Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

[Notorious]

Blacksun

(A futuristic RP by C.DEX and Notorious)
​

"ISS Dredge, you have been cleared for departure by Exodus-3. Praise Damaris." "Thank you Exodus-3, praise Damaris." A gruff voice said in response to docking bay control, his voice firm and commanding immediate attention from all around him. "All stations, prepare for departure." The ship stirred as the docking mechanisms were retracting and the massive ship hummed louder as the engines roared to life and all ship functions were kicking into gear. Hundreds of people were onboard the drilling ship known as the Imperial Spaceship Dredge. It was a majestic sight to behold, a testament to the power of the Exdolites in not only their technological achievement but the commitment to their common goal. No colony or nation was capable of such a technological feat, and this was but just a small harvester ship, barely a blip on the radar of their grand accomplishments. "Captain Knox, all systems are green, the crew is strapped in and the Dredge is ready to do what she does best. Orders?" The gruff voice standing at the helm of the ship had an equally gruff demeanor, a man of massive proportions stood out among everyone on the ship at a ridiculous 7 feet tall and as wide as three men standing side by side. He wore traditional Imperial garb, simple dark clothing as those on such a holy journey did not need anything too grandiose, even the leaders. "Disengage from the Exodus and head to these coordinates, we have work to do." "Yes sir! Praise Damaris." Captain Knox's assistant immediately took their position on the bridge as the ISS Dredge began to move.


The ship on its own was a sight to behold but as it left the moving city of Exodus it was dwarfed instantly. As the Dredge left their home the crew looked back at the Imperial planet ship with awe, not many were given the opportunity to leave its holy walls like this, it was a great honor to be one of the lucky few to serve their Emperor, their lord and to serve their home like this. The Exodus was a planet ship of unfathomable proportions, it had the chemistry of your average planet but was constantly moving, never stopping in one place in space for too long. On the outer hull of the ship was where the people lived, underneath the invisible shields of the Exodus where a fake atmosphere gave the illusion of being somewhere natural rather than artificial. This stretched on for hundreds and hundreds of miles, there was no telling how long this creation took to complete. "She's beautiful..." A deck hand said as they all marveled in her majesty. "Enough with your praises, you act as if you have never left home before." Captain Knox said sternly to the deckhand. "We have a job to do, listen up." A map appeared on everyone's terminals, replacing the beautiful view of the Exodus and instead of seeing their home they seen Knox's scarred face along with a map of where they were headed. "Our people... Are dying. You are the lucky few tasked with feeding and taking care of them. You are serving not only your people, but more importantly your lord and your emperor who serves as merely a beacon to our lord." The crew stood at the ready, no one dared defy Emperor Damaris or their creator. "The mission is as follows, the ISS Dredge is headed to Colony 51-A. We have sent scouts to this location and as always heresy is like a virus, it spreads the bigger our great and holy cause gets. We have been ordered to cleanse this small world and harvest her resources for the great of our Exodus. We arrive in 5 galactic standard hours, we all have a job to do... Let's do it right. Praise Damaris." Captain Knox ended his transmission and everyone onboard the ship repeated back to him "Praise Damaris!" with vigor. That is, all but one.


"Confirm your callsign." A female voice rang out in an ear augment. "Xulu-15." A man replied, quiet and monotone. A sigh of relief was heard on the other end. "It's good to hear from you Xulu. Glad those damn Exodlites haven't exposed you, you have word for the coalition?" The spy on board the Dredge barely mouthed his words, augmentations on his larynx giving him the ability to communicate clearly for the coalition while maintaining his cover among those he was stationed with. "The Dredge is on the move again and I finally got transferred on board. They're hitting one of our own, they call it Colony 51-A." "We've never heard of it." "Of course you haven't, these sick bastards don't even use proper names to desensitize their harvesters. It's headed for Oeutune-4." The network agent gasped but maintained her professionalism as best she could, "How long until the zealots arrive?" "You have 5 hours. I'll do my best to sabotage shields but they have a new captain on board, he's massive and obviously has experience. Could be a crusader who proved his use to the Emperor. There are plenty of conscripts on board along with normal engineers so this won't be an easy fight." "It never is... Stay safe, Xulu. RCN out."


While the ISS Dredge slipped its way into hyperspace and headed directly towards Oeutune-4, the Renegade Coalition Network got to work. They began to contact agents in the area and those they could pull from neighboring systems. Hundreds of calls went out and many were denied simply because they couldn't spare the fighters, battles across different fronts were always being conducted and this was just one of many trying to resist the grasp of the Exodlites. Somewhere in the same system as Oeutune-4, a call went out that was thankfully answered promptly. "Vitor? Agent Vitor Frede? Come in Agent." There was a long exhale followed by a raspy voice answering the call. "That's my name. Confirm yourself." The person on the other end let out a sigh, "We've told you time and time again Vitor, only the RCN has access to your communication augment. We need your help." "Can't be too careful." Vitor said, eyeballing the room around him. He was on a small moon colony situated several light years away from Oeutune-4, stranded after missing the last trader ship to get back to anywhere with a shuttle service. There were a few locals nearby as Vitor sat in an empty bar in the middle of the day, nursing a tall drink of ale but otherwise being of no use to anyone. Or noticed by anyone, something he wasn't use to. "What's the mission?" "An Exodus drilling ship is headed to a nearby colony. The planet is rich in resources but also rich with life, a trading hub for this system. We are mobilizing forces and putting together strike teams and it says here on your profile that... You have a rather deep history with the Exodlites." "You could say that." He replied in a hushed voice, almost incomprehensible as he was deep in thought. "We need you to infiltrate the ship and take it down by any means necessary. Thousands of lives are on the line and we're running too thin. Will you do it?" "I need a ride." Vitor replied, wiping the ale from his mouth and into his graying beard. "We know just the pilot. We'll send them to your location, be ready as soon as possible. RCN out."


