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+--- Thread: A Breaking Point (/showthread.php?tid=134186)
A Breaking Point - Catbert - 12-23-2015
- Don't tell me I'll have to do it the second time today!
Linn sat in the pilot's chair, sweating and holding onto the control wheel. Her ginger hair obscured the view at times, but she didn't care: she just flew her shuttle, the Pathfinder, like there was no tomorrow. All she could see now was the planet in front of her, that was rapidly increasing in size. Planet Sprague, her home away from home.
Most ships rely on planetary docking rings to compensate aerodynamic heating and other factors, so entering the atmosphere of a planet without using a docking ring is always a gamble. Lucky for Linn, the Pathfinder was a Voyager-class shuttle, designed with all kinds of countermeasures for the adverse effects of atmospheric entry. However, few people tried to enter atmosphere at full speed, and that's exactly what Linn Archer was about to do.
- Hold it together, baby, hold it together!
If it weren't for the polarized glass of the Pathfinder's cockpit, Linn would've been blinded by a wave of heated gas that surrounded her shuttle as it entered the atmoshpere.
The artifact in the shuttle's cargo hold didn't help either: it emitted all kinds of known and unknown energies, not to mention that weird purple glowing. Those emissions have already rendered the Pathfinder's stabilizers non-functional and messed with the controls. That left Linn out of options and made her go for full-speed landing.
"What have I got myself into..." - Linn thought as the heat wave slowly dissipated, revealing the endless barrens of Sprague and a space port in the distance. But Linn knew she wouldn't make it to the spaceport this time. As the Pathfinder bolted towards the canyon several kilometers outside of spaceport, the events of the last couple of hours flashed across her mind in one vivid image...
A flight to New London... Meeting Junko Sanada, an old acquaintance from Kusari ... She now works for Borderworld Exports, who would've thought... A random weird Zoner babbling something about the great spirits and their knights... Rheinland forces appearing in New London out of nowhere and assaulting a Bowex transport...
One of the Rheinlanders explodes... I instinctively hit the tractor beams... The Zoner wants the artifact I tractored... Junko tells me to keep it... Both refer to it as some power cell... I decide to take it to Sprague... Ajax Solutions Inc., my employers, should know what to do with it... The artifact goes active and starts glowing... Have to land fast... Hair obscure the view... Sprague, my home away from home.
And then the Pathfinder crashed.
RE: A Breaking Point - Yaoquizque - 12-26-2015
Tension fell when they emerged from the jump and saw nothing was waiting for them.
Nothing eerie their sense could detect. Which meant little.
The pilot of the aged Marauder disrupted the beginning of the conversation they were having, stating Freeport 1 was not far and that they should keep going.
The nauseous contact she felt while in orbit was gone however, which was probably a good sign.
As their ships were being translated to the Freeport, her thoughts wandered back to those days when they boarded the Arch. A recurrent nightmare invaded her psyche since that day. That Admiral she convinced to cancel the operation. Possibilities; their implications were still stalking her to that very day.
Others disturbing, shameful shadows were standing at the edge of her conscious mind. The woman blinked twice, focusing back on the here and now.
She said she would escort this Bretonian to her home. Who would have thought she could have liked some Bretonians? They killed the first person she truly cared about.
Hatred was a wonderful thing, that could give one a reason to exist.Yet, time made everything fade away.
And she had to admit, she was feeling sympathy for this woman, perhaps because she was easy going and honest. Not acting as some kind of unbreakable super hero in need of attention.
"Unlike me."
The woman brushed away that thought, after pondering why she did her usual turn to that Peterson. Best pilot in Sirius, what a joke!
There was no time for this. Introspection would have to wait.
She eventually noticed the ship she was escorting was moving at impulse speed toward Sprague. Archer explanations were not making much sense. Something about the core disrupting again the ship systems. How was that even possible?
That is when the contact appeared on the border of her consciousness. No... It had been there for a while, as some kind of debased white noise.
She screamed to Archer to hurry and land.
They were making it to the orbit when the Rheinland Gunboat appeared on her screen.
RE: A Breaking Point - Catbert - 02-24-2016
Sprague Orbital Control
Several minutes earlier
- Did you identify the ship?!
- Yes, it was a Voyager class... the Pathfinder... registered as an Ajax Solutions vessel.
