Operation: Event Horizon (Sci-Fi, IC, OPEN)

[Ceystile]

“I understand.” Ben had said quietly as Erina ran inside to go rescue some of the people in the burning building. “But take care that you yourself don’t die, you’re one of the only people on this ship that...I understand.” She found herself envying Erina’s courage a little, they said that kind-hearted people were often the bravest, and Ben found herself witnessing that time and time again. Maybe the world needed a bit more kindness.

A low growl and the sound of explosions coming from Diego reminded her quickly of the task at hand, they still had these damnable flesh monsters to take care of. Unclipping an acid bomb from her belt, she threw it in the middle of a small group of them and watched it explode. “Take zat, you Einzeller!” she cackled, sending off another one with a very satisfying *boom*. I love the sound of freshly built bombs detonating in the mornings.

[Tomia]

Regar
Just as the advance team prepared themselves to rush the front door, Regar was alerted to the new adversaries who were now attacking the shuttle.

"Shea'gat, they told us this was a simple grab and go operation." He cursed before refocusing on what was in front of him. "Alright, no time to waste. We do this now." The two mercs got into cover and Regar shouted for everyone to get clear of the door. Once it was clear he launched a circular grenade at the door which opened upon detonation. However this didn't explode like a usual grenade but instead generated a small swirling vortex that sucked matter towards it. The doors were pulled off the hinges and began to disintegrate and the three monsters outside the door were pulled in as well as their limbs slowly pulled apart. The blast ended before it could destroy them entirely however, and their matter began to reform. Still, it gave them an opportunity to attack, which was exactly the point.

"Now!" Regar shouted as he fired incendiary bullets at the nearest flesh creature. The retched creature's head exploded as it collapsed to the ground in a heap. "Push forward! We're getting out of here!" Regar called as he charged toward the door. With the help of his companions and the other mercenaries the two remaining creatures at the doors were destroyed and they pushed their way into the town.

"Forget about fighting, we're running for it. Only engage if you have to, get to the ship so we can get out of here." He said as they ran back towards the hospital. He then sent out a message to the whole ground team. "Shuttle team, we're on our way back. Fall back to the ship immediately." He ordered as the advance team moved through the hospital.

"So you're just going to leave us with this mess?" The same nurse from before demanded again as they passed through the building. Regar gave her an annoyed look.

"I told you before, we're not here for you. I'll send word to get you back up, but that's the best I can do. So shut up and wait for the cavalry to arrive." He told her sternly before motioning for his comrades to move on. He heard mummers of things along the lines of "heartless Elnoi bastard" dotted around the room but he didn't care. He wasn't here to be a hero, he had a job to do.

The advance team pushed through out of the hospital and finally got a look at their more humanoid foes. It was a small mercenary band not unlike theirs, but they were clearly being dealt with by the Black Star crew. He wanted to know who exactly they were and who they were working for but they didn't have time to beat those answers out of them. Instead he ordered his bot to lay down covering fire as they approached the ship and sent another message.

"Alright, we've returned. Nix, make sure the VIP is aboard. Everyone else, we're taking off! Get on board!"

Erina
Erina watched in awe as Diego powered through the building and returned with four civilians all in various state of injury. "Is there anyone else in the building?" Erina asked, praying that the answer was no. A middle aged woman who was clutching a young boy shook her head no and a sense of relief filled the Sigal's mind.

"Alright Roger, let's help them back to the ship." Erina said as she took the woman, who was having trouble walking, and the boy under her arm as Roger outright carried the other two individuals towards the ship. Erina's heart was racing with adrenaline, she had never done anything like this in her life. The exhilaration she felt at the prospect of succeeding was cut short by the hideous monsters that were blocking her path back to the shuttle. Panic sparked in her mind, not only did she have her hands full but she wasn't a fighter, how could she possibly defeat these things?

Then she watched as the group of them exploded in a sudden blast, revealing Ben standing on the other side, reveling in the attack. In that moment Erina thought about what the other woman had said before they separated. They didn't know each other well, but Erina felt similarly. She didn't know exactly why, but she felt impressed by Ben while feeling a bit sad for her at the same time. And she couldn't help but think that's how a lot of people might have looked at her.

"Erina, we must go." Roger reminded her gently.

The Sigal woman nodded as she was shaken out of her thoughts. This wasn't the time to dwell as a path was cleared for her to return to the ship. Together they made their way back to the shuttle as she settled the victims they had carried into it. She hoped no one would notice or object to her doing so. As she sat there, waiting for the others she made a note to thank Diego and Ben, and even Monica if she could work up the courage.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Amanda Rollins-Mission at Gaia

It's actually pretty impressive how a team hand picked for some top secret mission of whatever the fuck can be less organized, dependable and just damned competent than any of the smuggler teams I have run in. In the time since we got here we had new arrivals show up and unlike these monsters they are armed with modern weapons. Vincent was sure to inform me to focus fire from the turret on the mercs. I wanted to give him some smart ass comment about giving me orders on the obvious but I figured he had his hands quite full.

"I swear if we all make it out of here alive I want a raise or I'm packing my shit." I exhaled under my breath. With nothing to do except wait for these screw ups to get back to the shuttle so I can get us off this rock and me back to my drinks on the ship.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 24th - Gaia, Nebra System
Vincent Valstrad

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Standing on the ramp of the Oriasa's shuttle, Vincent dutifully held his ground, using his plasma blunderbuss to melt away the fleshy fiends whenever they began to crowd around the ramp. The Elnoi-made weapon's wide spread made it a great tool for managing groups, and once more the former detective found himself grateful that he had decided to go with it over a regular Confederation assault rifle when he armed himself upon arriving in the Abyss, all those years ago. With each pull of the spiny trigger a dozen globs of ionized gas fired out of the weapon's flared muzzle and found their way to the abominations trying to board the shuttle, rapidly melting away their flesh, rendering them maimed and leaving behind sickly puddles of strange liquid. Despite the fact that the turret's fire and most of his team - the ones that would follow orders, at least - had focused their fire on the new arrivals, his efforts to keep the shuttle safe were adequate so far, with the number of mutated beasts waning.

Suddenly, his earpiece flared to life. Raela's voice informed him that she had succeeded in capturing one of the enemy soldiers. Finally something goes my way. He thought. "Understood. Good job, Alestrandra. Stay put, we'll get to you." He replied over the comms.

No sooner than he had finished, another voice spoke to him - and seemingly everyone else. This time it was Regar, informing the shuttle team that the advance team was on their way back, likely with their VIP in tow. It seemed the mission would be over soon, which bode well for everyone who was currently injured, as the medical facilities on the Oriasa far outclassed those present in the shuttle. However, this did present a small dilemma - once the VIP was in the shuttle, Regar likely wouldn't want any further delays, which would make retrieving Raela and her prisoner difficult.

Thinking quickly, Vincent resolved to take care of the issue himself. With that in mind, he expelled the spent energy core affixed to the underbelly of his blunderbuss and inserted several more, ensuring that the weapon wouldn't run out of power for a while yet. Having done that, he marched straight to Errol and handed him the gun. "Don't point it at anything that's not one of the monsters. You point and pull this little twig over here, and the weapon fires. No recoil, so you don't need to worry about that. If at all possible, let them group up before you fire, but if you don't feel it's safe to do so, use your best judgment. Sorry for leaving this to you, I'll return as soon as I'm able." He explained, trusting that the weapon was simple enough to operate that even the normally peaceful Noxial would be able to use it to protect his cooks.

Afterwards, he moved towards the wall of the shuttle and punched a button present there. Immediately, a portion of the wall slid outwards, revealing a sleek black hoverbike. Vincent reached up to touch a button on the side of his shades as he got on the vehicle. "Find me a route to location B-1." In response to his words, the location Raela sent appeared on his heads-up display, along with the fastest routes available. Deciding on one, the man took off. The hoverbike wasn't quite like the models from Weisstadt he had experience with, but it was similar enough for him to operate efficiently, and before long he was crossing the cityscape in search of Raela and the mercenary she had captured.

Thankfully, such an endeavor was no longer as dangerous as it had been immediately after the arrival of these new enemies. With the efforts of Illvara, Diego's return from helping Erina, and the suppressing fire from the shuttle's turret, the mercenaries that attacked them were kept in check and unable to stop him as he zoomed past them, firing some shots in their direction with one of his pistols for good measure.

"Alestrandra, head to the eastern entrance of the building you're in, I'll meet you there." He said over the comms. Just a few seconds later, he was at the aforementioned meeting point, waiting for her and the prisoner to take them back to the shuttle before the captain arrived.

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Monica Lantrix

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As Erina sat and waited for the others, Monica walked up to her. "You're gonna be in so much shit now, princess."

The reformed assassin had begrudgingly agreed to not interfere with the rescue effort in the end, not because of Erina's hopeful pleas, but because Diego had come along to poke his nose in the issue too and readily accepted to help, which would just make taking Erina back harder, annoying her to no end. Who the hell did this guy think he was, ignoring orders, showing up and acting like a knight in shining armor? She could only roll her eyes as he rushed forward and shattered the side of the building just to rescue the four people who were still inside.

