Peace(s) of Eight - DiD [TC 3.0] (Inactive - Saves Lost)

[Kirlack]

[Triaxx2]

I'm sure he is. Of course, those of us who know, know it's much easier to sit and demand 'MOAR' than it is to actually play the game and write this stuff.

I also have a wish to see more, but am patient and willing to wait.

Stupid asteroids...

[Libelnon]

[Scion Drakhar]

[Libelnon]

I just caught myself going 'ooh, Kirlack's on! Maybe he's updating this!'

...

I think I'm addicted.

[Kirlack]

[Libelnon]

Great chapter good to see things moving ahead at a nice pace.

[Libelnon]

Right, with Kirlack's permission (and to a lesser extent, collaboration) I've decided to aid this story with my own character's viewpoint, Huritas Galos Yayaosis II, better known as 'The Huntress', a freelance assassin with rapidly emptying pockets. Here's to hoping my contributions are as well received as Wildcat's were in From Nothing, eh?

But before she's set into the plot, let's investigate some history from, say, three or four years back...

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Huritas Galos Yayasois II", someone greeted her from behind. She didn't even bother to look at him - The accent told her he was blantantly Argon. "I have a... proposition for you."

Huritas remained seated in her booth, gaze fixed on the table. Her slight paranoia ordered her hand to grasp the grip of her gauss pistol.

The Argon spoke again, this time his comment aimed at someone Huritas was unaware of. "Get me a drink. And one for my friend here." He then proceded to take a seat opposite her. The pistol silently slid from its holster.

"My name is Eron," he introduced himself. He had an aura of confidence that would've unnerved the common man. "And I hear you're the best person to come to when a job needs doing."

Huritas lifted her head to look at him. He wasn't a previous client, but he was certainly a confident one. Most people who addressed her did so via written note, and had already scarpered before she'd picked it up. This one was different. He had a ragged denim flight jacket on, and the sigil of The Crimson Skull emblazoned across the left pocket, a large Pirate cartel. From the armed guards, he appeared to be somewhat respected among them.

"You are the Huntress, no?" he said. Her silence seemed to be agitating him. "I have a certain individual needing removing."

Huritas looked him in the eye. "Ssome call me that," she croaked. "Who'ss thiss... individual?"

Eron produced a datapad, and thrust it nonchalantly towards her. She took it in both hands, letting the pistol drop back into its holster. Numerous schematics were displayed, most of which were familiar. The interesting part was the Paranid Hyperion that was displayed bore the same kinds of decals and markings you'd expect to find on a Crimson Skulls ship.

"That belongs to a friend of mine," Eron explained. "A friend who has just sold me out, and gotten himself into the pocket of the Paranid government. I want him brought back. Alive."

Another tratior in for a grilling. Huritas didn't need to ask for any more details on the circumstance - being nosy lost you jobs, and jobs were important. Nothing else kept the credits rolling, the spliffs lit and the tankard full. "I trust there is sufficient information for you there on that pad?" Eron continued.

"A lone yacht?" Hurtias asked. "What'ss the clinch?"

Eron looked at her, his face blank and expressionless. Or so she assumed - Argon expression was cryptic to her. "It'll be moving from Preist's Pity to Third Redemption at 06:00 tomorrow. Eramancketts will be hosting a party for his friends aboard his new yacht, and in turn, they will bring their escorts."

"And they are?"

Eron sighed. "Paranid Military. At least enough to hold off Carrack attacks."

Huritas stifled a grin. Playtime. "Make your offer," she hissed.

"Four million."

"Eight. Two upfront."

"Six, no more, and I'll wire up one for you this evening. I'll even throw a good word in among my superiors."

Huritas considered it for a moment. Playing dangerous with the paranid government - again - was a big risk, but jobs with this kind of money didn't come often. Besides, getting on the good side of the Crimson Skulls would probably be wise, as she'd had run-ins with them before and they were pretty much the ruling clan around these parts. Besides, even an assassin needs friends. Sometimes. She formed the words together carefully in her head before her mouth shaped the words. "Deal."

Eron nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you." he turned to the guard beside him. "Back to business, eh Hari?"

Huritas pulled up the escort details up on the datapad. Going to need a hand on this one, methinks, she thought.

* * *

"Cho," Huritas greeted the Split as she climbed from the cockpit of the Boa. It looked in remarkable condition, especially for a Pirate ship. Even more so, as Huritas knew it'd been liberated just that morning.

"Split welcomes Huritas," she greeted her. It was unusual to see female Split, but Cho t'krrt seemed no less competent than the male ones Huritas'd met. She was also a lot less arrogant.

"I ssee you have the sship, as requessted. Did thingss go ssmoothly?" Huritas asked her. She nodded.

"Pilot quite willing to give up after we fried shields and threatened to shove Hornet up backside."

Huritas smiled. "Ass wass alwayss your way."

Cho looked around the hangar. "Split ask if these ships are the ones we take?" She'd obviously noticed Huritas' Buster, the Goshawk, parked in the far bay; there were also two Eclipses and a Scorpion being loosly patched up in the other bays. "Will they cope with escort?"

Huritas nodded. "I found ssome competent pilotss for them."

"How did Huritas get ships?"

"My client let them 'go missssing' to help."

Cho looked at Huritas, with the typical Split wide-eyed stare. It told Huritas far more than saying anything could.

"Come. Ambussh iss in half hour - we musst be at Danna'ss Chance by then."

* * *

Riding in the Boa was an odd experience - the dust outside floated by sideways, as if Huritas was strafing at high speed. The group of pilots had established a group commlink, and a small amount of chatter was being exchanged between the two Argon pilots she'd hired. Sounded like one of the two was a bit drunk and had challenged the other to a Triskele game. Huritas couldn't tell who they were - she hadn't worked much with Argon in the past, and their voices always sounded similar.

One of the two of them was Cali Le, a Yaki pilot who'd found herself without a job and waiting in the bar as Huritas had entered. She'd been looking for something to do, and happened to own a ship, so she offered a hand for a share of the credits. The other was an ex-military pilot by the name of Kai Rok, who'd drowned himself in space fuel the past few days and was practically begging for a ship. He sounded a little put off when Huritas offered him the Scorpion, but he had still been pursaded to take the job with a small number of credits and a whiskey.

The other pilot Huritas had hired was a Boron. Odd fellow, very quiet - especially for a Boron - who Cho had drummed up. Apparently his name was Humi Lo, and he was on the run from the Boron officials after an incident with the 'princess'. Whoever that was.

"Approaching Danna's Chance," Cho's voice sounded across the intercom.

"See? Told you we were close," one of the Argons replied. The other told him to shut up, only with slightly more colourful language.

There was a slight jolt as the ship entered the jumpgate. The first Argon made a comment about the fact that jump gates were 'pretty'.

"Take uss five clickss above the gate," Huritas ordered Cho. "Anything on sscannerss?"

The Boron spoke for the first time in the entire journey. "Negative."

Odd. It was almost 06:00 and there was no sign of the Paranid. It seemed unlikely they'd detour - Paranid are stubborn like that.

"Perhaps they're still in bed?" The first Argon suggested.

