The ORION Files (Closed/Started)

[Outcast107]

Walker listen to their ideas as they chat about why Chronus was here. Wondering about that himself as he sighed. Only a few ideas stuck inside his head and they weren't all that comforting to him at all.

"I know you wouldn't have the need for a reconnaissance operative on what appears to be a simple negotiation of contract terms, but I would like to tag along and act as part of your guard detail, in the event of any unforeseen circumstances."

"I don't mind Velka. The more people we have with us, the better chance of getting out if things turn sour..Though lets hope that doesn't happen." he let off a small chuckle. Before rubbing his rugged beard with his right hand. "As for my thoughts, I agreed with Elliot. IF they have this much heavy firepower on their side, whatever is down there is very fucking valuable. I don't think we will be the decoy in this Op. Too small of a force and we probably wouldn't cause enough of a ruckus for them. No, I think we'll be the delivery boys in this mission. Swoop in while they are causing a mess and do what we need to do and get the fuck out."

He said as he then added, "Also Elliot probably want to tell Grace to keep a mind entering orbit when things get going, that is if she isn't coming ground side. We don't know what kind of defenses they have down there. Could have some ground to orbit cannons..doubtful but never be too careful."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Heavy Cargo Shuttle: Redeemer | Drone Holo-Suite
Chronus Corp: Building Clocks for the future?
Irina Rostikova​

[hr]

The phrase "I need more power, Scotty" bounced about in Irina's mind as she looked over the code that she'd written for the navigation program that she'd been tinkering with for the better part of a month. She stared over the several hundred thousand lines of code, attempting to increase the efficiency of code and reducing the amount of computing power required to perform a calculate even the simplest of routes. Sighing in frustration, the Casteless Catican ran a hand through her hair and stretched, wondering if she would be able to off load some of the computations onto the Sweet Child of Mine's navigational computers and have the two systems running in parallel. Of course that would mean that she'd have to talk to Captain Walker about...

"

[b][small]Attention crew: Captain Walker and a small group of ground forces will be shuttled over to the Chronus Ship Prometheus for a meeting with TGR officials. Those that wish to accompany him, report to the loading dock in ten minutes.[/small][/b]

" The announcement echo'd up faintly from the open airlock. Were it not the fact that the Catican Merchant/Mechanic's Music was muted at the moment, Irina would have probably missed the announcement and the meeting altogether.

"I should probably make an appearance," The Feline-esque female muttered to herself, a little more than relieved to be doing something other than stare at code. Locking the computer interface, she restored the Redeemer's artificial gravity and internal lighting, grunting as her body got used to gravity once again, "Ugh."

Walking towards the airlock, Irina slid down the extended ladder, her stomach flip flopping as she hit the Sweet Child of Mine's reduced gravity. Looking down as she descended, she noted that some of the crew had already arrived for the meeting. Listening in on the meeting, the merchant quickly got the gist of what was going on.

There appeared to be a rather strong TGR military presence in orbit above the planet, too strong for what would have normally been a simple conflict over resources. That, in addition to the presence of a corporate capital ship (which most corporations did not send out for trivial matters given the amount of resources running one consumed), meant that there was something rather valuable planet-side. The fact that there was to be a meeting aboard Chronus Corporation's ship, Prometheus, meant that Chronus had a nominal amount of interest in whatever was down on the planet and the TGR was just along for the ride.

This also begged another question. Why would Chronus, who had deemed this planet to be of such importance that they had dispatched the Prometheus all the way to the anus of Terran Space, decide to hire a newly formed and nominally equipped mercenary outfit instead one that was better established and better equipped? This made the Catican rather curious.

"Captain, If you don't mind, I'd like to attend the meeting with you. I might be able to convince our new bosses to give us some equipment or at least give us a discount on any gear they might be able to part ways with." The Feline-esque Female said in a rather flirtatious voice before adding a silent thought to herself, "(Maybe drop a backdoor on their network in case they decide that we're expendable. I mean it wouldn't be the first time a human run corporation has attempted to stab me in the back.)"

Pausing for a moment, Irina appeared to mull over a thought.

"Also, if we are to go planet side to retrieve this artifact, I'd like to be apart of the retrieval team. You might need a some extra hands carrying what might amount to an Ancient Astronaut Toilet."

[hr]

The Orion Files | Mother-Ship: Sweet Child of Mine | Corridors
Chronus Corp: Because Space Crohn's Disease is the Worst?
Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

The Catican Shock Trooper was in the middle of his muscle maintenance routine when the announcement for the meeting crackled over the intercom. While nothing beat a traditional exercise routine, the standard Catican Shock Trooper exercise routine required minimally four square kilometers of unbroken space and due to space being a premium on most interstellar space faring ships, the muscle maintenance routine was a necessary utility. By stimulating the muscles in the Catican's body using a series of internal electrodes, muscle atrophy caused by reduced gravity was halted and muscles that had started to atrophy were restored. There were... some... side effects, as one might imagine, the most serious being total paralysis after having one's nervous system fried by the electrical stimulation. The least severe of the side effects was the fact that Edward appeared to be having a seizure as all his muscles appeared to be contracting and relaxing of their own accord.

"

[b]Attention crew: Captain Walker and a small group of ground forces will be shuttled over to the Chronus Ship Prometheus for a meeting with TGR officials. Those that wish to accompany him, report to the loading dock in ten minutes.[/b]

" The announcement said.

