Among the Stars - Main thread

Sam took another look inside the room, scanning it semi-seriously as if there could be anything in there Richmond could dislike, but then shrugged looking at Richmond as if he was an idiot for expecting anything else. "Yep, this is it. The showers are down the hall next to the medbay, try not to get claustrophobic. Now, on to the next part: dining area. We have all the luxuries you could want. Magnetron, fridge, running water, it tastes like shit, but it's running I guess, and a stove with room for not one, but two pans. Now you can heat twice as many powder milk, and hate it even more!" Sam, wasn't exactly a salesman, but he tried... somewhat? Really he was more or less telling the truth the most upbeat way that was humanly possible, and that was with a lot of sarcasm. "You'll be spending the next week or so in here, so best download some movies and books. The wifi's a bit shabby out in space." The only data you could send through a high-speed data gap was for emergency calls and vital communication to spaceships that were headed toward the same area as you were. The latter happened rarely though, and the first you could only hope didn't happen. Space was a bit like getting lost under the sea: cold, choking and with nobody having a fucking clue where you were. so really, that line wasn't for downloading movies.

@JtheFifth
 
Argus found his walk around the ship to be very peaceful. Plus, it helped his boredom he was experiencing. As he was passing one of the rooms he heard someone yelling in joy, but then quickly seemed to correct himself. Looks like our new mechanic has got straight to work on working on the ship. Yet it seems this ship is being a bit suborn and not letting him fix her. He debated on whether he should go keep Silas company or leave him to his work. On the one hand, he had yet to hear back from the doctor about the medical examination. Also, he wasn’t sure where the rest of the crew was at. Argus decided to throw aside his pride and face one of his crew member and try to have a normal conversation. Argus took a deep breath and went to go salute Silas. “Hello there Silas. It seems you are fitting right in. how are you enjoying your job on the ship. and How is the work going?” overall he kept a pleasant and formal tone. Argus was still trying to figure out home much he embarrassed himself when he was drunk. But like his mother allows told him ‘one must never let a friend or foe see you troubled or worry. For that is when they have power over you and you lose the upper hand in life.’ Although he did have a distaste for his family, the lessons and mantra they instilled in him was very difficult to shake. So much so that argus often fears that it was too late to rid himself of his family and the lasting impression they had on his life. No matter what color he changed his eyes or what color he dyed his hair, his family tainted touch always seemed to be there. Even with all this going through his head argus keep a formal and a happy smile on his face. Solar Daddy Solar Daddy
 
Silas was busy cranking a rather loud valve, but he managed to hear someone enter the room. He stopped what he was doing momentarily to look up at Argus, flashing a smile towards him. Silas decided to finish up with the work he was currently fixing and pulled away, standing up tall and putting away his tools in the portable box to his left. Grease stains covered his jacket and undershirt, as well as most of his face. "Hello there, Argus. It's good to see you again, and this ship is a beauty. Just got done mapping out the electrical diagram, and if I'm correct, I just fixed the heat problem. Well, either that, or I just filled the vents to pump out carbon monoxide." Silas said the last part much quieter, soon adding in, "I feel right at home. How are you? The last time I saw you, well..." He chuckled at the thought, leaning back against the wall. Silas had begun to get sick and tired of the cold, and decided that a 50/50 chance of improving the heat would be worth the risk. So far, he couldn't tell whether he was right or not, but he figured they'd survive. Silas felt optimistic, and it was an easy fix. This whole incident wouldn't have happened if he wasn't shouted at earlier to move from his original workplace by the medbay, but seeing as she looked about ready to rip his head off, Silas decided to move to the opposite room, and found himself in the age-old dilemma of red wire vs. blue wire. Except this time, it was a pipe ventilating heat loss that could easily be fixed, or a pipe carrying deadly gas. The markings on the pipes to label them were worn off completely, making it guess work for the most part.
 