"Split thinks patrols in Brennan's Triumph delayed Paranid."

"Either way," Huritas assured them. "We're sstaying here until they arrive."

Cue more idle chatter across the comms. The first Argon started talking about different types of ship weapons - the second Argon tried to shush them, but when they continued to blabber, the second Argon said "You know something? An ancient philosopher once said that a wise man speaks when he has something to say - a fool speaks when he has to say something."

"Contact," the intercomm buzzed. It was the Boron again. "I've got three ships at the moment, a Hyperion, a Medusa, and a Nemesis, which is limping."

"Take uss closser, Cho."

The Boa's engines roared back to life, and the Boa slowly moved towards their prey. Huritas monitored the sensors, making sure that none of the ships appeared suspicious of the 'Split Weapons Dealer' that crept towards them. She knew that they'd have to react quickly if anyone noticed the fact it had four Pirate fighters onboard.

"Iss everyone ready?" Huritas hissed into the comm. He was met by murmurs of agreement from the rest of the assorted pirates. "Attack!"

The docking clamp disengaged from the Goshawk with a hiss, and the automatic systems aboard the ship catapulted it out of the docking bay alongside the rest of the assorted pirate ships. Huritas scanned the sensor maps, looking for any further contacts. Besides the Nemesis and Medusa, there were two Perseus in tow, and two Pericles were disengaging from the Hyperion to join the fight. "Eclipssess, go for the Nemessiss. Cho, tail the Hyperion. We'll cover you."

Huritas spotted the closest Pericles, and twisted the joystick to set the Goshawk after it. The Goshawk fit snugly in behind, and six mass drivers spun into motion, unleasing a hail of shield-piercing death on the Paranid fighter. With the engines ruptured, it began to slow, at which point Huritas pulled up and sent a hail of mass driver rounds through the cockpit - sending a spurt of Paranid gore into the vacuum of space as the ship tore itself in half. Huritas smiled to herself. It was always more fun with the gore.

Frag bombs scattered harmlessly across her shields, sending ripples of blue energy around the ship. Huritas dived, spinning the Goshawk through a full 180 degrees to turn on her attacker. One of the Perseus M3s went up in a cloud of fire and debris. "Report!" she barked, spinning the Goshawk towards the Medusa, which was already venting plasma across the engine section.

"Taking fire from that Hyperion. Can I please shoot back?" came the first response. It was the first of the two Argon again, in the Scorpion. "I'm not liking how much of my shields that thing is stripping."

"That Nemesis is toast!" the second Argon reported. Almost on cue, the Nemesis' central reactor flared up, and the ship vanished in a ball of plasma.

"All sshipss, cover me. Cho, take down the sshieldss on that Hyperion. I don't want the hull damaged," Huritas ordered.

A beam of lightning leapt across space and licked at the Hyperion's shields, sending pulses of electricity across the hull. Huritas watched the shields quickly drain away, leaving the hull exposed to the elements of space. Exposed components shorted out and exploded in the overload.

"Cover me, I'm going to board the Hyperion."

"Alone?" One of the Argon asked. Huritas didn't take much notice of which one. "But the place'll be swarming with ma-" Thier voice was cut off as the cockpit depressurised, and the airlock disengaged. Huritas took a flying leap from the Goshawk, aiming herself at the hull of the Hyperion. The suit's thrusters flared to life.

The journey to the hull was a quick one, and nothing seemed to notice as the figure of a Teladi jetted across space and attached a pair of magnetic boots to the docking port of the Hyperion. The door took little pursasion by a plasma torch - it even closed firmly enough behind her to become airtight as the airlock repressurised. She used the spare seconds to strip the EVA suit.

Gauss pistol in hand, Huritas rushed out of the airlock, dashed behind the nearest object that qualified for cover, and scanned the room. A pair of guards had entered in response to the unauthorized use of an airlock, who took up position and began firing phase rifles at her.

The best thing about a guass pistol, though, is that you can do this...

The shot lined up perfectly, and as the round left the barrel of the pistol with the satisfying *vrrrrmph* noise of a gauss accelerator, the round pierced through one Paranid's hip, spitting blood everywhere, and the one behind him screeched in pain as the thirteen millimeter slug buried itself into his crotch. Both fell to the floor, writhing in pain, as Huritas picked her way past, planting a second slug in the first one's head, just to be sure.

The narrow corridors of the Hyperion were littered with guards, but none were fast enough, nor accurate enough, to stop Huritas as she danced elegantly through the corridors, planting guass slugs with practiced precision, flaying limbs, spraying blood and filling the ship with screams of the dying. Huritas was laughing. She couldn't help it - these 'Paranid military' marines were dropping like bloodflies in the Teladian swamplands.

She reached the door that lead to the engine room, and stepped inside. Two engineers dived for cover, but made no attempt to fire at her as they were both unarmed - instead, she took a shot at one of the generators, which began to vent superheated plasma at them. They screeched as they fled across the engineering platform, their clothes literally melting into their charred skin. She blasted one in the leg, which deposited him in a crumpled heap on the engineering deck, quite dead, and leapt on the other, digging her claws into his shoulders. One quick blast from the gauss pistol deposited his ribcage - and probably most of his organs - across the entire reactor, much to Huritas' delight.

The ship schematics which had been left displayed on a monitor in the reactor had been extremely useful, and Huritas easily found her way to the bridge. The doors slid open, and she was faced by three marines, two officers, and an overly pompous and somewhat overdressed individual she could only assume was Eramancketts himself, by the way he was sat in the chair at the centre of the bridge. Well, was. He'd dived under it as the doors slid open.

Fortunately, Huritas had come prepared. One of the two high-ranking Paranid military officials squirmed in her grip, claws clenched around his throat. "Anyone movess," she hissed. "And they become red ssmearss!"

Two of the marines dropped their phase rifles, but one seemed a little more confident. He promptly recieved a gauss slug to the foot, which forced him to the floor in agony. "Right, let'ss talk thiss over, sshall we?"

Eramancketts peered over the back of his chair. "Teladi scum! Don't you know what you're doing!? Do you know who I am!"

Huritas grinned. "I know perfectly well what I'm doing," she said proudly. "I'm having a whale of a time, too." She sent a gauss slug towards the downed marine, which embedded itself in his thick skull. She turned to face the other two, who slunk away from their weapons in terror. "If you gentlemen would kindly remove yoursselvess?"

The two Paranid marines backed towards the wall. Huritas shuffled over and kicked the phase rifle well out of reach of her captive, then gestured to the other Paranid in the room to leave. They did so gladly, apart from Eramancketts, who stood in the middle of the deck trying to decide whether to be angry or scared of the intruder.

Huritas dropped her captive, who slumped to the floor, unconcious. A quick shot at the control panel to the door jammed it shut, leaving her alone on the deck with her prey. A hunger welled up inside her - the hunger to make the capture. To catch the prey.

"Eramackettss. I hear you've made quite the impressssion on the Crimsson Sskullss, haven't you?" she hissed, circling the deck around him. He stood, stiff and trembling, without meeting her gaze. "Let me assk you a quesstion... Do you know who I am?"

The Paranid shook his head.

