stood near the door. "Ask him too. Good?" He then waited for a response from the other, nodding and motioning for them to begin moving to the hall, though not quite beginning so yet himself.
"Dammit..." the serpent was thinking, figuring out that morality wouldn't stall them. "I don't want to end up dead, but...I can't risk selling them out...How do I...?"
Again the beating of her hearts were filling what could be thought of as her ears, her previous beliefs shattered. No, they weren't hypocrites, by no means. But they were, for lack of a better idea, delusional. At least, to her knowledge.
Before she could speak however, her instincts took over, forcing her to scurry away from the open line of sight to the Eosian, panicked beyond measure. Her sidearm would almost certainly prove to be nothing but a nuisance to them and she was outnumbered even with backup, so fighting wasn't an option. However, diplomacy didn't seem to work either so...what was to be done?
A short prick of radio static would emit into the nearby Svarthan's receiver. "We're gonna need to be ready for a fight." the female voice of Le'kra would say, clearly shaken and scared, quiet as a mouse. "Don't shoot first, but the second they fire, hit em. I won't be much use, but I'll take shots wherever I can."
The serpent had the vast majority of her body hidden behind a wall, obscured by clouds of dust and smoke from the previous firefight. It wasn't the best cover, but it was better than nothing at all.
Lillian messed around with her pistols, trying to see how she could at least hurt the heavily armed Eosians. She knew the moment her identity was exposed she would quite possibly cause the start of the shooting. She looked at Tidrul, his quite massive gun seemed perfect for a killing, and yet it was quite possible it would just annoy the Eosians. She separated the energy chamber of one of her pistols, ready to use it as a grenade.
"I hope you're ready for anything, Tidrul. Don't know how much they'll appreciate an AI tagging along to help their unfaithful. Let's hope these two can ease us out of here."
She chambered her second pistol, grip tight, mind ready. She was not about to lose her original body.
As Dhars stalled them the Eosian at the front watched as Lek'ra clearly lost her nerve and moved off. His eyes narrowed, especially as Lilian fiddled with the pistols at her waist. He simply held up a hand.
"That is enough, I have heard your message. Now if you will excuse us we wish to speak to the dockmaster here, he is the one to converse with about transportation in and off station. I bid you a good day in his holy name" The Eosians moved off, away from the group and towards the offices where Tidrul was standing ready. The Crusaders seemed on edge, as did the holy man but they made no attempt to suddenly attack or decieve their foes. The question was would they let them reach the dockmaster, who was now cowering behind his desk.
--
As the individuals made their way towards the Hall the conversation between the Hall master and the unknown individual became clearer. The Hall master was stating that he already had individuals looking for a way out.
"I have 3 transports in Dock 55 ready to go, all cargo passenger liners, small but they can fit the refugees. We can likely transport the refugees there using regular cargo transports, delay the Eosians. Think your having supplies delivered, I have a few men who can help defend the transports too. We can have them to safety in 3 hours tops"
"And you will take them where?"
"Blinded Way, best place for them to be with their own although not the insane jihadist ones." The Hallmaster seemed to think.
"I think its a good plan. An alternative should this one not work. I did not catch your name young man?"
"Call me Jonan"
"Ah." Dhar's smile widened slightly as the Eosian's turned away. Something rippled underneath his voluminous robes, and two things happened at once. Dhars suddenly darted to the side, seeking cover, and several gun barrels extruded from his clothing, firing bursts of the same metal beads he'd shoved from his necklaces into his internals. No more stalling, it would seem. Time to escalate.
And escalate Tildrul does.
The giant rifle on their shell bucks back, the exhaust venting from slots on the side of the frame. The extremely heavy explosive charge sends an APFSDS round streaking out from the barrel with a thunderous hypersonic CRACK.
The frangible metal rod punches through the wall with ease, aimed straight for the Eosian leaders forehead.
As the rifle recoils down, Tildurs cybernetics lock another round into the chamber his eyes flitting over the scene to identify the success of their strike and determine their next target. (edited)
"Dammit, this moron actually is shooting?!" Le'kra would think to herself, the piercing noise of the rifle crackling through the air. Her pistol wouldn't be able to do anything but plink off of the armor of these Eosian guards, but she made a promise, and a promise she planned to keep. Leaning around the corner, she'd unholster her pistol, a small railgun miniaturized many years ago and a family heirloom of hers, and let loose a few cartridges into the general direction of the Eosians. The whistling and bangs of the rounds traveling through the air ringed throughout her head and ears, adrenaline pumping from her two hearts all throughout her body.
"If I fucking die here, I'm blaming this damn Svarthan!" She thought, before leaning back behind the cover of the wall.
...this was unexpected.
Whoever the John Doe was, he was planning on the same thing they were. Inadvertent competitor? Unknowing contractor? Whatever the case, confusion mounted as Ti'zal made a confused grunt - though at the very least, the priest hadn't decided to ditch them for greener pastures. Johnny began communicating with his owner in turn, observing the duo as they conversed.
"Sir? What... should we do?" Though the PAI wasn't able to express true emotion, the artificial inflections masked it well enough.
"...no idea." he replied, eyeing the Restevian-seeming man with a narrowed gaze.
"Should I contact the rest of the team, then? Perhaps-"
"I'll talk. You keep watch."
"Aye, sir."
After sparing a glance to where the Eosians might have wandered, Ti'zals comms lit up as he connected with the rest of the team. A picture from Johnny was forwarded to Tildrul's silver drone, and after a moment of confirmation he prepared to speak-
-and recognized the telltale sounds of heavy gunfire from the other side.
"Motherfucker." He cursed almost instinctively, his voice reaching over the radio before he realized his mistake and cut the feed for a short moment to collect himself.
"ALCON. See picture. Got an unknown, trying to evac VIPs before we can. Engage with agent now or wait for unknown to fuck off?" A short pause, as he politely waited at the sound of a railgun going off indoors. "Inform before you're dead. Please."
The Eosian leader died instantly, the round punching through his head with little time to react. His white robes stained with blood as it splashed all up the two Crusaders who stood at his side. They were already raising their weapons before their leaders body hit the floor.
One of them took a few rounds from Le'kra, one seeming to punch through the armour and draw blood in the Eosians lower abdomen but he did not flinch. It was now their turn.
One of the two Crusaders, the hulking forms in their resplendent now blood stained white and golden armour, levelled the gravitic shotgun towards where Dhars had hidden in cover and opened fire. The knot of force, smashed straight through one of the heavy crates effortlessly, sending shrapnel and metal fragments clattering across the dock area. The weapons were short ranged, but they were devastating in their ability to inflict crippling damage or killing blows.
The second, wounded Crusader did not seem to shoot at Le'kra, instead pulling a small device from one of his pouches he hurled it through the air into the entrance of the offices, the gravity grenade primed and ready to detonate. He may not have been able to shoot Tildrul but he could drive him out of the cover he was in.
They had to deal with two and quickly, no doubt with blood already spilled every Eosian in the Freeport would now know.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Le'kra would hear in her head, her internal voice running quick. "Whatever those two're doing they're damn good at it."
A couple more shots ring out and the almost etherial sound of the Eosian's gravitic shotgun being fired rang in her ears with shrapnel and debris being spun into a vortex following the path of the gun's shot. It didn't seem aimed for her, though, so she should be...
"What's this...?" She'd think after seeing a small device flying for a little. Her brain went into overdrive soon after realizing -- a grenade, a bomb, something -- it was about to blow! "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!" She'd think, diving away from the corner and where the device landed, not thinking for but a moment before acting. Some debris was coating her outfit and some shrapnel tore through it, cutting her left arm at the bicep, searing pain ringing through her body, but dulled by the shock and adrenaline rush of combat. It seems now, then, that it's kill or be killed -- and Le'kra wasn't determined to meet her maker here.
