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The stage portion of the auditorium has a big conference table set up, while the holodisplay has video footage from a shuttle attack playing from several angles, on a loop without audio. People shuffle in to find their seats, some in the 'audience' and some at the table as the United Front's acting-Captain gets his presentation in order.
A rather motley crew saunters in, moving through the uniformed Fleeters. The core of the original Trade Defense Fleet, the grizzled privateers find a batch of seats. Razorback Cliffwalker strides in behind them, loaded for bear with both his axe and a Roomsweeper slung over his back. He approaches the table, and dips his head towards the Captain. "With yourrr perrrmissssion, Captain," he rumbles before sliding into a chair.
Griss Sorii sits quietly at one side of the table, with his own computer sitting in front of him. He's plugged in his datajack and is busily at work.
Three meters of ugly muscle is Grut, a prime example of a Zangali warrior. Mottled dark grey skin stretches across his broad shoulders and is patched with scars and rough green flesh. Across this skin are ritual patterns, both painted and scarred onto his body.
The Zangali is attempting to wear the uniform he was given, a United Front logo emblazoned on his chest, but it has had to be adjusted for his size and does not match the well conditioned wear one might come to expect from a military unit. He has a large, dark red Ledelkrig Chain Gun, which is either slung over his shoulder or held, like a smaller species might hold a rifle.
Nixkamich is certainly not apart of the Confederate Fleet or the Orion Confederacy. He's dressed very much like the mercenary he's known to of been from a different universe. Back when he ran around with the Faux. Taking up the role of silent privateer has been a well practiced motion, and he's content to be left standing near the rear of the room with his back against the wall. "Conscription is not your stlye, Razorback. I didn't think I would've been dragged into an impromtu rescue." he muses.
Grut lumbers behind Razorback in silence, small eyes glancing across the large auditorium. He looks down at the seating arrangements before placing himself down on one of the aisles, for want of adequate room.
Akamatsu wanders in sometime after Nixkamich and takes his seat in the audience still sporting the sunglasses he's been wearing recently but looking slightly more serious than usual. He has both swords and a standard issue Confederacy rifle on him currently.
A pair of silver eyes swing towards Nix, their owner's ears twitching towards the Qua. He bares his fangs in a wide grin that splits his muzzle and a quiet chuckle shakes his massive frame.
"Of course," the captain waves to Razor, before looking around at the gathering. "Looks like we're all settled in. As most of you have been made aware of by now, three weeks ago a shuttle departing from the United Front was attacked and captured by the Medlidikke," the presentation starts, the videos replaying from the beginning, "The cruiser was a few lightminutes out. Pulled the shuttle violently out of FTL, where fighters already deployed quickly disabled the vessel.
On the screen, the people within the shuttle shake and jerk as the outward readouts reveal the damage. Several of the angles cut out as sparks are shown flying and people panicing. Garviel's knocked out by a jerk smashing his head into the edge of his seat, while Lucy pulls off some impressive acrobatics to get to the cockpit.
"These holos were recovered from the wreckage that the Medlidikke deemed unsalvageable and ejected back out into space," the Captain explains, "The crew didn't have time to react, and only a handful of civilians and Confederate personnel managed to escape in the pods."
Grut grunts.
The seriousness of the matter at hand draws the Cliffwalker back to reality, his ears laying tightly back as he watches the destruction of the shuttle. His whiskers bristle while his tail twitches back and forth at the tip, waiting for the hunt to begin.
Akamatsu has his eyebrows furrow at the notice of the fact Lucy and Garviel were on board and looks like he is prepared to go get them. He waits patiently however for the breifing to end.
"So I would assume we're going to hunting this ship that took them." Nix replies from his spot in the back. "Just..." he waves his hand in wide gesture. "..who we have assembled? Is it known where they're being held? What kind of defenses or resistance we'll be encountering?"
"The Gan Arrwrrol has been tracking the ship down for a few days now, they're acting as an advance scout," the Captain continues, displaying a chopped-together schematic of the enemy vessel as well as its exact location, "Earlier today they received a broadcast from within the vessel, encoded as a high priority Confederacy transmission. The information you see here is from that message, with a few additions based on outside scans - it's not complete, and there's a possibility that the broadcast could be a trap, but it's all we've got for inside information.
