Futuristic Starpath: Burning Sails [IC] [CLOSED]

[Doomevil]

"The Reds.... You mean Communism?" Nara's face lit up. The Cold War was a specific topic her Uncle told her about, him being a hunter/history buff. "What can you tell me about it?"

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jericho spent some time with the group as the crew gave their votes. While he wanted to believe he wouldn't care who was elected, he was worried that people like the muslim surgeon, or the all-american hero might get elected. Deciding that it wasn't worth getting stressed over, he waved at Shelby and spoke to her. "I'll be walking around now, sugar. Kill some time while this contest of popularity is done. If you want to hang out later, come find me." He giggles. "Because, girl, you really need some work on your nails!" He jokingly booped her nose, and walked away from the meeting. He took his datapad out, and started to listen to some music while exploring the place some more. He walked around till he noticed the two resident unknows of the crew. The strange Upyri woman, and her cute Kanad companion. Since he didn't have the opportunity to meet with most of the crew during the recruitment phase at the bar on Shadespear, he decided it was time to get to know some people better. He approached them with a smile. "Hello there! I can't help but notice you cuties aren't very sociable." He crossed his arms, looking the two of them over. "I'm Jericho, your friendly neighborhood assassin." He giggled, while looking to Vixaya. "I haven't seen a Kanad in a while. You look adorable!"

 

[joshuadim]

Vance's eye twitched so slightly when Nara mentioned the blasted ideology by its full name, but he retained his smile. "I don't call it by it's full name, as it would give it legitimacy. But yes... that. It's an oppressive, evil ideology that seeks to crush the free-will of people under the iron heel of autocrats and dictators under a system of control and order. In other words, its bullies its masses into submission for the services of it's 'state'" Vance explained, with a hint of disgust in his voice. "It's all led by bullies who want absolute power, and I have no tolerance for bullies."

 

[Doomevil]

"Woah." Nara raised her hands up, "Sounds like you knew how they rolled then. Makes me wonder if we'll face similar people like that in this pirate business." She wondered.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"...Bullies that think what they're doing is for the betterment of mankind." Typhon creeps up to Vance and Nara almost silently. "Don't forget that, Mr. Vance."

 

[joshuadim]

Vance squinted at Typhon as he turned to face the doctor. "The moment you take peoples liberties and freedoms away in the name of 'betterment', you become nothing but a tyrant." Vance said with sternness. "The people must have the right to choose, and have inalienable rights that cannot be taken, or squandered, by anyone else. That is what I fight for. And tyrants are what I will always stand against."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“Indeed the people have a right to choose. And it just so happens the Russians chose communism. The Koreans chose communism. The Vietnamese chose communism. So tell me, what'll you do when the people themselves chose their tyrants and find themselves content in their slavery?"

 

[joshuadim]

"The PEOPLE didn't choose. Their 'vanguards' did and forced them on that path." Vance retorted. "Under the heel of secret police and oppression, those people live under fear. Not content. I've seen it first hand when I was behind enemy lines. Prisons for dissenters, anyone who didn't toe the line. Anyone deemed a 'threat' to the state. Old men, women, children. What threat is a goddamn child?"

 

[Frankafurter]

Yolandi finishes giving her specs and needs for Zou's repairs to the repair shop and sends Zou off to go spend some free time. She heads around and looks about the base then goes back to the Mordred. Zou has decided he's going to go sit on the beach and wait for his needed parts to be made. Once she's back on the Mordred she goes about locking her stuff up in her quarters again. She sheds the armor vest and space suit, switching into her work clothes again since she'll have to work on Zou soon. With that, she goes out and looks about for Karina, may as well go meet the woman formally since they'll probably be working together down the line once she has that suit up and running.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"I can ask you humans the very same question! What threat is a quran? What threat is a bible? What threat is a torah, or a ramayana excerpt, or even a buddhist manuscript? This is what I don't understand about you humans! You always find yourselves crushed under some tyrant's heel and point fingers to each other as to how you got there! And where do you suppose these tyrants come from, hmm? From Mars? From Venus? No! They come from the same streets you walk on! They come from the dirt of your slums to fill in the gap your people left behind when your kind abandoned God! Whether it's the Soviet Union or Sol, your kind will always be tyrants and slaves to each other."