- Inform them. Tell them there was a radiation leak or something, our scanners went haywire on this one.
Sprague orbital supervisor Joshua Randall cursed to himself. Why did everything have to happen in his shift? First there was a report of a Corsair patrol in the area, now this crashed ship... That certainly wouldn't look good on his resume. Joshua sighed, as Ellen Ashcroft, his assistant finished talking to the Ajax Solutions representative over comms.
- Done. They insist on sending their own recovery team first though.
- Right... Those blasted bureaucrats and their corporate secrets...
Joshua didn't really mind someone else doing his job for him, but he needed something to grumble about, and the company was a perfect target. However, he was interrupted by Ellen, who sounded surprisingly concerned now.
- Tracking an unidentified heavy vessel entering orbit...
- Hail them. - This sudden event made Joshua forget about the previous problems. He now focused on the matter at hand, signs of tension on his face.
- No response. They vessel is changing course... It's going for the planet...
- Radio to the defense grid control and alert the Norfolk battlegroup!
- I... I can't get through, it's like the signal... is jammed...
Joshua and Ellen could only watchthe dot on the radar as it approached the planet. Then they saw energy signatures similar to weapons fire, but surprisingly, they hit the nearby canyon instead. Then the dot simply disappeared. The operators were so busy monitoring it that they paid no attention to other traffic, including the Marauder.
New Frontier Canyon
In the meantime
The already-damaged Voyager shuttle didn't take yet another full-speed planetfall well. The hull survived the collision, but the engines didn't. The ship wasn't going anywhere in the nearest couple of months at least... Let alone the fact that the pilot's face was lying on the control panel now, a trickle of blood running down the console and dipping on the floor. But even if Linn was awake, she couldn't have done anything before the Rheinland gunboat appeared and bombarded the canyon.
Lucky for Linn, the Rheinlanders didn't have much time to aim. However, they did succeed in burying the Pathfinder under more rocks as one of the shots hit the cliff above the ship. Now only a small frontal part of it was visible from under the rubble.
RE: A Breaking Point - Yaoquizque - 02-24-2016
Junko did what she could to divert the gunboat but its crew was clearly focused on an objective that was not related for now with her death. They wanted the trinket collected by the Bretonian in New London.
She should have listened to everyone advice and gotten rid of it in the closest sun... Now it was too late.
She watched the gunboat get in position for an orbital bombardment and realized Archer would not be able to make it. Pushing the Marauder to its limits, Junko entered in Sprague's atmosphere with a non optimal penetration angle.
Her efforts to locate the ship did not result in anything positive as the gunboat was bombarding a localized area on the planet surface. Did it simply get vaporized by the merciless strikes coming from the orbit?
The bombardment stopped as quickly as it started. Interferences caused by high atmosphere was preventing her from knowing if the gunboat was still there or already left.
Were they waiting for them to reveal their position? Or for their scanner arrays saturation to decrease enough to detect them? As tempting as calling Archer was, Junko was not brave enough to take the chance. She attempted to reduce her ship's signature to the minimum by switching to passive scanning and by lowering the engine to the minimum acceptable thrust.
Where was Archer? It was hard to see anything conclusive in this mess. Fire and dust was all there was. After having spent half an hour ruining her eyes on what was left of Sprague landscape in this area, Junko eventually sighed and looked at the sky. Were they still there? She bit her lower lip and at last switched her array back to active scanning.
The trinket was displaying a strong energy signature during the trip. With some luck...
Here. The feedback was very clear. Did the ones in orbit detect it too? There was no time to waste regardless.
The Marauder eventually reached the location, the woman emitting a gasp at the sight of the site. She eventually located an artificial structure between the rocks. The ship. She had now to find somewhere safe enough to land and to check if that egg contained Archer or a corpse.
RE: A Breaking Point - Catbert - 03-03-2016
A small natural platform was conveniently situated about a hundred meters away from the crashed ship. Landing there would mean having to walk that hundred meters over the rubble created by the bombardment. But then, there weren't any better options, unless one wanted to land 10 meters away from the crashed shuttle and then climb up to reach it.
The ship itself was badly damaged, and the front window was covered with splits. With enough force it could easily be crushed. Apparently, the Pathfinder's starboard access hatch could also be reached, although that'd require getting some rubble of the shuttle.
