keep going kir
am loving the humor and loving how things are going!Way of the Gun - DiD (TC 3.2) [KIA]
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Nathancros
- Posts: 674
- Joined: Tue, 30. Nov 10, 04:46
Timsup2nothin wrote:Wren's Theme
Thanks NateNathancros wrote:keep going kir
I'm really enjoying this one to be honest. Although, I'm noticing that writing out of character has become such a chore! Seriously, I have to try to stop myself slipping into writing with Wren's accent 
Dude! Long time no see manLibelnon wrote:Kirlack!
This story does not have enough Teladi Assassins involved. Please rectify this. Huritas should make her return!
In other news, I'm back.
Good to have you back. I miss Huritas too, and Sam, Thane, Baritone...all of them. Once this one's done I might start a sequel to Po8, we'll see. I don't want to get my universes crossed though 
Chapter 9: I will have my vengeance!
Frak me. My mercs are a right raucous lot! Between 'em all comin' 'n' goin' last night either on their way to the bar, or headed out fer the next trainin' course, I really didn't get a lot o' sleep. I wouldn't mind, but after my killin' spree yesterday I expect there's still a lot o' angry pirates roamin' the trade lanes. So I could really do with bein' on my toes today. Meh. Frak 'em. I think I've proven my mettle by now. Even Daye Bro was showin' me some proper respect.
So, kind o' weary after listenin' to that lot fightin' 'n' drinkin' after I went to bed, I woke up this mornin' in somethin' of a bad mood. Not a 'get the frak out o' my way or I'm gonna shoot ya' kinda mood, more an 'oi meat-head...bang' kind o' mood. Yeah. With that in mind 'n' not really wantin' to kill any o' my guys before their first op, I skipped on breakfast, took a hot shower and hopped back into Creed's cockpit.
My plans fer today are to try 'n' exploit my new-found friendship with the Boron, and as ever, try to pick up Ferret's trail. Slippery little shit's had me roamin' half the known universe lookin' fer his sorry ass. At least it's given me time to think about what's gonna happen to him when I find him...
Ahem. Sorry. Bad night's sleep, ya know?
On my way out o' the station I check in on my guy's trainin' rota. Some o' them are comin' along nicely, so hopefully by the end o' today I should have at least one or two ready fer ops. The rest are all draggin' their heels though, so I expect at least another two days o' trainin' before I'm properly ready fer a boardin' attempt.
I get about halfway across the system before the pirates start comin' out o' their holes. I want to avoid killin' any o' the rank 'n' file if I can help it though. For one thing it'll potentially make the local base angry, and with all o' my mercs trainin' there it'd turn into a major hassle. For another my finely tuned senses are suggestin' that the clans are already a mite pissed about my activities recently, so I'm needin' to tread careful like. So I cut those boys a wide berth and slipped through the south gate into Spaceweed Grove.
As I'm crossin' the sector I spot a Boron freight transporter, only he's flaggin' hostile to me. Hey, I thought we were all friends now? Maybe he didn't get the memo? So, rather than shoot at him, as I would on any normal day. I give him a courtesy call...
And wind up apologisin'.
Gah. It's enough to make ya feel sick ain't it? Still, he accepted it without a moments hesitation, so maybe I can get away with headin' into Boron turf and lookin' fer work. I wanna try 'n' make a stop in Loomanckstrat's first though. With all four o' the stations open to me I'm gonna try to get close enough that I can use the dockin' computer. I've got a sneakin' suspicion there's a clear path through the minefield between the east gate and the nearest station, the PBG forge.
So I cruise across the sector, slow enough that I won't crash into a whole tonne o' mines without bein' able to stop, and fast enough that it doesn't take ferever. There's no bangs or bumps on the way in, and by the time I'm in dockin' range the lasertowers still haven't started twitchin'. Moments later and I'm greeted with a cheerful welcome, and take the oppo'tunity to snag 2 more PBGs. Whilst they're bein' installed I think I'm gonna grab some breakfast at the li'l café here, and listen in on the local gossip.
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The café was a dump. Grime and litter covered the floor, and as the assassin stepped between two of the small tables she thought she could see more than a few broken teeth underfoot. She slid her plate gently onto a table by the rear wall, away from the few working lights in the joint, and settled into the plas-steel chair. From there she could see the counter, where the little old chef was arguing with one of his patrons, most of the rest of the vacant tables and the single door that led into an elevator and back down to the docking clamps.
Wren was almost halfway through her chelt when she saw him, the lean, tall form stepping out of the door. A wry smile cracked her face as she caught his eyes, hidden under the wide brimmed hat he always wore, and they nodded to one another. Small, almost imperceptible nods. The newcomer walked to the counter, his duster flowing around his legs as he stalked the distance, ordered two coffees and headed for her table.
“Hello Wren.” He greeted her, the smooth quiet voice carrying a soothing tone. She looked up at him, took in the craggy face hidden beneath the hat, the dark grey eyes and thick white beard that betrayed his age. Her gaze flicked down, noted the cup in his outstretched hand, and the pistol at his hip.
“Watchman.” She acknowledged, taking the offered coffee and motioning with her free hand for him to sit. “It's been a long time. Still huntin' bounties?”
“Wouldn't do anything else girl.” He replied, flicking his duster to one side as he sat. He fixed her with a serious look. “Neither would you. Only difference in what you and I do, is that I bring them in alive. That ain't really your forte.”
“Anthony,” she said, cocking her head at him slightly. “it's not like you to make social calls. Or small talk. What do you want?”
“Straight to the crunch eh Wren? Damn, you never change do you?” The old man smiled, shaking his head slightly. “Alright. Word is you were the one who nailed Krakonmosslat up in Aladna Hill last week. That so?”
“You askin' out o' professional pride mate? Or are you lookin' to take in the perp fer the Boron firin' squads?”
The Watchman grinned. “Would you believe 'none of the above'?” he said, shaking his head. “No Wren, I'm asking because information like that, after a job like that, comes from one of two places.” He paused, leaning both elbows on the table and moving his face close to hers. “Either the killer, or whoever hired them.”
She held his eye for several heartbeats before they both backed up. “Ferret.” She hissed angrily.
The old man nodded. “I thought as much. When word got around that you'd been seen down this way he cut out of here double quick. Try the Anarchy Port girl. I'm thinkin' he's been there in the last couple of days.”
She was up and halfway to the door before he could say another word. She paused, then turned to look at him. Before she could ask, he told her.
“Nobody like a rat girl. Go get that weasel.”
With a nod, she was gone.
Anthony Lange smiled, pulled his duster tight about him, and finished his coffee in peace.
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So, fresh from my impromptu meetin' with 'The Watchman', I undocked from the forge. The Anarchy Port's already in range o' my dockin' computer, so moments later I was headin' at full tilt onto the station's main promenade. Where I came across Tank...
Now, I've known Raatankonlit pretty much my whole life. He's practically part o' my family. Course, that begged the question o' why the frak he's all the way down here instead of up in Nathan's Voyage with Ripper and the rest o' his crew.
“Stuck here, days have I been! Weed delivery await I must.”
“Mate, tell me you've seen Ferret. Neol Jerigan, li'l Argon prick.”
“Ferret? Yesterday left did he, to Veil of Delusion headed.”
I could o' frakkin' kissed him. I didn't o' course. He might be family, but he's a Paranid, ya know? As I turned and headed back fer the docking clamps I shouted a partin' message to Tank.
“Tell Ripper 'n' the boys I'll pop in 'n' see 'em soon, yeah?”
Veil o' Delusion. Shit. That's a long ol' flight. And if he knows I'm comin' he prob'ly won't hang about fer long. But I think I've got a card to play that he ain't even thought about. See, it must o' been Ferret that ratted me out to the Boron and the Paranid after that hit. Right now he thinks hidin' down in Veil's gonna put a whole helluva lot o' both races hardware between me 'n' him.
Only now I'm all pals with the squiddies again. I think I've got a plan.
I undock from the Anarchy Port and start moving out into the trade lane. I'm about halfway there before the OWP spots me, and then it started lobbin' banshees at me. I'm faster'n they are though, so I just bring Creed up to full burn and slide across the event horizon into Ceo's Doubt. As I'm crossin' the sector I get an offer fer a hit, but the pay was poxy 'n' I'm tryin' to get on the Boron's good side, so I declined. I was pretty nervous crossin' into Great Trench, as last time I was here I atomized a bunch o' freighters under the nose o' the local military Ray, but it seems I've been well and truly fergiven.
So I meander across the sector, lookin' fer work, but there's nobody here wantin' anyone made dead, so I drift on into Rolk's Legacy. Halfway across the sector I spot two hits on offer from one o' the local stations. Although the first pays frak all, I take it in the hope o' nettin' some rep with the fish. The other one pays a li'l better, but it's still well below what I'm used to gettin' paid. Still, it'll get me what I need, so I take 'em both.
I fly back over to Great Trench to find my first mark, but he's on the far side o' the sector so I'm forced to short jump over there and catch him from behind. I'm not carryin' my preferred hammerhead alpha strike today, so I'm gonna have to shred him quick like. Thankfully 4 PBEs can rip shields proper handy like, and my EBCs and newly bought PBGs soon melted his hull. His mates were none too sharp either, and as he went up in a li'l cloud o' plasma I prepped the jumpdrive back to Rolk's. They hadn't even covered his back, man! When I pick up a crew o' my own, they're gonna be people I can rely on, ya know?
I land at the Rolk's west gate, spin a quick 180 and blast into Lucky Planets. Not so lucky fer me today it seems, as I landed right on top o' my mark and his mates. It happened so fast I don't think they had time to react. My PBEs rinsed his shields in a matter o' heartbeats, and then EBC and PBG broke him apart and scorched the remains. Not wantin' to hang about in case his buddies catch on to what the frak just happened, I spin again and slide back across the gate into Rolk's.
As I'm cruisin' across the sector I notice a whole load o' spaceweed floatin' free near one o' the mines. Thinkin' it'll come in handy fer keepin' the clans happy I call in Tools to pick it up fer me while I make a deal with a government agent aboard the local satellite fab. Thinkin' that a patrol mish in a core sector would be easy, I decided to take a station defence job as I was cruisin' the sector.
Oi.
The Carrack and his pirate buddies are headed fer the crystal fab, whilst the Yaki are just on a general 'seek 'n' destroy' by the looks o' things. And they just all managed to show up at the same time. And where are all the local capitals?
Yeah. Conveniently absent. Which leaves me and a bunch o' freighters, who if we're all very lucky, might be carryin' a legion o' drones between 'em, to defend the sector.
Right. Only one thing fer it then. Reinforcements! My bomber's all tooled up and ready fer this sort o' thing so I give it the command to launch a single missile barrage at the Carrack. That should be more'n enough to end it pretty quick like, assumin' it doesn't shoot 'em all down. Thankfully the captain's not on the ball and a few moments later...
Hah! Chew on that!
With the M7 out o' the picture I jump my bomber back home, hook up with Tools fer a quick injection o' cells and some extra missiles, 'n' then send her on her way 'n' all. The rest o' the pirates attackin' the crystal fab prove fairly easy to handle, what with the M5s flyin' full burn into the dockin' clamps. Wildfire missiles thin out the M4s as I close to finish 'em off, and then it's just me and the roamin' band o' Yaki. Right.
