The ORION Files (Closed/Started)

[Lunar Templar]

Shanoa, just moved a little further into the room, but not much since she was already in the room. Her potential boss lay down the usual lines about 'I'm the leader, you'll fallow my orders don't like it, leave now', and introductions.

with the Caticans and the 'captain' already handling it, and the Shree not having an issue with the job in question long is it wasn't Piracy or Terrorism, the floor seemed open. "Shanoa, hacking, stealth infiltration, robotics expert." she started, intentionally sounds as robotic as possible, if only to see what kind of reactions she'd get to that tone, and when she swapped back to her normal manner of speaking. "Though, the robotics thing is more of a hobby/mandatory skill. Not like I can just bounce down to Radio Shack and pick up a new part case in case of damage or I need to upgrade Nyx here."She added, now sounding not robotic at all, though sitting like most cats do.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Pit here is a bit..distrustful of robots and other forms of AIs. Too long of a story to tell." Spoke the human as he took a sip of his beverage.

"Understood, so long as your associate doesn't attack us without reason, then we should manage to get along," Velka stated in a clear and straightforward manner.

"Now before I start if you don't like the job or frankly don't like the pay. That's fine. You are free to go no question asked. Though if you take this job, you follow my orders. Until the mission is finished. Got it? Good. Now before I hired you lot I like to hear about you some more. I'll start." Said their commander as he called to order.

"Names Rick Walker. Might have heard of me, might not. Don't really care which. I have been with the TGR for a while before they honourable discharge me after a mission went bad. Don't ask me about it cause I don't like to talk about it. After a few months of wondering around, I was starting to go low on funds. So I decide to put my skills to better use, and here I am now." Several others had then stated their name along with associate abilities, apparently, the human known as Elliot had also ordered some food, though Velka wasn't particularly interested at the moment. Once the A.I designated Shanoa had spoken, Velka felt it was her time to talk.

"Greetings, my name is Velka. I am primarily capable of serving as a forward scout, reconnaissance operative, and designated marksman. In addition, I can perform maintenance work on cybernetic appendages should the need arise, and of course with permission."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Drift Station | The Warden's Tooth
Short introductions are short
Irina Rostikova | Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

It was moments like this that Irina Rostikova, Catican Merchant turned Mercenary, wished that she'd given the old Catican adage "The tip of your snout will help you out" more credence. Taking the flask that Red had handed her, the Merchant Minded Mechanic took an experimental sniff of the liquid contained in the container and felt her eyes start to water as the potency of alcohol. Despite every nerve impulse in her body urging her to throw the potent jet fuel out the nearest airlock, the Catican Mechanic took an experimental sip of the drink, which had the smell of fermented Braktian Tofu and Terran Durian fruit.

"~HAK! CAFF! CAFF! CAFF! GAG! CAFF!~" Came standard issue reaction to the ingestion of a substance that a body had mistaken for poison.

To Irina's credit, she did not regurgitate the acrid and smokey tasting alcohol but instead managed to swallow the small sip of fiery lava in a flask. Passing the drinking vessel back to its owner, the Coughing Kitten paused for a moment as she remembered how to breathe.

"Sorry puss, honestly I wasn't payin' too much attention. I just saw a posting that said 'Crew Needed' and I need work, so here I am. Sounds like it's a merc gig though." Came the Cybernetic Pirate's response, causing her temporary drinking buddy to frown. The problem with mercenary work how horribly non-specific the range of work tended to be. Unlike a merchant vessel crew, where one could always expect a contingent of guards that worked with a small group of merchants and a ship's crew, mercenary groups required a wide range of skill sets in order to accomplish the wide ranging, grey market missions that these sorts of groups were often hired out to complete.

"How... ~CAFF CAFF CAFF~ ... interesting..." Irina said before the Captain addressed his potential crew.

"Now before I start, if you don't like the job or, frankly, don't like the pay. That's fine. You are free to go no question asked. Though if you take this job, you follow my orders until the mission is finished. Got it?" The Human in Charge started to say, Irina's mind wandering off during this typical establishment of rank.

"(What if you're mind has been over taken by a horde of Sarkelian Mind Maggots? Do we listen then? Should we follow the orders of a human whose main goal for the remaining 30 Terran Solar Cycles of his life will be to establish a Mind Maggot colony on all habitable planets within 20 parsecs?)" The snide little kitty thought to herself before she returned her attention to the captain.

"Name's Rick Walker. Might have heard of me, might not. Don't really care which. I been with the TGR for a while before they honorably discharged me after a mission went bad. Don't ask me about it cause I don't like to talk about it. After a few months of wandering around I was starting to go low on funds. So I decide to put my skills to better use, and here I am now." He finish as he let the door open for anyone else to jump in next.

"Sounds reasonable enough to me. So long as we don't commit blatant piracy or unforgivable acts of terrorism on innocent people, I'm generally fine with whatever you'll tell me. So long as I get to fly, that is." The Shree woman said aloud, ignorant of the former(?) pirate sitting a few chair away.

"Shanoa, hacking, stealth infiltration, robotics expert." Irina's robotic twin started to say, "Though, the robotics thing is more of a hobby/mandatory skill. Not like I can just bounce down to Radio Shack and pick up a new part case in case of damage or I need to upgrade Nyx here."

"(What's a Radio Shack?)" Irina thought to herself before the Reshani started to speak.

"Greetings, my name is Velka. I am primarily capable of serving as a forward scout, reconnaissance operative, and designated marksman. In addition, I can perform maintenance work on cybernetic appendages should the need arise, and of course with permission."

Clearing her throat, the Catican Female decided that it was her turn to speak, though in difference to the others who had yet to introduce themselves, she would keep it short.

"Hi. My name is Irina Rostikova and my partner, the large one just beyond the doorway is Edward Aubergine. For those of you who have knowledge of the Catican culture, you know that these are not our true names but simply the names that we use when interacting with non-Caticans. As I stated to the captain, I'm a merchant, mechanic and drone pilot by training and trade with specializations in exotic technology (exo-tech), gravity field modulation technology, network intrusion and countermeasures as well as drone based ship to ship combat and drone assisted ship repairs. I'm looking forward to working with this group," It was at this point that Irina flashed an eye at Shanoa and at Velka,"especially with those with whom my specialties can augment. I am currently in the process of rebuilding my trade network but once it is restored, I should be able to gain access to items that even this 'Radio Shack' might be envious of. As for my partner, he was a member of the Catican Drop Trooper Corp, specializing in orbital insertion into hostile territory and the establishment of a forward operating base once landed. He's hoping that he'll be able to use his orbital drop pod, which is attached to our shuttle the Redeemer, in the next few mission. Also... please don't mention Egg Plants around him... he gets terribly sensitive about that."