"We're dealing with a mid-sized Hekayti cruiser, housing approximately 15 fighters, anywhere from 30-75 soldiers and hundreds of crew, but with a lot of patch jobs - pretty standard fare for the Medlidikke, but I've highlighted some of their weak points that I think we can exploit getting in. Namely, there seems to be a small blind zone in their sensor array here." He points to a rather thin band of highlighting at the port side of the ship, "It'll be like threading a needle, but a few good pilots should be able to get us in and out with minimal fuss. You'll all have these schematics on your comms for the sake of navigation once inside. We're sending in several teams, but they have to approach in single file if we want to fit into the window. Meaning we'll be bottlenecked no matter how many people we send in."
"Any more questions?"
"It ssounds like the ssorrrt of thing we do besst," Razorback says, turning towards the 'Old Guard' TDF members with a nod, "I believe we have a sship to catch..."
Akamatsu nods at Razors statement and asks "When do we start?"
Grut looks to Razorback and his frill rises in anticipation, "Horny softskins warriors?"
Nixkamich watches with a careful eye, looking over the image. "Nothing worth doing was so simple." he comments blithely. Shaking his head in matter about questions, he too looks back to Razor. "I'll be assuming you'll want to be one of the first in, correct? In which we should be making ourselves prepared." Pushing himsel away from the bulkhead, something does cross his mind. "Now that I think of it, just exactly how many people are we looking to rescue? Any VIPs we should be aware about?"
The big Demarian steps down from the platform, making his way towards the door and jerking a summoning paw towards his followers. "Rrright now," he tells Akamatsu, then nods to Nixkamich. "I am exspecting to get worrrsse than it sseems, sso, yess. I intent to take point. Frrrom what I underrrstand, therrre werrre sseverrral ssurrrvivorrrs in the esscape pods. We arrre not scerrrtain how many."
Akamatsu stands himself adjusting his sunglasses in a dramatic fashion and saying "Well. It looks like we've got a flight to catch." and begins walking behind Razor.
"Stupid softskin." Grut comments bluntly at Akamatsu's display, before moving towards the exit.
The teams depart in a handful of smaller ships, and the way to the cruiser is uneventful. The ships drop out of FTL outside sensor range, with the highlighted region of dead sensor space projected over the screen from the cruiser in the distance. Griss manages to lead the line through the zone, occasionally coming dangerously close to the edges and discovery. But no fighters come out to greet them, and so even the approach is rather uneventful.
It's boarding that provides the challenge. The Medlidikke are hidden behind cover, but the sensors give them away as it displays life signs. It /is/ a trap, and the Hekayti warriors are ready for them.
Griss Sorii remains in the ship, linked to the control console through the datajack port in the side of his neck. Folding his clawed hands in his lap, the Grimlahdi focuses on the sensor display. "I will monitor communicationss and be ready for takeoff." He subvocalizes. "Be aware, there are sseveral warm bodiess in the corridor ahead. They will be covering your approach."
Razorback glances back at the pilot, dropping a curt nod before he triggers the hatch and surges forward, his rifle extended before him as he bursts into the open, quickly taking stock of the enemy positions and firing a three-shot burst at one of the soldiers, more to keep the Meddie's head down than with hope of actually scoring a hit as he drives forward, flipping the switch on his energy shield as he goes. There is a faint crackling sound, then a barely audible hum as the shield comes to life.
Akamatsu walks down behind Razor and sees him firing off a few shots so his own blades come out. He waits to get close enough to actually slice and stab at these things knowing that his shooting isn't quite on par with his swordplay.
Nixkamich is the next one out of the gate, not in as much a rush as the other two. In one hand he carries what would probably qualify as a KBAR combt knife, which is turned downward, while the other hand hold his machine assualt pistol, his wrists kept tightly together in a position that allows him to hold the gun steady and be ready for closer combat. Deeming the others can handle themselves just fine, he takes his own target, firing as he moves forward, keeping them pinned down so he can get closer.
"DakkaDakka." Grut declares, following up the rear as his rail-gun powers up into a powerful stream of light, sound and bullets. He doesn't seem to have a specific aim in mind as he fires past the group, whatever Meddies are stupid enough to stay out of cover are given a chance to go swiss.
