RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[BMPixy]

“Tides of Intrigue”
In Orbit of Novum
1031 Hours Local; February 4th, 2044 / 20.3136
Aboard the Sifari Malasa

“Einherjar, this is the Sifari Malasa, bearing the Seikronyr consul from Forseti, requesting approach access,” Tak-sharu said, carefully firing the maneuvering thrusters to match velocities with the massive ship before them.

“Copy that Sifari, you are cleared for approach. You have a corridor to Hangar D, on the port side of the Einherjar,” the XSDF radio officer replied.

“Your assistance is appreciated, and apologies about the annoyance of aiding us,” Tak-sharu said, punching in the controls to begin to process of maneuvering into a position. Flipping off the comms, the Seikron leaned to the side slightly, letting the auto-pilot handle the rest.

“We’re finally here,” Osahar said, staring out the window towards the massive battleship. “For some reason that does not fill me with relief.”

“Ah, you’re just nervous,” Tak-sharu said with a dismissive nod of the head. “After all, you’re going to be aboard one of the prides of the XSDF’s fleet, surrounded by foreign species, and exposed to their cult-”

“That’s enough,” Osahar interrupted, standing suddenly. “I’m going to go run a diagnostic on my suit. Let me know if you plan on debarking.” Before Tak-sharu could reply, she had already exited the cockpit.

“Really going to need to work on that xenophobia,” Tak-sharu muttered, flicking his whiskers annoyedly. Slowly the minutes passed, Tak-sharu carefully monitoring the controls for any sudden hardware failures as the shuttle drifted towards the Einherjar. Eventually, after a successful entry into the hangar, the Seikronyr ship finally settled down.

“Hey, Osahar-ba!” Tak-sharu shouted as he finished powering down the ship. “We’re here! Come along, we need to see their Commander!” Upon turning around to make his way to the boarding ramp, he spotted Osahar standing at attention near the door, gauss pistol magnetically clamped to her side.

“Ready for debarking,” Osahar said neutrally.

“Osahar-ba, you don’t think that they’ll get the wrong idea from you bearing arms on their ship?” Tak-sharu asked, narrowing his eyes uncertainly.

“You brought me along as your bodyguard,” Osahar replied. “Do not complain about how I perform the job you entrusted to me, Tak-sharu-hiba.” Rolling his head in resignation, Tak-sharu stepped over and punched a few buttons on the wall console, and slowly the ramp began to descend, revealing the interior of the hangar and a man dressed in a plain XSDF dress uniform patiently waiting for the ramp to lower.

“I thought their Commander was female?” Tak-sharu asked, leaning over to whisper into Osahar’s ear.

“Don’t ask me, I can’t tell the difference between xeno genders,” Osahar replied dismissively. With the ramp now completely lowered, Tak-sharu made his way to the hangar floor, Osahar a single pace behind him.

“Welcome aboard,” the man said with a courteous bend at the waist. “I hate to break the news, but the Commander is unable to greet you personally, as she is overseeing the planning of an operation on Novum’s surface.”

“Ah, then our sense of timing is not as perfect as we thought it was,” Tak-sharu replied, gently stepping onto the hangar floor and offering a hand to the man, who gave it a brief shake. “If I might inquire as to your name?”

“It’s not important, I’m only a messenger,” the man said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “Though, funnily enough, your timing is actually relatively impeccable.”

“Oh? Might I ask why?” Tak-sharu queried.

“Well, uh…” The messenger tugged at his collar, quickly glancing around. “The Commander isn’t all that trusting of… aliens, to be blunt, so she figured that she’d determine your trustworthiness by sending your bodyguard on the mission as a... sign of solidarity.”

“What,” Osahar flatly stated, her heavy accent noticeable even with only one word.

“Ah, and then I assume she’ll be too busy with the mission to handle negotiations,” Tak-sharu analyzed. “Very well. When will this mission take place?”

“You’re seriously going along with this?” Osahar hissed in Seikron.

“But of course, this is likely the easiest way to get into the Commander’s good graces,” Tak-sharu replied, as the messenger checked his watch.

“The mission is set to launch in roughly… three and a half hours,” the man said.

“So soon!?” Osahar exclaimed. “Three curses, is your commander mad?”

“Hey, don’t ask me, I’m just the messenger,” the man said with a shrug. “Anyways, dropship deploys from Hangar, just head to the main elevator, take it down to the bottom. Armory will be on your left, and then you can head straight down the hall to the hangar. Look for the dropship for Keen Watchdog.”

“Understood,” Tak-sharu said with a nod. “Come along Osahar-ba, let’s hurry and get you suited up.”

“Very well,” Osahar said with a sigh, and the two Seikronyr made their way back up the ramp, having never even gotten the chance to actually set foot on the Einherjar. With a shrug, the messenger turned and left, casually humming a ditty to himself as he made his way back to the central lift.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

XSDF Planetside Mission
Base Assault
Operation Keen Watchdog

System: Bronze Nova System
Planet: Novum
Location: Meridda Highlands
Date: February 4th
Time: 1400 Hours, Central Highland Time

Mission Details:
Novum officials have reported of pirate activity on the outskirts of the settlements, operating in the low oxygen environments beyond the usual ‘sweet spots’ containing major settlements. Hidden amongst the nitrogen mists and fog, one would be hard pressed to know they are out there, let alone find them.

A breakthrough in the case came a week before we arrived within orbit around the planet. An human acting suspiciously was apprehended after approached by officials, resulting in a shootout that ended in the death of three officers and the suspects three accomplices. It was discovered after the fact that the suspect is, in fact, not human, but rather a Tamearin who had disguised his ears and hidden his tail. As the suspect was clearly suffering from Tamearin Pon-Taer Syndrome, and with the knowledge of pirate activity, it was deduced that he was a member of the pirate faction known as the Outcasts of Tamear, a group of renegade Tamearins, all suffering from PTS, aided by the old clones of the Balmadaar Warlords rejected by the rest of their race after the end of the Human/Ethereal Subjugation War.

A combination of interrogation techniques, threats, and promises eventually revealed the pirate factions plans to set up a permanent base outside of Novum. If they were to succeed, they would be a constant threat to the colony, one that would be incredibly difficult to upheave. The Novum officials and local XSDF outpost within the colony sent out a team to track down and eliminate the base before it becomes operational, but have not been heard from since. It is unlikely that the group has fled after the work they put it, so they assuming the assault failed, the pirates are still where the captured suspect said they are. In all likelihood, they were expecting an attack when their members did not return, and will likely expect another one.

They likely did not account for the Einherjar, however. Assault the base, wipe it out before it can even be put on the map, and arrest or capture every pirate there.

Number of Soldiers for this Mission:

Soldier’s Names:
(The squad will be landing in Vanguard One)

**SPC Ahlberg, Malik [Assault] (Cryokinesis)
PFC Spiros, Spyridon (Aerokinesis)
PFC Omdahl, Tia (Magnified Bicep Structure)
PFC François, Noire (Physical Enhancement)
PFC Tülenkhiin, Enkhtuya (Nat. Adrenal Neurosympathy, Magnified Bicep Structure)
PFC Blackbourne, Leah (Ultraviolet Vision)
PFC Okotie-Edoh, Tendaji
PFC cin Ankhor, Osahar [Seikronyr MEC Suit]
Hover SHIV One
Seeker Two [Plasma Pistol]
Seeker Three [Plasma Pistol]

**Squad Leader
*Team Leader
Italics are player characters.

Gear: (link)

Terrain:
In the interest of stealth, we have chosen our smallest dropships to sneak into the nitrogen-shrouded highlands of Novum. Tinted somewhat bronze and gray by harmless chemicals in the atmosphere, it feeds tall stalk-like plants that make up the planet’s grass. Visibility will be extremely low, limited to about six feet to the naked eye, so the squad will have to rely on sensor readings from the Einherjar’s bridge and their armor.

The area leading up to the base is a moderately steep hill with an animal path to make the climb a bit easier. Along the way high rock cover and ledges for concealment will be numerous, though only occasionally does a tree show up. The alien trees have wide stems and large, canopy-like leaf coverage, so where found they are useful as well.

The base itself is is protected by a number of pulse laser turrets, but they either have yet to be activated, or they were disabled by the initial attack team. Once the base is breach, you’ll find a sizable, square-shaped building split into half a dozen rooms surrounding a large meeting room. On the north wall, you will find a pair of armories, with enough weapons to supply a large attack force, implying that the group might have been planning a full scale attack on Novum once the base was complete. On the west and east walls are a pair of engineering bays and a pair of laboratories, respectively. This presents us with a base that should be easy enough to clear out, but one in which the enemy can attack from multiple sides at once. Remember, even if we manage to sneak into the base somehow, they will almost certainly be expecting the attack.

There is no restriction to possible collateral damage within the base, but keep in mind that the initial attack team is still unaccounted for. If there are any with, they would likely be kept in one of the barracks adjoining the main base.

Enemies:
Two (2) groups of four (4) Muton Elites [Alloy Suits, Heavy Beam Weapons]
One (1) group of four (4) Muton Elites [Heavy Power Armor, Heavy Pulse Weapons][Magnified Bicep Structure, Iron Skin]
Two (2) groups of three (3) Tamearin Outcasts [Alloy Suits, Pulse Weapons][One per group has Psionics]

Base Leader: Tefferin Sendarno [Tamearin, Green Psion, Secondary Heart, Ultraviolet Vision] [Pulse Rifle, Phalanx Armor], accompanied by a Muton Elite [Plasma Novagun, Titan Armor][Infrared Vision, Adaptive Bone Marrow T]

Conditions for Completing the Mission:

(1) Capture of the Pirate Base
(2) The Arrest or Elimination of all enemy forces

Civilians:

You are unlikely to come across any civilians in the base. However, we do not know if anyone from the initial attack force is still alive. If they are, and can be rescued, do so if at all possible.

 

[Dahlexpert]

BMPixy, Dahlexpert, and DarkGemini24601:

“Operation Keen Watchdog, Part 1”
Hangar E

“Thrice-cursed Commander…” Osahar muttered, her MEC suit pounding across the floor as she hurried towards the dropship. Getting within shouting distance, she bellowed, “Xenos! Is this the dropship to the ‘Keen Watchdog’ mission!?”

“Yea what else would it be, I mean, yeah there’s tons of dropships but I’m pretty sure the one with a commanding officer on it is the one.” Noire said carrying a Heavy Rifle .

“Did not ask for commentary, xeno,” the Seikron growled, skidding to a stop before the dropship’s ramp. “Requesting permission to board.”

“Then don’t ask dumb questions out loud.” Noire got on board the dropship.

“Bah, xenos,” Osahar said dismissively, taking this as an invitation to climb aboard the dropship.

The acting squad leader raised an eyebrow at the Seikron, but quickly shook his head. “Remember what the briefing entailed. We can’t get a good read on the terrain, but its probably going to be hilly, and normal visibility will be limited to about six feet around us. That means the same for the enemy, so expect a lot of close quarters fighting.” Ahlberg cocked his shotgun. “But I think we’ve got that covered.”

“I’ll be able to clear the fog if necessary,” Spyridon announced, “Though we should only do that if we need a clear shot on something, since it opens us up to attack too.”

“I will be able to give an idea of their general direction,” Leah added, tapping the side of her head near her right eye. “Ultraviolet vision will allow for that.”

“But otherwise we’re going to have to deal with the environmental factors. Remember, try not to get hit. There is oxygen, but in the highlands of Novum there isn’t a lot, and go without your armor’s supply for long enough and you will suffocate,” Malik finished, the assault shaking his head. “We’ll do a good job on this, though. Black Star went smoothly, this mission can too.”

“Understood,” Osahar said with a brief tilt of her head. “Network codes are requested, so I can link targeting data with nearby troopers.”

“That should be handy, we could plan some ambushes if we can. Though based on the intel we got, they’re expecting us,” Noire observed.

Malik nodded towards the extraterrestrial. “I’ll give those to you on the way. And I was thinking about an ambush, especially if they’re trying to do the same to us…” the Greenlander spoke thoughtfully, rubbing his beard as the dropship closed up and prepared for takeoff.

***

Vanguard One touched down quietly, shifting some of the bronze and gray fog as its landing gear were placed among the tall grasses marking Novum’s highlands, the majority of the planet’s surface aside from its three oceans. Opening its hatch, the dropship released Strike One onto the ground facing the beginnings of a hill, dimly visible six feet out.

Malik stood at the front of his troops, and quickly gave out orders. “Alright, Enkhtuya, Spyridon, and Osahar, you come with me. We’ll take the front since we’ve either got shotguns or are a MEC Trooper. Leah, Noire, Tia, and Tendaji, you follow in the rear.” The assault looked to the Hover SHIV. “S-1, you’ll be covering us from above with the Seekers watching our backs.” The machine bobbed its turret in understanding, and activated its hover jets, floating above the squad and fading from view, following them only the basis of sensor tracking.

“Was expecting more of Novum,” Osahar analyzed, her railgun slowly tracking across the visible landscape. “Thought one of your larger colonies would have more infrastructure.”

