Discovery Gaming Community

Pages: 1 2

:::[INCOMING TRANSMISSION]:::
:::[ESTABLISHING SECURED VIDEO FEED]:::
:::[VIDEO FEED: LIVE]:::

ID: [Image: 7dBj2Gm.gifMaren%20v.%20Westefeld]

Location:

[Image: H14TsTq.gifCV-Hoffnungsschimmer,%20Omega-49]

Subject:

ENCRYPTION: [Image: SnkmNXM.gif]

Hello, Mr. Stenn. It's me again, Maren.

I wanted to ask whether you could help me with something. The only parts that I haven't yet at least looked through to find are some of the deeper Omicron systems I can't reasonably enter, because, well, Nomads would eat me, and Gallia, for much the same reason, although there are no Nomads, and I'd probably not be eaten but just shot as a Sirian.

Uh, long story short, I wanted to see whether there is a chance of at least getting a look at some of these systems just to be sure. I do have some cash I can offer, too, which was graciously donated to me by... Uh, yes. Do you reckon there's something to be done about it? I'd come along if that would help.

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION LEVEL: High

:::ACCESS GRANTED:::
FINALIZING IDENTIFICATION PROCESS ... PLEASE WAIT ...

»»» Location: Unknown
»»» Sender ID: Nick Stenn
»»» Recipient ID: Maren
»»» Subject: Escort

Maren,

I believe that it'd be fairly easy to arrange for a personal look at the systems you mentioned. We'll want to be in and out fast and unnoticed, so if it's not a problem for you, I'll have to come personally. Additionally, I have a two seater Sunbeam that's just perfect for the task.

We can discuss the particulars in person. Just tell me where I need to pick you up. If nothing else, I can promise that you'll be safe.

Attachments:
-none-

Knight Commander Stenn
Forlorn Hope Command

CLOSING TRANSMISSION

:::[INCOMING TRANSMISSION]:::
:::[ESTABLISHING SECURED VIDEO FEED]:::
:::[VIDEO FEED: LIVE]:::

ID: [Image: 7dBj2Gm.gifMaren%20v.%20Westefeld]

Location:

Subject:

ENCRYPTION: [Image: SnkmNXM.gif]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am currently staying a night on Barrier Gate, so if you've got no problem with that, we could see to planning this here. It's not a, well, impressive place I'm staying at right now, but it's serviceable. Your folks have that one modular installation over Yuma, right? I dimly remember Elena saying something along those lines. Gotta say I'm impressed. I never actually saw too many Gallic ships and the few that I did see were rather nice to look at.

In any case, I'll be attaching directions you can follow on Barrier Gate C to find me. And, uhm, thank you for caring. It means a lot to me.

She put down the PDA after having sent the message and sighed, putting it on the nighstand and falling back onto the mattress of the small rental space she had procured for the small stay on Barrier Gate. It was hardly anything remarkable. Most of the things on this station weren't. A bed with dull white sheets, a closet, a desk with a chair that didn't match and a small door leading into a room with a shower stall, toilet and basin just about encompassed the entirety of the interior. Dismal, yet sufficient. It wasn't for long, anyways. A few months ago, Maren might have wondered whether the people maintaining this place even cared to clean up or whether the mattress was soaked with the naturals of everyone who had used it, sexually or otherwise. All in all, the place seemed pretty clean, however, which had been a nice surprise.

Rolling over, she took a look at the desk, where she had haphazardly dumped a bag of clothes she had brought for the trip. In actuality, she had planned to be meeting Stenn, as she had anticipated that they would need to talk first, at least to negotiate the terms of their agreement.

Ezrael.

It had been so long since he disappeared that Maren had lost track of time. She had told herself so often that she believed him to be dead, but her conscience wouldn't let her rest until she had truly done everything in her power to verify. After all, she did love him.

Jessica.

Maren wasn't quite sure what to feel for the girl. If he was dead, then there would be no problem being with her, right? It wasn't like Maren could get children, being that she was Cardamine dependent. So why only look for dudes? There was just something... lacking, she felt. Idly, she checked whether she had sent Stenn her location so he could find her and lied down again, slowly starting to fall asleep. She had been quite exhausted lately.