She had to admit she felt an evil glee as the old man chastised him over the comms for breaking the perimeter and called him back, though she was also annoyed that it wasn't her he called back to the shuttle. There were new arrivals attacking the crew and fighting them seemed a million times more fun than babysitting the Sigal princess. It had been forever since she had gotten to fight someone to the bitter end with the old man watching over her and now another chance had to be passed up because someone couldn't resist playing hero. Disappointed, it was all she could do to tear apart any fleshy interlopers as Erina and Roger walked back to the shuttle with the refugees in tow. They were nothing compared to an actual intelligent opponent - they were barely a step up from animals - but they would have to do. And soon enough an explosion robbed her of even that joy, courtesy of the crew's resident mad scientist.

So now she was here, by the shuttle, looking down at the Sigal. There was, however, a grin on her face.

"Can't wait for the old man and the cap to have some words with you about your insubordination. I just hope they'll do it in front of everyone so I can watch." She said with amusement, the animosity she felt towards the foreign royal evident in her words. Before she had any chance to reply, Monica walked away nonchalantly, headed towards the mutant creatures still nearby. Until the captain arrived, she could at least pass the time tearing them apart.

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

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Raela Alestrandra - October 24th, 2230 - Gaia, Nebra System

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As Raela heard confirmation that Vincent was on his way, she dropped her prisoner and reached into her programmable matter holsters. She pulled off long strand of the blob, about as thick as a thumb and flipped the unconscious prisoner onto his back with her telekinesis as she did. Next, she pulled his hands together and wrapped the strand around his wrists like handcuffs, with the ends of the strand binding together. She quickly repeated the process with the man's ankles.

Before long, she received a second message from Vincent, telling her to head to the eastern entrance. As she answered the reply, she telekinetically hoisted the the mercenary into a fireman's carry and headed for a window at the east side of the building before blowing it out with a telekinetic shove. Aided by her genetic enhancement, armour and arctisite control over kinetic energy, she was able to leap through the 3rd floor and land with ease, before making it over to the hoverbike.

[Alcona and Hubris]

October 23rd
Ship's Bridge
Karu

Karu turns to the chef...and smiles brightly at him and says in mock indignation "What...no meat? No protein? just fluffy carbohydrates and sugar? I'm an Acux...we think that stuff is what breakfast eats for breakfast man!"

She rolls up her bag of jerky and stretches again. "No...I understand, though you've got the largest mess section I've ever seen on a Merc ship...let alone one that treats me as Goddess...not that we Acux shouldn't be worshiped by mere mortals..." Her tone indicates she likely doesn't think that...although to what degree is another question.

She does another movement group but keeps "I need someone to relieve me, I am watch officer right now...and I can nap and navigate the ship but..." She twists her body and does a mid flip into the air and back down. "I like to have more focus when enjoying the work of a real artist..."

She stops and turns towards another door onto the bridge. "And someone is being a right bastard and not coming on to watch like they should be..." The tone of this is turning somewhat dark.

"So are we going to get another serenade with breakfast like we did dinner? Cause that was nice..."

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Karu
October 24th
Karu leaned out of the second floor window and blasted down on the creatures from above, helping to take them out as the rest of the group escaped.

As she did so she let part of her mind wander across the feed provided by Ubo...and she noticed someone nearby the ship and she smiled, the ancient predator in her enjoying the idea of hunting the hunter.

"Ubo..give me a route to that target..." She notes in her head and moves to a side window, dropping down onto a side street and running an opposite track from the rest of the team.

Using Ubo's survialence she easily avoids most of the groups of monsters since the lidar easily picks them out of the surrounding buildings.

As she hops along the wide loop she is making back to the ship she hums to herself...it is some hot metal synth song from fifteen years back.

Finally turning a corner she stops...slows...and then dashes at a point distant from the side of the enemy shuttle. Her target looks like a clump of bushes. One that has a view not just of those attacking the shuttle, but also of the shuttle boarding ramp.

She pounces like a tiger down on the bush but at the last minute makes a growling noise. A solider in a gielly suit suddenly moves out the the way and stands...The long range, heavy shot coil gun moving downwards to try and lay target on the Acux that just jumped him. He swears in some odd language and Karu laughs at him looking up...as the opposing merc rises up even farther and away...becoming a nice target as he tries to bring the long, camouflaged barrel to bare. "You missed the Ubo" She states dryly.

"What the hell is an Ubo you insane Acu..." He stops mid sentence as a sudden electroblast stuns him from the silently approaching drone.

"That's an Ubo..." She says with laughter. She laughs as she quickly and deftly searches the unconscious body of the mere. She pulls off his backpack and actually pulls gear such as communicators and identity materials off of him. There apparently is also some interesting heavy gear in a bag...which she ponders before tying it onto Ubo's carrying hitch. Then she turns and looks at the distance between them and the shuttle...

"Alright...time to do some flashy plasma work..." She pulls out the four remaining plasma grenades and then orders Ubo to pull their prize back to the ship. As they move towards the ship...she tries to maneuver the long range sniping weapon over her back...Her eyes are locked onto the other group still trying to deal with the shuttle...

When one of that group finally notices her and Ubo with their prize...She throws out the four grenades into a line that sits between her...the enemy shuttle, and their shuttle. The four blooms of energy don't do much damage other than to scrub brush and dirt but it creates heat, smoke, light and cover.

The enemy, unable to see their targets shoot blindly through the haze and residual smoke...But Ubo and Karu have increased their speed dramatically...finally getting past the perimeter and up into the shuttles action bay.

Karu and Ubo slam to a stop and drop the bag of goodies onto the ground below. "Hey all, I brought some intel...I could have brought the guy but unless Errol has a recipe for idiot, I'm not sure he'd be all that useful..."

Karu stops and looks down seeing the badly injured cook. "What the hell? Why is the kitchen staff f*** doing down here!" Karu looks at everyone and seems to storm off to the bridge where she slams herself back down into the second flight chair.

"Amanda, ever do an engine saber on a bunch of a**hole merc's before...because we leaving her doing one...understand! I will not be denied by hot, warm fluffy goodness by this bunch of rag tag second rate loosers without major payback...Who the hell do they think they are huh?"

[Segral]

Errol Wyrick - October 23rd, 2230
Gaia, Nebra System

-snip-

Errol gave a deep, easy chuckle in response to Karu's bubbling enthusiasm, remaining stoic and silent otherwise as he allowed the Acux girl to prattle on through her diatribe. Even in just one day, he had come to recognize her as an unstoppable force of good cheer, one that penetrated through every wall, floor, and ceiling in sight, no matter how thick. He didn't mind it. Many on this ship had proven themselves to grim characters so far, or nervous characters at the very least, so having at least one source of good spirits was nice to have, even if she was somewhat...cocky at points. Still, it did make conversation somewhat tiring when words came out like a wall of steam from the pressure cooker, impenetrable and forcing you to wait until their scald had passed and it was safe to pluck the perfectly heated tentacle from the pot. Eventually, he found his break in the steam, and took it as his opportunity to slither into the conversation.

"No, no serenade today. Too early in the morning, no clear heads for any of us. Tonight, or tomorrow perhaps." Errol replied lightly, beginning to venture further into the bridge with slower, lumbering steps, still remaining careful to twist his ankle into the correct position. "As for protein, well...always feel free to ask a chef for something heartier. We have men and women of all races onboard, so accommodation is our priority. I'm sure one of the boys wouldn't mind whipping up a fried chicken to accommodate the waffles, they've been begging me for practice with the hydrogen fryer anyways."

"Although, I suppose that all depends on someone coming to relieve you from your watch, doesn't it?" he said, peering out the glass windows that wrapped around the main bridge as if intent on peering for constellations out in the depths of space. "Shame about that, I hate it when people are tardy...it's why I keep my crew on a strict schedule. Enough late shifts, and I start taking it out of their pay. Say, where are we? In the galaxy, I mean?" Errol suddenly asked, peering across the console as if attempting to read the lights and screens for the answers to his sudden question. "So many star systems, it's hard to keep track sometimes..."

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Errol Wyrick - October 24th, 2230
Planet Unknown, Gaia

Errol was not a religious man, his God was his guests and all, but when he saw Valstrad's face bobbing its way up the now-clear ramp, he couldn't help but whisper a quick thanks to the skies above, as did several of his men behind him. Finally, someone who knew who they were doing, a leader. It had been a mistake to come out here, Errol had realized that. Not soon enough, but he had realized it. Now, he just desired safety. Safety, security, and peace. Although, not without saving Henri's life. He had dragged him into this mess, and now, with Valstrad's help, he would drag him out.

Except, Valstrad seemed to hesitate as he got close to Errol and Henri, freezing as if something had shocked him, as if some evil horror had sprouted out of the wound in his chef's neck. The Noxial man looked down, half-expecting to see some ghost or massive parasite growing out of bare flesh, but there was nothing, just more gushing blood, blood that continued to stain Errol's appendages and the floor beneath them. That's how it was for several painfully long moments, the two of them frozen with indecision as life and death marched their way on, Errol begging the other man to move, to twitch, to move, to please move.

And then he did move, closing his eyes for one, two, three seconds and handing a necktie to Errol, instructing him to keep the legs up and press it tight. And check the back, for sealing gel. Legs up, press, sealing gel. Sealing gel in the back. He could do that. That was simple. He had eight men who could help him too. Valstrad was calm, he was steady, and that soothed his nerves, kept his tendrils from twitching unconsciously at the ends. They were safe from the bullets in here. This was okay. "Grimlock, come to me! Keep Henri's legs up, high as you can. Don't worry about the shots, they'll...they won't reach us here!" Errol barked towards the Noxial man to his left, looking back at the men assembled behind him as Valstrad departed. In the meantime, his appendages had curled their way around the necktie and begun to push it against Henri's wound, which stained the cloth red in moments, but at least slowed the blossom. He needed it to stop. "Someone, grab the first aid kit in the back, we need the sealing gel.