Deactivating the muscle maintenance routine, the Burly Catican Shock Trooper grabbed his equipment, eager to see what the mission was going to entail. It was more than likely that the heavily armed soldier was going to have to stay aboard the ship, or at least the shuttle through the duration of the meeting with the officials. One did not simply bring heavily armed soldiers to a meeting unless one was trying to make a statement in regards to the level of trust that existed... meaning there was no trust.

Entering the cargo bay, Edward noticed that his Catican Companion, Irina had already arrived and was listening to the briefing. Giving her a curt nod, the Shock Trooper listened to the Captain.

"Also Elliot probably want to tell Grace to keep a mind entering orbit when things get going, that is if she isn't coming ground side. We don't know what kind of defenses they have down there. Could have some ground to orbit cannons..doubtful but never be too careful." The Captain added in the middle of the briefing, causing the Shock Troopers ears to perk.

"Captain if I might interject. The Redeemer is carrying a Catican Orbital Drop Pod. Might I suggest putting it on standby? I'm sure that I could clear a landing zone for the remainder of our strike team to deploy." The Big Burly Cat said with a grin, his voice practically giddy at the possibility of being dropped from orbit for the express purpose of destroying everything in a 500 meter radius.

 

[Athol]

While Dicky-boy and the rest went to play with the Grandies and Corp types, Mary decided she should give Misha a check over. None of the pirates had lived long enough to take a shot at her, but it?d been a while since she?d had the fighter into a yard, so she wanted to make sure there were no major surprises; and with a job that felt as ?hinky? as this on did it never hurt to be on top of things.

After sealing the access door to her ersatz hanger, she opened the fighter?s canopy and cranked up her music [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ZS8jCrnh4] while she worked. Okay, so down one fifty thirty mike mike, two las-heads and 25 000 litres. She thought tallying up her expenses (so far) on a data pad. Totalling her figures, she sent all the info via the inter-ship messenger to Walker?s terminal. ?Right, now the fun bits.? She said out loud, stashing the pad and pulling out her hand tools.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Outside Local Sasleyria Space | Sweet Child of Mine | Ship's Loading Dock
"Too many variables, not enough constants."​

[hr]

As the male of the human pair stepped into the loading dock, Elliot if her memory served, he brought up his own perspective and thoughts regarding the presence of the Chronus vessel, prompting Mar to turn her gaze his way.

"It stands to reason they've got a vested interest in the mine itself as the official reason, but including a heavy vessel alongside a TGR presence and yet still requiring mercenaries? There's a small army up here. They need us because there's more to this than they're saying, something they can't just negotiate or force their way in for, normally."

"That's just it. Them being up here makes no sense to me, not with the facts we've been given. Somethings up here." Mar pointed out with narrowed eyes.

As she said that, they were joined in short order by the pair of Caticans, Irina and Edward, as well as Velka, the odd synthetic being. Velka brought up the thought that, maybe, Orion was simply meant to be a distraction. Which was a possibility, Mar mused. But, Walker mentioned that it was more likely they were going to be a courier team to deliver some sort of package, which was just as possible in the Shree's mind.

She shook her head a little to clear it and heaved a sigh. Once Irina and Edward were finished making their own suggestions regarding the actual mission, both of which were quite prudent, Mar stepped up.

"Well, the only way we're going to find out anything about why Chronus is here is to get to that meeting." she said, motioning to Walker, "The Devil-Fish is prepped for launch, and her engines are hot. I'm ready to get us there when you are, just say the word."

 

[FalloutJack]

So, they were in agreement. This all seemed very wrong and they would have to be fucking stupid not to be a little suspicious...or ALOT suspicious. Elliot had to agree with Walker's thoughts, that they were to be a team inserted to go in while the main forces engage the locals. Regardless of the why or the what that was involved there, Elliot had a feeling that Chronus was going to say 'Your mission goal is paramount above all else', which loosely translated into 'You are all expendible. Your target is not.', which of course was something that Elliot hated about anybody who wanted something. Mercenaries get paid to do their job because they'll be wanting to spend it at some point. Only soldiers and idealists die for a cause. Elliot was of the school of living for a cause, at any rate, so they were going to have to deal with that.

"Also Elliot probably want to tell Grace to keep a mind entering orbit when things get going, that is if she isn't coming ground side. We don't know what kind of defenses they have down there. Could have some ground to orbit cannons..doubtful but never be too careful."

"She's probably considered the possibility, already. Depending on the situation, we may want her up here or groundside. I will that say if an orbit shot can pinpoint Archer, whatever dropship we take is gonna be under the same risk."

The Archer may have been larger than any of the ships currently inside the Sweet Child, but it's narrow profile made it a difficult target, overall. Suffice to say, Grace knew her stuff. They'd handled situations detrimental to their ship without two big honking warships sitting in orbit. One of best things about an orbit cannon, though, was that while its range was without a doubt and its power very handy, it was difficult to move. If the Archer's railgun fired a shot from Zero-G, it would reach a ridiculous level of velocity before making atmo and hitting the ground. And when it did? It wouldn't even have to be precisely on-target...because the resulting force would form a crater.

But that's neither here nor there, at the moment.

What WAS here now was their Catican engineer, swathed in the attire of her profession and a bit of flirt on the side. Her attitude was a bit confusing at times, but her heart seemed in the right place. The Sweet Child of Mine needed work. It was a tub, a reworked and jury-rigged cargo vessel that would no-doubt require Irina's care in the near-future...or even now, for all we know. How much business she might get out of the business would be down to payment negotiation, to see how much value they really put on the people to go get their 'artifact'. Funny that she said it like that. They didn't actually know WHAT it was they were after, just that there was something getting a bug up their asses. Well, they'd find out soon, or Chronus would lie about it, they would head down to the place, and THEN they would find out about it. Either way, the truth will out, eventually.

