The ORION Files (Closed/Started)

[FalloutJack]

The unexpected arrival of armed vessels capable of doing a damage to their numbers soon left the pirates scattering and fleeing the area, those of whom managed to survive the sudden onslaught. This having been taken care of, the pilot of the unknown craft was very grateful, although her grasp of the english language was awkward at best. Still, Grace felt the result was good. Elliot liked having future clients show them gratitude for having pulled them from the fire. The two of them had once been aboard a colony station in full revolt because it was under marshall law and the denizens were not allowed to leave to carve their own lives. Elliot had decided - since the guards had opened up with lethal ordinance on rioters who had improvised weaponry for the most part, that he'd save as many lives he could by taking out said guards and then charge the rebel faction for his actions later. It had been a costly effort, however, in terms of munitions. At the end of the revolt, only a small marginal profit had been made. However, the fact that they didn't lose out and that they had risen to the challenge was enough for him, so it was okay for her as well.

Now that things had quieted down, Grace instituted a detailed scan of the craft their rescuee was making use of. As suspected, it failed to register in the database. She and Elliot had been around, as had this ship in its official tour of duty, but there was nothing on record about this. Very confusing results. Elliot would be interested. Even if he had no idea what to make of or do with it, it would gain his attention because it was unusual, worthy of note. He never overlooked anything that would seem significant to the tactical mind. Once they discovered the origin and identity of this person, there would be much to consider. As the Archer swung back around to escort the craft-mech to the Sweet Child of Mine, they actually messaged her, stating that Captain Walker would want a word. This was not her preference. She wasn't the one who did much of the talking. Elliot did. But Elliot was on his rest period and didn't know anything about this. Grace would have to see what this was about herself.

The Archer wasn't generally attached to the Sweet Child, and it was a bit awkward to do so, but it was feasible, and so the gunship came alongside the cargo vessel, made contact, and locked airlocks to one another. Entering the vessel, Grace looked around for Walker. She didn't know the ship's layout, so it took a bit of trial and error to figure out. Once she did, she soon found him in the cargo hold.

"You asked to speak with me."

It was not a question. It was also kind of soft-spoken.

"Yeah, follow me. Just need to have a small chat."

Walker said as he lead her away from the others. Once he felt the distance was well enough, he turn around to face her.

"Now before I say anything, I just want to say you did a good job out there. Going to help that girl. Glad to see people like you are still around."

Walker smiled before getting serious once more.

"Though it was also reckless."

Grace didn't seem to react to the compliment or criticism that much, except to narrow her eyes at him before replying.

"It was the kind of situation the Archer was built for, dispersing enemy units or supporting a larger vessel. If you're saying the Sweet Child was left defenseless..."

She shook her head.

"There was no danger to it."

"That's not the point I'm making. I'm talking about rushing off without back up or a plan. You had no idea if that was a trap or not."

Whether that was true or not was not something the Captain would ever know. Grace didn't generally act on impulse. Even when she did something funny - like putting graffiti on the butt of another merc's powersuit, this was a calculated act. Walker continued on as he gave her a narrow eye look back at her.

"Sure, this moment it was all fine and dandy. No one on our side got hurt and I would like to keep it that way. But you can't just rush off and act like you're unstoppable just because you have a big ass ship. People die thinking like that."

"I don't ever think that, Captain Walker. I assessed the situation and reacted to it. If it had been a trap, the next course of action would be to punch a hole in it and escape."

There was no sign of her being hurt or indignant about this. She wasn't offended. Ego wasn't at play here, and she didn't seem ignorant of the situation. But then, how could Rick know of her years surviving alone or Elliot helping her with the art of strategy and tactical assessment?

"Sometimes you can't just punch a hole through your problems."

Walker shook his head a bit, wishing he had a drink in his hands.

"Ever heard of Snipers trap? I'm sure you have but in case you haven't. It's when a sniper wounds a fellow soldier to the point they can't move, letting the poor bastard alive bleeding out. Just so that if anyone tries to save him they'll become the next target and so on and so forth."

This was not news to Grace. Walker sighed and started to walk off.

"Thats it for now..but just remember. People might abuse the way you think to hurt you even more."