"They call me the Huntressss... becausse I've never failed to catch my prey. And today, that 'prey' is you." Huritas approached him from behind, silently, and pushed the gauss pistol hard against his throat. "How does it feel to be a dead man, Eramanckettss?"

The Paranid swallowed hard. He seemed to be concentrating on something - which just made Huritas grin. She knew what he was planning.

"I'm not going down..." he mumbled, "Without taking you with me!"

The Paranid spun around, and seized Huritas by the arm, and tried to wrench the pistol from her hand. Huritas swung an arm downwards, and her sharp claws bit into the traitor's leg. He squealed, more in surprise than pain, and the pistol flew across the deck, clattering away into a corner.

Paranids were big, but they were also slow. Huritas nipped around behind him and raked her claws down his back, and when he swung around to retaliate, she merely ducked under his sledgehammer-sized fists and used the opportunity to rake her claws down his front instead. She continued to dance around him as he thrashed about, digging her claws as deep into his chitinous skin as she could.

He was panting, but he wasn't giving up. Huritas knew she'd need something with a bit more force than her claws, and so she dodged back towards the chair, and watched as he raised his arms over her head. She ducked out of the way, and heard an almighty crash as the Paranid's fists split the captain's chair in half. She grabbed one of the fragments, waited for the opportunity, then cracked it over his head as hard as she could.

If it was a normal, healthy Paranid, the fragment of chair probably wouldn't have done anything. Eramancketts was not a 'healthy' Paranid - he was exhausted, suffering from blood loss, and quickly losing his pride as he was beaten by the likes of a Teladi. Now, he was also unconcious as well, slumped on the floor in the middle of the flight deck. Huritas leaned down, and carved a circular mark on his forehead.

After a while of fumbling amongst the controls on the Hyperion's bridge, Huritas finally managed to open a comm channel to Cho. "It'ss done," Huritas announced. "Attach the grappling cabless and tow her home. Sshe'ss done."

As the fighters closed around the disabled Hyperion, Huritas sent a message to Eron on the Brennan's Triumph pirate base. It read:

For Sale:
One (1) Hyperion Vanguard. One previous owner, now unconcious on flight deck. ~30 slaves onboard, may resist entry. Includes captive Paranid Military officials as bonus. Price: 6,000,000 Cr, excluding ship. Free postage and packaging.

[Zaitsev]

Ooh ... Me like

Nice chapters from both Kirlack and Libelnon. Looking forward to MOAR

[Kirlack]

Woooooot \o/

And now I'm not the only posting updates

Libelnon, I know I said it to you in PM but I really liked that piece and that opens up all sorts of storytelling opportunities

For now though...

***

Chapter 10:Recruits

My quarters on the station can best be described as...poxy. An eight foot by six foot steel box with all the enticing qualities of a coffin. The ceiling, complete with built in strip light, is barely five feet above my head, forcing me to duck once I'm in and either sit or lay on my bed, which can best be described as...well, slab like. The steel walls hold hidden storage and toilet facilities, including a small shower, which all slide out at a touch, and away again after use. Meals are taken in the community mess hall several floors down, and if you miss one it's tough luck, you go without. A lot of us have gotten used to coming home simply to crash out and change, then living and eating out of the sector. Still, it's home, it's my own personal space and I've missed it.

Of course, I don't have time to enjoy it, because Sophia is sitting on my bed staring at me as my door slides closed behind me. Staring and smiling that wicked smile of hers. I've never been able to tell if she'd smile like that right before she kisses you, or right before she kills you. Or both. Sophia Rider is a tall, slim woman in her early forties, and still attractive for her age, a fact she often uses to her advantage. Her long hair, grown to her waist, used to be blonde, but has since faded to almost white, yet there's no trace of her years on her face. She's also tougher than old leather and can floor a guy twice my size in a heartbeat. Word is she used to serve as a marine for OTAS, back when they were starting out and securing their position as a corporate power in the wake of the Khaak attacks in Argon space, but she's not the kind of person you ask about their past, you know? Her elegant blue dress hides a lean and capable body. She's not someone you frak with.

“Circles within circles, I greet you Ric-”

“Don't.” I snap, cutting her off before she can say it, “Don't use that name Sophia. I left that and everything that connects to it behind me a long time ago. I didn't make that sacrifice so you could dredge it back up again.” She's still smiling at me, that terrifying smile.

“Very well, Kirlack. Welcome home.” Something's up. She's never been this nice to me.

“Thanks, it's good to be back. Any chance I can get a shower, or are you here to enjoy my aroma as is?” I hiss, making to move past her towards the back wall.

“Now now, no need to be tetchy,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me worryingly, “I'm here to welcome you home. And to congratulate you on both surviving the loss of your wing and your ingenuity infiltrating the Goners to get back to us.” That stops me in my tracks and I turn to look at her.

“You ah...you heard about that then.” She's making me nervous with that wicked smile.

“Oh yes.” she says, “We heard about that. We're most impressed Kirlack, most impressed.” Ok, now I'm worried. What the hell is she on about?

“What do you want Sophia?” I ask quietly. Somehow I don't think I'm going to like the answer.

She blinks at me for a few moments, as though I've asked a disturbing question, then smiles thoughtfully.

“Meet me on Nividereos* in ten days time.” What? I'm too shocked to even reply. “I may have a...proposition for you.” What the hell?! I'm confused, and that makes me angry, but raging at a woman like Sophia won't get me anything but a bullet in the back. I take a deep breath to calm myself and look her square in the eye.

“What am I supposed to do between now and then? Sit around here?” She can see the anger and the confusion behind it as clear as if she were reading my emotions, but she stays cool and calm.

“Oh, I'm sure you already had plans. Carry on as you were. And Kirlack? Do try not to get yourself killed. There's a good lad.”

I'm biting my tongue in a bid to not shout at her condescending tone. She sounds so Paranid in that moment I wanted to shoot her. For a heartbeat I considered reaching for my pistol, but then she was gone, passing me like wind in the reeds. As my door slides closed behind her I breathe a sigh of relief. That woman is frakking terrifying.

So, wound up and still slightly confused as to what the hell just happened, I wasn't thinking too clearly as I approached the far end of my box and slid my hand across the shower panel, calling it out from the wall. I just stripped and whipped the stimulator off of my head.

The first sensation to hit me was how incredibly tired and leaden my body felt, but I didn't have time to consider that before the pain caught up with me. The same mind burning sensation I had felt when I first used it raged through my skull, tenfold what I had experienced before. I wasn't aware of time, or space or anything but the agony raging in my head.

Eventually I became aware of myself again, of my body and the still prominent, but no longer mind breaking pain wracking my cranium. I could hear the shower water running, but it sounded so far away I thought I was in a different room. I'm not sure how long I lay there but after a while I could focus enough to try to move. It took a few attempts but I eventually grabbed the corner of the bed and used it to lever myself back up. The bright light from the ceiling was too much for me to open my eyes fully, so I crawled towards the sound of water and finally into the shower cubicle.

The water felt good, and for a long time I just lay there letting it pour down on me. Eventually I felt focused enough to stand, bending a little to not bump the ceiling. The pain in my head was slowly subsiding and I was back to feeling dead tired. The shower was going a long way towards keeping me awake though, so I knew I'd be good to get dressed and and put the stimulator back on. O'Leary's words suddenly burned through my mind... “You have to shut it down first”...