The signal of the artifact that caused all the trouble was now diminishing, until the point that it was also possible to detect one faint lifesign aboard the crashed ship. It cost Linn her shuttle, and might as well cost her more than that just to deliver that thing to Sprague.
The pilot of the Marauder saw all of this while slowly flying in a loop above the crash site. But then the scanners started picking up a ground vehicle slowly approaching the site. The vehicle was several kilometers away, and apparently it wasn't moving fast, but even at the current speed it would arrive in 10 minutes maximum... But did Linn have even that little time?
RE: A Breaking Point - Yaoquizque - 03-08-2016
The marauder eventually made it to the ground without too much damage. The woman moved to the tiny hold of the fighter to grab a medical kit she put inside a backpack with some water. After having Verified her handgun was indeed attached to her belt, she took a last look around, as to make sure she would not forget something vital before going to the crashed ship.
Here. This bar could help with moving the debris.
Stepping outside, she started to run carefully towards the wreck, gazing at times anxiously at the skies. There was also that ground signature... A vehicle heading their way? Friends of foes?
Junko eventually reached the wreck. It did not look good. She considered her options. After some time spent in thoughts, the woman nodded and drew her pistol. Getting to the hatch would take too much time. She did not want to take the risk.
She approached the cockpit and brushed it with her hand, in an attempt to remove enough dust to take a peek inside.
The girl was indeed inside. She would have to be cautious breaking that window. She chose to aim at the bottom right of the cockpit to not risk to touch Archer. The operation took a long time; too much for her taste... But she could eventually open a passage. Contorting herself, the woman finally succeeded to make it inside.
Archer was still attached to her seat. Junko carefully checked her before considering moving her. No fatal injuries. The girl seemed to be knocked out good, however. After having made sure the girl was fine, she looked around, attempting to get a better vision of their surrounding. The pilot hatch was a bloody mess, of course. The ship balance wasn't too eccentric. Fifteen degrees maybe. She could make it to the hold and try to find that trinket.
Carefully progressing, she was doing her best to not bump into debris or random material dropped on the ground.
"Damnit." She muttered. Why didn't she take a flashlight? The ship lighting was of course out of order.... Wait. This luminescence. It could only be that. Junko made her way to its source... The orb! It was slowly pulsating, that was beautiful...
Junko eventually noticed she had been staring at this orb since a while. How long? Was that some sort of hypnosis? Shaking her head she eventually focused on the present and on what needed to be done -now-. She admonished herself to be that stupid as she was carefully taking the orb to put it in her backpack.
Archer was where she left her. She proceeded to free her carefully from the pilot seat. She then stood between her and the cockpit, and began shooting it without restraint to open a bigger hole in it. She then grunted as she was taking Archer. Carrying her would have been easier if the terrain wasn't so difficult. She eventually stopped after having done a dozen of meters and grunted once more as she was carefully dropping off her burden.
She took some time to recover while taking a look around suspiciously. This vehicle was certainly not far. They needed to reach the Marauder and get the hell out of here without delay. The woman instinctively gazed at the skies once more, her eyes opening wide as she was noticing the perturbation.
"It cannot be... Oh no!" She emitted before grabbing Archer in panic.
Junko forgot about the pain. She would not notice how much effort she was imposing to her body in order to get more space between the two ships and them.
The blast blew them as if they were mere wisps of straw. Junko managed to drag Archer, still unconscious, behind a large rock, where they waited for this hell to come to an end.
When she eventually found the courage to get on her feet in order to take a look at the damage, she moaned in disappointment.
"Oh no... My ship..."
It was not the right time to complain however. Some movement could be seen a few kilometers away. Somebody was coming. Junko sighed and took a look around to find some upright spot, where they could hide while being able to peek at the crash site...
RE: A Breaking Point - Catbert - 03-13-2016
With the mess left by the bombardment, there were plenty of rocks lying around the crash site, so hiding and peeking was not a problem. Getting unconscious Archer to the hiding spot would prove more problematic. Luckily, the sudden attack also delayed the ground vehicle that was heading for the site. That gave Junko enough time to find a convenient spot and get Linn there before the vehicle arrived.