Adira arrived then, completely sober and overall in good health. She walked into the ship she had become accustomed to, and merely walking along the main corridor, addressed multiple people and problems. "Is it warmer in here then usually? I think so... Silas! Please check to see if something is overheating." She had to call out the last part, since she had no clue where Silas was. Passing the kitchen, she peeked in and saw Saami and Richmond. "Good morning, Saami. And hello, Richmond. I've read your files already, we can talk later." She wasn't overtly fond of the man already, but she was required to have him now. On her way to her room, she passed by the medical bay. "Mako, I received your message, and once we're in flight, we can talk." She paused outside of her room and waited. From there, she could rather effectively hear anyone calling her.
 
Temperature has gone up 2 degrees. Good. Then Richmond had asked about his book recommendations, and Saami'd just shrugged at the question. "Not sure, not much of a book reader cause between lift-off and landing I have to make sure we can ever do either of the two again. The name's Saami by the way, Head Pilot Saami, only pilot actually. I guess if you want official it's 042/13, serial code 46692, you can try calling me that if you want, but you probably won't breathe long enough to finish. Hey cap." The last part he'd directed to the captain behind him, before she'd even said good morning to him, just giving a low effort wave to go with it. "Now, if you don't have any more questions, you can go join the doctors in the med bay, I have to get ready for launch." He'd never even given Richmond the time to ask questions, before walking off. Tight schedule and not feeling up for small talk did that to you... although in this case it was mostly that he really didn't give a fuck.

A little while later he'd positioned himself again in his chair, feet on the dashboard, cigarette lit. This was the last one he could probably get away with before he'd have to worry about ventilation again, so he was thoroughly enjoying it while getting himself lost his calculations. It wasn't quite daydreaming, but with 90% of all his mental effort going toward it, he'd shut down his senses to just ordinary human levels, shutting out all the unwanted tumult down in the crew quarters.

@JtheFifth possibly Dragongal Dragongal
 
Argus smiled at how Silas was covered in greased but he seemed to not mind it. Argus wasn’t too bothered by the grease, he wasn’t scared of getting dirty and messy. The only issue is that for his job and position on the ship, it was in his best interest to keep a clean and professional appearance. “Well on the bright side, you’ll get a reaction out of this old girl. Well, it seems the reports on your being an experience mechanic are accurate.” The minute Silas mentioned the last time he saw Argus, he couldn’t help but turn an embarrassed hue of pink and have a small frown on his face. “I must apologize for my action at dinner. I must have made a complete fool of myself. I was trying to take the crew out to dinner and make a good first impression and I ended up getting drunk.” Argus let out a cough to clear his throat and regain his composure. “Anyway, I'm hoping we can forget about that memory.” Slowly Argus felt the air slight heat up and he gave Silas a thumb’s up. “I feel the ship getting warmer and no one seems to be choking off fumes so I'm guessing you were successful. Since you achieved your first success on the ship, how about you join me for some food. I finished all my paperwork for the day and I have to say I could use the company so I don't die of isolation and boredom.” Argus stretched out his body trying to relax his muscle. He couldn’t help but feel like his contacts were drying out and new he need to take them out soon and replace them. On top of that he needed to redye his hair, but he was going to need help with that. The only issue was finding someone on the ship that would be willing to help him. Solar Daddy Solar Daddy
 
Adira walked into the cockpit behind Saami. "Why do you always have your feet on the dash? And you're going to ruin the ventilation with those cigarettes." She didn't care if she was nagging him, she was just telling him what he already knew. With a sigh, she took her seat in the empty chair next to him. "So, we can get this thing out of the dock, right...? I mean if Silas managed to get the heat working, she can't be that bad." There was no way for her to tell if he felt that their last conversation was a bit of an elephant in the room, but she didn't feel ready to talk about it again, so she hoped he wouldn't bring it up.
 