Vitor stood up and nodded at the bar keep, leaving behind a few bills to cover his tab as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder and walked out. Vitor stood out more than most people, he was freakishly tall and wide much like the empire's finest super soldiers so first impressions were always rough with your average passerby who heard tales of such creations. Pedestrians stared at him as he hulked his way over to the docking bay at the far side of the station, his movements slow but with meaning as he arrived where he was meant to be. He quickly took a step inside a nearby restroom and locked the door behind him and sat his bag down on the floor. Vitor was use to the routine of an average RCN mission nowadays: be prepared for pick up, get in, say hello to the pilot then go about the mission until it was over. Afterwards everyone split up and went about their lives until the next mission. Or, if you were particularly good, the RCN would assign you as a task force and keep you together in order to further push back the Exodus agenda. Vitor looked at himself in the mirror as he stripped off his normal clothing and began to put on his combat gear piece by piece. He was tall, as a former Exodus Crusader would be at a ridiculous 7'4" and appropriately wide to fit his frame with rippling muscles all over his body. For his age it looked incredibly unnatural being in such shape but with the right technology and with some experimentation anything was possible. Holy scripture was tattoo'd on his body and roughly carved out by a blade or burnt off, remnants from a past life. Soon Vitor was covered from his neck down in worn down battle armor, not exactly unknown in the vast reaches of space but it made an already sore thumb stick out even more. He tested out his augmentations and made sure they were working properly while geared up and once his check was done he looked up at his face. Slightly wrinkled and fierce, distinguished was what he liked to call it. Vitor had long black hair with the occasional strand of white that he tied up behind his head with shaven down sides with a thick graying beard on his face. He wasn't a particularly handsome man but to the right person they could see he had some distinguishable qualities... if they could overlook the fact he was practically a monster. He stepped out of the restroom while hoisting his bag over his shoulder again, not quite fully set up for combat but enough to where he wouldn't have to get fully ready on the ship. Vitor walked out to the docking bay and leaned against a pillar, overlooking the incoming and departing ships waiting for the RCN pickup to arrive.

 

[C.DEX]

The Gaius.



It was a peculiarity. It stood long and lean, and slick black. From where Vitor stood, it would have looked like an absence in space. The RCN still had a few of them in their fleet, but they were few and far between. Not too many pilots owned a Leech anymore. That's what the pilots called them, anyways. For some, it was a positive connotation. A battle strategy - for when your opponents far outnumbered you and the threat was enormous, it was easy to miss a Leech. It was equipped with sonar cloaking, and invisible against the vast plane of space. For its time, it was a beautiful ship. However, there were signs on the Gaius that went against her nature; bulletholes stood out like pockmarks, singing of a time when she was surrounded by a ground force. The rust that lined the viewports droned on about the time she visited the Water Belt, and subsequently immersed herself in it. The bumps and dents complained of the time she was in the hands of an inexperienced pilot. The Gaius had character in every nook and cranny.


The ship itself was quiet. An attendant with his back turned might not have noticed it, if its shadow didn't blot out the light above him. Despite Vitor being a behemoth, he was dwarfed in comparison to the aged stealth fighter in front of him. It was no Harvester, but its length was certainly enough to inspire some sort of awe. It sat in wait, like an old mercenary with bright eyes, clinging to his gun and his ideals. When it landed, it landed softly, then groaned. A sheet of dust kicked out from beneath its legs, coating the throats of passerbys. Then, a panel as wide as a runway lowered itself to create a ramp on the floor, and a figure shuffled out.


She wore a warm green sweater, reminiscent of militaristic style overcoats, and padded with fur, buttoned up to the neck. A thick scar poked out from under her coat, tickling her jawline. Curly, greying hair tressed from a bun to her shoulders. Most of her looked like a perfectly normal middle-aged woman, except the end of her left arm. Where her flesh ended at the elbow, a mechanical construct took over. The meeting point looked more like a metal cuff, and from then on, aluminum and steel shafts worked together to form a shape familiar to any space-fairing adventurer with rudimentary knowledge; the plug end of an interfacing port.


Upon seeing Vitor, the woman walked toward him, purposefully. A slight smirk played on her lips. From afar, she waved her metal appendage in the air, signaling him over. While he may not have taken her as his ride, she certainly recognized the hulking frame of her passenger. "Vita, was it?" She yelled, from down the bay.


After closing the distance, she huffed, then laughed upwards. "You must be ... What? Vital? Viper? Sorry, didn't get your full specs, sweetheart. The call came quick." She proffered her dominant - and only - hand out to the rather large man.


"Name is Dayle, and this will be your limousine. I'll be your Captain. And this -" she produced a small slip bag from her pocket, and threw it toward Vitor. "-will be your payment. Not that Yens mean much, anymore, but it's a formality."


She crossed her arms against her chest, fingers sliding across the cold steel of her augment. She glanced backward toward her ship, brows furrowed.


"Now, you're going to be riding on Gaius. She's a Leech, and we use her like one. You look like the sort'a fella that normally doesn't ride on a Leech, and by that I certainly mean no offence. She's also my baby, and I expect you to wipe your feet before coming up on'er. There's other rules, but you'll learn as you go."


Dayle paused.


"Or you don't, and welcome the nearest dock station. Friendly or otherwise. So wipe your boots, come on in, and you can meet our crew."


Her lips curled up again, curiously.