Of that, Grace was certain. That was why she tended to beat such people to the punch. Walker would hear "I've done that, actually.", but there was no further comment. She couldn't predict everything, of course, but this seemed the right move to her, judging by the light... The classic sniper move was to leave the bait wounded and helpless, as in not bring fired upon, but like a goat tied to a stake, bleating out for help to attract a predator. This was a chase, which was a waste of resources to fake, hour after hour, hoping somebody notices. The distant light of attacking vessels told her the situation was not a trap. And if it had been one, it would have been a badly-formulated one. It was in a place where enemy AND ally could hide, too close to a station where support could come from and refuge could be sought. If said pirates had the ability to take the station itself, they would have, because piracy is nothing without profitting from their raids. A losing scenario would keep them from the station, which means setting a trap so close to one was unlikely.

Grace decided, while she was here, to see what sort of being they had helped today.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Heavy Cargo Shuttle: Redeemer | Drone Holo-Suite
I call dibs!
Irina Rostikova | Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

From the darkness of the holographic suite that acted as the drone control center for the Redeemer's primary offensive and defensive weapons systems, Irina watched as the pirate ships were shredded by kinetic rounds or boiled by laser pulses before their hulls appeared to bulge like an overly ripe melon left in the sun for too long, their internal ammunition stores or fuel cells igniting and exploding. The team of drones that zipped all about the Sweet Child of Mine acted as a ballet troupe, their patterns choreographed as they fired a salvo of high speed rounds before zipping off to a new position. The last of the pirate ships to be destroyed, the crew's leader by the equipment installed on his ship, suffered a direct hit to the cockpit before all power to the remainder of the ship died, leaving it adrift.

"That's all of them," Irina called out over the Nanex communications channel that she and Edward shared, "The rest are retreating."

"Move your drones around the VIP," The pilot's gruff voice ordered as he took the Redeemer's Engines off of standby and started pressurizing the docking collar.

"Roger that, K1 through K4 moving into escort position" The Drone Conductor said as she moved her little babies in an escort pattern around the mech that was still perched on an asteroid. While the Female Catican hoped that the VIP would be reassured by the escort, Irina wasn't so inexperienced in these sort of matters to know that the escort had a secondary purpose. If the VIP deviated off course or so much as sneezed in an offensive manner, the drones could quickly swing their weapon barrels at the VIP's ship and blast her full of holes. As she waited for the little mech that could to move, she opened a communications channel to the Sweet Child of Mine.

"

Sweet Child of Mine this is Redeemer.  We're going to deploy a couple repair drones into the asteroid field to check for salvage. Over.

" Irina said as she waved made a gesture from her shoulders towards the asteroid field, sending her repair drones searching for anything of interest. Through the door of the room she could hear Edward's massive frame walking through the shuttle's main corridor and boarding the Sweet Child of Mine, more than likely wanting to meet whomever it was they'd just risked themselves to save.

"Alone at last..." The Feline-esque Female muttered to herself as she unstrapped herself from her harness and deactivated the ship's artificial gravity, allowing herself to float in the room, the holo system displaying the cold light of distant stars. Curling up in a ball, the merchant mechanic tuned in to the 800 year old Terran Radio frequency and thought about what she'd learned about her sister that day...

 

[mcpop9]

The female took a few to calm down before swallowing and nodding. Yes." She simply said over the radio before the me ha returned to fighter form and she flew towards the ship. It was a slow and controlled flight, making sure to cruise with gentle and almost fluid like motions as opposed to the dancing she had done to evade her enemies. "Coming to...." She said with a heavy sigh and finally closed her microphone.

She'd reach the hangar and dock inside gently, the fighter setting itself down, looking out of place even by the ship's already weird and wide standards. The emblem on the side of the ship was a black circle orbited by a red, a blue and a green circle. The cockpit popped open and she showed her hands, covered in the bio suit first. It was a black chitinous substance and had blue lines of some kind of semi glowing flesh newr the joints of where each plate ended.

She climbed out of the cockpit slowly and got onto the ground, staring at the small group thAt had gathered to look at her. She held her yands away from her sides where weapon like objects were and reached one up to her neck, sliding a finger along the left side and towards the bottom of her throat. The suit peeled downwards to expose her head now. She had black skin that seemed to glow deeply with a minor bit of blue sparkle. Her eyes were black but quickly a pupil constricted in to get adjusted to the light. She had a somwhat terran nose and instead of hair, she had what looked like crystaline dreadlocks.