“That’s because we’re not in any of the cities,” Leah responded over comms. “If we could make the whole planet habitable we would have already.”

“Suppose that is a truthful statement.” Osahar shook her head uncertainly. “Still, too much wildlife for my tastes. Should see about curbing its growth.”

She’s like a spoiled city kid, jeez… Malik thought to himself as they began ascending the animal path leading up the hill. “Still no sign of the enemy yet… everything seems quiet.”

Noire surveyed the area looking for any sign of the enemy. “This is awesome I’m on another planet. As much as I would like to explore on my own I have a mission to do. Better look above as well, the enemy can be above the trees and it would also be a good idea to look out for traps as well.”

As they came to two lone trees on either side of the path, their wide canopies shading the area even more than the fog had been, they heard the sound of heavy footsteps somewhere beyond the fog. Malik held up a hand, conveying telepathically to his squad what he needed to say. Balmadaar. Take cover behind those trees and any rocks you can find; if we take them out quickly they can’t alert the rest of the base.

Wordlessly, Osahar stepped behind a nearby outcropping of rocks, hunching over to conceal herself more effectively. Glancing down at her railgun, she double checked that her HEAP rounds were loaded securely, and she settled in for the ambush.

I see them clearly now… Leah informed the others through Malik. Beam weapons don’t give off a lot of heat, but it’s enough. Opening shot… She lifted her carbine, aiming towards the weapon only she could see. Now! A gauss round leapt out of the barrel, striking through the power pack and cutting off power to the Muton’s weapon. Some of the others opened fire as well, downing two of the Balmadaar before they even had a chance to issue a battle cry.

“Opening fire,” Osahar said coolly, stepping out from behind the outcropping to open fire on those Balmadaar still trying to make it to cover. The modified railgun slug tore a meaty chunk out of one of the foes, the impact knocking the Muton on his ass mere paces away from cover. A faint trail of holographic lines lit up her target, even as they tried to crawl to safety.

Tülenkhiin shook her head, leaving the task of finishing off the downed enemy to another, such an action displeasurable to the XSDF Balmadaar. Instead, she rushed forward, lifting her shotgun, and blasted a round into the chest of her foe, the alloy cannon’s spike ripping through the phalanx armor and exploding into shards that penetrated the other Muton’s heart.

Noire went to the Balmadaar and put her foot on its chest. “Do you understand me? Because if you do, I’m going to say this once. What is your base defenses, and how many of your people are patrolling out here, and where are they?”

The Muton Elite looked up at Noire dimly, narrowing its eyes somewhat. “Will...not...betray...my comrades… the base turrets are not… working, I’ll give you that…” he muttered, before passing out from the severe wound he had taken.

Noire sighed. “Well, he’s still breathing. I can fix that if you want sir?”

Malik shook his head. “We can just apprehend this one. Leah, if you would.” The soldier nodded, going over to the Balmadaar and using one of the medkits she brought with her to patch up the wound to at least a stable condition. Once she had done so, Malik added, “Let’s continue on… there might be another patrol, so keep your guard up.”

“Well there defenses are down so there’s that; at least when we approach the base we won’t get gunned down, so there’s some good news,” Noire thought aloud.

“Though that likely will mean an increase in patrols to compensate for the loss of defenses,” Osahar analyzed. “For the best that we hurry, before they notice this patrol is missing.”

 

[BMPixy]

BMPixy, Dahlexpert, and DarkGemini24601:
“Operation Keen Watchdog, Part 2”
Novum Highlands

The XSDF squad continued up the hill, this time coming to a cluster of low and high cover in the form of scattered rocks. They heard two or three voices to their left, sounding fairly human. Same tactic as before, Ahlberg told the others. Wait for them to get a bit closer, though, we don’t want to accidentally shoot the previous team if this is them. The three came into view, seeming almost human if not for their armored tails. As Leah lifted her rifle, though, one of them stopped, and fired his pulse rifle at her rock cover, chipping off a chunk of it.

“The hell?” Leah growled, returning fire with the others as their enemy got into cover, one of them tapping furiously on his wrist to warn the others. “They shouldn’t have been able to see me!”

“Worry not,” Osahar barked, charging out of cover for the foe that was trying to warn the base. As she charged her Kinetic Strike Module, she added, “For all that matters is that they do not survive to report the sight!” Noticing the several ton war machine charging their way, the Tamearin dived out of the way, as Osahar slammed her fist through the rocky outcropping. Noticing the hasty maneuver, Osahar quickly used the momentum from her swing to catch the pirate in the chest with the MEC’s rear leg, the Tamearin’s armor crumpling as they flew several meters to slam into a tree.

“Well done!” Enkhtuya congratulated, while pulling out a grenade.

“Probably not a good plan unless you want to alert everyone,” Malik warned, dashing forward and blowing a second Tamearin away with his scatter blaster, the enemy only having a skeleton suit on. He noticed the last enemy, the one that had shot first, seeming to be unable to hit, and finishing contacting the base to at least offer a basic intruder alert. “On second though, shoot at him and toss it!”

A hail of fire pinned the troublesome psion down, and the XSDF Balmadaar tossed her grenade, blowing apart the rock protecting the Tamearin. Seeing he had no chance otherwise, the enemy soldier put up his hands in surrender, dropping his gun. Leah walked up to him with her carbine still lifted. “Why don’t you tell your friends everything is fine?”

The Tamearin considered his options: betraying his comrades or the barrel of a still-smoking gauss rifle. His decision was fairly quick, and he clicked the button on his wrist. “False alarm… some of the wildlife just spooked me.”

A voice sounded from the speaker in return. “Well, stop screwing around then and come back inside. Better to defend ourselves from any other search teams from the safety of the base than looking under rocks until someone shoots you in the back of the head.”

“Understood.” The Tamearin clicked the comm unit off. “...can you lower the rifle now?”

Leah smiled, shrugging. “Sure.” She stepped back, and immediately after the tendrils of a seeker wrapped around the Tamearin’s throat, cutting off his oxygen supply until he passed out.

Osahar rejoined the main group, after briefly stepping away to confirm that the foe she had hit was indeed dead. “Should ensure that they do not awake,” she noted, gesturing at the unconscious Tamearin. “Would be unhealthy if they got a warning after we left them.”

“Could just leave E-1 to guard him,” Leah responded, patting her seeker on the head. “Unless someone has some handcuffs.”

“I doubt it’s safe to use cryokinesis… they’re probably a blue psion,” Ahlberg stated.

“Wait if there’s a blue psion, then shouldn't the wild life be coming after us?” Noire said with concern.

“Only if they had animal empathy… not familiar with what sort of wildlife is up here,” Malik replied. “Definitely should… watch our backs, either way, but I think we’re safe to leave him,” he decided, kneeling down. “No sense in just killing someone that surrendered.” He placed his hand over the Tamearin, and ice wound itself out of the Greenlander’s palms, binding the unconscious alien’s limbs to the ground. “That should be good enough.”

“Well, what’s the plan now boss? Their base can’t be too far now.”

Malik nodded, glancing over. “Looks like we’re nearly at the top of the hill, so you’re probably right. Let’s keep moving, strike one.” The assault lead them to flatter ground, even if it still was somewhat uneven. They finally came to steel walls breaking out of the fog, and although menacing turrets lined them, they were unpowered and damaged. “Guess the search team did find the base,” Alhberg muttered, looking over the walls. As he did so he noticed another group of four Balmadaar on the wall, and they noticed the XSDF squad as well.

This group realized they were outnumbered, and quickly backed off as the first few shots were fired. “Damn it, we’d better hurry before they run to help!” Malik rushed in, followed by the others, and managed to damage the armor of one with his gun as the Mutons ran into the center of the complex. but not finish them off. As the XSDF forces pursued, they came to the center of the base, surrounded by a large square building, an armory, an engineering lab, and a science lab. Take them down before they lead us to another group!

“With great pleasure.” Noire fired her rifle at the fleeing Balmadaar below their waist to either paralyze the enemy or take out their legs. Noire took out one of the Balmadaar and saw the rest still running. “Now where do you think you’re going!” Noire grabbed her grenade and threw it in front of the Balmadaar, the explosion being enough to knock the Balmadaar back and stop them in their tracks.

Now you're ours! Noire, Leah, Spiros and -Edoh opened fire on the remaining Balmadaar taking them down. “That was fun, felt good not holding back for once. Nice work guys thanks for the backup,” Noire said with a smile on her face.

“Killing should not be pleasurable,” Osahar replied, carefully loading a new magazine into her railgun. “After all, are they not like insects before us?”

“I don’t take pleasure in killing, I’m excited for other reasons. They’re the enemy and I will not hold back on those that threaten civilians,” Noire said reloading her rifle “And besides you guys were having fun most of the day, so excuse me if I’m enjoying having some fun fighting space pirates, I mean who wouldn't have fun with that.”

“I believe she means to say she enjoys the thrill of battle, not th-” Tülenkhiin began to say, and then fell silent for a moment, before shifting her tone. “Who are you calling insects?” she growled, firing off her shotgun into the back of Osahar’s armor, ripping into the metal in several locations but not quite reaching the pilot. A purple glow surrounded the XSDF Balmadaar’s eyes, a spiral of the same color leading over to the science lab where three more Tamearins were taking cover, lifting their rifles and firing.

“Traitorous guna!” Osahar roared, spinning to face the Balmadaar, her fury at the sudden attack blinding her to the obvious sign of psi-manipulation as she charged the trooper, leaning over for a shoulder check. With a mighty heave, the Seikron slammed into Tülenkhiin, knocking her away and into a nearby wall.

“Dammit, Osahar,” Malik snapped irritably, hoping the Balmadaar wasn’t too badly hurt. He charged in the direction of the retracting psi spiral, firing a shot to make the enemy keep their heads down for a moment while the other shotgunners advanced with him, covered by shots from those with rifles. Still hard to get a clear shot… Spiros, on my signal! He waited for a break in the wild, inaccurate shooting shrouded by fog, and then psied, Now!

 

[DarkGemini24601]

BMPixy, Dahlexpert, and DarkGemini24601:
“Operation Keen Watchdog, Part 3”
Outcasts of Tamaer Novum Outpost

The orange psion raised his hands, and the nitrogen fog parted, clearing the line of fire between the two forces for a moment. The Tamearins seemed surprised, taking a moment to realize what happened, but that hesitation cost them. The shotgunners opened fire, one blast managing to cave in an enemy’s armor, and a shot from a rifle cracked through the helmet of the psion, sending her to the ground. The third dropped her gun in surrender, not wanting to share her allies’ fate.

Osahar turned from where she had knocked Tülenkhiin, glancing over at the remains of the skirmish. “Worry not,” she said, “Your ally is intact enough to question on their sudden yet inevitable betrayal.”

“In...evitable…!” Enkh growled as she dragged herself to her feet. “Do you… understand what mind control is, you stupid frog?”

“Can I please knock her out, please she’s annoying and talks too much.” Noire said.

Osahar shivered with suppressed anger, doing her best to keep her tone neutral. “My… sincerest apologies. In my rage I did not note the signs of external… influence. For that, I am deeply sorry, xeno.”

“Yea yea all is forgiven and all that good stuff, but for a MEC who has a rail gun. Please don’t ever run again because that was stupid, you have a rail gun don’t go running after a target if they escape rely on your allies were here for a reason.” Noire said to the Mec the same advice her dad gave to her before she joined the XSDF.

Malik sighed. “Well, now that we’ve settled that we need to think before we act, let’s see if that was the last gr-” He was cut off as he caught sight of four Balmadaar carrying either pulse SAWs or shotguns exiting the armory clad in Aegis Armor. “I had to open my mouth, didn’t I…” From the large square building, a Tamearin in Phalanx armor cautiously exited carrying a pulse rifle, following a Muton in Titan Armor wielding a plasma novagun. The two forces effectively pincered the XSDF squad. “Dammit, seek cover! S-1, need your help right about now!”

As the two enemy forces opened fire, the SAWs managing to clip or actually hit the armor of some of the XSDF forces, damaging it, the Hover SHIV descended from the foggy sky, firing off its sentry gun at the Balmadaar in titan armor to make him step back and focus on the flier. The two seekers showed up from their cloak, wrapping around one of the other enemy Mutons in aegis armor, the tough alien taking the two robots just to strangle one into unconsciousness.

“Deploying explosives,” Osahar reported as she hunkered over, the grenade launcher on her back spitting forth a single grenade towards two of the Balmadaar, destroying their cover and damaging one’s armor. “Finish the job.”

The combined gauss fire from Leah and Enkh finished off the first one, but the second raised its rifle, roaring a challenge and aiming at Noire.

“Crap.” Noire went into cover avoiding the cross fire. “Die, damn you!” Noire returned fire at the Muton dropping him to the ground. “Are there any more?”

Still one, but! Malik answered mentally, running close and stretching out his hand, ice freezing the Balmadaar’s hands to the gun, allowing the Greenlander to throw a kick to knock him to the ground. “Make that none on this side...uuUUK!” he cried out, coughing up blood even though no shots had connected with his body, and tumbled to the ground in agony.