Pausing for a moment the gregarious Catican female thought for a moment if she should add the fact that they were members of the Casteless and that would undoubtedly bring this crew unwanted attention of any of the missions ventured into Catican space.

"I should add that Edward and I are looking forward to serving with this crew and paying off our debts to our creator." The woman opted to say instead before turning to her compatriot in the doorway, "Am I forgetting to add anything Edward?"

The four armed furball at the doorway paused for a moment before adding a single sentence to Irina's short introduction.

"Looking forward to cracking skulls with you all." The Shock Trooper said casually as he waited for the introductions to be completed so that the ritual of celebratory drinking could commence.

 

[Athol]

She grinned and did her best not to laugh as Irina choked on the sip of ?shine she?d had. Taking her flask back, she took a healthy swig of the home-brewed paint stripper, then let out a satisfied sigh. She was about to strike up a little small talk with the little Catican, when her new ?boss? began talking.

"Now before I start, if you don't like the job or frankly don't like the pay. That?s fine. You are free to go no question asked. Though if you take this job, you follow my orders. Until the mission is finished. Got it? Good. Now before I hired you lot I like to hear about you some more. I'll start."

?Yay story time!? Mary chirped in a decidedly ?child-like? tone that seemed most out of place, considering her extensive augs, tattoos and the fact she was in a room full of ?hard? people. ?I love stories.? She added with a girlish giggle. Now thoroughly amused with herself, she took a swig from her flask she kicked her feet up onto the table, the lightweight poly-alloy structures clunking against the tabletop, and leaned back in her seat while others spoke.

Eventually introductions made their way back around to where she was sitting, so once Irina finished introducing herself and her fuzzy eggplant of a companion. Mary spoke up once more. ?For those of you that missed it the first time around; I?m Mary Williams, ?Red? to those that know me and ?that *****? or ?you ****? to those I?ve pissed off.? She flashed an ear-to-ear grin that showed off two rows for perfectly straight, and impossibly white teeth, a good sign that they were not her originals. ?And to those of your ex-Marine or Navy types, yes, THAT Williams family?I guess I?m the family black sheep.?

?I?m a Grandy trained fighter jock; did two tours?well more like one and three-quarters?got sick of their bullshit and bailed.? She smiled again, but were as the last one had been all bright and cheerful, this one was decidedly more predatory. ?Since then, I?ve spent nearly four decades as a ?forced reclamation specialist? or ?pirate? for the unimaginative.? As she spoke she kept her eyes on the newer arrivals, especially the big ex-KODIAK driver and the hard-case that named ?Elliot? who just ?reeked? of bounty hunter. ?Semi-recent events dictated I find myself elsewhere for a time, and thus I am here.? Despite the fact that she?d just admitted to a host of crimes, while technically in Grand Republic space, she remained totally relaxed.

Taking another long pull from her flask, she looked Elliot square in the eye. ?Now, given the type of ?people? gathered here, I?m sure there are some thoughts about trying to bag for a bounty?let me give those people some advice. Don?t. If there is a bounty on my ass, I know who?d ?ve set it, and I know that even if you got me?she would make sure you never got to enjoy it?gotta love family.?

 

[Outcast107]

Walker sat back and listen to each and everyone little introduction. Watched as the catman destroyed part of the sofa, which he wasn't going to pay for. As well as listen to them chat among themselves. The crew was very, oddly enough, stands out like a sore thumb from his last crew. They were kind of lively and seem like they each would play an important role in this upcoming mission. While he wished Mary didn't admit to the crimes she committed, he wasn't going to reel her in at all. If anything happens that on her head, no his.

Walker raised his hands to get their attention as he looked at each of them. "Alright since introductions are over and you lot seem to be friendly with each other.." Looking over at pit and giving him a quick shove when Walker saw him giving a glare to the two mechanical women. "So far..I'll get to the point about the mission."

Walker cleared his throat and sat up as he said, "The TGR wants to hire me and the crew I assemble to help out in a little...skirmish they are about to have here soon. The planet we are going to go see is called Fortuna IV. A rather large outer Colony that form a Treaty with the TGR. Most details about the treaty I don't give a damn, but the reason we are going is because the Colony itself broke the treaty."

Walker grabs his ale and takes a swing before continuing, "Turns out they agreed to share anything found on said planet for supplies, money and whatever else they agreed to exchange. Though whatever Fortuna's miners found was a whole lot bigger than minerals. Which now they are laying claims to it, while the TGR believes they have rights."

Walker let that sink in a bit before continuing on. "So the TGR decided to send a nearby fleet patrol to handle the problem. Though they can't send any more into the Outer Colony without the risk of losing manpower in protecting their Inner colonies. And sending a fleet from home would just take to long. So they are hiring me...which includes you lot, to help out. Pay hasn't been finalized just yet but I'm working my charms to get it a bit higher. Though at the time I can pay each of you 8,000 creds. Not much but with so many here it's the best what I can do."

Walker grabs his ale and finished it and sets it back on the table. "If you have questions, save it for when we meet up again. IF you're going then the meeting point is at my ship in the East Shipyard. Ships name is called 'Sweet Child of Mine', Be there within the hour if you're planning on going. If not it was nice meeting y'all." Walker said as he leaves, with Pit walking right behind him.

Later, At the Shipyard

Walker was waiting outside of his ship. Sitting on a small lawn chair he brought out to relax and wait for any crew members to show up.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Drift Station | The Hanger
Introducing the Redeemer
Irina Rostikova | Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

"16K Creds? That's about 10% of what I need to finish the proto..." Irina Rostikova started to say, stopping mid-sentence when she spotted the captain sitting in a type of Terran leisure chair known as a lawn chair, "Hello Captain Walker! I was expecting that you'd be in the middle of pre-flight preparations and not... relaxing." There was a slightly disapproving tone in the feline-esque feline's voice.

"Why don't you go prepare the Redeemer to dock with the Captain's ship," Irina said to Edward, gesturing towards the ship that was docked directly across from the strangely named Sweet Child of Mine. Walking over to the captain, she stood there for an awkward moment as she wondered what the man was thinking.

"She's a beaut, isn't she?" The Merchant Mechanic said with a nod towards her the stealth black shuttle [footnote]Characters capable of seeing in the infrared spectrum are able to see running lights[/footnote] that was did not seem to have a visible cockpit canopy, "She's a converted medium range jump capable Catican cargo shuttle. Edward and I outfitted her with a drone control system so she's got 4 repair drones, 6 point defense drones, 4 kinetic assault drones and 2 missile drones at ou... your disposal. That's in addition to the forward and the read field kinetic turrets," There was a sense of pride in the Catgirl's voice as she continued to talk about her ship, "She's got a holographic cockpit suite and Ed's drop pod is docked in the tail section. If I might make a suggestion, hard docking he ship to your freighter's hull might be advisable if you would like to take advantage of the drone system."