As I close on the two Centaurs I start snappin' off banshee missiles. Enough land on one o' the M6 to drop his shields, and I start punchin' through him with EBC rounds as soon as I'm in range. His mate can't fire on me without hittin' him, so I keep on rollin' 'n' strafin' until finally he pops. With just the one left, and his shields low from my missiles, I rake him with a couple quick PBE bursts and then slag him with fire!
Pullin' up after the second Centaur goes down reveals a clear sector, but there's a few customs and border control fighters floatin' about now, so I guess they took care o' the Yaki fighters. Moments later I get paid fer my efforts and take a massive boost to my Boron rep. That ought to secure me some room down near Veil. Time fer me to head home and get my Disco up 'n' runnin'.
I slip through the north gate and into Montalaar with the intention o' headin' straight back to Aladna. Only, there was this Paranid tech runner flyin' a Falcon, and since I'm playin' nice with the Boron at the minute I've got nobody to shoot at. Except Paranid. Aar. He even left me his three 25 Mj shields! Then I spotted a feller carryin' a bunch o' thunderbolt missiles, and convinced him to part with 'em.
That's the last o' my good fortune though and I finally dock Creed at the Aladna tradin' dock. A quick swap around o' gear gets my Discoverer, 'Mostly Harmless', up to scratch. My planned route down to Veil o' Delusion is gonna take me through a lot o' Paranid sectors, so I've packed the Disco with some drones, mosquito missiles, and IREs as a last ditch survival tool. I've also got the Mk1 turbo booster, which should keep anythin' really nasty a long ways off. So I jet out into Hatikvah's and bank south into Clarity's End. As I'm crossin' the sector I catch a glimpse o' somethin' down by the east gate, but it was gone before I get a snap. What was it you ask?
One o' these.
Rare as rockin' horse shit accordin' to some, so I stick this one up on my monitor. Once my mercs have finished their trainin', if enough of 'em survive to be decent fighters I'll be comin' for you pal. I even managed to get a scan o' the Hyperion as I was crossin' Redemption, but then it started headin' my way, so I boosted out o' his range and carried on my way.
I cross Perdition's without incident, then get spotted by an Agamemnon in Desecrated Skies. He's got no hop o' catchin' me though, but the stubborn prick stays on my course the whole way across the sector, and then I vanish through the gate into Priest's Refuge. It's all quiet as I slip across the system and on into Spring o' Belief, but when I drop through the south gate into Unholy Descent I find myself practically nose to nose with an Agamemnon. Thankfully I can move faster'n his guns can track, so hittin' the turbo booster I speed away, cuttin' the local fighter pilots a wide berth 'n' all.
I blaze on into Consecrated Fire, anglin' Mostly Harmless north and on into Friar's Retreat. I'm gettin' close to the edge o' Paranid turf now, but there's still a heavily defended military sector between me and relative safety. Pontifex' Seclusion. It's not that bad though, as most o' the local ships seemed to be headin' fer the Carrack roamin' the middle o' the sector. I even managed to pick up an interestin' bit of info on my way past the military outpost. That's a shame, my mercs are still cookin'. But I think there's a couple o' bases down by Veil, so I might drop a couple o' satellites to keep tabs on the ships they've got out on manoeuvres.
So I carry on, south into Heaven's Assertion. East o' here is Split turf, so I know I'll be safe, but I wanna scope out the south end o' the sector. Rumour has it the Duke has his operation down here somewhere, so let's go and see if he's got anythin' to offer.
Yeah. Hot death in a variety o' flavours. I guess we won't be strikin' up any deals any time soon. At least the majority o' the pirates in his sector weren't hostile, so I must be on the right track. So I whipped Mostly around on it's heel and shot back up across Heaven's and on into Patriarch's Conclusion. As I was crossin' the system I came across a Split hacker who's managed to bag me dockin' rights down at Duke's! I reckon his boys won't be any more pleased to see me though, so I'll wait a while before I go in there again.
Fer now I cross the gate into Contorted Dominion, and drop a nav-sat near the military outpost. I quickly head south into Thyn's Excavation, and drop another satellite near the Strong Arms HQ, then cross the border into Faded Dreams, droppin' another nav-sat there on my way into Veil o' Delusion. I was all clear to the dock. I could smell him.
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She stalked down the corridor towards the bar. The two goons outside glanced at her, nodded to one another...
And watched calmly as she strolled right past them. No pat down, no weapons check. She glanced at the human and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Nobody likes a snitch, ma'am.” He grunted quietly. “Ain't one person on this station gonna try stop you if you walk in there 'n' kill him.”
“He's here?” She hissed.
“Yes ma'am. Been braggin' all day about how he done set you up fer a big fall. 'O'ren Rock's done fer!' he was sayin' ma'am.
She stared at the man, hard, then glanced over her shoulder to the burly Split on the other side of the door. Ever noble, even in piracy, the warrior offered her a slow nod. ”Respect.” she thought to herself. She opened the door, just a crack, and immediately saw Ferret. The skinny rat of a man was sat, slumped across a table with a bottle of fuel in one hand and a huge spliff in the other. She did a quick head count, besides Ferret there were nine other people in the bar, and not a lot of cover. But she'd come this far, and she wanted her prize.
She drew her gun, and walked through the door. Nobody so much as batted an eyelid as she walked up to Ferret and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
“You li'l frakstain!” she roared, shoving her gun under his chin and pushing hard.
“Oh shit! Wren!” the suddenly sober and panicking Neol wailed.
“You're damn frakkin' right Wren! You thought you could get away with settin' me up like that you little prick? Huh?” She headbutted him, shattering his nose and spraying blood across both of them.
“P-p-p-please don't k-k-kill me Wren!” he wailed, spitting blood.
“Oh, I'm not gonna kill ya Ferret.” She headbutted him again, then as he reared back she brought a knee up hard into his groin. As he doubled over in pain she turned to the rest of the bar. “Does anyone have any objections to me takin' this piece o' filth out somewhere quiet 'n' shootin' him?” She grinned wildly. “Like a dog?”
When nobody said a word, she pistol whipped him hard enough to leave him unconscious, calmly bound and gagged him, and carried him back to the docking bay.
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Now that felt good 'n' frakkin' satisfyin'. Ferret's well tied up in the back o' Mostly, and I'm gonna need to get him back to Argon space to really get my revenge. That's gonna have to wait till mornin' though, cos it's gettin' late. I don't much fancy hangin' around Veil in case Ferret does actually have some friends, anywhere, and they decide to come lookin' fer his sorry ass. Given my new-found status with the Boron I might go 'n' find somewhere quiet in their turf to spend the night. So I slip back into Faded Dreams and then east into Queen's Harbour, home o' the Atreus corporation.
They're more'n happy to rent me some o' their guest accommodation, so Neol and I are gonna spend an interestin' night together I reckon.
Man. What a day.
Assets:
'Mostly Harmless' – Discoverer
Fully Tuned
3x 1Mj shield
4x IRE
'Violent Tendencies' – Skate
'Assassin's Creed' - Mamba
'Tools o' the Trade' – Caiman
'Small Fry' - Octopus
'The Metatron' – Hermes
Peregrine
Mamba
Falcon
Perseus Vanguard
Perseus Raider
Manta
Demeter x2
Demeter Miner
Demeter Hauler
Demeter Super Freighter – Storage
Demeter Super Freighter XL – Storage
One VERY scared Ferret
18,752,236 Credits
Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
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Timsup2nothin
- Posts: 4690
- Joined: Thu, 22. Jan 09, 17:49
You mean you don't normally talk like that?Kirlack wrote:Seriously, I have to try to stop myself slipping into writing with Wren's accent
Great job by the way. I guess there's not much hope for Ferret.
Trapper Tim's Guide to CLS 2
On Her Majesty's Secret Service-Dead is Dead, and he is DEAD
Not a DiD, so I guess it's a DiDn't, the story of my first try at AP
Part One, in progress
HEY! AP!! That's new!!!
On Her Majesty's Secret Service-Dead is Dead, and he is DEAD
Not a DiD, so I guess it's a DiDn't, the story of my first try at AP
Part One, in progress
HEY! AP!! That's new!!!
Oh, I talk like it, most of the time. But I've trained myself to type wellTimsup2nothin wrote:You mean you don't normally talk like that?Kirlack wrote:Seriously, I have to try to stop myself slipping into writing with Wren's accent
Mate, there was never any hope for FerretTimsup2nothin wrote:Great job by the way. I guess there's not much hope for Ferret.
Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
Right then girls 'n' guys o' the X-universe!
After the run in with Carrack in the last chapter I think it's high time Wren had someone backing her up in the not too distant future I was going to write an in-game 'advert', but that will have to wait until after I play chapter 10.
So, Wren's officially hiring. She's not in the habit of working with people she's never met before, so write in some kind of history. Doesn't have to be massive or in depth, just something like 'met Wren while she was running weed in Ghinn's Escape' or 'flew with Wren on a patrol job in Getsu Fune'. Just something to tie the characters together Any race, any creed, as long as it's feasible that your character would work with an assassin like Wren
After the run in with Carrack in the last chapter I think it's high time Wren had someone backing her up in the not too distant future
I was going to write an in-game 'advert', but that will have to wait until after I play chapter 10.So, Wren's officially hiring. She's not in the habit of working with people she's never met before, so write in some kind of history. Doesn't have to be massive or in depth, just something like 'met Wren while she was running weed in Ghinn's Escape' or 'flew with Wren on a patrol job in Getsu Fune'. Just something to tie the characters together
Any race, any creed, as long as it's feasible that your character would work with an assassin like Wren Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
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Sabrina Bergin
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Sat, 12. Apr 08, 10:53
Kirlack
\I have a potential character but I need to know what you want from him.
Karl Dolenza
My Characters Resume:
Dishonourable discharge ATF/USC bit murky there because the man has bragging rights to hell and back and he may be lying but is that a safe bet?.
useful m3/m6 pilot and will always keep his word if he says he'll do it he will or die trying it's a pride thing.
Will not take suicide missions (he's seen too many).
Can't drink too much due to his notoriously short temper he has anger issues about being dumped by his argon fiancée who married a rich family friend instead of a navy jock.
Has no real issues with NPC races but isn't that keen on any of them.
so a fairly flexible character I hope you can mould to fit your game plan.
Prefered is the springy but will scrape by in a blastclaw if needs must at the moment is getting stewed in the free argon trading station in heretics waiting to pick a fight to round of what has been a wonderful day for him.
In my games both AP AND x3tc he has the springy fully kitted but he wants the Hyperion and as soon as he can get a bunch of goons to take it he will
\I have a potential character but I need to know what you want from him.
Karl Dolenza
My Characters Resume:
Dishonourable discharge ATF/USC bit murky there because the man has bragging rights to hell and back and he may be lying but is that a safe bet?.
useful m3/m6 pilot and will always keep his word if he says he'll do it he will or die trying it's a pride thing.
Will not take suicide missions (he's seen too many).
Can't drink too much due to his notoriously short temper he has anger issues about being dumped by his argon fiancée who married a rich family friend instead of a navy jock.
Has no real issues with NPC races but isn't that keen on any of them.
so a fairly flexible character I hope you can mould to fit your game plan.