 

[joshuadim]

"...I don't know what you're talking about. The freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution, and protects anyone no matter what religion or creed they worship. I might not agree with what other religions preach, but I defend their right to do so all the same. The enemy is the Reds, not all of humanity if that's what you're implying." he said as he picked up his tattered suit and walked off, slightly annoyed.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Typhon shakes his head before looking at Nara. “That man is in for one HELL of a shock.”

 

[Doomevil]

"Ehh. It's not really my business. I don't think we met? The name's Nara. I was with a rockman friend not too long ago."

 

[Infab]

Karina quietly took her slip of paper and scribbled down a name on it, before handing it off to Zadra. She decided to go with Petar, as he would likely have experience with leading a pirate or criminal group compared to Vance, whom seemed like a decent leader but slightly insane for wanting to run INTO the bullets without proper protection. Which that space suit of his seemed to fail to provide. She admired his bravery, but bravery only got you so far. Proper strategy and clear thinking was needed as well. Afterwards, she walked away from the group, heading towards where the cargo container had been set down near the vehicle garage. The battle suit that had been captured would need to be inspected for damage or faulty equipment. The incidents back home in the Federation weren't exactly helping with production, as some factories were being sabotaged from the inside by undercover members of KSM.

Once she arrived, she found Jericho speaking to the cybernetic Upyri and her kanad companion. She had never actually spoken to the pair, back during their recruitment at the bar on Shadespear, so it was likely a good time to get associated with other crewmates. She stepped over to the container, listening to Jericho introduce himself as she began to open the large container. There were several seals that needed to be released to properly open the container, and likely more needed to be broken to actually get to the equipment inside. She pondered how the mech they had obtained looked as well, as to be transported in this state required them to be taken apart.

Once the container was open, there were several large crates inside of varying sizes. She checked the markings on each, before finding the ones marked for the battle suit. 'UFMC MK3 HEAVY BATTLE SUIT' was stamped on the sides, in Upyrian of course but translated just below in Terran trade languages. There was a stamp just beneath those, a label for one of the Federation's top weapons manufacturers. Nyxia Battle Systems, headquartered on Nyx. The company produced most of the ground vehicles in use by the Federation (along with Monira Arsenal on Ker), having moved away from producing small arms (though they still manufactured the outdated pistols that the group had encountered aboard the freighter.) There was an instruction manual on how to piece the battle suit together, as well as technical schematics, which she removed from one of the crates and began to read over as she sat atop it.

-----------

Aesha, on the other hand, cast her vote for Vance. She liked his style, honestly. A real adrenaline junkie, even if it was under the guise of bravery and leadership. She handed the slip of paper off to Zadra, before departing herself for her ship. She needed to inspect the damage, to make sure nothing vital was hit and to see what she'd need to grab from the Ironbloods nearby to repair the craft. Afterwards, she'd find Olivia and grab a beer with her. Best to get to know her wingman, plus they still needed to settle on their squadron name.

-----------

Lauren looked over, as she popped the final seal of the large cargo container, opening it up to reveal several smaller crates and boxes of food and drink. "Oh? What'cha got in mind?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Petar as he walked up. She glanced back into the container, and motioned to some of the crates. "Help me move these into the mess. We can talk as we go." she said, stepping and grabbing one of the large crates.

 

[Doomevil]

Grommy walked over to Karina, staring at the large container the battlesuit pieces were in. He simply observed until he spoke up. "Let me know if you need help." He mentioned.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Rockman... Grommy, right?" Typhon scratches his chin. "That big golem of a man is your friend? Well regardless..." He removes a glove from his hand and extends it. "I'm Typhon. Doctor Typhon. I'll be making sure the rest of you sorry bunch live to see the next day."

 

[Doomevil]

Nara shook the doctor's hand with confidence, "I'll be sure to visit you when I'm injured. Hopefully not." She bit her lip, eyes sideways. "Huh, you seem to know about the Islamic religion, religious in general. How'd you discover it?"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

She knows what Islam is. Someone actually understands his religion, and they're not human or another person of faith either. This shakes him to his very core. He leans back from Nara in shock.

"You actually know what that is!?"

 

[Doomevil]

She widened her eyes, speaking before actually thinking what you're going to say. Stupid. "Uhh..." Nara dragged out before realizing what she just revealed. She let out an embarrassing grin, "Yeah."

"I know a lot about Earth history. But I'm not native to it." She stated, becoming silent with nothing else to say.

