BTHB: Sector 13 : Operation Icarus!.

[Spicy meatball]

60,000 Crubixes?, Marcus took a double take at the Admiral. "Wooah!" he found himself saying out aloud. "That's 4 beachfront houses on prime Omega I property, or 18 Archaros Sports cars or 4 matter-antimatter engine fuel injectors or 132 Windfield high powered sniper rifles, or 2 Zeffer class space shuttles or the payment of 300 Kestra shuttle runs or the payment of the Sakkara's fuel bill for the next 7 years if we ran at full Warp speed or a lifetime supply of all you can eat delicacies at 'Hungry Hippos' fine dining restaurant on Brego Prime" he replied turning to Extra with a widening grin. "You do the math!, hell with that money I could start a colony on a moon" he said.

He looked at the Captain who had been silent for a while. "What do you think captain?. Should we give this a shot?"

 

[Dragonearl]

"A lot of money, and, it is very generous of you" Alexis commented, his facial features unchanged. "Undoubtedly, you did present the crew of the Bragi with a similar offer and finding the allure too good to refuse they set off on your quest, to their likely doom." Alexis paused. "Tell me, what would you do if we refuse?" he asked.

"Indeed, this is no ordinary Freelancer travel and given the nature as such, the rewards, should you succeed, will be great!" Admiral Troy responded. "Should you refuse, then we will have to detain your vessel under the suspicion of smuggling within UPD territory and you will be forcibly relieved of command. And, as it so happens, since UPD guidelines do not state what happens to detained vessels, it is very likely, that we will outfit the Sakkara with the needed equipment and send our own crew to Sector 13.
Understand Captain, that like it or not this mission will happen. The only question that remains, is if you and your crew will be part of the expedition or not.
Should you refuse, then you shall be detained here along with your crew, pending an inquiry about all your transport activities. Which, given the priority of things at Fleet HQ will take several years for your trial to be processed. Until then, you all will remain behind bars.
Should you accept though, then you will be the commanding officer of the expedition, free to govern your ship at will, and with possible rewards in the future. The choice is up to you and your crew Captain.

Alexis clenched his jaw, "you don't have any proof of us smuggling anyt-" he was cut off as Troy began to talk over him

The UPD High Command doesn't need proof during a Priority 1 alert period. Hell son, all we need is a suspicion to hold you hear indefinitely. In fact.." he held up a series of documents from his briefcase "..these are the warrants to search your ship and here is a forged document stating that illegal materials were sized from your ship. Face it, the High Command is not going to believe some Freelancers over a senior officer and they have no reason to doubt my documentation. Should you accept my offer to lead the expedition willingly, then these documents will disappear forever and we will never have to meet again" he smiled at the Captain.

"Feel free to talk amongst your crew, I understand that this is a big undertaking!"

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

"Alright then!" Roach slammed his hands on the table, in an attempt to lighten to mood. "Looks like we are going on an adventure of a lifetime..quite literally" he leaned to whisper to the Captain.

"We are not seriously going to turn down this offer straight away are we?. I mean yes, I am concerned about our chances of success here, or the very likely event of us joining the fate of the other three starships, but, I mean, the money aside, this is our chance to get some much needed repairs done, for free. Also, I am sure Extra would agree when I say that the engines could use an overhaul and Jamie could use with some restocking of medical supplies and we can better arm our ship. Also, with no inspections or speed restriction in this sector, we could be the number one Freelance transporter in the galaxy. Imagine how that will affect our business?. People would come to us to get stuff sent across faster and easier. We'll be making more money than anyone else on top of the 60,000. Surely, this isn't something you would say no to right away..besides..its not like the alternative is entirely pleasant".

 

[Captainguy42]

"It all seemed so exciting, until I got reminded that this was the UPD," Extra sighed. "But it'll be a cold day in hell before I let some UPD flunky, run around doing my job. Though you are right Roach I do love the idea of overhauling the Sakkara's engines"

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Jamie turned to Extra "I thought you would like that. And an entirely clean record, the chance to start again anew. Besides, it's not as if we really have a choice anyway is it."

 

[Captainguy42]

" Am I really that predictable?"

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Jamie turned to Extra. "Not really. But seeing your excitement from hearing about the permeanent modifications to the ship, it wasn't very hard to disguise it."