Prefered is the springy but will scrape by in a blastclaw if needs must at the moment is getting stewed in the free argon trading station in heretics waiting to pick a fight to round of what has been a wonderful day for him.
In my games both AP AND x3tc he has the springy fully kitted but he wants the Hyperion and as soon as he can get a bunch of goons to take it he will
When traveling pause occasionally, look back and enjoy the moment again.
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Sabrina Bergin
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Sat, 12. Apr 08, 10:53
-
Sabrina Bergin
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Sat, 12. Apr 08, 10:53
Insert:
Karl watched as the hyperion entered the gate keeping an eye on the monitor that would tell him where he could find it then dropped back into the trade lane to avoid suspicion.
First thing he noticed was the Disco that had got within range briefly it gave him a twitch so he set his auto to follow it.
Karl had learnt a long time ago to trust his twitches and when the disco docked at the base in veil of delusion he followed it and went down to the dockside bar.
He ordered a small beer with a chaser and watched as the woman grabbed the man and made it clear he was leaving with her.
No one argued so it seemed the man had a bad rep so Karl finished his whiskey and quietly followed the woman to the docking bays where she threw him into her ships tiny cargo bay before setting off.
Karl gave it a few minutes before undocking then guessed she'd go east so jumped to Queens Harbour and headed for the Atreus HQ.
As soon as he saw her ship show up on the system status feed he headed for the docks and went back to Heretic's end trading station where he could at least afford a room for the night.
Karl watched as the hyperion entered the gate keeping an eye on the monitor that would tell him where he could find it then dropped back into the trade lane to avoid suspicion.
First thing he noticed was the Disco that had got within range briefly it gave him a twitch so he set his auto to follow it.
Karl had learnt a long time ago to trust his twitches and when the disco docked at the base in veil of delusion he followed it and went down to the dockside bar.
He ordered a small beer with a chaser and watched as the woman grabbed the man and made it clear he was leaving with her.
No one argued so it seemed the man had a bad rep so Karl finished his whiskey and quietly followed the woman to the docking bays where she threw him into her ships tiny cargo bay before setting off.
Karl gave it a few minutes before undocking then guessed she'd go east so jumped to Queens Harbour and headed for the Atreus HQ.
As soon as he saw her ship show up on the system status feed he headed for the docks and went back to Heretic's end trading station where he could at least afford a room for the night.
When traveling pause occasionally, look back and enjoy the moment again.
Chapter 10: Tougher'n old boots
The assassin crept silently along the shadowed corridor. She mused as she stepped, considering the architecture of the huge Boron station. The outer ring was allocated as 'guest accommodation', and consisted of several dry suites, with standard gravitational fields. The inner rings though, were closed off to any non Boron personnel, as they were filled with liquid, allowing the natives to move with ease in their natural environment. The squids were clever though, and there were various labs with artificial reality suites where a visiting engineer could help the Atreus techs in real time, rather than having to wait for research notes.
Wren paused as she reached the door she'd been looking for. The small plaque on the wall marked it as the office of one Doctor Buli Ti. Although Wren had never dealt with the Boron physician personally, he came highly recommended by her adopted family, the pirate crew run by Ripper Nedley. The word on the good doctor was that he would happily supply all manner of chemicals to those in need, for a price. She knocked gently at the door.
“Come in.” came the high pitched Boron response.
She slipped through the door and waited on the far side as it slid closed behind her. Her eyes took in the sparsely decorated office, the bizarrely shaped desk and chair built to accommodate the Boron form. The doctor himself stood over the desk, the bare tentacles hanging down below his encounter suit, the Boron's only means of living outside their natural liquid.
“Good evenin' Doc.” She said, stepping forward with a hand outstretched in greeting. The doctor, used to dealing with humans, reached out a tentacle and wrapped it gently around her hand.
“Good evening, miss...?
“Rock.” She replied, nodding. “Jennifer Rock. I'm a bounty hunter, and I've got a rather unruly bounty I need to keep quiet fer the night doc. Anything you could do to help?” She winked as she said it, producing a credit slip from her flight suit pocket. The Boron glanced at the money, grinned and released his grip on her hand.
“Certainly Miss Rock. Please, take a seat.”
Moments later she emerged from the office, two syringes safely stowed in her jacket. ”One to keep him down fer the night,” she thought to herself silently, ”and one to wake him when the time's right!” She made her way down to the docking clamps, secured the still unconscious Ferret and carried him up to her suite. She tied him to one of the chairs and dosed him with one half of the sedative, as doctor Buli had instructed. She watched him for a few moments, making sure his breathing stayed regular, before moving across the room to the small computer console.
She logged onto the public net, and opened a secure line to her messaging account. She was getting a reputation now, and she'd feel a lot better with a few guns at her back that she could trust. Running through her list of contacts she marked a few that might be looking for work.
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Mornin'. Ah, I slept well last night. With Ferret all trussed up tight like a christmas bird, and properly sedated by Doc Buli's chems, I took the oppo'tunity to send word to some o' my old contacts. With a little luck I'll hear somethin' back by the end o' the day.
So. Plan fer today is to scout the rest o' the region around Queen's Harbour, and then make the flight back up through Paranid space to home. I've slipped Ferret the second dose o' sedative, so there's no massive rush to get him back, although I don't plan to dawdle. I've still got the adrenalin shot to wake him when I'm ready, so the only thing he ought to know about the big finish is when he gets dropped in it.
I undock Mostly Harmless from the Atreus HQ and pull about fer the north gate. Slippin' across into Queen's Retribution I soon spot two more gates, and a Boron equipment dock I drop the last o' the nav-sats I'd been carryin' by the dock, and move on north, into a Teladi sector called Sanctity o' Corruption. I reckon there's more Teladi turf east o' here, but I'm not goin' that way yet, and spin Mostly about back into Retribution.
I scout east from there into Hollow Infinity and on first appearance the sector actually is hollow. Took me a fair while to pick up anythin' on my scanners. Nothin' o' any interest though, and no jobs that I can take, so I flew back through Retribution, down through Queen's Harbour and into Menalaus' Oasis. There's quite a few fabs down here, and a gate leadin' to another unknown sector, so I thought I'd go take a look. At first glance it seems quite borin', nothin' here but a bunch o' rocks. As I get deeper into the sector though, it occurs to me that there's only the one gate. This might make a nice li'l hideaway fer me, when I can build stations 'n' shit.
With the region scouted I make the run back up through Boron turf, headin' fer the Paranid border. It's a long flight, and along the way I take a look over my recent acquisitions. The two Perseus variants might come in handy fer wingmen, so I think I'll keep 'em fer now. The Falcon though, is just too damn slow at 120m/s, so that one's goin'. I'm not really sure about the Perseus Vanguard either, as it can't keep up with Creed, but it should be alright if I'm flyin' Tendencies.
I finally slip across the event horizon into Heaven's Assertion. All's quiet as I'm startin' out from the gate, but as I get a few klicks in I spot a Heavy Nemesis patrol. I've got the speed advantage though, so I cut 'em a wide berth and slip around the northern side o' the shipyard on my way to the gate. Pontifex' Seclusion is still playin' host to that Pirate Carrack, but it looks like the Paranid have finally gotten some fleet out to deal with him. There's a Heavy Nemesis and his three Hades wingmen closin', only rather'n let the bombers do their thing, the M6 tries to tackle the pirates head on and get promptly slagged fer their efforts. As the handful o' M3s swarm in and break out the blowtorches, the bombers get lined up fer a shot, and moments later the Carrack disappears in a halo o' nuclear fire. With nobody else to occupy 'em, it seemed like the whole frakkin' sector suddenly turned it's eyes on me, but I was almost to the north gate by then, so frak 'em.
Crossin' Sacred Relic was all quiet, then I slipped into Cardinal's Domain. Oi. That's quite a bit o' hardware between me 'n' safe space. Right. Time fer a bit o' extra speed I think. Engagin' the turbo booster I blaze in towards 'em, but on the way I get a comm fer a convoy hit from a passin' Argon. Mate, have you even seen what I'm flyin'? Or how much o' the local military is headed my way right now?
What? You're payin' how much?
Sure, I'll take the job.
I dodge around the capitals loomin' by the gate and out into Moo-Kye's Revenge. Now I'm in the relative safety o' pirate turf I pull up above the gate and cut the engines. Time fer me to call in the big guns. Moments later Tendencies drops through the gate beneath me and I beam across. She's loaded with enough jump fuel to spare some so Mostly can jump out to safety, and once I'd beamed my prisoner across I sent the Disco on to New Income. It can fly the rest o' the way from there easy enough.
My marks are headin' fer Heaven's from Sacred Relic, so I jump to the SR south gate and pick 'em up almost 70 klicks away. The sector's still quiet, so I head on in towards 'em. Both o' my targets are flyin' Dolphin variants, but I ain't got a convenient hammerhead, so as we're crossin the 15km mark I launch a beluga missile at each, and a follow up wildfire to finish the heavily shielded one. They go down 'n' I get paid my 4.1 million cred. Ker-ching!
I'm just about to bounce back to Moo-Kye's when I spot a passin' Argon in an Eclipse. I've been thinkin' about gettin' somethin' with a bit more shieldin', and fighters don't come much better shielded than an Eclipse. I'd prefer a Medusa, cos it can carry PBEs, but I'll take whatever, ya know? So I make the play fer him, but the stubborn frakker's not havin' any o' that and goes down with his ship.
Right. With nothin' else in the sector grabbin' my interest, I jump back to pirate space and start haulin' after a Strong Arms weapon dealer headed fer Mi Ton's. As I'm passin' the Brigantine that's idlin' in the trade lane between the south and east gates though I spot a load o' cargo containers. Ooh, shiny. That's an impressive array o' goods, so I call in Tools to collect. My target's made the north gate by the time Tools shows up, so I abandon my chase and slip west into Desecrated Skies.
While I'm roamin' the sector lookin' fer targets Tools sends me a message that it's all done. I didn't get all o' the gear that was there, but the 2 PSGs and the IBL more'n make up fer not gettin' the flak array. So I send her back to Aladna to unload 'n' carry on prowlin' the sector.
It's not long before I find weapons dealer with a few PACs in his hold. I was just about to comm him and demand he cough up when he suddenly bailed on me, leavin' his Demeter! Now I just gotta figure out what to do with it. The last ship I capped in this system ran afoul o' the Paranid, and there's still nowhere nearby I can really call safe. Spaceweed Grove maybe, but that's a long old flight. Fer now I just set it on a course fer a point 50 klicks directly above the middle o' the sector. That ought to keep it off o' anyone's scanners.
Makin' my way towards the north gate I spot a tech runner sportin' a few 2 Gj shields. Naturally I went fer him, but this'n decided to jump ship 'n' all! Now, I'm all 'happy bunny' fer the ship, but I only really wanted the shields, and they're gone.
Bollocks. Nothin' I can do though, so I send the Caiman after the Demeter. They can keep each other company. Well, them and the Dolphin I pinched a few minutes later.
I'm almost to the gate when I spy a freight transporter carryin' a whole load o' energy cells. A dose o' PRG diplomacy gets him to cough up, and now I've got enough fuel to get all the way home I jump to Aladna Hill.
Whilst I was huntin' Ferret down I'd been thinkin' about the best means to dispose o' him. I was goin' to go with a slightly elaborate plan involvin' one o' these, some rope, a scalpel and some duct tape. But I've decided against that.
