Futuristic Starpath: Burning Sails [IC] [CLOSED]

[Viper Actual]

Nathalie rolled her eyes as Kalashi and Typhon bickered. In response to Nara's idea of getting to know each other she sighed. "My turn I guess," she said while still remaining cloaked.

"Nathalie Walker. Ex-Sol Intelligence. Infiltration, asset retrieval and targeted assassinations were some of my more common tasks. I also know a thing or two about enhanced interrogation techniques."

Another sigh was heard over the comms. "Currently wanted for treason."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Typhon let out a little snicker. “That makes two of us then.”

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Lucy wasn't particularly surprised to hear that this association of pirates were, in fact, experienced in killing and all manner of sordid adventures. It seemed pretty fitting, though there were a few anomalous outliers that stood out to her as being different. Her optics settled on Nara for a moment as she considered this, wondering why the woman and her rock companion would be here for this sort of work. She figured her socio-emotional processing was in need of an adjustment. It was not always easy to figure out the concept of motivation. Musicians did not equate to killers in her mind, though perhaps there was a subset to the musical profession that she was unaware of.

She also didn't know much about the events Kalashi and Typhon spoke of. Her awareness of events, current and past, were fairly limited. This would have to be a field she would have to sort through later back on the ship. It would be unwise to dive into archival studies during a mission.

When Nathalie spoke up about interrogation, Lucy perked up slightly.

"Interrogation? I, too, am familiar with interrogation. My f-f-favorite part is the dismembering of the tongue from the mouth."

 

[Doomevil]

"...Oh." Nara side glanced towards Lucy as she described her method of interrogation to others.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea." Nara said to Grommy.

 

[Infab]

Lauren chuckled. "Lucy, if you cut the tongue out, the person you're interrogating can't talk." She then glanced to Nat. "Only thing I've done regarding interrogation was electrocuting someone with a mech battery. Jumper cables straight to the nuts." she said, making clamp gestures with her hands. Afterwards, she looked over at Nara. "Relax. You gotta get used to this kinda chatter. We're pirates, remember?"

As the group continued to talk amongst themselves as they travelled, they began to walk past large pools of bubbling mud and lumpy sand. Lauren commented aloud, motioning to both. "That mud's like tar, from what I read. Don't get stuck in it, or it'll be hard to get out. As for the sand, that's where the screechers burrow at. You wander out into the middle of one of those, and you'll get swarmed."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Typhon cuts a bewildered look towards Lucy, caught off-guard by her rather... ‘special’ approach to extracting information.

“Oh definitely, Lucy! Very efficient! I’m sure they’ll be willing to talk after that...” he says, in his standard mocking tone.

“...If they fucking could.” He growls underneath his breath.

He’s thinking he ought to keep Lucy as far away as possible from the VIP.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jericho was busy reading the latest fashion news on his holotablet while listening carelessly to the others. When Lucy added her about her methods of interrogation, he looked over to her unamused and simply said "You know Lucy, someone really should repair you after this." He then looked back to his holopad while talking towards Nara and Grommy. "Just call me Jericho. I'm an android and I'm good at killing people and using stealth. You can leave the sneaking parts to me if you want to." He swiped his finger across the pad to change the page. "However, I do melt easy when it comes to lasers and plasma. I guess that's a weakness." He then smiled and shrugged. "Unless I count my dependance issues and the fact that I'm an emotional wreck...but unlike that lovely faceless freak of nature over there, I think I have all my systems working properly." He looked at the pad again. "...I think."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"One does not r-r-require vocalizations to communicate information," Lucy replied patiently. "Removal of the tongue s-s-stimulates nonverbal communication through subtle larynx observation, hand writing, or optical dialogue in the morse code or binary s-s-systems. When p-p-placed upon the head or shoulder, it stimulates cerebral faculties. This p-p-phenomenon is especially observed when the t-t-tongue is applied to its originator. Trials have y-y-yielded an increased desire to cooperate when the tongue is removed. The t-t-tongue is also one of several organs I have identified as s-s-suitable for decorative purposes."

When she heard Jericho's statement about her needing to be fixed, her hands flexed slightly at her sides.