Right. Let's consider that lesson learned.

I open the drawers under my bed and drop off the blade I got from Luuligos. The jatra I stole from that Split over in Bala Gi's is a far better knife. I grab my combats, a clean shirt and my coat, keep the new boots I bought in Eighteen Billion and slip the stimulator back onto my head. Again the pain is sudden and fierce, but only for a fraction of a second before I can feel its effect on my body and mind. I feel sharp again.

I throw my coat on as I'm walking down to the docking clamps, feeling it's comfortable length that can hide so many weapons. My knife is in a small sheath at my waist, my pistol strapped to my thigh. I'm ready to rock.

I jump into the Nova and pull away from the station before turning for the gate so I can hook up with O'Leary and the Chokaro which for now I've decided to dub the 'Double Helix'. I've also finally thought of a name for the Nova, since it's playing host to a couple of PBGs and not too quick. 'Slow Burn'. Crap I know, but it's better than just calling it 'Nova', so I don't care.

So I cross the sector** and make the jump into Senator's where I meet up with O'Leary aboard the 'Double Helix'. He's waiting for me as I head up to the flight deck.

“Boss, this thing's amazing!” he says as I settle into the command chair. It takes a few seconds for my mind to process what he means, then I realise that the Terrans don't have a TM class ship, so he's never set foot aboard one before. I'm grinning as I gun the engines and bring us about for the flight to the north gate.

“Aye, that she is. You found all the quarters and facilities alright I presume?”

“I did.” He says, settling into the navigation console on my right. “Kitchen, sleeping quarters, shower room...found it all. You were gone a fair while so I figured I ought to take a look around.”

“Yeah...I took a quick shower while I was at home and...well, I kinda took off the stimulator without shutting it off first.”

“Ouch. I told you that can be traumatic. You alright?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. I won't deny it hurt like frak though. Let's just say I have a new appreciation for just how much abuse my body can take.”

“Yeah, I bet you do.” He says, chuckling. “So, what's the plan boss? What're we doing next?”

“We'll fly up to Savage Spur and make the jump from there back to Freedom's Reach. Then we're gonna pick up Baritone and stick him in the brig while you and I go looking for some more ships to steal and plunder. Sound good?”

“Sounds good boss. Can we try to steal something a bit more capable than that Boron deathtrap...?”

So we make the jump back to FR and pick up Baritone, who glares at me as we usher him into the brig of the Chokaro.

“You gonna hold me much longer?” He quips as Stephen pokes him in the back with his pistol.

“Only until you tell me you're willing to fly for me.” I reply without missing a beat.

“Oh...fine! Get me a ship and I'll show you just how good a pilot I am.” He snaps back. Well, alright then. That adds one more pilot to my roster. Now I just need to get him a ship.

So, we leave him in the brig, jump into our respective fighters and set off into Danna's looking for likely targets. There's an OTAS weapon dealer with no escorting fighters making for the east gate, so I scan him to see what he's got. It doesn't take much to persuade him to part with some of his ammo and missiles, and then I call in Swag Bag to collect whilst I make for Nopileos' Memorial.

As soon as I hit NM I spot an abandoned Falcon Vanguard which I hop out and claim ready to be sent back to Freedom's. I'll figure out what to do with it, but for now it can sit in the station docking bay. Then a Boron tech trader catches my eye, mainly because he's flying a Mamba Vanguard. He's got nothing in his hold worth stealing, but I figure if I can scare him out of his ship we're on to a winner. I think I just got a new ride.

So I patch up the holes that proved so persuasive for the fish that was piloting and switch over some weapons and software from 'Slow Burn'. Once I'm in and getting used to my new fighter I order the Nova back to Freedom's and press on looking for targets. It's not long before I spot another Mamba Vanguard, this one toting himself as a Split weapons dealer. Now, I wouldn't normally make a move on a Split pilot, mainly because I need to maintain fairly good relations with them, but this one proves no trouble and promptly hops out of his ship as the first salvo of rounds make contact with his hull. Hmm. If I can find myself a worthy fighter then I might well be passing the two Mambas on to O'Leary and Baritone. O'Leary's already expressed an interest in flying a Mamba, and I know from experience that the vanguard is a good solid ship, so Baritone should be more than happy to fly one. Now I just need something for me.

We spot an Argon tech trader moving west through the sector and make a play for him. He's a stubborn bastard though and only gives up when the shit really hits the fan. I'm going to need a good engineering crew to repair that! So I send that on it's slow but steady journey back to the FR trading station and we blast through the gate and make for the pirate base in Hatikvah's Faith. I want to get some speed and rudder upgrades for this Mamba before something I can't outrun decides to start taking potshots at me.

We dock at the pirate base and decide to grab a drink in one of the bars whilst my ship's being tuned up to spec. The bar, a filthy little hovel called 'Silenced Shots' is stuffed to the gills with all sorts of scum, human, boron, lizards, even a smattering of 'nids and split. I order us both a wheat beer and a whiskey chaser and we're just settling into our seats when all hell breaks loose. See, there's this big, and I mean frakking huge human stood at the bar ordering a drink, when two drunk 'nids promptly crash into him. I hadn't been paying him any attention, but I think the whole damned bar stopped to look as this guy pulls the biggest handgun I've ever seen offa his belt and shoves it under the chin of the first 'nid.

“Got a problem there frakwit?” He growls, and for a second it occurs to me that his voice is almost as deep as Marchetti's, but I don't get time to contemplate it before that massive hand cannon goes off and splatters Paranid all over the bar. The second 'nid, clearly confused at what the hell just happened, and probably slightly deafened by the sound of that mini howitzer going off next to his ear tries to make a break for it, but the big guy's having none of it and draws what looks like a short sword and nonchalantly slices off it's head!

Now, three things strike me at this spectacle. Firstly, the big man is either a merc or comes form a military background, judging by the way he carries himself and both his skill and apparent disregard for life. Secondly he seems exactly the kind of person I would get on with and that means it might be worth my time trying to recruit him. Finally, he's obviously angered some of the other patrons in the bar, cos it seems like every one and their dog have drawn weapons and the place is about to kick off. In fact, other than myself and O'Leary I think everyone wants to get in on the action. Well, let's just say I'm not one to miss out on the fun.

“Stephen, cover me.” I'm sure he's trying to ask 'what the frak?' but I'm busy pushing through the growing crowd. The big guy, throwing back his head in roaring laughter and setting that lion like mane of hair into place has lined up on two lizards making for him and blows them away, showering blood and gore over several other humans who are running and screaming, trying to get away from the psychotic giant in their midst. I'm just about reaching him when he turns and starts swinging that ridiculous gun at my head. I'm smaller than him though, and a damn sight quicker, and by the time he's levelled that hand cannon at my face I'm tight up against him and tapping the tip of my pistol against the top of his thigh.

“If your balls are as big as the rest of you pal, I don't think you wanna be pulling that trigger.

“And if I gut you where you stand?” He hisses in my ear. I grin at him.

