2/28/09

Helena, Dema, Chloe, Mag, Ian and Hitomi came from here.

The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. - Proverbs 21:16

2/28/09

The shuttle flew low over the glittering sea, below the clouds that formed signaling the coming of summer storms on Ezra. Slight turbulence buffeted the little craft, but its inertial dampeners compensated giving the passengers a remarkably smooth ride.

"That Port cost me more than Cain probably made on his last bounty," said Hitomi, as she raised her glass to Dema. "Hit me up, pretty boy. And you've got me all wrong, Dema, really. It's not that I'm cold-hearted, it's just that I've been from one end of this gorram 'Verse to the other and I know there are only two sides to any arrangement, the side that gets you paid and the side that gets you killed. I prefer to be on the former side as much as possible. Heroics and nobility? That's what the Independents thought of and see how far it got them. I'm simply a girl who appreciates and honest days' wage and the finer things in life. Can you really hold it against me?"

"Besides," she said, lighting a cigarette. "You're touching display of loyalty to you and yours has caused me to put my principles on the shelf for this one time and help you with no promise of recompense aside from your continued assurance not to kill me. I can tell you where the detention ships depart from. It's not far outside of Skara Brae. I can punch the coordinates into the nav computer, if you like."

"You see, Vesto had an arrangement with the Alliance to ship his political enemies off to some research facility on the moon of Reykjavik, a dead world with little in the way of resources or atmosphere to speak of. No reason for them to setup a research station there, but it is out of the way. Well, once his political enemies had been taken care of, he didn't stop there. He continued to ship the dregs of his jails. Prostitutes, the homeless, the mentally ill, people who wouldn't be missed. Those ships are contracted by Dysson, a big Alliance military contractor, a subsidiary of Blue Sun. They normally have a skeleton crew, mostly security and tech staff, as those ships are mostly automated. They leave twice a week, like clockwork. If a dedicated team could take one of those ships without the crew alerting home base, it's theoretically possible to slip get inside whatever it is they're hiding on Reykjavik, I suppose."

"Cain," she mused, with a chuckle. "Now what was it his personal file came up with...ah yes, there was a ring on Regina that was counterfieting those little plastic kewpie dolls they sell in convenience stores and Cain took a bounty to bring the ringleader to justice." She laughed grimly and put down the port in one gulp. "Real mastermind you have leading you 'round the 'Verse there, boys and girls."

Suddenly, Dema's personal Cortex reader buzzed with an incoming message. It was from his aunt Serine.

2/28/09

"Dema my dear," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "Surely by now you realize that there's no place in the universe you can go where I won't find you. Did you really think your friends had more loyalty to you than they do to me? I was forging alliances with the most powerful people in the galaxy while you were still in your mother's womb, so don't think for a second that you can match wits with me darling, because I promise you that you *will* lose."

"Now, you are either in custody or soon will be. Regardless, your nefarious days as a criminal mastermind are over. I've spoken to the right people who've in turn spoken to the right people who will make your life very, very difficult. Don't think you're the first person I've destroyed in my time, my dearest darling nephew. Oh no, you haven't even *begun* to see what I'm capable of. Now, I suggest you put down your pretentions of grandure and come back to me while I'm still in the mood to entertain forgiveness, my little wayward prince. There is still the ball on Persephone that you can be at, the young heiress at your side. All can be forgiven and forgotten."

"And Dema," she added, before switching off the transmission. "I do hope you do what's smart...for your sake."

2/28/09

Mag had turned Hitomi's words over and over in his mind, but in the end everything he thought of sounded trite. Jacob Cain may indeed be a ne'er-do-well, but Mag doubted the man would leave him behind. His nature - his true, deep down nature - had come through when the Alliance had captured Cain and Rikka.

Get out of here! Get them out of here!

Cain's final words hadn't been one of begging, or quick talking to try and change his fate; he'd accepted it, and tried to save his crew by telling them to run. And he'd trusted Mag to do so. That part gave him a twinge of guilt. He'd been given an order, and his first job as temporary Captain of the ship was to break it.

He hadn't risen to Hitomi's baiting, and cringed a bit when Dema shut her arguments down by threatening to add a second mouth six inches below the first and kick her out the airlock. It had sounded harsh, but he knew they were both just blowing off steam. Hitomi had just lost everything, and Dema had been closer to Cain than anyone else here, excluding Helena. Mag looked around the room as Dema and Hitomi debated the finer points of his plan. He wished Rikka were here. Her calm had a radiating effect, and he could desperately use some calm right about now. Then again, as long as he was wishing for foolish things, why not wish Cain were here too, to tell him the best way to go about this?

"Huh? Oh, right. Yes, please do that, Hitomi." His original thought had been to request help in the black, but this might be even easier. Once they landed the shuttle, Ian and Mag could hide to let the repair crew aboard. They would probably be accompanied by an armed escort, to make certain there were no surprises on board. Once they had repaired the shuttle and disembarked with their escort, Mag, Helena, Chloe and Hitomi could slip out the escape hatch and find cover, work their way toward the Cerberus and get aboard. They might be able to find uniforms, which would make things a bit smoother. Once they had control of the ship, all they had to do was depressurize the rear cabins for a little while. The soldiers back there would pass out, and the ship would be their's.

"Why the hell would anyone care about what's on that moon? I only want Cain and Rikka back."

Then Mag noticed Helena, standing in her new dress. She had washed her face and looked absolutely wonderfull. How in the hell could he be thinking of taking her on an assault mission? But he knew that answer already. Helena was a walking platoon, and he would need her if this plan was to work. "You look great, Helena."

3/1/09

Chloe was quiet as the others laid out plans, busying herself with the takeoff procedure on the unfamiliar shuttle. She maintained her quiet once they were off, though that was mostly so she could listen to the discussions behind herself. Flying a shuttle in the blackness of space wasn't much of a challenge as the odds of hitting anything were, quite literally, astronomically low. The issue was navigation, which was mostly done through computer but, without any place to go, Chloe just left the shuttle adrift to save power and waited for a destination to surface.

"I think this plan is better", she said. "Hijacking a detention ship doesn't just give you an in into the ship, it gets you uniforms and lands you right where they're most likely to be holding your crewmates. It's about the best you can hope for, I think."

She left it at that, hoping that her careful avoidance of the word 'we' would get her message across. Given Dema's apparent state of mind and his threat to Hitomi, she didn't want to state the obvious any further -- that she really had no reason to participate.

The Companion's outburst worried her. He'd made it clear that he was deeply attached to Rikka and was willing to do anything to get her back, but threatening Hitomi seemed counterproductive. Oh, she might go along, but right now, no doubt she was also pondering the danger of sticking around a well-trained knife artist with a grudge and a cause. It wouldn't motivate Hitomi to do her best... At least the possibility of her thinking she'd be better off handing them to the Alliance seemed remote.

The threat certainly made Chloe nervous. She didn't really have a horse in this race and while she was certainly not averse at thumping her nose at the Alliance, she also didn't really have a compelling reason to risk her life on it. Compounding the problem with a man who might be too emotionally invested to handle a con job without the calm that the deception would require. She hoped his Companion training was good enough to allow him to do that. Then there was the problem that Dema might be so invested to try to force Chloe to participate with a threat not unlike the one he'd just levelled at Hitomi. That didn't seem likely because she was little more than a bystander, but it did worry her.