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The assassin stalked calmly across the the docking bay, and several of the other pilots noted the look of steely determination on her face as she climbed aboard the small scout ship. She grinned as she heard mutters and whispers. “That's O'ren Rock man!” one pilot whispered to his friend.
She pulled the Discoverer out of the trading station and into open space. It didn't take her long to reach the gate leading to their final destination, and before crossing the event horizon she pulled up above the gate. She crossed from the cockpit to the ship's small cargo bay, injected her prisoner with the adrenalin booster and zipped him up. Moments later they had crossed the event horizon and she blazed towards the middle of the system.
As Ferret opened his eyes he saw her, staring at him.
“Wren?” He said, his breath misting his visor slightly. “What's goin' on?” She grinned, that wolfish grin that made him so very scared of her.
“Goodbye Ferret.” She said, and pressed the button, beaming him out into space.
She was in the cockpit's seat a heartbeat later, prepping the jumpdrive.
Neol 'Ferret' Jerigan watched in horror as Wren's Discoverer vanished in a flash. As he noted the ships floating around the sector he began to panic. Boosting his suit to it's maximum thrust he started for the north gate.
But the scouts had already seen him.
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And that is the very definition o' vengeance. Let's see if he can weasel his way out o' that!
So, with Ferret properly dealt with, it's time I found myself a new game. My mercs are comin' along nicely, and a couple o' them are actually ready fer ops. I want all 20 ready so I can make a decent run on a missile frigate, somethin' I can use as a long term boardin' platform. I guess few now I'm back to huntin'. There are a few things I really need, hammerhead and tomahawk missiles amongst them. I'm also lookin' to add some ships to my roster, somethin' my pals can fly if and when any o' them contact me. Specifically I'm lookin' fer that elusive Medusa though.
I mosey back to the Aladna tradin' station and after a quick swap o' gear I climb back into Creed's cockpit and jet back into the trade lanes. I'm thinkin' I should head up to Split Fire 'n' see if there's any tech runners or even a military Medusa knockin' around the sector that I can try fer. As I'm crossin' Hatikvah's though a Paranid weapon dealer catches my eye, so I make a play fer him. Nice, that should be able to pair up with my other Perseus Raider. A quick patch o' the hull and I send it off towards Aladna.
Nothin' else catches my eye until I'm halfway across Brennan's Triumph, where I chase a Split freight transporter in a Chimera, but he slips across the gate into Olmancketslat's. So I follow along behind him, only fer him to turn pirate when I scan him. It's not a total loss though, as the Brennan's pirate base, which had been destroyed, appears to have relocated to here. One o' the local pirates even wants a ride up to the Atreus' Clouds base. It's only a short detour, so I agree to the job.
A quick flight across Bala Gi's and Farnham's Legend gets me to Atreus' Clouds, and a few minutes later I've found a new clan o' pirates that I might be able to get some work from. They're not offerin' anythin' right now though, so I cruise across the sector and on into Rolk's Fate. As I'm passin' one o' the Ion Cannon forges I get a request from the owner to help defend his station. Meh. Not wantin' to sour my relationship with the Boron I agree to the job, and move on in to tango with the pirate Viper and his buddies that jump in from the north gate. Stickin' with my usual method I let the scouts blaze in towards the station and handle the bomber first. He proves no trouble fer Creed's PBEs though, and once his shields are down her EBCs punch through him dust. He even left me some nukes!
I quickly swipe them and head on in to deal with the the rest o his mates. A couple o' them have flown full burn into the station, and as I rake the remainder with PBE fire two o' them bail! The Discoverer Raider was in pretty good nick when I claimed it, but the Harrier Vanguard was all but fallin' apart. It's nothin' a quick blast from my repair laser can't fix though, so I patch 'em both up and send 'em to dock at the Atreus military outpost.
With the sector cleared o' hostiles I get paid my pittance and get moved up to 'Queen's Knight' by the Boron authorities. That's actually quite a boon as it means I can buy the likes o' boardin' pods 'n' Ion Disruptors from their docks.
Fer now I start makin' the run back down towards pirate space, only as I'm crossin' Atreus' Clouds I spot a Paranid weapon dealer flyin' a Medusa. He's headin' fer Argon space, meanin' I can try robbin' him without the locals jumpin' on my back. I get just close enough before he hits the gate to scan him, but then he's across the border, into The Hole.
I slip in after him, but he's already crossed the gap into The Wall, so once again I find myself playin' catch up. I scan him again when I finally catch up to him, and after lowerin' his shields with a solid burst o' PBE fire I demand he cough up all o' those nasty missiles in his hold. He quickly complies, but this'n obviously ain't smart enough to jump ship, so I'm forced to atomize him.
Right. With no more obvious oppo'tunities lurkin' about the sector I push south into President's End. I'm barely into the system when a passin' Paranid freight runner catches my eye. Only cos he was flyin' a Vulture though. He hopped out pretty sharpish as my guns rinsed his shields, and then I spotted another Chimera that I wanted to make a play fer. Only I hadn't thought about the passin' military forces belongin' to the Argon navy, and they didn't like me pickin' on a Split pilot in their turf. They didn't like it one li'l bit.
Bollocks. So, on top o' losin' what would have prob'ly made a decent freighter, I've got to apologize to the Heavy Centaur that slagged it. Grrr. That just takes the frakkin' biscuit!
With that I decided to get out o' Argon space before I did somethin' I'd regret. So I zipped along, out o' President's and down through Elena's Fortune to Split Fire. As soon as I crossed the event horizon into the sector I spotted a Mako floatin' free. Did I cap that last time I was down here and forget about it? I really can't remember ya know. So I claimed it and sent it up to the Elena's tradin' station.
Now, I know I'd been plannin' to hang around the sector lookin' fer Medusas I could take a pop at, but the pickin's seemed slim, so I pushed on, through Brennan's and down into Danna's Chance. It wasn't long before I'd found a few marks that caught my eye, and they were all most willin' to give up their goods. I left Tools to collect all o' that whilst I pushed on into Nopileos' Memorial and finally back into Hatikvah's.
Now, I wasn't really lookin' fer targets to rob as I still had my mind set on gettin' that elusive Mamba bail, so imagine my surprise when I spotted this lot in a passin' Demeter. It wasn't the missiles, or even the CIGs that caught my eye though. It was the 16 tractor beams he was haulin'. Those things go fer around 770k a piece, and unless I'm grossly unlucky I shouldn't ever need more'n one, meanin' if I can force him to dump all o' them I can make roughly 11.5 million credits! He was a stubborn frakker though, and kept tellin' me no, but in the end there was no denyin' me my prize.
Score!
As Tools dropped through the gate to start collectin' all o' my swag I banked east and slipped across the gate into Aladna Hill. I'm not done fer the day, not just yet, but I wanna take a break to sort a few things out. I've been thinkin' you see. I've managed to snag quite a few freighters in the last week or so, and in my line o' work it's likely that one government or another will cancel my dockin' rights at some point. So I'm gonna try to set my freighters up in safe sectors, and use some o' the Argon's commodity logistics software on my two Demeters to keep 'em stocked. I'm not sure it'll work, and I'm not sure which sectors could really be considered 'safe', but the idea seems sound.
So I spend a bit o' time patchin' up my freighters, and equip the Demeters with CLS Mk2 software, nav software and a jumpdrive, fit 'em with shields and send 'em back to the military outpost. While I've been busy huntin' and pillagin' I also had the forethought to start my hauler and miner on their way up here from the Loomanckstrat's region. It's taken 'em most o' the day, but they're here, so they get patched up 'n' all. The miner gets fitted with shields and a jumpdrive, a minin' laser and a PAC, then sent off to stay at the Ceo's Sprite military outpost. I'll think of a use fer it somewhere down the line. The hauler though, well all that's gonna need is CLS and nav software. It's gonna be the first o' my collectors, ships that'll buy up energy cells and the like from military bases I can trade with. Now all I need, is a few pilots I can trust.
By the time I'd finished sortin' all o' that lot out, Tools had finished collectin' all my goodies from Hatikvah's and made it's way home. I stashed most o' the gear aboard my super freighter, and loaded Tools up with all the crap I either didn't need, or wouldn't use. That ought to net me a tidy profit at the military base, or OTAS. I also decided to sell the Perseus Vanguard, as it's just not fast enough to keep up with Creed, and if I'm flyin' Tendencies then it wouldn't be able to keep up with either the Mambas or the Perseus Raiders.
Rawr. Admin is a pain in the ass! I'm finally done though, and the day's not quite spent, so I'm headin' back into the trade lanes. I took off in Creed, and zipped all the way down to Split Fire lookin' fer targets, but there was nothin' worth hittin' along the way. I did spot a Jonferco weapons dealer in SF that was carryin' a few hammerheads, but he slipped into Elena's Fortune before we could open negotiations. I really didn't wanna step on any Argon toes, given that most o' my fleet is currently holed up in Argon turf, but it did make me think about raidin' the Paranid in their own sectors. So I slid across the gate and into Priest's Pity.
I dunno, maybe it was a conscious thing on my part, or maybe I was just followin' my instincts. Whichever it was, I turned west and crossed another gate, deeper into Paranid space. The locals in Priest Rings were none too pleased to see me, and I received the customary greetin' fer someone o' my stature: Get the frak out or we're gonna eat ya. I might be paraphrasin' a little, but you get the idea. So, with the local military bearin' down on me you'd think the obvious choice would be to turn around and zip back out o' their territory.
Nah, not me.
I dodged the vast majority o' their capitals, and either lobbed missiles at any o' their fighters that got too close, or hosed 'em with a blast o' PBE fire as they got into range. I eventually picked up the southern gate, and havin' nowhere else to run I made a break fer it, deeper into Paranid space. Once I was in Duke's Domain I banked west again, hosin' the occasional police or military fighter that got in my way, before finally slippin' through the west gate and into Empire's Edge. I know where I'm goin' now. If I can just get across this sector than maybe the Yaki will give me a break and I can call it a day. Once again dodgin' the huge amount o' hardware that the locals kept throwin' my way, and boostin' every now and then to stay out o' range o' the missiles they kept lobbin' at me, I blazed across the sector lookin' fer the gate into Savage Spur. When I eventually spotted it hidin' behind an asteroid I slipped on through. There were a couple o' Yaki ships loiterin' amongst the asteroid cloud as I emerged from the event horizon, but they weren't flaggin' hostile to me, so I crept on south, into Ocracoke's Storm.
The Yaki still haven't shown any aggression towards me, so I crossed the sector, down into Senator's Badlands. Ooh, the Yaki have their own shipyard? What do ya mean you won't let me dock. Son's o' frakkin' bitches! I've just flown across half o' Paranid core space lookin' fer you lot. No? Really?
Fine. Frak ya then. Wankers.
A quick scout o' the system reveals another gate, so I slip across into the Yaki's only core sector, Weaver's Tempest. I didn't stay long though, on account o' the slightly hostile Shuri class carrier they've got patrollin' the sector. Yeah, that's probably my cue to leave, right?