Deciding to try her tongue at the old terran she knew better, the girl begn to speak that. {"allo? Anyone speak... Tear-ran?"} asked resha, still keeping her hands relatively up to avoid being shot.

 

[Outcast107]

Walker headed back towards the cargo hold where he was supposed to meet up with their mysterious guest. He wasn't sure what to think of the two bounty hunters crew. They seem a bit odd, but besides that they seem to be good people if they, at least Grace, went off to save someone.

It still bugged him about her leaving without helped, but he then sighed and knew why it did so much. It reminded him of his past mistakes and how he wish he could change it. He didn't feel like anyone else should go through that if they didn't have too. Though that was up to her and her actions.

He snapped out of his thought as he heard a voice that he didn't recognize.

{"allo? Anyone speak... Tear-ran?"}

"hello there. Names Walker." Walker said as he tried to pull off a friendly smile. He never seen this type of alien before so he wasn't sure what to expect. His right hand hover his gun, while he didn't think he would need to use it. He wasn't going to take a chance and this alien started to go crazy and attack people.

"So...mind if I ask what the heck you are and why those pirates were after you, little missy?"

 

[Athol]

As she strode down the corridor, the soft silicone soles of her feet making for a soft footstep, she seemed to startle the Sweetie?s regular crew?though that wasn?t too surprising; with her helmet on, and her visor still polarized, she looked a bit like an automated security droid one might see on an Inner Colony world or space station.

Arriving at the hanger, she found a couple other ships crew standing outside the hatch. ?Captain is already inside talking to the new arrival. He told us to hang back.? One of the crew said. ?Said something about not wanting to spook the newcomer.? ?That?s nice.? Mary replied, the external speaker on her helmet distorting her voice. Ignoring the crewman?s protests, she opened the door and stepped through.

?- ates were after you, little missy?"

?Little missy?? Seriously? She managed to control the urge to smack Walker upside the head for his poor choice of phrasing. Instead she kept quiet and moved off to the side so she had clear lines of fire on the ebony pilot. Well that certainly confirms my suspicion about whether or not the contact was human?

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Brian stood waiting in the hangar as the battle went on outside, watching the entrance and any feeds he could cut into, listening to the comm channels he could pick up. Silently watching as the VIP entered and began to land he trained his guns on them and felt everything slide into place. Scanning turned up little as it began to analyze and record. Unrecognized design, unknown affiliation, predictable movement, predictable defences. Recommendation: Standard targeting protocols, standard firing patterns.

He briefly felt himself gunning the thing down as it settled and the pilot began to exit, something he quickly shook out of his head. Normal feedback. Normal response to the unfamiliarity.

He watched the figure carefully as they exited their craft, looking for anything he need act on. Armed and unrecognized humanoid species. Appeared almost Human or Humanish. Possibly female. Spoke English or some variety of it. Strange.

He waited to see where this was going.

 

[mcpop9]

Resha saw more people moving in and kept her hands away from her weapons. "You can name me Resha..." said the girl, still a bit better with terran than gal common, with obvious ways to go before she can actually speak fluently like a natural born.
"I am of Kyrn... exploration ship attacked, team jumps to save ship. Left me for safety of many, bad guys angry and shoot me now." she said to the apparent captain. "Humans first.... ummmm word is..... xen....xeno.....xen.... gah... ummmm all-eee-ins? aliens? my kind spoke to many.... cycles ago. We look at ships and... remains of.... planet expansions?" she said almost like a question in order to try and ask herself if she got the word right. Shaking her head, Resha looked up at him, still almost squinting. "My world dark. bright light still new." said the female with a bit of an awkward chuckle.

 

[Outcast107]

Walker heard something going on in the back and turn to see Mary coming in. He was about to say something but decide against it. Brian was already here as he saw him earlier while coming into the cargo hold. Walker was pretty sure that they can handle it. Though he didn't say anything as he turned back to face the new girl.

While it was kind of hard to understand her. She seemed to be very limited in human speech. "Well, we can find somewhere else to talk where it's dim to your liking. Follow me. Brian, stay here and keep watch over the.." Walker looked over at Resha's vehicle. "You're mech...follow me," Walker said turn around and then look at Mary. "You can come too." As he leads Resha to the briefing room. Turning down the lights some, but just enough to still see.