 

[Dragonearl]

Alexis looked around the faces of his crew, it was apparent that most of them were in favor of this UPD assigned venture. He paused for a moment to think of the scale of their undertaking, it was clear that they were setting out on a venture that others had tried and clearly were unsuccessful and while their probability of success were slight, he could not turn away from the potential benefits a successful voyage would bring. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before finally nodding. "Given the options we have, I guess we have little choice" he looked at his crew and then at the Admiral.

"Keep this in mind, my primary motivation is getting the crew of the Bragi and the other survivors back and I shall remain in command of my own ship. And as Extra said, I will not have you UPD scum walking about all over my ship. If you have any technical or engine upgrades that needs to be done, give the schematics to my Engineer, Extra. If you have weapon upgrades that needs done, then hand over the details to my Gunner, Issaria. All supplies will be handled by Jamie, on board weapons by Marcus and Navigational and Star Charts go to Roach." Alexis crossed his arms again, he didn't like the idea of this voyage but if he was going to be a part of it, things will run his way.

 

[Spicy meatball]

"Glad we got all that cleared up" Marcus added. "Perhaps the necessary upgrades should be done as soon as possible, considering every second we delay here may put the lives of the survivors in greater peril than they may be facing now. Also, perhaps we should go over the stuff we need to take for this expedition and what kinds of upgrades will be put on the ship"

 

[Dragonearl]

"Of course I understand" Admiral Tory nodded at the crew. "I am sure that Captain Mike will make arrangements for the relevant people to meet with your crew for the upgrades" he gathered all his papers together and placed it inside his briefcase. "There is one other thing though" the Admiral began suddenly. "While this is your crew and your ship and you will have full control over the situation, I only ask that you make accommodations on board your ship for two UPD members to go along with you" he said.

Captain Alexis looked up suddenly. "Wait?..what!. You want UPD members to board my ship?" he began, anger seeping into his voice.

"It's standard operational protocol. I will instruct them not to intervene with your activities but they must go along with you. Should you encounter the UPD vessels then you will need specific override codes which they will possess and they may be useful in identifying UPD components that your crew may be unfamiliar with. I assure you Captain, their sole purpose in this venture is to make sure the UPD vessels and their crews are alive and safe. You worry about the Bragi, leave my men to worry about the Briony and the Argos.

Now as to who I send along, well, after careful deliberation with UPD High Command, they have recommended.." he paused to turn to Captain Mike "You!" he said pointing.
"It's unconventional I know, but you have a spotless career record and UPD High Command is very impressed and very insistent that you accompany the crew of the Sakkara on this mission. I have yet to chose another member for this expedition"

Alexis stared at Captain Mike and then back at the Admiral. "You have got to be kidding?" he muttered under his breath. "Well, since this whole thing is a package deal, sure, why not?." he said shaking his head.

"As for the upgrades, yes, time is of the essence. I am granting 48hrs to do all the necessary upgrades to the Sakkara, so I hope you'll chose your components wisely. I won't extend the deadline a second over 48hrs, so please don't go an try and install Valkyrie Cannons on your ship or a new engine. There is no time for that now, perhaps when this is all over and done with, but for now meet with the Thantos's crew and sort the relevant bits out for yourselves. Now, unless anyone has anything new to add..this meeting is over."He turned to look at Walter. "I am still looking for a second UPD officer to join this mission. If you have nothing else to do here, I suggest you enlist in this expedition" with that the Admiral nodded and headed for the door.

 

[Shapsters]

Mike stared, open mouthed at the admiral, for the first time showing emotion.

"You have got to be shitting me! You are taking me off my own ship so I can go on a search and rescue mission with a bunch of Freelancers!? This is ridiculous!" Mike was infuriated, he slammed his fist onto the table, "I didn't get a spotless record so I could be sent on a mission with a group of rag-tag Freelancers! I did it so I could have my own ship to run. And now you are just throwing me off my own ship!?"

Mike glared at Alexis, he blamed him. If he was a competent captain, he could handle the mission on his own. Instead he had to come and hold the captains hand.

Spoiler: Sniff, sniff

Whats that I smell? A budding friendship?

 

[Captainguy42]

Extra quickly received a message on his communicator, he got began to fidget with excitement, the message was from Chief Engineer of the Thantanos Phil O'Brien, asking Extra about how he wished the Sakkara upgraded. Extra stood up and bolted out of the entrance room and following the lines guiding him to the engineering deck. As he ran he pulled out his communicator and wrote down what he wanted as he entered the engineering deck. Extra grabbed the nearest engineer excitedly asked him "Wheres O'Brien?"

"Over hear," A man in a red-jumpsuit that distinguished him from the others came forward," I'm O'Brien I take it your Extra?"

