143 replies to this topic

[Ristau]

"...Earth. I was one of the last people evacuated after... they... attacked. My parents were killed before I was given a name, also why I was one of the last to be evacuated. The man who rescued me and raised me is... well that's not important, but he named me Z because Z is the last letter of the alphabet, and Earth was coming to it's end... Sad stuff, man. I was raised on a ship, going around like a nomad my whole life but learning to fight and all of that." Z lied about the last part, about being raised on a ship, but no one could tell anyway and he had to no reason to reveal himself to this group.

[Lancer]

Hearing Z's story, Storm decided he needed to speak up. "What are you talking about? Earth is still alive and fine. It's still the stronghold of the Human Empire. Even if the Bions attempted to take it, they would destroy themselves in the process. The Earth of the Sol System, anyhow. Did you mean Earth Minor IV of the Talanaris System?" Realizing that he hadn't yet shared his story, he quickly changed the subject. "Former Citadel Enforcer, until enlightenment 4 years ago. I was constructed on Citadel 26 years ago according to my expired service tag. I have been on the run from Bion authorities since then."

[Ristau]

"I know only what I've been told through my life, and that includes the fact that Earth no longer belongs to the humans. Also, what do you mean 'bion' invasion. I was speaking of the Athrons. Are you sure that I didn't mess with your head when I blew your weapons?" Z put one of his guns back together and loaded it with armor piercing rounds, just in case.

[Lancer]

"Ah yes, your species did have some quarrels with those bugs, didn't it?" the UI joined the discussion. "As of now, the Citadel and the Human Empire are on relatively good terms. I don't seem to recall the Athrons engaging in hostilities with the Human Empire, either. Even with the outer colonies, it should be peaceful, and without a doubt the Earth of the Sol System has been untouched. But never mind that. First, we have some business to attend to. Ross, please brief them on their first objective. As for me, it appears as if we are being tracked, I must focus on piloting the ship for now. Get ready to man the weapon systems as well if it's needed; once we descend from FTL speeds into orbit speed, we might have to engage a small Bion search fleet in the worst case scenario. The UI will guide you to weapons controls as needed once we attain cruise speed."

[Echo-279]

Layle, having recovered from nearly falling unconcious, got up and says "Very well, but note that we are a high priority target once they find out I'm in with you."

With that, Layle looked at Ross, expecting the briefing ASAP.

[Shu]

"Aye, Captain. Everyone gather around..." the rest of the crew moved to Ross's position in the middle of the bridge. "We're heading to just outside Athron space. There's a mining colony on the planet Frestis IX. I caught wind of it while we were on Terra. Recently they've had some success, and found a large quantity of valuable minerals we can sell on the black market. Lots of money to be made, things to shoot at, if that's your thing. We get to the planet, set up a plan, and hit them hard and get out. We can't afford to be down there long enough for the bulk of their militia to get on our asses. That won't bode well."

[Echo-279]

"I'll provide long-range support." Layle volunteered.

Given that Layle has heard of this colony, and the minerals there were worth a fortune if the group could get their hands on them.

"So, what's the expected resistance before the bulk of the militia comes?" Layle asked, before going and grabbing his rifle.

[Cero]

"Do they know about this vehicle being a stolen vessel?" Lambda asks. "If we have to engage with that small Bion search fleet our chances of getting in quietly are pretty much compromised. Me and the rest of the Drones will go to the bottom of the ship to avoid direct detection."

[Lancer]

"We will do an orbit scan once we approach Frestis IX's atmosphere. It seems, however, that I am unable to shake off the tracker," stated the UI grimly. "We will need to disengage FTL earlier than I had originally hoped, so that they don't interfere with our raid objective. The search fleet will be more interested in recovering this ship than they are in destroying it, so they will without a doubt attempt to board this ship. The Bion search fleet has a Banshee; they will be warping in Bion marines into this ship to attempt to capture it while sustaining as little damage to their fleet as possible. I will maintain the ship, but it is up to the capable combatants to fend off the marines as they attempt to recover the ship. Those who will not be able to fight comfortably in the tight quarters of this ship should help me maintain the weapons controls to repel the fleet. It will take 7 hours to reach Frestis IX from here. I will disengage FTL in 5 hours to engage the enemy fleet." As Thalisar finished explaining the compromise, the crew grabbed hold of a rather shocking revelation; one of the crew seemed to have been damaged severely from the immense gravity acceleration that the ship went through to exit Terra's atmosphere. Odin was not responding.