While he was still not trusting of their new friend. He didn't see her as harmful just yet. Plus she was a new alien in his eyes, and he was a bit curious to learn more about new aliens.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Meanwhile...

Whilst everyone who was involved with taking care of the new arrival was handling that, Velka, however, was busy setting herself up in one of the spare bunk rooms that were onboard the Sweet Child of Mine; an unusual name for a ship, no doubt had some personal meaning towards its owner, or that it was simply a cool name to pick. sigh Humans were weird like that sometimes.

Most of the spare equipment that Velka had brought with her she stored in a nearby locker, which was mostly spare ammunition for her rifle and the stun gun, along with additional supplies to keep her field repair kit stocked up. In all honesty, she didn't bring a whole lot with her, to begin with, compared to some of the others that decided to join, so it didn't take long to do.

With that out of the way, she turned to grab one of the data-slates she brought along. On it was information about medical anatomy from the various species that the Reshani had encountered; something she was given by her mother the last time she was home, about two to three months ago. With it in hand, Velka set herself down on the bed and started reading through it.

 

[mcpop9]

Resha smiled and nodded but ran at the mech quickly and tossed her weapons into the pilot's seat, a blade and a sidearm. She Rushed back and nodded, following the man to the briefing room. Sitting down, he could see her eyes relaxed a bit. "Thank you." Said the girl and held up her arm, tapping a few chitinous buttons. She began speaking in her language and the suit took a few minutes and more button taps before starting to translate.

"My Terran isn't the best and neither is the "galcomm" i think it's called. The suit has been taught the terran language fully as the second one i mentioned we couldn't gather enough data for." She began, a good spirit of youthfulness, but a bit of a mature understanding of the situation she was in. "MY fleet is exploratory and expeditionary. We initially suspected that the humans were the only other species, but we've since learned after starting our travels that is obviously not the case." she said, her voice low and the louder suit speaking in translation for her. "the fleet made a unanimous agreement to not not let the mothership fall to enemies. So when i went out with knowledge that i might be abandoned." she said to him, looking around. "Have any water?" she asked, but then continued on after a bit of a shudder, trying to adjust to the gravity here as it was still new to her and the events settling in on her.

"I'm a test pilot. I've never had combat... and never hurt anyone till. well. about ten or fifteen minutes ago. I guess i'm a fighter pilot now." Resha said looking down a bit. They could tell the girl definitely was now having the gravity of the situation fall on her. "Thank you for saving me. I don't know how to repay you other than by offering my services. The pirates were after me because they lost the big ship... it's not every day that something with tech like my kind's shows up. Trying to get something out of my craft is what they're were aiming to salvage." she explained, staring back up at them now. She was coming down off the adrenaline and trying to cope right now.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

TGR Territory Border Space | Sweet Child of Mine | Ship's Bridge
"Do we have a headin'?"​

[hr]

While there was no-doubt members of the ship's existing crew that were tasked with docking procedures, Mar kept one of her four eyes on it until she was satisfied that not only their rescue was safely aboard, but so were Mary and those on the Archer. Out of the desire to be thorough, she also initiated a sensor sweep around them, just to make sure that the surviving pirates weren't nearby with reinforcements.

As she did, she took the opportunity to sit back a little in the pilots seat. Any immediate danger seemed to have passed, meaning she could relax, if only a little. After all, she couldn't exactly afford to slack-off, but by her standards, piloting a slower freighter like the Sweetie was a relaxing position, if usually steady and ultimately boring from her past experiences. Even being a smuggling pilot was largely tedious. Customs and police forces in space were generally on the look-out for specific contraband depending on the star nation involved, but space was vast, especially deep space, meaning that the trips were long and filled with days spent doing mostly nothing, even by modern standards with top-of-the-line FTL drives.

The sharp tone of the sensor sweep finishing up snapped her back to the here-and-now, and when she looked over the results, she was satisfied enough. Mar rolled her shoulders before flipping on the shipboard comms and pinged the container that Captain Walker was in.

"Captain. Proximity sensor sweep shows all-clear. If there are any pirate's nearby, they're somehow managing to avoid detection by our sensors. When you're finished interviewing our new guest, I'll need you to relay a course to the bridge so I can get us underway. Mar out." she told him over the speakers.

 

[Outcast107]

"Captain. Proximity sensor sweep shows all-clear. If there are any pirate's nearby, they're somehow managing to avoid detection by our sensors. When you're finished interviewing our new guest, I'll need you to relay a course to the bridge so I can get us underway. Mar out."