"Won't it seal the bullet inside too, Sir?" Aucher asked to his right, peering down uncomfortably close to Errol's shoulder.

"So it will. We can pull it out later, if we don't stop this wound now, he'll die in minutes. Not even." Errol clipped back, causing Aucher to peel back with a sour expression darkening his face. Still, he didn't press the matter further, allowing Errol to twist his head back and shout again to the back of the shuttle. "WHERE'S THAT FIRST AID KIT!"

"Coming, sir!" shouted Silvin in response, the young Therian emerging from the shadows at the back of the shuttle with a fat case in his hands. It seemed to fall apart in Errol's arms as he rapidly snatched it away from his subordinate, eyes already scanning for the clear bottle marked "Sealing Gel". He kept a kit like this in the kitchen, but, scarily enough, had never spent much time perusing its contents. Another symptom of his weakness. Still, he found the bottle, the nozzle on top black and sensitive to the touch as he pulled it free from the case. Even if he hadn't perused the contents often, he knew what to do with the fast-acting hydrogel. Shake twice and apply pressure to the lever. He shook once up, once down, twice up, twice down, and with one hard press, he sprayed a clear, thick, slightly foamy liquid with a liberal hand across Henri's neck, watching as the foam began to thicken and firm over the wound. Within seconds, the blood flow began to stem, slowing down to a mere trickle in a sight that elicited a collective sigh of relief from the men gathered around.

Safety.

It was then that a crackle burst over Errol's earpiece, a voice erupting that belonged to their commander-in-chief. Everyone was to board, because they were taking off. With the VIP in tow. "Finally." Errol thought to himself, pulling himself up to his feet from his knees with a painful gait as he looked out at the brawl still brewing across the horizon. The beasts were still there, but their numbers had thinned somewhat, especially in the immediate vicinity of the shuttle, and although bullets still flew, they were few and far between. In fact, he could even see people, people he recognized beginning to struggle their way back to the ramp. Altoch. Lantrix. And...Valstrad. Who was suddenly thrusting a blunderbuss on him, telling him to aim for groups and pull the twig. And then he was pulling an entire bike out of the wall of the shuttle and peeling away. The sight likely would've had Errol's jaw squarely on the floor at a different time, but right now, he was too uncomfortable with the gun in his hand to care. His shoulder still burnt with stiffness from his assault on that beast, and really, this weapon, it was foreign to him. It felt alien, unnatural, heavy and clunky in his limbs. A small part of him wondered whether he was even hefting it the correct way. He needed to use it well, adequate cover was needed if the crew was ever to climb back on board safely, but he wished he wasn't the one trusted to use it.

With a slight tremble, he cocked the weapon up high, pointing the snout about for a second or two before finally training it on a lone creature, writhing and struggling its way up to the ramp due to what appeared to be sizable bullet holes in its leg, already rapidly healing. Taking a last breath out, he trained the end right towards the creature's head, slammed down on the twig, and...missed. By a hair, just a hair. But no hit, just a string of muttered curses under his breath, and Karu sprinting past him, demanding who had let his team out to fight. All Errol could do was grunt in response as he retrained his weapon, this time squarely at the creature's chest. He needed to strike now; he could already see two more creatures beginning to slink up behind the first. One second to aim, one second to lock his arms in, and he pressed the twig again, launching another shot forward. It flew through the gun with little resistance, the metal only shuddering slightly as a bright shot left the end and struck the first creature in the middle of the chest, tearing through and hitting a second one on the way out. The combined force was enough to take down the third as well, sending all three into a heap at the foot of the ramp.

Alright. Maybe he wasn't such a terrible shot after all.

[Tomia]

Regar
Regar rushed toward the shuttle, jumping onto the walkway as he fired shots at the few remaining flesh monsters. He then banged his rifle on the wall of the shuttle. "We're moving, get inside now!" He shouted before turning his head towards the direction of the cockpit. "Rollins, get us in the air!" He called out to the pilot as he waited by the open door, covering those who still needed to get inside.

With the VIP secure and the crew on board, the shuttle launched into the air and headed back towards the Oriasa. When the shuttle arrived onto the ship, Regar walked onto the bridge and was clearly in a bad mood as he approached the holoprojector in the center of the room. "Get me General Cezar and Colonel Harper." He said in a growly tone. Soon, both the Elnoi officer and the Human officer appeared as holographic projections. Colonel Harper was a human woman, somewhat short in stature with blonde hair that had a tinge of grey. Regar couldn't tell if humans were supposed to find her to be intimidating.

"Ah Regar, was your mission a success?" Cezar asked which got a bitter laugh from Regar.

"Success? Not only did we have to fight mutant freaks, we got ambushed by some guns for hire. You told us this was a no combat snatch and grab, what the sozak happened!?"

"Commander Regar, control yourself." Colonel Harper said in a stern tone. "Clearly there were complications but is the VIP secure?"

Regar gave a snarl before gesturing for Doctor Jasper to approach the holo feed. As he did however, the man suddenly transformed into the exact kind of creature they had fought down on the planet's surface. The creature reached out and slammed Regar onto the floor and the Elnoi soldier felt a sharp pain in his side, as if one of his ribs had cracked.

"Ah, sozak" he said as even breathing brought out sharp pain. He could hear a wave of commotion as the two holographic commanders demanded to know what was happening and the crew scrambled to deal with this new unexpected threat. Regar's vision was a bit blurred but he saw a massive claw start to slam down on him but it was suddenly interrupted when it was frozen solid. Erina was standing nearby her own hand pressed over the frozen arm.

"Somebody kill it!" She shouted and sure enough a moment later the creatures head exploded as Vincent fired a clean shot from his pistol into its head. The strange fleshy material splattered around the deck as Regar struggled to his feet.

"Meeting is over, I'll get back to you." He barked at his superiors before signaling for the feed to be cut. Regar coughed and small amount of blood spilled out onto the floor.

"Debriefing now... We're going to figure out what the sozak is going on here. Mission crew to the conference room, now."

[Kasa Tkoth Sphere]

Ija

Stepping off the shuttle into the hallways of the ship, the crew was greeted by Ija's featureless spherical "bodyframe", suspended from the ceiling by a dozen carbon-fiber tentacles as if it was some sort of huge arachnid, and climbing around with their adhesive tips in utter silence very much in the manner of one. Without so much as a "hello" or a "welcome back", she kicked on an algorithm as simple as breathing and started directing traffic, marking a straight shot to the medical bay on the ship's computers and setting off alarms on the halls that intersected it to warn the crew about staying out of the way. The drone led the way for the shuttle team to bring their injured, crawling along on the ceiling and whistling to further alert passersby.

Ija had the reflexes of a computer and the eyes of an entire starship's monitoring system. Even as the bridge crew was coming to the realization of what was happening to the mission target, she was formulating plans of attack. She hadn't quite familiarized herself with all of the minutiae of her bodyframe yet, but she'd come up with a long string of options to slip inside the room, neutralize the creature with plasma fire or a blade across the head, and avoid targeting anyone else in the process. Motion sensing algorithms, predictive models, actuator timing routines — everything had to go into overdrive.

With no warning whatsoever, the skittering drone made a hairpin turn at lightning speed by swinging itself around a corner with a long-range grappling maneuver, and practically vanished into the depths of the ship like a wayward cannonball before anyone could even see where it had gone. It had slid out its guns, spun up its drills, opened its combat camera — a glowing-green disc resembling an iris — and weaved through multiple decks and halls before the creature had simply been shot to death, and so it burst onto the bridge mere seconds later having wound everything down again and returned to its neutral state.

After Commander Regar had given his order, Ija spoke through the ship's speakers — just the ones on the bridge, of course — as her drone kept crawling and took up a position directly above the corpse. She sounded less confident than an AI ought to have been; evidently the utter surprise of the situation had ruined her priors for what was a reasonable course of action.

"Do I have authorization to mark this room for biohazard disposal, or is there some other plan for the waste?"

She paused. Her language model had spat something else up after hearing what was planned.

"I may also need to speak to some of the crew about mission clearances once they have been debriefed."

[The Republic of Atria]

The pace of the mission picked up even more, but with help from the rest of the group, they managed to finish off the attacking mercs, secure the VIP and make a rush for the inside of the ship. A surprisingly intense first mission, but she wasn't going to complain. She got to see some of the crew in action and left feeling reasonably impressed. She still had the secret of her power as a secret, she got to kill some mutants. And now, she was taking a nice hot shower to unwind and get the stench of mutant and merc off her.

After she finished and got dressed, she heard Regar over the coms ordering the team to debrief. For good reason, as much fun as she had, everything that happened was obviously not supposed to happened. What should have been something as simple as picking up someone turned into a bloody firefight against completely unknown aggressors. She pondered this as she headed to the conference room where as she was a few feet away from the door, heard a gunshot and entered the room immediately, hands sparking with lightning, only to see a dead one of the mutants and a floored Regar. The lightning vanished away from her hands and she regained her composure as quickly as it left her. "I'm assuming you called us here to discuss the mission."