“Do you really think that I, Tefferin Sendarno, don’t know how to deal with pests like you?” The Tamearin leader snapped, twisting his left hand again to make Malik squirm in pain. “Any more moves and your leader dies. I doubt you can stop a psi inspired biokinetic attack from destroying his heart in time.”

Osahar paused, her HUD quickly analyzing the chances of a successful killing blow on the pirate leader without in turn killing Malik. Finding the odds not worth the diplomatic risk, she slowly lowered her railgun.

The Hover SHIV and the other XSDF troopers slowly did likewise, and Tefferin grinned, standing beside his Balmadaar associate. “See, you are easy to deal with given the right incentive.”

Leah sighed. “Good grief, there really is no way to beat that power of yours.”

“Is that sarcasm I hear, human?” the Tamearin growled. “You’re hardly in any position to-” his words were cut off as a plasma shot connected with the back of his head, dropping him to the ground, quite dead. Seeker E-1 floated behind him, its mouth cooling down from the blast, and the attack made the enemy Mutons turn his head in shock.

“Probably should surrender, you know. Better to fight another day than die here,” Enkhtuya warned the other Balmadaar. Slowly, hesitantly, the Elite complied, placing his plasma novagun on the ground in defeat, bested.

Leah went over to Malik, using her medkit to at least sooth the pain, even if the internal damage would require some medical attention when they got back to base. “Sorry for the trouble, boss. Damn biokinetics… they’re great or they’re awful. Or both.”

Seeing that the battle was now over, Osahar quickly flipped a switch on the inside of her MEC, the frontal armor folding away to let her step out. Walking around to examine the back of her suit, she said in annoyed disbelief, “Three curses, the readouts were one thing… Going to need quite a while to get this suit back up to standards… Thrice-cursed psions...”

Noire put her gun on her back, and surveyed the battle, sighing. “It’s been awhile since I actually cut loose, this was actually fun. I could get used to this, fighting pirates exploring the galaxy. Yeah... I could get used to this.”

 

[BMPixy]

BMPixy and Taxor_the_First: “Seik-ing Allies”
Aboard the Einherjar
1854 Local; February 4th, 2044
Mess Hall

“And then the guna-”

“Balmadaar,” Tak-sharu corrected, gently nudging the door out of the way of the pair of Seikronyr.

“Whatever,” Osahar said with a dismissive flick of the head. “They had the gall to be offended at the thought of their loyalty being in question!”

“It’s not like you made an assumption about somebody’s trustworthiness based on race, after all,” the diplomat dead-panned. “I just sincerely hope you didn’t cause an incident by injuring one of their soldiers. It would be… less than fortuitous.”

“Please, I’m not you, I don’t invite the worst consequences so readily,” Osahar shot back, as the pair approached a table. Glancing carefully between each other at the benches clearly meant for bipeds, Tak-sharu made a mock shrug and laid down on the bench, the MEC Trooper quickly doing the same on the other side. Osahar tossed a nutrient pack over the Tak-sharu’s side of the table, and the two began to feed.

“Excuse me,” a voice rasped nearby, belonging to a rather beaten-up looking bipedal insect. “I believe we had determined that table to be ours.” The other behind him, a taller and redder insect, glanced between him and the seated Seikronyr worriedly.

Osahar looked ready to say something, but Tak-sharu quickly stood from his seat and replied, “Oh! Our sincerest apologies! We did not know that someone had already claimed this table. Osahar-ba, come, we can eat elsewhere.”

“There are no other free tables,” Osahar said, motioning to the relatively packed hall, the various soldiers and staff having come down for dinner. “And if I recall, you didn’t want to eat on the ship for ‘networking reasons’.”

“Well, then I believe we can attempt to work something out?” Tak-sharu asked, glancing at the two insectoids before him.

“Yes, that would be fine,” the taller one said, cutting off the other’s protest. “We were sent here to speak to all races, not just the humans,” she hissed to the other. They made to protest, but gave up and sat down, though a little down the bench, away from the other aliens. The tall one ‘smiled’, as much as a being with mandibles instead of a full jaw can smile. “What species are you? I do not recognise you at all.”

“We are Seikronyr,” Tak-sharu answered, walking around to the other side of the table and laying down beside Osahar. “If memory of my education is not at fault, then I believe that you are Volomi, correct?”

“It is,” the tall one replied. “My name is Slora, this is my guard Kearichi.”

Kearichi stiffened in his seat. “Why did you not introduce yourself properly?” he demanded. “There is more to you than a simple name.” Turning back to the Seikronyr, he proclaimed “You are in the presence of the princess of the S’vorah Hive. Show the due respect, and due respect will be shown to you.”

“Kearichi…” Slora shook her head. unwilling to risk an argument and knowing that he was merely trying to help. “In any case, I have asked what you are. It is only fair I ask who you are.”

Tak-sharu quickly filtered through his memory, trying to determine the proper decorum for the situation, before merely bowing his head slightly and replying, “I am Tak-sharu kan Katesch, of the Hibaya caste, Seikronyr consul to Forseti. My… comrade, here, is Osahar cin Ankhor, of the Badka caste. It is a pleasure coming into your knowledge.”

“And it is a pleasure coming into yours,” Slora responded. “It would seem that we are similar. We are both dignitaries with guards here.”

“You’re being too open,” Kearichi chided.

Slora shrank back slightly. “I only wanted to ask why they were here, to determine if it was also the same as us.” The guard grumbled slightly, before leaning back and resuming his meal.

“Well, our official goal here is to boost relations with the XSDF,” Tak-sharu said, tilting his head side to side uncertainly. With a greater degree of confidence, he added, “Though, considering our newfound acquaintance, there is always the possibility of improving relations between our governments as well.”

“Tak-sharu-hiba…” Osahar growled from between bites of her filet. Switching to her native tongue, she added, “Do not be so eager in pursuing these things.”

“It’s harmless and could see long term benefits, Osahar-ba,” Tak-sharu replied. Returning to English, he continued, “What say you to that?”

“I see no issue with that,” the princess replied, flinching when Kearichi nudged her on the shoulder. “What?”

“We do not know completely what their ideals are,” the guard hissed. “For all we know, they could be the Humilitia come again.” With that, he got up and left, dumping the remainder of his slab of meat into a nearby bin and taking position on the other side of the mess hall.

If it were possible for a Volomi to blush, Slora would have. “I apologise for my guard,” she said. “He is rather insensitive to the feelings of others, says things that are better not said or said in private. And I also apologise if my own behaviour is not appropriate. Our race has not had need of diplomats for centuries, and even then they were largely redundant. I am… unpractised.”

Tak-sharu’s expression hardened at the mention of the Humilitia, even as the more rational part of his mind filed away Slora’s words for later use. “Yes, I understand how it feels to be in that kind of predicament,” he replied, shooting a quiet glance at Osahar. “Our own kind has only found a renewed use for diplomats in the past… sixteen years, I believe the conversion was? I myself only have a few years of experience within grasp. Though, advice from one diplomat to another: tight reins ensure that the direction is steady.”

Slora shifted uncomfortably. “That is an easy thing to say, harder to put into practice. And I know he is merely attempting to help…”

“Just words to keep in mind.” Tak-sharu tilted his head dismissively, taking a quick bite from his meal. “Regardless, my knowledge of your kind is limited, and yours of mine is filled only with a name, so perhaps a brief exchange of information, before deeper negotiations?”

“Of course,” the Volomi replied, her mandibles twisting downward in a frown. “Perhaps the most pertinent piece of information regarding my people is that we are, in essence, all one. We each have enough individuality to pass off as pure individuals, but our Queen - my mother - is the conduit through which our greater mind flows, and the archstone that holds it together.” She looked down. “It wasn’t always like that. There were several networks, each belonging to a different hive, but after the Purge…” Shaking her head, Slora looked up again. “We inhabit our planet alone.”

“A tale of great loss indeed,” Tak-sharu said mournfully. Putting two and two together, he glanced up and added, “From your guardian’s attitude, is the assumption safe to make that the Humilitia had some involvement in this ‘Purge’?”

“Would that that were true. It would take some of the blame from our shoulders.” Slora sighed. “No, the Purge was our own doing. A culmination of what humanity would call a ‘Cold War’. Our hive, located deep in the surface of the planet, was spared the worst, but the others were not.” She glanced over to Kearichi, who was leaning against the wall next to the exit and snarling at everyone who went through. “The Humilitia almost wiped us out after we re-emerged. Had they not been defeated by the humans, their invasion would have stepped up, and we would not be here.”

“Perhaps we then share some common thread in our history.” Tak-sharu took a deep breath, steeling himself. “Our own kind was nearly exterminated some three-thousand sonada - about six hundred and seventy Terran years - ago, by the Humilitia. We barely managed to escape with a handful of stolen ships, saving some six hundred and fifty thousand out of a population of ten billion. Then we return a decade and a half ago to find out our great enemy has already been defeated.”

“And thus all our planning for revenge was without purpose,” Osahar added, a look of grim determination on her face.

 

[BMPixy]

“I should hope so,” Slora said nervously, noting the look on the Seikron’s face. “I do not think anyone would want another war, certainly not so soon.”

“Indeed, and though as much as Osahar-ba would refuse to admit it, our race is perhaps better off not having fought,” Tak-sharu replied. “And it is likely for the best that the humans won their war before we returned as well. There would either be no Humilitia left, or no Seikronyr.”

“Both of which would be a shame. Losing an entire peoples to extinction is a thought that my people abhor, considering how close we came.” Slora was silent for a moment, then cleared her throat. “Anyway. How spread out are you now? Do you have a homeworld again?”

“No, once we fled Kadxa, we have spent all of our days amongst the stars,” Tak-sharu replied with a negative tilt of his head. “We have a collection of asteroid colonies, a small fleet of habitation ships, but at the moment the movement to settle a world is just that - a movement, and a very small one at that. But, back to your kin, from what I can assume, you primarily reside on your homeworld, or have you spread your race among the stars?”

“Volos remains our home, though some parts of it are currently uninhabitable. It wasn’t exactly an oasis to begin with. To my knowledge, and therefore my mother’s, I, and my guards, are the only Volomi currently offworld.” She gestured to the multiple humans seated around them. “Diplomacy isn’t our only reason for being here. We were curious about other races, and I thought ‘what better way to understand them than to work with them’? I would assume you had a similar idea, given your presence in the basic mess hall and not some private chamber somewhere.”

“It is more so for the networking potential,” Tak-sharu explained, rubbing the side of his head nervously. “The key to improve relations with the XSDF is to get in the Commander’s good graces, or, failing that, in her successor’s good graces. And the key to get in either of those people’s graces, is to have their subordinates have a high opinion of you. After all, if all those below you say that a person is a good person, would you be inclined to believe them or no?”

“I suppose so,” the Volomi replied, after a moment of consideration. “Though it largely depends on how much they listen to their subordinates. You aren’t going to have much success with that strategy if they don’t.”

“Ah, but that’s where the genius of my plan comes into play,” the Seikron cut in, leaning towards Slora slightly. “The XSDF is a military organization. And, historically, commanders who do not at least give a token measure of consideration towards their subordinates tend to… end up without jobs. Thus, seeing their predecessor's fate, the replacement is more than likely to listen to their subordinates, and my strategy falls into place.”

“I… did not consider that. Our military is somewhat different. We unfortunately suffer from a sort of mob mentality when a large group of us feel the same way about something. The mental pressure is too great.” Slora smiled at the thought. “So when an unpopular commander walks into a barracks, they usually figure it out immediately. I even remember stories of a commander who was so unpopular he was struck down with such a severe case of self-loathing, he was essentially incapacitated for several weeks.” She frowned. “... am I getting sidetracked? I am. My apologies.”

“It is of no matter, stories are always welcome to be shared.” Tak-sharu flicked his whiskers in appreciation, and continued, “I certainly have heard some tales of Badka commanders who would be much more effective were something similar to that in effect for our kind.”

Slora nodded. “It made things interesting. There are several recorded attempts by other hives to incite a feeling of discontent amongst the soldiers, so as to impact their commander’s performance.” She shrugged. “Our wars were as much a mind game as they were about the one with the most powerful weaponry.” Curious, she tilted her head. “Have your people fought amongst themselves recently? Or are you all unified?”

“We have not had major internal strife since we fled Kadxa,” Tak-sharu replied, shaking his head. “And any minor strife was mostly of words and policy, rather than blows and battles. Having each Seikron know their exact place in the hierarchy at any given point helps with keeping dissent to a minimum.”

“Nor have we, since the Purge. A hive fighting amongst itself was one considered weak and troubled.” The princess shrugged. “But that is our people. Not every race has a connected mental network like us. Humans, especially, seem prone to arguing amongst themselves.”

“Perhaps it is merely because they have not had some great tragedy thrust upon them, to force them to be as one,” Tak-sharu analyzed. “After all, in their war, they lost millions. A sorrow, but nonetheless nonthreatening. In our wars, we nearly went extinct. Thus, now your kind only has one Hive and our kind only has one government.”