“Reflexive trigger squeeze due to the pain mate. Not pretty.” And just like that he grins at me, spins on his back foot and blasts holes through three Split creeping up behind him. A shot rings out from behind me and I turn just enough to see O'Leary burning the faces off a pair of lizards as a sandy haired human kid ducks under our table. In front of me the big man has gotten himself two more 'nids to play with, but it looks as though his miniaturised gauss cannon is out of juice, so he drops it and jumps towards one of the approaching Paranid, bringing all his weight to bare in a punch that drops it, and slicing through the other like a rag doll. Then he casually flips his blade over and stabs it down through the 'nid he's just floored. Alright. This guy's good. Not good enough to spot the Boron by the bar who's lined up with a rifle, but a quick shot from me takes him out and I wink at the giant as he stands. The squid was the last that seemed willing to start on anyone though, and the whole bar looks to be calming down.

“So, are we gonna call that even muscles, or do you wanna go again?” He's barely even broken a sweat and just stands there for a moment eyeballing me and stroking the few days stubble on that thick square chin.

“Thane.” He says, returning his blade to it's sheath on his back and his hand cannon to the holster at his waist.

“Huh?”

“My name is Thane” He grunts and starts walking towards the bar.

“Well Thane,” he stops and looks back at me, and I can see that temper behind his eyes, raging to let go and throw down, “you looking for a job friend? I could use someone with your skill set.” He seems to be glaring at me, but after a moment I realise he's just trying to take measure of me, trying to see if I'm gonna set him up. Then he grins.

“Ah, frak it. Why not, I need to give Dorothy some time to cool off anyway. But you're buying”

Dorothy?

So I'm just paying for our drinks at the bar when I hear this voice over by our table and turn just in time to see O'Leary dragging that sandy haired kid out from under it. He's older than I gave him credit for when I first spotted him, but his face is deceptively youthful. He's asking Stephen all sorts of questions and I nod at my wingman to grab chairs for the four of us and buy a beer for the kid. If he's looking for work this could be worth the effort.

The kid introduces himself as Sam and tells us he's had a real run of bad luck and wound up on the station with no ship and no money to his name. That seems to be a recurring theme in the folks I'm meeting today. Maybe I just travel in the wrong social circles. He also claims to be a hotshot pilot, which gets my attention. Thane on the other hand says very little, and like me seems to avoid any question about his background. Alright mate, everyone has their secrets. When I ask him about 'Dorothy' though, he promptly pulls his weapon and puts it down gently at the table.

“This is Dorothy,” he says with a grin, before reaching over his shoulder and drawing his black bladed combat knife and grinning even wider, “and this is Tina. My girls. You're gonna need to get to know my girls if we're gonna work together.”

Riiiight.

“Okay then. I got a job offer for the both of you. You fly my ships, with my ordinance, under my orders. You get a flat fee for every day you're on my crew and a cut of every job I take when you're flying on my wing.” That draws a raised eyebrow from Thane and the inevitable question.

“What kinds of jobs?”

I leave it for O'Leary to fill him in on what we've been up to so far today, and by the end of it the big guy is roaring laughter and Sam, looking rather small sitting next to him, is smiling like a loon as he sups his beer.

“Now, I've got ships, but I wanna see how you two handle yourselves first. That being the case, Thane I'm going to put you in an M4...” This draws a scowl of disagreement from him, but only for a moment, “...and Sam, you're going to be flying an M5. Once I've got a measure of your skills we'll see whether you're fit to fly something bigger. Agreed?”

Thane grudgingly agrees and and grumbles something under his breath about 'being stuck in a tin can', whilst Sam is practically bouncing in his seat and wanting to know what kind of missiles the disco vanguard can fire. Oi. Am I gonna regret this?

So, we finish up and make for the ships. With only two docked we make arrangements and Thane ends up riding with me, while Sam hops in with O'Leary. We're gonna make the run back through Nopileos' and look for more targets. With a little luck I'll be able to snag something for myself.

Now, I didn't think to check at the time, but after he bailed I noticed he'd been flying a Nova Prototype. It's taken a pretty good beating, but I'm going to keep it. It may not fit all the weapon options I want, but at 187m/s and with 100Mj of shielding it'll make a good ship to use for boarding operations. In fact I may just set it up as my personal fighter. For now though it gets sent back to the trading station in Freedom's while we keep hunting. Our success rate today has been uncanny and I intend to cash in on that sort of luck while it lasts.

We make a few runs on some weapons and tech traders and wind up by the west gate when a Pirate Caravel jumps in and immediately flags hostile.

Problem.

The Caravel itself we could handle, but when it somehow manages to spit out a wing of FIVE fighters I know we're in trouble. Two Blastclaws, a Blastclaw Prototype and a pair of pirate Elites come screaming towards us. I'm screaming across the comm for O'Leary to take the Elites as I roll Thunderbolts at the oncoming heavies. Either the pirates weren't ready for us or they were poorly equipped because the two Blastclaws disappear in Thunderbolt induced explosions and Shooting Fish has vaporised one of the M4 and crippled the other as I come about for the BCP. He bails as I rake him with HEPT fire and I see an explosion to my lower right as O'Leary delivers the finishing shot to the second Elite. Both of us are down to less than fifty percent shields, but now it's just us and the TM. I order O'Leary to make the move and switch over to PBGs before I join him and start melting the hull. A few moments later and we're left with a just thin shreds of our shields and a new ship to send home.

Okay. That was close. If they'd all been packing PBGs of their own, and I'm kinda surprised they weren't, we'd be dead. Yeah. The big dirtnap. Not good. Still, we're still here and they ain't. It's definitely my lucky day. So lucky in fact that the Dolphin Hauler I noticed down here on our first run through is still there. I'd ignored it at first cause...well, it's a Dolphin. Now that I'm up close and personal I can see it's still got some shields aboard. Handy. So I send that on it's way to the FR trading station and hop back into my ship. The two 25Mj shields on that Dolphin brings me up to nine total. Assuming I fly the Nova Prototype and O'Leary and Baritone take the two Mamba Vanguards that brings me down to one. I'm going to need to source more. For now though, I want to get my ships and my pilots back to the Helix so they can settle in. I may have to buy a second Chokaro at this rate. Hmm. Maybe I can give O'Leary a wing of his own?

So, while we wait for the new acquisitions to make their way down here I take a look at finances and ships. I've several M3 class ships now, but to be quite honest Slow Burn is too slow to be much use and Shooting Fish doesn't pack enough of a punch. The Falcon Vanguard we salvaged needs a lot of work, but even fully tuned is slower than the Nova, so I think that one's a sell. The two Mambas are going to need software and equipment, some of which I can strip from the Nova and the 'cuda, both of which I can sell afterwards. The Blastclaw Prototype is going to sit tight for now until I can source more weapons and shields for it. Whatever cash I make from selling the ships at the Yaki shipyard can probably go towards breaking and training my captured pilots into either a boarding crew, or some worthy engineers to keep my ships in good repair. Okay.