@Notorious

 

[Notorious]

"Thank you ma'am, not many pilots I've met have your... character." He said with a slight smirk on his face, compliments were rare from Vitor, simply because not many spoke to him or gave the giant a chance to speak. Although a man of few words he was also quite pleasant to talk to, he began to follow Dayle towards the ship as he continued to speak. "The name is Vitor but call me what you wish, you are the captain after all. Your ship, your rules. Respect is long forgotten in the Deep, I'm glad to see it still survive." As he wiped his boots off before stepping onto the loading ramp he heard a high pitched scoff from top of the ramp. "Seriously Daly? How the hell is big man gonna fit in this 'ere leech? This is supposed to be a stealth fighter, not a jumbo ship!" Vitor nodded at the girl who appeared, "And who might you be, miss?" "Name's Lucretia, Lucretia Deckard." She said, her accent most intriguing to Vitor as he had never heard someone from what he assumed a far rimworld speak before. "But everyone calls me Lucy. I'm Dayle's deckhand here and well, I'm stuck taking care of this here bundle of bolts when Dayle can't... lend me a hand." She said slyly, teasing her captain as she passed by her deckhand and on board the ship. 


Lucy seemed to stick out even more so than Vitor or even Dayle, being the only one who was rather young in the immediate area and onboard the Gaius. She had striking red hair that she too kept in a bun, solely only for work though as she was busy keeping the ship together with Dayle. Grease and muck covered the pretty girl's face but something about her chipper attitude was pleasing to most around her, she hadn't been quite tainted yet by the horrors of the stars and had never seen a fight except when Dayle had to take care of business. "Well big man, you need me to grease up the door hinges for you to get you in here?" "I will be fine, it is a pleasure, Lucy." Vitor made it to the frame of the door and placed his hand on the outside of the sleek stealth ship, admiring its beauty while saying a quick word to himself. "You one of those religious types?" Lucy asked as Vitor paused. "Old habits die hard." Vitor shook his head and squeezed into the Gaius, having to duck his head down low and hold his bag out in front of him to fit. Inside he was able to stand up straight thankfully and he began to look around before they departed. 

 

[C.DEX]

"Ah, Lucy. We fit big'uns like our friend Vitor here the same way we fit little ones like you; with an abundance of patience." Dayle said, laughing. "You can drop the formalities, Vitor. Or use'm. But it doesn't matter to us, and it especially doesn't matter to Lucy, 'cause she's apparently from a place where those don't exist at all. And just Dayle is right fine, I need not be reminded of my age." she said. "Lest I start calling you sir." she laughed, as if the thought was an impossibility.


The main loading bay was probably bigger than any area of the ship. It held many things; for one, and as a part of Dayle's more personal touches, a set of dining furniture laid upside down where cargo would normally takes its place. To the side of that, crates upon crates of a staple food labeled Nutristarch, the spacefarer's bane. From the "dining room", a set of stairs traveled upward, leading to an open hall, residents dorms on either side of it. At the end of the well-lit, white hall, the door to the engine room sat dark, a "No Entry!" sign hanging down from it. 


Back to the loading bay, Dayle sauntered over to a door that was perhaps the only appropriately sized door for Vitor; appropriately so, because after Dayle slid her ID card down the side of it and it slid open, nestling in the wall, Vitor would find that it was an armoury. "You can pick your poison here. We've got the basics, and we've also got some cannons and firepower taken from the Zealots that might fit you just fine." Dayle said.


Her lips, pursed, as she entered the room. Her eyes scanned the walls. While there was an abundance of weapons, they had a fine layer of dust on them. None of them had been loved for a while. Caringly, Dayle took a step forward, and rubbed a thin sheet of dust from one of the more antique models. Then, her eyes fixated on an energy rifle, mounted on the far side of the wall. With a huff, she unhooked it, carrying it over to place in Vitor's arms. It was heavy, and bore the insignia of the Exodons on the side; an aging emblem, fading simply from time, rather than use. Its barrel showed signs of use; paint chipping up and away from it. In the hands of the Exodlites, it would have taken many lives. 


"Here's a beauty. She's energy, which is a rarity outside of the Zealots. Burns right through most types'a armor. Too big for me to use. Lucy tried to hold it once and it pinned her to the floor. Never once saw someone fight an inanimate object, but there you go." Dayle said. "What do you think?"


@Notorious

 

[Notorious]

Lucy's cheeks flushed red as Dayle told their new guest of her ridiculous struggle with the massive rifle. "It... Had the size advantage Capn'. I bet big guy over there won't even be able to-" As Dayle placed the rifle in Vitor's arms he made the rifle look light, as if it had been hand crafted for his hands alone. Vitor brushed the dust off while holding the cannon in one of his hands, tucking it underneath his arm and admiring it. Lucy's mouth was wide open as this brute of a man made something that nearly suffocated her to death look like a play thing. He seen the holy symbol for the Exodons and let out a long drawn out sigh, "Thank you Captain Dayle. It is a fine rifle made by monsters... But, I suppose in the right hands it'll do just fine to eradicate said monsters. Or crush little girls." Lucy huffed at his comment but remained silent, letting Vitor off easy.


He felt a twing of rage, focusing on the symbol, but they had a job to do and he needed to prepare properly.  Vitor maneuvered around the rifle with expertise that neither of the women onboard could figure out just yet, he knew exactly where each feature of the rifle was and with the flick of a switch it roared to life. Blue energy radiated from inside and from the vibrations of coming online the remaining bits of dust evaporated, the weapon just waiting to be fired again for the first time in far too long. "The weapon's shell may age, but examining it shows that it is still in top condition. It will serve us well on our mission." Vitor placed the rifle on to his back and his suit took care of the rest, magnetically locking the behemoth with a loud click until it was ready to be released. "Must be an interesting story how you came about Exodon weaponry like this. In my experience they remote detonate their equipment to prevent the RCN from stealing their technology. Doesn't always work but it looks like you have an armory full." He smiled, "Must have kicked a lot of ass for a haul like this." 


@C.DEX

 

[C.DEX]

"Well, if they're going to detonate them, they have yet to. But you never know." Dayle gave him a wink. Then, she turned away from him, and frowned. "You don't have to worry about the remote trigger on'm, to be completely real, darlin'. A friend, who I would trust with my life, did the handiwork on those. And my old crew did the haul."