There was another long pause, one that seemed to make the woman standing in front of the Captain rather uncomfortable... or perhaps it was the fact that she felt rather anxious about the mission that she Captain had outlined... and the fact that he hadn't finalized a contract with the TGR.

"If I may speak freely, Captain, in my experience with the TGR, it's unwise of you to start your mission without a fully finalized contract. Not that it would ever keep the TGR from denying you payment, at least a contract would be able to help establish legal recourse should that ever happen." Irina said as she started pacing for a moment, her voice sounding a bit more nervous until she finally got to the point, "I'm sorry Captain, I'm babbling and it's probably best that I get to the point. Before, when you said that you had been seeing a Catican female... was her name Katya by chance?"

Katya, Irina's vat sister, had become a member of the Casteless a few years ago and turned to some rather risky business ventures, one of which was taking advantage of her Nanex enhanced pheromones to gain access to her all too willing victims' credit accounts as well as getting any sort of gift that she could pawn off down the line. The last that Irina had heard, Katya had been wandering through out the TGR working her little scam. There... had been thoughts of locating her vat sister when Irina and Ed had become Casteless but reality and practicality made that idea a tertiary concern.

 

[Athol]

She took another hit from her flask, before tucking it away and standing. ?Fuck it, work is work. See ya in an hour Boss.? She said, departing with a wave. Exiting the ?Warden?s Tooth?, she was surprised to see that the guy she?d tossed out the door was still there, and intact. Approaching the prostrated form she was amused to find that he was, in fact, asleep. After a couple of investigative pokes with her foot to see how out of it he was then, checking to see there was no one else about, she crouched and gave him a quick but through pat down, coming away with his wallet, a watch and two rings. The watch and rings went into a pocket of her flight suit, while the wallet she extracted his credit chit from, before tossing the rest. Whistling pleasantly to herself, she made her way to the nearest lift.

A little under an hour later

After getting herself squared away with the ?Harbour Master?, and doing security sweeps of her gear and pre-flighting ?Misha?, she was ready to go. ?Station Control. This is Bonny Oh Two requesting clearance to launch at Hanger Four Five.? She said over the ?Ground Control? frequency.

?Bonny Oh Two, Station Control. Copy, cycling now.?

From inside her cockpit she watched as orange hazard lights began to strobe, warning anyone who may have been in the hanger, that it was about to begin to depressurize. This went on for two minutes, before the strobe became a pulse, and the environmental system began to remove the air from the hanger bay. Once there was no air left, the lights switched to a steady glow, as the outer doors opened to space. ?Station Control, Bonny Oh Two. Requesting Grav Disconnect in Hanger Four Five.?

?Bonny Oh Two, Station Control. Copy, disconnecting.?

Blue lights joined the orange ones as the gravity in the hanger was shut off.

?Bonny Oh Two, you are clear to launch, contact Station Traffic on One One Niner Seven Gamma for routing.?

?Copy Station.?

De-activating the magnetic clamps in the fighter?s landing struts, she used the RCS[footnote]Reaction Control System[/footnote] to push the craft vertically, and then laterally; positioning the rear strut pads over the crate with ?Stumpy? inside, via a belly mounted camera, she re-activated the clamps and locked the crate to the fighter. Rotating her ?wings? ninety degrees, she used the greater thrust of her secondary engines to lift the crate clear of the hanger floor, before halting the rise and transitioning to forward flight.

?Bonny Oh Two, Station Traffic. Bonny Oh Two Station Traffic.? She called, switching comm. channels.

?Station Traffic, Bonny Oh Two. Go ahead.?

?Requesting vector to beacon Eight One Seven Dash Eight Eight from Hanger Four Five.?

?Copy Bonny Oh Two. Vector plotted, updating Nav Com.?

The fighter?s VI acknowledged the incoming transmission and projected the flight path onto Mary?s HUD. ?Station Traffic, update is green. Departing now.?

?Copy Bonny Oh Two.?

Following the flight path, she arced through the semi crowded ?air space? around the station towards the beacon. Spying the rundown looking freighter, she hailed it. ?Sweet Child of Mine this is Bonny Oh Two, come in.? What a stupid name for a ship.

?Bonny Oh Two, the is Sweet Child. Go ahead.?

?I?m one of Capt. Walker?s new hires; I need a hanger for an interceptor and a light walker.?

?Copy that Oh Two, we?ve been expecting you?port side, sixth from the bow. Red container marked Zero Seven. It?s been converted into a hanger; transmitting clearance now.?

Navigating to the indicated point, she reversed her actions from the station; first dropping off the container with her mech inside, then landing her fighter and re-pressurizing the retrofitted hanger. Once she had all that squared away, she had a crewmen point her in the direction of the Captain. Exiting a lift near the ships gangway, she approached Walker from behind and saw him in conversation with the smaller of the two kitties. ?Hey you two, where?s the purple mountain??

 

[Texas Joker 52]

TGR Territory Border | Drift Station | Warden's Tooth Bar, VIP Room
"The pay is always negotiable."​

[hr]

As it turned out, the prospective crew was looking to be full of all sorts, including a pirate it seemed. As Red Mary, the human female cyborg, explained her own story, Mar was a little surprised to hear that she was actually Ex-TGR, something that she wouldn't have figured. Then again, she supposed that any races military would have all kinds. The Catican female, Irina, introduced herself and her partner as well, the two of them coming as a pair, along with the two seemingly un-augmented humans sticking together as well. While Irina and Edward were essentially a Merchant and Shock Trooper respectively, Mar got the feeling that the human pair were bounty hunters of some kind. The look that Mary directed at them at least gave that impression.

When the rest of them each said their piece, Walker spoke up again, mentioning that the job they were going to be hired for had to do with an Outer Colony, Fortuna IV, acting against TGR interests by withholding some excavated valuables that the TGR believed that they had the rights to. The pay wasn't finalized, largely due to Walker wanting to persuade their employers to part with some extra credits, and as of the time they were speaking, their pay was going to be 8000 credits each.

Mar frowned at that part. 8000 was reasonable, if a little low for what they were probably going to do. Presumably, they were there to pacify the locals and retrieve the excavated goods. Or at least, that was the impression she got, even with Walker mentioning it as a skirmish. With any luck, they wouldn't be biting off more than they could chew.

"If you have questions, save it for when we meet up again. IF you're going then the meeting point is at my ship in the East Shipyard. Ships name is called 'Sweet Child of Mine', Be there within the hour if you're planning on going. If not it was nice meeting y'all."