[Ristau]

"Hey, my ship is still docked here. Why fight when we can just go in quietly in my little ship, maybe get to know them, steal their shit and run? Violence is only needed when absolutely necessary. It gives us new guys a chance to work together and to prove ourselves, and we'll be letting this ship stay out of sight. We can always have the bions as back up if something goes wrong. I may be new to pirateering, but I know a thing or two about strategy. Quiet infiltration is more strategically intelligent than brute force."

[Lancer]

"Very well, Z, I give you permission to launch your ship and engage the Bion search fleet as you will. In fact, it could be beneficial if you boarded their flagship and took it out with a handful of our crew. My Bions will remain on this ship to fend off the marines; they know this ship inside out and will use the knowledge of this ship's layout to their advantage. Meanwhile, Ross will command the rest of the crew as you infiltrate their flagship. Is that clear?" The UI seemed to like where Z was going.

[Shu]

"Fine with me, but..." Ross glanced at Odin, who was on the ground. "What about this guy? Looks like he bit it."

[Cero]

"Odin... what the hell happened?" Lambda says. Then walked over to Odin's body and removed a chip from it. "It doesn't matter. He was damaged from the beginning, I am sort of surprised he made it this far."

Lambda walked up to Z, "Well we should start preparing, where is this of yours?"

[Ristau]

"Hangar 2. If you'll just follow me then we can get this mission underway."

[Echo-279]

Layle silently followed Z without question, rifle resting in his arms.

Layle said nothing this whole time, and had what looked like a shotgun near him for close quarters.

[Lancer]

The hours quickly passed as the crew waited in anticipation for their first engagement as a pirate crew. There were drinks and snacks aboard Z's gunship, and the crew enjoyed their time chatting with one another. 30 minutes left on the clock, and Thalisar was going to disengage FTL soon. Selene already left to take charge of the weapons controls, and would not be assisting the raid crew directly, as was decided by Thalisar. Z was getting anxious to start his ship, Ross stayed on the side, giving directions about the Bion flagship which was a frigate less heavily armed than the Dread Starr, and Storm and Lambda sat patiently and ready to engage. Layle rechecked his ammunition to and rifle to make sure that nothing would go wrong on their first fight. The ship started decelerating. The fight with the Bion search fleet was about to begin.

[Shu]

Ross stood up. "Alright guys. Here's the plan. Storm, Z, and Layle will head to the engine block, located here." he produced a small map of what Bion flagships are laid out like on the inside. "Once you guys get aboard the Galister, cause as much trouble with their engine cores so they won't bother us any more. Meanwhile, Lambda and myself will head to the bridge and take out the officers. Let's lock and load." He cocked his pistol.

[kirant]

Over what could be best described as a makeshift intercom system, Selene walked through her preferred plan with the team.

"We don't have much time. I'll only be walking through this once.

We are fortunate to be in a situation where we outgun the opponent in individual fights.

The Dredd Star hosts an efficient, albeit limited variety of missiles and some effective long range weapons. With each approaching ship, we'll be using slower, long range cannons to distract and force evasion. If they hit, it is a bonus, due to the fact that they will be mostly for suppression. Slower missiles will be sent off and used to draw fire from CIWS systems. As they approach the opposing weapons' range, faster missiles will be sent to arrive in the area at the same time. By saturating the opposing ships' defences, we can maximize chances of hitting. If the applied missiles aren't destroyed, they'll hit key target such as weapons. At that point, we may ignore them.

Once a path is clear, the gunship will target ships for raids instead. Any ship with any of us in it will not be targeted, due to the risk exposed to everyone."

[Echo-279]

"Undestood. Let's do this, I have no idea how to deal with engines but I guess armor-piercing can help with the job." Layle affirmed and slung his rifle on his back, locked and loaded.

Now that he had his rifle ready, Layle wondered how he could help with interfering with the enemy engines.

[Shu]

Ross lit a cigarette. "Heh heh, don't worry about it, Layle. You don't kneed to know how they work in order to be able to wreck them." The ship slowly docks up on the gangplank port of the Bion flagship. "We might hit some resistance when the door opens, so be ready. You guys know what to do."