"Why yes I am," Extra responded bouncing somewhat.

"Command told you might be a little excitable, just take a breath and show me the list okay?"

"Alright, sorry I get a little to excited about upgrades," Extra fished his communicator out of his pocket and showed O'Brien.

"Alright so you'll be taking the Powerplant, Warp Calculator, Engine Output, Long-range cells, Navigational shields, and Thruster Naceles. Alright come with me we'll talk on the way to the cargo bay."

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

"Well, if we are all done with the debrief, I'd like to get going" Roach said suddenly breaking the sudden silence. "Since we have 48 hours, I think I should go and meet with Helmsman Byron on board this cruiser ASAP. He has sent words that there are some upgrades that I need to oversee. So if you'll all excuse me!" he nodded to everyone and walked out to the hallway.

Command Bridge, he muttered recalling the message. It took him a few minutes to work out the maze that was the UPD cruiser but he eventually stood before two giant doors marked "Bridge". He pressed a buzzed and awaited a response.

"Enter!" a voice came through.

"Helmsman Byron?" Roach asked as he steeped through the opened doorway.

"That's me, you must be Roach!. The pilot of the Sakkara" a middle aged man with short red hair responded. He was dressed in the official UPD uniform and was seated in a seat surrounded by instrumentation. The instruments, at first glance appeared to be a more complex version of the navigational console on the Sakkara.

"Have you made your choices?" Byron asked.

"Yes, given our time restrictions I think it would be best if we upgraded our Inertia Dampers, the Navigational Computer, the Constellation Positioning System, the Drift Cartography library and if we upgraded the Polarized Navigational Command System" he said.

"That's about 47 hours of work, nonstop!" Byron began biting his lip. "Still orders are orders" he reached into a shelf and pulled out a few blueprints. "Come on" he said leading Roach out of the Bridge. "Let's meet our ground crew, they will help you through the upgrade process"

 

[ravensshade]

Issaria had stayed silent for most of the meeting. i'll show that UPD bastard that women can be just as professional as men she thought
when she received the message on her pda
from the master gunner of thantanos Jason Cullen. She then calmly walked to the UPD weapons bay and went to the man giving out orders "hi are you Gunnery master Cullen?" she asked. "yes indeed luv you must be Issaria so which of the fine upgrades did you pick." He said as he turned around.
"Yes i'll be taking the Weapons Reserve Power, Weapon coolant systems, plasma turret sensors,munition rounds,Upgrade flak batteries and incendiary ammunition" she replied. "Woah 45 hours you really make the most of our time."

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Jamie recieved a message on his intercom.

"Uh, two minutes, gotta take a message." He rose up and started to leave the conference room. He looked at the message on his communicator. The message was from a Dr John McDowell. he was hired to look after supplies it seemed. It was then Jamie recieved the bad news.

48 hours! Why don't they just send us off with no supplies whatsoever, as that would be the same result. He carried on to read the bad news, before seeing the list and stats of each supply.

He decided not to return to the conference room. He just sat down in the corridor, and decided to think about the message. He needed priorities, he needed large amounts of certain types of supplies. He needed more time. He had no time to think about it, so he just decided to walk off and not return to the conference.

He explored the ship, looking at the various gadgets about and looked out the windows at their own silver vessel, curious about what he should do. He went down to the medical bay and decided to meet this Dr John McDowell, and hopefully think of something to do.

 

[Captainguy42]

"So Extra it looks like your going to be running my crew ragged for the next 48 hours? Why the max out?" O'Brien asked as they sped down on the people mover to the cargo bay,

"Wanted to make sure the Sakkara was ready for this mission, you'd do the same thing if you were in my shoes," Extra responded.

"I guess, I've gotta say though, if it was me I would of gone for the retractable wings, and the automation system."

"Ya I bounced those around in my mind but overall but it came down to those and the shields and personally I always thought of wings as being one-trick ponies in space, were as Navigational shields are very versatile." The transport slowed as they entered the bay and they disembarked, " As for the automation, the Sakkara isn't so big a ship were that kind of constant calibration is impossible for one man, and hell if I wasn't running around the engineering deck all day I'd probably get fat!" O'Brien preceded to pick out the components and arranged to have the components shipped to the hangar.

"Alright Extra lets head to the hangar and get to work."

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Jamie eventually found the medical bay after what seemed like an age of exploration.

This place really is massive...