"Well, if it IS a 'royal throne', you all can have it. Now, let's get this shit going."

On occasion, Elliot allowed himself to joke. Serious time would resume when they actually knew something.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

"Attention crew: Captain Walker and a small group of ground forces will be shuttled over to the Chronus Ship Prometheus for a meeting with TGR officials. Those that wish to accompany him, report to the loading dock in ten minutes."

Brian broke of of his rote at the announcement. He wasn't sure if he'd be wanted at it, needed, or if it was prudent for him to place himself in a room with officers. Not that he'd be recognized. Probably. Kodiaks were a fairly common when it came to power armour units, and mercenaries that could afford them. All the bits that would ping as him or stolen had been ripped out, deactivated, or rewired. Wasn't the first time he'd worked for them since and it wouldn't be the last. Doubtful anyone remembered him as it was.

He checked the seals on his armour, loaded his backup weapons into the chamber, and entered it allowing the system to run through its routines as he connected to it. A cold voice ran through his head as his ran through it.

After a few minutes he appeared at the transport shuttle and began to listen to the conversation going on, not expecting to go but ready for when he assumed he would be needed.

 

[Outcast107]

Walker look around once more to see if anyone else would be joining them. Feeling like this was it as he nods at Mar. "Alright, let's get going people." He said as he let everyone else get on first. Before he got on last and shut the doors. Walking upfront to where Mar was as he gave her permission to get going.

10 minutes later​

The devil-fish would soon be told to land in the hanger bay 01 on board the Chronus ship. As soon as they land and open the door, they were greeted by what seem to be their hostess of the meeting. A young blonde woman stood before them, wearing a black business suit with a red tie. She had a small pair of glasses and have a smile on her face. She has two Chronus Corp's soldiers stand at the sides. No one could see the soldier faces as they were covered up.

Walker got off first as he smiled lightly as he walked up to their hostess. "Evenin..." Walker said as the woman before him. The woman smiled back as she did a light bow as she introduced herself.

"Greetings, my name is Eva Mayer; Vice Director of Operations for Chronus Corps in this sector. It is my pleasure to meet the crew of the ORION company. Now before you ask any questions, please follow me."

Walker looks back at the crew and just shrugged lightly before starting to follow them. A few minutes later, Eva opened up a door to a large meeting room. "Please, everyone take a seat." She offer with a smile. Walking to the front where the projector was pointing too. Walker took a seat to the right side of the table. As everyone took their seats, the two soldiers that came with Eva stood at the door entrance. A service bot went around asking if anyone would like anything to drink.

"Now, before we start with the mission details. I'm sure you might have some questions." Eva said as she looks around, waiting to see who would ask first.

 

[FalloutJack]

Off they were to the Chronus heavy vessel, Promethius, landing in Bay-01 and exiting without much incident or comment. Now, on the matter of things at hand. Because this was the first client meeting, you handle it honestly enough, because you expect business people to handle things like this cordially. They don't trade gunshots, usually, unless you provoke them. That said, it was probably the better idea not to bring any weapons. Now, Elliot was accomplished at concealing weapons on his person, guns and blades and even the odd grenade. However, this was hardly the time or place to be doing so. He was armed with his wits, charm, and physical prowess. How well was he edowed these properties? Rather decently, so don't pick a fight.

The doors opened and an important business figure and her escort was there to meet them. She was to be the representatuve of Chronus Corp in this area, explained thus through her self-introduction. Ms. Mayer's escort was clearly Chronus private security. You wouldn't find TGR's people here when there was a perfectly good dreadnaught out there for them. She led them to a meeting room next. Given how she said to hold all questions until leading them here, it seemed to Elliot that she preferred procedure to impromptu conversation. When the serve-bot came over to ask if anyone wanted anything, Elliot simply asked it for a glass of water. No specific reason why. Just didn't want to completely waste the offer. Now, during this time...we wish to point out that Elliot does generally allow Grace to listen in on conversations on the job, using their private channel. It helps speed things up.

"Now, before we start with the mission details. I'm sure you might have some questions."

"That we do. And one of them would be to ask why it is that there is such a heavy Chronus presence on top of military. What is it that brings you here, Ms. Mayer, that your combined forces - through force or negotiation - cannot then overcome?"

May as well get the big questions out of the way first. If they're going to disclose or conceal what they're really after, it was going to be now.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Outside Local Sasleyria Space | Chronus Corp. Heavy Vessel Prometheus | Loading Bay-01
"When in doubt, look scary and let others do the talking."​

[hr]

The flight to the Prometheus was short and, sadly, uneventful. Given the fact that the Devil-Fish had passengers now, and had taken a short refit beforehand to accommodate them, Mar didn't feel like she could pull off some of her more reckless maneuvers to get them to their destination, not least of which because they would have been entirely unnecessary.

Once they were docked, the Shree hesitated for a moment before joining them in Prometheus' Bay-01. She was more than a little tempted to bring her ZF-1 "rifle", or ELF Gun as it was generally better known, if only to show that they weren't planning on taking chances even here, but she thought better of it. So instead she decided to let natural weapons speak for themselves, and left her helmet on the pilots seat before joining the others.

And the seven of them made for quite the sight as they stepped off of the shuttle: Three Terrans, a pair of Caticans, a Shree, and whatever species Velka was, Mar still wasn't sure. They were greeted by a young Terran female with yellow hair, wearing one of the business suits that Terrans in corporate positions seemed so fond of.