"It's no secret that what happened was a mess that I'm certain is no one person's fault. You could have received outdated information either intentionally or unintentionally. It could simply be a matter of bad luck with us landing during a conflict. Though I don't see that being as likely."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly does that VIP we pulled out of there know? Not just about the warzone we walked into, but about why someone would unleash bioweapons and mercenaries to besiege an entire town."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 24th - Gaia, Nebra System
Vincent Valstrad & Monica Lantrix

---

---

---

---

Upon arriving at Raela's location, Vincent did not have to wait long for the woman to show up, prisoner in tow. He nodded at her and waited until both she and the prisoner were on the hoverbike before making his way back to the shuttle. The enemy forces had been further reduced by now, making the brief trip back safer, and as they approached the shuttle, Vincent noticed that Regar and the rest of the advance team were already on board, providing some cover fire as they waited for everyone to make their way back. Taking advantage of this, the former detective maneuvered around the packs of mutated creatures still present in the area and made his way up the ramp before neatly parking the hoverbike in its place. He got off after Raela and grabbed the prisoner, throwing him on the floor, and the wall slid back into place along with the vehicle.

A moment later, Monica hopped into the shuttle as well. With everyone on board, there was no excuse for her to remain outside.

As the shuttle made its way back to the Oriasa, however, Vincent didn't simply sit down to rest. Not yet. Once they were out of the atmosphere and the shuttle's gravity systems kicked in, he stood up from his seat and began giving out instructions to prepare both their injured cook and their prisoner. By the time they arrived in the ship, Henri had been carefully placed on top of a stretcher and Monica was holding onto the captured mercenary to ensure that he didn't try anything funny - not that he had much of a chance to do so, with his arms and legs immobilized by Raela's bindings.

"Throw him into the brig, I'll pay him a visit later." He told Monica as the group stepped out of the shuttle and onto the ship proper. "Be sure to cut his restraints and give them back to Raela. The prisoner's unarmed and harmless now and I don't want her to bug me about her equipment later."

With that done, he turned to the cooking crew. "Get this man to the sick bay and let the medics do their job." He said. Before moving along, he gave Errol's good arm a light pat. "He'll be in good hands, Errol. I'm sure he'll make it through." He told the Noxial. "You get your injuries checked too."

With that, he followed his commanding officer and the rest of the mission crew to the bridge, where a brief meeting with their handlers from the Collective and the Confederation took place. Regar was quite upset, and understandably so - the mission had been a far cry from what their initial briefing said it would be. First the mutated lifeforms swarming the place, and then the unknown hostiles that arrived to take them out. That said, while he understood the captain's anger, he doubted it was in any way productive to display it so openly. It was clear that both Colonel Harper and General Cezar barely trusted them to begin with, and feeding that feeling by being openly hostile wouldn't get them better intel next time.

All of that stopped mattering very suddenly. The VIP they had escorted back to the Oriasa underwent some sort of metamorphosis and turned into one of the creatures they had fought on the surface of Gaia. His battle-honed instincts kicked in, and before the situation was even fully processed, Vincent had one of his pistols out and trained directly at the creature's head. However, he did not fire just yet - the monster was too close to Regar, which meant that if he shot now, the explosive round would likely injure him as well. Thankfully, his chance came soon enough, as the creature tossed Regar away and was promptly frozen solid by Erina. Before even registering the Sigal's words, Vincent pulled the trigger. It was a flawless shot. The creature's head promptly exploded and what parts of it weren't frozen by Erina's arctisite fell to the ground, lifeless.

The Minervan took a deep breath. "Threat neutralized." He announced calmly.

There were more questions than answers currently running through his head, and a part of him wished that Regar hadn't cut off the communications so suddenly. But it wasn't his place to openly question such a thing and so, for the time being, he simply followed the captain to the conference room.

Monica arrived at the bridge right behind Ija and easily deduced what had happened by looking at the scene. "Well shit. Did I miss the fun again?" She growled in annoyance. With little else to do, she sighed in defeat and began trailing behind Vincent and Regar.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Amanda Rollins-Oriasa

It wasn't much longer before Karu came leaping through the cockpit and strapping in next to me shouting about engine sabers and fluffy goodness. Stabbing knives into my already bad migraine from the hangover I suffered from. "First thing kat, I have a bad fuckin headache so cool it. Secondly I'm going nowhere until the man in charge of signing my check gets on board!" I shouted back in retaliation. Of course that only took a minute longer before Regar's heavy voice echoed from the back giving me the go ahead to lift off.

"With fucking pleasure." I said more to myself than to anyone else. I didn't even look back to see if we had all made it aboard. When you work in my line of work long enough you learn it's better not to get too attached to anyone. For many reasons. People die and more than that people lie. I've long ago learned that surviving in this line of work meant more than just not dying physically. So to that end I trust anyone only as much as needed and not an ounce more. Don't make friends either. It hurts so much less when they either die or betray you. Is this life lonely? Of course it is. But there will be time for making friends and getting stupid when I finally retire and set myself up for life on some distant world. Then I can take all the chances I want. Until that day comes everything is just business and nothing is personnel.

Once we returned to the Oriasa I slipped off to my own small tucked away quarters. It was near the bridge of the ship as the captain which was great for the short commute to work but lacked the space of the crew quarters further off in the ship. All of that was fine, I had packed few possessions anyways aside from a few spare sets of clothes, spare weapon and several cases of alcohol. I lowered myself to my knees as I bent over and pulled a flask from beneath my bed and walked back towards the bridge taking several drinks only to hear a gunshot. My first thought was somebody had perhaps tried to backstab someone else and had to be put down. Upon arriving though I noticed instead there was a strange lack of a VIP and instead a dead mutant in his place upon the floor and took only a moment to connect the dots.

"So...all of that to bring back a damned mutant corpse. This is such bullshit." I mused as I took another drink, this one far heavier than my last.

[Segral]

Errol Wyrick - October 24th, 2230
The Oriasa

His mind didn't entirely register safety when it first draped itself over him like a thin, scraggly blanket, to the point where he nearly shot open the shuttle doors as they slid to a firm shut in front of his eyes. It took a moment for him to feel the shifting weight in his heels and realize that he was lifting off, and a few moments further to realize that Valstrad had returned, and there was no need for him to continue hefting the heavy weapon in his arms. It was not suited for him. And yet, even has he handed the blunderbuss back to its rightful owner, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of reluctance to let the weapon go in the back of his mind, a prickle of fear beginning to creep into his chest once he was undefended. He needed to calm himself. Henri was hurt, and his wounds would not stop for Errol's fretting, but his mind needed time to settle, to catch up before he could properly lead his team, his crew, his unit. They deserved a leader in a decent headspace after all he had put them through.

He had no regrets bringing his men out there; they knew the risks and the expectations of climbing aboard this ship, they had been shielded well by the silonium, and moreover, they were necessary. Without their toil, the monsters would've almost definitely overrun the ramp and reached the shuttle, something which the Commander had specifically stated to not allow to happen. Errol was many things, but he was most certainly not a pushover or weakling, and he stood firm in his judgement. His only regret? Allowing his men to be wounded. He should've been more aware of the shooters, who, as the whispers flying around the shuttle told him, were some group of men who descended from the sky as the Oriasa's crew did and began to fire at them with nothing in the way of warning. When Henri had suffered that wound, he shouldn't have allowed the formation to break and for Gregor and Maxim to suffer wounds. His leadership had failed there, and while he paid the price in the form of his shoulder, which, much to his annoyance, was already beginning to subside in pain, he had put too much of that price on his crew. Even as Valstrad attempted to reassure him with a pat on his arm, all he could do was grunt and nod in response, his jaw tight with anger.

"Grimlock, Noel, help Gregor and Maxim to the sick bay, make sure their injuries are cared for." Errol commanded to the two Noxial men as the shuttle docked back onto the main body of the ship and the group began to flood from vehicle to vehicle. "Silvin, Jax, take the stretcher and get Henri to the sickbay as well, even if you have to mow down a man or two in the halls. Aucher, Gideon, you two are free, as are the rest of you once you've gotten the hurt to the sick bay. Take some rest, bathe if you must. You've more than earned that luxury. I will call you if I need anything further. Understood?"

"Sir, I don't need to be carried, I'm fi--" Gregor replied breathlessly, attempting to hobble forward and subsequently going all the way down to the floor with a loud thump when his bad leg gave way.

"Stupid human..." Noel grumbled in response, the eight and a half-foot Noxial grabbing Gregor by the underarms and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes to little protest as he pressed forward through the mass of the group. Him and his twin brother Maxim were the only ones of greater stature than Errol, and their strength was apparent everywhere, including on the right, where Grimlock was struggling to drag Maxim along while keeping the giant's injured leg off of the ground. However, within seconds, they, along with the stretcher, had struggled away into the Oriasa, leaving behind just Errol and two of his men; Aucher and Gideon. The two were whispering back and forth to one another as they hesitated in front of the entrance, sneaking a look back at Errol as they chattered.

"Men, is there an issue?" Errol rumbled, approaching the two cooks from behind until he was practically in the position to begin breathing down their necks.

"...No, sir." Gideon replied in a stiff, waxy voice, not even looking back as he immediately began to walk ahead with Aucher following right behind. The latter man did look back though, a brief, parting glance before he rounded the corner. His face was carved into a shrewd Elnoi sneer, his lip curled and eyes narrowed, and, if Errol's eyes weren't deceiving him, a shadow of a fist at his side.

And then, he was gone. Just like that.