The hiding Hekayti are taken off guard by the sudden attack, some lurching out of their cover to strike back as bullets and energy fly. Razor's attack barely misses, aesthetic damage scarring the armor of the Medlidikke grunt's shoulder as he aims his rifle and returns fire. Nixkamich and Grut both mow down their targets in gruesome fashion, and are attacked thanks to their efforts by two of the remaining Hekayti warriors who abandon their cover for better firing. The last draws his pistol and takes a cheap shot at Akamatsu.
Razorback releases an ear-shattering roar as he charges forward, his fangs bared and gleaming. Dropping his rifle, he launches himself towards the Meddie who is firing at him, claws slipping from their sheathes as both they, and his jaws stretch out, seeking the pirate's flesh.
Griss Sorii's hissing voice comes over the com channel. "I've intercepted a transsmission from your area." The comm tech informs the group. "I'm jamming the sssignal, but you sshould finissh up quickly, before it draws attention."
Akamatsu blocks the shot with his wakizashi and the blade is no longer useful for now. This does not make for a very happy ronin as he rushes the Meddie responsible and attempts to slice it in half bottom to top on it's y-axis. All the while saying to it "You bastard."
The fourth grunt pops out from cover to fire at Grut, which really wasn't a good idea as the Zangali's railgun is still powering out thousands of credits worth of ammunition per minute. Some of that deadly, deadly money is directed at the current threat, drawing a line of bullet holes in the bulkhead which whizz past Razorback and give the grunt enough distraction that he aims high (like, really high). The large lizard continues to amble forward, gnashing his chops and concentrating his fire into the Hekayti's midsection.
Nixkamich had already been moving forward, vaulting over the cover his first target had used when the next Meddie charge out at him, guns blazing. Boots grip the deckplating, twisting his body downward to avoid the shots firmly aimed at his chest. Surging toward the pirate, he goes in for a more private confrontation, moving low to plant his combat knife deep in the Meddie's chest, then pulling up to slice his neck clean open.
The battlefield of a room is a massacre. Razorback rends his target in a cyclone of blood and gore, while the Medlidikke that Akamatsu attacked falls in two cleanly sliced halves. Nixkamich manages to slice open the third grunt's chest and throat with ease, and Grut mows down the last in a hail of bullets. No more foes stand here to face the mostly blood-soaked heroes, most dead while one or two simply lay there groaning and bleeding out.
Griss Sorii comes over the commlink again. "All clear." The Grimlahdi reports to the infiltration team. "But my jamming has been detected. I'll try and hold them off, but you need to hurry." He switches frequencies and subvocalizes again, simultaneously shutting down the jamming and attempting to synthesize a Hekayti voice. "Just a communication malfunction. Everything's fine... no problem." After a moment he hisses and switches back to the Orion channel. "They're coming. Be ready."
Razorback spits his target's larynx out onto the floor, shaking his head in disgust. He points at Grut, then at the shuttle. "Sstay herrre and make scerrrtain that they do not take thiss hangarrr back," he orders, then puts a paw to one ear as Griss' voice comes over the comm. "Underrrsstood," he says, then turns towards the others, "You hearrrd him, let uss move out." He begins striding towards the door, unhanging his axe as he does so. His ears cant forward, sweeping the corridor ahead for sounds as his nostrils twitch, seeking any warning of what lies ahead.
Akamatsu wipes the blood from the newly severed Medlikke on the wall and walks behind Razor sheathing his now slightly melted wakizashi and mutters "Now I have to get this fixed." surprisingly enough those sunglasses have stayed on perfectly well and don't even have blood on them.
Nixkamich likes having blood on his face. He chuckles. "Heh, reminds me of home." he utters, holstering his pistol and knife, and drawing his overly large scimitar. "We do not have any idea where they're being held, do we? This is could get very difficult if we can't pinpoint a location then make a route for extraction, Razorback." He spins the weapon once in his hand, as if to get the feel for an old friend.
Grut leans forward, shouldering the chain gun once again and scratching himself. "Grut red got on." He wipes his uniform idly, moving to one of the Hekayti still alive and bleeding out. "Grut guard gooderer good. Grut take war prize, horn make look good Grut. Good looker gooder. Not time to cut." He takes the Hek by the horns and, with a grim look, he twists.