"Greetings, my name is Eva Mayer; Vice Director of Operations for Chronus Corps in this sector. It is my pleasure to meet the crew of the ORION company. Now before you ask any questions, please follow me."

Mar merely crossed both true- and false-arms across her barrel chest and acknowledged with a grunt and a curt nod. Vice Director of Operations for the sector? This was no corporate drone, this was someone that was at least some way up the corporate ladder. At least this means we're being taken seriously, for good or ill, Mar thought.

She led the group into a rather nice meeting room, one that wouldn't have been out of place in a proper office building, and told them to take their seats. As they did so, Mar took a seat on the opposite side of the table, facing Walker. Then she merely stared at the Vice Director of Operations, her four eyes narrowed into suspicious red slits.

"Now, before we start with the mission details. I'm sure you might have some questions."

At that, Elliot spoke up first. It was just as well: Mar pictured herself being there more to listen and look threatening. Better that the Terrans of the group take the lead.

"That we do. And one of them would be to ask why it is that there is such a heavy Chronus presence on top of military. What is it that brings you here, Ms. Mayer, that your combined forces - through force or negotiation - cannot then overcome?"

The Pilot merely spared a glance at Elliot and nodded with a low hum. It was a good question, and it was the one on everyone's minds right now. How Chronus answered would be interesting to hear at least.

 

[Outcast107]

"That we do. And one of them would be to ask why it is that there is such a heavy Chronus presence on top of military. What is it that brings you here, Ms. Mayer, that your combined forces - through force or negotiation - cannot then overcome?"

Walker was going to ease into that question, but he guessed someone asking right away is fine. Walker lean back to listen. 'Well at least I didn't have to say about the elephant in the room.'

"Ah, its refreshing change to deal with smart mercenaries." Eva smiled as she giggles lightly. "I'm sure you are all worried that we were going to double-cross you. Rest easy as this hasn't come across our minds at all. " She said as she starts up the projector. "To answer your question, let's start with the mission details.

A picture view of a mining entrance. "Three months ago, the miners dug up something deep inside this mine. While we don't know for sure what it is exactly, we do know this." She clicked the button and the next slide appears. It showed a close up picture of an alien carving on what seem like a white metal substance. No one could tell what the object was, but the carving is clear. It was Drax language.

"For those who don't know, this is Drax writing. From what we know, Drax have either died out or left this part of the galaxy. No one is sure what had happen to the Drax as most of their writing is hard to..decipher.." Eva said and she seems a bit annoyed about it. "So when word came around that the miners might have discovered, the TGR offer a large sum of credit for such an artifact. Though the colony's government refused and here we are."

Eva turned off the projector and went back to the front. "Now with your part. We have discovered the where abouts of the artifact. They have moved the artifact to a nearby storage unit. Now you will be wondering why we don't just throw everything we have and take it by force. Well, we are worried that the colonist will destroy said artifact if push into a corner. To deny the enemy their prize, so to speak." She said as she looks over at the mercenaries before her. "They do not know we know this information so we are planning to attack the capital and turn their eyes towards us. While you sneak in and grab said prize. The reason for you is that you won't raise flags as the TGR or Chronus will if they spot us. We will provide any and everything you need for this mission. No extra cost." She said as she then added, "And Chronus will take over the payment as we find..the TGR methods of payment to be lacking." She smiled as she finished up. "So does that answer your question?"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Outside Local Sasleyria Space | Chronus Corp. Heavy Vessel Prometheus | Corporate Meeting Room
"Oh, I know what this is! It's a Kiss-Ass City Shuttle!"​

[hr]

As it turned out, Elliot's question was apparently the right one, at least to open up discussion, because Miss Mayer began to giggle.

"Ah, its refreshing change to deal with smart mercenaries. I'm sure you are all worried that we were going to double-cross you. Rest easy as this hasn't come across our minds at all. To answer your question, let's start with the mission details."

Her response did little to ease Mar's mind. Simply telling them that it didn't cross their minds to double-cross ORION left several other avenues for them to screw them over. Those less-paranoid would simply stop looking for the stab-in-the-back, making it all the easier to come from the side instead. But as she turned on the projector, Mar merely sat back and relaxed only slightly as she saw the image of a mine's entrance came up.

"Three months ago, the miners dug up something deep inside this mine. While we don't know for sure what it is exactly, we do know this."

The next image was that of some sort of alien carving on what looked like white metal. The Shree couldn't help but tilt her head to the side a little as she wondered what exactly it was she was looking at, though she was sure that the Vice-Director of Operations would answer that question in short-order. And she did.

"For those who don't know, this is Drax writing. From what we know, Drax have either died out or left this part of the galaxy. No one is sure what had happen to the Drax as most of their writing is hard to... Decipher. So when word came around that the miners might have discovered, the TGR offer a large sum of credit for such an artifact. Though the colony's government refused and here we are."

That left ORION's part in this little vid-play: Since Chronus knew where the artifact was, but couldn't retrieve it with force lest the locals destroy it to deny them the prize, they were going to stage an attack on the planet's capital as a distraction. Leaving ORION to be the quick in-and-out grab team, retrieving the artifact with hopefully no-one the wiser.

It was a sound plan, one that thieves and pirates the galaxy-over should have been at least somewhat familiar with. Make the victim look one way while going the other to take the prize. It was also, at it's core, simple, which was even better. Even Mar knew that plans with too many moving parts and "If's" were more likely to fall apart at the worst moment.

But as Miss Mayer finished what she called the mission details, something was still bugging her.