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION LEVEL: High

:::ACCESS GRANTED:::
FINALIZING IDENTIFICATION PROCESS ... PLEASE WAIT ...

»»» Location: Unknown
»»» Sender ID: Nick Stenn
»»» Recipient ID: Maren
»»» Subject: Escort

Maren,

Roger that. I'll be there shortly.

Attachments:
-none-

Knight Commander Stenn
Forlorn Hope Command

CLOSING TRANSMISSION

Stenn reached out to turn the transmitter off, the screen fading before his hand touched the corresponding button. He was still learning to rely on using his Vergil implant, and often found himself subconsciously reaching for items that he was capable of directly connecting to. A frown played across his face as he considered the situation with Maren.

On one hand, he was willing to place good money on Ezreal being alive still. But the way she spoke was giving even him second thoughts. If she had some information he had missed, it was going to make things awkward. No. He'd personally flown Delta. He'd tracked the hyperspace echo as far as he could, but it eventually died out and left him without an indication of where to go next. Regardless, he'd offered his assistance, and now they'd try again.

The Sunbeam hummed gently as he directed it through the asteroid field to Barrier Gate. He'd already been on a patrol when Marens first message had arrived, and the patrol could be delegated to one of his Knights. The command tower at Barrier didn't pose a challenge when he approached to dock. Hell, if they were meeting on A, he'd have his own private dock to use. He briefly considered using the dock on A anyway and simply jogging over to C to meet Maren, but decided that it would look too unprofessional.

Several minutes of winding corridors and cavern like rooms later, he found himself standing outside the door of a small apartment. The sound of metal on metal echoed slight as he knocked on the door.

"It's Stenn. I'm here about a girl and a dragon."

One of these days he'd book that appointment with a psychologist. He wasn't always this flippant. If he was more machine he'd almost call it a glitch. Almost.

The harsh knocks on her door jerked her awake violently. Almost falling out of bed, Maren almost lost it when she looked at the clock and noticed she had almost slept for two hours. She wasn't really presentable at all, she felt, with her hair in disarray, and only wearing underwear. "One moment!" she called out for the door, scrambling to the desk to throw on a t-shirt and short sweatpants so she wouldn't completely embarrass herself. A minute later, she would open the door, coming face to face with the hulking mercenary.

Maren had never seen him this close before, and she had to admit, he did look intimidating. Contrary to Ezrael, who was merely toned, Nick Stenn was ripped as *****, which made Maren think that he could snap her in half like a twig if he had the mind to do it. Being confronted with this, Maren said the only sensible thing that came to her mind right now. "Uh, hi," she said lamely, looking down at herself. She could have at least put on shoes, but that was a little too late now. Given how Stenn was decked out, she felt woefully casual. "Want to, uhm, come in?" It was clear as day that Maren was intimidated by the man who was very likely more than a half times more heavy than her in muscle alone. She was also painfully aware of how messy the room looked now, with the bed completely unmade and the clothes all over the table in the room. Why had she proposed to meet him here again? She really should have just went for a restaurant instead.

He averted his eyes as quickly as he could, but it was little use. He'd already seen everything worth seeing. The messy room, clothes strewn across it. Maren's shirt worn inside out, the one leg of the sweatpants rolled more than half way up her thigh from when she had put it on too quickly. Even moving his eyes to the side hadn't helped much, as he found himself staring straight into a mirror that just showed everything from behind. He could already feel the mix of warmth of embarrassment touching his cheeks."I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome. Although you'll forgive me for being so overdressed." He gestures at his own outfit, the standard armored flight suit worn on missions.

Turning so that his gaze was no longer reflected onto her back in the mirror, Stenn pulls the door half closed between the two of them. "I'll uh, wait here, and you can get yourself ready for company. Sorry for taking you off guard."

The grin on his face was faint, but visible. What the hell had he walked into. He was supposed to be meeting with Maren to find out what exactly she knew before they began a search and rescue mission. And while it was definitely a welcoming sight, he doubted she had planned to look like that when the door opened. Pressing the door closed before she could embarass herself more, Stenn lets out a small chuckle. Well, at least his investigative partner was easy on the eyes.