"Hm hm hm~" Dhars was thoughtful as he skittered to additional cover on all fours, voluminous robes concealing the nuances of his movement as a series of gun barrels protruded haphazardly from the cloth. That was dangerous! He'd gotten some wounds too. Nasty. But this sort of urban combat was Dhar's specialty. He'd been worried that armor would be too powerful for his guns, but this seems rather doable. If anything heavier appears though... well, best to deal with that as it comes! For now he made a break for another place to hide, guns firing wildly in the direction of the surviving Eosians.
"ALCON. Respond." Ti'zal said again, clenching his fist as he listened to the fight escalate like a staircase. "Respond....damnit all, fucking amateurs, fuck fuck fuck." He cursed to himself once again, shaking his head. The Eosians would surely be on their tails now, no-one just got in a gunfight with their kind and got away with it. No plan survives contact with the enemy, not even one without conflict in mind.
Silently, he signaled to Johnny to return. He wouldn't be asking them for any input now, would he? Not when they were busy getting themselves killed. Pushing through the crowd, the Zetyan made an imposing sight as he pushed his way through the waves of flesh and towards the two conversing men, a hunk of metal and polymer with two drones now resting upon his shoulder breaking the tide of men and women.
"Sir." He said, once he was past the motley and within reasonable speaking distance. "Transport's ready. VIPs need to get going. Limited time."
...
He paused for a moment, glancing at the man named Jonah before formulating a half-baked plan. "Got the same idea. You want to help?"
Lillian took cover as she felt the impact of gravitic waves hit her, form. She wasn't hurt, but her body was recovering from the hit. She scanned the immediate area to find the exact location of the Eosians. She had hoped that bloodshed could've been prevented, but now it was a fight for survival. Not only for them, but for the Eosians fleeing their oppressors.
"We need to deal with those two right now! Hope that the next batch are still far enough away for the refugees to be able to escape in time!"
Lillian got up from the floor, her body recalibrating before grabbing the core of one of her pistols and chucking it at the closest Eosian like a grenade. The core began to heat up and destabilize in midair as she shot the thing three times so it would blow up in the zealot's face. Her body and mind accelerated, getting inputs and perceiving them at rates much faster than a normal being. It was her original body on the line, and she would not lose it.
As the fire was exchanged, Arken ducked behind a container. He peeked out and spotted the remaining Crusader tossing a device. A soft curse as it was too late to stop him from throwing the likely grenade.
"Lets see you catch this"
However a soft click setting to Impact, the raptor threw the kilimond grenade towards the crusader's hiding spot. On impact, it would explode into a depleted kilimond star.
As the grenade flies through the air towards them, Tildrul realizes that they will not have time to throw it back or escape the building through any regular exits. But the can still perhaps save themselves.
Quickly aligning their sights on the trooper that threw the grenade, the crab seals the vents that manage the weapons recoil befoire they push off into the air, and fire the weapon. The shot is terrible and will most likely go horribly wide, but that is not the point of it.
No, as the huge weapon tries to kick back, it suddenly finds there is almost no resistance to its travel, and as such it launches Tildrul backwards, carrying him across the room before the huge bulk of the heavily augmented crab tears a hole in the thin walls of the office. They fall to the docks, their weight cracking the ground as they writhe and wriggle on the ground for a moment and at last manage to right themselves. They may have escaped the gravity grenade, but they are indeed in a far less favorable position.
The Crusaders were not just soldiers.
The Paladins were soldiers, no, they were a religious martial order. Warfare was their entire existence. Crusaders were chosen at birth, inducted and indoctrinated into the order and brought up in harsh and unforgiving circumstances. They were expert combatants, well equipped and assigned to be powerful special forces or escorts for key dignitaries specially the Order of the Cleansing Flame. Where a normal Eosian may fall to wounds, a Crusader will keep going, their body conditioned to keep fighting even after sustaining critical wounds. Unbreakable, mental fortresses made up their mind. They were proud to fight and die for the Eostine.
Another burst of fire scattered off the laminate plasto-ceramic armour that they wore, Dhars firing the burst wildly as he leapt to another point of cover. Already the whine of the gravitic weapons was piercing the air, famed for their destructiveness they were the perfect weapon of deliverance against foes of the faith.
One put another shot out towards Dhars, only to be flung backwards as the overheating pistol Lilian threw exploded in close proximity. Melting the Crusaders front armour the man took a moment to get up, a second later however he was hit by Tildruls shot, the round punching clean through his chest killing even the hardened crusader instantly.
As the gravity grenade went off in the offices, utterly wrecking them and killing those few poor souls who had chosen to try keep cover the form of the Svarthan impacting the floor caused the last Crusader to fire a blast in his direction. The whine of the weapon discharging before Arkens grenade flew through the air. A second later the Crusader was killed, crushed into a ball by the grenade.
In almost the blink of an eye the combat was over.
--
The man looked to Ti'zal before smiling.
"Trying to help the refugees as well? Yea more help is always worth it. I have a personal ship ready to go that can carry them and I think I can get transportation sorted its just moving them out of this place without them getting shot up by Eosians. Any ideas? The names Jonan by the way" He held out his hand.
Arkan did a quick check of the Crusader's positions, confirming theyhave departed this realm one way or the other before looking towards the office. The Grenade that was tossed to the office clearly did it's damage.
"You guys still alive up there?" Arkan called on the radio before looking over to the walkway back to office before pushing aside the door, shoving an unknown object thatmay have been furnture or a body from the doorway.
"...well...that's not promising" he said to himself as he peeked in
The Svarthan are know for being highly ressitant to compressive forces and as such gravity weapons, with their hydraulic musculature, tough bodies, and overall redundancies to keep themselves from being flattened under their planets immense atmosphere and gravity. As such Tildrul just has enough time to hunker down and brace for the surge as it washes over him. He can feel it pull and tug at his body like an immense lethally powerful fire hose. Tildrul is pushed back by the strike sliding across the harbor as the gravity waves try to tear their body apart but in the end his peculiar biology manages to save his life.
As it subsides, Tildrul unclenches their body and looks at their internal diagnostic before swearing softly under their breath. Their body is largely intact, and its innards are even operating at acceptable levels despite the damage taken by both the fall and the gravity wave, but his exposed main weapon is utterly ruined, having been warped and shorn off at the breach, leaving him with only his comparatively small side arms.
After a moment of gathering their thoughts, they hear the radio call and respond
"I am alive but I am no longer "up there" so to speak. I am now outside behind the office on the ground level."
The lack of gunfire was almost more deafening than the sounds of the shootout. Le'kra was almost screaming in pain, biting down on a piece of cloth from a ripped-up piece of her shirt, only hardly big enough for her mouth. Her arm, it was bleeding, thrashed open by a piece of wayward metal. And it fucking burned, her breaths ragged and pained, one of her long and slender hands trying to form a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding.
DAMMITTT! She'd shout into her makeshift gag. "Fuck...fuck I need a doctor..."
Rising from the piece of cover she had taken, her long body would begin trudging through the rubble towards the nearest exit. Her movement was sluggish. The warmth drained from her slowly throughout the fight, slowing down both her fighting and her thinking. The cold...the cold, the oldest enemy of the Selenicans. She could only beg to whatever God existed to that the dock had a doctor or some kind of med bay...
"Ti'zal M'ghao. PSC." He said while returning the gesture, eyes scanning to see if the crusaders had decided to return from where they had come from. "Same situation. Ready transport, ready funds. Just need quick route..."