Her hand reached up to caress another line of dirt off of a nearby pistol. It was Oldworld-style; a revolver. "Ruth was the name of this old girl's previous owner. She was a slinger. Kind of like how they still do it on the rimworlds. Every one of these girls has a story. You treat em well, and hopefully you won't get your own slot in here."


Dayle turned to Lucy, smiling solemnly. She opened her hands, and in it was Ruth's pistol. She faced it grip first toward the young, redfaced girl.


"Here you go, Luce. You're green, but it's hard to aim bad on one of these for the sheer right of 'em. You'll work your way up to one of those, soon." Dayle nodded toward Vitor's cannon, laughing once again. She turned, and instinctively grabbed a rifle from the other side. It was a bit more modern looking than Lucy's, with distinct lettering on the side. RCN.


"This one's from back when the Exodons were just starting out, and RCN still had enough planets and resources to dole out their own weapons. When we fought more than just the zealots," Dayle mused. She figured, after all, that she had explained the origin of the other guns already, and it wasn't good luck to leave hers out.


"You want to get some rest in before the drop, Vitor?" She questioned. "I could show you to your room, or I could show you the cockpit. Up to you, but I got'a get back to it soon."

 

[Notorious]

"Thank you Dayle..." Lucy whispered, admiring the old world weapon and holding it tight. There was something about reliable antique weaponry that intrigued Lucy, in ways it reminded her of home with how rustic the weapon was. Vitor rubbed his chin as he considered the options Dayle gave him and the choice to him was obvious after a moment. "Let's head up to the cockpit. I've done plenty of resting on this moon and I'm itching to be of some use again." Lucy was the first to leave the armory, knowing that take off was her most important job as she ran ahead to the cockpit to get everything prepped for Dayle. While being a bit immature and obnoxious at times when it came to their mission Lucy was nothing but reliable. As Vitor and Dayle started to walk to the cockpit he asked, "How long have you been flying for the RCN, Captain? I'm surprised we haven't met before."

 

[C.DEX]

While Lucy ran ahead, Dayle took advantage of the silence to speak up.


"I used to run a full crew. You might be a jobber, but that wasn't my expertise. Dagno, Ruth, Keeflee, and Tar'Ias. All gone now, but when they filled the slots I needed on Gaius, there wasn't any place for jobbers to come on and meet us. Recently has been the first time - in quite a long time - that I've had any fresh faces on board, including the Bop-It that's jumping ahead of us," the pilot said, pointing forward at the disappearing form of her only other help. "She's not a jobber, either. Won't be for a while, not until she's done training. Then, it's her choice. She's stuck here with the RCN, near-permanent, though. She's got her heretic brand, just like the rest of us."


The two ascended the stairs. Then, they worked their way up the ship, toward the cockpit.


"So, what's your story? Are we assuming wrong by wondering if you ran with the Exdolites?"

 

[Notorious]

"Ran implies that it was by choice." Vitor said, rather roughly. It was the first curt reply to Dayle he had for her and the silence was absolutely deafening, other than the sounds of their footsteps. Vitor realized how abruptly he said that so he continued. "I was a Crusader." He said quietly as they reached the cockpit. Lucy was sitting down in a seat next to the captain's chair and flicking on all the switches in order to power the leech up. "I was born on Exodus like many Exdolites and I loved my world, I loved my god and as any brainwashed person would say, I loved my emperor." Lucy snorted, "You Exodus folk are all sorts of backwards, ya know that?" The silence returned and Lucy was mentally kicking herself for hitting a soft spot, knowing instantly it was unwise to pry. "Sorry... Please, continue Vitor." "Incredibly long story short, the empire received Intel on an RCN base about four years ago. They ion bombed the hell out of it and that was the last time the RCN stayed put. You might remember that, Dayle. I was then sent in to clean up the mess like a good Crusader." Vitor's hands clenched on their own accord, remembering terrible memories from that day. "And lucky for me some wise ass cracked my helmet off then hit me with an experimental tech the RCN was developing. They fried the Exodus indoctrination tech implanted on my brain and the rest is history. Been fighting my former slavers ever since." 

 

[C.DEX]

"That's a sad story, Vitor." Dayle said, earnestly. "But I'm glad you're on our side. You were a Crusader, just like I was a gunrunner. I've had friends go, and I've lost parts'a me I can't get back. But we all serve a better purpose now, don't we?"


The Captain sauntered toward her chair with a smile, as if greeting an old friend. She sat down, then rubbed the invisible dust off of her pilot's panel. In reality, it was sparkling clean, and probably the most used, most loved part of the Gaius. While many different notches, levers, buttons, and displays lined the sleek Captain's panel, she opted for a more simpler route; one specifically tailored for her. Her metal arm lifted. The rods inside seemed to shift places with eachother, before they lined up in synchronization. Then, she shoved her arm into the interfacing port, and lied back in her chair. Her eyes seemed to fix in place for a moment, before she shut them completely.


"Go ahead and start initiating the take-off sequence, Luce." she said. When she spoke, her voice filled the intercoms of the ship, resonating throughout her halls. Dayle knew that she could take off, no problem, but Lucy needed the practice. By jacking in, she was holding the proverbial steering wheel, prepped to take over if anything were to go wrong. "Today you're going to be putting us in the FTL drive. Do you think you're ready?" Dayle asked. "Remember, once we leave the bay - and only  then - you'll be pinging the space in front'a ya."


Dayle paused momentarily.


"Alright, base," she said, seemingly talking to no one at all. "Need those co-ords. Are we moving in yet? Also, Vitor is accounted for, and so's Lucy. She's doing the piloting today, so if we accidentally smash into the Harvester instead'a lickin' her, then that's why."


Another, familiar voice came over local com. It was dispatch.


"Hi, Lucy." it said. "Glad to see you're picking piloting up so quickly. Or not, depending on how this mission goes. Sending coordinates over now, as well as rendezvous co-ords." 