Silas flashed a smile as he wiped off his brow, discarding his jacket for the moment as he enjoyed the heat pumping throughout the ship, one of the vents just next to him. Silas was never one to wear more than a tank top and work pants, which made him a little irritated that he needed to keep on more than three layers of clothing to keep out the bitter cold. He had no doubt the heat would end up breaking again, since this was probably the eight time he attempted to fix the problem permanently. "Food sounds great. What were you thinking? We'd be eating on the ship though right, since we're taking off from this forsaken planet soon?" Silas' favorite part of any ship was watching it launch into orbit, since it was the ultimate test of whether he broke the ship or fixed it. He'd always make sure to watch as many launches from orbit as possible back when he was a generic mechanic for the FFA, always enjoying the feeling of seeing the ships he worked on properly taking care of their crews. This ship, though, was making him a bit nervous. He never saw a ship - figuratively and literally - being held together by duct tape. He nearly jumped off-ship when he saw someone attempted to keep the hull plating on with a few pieces of gum. Silas saw it as a challenge, though. Would he be able to find all the shoddy work the crew did to keep it from falling apart? Could he actually fix the things that this ship had been through? It was an exciting set of questions that Silas wanted to answer yes to. He was simply surprised it hadn't disintegrated when they went into reentry the past couple of times.
 
"I'm 1 metre 92 cap, I'd hit my head on the doors if I weren't superhuman... does this thing look like it has any damn leg room?" He'd just taken another draw of his cigarette as he spoke, using one foot to hit a big button on the dash when an indicator beeped. "And it's cold as all hell, if Silas can fix the heating, I won't have to use cigarettes to not freeze to death." Taking the last draw he put the cigarette out and flicked it in the trash as usual without looking. "I won't smoke as much off-planet... which will be in about five minutes. I should probably tell the crew that..." He kicked up the radio with is toes, catching it and turning it on. "Yo idiots and morons, lift off is in 5 minutes, make sure you're secured or you get to hug a wall for a bit."
 
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"NERAMA-7A"
3489/01/04 13:45:29 SST

Near the edges of the known galaxy laid the Nerama system, wrecked several times before by larger invasions of the Xyvir, this place was no stranger to wars. Yet it was pivotal in the trade of rare materials, it's warp gate a necessity for the Solar Empire... hence why IR fights it so desperately. The whole system has become a giant warzone, both on planet and in the interspace between. Your mission will take place on the first moon of planet 7, colloquially known as 'Blackill'; it is industrial and refines the metals that arrive through the warp for further processing. Despite the empire's best efforts, the multiple invasions and naturally near-toxic air do not make this place any fun to be in.
Now the smell of sulfur and gunpowder runs across the streets as it is ruined once more by war. It's inhabitants fled, but a few engineers remain stuck on ground level behind enemy lines. The empire has called the aid of the FFA rebels in these desperate times to try and regain these engineers. Where they are bound by solar laws about destruction, infiltration and warcrimes, FFA is not. Your only objective is to safely return the engineers, harm to the environment, and the captors, is not an issue.
SPECIAL: for this mission you will be lent Solar Empire gear, this means plasma guns, kevlar armour and gas masks/helmets, and a borrowed space ship from the battle cruiser SSE Alioth:
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It would have been an understatement to say Sam loved the new ship they had given him; he'd have married it had he been able to. It had been such a long time since he'd flown a ship that reacted in tune with him, that didn't make him feel like he had to press the buttons through syrup, or that the steering just as well could have been upside down. He actually had trouble to hide how happy he was flying in it, a dangerous curl of his lips telling that he was less than an inch away of trying to see what he really could do in such a ship, even if it was not technically a full fighter. But he still had to remember why they were given this ship at this particular moment, as this system was dangerous enough with it. The bathtub would have been suicide, and even with this ship caution was needed. It was a shame he had to waste this technology on stealth, but then again it had been a while since they'd even been able to do the latter.
"We will be nearing Planet 7 soon, you guys best buckle up, this zone is an active battlefield." He gave a sideways glance to the captain, releasing the radio button. "How are the monitors doing cap? Any signs of bad guys yet?" In truth, he wouldn't mind crossing the battle field at all, having missed the excitement of flying like that. Had it been only him he'd gladly joined in, but now he had his crew to worry about it would stay at a simple crossing. Hopefully he hadn't forgotten how to do that after all that time flying the bathtub.
 