“Perhaps that is true, though our unification is less a choice and more out of the circumstance of being the only ones left. Still, at least it means we don’t have any breakaways. Pirates and the like.”

“Were we so lucky,” Tak-sharu said. “Thankfully, Seikronyr pirates tend to be… heavily discouraged, considering the punishment, but there are those who feel that the current caste system is too restrictive, despite its proven success. So, in their disparaging of the system, they become Tabanje. I believe the appropriate English translation for that would be… ‘Out-caste’. Yes, that sounds about right.”

“I believe that is the term. Our knowledge of human language is relatively fluent, but there are some phrases that are confusing to me.” Slora frowned. “Many of their curses, for example, do not make sense. Their response when something bad happens is to describe fecal matter. I don’t understand.”

“While my augmentations assist in translating, they do not give understanding,” Tak-sharu replied cryptically, “and as such I cannot provide aid in that matter.”

“A mystery then,” the princess said, mildly disappointed. “I shall have to bring it up when I speak to the ship’s doctor.” Sighing, she rose, taking her tray. “It was pleasant meeting you, Tak-sharu. Your people are certainly an interesting one.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Slora-mkuu,” Tak-sharu replied, standing as well. Deciding to go for the more politically neutral gesture, the Seikron extended his arm, the metallic forearm splitting apart into a hand. “I look forward to conversing with you again in the future.”

Slora looked quizzically at the hand for a moment. “This gesture… it’s called a ‘handshake’, is it not? I just…” She reached forward, tentatively grasping the hand of the Seikron, and gently shaking it. “Is this correct?”

“As far as I believe,” Tak-sharu replied uncertainly, untangling his hand upon the gesture’s completion. “Since we’re on a human ship, figured this would be the best course of action. After all, when among gumi, sing.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and BMPixy: “Measured Negotiations”

Orbit around Novum (February 4th, 2044)
The Einherjar (8:43 P.M., GMT)
Commander’s Office

Astasha turned from the viewscreen connected to one of the Einherjar’s external cameras, a small flashing light on her computer distracting her from the starry abyss beyond the craft. Sitting down at her desk, which was rather spartan in nature, having only the computer and a small lamp to adorn its hardwood surface, she brought up the caller, the Mayor of Stella City. He was a finely dressed Russian man, adorned in a white suit with a black interior, his features including a neatly trimmed black beard and hair along with piercing blue eyes. Beyond him there was a painting that looked as if it were modeled after art from a church.

“Hello, Commander Streczyk,” the man spoke smoothly, straightening his outercoat as he spoke. “It is good to see you again.”

“I can imagine you’re calling about the operation to remove that base near your city, Mayor?” Astasha assumed, folding her arms together, her uniform crinkling a bit in response.

“The safety of my citizens and family is paramount, as you no doubt are aware already. How… did it go?” he asked neutrally.

“As smoothly as one should expect of my forces,” The Indian woman answered. “The Outcasts of Tamaer were cleared out speedily and efficiently. Those that weren’t killed are now sitting sounding in my brig,” Streczyk clarified. As if we really need to even bother taking captives, but I’ll keep my second officer from complaining as long as it remains convenient for me. “Your city is no longer in danger, though the remains of the base and its armaments might suit your peacekeeping forces well. I think this indicates you need an outpost above the safe zones. Mr. Pasternack.”

The mayor nodded in understanding, rubbing his chin for a moment. “I will inform the city guard and XSDF troops stationed here in Novum that they can begin finalizing construction of that base for our own purposes.” The man chuckled. “It’s funny, despite the trouble they caused, in the end the pirates are doing us a favor by laying the foundations for another layer of security for my city.”

“It is something you would have been better served to do on your own so this did not happen in the first place, but I’m content with having corrected that… issue,” Astasha replied with a false smile.

Pasternack balked for a moment, but quickly decided to just ignore the comment. “In any case, thank you for your assistance. I’ll take care of the rest. Good evening, Commander.” With that, he cut communications, leaving Astasha back at her blank homescreen. The Commander just shook her head, getting up to go back over to the holographic viewport. No sooner did she get up than the chime of someone at the door sounded behind her.

With a brief flash of annoyance at the repeated interruptions, Astasha questioned, “Who is it?”

“A...Consul Tak-sharu kan Katesch is here to see you,” the guard replied, stumbling over the name.

Ah, the Seikronyr. “Let him in,” the Commander ordered, going to sit back down at her desk.

With a gracious nod to the guard, Tak-sharu slid open the door to the Commander’s office, stepping through. “Ah, Venerable Commander Streczyk-mkuu,” the Seikron said, the corners of his mouth twisting upwards in a rough approximation of a smile. “How gracious of you to allow me into your presence so soon.”

“I prefer to handle things as efficiently as possible,” Astasha affirmed, folding her hands together. “You wanted to negotiate something in regards to a piece of military technology, correct? A type of ammunition?”

“Yes indeed,” Tak-sharu replied, reaching down to his belt and retrieving a small data drive. “The High-Energy Anti-Personnel Gauss round. Turns any gauss projectile into one that fragments upon contact with the target, giving the effectiveness of a shotgun at any range. My government is prepared to sell the schematics to you, at a discount price. Three percent of each shipment of Elerium from Forseti, for the duration of twelve hundred days, in addition to any AI related tech you might be willing to spare.” Finishing his pitch, the Seikron settled into an ‘at ease’ position, placing the data drive back onto his belt.

Astasha raised an eyebrow for a moment, saying nothing, and then rested her chin on her right hand, closing her eyes. “Let me get this straight… you’d like a cut of the E-115 shipments from a colony we set up specifically to address humanity’s need for the resource.” Opening her eyes, the Commander continued, “If I were even to negotiate a single percent of that incredibly valuable supply, I would first need to know why you’re so interested.”

“As you likely know, Commander Streczyk-mkuu,” Tak-sharu said, resettling his posture, “my people have one of the, if not the, largest fleets amongst the known races. As such, even with our extremely efficient asteroid mines, our own supply of Elerium is quite stretched thin as well. And with the continued growth of the Seikronyr race, we shall only need more. Thus, we have come to you.”

“A race that has yet to fully demilitarize. You must understand, Katesch, that I cannot take such a deal lightly.” Astasha tapped a finger against the top of her desk idly. “Everyone is watching humanity closely as we extend our reach, and the Seikronyr as well. I must measure my dealings carefully.” The Commander shook her head. “And as such, I’m quite uninterested in giving an energy advantage to another faction for a round that is used for one weapon technology, in addition to…” she began to list off, “Being useless for shotguns, somewhat useful for machine guns, situational for most rifle variants, and useless for any weapon that focuses on penetrating enemy armor.”

Astasha narrowed her eyes. “That is hardly worth three percent of Forseti’s Elerium yield. And I don’t ‘gift’ Artificial Intelligence technology as part of my trade dealings.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Very well, that was naturally only my opening deal,” Tak-sharu replied without missing a beat, tilting his head to signify he understood. “My government is quite set on receiving some Elerium supply, so now I must ask of you, what do you value as the price of three percent of Forseti’s shipments?”

Astasha considering the inquiry for a moment, settling back into her chair. “What I would consider worth one or two percent for the time you allotted is something that would make that Elerium back. You said you had perfected elerium mining techniques on asteroids… I imagine that information could be used to increase yields on planetary extraction as well.” Astasha was quiet for a moment more. “For three percent, I would probably request either a comparable amount of Zero Alloys or some knowledge on cybernetics we don’t already have in addition.”

“Unacceptable,” Tak-sharu replied, folding his arms over his torso. “The behind such reasoning is similar to that of why you refused my initial offer: we do not want to hand the energy advantage over to you, either. Perhaps a slightly less extreme option could be found in my government loaning a… thirty strong team of Dhulka engineers to assist in planetary extraction, for the duration of the contract. In addition, we will provide the HEAP Round and perhaps some technology to boost networking speeds between mechanical systems.”

The Commander huffed indignantly. “If the assistance is temporary I would much rather figure out how to do it myself rather than give you direct access to our mines. If we are at an impasse energy-wise, then allow me to rearrange my offer: the HEAP round in addition to a few shipments of Zero Alloys, likely to Forseti itself, and those networking technologies along with some other cybernetic item of interest.”

Tak-sharu was silent for a moment, ruminating on his next words. My government is going to hate me for this… but if this works out, Nitetis-dhul should be able to bail me out. “We are approaching a deal, though I shall have to make one slight modification,” Tak-sharu replied, his smile briefly flaring into a shark-like grin. “While my kind does lack psionics, that does not mean we have not done our fair share of research into the field. So, my offer is this: three percent of the Elerium output of Forseti for fifteen hundred days and any AI technology you feel you can spare, in exchange for Zero Alloy shipments to match the Elerium, the HEAP Round, the networking technologies, and a booster that, if our simulations are correct, should improve psionic efficiency by… twelve percent, or so?”

Why would you create technology that improves the abilities of your hated enemies that you do not share? Astasha thought doubtfully to herself, frowning. “Katesch, while I do have an interest in improving our psionic armors, we have a bit of an opposite problem to your people. That is, keeping psionic abilities under control. Although I could restrict the technology for strictly XSDF use, that does not entice me as much as you think it might.” And in case you have something that needs that amount of Elerium in that specific amount of time… “Make it eleven hundred days and we have a deal.”

Cutting it a bit close to the construction of our next set of mines, but… Tak-sharu nodded, and replied, “Then we have a deal. I’ll get a written copy of this deal on your desk as quickly as possible.” Reaching out towards the Commander, the Seikron flared his fingers, and added, “I believe the custom is to ‘shake on it’?”

Astasha did so after a few seconds, though she shook his hand with a noted lack of interest, her mind on other things. I’ll have to remember to give them very little in the way of A.I. technology… without knowing why they want it, I will not take the risk of handing them something that I could regret giving them later. “If that is all, you may go.”

“Thank you very much, Venerable Commander Streczyk-mkuu,” Tak-sharu said, giving a slight bow as he skuttled backwards, out only turning around to open the door and exit. Nodding at Osahar - who was causing the human guard to sweat under her glare - the two Seikronyr left, making way for their ship.

 

[Dahlexpert]

February 4th2044
The Einherjar
9:30 A.M

Solders barracks

A message home

Before: Operation Keen Watchdog

Noire writes in what seems to be a journal next to her seems to be a small drone still in the process of being made.

It’s been almost a month since I joined the XSDF, and been aboard the Einherjar. And so far I’m loving it, I mean I feel like I finally feel like I found a place I belong.

The Commander is kind of a prick, she tries to intimidate some of the people here, though she’s not as scary as my mom and dad no by a longshot. Then there’s Aya she’s actually pretty nice even though she’s the second in command. She keeps us all in line, but I feel like she’s hiding something how can someone who looks human be able to withstand my mom’s full might? I mean true I never seen my mom using her full power, and based on what dad Sayed my mom is if angry can take out an entire city how can the Aya take on my mom and live?

Noire entries the Hyper wave Communications Room and decides to call Eva.

Hello Eva agester can I help you?

Hay mom it’s me.

Noire how are you doing dear? Have things been going well for you how are you able to communicate to me anyway?

The Hyper wave communications room, this thing is really powerful.

Well it has to be, I mean you calling me from a space ship that’s going through hyper space.

Well were actually on Novum.

Ou your there already on Novum? That was quick.

Yea hay mom can I ask you something?

Sure what is it Noire?

Um how is Aya able to take you on? I mean she looks like an ordinary human how can she stand up to you?

That’s a tough question to answer, see Aya can transform like me only she looks completely different when she transformers were my transformation my hair only change.

Hum that’s interesting, so she can transform to huh. Hay mom you have powers to right I mean how is it possible that your able to maintain your power?

Well, I’m able to maintain my powers because I’m psionic.

Your psionic! Why haven’t you mentioned this ever.

Because it wasn’t important, see my psionic powers are synthetic there man made. You can thank your grand mom Lusett for that.

So do I have the same powers you do, I mean when you got gen mods put in to you they mods adapted to you and became a part of you. Is that going to happen with me?

I don’t know, you were never augmented so it might happen to you. Hell I’m sure your blood will adapt the mod you get if you get gen modded of course.

Yea I don’t know if I will get gen modded, I mean me just being stronger and faster than the normal human people are already calling me a freak if I get gen mods they may be more intimidated by me.

Noire you’re not on Earth you’re in space, things might be tough out there so later down the line you might get gen mods but it’s your choice if you want to or not.

An alarm goes off and Noire is called to the hanger

Well it seem you get your first mission have fun out there darling.

Yea fun, I’ll be careful and go out punching people.

Good buy Noire stay safe.