"Right. I'll meet you after I dock the Devil-Fish." Mar said as she stood up and exited the meeting room herself.

As she left the Warden's Tooth, she immediately made a beeline to where the Shuttle Bays were located. After all, Walker asked for her to give a demonstration of her piloting skills, and she was sure to deliver.

[hr]

TGR Territory Border | Drift Station | Devil-Fish #66 Cockpit
"It's my turn to fly."​

[hr]

As the loading door of the Devil-Fish opened, Mar had already begun stripping out of what she considered her off-duty stationwear, tossing the synth-leather jacket onto a worn couch, quickly followed by her cargo pants as she stepped aboard. The cargo area of the shuttle looked very close to what most stations considered to be "Economy Quarters": A single room with only just enough in the way of amenities to be considered livable. And barring a few empty tubes branded with a smiling Shree face strewn about the floor, it was largely clean as well.

She strode through, still wearing the pale orange envrio-suit that acted almost like a second skin, and took down a dark gray jumpsuit and black helmet that hung from one of the cargo latch-points and started to slip into it with practiced efficiency.

By the time she sat in the pilots seat, she was fully dressed, including the domed helmet that immediately brought up her heads-up display. The cockpit itself was dominated by a control panel along with a few monitors meant to keep track of the various functions of the shuttle, but the oddest thing about it was a quartet of control sticks, each of which seemed to be attached to some sort of articulated arm.

Grasping the top two control sticks with her true-hands, her false hands flew across the control panel behind them and started her pre-flight checks. It didn't take long before she was finished, and she immediately began the engine start-up sequence as she pinged Station Control.

"Drift Station Control, this is Devil-Fish. Requesting permission to launch from Shuttle Bay Two-Zero. Engines are hot, ready to go." she said with a grin behind the dome of her helmet.

"Devil-Fish, this is Station Control. Launch clearance is granted from Bay Two-Zero, proceed with caution as external docks are congested at the present time." they replied as the airlocks behind her closed, and the ones ahead of her began to cycle.

"Affirmative, Station Control. Keep an eye on those external sensors for me. Devil-Fish, out." she told them.

The moment the airlock was opened, the garishly-painted shuttle screamed out of the bay with insane speed, and very narrowly avoided the underside of a heavy freighter. As she did, she whooped with exhilaration even as she heard Station Control begin to violently swear at her for being a reckless idiot. As her false-hands grabbed the remaining two control sticks, she couldn't help but think that they hadn't seen anything yet, and then she twisted the controls with a sudden violence.

The Devil-Fish executed a sharp, looping turn and started to speed right back in the direction of the Shuttle Bays, narrowly avoiding them as it turned again to fly up, parallel to the station as she twisted the controls again.

"Faster... Come on, faster!" she murmured under her breath as she twisted the shuttle to fit through the narrow gap between a pair of docked ships, before executing another loop, this time around the nose of one of them.

She kept passing dangerously close to both station hull and ships, but she never got so close as to bump shields or actually scrape hulls, and the way she flew had a rather violent grace to it. When she felt she was finished, she pulled away from the station, and with another flick of her wrists the shuttle made a quick about-face before flying almost lazily in the direction of the ship that her HUD identified as the Sweet Child of Mine.

"Sweet Child of Mine, this is Devil-Fish..." Mar said as she pinged them, her voice more than a little breathless.

[hr]

TGR Territory Border | Drift Station | Sweet Child of Mine Docking Bay
"I'm one of the fastest female canines that you'll ever meet."​

[hr]

Once the Devil-Fish was safely tucked in one of the converted containers of the Sweet Child of Mine, she made her way through the ship's corridors with her helmet tucked under one false-arm and a data pad held firmly in the other. When she finally stepped out onto the Docking Bay, she immediately saw both Walker, lounging on a lawn chair as well as Red Mary and Irina.

Striding up to Walker, she gave him a pleased smile and offered the data pad to him. As she did, it was immediately noticeable that, unlike earlier, a very distinct, musky smell was emanating from her, and what little skin was showing was a little more... Vibrant.

"Well, Captain, you wanted a demonstration? Here you are. Hopefully that should be enough to convince you that I'm a superb pilot, one of the best." she said, her distorted voice still a little short of breath.

The data pad itself showed her Devil-Fish from a variety of different angles as the external sensor array recorded her entire flight. As Walker, and perhaps others, watched the footage, her smile turned a little sheepish.

"Now, I should probably get back aboard the Sweet Child of Mine. If any station authorities ask, I'm not here." she told him.

 

[Outcast107]

Walker watched as the first one to arrive was Irina. Smiling as he was glad she showed up. Both her and her big ball of fur will be great for the team. One for handling all the talking and the other if they need to break some arms here and there.

"Hello Captain Walker! I was expecting that you'd be in the middle of pre-flight preparations and not... relaxing."

"No need to worry about it at all Irina. Pit and the crew inside are taking care of things. Besides, last time I try to help out, i got yelled at by everyone to not touch anything." he half smiles as he jokes around. "Plus I rather greet my crew that shows up." Walker said as he would then listen to her describing their ship. Nodding along as he listens, while he was more of a gun man, he could appreciate a good ship.

"If I might make a suggestion, hard docking the ship to your freighter's hull might be advisable if you would like to take advantage of the drone system."

"Sounds like a plan. Tell your buddy he can hard dock it. Just let my crew know where he will be docking." He tells her as he gave the thumbs up for her idea. He would rather try to save room inside for any other smaller ships that might need the space. Like Mary's vehicles, if that woman joins at least.

Though what caught Walker off guard, was how much Irina could talk. As she sort of exploded in a frenzy of words at she spoke to him. "If I may speak freely, Captain, in my experience with the TGR, it's unwise of you to start your mission without a fully finalized contract. Not that it would ever keep the TGR from denying you payment, at least a contract would be able to help establish legal recourse should that ever happen. I'm sorry Captain, I'm babbling and it's probably best that I get to the point. Before, when you said that you had been seeing a Catican female... was her name Katya by chance?"

"Woah woah..Give me some time to speak at least." A light chuckle escaped from his lips. "Now for the first part. I know, remember I used to work for them before they got rid of me. So I know how much of a fuckin pain in the ass they are. Pardon my language, but they seem to be way too jumpy for me to settle things right there and then. Though I also see this as a good thing. They might pay extra to shut up and never speak about this ever again. They could also kill us all, but they would get hurt in the end in the merc business. If they ever need any help, I don't think any group within this sector would help them. Not even for a billion credits if word got around that they kill off their own Mercs without due cause..at least a damn good cause."