As the trail of raised dust increased in size and got closer, it was finally possible to see what raised the trail: it was a heavy all-terrain vehicle that moved at moderate speed. The vehicle had 3 wheel pairs, 2 of which were supporting the sizeable cargo compartment in the rear. The profile of the ATV was sleek, if not menacing, even though it was painted in white. Junko didn't notice any weapons though.
The vehicle stopped not far from the crash site. The hatch on the site opened, and 4 men jumped on the ground one by one. All of them wore black-and-white lightweight armor. From the distance it was hard to tell whether they were armed, but they certainly didn't have any as rifles or anything heavier with them. The men acted oddly relaxed despite what just happened; as they only looked in the sky once, right after they jumped out, and then went on about their business. They seemed pretty certain that the Rheinlanders wouldn't return, and probably for good reason.
One of the men, probably the leader of the group, pointed at the crash site, and two people headed towards what was left of the Pathfinder, carrying some scanning equipment with them. The third person stood where he was, talking to the leader. He then followed the two men who were examining the shuttle, one of them had already been inside. After the man talked to both of them, he walked off and disappeared from sight.
"Hmhhhh..." Linn moaned silently. She hit her head in the crash, an injury could be seen on the right side of her forehead. The blood stopped dripping by that time and Linn was obviously starting to regain conscience, although noone could say how soon she'd wake up or whether she'd keep quiet in the coming minutes.
RE: A Breaking Point - Yaoquizque - 04-19-2016
"- Tell me again why we are here?"
"- I did not see you sleep during the briefing transmission."
"- Oh I wasn't. Been busy thinking about Danah though."
"- What has my sister to do with this?"
"- Not my fault if she bewitched me with her green eyes...
Man... What a mess..."
"- Yeah... That's what an orbital bombardment does to you. Speaking of which, something as painful could happen to you if you keep talking about my sister."
"- Oh wow. Easy, wild stallion."
"- Shut up and make an effort to at least look busy. Supervisor is looking at us."
"- You mean Dick? Yeah yeah... So what's the deal anyway? Was this shuttle carrying somebody important or... Something pricey?"
"- Perhaps."
"- And what's the idea with obliterating the area with big guns anyway? Not your average Corsair raiding mob."
"- That's odd."
"- I bet it's all about shady business. Why would they send us in emergency like this?"
"- Standard procedure."
"- Standard procedure my ass."
"- Hey you two! Stop trash talking and move to the wreck to perform exhaustive search."
"- Aye aye, Dick."
"- You were told already to address me using 'Mr. Hugues', not my first-name."
"- O.K. Dick."
"- ...
Just get in the wreck already!"
"- You really want to get in trouble do you?"
"- Bah!
Oh wow... What is this pigsty."
"- That's what a crash does to the interior of a ship..."
"- No really. I thought I entered in your bedroom during a heartbeat. That was disturbing. Ehe."
"- How about you shut up for once and start to look around for good."
"- Already did, champ. Look at this. The cockpit was broken with a handgun."
"- Hmm..."
"- And look at that. Footprints going towards the storage chambers.... I wonder if the same footprints can be found outside..."
"- Uhuh."
"- Yeah. Come on, follow me and let's check."
"- Why are you two going out? I thought I told you to investigate inside."
"- Oh my apologies Mr. Dick. But we would like to verify a theory we just had after having noticed something funny."
"- Something funny..?"
"- Yeah, Dick."
"- Erh... Yes, Mr. Hugues. John Blunt may have found something interesting... Footprints. Perhaps someone found the wreck before us."
"- Hmm... Certainly the pilot of the second wreck."
"- Any corpse in that second ship?"
"- None whatsoever."
"- Ehe. That means the mice are around here. Hiding!"
"- Perhaps, Mr. Blunt. I will go check if we have a life-sign scanner on board."
"- No need, dick. I doubt the little mice were smart enough to cover their tracks. And the dust didn't settle yet."
"- Alright, Blunt. Let's see if you're as good a tracker as you enjoy claiming."
RE: A Breaking Point - Catbert - 05-04-2016
"Your ship crashed, and you hit your head on the console. You'd better stay put." Junko put her hand on Linn's shoulder as she opened her eyes and attempted to stand up. However, it wasn't even necessary, as Linn gave up before that, rubbing her forehead and groaning. She had so much to ask, yet the headache prevented her from asking any questions. The Bretonian probably had a concussion, and having those 4 men walking around didn't help either.