I will love you mom, Noire leaves the Hyper wave Communications room and goes to the hanger.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“The Shinso Influenza, Part 1”

Surface of Novum (February 5th, 2044)
Town of Narbers (6:09 A.M., NFT)
Cerratona Hospital //Irina and Terratorra//

The town of Narbers wasn't large by any means, nothing compared to Stella City’s population of about 750,000. However, it was carefully planned like the rest of the colony, built in one of the smaller ‘sweet spots’ containing a breathable atmosphere. The cliffs around it were very steep, and the town itself was built into layers as the ground area wasn't big enough to support an entire town. In total, there were seven layers to this colonized crater.

The first layer was on the ground, and was lit by sun lamps and turned into arable soil, providing the basis for the colony’s food. The town’s crop content was rather unusual, however, seeing as that Narbers had the highest extraterrestrial concentration of Novum. There were no Sectoids or Replitans to speak off, attesting to the colony’s focus on family units, but Balmadaar, Ardenians, and Tamearins could be found bolstering the human population, and thus crops native to their homeworlds were grown on the first level in the soil or from hydroponics.

The second layer was where the power storage of the colony could be found, generated by fusion primarily and fossil fuels secondarily. Engineering functions made up the rest of the space here. The third floor was less dark and barebones, being where the scientific and medical staff of Narbers gathered to work in a few separate hospitals and laboratories. The fourth, fifth, and sixth layers made up the residential districts, and the seventh was a place for spacecraft to land, whether they be transports for goods or people, or defense forces. A couple of trade outposts kept it from being exclusively flat.

It was on the third floor that some of the Einherjar’s medical and scientific staff found themselves working alongside the locals. Narbers had been quarantined just a few weeks ago due to an outbreak of the Shinso Influenza after one of the carriers spread the infection in the town. After dealing with it using a potent antivirus developed by one Jessica Dragomirov, the quarantine had been lifted, but there was a catch. The Ardenians and Balmadaar had not been cured by the antivirus as the Tamearins and Humans had. Thus, the XSDF were called in for assistance.

Four medical staff and a scientist had been dispatched to assist with efforts to adapt the Aegerter vaccine to combat the disease. Among them was Irina Beaumont, an XSDF doctor, and Terratorra, a part-time scientist serving primarily as a soldier aboard the Einherjar. The two had made there way into the medical ward wearing the proper protective equipment. Irina had a calm expression despite the proximity to the disease, more concerned about the patients than herself. For Terratorra, more threatened by a virus that he had not been vaccinated for, it was an awful experience.

The Ardenian stamped a hoof impatiently down on the clean white floor of the ward, waiting for Irina to come out of the room she was in. A hallway stretched down for ten rooms on either side, simple white doors matching the floors and roof and nearly blending in with the gray walls marking each room with their frames and small light blue window panes. “Can you hurry up?” Terratorra asked, his eyestalks shifting to look around nervously as if someone were going to step out of one of the rooms and infect him. Even with the protective suit, he didn’t feel at all confident, not that he was about to show that to a human that was probably faking confidence more than he was.

“These things take time,” Irina responded simply, keeping her focus on a set of scans she had done while she offered a quiet reassurance to the ailing Ardenian on the medical bed. The data she had gathered, coupled with what the doctors in Narbers already knew, suggested that the disease tended to congregate within the largest cavities available to it, especially when threatened by cure efforts. “Terratorra, remind me what Balmadaar and Ardenians have in common biologically?”

Terratorra huffed. “Well, I hardly think you can compare us that much aside from both of us having impressive physical strength, Dr. Beaumont,” the Ardenian asserted. “While the Balmadaar… may… be stronger with upper arm strength, we could run laps around them and kick them on their backs any day.”

Irina raised an eyebrow incredulously. If I remember correctly that may not be entirely true. “That isn’t what I’m asking for.”

The Ardenian growled in impatience again, crossing his arms. “Then what do you want from me? If you’re just going to run around in circles I don’t know why you brought me with you!”

Irina sighed, putting down the scans on the clipboard on a simple desk, and opened the door, stepping into the hallway with Terratorra. “You are here because Mrs. Tanaka asked you to assist in this case, especially since it concerns your people. What I am asking is what similarities do your races have internally? Organ-wise.”

Terratorra looked away for a moment, struggling to remember what little he had learned from his time on Centrivers. “We… Ardenians have strong lungs that enable us to put as much force and output as much speed as we do. A-And…the Balmadaar…” he stammered, not remembering enough off the top of his head to answer. He brought up a holographic clipboard of his own, accessing the files on the other race while keeping a loosely confident smile. “I’m sure it will come to me if I just take a glance…” Terratorra looked over the notes for much longer than a simple glance, and then stated, “Oh… they have many redundant organs and a powerful circulatory system like ours.”

The Frenchwoman’s eyes lit up for a moment. “That’s it!” Seeming a bit embaressed at her sudden excitement, she said with a more level tone, “The Shinso Influenza must be concentrating itself in the cavities of the lungs. If it were in the heart, the Aegerter vaccine would have no problem rooting it out since it acts primarily on the blood, but in the lungs a lot of the space is used to store oxygen.”

Terratorra swiftly took in a breath of surprise, but responded by saying, “Oh! Of course, I was just about to say that.”

...were you now, Irina thought to herself with vehement disbelief, but kept that disagreement to herself. “Let’s head down to the lab, then… see if we can find a workaround.” Irina started to walk at a measured but quick pace out of the ward and heading towards the exit of the hospital, wanting to get started as soon as possible. Terratorra seemed to see this as somewhat of a challenge, moving much faster than Irina was and leaving her behind. The doctor sighed, stopping to rub her forehead for a moment. What is with him…?

One of the doctors waved over to Irina while wheeling another Balmadaar, this one a fairly young victim of the disease, to the ward the Frenchwoman had come from. “Dr. Beaumont! Did you figure something out?”

Irina glanced at the child sympathetically, walking over to stand near him for a moment. She nodded. “I did, though we’ll have to see if we can figure something out in the labs.” The Balmadaar looked up at her dimly, and the doctor smiled gently. “Don’t you worry, we’ll have you feeling better in no time.” Revitalized by this sense of purpose, the black-haired doctor set off towards the laboratory she and the other XSDF members had been given to work on finding a solution to this outbreak.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“The Shinso Influenza, Part 2”

Surface of Novum (February 5th, 2044)
Town of Narbers (6:26 A.M., NFT)
Cerratona Hospital //Irina and Terratorra//

Terratorra was waiting for her there by the time she had crossed artificially lit streets, taking ten minutes for a distance that had taken Terratorra merely half that time. “Hurry up, we have much to do, don’t we?” he said, secretly pleased that he could be justified with his impatience at the troublesome human that was outclassing him earlier.

The XSDF doctor nodded in agreement to one of his points. “We do have much to do. Have you set up a simulation to test modifications to the vaccine?”

Terratorra seemed confused for a moment, and then blanched, realizing he had given her a perfect opening to counter his impatience. “O-Of course! I just need to finalize some things.” The Ardenian ran off to the control console to plug in the information necessary to deliver the cloned lungs of the two species they were meant to be testing on. After a few minutes he had it set up, and the organs were placed on the table, the two walking over nearby, Terratorra a bit back in distaste, even if it was a clinical setting.

Irina looked to one of the other doctors from the Einherjar, a middle aged man, and an older woman from the colony itself that was there as well. “Dr. Garver,” she addressed the former, “I am familiar with the Aegerter vaccine, but I will need your assistance in splicing it with a Tz6 solution. Can you make one for me?”

The male doctor shrugged. “Depends on what you need. What do you want the nanites to do?” he questioned.

“I’d like them to be able to propagate within the lungs we have set out here, to spread all the way through while utilizing the healing properties of the curative solution itself. In essence, on cleaning duty,” Irina explained, adjusting her labcoat. “Can you do that?”

The other doctor smiled. “Of course. Sounds like a piece of cake, just need to modify a search and destroy protocol to target the influenza and merge that with the coding for carrying the genetic sequences of our dear Mrs. Fracnois’s blood. Give me about twenty minutes, I need to make a few modifications but I have something similar just about ready from yesterday.”

“Thank you.” Irina looked to the local doctor. “And I’ll need your assistance in addressing any complications that may result. Is there anything I should know about the respiratory systems of either race?”

The woman, physically in her late forties, shook her head with a knowing smile. “The Balmadaar are similar enough for our purposes, and from what I can tell about your friend’s race from a few years of practice, their lungs seem to be ours but bigger.”

“And more effective,” Terratorra amended arrogantly.

All three of the doctors merely groaned, if only in their heads. The twenty minutes passed uneventfully, samples of the influenza being applied to both sets of lungs, and the new solution being prepared. The doctors exchanged words briefly, but no more than that for want of keeping the Ardenian with them quiet. Finally, it was ready, and Irina was handed the device which contained a spray of the new vaccine.”

“Figured you should be the one to test it since you put so much work in,” the older woman offered.

“How rude, I was responsible for a great deal of our progress as well!” Terratorra complained.

“And that is why we’re letting you monitor the progress. Keep a sharp eye out,” the male XSDF doctor replied curtly.

“O-Oh… of course,” Terratorra responded, despising the extra work but not willing to say no and sully his dignity. He watched the screen as carefully as he could muster while Irina sent the spray into each set of lungs. The three doctors waited five minutes, and then asked Terratorra to scan the lungs. The Ardenian did so, and they pressed further as to discern what was left of the disease. “Nothing. It worked. My plan worked!” he said excitedly.

This time Irina did quietly groan externally, stepping back from the table. Our plan, Terratorra, she mentally admonished, even if he couldn’t hear. “Well then, let’s start up production of the vaccine and give the first prototypes to each of the hospitals containing the affected patients. I imagine we can get it taken care of that well before the Einherjar is set to depart this afternoon.”

The local woman nodded. “The three of us can do that. I believe you deserve something of a break.” Smiling, she added, “I believe it’s nearly sunrise. Wouldn’t want to miss that, would you?”

Irina opened her mouth to protest, but Terratorra beat her to that. “I believe I deserve a rest too…”

The XSDF doctor walked over to Terratorra, shaking his head. “Surely you want the hospitals to know what you accomplished, though,” he chided, giving a wink to Irina to go. She did after a moment.

“I… I suppose there is merit to that…” The ever-manipulable Ardenian decided, following the male doctor over to his corner of the lab to assist with production of the new vaccine.

Irina made her way along sidewalks still dimly lit to simulate nighttime, finding her way to a tubular elevator. She stepped into the silvery cylinder, pressing a button marked “SF” for ‘Surface Floor’. Four blue lights lit up along the vertical rails of the elevator, and then it began to climb up. Slowly at first did it ascend, but after about ten seconds it was well on its way at the foruth floor. The fifth and the sixth streamed by, and the elevator finally stopped at the seventh floor, a small exit box with a bench being where Irina stepped out.

Beyond was flat tarmac and metal where starships and hovercraft could land, with the only current lights penetrating the foggy darkness being yellow markers to prevent accidents, and the dim, faraway lights of trade posts set up around the edges of the platform. The thin bronze fog that managed to penetrate the high oxygen zone took a strange glow in relation to the former, making Irina feel as if she were walking in some other dimension entirely as she made her way towards the edge of the platform. Next to a rectangular trade booth, currently dark and closed, she found some of the railing, looking down at a brief crevasse between the platform and the sides of the cliffs before gazing up at the steep inclines leading up to the surface.

As Irina gazed up she caught a glint of light piercing the smoky darkness, the orange sun that Novum orbited starting to become visible in the misty sky. At first it was so faint that it could have just been one of the trade booths for all it mattered, but as the minutes ticked by and the Frenchwoman from Russia relaxed, the sun began to radiate its warm glow through the fog. The platform was dimly lit, then slightly more than that as the star reached a favorable position, and Irina could feel its warmth.

Smiling faintly, she spoke quietly to herself. “I am going to miss Novum… I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, among stars far from what has become my home, but I will return once this is all over.” To be fair, I’d like to visit Russia as well, but it doesn’t have this otherworldly quality to it. “I said farewell to you once, though, at a cliffside not unlike this one. And until we meet again, so shall I be adrift among the stars, perhaps visiting places even more fantastic than this one.”

 

[Alzdude28]

Good Intentions, Part 1

February 4th 2044
The Einherjar, Somewhere in Subspace
15:36 GMT


Brienne walked out of the Hangar. It had been a long day. Since the disastrous Operation Swift Tumult, every engineer and technician had been working overtime to repair the heavily damaged Stingrays of Atlantic Wing. Exhausted, she made her way to the closest break room, made herself a strong cup of tea and sat down heavily in the nearest chair.

It was not long afterwards that a familiar face walked in, unaccompanied by his A.I. companion into the breakroom. He hadn’t wasted anytime going straight for the tea, quickly pouring himself a cup and grabbing a tea bag, walking -if a bit awkwardly- to a table located in the far corner of the room, sitting down sullenly.

Brienne glanced over to him. “Hi Nick, where’s the robot?”

At first the other engineer didn’t even acknowledge the woman for a second, finally realizing she said something when he looked up. “S-Sorry...what did you say?” He asked in a hollow tone.

Brienne noticed that he didn’t seem to be his usual self. “Are you ok Nick?”