"Got it Mar and thanks. I just need to clarify a few things with our new guest before we take off."

He said with a smile before he pulls up a chair and listen to the girl's tale. Listening closely as he listens to it all. Trying to process this as he thought it over. 'Great...just..just great. What should I do? I have a brand new alien here far from home. With new tech that could be a gold mine if anyone wanted to sell it off for a profit. Ugh..wish I had a drink right now.'

"Have any water?"

Walker nods and looks over at one of the crewmates. "Can you go get some water?" He crewmate nods and rushes off to get a bottle of water. Looking back at the new girl as he lets her continue. Once she was finished, he felt sorry for her but he really didn't know what to do with her.

"Well miss, to be quiet truthful to you I have no idea what to do with this situation. While I don't mind more help around here, you are a bit of an odd one out. I have no idea about your race, your tech, or anything to fall back on." He said and then continue, "Plus you will have a target on your back probably throughout this sector. Just to get a piece of your tech to sell on the black market, or which corporation pays higher." Walker finished as he sat back and thought it over.

"If I let you on this crew..I'm going to have to make some rules just for you to keep you safe..as well as this crew. I'm sure you already know about how greedy people can be." he said, pointing to the fact about the pirates that attack her.

 

[mcpop9]

"i now know that my tech is... unique... and i really owe my life to you and your crew. So the rules are expected." She said, rinking the water as it showed up. "I just can't advocate the use of my craft by anyone or disassembly." Resha added and drank a bit of water. She was open to listening to them as she didn't have too much of a choice.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Mother-Ship: Sweet Child of Mine | Hanger
On Past Encounters...
Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

Just in case anyone was wondering where the four armed, four eyed, fuzzy purple heavily armed Catican shock trooper had been, he was perched atop a large cargo container with a carbine pointed at the ship'd newest passenger and his grenade launcher pointed at the newest passenger's ship. Before anyone gets any funny ideas about Edward's intelligence, it should be noted that the carbine had been loaded with compressed powdered slugs and the grenade in use was a sort of goo grenade which was ideal for inhibiting the movements of large mechanoid vehicles. For the remainder of the initial interaction between the captain and the latest statistic of intergalactic piracy, the ship's guard did just that, he guarded against any potential threats to the crew and its safety, relaxing only when the alien, Resha was lead out of the hanger by the Captain and Mary.

Once the area had been cleared of potential hostiles, the agile anthropomorphic feline hopped down from his perch to the hanger deck, having noticed something rather interesting, the mech. It was not the newly arrived mechanized unit that he was interested however, but rather it was the one being piloted by his fellow crew members, Brian Wojtek.

Having participated in a few of the skirmishes on planets located on the Terran/Catican border, the Kodiak Mechanized Infantry Support Armour was instantly recognizable to the Shock Trooper. It was strange seeing the powered armor so still, not like the ones that the Catican Shock Trooper Corp had nicknamed the Walking Fortresses during their initial encounters, the ones that had walked through the front lines, firing and killing as they did. The Heavily Armed Catican wondered if Brian was one of the many power armor users that he'd faced in the past, if he'd been responsible for the thousands of casualties that the Catican Hegemony had suffered prior to signing of the armistice. It wasn't that Edward was out for revenge, he understood that the humans on the TCR were under orders, as he had been.

"I wonder if this machine heralds an end to the age of Shock Troopers and Power Armor," Edward said to his comrade, Brian, as he nodded towards Resha's ship, half tempted to rip the ship apart with his bare claws.

 

[FalloutJack]

For a while now, the Archer was something he'd lived out of and gotten use to. In these improvised quarters that he had made up, you had few amenities, but it was comfortable. You could sleep and let the events of the day wash over you like the thrumming of the engines, faintly heard through the ductwork behind the walls. They were kind of soothing in their own way. They were... Elliot's eyes opened, somewhat puzzled. They were off. The slight hum of the ship's main power was there, but the engines were switched off. Now, why would that be? There'd been no indicator of a problem, so then what? Elliot got up and decided to check on Grace at the helm.

Okay, Grace wasn't at the helm.