Or it could all be an act to elicit compliance from Hitomi, something she fully believed the trained Companion to be capable of. But then it seemed a little miscalculated, given the doubts it had engendered in Chloe's own mind, doubts that were no doubt reflected in Hitomi's. Perhaps the peril the engineer was in was affecting Dema, but less than he was letting on.

Chloe was worried, wondering what she was going to do and why she was being naturally included in all these plots on which she only had the most tenuous investment in, and left to wonder if Dema might not enforce his will at knife-point. Not the best situation to be in. Plus this revolved around this Sybil "person" and the group clearly hadn't been forthcoming with her about her, given the conversations they'd had with her -- perhaps with good reason, given that she seemed worthy of military response. Well, at least, she thought ruefully, she was the one driving.

She spotted Helena in her dress and had a genuine smile. "Looking good! A bit of makeup adjustment and you'll look superb."

She turned back to the shuttle. "Now, please, could someone tell me about Sybil and why it is you are in this situation to begin with? Because I don't feel I really have been told the whole story, here..."

3/1/09

Helena smiled at Mag and looked down at her self, "Oh, you think? thanks." But the smile faded realizing what she was getting dressed up for. It was no longer time for fun and games. Helena put on her 'game face' and grabbed her guns strapping a holster to her thigh and placing what weapons she could in it. "It ain't much but thankfully dresses conceal easily.

Helena looked up at Chole, she really hadn't been introduced to the woman. Nor did she care. "Don't have time for makeup, and as for Sybil well," Helena laughed a bit, "She's a part of our ship, good at annoying the hell out of you and giving you stats on how likely you are to die in your current situation. She's a good amount of help though, even with all the rest. As for the whole story, you don't need to know it right now. Right now, you need to focus on watching our backs and helping us get back our crew. Sound Dandy?"

3/2/09

Dema humphed. That's my definition of 'cold-hearted' you fool, he thought, but he didn't interrupt her as she went on.

He humphed again. And as he did, he glanced at the cockpit and Chloe. Her posture. Everything about her. It spoke of nerves and... something else.

And she didn't sound committed. And why should she be, he realised. She wasn't one of the crew, she wasn't going to be storming the cruiser with the rest of them. Dema frowned. This would have an effect on his plans. Mag's team needed some subtle mixed in with the demolition crew that was Helena and Mag.

Speak of the devil. As Hitomi and Mag continued to hash out plans, Helena walked in, looking lovely in her new dress. A woman who had just been shot in the stomach and here she was, blood free, wearing a new dress she'd no doubt bought for happier times, ready to go and get shot all over again. It was a sobering thought and Dema finally backed down from the edge he'd been on.

A new clarity took over. His rage wasn't gone, it had simply found a better focus. Cain and Rikka were still the priority, but he had others to be aware of as well. He'd realised that if Mag or Helena were to be taken in what came next, he would be just as inclined to try and rescue them as well. So best they not get captured. The plan had to be better, more rounded. And they had to use whatever resources they had. Including incidentals like Hitomi and Chloe.

He echoed Mag's sentiments. "Helena, you look lovely. It's a pity you're not wearing that dress somewhere you can truly enjoy it."

Then he sighed, breathed deep and looked at Hitomi. "I'm glad your morals are being waved on our account." He did his best to act as though he were contrite over his previous outburst. "You can understand if I don't like to hear anyone speak like that about Cain and Rikka can't you?"

As for Chloe though, he had no idea how to get her involved. He simply didn't know the woman well enough to have any sort of leverage on her. Mentally, he shrugged. He would have to consider it a bonus that they enough pilots in their small group to even consider a two pronged offensive.

Dema decided this was his opportunity to make friends. Or at least try and placate the woman. He moved to the cockpit and sat in the second chair. "Sybil is... not something that can be explained very easily or quickly. Suffice it to say, we came across her by accident, she made herself at home and the alliance will very happily kill anyone who's ever spoken to her." He stopped there and let that one sink in. Best make sure she knew running to the Alliance was not an option. Not that he felt she was that skittish about things, but nothing wrong with being cautious.

"Chloe, I know we're not being very forthcoming, nor is this how you expected to be spending your-" what day was it? "-Thursday-" not as much impact as he'd been hoping for... "-but if you could fly one of the ships-" his cortex link buzzed from his pocket and he scowled at it "-that would be... something."

Dema gave her one more slight smile; part charming, part apologetic, all companion training act, and moved back into the main room to look at his message.

His Aunt.

Pleasant as usual.

Dema's lip curled and he squeezed the small device in his hands until it beeped in protest. He quickly slipped is back into his pocket and moved to stand next to Mag.

"My Aunt has sent me another message. More 'come back or else'. But this one is a little more disturbing. It's not normally in her nature to work with the Alliance. She's usually the sneak around behind the scenes and manipulate them type. But in here, she actually says if I'm not already under arrest I soon will be. Mag, this woman made me. She uses me and people like me to change the face of the political and economic landscape to suit her purposes time and time again. Hell, the last time I was somewhere she didn't like, she gave Cain enough information on a top secret Dysson research... facility..." he trailed off.

She gave Cain details on the hidden parts of that building like the information was nothing, perhaps she could... Dema shook his head. What was he thinking? Nothing was worth that. If he asked a 'favour'? Gods, she'd have him for life without even the chance of a minor rebellion now and then. She'd set him to undoing everything he'd gone to such length to set up during the war. And the women... His lip curled.

Rikka a small voice inside him said and he sank to the chair next to him. And for a moment he considered it. He could skip the blueprints and ask for the whole kit and caboodle. His Aunt had said she had friends ready to make his life hell. Those friends were most likely the people who could make everything all better as well. If he was going to give up his free will for all time, he could ask for Rikka and Cain's release outright. He might have to call in a few favours he'd set up to gain some measure of his own leverage, but it was possible.

He sat, and thought over it, and it all came back to one point. Could he essentially give up his life for someone else? Several someone elses even. Not just Rikka and Cain, but it would stop Mag and Helena having to get shot again as well. It was truly agonising. And somewhere at the back of his mind, he realised this would not be such a hard decision if he had any sort of morality at all.

He looked up to Mag, about to let the man know what he was thinking, when another thought occurred to him. This wasn't even about Cain and Rikka. Not for the Alliance anyway, so they weren't going to be giving anyone up until they had Sybil, no matter who asked. And once they had her, well, as he'd just finished pointing out to Chloe, they'd wipe out anyone who'd ever known her.

No, his Aunt might have contacts, but they weren't good enough to do anything here. Except perhaps guarantee Dema would be captured rather than killed. Something his own status already assured him of. So in the end, it didn't change anything.

What a lot of angst over nothing. Morals led to moral delemmas and they were greatly overrated. But... he'd leave the reply to his Aunt for later. Just in case he did end up needing a favour. Wait to burn all the bridges until the flood had subsided.

And no doubt Mag would like an explanation for his odd behaviour. "Sorry," he finally said, looking up at Mag from where he still sat. "I had half an idea going, but it turned out not to be viable. So, we're still going with two ships? And the companion and pretty ladies in distress routine, but on the ground not in the air?"

He turned to the coms. "Sybil, how are you doing? And is there any chance you could bring up schematics on the cruiser? Details on where Cain and Rikka are being held?"