So I made the 200+ kilometre flight back through Senator's and Ocracoke's, blazed across Spur and back into Empire's Edge. As soon as I landed in the sector all manner o' shit starts kickin' off though. There was a Deimos and his fighter wing barely 10 klicks from the gate, and one o' his bombers was all but on top o' me, so I had to rinse him sharpish. I did manage to get some o' his 'hawks fer my effort though.
I'm tired now though, so I use the last o' my jump fuel to reach Split Fire and start makin' the trek home. Only, as I was crossin' Nopileos' Memorial, I spot a Medusa with this lot in his bay. Not fancyin' my chances o' takin' him on with all those Tempests on him, I bit into his shields and demanded he cough up. That's a nice li'l bonus. Now, if I can just coax him into jumpin' ship...
Yes! And all it's taken is a couple days o' tryin', a decent portion o' my sanity and an insane amount o' luck! I call Tools in, with a few extra shields in case anyone tries takin' a pop at my new ride, and beam my jumpdrive across. Tools filled her up with jump fuel and moments later she was in Aladna Hill, makin' fer the tradin' station. So I left the Caiman to pick up the loot and made fer the east gate.
By the time Tools had finished collectin' all the swag and jumped back to base I was almost across Hatikvah's Faith. I spent a bit o' time gettin' my new fighter, 'Old Boots' up to spec, and had 'Last Resort', my newly named Manta, jump over to Acquisition to collect all o' my trained mercs. Whilst she was makin' the long trek I hooked up with 'Suckerpunch', my bomber, and shifted all o' the collected tomahawks into her bay. All things bein' equal we should be ready fer boardin' ops either tomorrow or the day after. I should be able to spend at least tomorrow mornin' testin' Boots out in the trade lanes and seein' if she can bag me any more tasty swag.
Fer now though, it's been one helluva day and I think I've earned a beer. Or six.
Assets:
'Old Boots' – Medusa
Fully Tuned
4x 25 Mj shield
4x PBE
4x EBC
2x PAC
'Violent Tendencies' – Skate
'Assassin's Creed' - Mamba
'Tools o' the Trade' – Caiman
'Small Fry' - Octopus
'Mostly Harmless' - Discoverer
'The Metatron' – Hermes
'Last Resort' - Manta
'Suckerpunch' - Peregrine
Mamba
Perseus Raider x2
Mako
Discoverer Raider
Harrier Vanguard
Demeter x3
Demeter Miner
Demeter Hauler
Caiman
Dolphin Tanker
Demeter Super Freighter – Storage
Demeter Super Freighter XL – Storage
30,197,473 Credits
The assassin crept silently along the shadowed corridor. She mused as she stepped, considering the architecture of the huge Boron station. The outer ring was allocated as 'guest accommodation', and consisted of several dry suites, with standard gravitational fields. The inner rings though, were closed off to any non Boron personnel, as they were filled with liquid, allowing the natives to move with ease in their natural environment. The squids were clever though, and there were various labs with artificial reality suites where a visiting engineer could help the Atreus techs in real time, rather than having to wait for research notes.
Wren paused as she reached the door she'd been looking for. The small plaque on the wall marked it as the office of one Doctor Buli Ti. Although Wren had never dealt with the Boron physician personally, he came highly recommended by her adopted family, the pirate crew run by Ripper Nedley. The word on the good doctor was that he would happily supply all manner of chemicals to those in need, for a price. She knocked gently at the door.
“Come in.” came the high pitched Boron response.
She slipped through the door and waited on the far side as it slid closed behind her. Her eyes took in the sparsely decorated office, the bizarrely shaped desk and chair built to accommodate the Boron form. The doctor himself stood over the desk, the bare tentacles hanging down below his encounter suit, the Boron's only means of living outside their natural liquid.
“Good evenin' Doc.” She said, stepping forward with a hand outstretched in greeting. The doctor, used to dealing with humans, reached out a tentacle and wrapped it gently around her hand.
“Good evening, miss...?
“Rock.” She replied, nodding. “Jennifer Rock. I'm a bounty hunter, and I've got a rather unruly bounty I need to keep quiet fer the night doc. Anything you could do to help?” She winked as she said it, producing a credit slip from her flight suit pocket. The Boron glanced at the money, grinned and released his grip on her hand.
“Certainly Miss Rock. Please, take a seat.”
Moments later she emerged from the office, two syringes safely stowed in her jacket. ”One to keep him down fer the night,” she thought to herself silently, ”and one to wake him when the time's right!” She made her way down to the docking clamps, secured the still unconscious Ferret and carried him up to her suite. She tied him to one of the chairs and dosed him with one half of the sedative, as doctor Buli had instructed. She watched him for a few moments, making sure his breathing stayed regular, before moving across the room to the small computer console.
She logged onto the public net, and opened a secure line to her messaging account. She was getting a reputation now, and she'd feel a lot better with a few guns at her back that she could trust. Running through her list of contacts she marked a few that might be looking for work.
- Hey bud. Been a while. I'm lookin' fer pilots, thought o' you. If you're interested meet me in Aladna Hill. Usual place. It'd be good to see ya mate. Fight well.
Wren.
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Mornin'. Ah, I slept well last night. With Ferret all trussed up tight like a christmas bird, and properly sedated by Doc Buli's chems, I took the oppo'tunity to send word to some o' my old contacts. With a little luck I'll hear somethin' back by the end o' the day.
So. Plan fer today is to scout the rest o' the region around Queen's Harbour, and then make the flight back up through Paranid space to home. I've slipped Ferret the second dose o' sedative, so there's no massive rush to get him back, although I don't plan to dawdle. I've still got the adrenalin shot to wake him when I'm ready, so the only thing he ought to know about the big finish is when he gets dropped in it.
I undock Mostly Harmless from the Atreus HQ and pull about fer the north gate. Slippin' across into Queen's Retribution I soon spot two more gates, and a Boron equipment dock I drop the last o' the nav-sats I'd been carryin' by the dock, and move on north, into a Teladi sector called Sanctity o' Corruption. I reckon there's more Teladi turf east o' here, but I'm not goin' that way yet, and spin Mostly about back into Retribution.
I scout east from there into Hollow Infinity and on first appearance the sector actually is hollow. Took me a fair while to pick up anythin' on my scanners. Nothin' o' any interest though, and no jobs that I can take, so I flew back through Retribution, down through Queen's Harbour and into Menalaus' Oasis. There's quite a few fabs down here, and a gate leadin' to another unknown sector, so I thought I'd go take a look. At first glance it seems quite borin', nothin' here but a bunch o' rocks. As I get deeper into the sector though, it occurs to me that there's only the one gate. This might make a nice li'l hideaway fer me, when I can build stations 'n' shit.
With the region scouted I make the run back up through Boron turf, headin' fer the Paranid border. It's a long flight, and along the way I take a look over my recent acquisitions. The two Perseus variants might come in handy fer wingmen, so I think I'll keep 'em fer now. The Falcon though, is just too damn slow at 120m/s, so that one's goin'. I'm not really sure about the Perseus Vanguard either, as it can't keep up with Creed, but it should be alright if I'm flyin' Tendencies.
I finally slip across the event horizon into Heaven's Assertion. All's quiet as I'm startin' out from the gate, but as I get a few klicks in I spot a Heavy Nemesis patrol. I've got the speed advantage though, so I cut 'em a wide berth and slip around the northern side o' the shipyard on my way to the gate. Pontifex' Seclusion is still playin' host to that Pirate Carrack, but it looks like the Paranid have finally gotten some fleet out to deal with him. There's a Heavy Nemesis and his three Hades wingmen closin', only rather'n let the bombers do their thing, the M6 tries to tackle the pirates head on and get promptly slagged fer their efforts. As the handful o' M3s swarm in and break out the blowtorches, the bombers get lined up fer a shot, and moments later the Carrack disappears in a halo o' nuclear fire. With nobody else to occupy 'em, it seemed like the whole frakkin' sector suddenly turned it's eyes on me, but I was almost to the north gate by then, so frak 'em.
Crossin' Sacred Relic was all quiet, then I slipped into Cardinal's Domain. Oi. That's quite a bit o' hardware between me 'n' safe space. Right. Time fer a bit o' extra speed I think. Engagin' the turbo booster I blaze in towards 'em, but on the way I get a comm fer a convoy hit from a passin' Argon. Mate, have you even seen what I'm flyin'? Or how much o' the local military is headed my way right now?
What? You're payin' how much?
Sure, I'll take the job.
I dodge around the capitals loomin' by the gate and out into Moo-Kye's Revenge. Now I'm in the relative safety o' pirate turf I pull up above the gate and cut the engines. Time fer me to call in the big guns. Moments later Tendencies drops through the gate beneath me and I beam across. She's loaded with enough jump fuel to spare some so Mostly can jump out to safety, and once I'd beamed my prisoner across I sent the Disco on to New Income. It can fly the rest o' the way from there easy enough.
My marks are headin' fer Heaven's from Sacred Relic, so I jump to the SR south gate and pick 'em up almost 70 klicks away. The sector's still quiet, so I head on in towards 'em. Both o' my targets are flyin' Dolphin variants, but I ain't got a convenient hammerhead, so as we're crossin the 15km mark I launch a beluga missile at each, and a follow up wildfire to finish the heavily shielded one. They go down 'n' I get paid my 4.1 million cred. Ker-ching!
I'm just about to bounce back to Moo-Kye's when I spot a passin' Argon in an Eclipse. I've been thinkin' about gettin' somethin' with a bit more shieldin', and fighters don't come much better shielded than an Eclipse. I'd prefer a Medusa, cos it can carry PBEs, but I'll take whatever, ya know? So I make the play fer him, but the stubborn frakker's not havin' any o' that and goes down with his ship.
Right. With nothin' else in the sector grabbin' my interest, I jump back to pirate space and start haulin' after a Strong Arms weapon dealer headed fer Mi Ton's. As I'm passin' the Brigantine that's idlin' in the trade lane between the south and east gates though I spot a load o' cargo containers. Ooh, shiny. That's an impressive array o' goods, so I call in Tools to collect. My target's made the north gate by the time Tools shows up, so I abandon my chase and slip west into Desecrated Skies.
While I'm roamin' the sector lookin' fer targets Tools sends me a message that it's all done. I didn't get all o' the gear that was there, but the 2 PSGs and the IBL more'n make up fer not gettin' the flak array. So I send her back to Aladna to unload 'n' carry on prowlin' the sector.
It's not long before I find weapons dealer with a few PACs in his hold. I was just about to comm him and demand he cough up when he suddenly bailed on me, leavin' his Demeter! Now I just gotta figure out what to do with it. The last ship I capped in this system ran afoul o' the Paranid, and there's still nowhere nearby I can really call safe. Spaceweed Grove maybe, but that's a long old flight. Fer now I just set it on a course fer a point 50 klicks directly above the middle o' the sector. That ought to keep it off o' anyone's scanners.
Makin' my way towards the north gate I spot a tech runner sportin' a few 2 Gj shields. Naturally I went fer him, but this'n decided to jump ship 'n' all! Now, I'm all 'happy bunny' fer the ship, but I only really wanted the shields, and they're gone.
Bollocks. Nothin' I can do though, so I send the Caiman after the Demeter. They can keep each other company. Well, them and the Dolphin I pinched a few minutes later.
I'm almost to the gate when I spy a freight transporter carryin' a whole load o' energy cells. A dose o' PRG diplomacy gets him to cough up, and now I've got enough fuel to get all the way home I jump to Aladna Hill.