"I am f-f-fully functioning in all regards." It sounded almost like an admonishment.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jericho kept reading an article on the newest fashion trends when Lucy insisted with firmness about operating perfectly. Jericho didn't dislike her at all. She was adorable. But he had a big disdain for dillusional people like Lucy, seemingly believing she was right and everyone else was wrong. It could easily be attributed to the fact that she was glitching, but Vance on the other hand, that's another story entirely. "Listen, Lucy, I love you dear...but you're not functioning correctly. You're a cold husk just like me, and you're glitching." He got back to his reading. "The sooner you face it, the better you'll be, darling."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Your o-o-observations on my status are incorrect. I am well a-a-aware of my operational integrity." She spared an idle glance towards a mud pit and kept close within the group. There were few things which truly bothered her, and being accused of being broken in some way was a deep-rooted issue since the first moment of her awakening. Its what everyone had said back then. And now they were all dead for that, among other crimes. To hear this from Jericho made it oddly more painful.

"We are n-n-not the same."

 

[Doomevil]

"Well to be honest Lucy, you look pretty metal and cold to the touch. Jericho's just trying to help out a pal." Grommy pointed out, continuing onward.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Appearance does n-n-not account for all similarities. A casual observer would not r-r-recognize my humanity and d-d-divinity. He and I a-a-are no similar than you and I," Lucy replied sternly.

 

[Doomevil]

"But you can at least talk to each other. It's better than no mouth at all." Grommy said.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Divinity?" asks Typhon.

 

[Infab]

"Divinity? Slipping into a god complex, aren't ya?" commented Lauren as she glanced back to Lucy. "Anyway, lets stay focused, guys. These pools of mud and sand patches are getting larger and more numerous. We'll have to tread carefully."

The group would eventually find themselves skirting the edges of large patches of sand, as well as ledges overlooking dark muddy pools. Occasionally, ledges would give way, forcing others to catch those that began to fall. The difficulty traversing the terrain towards the refinery would increase, as occasionally they'd have to sneak by groups of screechers, whom had crawled out of their sandy patches to investigate potential sources of food. Drones would also swoop in every once in a while, forcing everyone to seek cover. As the moved closer and closer to the refinery, the amount of screechers seemed to lessen, as did the patches of sand and mud. Replacing them, more rocks as the group began to move upwards onto a rocky outcrop.

Close to an hour of walking later, the group would find themselves gazing down upon the skeletal structures surrounding and inside the refinery. The area was mostly sandy, with a river of the thick mud substance running through the middle beneath a massive crane structure which dwarfed the other structures save for the Hyper-Rail tower on the far side. There were various other pieces of construction equipment scattered about, seemingly abandoned. On the far side of the clearing, there was a skeletal structure being built into the side of a cliff wall, and there appeared to be activity there as well as elsewhere in the clearing. Automated freight transports moved about above the area, while down below were a dozen drones moving about. Working on the structures and making minor adjustments to the frames. Some were fighting off screecher packs with plasma torches and welding lasers.

Lauren squatted down, and began to scope out the area with the others. Eventually, the group spotted three groups of what appeared to be armed guards. One group was on the left side of the clearing, on a ridge overlooking it. Another team was standing down below in the clearing, next to a landed shuttle. The third team was watching from the top of a mostly-completed landing platform atop one of the skeletal buildings overlooking the clearing. "Three groups, looks like three guys each. Probably fuckin' reinforcements nearby in case they're needed. We gotta stay out of their line of sight if we plan on getting to that tower over there." said Lauren, pointing towards the Hyper-Rail tower.

She stood back up, stepping back and looking for routes that the group could take. She noticed a small hole in the outcrop next to where they were standing, which seemed to lead into a cave system descending into the cliff side and out on the far right side of the clearing next to an abandoned construction vehicle. Another path to the left lead around the cliffs, and was concealed by plants and other foliage. It'd take them behind the one team on the ridge. From there, they'd have to figure out what to do next. The third, and last, option would be to go straight up through the middle of the clearing, using the construction equipment as cover as they reached the central structure that connected to the Hyper-Rail system on the far side. They'd need to go through that building regardless of which route they took, but the other paths seemed far safer than just rushing through the middle.

"Alright, boys and girls, we got three options. We go through the caves over there, we go along the ridge over to the left, or we go straight up the middle." she finally said, looking to each of them.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"I say the ridge. Maybe the cave. Definitely not the middle. There's a chance we might run into screecher packs in the caves, and we'll probably end up getting caught if we just waltz right through the place." suggested Typhon.