Airlock-02 was engaged and they appeared to be attached to the Sweet Child of Mine. How come? Half the point of not being attached was that they could watch over the cargo ship in a rapid response to danger. Why- Oh, hang on. There's a note. Elliot picked it up and read it.

"'Captain Walker asked to see me about something. Explain when I get back.'. Huh..."

Probably something about their current arrangements. Well, he was up now. May as well stay up and go see what it was all about.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Off to the side, and all during the conversation with Resha over her situation, was Grace Hart. She had been silently listening, just taking it all in, for her information and for Elliot's. This was completely-new information, as Grace doubted that this species had ever seen this area of space, or at least not ordinarily. Resha appeared to have some understanding of local langrages, but that could have been obtained via floating transmissions from deep space being received, analyzed, and vaguely understood. Still, what she had to say was of some interest. She seemed to not be a combat pilot, but recognized that her current situation technically forced her into the life of one. Realistic, grounded. She was also quite protective of her technology, which was understandable.

It was abou this time that Elliot came aboard and had...no idea what was going on.

"Uhh, Grace..."

The silver-haired woman turned and seemed slightly surprised by his presence.

"Elliot... Weren't you sleeping?"

"Yeah, kind of. The engines being off caught me off-guard. I get the feeling that something important happened in the interim?"

She nodded, then summarized what had happened so soon after leaving the station. Elliot was surprised, mostly at there being a pirate attack against such an unheard-of species so close to a station like that. He did appreciate having the blanks filled in

"Kinda' reminds me of when we first met."

Grace frowned slightly.

"I didn't need saving."

"No, no you didn't. Just a job. Think she'll do alright?"

Grace shrugged. She didn't make opinions like that about people. They had to do what they needed to. That was all.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

As the others walked away, Brian approached the fighter and began silently looking it over attempting to scan it and it's components trying to discern weak points in it's design. What he could read from his scanners was unfamiliar but understandable-

"I wonder if this machine heralds an end to the age of Shock Troopers and Power Armor,"

"I doubt it," Brian replied simply before continuing. "Looks too flimsy for assault work, sustained fire or armour piercing rounds would probably break it, basic air defences would probably break it before it made it to the ground. Even if it did, they'll always need specialists."

Brian looked at the Catican wondering about the alien "Have you encountered 'one of the Kyrn' before?"

 

[Athol]

Mary stood impassively off to the side, while ?Resha? introduced herself. Apparently her people had scavenged some old Terran ships, which would probably explain the old diplomatic codes, but try as she might she couldn?t remember any mention of a species called ?Kyrn?. Maybe the Grandies made contact after I left. She thought idly. While all this was interesting, she was more concerned with who the hostiles had been. Misha?s VI had recognized the jammer profile when she?d engaged them, and now she had it digging through her sensor records to see if any of the ships were ?known?.

?-I guess I'm a fighter pilot now."

That brought her back to the conversation, and caused her to let out a short bark of laughter which was muffled by her helmet. Pops one idiot with a lucky shot and she thinks she can hang with the pros?that?s cute Dick made a comment to Oso about watching the new arrival?s stuff while the two of them talked somewhere more to Resha?s liking; and his comment about ?letting? Mary come along almost made her laugh out loud again. Not like you really had a say in matter. She thought with a smile. Following the pair into a dimmed room, she stood by the door with her rifle in a low-ready [http://www.tactical.dk/images/lowready.jpg] position while they talked a bit more.

At the mention of how greedy people could be, Mary couldn?t help but grin behind her opaque faceplate; off the top of her head she could name a half-dozen arms dealers, of various levels of legitimacy, who?d be willing to sell close family members and possibly major body parts to get their hands on a craft like to one they?d just saved. I could retire?somewhere nice, where they won?t ask questions? Her thoughts were interrupted by a ?chirp? from Misha?s VI. Looking over the information the computer had dug up, she let out a bit of a snort before keying the external speaker in her helmet. ?I?ve got an ID on the attackers.? She said, her voice coming out in a genderless monotone. ?The attack craft matched the signature profile of a pirate band called the Black Teeth a non-human group primarily composed of ex-Melkan Sphere species. They are known members of a larger Armada called the Howlers. Bands associated with the Howlers are known for their extreme use of violence towards their prizes, and have been banned from all major ?independent? stations, including The Pit.?

 

[Outcast107]

"Don't worry..I'm won't let anyone near your craft unless they have permission from you first."

