Infab
The Demon Fanatic
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A burn for a burn. A life for a life. That's how all of this got started. And that's how it's going to end."
VOC-1, or rather Vileas Orbital Colony #1, spun silently above the lush world of Vileas as ships of various types and origins moved to and fro. Either moving into the numerous hangars along the solid metal sides or departing for other parts of the galaxy. There were also three large cruisers that sat nearby, operated by the Frontier Militia. Vileas and its colony were under the protection of the Frontier Militia, and both saw extensive travel from across the galaxy thanks to the numerous treaties and agreements that the Militia held with the other major factions. Originally, the colony was owned by the Upyri Federation of Planets, having been built there long ago during the Upyri's grand era of exploration. The Upyri overexerted themselves, stretching their reach far into the quadrant without considering logistics and threats of attack from others that may have existed in the quadrant already. So when the Upyri began to pull back and consolidate their core worlds and colonies, the colony eventually found itself having to rely on what it and the world beneath could produce. Eventually, the Militia came along, and provided them protection as well as a proper boost economically.
VOC-1 often found itself visited by members of the unlawful kind. Namely pirates and rogue factions of the galaxy. Based off how the Militia ran things, this was allowed as long as these groups didn't stir up any trouble during their visits. Easy enough, for the most part. Stow your weapons, keep your trap shut, and get what you came for. Then, leave. Of course, you had those that just couldn't do that, and found themselves banned from Militia territories. Only a handful had ever really met that fate, however.
Inside one of the colony's numerous hangars, specifically #117, sat the Mordred. A former freighter ship, having found itself far away from the sands of Duroma and refitted for pirate use originally by the Blackstars. Now, it was in the possession of Blackwell's Reavers, whom used it extensively along with other purchased or stolen ships. Currently, it was in the midst of refueling and general maintenance. Touch-ups on the hull plating here and there, general system tweaks. No major overhauls. Not now at least.
"So where's he supposed to be, huh? Doubt he even shows." muttered a blue haired woman, glaring through her bangs at her pink haired mother standing nearby. The mother glanced back to the daughter, giving her a look. "Side 3's central market. Near Big Lola's General Store. And he'll show." she responded. The daughter rolled her eyes, before turning away to look about the massive hangar. Then a male voice joined into the conversation. "And you know this...how? You act as though he's never lied to you, or us." he said, as a brown haired man stepped up next to the mother.
"He'll show, Damien. I swear, you and Lauren have bitched ever since he sent us that damn message." stated the mother. Damien Blackwell's eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet. Lauren Blackwell, on the other hand, spoke again. "Because he abandoned you and us. Do you really think we're just gonna fuckin' drop it, and welcome him back with open arms?"
"No. I don't expect you to." responded Valencia 'Valkyrie' Blackwell. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, as she turned slightly to face Lauren. "I do expect you to shut the fuck up and not cause a scene when we meet him, though." Lauren grumbled under her breath, eventually turning and walking away from where Valkyrie and Damien was standing. Damien watched her walk away, before looking to Valkyrie. Whom was already looking at him. "...I don't have to worry about you as much, but still. He's your father, Damien...We have to give him a chance to at least explain himself."
Damien didn't respond. Instead, he simply looked away and started to follow after Lauren. Valkyrie watched him walk away for a moment, before gently shaking her head. She was worried, really. What would they do once Uric showed his face? Would Lauren attack him? She was far more aggressive than Damien, but Damien seemed to be the more upset one. Drifting further and further away from both her and Lauren after Uric's reappearance. Did he wish that Uric never returned? Valk eventually looked to the Mordred, watching her Reavers move about the ship. Helping with repairs and moving cargo. Pearl was among them, the appropriately named Sanghvi looming over some of the men and women as they moved. At least she wasn't complaining. Pearl legitimately seemed excited to see Uric again. Valkyrie waved to her, smiling a little, before turning and walking after her children. Best to get this over with...and hopefully as smoothly as possible.
The other Reavers spoke as well, trying to sell the idea of becoming a pirate to these people. It seemed to be helping a little, as some of them started to grow a bit more interested in the prospect. Plus the idea of fucking over the larger factions was always a plus out here. Stick it to the man: a classic concept. Personally, she had no gripes against the Federation. She only found fault in the Upyri Interstellar Racing Circuit's directorial board, which was only loosely connected to the Federation government. But it was always fun to see Federation pilots panic when they heard her name mentioned.
As the other Reavers spoke, she took break by stepping back and downing a vial of serum as she looked about. There was a pretty decent crowd wandering about. There always was here in the central hub of Side 3, especially in the commercial district. Various types of shops, ranging from clothes to guns to food to tech. If you needed something, it was probably around here somewhere, or on one of the other two sides. They were currently standing just outside a gun shop, which often saw plenty of customers because of the Quadrant. If you were here in the Renegade Quadrant, you needed something to defend yourself with. Or attack something. It all depends on what you're about.