He paused for a moment, then turned to Johnny. "Johnny, go find the ship. Any 'visitors', shout it. Check cams first. Look for good routes." Johnny silently 'nodded' with a digital eye, then whizzed off to who knows where. As it moved, it multitasked by flitting through whatever cameras in the dockyards it could find, eyeing for a very specific Nuclean ship at sector 6^9, dock four.
He then returned his focus to Jonan. "Have backup, over by cargo. Dealing with some. Evidently others. Could come around to help once done." He paused again, seeming to think for a moment as his head tilted to the closed chapel. "Your ship big? Few hundred bodies in there."
"Hmm. This is unfortunate." Dhars said as he crawled out of position, robe shifting under him as numerous weapon barrels twitched, extruded, retracted. "I suggest moving to the transports and setting up a defensive perimeter. We will be hunted now, so that ship is our best route off of this station."
This is all becoming a bit dangerous, despite the thrill running through him at the confrontation there was no denying it was a single move a way from going horribly. His thoughts couldn't help but turn towards escape routes as he looked for any signs of further trouble.
The tinnitus had set in. Even with a robotic body, tinnitus would always be an issue by design. As she got up from the gravitic blast, her scanners scouted the room and everything around the battle they had just fought. Several bio-signs less, though it seemed the Eosians were among the missing bio-signs. Her body recalibrated as the tinnitus finally left, the scratches and dents left in her skin and endoskeleton beginning to heal.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Lillian said, a sigh emanating from her lips. She looked at the direction of the Svarthan, trying to see how the crab was doing. "Tildrul, if you're not too heavily damaged I recommend scouting the area, better make sure there aren't more Eosian crusaders coming along. Le'kra, you doing alright?" She asked, wondering about the Selenican's position.
Hearing a small noise coming from some rubble, she walked towards it. She scanned again for bio-signs, looking for Le'kra. Her eyes widened as she sensed that the snakes' pulse was staring to drift off.
"Le'kra, report yourself now! Are you okay?" She asked again, concern filling both her mind and voice.
When she found the Selenican trudging sluggishly, her heart sank. Le'kra was quite clearly losing blood, a massive gash on their arm. She rushed towards the Selenican, noticing a great decrease in temperature.
"Fuck, Le'kra has lost and is still losing a lot of blood. If anyone can get a doctor or find the nearest medbay, that would be greatly appreciated! I will do some first aid on her, but considering the blood she's probably lost, we should count her out of the fight."
Lillian tried to lay the Selenican down, grabbing the semi-loose improvised tourniquet and tightening it even more. She stared at the giant gash with great concern, not having much in the way of coagulant on her. She wasn't really sure it would work on the Selenican anyways. She gritted her teeth as she looked at Le'kra with remorse, body and especially her hand beginning to warm.
"I'm going to cauterize the wound, alright Le'kra? This will hurt."
She looked at her hand, it glowing and radiating with heat. Her batteries indicated red, the inefficiency of heating up a certain part of her body draining a large portion of it. She held fast, as she placed her hand on the open wound. The sound of burning flesh was an unpleasant yet familiar sound, the smell of live meat being cooked even more so. A burn in the shape of a hand was what remained of the spilling blood, the wound now cauterized.
Lillian's blood substitute began pumping, acting as a form of coolant to calm and cool down the searing hot hand. Her internal body temperature increased, her internals working less as she radiated heat outwards. Lillian sighed as she stayed by the Selenicans side.
"I stopped the bleeding, however she still lost a lot of blood. Please try and find the nearest medbay!"
"Yea the ships big enough don't worry, its a retrofit civilian hauler. From the Union one of their old junkers. Perfectly good for moving near 800 people around if needed. Its just across from here in one of the private docks way closer than the main dock and they wont be expecting it. I think I can get some guys together to fight the bastards too if needed but we don't have many and we will be fighting Eosians. One of their Crusaders is worth like 20 men..." Jonan sighed.
"Ill pull some strings though" He walked off to the side to make the call.
The route to the Nuclean ship and the main dock was indeed longer than the route Jonan described, and already Johnny was picking up several white silhouettes of Eosians between them and the dock. They knew someone was trying to get the civilians out.
As the group got themselves together, conducting medical triage and more Tildrul could thankfully confirm they were alone for the time being. No other Eosians were in the area, and the dock workers in the surrounding sections had ran for it when the shooting had started. They were alone.
And more interestingly... So were the transporter trucks just across from the entrance, their large containers were empty about to be stuffed full of Dino-Nuggies. They had an opportunity to take them for themselves and grab the civilians, but Le'kra was badly injured unless one of the others could do something to help her she did not have long left. Already likely Eosians were on their way, the loss of a Order member and two Crusaders was no small one and would likely be investigated immediately.
It was a tough situation and choice.
"F-F-FUCK!!!" Le'kra would scream as Lilian, a proverbial mother to several Selenicans already, began to burn the wound shut -- at least a stop-gap to keep the bleeding from getting too much worse. Any work Lilian would do would keep her alive just those few crucial minutes -- just long enough, just enough time.
"A-Aghh, FUCK!" She'd yell again, battlefield first-aid never being something she was trained in.
From her pained screams, it'd be easy to imagine Le'kra was terrified -- and she was. Her vision would periodically black out, every time she was unsure if it'd come back, and every time it went out, she'd miss more and more time. Whatever adrenaline kept her going through the fight had well and truly gone, and all that was left was a scorching, searing pain in her arm. The smell of burning scales and flesh permeated her nostrils, almost prompting her to vomit, a truly gnarly and vile stench.
However, Lilian couldn't stay as a medic, she had to go. There were other lives to save, and Le'kra would begin trying to brace herself against the wall with her right arm, her long tail trailing. Every few feet she travelled, another wave of pain seared through her arm. She was determined not to die, trying to scrape her way back into the freeport.
"TILDRUL! P-please..." she'd radio over to the crab, collapsing onto the ground once again, her strength slowly being sapped. Was this her fate? To die defending hundreds who would never know her name? Only time would tell.
Tildrul was already in motion as the snake radios to him, his low armored form hurriedly coming up next to her and inspecting the work Lillian did on their ally.
"Hold still Le'kra. I need to get those tight clothes off you and fast. Please for give me for this." Moving quickly, the crab lets their arms move out from under their frontal shell, and using the massive cybernetic digging claws easily tears away the tight clothing still on Le'kras body, leaving her form somewhat bare, but that is a necessary sacrifice.
Those same claws and their smaller ones then hoist the snake up onto the rounded long back of the crab, their condensers already closed almost all the way, however a faint trickle of steam still seeps out hopefully warming up their friend without harming them too much. Manupilator arms and tnedrils rise up to secure the snake, preventing her from slipping off as Tildrul starts to trudge quickly through the harbor, their body layout making for a very smooth ride even at essentially a run for them. Even as they rush out of the dock they radio and yell at those they are leaving behind.
"Grab those trucks and get to the evacuees, on the double. I will take our wounded friend here to a medical center and then to my own ship for evac if we cannot meet up again. Do not worry about me."
Tildruls drones quickly return to their master, as he sends them scouting the area around himself, checking not only for the nearest medical location, but also for any Eosians potentially on route, and ways to avoid them if needed. As he bulls his way through the crowds, he speaks to the snake upon his back>
"Stay with me Le'kra. Dont close your eyes. Force yourself to stay awake. I have got you."
Dhars moves along with the rest, eyes out and guns twitching for any sign of pursuit. He seemed to have accepted the risk of a companion's death, gaze distant, though given his eyes are artificial he may simply be scanning for threats. If needed he would help supporting her weight, but otherwise his priorities were elsewhere.
For a being like himself this sort of situation simply happened. It could have been him. That was the nature of the struggle.