He took a small inhale before speaking about point two. "Yeah I think I know of a Katya. If we are speaking about the same one that is. We hook up for a bout..a week or two. Maybe three...hard to tell how long we were together. Time was going by fast and I was enjoying it too. Then one day I woke up, tied to the bed. Nude and all of my belongings gone with a "Sorry, take care" note."

He finished, but before he could comment any more about it, Mary showed up behind them. "Hey you two, where's the purple mountain?"

"He getting their ship docked to my ship as we speak. Glad you could join us Mary." Walker said as he smiles. Though not to long after that Mar shows up as she walks out of his ship. With a big old grin on her face and...a smell Walker didn't want to question at all. "

"Well, Captain, you wanted a demonstration? Here you are. Hopefully that should be enough to convince you that I'm a superb pilot, one of the best."

Walker took the data pad and watched it. A smiled grew on his face as he chuckled. "Well, hot damn..haven't seen skills like that in ages. Glad to have you on the team Mar." Walker said as he return Mar's data pad. "Got it..and make yourself home Mar."

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Credits were credits. Work was work. Brian downed the rest of his bottle as he listened and the others started moving. Standing up he left the VIP area, then the bar and made his way to his briefly rented storage locker near the docks to collect his things.

Turning the light on in the dimly lit, Brian slowly breathed as he eyed the carefully organized room making everything was still there. Of course it was all still there. Gangers knew better than to fuck with him and even if they tried they'd have been offed by the booby traps on the locks. Slowly he repacked what little he had bothered to touch since he had reached the station, pulled on his skinsuit, checked his weapons, and awoke a couple drones to move the crates in the room. Parts, munitions, fabricators, etc.

As it always did though his Kodiak gleamed in his eyes, he could feel it's want in him as he looked upon it's black armoured form, red streaks across it's front plating. Strapping a footlocker to it's back and entering into it, Brian felt pride drip into him as the machine closed around him and probed into him with it's interface cabling. It's senses became his sense as his mind became it's mind. A simple dialogue played out about a thousand times a second for three short moments in his head and the machine, in which it verified he in fact was it's master and not another trying to deceive it, before the mechanisms awoke and he began to move.

Thumping along through the docks in his armour, stared at by some as others worriedly moved out of his way, Brian arrived at the ship he was told was the "Sweet Child of Mine." Eyeing the captain and the others from the meeting he approached and said plainly "Brian Wojtek reporting," his voice coming out synthesized and almost rumbling at them.

In the distance his sensors and his network reported his drones negotiating with the ships comms array for clearance to move his equipment in through it's hangar. Apparently successfully.

 

[FalloutJack]

[OOC: This was done with Athol's approval.]

Situations in the meeting room had gone thusly, to sum up:

Elliot and Grace had eaten lunch,
Other people began their interesting tales,
The purple Catican actually got a laugh out of Elliot,
They had a wide range of skillsets with ex-marine people at its core,
Grace never bothered to explain herself.

Not that people would really take much notice. Grace didn't talk a good fight. She fought a good fight, and let others share in the bravado and such. It's not to say that she lacked any communications skills, either. She just didn't always have things to say. Still, after this, Mary Williams, the primary interest of the two bounty hunters, made her introduction next. It was clear that the woman knew right off that at least Elliot was looking at her like a paycheck, but he just smiled and let her say her peace. After all, she said some interesting things there. He wasn't intimidated in the slightest by her promise of mayhem to anyone trying to collect on her, but he did find it interesting.

Meanwhile, the A-Plot - AKA, the first job - was being explained by Walker, stating that TGR was actually hiring them to handle an independent contractor that got greedy. He was getting the job via the military committing the crime of convenience by hiring local color to deal with the problem, on account of being somewhat occupied and closer to the core worlds. They were to report to the Sweet Child of Mine at he Eastern Docks. The Archer wasn't AT the Easter Docks. Elliot and Grace headed out to rectify this problem. On the way...

"So, what do you think? Who is 'She'?"

"Mary Williams has a surviving mother and sister, according to official records. Both are rank officers in TGR."

"I know that. I think we have a shot at something better than a bounty: Keeping her alive for profit. It's steady pay on top of whatever jobs we take working for Rick."

"Mmm, that could work."

"You take the Archer over to the Eastern Dock. I'll contact the family, negotiate some work."

"Alright."

They arrived at the ship and got underway, maneuvering speed only for dock-to-dock transferance. It gave Elliot the chance he needed to connect to the station's main communication grid to boost his signal and get a word out to the official channel for Admiral or Rear-Admiral Williams. Elliot sat at the console and was immediately worried when he was put on hold. Well, lots of people claim to have business with a famous military family. And once he got through...well...the secretary was a bit surly and unhelpful. After identifying himself, he explained that he wished to speak to either Admiral on a personal matter that they would find rather important...

"I'm afraid I can't do that without some idea on what the matter entales. Regulations."

"Alright, my reason for calling is that I've located Mary Williams and will be in a position to keep a close eye on her for the time being."

"How exactly is that of any importance to them?"

"Well, I assume they care about their daughter, given her history."

"Hold please."

"Dammit."

More waiting, and then after a short while, the secretary informed him that the Admiral and Rear-Admiral are not taking any calls in regards to Mary Williams at this time. However, before he could express his full irritation, someone cut in, right over the secretary. It was a young adult male with a few traits showing that were shared by Mary.

"I'm sorry she put you through the run-around, Mr. Gratsky. I'm Captain Williams. I understand you've seen my sister?"

"I've signed onto a mercenary team which she is now a member, herself. It occurred to me that if she had someone menacing enough in the family that would exact retribution for claiming her bounty, there might be someone willing to pay for a guy like me to keep that from happening. A reasonable rate without the threat of military reprisal sounds real good, don't you think?"

"I do think, since I know who and why. I'll agree to a contract with you, provided you keep me - and only me - apprised of her status, whether she's staying out of trouble or hurt or even just doing fine. I haven't seen her in some time...and I worry about her, unlike some. Is that acceptable?"

"Very acceptable. I will transmit a standard bodyguard contract to you and you'll get periodic reports."

With the side-contract finalized with Captain Williams, the Archer soon pulled up to a spot in the Eastern Docks, not far from the Sweet Child of Mine. Elliot stepped out to meet the rest of the gang, as per request.

"Alright, I'm here. Grace is minding the Archer at the moment."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Alright since introductions are over and you lot seem to be friendly with each other..." Velka noticed Pit glare at her again, which earned him a quick shove from Walker. "So far..I'll get to the point about the mission."

The mission was that Captain Walker and his hired crew to assist in a future skirmish that the Terran Grand Republic was having with a planet regarding ownership rights over some important cargo that the planet had uncovered whilst mining, with both sides laying claim to it. Whatever this mystery item was, it must have been either highly valuable or of high strategic importance that both parties were willing to fight over it. Logically, the most sensible option would have been to split the item between both sides; perhaps the nature of the item itself was the reason this hadn't been considered. Guess the team would find out later down the line.