 

[Notorious]

"Thank ya dispatch! If I crash us into the harvester do I exchange insurance information or do we blast them? Cause I am totally willin' to do a hit-n-run!" Lucy said grinning, assuming control of the ship while Dayle kept a protective hand on the Gaius. "You don't have to blast them, I will." Vitor said, sitting down behind them and getting a front row seat for take off. Lucy seemed to be filled with confidence on the outside but she was internally screaming, knowing that one slight mistake and Dayle wouldn't let her live without hearing about her mistake time and time again. "Okay... focus..." "Yes, Lucy, focus. Our lives are in your hands." She gulped, Vitor definitely wasn't helping with his snarky remarks. Her hands started to sweat as she began to fire up the engines and began to hover. "You should call for clearance to leave from the station." Vitor whispered, even though he wasn't a pilot he knew the drill. Lucy gasped and quickly stammered out, "Heyo friends uhh docking bay control! Gaius preparing for lift off!" Vitor shook his head, stifling a laugh for the girl's sake. "Uhh... Leech Class ship 'Gaius', are you asking permission to leave station? Over." "Oh... uhh... Yes, of course! Permission to depart? O-Over!" "Permission granted, safe flying, Gaius." Station control replied, promptly hanging up and letting the nervous Lucy wing it. 


The Gaius began to float towards the docking bay shield and Lucy let out a nervous chuckle. "I got this guys! I really got this!" She started to veer off to the right a little and she felt an invisible hand steer her silently back on course. "Okay... Now I got this!" After they passed through the station's shield Lucy looked at dispatch's coordinates to where the ambush was planned for the harvester. She punched them in to the navigational computer and began to get an appropriate distance away from the moon. "You're a natural." Vitor said, far too soon unfortunately as Lucy hit the wrong button and had a misfire with the FTL drive causing the ship to abruptly halt. "FUCK!" She shouted abruptly, "Any damage ol' girl?" The Gaius' onboard AI reported that it was a simple misfire on the terminal and that all systems were fully operational. "I am so sorry Captain... Gonna try this again." Lucy began to prep the engines, confirmed the coordinates and looked ahead to the darkness of space. "Launch..." She said quietly, hitting the FTL drive and sending the Gaius warping into hyperspace. Flashing lights illuminated the cabin from outside and now the hard part was over, now it was just basically a straight away to their destination. She sank into her seat and let out a long sigh of relief. "I do you proud, boss?" 

 

[C.DEX]

"Do me proud? You did me nervous, Luce. But you gave the dock port a good scare, which was funny." Dayle said. In reality, she was in control the entire time. She could feel Lucy's tight grip on the controls, and her nervous waver upon taking off. She felt the lurch of the ship upon misfire, and the palpable tension of the young pilot. She was in control, sure, but that didn't help the sinking feeling she felt anytime the ship protested, groaned, or stopped abruptly. The experienced Captain quietly reminded herself of her own past experiences with her first ship. Then, she calmed. After all, what could Lucy possibly do in deep space? Apart from the initial lick, the hard part was over. "That was the easy part, though. You've never done a lick before, but it's pretty simple. You just sidle up to her, real close -"


Dayle stopped for a moment. Before they reached their destination, a light flickered up on the viewport. Then, the onboard AI gave an announcement. "Sonar cloaking engaged. Visual distortion engaged."


"Try to remember to turn those on, as well. Not really your fault, since we never did run a Harvester before on this one." she said. "Anyway. You're gonna sidle her up, real close, rotate her where the breach port's facing a nice part of the ship that'll be pretty empty, and then latch the suckers on. From there, we're good." Dayle said, knowing well that her apprentice would be overwhelmed. Her proverbial 'hands' tightened on the wheel, prepared to make as smooth a landing as they could, once they made the jump out of hyperspace. 


"If you're feeling too overwhelmed, just let go of the controls and let 'ol Dayle take over," she reassured the young girl. "But I want you to try it. And go in easy. The last thing that we need is you knockin' on the door for us to be let in."

 

[Notorious]

"Gotcha, I won't fail you." Lucy said, still a bit shaken up but it was expected from a very rookie pilot. "We have but just a few moments til we arrive Vitty, you all ready to go?" Vitor nodded to the young pilot, a slight smile on his face from all the commotion. "I have to say you two, this has been the most interesting drop I've ever been apart of." "Glad to be of some service big guy! We're approaching the drop point... Now!" Lucy hit the FTL button once more and the ship instantly left hyperspace and jumped right in front of the oncoming Harvester. Lucy went pale but remembered about their cloaking systems, they were cloaked completely from such a big ship's scanners and even with the naked eye they were impossible to see. "Ho-lee Shit!" She exclaimed, "And I thought getting out of that docking bay was scary, Capn' you need to warn me if we're on a collision course with a big ship like that!" Vitor stood up, dwarfing the two women who were sitting in front of him. "The Dredge... Lucy, you see that big section of the ship near the back?" Lucy looked and sure enough there was a long stretch of ship right before the engines that was wider than the rest of the harvester. "That is where we should breach, it is where the raw minerals are stored along with any other treasures. It won't be defended." "You know, for an ex-religious nut you would have made a helluva pirate!" Vitor shook his head as Lucy slowly guided the ship towards its destination. 