For a moment he did speak though, addressing the wounded alien if they heard or not.
"I am not familiar with alien biology, but if you are anything like my kind, focus on your goals. Do not let them out of your sight. Remember this and stay conscious. Good luck."
As Jonan pulled aside, Ti'zal elected to open the comms feed as well. He cursed to himself, watching the white silhouettes of Crusader armor eke out in the crowds in pictures that Johnny forwarded to him - 3-4 minimum, probably more, and if the shooting he heard was any indication 3 was way more than they could reasonably take. They were on most of his GPS routes as well; the only clean one was one of the longer ones, and given they were already in the crowd he doubted that would be the case for long.
Hopefully, the client didn't care about who got them out so much as why.
"HEY." His filtered voice would crackle over the radio, irritated at not having received a response in several minutes even with the firefight. "Got help and better route. Main is compromised, Eosians in way. Get to church, sound off. We need regrouping."
As one last action, he had Johnny forward the pictures of Eosians to those with cybernetics; Tildrul, Dhars, Lillian, the lot. Something that would certainly get a radio response now, given what he heard before.
With the pictures of the Eosians spotted and their rough location sent to the other group it did not take long for Lilian, Dhars and Arkan to hop aboard the cargo trucks. Thankfully they were a very simple design, manufactured by Halcyon Dynamics almost 60 years ago the design had been copied, copied off copies and redone so many times that almost 500 different companies were engaged in patent legal disputes over who got to make it. As such in the meantime anyone was free to produce their simple and reliable frames. Getting them running was child's play as the three large haulers were driven from the docks to the church, knowing where the Eosians were made it much easier, although the crowds along streets made it a bit of a nightmare.
Still Dhars, Arkan & Lilian arrived with the haulers just outside the back of the hall where food and more was delivered.
They just had to get people in and moving fast.
--
Tildrul and the heavily wounded form of Le'kra were having an easier time somewhat. The Svarthans size and speed of movement in a hurry meant that everyone quickly spotted him and got out the way preventing them from being bogged down in street crowds or vendor markets.
They found a clinic, a small corner place down one of the main streets, whos staff currently tending to usual perscriptions of drugs and minor doctor waiting list patients were startled when the two practically burst through the front entrance.
The receptionist, a Noviy, looked up in confusion and a bit of fear.
"...D-Do you have an appointment?"
Tildrul bellows at the receptionist, their tone urgent and certainly amplified a bit by their cybernetics, but not angry or harsh merely full of concern.
"No we do not, but she is dying, and needs immediate medical attention! I can pay for treatment, but it needs to get done NOW! There is no time to lose, or she may very well die right here."
Tlidrul angles their body slightly to rpesent the form of Le'kra to the receptionist, hopefully showing of the severity of her wounds and rapidly deteriorating state to emphasize the necessity of rapid treatment. His claws and feet tap nervously at the floor beneath him, producing a clattering thunking sound like a mechanical typwriter being abused by some frenzied author as their metal legs and claws strike the tieled floor of the clinic.
Dhars slinked off to the side, looking as unobtrusive as a cyborg in flowing robes could be, as he scanned the area for threats, guns twitching. If any Eosians appeared he intended to have the first shot. Any sign of security cameras would also see them being disabled with a silenced shot from one of his smaller calibers. Best to be thorough. This whole ordeal felt quite unnecessary, but he didn't fancy his chances of going it alone. Sticking with a group gave him the best chance of survival.
By the time the haulers had arrived, Ti'zal had already taken initiative. Johnny whizzed around a slowly growing crowd of refugees, the members of the Blinded Way in a huddle being ushered from the church by the friendly PAI while Ti'zal stood at guard. The thrum of the arriving trucks caused him to release some stress from his shoulders, only to regain them when he saw the food loaded in their rear ends. Complication after complication - if Jonan hadn't offered help by now, the zetyan would have started to grow stress wrinkles.
As soon as the food was unloaded, thrown wherever, the zetyan and his assistant immediately began ushering the growing crowd along into their holds. Soon, however, Johnny was alone in his duty. Ti'zal was no people person, and he had other questions to ask of his team. Seeing Dhars scouting the area gave him some reprieve - atleast someone else was conscious enough to play guard.
"Took long enough." Ti'zal's artificially filtered voice crackled through his harness speakers as he approached her, a slight growl to his voice in irritation. "What happened?" A pause, as he looked around. "Where's the crab? Snake? Dead?"
26 September 2023
She held her hand out slightly to the Selenican being taken away from her care. She knew Tidrul was a capable fighter, he had proven it directly in front of her and everyone else. Yet, she couldn't help but feel insecurity as the pair left to find urgent medical attention. She held her arm back, looking down at the ground with some sorrow in her eyes. She remembered the faces of those she had lost, the faces of the children she cared for.
Once a mother, always a mother.
She hurried with Dhars, driving the haulers to the rendezvous point. She kept scanning and scanning, wondering if another Eosian team would come in and attack again. She knew it was a ticking clock, one that could blow up violently for everyone involved and around them.
-
She jumped off the hauler, it coming to a complete stop after the fact. She holstered her remaining pistol, it still cooling off after the shootout. She shook her head, her eyes firm.
"We got hit by some Eosian Crusaders back there, managed to make it out alive. Consider Le'kra out of action, she was badly wounded but she's currently with our big crab friend."
She motioned to the haulers, opening up their storage compartments to get ready for the next step of the process.
"We were able to steal some of these. They're not the best but they'll get the job done. You get anything from your end? Are we ready to start hauling the Eosians away from this place?"
Arkan hopped out as Dhars scanned the area, adding his eyes by looking around.
"Area's clear for now" He growled softly
"Won't have enough time to place a temporary trap, we should start gathering the people and getting them in now." He spoke towards Dhars as he backed towards him, observing the area infront of the Haulers.
The hardest part is now beginning in Arkan's mind. It reminded him of an older scenario where he escorted a medic and group of civilians from a battlefield. At the very least, this time they had some form of viehcles.
The receptionist freezes for a moment in genuine worry and fear before two of the medical staff clearly watching through an internal one way mirror open the door and beckon the two through.
"Come on we don't have much time get her into the theatre and we can try do what we can!" The clinician, wearing the robes of Rondam Science Inc. helped carry Le'Kra to the operating table, startling and disturbing several other small rooms where patients were being seen to.
"Looks like she has taken internal damage... Shes bleeding inside, substantial blood loss, surface lacerations and cuts... Likely internal bruising, possible broken bones... Get me medical nanite shots now and prep for surgery!" He cried out before turning to Tildrul "This may take a while I suggest you go wait while we do the work don't worry we wont let your friend die"
---
As the Blinded Way crowds were led into the container haulers the food that had been just placed to one side had begun to attract quite a crowd, it worked to their advantage given it would be difficult to navigate through for anyone wanting to get past, but it also was a good hiding spot for potential enemies. The Order members were aiding in the herding and seating of the refugees who looked on the edge of panic now they knew the Eosians were here for them and they were now being forced to move somewhere else.
Just as the last of the refugees were getting into the last free spaces in the haulers Dhars would see three Crusaders approaching, one of them pointing towards the trucks.
"This is Jonan, it looks like you got some company I suggest you get the hell out of there, I got my guys covering the route but you gotta move now" The message came to Ti'zal over a voice link, just in time for shouting in the crowd to become apparent.
A moment later one of the Crusaders opened fire in the crowd, the noise was horrific like the shattering of glass and meat as a whole host of people were quite literally pulped and spread across the area, the rest of the crowd being knocked down from the force of impact some dying from being trampled or crushed. Screaming followed, and a stampede began as bystanders crushed each other to escape.
