143 replies to this topic

[Lancer]

Z was angered by the turn of events. He didn't realize that the whole time, Ross held an ace. Of course, why else would Thalisar had approved of them raiding a Bion frigate with a party of only five? It would only make sense that there was something else on the agenda of Ross and Thalisar. What he didn't realize was that the drive that he now possessed was in fact sentient; it was a Bion intelligence drive that specialized in hacking; in other words, a Bion brain.

"Z, return that drive to Ross immediately. You don't know what you're dealing with," Thalisar demanded Z through the intercom. By then, Storm and Layle had finally regrouped with Ross, but Z left on his own. Lambda was still nowhere in sight.

The battle turned for the worse in Thalisar's position too. The banshee was in warping distance of the Dread Starr, and began warping in Bion marines inside the vessel. Thalisar's Bion comrades were engaging them, and Selene had to switch focus from the external weapon systems to the internal weapon systems to defend the ship from the invaders. With that in mind, the search fleet met less and less resistance from the Dread Starr as they approached. Time was running short. The crew would need to take control of the Galister as soon as possible, or risk capture and possibly death altogether.

[Shu]

"No, I can't! Z froze me and ran off. I don't know what's happening on the bridge. Go after him!" Ross struggled his most to move, but he wasn't used to dealing with this particular type of binding.

[Ristau]

Z ignored Thalisar's command, but realized that he was getting pretty far from the others, thus the bind he had on Ross would start to stop. I'm going to be in deep shit for this, but it's for the good of everyone... I can sneak past through everything and install this no problem... Z continued to the bridge, but stopped for a moment to catch his breath and activate one of his psych abilities which allowed him to turn invisible. After a moment he continued running and found what he was looking for. He began to install the Bion intelligence into the ship. He would have some explaining to do later, being that he betrayed the team, but also because he somehow knew how to work with Bion tech.

[Echo-279]

"On it. Let's go Storm, I have a feeling we're running short on time now!"

Layle and Storm sprinted at full speed to the bridge to stop Z from doing whatever he was going to do.

"Hope your weapons can knock someone out and not kill them Storm." Layle said as more of a way to assure himself. "Captain, what's your status? Storm and I are heading to the bridge to stop Z from doing his crazy move."

[Lancer]

The system felt the effects of the hacker drive immediately, and the lights aboard the Galister began to flicker before finally going out altogether, with door systems no longer responding. Everyone; Bions, humans, drones, stood frozen in shock as to what had just happened. Everyone was afraid for their lives at this point; what if what Z had implanted was really a self destruct sequence? After 5 minutes of power outage, the lights suddenly returned, but instead of lighting the halls white as should be, they lighted the halls crimson red.

"Hello, and welcome to the Galister. Unfortunately, it appears as though you no longer have control of the ship. I have taken control of the weapons systems aboard your ship, and have switched the positions of certain security systems to most beneficially protect core locations aboard this ship, such as the bridge," the UI flaunted to everybody on board the boat. The lights aboard the vessel were still all bright crimson red. "However, I do not wish to take lives unnecessarily, but it would be in my best interest if you would surrender this ship and kindly depart from it. Oh yes, and also depart and leave the Dread Starr alone with the rest of your small fleet. Your captain's sentience has been forcefully ejected from the system UI; he should be in his body unharmed, although I can't say he'll be all ready for action for the next hour or so. Now, please comply with my demands. I will begin opening fire on your fleet if these demands are not met within the next 20 minutes."

[Ristau]

Z was still a bit uneasy about disobeying a direct order from Thalisar and for basically turning on his team. He finally returned to where the rest of the crew was supposed to rendezvous at (where he and Ross were located earlier)/. He saw many bions staring at him as they surrendered while he walked back. When he got back he said nothing and spoke to no one, he just went and sat down near everyone else. I warned them that I was a lone wolf from the beginning... but did I take it too far?

[Shu]

Ross walked over to where Z was sitting. "You can't do that. You had no way of knowing what was on the bridge there. I wouldn't have recruited you for the crew if we were just going to screw you over! What would we possibly gain by doing that? Stick to the plan. You won't get far as a pirate if your own crew can't trust you. Thalisar is going to want to talk to you once we get back to the Dread Starr."

[Lancer]

Although hostilities had finally seized, Ross was right. Thalisar was upset by Z's insubordination, in spite of the victory that they had incurred. The Bions started leaving the Galister, and the marines aboard the Deard Starr began warping out. Lambda had finally reunited with the crew, his shoulder damaged to a degree clearly visible to everyone else.

Selene was relieved by the turn of events. As it happened, the crew gained from the conflict another vessel similar to the Dread Starr itself; the Galister. At this point, they could either keep the ship or try to sell it after refitting it to look less like a Bion naval frigate. Of course, this also put them up the list for the Citadel's targets, but that was a fight for another day. The crew had survived their first confrontation and emerged victorious. To the less experienced pirates, Z would have looked like a hero. To the more jaded veterans, Z took a risk that put their entire operation, and consequently the rest of the crew, in unnecessary jeopardy.

Asuren, the Dread Starr Bion bridge officer that Z had implanted aboard the Galister, remained aboard the frigate in order to pilot it as needed. With exception to Z, the rest of the crew returned aboard the Dread Starr. Thalisar wasn't in the mood to lecture Z just yet, but he needed to make sure that Z doesn't do something so dangerous ever again. For now, the party would take claim of their bounty, and set their engines for their primary objective once again; Frestis IX.