He then managed to find a door, screwed onto it was a sign:

[HEADING=1]Dr John McDowell[/HEADING]

Head Doctor and Chief of Medicine on board the Thantos​

He knoced on this door, worryingly. There was a response, and the door smoothly, creaklessly and flawlessly opened up to reveal a man, who looked about 1 and a half times Jamies' own age and about his own height. The man wore small round glasses on his oval, balding head and wore a white labcoat with brown trousers and a white shirt as well. "Ah, you must be Dr Jamie Delorum." the man said, extending his arm.

"And you must be Dr John McDowell then." Jamie replied, before grabbing his hand in respect and politeness in greeting.

"That, indeed I am. Please, come sit in my office, where we can talk in private."

Jamie stepped in. The man's office was astonishing. As much as he hated the UPD, they certainly did have a budget to mess around with. This office was shockingly white, and he could spot almost no dirt in any corner of the room whatsoever. He glanced about the place. Whilst not that many suplies were here, he didn't really expect that (Most medics keep them in storage, due to lack of space issues), but the sheer machines and various scanners and testing equipment was more than enough to make up for that. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, this was the kind of medical office they have in a hospital, if that hospital was situated in Heaven.

"Please, sit down."

"Don't mind if I do." Jamie responded with, and sat down on the patient's chair, whilst Dr McDowell sat down in the chair behind his desk.

"So, let's talk supplies, then. I assume you have read my message."

"That I have. Why else would I be here, apart from the obvious reason." the two men laughed at this deep and cheesy form of comedy only people trained in medicine understand fully.

"Oh so true. So, anyway, have you thought about the supplies yet?"

"That I have, but I still have a few issues."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, the three things I definately want are a crate of dry rations, and a crate of liquid supplies, and possibly a crate of painkiller spray and revival kit."

"Mmm hmm. Go on."

"But after that, I have eight hours left, and have no idea what else to include from your list. And if I do choose something, in what proportions?"

"Well, if you go for one crate of each thing already listed, like you have said, you have about eight hours left for supplies."

"That is true."

"Hmm... I would... personally, I would go for... four medical kits, and four crates of antibiotics. What would you say to that?"

"Well, hearing it from you, I think four medical kits is a good idea, but I'm not sure. How about, four medical kits, and eight crates of blood coagulants."

"Hmm... That maaay work... Why would you go for that?"

"Well, the thing is, the antibiotics will only work on specific things. So, if a virus or unknown infection gets caught by one of us, antibodies would be useless, whilst everything else if things go extremely wrong, could still be useful. So... What do you think, about that?" Jamie asked, and then there was a pause of about ten or fifteen seconds before the doctor went on.

"Well... from my point of view, I would still go for my choice. Mind you, I am a stubborn person and don't usually tolerate another person's point of view if it contradicts mine. I guess... if we look at what might happen, and the worst case scenario, it is a good idea. Also, it is your choice, so as long as you're happy about it..."

"Well, as long as my choice doesn't cause our demise, of course I'm happy about it."

"Very well, then, it is settled. You will recieve a crate of dry rations, a crate of liquid supplies, a crate of painkiller spray and revival kit, four medical kits and eight blood coagulants. We can start collecting supplies from our storage bay immediately, and if we send a message out to Omega 1 now, we ought to get your supplies here before you leave."

Jamie agreed with this, and stood up. "Well, better get going then." as he headed for the door. The doctor then followed suit, after sending a message out to Omega 1, explaining what supplies they would need. However, it wasn't long before the doctor caught up with Jamie and had to guide him round the Thantos to the storage bay.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

"Mr.Roach!" Val Byron called out. "We have begun the installation on the inertia dampers, time of completion, 3.5 hours.

My crew will handle the external refits accordingly, as for the navigational computer though, well, seeing that your Captain has prevented us from setting foot inside your ship and tinkering with the navigational software, I am going to have to upload the program to you and you'll have to do the rest.

Once it's installed, the program will automatically self extract and update the Universal Positioning Systems as well. You should soon have a very detailed navigational chart of the galaxy" he handed over a microchip to Roach.

"Also, as far as handling and power goes, I think your man Extra has taken charge of that!. I got reports from Engineering that he is making upgrades to the engines and thrusters" Byron added with a smile.

"I'll let you know when the external upgrades have completed. Make sure to have the Navigational Computer running before departure though, if there is time we can run a diagnostic check on the systems to see how your bird likes the new changes" he smiled before walking off to the docking bay.

Roach grinned. More power and improved navigational controls, there definitely an upside to this mission. He paused to look at the microchip that Byron had given him, now he even had UPD navigational charts.