---

The crew quarters were surprisingly comfortable for a humble trading vessel. The kitchen staff had occupied one large corner of the dormitories on the main deck, a row of five rooms on either side of the catwalk. The rooms were modest in size, and a real squeeze for the larger members of the crew, but the beds were soft, and the showers were always warm, which was more than he could say for some ships during the Twenty Years' War. Errol personally preferred to keep his room well-filled, always without crossing the line into "overcrowded". His clothes had been packed away neatly into a dresser that retracted back into the wall when not in use, with whatever couldn't be bothered to fit inside remaining within a large trunk set at the foot of his bed. He kept a shelf of well-worn books on the wall behind the headboard, just ten volumes, mainly cookbooks. They were positioned over a handsome, albeit simple desk complete with a small holo-projector, a large antennae-spiked contraption on the right of the desk for receiving messages, and an ultra-thin computer monitor in the center, a monitor that was currently gathering dust due to the fact that Errol simply had no use for it. Nobody to communicate with, nothing to research or analyze.

It was not the most intriguing component of the room in his opinion. That lay in everything around the bed and desk. He had chosen to make the most of whatever little floorspace he had left and instead focused on decorating his walls. Just next to the door, he had put up a framed ultra-clear photo of his Twenty Years' platoon, a group of thirty or so men in full body armor ranging between broad grins and ashy frowns, all of them perfectly preserved in time. It had been taken about two years before the war's end, right before they had participated in a peacekeeping effort within the O'Hara system. Beside that photo, a medal hung on the wall, a medal that had been awarded to him for "significant and courageous contributions to the Elnoi Collective in the field of combat". He was proud of that medal, even if it still marked his chest. An open case had been hung to the wall just underneath the medal, the metal slots inside holding three of his favorite knives. The one on the left was a fat butcher's cleaver with an edge that could be superheated to slice through game like butter, the one on the right a narrow knife with a hooked end that could grasp any morsel from a shell or any organ from a live beast, and the center was empty, because it held Errol's electroshock dagger, who's soiled blade was currently lying on his bedspread.

At the back of the room laid his two sources of pride and joy; his music, and his birds. The music came in the form of his formidable brass horn and his two long, slender Elnoi pipes, all three of which laid flat within the trunk at the foot of the bed. The birds came in the form of three large, ornate cages hanging from the ceilings by slender wires, each of which contained a single Toro canary. They were nocturnal birds, who thrived in dim light or even better, darkness, where their soft, black feathers allowed them blend in with the night to avoid predators. The only source of light on their bodies were their eyes, which were soft, milky, and white around the pupils as they chirped and fluttered about. Once a day, he let them out one at a time in their cages to fly about and exercise, and twice a day, he fed them, fed them with scraps of meat from the kitchen and birdseed from a large pouch poking out of the top of the trunk. The feeding was what he was in the process of now, outstretching three tentacles pinched tight with scraps and seed to the three cages and allowing them to peck away. They relented, chirping and bending down and bobbing their heads to approach their meal, before pecking and groveling at it with a poking, ticklish sensation until they had eaten their fill. The first to finish was Finn on the right, named after his father. The second was Sylvia on the left, named after his mother. The final one was Neyris, the center bird, named after his love, who took her time as she slowly rubbed every last speck off of his limb with her tiny, wet tongue. The real Neyris would always do something similar, nibbling and pecking at her food with an air of grace while Errol ate his with ferocity, like every meal was his last. The thought brought a smile to his face, as feeding the canaries usually did. It was peaceful, meditative, a little break away from the noise and clutter and energy of his daily life, as much as he loved that energy.

But of course, that noise and energy always found a way to seep back into his life. Within moments, Regar's voice blared over the comms, ordering the crew to assemble in the conference room. It was difficult to pull himself away from his birds, his comfort, but after a few seconds, he was able to let go, reluctantly throwing black drapes over each of the three cages and beginning the long march from the quarters to the conference room. Hopefully he appeared presentable. His vest and slacks had gotten splashed with Henri's blood, and while he had changed his clothes, he hadn't bathed, and hoped the stink of dried blood wasn't strong on him. None of his men shirked away from him as they all congregated on their march to the long conference hall, which was a good sign, but the noses of superiors often rivalled those of professional chefs, if not surpassing them altogether.

However, once the group neared the door to the room, Errol was faced with a danger worse than accusations of unprofessionalism: a gunshot. A single *crack* reverberated through the air, causing the group to collectively jump out of fright before dashing towards the door behind Bray and Rollins, not even pausing to look at each other as they moved with haste. By the time they reached the door, it was practically ajar, revealing a sickening sight on the inside. On the floor, one of the creatures from before, lying motionless and bleeding from the temple. As well on the floor, the Commander, a dark red ring bordering his lips.

"What in the hell happened here?" Errol asked, slowly beginning to pace through the door as he spoke.

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

It wasn't long after the shuttle returned Oriasa to, that the little finger on Raela's right hand healed it's self, along with the burn mark on her hip. It would take a little longer for her clothing to repair it's self, but that too had finished by the time Raela finished taking a shower. After which, she put it right back on, of course, out of it's armoured mode, it was back to being a dark purple 'cowboy' hat, coat and boots.

Next, she took a walk to the brig to pick up the binds of programmable matter she used as binds on the mercenary she captured, who was now sitting silent in his cell. She wasn't all that proud of her work catching him, she was more than a little sloppy, leading to her now healed injuries, plus she let her emotions get the better of her, as she shattered his right hand as petty revenge while he was more or less defenseless and she could have pretty easily restrained him without knocking him out giving his leg injury. However, what happened, happened and there'd likely be no-one but herself to reprimand her for her actions, so she'd just forgive her own errors on move on. The most important thing was bringing the mercenary in a conditions in which he could be interrogated and she did just that, a successful secondary objective completed.

By the time Raela had made it to the bridge, however it had become clear that it was the main success of the mission. The VIP they picked up morphed into a flesh monster that had to be put down and Regar immediately afterward called a meeting in the conference room, which she quickly headed toward. Already she could guess what they'd be going over. One thing for sure would the collapse in the line that occurred due to a reckless rank breaking, that lead directly to unnecessary casualties. Raela was curious as to how that would be handled. Erina was, after all, a princess and while Raela had no reason to question her competency, outside of her actions leading to cooks being forced to defend the shuttle, but Raela couldn't help but wonder if there was some political element to her appointment to the team that might make it more awkward to properly reprimand her for her actions. But that remained to be seen. In any case, it'd be one of those meetings that leaned towards being more interesting than mundane.

[Tomia]

Regar, Comms Room
"Permission granted" Regar said to Ija in somewhat of a growling tone. His left had sat tenderly on his wounded rips. Then he heard Illvara's and chuckled, wincing as he did so. "I guess you weren't around to see the VIP turn into a flesh monster and attack me? He's dead on the ground, so we won't be learning anything from him." Regar told the soldier as the rest of the group began to gather in the communication's room. Vincent had already filled Regar in on the commotion that occurred back at the shuttle. Erina was among them, standing along the left side of the large table that sat in the center of the room.

"First off, I want to make it clear to everyone that that mission did not go as planned. Not only were we ambushed, but it turned out our informant tried to kill me. It was a shit show plain and simple. But you preformed well, for the cobbled together crew that we are. However, my Executive Officer here," He said pointing to Vincent, "Told me about people breaking ranks away from the shuttle. That does not happen again, am I clear?" He said sternly, looking at Erina who nodded meekly. "Yes commander." He then turned to Vince, "I heard some non combatants were on the shuttle with us and got hurt. That doesn't happen again either. Something shady is going on here and until we find out what, no more mistakes." He took a heavy breath, his wound clearly getting to him.

"Alright, everyone is dismissed until further notice. Get some rest, socialize, whatever. I don't care." He told them, turning aware from table as he suddenly staggered to the door.

"Sozak, I need a doctor."

[Ceystile]

“Damn” Ben whistled under her breath, looking at the destruction this failed mission had caused to their side. Fortunately the crew hadn’t seemed to suffer any serious losses, but many people had been injured...quite a few actually. She herself had suffered a few scratches and burns, but nothing she couldn’t patch up on her own well enough. Her first thought was to go see how Erina was, being one of the closest things she had to a friend on this ship and as she filed behind the crowd to the communications room, she spotted another blond not too far off. He always looked a bit...arrogant for her tastes, didn’t give out much information about himself. Only would reveal that he was on family related business and that he was a Neirel.

Alonn Malay
Not that the king of Thalassa was ashamed of his race in any way, but he much preferred traveling in the guise of a human. It certainly helped with the identity concealing part, and tended to raise a lot less hackles if he went as unassuming as possible...here he was just plain old Thomas Fean, a human smuggler headed to the Abyss on some shipping business for his company. He hadn’t gotten very well acquainted with most of his fellow crew mates, but he did know a bit about that mad German bomber and the Sigral Princess. Erina was a sweet girl, which made him wonder why she was on a mission such as this. Nobody would be here if there wasn’t some necessity in it.

[Galnius]

Nix

One of the things Nix had found that she hated most was wasted time. That's not to say you couldn't have fun. If you have fun, that time is spent relieving your stress. Sleep and napping helped your body. Games challenged your mind. Bringing a VIP back through a destroyed city, losing a cook for a few days in the process, using your weaponry against strange creatures, and burning precious fuel just to have that VIP turn into a monstrous glob of human sashimi? That was a major waste of time. And Nix was pissed.

As was the following debriefing. What happened? People broke ranks because their bleeding hearts could not be sated, a cook that wasn't supposed to be there got badly injured, and worst of all, the aforementioned VIP goop incident. Nix knew all of this, but she still had to sit through the nagging that wasn't even directed at her. By all means, she did her job flawlessly. Which was to be expected. It was her after all.