Michael had found the new gear given to them to be somewhat of a blessing, given the shoddy armor he had been wearing before, the new armor he quickly threw on as they approached the planet, yet he still kept his dark cloak and jacket on over it. As for the plasma rifle, he slung it over his back, he had no doubt that with the rifle he had since getting on this ship, he would be made to do scouting, reconnaissance, sniping, anything that having a massive sniper rifle would help with. This meant he put little thought into actually using the plasma, but it was handy to have around just in case. Yet the helmet, he left, this in part of having his own rebreather and scanner that functioned as a light helmet on its own. He then clicked comms, walking out of the set-up room "Ready to go when everyone else is...Suppose i'm the first one ready, though." After sighing this, he grabbed his rifle, actually set up for once and having been leaned against the wall, and sat down on a bench, checking his weapons over one last time.
 
Michael laughed, taking a puff from one of his cigarettes, he then raised a finger, looking at Richmond "One, if you don't want to fight, talk to the captain or lieutenant, not my problem." He raised a second finger "Two, if you really do have to after you go complain to them too, well, stay quiet. Best advice I can give in a warzone is to not draw attention to you, and I mean, I've got this big ass rifle and I'll most likely be covering you, so don't sweat it." Michael put the cigarette in his mouth and rested his large sniper rifle on his shoulder, smirking.For going into enemy territory, Michael seemed pretty relaxed and laid back. Although he had admitted to himself this is the first time he was in an actual 'military engagement', sure he had fought thugs, criminals, and even guards before, but trained soldiers? This was going to be something new for him.
 
Lately, Lydia, in an effort to loosen her psychological reliance on always having a weapon near her, usually carried only one of her two pistols with her at any given time. But since they had been given this mission, she was never seen around the ship without both. Se also wondered if she'd be trusted with one of the weapons she had smuggled in for the FFA, or if Adira would let her through with no more than her personal weapons and the medic's kit she would have anyway. With her suit, a patchwork of different tech, her pistols at her hips, medical and first-aid kit on her back, and helmet under her arm, Lydia stepped in just in time to see someone dumping weapons on the floor.
'Hey, hey, be careful with that! That stuff was not easy to get!'
Setting her helmet quickly on a nearby surface, she gathered up the spilled weaponry slightly clumsily, and deposited it on that same surface, then took her helmet back up. 'No matter how pacifist you are, you have to be careful with this stuff. I don't wanna deal with you accidentally shooting someone in the foot. Or the face.'
@ everyone, I guess
 
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Adira looked at the screens and idly said, "Well there's a few, but they're not going to notice us, they're otherwise engaged and we're small enough to slip past undetected." She looked over the screens carefully, then said, "If you keep at this pace and angle yourself fifteen degrees to the left, then we'll be just fine." Again she paused and said, "Did I just hear yelling in the halls?" They had a perfect ship now, so she couldn't think of why people would be yelling. Well, unless it was Silas screaming with joy. That was possible.
 
Sam had steered the ship like the captain said, keeping a sideways glance in the monitors and displays when he hear the captain ask her question. Because this ship was actually well insulated it was a lot harder to hear, but he managed to regardless as it was pretty loud.
"I think Richmond just threw something on the ground... Mike is talking to him. Not sure what else is happening, but we don't have time to deal with idiots." For this part he actually needed the captain as a second pair of eyes and co-pilot. Although he was fairly sure he was okay alone, he did not want to risk it when this ship was meant to be flown with two people there. Whatever they were doing back there, the berating just had to wait.
"How's the situation on the close atmosphere channel?"
 
Argus was adjusting his armor making sure everything was properly placed and he was protected from the environment. Argus had his pistol on the side of his hip and gas mask in his hand. “Mr. Richmond, I understand that you aren’t comfortable with the gun. But think it's for the best that you keep it on your person. Both of us will play a supportive role in this mission with little combat, but it's best if we we prepared for whatever happens. The last thing you want is to die on this moon.” Argus look at the man and could relate to him. The fact was that he did want to have or use a gun, but he also was not prepared to die. “Either way have faith in our crew, especially Michael over there. But at the end of the day this is a war zone, so be ready to see a lot of tragic things.” Argus wondered what role each person would play in this mission. Argus took out his tablet and sent a message to the captain. Captain, is the whole crew going outside the ship or will we leave members behind to guard the ship? @JtheFifth
 