3/2/09

"You got it chief," said Hitomi with a cigarette firmly in her mouth. With a groan she lifted herself up from her seat and went to the nav computer. "There we go. Hang on, I've got a tap into the Alliance MilNet." Her brow furrowed as she looked at the display. "Well, I can confirm the Phoenix is definitely headed for Reykjavik. They're making no attempt to conceal their destination which means they either consider us no threat or they want us to come to them. If there's any silver lining to this whole mess, the Phoenix isn't flying with her usual military escort. There's apparently a big operation on the other side of the system and someone's issued a decree diverting Phoenix's escort frigates to a special fleet under direct Parliamentary control. Details are sketchy, but apparently we're not the only folk in the 'Verse causing the Alliance problems. The poor bastards have a full battle group after them, so it's quite possible that someone out there's in even worse trouble than your captain."

"Because that's where they're going, simpleton," she retorted, slightly annoyed. "A ship the size of that Alliance carrier, there's nowhere else for it to go in this sector."

Hitomi laughed grimly, "Yep, guns, a hot girl with a gunshot and an arsenal strapped to her side. You're definitely a contender for runner-up Serenity Valley Homecoming Queen, Helena."

"Fine, I withdraw the statements. Your captain's a fine, upstanding young man...pillar of society. Purer that the farmer's daughter's crotch. Now, if you want to gut someone like a Christmas goose, there are plenty of folks on that Alliance ship who'll do just fine."

"Sounds good to me," said Hitomi. "Who's going to be the brains of this operation, not that there's an answer to that question that doesn't leave us completely humped, mind you."

There was no reply, though a minute later in incoming message came onto Dema's Cortex mail. A moment's decryption revealed a ship schematic.

"Wuo Duh Tian Ah," said Hitomi with a gasp. "These...these specs can't be right. No ship in the 'Verse can generate that much power, not even the big Alliance cruisers. That thing has the firepower of an entire battle group from the war."

3/2/09



Name: Phoenix-class heavy carrier

Description: The Phoenix-class is the largest CV class in the Union of Allied Planets fleet. The latest technology has been incorporated into her design, including the the first ever dark matter reactor that feeds power to the ship. Numerous ideas were borrowed from the Hakaga-class carrier, which was state of the art at the time of the War of Unification. Numerous weapons systems and a fighter compliment of 400 wing make her a formidable opponent. Running from stern to prow is the experimental Nova Cannon, a series of linked, superconducting energy amplification conduits, focusing an output of five hundred million gigawatts into one lancing point. Use of the cannon will destroy all known ships and can cause complete destruction of a terraformed world's biosphere, but it does leave the ship drained of power for a period of four minutes.

Class: Heavy Carrier
Length: 1600 meters
Mass: 250,000 tonnes
Crew: 7,000
Max Velocity: 150 k/s
Cruise Velocity: 100 k/s
Max Y/P/R: 6/6/6 deg/s
Weapons: Dual-Mount Anti-Matter Gun (14), Mass-Driver Turret (16), Dual-Mount Laser Turret (24), Torpedo Tube (2), Nova Cannon (1)
Shields: Phase
Front/Rear/Right/Left Armor 4,000 cm
Core Strength 6,000 cm
Fighter Complement 400

3/3/09

"Tch" Helena was still...cross about the recent encounter they had just survived with Hitomi. "Best be keeping your smartass comments to your self Hitomi. I still haven't forgiven you. Remeber, I carry an arsenal and am not afraid to use it. Ask Vesto." She smirked and looked back to her things.

She looked over Hitomi's shoulder. Her eyes widened, the ship was powerful indeed. Helena wasn't much on specs but she could even see that this wasn't going to be easy. "Looks like we're getting dirty boys and girls."

3/3/09

"It would be something", Chloe replied. She frowned. This was a tightly-knit crew, it reminded her of the crew of the Arrrowhead, probably closer, even. But even if she remembered those days fondly, before all the problems, even if she wouldn't mind at all going through that again -- though she'd pick the crew more carefully, this time! -- there it was, laid out clearly. Helena had been blunt, Dema less so, but the point was, she wasn't a member of the crew. And neither she nor they had any reason to want to change that.

"Look, see it from my side. I've been yanked out of my rare relaxing Thursday because of you people, gotten shot at for the sake of a crew I know nothing about, and asked to assault just about the biggest ship in the entire Alliance Navy. And it's all because you guys have some secret-or-other 'crewmate' that you won't tell me about because it's all secret and dangerous. But you know what, I'd bet a lifetime supply of Tariska vodka that the Alliance would already kill me for the next-to-nothing I already know, so not knowing isn't buying me much of anything, is it? And to top it all off Hitomi owes me some scratch from that job and fat chance I'm seeing a coin of it now. So here I am, I'm owed money, I'm left in the dark, the Alliance already wants to kill me, and I'm still being asked to risk my life on what's a dead ringer for a suicide mission and I don't see me getting anything out of it except multiple bullet holes and maybe the chance to get out of it, and yay to that. So no, it does not sound dandy, in fact it does not sound dandy at all."

3/3/09

Mag nodded along with Chloe's reasoning. It did make more sense to hit things on the ground, especially since it meant the shuttle didn't need to be pulled aboard a cruiser or docked with another vessel, joined at the cargo bay or at one of the emergency hatches. With only one point of entry that way they'd have had to try and sneak aboard using the same opening the other ship's crew would be guarding if they had any sense at all. Mag would post guards if it was his ship lending aid to a drunk, male Companion and a few choice looking women at a military installation. It would still be difficult to take a ship from the ground, but at least they would be able to flank the situation instead of heading straight up the middle.

The uniforms, though, that was another matter. Uniforms were currency, and what they bought was a little bit of invisibility. People tend to look twice and shoot when folks wandered around in plain clothes, but if you had on the right uniform and walked like you had somewhere to be, you did so without as much attention.

Mag waited for Dema to continue. He could tell the other man was thinking, debating perhaps the wisdom of giving himself up in exchange for his Aunt's aid in getting Cain and Rikka back. Mag frowned and started to speak, but Dema beat him to the same conclusion-

"Yeah. We'll have to make the landing look a little rough, put some distance between the shuttle and them. They'll come to us, and while they check the ship we'll sneak off." He was glad Dema hadn't chosen to take his Aunt up on her demands. Even if she had the influence to get Cain and Rikka out of the clutches of Gwen Andrews and her thugs, it would be at the cost of of his own freedom. He'd just remarked that his Aunt used him to change things in the 'Verse, and somehow Mag thought this comment had more to do with Sabian's skills with a blade and less to do with being a Companion.

"I told you they blasted Three Hills with that thing," Mag said over her shoulder. He could barely read the schematics. Ships were never a passion, and he had always relied upon Pike for diagrams of their missions. He grunted and scrubbed a hand over stubble. "This is interestin' and all, but does anyone see a weakness we can use?"

Mag sighed. Chloe had a point, but they were pressed for time as it was. "Alright, the fast version then. We inherited a virtual intelligence. Not an "artificial intelligence", she's touchy on that point, but I don't understand the difference. She was developed by Dysson, and somehow my former Lt. during the war stole her. When the Alliance found out we had her, they nuked Three Hills with that ship of theirs. We got away, but we had losses, and the ship took a pounding." He found an open bottle and took a swig. Mag hated wine, but if it was a choice between dry throat and wine, well, there wasn't really a choice. "It don't sound like much all compressed up like that, but now you're up with us." He glanced at Chloe, wondering how all that information sounded to ears that weren't accustomed to the story.