"We will provide any and everything you need for this mission. No extra cost. And Chronus will take over the payment as we find... The TGR methods of payment to be lacking. So does that answer your question?"

"Not entirely." said Mar, speaking up.

Leaning forward and keeping her false-arms crossed against her chest, she rested the elbows of her true-arms on the table and tented her true-hands in front of her.

"Why are the locals so determined to keep Chronus from taking possession of this... Artifact? What possible value can it have to them, beyond something they can sell to a third party? They seem pretty adamant in keeping it, even though their government apparently made a good offer for it." she pointed out.

"Beyond that..." she drawled, taking a moment to glance at the others, "I'm interested in just how much Chronus plans pay us, and what the Republic was originally planning to be our compensation. Everything else, I can ask whoever you plan on being our go-between for mission gear, because I have a few ideas in that regard."

Turning to Walker, Mar added, "I'll be sure to run them by you first though, Captain."

Namely that she wanted a combat shuttle, high top-speed in-atmo, ideally stealth-capable. Something that could get them in, drop them off, then pick them up and get out fast, without any of them being able to tell how they got there or got out. Worst case, she'd have them install some kind of stealth package on the Devil-Fish, but that was going to be her last suggestion. She didn't want anyone messing with her baby, and as it was it didn't have enough cargo space for her to be confident that it could hold both the artifact, which could be massive for all she knew, as well as a decently-sized ground-team.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well hey, anyone can SAY they're not going to double-cross you, but they kind of have to prove it. But hey, Elliot was perfectly willing to take this in stride. Not only did he have a good instinct for where a client was trying to lead him and where it was trying to dissuade him, but he had his quiet fact-checker on board the Archer, taking down notes. Grace was in the cockpit with a notepad, listening in to the conversation and making her own judgements. Let's have a quick look at that, shall we?

'Smart Mercenaries' - Backhanded compliment, a bit condescending
Acknowledgement of double-cross potential - Good sign
Assuring no double-cross will happen - Bad sign
Alien artifact - Potential danger, will do anything to obtain
Colony won't sell - Do they know what it's for?
Deny prize - Unlikely, too valuable, will probably try to escape with it
Main Plan - Straightforward, but with several unknowns
Chronus covering cost exclusively - Client is trying to control the mercenaries

Client motives suspect

Big surprise, right? But she and Elliot were both coming to that conclusion from different angles. An ancient artifact of an alien race whose exact fate was unknown? Lots of potential trouble, and it was most definitely worth a great deal. Even if the locals DID want to sell - and there was no guaranteeing that - Chronus probably offered a large payout and figured it was still at a steal, but were not flummoxed that they didn't bite because they understood the word 'priceless'. Grace mentioned to him specifically over comms "What if they know what it is?", which raised a point. They could be unwilling to part with it at any price if it was simply too important. And if it was, it might even be too much to simply hand over to a corp and watch them suckle on it forever for its enriching goodness. Elliot didn't reply, of course, because that would let on that he had an ear open to an unknown listener. He instead followed Mar's line of dialogue, which was practical, to say the least. Miss Mayer will, of course, lie to her about anything that would inconvenience the company. This was a business, not an archeological society They was here to either gain something that would make them money or to get rid of something that could endanger the money-making process. In either case, they wouldn't know for absolute sure until they got to it.

"We will, of course, need to know the tactical situation in its fullness, planetside. 'Look before you leap' and all that. The question of orbital shot cannons was raised earlier. It would be nice to put that to rest, plan against it just in case, and alleviate any other concerns so that we can get down to work."

Oh, and as for the elephant in the room - Assuming that was security - it made sense. Business types had reasons not to trust mercenaries.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Greetings, my name is Eva Mayer; Vice Director of Operations for Chronus Corps in this sector. It is my pleasure to meet the crew of the ORION company. Now before you ask any questions, please follow me." Announced a young blonde woman in business attire after they had gotten off the transport, accompanying her on either side was a soldier decked out in full military gear, which included a full face helmet, allowing them to see out, but not for others to see in; on the right shoulder of their armour was the Chronus Corporations logo.

Miss Eva Mayer then showed them to a large meeting room with a long table in the middle, seats either side, a projector at one end and a screen at another. Whilst everyone present took to the seats, the two guards posted themselves at the entrance to the room, when the service bot came around, Velka politely declined the offer of refreshment.

And so began the general display of mission details, followed by a question and answer session, Miss Mayer's tone sounding a little condescending at some moments, and blase about the situation in others. All the information that was being dispensed, Velka was carefully recording everything for future reference and planning.

After Elliot raised the issue of ground to orbit defence weaponry, Velka spoke up.

"I too have a couple of questions, Miss Mayer. Why does the Chronus Corporation, and to a lesser extent the Terran Grand Republic, since you lot seem to be the real ones in charge here, want this... artefact so badly? I mean, if it's purely for the research purposes of a long lost, possibly extinct alien race, why try and remove it? Why not keep it here on the site, and come up with an amicable set of terms that benefits all?" She began to ask in a rather dulcet tone of voice.

"Speaking of which, have either you or the TGR proceeded through every diplomatic option with the colonists before arriving at the avenue of military action?"

 

[Athol]

With orchestral music echoing, Mary had worked her way through the list of ?routine? work for Misha, or at least the stuff she could do with just hand tools and her own knowledge. Tightening the last fastener on an access panel, she stepped back and smiled, before stretching her back. Goddamn?not as young as I once was. She thought as her back cracked.