Needless to say, Nix needed to let out a lot of frustration. Luckily for her, it didn't take much to do that for her. Unluckily for her crew, her main mode of destressing was picking on them.

"Greetings, mutineer". With a wave and a crooked smile the seeming robot approached Erina with her devilish tone giving a stark contrast to her manufactured voice. "I heard you played the hero today. How many did you save? Ten? Twenty? A robo puppy for the lesser android? Please, I would love to hear your tale of heroics. "

In her head, N alerted her of approaching footsteps. The resident bomber seemed to be on the way. "Why hello Ben! Erina was just about to astound me with her glorious acts of selfless heroism! Wouldn't you like to join me for storytime? "

---

Kennedy

As the debriefing occured Kennedy was only really in the room physically. Mentally and spiritually he was purely in his head, comparing samples he took from different monsters and recording the data he found, forming wild theories about what that could possibly be. One of his theories was confirmed with the VIPs change into one, but that still left a lot of questions. In fact, one could say it created more. It was now known that at least some of them had once been human, but unknown if it could affect other species, sentient or not. And what had caused it? Was the crew in danger of becoming one themselves? Would all the people in that city eventually turn? Kennedy felt quite bad for Erina, who was just trying to help
Innocent people, but it was perhaps unlucky that a few had been saved. There was also the question of those people who attacked them, including one that Raela had captured. Was that person liable to turn, too? And why exactly had they attacked the Orisia's shuttle? So many questions. However, Kennedy knew where to start.

Kennedy realized that he had never actually gotten up to go to his personal quarters, and the meeting had ended long enough ago that everyone had left. He quickly went after Regar.

"Excuse me! Um, excuse me, sir! Here, use me for support. There we go. You shouldn't walk without support of you are injured. The ship relies on you too much for you to be stuck in a hospital bed unconscious after you hit your head too hard falling down. Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you could while I take you to the medbay. Can you tell me exactly what happened before the VIP turned? Was there any changes in behavior? What did it look like, it you could tell me please. And since you survived the attack, could you please tell me what the wound felt like? Anything at all, and if I could have access to the video footage as well that would be great. I need as much information as possible on these if I am to properly do my duties sir. There's no record of them in the databases I have you see, um, sir."

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

---

Raela Alestrandra

---

While Raela was upset about Erina breaking rank and tended to have a general antipathy to princesses, princes and other individuals with "royal" titles, she didn't harbour much in the way of specific ill feelings for the princess. At least not enough for Raela to stand aside as Nix picked on her.

Sure, she was reckless, but ultimately Erina did what she did out of caring for others than herself, that's a trait to be disciplined and harnessed, not mocked. On the other hand picking on others was a trait that existed only for the pleasure of the bully and those who enjoyed watching the bully pick on their victims. That was behavior to be stamped out.

Or such was the rationalization Raela gave herself for her intervention. In reality, she too was frustrated with the outcome of the mission and was looking for an excuse to lock horns with someone to blow off steam.

The tall, brown skinned brunette rogue made her way toward the pink Sigal princess and cyborg.

"Knock it off, Nix." Raela began, stopping next to Erina and looking directly into Nix's cybernetic eyes, while crossing her arms.

"Commander Maxirian has already said what he needed to say about Erina's conduct. If she knows what's good for her, she'll learn her lesson." Raela quickly looked at Erina as she said this, before returning to staring at Nix.

"All you're doing by making fun of her, is making me think you have some insecurities you deal with by picking on people you see as soft." Raela continued in an accusatory tone. Raela didn't really know if Nix actually had any significant insecurities, plenty of people were perfectly confident with themselves and picked on others for amusement. But Raela intended this as more of an insult than an analysis.


"Fortunately for me and unfortune for you, tin girl, I enjoy picking on insecure bullies." Raela finished, with a mocking tone, a sly smirk, and a slightly turned up nose.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 24th - Gaia, Nebra System
Vincent Valstrad

---

After the crew was dismissed, Vincent promptly walked out of the conference room, his feet taking him back to the crew lounge practically unaware while his head processed the utter insanity that had been their first assignment as the Black Star company. People turning into mutant flesh monsters - including the man they had been sent to recover in the first place - and mercenaries showing up and attacking without warning were hardly what he had expected when he accepted the job. But then... he supposed the top brass of both the Collective and the Confederation had picked them and not anyone less experienced precisely because their assignments were going to be insane and dangerous. He didn't like it, but it made sense.

Whether or not the higher ups were hiding something from them was something he hadn't determined yet, what with having so little data to go off of, but judging by their surprise when the VIP turned into one of the monsters and attacked Regar, he didn't consider it likely.

Much as he would have wanted to investigate that matter, it wasn't practical in his current circumstance. But there was one matter he could investigate - the mercenaries who had attacked the shuttle. From the lounge it wasn't a long walk to his quarters, and the former detective walked inside, the automated door sliding back into place behind him. He pressed a button to lock it and then looked around. The room was more than a little messy. An old-fashioned pinboard dominated one of the walls, with various pieces of evidence and scraps of information related to the syndicate that was behind much of the strife of his adult life, the Black Hats. A few boxes full of old case files sat on the floor, mostly tucked under his cot. A bookshelf stacked full, a plain wardrobe and a computer terminal next to the door completed the room, and it was this last object that he went to first.

Sitting on the desk, the Minervan took off his shades and placed them next to the terminal. "Upload all recorded data." He spoke, and a wireless link was immediately established between the two objects, the video taken by his shades being uploaded to the terminal along with a few other scraps of data. Vincent quickly sifted through the whole thing and focused on the parts of the record where the mercenaries appeared on camera. He enlarged the images and isolated a few key elements before using a program to search for related information in a few databases, just to see if he could get anything to use against the prisoner during interrogation. He doubted he'd be able to get much out of the prisoner if he walked in blind, but if he managed to get some information on him and his organization beforehand... the possibilities started adding up.

The search, however, would take a while, so he donned his shades again and stood up - he'd get a ping when the results were ready, but until then, he was free. The first thing he did was press a button located on one of the few free spaces on the wall. Said wall immediately slid open, revealing a compartment for his weapons - his blunderbuss and his pistols, as well as one other handgun that had remained there for the entirety of the mission, untouched. Vincent unloaded both the blunderbuss and the pistols before putting them back in place, dropping the ammunition in separate compartments for safekeeping. The wall slid back in place, and the man left the room for the time being.

With little else to do around the ship - they were fully stocked on everything they needed, on account of having started this voyage relatively recently, and everyone who needed some sort of attention was being cared for already - the second in command found himself heading towards the brig. It was a relatively small part of the Oriasa, just a few cells with one way windows and cots, tucked away in the lower deck. On one of them was their prisoner, sitting on the cot with his eyes closed. Crossing his arms, Vincent observed him from the outside, focusing on his body language for anything he could use. For the time being however, the prisoner simply sat there in the cot, impassible.

Perhaps a few more hours sitting there will soften him up.

---

Monica Lantrix

---

As Monica walked into the conference room, she heard one of the other women on the crew, the red haired pilot, curse and whine about the results of their mission, which got a chuckle out of the former assassin. "And I thought I was the grumpy one here."

Personally, she couldn't have cared less if the VIP remained alive or dead. A job was a job, orders were orders, and pay was pay. They technically did get him on board the Oriasa like the brass wanted, and pulled through despite the faulty intel they got, so if the higher ups complained about the outcome, they could go fuck themselves. That aside, the mission wasn't a complete waste of time. Sure, she was frustrated that the only enemies she got to fight were those braindead piles of flesh, but at the same time, she got to blow off a lot of steam thanks to said piles of flesh, which was a godsend. Being cooped up in the Oriasa for long periods of time didn't suit her at all, even though protocol demanded it.

There was, of course, another upside to this whole thing, and it was the schadenfreude she felt upon watching Erina get scolded by the captain over her insubordination. Truth be told she believed that the Elnoi had been way too soft, especially considering how the princess' behavior had caused several of their own to be wounded, not to mention the fact that she had led people on board who, judging by what had happened to the VIP, represented a huge security risk. But the shame on the Sigal's face was worth it.

She didn't really care for anything else that was said during the debriefing, which was over before long. She had carried out her job perfectly as always, so there was nothing to worry about. Before she headed out of the conference room, however, she noticed Nix approaching Erina and asking her to share the tale of her heroism. Monica snickered at the sight, and rolled her eyes as Raela tried to stand up for the princess.

"Oh wow, tin girl. Devastating. You really showed her Rae-Rae." Monica spoke up, looking at the trio of women. "If you ask me the princess deserves that and more after screwing up like that." She added, turning to grin at Erina for a moment before looking at the other two. "But hey, none of my business if you want to defend someone like that. At any rate, I was there. Don't need to hear the story." She concluded before turning around and walking out of the conference room. She headed straight to the crew lounge, or more accurately, to her quarters, located right next to the lounge.

Briefly stepping in, she promptly took off her belt and tossed it at the bed, the six katanas and myriad knives attached to it making quite a racket as they fell despite being safely stored in their scabbards. The room was remarkably bare, with the only furniture beyond the obligatory cot and computer terminal being a wardrobe, a small shelf with various knick-knacks, and an alcohol cabinet.