“Hm?” He said, nodding his head. “Y-Yeah, I am fine. Why do you ask?” Nick smiled lightly but he was obviously faking it.

“You seem a little down, that’s all. Have you been working on the Stingrays?”

“N-No...I haven’t been doing...much work.”

“Come on Nick, there’s obviously something wrong. Just tell me, please.”

“R-Really, you don’t need to worry. I have just been a little tired.” Nick tried to give a chuckle but he winced and instinctively reached for his ribs but quickly dropped his hand.

Brienne leaned forward, a look of concern on her face. “You’re hurt?”

“I just fell over in my workshop and hit one of Clunker’s legs. Seriously...it is nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing from the way you’re acting. Maybe you should get Irina to take a look at it.”

“N-No!” He insisted, sitting back lower in his chair. “I said it was nothing and that is all it is.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

Nick turned his head. “A while ago…”

“And it’s still painful? You might have cracked a rib or something. You don’t need to worry about bothering the doctors, it’s their job to keep the staff healthy, after all.”

“Why are you being so insistent? There are barely any marks, and I will be a hundred percent soon. It is just a little bit sore and caught me off guard, that’s all!” He pressed, wishing she would just drop the issue.

“You’re not trying to hide something are you? I have to say I find the way you’re acting a little suspicious.”

“Geez, what are you, my mother? I am not hiding anything…” Nick shifted in his seat and put his hands behind his head, which hurt him to do so but he made sure to hide it this time. “I’m completely fine.”

“If you’re sure…” Brienne said, then resuming a normal tone. “So, what happened to your little robot? It’s odd seeing you without it.”

“I’m doing maintenance on him. If I don’t do it regularly, then his A.I. will eventually deteriorate. It is one of the flaws that came with me as an amatur, making him.” It was only a half lie, Glitch did need regular maintenance but he had purposely left him off so he wouldn’t be asking the same questions Brienne was, though Glitch would do something anyways without his permission if he was at risk.

“Have the officers got you working on anything interesting?” Brienne asked.

“Not really, still a lot of solo work to be done, but I have been helping some of the others on smaller projects that need to get done quick. Like the other day, I learned how to assemble a handgun.”

“Funnily enough I’ve never found a use for handguns in my line of work… They lack the precision to be an effective tool.” Said Brienne, laughing a little at her own joke.

“I-I’ve never fired a handgun...or any gun for that matter…” He told her meekly.

“Me neither, my grandparents owned a farm, and when I was little I used to be absolutely terrified when I heard my Grandad hunting rabbits with his shotgun. I’ve never quite got over that somehow…”

“I never had anyone like that...just my Mom and Dad.” Talking about them, he felt overwhelmingly homesick and sunk a little, realizing he had neglected his tea and drank about half of the now cooled beverage.

“Do you mind if I ask what they thought about you joining XSDF?”

Nick hesitated a bit, scratching his head as he remembered. “They were...sad. They knew how I was and when they heard I had a desire to join the XSDF to try and better myself, they weren’t hesitant at all. I don’t know why...they just always seemed supportive no matter what, even though I was never their real child.”

“I’m sure they thought of you in the same way they would’ve about a biological son.”

“I know...but it still made me a little worried.” Nick smiled, looking at the floor.

Brienne smiled. “I suppose that’s only natural.”

Nick nodded, remembering something and unzipping his jacket. “I think I have a picture of them somewhere in here…” He told her, underneath he was just wearing a simple white t-shirt as he looked in the inside pockets of the winter coat.

Brienne leaned forwards slightly, interested to see the picture, but then noticed a large bruise where Nick’s t-shirt had risen up slightly. “Falling into Clunker did that?”

Nick didn’t understand at first, looking down and pulling down his shirt slightly so the little bit she saw couldn’t be anymore. “I said not to worry about it.”

“Hmm…” The concerned look returned to Brienne’s face, but she didn’t say anything further.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Good Intentions, Part 2

Nick crossed his arms around his stomach, looking at the ground without saying a word further to Brienne. Without any notice, Nick got up from his seat and quickly made for the door, not running but wanting to get away.

Brienne waited a moment, then followed him at a distance.

He was just fast walking away, obviously heading back towards the direction of engineering. When he looked back and saw Brienne out of the corner of his eye, he went into a run away.

Brienne sighed and gave up the chase. It would be easy enough to find him later…

The next morning

After breakfast, Brienne made a change from her normal routine. Instead of heading to her workshop she stopped early in the corridor, outside Nick’s office, and peered through the window.

As per usual, the blinds were down and closed but there was a small line that could be seen inside. Nick was standing next to a stationary Clunker, his jacket and shirt laying on a work table as he looked down at himself. There was a large, purple bruise on his ribs and a smaller bruise on his stomach, the teen running a hand over them and wincing when he pressed down on one.

Brienne sighed, What have you got into? and knocked politely on the door.

Nick jumped and he quickly grabbed his shirt and threw it on, walking up to the door. “Who is it?”

“Room service.” Said Brienne, trying to lighten the mood.

“What...what do you want now?” He asked rather bluntly.

“May I come in, or are you going to leave me in the hall all day?” she retorted.

“Why? So you can just...invade my privacy again?” Nick didn’t feel right saying what he did, but he just wanted people not to ask questions.

“So I can talk to you. Besides” She smiled slightly. “If you don’t open up, I can always nip to the armoury and we can see if your door is plasma-proof.”

Nick scowled and he shook his head, opening the door and looking up at Brienne annoyed.

“Nice to see you too.” Brienne quipped as she saw his expression. She then walked past him and sat down on a stool, facing him.

He closed the door and turned around, staring back at her.

“Nick, do you remember what we talked about when we met each other? I believe it was something along the lines of you want to be treated like an adult and I said that I had your back. I believe the words ‘Must stick together’ were used. Now, imagine my surprise when you act like a child, and refuse to let me try to help you out. Something has clearly happened, it’s plain as day. Now are you going to tell me, or do I tell our superiors that you are unfit for duty?”

“A-Are you...blackmailing me?” Nick stated, taking a step back.

“No, I’m making sure that there is no danger to the ship or crew as a result of you being unable to work properly. I think you’ll find that the recommended course of action in my situation would have been to go straight to a member of the medical staff. I share a room with Dr. Beaumont, so it wouldn’t have been easier. I’m trying to help you out here. Please try to cooperate.”

“D-Don’t you...dare bring her into this. I-I-I can take care of...myself. Just...leave...me alone...please…” He begged, looking down.

“You want me to leave you alone? Fine. Say the word and I will leave. If you want the problem to be solved, you’re going to have to cooperate. I’ve seen bruises like those before. I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on.”

“I-I don’t...need your help. I can’t...get you involved.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” Snapped Brienne, finally losing her patience.

“Y-You don’t...understand at all!” He snapped back, stomping his foot. “If you get involved, things only get worse for me, so will you drop it already!”

“I don’t understand? Let me guess, you got on the wrong side of some grunts who are all pumped full of testosterone, with nothing to shoot at, so they decided to show how big and scary by beating up a kid half their age and size. To stop the commander beating seven shades of shit out of them, they told you it would get worse if you told anyone… and you believed them.”

“I-I’ve gone through this several times before Brienne and they never stop...they always keep their word. The only difference is...no one can help me this time…not even you or Irina.”

“Trust me Nick, scumbags like that don’t make good soldiers. If the commander finds out they’ll in all likelihood be dismissed and put ashore at Novum or Progressus. I doubt they’ll be able to do much when you’re moving away from them at several times the speed of light.”

“They always find a way...no matter how much you run or fight back...nothing works. Nothing changes…” Nick went to the door and opened it. “You should leave...and if you tell anyone...I will never forgive you…”

Brienne walked out of the room. “We’ll do things your way then. Just remember what I said about acting like an adult if you want to be treated like one.” With that parting shot, she strode off to her workshop, resolving to find a reason to get the security tapes checked to try to find the incident. That way, nothing leads back to Nick, and he doesn’t need to know that I did anything...

 

[Taxor_the_First]

The God of Knowledge

Above Novum, Einherjar Battleship, Private Communications Suite
11:00 AM February 5th, 2044


Isaac tapped a finger on the desk irritably, waiting for the hour to tick over. Eleven AM, first of the month. As usual. Come early, just in case. They’d made sure to sync times before he’d departed.

As soon as the hour changed, the screen showed an incoming call. Isaac exhaled and reached out, pressing the button that accepted the call. He leaned back as a green line appeared on the screen, jittering occasionally as a few clinks and taps emitted from the speakers. Isaac rolled his eyes. “You getting a hot chocolate or something?” he asked.

The person on the other end of the line coughed, an odd sound when it went through the voice modifier. “Getting comfortable,” they answered, the line wavering in time with the sound. “We both know I am less than fond of that beverage.”

“Oh, I remember.”

“How I wish you didn’t.”

Isaac chuckled. “Still annoyed at me for picking you as Overseer?”

The Overseer did not answer, instead simply saying “Report.”

The cripple sighed, and rubbed a knuckle. “All’s going well over here. Nothing too interesting apart from that little skirmish out in the Kuiper Belt -”

“Hmm,” the Overseer said. “That concerns me.”

“What, the lack of anything interesting?”

“No, the pirate presence in Sol. There aren’t many groups who would be brazen enough to attempt it. Ms. Sunderland is not one of them.” They paused. “Or, at least, I did not think she was.”

Isaac merely shrugged. “People are naturally surprising, largely because they aren’t us. We can’t predict how anyone other than us would act accurately, after all.”

“Still,” the Overseer muttered, “this is no excuse for my inability to detect them there. Give my apologies to the Commander… when you actually work up the nerve to meet with her, that is.”

The former Overseer was silent for a moment, then he cursed. “I hate you keeping an eye on me,” he said darkly.

“You said yourself, trust no one. Not even you.”

“Yeah, but…” He waved a hand. “Ah, forget it.”

“Why have you not even said hello? Is this about your animosity with Brea?”

“This has nothing to do with-“ He stopped, and sighed. “Ok, maybe it does.”

“You are delaying then.”

“No shit,” Isaac snapped, before shaking his head. “Alright, I get it. I’ll bloody do it.”

“See to it that you do,” the Overseer said, before clearing their throat. “Anything else?”

Isaac frowned. “There was the stellar battle in the Quismar system.”

“The one that left seven pilots dead?”

The cripple glared at the computer. “Why do I even bother reporting to you? You already know everything.”

“In case I’ve missed something,” the Overseer responded matter-of-factually. “The enemy was utilizing ship-based stealth technology, correct?”

“Yeah, started picking off our ships like Seekers at the beginning of the Subjugation War. Commander had to bring in the Einherjar to salvage the mission.”

“That… would not have sat well with either the Commander or Khumalo.”

“It didn’t. Even now, I think our fleet commander’s still a little shocked.”

“The XSDF should not have appointed one as young as him to a major military operation,” the Overseer said coldly. “After the first death, his performance would have dropped significantly, and it would have been over from there.”

Isaac shook his head. “It wasn’t pretty. At least now he remembers he’s human,” he said, adding “Insufferable twat,” quietly afterwards.

The Overseer ignored the comment. “And Novum?”

Isaac shrugged. “Nothing too interesting. A little worrying that the pirates managed to establish a full-fledged base so close to a settlement, but I’d put that down to local laziness rather than pirate ingenuity. What about you, anything interesting happening?”

The sound of shuffling paper emanated from the speakers. “One moment, I had a small list…”

“You’re using paper?” Isaac asked, incredulous. “I thought everyone was using digital by now.”

“Paper can’t be hacked,” the Overseer murmured. “And it can be completely destroyed, unlike digital copies. Let’s see here… Samson’s got himself into trouble again.”

“Bloody hell. What is it this time?”

“It turns out people don’t tend to take kindly to individuals smashing their place up, particularly if said place is making them a lot of money in illicit drug exchanges. He now appears to have several hits on him.”

Isaac waved a hand dismissively. “He’s practically Yokolov risen from the dead. He’ll cope.”

“I should hope so,” the Overseer stated, before pausing briefly. “You may wish to check some of the security tapes more often. There was an incident between several soldiers and a younger engineer recently that you should probably-”

“Check security tapes?” the cripple asked indignantly. “That’s grunt work! Do you not have anyone else on board this ship?”

Silence.

“… you’re shitting me.”

“Well… no one currently employed,” the Overseer said cryptically. “In any case, review the footage. A message needs to be sent early on that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. On an XSDF ship, or anywhere else.”

“Let those involved sort it out themselves,” Isaac said dismissively. “If people can’t deal with their own conflicts, they aren’t worth having on this ship.”

The Overseer made an “hmm” noise, before saying “It is your decision. There is… very little else that requires your attention, or the Commander’s.”

“Quiet month?”

“It would appear so. Though, as you are aware, that rarely means anything good. With a large part of the XSDF otherwise occupied, you can probably expect a crime spike.”

“But you’ve got nothing concrete yet?” Isaac pressed.

“No.”

“Alright.” He leaned back in his chair. “Let me know if something does crop up.”