"So, can you fly one of these transport ships, Chloe?"

3/3/09

Hitomi listend to Mag and said, "Mag, you're assuming she gives one rat's ass about your little troubles. And I'd say Chloe cares a little less than I do, which is not much to begin with. Chloe and I speak a common language, and it's called money. Dong ma?"

She poured herself another glass of port and lit a cigarette. "There's only one thing...the matter of those credits I owe you? The Alliance has most likely frozen my accounts and Jacob Cain owes me a full eighty-thousand that he has yet to pay, plus damages that I haven't begun to calculate yet. That bastard's going to be in debt to me the rest of his life when I'm through with him, I promise you that."

"Sorry to be the bearer of even worse news, Chloe, but you're humped as far as the money's concerned until we bust that huen dahn Jacob Cain and I get the rest of the money from him. If I have to sell that ruttin' ship for scrap, he's going to pay me what he owes me."

"Let me explain this as plainly as I can. Jacob Cain owes me a large sum of money, which means he owes you a large sum of money. Want to get paid and have a trip back home in style? You'll help bust Cain out. It's that simple."

3/4/09

Helena rolled her eyes at Hitomi's comment, the woman was getting under skin more and more. She moved over to Mag and took the wine bottle, taking a swig of her own. Though it probably wasn't the greatest idea to operate firearms under the influence. She didn't care, it had been a long day.

"There's only one thing...the matter of those credits I owe you? The Alliance has most likely frozen my accounts and Jacob Cain owes me a full eighty-thousand that he has yet to pay, plus damages that I haven't begun to calculate yet. That bastard's going to be in debt to me the rest of his life when I'm through with him, I promise you that."

She sighed heavily, the woman's voice digging into her like nails across a chalk board. Her fingers twitched, itching for the gun. All it would take was a bullet. Helena took another swig of wine, best calm her nerves.

The anger bubbled up on the inside. Hitomi was heartless, cruel, disturbing. And getting on Helena's last nerve. She pulled out the gun in Hitmoi's face, "Hitomi, if he owes all this money to you, the only simple solution i can see to help me is to shoot you. Take out the middle man. That way, he won't owe you anything. That sound good to you?" Her finger applying only slight pressure against the trigger. There was no way Cain was giving up his ship, there was no way Hitomi was going to follow him for the rest of their lives. It was her fault they were in their current situaiton. It was her fault Cain and Rikka had been captured. If she had just grown a pair and killed Vesto then things would've been fine. But The Seven had to be involved. All of it was her fault.

3/4/09

"Problem is", Chloe said coldly, "I'm the one who gets that money, not her. And since you're trying to get me to help, shooting the middleman isn't going to be very helpful. Besides, you want to be nice to me. 'Cause I'm the one driving the shuttle. See?" With her free hand, she pulled on the yoke, and the little atmospheric ship lurched violently to one side. "So you might want to rethink what you're threatening to do, get me? Before something unhappy happens." She stabilized the shuttle. "These fly-by-wire controls are very sensitive, you know. Great for manuevrability."

She glared at Helena for a brief time. "So stop being an ass. Hitomi has done nothing but try to get you out of that bind since she got here. If she could've kept you out of it, she would have." Then she conversationally addressed Hitomi. "So you try to help them, you want to convince me to help them, and so they threaten to shoot you. Twice. Remind me why we're helping these people again?"

3/4/09

"Hey!" Things were crumbling in front of his eyes, and Mag wondered what Cain would do if he were here. He didn't know, and if he ever wanted to broach the subject with his Captain again, he'd need to squash this all before Helena decided to decorate their help with some new holes.

Pike. He would have known. For all of the man's backstabbing and manipulation, during the war he'd been the quintessential Lieutenant. The man could have talked dead soldiers into getting up and digging their own graves. Helena was a soldier, and she would get where Mag was coming from. He wasn't as sure about Hitomi and Chloe. It was the only tone of authority he knew, so he used it, slipping into Pike's cadence and making certain that they all understood where things stood. "All talk of money and shootin' anyone who's not wearin' an Alliance uniform ends here."

He stood up, his back straight and his eyes focused. It wasn't anger that infused his voice, it was a clear determination to be heard and to kill the speculation before it got out of hand. Mag had a pretty good idea of what would happen if he failed. Helena was faster than Mag, and a better shot at close range. He might be able to beat her snipering, but she could probably fill the room with lead if she were pushed over the edge. Dema would probably hurl some steel while Helena emptied some clips, and Mag would be short handed for the trouble he knew lay ahead. "If money is the issue, then we'll figure something out when we have our people safe and sound. You have my word, I'll find a way to get you paid. If you have any questions about my word, you only have to look at what we're doin' right now. I never gave my word to Cain or Rikka for anythin', but they have it just the same. But," he paused and let the word hang in the air.

"But, that offer is rescinded the moment the next person starts on about money again. You'll get your money if I have to steal it straight from Londinium, but I don't want to hear any more about it. We got people to save, bad guys to screw over and a whole lot of havoc to rain down. Helena, Dema, Ian and I are in because they're our folks. Chloe, I'm not going to lie and say I can do without you. I can't. I need you flying us in and out. Without Dema, I'm going to need your skills off the ship as well."

Mag turned to Hitomi. The lady had a tendency to piss people off even when she was trying to be nice. Thankfully, she would be separated from Dema. Unfortunately, she would be working with Helena, which was like using a cattle prod on two wolverines and stuffing them into a locked bathroom. He sighed. "Listen, Hitomi, I can't fix everything the Alliance ruined, but I will make alot of it up to you. Trust me."

"C'mon people. Rikka and Cain don't need us fighting each other. Save it for the folks who deserve it." Then, just as Pike would have done, he walked off to let his words sink in. Unlike Pike, Mag walked to the engine room and shook for a few minutes.

3/4/09

Helena gritted her teeth and released the gun letting it swing back on her finger. "Fine." She muttered through her teeth. "As soon as we're done here though I swear to god I will have no problem shoot the BOTH of you!" Her nose flared and glared at Chole. "You and your GOD DAMN ALLIANCE! they should ruttin' exterminated. They're just as bad as reavers." Helena looked at Mag, "So what now sir? Since your in charge, what do we do now?" Her voice still clearly agitated. The presence of Hitomi and Chole made her rage on the inside. Her hand still itching to shoot something, but being in flight it was exactly the best idea. It seemed that there were only three things that could calm Helena down, booze, though that generally made her worse off, sex, but there was no way she was getting any in the current crowd, or destruction of some sort, which could include blowing someone's brain's out or blowing up a ship in junkyard. Right now, destruction seemed to be the only root to take, but with their current situation and setting, it was physically impossible for her to do so. So Helena stayed angry, and raged on the inside.

3/5/09

Hitomi's eyes narrowed and she affixed Helena with a steely gaze as she was verbally restrained by both Chloe and Mag.

"Some people need to learn basic manners," Hitomi said through clenched teeth affixing Helena with an icy glare. "Just stick with me and I'll see that you get paid, Chloe. With interest. Trust me, I may be many things, but I do pay my debts."

"Ladies and gentlemen, as stimulating as this conversation's been, I think I need to go check on Ian," she said pleasantly. She picked up a bottle of rum and turned to leave the cabin.