"In his name release our people!" The front Crusader shouted raising his gun once more.
Tildrul readily complies, letting the doctors swiftly take Le'kra away to be operated on. Even as she is carried through the doors into the operating room, he turns part of his mind inwards to listen to the comms chatter from his other allies, and shoots them a quick status update.
Le'Kra delivered to hospital, receiving treatment now. Will remain with her to ensure security. Do not wait for us at extraction point if we do not arrive. We will evac via my own craft in that case.
With that taken care of the Svarthan finds a spot in the waiting room, their eyes peering at both the entry way, and the door to the operating room, their vision slipping both up and down in the light spectrum to hopefully give advanced warning of any undeirables approaching their position.
She held her hand out slightly to the Selenican being taken away from her care. She knew Tidrul was a capable fighter, he had proven it directly in front of her and everyone else. Yet, she couldn't help but feel insecurity as the pair left to find urgent medical attention. She held her arm back, looking down at the ground with some sorrow in her eyes. She remembered the faces of those she had lost, the faces of the children she cared for. Once a mother, always a mother. She hurried with Dhars, driving the haulers to the rendezvous point. She kept scanning and scanning, wondering if another Eosian team would come in and attack again. She knew it was a ticking clock, one that could blow up violently for everyone involved and around them. - him(zetyans/AOM) She jumped off the hauler, it coming to a complete stop after the fact. She holstered her remaining pistol, it still cooling off after the shootout. She shook her head, her eyes firm. "We got hit by some Eosian Crusaders back there, managed to make it out alive. Consider Le'kra out of action, she was badly wounded but she's currently with our big crab friend." She motioned to the haulers, opening up their storage compartments to get ready for the next step of the process. "We were able to steal some of these. They're not the best but they'll get the job done. You get anything from your end? Are we ready to start hauling the Eosians away from this place?"
"...'course." He muttered to himself, before continuing. "Yeah, ready in five. Rev up." He waved back to the truck, then pinged Johnny silently to start routing the crowds harder as he moved back to defensive position and watched for the distinctive white and gold.
"Heard-" was all Ti'zal managed to speak over the radio before the distinctive bass-pulse chunk of the gravity guns turned part of an unaffiliated crowd to mush. The sound made him jump, curse and turn with reflexes and precision that had to have been trained, as he leveled the sights of his gun onto the triage.
He didn't immediately fire, but began immediately moving straight to the nearest truck. They were down two, who knows where the others went. He'd lost track - a damned mistake. Driving was his punishment, as Johnny swiftly returned to the invisible perch above his shoulder. A sharp rat-tat-tat came from his rifle, as Ti'zal burst-fired in their direction as precise as he could before practically ripping the truck door open and jumping in.
As he started it up, the radio crackled with his voice, a gruff sound yet bereft of his vocal modulators that only shouted seven words as he put the cumbersome vehicle in gear, eying Jonan's escape route.
"DHARS. LILLIAN. FOLLOW ME AND FUCKING DRIVE!"
Arkan hopped back onto the truck, his Rifle out.
"I'll cover our rear" He growled. Leaning against the frame of the truck, he pulled out another Kilimond grenade, setting it to wide impact. It would at least create some cover against the incoming wave fire. With a quick arm, he tossed it down the alleyway. A quick bounce and it exploded in a wide kilimond crystal wall. Wasn't higher than the walls of the building,b ut enough to create a cover
Le'kra hardly managed to hold onto her life during the trip from where she was fatally wounded to here. The good doctors and nurses...she could only hope that with her ever-drifting consciousness they could keep her stable. Her lucidity was fragile, speaking sometimes to people or things that weren't there, constantly drifting in and out of reasonable thought. The adrenaline was well and truly gone, and nothing but searing pain was in her arm ... not that she could do anything about it.
Dhars made a fighting retreat, internal guns taking potshots at the oncoming crusaders as he shamelessly used bystanders for cover along with whatever else was available. At the sound of the truck starting he already figured what was going on, attempting to skitter back and latch on to it as it moved. Ideally the side not facing the deranged crusaders, but if so he'd try to swing over the top to get to the side opposite.
Tildrul would wait for a while, watching others be seen to and enter the clinic. Around 15 minutes would pass, each passing painstakingly slowly and making the wait all the more agonizing. Finally the doctor would step out and beckon him in.
"Your friends stable, we stemmed the internal bleeding and cleaned up all the cuts and bruises. We dont have Selenican blood on hand here so we are using a universal type for now. It may make her tired for a few months as a result its not quite as efficient for non human species. But we have done what we can, she is gonna be alive and ok" He places his hand onto Tildruls armoured carapace.
"You can see her if you want, she is awake, but likely in a great deal of pain. I... Dont know your situation but I know you likely want to get out of here quickly. The internal nano-patches we administered will hold but any seriously strenuous activity may break them and it will take a while of rest before they reknit themselves. She can move, but not fast and try to keep her rested"
Pulling back to curtain the doctor would reveal Le'Kra on the surgery bed, now looking a great deal cleaner and cared for.
---
The return fire from Ti'zal and Dhars was not the only sporadic fire that erupted at the Crusaders. This Freeport was its own namesake, and as the crowd stampeded away from the Crusaders some pulled small firearms or automatic weapons, spraying the Eosians with fire. Rounds bounced off their now blood soaked white armour as two of the Crusaders took several more shots, pulping nearby defiant individuals and continuing to advance at a running pace, their feet deftly moving over the veritable carpet of corpses and half dead laying in front of them.
The Kilimond grenade would buy them a few seconds, its projected hardlight wall taking the impact of a grav shot before a second shattered it.
Scared, the Blinded Way refugees packed themselves as tightly as they could aboard the remaining container vehicles as Lilian, Dhars and Ti'zal began to drive away with Arkan hanging on in the back to give covering fire.
Another grav blast was aimed for the rear of Lilians truck, last in the convoy but the range dissapated it just enough so that it gave the truck a jolting speed boost. Now away from the three Crusaders the convoy of vehicles sped down various streets that Jonan had laid out for them to pursue.
"Keep driving and dont stop!" Jonans voice rang over the radio as gunfire could be seen and heard from on top of the buildings they passed. Two dead Paladins also littered the side of the road along with several armed bodies. it seemed Jonan was upholding his end of the bargain to protect these people.
"Your nearly there dont stop!"
They were rapidly approaching one of the smaller docking areas, until two Crusaders rushed out into the road, both opening fire on Ti'zals truck. One was shot down from a rooftop but the gravity shots at close range only gave the Zet a split second to act.
Tildrul remains on edge the entire duration of their wait, their camera eyes moving around constantly. At any moment they expect to see their pursuers barge into the hospital to kill him and the injured Le'Kra and he is not sure he can stop them if they do. However at last the doctor approaches him and calls him forward.
Listening to the doctors words with a heavy "heart", Tildrul emits a burst of steam in relief when told the good news. As the doctor places a hand on their armored shell, they are careful to close the vents nearest to it top prevent any unfortunate incidents before responding to them.
"Thank you so much. Yes, I will be leaving with her as soon as possible and keeping her rested should be no issue. I can carry her again if I must, and it may even be faster to do so in any case." Tildrul approaches their injured companion, the top of their armored body all that rises above the edge of the bed and into Le'kras field of vision.
"How do you feel Le'Kra?"
Le'kra's thoughts were beginning to coalesce into reasonable form, the short rest and marvels of Ancerious proper's medicine keeping her alive beyond what she could expect. Short, shallow breaths entered in and out of her mouth, provoked by her lungs. Her arm still felt as if being stabbed by needles, however, the bleeding stopped. She would live.