“Of course,” the Overseer said. “I’ll let you know when our next correspondence is due.” With that, the vibrating line disappeared, and the ‘call ended’ notification blinked on the screen.

Isaac sat quietly for a moment, before grunting and wheeling himself around. As he rolled out the door, he pondered his situation. On a military ship with a potentially hostile Commander and no backup aside from Samantha, who had recently proven how naïve she could be. Shaking his head, he began making his way back to his room, concern burrowing its way into his mind.

Now he had an idea of how Raider felt every time she cased a place.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“A Tale for Another Time”

Orbit around Novum (February 5th)
The Einherjar (2:15 A.M., Earth Standard)
The Bridge

It was the calm before the storm. The bridge staff milled about, talking amongst themselves idly. All preparations for the return to subspace had been made, and thus they had nothing to do in the final half hour before the warp jump. Lieutenant Commander Aya Brea was at the helm, Second Officer Frederick Mason at her side. Both were dressed in their official garb, awaiting the Commander’s arrival. The two exchanged an uneasy glance. She should have showed up 15 minutes ago.

Another two minutes passed before the door opened and Astasha Streczyk stepped onto the black floor of the Einherjar’s bridge. With purpose, she walked up to her first officer as the woman turned to face her. “Aya, I have some news that you might find interesting,” Astasha stated with a mixture of dread and repressed hope as the Japanese-American turned to face her, an odd combination born of two different reactions to what she had learned, and the implications of such information.

Aya measured the Indian woman’s expression carefully. “What is it?” she questioned. In response, Astasha handed her the tablet she had kept tucked under her right shoulder.

“See for yourself.”

On the screen was an image taken from a security camera in one of the furthest reaching XSDF trade outposts, a few light years from the nearest colony. On it was a man with brown hair and unmistakeable features, including scarring on the left side of the human’s face, halfway down it. Aya paled. “That’s… but he’s been missing for years! Where was this taken?”

“The coordinates are attached to the photo. There’s been a lot of strange happenings in that area recently… mysterious deaths, piracy that defies common patterns… all of it seeming connected to some pirate group calling themselves “The Rulers of Shambhala.” Astasha shook her head. “What Hawkins has to do with incidents like flesh-eating bacteria is beyond me, but…”

“How… long does it take to kill?” Aya asked suddenly, a grim expression crossing her features.

The Commander raised an eyebrow curiously. “The bacteria? I believe reports said that the subjects were usually deceased in less than an hour. Why?”

“Dammit.” Aya shook her head. To think that, even after everything we went through, they’re still around… and in space, to top it off. “I… need to investigate this. I can’t leave something this dangerous alone… if these people are who I think they are, and if they’ve dragged a friend of mine into their…”

“I had a feeling that might be your reaction,” Astasha responded. Though this is better than I could have hoped. “I can arrange transport from Novum, though you should make haste to go before we depart. I can extend the warp jump time to 3 o'clock, but no later.” With a slight smile, the Commander turned and departed as swiftly as she had arrived.

Aya turned to Frederick, who seemed a bit surprised at everything happening so fast. “I’m sorry to leave you like this… but these people are more of a danger than any other pirate you might face, and anything to do with Forseti at the moment. I simply can’t leave them be.”

“Right, but… me as the Lieutenant Commander? Are you sure I’m… you know, ready?” Frederick asked nervously. “Are you sure someone else couldn’t handle these people?”

Aya shook her head. “Doubtful. I may need help, but this is something I have to do. I’ve too much of a history with this ‘Shambhala’. I thought I destroyed them once, but if they’re reared their ugly head again, then I’ll just have to chop it off once more.” The Lieutenant Commander sighed. “But that’s aside the point. I know you suspected me of preparing you for a more important role, and you aren’t wrong. I’m not just requesting you do this… I need you to do this.”

“Me, though…” Frederick rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t really know why you picked me, even now.”

“Because you’re understanding, you truly care about those beneath you in rank, and will look out for them even if you’re afraid to. Trust me, I need that, not only in general but for a few.. specific people.” Aya looked out the viewscreen for a moment. “I’m sure you’re aware of the Commander’s attitude towards Arcwright’s existence? Devolina’s past? And O’Brien’s very name?”

“You want me to look out for them,” Frederick assumed.

“And you’re one of the few people I can trust to do that.” Aya looked back down to him. “I don’t expect you to be defying Streczyk’s orders, I just want you to keep her from doing something rash.”

Frederick took a deep breath, steadying himself. “I… alright. I can do it.”

Aya smiled faintly. “I know you can.” She extended a hand. “Until we meet again.”

The Lieutenant Commander shook her hand. “Until then.”

 

[Adrammalech]

| MEET THE NEW BOSS
| Abigail Kirchner / Astasha Streczyk (DarkGemini24601)
| The Einherjar, Commander's Office
| Novum
| February 6th, 2044 – 9:30 AM

Abigail brushed past the guards at the Commander’s door, getting a rather stern look and a rigid salute as she went by. As she entered, she scanned over the hardwood room, looking about as plain and functional as she expected, given the Commander’s reputation. Still, she wasn’t there for interior decorating, and gave a customary salute as she approached the desk.

“’Ello, Commander,” Abigail said, trying to maintain her proper look.

Astasha looked up from her computer. “Miss Kirchner. What can I do for you?” the Commander queried, folding her hands on her desk.

“Just thought we could have a chat,” she replied, “I’ve known Aya for a couple months now, but haven’t really got a chance to talk to ye yet.”

“I suppose that would not be the worst idea, considering that Lieutenant Commander Brea is no longer with us on the Einherjar,” Streczyk replied matter-of-factly.

“She did mention she wouldn’t be along for the full flight, though I didn’t know she was gettin’ off already…guess this is good timing then, eh?”

The Commander nodded. “Something to do with an old nemesis of hers arose. I don’t know all the details, but it certainly seemed urgent to her.” Astasha tapped a finger on the desk. “Mason is now my Lieutenant Commander, in any case, and that would make you the second officer in his place.”

“I see…well, all the more reason to get to know ye then,” Abigail nodded. “Is there anything you’d like to know about me, now that we’ll be workin’ together more closely?”

Astasha thought for a moment. “I haven’t looked at your file too extensively, as Brea was the one that requested you be onboard. With her gone, I will… be re-evaluating some of her decisions. But one thing that stuck out to me was that one incident in 2029 with one of your squad members. Something about hitting them that was deemed unnecessary to pursue by your commanding officer at the time, but color me curious anyway.”

“Ah, right, always the first thing everyone mentions…” Abigail said, stretching one of her arms. “I was given this green gunner from another squad, a little too eager for his own good. He endangered the squad on a mission by goin’ in guns blazing on his own, then started mouthing off when I told him it was a dumb idea. I needed to prove a point that my squad was a little more intense than whatever PFC team he was thrown from...maybe it was a little rash, but he did shape up. Haven’t lost me temper like that since, though.”

The Commander shrugged. “Well, although that is unconventional, I don’t necessarily disapprove. Though in my case, if any of our staff here don’t understand how to follow orders, I have a much simpler solution to them. They disobey my orders, and they will find themselves on the nearest colony, send on one of the scout ships if I have to do it that way.”

“I s’pose that would work, though knockin’ some sense into him made him a better team member in the long run, he learned quickly after that. Not that I’m sayin’ it’s going to be my favorite parenting method, but it all worked out.”

“Whatever works,” Astasha stated, crossing her arms for a moment. “Just as long as it does not conflict with how I run my ship. I trust you’ll keep your more… adventurous side in check.”

“Aye, don’t worry about me, good little soldier,” Abigail chuckled.

“I’ll hold you to that,” the Commander replied flatly. “As for myself, I’m sure you’re already aware of most of the rules and regulations I’ve set in place, but I will emphasize something. I know that despite implicitly forbidding it, there will be those that try to worm their way around the ‘no fraternization’ stricture. I expect any evidence of that to be dealt with swiftly and plainly.” Astasha shook her head irritably. “I’m commanding a military ship, not a pleasure craft. This is not the time nor the place for that sort of crap.”

“So we’re on the same page, you’re talkin’ about sex, yeah?” Abigail asked. “Since fraternization can mean friendships too…just wondering how strict is strict.”

“I honestly could care less about the latter as long as it doesn’t affect their performance,” Astasha clarified. “But I know the former will, so I will not allow it. There’s a multitude of reasons why I didn’t promote Miss Ryan after Black Star, that not being the least of them.”

“I doubt it’ll be much of a problem, they seem right fear’d of breakin’ the rules,” Abigail replied. “Maybe too much, even…not that runnin’ a ship like this is my specialty.”

“They’re kept in line, I have yet to see any negative effects of an orderly command,” Streczyk spoke confidently. “Do keep an eye out for Devolina and O’Brien. I do have mild concerns that they might become troublesome, especially the former.”

“I’ll trust ye until ye give me reason not to, just thought I’d let you know the mood out there. Some might think you’re crackin’ down on everything from smiles to hugs,” Abigail said, trying not to sound too confrontational in her tone.

“Then feel free to assure them that I do not intend to take their enjoyment of life away. I simply wish to maintain order and ensure that our journey is both safe and efficient.”

“Will do, miss, and keep an eye on the troublemakers. Let me ken if ye should need anything else,” Abigail nodded.

“I will. Is there anything else you’d like to know about myself or my policies, Ms. Kirchner?” Astasha inquired.

“Nothin’ of importance, unless you want to compare scars,” she smiled.

“Very well then. You may go. I’ll be seeing more of you in the future, have no doubt.” Astasha turned on her computer again, going over whatever she had been beforehand.

Abigail turned and strode out, feeling relieved that the meeting went down better than it did in her head.

 

[Alzdude28]

An Eventful Programme
Alzdude28 and Adrammalech

February 5th 2044
Novum Orbit
The Einherjar, Engineering department.
11:45 GMT


Brienne sat staring at a screen in total confusion. On the desk next to her was a small lump of circuitry and sensors, with a wire running into the terminal. She tried running the programme she’d written again, trying to find the problem. After another half hour of unsuccessful attempts at fault-finding, she stood up and walked out of the workshop, desperate for a break. She found a seat in the engineer’s break room and settled down, resolving to try again once she’d cleared her head. She pulled up the latest edition of New Scientist on her tablet, and jumped to the technology section. Reading always helped her relax.

Taoming took a look around the Engineering department, looking over the desks and projects that the more hands-on engineers frequented. Holding his computer bag in tow, he guessed at who had called him off intuition, and approached her.

“Hello, someone called for a computer engineer, do you know who needed me?” he asked.

“That would be me.” Brienne said, looking up from the project that she had returned to.

“I see,” he replied, taking the bag off his shoulder. “What’s the problem again?”

“I’ve been trying to code a programme to run a gyro-stabilizing platform more efficiently. The prototype’s here.” At this she gestured at the jumble of chips and wires on her desk. “The hardware has been tested, there’s nothing wrong with that. I just have no idea what is going on with this code.”

“I might be able to help,” he said, “can it be hooked up to a computer in this state?”

“I’ve got it plugged into this terminal here.” Brienne indicated the nearest computer.

Taoming sat down at the computer, showing some discomfort with the keyboard, but quickly getting to work. After a few mouse clicks, he began scrolling through the code and looking for things to add or erase. “Should just be a couple of minutes.” After a few moments, he noticed the silence creeping in, and cleared his throat. “It’s Brienne, right?”

“Yeah… Sorry, what was your name?”

“Taoming Wang. You can call me Tao, if you prefer,” he replied.

“Nice to meet you Tao. Do you get much work here, as a computer engineer?”

“This is actually the first thing I’ve been called for, on the ship. I figure most of my work will be planetside, until then, I’m just kind of sitting about. Haven’t even seen much of the engineering department so far.”

“Really? I could show you around a bit, once you’re finished.” Brienne said, genuinely surprised that anyone could stay on board for so long and not see the Engineering department.

“I wouldn’t mind, but don’t feel obligated,” he said, “like I said, I think I’ll mostly be on the ground, with atmosphere adjustors, machinery controls, that kind of thing.”

“It’s really no trouble. Once this is finished then I’ll have the rest of the day off.”

Tao wrapped up what he was doing, punching in another command and turning back towards Brienne. “I think I fixed the problem, want to test it out?”

“Certainly.” Brienne checked the connections to the project, then hit the execute key. With a hum, the machinery jerked into life and soon Brienne was able to test all it’s functions fully. Satisfied that the job was over, she made a quick entry in the maintenance log, and then packed the equipment away. “Thanks Tao, I’ve been puzzling over that coding for hours.”

“No problem, that’s what I’m here for. Glad I could help,” he said, picking up his things again.

“Do you want a quick look around the labs?”

“I guess I don’t have anything better to do,” he shrugged. “Sure, lead the way.”

“So, this is just a general workshop that we’re in now, the people in here can be working on anything.” She walked out into the corridor. “The other rooms along here are mostly offices. Some are dedicated to a type of research, for example, the weapons lab is that one over there.” She pointed to a door at the end of the hall. “Some of the others are for individual engineers. The ones that have individual projects usually like to reduce the amount that they’re disturbed.