It felt like Lucy was going extra slow when the ship lurched forward and smoothly went at a decent pace. "Hey! I'm tryna move this thing Captain. I'm just worried they are going to pick us up!" The closer they got the more Lucy's inexperience was showing. The ship was making its way to the harvester just fine, it just wasn't as efficient as it could in Lucy's hands. "Didn't realize I was getting picked up by a permit flyer. Do not fear your abilities Lucy, use them." Vitor said, encouraging the girl to have trust in not only her captain but herself. Lucy nodded and brought the ship in close to the harvester, the massive drilling ship making the leech look pretty insignificant. The closer she got the more she didn't account for how hard it actually was to latch on to a moving target. She pushed the stick forward and nearly ground the bottom half of the Gaius into the harvester instead of latching on to it like intended. Dayle's guiding hand just barely saved them in time, pushing the ship back to a respectable distance. Vitor sighed while Lucy sat trembling at the controls, she had almost cost them all the mission. "I'm... Sorry..." She whispered, teary eyed and filled with defeat. Vitor walked over and place his hand on the girl's shoulder, "Better than I could do, young Lucretia. You will get the hang of it yet. Captain, I recommend you take over. I don't want to press our luck."

 

[C.DEX]

Dayle opened her eyes, for a split second, and took in the stressed face of Lucy. Her brow furrowed. The young girl's green was showing; sure, it was fine that she wasn't latching on quite right. However, her composure worried the more experienced pilot. "I didn't expect you to get it, kid. Just have to have you get a feel for it; I might be incapacitated and need you to do the lick yourself, one day. Don't get all teary-eyed; we need you lucid for the breach." 


She sighed. Her expression wasn't of disappointment, more of fear. Not for Lucy's landing, but the mission that they were about to partake in. She hadn't run in a while, and though she'd fought the Exodlites before, the scale was immense. Their failure could mean the end of Oeutune-4. It would certainly mean the end of their lives. Hijacking the ship's camera ports, Dayle glanced at the young face of Lucy, and felt a pang of regret. She took a sharp breath in. She'd teach her as much as she knew, but knowledge didn't spell out how to take a life when it counted. "Here, look, Luce." Dayle said. Her free hand rose from its resting place on the chair, and her fingers flicked upward. She gestured the ship's thruster usage onto the viewport, so when she kicked them on, they would light up red on the ship diagram in front of them. "Watch me do it. Then once we get back-" She paused. "Once we get back, we're going to practice the lick a million times over."


The ship's posterior thrusters started to thrumm a pale red. They locked in place that way, matching the speed of the Harvester. "Matching speed," Dayle said. "Lowering now," she started. Gaius' upper thrusters kicked into gear, pressing the ship close to the Harvester. Before it could touch, however, its lower thrusters suddenly showed bright red on the screen. After a brief moment of silence, the left, right, anterior, and posterior thrusters showed light hints of red; minute adjustments, but necessary nonetheless. Dayle's metallic interfacing port rotated sideways, triggering a jank. Light knocking sounded out from the ship's latch mechanisms. 


"Increasing PSI." the experienced pilot said. "PSI increased to acceptable amounts. Dispatch, can you hear me? We're in place; right above raw mineral storage. Give the O.K. when we're free to make headway."


With all the systems locked in place, Dayle looked over to Lucy.


"I want you to stay behind at the ship. We need you to be able to engage and take off when it's time to go." she said. And be prepared to leave without us, she thought.

 

[Notorious]

"I can do that Captain, trust me." She was frowning but she was determined to finally prove to her captain that she wasn't totally a lost cause. "I will do whatever it takes to get you two out of there. Vitor, the breaching port is down the steps over there. You and the Captain will be dropped down right into enemy territory when I flip the switch so... Just tell me when." Vitor nodded and watched as Dayle disengaged herself from the ship. "Dispatch, this is Vitor. We are ready to breach on your go. Over." It took a moment for dispatch to respond, they were coordinating a strike from several different teams at once. "Roger that Vitor, Captain Dayle. There are three other leeches in position." "We... We can't see them, dispatch." Lucy replied, checking to see where the others were. "That's the point. They are all breaching different parts of the ship, stealth is of the highest importance in this mission but for you, Captain and Vitor we have a very important task before everything goes loud." 


A slight pause from control had them anxiously waiting what their task was. "We need you to disable the engines first. The harvester can still operate while its crew is engaged and knowing the zealots they'll take out Oeutune-4 to spite us even if we killed every last one of them. The other crews will be doing other tasks such as extracting our spy, but your's is mission critical. Captain Dayle, you are able to punch in to ships directly and are one of the best we got. You do what you do best. As for you Vitor... You are Dayle's shield. If she gets hurt or compromised in any way before the engines are disabled the mission will be a failure. Do you understand?" "Affirmative, Control." Vitor said firmly, knowing fully well he would protect the captain with all his might. "Good, Engage Operation Dredge." Vitor and the captain nodded at one another and then they both glanced at Lucy on their way down to the breaching port. "Ready, Lucy!" Vitor shouted up, his voice powerful and booming off the walls back to her at the flight controls. "Breaching in 3.... 2...." 


Outside, the Gaius was near invisible on the side of the Dredge. Suddenly a slight flash of red appeared on the top of the leech, small bits of debris were pushed out from the sides as it bit into the ISS Dredge. After it sunk its fangs in the ships hull it cut a perfect circle in to the once flawless harvester and punched a hole right through. The platform underneath Vitor and Dayle gave way and they landed inside the mineral hold. Vitor looked all around them as quickly as possible, scanning for any hostiles in the immediate vicinity but their entrance had been flawless. "Engines are that way." Vitor whispered into comm's, talking to both Dayle on the ground and Lucy back on the ship at the same time. He readied his new energy rifle but kept it silent, wanting to maintain the element of surprise as best they could. "Lead the way, captain."

 

[C.DEX]

Dayle landed softly. She glanced upwards at Vitor. He was the epitome of a Crusader; genes strong enough to last what his age was in years, despite the rigor that serums and augments surely put upon his body. She wondered if they would come across one of his counterparts during the breach, and she briefly wondered if they would be able to handle it. Her expertise was in espionage, but the amount of Exodons that lied on the Harvester had to be a number in the upwards of one hundred.


Her metal arm nursed her rifle to her chest, and her finger laid near the trigger. With a soft click, the safety of the gun turned off.  She nodded to Vitor, accepting his direction. "You know the ship a ways better than I do, Vitor. Go ahead and lead," she conceded, with a whisper. She waited for Vitor to take the frontline, before following off in his direction.