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Mako busied herself in the medbay. A POISONOUS FREAKING ATMOSPHERE?! This was the kind of thing she needed to be told about ahead of time. The new shop was a godsend though, as it came with a standardly stocked medbay. It was a full on trauma center! It came with a few too many bells and whistles and machines that made too much noise for her taste, but it was good to be in a familier environment. But no time to appreciate the fact that the magnifiers came with touch switches, she had to work to do. She had everything she needed for antitoxins and was whipping up as much as she could in a short time. And of course, she had to double check all the breathing masks. So much to do but now came the important part. She walked into the docking bay to find complete chaos. And no one had done their checks. She sighed. Time to be a doctor. Quickly she walked over the pile of guns (Snapping one, oops) too the crew.
"Alright you three. I want to make it extremely clear that the air is extremely, stupidly poisonous." She started as the double checked their air seals and tanks one by one. "So don't brethe it or you will be in my medbay until i am happy with the state of your lungs. Lydia," She threw the other scientist another bag, "Those are three more masks and o2 supplies, anyone loses air pressure and those need to be on their face or there will be damage. Finally," She looked to glare at the bridge, " Any and all injuries No Matter How Minor Will be reported to me when you get back. Lydia I trust you to tell me if no one else will. Hszit, if anyone seems to be hiding an injury you tell me. Am I clear?"
@Everonepresent
 
Lydia caught the gear as it was tossed to her, checked it over, then packaged it up with all the other supplies she had with her. With a quick glance around the team she'd be taking care of, Lydia responded do Mako with a nod and 'Clear as glass,'
After she sorted the extra oxygen supply into her own luggage, Lydia went to clean up the broken plasma rifle, with a quiet defeated sigh. While she was no expert in weapons, she knew enough about them to know that there'd be no using this one, except maybe as a grenade if they could destabilize it. She put it off to the side again, where it hopefully wouldn't get stepped on.
'With that being said, I don't wanna heard anything stupid said. We can't afford to waste too much breath on a planet that supplies so little of it.'
@ everyone, but the snarky Sam in particular who probably didn't even hear that so anyway
 
Argus was more at ease, especially once the painkillers kicked in. Taking a glance at the doctor and her fussing over the crew, almost like a den mother to a group of scouts. “Doctor, I believe you don’t have to worry about the crew. At least most of us. They are experienced and they are a crew that is good at adapting to these kinds of environment. The really worry should lay with the workers we are transporting, after all without delivering them safe and sound we won't be payed for this job. Also, these people have been dealing with a war-torn zone for a while.” Argus was happy that their doctor care for their well-being, but at the same time he wanted to put the mission into perspective for them. Overall Argus hopes this is an easy and quick mission and that the fighting and shooting skills of the crew won't be needed. Chances are that Richmond and I won't be needed until the worker are back on the ship. I wonder what the captain will have us do until then. theunderwolf theunderwolf
 
"Close atmosphere is good, Sam," Adira said. "Be careful about staying toward the left, it'll push us toward some debris but keep us out of the direct fighting." Saami could surely dodge the debris as needed, he was more than likely the best pilot in existence. But they couldn't risk taking damage from a fight, they had to pick up a lot of people and get them back. Oh, and they had to return the ship, but Adira was starting to wonder if she couldn't convince the chain of command to let her keep it. Who else was willing (well, she wasn't even willing, but she did it) to run stupid errands like this for them? They deserved a good ship, after all, they got blown up in this fight before they were even in it.
 
To say that Silas was excited was a terrible understatement. He had spent the entire flight checking all of the different shiny parts, especially since it wasn't being held together by tape and poor replacements for adhesives. He had inspected every square inch of the ship top to bottom. Soon he decided to meet up with the group that was gathering, and decided that he should at least get ready - just in case. Silas grabbed a few pieces of protective armor to cover himself with, and - with a repulsive look - picked up one of the newly issued rifles and strapped it firmly to his back. He wanted to be a part of this expedition ever since he heard they were saving engineers. Silas had seen what warmongers did with anyone who could put together a few pieces of metal to make weapons, armor or any kind of advantage they could make. Since Silas was an avid engineer and mechanic, he felt he was personally responsible for them. For all he knew, some of them could be men he worked with earlier in his life. Silas was close to being a pacifist, but when it was necessary, he could throw a few bullets down range rather effectively. "Hello, all. I must've missed a meeting, do we have a plan to save these hostages?"
 