I arrange for the transfers of software modules and equipment between all my ships and tell my pilots to join me for a drink in the bar. Whilst I'm explaining the new arrangements, which actually draws a smile from both O'Leary and Baritone, I take a look at the stations boards for work. That's not much money, but sure, ok. Then another crops up. And finally, just as we're all finishing our drinks I spot a third. Right. Puddle Jumper it is then.

I decide to take all my guys with me for this one for two reasons. One it'll give them a chance to all get to know each other, and I've asked them all politely not to kill each other. Two, I've got all sixteen of my captured pilots aboard and I want some guards on hand in case they get unruly. This causes some uncomfortable looks from our passengers as they're boarding, seeing Thane stood by the hatch to the rear compartment and occasionally howling 'Shut it!'.

We make the drop at NM first then jump to Brennan's, where I spot another group wanting a ride. It's Paranid turf but I'm still clear to land in their sectors so I take it. We drop off the group of passengers bound for BT and pick up the new fare, before jumping to Elena's Fortune to drop off the guys begging to return to Argon space. Then we jump to Priest's Pity and drop the last fare. I'm running kinda low on cells, so I use the last to hop up to Bala Gi's and top up before heading for the pirate base to break my slaves. Heh.

I leave the slavemaster to his work whilst we head up to the bar and grab drinks. He assures me that his preferred method, a mental stripping process that I'd love to get my hands on, will have them as pliable as I'll need them in no time. I'm not one to argue so leave him with my blessing and a big stack of cash. In the meantime the Helix has made it to the shipyard in Senator's Badlands and I finally get a chance to look at the prices. So I sell the lot, bringing me up to around five million credits, which will go a long way towards getting me some training for my slaves. Of the sixteen I started with only seven have shown any potential, two of the 'nids, two of the Argon, one Boron, the Teladi and the Split. Bit of a mix, but it should at least keep them fairly civil towards one another. They've only got a basic understanding of engineering, but it should be enough to get my ships patched up, in time.

So we finish our drinks, settle our new mercs into place and make for the gate. On the way we get a comm from one of the locals looking to shift some folks south. It works out at just under forty eight thousand per passenger, which whilst not the best I've had is still pretty good for the amount of both work and risk involved. So I agree and pick up the fare before making another jump down to Elena's. The we're back to Freedom's looking for more work, and to drop off the marines that will be working aboard Double Helix and repairing my new fighters.

The first new job I spot is for a lizard what wants to reach Danna's in a hurry. I didn't think to snap a picture before we left the station, but he initially gave me just shy of eight minutes to get him there. Plenty of time for me in Giggity. As I'm blazing towards the north gate I get a holler for another job and make arrangements for O'Leary and my pilots to take Puddle Jumper for a ride. O'Leary replies that he's spotted yet another group wanting a ride off the station so I give him the green light for the job and press on to deliver my fare to his destination.

By the time I've made my run and Puddle Jumper has dropped off the two groups of passengers I've broken the eight million mark. I pay my guys their respective shares and make arrangements for us all to hook up in Freedom's Reach. It's time I went shopping***.

I spend a bit of time sorting out the ships and working out who's flying what and what names go to which ships. In the end Sam winds up in Discoverer Vanguard 'Problem Solved' whilst Thane takes up the helm of 'Dirty Magic'. I expect that's only going to be temporary, as now I have the Tenjin 'Indie Cypher' as my full time personal ship I might let Thane fly the Nova Prototype 'Pocket Aces', on the condition that when I start boarding ships I can have it back. That ship's got everything I need for boarding operations, namely speed, durability and a bank of EBCs and Ions. Course, first I need to make sure he's not going to screw me over. Baritone is flying Mamba Vanguard 'Questionable Content' and O'Leary is partnering with him in his own MV 'Fightin' Irish'.

I think we're set to so some serious crime.

Assets

'Indie Cypher' - Tenjin
'Pocket Aces' - Nova Prototype
'Good Intentions' – Ranger
'Double Helix' – Chokaro
'Giggity' – Discoverer Vanguard
'Puddle Jumper' - Express
'Swag Bag' – Caiman Tanker

My Crew:

'Fightin' Irish' – Mamba Vanguard – Stephen O'Leary
'Questionable Content' – Mamba Vanguard – Baritone
'Dirty Magic' – Buster Raider – Thane
'Problem Solved' – Discoverer Vanguard - Sam


Mercury Super Freighter – 78% M.O.R.T.

Demeter Super Freighter – 77% M.O.R.T.

Vulture Super Freighter 60% - Storage
Vulture Super Freighter 35% - Refit required

Dolphin Hauler 19% - Refit required

Hades 84% - Pilot/Refit required
Nova Vanguard 1% - Pilot/refit required
Blastclaw Prototype 56% - Pilot/refit required
Barracuda Raider 9% - Pilot/Refit required
Octopus 62% - Pilot/Refit required


Credits: 1,970,869

Time: 768-05-02 17:50

*One of the two habitable planets in the Company Pride sector (from encyclopedia).

**SPPXL, Wheat Farm L, Ore Mine L added with Cycrow's Cheat Package to simulate basic Yaki economy.

***Military Outpost added with Cycrow's Cheat Package to simulate recruitment of Yaki marines and pilots for CODEA

*******

I hope you're all ok with my naming convention

[Libelnon]

Awesome chapter. Nice to see Huritas isn't the only gauss pistol user out there, even if hers isn't of the 'cannon' calibre

I'll get another Hurtias chapter up once I A-OK the details.

Looks like, though, once Sam and Sark Rossi are added, this little band's about to recieve a very bloodthirsty Teladi Quite sure that between Kirlack and I we can find some explosive way to add her into the story. Right?

[Kirlack]

Chapter 11:Business as usual

New Script added

Mission Text fix

Before we set out to start pillaging the trade lanes I make the decision to upgrade one of my remote traders to a full sector trader. The Demeter which has been running around Ceo's Sprite for me isn't picking up many deals, so I ship it down to Company Pride for the software extensions it'll need and some cells for the trip, then jump it to Weaver's Tempest. The software that allows the pilot to identify worthwhile trades costs a shade over five hundred thousand, but long term it'll be worth it. Once the ship reaches the northern IBL forge in Weaver's I arrange for one of my Yaki brethren to pilot it. Her name is Foologos Joranas Ganatos the fourth, and I have to admit I'm kinda wary of letting anyone by the name of 'Fool' pilot my ship, especially one I've just spent half a million credits upgrading. Still, she assures me she's the lizard for the job, so I decide to give her the chance to prove it. Right now she's classed as little more than an assistant courier, but in time she'll progress through the ranks as a trader, meaning she'll eventually become a valuable asset. If she ever reaches a high enough level of skill I might shift her up to the PTNI region and let her take over the nostrop deliveries, amongst other things. We'll see.

So, with that done and the final checks run on all the ships I set O'Leary and Baritone up as my wingmen and head north into Danna's Chance. As soon as we arrive there's a call from the PBG forge, a Split pirate looking to have some Boron freighters blown away before they reach their destination. This should be a good test of Baritone's flight skills, so I take the job. Our targets are heading for Atreus Clouds, which whilst only a border sector is still somewhere I'd like to avoid. That means catching them before they make the north gate of Farnham's.