[Ristau]

Hmph... I'd like to see one of them go invisible and sneak past an entire platoon of bions and then properly install a bion onto a ship without endangering the anyone's lives. The fact that we never fought means we saved time energy and casualties. Lambda is a perfect freaking example of what would have happened if we freaking engaged those bions in a fight, and what do I get? A visit with the captain, that's what. We could have saved even more time if Thalisar had've just informed everyone of what the hell we were doing in the first place. I could have gone and planted that thing immediately instead of wasting time taking Storm and Layle to the damn engine room. And even more importantly, I'd have never gotten captured. I HAD to be saved? That's just embarassing.

[Shu]

Ross was on the bridge of the Dread Starr with Thalisar and the rest. "The point is that he is unpredictable. It worked out this time, but who's to say next time things don't go as smoothly? It can't happen again. If this becomes consistent behavior, we're going to have to remove him from the crew. He has combat skill, and can be a very useful addition to the crew, but we can't afford to have a factor that we ourselves can't predict." he sighed, and poured himself a cup of Earthen Brandy, and took a swig. "I've been on crews with guys like him, and they're never good in the long term. There needs to be a change in behavior, captain. What say you?"

[kirant]

"A squad with no creativity and listens purely to orders is much more predictable for the enemy too. Having someone with a keen eye for unconventional tactics, as long as they're willing to abide by orders under typical circumstances, may prove beneficial"

[Lancer]

"While it's true that Z accelerated the mission at hand, such haste was not needed for the objective whatsoever; we had the marines held down at the bay access and they were making slow progress to any of the control rooms. The potential compromise of the whole objective was not acceptable, and will not ever be acceptable in the future. If this keeps up we will have to force Z to leave this crew, but because he had fulfilled his mission this time, I will give him another chance," Thalisar told Selene and Ross. "Nonetheless, that is a concern for another day. Asuren, guide the Galister to Balvaris. Tonight, let's celebrate our victory and being alive another day! Let's put aside our worries and enjoy ourselves for now."

[Cero]

Over in the mechanics room of the Dread Starr, Lambda was repairing the damages that had been inflicted on him. "I need to get new armor. This was completely destroyed." said Lambda who was looking at a piece of destroyed arm armor. Lambda had fixed a basic replacement arm to his mended shoulder. "I guess this is what I get for only bringing my rifle onto that ship." It was then Layle had walked into the room. "What business brings you here Gray Ghost?" Lambda asked. "Was there some damage to your arm as well?" Lambda asked. This time Lambda could clearly be seen to be suspicious of Layle.

[Echo-279]

"You ok, Lambda?" Layle asked. "I heard you were pretty beat up."

Layle took a seat near Lambda, and was able to tell that he was suspicious of him. "So why is it you don't trust me?" Layle asked in a serious tone. "If we can't trust each other, what kind of crew are we?"

[Cero]

"You have no reason to trust me or Storm. In fact you should be the one suspicious of us. We did try to kill you." Lambda said. "And everything is fine. I've fixed a replacement arm but it won't be good until I can fix up my armor." As Lambda finished saying that silence filled the room. "What's the deal with you Gray Ghost? Do you just enjoy causing trouble or do you have another reason to be here?"

[Echo-279]

"I'm making sure that you're OK before I head to the bridge, is that a problem?"

Layle then turned around and made his way to the bridge.

What's his deal? I check on him to see if he's fine, and I get borderline hate thrown at me.

Layle stopped and sighed before continuing to the bridge.

[Cero]

"He didn't answer my question. I'm just looking at from a human's standpoint." Lambda said to himself in the now empty mechanics room. "Well, I better go to the bridge too. Don't really know what will happen next." Lambda got up and fastened his pistol and it's holster to his hip. Then left the room and started to head to the bridge.

[Ristau]

Z finally got back on to the ship and he walked to the where the captain was located. "Thalisar, I heard you requested my audience, sir?" Said Z in a smart-ass tone. "Well I'm here. What is it?" I know this is going to piss him off, but if I just succumb and look like a weakling, then I'll be expected to just get pushed around and follow the rules all the time. Hopefully this doesn't get me kicked out of the crew.

[Lancer]

"Your behaviour aboard the Galister was... Surprising, to say the least. While I won't take credit from you for accomplishing your mission, you need to better assess the risks that are taken with each action. You are a team for a reason, are you not?" Thalisar lectured to Z. "Nevertheless, it was a fine job done today. We are heading to Balvaris, the planet of joy, to celebrate, so put aside your worries for another day. I will talk with you once more in regards to your actions, but now is not the time. We are putting our mining raid on hold because we've managed to capture the Galister. Your next mission, along with everybody else, is to have a good time!"

[kirant]

While running some diagnostics on the weapon storage and overall supply levels of the Dredd Star, Selene talked to some of the Bions nearby. Mostly about human culture.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'I am no man'?"
"No."
"It's a famous statement made in the Greek epic Odyssey. It was said to the cyclops Polyphemos in order to trick him. A cyclops is a large humanoid with a single eye. In legend, it was capable of eating humans as a meal, but raised livestock. Polyphemos had captured a human ship crew. Their captain, Odysseus, devised a clever plan. He offered Polyphemos wine, who consumed it readily. When asked for a name, he simply replied "I am no man.", which in Greek souns similar to his own name. In the middle of the night, the captain and his crew blinded Polyphemos with a hot stake. When other cyclops came to investigate what happened, Polyphemos claims he was blinded by "no man". As such, the cyclops felt that it was a punishment from god, since no man had attacked him. Therefore, they never bothered looking for a culprit.

This became pivotal in Odysseus' plan. During the night, they had tied themselves underneath the Polyphemos' sheep. In the morning, the now blind cyclops let his sheep go to pasture, but couldn't see the humans escape on the underbellies of the sheep. Once out of the cyclop's reach, they merely separated from the sheep and made their escape.

It's a fascinating story. The phrase 'I am no man' can stand for deception and lies that stand in front of your very eyes. Something as simple as a name or an animal can harbour incredible secrets, even from someone who has known them their entire lives."