Passing by Mag, she hissed so that only he could hear, "Keep your woman in check or I'll do it for you, dong ma?"

A moment later, she left the room.

3/5/09

Mag leaned forward and thumped his head against the wall. "Hell, Cain, how could you deal with all of this?" Even after his Pike-speech, he was still neck deep in the conflict. The bad part was that they would be splitting up, dividing their strengths. The worse part was that the folks who had seemed to have the calmest minds - Dema and Ian - would be the ones leaving. It would be Mag and a pack of tigresses stealing a ship and getting onto that Phoenix class cruiser. Tigresses who already disliked each other.

He'd tried to imagine what Cain would do and couldn't. He'd tried to channel a bit of Pike, and that had failed. Maybe that was the problem. He wasn't Cain or Pike. He was the rough and tumble boy from Persephone. He was the young man who'd had dreams of becoming a doctor, then a sniper, and failed at both. But, he'd become a damned good medic, and a soldier. "Shit."

He turned and raced after Hitomi, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. She was shorter than Mag, and when he bent down to be on her level he felt exposed instead of intimidating. "Listen, lady, I know Helena's abrasive at times, but you're not a delicate fucking flower, either. I'll handle her. You just keep your head and don't egg her on, and I'll come through for you with enough money to be on top of another steamin' pile of scum and villainy." He let that sink in as he leaned a bit closer. "But Helena is Cain's crew, and if you ever threaten to do anything to any member of the Seven again I'll push you out an airlock."

Holy shit, that felt good. Like a weight had been lifted. Was this how his own Sarge felt when he got into someone's face and tore them a new asshole? He felt great. Mag smiled and walked past her, slapping her on her behind for good measure. Where was Helena?

He slid in next to her, his face still flush with a grin. "Listen, beautiful," he whispered, keeping his back to the rest of the room to make it harder to overhear him. "We need these girls, right? You and I both know that when it's time to unleash hell and get our people back, I'm goin' to turn to you. In the meantime, let's lay off them a bit." He held up his hands to forestall arguments. "For Cain and Rikka, please. No more promises to gun them down until after we get things all squared away. And who knows, by then maybe you won't want to kill them." He glanced down at her dress again, blushed and remembered where he was. Mag coughed and took a step back. "I really like this look."

***

"Chloe." He sat down in the copilot seat next to her and looked down at all the dials and readouts. "I know Helena can seem a little unreasonable, what with the threats and such, but she really is a great person." He slowed himself down a bit, not wanting to rush this. Hitomi was a hard-ass and could take threats and crassness as easily as breathing air. Chloe was an unknown. Still, he was on a roll, why stop now? "She's just passionate, and in her head this all came about because of Hitomi. You kinda got lumped in with her, and that wasn't fair. I'll try and keep her civil, alright?"

3/6/09

Helena rolled her eyes, "We don't need 'em all that much, just put a gun to her head and tell her if she doesn't fly she's gonna die, and if she lets go she'll die anyhow. It ain't exactly a win win."

She took in a deep breath, "Fine," she grumbled under her breath, "But don't think this means I'm completely under your thumb. I still can unleash hell like no other. It's just for Cain and Rikka, that's all." She crossed her arms and pouted like a disgruntled child,

A small smile crept on to her face, she blushed and looked down. "Thanks, maybe I'll wear it more often." Helena looked up at Mag a smile hidden within her eyes. She cleared her throat, "Right well, I'll keep it cool, for Cain and Rikka's sake."

3/7/09

Dema kept his mouth shut, watched and listened.

Mag made good sense and good points, Hitomi was a right pain in the ass, Helena was getting a little scary and Chloe was actually messing with the flight plan to prove her points.

Upon realising that his plan effectively lumped poor sensible Mag with this possibly explosive mis match of estrogen, Dema couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Amused, but still, a little guilty.

Helena's anger also helped to highlight to Dema how unhelpful his own attitude was at the moment. Being able to see the effects her threats were having on Chloe and Hitomi reigned his own temper back in. Hitomi wouldn't care if your insult included backing a mule over her so long as she either got her own back or got paid, but Chloe was taking it all quite personally. And she was slightly confusing in her attitude. She wanted a reason to help, but didn't really want to help; she wanted to be in the loop but not part of the crew. And she seemed more peeved about Hitomi being threatened than Hitomi was.

Mag went to speak to her and Dema debated following him, but it didn't seem prudent. He'd already tried and it hadn't had a very good effect. She'd thought he was keeping secrets when he'd simply been trying to keep her role in things minimal.

For his own part, Dema would make sure he stayed civil, even to Hitomi, no matter what was said. They would have one chance at all of this and they had to get it right. He refused to let his emotions be their downfall.

3/7/09

Hitomi re-entered the passenger cabin and appraised Mag quizzically.

"Seven?" she said incredulously. "I thought you said your heap was called the Montenegro? Seven..."

She paused, letting it sink in for a moment. "You said 'any member of the Seven', right? As in The Lucky Seven? A Dragonfly named The Lucky Seven? It all makes ruttin' sense now."

"Curse you John Tarloc wherever you are," she said with a grim laugh, taking a long drag on her cigarette and a huge swig of rum. "If your ship is indeed The Lucky Seven then I know her. You see, I was once her captain..."

3/8/09

Mag turned around to regard Hitomi curiously. "What the hell are you talkin' about? How could you have been her Captain? Cain said he inherited the Seven from her previous Captain." If Cain and Hitomi had met previously, they hadn't seemed to acknowledge it when she came to greet them, thugs in tow at the docks. "And who the hell is John Tarloc?" This was getting stranger and stranger with each passing die, as if they had purchased an enigma cake and each layer held a new level of what-the-hell?

"Dema," his gaze was still on Hitomi, and he knew there was a tale worth hearing, but he also knew it would have to be told as they went along. It was time to get their people back. "Let's make our distress call. Chloe, can you make our landing look bumpy and drunk?"

3/9/09

Hitomi owned the Seven? Dema rolled his eyes. Something else for Cain to explain once they got him out.

And luckily Mag was moving them in that very direction. The man really didn't have a clue what kind of leader he'd make given half the chance. Pity that chance involved the possible demise of the Captain and the Engineer. Dema indulged in a glower at the thought for a moment, then wiped the expression away. Drunk, happy Companion. Drunk, happy Companion... he could do that. He hadn't had too much experience at all three at the same time, Companion and happy not often meeting in his world.

First, he made sure there was no trace of blood and cleaned up his slight head wound. He would think about the embarrassment of being knocked out by such a small looking thing later. Then he dredged up a lopsided smile, ruffled his hair a little, undid a few buttons on his shirt and did his best to put a glaze over his blue-grey eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, Dema looked to the ladies. "Ready?" Not sure if he felt he was ready himself, he moved to the cockpit.

Chloe still didn't look happy, despite Mag's pep talk. "No one's trying to shut you out you know, I just didn't think you wanted to know. I'll go over it with you in extended detail when we're not in so much trouble." Dema couldn't help smirking at that bit - was there such a thing as 'not so much trouble'? "And about the threatening. I wouldn't give it if I didn't know Hitomi could take it and Hitomi can handle Helena. In reality, you're the only unknown here as far as threats or anything else goes. But we want you with us and I'll pay you if I have to so any issues, just remember you're incredibly impressive with a knife," he touched the lump on his forehead "apparently better than me with a gun, you're on the sneak in sneak out team and you will be paid."