He made his way to the docking bay and boarded the Sakkara. Within minutes he was back in his pilot seat, eyes skimming over the new program that was being installed.

Oh yeah!, this is a good day

 

[Dragonearl]

[HEADING=2]Thantos Docking Bay[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]42 hours later.[/HEADING]​

_______________________​

The last 24 hours had passed without much incident, he had gone over the communication logs of the missing UPD crafts and the Freelancer craft. None of the transmitted data could allude to their fates, all indication showed that the vessels had made the jump fine and no mention was made of any faulty equipment or systems. He poured over the written statements made by the UPD crew that oversaw each mission and it was quite clear that they too were stumped by the disapperances at Sector 13. A buzzing from his alarm woke Alexis up from his contemplative state. It was time to visit the Docking Bay to see how the upgrades had gone.

He adjusted his jacket and briefly checked his self in the mirror before exiting his guest room. He passed several UPD officers on the way, who all either stared or refused to acknowledge his presence. Captain Mike must have something to do with this. He doesn't seem to like me very much and now he's coming aboard my vessel, Alexis shook his head to himself. What have we gotten ourselves into this time?. Are we jumping into the our own doom, like the others?. Or is there a different fate that lies in store for us?. Questions that had haunted Alexis't thoughts and dreams over the last 42 hours.

The large metal doors slip open silently, and he stepped onto the Docking Bay. Docked before him was the large silver freighter, his ship, the Sakkara. Men in their hundreds were busy surrounding it, yelling instructions to one another. Sparks and flashes of bright blue light began erupting from different corners of the ship. Yells of, "Try it now?..what's the reading?..missed a spot" drifted across the busy decks. The freighter was well underway with her refit. The upgrades were slowing becoming visible to the outside. Most noticeable was the new, upgraded forward facing weapons and the extended thruster nacelles.

His crew were standing around the crew of the Thantos maintaining a vigilant watch over their activities.

"We got about 6 hours guys and girls!" he yelled suddenly over the din of the equipment. The deck suddenly went quiet.

"6 hours and we are outta here. So grab your bags and prepare to test our new systems before departure. I don't want any unexpected surprises. Remember Captain Mike and Specialist Walter will be joining us on this adventure, so I want you to make them feel welcome. Once you are done overseeing the upgrades, get back to your stations and await my instructions. I have already got clearence from the Admiral to take off withing the next 6 hours. I don't want to rush things or take too long. So, Extra have the engines primed and ready withing the next 2 hours. Issaria, check our new weapon calibrations and prepare the crew quarters for our guests, Roach, gears up on 6hrs. I want the Navigational Computer online and running by then, Marcus, secure our weapons onto the Small Arms Locker and go and get our guest, if they haven't turned up before our departure time and Jamie, secure our supplies and make sure everyone else is ready by 0 hour".

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Jamie heard Alexis' orders and decided to answer to them "Very well then, Sir. I'll tell you the stats once I'm inside the cargo bay.", before running off to look in the cargo bay. It did at first take a few minutes to get past all the UPD workers but after that, getting round this ship was easily enough done unlike the Thantos and it only took a few minutes to get to the Cargo Bay around the UPD soldiers.

After entering, he noticed that most of their supplies it seemed were in stock, and there were only one more thing to get, which him and Dr. McDowell had just ordered from Omega 1. They had decided to get the supplies from the Thantos first, as they would be the quickest to get and if they ran out of time, at least they would have those. Then they decided to go for the dry food supplies as they would be really necessary in an emergency and then the water supply. The result being, as he had expected, there was only one empty space for a crate left.

"Most supplies are in now, Captain. We're only waiting now for the painkiller spray and revival kit from Omega 1, which should be with us just in time for us to depart."

Following that, he then started with a couple of UPD soldiers to secure down the supplies so that they wouldn't go flying about when the ship took off. After about half an hour he then contacted Dr. McDowell. "Can I get an update please on the remaining crate?"

"Uhh, sure thing. It is still on its way, but it will take a while to get here. Should be with us in about, another five and a half hours."

Jamie paused for a second, to think about this.

"Okay then." he then turned to the UPD soldiers. "Listen up, we still have one crate due to arrive, and once it does, we must be quick in securing it, as we'll have no time left before take off. I want every soldier sent to assist me in securing the cargo once the crate has arrived to assisst in getting it to the cargo bay and securing it in, okay?"

Looking at the general mass of nods and shakes, he decided to get back to work securing the cargo as well.