Whilst I was huntin' Ferret down I'd been thinkin' about the best means to dispose o' him. I was goin' to go with a slightly elaborate plan involvin' one o' these, some rope, a scalpel and some duct tape. But I've decided against that.
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The assassin stalked calmly across the the docking bay, and several of the other pilots noted the look of steely determination on her face as she climbed aboard the small scout ship. She grinned as she heard mutters and whispers. “That's O'ren Rock man!” one pilot whispered to his friend.
She pulled the Discoverer out of the trading station and into open space. It didn't take her long to reach the gate leading to their final destination, and before crossing the event horizon she pulled up above the gate. She crossed from the cockpit to the ship's small cargo bay, injected her prisoner with the adrenalin booster and zipped him up. Moments later they had crossed the event horizon and she blazed towards the middle of the system.
As Ferret opened his eyes he saw her, staring at him.
“Wren?” He said, his breath misting his visor slightly. “What's goin' on?” She grinned, that wolfish grin that made him so very scared of her.
“Goodbye Ferret.” She said, and pressed the button, beaming him out into space.
She was in the cockpit's seat a heartbeat later, prepping the jumpdrive.
Neol 'Ferret' Jerigan watched in horror as Wren's Discoverer vanished in a flash. As he noted the ships floating around the sector he began to panic. Boosting his suit to it's maximum thrust he started for the north gate.
But the scouts had already seen him.
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And that is the very definition o' vengeance. Let's see if he can weasel his way out o' that!
So, with Ferret properly dealt with, it's time I found myself a new game. My mercs are comin' along nicely, and a couple o' them are actually ready fer ops. I want all 20 ready so I can make a decent run on a missile frigate, somethin' I can use as a long term boardin' platform. I guess few now I'm back to huntin'. There are a few things I really need, hammerhead and tomahawk missiles amongst them. I'm also lookin' to add some ships to my roster, somethin' my pals can fly if and when any o' them contact me. Specifically I'm lookin' fer that elusive Medusa though.
I mosey back to the Aladna tradin' station and after a quick swap o' gear I climb back into Creed's cockpit and jet back into the trade lanes. I'm thinkin' I should head up to Split Fire 'n' see if there's any tech runners or even a military Medusa knockin' around the sector that I can try fer. As I'm crossin' Hatikvah's though a Paranid weapon dealer catches my eye, so I make a play fer him. Nice, that should be able to pair up with my other Perseus Raider. A quick patch o' the hull and I send it off towards Aladna.
Nothin' else catches my eye until I'm halfway across Brennan's Triumph, where I chase a Split freight transporter in a Chimera, but he slips across the gate into Olmancketslat's. So I follow along behind him, only fer him to turn pirate when I scan him. It's not a total loss though, as the Brennan's pirate base, which had been destroyed, appears to have relocated to here. One o' the local pirates even wants a ride up to the Atreus' Clouds base. It's only a short detour, so I agree to the job.
A quick flight across Bala Gi's and Farnham's Legend gets me to Atreus' Clouds, and a few minutes later I've found a new clan o' pirates that I might be able to get some work from. They're not offerin' anythin' right now though, so I cruise across the sector and on into Rolk's Fate. As I'm passin' one o' the Ion Cannon forges I get a request from the owner to help defend his station. Meh. Not wantin' to sour my relationship with the Boron I agree to the job, and move on in to tango with the pirate Viper and his buddies that jump in from the north gate. Stickin' with my usual method I let the scouts blaze in towards the station and handle the bomber first. He proves no trouble fer Creed's PBEs though, and once his shields are down her EBCs punch through him dust. He even left me some nukes!
I quickly swipe them and head on in to deal with the the rest o his mates. A couple o' them have flown full burn into the station, and as I rake the remainder with PBE fire two o' them bail! The Discoverer Raider was in pretty good nick when I claimed it, but the Harrier Vanguard was all but fallin' apart. It's nothin' a quick blast from my repair laser can't fix though, so I patch 'em both up and send 'em to dock at the Atreus military outpost.
With the sector cleared o' hostiles I get paid my pittance and get moved up to 'Queen's Knight' by the Boron authorities. That's actually quite a boon as it means I can buy the likes o' boardin' pods 'n' Ion Disruptors from their docks.
Fer now I start makin' the run back down towards pirate space, only as I'm crossin' Atreus' Clouds I spot a Paranid weapon dealer flyin' a Medusa. He's headin' fer Argon space, meanin' I can try robbin' him without the locals jumpin' on my back. I get just close enough before he hits the gate to scan him, but then he's across the border, into The Hole.
I slip in after him, but he's already crossed the gap into The Wall, so once again I find myself playin' catch up. I scan him again when I finally catch up to him, and after lowerin' his shields with a solid burst o' PBE fire I demand he cough up all o' those nasty missiles in his hold. He quickly complies, but this'n obviously ain't smart enough to jump ship, so I'm forced to atomize him.
Right. With no more obvious oppo'tunities lurkin' about the sector I push south into President's End. I'm barely into the system when a passin' Paranid freight runner catches my eye. Only cos he was flyin' a Vulture though. He hopped out pretty sharpish as my guns rinsed his shields, and then I spotted another Chimera that I wanted to make a play fer. Only I hadn't thought about the passin' military forces belongin' to the Argon navy, and they didn't like me pickin' on a Split pilot in their turf. They didn't like it one li'l bit.
Bollocks. So, on top o' losin' what would have prob'ly made a decent freighter, I've got to apologize to the Heavy Centaur that slagged it. Grrr. That just takes the frakkin' biscuit!
With that I decided to get out o' Argon space before I did somethin' I'd regret. So I zipped along, out o' President's and down through Elena's Fortune to Split Fire. As soon as I crossed the event horizon into the sector I spotted a Mako floatin' free. Did I cap that last time I was down here and forget about it? I really can't remember ya know. So I claimed it and sent it up to the Elena's tradin' station.
Now, I know I'd been plannin' to hang around the sector lookin' fer Medusas I could take a pop at, but the pickin's seemed slim, so I pushed on, through Brennan's and down into Danna's Chance. It wasn't long before I'd found a few marks that caught my eye, and they were all most willin' to give up their goods. I left Tools to collect all o' that whilst I pushed on into Nopileos' Memorial and finally back into Hatikvah's.
Now, I wasn't really lookin' fer targets to rob as I still had my mind set on gettin' that elusive Mamba bail, so imagine my surprise when I spotted this lot in a passin' Demeter. It wasn't the missiles, or even the CIGs that caught my eye though. It was the 16 tractor beams he was haulin'. Those things go fer around 770k a piece, and unless I'm grossly unlucky I shouldn't ever need more'n one, meanin' if I can force him to dump all o' them I can make roughly 11.5 million credits! He was a stubborn frakker though, and kept tellin' me no, but in the end there was no denyin' me my prize.
Score!
As Tools dropped through the gate to start collectin' all o' my swag I banked east and slipped across the gate into Aladna Hill. I'm not done fer the day, not just yet, but I wanna take a break to sort a few things out. I've been thinkin' you see. I've managed to snag quite a few freighters in the last week or so, and in my line o' work it's likely that one government or another will cancel my dockin' rights at some point. So I'm gonna try to set my freighters up in safe sectors, and use some o' the Argon's commodity logistics software on my two Demeters to keep 'em stocked. I'm not sure it'll work, and I'm not sure which sectors could really be considered 'safe', but the idea seems sound.
So I spend a bit o' time patchin' up my freighters, and equip the Demeters with CLS Mk2 software, nav software and a jumpdrive, fit 'em with shields and send 'em back to the military outpost. While I've been busy huntin' and pillagin' I also had the forethought to start my hauler and miner on their way up here from the Loomanckstrat's region. It's taken 'em most o' the day, but they're here, so they get patched up 'n' all. The miner gets fitted with shields and a jumpdrive, a minin' laser and a PAC, then sent off to stay at the Ceo's Sprite military outpost. I'll think of a use fer it somewhere down the line. The hauler though, well all that's gonna need is CLS and nav software. It's gonna be the first o' my collectors, ships that'll buy up energy cells and the like from military bases I can trade with. Now all I need, is a few pilots I can trust.
By the time I'd finished sortin' all o' that lot out, Tools had finished collectin' all my goodies from Hatikvah's and made it's way home. I stashed most o' the gear aboard my super freighter, and loaded Tools up with all the crap I either didn't need, or wouldn't use. That ought to net me a tidy profit at the military base, or OTAS. I also decided to sell the Perseus Vanguard, as it's just not fast enough to keep up with Creed, and if I'm flyin' Tendencies then it wouldn't be able to keep up with either the Mambas or the Perseus Raiders.
Rawr. Admin is a pain in the ass! I'm finally done though, and the day's not quite spent, so I'm headin' back into the trade lanes. I took off in Creed, and zipped all the way down to Split Fire lookin' fer targets, but there was nothin' worth hittin' along the way. I did spot a Jonferco weapons dealer in SF that was carryin' a few hammerheads, but he slipped into Elena's Fortune before we could open negotiations. I really didn't wanna step on any Argon toes, given that most o' my fleet is currently holed up in Argon turf, but it did make me think about raidin' the Paranid in their own sectors. So I slid across the gate and into Priest's Pity.
I dunno, maybe it was a conscious thing on my part, or maybe I was just followin' my instincts. Whichever it was, I turned west and crossed another gate, deeper into Paranid space. The locals in Priest Rings were none too pleased to see me, and I received the customary greetin' fer someone o' my stature: Get the frak out or we're gonna eat ya. I might be paraphrasin' a little, but you get the idea. So, with the local military bearin' down on me you'd think the obvious choice would be to turn around and zip back out o' their territory.
Nah, not me.
I dodged the vast majority o' their capitals, and either lobbed missiles at any o' their fighters that got too close, or hosed 'em with a blast o' PBE fire as they got into range. I eventually picked up the southern gate, and havin' nowhere else to run I made a break fer it, deeper into Paranid space. Once I was in Duke's Domain I banked west again, hosin' the occasional police or military fighter that got in my way, before finally slippin' through the west gate and into Empire's Edge. I know where I'm goin' now. If I can just get across this sector than maybe the Yaki will give me a break and I can call it a day. Once again dodgin' the huge amount o' hardware that the locals kept throwin' my way, and boostin' every now and then to stay out o' range o' the missiles they kept lobbin' at me, I blazed across the sector lookin' fer the gate into Savage Spur. When I eventually spotted it hidin' behind an asteroid I slipped on through. There were a couple o' Yaki ships loiterin' amongst the asteroid cloud as I emerged from the event horizon, but they weren't flaggin' hostile to me, so I crept on south, into Ocracoke's Storm.
The Yaki still haven't shown any aggression towards me, so I crossed the sector, down into Senator's Badlands. Ooh, the Yaki have their own shipyard? What do ya mean you won't let me dock. Son's o' frakkin' bitches! I've just flown across half o' Paranid core space lookin' fer you lot. No? Really?
Fine. Frak ya then. Wankers.
A quick scout o' the system reveals another gate, so I slip across into the Yaki's only core sector, Weaver's Tempest. I didn't stay long though, on account o' the slightly hostile Shuri class carrier they've got patrollin' the sector. Yeah, that's probably my cue to leave, right?