Dema watched her for a moment longer then swung in his seat. "Can I have some giggling and chinking of glasses in the background? And Hitomi, mind making a drunken cameo in the background about halfway through?" Then he turned back to look at the console in front of him. It took him a moment, ships were not his forte, but he finally found the right buttons and started up his message.

He faced away at first "Shhh, shhushh ush, ships are not supposed to do this, I am sending out a message. Now shush." Dema turned back to the screen, a dozy smile plastered on his face. He tried to make it look as though he were actually trying to look serious but failing. "Hullo, I am hoping you can help us. I am a registered Companion and my clients and I have found ourselves in a spot of trouble." He let the grin show through again, intentionally using silly words to emphasise his apparent drunkenness, but also to present himself as no threat or competition. They wanted their rescuers to think they had a chance with the women after all. A rather drunk, slightly effeminate Companion would be the best for that.

"We're landing, um, near you? It says, on the screen we're landing somewhere near you. Now I know it's not the Alliance's job, but we would all be sooo grateful if you could just give us the benefit of your expertise? Please?" Another big grin and he switched off the recording.

3/9/09

"Gee I'll try," said Hitomi with a scowl as Dema switched on the comm.

"Oh come on, Tiffany!" squealed Hitomi in a slurred voice. "Put your shirt back on! You're such a slut!"

"Bathe her and bring her to me!" shouted Hitomi with a drunken giggle.

"What official business do you have with this processing facility?" replied the channel operator on the other end. "Who is this? What's your authorization code?"

"This is a Class C facility under contract with the Union of Allied..."

The operator did not have a chance to finish his sentence before Dema switched off the transmission.

"So genius," said Hitomi going back to her surly self and lighting a cigarette and blowing a trail of smoke over Dema's head. "Should I flash my lower back tattoo once we get there or just let Helena here work her aggressions out on them?"

3/9/09

There was a bit of a pause as Chloe handled the controls, mostly for show as the shuttle was pretty much on autopilot. Then she smiled faintly. "All this passion makes a girl wonder where she stands and what others might be thinking about her, you know", she said Chloe. She turned to face him, her face calm. "Look, I realize you and your crew are under a lot of stress, put putting guns in the faces of people trying to help you isn't gonna improve things. I'll chalk it up to being worried for her captain, sure, but maybe she needs to direct her anger against someone actually responsible, ne?" She shrugged. "If she does that I don't see that we'll have a problem." Chloe hoped that would defuse the situation, not least because if she was going to help this crew having a bit of rationality and a bit less conflict certainly couldn't hurt. Tempers were high, clearly, but they had to not be stupid or this entire plan would never work. It probably wouldn't regardless, but that was no reason to just blow it.

Chloe giggled outrageously, as she left the pilot chair to approach the comm to give better audio. "I think that shouldn't tax my acting skills TOO much..."

Chloe giggled in response, pulling her shirt off with deft hands as she did. She threw it playfully at Hitomi, missing rather deliberately -- but the shirt flew in the background of Dema, which was what she intended.

"The more time we can sneak around without any shooting, the better our odds I think", said Chloe, unconcernedly bending over to pick up her shirt. The 'we' might not sound too convincing, but it was there. Between Hitomi's promise of money, the fact that she was very much stuck with this crew, and the fact that this would make for an amazing caper if it worked -- big if there -- she'd decided to go along with it, at least for now. She might change her mind if they decided to go in guns blazing, but hey, no skin off her back...

"In the meantime, bumpy and drunk landing, can do." She pulled her shirt on as she walked back to the pilot's seat. "Seems like a waste to do that while not drunk, though..." she joked.

3/10/09

Minutes later...

The shuttle landed on a lonely hill a few miles outside of Skara Brae. Rolling grasslands nestled in a mountain valley extended to the eastern horizon as the sea was visible to the west. The only sign of habitation was a road that cut through the hills leading to a small depressing gray metal building that was devoid of windows or color. It looked strangely out of place in these fertile lands.

A fence extended around the perimeter with watchtowers positioned at key vantage points. A single hydraulic blast door led into the facility. An Alliance armed transport sat on the tarmac outside.

As the shuttle landed a team of a half-dozen security personnel surrounded it, brandishing automatic weapons and tactical body armor.

"You are trespassing on property of Dysson Interplanetary and in violation of Union of Allied Planets Federal Law. Step out of the vehicle with your hands above your heads!"

"Can't be more than about a dozen of them total," said Hitomi. "A facility this small wouldn't support many more. But, since we're in violation of Union of Allied Planets Federal Law, I suppose we should give up this whole crazy scheme and surrender, right?"

3/10/09

Helena giggled in the background, "Jessie's right Tiffany you are such a slut, keep your clothes on, we wouldn't want to look indecent in front of the nice men coming to help us." She slurred slightly.

"Indeed!" Helena shouted in the background, "We are in a fit of trouble, won't some strong burly men come help us!" She giggled more, running up behind Dema, "And bring coffee too, I fear it's the only thing that will help Tiffany keep her shirt on." She giggled slightly and stumbled away from Dema.

Helena walked up to stand next to Mag while she waited for the transmission to end.

She smirked, "It would probably safer for all of us if it was the latter, or at least you," She curtly smiled at Hitomi. "Just a suggestion, to prolong your life of course."

_______________

Helena kept her mouth shut while Chole was landing the shuttle. She looked out the window once they were on the ground and searched for any sign of movement.

"Crap..." Helena muttered under her breath.

"Oh yea lets go saunter right up there and say, 'Hi I'm an ex-browncoat officer trained to murder assholes like you. We have trespassed on your property to save our ex-browncoat friends. We're here to surrender.' I'm sure they'd be plenty nice and just let us off with a slap on the wrist." Helena's voice was dripping with sarcasm. She was a tad nervous taking on the entire facility with such a small crew and even smaller amounts of guns and ammunition. "Maybe we can just blow 'em all to hell, any one have a grenade?"

3/10/09

"I've got better than a grenade", Chloe said. She frowned, suddenly serious, and pulled the shuttle off the ground by about a foot. "Be ready to jump out. I bet this distracts them. Or it might kill us all. Either or." Then she pulled the yoke sideways and the shuttle suddenly lurched towards the men, sweeping directly into them, forcing them to dive aside, one of them diving below the shuttle to avoid being hit. There was a loud clunk along the side of the shuttle as something hit there, perhaps one of the guards, perhaps more than one.

Chloe put the shuttle down immediately, and it came to a sliding, skittering halt amidst a cloud of dust and the sound of scraping metal. "Go, go, go!", she yelled, wanting the crew to leap out before the men recovered from her maneuver.

3/10/09

"Shit!" Mag yelled as Chloe swept the shuttle through the ranks of the soldiers. He had recognized their uniforms and weaponry even before she had brought them down. The helmets with the built-in tactical displays, the body armor and automatic rifles all screamed up from his past.

He'd seen them on Titan.

"Rush 'em before their reinforcements arrive, we won't be able to take them in a fair fight." Chloe was right, and their rescue mission would end here if they didn't quickly take control of the situation. He popped the shuttle door and vaulted out, hitting the ground a little off and giving his knee a solid wrenching. He half-ran, half-hopped to the nearest down soldier and put a bullet through his visor. Things had gone from a single, simple sounding plan to a firefight. Pike had always said that a plan never lasts more than a few seconds when you meet the enemy, and he was right. Or, partially right, at least. If they could take out Dysson's token force and keep them from contacting the Alliance, they might be able to salvage things.