The exit of mineral storage lead off into a hallway. It was long, narrow, and curved. For the most part, however, it was desolate. The loud stomp of armored boots echoed throughout the hall. One set. A lone traveler. 


No, two. Then, three. Dayle ducked behind the hallway entrance, waiting for them to pass. From behind the door, Vitor and the Captain would be able to hear a conversation, laced with contempt. 


"Enactor Thex, I highly urge you to reconsider your decision. You may be used to giving the orders, but your expertise doesn't lie close with this one." A man hissed. "Rehabitating the colony is a time-intensive project. To rush it, even by a day, let alone -"


The other man's voice boomed. "Were you not supposed to bring assets to this project? Exodus wants to see a marked improvement to our output as a Harvester class, Scientist Arc. If you wanted to be useful, you wouldn't be chasing me down these halls; you'd be putting the Augmented to use disabling the local fields."


"I- yes, sir. Praise to him." Arc said. For a moment he lingered with another cloaked figure, that stared at him curiously.


Dayle balled her fingers on the gun.


"Is the-" Arc stopped, checking an interface on the wall. His fingers tapped it. From where Dayle and Vitor were standing, he was just a few feet away. Just a moment from discovering them, and shouting for help from the behemoth with the metal boots. "C-2341," he started. "Analyze this."


The smaller figure stepped up to the atmos reader on the wall, and poked it. 


"Deregulated." The other person said.


"Are the contents within the room normal again?" Arc questioned. 


"Yes." 


"Probably particulate matter from the minerals we took on Colony-23." He mused. "Or that insufferable atmos tech."


"Nope." C-2341 said. 


Arc shot him an off glance, before the two of them continued their travels. Dayle poked her head out, attempting to analyze the two from behind. From what she could see, Arc, the scientist, carried a gun on his side, holstered. His eyes fell downward, to his clipboard, where he was furiously scrawling notes. His hair was long, black, and tied in a ponytail at the back of his head. Despite only being a scientist, his jacket was inwoven with metal.


His companion was smaller, and had a distinct pallor. On the side of his head was a long curved scar, in the shape of a C, where hair wouldn't grow. It was the universal symbol, among Exodons, for a person that had gone through brain augmentation. Usually, they were to negate the effects of fear or pain. Archaically, they were used to implant chips. What exactly had happened was unclear. What hair he did have looked ragged; greys streaked with blond. His body was completely encased in a cloak, showing no further features.


"...Damn," Dayle harshly whispered. "It looks like we're headed the same way."

 

[Notorious]

"Stealth is not my strong suit Captain..." Vitor peaked around the corner and seen that the Enactor had made it far enough that he wouldn't be a problem unless they went loud and they desperately could not afford that just now. There was only one hallway to the engines and all three were standing in the way so Vitor figured they had one of two options. "I got an idea. It's stupid, but I have one." He said gruffly, pressing a button on his collar. A soft click was heard followed by a helmet protracting from the base of his neck, going over his face and sealing Vitor inside his armor. A soft pressurized whine was heard as the suit made itself air tight and he stood still for a moment as his systems came online. He looked absolutely menacing, his helmet sharp and pointed with a red visor painted on the front. "My armor is Crusader class with a few modifications, I have yet to find anything that fits me unfortunately.  Fortunately though, it will fool most of them. Dispatch." Vitor said into his communicator, establishing a direct, encrypted link with the RCN.


"This is dispatch, what do you need Vitor?" "Get me the name of the commanding officer on the Dredge. Quick or we're compromised." The RCN exploded with different agents talking to one another, not wanting to compromise the mission or the different groups of agents already onboard the harvester. "Captain Knox." They replied as quickly as possible, not asking questions as they left their agents to do what they did best. "That's... not good. Vitor out." Vitor nodded at Dayle, holding up his hand for her to stay put and began to turn the corner. Both the technician and his obviously indoctrinated friend were surprised to see a crusader approaching them, from seeing C-2341 the side of Vitor's head started to itch where he too had a similar but faded mark. With energy rifle in hand he looked like any other crusader, battle worn and ready for more combat. 


"Scientist Arc." Vitor said, his helmet making him sound far more menacing than his normal speaking voice. He was counting his lucky stars that the Enactor and Scientist used one another's names while speaking to eachother. "General Knox summons you to the bridge. Immediately."

 

[C.DEX]

Dayle went to reply, protest, anything. She opened her mouth, but before she could complain, Vitor's helmet was locked in place. A slight look of disapproval crossed her face, but if she were to be completely honest, she hadn't a clue how to proceed otherwise. She held her gun at the ready, peeking lightly around the corner as Vitor rounded it. 


Arc lightly jumped at the sudden appearance of a Crusader-class soldier. His clipboard dropped to his side. 


"C-Captain Knox?" he asked. "What possibly for? I honestly can't work on this any faster. It takes time to drop shields, even local ones."


C-2341's eyes flitted upward. 


"And me?" he asked. "Who are you?" he questioned. Arc shot his clipboard out, signalling his charge to stand down.


"Not now, C-2341."


@Notorious

 

[Notorious]

"I am a faithful servant of our Lord Damaris." Vitor rumbled, repeating verbatim his answer from when he was much like C-2341. He felt sorrow for the boy, that was not a life anyone that young should be forced into. "Questioning the Lord's rule is heresy. Heresy is unacceptable. Heresy is death." He took a step forward, noticing the scientist was much more afraid of him than C-2341 so he focused on him. "Scientist Arc. I care not for the mission you are currently tasked upon as ours is much greater than one. I will not repeat myself again so listen carefully: Captain Knox needs to see you in the bridge, personally. He would not send a crusader for such a mission unless it was too important for comms." Vitor leaned forward, the scientist could see his own reflection in Vitor's visor how close he was standing.