"If you have questions, save it for when we meet up again. IF you're going then the meeting point is at my ship in the East Shipyard. Ships name is called 'Sweet Child of Mine', Be there within the hour if you're planning on going. If not it was nice meeting y'all." With that, both Captain Walker and Pit left the VIP Room.

The payment they would be receiving each was... acceptable for the most part, they could do a lot worse. Leaving the room herself, Velka went to find the closest thing to a weapons shop on this station so she could perform some maintenance on the scope of the Fulcrum, as its auto-adjustment zoom was slightly out of synchronisation with the other targeting systems. That little job took longer that it appeared, as Velka would have to manually test each component before adding it to the scope assembly. With that business dealt with, the Reshani decided to head on over to the 'Sweet Child of Mine' as Captain Walker put it.

En-route Velka heard talk of some sort of small shuttlecraft doing tricks and stunts around the station. From what she could gather, those spectating were rather impressed. Eventually, Velka managed to find the ship in question, and already saw that several others from the earlier meeting were there already. Approaching the group, she pulled up her multi-goggles.

"Velka reporting in." She said with a quick salute.

 

[Athol]

Before Irina could answer, Mar showed up looking more than a little flushed?and smelling a bit like a ship?s quarters after a too much time away from port.

"Well, Captain, you wanted a demonstration? Here you are. Hopefully that should be enough to convince you that I'm a superb pilot, one of the best. Now, I should probably get back aboard the Sweet Child of Mine. If any station authorities ask, I'm not here."

Mary let out a crack of laughter at Mar?s last comment. ?A woman after my own heart.? Intercepting the pad before Mar could re-claim it, Mary hit replay and let out a low whistle of approval as she watched. ?Not bad, you might even be as good as me.? She said with a smile. ?Hell it may be a good thing you got bum-rushed out of SRL?your talents were being wasted tossing trash haulers around a circuit.?

Her good humor was somewhat soured by the arrival of a suit of KODIAK armour; Marines tended to get all prickly about bullshit like ?Duty? and ?Honour?, the same pointless crap that made bailing on the Navy so easy. How the Hell did he keep that tin can? She thought, that last she?d heard?that she?d been paying attention to at least, the KODIAK was some pretty cutting edge gear. ?Just watch where you step Oso.? She said, as Wojtek spoke.

Behind him came the bounty hunter and the Reshani. She eyed Elliot, trying to get a read on what he might be thinking, and most importantly wither or not he and his partner were going to make her life?difficult. Unfortunately, that seemed to be easier said than done, as he seemed about as readable as a blank wall. Velka was a complete unknown to her; she?d seen a few Reshani here and there, but that was about it.

Giving the new arrivals a nod of acknowledgement, she handed the pad back to Mar. ?C?mon, I wanna see this rig of yours, see if she?s capable of keeping up with my ?Misha?.?

 

[Texas Joker 52]

TGR Territory Border | Drift Station | Sweet Child of Mine Docking Bay
"Born to fly."​

[hr]

As Walker looked over the data pad, watching her reckless little demonstration earlier, she immediately noticed his smile and couldn't help but grin a little wider herself. It was always nice to have one's talents appreciated.

"Well, hot damn..haven't seen skills like that in ages. Glad to have you on the team Mar. Got it, and make yourself home Mar."

"I plan to." she said as she reached out to take back her data pad, only for Red Mary to snatch it out of Walker's hand first.

The Shree immediately turned to level a narrow, four-eyed stare at the augmented former pirate, who promptly ignored her and restarted the recording from the beginning. As she watched, Mar crossed her true-arms across her barrel-chest and placed a false-hand on a hip while she waited. During all of that, they were shortly joined by Elliot, one of the two un-augmented humans, who mentioned that his partner was minding what was presumably their ship, while the other synthetic member of their crew, who introduced herself as Velka, reported in as well.

When the recording was done, Red Mary, much like Walker, seemed to like what she had seen, and Mar couldn't help but puff up her chest a little out of smug pride.

"Not bad, you might even be as good as me. Hell it may be a good thing you got bum-rushed out of SRL... Your talents were being wasted tossing trash haulers around a circuit."

While she knew that Mary meant that comment largely as praise, she couldn't help but prickle a little at the implication that the Devil-Fish was a 'trash hauler'. But, the crowd around the docks was growing quickly as a rather sleek mech suit strode over, the sight of which distracted Mar from Red Mary for a few good seconds. While she wasn't really one for ground vehicles, generally preferring anything that could soar through the skies or blackness of space, she had to appreciate a truly fine machine like the mech that stepped up.

"Brian Wojtek reporting."

"Sexy machine you've got there." Mar said with an appreciative nod.

Mary, on the other hand, gave it a rather dark look before finally handing the pad back to Mar.

"C'mon, I wanna see this rig of yours, see if she's capable of keeping up with my 'Misha'."

Snatching it up with her empty false-hand, Mar snorted a little with wry amusement, but nodded as she started to walk back up the gangway to the ship's airlock.

"Sure. You might not think the Devil-Fish is pretty, but she's fast, and she can fly circles around most other racing shuttles after the time and care I put in her. And she was never a trash hauler." Mar pointed out a little testily.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Orion Files | Drift Station | The Hanger
I ST-ST-STUTTERED!
Irina Rostikova​

[hr]

Irina had not the wits to answer even as simple a question as the one that had been posed by Red. She was utterly and completely shocked by the revelation that Captain Walker had just revealed, that he might be able to help Irina locate her vat sibling. Like Irina, Katya had become a member of the Casteless when she fled the Catican Hegemony with a large shipment of Catican made weapons. Unlike Irina, however, Katya was alone and had no one to help watch her back. In Irina's mind, there had always been a high probability that her Vat Sister had been killed or captured or worse... the Hegemony had on recently started to mandate that all merchants in Caste Servitor travel with a body guard due to increasing reports of the kidnap and enslavement of female Catican merchants.

Surely, the Captain might have been mistaken by the woman's identity but there was a way for Irina Rostikova to verify the authenticity of what the former soldier for the TGR had said.

"~SNIFFFFFFFFFFF~" Went the Catican Merchant Mechanic's nose as it hoovered up the scent coming off of the Captain's body. It was a widely known fact that the Catican sense of smell was highly developed, a Pureblood's sense of smell being able to determine the genetic makeup of a subject by smell, and despite the fact that only 25% of Irina's genetic sequencing was Catican, there were a variety of things that she could tell about the captain such as the last time he took a shower, the places he'd been and who had been around him and the fact that he was correct, that he had seen Katya Rostikova.