Gunfire erupted behind him, the bullets ricocheting off the side of the shuttle's hull as one of them tried to shoot him over the wing. Mag crouched and turned, opening his own rifle up on full automatic and sweeping it across the exposed legs of the enemy. He could hear booted footsteps coming around the shuttle from the other side and shouted commands, but no communication with the others inside the facility. That would change quickly, as soon as the initial shock from Chloe's maneuver ended and training kicked back in.

3/11/09

"What the hell was wrong with the initial plan?" Dema asked, spreading his arms wide. But Chloe was yelling over the top of him and Mag was already jumping out of the door.

Dema swore and moved to the side behind the cover of the shuttle wall as bullet started thundering into the hull. When it seemed Mag's mad dash had drawn their focus, Dema popped his head back out to look at the guards. They were well armed and well armoured. Not a good time to be the knife guy. But Mag had already downed one not far away and the man's gun was just lying there asking to be fired.

Jumping lightly from the shuttle and scuttling to the now ownerless gun, Dema picked it up, took careful aim... and nothing happened. Dema let out a very quiet but very heartfelt string of curses. Damn these untrusting bastards and their 'one owner' gun policy. Some of the Alliance, and it seemed Dysson troops wore guns that recognised their owners and stopped working when said owner did. And here Dema was, stuck in the middle of a fire fight with a gun tht didn't like him.

"Hey"

Dema looked up to see a gun swinging his way. Shit he thought, grabbing the only source of cover near him - Mag's dead soldier. He hefted the man into a sitting position and curled up behind the armoured torso as best he could. Several bullets hit the dead man, pushing him back on Dema as the still living soldier opened fire before realising what he was firing at.

"Son of a bitch!" the other man exclaimed, obviously less than impressed with Dema's choice of hiding spots.

Boots started clumping his way. But at that point, Dema noticed his shelter had more than one gun. Sticking out of a holster at the waist, obviously an accessory to the usual body armour, was a big lug of a revolver. Dema was not a guns man so couldn't put a name to it - something to do with bears? But it looked big and heavy and perfect for close range damage to armour. He tugged it out of the holster and rasied it just as the man who'd been firing at him came into view over his fallen commrades' shoulder. Dema fired and the man was hit full in the chest and pushed backwards two paces before sitting and finally toppling backwards.

Dema however didn't see this last bit as the kick of the gun pushed him over backwards as well. And just to make it all even better, he was sill holding the dead man by the shoulder when he went. He ended up on his back on the concrete with the other man on top of him. Thank the Gods Cain wasn't there to see it. Dema pushed the other man off and rolled before coming up. Most of the soldiers were still focussed on Mag and the shuttle. There were two headed for the shuttle entrance and three on this side of the shuttle closing in on Mag. Dema could hear shouting on the side he couldn't see. And there was one guy not far from him turning a gun his way. Dema brought the revolver around faster and fired, careful of the kick this time.

The round took the armoured man in the shoulder and the rifle he was holding clattered to the ground. This one too had a backup weapon though and was going for it as Dema walked up to him and put a second round in his chest. The men closing on Mag noticed the movement on their flank and span. After a quick conversation consisting entirely of hand signals one man broke off to face Dema, the other two continuing after Mag.

Dema simply crouched, grabbed the secondary weapon this newly dead soldier had been reaching for and once again planted himself behind the conveniently located armoured body. He fired both his new weapons at the oncoming soldier and quiet a few of the shots connected. The two who'd though to continue after Mag suddenly revised their plan. Dema stayed where he was and waited for them to come into range.

3/11/09

Helena barely had time to react before she saw Mag dive out of the ship. "Aw hell, here we go." She armed her self and dove out after Mag, "Shit!" She yelled landing on the ground. Helena opened fire on the remaining soldiers and crouched by Mag, she just turned and gave him a what the hell were you thinking look. Helena sighed and moved around the opposite area. Dema had just taken out a soldier and was aiming for more.

She looked around for movement and saw two soldiers moving towards Mag and one for Dema. Dema could handle one better than Mag could two. She ducked and rolled behind several barrels, her old training kicking in. Helena peered around the barrel, fully knowing that it probably wasn't the best place to be. She continued to move in a crouched position standing up quickly to take out one of the guards moving towards Mag. At the same time gunfire eruptted from another area, the sound of a body dropping. There stood one guard between Helena and presumably Dema. He began to move back towards Dema yet stood as gunfire had come from a different direction. She chuckled to herself as she watched him ponder what direction he should try to go.

3/11/09

Mag traded a "what could I do?" look for Helena's questioning one and fired again. It hadn't been the best plan ever, and it might have worked, but he had to assume Chloe's instincts had been right. A thought struck him, and he ran for cover up against the shuttle as he drew out the comm unit from his jacket. "Sybil, if you can hear me, you need to jam all outgoing communications from the Dysson facility just outside of Skara Brae!" There was no response, and he hoped that meant she was working on it instead of out of range.

He could hear the slow opening of the hydraulic blast door, and he knew someone had been dispatched to either prep the ship or get the sitrep. If it was the former, it would be an easy way to secure the ship and storm the place and take out the remaining Dysson troops. The door finally parted enough to allow that someone to pass through- "Dammit! We just can't catch a break." Rifles preceeded soldiers, and Mag whistled loudly over his shoulder and opened his rifle up on full auto. Four men came out, and Mag was able to drop the front two before the remaining soldiers split and ran to opposite directions.

3/11/09

Hitomi dived out of the shuttle with her Peacemaker blazing. The blast doors opened and more armed corporate soldiers poured out, laying down a steady hail of fire on the shuttle. She had had the shuttle equipped with light armor when she got it. A girl in the business she was had reason to take precautions, and this was one of those times.

Her gun went empty as a soldier trained his rifle on her. She pulled a combat knife from a sheath just below her lower back and let the blade fly, hitting him square in the forehead.

Slamming a fresh magazine into her Peacemaker, she patched her personal comlink into the shuttle's cockpit.

"Chloe, there's a comm dish on top of the building! Hit it with the lascannons so they can't report back!"

Another soldier opened fire on her to which she returned fire with four slugs in his chest and head.

"Sleep tight, sucker!" she spat.

3/13/09

Chloe frowned and checked the weapons systems. The prow-mounted twin laser cannons were charged and ready. Glad for that, she flicked the arming switch.

"Hang on tight!" she called to anyone who might be left in the shuttle as she lifted it off the ground. She pivoted it to face the guns on the target, pulling the yoke to pitch the craft back. She aimed by eye, unable to get a weapons lock, and squeezed the trigger down. The two big lasers loudly blared in succession, tearing to big chunks of the building masonry before the third blast clipped the top of the dish, tearing it right off with a loud clattering as the powerful weapon sprayed the flimsy structure all over the roof.

"I got it!" she announced.

3/14/09

Dema could have laughed at the way the final soldier between him and the ship halted and looked around, taking a step forward, then one back. Helena pouncing out and dropping his fellow obviously had the man quite confused. You could practically see the moment he realised he had enemy on three sides and no hope of shooting everyone. Dema swiftly moved toward him, gun raised, trusting Helena to have his back, and roughly took the man's helmet off before thwumping him on the back of the head with his second gun.