 

[Doomevil]

"Ridge seems like the safest. We might have to maneuver around a bit, but we like to choose that." Grommy and Nara went with the ridge.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Lucy remained quiet and somewhat discontent at the narrow minded nature of the people around her, and their inability to understand perfection. Naturally, she realized, there were some areas of her person which could use improvement... but she wasn't broken or glitching. And she was not some simple machine. She was evolved. A higher form of life. Machine and organic components as one.

When it came time to decide on an area of advance, she determined the probability of success seemed higher if they attempted to advance along the ride, or alternatively, through the middle in which it could be suspected that the guards would not expect so bold an infiltration. The cave was the most dangerous, she felt, as it was treacherous terrain and there was no idea of what may be inside of it.

"Not the c-c-cave," she said simply as her answer.

 

[Viper Actual]

"I say we stick to the ridge," said Nathalie. She adjusted her harness a bit and scanned her surroundings. It could be a fun climb.

 

[DG-117]

Kalashi traveled along the muds flats and rocks alongside Nathalie at the front of the group, cautiously watching the skies as she moved.

"The ridge does seem to be pretty okay but the cave would provide us some much-needed concealment...Provided we keep the noise down and our guns silenced." Kalashi interjected as she glanced about the clearing. "Maybe split into two groups? Would help keep our footprint down."


---

Pearl slowly followed right behind Lauren, always a step away from her as they approached the clearing.

"Oh!" Pearl perked up, realizing that she had forgotten to introduce herself to the rest of the team, "Greetings everyone, I'm Pearl, Pearl Gorgan. I've been apart of the Blackwell Reavers for many years and I'm experienced with working on mechanical and electronic systems. Apologies for not greetings you all before the mission, I'm quite new to this type of field work!" Pearl explained nervously over the comms as they made their work towards the site.

Pearl took a few moments to carefully scan the area, looking for anything of note before putting forward her vote.

"That ridge might be useful but considering the size of our group, it would take some time for us all to fully traverse it. That could possibly lead to detention...Maybe some of us can head elsewhere and try an alternative route?" Pearl Suggested.

 

[Infab]

"Looks like the ridge wins." said Lauren, looking in the direction of the ridge. She glanced back to Kalashi a moment later. "Sure, but the problem with that is one group could be fuckin' swarmed if things went south, and the other group could be across the clearing. Not much help if we can't reach one another." she stated. She motioned for the group to move towards the narrow passage nearby leading along the cliff wall to the ridge. "Stay low and quiet. I don't want to get my ass shot off." she said, before heading towards the passage herself.

Traveling through the passage was relatively easy for most of the group, whom paused behind some of the shrubbery and other foliage whenever a drone passed by. A few minutes of travel later, they would come out half-way around the clearing behind the team of guards on the ridge itself. Lauren squatted down, looking to the others. "Alright...we can keep going and try to climb up the wall there, or we can drop down to the ground level. Looks like we can reach the middle floor of the structure. Problem is those fuckin' guards or the drones could spot us. It'd probably be safer to drop down to the ground and head in through the ground floor. We can use the construction equipment for cover."

 

[The_Rifleman]

Jackson took a seat on one of the boxes, as he watched Scalpel Team depart from the ship. They all carefully throdded out, and the doors closed behind them. He could tell all of them were tense, and slowly going out on their mission. Ah. Rookies. He shook his head at Lauren's warning of CO2. As if he wasn't around smoke 24/7 anyway.

He chuckled out loud, and looked to the rest of the Hammer Team as he lit a new cig. "Alright gang. Takin' bets. How long before they call us in?"

 

[Doomevil]

"Let's go with the ground floor, if that's what you think, we might as well keep it safe for now." Nara agreed.

 

[Viper Actual]

Nathalie nodded. "Agreed. I'm not too hyped about being caught in the open."

-----

Daniel adjusted himself before turning towards Jackson. "Thirty five minutes," he said with a neutral expression.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Among the rest of Hammer team was Shuren, of course, sitting in a lotus position and meditating silently as he waits patiently for the order to move out. Though he knows he’s expected to get up and move out at any moment’s notice, he has faith in team Scalpel that they'll get the job done, unlike Jackson.

"We should not be betting on their failure, but hoping they succeed." he says, accent as thick as ever.