"T-Thank you, doctor." She said, breaths shaky and weak.
Brought out to her friend, the Svarthan who saved her life, a warmth welled inside the serpent woman -- grateful happiness.
"I'm...not great. Arm hurts like Hell, but I'll live." She answered, slowly. The pain was great, taking up much of her thoughts -- however, while speaking to her friend, the sensation dulled to a drone.
"I'm not in fighting condition. If possible, we need to get out...but finish the mission first. I'll stay here till I get further word."
There was something animal in the way Ti'zal violently swerved left as Johnny yelped in surprise, something that couldn't be instilled by even the most rigorous training but could be eked out by veterancy and the heat of the moment. Perhaps inside his truck, the mass he was charged with guarding had just suffered bruises and compression damage from suddenly being flung against the side of the truck wall by momentum, but as the entire passenger's side of the truck's front was pasted into a crumpled mess of steel, wire and shattered glass momentum damage cemented itself as the preferable alternative.
His next action was far more cogent, his foot slamming down on the accelerator pedal barely moments after. There was no way but forward, and if Ti'zal simply rushed past the same wreckage that was to his left would be applied to the truck's rear, and there would be far more to worry about than ergonomics. The damaged truck sputtered and roared as he charged towards the Crusader on the road, aiming as best he could to clip him with the damaged side through the kaleidoscope of broken glass.
He hadn't noticed the piece of steel puncturing his upper right thigh armor, nor that Johnny had just lost one of his spindling legs to another that had snapped up and broken it during the impact, adrenaline and shock working together to peel the veil over his eyes. If luck was on his side, they wouldn't be stuck in this station long enough for either to matter.
Arkan's hulking figure, nearly flew out of the truck as Ti'zal rather violently maneuvered. He felt held on to the loading bar that was on the side of the truck as refugees and unknown items went bouncing, one landing on his back.
"Grh..." He grunted before stabilizing himself, feeling he truck accelerate forward.
//Would be appreciated if you could take some easier turns...we don't really have seat belts back here.// Arkan spoke as he reached back to check on the object that hit him. Luckily it wasnt the person who was situated immediately behind him and rather it was someone's personal belonging. What it was exactly, he didn't know or care at the moment as he retrained his rifle to the rear.
Lillian yelped as she felt the truck increase in momentum with the gravitic grenade failing to do its job spectacularly. She did however use the boost to her advantage, speeding up enough to get away from the chasing Crusaders. She silently cursed herself out for bringing such an important body to such a risky and volatile mission. She just hoped that she could actually get the job done before they were blown to kingdom come.
She switched between looking at the road in front of her, at the Crusaders trying to get them and at the rear-view mirrors trying to check if anything way following them. She reacted quickly as Ti'zal seemed to nearly crumple his truck and flip it over on its side. She saw the fire coming through from the rooftops, sputtering out stressed thanks and near incomprehensible muttering to herself.
fuckfuckfuckineedtogetmyshittogethertherearepeopleinthebackofthistruck
She was depending on fate in that moment, unable to do much as she found herself protecting the rear end of the convoy.
"How far out are we from our stop?!"
"Dont mention it. Try to stay out of trouble although given the situation I doubt thats a realistic possibility for you two. Either way good luck" The doctor would smile and give a bit of a wave, a couple of the medical staff aiding Le'Kra off the bed and to one of the more waiting areas ready for the next patient. They were slow and moved with her so as to not inflict any unnecessary pain. But she was right, the mission was still very much on.
---
The world was almost ringing for Ti'zal as he slammed the accelerator. The passenger side of the truck was gone, annihilated into a tangled mess of metal and glass where the gravity blast had utterly pulped it. The rear of the truck had been spared the devastation with those inside thankfully only suffering minor wounds from being thrown around. The engine too was now making poor noises now, clearly having taken some damage with the compartment crumbled. The gears shifted with a horrible grinding noise but Ti'zal sped on bringing the truck around at speed.
The Crusader was moments from shooting again, the Zet couldn't get there in time. But two rounds impacted the Crusader from one of the rooftops causing him to stagger backwards. It was all he needed as the trucks mangled side smashed into the Eosian and sent him straight under the tiers causing a rather violent series of bumps.
"Not long now! Just a few more turns and your there!"
Jonans voice was true they were near one of the smaller docks. More firefights were erupting on the rooftops as they twisted and turned, the damaged truck clearly on its last legs as they rounded the corner to the entrance, a large open bulkhead with various buildings surrounding it. A dead Eosian was sprawled across the road and before them various men and women dressed in regular clothing holding weapons waved them down.
"Alright bring them in through quickly!" One shouted, raising a barrier and standing aside so they could drive through into the large open dock. A small ex Capitol corvette was there waiting for them, as was Jonan.
As Le'Kra is moved, Tildrul follows closely in her wake ensuring she is not over exerting her recently patched up body. At the mention of leaving her however, he simply shakes his fore shell, clearly a sign of disapproval despite how limited the motion is. Their tone is serious when they reply, emphasizing the importance of their words.
"Thats not gonna happen, for several reasons. First, I will not leave you here for our enemies to find and kill as consolation. I cannot and will not no matter what you say. Second, even if I was willing to leave you here defenseless, I would achive nothing. By last report our remaing companions are already almost to the extraction point with the cargo, and if they had to wait for both of us to catch up, they would just linger over long and be in danger as well.
No, no. The mission is finished for us, at least in all practical terms. I already informed them that I will be taking you to my own ship and extracting there, so they do not have to wait. We can all meet up later if we so choose, but for now the top priority is getting out before our foes give up chasing our companions and double back looking for make up kills on us."
As Le'Kra is moved, Tildrul follows closely in her wake ensuring she is not over exerting her recently patched up body. At the mention of leaving her however, he simply shakes his fore shell, clearly a sign of disapproval despite how limited the motion is. Their tone is serious when they reply, emphasizing the importance of their words. "Thats not gonna happen, for several reasons. First, I will not leave you here for our enemies to find and kill as consolation. I cannot and will not no matter what you say. Second, even if I was willing to leave you here defenseless, I would achive nothing. By last report our remaing companions are already almost to the extraction point with the cargo, and if they had to wait for both of us to catch up, they would just linger over long and be in danger as well. No, no. The mission is finished for us, at least in all practical terms. I already informed them that I will be taking you to my own ship and extracting there, so they do not have to wait. We can all meet up later if we so choose, but for now the top priority is getting out before our foes give up chasing our companions and double back looking for make up kills on us."
"Well, then let's get the hell out of here." She replied, irritation in her voice as she thumped the latter half of her tail against the ground in displeasure.
She had no purposeful thoughts of malice against the Svarthan; her displeasure was more a symptom of dulled pain, marking every thought with its irritating presence. She took the first move, beginning to leave her impromptu saviors, turning back to them and giving some form of salute to the doctors and nurses.
After leaving the clinic, she expected Tildrul to follow with the clinking of their legs against the floor, not paying attention to if he did or not.
"Actually...I'm sorry." She said to him, regretful of her earlier ire. "You saved my life and here I am complaining at you."
Her earlier missions in this sector were not easy, but...never life-threatening. The idea of her government simply throwing her life away as if she was a useless pawn deeply unsettled her. She knew of what happened to those who openly spoke their mind against the Selenican regime, her best friend whisked away to God-knows-where to be tortured. Victim to pounding in her skull of anxiety and fear, she maintained a stoic expression as she slithered forward subconsciously gripping her empty holster. Now was her chance to leave it all behind. The Trust were allies to the Selenican regime, but...maybe, just maybe, she could escape.