So I made the 200+ kilometre flight back through Senator's and Ocracoke's, blazed across Spur and back into Empire's Edge. As soon as I landed in the sector all manner o' shit starts kickin' off though. There was a Deimos and his fighter wing barely 10 klicks from the gate, and one o' his bombers was all but on top o' me, so I had to rinse him sharpish. I did manage to get some o' his 'hawks fer my effort though.
I'm tired now though, so I use the last o' my jump fuel to reach Split Fire and start makin' the trek home. Only, as I was crossin' Nopileos' Memorial, I spot a Medusa with this lot in his bay. Not fancyin' my chances o' takin' him on with all those Tempests on him, I bit into his shields and demanded he cough up. That's a nice li'l bonus. Now, if I can just coax him into jumpin' ship...
Yes! And all it's taken is a couple days o' tryin', a decent portion o' my sanity and an insane amount o' luck! I call Tools in, with a few extra shields in case anyone tries takin' a pop at my new ride, and beam my jumpdrive across. Tools filled her up with jump fuel and moments later she was in Aladna Hill, makin' fer the tradin' station. So I left the Caiman to pick up the loot and made fer the east gate.
By the time Tools had finished collectin' all the swag and jumped back to base I was almost across Hatikvah's Faith. I spent a bit o' time gettin' my new fighter, 'Old Boots' up to spec, and had 'Last Resort', my newly named Manta, jump over to Acquisition to collect all o' my trained mercs. Whilst she was makin' the long trek I hooked up with 'Suckerpunch', my bomber, and shifted all o' the collected tomahawks into her bay. All things bein' equal we should be ready fer boardin' ops either tomorrow or the day after. I should be able to spend at least tomorrow mornin' testin' Boots out in the trade lanes and seein' if she can bag me any more tasty swag.
Fer now though, it's been one helluva day and I think I've earned a beer. Or six.
Assets:
'Old Boots' – Medusa
Fully Tuned
4x 25 Mj shield
4x PBE
4x EBC
2x PAC
'Violent Tendencies' – Skate
'Assassin's Creed' - Mamba
'Tools o' the Trade' – Caiman
'Small Fry' - Octopus
'Mostly Harmless' - Discoverer
'The Metatron' – Hermes
'Last Resort' - Manta
'Suckerpunch' - Peregrine
Mamba
Perseus Raider x2
Mako
Discoverer Raider
Harrier Vanguard
Demeter x3
Demeter Miner
Demeter Hauler
Caiman
Dolphin Tanker
Demeter Super Freighter – Storage
Demeter Super Freighter XL – Storage
30,197,473 Credits
Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
Hey, thanks shaun!
It seems I was posting chapter 10 as you posted up Karl's resumé Being Terran he's not likely to have encountered Wren before (although I can go and start the Terran plot, that would give him an in perhaps?) Other than that he looks good Cool and professional are two traits Wren looks for in wing pilots, so I think the two will get along well.
I'll give it a think before I play the next chapter and we'll think of a way for them to gel
Thanks again mate!
It seems I was posting chapter 10 as you posted up Karl's resumé
Being Terran he's not likely to have encountered Wren before (although I can go and start the Terran plot, that would give him an in perhaps?) Other than that he looks good Cool and professional are two traits Wren looks for in wing pilots, so I think the two will get along well.I'll give it a think before I play the next chapter and we'll think of a way for them to gel
Thanks again mate!
Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
-
Sabrina Bergin
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Sat, 12. Apr 08, 10:53
Kirlack:
Karls been kicking about the commonwealth for a while mostly defend and patrol sector and hit jobs don't change your game plan to incorporate him.
I'm fairly sure he and wren will cross paths at some point and it won't be pretty bur it will forge a bond between them.
Great last post by the way.
Karls been kicking about the commonwealth for a while mostly defend and patrol sector and hit jobs don't change your game plan to incorporate him.
I'm fairly sure he and wren will cross paths at some point and it won't be pretty bur it will forge a bond between them.
Great last post by the way.
When traveling pause occasionally, look back and enjoy the moment again.
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Nathancros
- Posts: 674
- Joined: Tue, 30. Nov 10, 04:46
Oh god, Finally get to get this guy out of my HEAD
only problem being. he's gone to get a drink.. gotta find him give me a sec
*looks around*
*looks some more*
WHERE DID YOU GO!?!"?
AHA!
Ok then!
Name: George Oaken
Sex: Male
Age: Who knows? he sure as hell doesnt.
Bio: you know those guys who think they are ladies men but really fail at it?
Well this guy is one of those, except he hasnt the slightest clue when to shut up.
He met Wren in a bar ages ago, needless to say Wren left him unconsious and holding his... well. ya know.... he couldnt walk straight for a week...
In any case, this foolish Argon/Terran*your choice* is a good pilot, knows his way around ships*a lot more than he knows girls ill tell you that!*
And hopefully he has half a brain enough to not try and get in wrens pants. tho i doubt he's learned his lesson!
if you dun like him, send him back through the post and ill be sure to give you a refund!
only problem being. he's gone to get a drink.. gotta find him give me a sec
*looks around*
*looks some more*
WHERE DID YOU GO!?!"?
AHA!
Ok then!
Name: George Oaken
Sex: Male
Age: Who knows? he sure as hell doesnt.
Bio: you know those guys who think they are ladies men but really fail at it?
Well this guy is one of those, except he hasnt the slightest clue when to shut up.
He met Wren in a bar ages ago, needless to say Wren left him unconsious and holding his... well. ya know.... he couldnt walk straight for a week...
In any case, this foolish Argon/Terran*your choice* is a good pilot, knows his way around ships*a lot more than he knows girls ill tell you that!*
And hopefully he has half a brain enough to not try and get in wrens pants. tho i doubt he's learned his lesson!
if you dun like him, send him back through the post and ill be sure to give you a refund!
Nullam et arcu vitae magna instabilitate omnia solvit
Am a recovering Addict of the CREATIVE FORUM.
Long live X3
Am a recovering Addict of the CREATIVE FORUM.
Long live X3
Noted, thanks mate. If he's tailed Wren out of Boron space he might show up a bit closer to home. Of course, if he's actively following her then he's likely to be greeted with a pistol to the face. "You followin' me, punk?"shaun bergin wrote:Kirlack:
Karls been kicking about the commonwealth for a while mostly defend and patrol sector and hit jobs don't change your game plan to incorporate him.
I'm fairly sure he and wren will cross paths at some point and it won't be pretty bur it will forge a bond between them.
Great last post by the way.
Awesome! Thanks Nate! That little bit of background is exactly what I neededNathancros wrote:Name: George Oaken
Sex: Male
Age: Who knows? he sure as hell doesnt.
Bio: you know those guys who think they are ladies men but really fail at it?
Well this guy is one of those, except he hasnt the slightest clue when to shut up.
He met Wren in a bar ages ago, needless to say Wren left him unconsious and holding his... well. ya know.... he couldnt walk straight for a week...
In any case, this foolish Argon/Terran*your choice* is a good pilot, knows his way around ships*a lot more than he knows girls ill tell you that!*
And hopefully he has half a brain enough to not try and get in wrens pants. tho i doubt he's learned his lesson!
I look forward to them hooking up again Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
-
Nathancros
- Posts: 674
- Joined: Tue, 30. Nov 10, 04:46
-
Sabrina Bergin
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: Sat, 12. Apr 08, 10:53
Karls been busy:
He's on a mission to get rich and is taking on as many missions as he can grab possibly inadvertently stepping on a few toes as he doesn't mind lowering his price a bit to get the work.
I figure it is likely Wren will start to track him and remind him of the rules.
possibly by eliminating a mark he had the hit for not once but two or three times.
That will definitely get his attention.
I'll leave the details to you.
He's on a mission to get rich and is taking on as many missions as he can grab possibly inadvertently stepping on a few toes as he doesn't mind lowering his price a bit to get the work.
I figure it is likely Wren will start to track him and remind him of the rules.
possibly by eliminating a mark he had the hit for not once but two or three times.
That will definitely get his attention.
I'll leave the details to you.
When traveling pause occasionally, look back and enjoy the moment again.
Hm. Been ages since I've written anything X-related, but I needed a break from my other writing and since Kirlack is looking for pilots I thought I'd give it a shot. I blame Triaxx for not writing a "proper" bio, but if you need any additional info about Talia, just let me know.
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"... while the importance of investment in Antigone Memorial is …"
Talia Corvo shifted a bit to keep her legs from going numb. Her mark, the CEO of the Bethshal Trading Corporation, had been droning on for almost a quarter of a stazura, but now he was apparently running out of steam. Good.
"… and that concludes this meeting. Any questions?" A couple of journalists raised their hands, and he pointed at one of them.
"Yes, miss …?"
"Karasu. Just one question, Mr. Bro. What is your comment on the rather persistent rumors about you blackmailing the owner of Lightspeed Industries into selling his company to you, where upon you basically slaughtered the entire company and fired its almost fifteen thousand employees?"
For a brief moment Kriss Bro's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised just a hair and his hand twitched. He regained his composure almost immediately, but the cat was already out of the bag.
"I'm sorry, miss … Karasu, I have no idea what you are talking about. Next question, please."
His mouth might have said he didn't know, but his body had just told Talia the truth. She raised her gauss rifle and took aim. Her employer wanted something public and spectacular, and even though that wasn't the way she normally operated he had … persuaded her by coughing up fifteen million credits. Ten for the kill and another five up front for the trouble.
Talia figured she needed it, because the hit had been a bitch to set up. For starters, the greedy bastard running maintenance on this level, some greasy guy named Jo Kerigan, had demanded two million to look the other way. Then there was the fun of crawling through almost a hundred meters of seriously cramped space to get in position. She considered dusting the bastard who ordered the hit, just because it had been such a pain in the ass.
The gauss rifle had also cost a friggin' fortune, especially since she needed it to go away quietly after the job was done. Not to mention the trouble of getting someone to make a custom bullet, matching the materials in the bulkhead behind the mark and thus making tracing as difficult as possible. Oh well. Another shot, another payday.
"Now, if there are no further questions I'm afraid you will have to excuse me. I have some important business to -"
His words got cut short as a magnetically accelerated four millimeter supersonic bullet plowed through his head and made it explode. The rest of the body, seemingly oblivious as to what had just happened, took a couple of extra steps before it fell to the floor like a sack of delaxian wheat. Everyone stared, then someone started screaming and full panic broke out.
Guess that's my signal to leave, Talia thought. She crawled back out into the maintenance tunnel she came from, then she pulled out a vial filled with a neon blue liquid and poured it on the rifle. As the liquid dissolved into harmless dust, she turned around and headed for the hangar bay. Hopefully security wouldn't start searching the maintenance shafts just yet. That assumption was at least partially correct …
"Aw, frak." After following the maze of maintenance shafts and tunnels down to the hangar bay, three goons were now blocking the way.
"Ey, nobody said nuth'n 'bout no broad." one of them scoffed.
"Screw that," the second one said. "For ten grand I'll knock off me mom."
"Let's get 'er and go have a drink," the third one said.
"Whoa, gentlemen." Talia said, raising her hands in front of her. "Let's not do anything rash here."
"Too late for that, hon. Maybe you should have made sure – oof!" The one talking got an elbow in the ribs to shut him up, but she still pieced it together in an instant.