Eventually, she put the empty vial away and ran a hand through her orange hair. Hopefully some of these people signed up. Gonna be real fun trying to tell Valk if nobody joins. You're famous, so that'll help a bit! Yeah, right. Some people don't like the idea of getting shot or arrested, and someone being famous doesn't help to sway those thoughts anymore. She looked up towards the false sky, taking in the artificial sunlight and fluffy clouds floating above."...At least its nice in here." she muttered to herself. Nothing like being back on Sielia, though.
"[...Now, you each have your assigned tasks. You will execute them without error. Am I understood? If I see or hear of a single slip-up, I will hunt you down and shoot you myself. You will not put this mission into jeopardy with your failures.]" stated the female Upyri, as she held up her pistol. She gazed at each of the soldiers, her narrowed green eyes moving between each of them. The armored troopers each nodded at her. There wouldn't be any failures. They were better than that.
The red-haired Upyri nodded as well, before stating loudly "[Glory to Ker!]" The soldiers shouted the same in return. "[GLORY TO KER!]" The red-head then turned about, and found herself face to face with her commander. Their leader. Her icy gaze sent shivers down her spine, as well as the soldiers behind her. The cold blue eyes looked between the red-head, and the soldiers. And then she motioned for the red-head to follow her. She did as requested, leaving the troopers behind her as she ventured through the doorway into the next room. As soon as the door shut, her leader turned back to her. Once more, her cold blue eyes back on her.
"[I hope you are prepared for this, Karina. I'm sure you've heard of how strict I can be.]" stated the woman. Karina nodded rapidly. "[Aye, Lieutenant Colo--]" she started to say, before the woman interrupted her. "[I have no further use for my Federation rank, Karina Thiel, and neither do you. You will refer to me simply as Commander Anora Cortus. And as of this moment, you are one of my Lieutenants. Understood, Lieutenant Thiel?]"
Karina hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded. "[Aye, Commander Cortus.]" Anora stared at her, eyes unmoving, before eventually speaking again. "[...Good. Pray you perform better than your predecessors. Having your chest caved in isn't the most pleasant way to die.]"
"Roku, if you touch the fucking controls one more time, I'm coming back to the Guillotine and breaking your damn arms with a hammer." spat a female's voice through the comms. Roku Saito twitched, due to how abrupt and sudden it was as it crackled through the comms. He immediately pulled away from the controls, looking about rapidly as he spun in his seat. The rest of the bridge crew were staring at him, with some smiling wide or snickering. All he had done was nudge a few controls to make sure the ship stayed put and didn't drift. Didn't need it slamming into the abandoned colony ship while they were checking it out. He eventually shook his head in frustration, before responding through the comms. "All I did was fucking park it. Calm your tits." he responded, in almost the same tone she had given him.
On the other end, Zadra Masir grumbled under her breath as she rubbed her eyes. He always did this shit. He acted like he couldn't let go of the controls. He had to keep it moving, regardless as to what was going on. She eventually glanced over to Lvishka 'Drav' Dravko, a tall blue Khergian whom was carrying most of their equipment. The Khergian seemed to be in agreement with her, gently shaking her head before continuing down the empty hallway of the colony ship. A voice spoke up next to her, coming from a green washing machine-sized drone. Loudmouth. "I'd break his arms anyway! Fucker doesn't need arms to fly!" said Loudmouth in almost an excited manner. "Can it. We've got work to do here." responded Zadra, before motioning for the drone to follow after her.
They had detected this old vessel while en route to VOC-1, and Valkyrie had tasked them with exploring the ship and salvaging what they could from it while they went on to VOC-1 in the Mordred. Simple task, and one that Zadra and the Reavers had done several times before. However, they had never done it with a colony ship. They had to watch for potential survivors, mutants, or rogue AI or drones. So far, there were no signs of life beyond one deep inside the vessel. That's where their other medical specialist, Easel, was headed as Typhon, their newly recruited chief medical officer, went with Valkyrie for supplies. Apparently it was in a sort of cryogenics sector of the ship. Yay, we have a popsicle.
The ship looked as though it had been through hell, with extensive damage across its hell and through most of the interior. It wasn't of Upyri make, bearing the markings of Sol's old governments. Why the hell was it way out here? Early FTL? Zadra would have to take a peek at the engine room to confirm it. Among other things, like the cargo hold and other general areas and systems. Salvage what they could, scrap the rest. She didn't want the job of disposing of the frozen...or potentially thawed...corpses in the cryogenics section. She'd leave that to the other Reavers and Easel. Drav, meanwhile, was heading for the weapons storage. Colony ships often had a cache of guns for when the colonists made landfall somewhere, and this one was likely no different. And as the Guillotine's chief armorer and weapons specialist, she'd need to inspect them.
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