With Misha squared away, and the others still at their meeting, Mary was at a loss for something to do. Closing her eyes and letting the music wash over her, she stood in the middle of her small hanger for a bit and just enjoyed the sounds. As the piece ended she looked about, her eyes trailing across the packing container that contained her other ?toy?. Right, should check on him too. Going to the container, she keyed in a code into the available attached terminal and stepped back.

After a pause, the doors ?clicked? then swung open revealing the hunched over form of an old GPz 200 ISW (Infantry Support Walker) named 'Stumpy'; that was followed by a soft ?whirring? as the floor of the container slid forward on hydraulic rams and pushed the walker clear of the container. Once the floor reached its full extent, the walker started to boot up, unfolding from its hunched over storage position and stepping down from the extended container floor it had been on. Once the walker was clear, the container retracted its floor and closed itself up once more.

With the machine unpacked, Mary opened the cockpit and climbed in, and booted up a basic system diagnostic. While it ran, she kicked back in the pilot?s seat and closed her eyes once more.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Chronus Corp. Heavy Vessel Prometheus | Corporate Meeting Room
Plot Holes...
Edward Aubergine | Irina Rostikova​

[hr]

Edward Aubergine had been standing in back of the room throughout the entirety of the briefing delivered by the Vice Director as none of the seats in the room had the strength to support the massive Catican Shock Trooper, not that he particularly minded since standing allowed him to act in a more timely manner if this briefing ended up with some sort of set up and it gave him a better vantage point to observe the reaction of the crew regarding the proposed mission. While some seemed rather cool regarding the specifics of the mission briefing and the information that was being presented to them, there was a fairly familiar feline face that was not. Irina Rostikova did not seem very happy with the details that were being shared with the crew nor did she seem overly fond of the idea that the military would be launching an assault on the Colony's capital, which more thank likely would have civilian housing.

"

Irina... what is wrong?

" Edward asked via a secured connection via their Nanexs.

"

This doesn't seem at all strange to you?

" Came the response after a moment's delay, a bit strange since Irina was usually fairly prompt in her replies.

"

It is a simple enough mission.  We only need to know what sort of forces we're likely to encounter at the storage facility.

" Came the overly simple response from a creature whose mind was more suited towards combat.

"

Are you sure?  Because it's very, very, VERY likely that this human female is lying to us regarding their knowledge of the Drax Device.  In assaulting the Sasleyrian Capital, the TGR and Chronus are investing a lot of money, equipment and personnel which, if you ask me, makes it seem like they have at least a clue as to the device's purpose.  You don't risk this level of monetary and public relations risk for an object that has the potential in being an Ancient Alien Latrine.  Also, if why are they sending us instead of detachment of TGR troops?  It's not like they're trying to deny their involvement since they're already assaulting the capital... and putting the lives of civilians at risk.  Even if we asked just to make sure that we won't accidentally cause the massive explosion or unleash the virus responsible for the extinction of the Drax, this human will probably deny any knowledge of the device or say that such information is classified.

" The Merchant/Mechanic with a sudden case of morality muttered over their secured channel.

"

So?

" The Catican Shock trooper asked as he raised his hand in indication that he had a question.

"

So?  What do you mean so?  In Terran Culture there are all sorts of stories that revolve around events such as this.  I'm almost certain that the TGR military and Chronus are going to wipe out everyone on the planet, blame Captain Walker and Crew, [b]us[/b], for this act of Genocide and kill us.  Then they're going to salvage the Drax Device, which they have already identified, from the wreckage of the Sweet Child o Mine and they're going to make a lot of money while laughing at how utterly foolish we were to take a mission.

" Irina retorted after a moment, her voice sounding distracted as she spoke.

"

What are you doing?

" Edward asked, knowing that something was up.

"

Just a little insurance... in case I'm right,

" The Catican Hacker said as she attached a device to the bottom of the conference table.

"

No!  Don't you even...

" Edward started to say before he realized that the Vice Director was looking at him and his still raised hand. It was his turn to ask a question, "Ummmm... yes... what sort of resistance can we expect to find at the storage facility? It is fairly obvious that they will send a portion of those stationed at the facility to aid in the defense of their capital but if they are of sound strategic mind, they will leave some guards."

"

Ask her about the device...

" Came the prod from Irina's direction, complete with a glare from the Feline-esque Female.

"

No...

" Edward responded simply as he waited for a response from the Vice Director, "

You are right... any question I ask about the device will probably result in denial... just... prepare your 'insurance policy.'

"

"

Done... it's already listening for my activation pulse...

"

 

[Outcast107]

"Not entirely. Why are the locals so determined to keep Chronus from taking possession of this... Artifact? What possible value can it have to them, beyond something they can sell to a third party? They seem pretty adamant in keeping it, even though their government apparently made a good offer for it. Beyond that...I'm interested in just how much Chronus plans pay us, and what the Republic was originally planning to be our compensation. Everything else, I can ask whoever you plan on being our go-between for mission gear, because I have a few ideas in that regard." Walker listen to Mar as she turn to face him, "I'll be sure to run them by you first though, Captain

Walker nodded as Eva smiled, "Well to answer your first question Miss Mar. We do not know for sure. Though from what our people believe is that they found a third party to sell it to. Though we do not know what they offer to make them this determine to keep it out of our hands." Eva said as she added, "I would talk about payment once we are close to the end of the meeting. Any gear you would need will be delivered after the meeting and once you made up your list of things you need." Eva moved on to the next question.

"We will, of course, need to know the tactical situation in its fullness, planetside. 'Look before you leap' and all that. The question of orbital shot cannons was raised earlier. It would be nice to put that to rest, plan against it just in case, and alleviate any other concerns so that we can get down to work."