“Are those labs and the offices communal? Like, do you just check into them if you need them, or are they only for certain staff members?”

“Depends which one. Some staff members have a dedicated office, the others we can book into, if we have a good enough reason.”

“Interesting. It’s good that everyone is treated equal for the most part, in that regard. I know I prefer a quiet and solitary place when I work… like most in this kind of skillset, I’d imagine,” Tao replied.

“I guess that was a part of their reasoning to set thing up this way.”

“What’s your specialty?”

“I studied astronautical engineering at Uni, so I mostly work on equipment for the spacecraft and the SHIVs, but one of the things they expect you to do here is branch out, so I’ve done some work on armour as well, which was an interesting change for me.”

“Sounds like an exciting workplace, though I wouldn’t expect less from the size of this ship,” he said with a smirk. “What else is there?”

“The manufacturing workshop is just down that way. It’s great, we can make pretty much anything you need in there. We have machines in there to cut, mill, print, extrude, form and pretty much anything else you could think of.”

“Also interesting. I would assume we have the galaxy’s best 3D printer.”

“It’s certainly close. I heard that an improved version has been made back on Earth though. With technology like this, it’s never long before it’s surpassed.”

“So true,” he nodded. “Even with my computer, I never get any parts too expensive…it’s only a matter of time before its cheap.”

“Very true. Hopefully when the elerium starts being shipped back to Earth, that’ll cut the cost of most technology.”

“Well, it is not always necessity that the prices are so high, especially when it comes to tech that the common man doesn’t understand.”

“Very true.” Brienne replied, looking back up the corridor. “That’s pretty much all there is to see in this section.”

“Thank you for showing me around, it was kind of you,” he bowed his head slightly. “I would be happy to help the next time you have an issue, or anything else.”

“No problem. Thanks again for your help, I’ll certainly call on you again if I have any more problems.” Brienne said with a smile.

“One more thing,” he looked around momentarily. “Where is the engineering head’s office? It would be good to have a face-to-face, but I have barely seen them since boarding.”

“That’s von Braun. His office is just down that way, third door on the left.”

“I see, thank you. Maybe I’ll see you later,” he said, shouldering his bag.

“See you around Tao.” Brienne replied, before going back into her workshop.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Consequences: Part One

XSDF Einherjar
Soldier Barracks
Jan. 21st, 1900 Hours

I am really, really sorry. But you would have said no... But I was afraid you would say no... You always try to hold me back... I know you love me, but you tend hold me back...

Brigid let out a frustrated yell, crumpling the piece of paper and throwing it towards her trash bin, the paper ball rolling off the stack of failed notes and letters. She jumped from her seat, quickly walking over to her bunk. She needed to let off some steam, and she might as well get a workout. Her special training gear had finally been released to her, so she slipped on her training boots, shorts, shirt, and armbands, and jogged over to the gym.

Already starting to work up a sweat, she let out an exasperated sigh at a familiar sight. Korra stood in the center of the room, twirling a strand of red hair while clearly flirting with what looked like an engineer, either not caring that his eyes were fixated on her bust, or encouraging it, her short-shorts and near transparent shirt leaving little to the imagination.

A quick survey of the room, and Brigid noted two men clearly watching the pair. As much as she hated to admit it, Brigid's size came in handy in this kind of situation, and she stealthily slipped behind them, listening in on their loud whispers.

"...didn't think he'd get the time of day. What he even say?"

"Heheh... said he'd convince the Commander to give her some weapons they confiscated when she came in board."

"Like he has any pull!"

"Well, she doesn't know that, dumbass."

"Oh... Oooooh! Damn it... wish I thought of that. I'd love a piece of that."

"Dumb slut's practically giving it away for change. I'm sure you can convince her."

"Yeah... maybe even 'console' her when she finds out she was played, if you know..."

Brigid reached up, roughly tapping the two on the shoulder. When they turned to the angry looking woman, she asked, "Excuse me... boys... I was so wondering how well you marked on your willpower assessments."

The two exchanged a look, and the taller one grinned. "You wanna test us, pipsqueak?"

"I do." Brigid's eyes flashed violet as she stared into their eyes. "I would like you two to find the biggest, burliest Balmadaar you can and offer to hand scrub every inch of his bathroom. And please... don't take no for an answer."

The men's eyes flashed violet, and they nodded, smiling gently. Catching sight of a sweaty-looking Balmadaar exiting the gym, they rushed after him, one yelling, "Sir! Can we talk to you?"

Brigid stomped over to Korra and the engineer, stepping between them and glaring at the man. He scoffed, and asked, "Can I help you, kid?"

Korra folded her arms. "Go away, O'Brien. My friend and I were just working out..."

Brigid shook her head. "It'll have to wait. He's busy."

The man raised an eyebrow. "And exactly what am I busy with?"

Brigid's eyes flashed again. "You need to call you mother, and beg her forgiveness for raising such a disgusting little pervert."

The man nodded, and walked away. Korra watched him, shouting, "Hey! Where the ramm are you going?"

"I need to call my mother," he answered without stopping or looking back. "I've been a disgusting little pervert."

Korra slowly turned towards Brigid, her eye twitching. "You... how dare you..."

Brigid rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Honestly, Korra. I'm starting to get tired of always having to bail..." Korra suddenly dashed forward, driving her knee into Brigid's stomach. The smaller woman dropped to her knees, gasping for air. She raised a shaking hand, crying out, "Korra... p-please, he (wheeze) he was... lying to... to (gasp)(wheeze) use you..."

"You're not my mother! You have no right to interfere with ANYTHING I DO!" Korra rose her right fist, grasping Brigid's collar with her left hand and lifting. She faltered, the petite woman somehow feeling like she weighed almost three times as much as she should. "Fryd dra vilg?"

Brigid used the hesitation to send a solid punch into Korra's hip. The Tamearin woman released her and staggered back, and Brigid leaped up, a fist sent straight towards Korra's face. It stopped short, and Brigid stepped back, gasping her throbbing hand. The hell? Feels like a punched a brick wall, but I didn't touch her. Is... is she...

Korra leaped forward, pouncing like a wild animal and tackling Brigid to the floor. Two solid punches connected with Brigid's face before she caught one of Korra's arms and twist, prompting the red-head to yelp and jump off her foe. Brigid jumped to her feet, just in time to see a fireball form in Korra's hand. Thinking fast, she formed one of her own, a weak one, but strong enough to cancel out Korra's when she threw it, the two fireballs bursting in a small midair explosion.

Korra readied her hand to form another fireball, and Brigid charged, not wanting to give her a chance. Noting a small spark in Korra's hand before the ball formed, Brigid had no time to think about it. She lined up a punch, but Korra suddenly dispersed the fire and grabbed Brigid's wrist. She sent her other fist flying, but Korra grabbed it with her other hand. Brigid scoffed. "We gonna dance now?"

"Nope." Korra grinned, and Brigid's body suddenly shook violently, her hair standing on end as electricity flowed through her. She barely had enough control of her body to headbutt Korra, the Tamearin releasing Brigid and stepping back as a small stream of blood flowed down her face.

A matching stream down Brigid's face, she ignored the numbness all over, and reached into her pocket. Pulling out a small pill, she popped it into her mouth and muttered, "Y-y-you w-wanna p-p-p-play w-with psionics? F-f-fine." Her energy surged, and a dozen weights and dumbbells floated around her as she slowly levitated off the ground.

Korra cracked her knuckles. "Bring it on, bitch." She started forming a much larger fireball.

"ENOUGH!"

Two beams of energy shot out from the side of the room, slamming into the two woman and hurling them into the wall. The weights and dumbbells crashed to the ground. The pair groaned in pain, slowly lifting their heads. They scanned the room, noting nearly two dozen people watching them, some clearly enjoying the fight, but most looking worried, even scarred. In the center was Lt. Commander Brea, a thick aura of energy surrounding her. Her hands where turquoise in color, her fingers tipped with razor sharp claws. They slowly reverted back to normal, but the aura remained, as did the vicious scowl on her face.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Consequences: Part Two

"You two... must be out of you damn minds," Aya muttered through clinched teeth.

Korra slowly climbed to her feet. "Yeah, we uh... maybe we got a little out of hand..."

Brigid stood as well, her face turned down to the ground in shame. "I-I... I-I'm sorry, Lt. Commander. We... what we did..."

Korra chuckled. "Hey, don't worry, Brea. We'll clean up the mess, and..."

A surge of energy around Aya's hands shut Korra up. After starring at the pair for a solid minute, Aya finally lowered her energy a bit. Sounding as calm as she could possibly muster, she said, "Fighting beyond training purposes with the intent to harm your opponent. One week in the brig!"

Brigid flinched, and Korra stepped forward. "Now... wait a minute. I mean... no one was really hurt too bad, so..."

"Unsanctioned use of psionics outside of training purpose to a degree that caused damage to XSDF property and presented a completely unacceptable amount of risk of injury to fellow soldiers, staff, and crew. Two weeks in the brig!"

Korra's eyes widened. "What! Now, listen here! I'll be damned if I'm going to sit in the brig for three..." Two guards stepped forward, raising a pair of laser rifles.

Shut up, Korra, Brigid 'whispered' telepathically. Can't you see she's saving our asses?

Oh? And how the fuck is throwing us...

Because three weeks in the brig is nothing for what we did! If... i-if it was the Commander, she... even if by some miracle we weren't immediately dismissed, she probably give us three times as much time.

Korra scoffed, but backed down. Aya waved a dismissive hand, telling the guards as she walked out, "Get them out of my sight. Get them patched up, fitted with psionic inhibitors, and make sure they have separate cells. If they resist at all, inform the Commander so she can boot their sorry asses off the ship."

Korra and Brigid hung their heads and marched out towards the infirmary, the guards following behind with weapons raised. They shot each other an angry look.

"Fucking bitch," Korra muttered, loud enough for Brigid to hear.

"Dirty whore," Brigid muttered back.

----------

Korra slipped on her 'prison' garb as the brig's warden examined the device she had been wearing under her right wristband. "What the hell is this?"

"It's mine," Korra answered bluntly. "And you better not fucking break it."

The warden lifted a nightstick towards the Tamearin's face. "And YOU better watch your mouth, else you'll get it back in a dozen pieces."

Brigid slipped of her training clothes, trying not to show how embarrassed she was to be naked in front of the warden, but showing it in the speed she got dressed. "Where should I put my clothes?"

"Just toss 'em on the table."

Brigid looked at the flimsy wooden table. " I don't think..."

"Just do it!"

Brigid sighed, hefted her training gear, and tossed them on the table. It immediately gave in, snapping in half and sending the clothes to the ground with a loud thud. The warden's eyes shot daggers at Brigid, and she shrugged. "I tried to warn you."

Warden pointed towards a pair of open cells facing one another. The women reluctantly went into them, and a guard activated the energy doors behind them. He returned to the warden and picked up one of Brigid's boots. "Jesus... this must be 15 kilos!"

As the pair of men dragged the clothes and broken table away, the pair of women sat down on their beds. Brigid let out a long sigh, and said, "Listen, Korra. I..."

"Don't talk to me!" Korra snapped.

Brigid shook her head. "We're in here for a while together. Need something to pass the time."

Korra let out an exaggerated laugh. "O'Brien... whether we're in here for three weeks, or three years, there is no chance I'm going to talk to you."

Jan. 24th

"...and once you pump some plasma through them, they can slice armor like it's made of piddan," Korra said with a laugh.

Brigid smiled. "Sounds like Mr. Des... like Desmond Walker during the war."

Korra nodded. "That guy with the arm and the energy ball? Maybe. But..." She scoffed. "Plasma and Elerium ain't cheap. And I doubt the XSDF will give me any to power them. Without them, they're still awesome swords, but normal."

Brigid shrugged. "Still, wouldn't hurt to have a hand weapon on the field. Sectoids are often pretty exposed, anyone in light armor would be susceptible, and unless a Balmadaar had a helmet on..."

Korra shook her head. "Tell that to the Commander, who had them locked up in the armory." She laid on her bed, starring up. "Those were a gift from my grandmother. I swear, if there is one scratch on them..."

Jan. 26th

"You know... to this day, when I talk about him, I still call him Mr. Desmond? Same for Ms. Atka." Brigid chuckled. "It isn't about respect, either. I mean, I respect the hell out of them, but it is more of a... tick. I... I'm not sure how to explain it."

Korra sat up and smiled. "I understand. Kinda how I sometimes call my grandmother 'grammy'."

Brigid laughed. "Grammy? Wow, that... that's cute!"

Korra laughed as well. "Well, she didn't think so. I'd call her it about two or three times before she'd tell me, 'Ghulg ed dra vilg uvv, un E'mm csycr ouin tysh rayt eh!'"

Brigid raised an eyebrow. "Translation?"

"Knock it the fuck off, or I'll smash your damn head in!" Korra laid back down. "Damn, I miss that woman." She turn her head towards Brigid. "By the way. Tell anyone I ever used the word 'grammy', and I'll smash your head in."