 

[Frankafurter]

Yolandi's search for Karina leads her over to the crate where the suit is stored, she clears her throat gently a few paces from Karina, "Hey, I don't think we've had a proper introduction yet. I'm Yolandi, we'll probably be working together if you're the new pilot for that suit you're sifting through." She gestures lightly to the boxes inside, "Looks like a 'some assembly required' job. If you want an extra set of hands, I can offer them. My suit is a bit dated by comparison, but if it's one thing I've learned, most machinery is pretty straight-forward in how to put it together."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"I figured. However, do tell. How much of Earth's proper history do you know? And I'm not referring to whatever rewritten bullshit Sol brainwashes children with these days."

 

[Breadman]

Alright, time for some muscle work. Petar grabbed one of the crates and walked alongside Lauren.
"His problem reminds me of another one we had a while back. I guess that would be sometime before you were even born." He joked as he realized how far back it was. "Anyway, to cut out the bullshit. My brothers and I figured out that while you ran a big tough organization that muscles its way through the galaxy's underworld, you also attract people who only show for a bank deposit but when work needs getting done, they shit themselves. And you can't get rid of cowardice in a short order, not without damaging something important in there." He wondered what exactly he was carrying in the crate he was holding. Something sloshed inside by the sound of it. Medicine? Booze?

"Then, oldest brother had an idea. Cowards are gonna be cowards no matter what. But that cowardice can be very useful when you learn to exploit it. So me and him got together and started some trial runs. We got a few of the bed wetters and strapped bomb collars on them. Charges removed, but they didn't know. They thought the things would blow up as soon as they got outside my radius." They approached the mess hall and Petar used his foot to gently push the door to the inside so they could enter. "I doubt you haven't done something similar with flyboy by now. Make sure he's scared of you and what you might do to him instead of what the enemy might do ala bala and all that. But this is the funny part. A year in this program, we find out that these guys that have the collars on are outperforming the guys who have the balls to fight. Funny thing with fear. When you start trusting them to do shit and combine it with them fearing for their lives, they start to perform really well. Those collars were glorified training wheels. So we took them off and half of those fuckers went on to be in our elite squads." Inside the designated area, he gently placed the box in storage before continuing.

"Key things that can work for Roku. Scare him shitles, but mare sure he's scared of you first and foremost. Put him on a leash somehow. Could be the collar method or anything else you can think of, but make sure he wont run off on you. Then slowly introduce trust to him. Give him something to do. Some way for him to prove himself, but that reminder should still be on his neck. Show him some love and appreciation when he does a good job, it will help him build confidence. And then when you decide the time is right." He snapped his fingers "Get rid of that stone around his neck. He's done it. He's proven you can trust him. And you have his loyalty because he knows that when the boss is happy, his life is fucking happy. But deep down he knows something else, if he does something to piss you off ..." he moves his thumb across his neck.

 

[K0mori]

Vixaya stared back at Jericho silently with her bright yellow eyes. He might as well have been speaking to a cat. "Ah-hah," Renate chuckled, carefully stepping in order to create a bit more distance between the new acquaintance and her old friend. "She's shy. I'm sure she appreciates it, so don't take it personal, okay? So... You're an assassin? That was my job before I came here, too. I'm Renate, and this is Vixaya. She's from Spirra, you know, the planet where the civil war happened. We're just trying to get a steady lifestyle going while doing what we do best. How about you?"

 

[Doomevil]

"Now, I'm not a historian. But I'm pretty fond of their World Wars. I'm more interested in heavy metal music like Iron Maiden, Metallica. We even have our own band named Deathkaiser. Religious wise, I'm Christian. In church they taught us how this one dude named Paul was important to the followers of Jesus. The Roman dudes didn't like it so go figure that out. Then later in history, Muhammad from Mecca showed up and eventually he just became prophet of Go- Allah, I think?" Nara explained, trying to not get tangled up.

"Was that okay?"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Typhon nods. Underneath his helmet he's smiling at having found another person he could relate to. Maybe this crew isn't as awful as he'd thought.

"...It's good enough for me. Still, wise observation I must say. Hardly anyone even knows what those religions are. It's a shame too, such big bastions of human culture all gone in an instant just to please a bunch of aliens in suits. But enough of that, I've already had my fill of speaking ill of Sol. How'd you learn of our culture anyway?"