"From what we know of Sasleyrian, it isn't rich enough to afford such defenses, or even know how to build them. Though that doesn't mean they won't have a few surprises hidden from us before we got here. While we believe they do not have GTO cannons or anything too powerful, we advise to keep your senses on high alert." Then once she hoped she calm down the fears of Ground to Orbit cannons, she continued. "On the TGR and Chronus side of the mission, we will head to the Captial Dome. Have forces at each entrance area, and slowly push towards the capital building and force a quick surrendered. Trying to minimalize civilian casualties as possible." She mentions as she looks around the room before answering another question.

"I too have a couple of questions, Miss Mayer. Why does the Chronus Corporation, and to a lesser extent the Terran Grand Republic, since you lot seem to be the real ones in charge here, want this... artefact so badly? I mean, if it's purely for the research purposes of a long lost, possibly extinct alien race, why try and remove it? Why not keep it here on the site, and come up with an amicable set of terms that benefits all? Speaking of which, have either you or the TGR proceeded through every diplomatic option with the colonists before arriving at the avenue of military action?"

"Because my dear, Drax artifacts are dangerous and are highly sought after. Once word gets around that this planet dug up a Drax artifact who knows who will come sniffing about to try and take it away, endangering not only the crew studying it but the civilians of said planet as well.. And Chronus wants to take this artifact to a safe location far away from any planet that habits life. We do not know full well how powerful the Drax were in their height of power. Though from what we study so far it would look like magic to a simple minded person." she takes a small breath before continuing. "We have offered more than enough to the people of Sasleyrian for a trade off. Money, supplies, protection, and then some. They simply refuse to engage us. Though when we mention they, I'm talking about the current leader of Sasleyrian. We do not know full well what he has been feeding his people besides the few snippets of 'invaders coming to take what is ours.'" she rolled her eyes a bit at that statement.

She looked around the room and saw the purple Catican raising his hand. Though he seems to be looking at his feline partner. "Yes?" Eva said as she looked at Edward. Though it took a moment before he asked his question.

"Ummmm... yes... what sort of resistance can we expect to find at the storage facility? It is fairly obvious that they will send a portion of those stationed at the facility to aid in the defense of their capital but if they are of sound strategic mind, they will leave some guards."

Eva was back to smiling, seem like she like this question for not going to 'deep'. "Ah yes, While we don't know the numbers for sure, we believe they will have at least twenty to forty guards there. It is a rather big storage area. So they will have everything cover in case of an attack. We do not expect much for vehicle protection there but as I said before, keep your senses about.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, it was blatantly obvious that the corp lady couldn't be trusted. The question was...in what direction was that untrustworthy behavior going to go? For instance, if there had been a third party to sell out to - which wasn't likely - where were they? That seemed like a lie that couldn't be substantiated, one way or the other. It was all the more likely that they - the locals - wanted to keep it for their own use, or at least because they couldn't trust the megacorp or the military with it. The idea of them preparing to bomb it, as stated, seemed ludicrous in Elliot's mind. However, it gave him an idea. Chances are, the Drax artifact was not boobytrapped, but the best way to insure against any double-crosses at the finish line would be to do just that. It would also be the easiest way to set terms. Grace had used this method before when clients seemed more than a little suspect and generally powerful. Elliot hadn't dealt with Chronus before now, but those he HAD done this with soon learned that cooperation got them what they want faster than irritating him. Grace was probably unpacking the explosives now. In any case, Eva finished her bit about vehicular defenses, leaving the floor open for more comment.

"Well, that at least opens up the option for our own close air support, should we need it."

Meaning the whole thing about railgunning from space and making a bigass crater. Of course, the alien mech-ship might be of use here, too. That might be best as a surprise against their business 'friends', though. Elliot looked around.

"If nobody else has anything, let's just move onto payment, where I'm guessing our hosts will explain the inadequacy of TGR's payment methods, and we can discuss the procedure of delivering the item."

 

[Outcast107]

"If nobody else has anything, let's just move onto payment, where I'm guessing our hosts will explain the inadequacy of TGR's payment methods, and we can discuss the procedure of delivering the item."

Eva waited a bit to see if anyone else would like to say something before starting up once more.

"Very well, the TGR were planning on paying Mr.Walker here 850,000 credits. Which split between his entire crew is hardly anything for the importance of this mission. While we tried to persuade the TGR to increase the pay rate, they refused. So the Director offer to pay himself. He is offering 10,000,000 credits." Eva smiled as she let them take that in.

"I believe this should be adequate for payment."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Chronus Corp. Heavy Vessel Prometheus | Corporate Meeting Room
The Art of the Deal: By Irina Rostikova
Irina Rostikova | Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

Were Irina Rostikova not trained in the art of negotiations and taken part in deals similar to the one presented before the crew, she might have either started coughing at the amount of credits that Chronus was offering for the artifact or she might have started laughing at how much information was being given to them free of charge. All sentient beings with a pulse, and the majority of sentient beings without one, were aware that information in itself was a commodity that could be traded or purchased. Knowing the right bits of information could make or break any number of ventures. In the case of the information that Vice Director Mayer had allowed to slip, it gave Irina more than enough leverage.

"Captain Walker," The Catican Merchant said with a glance over to her boss, "If you'll allow me, I'd like to open negotiations on behalf of the crew."

The Captain appeared to ponder this for a moment before nodding in Irina's direction, receiving an excited grin for the gesture. Preparing herself mentally to address the Vice Director, the Feline-esque Female went over the more juicy tidbits in her mind.