If the Captain had turned to look at Irina, he would have probably noticed that she had turned visibly red after sniffing him, probably due to the fact that not only had he been with Katya, he'd slept with her on numerous occasions. Turning to look for help, the crimson faced Catican noticed that Mary and Mar had slipped off to parts unknown leaving only her, the Captain and...

"Velka reporting in." Oh thank her maker, someone else was here.

"H...H...HI VELKA!" The rather Red Faced Feline practically screamed as she turned and grabbed Velka's hand, giving it a thorough and vigorous shaking, "YOU KNOW THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE EVER MET A RESHANI! I'M DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR CULTURE!"

This was a great way to start her first day on the job...

[hr]

The Orion Files | Catican Cargo Shuttle: Redeemer | Cockpit
Not so fancy flying...
Edward Aubergine​

[hr]

"Drift Station Flight Control, this is Catican Cargo Shuttle Redeemer requesting clearance for departure. Uploading telemetry and destination coordinates." The Eggplant Colored Catican pilot reported as he strapped into the standing pilot's harness and started running through his pre-launch safety checks. While it was a time consuming affair, Edward Aubergine would have rather ensured that he got to his destination, which was roughly 50 meters ahead of him, in one piece than to cut a few corners and ended up breathing vacuum. As he waited for the station's flight control center to respond to his request, he went through the remainder of the checklist, even going so far as to over pressurize the cabin to ensure there were no leaks.

"

Negative clearance [i]Redeemer[/i], there's a yahoo out here clogging up the airspace.

" an overly annoyed voice responded, "

They appear to be headed to the same destination you are... friend of your's?

" The voice continued in a rather ominous tone.

"Negative, Drift Station Flight Control, those two and I have only recently become acquainted as we are only now working under the same captain." The Redeemer's pilot responded pausing for a moment before continuing with a certain edge to his voice, "However, if you are implying that there is something wrong with my comrade running an unscheduled stress test of their ship, I would be more than happy to show you what happens when a ship does break down due to pilot negligence."

"

No no... we're fine.  You're cleared for launch, [i]Redeemer[/i].  Safe travels.

" The tower said though the words, "

Stupid fucking furballs...

" could be heard as the operator forgot to switch his microphone off.

With clearance to launch granted, the Catican Pilot fired up the ship's power plant, activating all the ship's systems. As the cockpit's VR system came online, Edward Aubergine suddenly found himself floating inside the hanger. Looking around, the by the numbers pilot verified that the system was working properly with no blind spots before he released the docking clamps with mental flick.

While most space faring species preferred a physical control system consisting of a pair of control sicks and foot pedals, Caticans utilized their Nanex implants to relay their commands to the ship. Those who had designed the system found a 30% increase in response time with an 80% reduction in piloting errors.

Hold his hand palm side up over his head, the Giant Catican gently extended his arm upwards while another open hand was extended forward , as if he was pushing on something both above him and in front of him. The ship responded, moving downwards away from the docking clamps and moving the ship away from the hull of the station.

"Sweet Child of Mine this is Redeemer commencing external hard dock procedures." The Catican reported over ship to ship communications as he began his docking maneuver, an homage to his fellow pilots. Through a series of gestures, the ship began move along the hull of the station, the nose of the Redeemer maintaining a distance of 10m away from the stations hull. After 180 degrees of rotation along the X and Y axis, the Redeemer with on the other side of the station's dock and directly above the Sweet Child of Mine. Looking at the ship directly below him, Edward could was puzzled by the ethos of Terran Ship Design. As they were designed for a variety of roles, modular ships were good for a variety of roles but never a master at any specific role. This was far cry from the Catican ships designs that were purpose specific, not unlike the members of the Servitor Caste "Commencing Hard Dock..."

There was a loud banging noise that echoed through the hulls of both ships as the docking clamps of both ships met and mated, ensuring that the Redeemer would stay put even under the most extreme of maneuvers. The sound was immediately followed by the hiss caused by equalizing air pressures... and just like that, Edward had docked with his new home.

"[small]Welcome home... Ed...[/small]" Edward whispered to himself as he exited the darkened cockpit and boarded the Sweet Child of Mine.

 

[Athol]

"Sure. You might not think the Devil-Fish is pretty, but she's fast, and she can fly circles around most other racing shuttles after the time and care I put in her. And she was never a trash hauler."

?Oh don?t get your knickers in a twist, I?m just buggin? ya.? She chuckled as the pair headed towards the ?hanger? Mar had taken over. ?I?m a Navy trained fighter pilot remember? That means I?m automatically pre-dispositioned to scorn anything that isn?t a fighter.? Reaching into her flight suit, she pulled out her flask and shook it to gauge how much was left, before popping the top and taking a sip. ?That said,? She went on. ?Most pirate small craft are shuttles, mostly what we call ?coffin-crates?, civvie shuttles with weapons retrofitted to them. As you can imagine, not the most durable combat platform out there.?

Reaching the hanger, Mary reached down and patted one of her artificial legs. ?Was flying one of those when some dusty little barge decided to put up a fight; shrapnel cost me everything below mid-thigh.? Letting Mar open the door, she stepped into the hanger and let out a low whistle. ?She?s got some good lines there?? Stepping close to the Devil-Fish, she trailed her left hand across the hull, and along the engine nacelle.

?Well this ain?t stock.? She quipped, as she looked over the ?aftermarket? engine. Moving along until she found a maintenance panel, she popped it open and booted up the diagnostic display, before letting out another whistle. ?Okay, despite the sting to my pride, I?ll have to admit?I couldn?t catch her in a straight run, ?Misha? just wasn?t built for that.? Shutting the panel down and closing the panel, Mary flashed Mar a predatory grin. ?Guess I?ll have to beat you in the turns.?

 

[Outcast107]

Walker watched as more and more people from the bar shows up. Glad that they were due to how well diverse they were in skills and such. Seeing each one showing up one after the other.

"Brian Wojtek reporting,"

"Welcome aboard Brian. It's nice to have one of you fellows on board."

"Alright, I'm here. Grace is minding the Archer at the moment."

"Good to know, I assume you will be on your own ship during the flight?"

"~SNIFFFFFFFFFFF~"

Walker heard something and wonder what the fuck that was. Turning around to see Irina standing there, her face red with, what he could guess, embarrassment. He was about to asked what she was doing before someone else came up and said.

"Velka reporting in."

"H...H...HI VELKA!" He watched as Irina took Velka hands and started to shake it wildly."YOU KNOW THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE EVER MET A RESHANI! I'M DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR CULTURE!"

"...welcome board Velka..." Was what all Walker could say at this moment.