Walker said as he heard Mary in the back. Turning to face her as she talks.

"The attack craft matched the signature profile of a pirate band called the Black Teeth a non-human group primarily composed of ex-Melkan Sphere species. They are known members of a larger Armada called the Howlers. Bands associated with the Howlers are known for their extreme use of violence towards their prizes, and have been banned from all major 'independent' stations, including The Pit."

"Heard a bit of the Howlers. Broke too many rules on the legit pirate ports..even pissed off the owner of The Pit. Don't know what they did to do that, but I feel a bit sorry for them. The Pit pirates aren't known for being very forgiving. On the other hand, might explain why they went after your ship Resha. If they give something of value they might clear up their crimes...key word might...Anyways Resha we are about to head out on a mission. I know you said you want to repay your debt, but where we are going isn't much of a place for newbies and I can't guarantee your safety. So if you still want to come along you are welcome too."


Meanwhile, On the cargo hold

Pit was walking around the cargo hold. He heard on the scuttlebutt that after the short rescue mission, they picked up something odd. The rumor was still too early to get a clear picture. Some say it was a new alien and other say it was a diplomat that was saved by pirates. Whoever it was, Pit wanted to check it out for himself.

He walked up to the giant purple cat and the assault mech as they chatted among themselves. Not paying attention as his eyes behind his helmet locked onto the mysterious mech before him. His eyes were like dinner plates if anyone could see his face. He started to walk up to it, wanted to take it apart and study it.

He turn around quickly and stared at the two before him. Speaking fast as he tries to get the two before him to tell him where Walker was. Though in his excitement he forgot that none of them could understand him. So all he sounded like was just nonsense.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Mother-Ship: Sweet Child of Mine | Hanger
On Tactics...
Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

"I doubt it," Brian replied simply before continuing. "Looks too flimsy for assault work, sustained fire or armour piercing rounds would probably break it, basic air defences would probably break it before it made it to the ground. Even if it did, they'll always need specialists."

Edward was surprised at Brian Wojtek's response to his wistful query. It was true that the present model sitting before the two veterans was rather light in terms of armor, however, with a few modifications, this machine could have presented a threat to both power armor users as well as shock troopers. As was standard with a Catican landing, an orbital strike could be used to establish an area of reduced anti-aircraft defenses. Using this breach, a wing of these transformable aircraft could fly in from orbit and strike the remaining anti-aircraft defenses from both air and ground. The advantage that the alien craft had was its ability to go airborne, avoiding ground based defenses and destroying them from altitude.

"I hope that you are correct comrade Brian," The Purple Shock Trooper stated simply before his crew mate asked a question of him.

"Have you encountered 'one of the Kyrn' before?"

The Four Armed-Four Eyed-Heavily Armed-Purple-Fuzzy-Walking-Panzer thought on this for a bit, even consulting his Nanex to ensure the accuracy of his response.

"I have never encountered one of the Kryn in any of my previous missions, though to be honest, when the Catican Shock Trooper Corp are deployed, its members infrequently pay attention to the species we encounter. However, there is no record of any Catican having encountered those of the Kryn." The Shock Trooper stated, pausing for a moment to think, "Given the refugee's reaction to our standard lighting as well as her statement of coming from a Dark World, it would appear that she either comes from a world that orbits far from its primary star or close to a small one, a brown dwarf for instance. In either case, my people would have ignored such a world as it would have been difficult and costly to cultivate crops on such a world."

Of course, this did not take into account the genetic stock of the species that occupied Kryn. Had the geneticists of the Catican Hegemony discovered Resha's home planet, there was little doubt that a few hundred of Resha's people would have gone missing under mysterious circumstances, never to be heard from again. Shaking the thought from his head, Ed turned to his fellow crew mate.

"Let us hope for the sake of Resha's people that their future encounters are less violent." The Shock Trooper quipped before relaxing against a large cargo container, at ease for the moment.

 

[mcpop9]

"Thank you... and yes i'd like to follow along. My entire expedition has been qualified as diplomats by our homeworld. So to learn new cultures and experience different walks of life is something i do embrace. Plus i need to know how to defend myself and you have many competent pilots. Here... i would be honored to learn from them." said the female, standing up and offering her hand. "IF you'll take me, i'd love to be an attache to the ship..." she said. "and what might it be named?" asked the female, the translator in her biosuit working well for her.