Dhars was quick to get on to the ship. This was all beginning to go out of control, but he'd fulfilled his end of the bargain. It was time to leave, and swiftly. He'd cover his allies if needed, right until things got too hot. Right now he was fully in survival mode. His blood, or its synthetic equivalent, was racing. He felt alive. It was rare to be this greatly challenged. But staying alive was more important, so he stayed behind cover and took potshots at any Eosians rearing their heads while waiting for everyone to board.
"Dont mention it. Try to stay out of trouble although given the situation I doubt thats a realistic possibility for you two. Either way good luck" The doctor would smile and give a bit of a wave, a couple of the medical staff aiding Le'Kra off the bed and to one of the more waiting areas ready for the next patient. They were slow and moved with her so as to not inflict any unnecessary pain. But she was right, the mission was still very much on. --- The world was almost ringing for Ti'zal as he slammed the accelerator. The passenger side of the truck was gone, annihilated into a tangled mess of metal and glass where the gravity blast had utterly pulped it. The rear of the truck had been spared the devastation with those inside thankfully only suffering minor wounds from being thrown around. The engine too was now making poor noises now, clearly having taken some damage with the compartment crumbled. The gears shifted with a horrible grinding noise but Ti'zal sped on bringing the truck around at speed. The Crusader was moments from shooting again, the Zet couldn't get there in time. But two rounds impacted the Crusader from one of the rooftops causing him to stagger backwards. It was all he needed as the trucks mangled side smashed into the Eosian and sent him straight under the tiers causing a rather violent series of bumps. "Not long now! Just a few more turns and your there!" Jonans voice was true they were near one of the smaller docks. More firefights were erupting on the rooftops as they twisted and turned, the damaged truck clearly on its last legs as they rounded the corner to the entrance, a large open bulkhead with various buildings surrounding it. A dead Eosian was sprawled across the road and before them various men and women dressed in regular clothing holding weapons waved them down. "Alright bring them in through quickly!" One shouted, raising a barrier and standing aside so they could drive through into the large open dock. A small ex Capitol corvette was there waiting for them, as was Jonan.
Ti'zal's foot only left the accelerator the instant the truck was through the impromptu barrier, the shrieking whine and crunch of the machinery as it struggled to bring it to par almost something he could get used to. And it only hit the brake mere moments before it seemed ready to careen into the corvette's docking bay, another swerve made right as the Zetyan bid the truck to drift, the rear exit angled as much to the corvette as he could get it. A ping from Johnny finally informed him of both their injuries, and after a moment to the construct's chagrin he bade it retract the needle-thin legs so he could stuff it in one of his suit pouches.
As the truck came to a shuddering stop, most likely the last time it would ever do so, Ti'zal almost fell from the cabin trying to get out, not from his injury but from sheer haste. But his feet planted on the ground, and adrenaline dulled the pain. Soon his hands had thrown open the doors to the truck and the refugees came pouring out, only accentuated as he shouted "GO!" through his armor as he followed them to the ship.
He took point near where Jonan was, rifle aimed square from where they came from as he anticipated the shine of gold and white on his armor display. As he waited, tensed and ready, he offered his compliments to Jonan - a very distinct rarity.
"Shit. Might work with you again. More than prepped for this."
Arkan hopped off of the transport as soon as it stopped. Landing with a thud, he turned to help the younger refugee who was directly behind him for the ride.
"Keep moving for the ship and don't stop" he growled to the people before moving a strut near the bay's enterance, across the way from where the others had perched. Checking his gear, he had a few remote explosives left he could use. only enough to stop a few of them with well placed points. Taking the 2 small explosives, he tossed one and the other at the closest spots that he'd predict they would traverse before bracing his rifle against the strut.
"Last Phase my friends." Arkan shouted towards Tizal and Jonan
—"Fuckfuckfuck lets GO!"
She pressed the pedal as hard as she could, feeling it strain under her physical strength. She could hear and feel the movement of the Eosians in the back of the truck. The sight of such an escapade would probably bring forth a lot of eyes, but she couldn't care less if it meant that these people would get a new home.
The moves that Ti'zal did made her proud for moments before she too had to focus on the situation. As soon as she caught up, she pressed the breaks hard and drifted slightly to the side, the truck wanting to flip over before falling on its four tires again. She jumped out quickly, signaling the last of the eosians.
—"Go go go! Don't stop until they tell you so!"
She grabbed her remaining pistol, looking at its battery and sighing. She looked at Ti'zal, Arkan and Jonan, nodding before preparing her cyberwarfare section.
—"Last shot to get them out safely. Drinks are on me if we all make out of this alive."
She cracked her neck, placing herself in a defensive position. She let her mind run faster, time slowing down for her.
Tildrul and Le'Kras mission was over, but they had survived it and that was what counted. You couldn't get paid if you were dead and despite having to slowly weave their way through potential Eosian packs around the Freeport their path was pretty much clear, the Svarthans ship was wholly fine as well within its dock allowing the two to get to safety and escape the Freeport entirely should they choose.
The same wasnt so clear or easy for the others.
As the trucks came skidding into a halt the Eosian civilians piled out, running for the ship as Jonan and his other men along with Dhars helped direct them up the umbillical connectors and into the ship. They would be safe there at least as Eosians to Ti'zals annoyance did indeed appear down the street they were coming from. Grav shots and kinetics went back and forth as Jonans men helped to fend them off, the trucks that were now empty being used as an impromptu barrier. Lilian and Arkan assisted as their trucks were emptied, holding off Eosians with well placed shots.
Two small explosions from Arkan signalled his devices going off taking down two Paladins who were shredded by Shrapnel.
"Alright that's the last of them on! Everyone get into the hangar and to the sides my ships gonna withdraw, ill meet up with her later. She is gonna provide covering fire" Jonan patted them on the back to move off a moment back round behind the hangar doors as the ship, which the crew had refused Dhars entry to for some reason, rapidly retracted the docking clamps. Two turrets, both point defence rotary guns, spooled up and sprayed thousands of rounds down the open hangar bay door and into the road tearing the ground and Eosians apart.
After such a sudden display the vessel left dock, leaving Dhars to move back over to them. As the smoke and noise cleared, the dead and dying Eosians were all that could be seen. Jonans men that remained with him stood down.
"Good work, I am pinging you the money now that was originally promised to you, don't worry just lay low and get off Freeport so they cant find you" Jonan smiled.
Tildrul and Le'Kras mission was over, but they had survived it and that was what counted. You couldn't get paid if you were dead and despite having to slowly weave their way through potential Eosian packs around the Freeport their path was pretty much clear, the Svarthans ship was wholly fine as well within its dock allowing the two to get to safety and escape the Freeport entirely should they choose. The same wasnt so clear or easy for the others. As the trucks came skidding into a halt the Eosian civilians piled out, running for the ship as Jonan and his other men along with Dhars helped direct them up the umbillical connectors and into the ship. They would be safe there at least as Eosians to Ti'zals annoyance did indeed appear down the street they were coming from. Grav shots and kinetics went back and forth as Jonans men helped to fend them off, the trucks that were now empty being used as an impromptu barrier. Lilian and Arkan assisted as their trucks were emptied, holding off Eosians with well placed shots. Two small explosions from Arkan signalled his devices going off taking down two Paladins who were shredded by Shrapnel. "Alright that's the last of them on! Everyone get into the hangar and to the sides my ships gonna withdraw, ill meet up with her later. She is gonna provide covering fire" Jonan patted them on the back to move off a moment back round behind the hangar doors as the ship, which the crew had refused Dhars entry to for some reason, rapidly retracted the docking clamps. Two turrets, both point defence rotary guns, spooled up and sprayed thousands of rounds down the open hangar bay door and into the road tearing the ground and Eosians apart. After such a sudden display the vessel left dock, leaving Dhars to move back over to them. As the smoke and noise cleared, the dead and dying Eosians were all that could be seen. Jonans men that remained with him stood down. "Good work, I am pinging you the money now that was originally promised to you, don't worry just lay low and get off Freeport so they cant find you" Jonan smiled.