"Understood, steering to avoid combat. Decreasing 16.736 degrees in horizontal plane, increasing 2.487 degrees in vertical plane." Sam adjusted the systems accordingly, the ship moving around in relative space and moving toward the debris field indicated on the systems. "Activating small particle repelling field." He flipped a switch on the board beside him, and a little blinker indicated that the ship was now pushing away metals. At the least the small parts. "Keep an eye out for debris captain, I'm superhuman but not clairvoyant."

Manoeuvring through the debris field was not too difficult, but rather disturbing, the ruins of hundreds of ships scattered across the sky. Shimmering in the light from the sun behind them and the atmosphere closing in, the black moon veiled by a shroud of war and death and demise. "It goes all the way down to the gravitational pull..." Sam had scanned the sights for details, intrigued by the size and scope of the battle that had to take place here. "There is an estimated 87.000 crafts expended on this battlefield. I can only imagine what it is like on planet, I recommend leaving all non-combatants on the ship. We'll take Michael and Lydia with us."

Dragongal Dragongal

(Sorta mentioned) Killershard Killershard Solar Daddy Solar Daddy @JtheFifth Spazzycat101 Spazzycat101 theunderwolf theunderwolf loyalwolf loyalwolf
 
Adira sighed and shook her head. So much debris, so many lives lost over something so stupid as a not-even-war. Back when she had been in fights, things had made sense - someone was trying to steal their ship. That made sense, a clear-cut gain and loss. This? Some people decided they didn't like other people and would just fuck it all up for everyone, requiring other people to stop them. It just wasn't fair. But who cared what was fair and not? Not Adira. "Okay, sounds like a plan. As to the ground, well, let's hope that we don't add to whatever the body count is. We have engineers to save and I'll be damned if I die because of some IR asshole."
 
"We should be careful, there is a reason this mission pays so damn well." Saami had switched the radio on again to inform the crew of their situation. "Listen up closely we're going to land soon. Argus, Silas, Mako and Albert will stay on board as you are not suited for engagement. You will not go outside, not even for a moment, that is an order." He knew it sounded a bit harsh, but the ship had a cloaking device. If they went outside that would be broken, inside they would be the safest. "This does not mean you can drop your guns and have a tea party! Be wary of intruders."

Having cleared the debris field they soon entered the blindingly white atmosphere of Blackill, and if it would breathe as heavy as it looked, gas masks were no luxury here. Thick rolling clouds of industrial fumes in an already abhorrent air concealed the city; occasionally towers doomed up and were swallowed again by the wailing mass of atmosphere. Whether they were industrial or residential one could not tell, most of them shattered and broken by planetary conquests.
"I will land the ship within the clouds, too dangerous to remain in sight." He had already had to resort to the occasional dip into the unknown when a ship blipped in on the radar. Hiding was their best bet here. Eventually he had spotted a place to land in, a several story factory building still intact. It was open on one side, making it easy for him to land the ship on one of the floors within the deep mist.

Not wasting time on anything, Sam had moved to put on his gear and gas mask. It had been a long long while since he had worn kevlar, and it felt like meeting an old combat comrade again. Reliable and trustworthy. Something changed in his demeanour too - perhaps the ghost of the lieutenant he once was haunting him - but now he had his armour and held a gun in his hands he seemed a lot more confident and no-nonsense. Checking the gun over and loading it with a magazine he looked at the captain, a blue glow in his eyes visible from behind his mask.
"Let's get those engineers, and get home." Without looking he gestured toward Mike and Lydia. "You two, join and stay close."

Dragongal Dragongal Killershard Killershard Spazzycat101 Spazzycat101
 
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