We shoot up into Brennan's and are making our way happily across the sector when I spot a Jonferco weapons dealer in a TS. I know we're on a deadline to reach our targets, but I want those Wasps, so I flip the IFF to foe and send the boys in to shake him up a bit. Sweet! He even gave up that Ion Disruptor, giving me another one to slot into 'Pocket Aces' to make it ready for boarding operations. His two escorting M4s didn't take too kindly to our attention, so I asked the guys to take care of them. They didn't disappoint. So I call in Swag Bag, which has been kitted out with the MARS software to allow for easier cargo retrieval, and kick back whilst my loot collector puts it's Goblins to work.

As we're crossing Split Fire there's a huge amount of Paranid military fighters grouping by the south gate. We weren't hanging around long enough to see if they were forming up to travel south into 'nid territory or if they were the support for a capital ship heading either into Elena's Fortune or east into the badlands. When we crossed the event horizon into Argon space though and spotted the sheer amount of firepower toting about the sector I figured if that 'nid fleet were coming this way they were due a cold welcome. Complete with missiles.

So, we sped through the sector and on into Farnham's Legend where almost immediately we spot our quarry, a Demeter Super Freighter and a Caiman Tanker XL. Despite having Boron pilots they were armed, albeit poorly. No drones, no missiles, just a defence laser in the rear turret. Okay then boys. Time to go to work. I send O'Leary and Baritone in to make the first dent and they take down their ship as I let my PRGs rip through the Caiman. The squid bails but my shots are already in the air and his ship goes up in smoke. He ends up in my cargo bay and my Split employer calls me up and congratulates me before wiring me the one million, two hundred and sixty four thousand, seven hundred and thirty two credits for the job. I send my two wingmen their cut and we take a look around the sector. There's an abandoned Barracuda Vanguard floating free just off the plankton farms, so I cruise on over and claim it. I don't have much use for it, but once my repair crews have fixed it up I should be able to get a decent payout for my trouble. For now it's going to make it's way down to the trading station in Elena's Fortune to keep my Vulture company. I'll have to arrange a pick up for both of them at some point. In the meantime I swing for the east gate and on into Bala Gi's Joy.

I'd only planned on crossing the sector and heading back south via Olmancketslat's Treaty, but when I spot a wandering OTAS TM I decide to take a peek in his hold. He's got two Solanos aboard who try to make our lives miserable, but O'Leary and Baritone soon see to them, whilst I finish off the Zephyrus. He drops all of those low yield sidearms as his ships goes up, but better than that is the bailed Solano left over after my boys have made their point. So I call in the Helix and get it to drop off Thane and Sam before docking my new M4+ ready for repair and refit. With Dirty Magic and Problem Solved now accompanying me that frees up the docking slots on the Helix and gives me an opportunity to get the other fighters I've picked up over the last forty or so hours fixed up by my under trained and badly inexperienced marines. If my two new recruits prove themselves on this flight then I may well be promoting one of them to that Solano. Sam is under strict orders to keep away from the fighting as he's only got paper thin shields, so for now he's on scout duty and acting as our lookout. Thane is tooled up for combat, but is also under orders to keep his distance. If we run into a bunch of pirates wielding PBGs neither ship is capable of surviving more than a couple of heartbeats.

With all four of my guys formed up on my wing we're about to break for the south gate when I spot a trio of Boron freighters over by the solar power plants. One of them is advertising a protection job cause he reckons the Xenon are going to try to take out him and his two buddies. Seriously? Xenon, out here? I'm not interested in the job offer, but I do give him a message.

“Worse things out here than Xenon mate. Now give up your ships nice and quiet like and there won't be any bloodshed.”

“We do not understand. We are at peace?” Bloody Boron. So I let rip with my Pulsed Beam Emitters, purchased from the equipment dock in Senator's Badlands when I bought the Tenjin. The first of the freighters goes down in a hail of fire, but the other two, seeming shaken up by the loss of their wing leader, promptly bail and one of them even leaves me some shields. Good thing too. I've got more ships right now than I can find equipment for. After that though the sector is all but deserted, so we push south into OT.

As we're passing the special weapons complex I receive a call from a Paranid who wants me to ship some clients of his south. It's a nice simple job with a decent payout, so I call in Puddle Jumper and meet it at the station so I can direct my passengers to their seats. As soon as they're strapped in I head back to the Cypher and remote jump the Express down to their destination. They won't know the difference and I'll still get paid, so why the hell not? In hindsight doing it that way around might have been the best decision I've made so far today.

We were just closing on the south gate when a Plutarch weapon dealer, in a TS with no escorts, jumps through. He's right there in front of me and it's almost like an invite. So I scan him. Oh yeah! Five Ion Cannons? Alright, so I've got no use for them right now, but weapons like that don't just fall into your lap every day. So we hit him, the boys blasting at his shields while I demand he cough up the goods. It didn't take very long for him to comply, but I didn't get it all, on account of Baritone getting a little trigger happy and erasing him from existence before he'd emptied his cargo hold. Somebody's not getting paid for today... Still, we got some of it, although I'm kinda upset that we missed out on that Ion Disruptor he had in his hold. That would have bought me up to four, which would complete Pocket Aces armament. I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled for another one. In the meantime I call in Swag Bag and let it get busy with it's Goblins. Man, I love MARS.

So we leave the goblins to it and push on into Brennan's. The local stations aren't offering anything interesting, so we start looking for more targets. There's a fair number of freighters moving through the system, but at first there's nothing worth taking a shot at. So we make for the south gate when this feller jumps in. Two things grab my attention about this ship. First it's a weapons dealer on it's way to the military outpost at Aladna Hill, meaning it's likely got some weapons aboard for sale....er....pillaging. Secondly, being a TM it has escorts aboard, and being an OTAS TM, that means more Solanos. Having capped one I like the idea of getting more. They're fast, well shielded and pack enough of a punch to cause some serious damage. So when we get up close and personal with the weapon dealer I scan him to see what's what. Alright, so there's not much there, but it's still enough for us to make a move for him. He doesn't drop his cargo at first, but he does spit out his escorts, both of 'em. Thane and Baritone eradicate the first one whilst I negotiate with the second. By the time his hull integrity is down in the single digits he's realised the wisdom of jumping ship, and leaves me with a claimable Solano at three percent. Good enough. The repair crews can sort that out, given a month or two. I really need to get those guys some training.

We're just about to move on and look for more targets in Danna's Chance when a hapless 'nid jumps through the south gate and grabs my attention. I think it was the two Phased Shockwave Generators that did it. This time none of my guys pushed too hard and we actually managed to get the lot. We were just about to break for the south gate when I noticed an abandoned Mercury Super Freighter, and not just a normal one, but one of the big XL variants. So I claimed that and called in Swag Bag so we could marvel at the goblins doing their thing. I know I said it already, but I really do love MARS.

By this time I'm getting hungry. The stimulator does a great job of keeping me on my toes, but O'Leary weren't kidding when he said I'd need to eat regularly. So I radio my boys and let them know it's time to head back to Freedom's to grab some food. Once we get back I'm about to lead them up to the restaurant when Sam grabs my arm.

“Chief, you got kitchen facilities on that Chokaro of yours?”

“Er...yeah, why do you ask?”