"Are you disobeying direct orders from your Captain?" Vitor activated his energy rifle, the whirring sound of it springing to life was the icing on the intimidation cake. "Need I not remind you what heresy means." 

 

[C.DEX]

Scientist Arc raised his hands defensively, backing away. "I-I'm sorry. You're correct. I shouldn't have -" his voice wavered. He didn't have a chip, not like the others. Damaris could afford to cloud the minds of his soldiers; it wasn't important that they couldn't do anything other than obey. The chips had ... unintended effects, however, and it wasn't the first time that Arc had to be reminded to obey higher commands. He wondered, briefly, how many more times he would be able to be reminded, without official reprimand.


"I'm not - I'm not obeying-" Arc started. "I mean, disobeying. I'm not disobeying. I'm going. T-thank you." he said, giving a curt, unnecessary bow. "C-C-2341. Take this to the engine room. They're expecting it." He harshly shoved the clipboard against the young charge's chest, and walked away. Once he made a fine distance, Arc ran.


For a brief moment, C-2341 was left alone with the hulking Crusader. His hands tightened around the clipboard. Then, he looked up.


"You can shoot him. He's a heretic." 


@Notorious

 

[Notorious]

"That would label me a heretic if I were to disobey my Captain's orders. Though I agree with you, his day will come." Vitor said, thinking fast on why not to kill Scientist Arc. With him out of sight Dayle was able to take care of him herself or let him go, the ship was long enough to where by the time he made it to the bridge the attack would already be beginning. "What is that you are transporting to the engine room, C-2341?" Vitor asked, seeing this might be an opening to the engine room that they needed. "With my task complete I was instructed to assist in Scientist Arc's absence. If you have a package to be delivered I will assure you will arrive unscathed. With the heretic influence clouding judgement I would not have you fail your mission due to some unforeseen circumstance." Vitor's head was hurting, each word he said in that robotic Crusader lingo reminded him of decades of hell when he actually behaved like this completely against his will. Lucy was observing closely and spoke to Dayle, "Gotta hand it to him, Vitor plays the bad guy prettttty well." 

 

[C.DEX]

"This." C-2341 said, rattling the clipboard in his hands. "And me. But we're not ready for that stage yet. You know the one." the young Augmented said. He quirked a brow at the large Vitor. Then, he looked down, and began flipping through the clipboard pages. He scanned them briefly, before tossing the clipboard to the side.


"It's a non-issue. All of the data in here is data that the Engineers have already acquired. Scientist Arc is using the delivery as an excuse to talk to the Head of Habitation. He currently resides in the engine room; he is conducting an audit." C-2341 replied. Although Vitor towered over him in stature, he didn't seem to be intimidated. Moreso, he bounced on his toes, as if ready to abscond at any given moment.


"It is a non-issue. So leave." He said, defiantly, seemingly either unknowing or unfazed by danger disrespecting Crusaders brought.


Dayle sidled away from the door, deeper into mineral storage. She cupped a hand over her mouth, then whispered into her telecommunications. "Vitor, we have to get a move on. Just go past him. He can't stop you."


For a moment, Cas' eyes shifted to the mineral storage door. He attempted to sidle past Vitor.


"There was an atmospheric alarm in this room earlier. I should investigate that." He said.


@Notorious

 

[Notorious]

Vitor grunted, he was wasting time now and there was obviously no way to get around C-2341 without him discovering their entry point in the other room or Captain Dayle and he would undoubtedly raise the alarm if spared. "You should." Vitor replied, catching the sliding augmented boy off guard by grabbing him by the head and lifting him off the ground. Before he could react Vitor then slammed the frail man into the wall knocking him out cold as if he was swatting a bug off his arm. The way he picked him up with such ease showed how much restraint he had when dealing with others, it put it all into perspective how powerful the Crusaders were. "We're clear." Vitor said dryly to Dayle, dropping C-2341 gently to the ground. A stark contrast to what he had just done to the poor indoctrinated Exodian. "Couldn't have the kid spotting our entry point. We should hide him then press on, he mentioned something about an audit going on in the engine room. Sounds like an opportunity to infiltrate and disable what we can."

 

[C.DEX]

"This certainly is a distant type of espionage than I'm used to, Vitor. But if we're clear, we're clear." Dayle said, returning back to the mineral storage doorway. She looked around, then glanced downwards at the limp form of C-2341. With a huff, she hooked both her metal arm and her regular hand under his arms, then drug him bodily into the mineral storage with relative ease. The pilot flipped him over, then opened his cloak. With a quiet, "Ah, ha," she scrounged an ID card off of the young Augment. Not, however, before noticing his arms. A long seam ran through vertically down them, reminiscent of her own augmentation seam. Her eyes fixated for a moment.


Then, she covered him back up, and filtered back into the hall.


"I wasn't aware there were non-..." Dayle paused. "...Soldiers? That Damaris was in control of. What's with that one?" She pointed a thumb at mineral storage. Then, she readied her gun, reminding herself that she was in Exodus-controlled space.


"And what's the plan with the audit then, Commander?" Dayle teased. It had been a long time since she'd asked for a command from someone else. "We damn well can't punch me in while that's going on, can we?"

 

[Notorious]

"Me giving the captain herself orders? I'm honored." Vitor chuckled, thinking of how to approach this. "I think I'm pretty charming when I'm the crusader. I'm sure they'll give us full access." He replied, smirking but obscured by the helmet. "Since we have to do this stealth mission unconventionally... You're heavily augmented like that kid back there. I'm thinking... We take his cloak, you put it on and then we stroll right up to the auditor and show him who's really the boss." He seen the look on her face and shook his head, knowing that it sounded insane but those plans were the ones that worked in his experience. "Calculated risk. If we're compromised, we'll take care of it. Either way I don't think we're getting me in there without getting spotted."