[OOC] Lucy says, "Where are you guys headed for? You have an incomplete map of the ship, so you can navigate decently. Command center isn't on there, though, and some of the gaps are where things like cargo holds should be."
[OOC] Lucy says, "Engineering is freakishly detailed, though"
[OOC] Razorback is thinking that cargo holds are a good bet.
[OOC] Lucy noddles.
The group can use the schematics and any knowledge of written Hekayan amongst them to navigate fairly well. What information they have, at least, seems to be legitimate. The group makes their way to the gaps in the map where cargo holds should be, and once they are in the general vicinity, are left to find the rest of the way to the first one on their own. The reinforcements just miss them on their way to a bullet-filled meeting with Grut.
There is a patrol set in this corridor, a number of doors to choose from and no indication at this angle of which doors go to where. They appear thoroughly bored, but still alert.
The Cliffwalker turns towards the other hunter of the group, two digits on one paw flicking towards one of the two patrols. He points to himself, then the other two, hefting his axe. While this might not seem clear to anyone who cannot see it, he seems to be indicating that Nix and Aka watch the first two while he goes after the closer pair. He steps into the corridor, his cloak taking on some of the shades of the bulkheads. He does his best to pad down towards the guards as silently as possible.
Griss continues to keep watch on the scanners. "Assside from that patrol..." he informs the group. "I detect a clussster of life sssigns ahead of you. Intel iss unavailable for that area, ssso be careful. I will advisse when you get close." The Grimlahdi continues. "In addition to thossse, there are thermal signatures in what looksss like engineering and another in the fore of the ssship - perhapsss the command center?"
Nixkamich nods once at Razorback, then he eyeballs the other two. Looking at Aka, he points at the other human, then points at the ground, implying that he should stay put if he's not the stealthy type. Then moving forward, he begins at creep forward on the pair other pair left for them, steping on the balls of his feet then rolling the foot foward, making it as quietly as possible. Liking hunting elk on Quaquan, but with a lot more metal instead of wood.
Akamatsu stays put still cleaning his katana and watching the patrol ready to slice off a couple heads if things head south.
The patrols are oblivious to the stealthy doom that approaches them on soft, silent feet. Meanwhile, Grut is mowing down more Medlidikke over by the ship. One of the wounded tries to trigger the ship's alert lighting via comm, which for /some/ reason isn't on yet.
The lighting flicks on all over the ship, but only very briefly. The Patrols in the corridor are distracted by this, but dismiss it as faulty wiring.
"Ssssomeone in there isss trying to trigger an alarm." Griss hisses over the com. "I've managed to override their sssignal."
Razorback's fangs bare as the lighting changes for a second, then surges into action. His axe swings down towards the neck of one of the Meddies, attempting to bring him down before he can utter a cry.
Akamatsu pulls out the rifle and kneels leveling it and aiming on the one Razor didn't kill. He doesn't shoot yet hoping to avoid the noise but still if things go south better to have it dead.
Nixkamich freezes only for a moment at the flickering lights, but acts a hair slower than Razor when the Demarian strikes. The blade of his scimitar cuts the air in a downward arc at one of the pirate's shoulders to cleave him in half. Speed is the key and to try and kill them both without aleting anyone or even themselves, the Qua tries to be as efficient as possible. So hit or miss, it allows him to follow to pull back the blade and run the Meddie through, pulling the blade down and away after the strike.
Razorback brings down one of the patrollers without a sound, but the second is right next to him. He draws a hefty axe with one hand while the other punches the alert button on his comm, giving Razor and Aka half a moment to put him down before he actually has time to attack. As for the two Nixkamich takes on, the first goes down without so much as a gurgle, while the second is run through but still standing. The Medlidikke lets out a mighty roar of rage as he attempts to drive his entire weight into a headbutt aimed for the Qua.
Griss Sorii flicks his tongue and hisses over the com channel. "I'm ssstilll supressing their alarmsss, but be cautiousss." He advises. "I can't be sssure they won't sssound an alert sssome other way."
Continued at: Sin Sangre, No Hay Gloria, Pt II