The zetyan could only admire the devastation wrought, grimly nodding as he watched a few of the dying move and cry out. The adrenaline beginning to leak from his body, he finally became aware of the pain in his thigh, cursing a little in zettish as he limped slightly, his free hand feeling at the rebar poking through it idly before retracting it with a muffled hiss.
"Lay low", "get off Freeport". Easier said than done with full kit and a piece of steel puncturing your leg, but as he looked at Jonan he held a kind of respect for the stranger, the miracle man who conveniently appeared right at their darkest hour. Perhaps it wasn't in the original contract, but the job was done, and he'd come more than prepared. What else could he offer to him than a token of appreciation?
For Jonan, he received a ping back - the Zetyan's contact information. He didn't say anything beyond "thank you", only nodding once Jonan's gaze came to him and limping off matter-of-factly, but the message was clear - 'I'd quite like to work with you again'. As he swiped two or three of the weapons from the fallen Crusaders, a rifle or two, a pistol, he concluded that this was something he could get used to.
Out through the hangar, into the crowd. A personal transport was in Sector 5, level 5, dock thirty. Twenty-minute walk at most. He could manage that.
"Well, then let's get the hell out of here." She replied, irritation in her voice as she thumped the latter half of her tail against the ground in displeasure. She had no purposeful thoughts of malice against the Svarthan; her displeasure was more a symptom of dulled pain, marking every thought with its irritating presence. She took the first move, beginning to leave her impromptu saviors, turning back to them and giving some form of salute to the doctors and nurses. After leaving the clinic, she expected Tildrul to follow with the clinking of their legs against the floor, not paying attention to if he did or not. "Actually...I'm sorry." She said to him, regretful of her earlier ire. "You saved my life and here I am complaining at you." Her earlier missions in this sector were not easy, but...never life-threatening. The idea of her government simply throwing her life away as if she was a useless pawn deeply unsettled her. She knew of what happened to those who openly spoke their mind against the Selenican regime, her best friend whisked away to God-knows-where to be tortured. Victim to pounding in her skull of anxiety and fear, she maintained a stoic expression as she slithered forward subconsciously gripping her empty holster. Now was her chance to leave it all behind. The Trust were allies to the Selenican regime, but...maybe, just maybe, she could escape.
Moving up next to and then past the serpent, the Svarthan takes the lead, guiding Le'Kra through the crowds by simple agreement, heading towards the docks and their waiting shuttle. They hear the annoyed outburst, but say nothing in response, at least until they hear the apology. A soft series of steam bursts rise from their shell, seemingly the equivalent of a small chuckle.
"It is okay. Your dedication to the mission is commendable, and if the time table were not so far along I might have considered dropping you off at the ship and then meeting back up with our peers."
Peering at his companion with one of their rear mounted eyes, Tildrul notices her expression and the gripping of her empty holster. Moving along in silence a moment more, they finally speak just as they reach the small shuttle and prepare to board it.
"You know, your wounds have not fully healed yet. Perhaps it would be better if you remained with me and Civym a... while longer. Until you are ready that is."
Their tone makes it clear that they picked up on Le'Kars agitation, and are ofering them just what they seek. However the choice is still hers, and Tildrul says nothing more as he slides into the shuttle and starts the engines, only glancing back once he is fully seated, as if to wordlessly say "Well, what will it be?"
Dhars just smiled, supremely pleased to have gotten away with this little caper.
"Laying low seems quite enjoyable after what has transpired. I do think that this went well. My masters will be pleased to know I succeeded, and indeed, I look forward to working with you further, should the need arise."
He had little to say here. He did the job and did it well. Took down a worthy opponent or two in combat to boot, an extra treat for a combat model like himself.
Arkan nodded. No more trpa gear, and making sure he had nothin that was left behind that could tie back to ZYPHER he tuned to them as they were entering the shuttle.
"I've already signaled my ride home. Unfortunately its another dropship i'll have to meet on the lower level." he growled in a low voice, before offering a rather subtle fist bump from his cloak.
"I wish you all safe travels" He said
"This was a rather, interesting event to end the evening with."
She sighed heavily, her body having exerted more energy and force than it had for the last several years. The heat she emitted from her hand still rung in her mind, as she felt the joy of helping people once again. She didn't care for payment, she didn't care for congratulations.
She just wanted those people to be safe.
—"Don't really need to lay low here, I have my own ride. However I can say... it was an interesting experience with you all."
A smile tugged her lips as she nodded at her comrades
Years of self imposed isolation had been her norm for the longest time. But now, she had helped people, and made connections to new people. Only downside was that she had now directly led to the death of several Eosians troops, and she would wonder if that would bring any problems in the future.
Ah well, that could wait for another day. She had a few things left to do before her precious body would leave Freeport.
—"Good travels, and may the universe be kind to you."
And so, she walked away.
Moving up next to and then past the serpent, the Svarthan takes the lead, guiding Le'Kra through the crowds by simple agreement, heading towards the docks and their waiting shuttle. They hear the annoyed outburst, but say nothing in response, at least until they hear the apology. A soft series of steam bursts rise from their shell, seemingly the equivalent of a small chuckle. "It is okay. Your dedication to the mission is commendable, and if the time table were not so far along I might have considered dropping you off at the ship and then meeting back up with our peers." Peering at his companion with one of their rear mounted eyes, Tildrul notices her expression and the gripping of her empty holster. Moving along in silence a moment more, they finally speak just as they reach the small shuttle and prepare to board it. "You know, your wounds have not fully healed yet. Perhaps it would be better if you remained with me and Civym a... while longer. Until you are ready that is." Their tone makes it clear that they picked up on Le'Kars agitation, and are ofering them just what they seek. However the choice is still hers, and Tildrul says nothing more as he slides into the shuttle and starts the engines, only glancing back once he is fully seated, as if to wordlessly say "Well, what will it be?"
Le'kra didn't show surprise at the Svarthan picking up on her thoughts, her body language betraying her yet again. He was offering...an out. An escape.
"...You know..."
Le'kra took out her official ID card, staring at the ID number she was given by the Selenican government.
"To hell with the SR."
With a quiet resolve and conviction and a lighter in her pocket, Le'kra lit the plastic card ablaze, letting the fire reach critical amounts before throwing the melted plastic away. Her choice was made.
"Let's get the hell out of here, Tildrul."
She offered him a hand, though the respect of this gesture would probably be questionable to the non-humanoid Svarthan.
Jonan nodded to the Zetyan, a smile on his face indicating that it seemed he was more than willing to work with the individual again. The money was in their bank accounts and everything had gone (roughly) according to plan.
Refugees were safe, job paid for.
Jonan gave the group a curt bow and wished them luck as he himself withdrew to another less battered dock for the ship to pick him up. Only when out of line of sight did he merely walk into an empty service corridor, the Golden strings connecting to his men, all Synopticon soldiers in civilian dress becoming visible.
"Mission acomplished, I have the Eosians and they will be with you shortly. Somewhat short of the projected numbers but it will be enough."
Jonan spoke out loud, the gentlemen in front of him appearing from thin air.
"Very good child. They will be instrumental in our great works just like the Ixlo, you have done so very well Jonan. Come home, trouble is brewing in Borealia and Laikos wants all of us present"
"Very well Elder, I thank you for the praise. It seems all of us will be Running on Faith then?"
"Oh yes. We have grand moves ahead of us"