“Awesome,” he grins at me, “I'll whip us up a curry.” Huh?

So, in addition to being a fair pilot it turns out Sam can also cook. I don't know where or how he got all the ingredients, and he just grinned at me wildly when I asked, but he'd managed to get what he needed. Whilst the rest of the guys were chatting around the small table in the Helix's modest but comfortable common area I watched from the hatch to the kitchen as Sam minced some meatsteaks and lightly fried them in argnu butter before adding in a fistful of stott spices. It already smelt fantastic. Then he added scruffin fruits and cream, reducing it all down into a thick sauce. By the time it was ready that intoxicating smell was making me ravenous. Sam dished up five portions of his curry and I helped him carry it through to the table.

“Hey, what is that?” asks O'Leary, peering curiously down at his bowl.

“Honestly? I'm not sure. If it burns your tongue though, blame Sam.”

It burned. Hells teeth it burned! But it was good. Sam had done himself proud. It was funny watching the rest of the boys ploughing through the meal, especially Thane and O'Leary, both of whom turned a bright red. Thane was sweating so much I figured he'd need to take a shower. Baritone wolfed his down without so much as blinking. Heh. He's a tough bastard, I'll give him that.

We finished up our meal and Thane, Baritone and myself immediately lit cigarettes. I offered one to Sam but he shook his head and smiled, saying that he'd never been a smoker. Fair enough mate, I won't force you.

“So what do we do now?” Thane asks me.

“We get back out there and look for some more targets. Since Sam just designated himself as our resident cook we're gonna keep an eye out for freighters carrying food, as well as weapons and tech.”

“I can brew beer as well.” Sam offers as we clear the table. “If you can find space and get me a decent supply of wheat I can brew it right here on the ship.” Well now, that's got some appeal.

So, with our dinner finished and the revelation of Sam's skills I'm in the mood for some more mischief. There's nothing of interest being offered on the trading station, so we undock the fighters and head into Danna's Chance to look for targets. Almost immediately I spot one over by the east gate. He doesn't give us the chance to demand his surrender though, just bails out of his ship as soon as his shields are down and a few rounds have chewed into his hull. I'd figured his TP to just be a regular Argon Express, so imagine my surprise when it turns out to be an Advanced Express. 170m/s top speed, 100Mj of shielding and an L sized cargo bay with 950 storage units. Suffice to say I claimed it and sent it straight back to Freedom's Reach. I think Puddle Jumper is about to become the training platform for my troops whilst I use this new TP for transport missions. That's it though for Danna's, so we push on into Nopileos'.

As soon as we hit the sector I spot an abandoned Caiman Tanker that looks like it's been in a scuffle with the local pirates, so we head on in to claim it. I think Swag Bag just got itself a twin. Better yet, as we're closing on it I spot an abandoned Mamba. Ooooh, shiny. Not as shiny as the handful of Tomahawks I find in the hold of a passing Terracorp weapons dealer though. They'll go a long way towards getting my Hades up and running, so we make a play for him and demand he cough up. He grudgingly obliges and spews crates all over the sector before Thane blows him away. I still haven't gotten that fourth Ion Disruptor. Grrrr. Still it's a step in the right direction. So I call in my loot collector and and watch as the goblins do their thing. There's obviously been a ruck over by the west gate whilst we've been busy terrorising the corporate puppets as there's a whole bunch of Space Weed floating free for someone to pick up. Nice! I reckon me and my boys will be having a little smoke later.

As we push on towards the east gate I notice a Boron TM with some more heavy nukes aboard and like the last one we hit he elects to drop the lot, before deciding that he and his crew would be safer out of their ship than in it. I have to admit, with the amount of fire my guys were putting into his hull I concur. The abandoned Pleco only lasts a heartbeat before Thane and Baritone finish it off. If we had marines available that could have actually taken over the ship I might have objected, but we don't so meh, whatever. O'Leary chases down the last of the Boron defence fighters, an Octopus who's pilot never saw what hit him and promptly bails to join his pals, whilst Swag Bag carries on clearing up for us. We spot one more decent target as we're about to exit the sector, but when I scan him and see just how many bloody fighter drones he's got I decide to let him go on his way. I'd hate to lose Thane or Sam to a drone swarm, and experience has taught me that even our M3s might be at risk to those kinds of numbers. Maybe if they were both flying those Solanos we captured? Hmm. I really must source some more shields. I predict a trip into Split territory in our immediate future.

First though, there's something I want to look into. Ever since Baritone mentioned Shinzo wanting me dead it's been niggling at me. I've deliberately avoided his anarchy port since I had it hacked, but I think it's time I did a little digging. So I radio the boys and tell them to head up into Thuruk's Beard whilst I take care of some business.

Assets:

'Indie Cypher' - Tenjin
'Pocket Aces' - Nova Prototype
'Good Intentions' – Ranger
'Double Helix' – Chokaro
'Giggity' – Discoverer Vanguard
'Puddle Jumper' - Express
'Swag Bag' – Caiman Tanker

My Crew:

'Fightin' Irish' – Mamba Vanguard – Stephen O'Leary
'Questionable Content' – Mamba Vanguard – Baritone
'Dirty Magic' – Buster Raider – Thane
'Problem Solved' – Discoverer Vanguard - Sam

Mercury Super Freighter – 78% M.O.R.T. - PTNI
Demeter Super Freighter – 77% Sector Trader – Weavers Tempest

Vulture Super Freighter 60% - Storage
Dolphin Hauler 19% - Storage

Vulture Super Freighter 35% - Refit required
Vulture Miner 40% - Refit required
Vulture Tanker 12% - Refit required
Caiman Tanker 41% - Refit required
Mercury Super Freighter XL 59% - Refit required
Advanced Express – Refit required

Hades 84% - Pilot/Refit required
Nova Vanguard - Pilot/refit required
Blastclaw Prototype - Pilot/refit required
Barracuda Raider - Pilot/Refit required
Barracuda Vanguard 16% - Pilot/Refit required
Mamba 22% - Pilot/Refit required
Solano [x2] – Pilot/refit required
Octopus - Pilot/Refit required
Octopus 19% - Pilot/Refit required

Credits: 4,154,104

Time: 768-05-02 20:38

***********

Libelnon, I know I've said it in PM but I WILL be adding Huritas in soon The gameplay this far hasn't presented me an opportunity to do it and it feel right, but bare with me, she is coming soon The same goes for all the other characters people have come up with

[Libelnon]

I'm cool with that. Hell, all I wish is that you'd pay attention to my PMs - swear I sent you one with a long list of ideas last week and got nothin' back. No offence mate, but if I'm going to be writing with you, I'd like to know what I'm writing towards, y'know?

That aside, great job on the chapter. Story's shaping up well, and I hope the lurkers are enjoying it even if they're not saying anything

[46_n_2]

im enjoying it quite well



<goes back to lurking>

[Nathancros]

ahahaha Thank you!!!!

awesome chapter

So i guess sam will live in the kitchen then? bahahaha

great chapter, and thank you for making my character more awesome

i swear i was cackling like a madman

Your gonna hear ALOT of loud screams tomorrow when that curry exits out the other end