The sum of ten million credits was being withdrawn from personal accounts belonging to the Director of Chronus which meant that either Chronus was keeping this mission off of its official accounting records or that this mission was time sensitive and there was not enough time for executive echelon of Chronus to issue orders to their minions in accounting to make the fee available. While the Vice Director was attempting to make it seem like an act of benevolence on the part of the Director, in business there was no room for such niceties. Business people simply did not risk their own personal capital for the anyone's benefit but their own. That the Director would put up his own credits for this mission also meant that there was an even higher probability that when it came time to deliver the artifact, Chronus would be paying the reward in ten million credits worth of projectiles through the Sweet Child o Mine's hull. The size of the reward also meant that Chronus had a fairly good idea what the artifact's purpose was. With her analysis of the information in order, Irina rose to speak to the Vice Director with a rather feral looking grin on her face.

"Greetings Vice Director Mayer, my name is Irina Rostikova and I will be negotiating the contract on behalf of Captain Walker's ORION group," The Catican said with a bow towards the V.D., "While the reward of your Director's own ten million credits is quite generous, just like in business, there is always room for growth. If you will bear with me, I will outline an acceptable payment scheme that will be beneficial to all parties involved."

The Catican paused for a moment, a gesture that allowed for the Vice Director to get into the proper analytical mindset.

"Given the designs of this proposed plan and the intention of the Terran Grand Republic and Chronus to assault a city filled with non-combatant civilians, it would be of benefit for both the TGR and Chronus to have the ORION group agree to a media level non-disclosure agreement. As history demonstrates, there is not a single stockholder that enjoys owning shares of a corporation whose reputation includes the death of even one civilian. As such, it becomes necessary ORION to request the addition of 5,000,000 credits as a Media Non-Disclosure agreement and mission execution incentivisation fee to be paid now. This is in addition to the 10,000,000 credits and the 5,000,000 credits in equipment. In regards to the payment for the completion of the mission and delivery of the artifact, given that this is a new and developing relationship between ORION and Chronus, all credits are to be placed in an escrow account, to be released to the ORION upon the delivery of the artifact or in the event that Chronus becomes unable to pay the mission completion fee." Irina glanced over at V.D. Mayer and smiled in a rather predatory fashion when she saw the woman's annoyed expression, not that she could blame the V.D. since what Irina was doing was bordering on blackmail. But this was not Irina's finale, "While I understand that as a Vice Director, you don't have the full permissions to authorize these fees, I trust that you'll hurry with your response. I'll admit that the two TGR ships in orbit around the colony is a rather impressive display, it hardly constitutes a full planetary blockade. The longer we wait to start this mission, the more likely it beomes that some other corporation hears about the Drax artifact and makes a move to acquire it... which unlike Chronus... might not be one bound by morality. Speaking of the artifact, in order to ensure its safe delivery, ORION also requests unlimited access to the all artifact data held by your research division. The information that we access regarding the artifact will, of course, be covered by the MNDA. As we are still a fledgling organization, nothing would prove more ruinous to our reputation than to have your merchandise damaged in a preventable mishap. Seeing as how he is investing his own credits into this venture, I trust that your Director will have no issue authorizing my proposal and that he will see the wisdom in disclosing everything that Chronus knows about the artifact."

With her proposal complete, Irina had one last thing to add.

"While you're discussing this new proposal with the Director, might I suggest that the crew be given access to your provisions and equipment lockers? Given the objective for this mission, I'm sure that Captain Walker and the crew will require some time to think about which pieces of equipment will best suit this job." The Merchant/Mechanic said coyly. While she wasn't wrong about the Vice Director needing time to discuss the proposal with the Director or the fact that the crew would need to consider which pieces of equipment to bring with them on this mission, there was a simpler and more basic reason for her request: Everyone enjoyed a bit of retail therapy on someone else's credit.

 

[Athol]

She woke with a snort as an alert chimed in the mech?s cockpit, signaling that it?s diagnostic had finished. Taking a moment to yawn, and stretch as best as she could in the confined space, Mary brought up the main data panel to see what Stumpy?s status was.

?Oh for fuck?s sake!? She swore. Once again there was errors in to control interface for the mech?s shielding; not wholly unexpected or uncommon considering the jerry-rigged installation of the device, but frustrating none the less. She tried a few ?fixes?, but none of them seemed to clear the problem, so with an annoyed sigh, she wiped the controller software for the shield and loaded a fresh install from a boot disk. Well that?s going to take a while? She thought as she dropped out of the cockpit.

After cleaning up her tools, Mary left her hanger to wander Sweety?s corridors. The freighter was unexciting, she?d seen the inside of dozens of old, worn freighters over the years after all, but her wanderings did take her along the main deck where the freighter?s secondary airlocks were located. All of them were locked except one. Hmm, with those two?busy?I should see what they have on me. With no ship?s crew about, Mary tested the in use hatch, and was a bit surprised to find it unlocked. ?Well then?? She murmured. Stepping though the hatchway, she made her way down the access tube and to the external door of the Archer; after a brief examination of the gunship?s external access panel she keyed the admittance button, and was once again a bit surprised. ?2-1 odds I just tripped an alert of some sort, so I should make it quick.? She said softly as she stepped on board.

Moving quickly from the airlock, Mary stopped at the first terminal she found and set to work trying to access the little ship?s computer. While this sort of ?cyberwarfare? work was certainly not her forte, one couldn?t help but pick up a few things here and there; especially for someone with a career as long as hers.