It was the last item that beckoned her attention now, and she opened the door and grabbed a small glass bottle, the liquid inside bearing the same color as honey. With it in her possession, she walked back outside and promptly dropped down on one of the couches on the walls of the lounge. It was time for another boring ride to their next destination, but she could always have more fun with a little help from her magical elixir. And perhaps, with enough help, she'd just black out until it was time for dinner. It was a good trade-off, all things considered, so with that in mind, she started drinking.

[Alcona and Hubris]

Karu

She had been pissed when the pilot of the shuttle hadn't allowed her to give a going away present to the enemy shuttle...
But when getting onboard she had done the first thing that needed to be done which was alter orbit around the planet, actually a spiral orbit out towards a nearby planetoid just to keep things interesting if anyone was looking for them in local space.

She registered the whole broken down conversation with their superiors and then the death of the VIP. They were on someone's naughty list...very naughty list indeed.

Karu didn't go into the communications room, she had just linked in over her display at the navigation station and appeared in screen form. Really, the Captain might think it was over, but the other players might have decided to try for them up here...though it did not appear to be so...Then the Captain ran off to the med bay and Karu sighed...

Obviously a former mid level officer who doesn't know this is his crew...he has to keep it moving...

She leaned back and sniffed. She had joined this operation for very personal reasons and their Captain was proving to be a disappointment quickly...Too self assured...to go in the front...and really hadn't delt well at all with the changing situation. She sniffed at that thought.

Karu then stood, locked her console and gave an electronic wave to the ship mind to mind <Keep me in the loop on status...be ready to accelerate into Z space if someone unfriendly decides to smack at us again.>

She went back to the shuttle, pulled herself out of her flight suit finally and then picked up her intel materials. She looked down at the identity card and smiled..."So Aham Bavara...shall we see if we can find out who you work for?"

Karu went to the security office, which was a small air tight space near the brig and sat down at the terminal. The benefit was that it had been fitted out with the latest in identification gear by someone...looked more like a security office for a naval vessel than a bunch of mercs...who typically most merciful ships just had brigs that were welded cargo containers...but that was one of the benefits of the Oriasa.

She watched the terminal that relayed all the sensor data on their prisoner...heat signature, heart rate, brain waves...and chuckled.

Karu then began the process of pinging a few brokers. Just like anywhere else where you have people with well paid, but only occasionally needed skill sets, you got creatures who would organize and find those people for you. Yes, you could go through the process of trying to land contracts yourself but most mercenary leaders were not very good sales people...especially with civilians who didn't really get the whole...'stop annoying me arguing about clause 5 b or I'm going to punch out your lights' vibe.

Which is why most mercenary companies worked through a network of brokers. And just as mercenary companies needed to be represented to those who had the need, and the funds, for mercenaries (but not the knowledge of them.) Well, mercenary companies tended to need to find people with skills at times for missions, so there were those brokers that also provided services to individual mercenaries.

This was all part of Karu's former universe. One she had spent years being successful at for years.

And as someone who had, at times, needed to track down fellow mercenaries in that universe had learned ways to do it. Karu had learned how to track down those who had welched on payments for orders or annoyed her for a good ass kicking. What Karu had learned were the holes in the broker system, where she could enter and leave...not without a trace but rather just the normal traces of the mercenary broker business itself. Like a panther leaving bunny tracks in the sand...
And Karu planned on exploiting that knowledge now. Because there were things done and things not done in the mercenary business.

One company didn't go out to assassinate other companies usually...sure you killed them when they were between you and an objective...but this week's guy on the other side might be your platoon mate in a month...not that bad blood didn't occur regularly...but usually it required crossing a line, or being a real scumbag; and Karu was fairly sure none of the team here had earned that label so far...most of them were so new in this line of work they squeaked. Amanda might have had some baggage...she was sort of slimy after all...but if someone had wanted her dead they likely would have just asked to have her handed over first...or waited until the company got to a rest spot and gun her down in a bar there...not pay for a complete team to take them all on...

As she began to see if one of the less than cyber security aware brokers was on their regular leave or around on the nets...Karu heard something from the brig.

She continued to type on the screen, noting that said broker's assistant was holding the fort, while she leaned out the open doorway. Seeing Vincent she calls out, noting that the brigs cells have been sound proofed, "You know the sensor read outs are in here...he isn't asleep yet but he isn't showing any sign of panicking yet...we don't have a rep yet for being belligerent to competitors..."

She watches Vincent a few moment more..."I know he might be a good lead, but I'm going to see if I can find their sniper's broker..." Karu know that the assistant was a lazy moron that kept his job through sexual prowess and good looks more than competency...so once again she used the same old password to access the message account of the broker and see if she could ping the right people...

[Tomia]

Erina
The meeting had barely broken up before Nix approached Erina and started sarcastically berating her for her decision during the mission. Nix reminded her a lot of the girls who used to pick on her back on Earth. There was a cruel tone to her words, one that you wouldn't expect from an android, even an extremely human like one. Erina didn't even have time to react before Raela stepped in. She defended her... sort of, but still clearly didn't approve of what she did. Then to make matters even worse, Monica the mercenary who had been antagonizing her pretty much since they had met. She had come on this adventure to escape humans bullying her, but it seemed like that wasn't about to change anytime soon. She felt her emotions stirring, and had no intention of letting her antagonists see her get upset. "Look, I did what I thought was right. I was trying to help people, and I did. Some people care about things other than violence and money." She said, pushing past Nix and hurrying towards her quarters with Roger following behind her. Once she made it to her room she closed the door behind her and dropped down on her bed. Tears built up in her eyes as she put her head in her hands. Her first mission had gone... poorly to say the least. She had thought this adventure would be a fresh start for her, but it was starting to seem like she didn't fit in here either.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to of course she Roger who was looking down at her with his blank robotic stare.

"Do not be sad Erina, I am here."

Erina chuckled at that and wiped her eyes. "I know Roger, thanks.... sometimes I think you're my only real friend."

Regar
"You talk too much", Regar growled at his promethean crew member who had decided to help him to the medbay. "You can have access to security footage, anything else we'll deal with later. I'm not in the mood to be a witness right now." He told the Kennedy. After a few minutes they made it to the medbay, where they were met by a younger looking human soldier who saluted at Regar until he saw the injuries.

"Where's the doc?" Regar asked as he sat down on a bed with a little effort.

"Busy sir, I can take care of you though. Name's Richard." The medical assistant said as he quickly worked to find the appropriate equipment. As the doctor worked Regar turned to Kennedy.

"So, what brought you here anyway? I've read your file. You have what I think humans call 'connections', why take a job like this?"

[The Rebel Alliances]

Amanda Rollins-Oriasa

The briefing didn't last long and amounted to little more than 'do better next time'. Considering the low bar that this mission set, well that should not be too difficult to achieve. I took another drink of the flask as I turned around and noticed for the first time in my hung over state the refugees that were taken aboard as they shuffled about somewhat aimlessly on the ship. "Shit." This will probably mean a detour from the next assignment to unload them somewhere where they can become someone else's problem. I continued to move myself down the cold corridors as I came upon the scene of the Nix teasing the princess who was apparently named Erina about her actions down below on the planet. So, this is the one responsible for the extra cargo on board...

I gave a heavy sigh as I watched a few moments longer as Monica joined in before she too left and Erina ran out away from those shaming her for her...heroic actions. I closed my eyes as my mind moved me back to when I was just a girl and still believed in heroes. I also believed in magic and Santa Claus too. A small spindly red haired girl smiled and waved at her mother who marched proudly in a parade that was held before they all went off to war. Her mother acknowledged her daughter with only her eyes as she could not break formation. The girl understood and felt such pride that her mother was going off to war to fight for the Confederation. To protect the people that couldn't save themselves from the fires of war. To be a hero.

The next scene was different than the parade in the small colonial square. This one took place at home with her father as the raid assaulted the roof over their prefabricated home. The girl stood at the edge of the hallway unknown to her father as she eavesdropped on the conversation. She no longer remembered the words themselves. They were not important. All that mattered was that her mother...was never coming home. She died in the service of the Confederation. On some far off planet that was too unimportant for mention. Then before the girl knew it it felt as if rain had fell upon her face but quickly realized that was impossible. As she was still inside her small home with little comfort in the promise that the Confederate official had given to her father. That the Confederation would honor her sacrifice.

The final scene played out with confusion as her father frantically packed a bag and told her to grab what few valuables they could. That they would be late for the shuttles which would carry them away to the safety of inner Confederate space. She tried her best to keep up with her father as he pulled her by the arm as they ran. It had felt like they ran forever but they could finally see the shuttles ahead. But there were thousands of their fellow colonists being forced away from the shuttles as officials, scientists and the wealthy along with equipment were loaded aboard. The speakers kept assuring the increasingly belligerent crowds that there would be room for all. But it did not take long for the colonists to realize these were empty words. Perhaps it was a punch or a thrown rock that instigated it but a gunshot rang out, and a man whom Amanda had known as their local doctor fell to the earth dead. The crowd then flew into a frenzy as they tried to force themselves past the perimeter but this only caused further retaliation and more bodies fell cold to the earth and finally enough gunfire erupted to force the angered mob into a panicked stampede moving away from the landing zone for sanctuary from the Confederate guns. But the sight that remained with the small girl the most as she looked up into the sky amid the carnage were the forms of the ships moving ever further away in the sky before they were no longer visible. Leaving the tens of thousands of colonists below to their fate.