In the meantime the three people spread out, looking around the ship and searching for a trail. But apparently it took them much longer than one would expect, probably because the whole place was messed up after the bombardment. That allowed Junko to tend to Archer's wounds. Eventually, the people started spreading out more, hoping to cover a larger area. However, none of them seemed to be heading in Junko's and Linn's direction.
That's why a man's voice from behind came off as a surprise. "It's a dangerous habit to carry that kind of stuff in a backpack,"—the man walked from behind one of the larger rocks.—"Not to mention that it shines like a Christmas tree." The man held a small scanner in his hand, and that was the reason how he found the artifact, and hence the women that easily.
Although the man seemed to be young enough, his face looked somewhat weathered, with sharp facial features, brown eyes, short haircut. Despite that, the man looked athletic. A sarcastic and somewhat arrogant smirk was on his face as he spoke. He wore the same black-and-white lightweight armor, with a pistol resting in the holster on his belt. The man's relaxed demeanor disappeared as he noticed Linn, who had fallen unconcious again by that time. The man now looked concerned, yet he acted in a quick and professional manner.
The man walked towards the women, trying to make it as little menacing as possible. He kneeled on the opposite side from Linn, pushing some buttons on his scanner, an expression of relief on his face. "You've done a good job here. She will be ok." The man turned his face to look at Junko: "Now, would you please tell me what is all this about? How do you know captain Archer here, what is that trinket you brought with you, and why are you hiding from the rescue team?"
In the meantime the three people spread out, looking around the ship and searching for a trail. But apparently it took them much longer than one would expect, probably because the whole place was messed up after the bombardment. That allowed Junko to tend to Archer's wounds. Eventually, the people started spreading out more, hoping to cover a larger area. However, none of them seemed to be heading in Junko's and Linn's direction.
That's why a man's voice from behind came off as a surprise. "It's a dangerous habit to carry that kind of stuff in a backpack,"—the man walked from behind one of the larger rocks.—"Not to mention that it shines like a Christmas tree." The man held a small scanner in his hand, and that was the reason how he found the artifact, and hence the women that easily.
Although the man seemed to be young enough, his face looked somewhat weathered, with sharp facial features, brown eyes, short haircut. Despite that, the man looked athletic. A sarcastic and somewhat arrogant smirk was on his face as he spoke. He wore the same black-and-white lightweight armor, with a pistol resting in the holster on his belt. The man's relaxed demeanor disappeared as he noticed Linn, who had fallen unconcious again by that time. The man now looked concerned, yet he acted in a quick and professional manner.
The man walked towards the women, trying to make it as little menacing as possible. He kneeled on the opposite side from Linn, pushing some buttons on his scanner, an expression of relief on his face. "You've done a good job here. She will be ok." The man turned his face to look at Junko: "Now, would you please tell me what is all this about? How do you know captain Archer here, what is that trinket you brought with you, and why are you hiding from the rescue team?"
RE: A Breaking Point - Yaoquizque - 05-08-2016
Junko carefully studied the man as he was addressing her. His appearance didn't give her any incentive to trust him, on the contrary.
She slowly moved her hand near her gun. Even though the man certainly noticed it, he did not show it, perhaps to not add more tension to the event of his appearance.
The woman observed him closely check Archer's health status, eventually saying casually :
"The rescue team, you say...?"
"Well, yes." replied the man.
"Orbital control detected Captain Archer's ship, and then noted concerning energy exchanges aimed at Sprague ground."
"I see." replied coldly Junko, still studying the man for a weakness to capitalize on.
The man smiled once more in that annoying sarcastic way.
"No need to use violence here, miss. It wouldn't help you anyway. I'm probably faster than you."
"That is yet to be proven." replied calmly Junko, while keeping her eyes locked with his.
"Junko..." faintly emitted Linn. "It's okay... I know this man."
"Oh, Junko it is, eh?" said the man, smiling at her. He then switched focus to Archer and added "Don't worry, Captain. The transport is close and we have medical supplies on board."
He then whispered something to his collar and two men showed up behind the rocks.
Archer was quickly enough put on a stretcher and carried to the vehicle, the man with the sarcastic smile having taken care of Junko's backpack.
"Now, Junko. The travel will be quite long. That will leave us a lot of time to talk without doubt."