"Jo!" she hissed. "Gunne damned, greasy bastard …"
"Not that it matters, but yeah. 'e told us someone might come through 'ere, and 'e paid us good money to make sure they didn't leave." They moved in, ready to beat the snot out of her. Talia considered her options. Using her phase pistols was out of the question, as station security would be there in a heartbeat. This could get messy …
The first goon raised his hand, ready to punch Talia into next week. He took a swing, but she ducked under his arm and gave him an elbow to the face, before following up with a strike to the groin and an elbow to the spine as he went down. He hit the floor like a ton of bricks, knocked out cold.
The second one was a little more careful, and tried to use his longer reach to his advantage. A hollow 'ching' echoed through the narrow hallway and he doubled over in pain, taking a knee to the face as he did. The last one just stared at her.
"T-that's a …"
"... an ariaan daari'je," Talia finished. "Yes, it's a Paranid lance. Your friend should thank Gunne that I didn't use the sharp end of it." There was another 'ching' as the lance contracted, shrinking down to a quarter of its original size. She twirled it around a couple of times and then pressed the tip of the blade against his throat.
"By the way," she said softly, reaching out with her free hand and cupping the cheek of the now trembling man in front of her. "Did you know I used to be a pit fighter? I fought Split, and I ate guys like you for breakfast." There was a slight, trickling sound as the man pissed his pants.
"Now, be a good boy and tell that worthless piece of Argnu shit Jo he should be looking over his shoulder quite frequently from now on. I'll be coming to collect, and I don't take kindly to being doublecrossed. If you know what's good for you, you'll tell him. If not, I'll be back." She patted him on the cheek and headed to her ship. He would do as she said if he valued his life. If not … well, she could always do him for free.
Back in her ship, Talia removed the extra padding under her clothes and shoe lifts, and deactivated the nanites that had altered her face and hair color. Being a Ringo Moon native she had, like many of her people, chalk white hair and unusually pale skin, and they stuck out like a sore thumb, something that was kind of a disadvantage in her line of work. She had been told it was a genetic trait that had developed because of the distance to the local sun, and she had no problem believing that. Right now, however, it was time to think about getting the hell out.
"Steve!" she shouted, addressing the ship's AI as she entered the cockpit. "Anything new?"
"Two messages, captain. A ten million transfer for completing your assignment, and an encrypted message from one Wren Rock."
"Wren, eh? Haven't heard that name since we were on the merc circuit together in Family Rhy." They had done over a dozen jobs together before they went their separate ways. "All right, Steve. What does she want?"
"Apparently she is looking for pilots, captain. The message ask you to meet her 'at the usual place' in Aladna Hill."
"Hm, interesting. Well, I haven't done any serious flying for a while, so let's head over to Aladna Hill and hear what she has to offer."
----------
"... while the importance of investment in Antigone Memorial is …"
Talia Corvo shifted a bit to keep her legs from going numb. Her mark, the CEO of the Bethshal Trading Corporation, had been droning on for almost a quarter of a stazura, but now he was apparently running out of steam. Good.
"… and that concludes this meeting. Any questions?" A couple of journalists raised their hands, and he pointed at one of them.
"Yes, miss …?"
"Karasu. Just one question, Mr. Bro. What is your comment on the rather persistent rumors about you blackmailing the owner of Lightspeed Industries into selling his company to you, where upon you basically slaughtered the entire company and fired its almost fifteen thousand employees?"
For a brief moment Kriss Bro's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised just a hair and his hand twitched. He regained his composure almost immediately, but the cat was already out of the bag.
"I'm sorry, miss … Karasu, I have no idea what you are talking about. Next question, please."
His mouth might have said he didn't know, but his body had just told Talia the truth. She raised her gauss rifle and took aim. Her employer wanted something public and spectacular, and even though that wasn't the way she normally operated he had … persuaded her by coughing up fifteen million credits. Ten for the kill and another five up front for the trouble.
Talia figured she needed it, because the hit had been a bitch to set up. For starters, the greedy bastard running maintenance on this level, some greasy guy named Jo Kerigan, had demanded two million to look the other way. Then there was the fun of crawling through almost a hundred meters of seriously cramped space to get in position. She considered dusting the bastard who ordered the hit, just because it had been such a pain in the ass.
The gauss rifle had also cost a friggin' fortune, especially since she needed it to go away quietly after the job was done. Not to mention the trouble of getting someone to make a custom bullet, matching the materials in the bulkhead behind the mark and thus making tracing as difficult as possible. Oh well. Another shot, another payday.
"Now, if there are no further questions I'm afraid you will have to excuse me. I have some important business to -"
His words got cut short as a magnetically accelerated four millimeter supersonic bullet plowed through his head and made it explode. The rest of the body, seemingly oblivious as to what had just happened, took a couple of extra steps before it fell to the floor like a sack of delaxian wheat. Everyone stared, then someone started screaming and full panic broke out.
Guess that's my signal to leave, Talia thought. She crawled back out into the maintenance tunnel she came from, then she pulled out a vial filled with a neon blue liquid and poured it on the rifle. As the liquid dissolved into harmless dust, she turned around and headed for the hangar bay. Hopefully security wouldn't start searching the maintenance shafts just yet. That assumption was at least partially correct …
"Aw, frak." After following the maze of maintenance shafts and tunnels down to the hangar bay, three goons were now blocking the way.
"Ey, nobody said nuth'n 'bout no broad." one of them scoffed.
"Screw that," the second one said. "For ten grand I'll knock off me mom."
"Let's get 'er and go have a drink," the third one said.
"Whoa, gentlemen." Talia said, raising her hands in front of her. "Let's not do anything rash here."
"Too late for that, hon. Maybe you should have made sure – oof!" The one talking got an elbow in the ribs to shut him up, but she still pieced it together in an instant.
"Jo!" she hissed. "Gunne damned, greasy bastard …"
"Not that it matters, but yeah. 'e told us someone might come through 'ere, and 'e paid us good money to make sure they didn't leave." They moved in, ready to beat the snot out of her. Talia considered her options. Using her phase pistols was out of the question, as station security would be there in a heartbeat. This could get messy …
The first goon raised his hand, ready to punch Talia into next week. He took a swing, but she ducked under his arm and gave him an elbow to the face, before following up with a strike to the groin and an elbow to the spine as he went down. He hit the floor like a ton of bricks, knocked out cold.
The second one was a little more careful, and tried to use his longer reach to his advantage. A hollow 'ching' echoed through the narrow hallway and he doubled over in pain, taking a knee to the face as he did. The last one just stared at her.
"T-that's a …"
"... an ariaan daari'je," Talia finished. "Yes, it's a Paranid lance. Your friend should thank Gunne that I didn't use the sharp end of it." There was another 'ching' as the lance contracted, shrinking down to a quarter of its original size. She twirled it around a couple of times and then pressed the tip of the blade against his throat.
"By the way," she said softly, reaching out with her free hand and cupping the cheek of the now trembling man in front of her. "Did you know I used to be a pit fighter? I fought Split, and I ate guys like you for breakfast." There was a slight, trickling sound as the man pissed his pants.
"Now, be a good boy and tell that worthless piece of Argnu shit Jo he should be looking over his shoulder quite frequently from now on. I'll be coming to collect, and I don't take kindly to being doublecrossed. If you know what's good for you, you'll tell him. If not, I'll be back." She patted him on the cheek and headed to her ship. He would do as she said if he valued his life. If not … well, she could always do him for free.
Back in her ship, Talia removed the extra padding under her clothes and shoe lifts, and deactivated the nanites that had altered her face and hair color. Being a Ringo Moon native she had, like many of her people, chalk white hair and unusually pale skin, and they stuck out like a sore thumb, something that was kind of a disadvantage in her line of work. She had been told it was a genetic trait that had developed because of the distance to the local sun, and she had no problem believing that. Right now, however, it was time to think about getting the hell out.
"Steve!" she shouted, addressing the ship's AI as she entered the cockpit. "Anything new?"
"Two messages, captain. A ten million transfer for completing your assignment, and an encrypted message from one Wren Rock."
"Wren, eh? Haven't heard that name since we were on the merc circuit together in Family Rhy." They had done over a dozen jobs together before they went their separate ways. "All right, Steve. What does she want?"
"Apparently she is looking for pilots, captain. The message ask you to meet her 'at the usual place' in Aladna Hill."
"Hm, interesting. Well, I haven't done any serious flying for a while, so let's head over to Aladna Hill and hear what she has to offer."
Last edited by Zaitsev on Sat, 11. May 13, 17:52, edited 2 times in total.
I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am
DiDs:
Eye of the storm Completed
Eye of the storm - book 2 Inactive
Black Sun - Completed
Endgame - Completed
DiDs:
Eye of the storm Completed
Eye of the storm - book 2 Inactive
Black Sun - Completed
Endgame - Completed
I like it, that's definitely got some potential!shaun bergin wrote:I figure it is likely Wren will start to track him and remind him of the rules.
possibly by eliminating a mark he had the hit for not once but two or three times.
That will definitely get his attention.
I'll leave the details to you.
I was thinking about starting the Terran plot somewhere down the line anyway, although as you've probably noticed I'm trying to get my Boron rep up so I can start the Hub (no, I'm not expecting to finish the plot, but it would be nice to have somewhere to call home ). Plus, if I get far enough in the Terran story I could give Karl the Cutlass... Zaitsev wrote:Talia Corvo...
Love itZaitsev wrote:"Wren, eh? Haven't heard that name since we were on the merc circuit together in Family Rhy." They had done over a dozen jobs together before they went their separate ways. "All right, Steve. What does she want?"
That's already started ideas spinning in my brain. Right. As of right now (end of chapter 11) I have the two Perseus Raiders, the un-named Mamba and Assassin's Creed available. Who wants to fly what, and what do you guys want to name your ships? I won't be changing Creed's name, but I'll happily pass it on to anyone who wants to fly it, now I've got Boots
Madder than a bastard on Fathers Day
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
My DiD Stories: Peace(s) of Eight (Inactive) - Way of the Gun [KIA] - Status: Online (Active)
An Illustrated Idiots Guide to CLS
What do you mean you 'blame' me? I gave you an out. I should be getting thanked.
No Respect.
No Respect.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
... but fortunately you've got a sense of humor
Okey, okey. Thank you, Triaxx2 *bows*
And yeah, ships ... I'll take one of the Perseus Raiders. Talia prefer something with a rear turret, to keep missiles off her back. As for a name ... I think I'll go with Keres. They were female spirits of violent or cruel death in greek mythology, and I think Talia will cause plenty of that if you let her loose on the battlefield.
Okey, okey. Thank you, Triaxx2
*bows*And yeah, ships ... I'll take one of the Perseus Raiders. Talia prefer something with a rear turret, to keep missiles off her back. As for a name ... I think I'll go with Keres. They were female spirits of violent or cruel death in greek mythology, and I think Talia will cause plenty of that if you let her loose on the battlefield.
I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am
DiDs:
Eye of the storm Completed
Eye of the storm - book 2 Inactive
Black Sun - Completed
Endgame - Completed
DiDs:
Eye of the storm Completed
Eye of the storm - book 2 Inactive
Black Sun - Completed
Endgame - Completed