All of those scenes played out in mere moments to me here in the present as my mind thought of Erina briefly. She'll learn. She's young. If she doesn't learn she won't live to be old. With nothing to do for the time being and desiring a better drinking space than my room I soon found myself heading in the direction of the lounge. Thinking perhaps I should try speaking to Erina before the next mission, at least try to wake her up before she gets herself killed. And if she doesn't take the lesson then well it's not my problem. I emerged in the lounge with a slight leaning posture indicating I was still hung over or possibly coming full circle and close to drunk again. That's when I spotted Monica once more, the girl was rather tall for a human, more so than me. And possessed mostly human features but had a set of 'cat ears' like an Acux. She must have been genetically modified and while the wealthy are known to indulge in such procedures I had a feeling she had much say in it. Of course that was among the least interesting things about her.

She was drinking.

"Finally, someone on this ship who appreciates the finer things." I mused as I stepped closer to her. Then indicated to the empty space on the sofa beside her. "You mind?" I asked, it was rhetorical of course as I did not bother waiting for permission before I plopped down on the couch and took another drink from my own flask before speaking again. "What's your poison?" I asked my eyes peeking over at her own bottle.

"It's Sigalian Whiskey for me. It's smooth going down but where it gets good is the strong after taste. Plus it doesn't hurt that it's strong shit. Unlike that Neirel swill. Always wanted to get my hands on some Elnoi Rum but that's hard to come by. They say it will knock any human on her ass though...I've always took that as a challenge." I decided to let Monica speak before asking any other questions. Frankly I was wondering why she was here. Not that I mind a drinking buddy but she doesn't seem the 'team player' type. Strikes me as someone who would rather work alone. Granted I am hardly a ray of sunshine myself but in my case my skill set works best in a team setting, normally I am used to far smaller teams but this kind of work is generally worth more money.

And money is all that matters.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 24th - Gaia, Nebra System
Vincent Valstrad

---

---

Focused as he was on analyzing the prisoner sitting in the brig, Vincent did not notice the open door some distance nearby, nor the feline figure that peeked out of the control room to look at him. It wasn't until the red-furred Acux addressed him that the former detective finally acknowledged his colleague with a nod and a brief wave, though even then he didn't take his eyes off the captive mercenary, who was now reclining on his cot.

"I'm well aware, Karu." He replied to her remark about the control room's location, loud enough for her to hear. The cells were soundproofed, so eavesdropping wasn't a concern. "I'm not looking to see what the sensors say, though I'm sure it's useful information. I'm looking something a little different. Information that machines by themselves can't read very well." He stated. Perhaps he was mistaken with that - it was as much a bluff as it was a statement, and he did not know if some state of the art AI out there had developed a flawless analysis of human behavior and body language, but during his detective training he had learned that it was better to rely on one's own judgment and instinct for this sort of thing.

Continuing to listen to Karu, the Minervan simply nodded again. "You focus on that. Pursuing different leads is always a good idea." He spoke. While the Acux woman tried to track down the brokers that had acquired the mercenary company's services for whatever client, he had his computer searching various databases for any scrap of information on the company itself while he observed the prisoner. He wasn't planning on starting an interrogation just yet, or even soon - letting the man simmer was perhaps not the most ethical thing to do, but he wasn't working for the law anymore, and the man would be spending a while stuck on the ship regardless - but any insight into his habits might help get the truth out of him, eventually.

"Do let me know if you find anything interesting. It always daunts people when you know more about them than they thought you knew."

---

Monica Lantrix

---

---

Monica was on her second or third gulp - not that anyone was counting, she certainly wasn't - when someone decided to approach her. Even before the redhead had made her way to the sofa, the former assassin heard her footsteps, and caught the strong, bitter scent of her drink of choice, something she quickly connected to the same drink Amanda had brought to the debriefing. Wondering what one of the pilots might want with her, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and looked up just as the other woman stopped next to her and addressed her.

"Heh. It's one of the few things that get me through the day." She replied to Amanda's comment about alcohol, unable to keep a small grin from forming on her face. She didn't know what the redhead wanted, but so far she didn't seem like she was here to bother her or anything like that, so she figured she could play along. "That and napping. The less time I'm conscious, the better." She added casually before drinking again.

The redhead asked if she could sit, to which Monica simply shrugged with indifference. She was more or less reclining on the armrest, with her feet propped up on the sofa, but the piece of furniture was spacious enough that Amanda could fit in regardless, so she didn't see the need to move. At the question of what she was drinking, Monica's eyes opened slightly and she looked at the bottle of light brown liquid she held in her hand, trying to recall just what it was. Before she could do so, however, Amanda simply carried on, going on a tirade about what she was drinking, what she didn't like to drink and what she wanted to drink in the future. Alcohol seemed to be a passion for Amanda much more so than it was for her.

Jaes, this chick really loves the sound of her own voice. The cat-eared woman thought with a playful eye roll.

"It's, uh, mi... miela... something." She spoke once she was finally given a chance, though she gave up quickly on her endeavor to recall the name of her drink - the bottle lacked any label, with the vendors insisting that the color was its own trademark. "I don't recall, but it means burning honey. Tastes sweet, burns like a motherfucker. 'S all I need." She said with the same easy grin, raising her drink before taking another gulp. "It has no smell, so it really catches you off guard. I almost choked to death the first time I tried it." She laughed cheerfully at the memory, but quickly caught herself and simmered down.

"So you just drop by to talk about booze?" She asked afterwards, her tone suddenly harsher than before.

[The Republic of Atria]

Regar, Comms Room

October 24th - Gaia, Nebra System

---

"I did not." Illvara replied. "I wasn't aware that specific monster was our VIP, but since he was, I do agree: something is strange with how this played out. Please inform me if we have any leads. I'm prepared to storm anywhere at anytime." She nodded and looked around, Monica being her usual boorish self, Erina being insulted by Nix. The team could hardly be called that. More of a collection of borderline nutcases up their own asses. Though, she was among them so it didn't say too much for her either. She thought about speaking up and telling everyone to get over themselves, but decided against it. The team has enough loudmouth brutes as it is and she didn't want to contribute to that.

As she left, she overheard Amanda and Monica talking about liquor. Amanda mentioning that she preferred Sigalian Whiskey, and Monica enjoying some unlabeled burning honey. "If you really want to party, you should try some genuine Apexian Moonshine. Made in an old bathtub, and guaranteed to leave you under a bridge in the next twelve hours or your money back." She said in a rather jovial tone recalling her original escapade with the stuff in which she did actually die of alcohol poisoning during his first year. "I'm kidding of course. Don't drink that stuff unless you want to die and not know about it."

"And what's wrong with discussing liquor? Humanity originally started farming and became a civilization because we wanted to mass produce alcohol. Unless of course you have a different topic."

[Segral]

Errol Wyrick - October 24th, 2230
The Oriasa

It was clear that they hadn't been assembled at the communications room for pleasantries. It was unwise to expect anything else out of a man who had been ambushed on a mission, turned on by his own informant, and been assaulted by the fellow he was stuck being ambushed and turned on for retrieving. He had grievances, and the only thing left to do was air those grievances out on his subordinates so that they would learn how to not give him any further grievances and allow him to belch out his current ones before they burned up his throat and stomach. Shouting at others was not polite or gentlemanly, but it felt quite good when one was in the proper mood, and Errol was fully expecting to bear a tidal wave of mood-affirming shouting from Commander Regar's mouth as he righted himself on his feet and stood ahead of the spaceship's crew.

However, the lecture was somewhat...mild. In fact, it started out with praise for how well they had done, even despite their colossal, Commander-admitted disorganization. The only sources of criticism? Altoch, for apparently breaking away from the shuttle's formation (which would explain why his men had been left so unprotected), and...himself, for allowing non-combatants down with the crew. Regar didn't spare a look in his direction as he did for Altoch, but the implication was there, and Errol did not allow himself to react to it beyond an instinctive tightening of the jaw. He was still fuming over it, and if he didn't hold himself back, he would surely embarrass himself in front of his superior, his crewmates, and his men. That couldn't happen.

Thankfully, it was a short affair, with the Commander dismissing the crew and staggering away to the nearest door, presumably to go find the nearest doctor. The young Harper boy ran after him, nearly slamming face-first into Errol's side as he raced after the stumbling Commander. It was what he had come to expect by this point. He was a good young man, a real genius, but his energy was sometimes too much to bear, even for someone such as himself. If he had to put up with one more question about the chemical composition of his souffle, he was going to dropkick him from the mess hall. Permanently. Though, he wasn't the only one taken up by new energy at the moment. As Errol looked around the room, it seemed as if everyone had almost immediately moved onto something else, somewhere else. Valstrad strode out of the room, followed soon after by Ms. Na'tala, several women began to gather around Altoch, Rollins snuck out the door with a drink in her hand...she would crash the damn ship one day with that habit. He didn't want to be left out of the clamor, so, not bothering to crane his neck above that of the crowd around him, he cast out for someone who was currently unoccupied. Soon enough, his eyes clapped upon a splotch of blonde bobbing among the throng. Fean. A quiet fellow, a smuggler onboard the Oriasa for business purposes, or so was rumored. Errol didn't have much taste for his kind, but he respected businessmen of all walks, and besides, they were on one team now. No use in creating divide at a time where members were already at one another's throats, as evidenced by Ms. Altoch storming out from amid her crown of thorns. Perhaps it would be good to build a rapport.

"Fancy seeing you here, Mr. Fean." Errol said with a cheerful rumble, cutting a fearsome cloth as he moved through the crowd towards the toughened human. "You're such a shut-in sometimes that I forget where to find you. I presume things went dangerously for your team as well?"