"Note to self; make sure to accept more escort contracts."

There were creatures in Sirius whose gracious nature was able to make even the most hardy person step back in awe and wonder. Maren was not one of these. Looking down at herself, she nodded. "Uhm, yes, that'd be good." At least she managed to play this kind of cool right now. Disappearing in the bathroom briefly, when she emerged, the clothes were at least not improperly fit to her body and she was wearing shoes, hair tied into a ponytail. "Hello, Mister Stenn," she greeted him, at least sounding sort of rueful at her appearance before. She offered him a hand to shake, though silently hoping he wouldn't give too firm a handshake. Once done, she would proceed to at least straighten the covers of the bed slightly. "Uhm, do you want to sit down?" There was only one chair in the room anyways, which belonged to the desk. "You have to excuse this here, but I fell asleep before you came and well."

With the bed done, she proceeded towards the desk. "Just before we start, though. Uh, how close were you or the people you work with to Vertiga? I know he was once running around in that self-made superhero costume calling himself 'Operative Red' and that he had had extensive contact with Elena."

Gesturing towards the lone chair near the desk, Stenn stalks carefully through the mess on the floor, avoiding stepping on any clothes, before leaning against the edge of the desk. "I met "Red" twice. Neither was as exciting as I'd hoped they'd be, despite my best efforts otherwise. Couple of months later, I welcomed Vertiga into the Forlorn Hope under a fake name. He captains the Athena, a deep space research and exploration ship of ours." Stenn caught his gaze wandering across the form of his companion, and with a grimace, quickly looked away. That was atypical. Normally he had perfect focus when talking about a job. It must have been the way she opened the door that was throwing him off.

Although, he had to admit she did--. No. Focus. Shaking his head clear, he continues. "About the same time that he met with us for the undercover joining, I got busy with personal and company wide projects. Given that he was prone to slipping between persona's, it wasn't unusual for him to go days without contacting us. When you told me he was gone, I was more surprised than I care to admit."

His tone, while business like, carried a faint hint of concern, and without thinking he reached out to pat Maren on the shoulder, a planned gesture to comfort her. He hadn't been expecting her to look up at him as he did so, and the new alignment of her body led to him caressing her cheek gently. "I.. uh."

Nodding, Maren busied herself with picking up the diverse articles of clothing and folding them neatly. It was a way of not directly answering, as she needed to get her thoughts in order. She found it strangely ironic that he was always the one accusing her of lying when, in fact, he had been the one obscuring his membership in a mercenary company from her. Vertiga likely wouldn't have liked Stenn to reveal this to her, but well, that was just a common risk that Vertiga had knowingly taken. She suppressed a grin as a sardonic thought came to her. At least Maren wasn't making a big secret out of the fact that she was keeping things hidden from him. "I understand," she said after she had picked up most of the scattered clothes to give the room at least some semblance of orderliness. She had hardly noticed him brushing along her cheek, as she hardly saw that as anything intrusive. "So I guess your company has a vested personal interest in finding him. Or his assets." She doubted mere friendship was the reason they were interested in him.

Being done, she sat down on the bedside as there was no chair left, leaning back. "Did he talk about me at some point?" It was more out of curiosity that she wanted to know but it was more than likely that Ezrael had either just never mentioned her, or just said that she was one of his many affairs, given that he had been involved extensively with Elena Voigt as well. Maren wouldn't even be surprised if the child Elena had lost was actually his, given how much he had cared for her.

"Once in passing." Stenn evaded her other questions, merely shrugging at them. Stretching slightly against the desk, he managed to regain some of his composure. "When do you want to do this then?" His words were neutral, and he was watching Maren carefully, reading her body language.

While she wasn't exactly dressed for a space flight at the moment, he was sure that she'd have the clothes for it hidden away somewhere in the apartment and he was already dressed himself. "The chariot is waiting when you're ready." The faint smile was on his lips as he made the flippant remark.

Pages: 1 2

Discovery Gaming Community

Foxglove

Nick Stenn

Foxglove

Nick Stenn

Foxglove

The Sovereign

Foxglove

The Sovereign

Foxglove

The Sovereign