"Anyways..." He tried to change the subject quickly. "Welcome aboard to the 'Sweet Child of Mine.' "Walker said with a grin. "Make yourselves at home inside if you are riding along."

 

[FalloutJack]

In Elliot's own opinion, the Sweet Child of Mine as a vessel for mercenaries was not the best choice. It looked like, and was probably, a cargo vessel. Yes, it had space and storage which could be modified into whatever they needed in there for their personal needs, but it wasn't Elliot's ideal choice. He said this, having spent time basically living out of a gunship, of course. Rick probably couldn't afford a decent military vessel. You know, like something a bit outdated or some kind of a fixer-upper in terms of functionality. You get things like that cheap and, if you know how to fix them up, they become home to you. That was what he liked about the Archer. It was an armed vessel retrofitted into something that could support people adequately over time. It wasn't the best design, but it was good enough. Now, Rick was asking him about whether he and Grace were staying on his own ship.

"That'd be yes, partly because it's an asset I wouldn't leave here if one of the engines burst into flames, and partly because it looks like the Sweet Child could use it in a fight if anyone decides to take advantage of her."

Basically, he was stating that the Archer would be pulling guard duty in the same manner it looked after itself. Either he or Grace would be manning the helm and if anything went wrong, they'd open up like a space war had broken out or something. It seemed like the rest of the crew was filtering in. Some of the smaller vessels were either gonna dock inside the big ship or attach to it. Sadly, the Archer was just a bit too big to do so on a longterm basis. It was a nimble gunship, but it wasn't a small ship. With Rick calling the 'All Aboard', Elliot headed back into his own craft. Making his way from the door to the cockpit area, he came upon Grace, who turned to look at him with an expression you couldn't quite place with ease. She was always calm, but there was a strange earnest desire to please in her.

"Do you want me to take first shift, Elliot?"

"If you want to."

She nodded, and turned back to the console. Well, that was her answer. Elliot was getting some shut-eye.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"H...H...HI VELKA!" Screamed the Catican known as Irina as she went to grab Velka's hand. On the heads up display of the synth, she could see that the servos in her wrist were experiencing a high degree of tension which was correlating to her hand being vigorously shaken. "YOU KNOW THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE EVER MET A RESHANI! I'M DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOUR CULTURE!"

Spoiler: ORION Files (SUBJECT: IRINA ROSTIKOVA)

The subject appears to be highly excitable, especially when around a species that they have not encountered before. Whether or not this will be a liability or asset remains to be seen. Potential benefit for social functions (read: distraction), will study further for any additional effects.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance as well Miss Irina. This will be an interesting time I'm sure." Velka replied within her attempt to sound friendly towards the feline looking humanoid.

"Anyways..." Walker then said to put a break in the somewhat awkwardness of the current situation "Welcome aboard to the 'Sweet Child of Mine.'" He added with a slight grin to his face. "Make yourselves at home inside if you are riding along."

"Thank you, Captain. Is there anywhere particular you wish for us to setup? Or is it 'anything goes', so long as we don't interfere with essential ship systems?" Velka asked, her voice sounding slightly more robotic, but still sounding relatively natural.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

TGR Territory Border | Sweet Child of Mine | Devil-Fish Holding Container
"Can't measure those engines with equine strength."​

[hr]

Mar preferred older ships over the freshly manufactured. Older ships may have had their quirks, but once you fixed them up, they were usually solid and reliable. Older ships had stories. And the Sweet Child was certainly one of those ships, she thought as she absentmindedly ran a true-hand along the corridor's wall as they walked to the Devil-Fish's makeshift hangar. Her thoughts were brought back to Red Mary as she spoke.

"Oh don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm just buggin' ya. I'm a Navy trained fighter pilot remember? That means I'm automatically pre-dispositioned to scorn anything that isn't a fighter."

"Shree may have four arms, but we aren't a race of large, sapient arthropods." she pointed out blandly.

"That said, most pirate small craft are shuttles, mostly what we call 'coffin-crates', civvie shuttles with weapons retrofitted to them. As you can imagine, not the most durable combat platform out there. Was flying one of those when some dusty little barge decided to put up a fight; shrapnel cost me everything below mid-thigh."

As Mary patted the knee of one of her prosthetic legs, Mar couldn't help but grimace a little in sympathy.

"I'm actually all-too aware of the fact that pirate fighters are flying death-traps. Had a few run-ins with pirates on the smuggling runs I was hired to pilot for. I was good enough to keep from being blown out of the skies, but they weren't so lucky. I always took that as a cautionary tale to never be cheap when it really counts." Mar said as she hit the button to the containers loading door with a fist.

It took a few moments for the container to go through the sequence to not only normalize it's atmosphere with that of the rest of the ship, but also to open the door itself, which seemed to be noticeably sticky. Mar would have to fix that sometime soon. As they stepped inside, Mary immediately began to run a hand along the fuselage and let out a low, appreciative whistle.

"She's got some good lines there..."

"Used to be a Mantid-made passenger and light-cargo shuttle. Bought her from a shipbreaking yard. I still don't know why I found her there of all places, since there wasn't really anything wrong with her. Just needed to clean her, fuel her up, and make a few additions of my own." Mar said with not a little bit of pride in her synthesized voice.

When Mary's hand reached one of the more thrusters which were bulbous and curved compared to the sharp, angular lines of the shuttles body, Mar couldn't help but grin.

"Well this ain't stock."

Then she was suddenly prying open a maintenance panel on the side of the engine despite a quick noise of protest from Mar, and was booting up a diagnostic on it. The Shree huffed a little as she stepped a little closer and gave her a sidelong glance. After another low whistle, the corners of her mouth started to curve upward a little again.

"Okay, despite the sting to my pride, I'll have to admit...I couldn't catch her in a straight run, 'Misha' just wasn't built for that. Guess I'll have to beat you in the turns."

Mar couldn't help but let out a low rumble of laughter of her own. It sounded a little odd compared to her voice as it was processed by her translator: Deeper, and a little guttural.

"You might find that a little harder than you think." she said, patting the thruster, "These babies can be independently adjusted on the fly, making the Devil-Fish not only fast, but maneuverable. Had to be, for the SRL circuit, though I never got to put her through her paces in a race after I had these installed."

There was a note of bitter disappointment as she said that, before she added slyly, "These were pulled off of a Terran Space Fighter, actually."

Crossing her true-arms over her chest again, she gave Mary a crooked grin. Being an ex-Navy pilot, she was sure to appreciate this part.

"The 223-SSF, though apparently the TGR took to calling it the Hellbat. No idea why. Fastest fighter they ever made, but they phased it out because they didn't have enough pilots that could handle flying them. Shame. When I found one, I couldn't really afford the whole fighter at the time, but I managed to make a deal on the thrusters." the Shree explained.