"Want a helmet to go with your dress?" Dema asked Helena.

Of course, he should have known it was all going too easy...

A piercing whistle came from Mag's position and a fresh round of soldiers flooded the area. Mag dropped the front two and Dema ran forward, firing wildly. Another guard went down, but Dema didn't know if it was because of him or Helena. He didn't have time to care as he dived for cover behind a big hunk of something a little way from the shuttle. A big random mound covered in tarp on the tarmac. Thankfully it seemed to be a solid mound as none of the bullets came through it to puncture Dema. He took the moment to check his ammo. Getting low. He'd need to get himself a new weapon soon.

A soldier appeared on the left side of his mound and Dema fired almost before he had the clip back into its place. The soldier jumped back unharmed and Dema knew he had about two seconds to decide where to move before the man rounded the corner again, firing on full auto. Chances were he would not be alone.

Trusting that bullet proof also meant solid enough to hold his weight, Dema jumped, caught the top edge of the mound and hauled himself up just as bullets sprayed the ground where he'd been. Sprawled atop the tarp, Dema slid forward, sighted the man who'd been firing, another soldier heading right and a third aiming back toward the shuttle. He took them down from left to right, narrowly missing another bullet to the head from the last man before rolling back off of his perch. Time to see if these new boys were as well equipped as the first lot.

Dema made a couple of surreptitious raids on his kills from behind his convenient mound and found a smaller cache of weaponry than he'd been hoping for. The one who'd been aiming back at the ship had been too much in view had someone cared to look for Dema to risk a thorough search. Instead he'd had to content himself with the man's main weapon. Fortunately, this was not the same standard - and one owner only coded - gun his fellows were carrying. Dema took it, his two previous weapons and the only other non-coded weapon he'd been able to find and pulled himself back onto the mound.

Helena, Hitomi and Mag had been busy. There were black clad bodies sprawled wherever he looked. Even Chloe had joined in, the shuttle rising and blasting holes in a nearby building as he watched. Once she'd settled again, Dema went back to aiming. He sighted down the riffle, smiling as he did so. Dema was not what could be called a marksman. This could be interesting.

He fired three times, his third shot downing his target. The first went a little close to Hitomi's foot. The second ricocheted off the wall near Mag's head. Dema decided to aim only for people some distance from his crewmates from now on. Once only the close quarters fighters were left, he'd leave the rifle and his cosy nest and move in to a range where aim was less of a problem.

3/14/09

Mag ducked and threw himself to the left when a bullet tore into the facility's wall a sneeze away from his head. The shuttle swung around and fired, blowing the dish off the top of the building. Hopefully, between Chloe and Sybil they had contained any possible warning to the Alliance.

If Hitomi was correct, there would be few soldiers remaining since this wasn't a very large structure. If the Detention Ship's pilot had been one of the men they'd taken out, they'd have to guess at any protocols they would need for docking. If he was alive, Mag was sure that between Helena and Hitomi they would be able to convince the man to play nice. The shooting died off behind him, and he ducked around and into the building.

The thick, heavy door shielded him from much of the wind kicked up by the shuttle, and it seemed much quieter inside. There was a door on the left, ajar, which led into what looked like a guard station. Closed circuit monitors gave him a dozen views of the surrounding area, except for one which was filled with a snowy static. Hopefully, that was the communications terminal. He continued past the room, heading down a corridor which he, Dema and Helena could have marched down shoulder to shoulder. At the end of the hallway he found a break room, complete with half-eaten meals and freshly poured cups of coffee. One of the men had spilled their cup on the way out, and Mag skirted a small lake of the dark liquid. There were seven doors leading out of the room, and the first one he poked his rifle and head into proved to be a bunk.

He made a circuit of the room and found five other bunks, four of them holding double beds and lockers. The seventh door led to stairs winding down underground. Since the door opened in to the break room, Mag grabbed a chair and wedged it under the door's handle. It wouldn't keep anyone from coming in for long, but they didn't have time to secure the lower portions of the facility. This would at least give them a warning if someone came up, and they could concentrate on changing into uniforms and getting the ship up and out into the black.

One of the bunks had belonged to an officer; finer sheets on the bed, a very nice redwood desk and a small corner bar. The uniforms in the closet were ready to wear, and although they lacked the fruit salad an officer would sport, they did hold what looked like the Dysson equivalent of a Lieutenant's bars. He pulled the back off the bars and pocketed them. The uniform would fit him, but not the rank. However, he knew who would fit the bars perfectly.

"Helena," he shouted as he began stripping and laying out the uniform and a spare helmet, "you just got promoted. Congrats, Lt."

3/15/09

The last of the outpost's guards neutralized, Hitomi holstered her gun and appraised the destruction around them.

"Well that hardly qualified as target practice," she mused as she made her way into the building and searched for any remaining security personnel. "Hopefully Chloe took out that comm relay before they could get word out."

She split off from Mag and took a stairwell going down to a lower level. Gun held at ready, she proceeded cautiously, prepared to put holes in anyone who threatened her.

The lower level was dark and a low hum from power generators could be heard. Along the walls were dozens of large cylindrical tubes placed vertically and filled with a strange greenish liquid. Attached to each tube was a data display and keypad. Inside the tubes were humans floating in some sort of stasis. They were naked, unconscious and floating with a series of electrodes attached to their bodies.

"What in the hell?" she said, staring in fascination at the statis tubes. "Um guys, I really think you need to come down here..."

3/15/09

Once everything looked dead or dying apart from the crew, Dema holstered his new guns, collected a few other items - two extra knives and a flash grenade - from the downed men and followed the others into the building. He heard Mag yell to Helena and popped his head into the room. He grinned to see Mag holding the helmet out for her. Poor girl must be the only woman in the 'verse to have men offering her helmets instead of flowers. Then he heard Hitomi's yell and followed the sound, gun at the ready.

His lip curled at the sight of what she'd found. "Oh not again. You'd think Dysson would either perfect this or let it go." It made Dema wonder what else they were still working on and he was suddenly decidedly nervous. Perhaps during the war when he'd been so intent on defying his Aunt, he should have put some effort into eliminating Dysson as well. But then, what were the chances of him coming face to face with another psychopath wanting to put a chip in his head? He could hardly be described as useful anymore. Not in terms of his Aunt's connections at least. No, they were far more likely to simply kill him outright. And that was just so much better, he thought sarcastically.

"Come on," he said to Hitomi. "Mag's already blocked one of the ways to the lower levels. We should do the same here, swipe the ship and get moving."

3/15/09

Mag hurried in pulling on the rest the uniform. "What the hell is it now?" Dema popped his head in long enough to look at Mag, who was holding the helmet in his hands. He grinned and headed back out toward the sound of Hitomi's voice, leaving him to wonder what the joke was. It took Mag only a minute in the next room to find some Sergeant's chevrons and attach them to his new uniform.

He was buckling on a sidearm, and he had already traded his assault rifle for the appropriate Dysson counterpart. He made his way down to where Dema and Hitomi were, holding the helmet instead of putting it on. He didn't have a desire to get shot by his own crewmates out of reflex. "Let what-" he started, then stopped as he stood in front of the tanks. "Damn. Do you know what they are, Dema?"