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The Orion Affair - Ironwatsas - 05-26-2009
Kreuzberg Depot, New Berlin system
T -7 days
Kreuzberg depot was it's usual buzz of activity. Unlawfuls and Semi-lawfuls going about their buisness, ships of all types landing and taking off again. Among the varied men and women wandering the station was a bald, middle aged, gruff figure who fit in quite well. But the man was looking for something... or more specifically, to get rid of something. The man's attention was drawn to another individual in one of the many shops in the main promenade of the station.
Several metres away, oblivious to the man, was none other then Udo Ackermann, of the LWB. Examining the shop and it's stock.
"Howdy there, see anything ye' like? Is there anything I can help ya with?" The shopkeeper asked.
"Oh, Hallo. Ich am looking fur a present for Frau Eva. But ich do not know if she would like any of zis..." Udo replied.
As most of the items on the shop's shelves were industrial tools of some kind, they were likely not good presents for Udo's sweethart, Eva Morgenrot. However, something did catch Udo's eye...
"Was ist das?" He asked, pointing at a claw-shaped object, resembling some kind of gun.
"Oh this? It's a standard protable tractor beam. Gravity Gun. Physics Manipulator. Whatever ye want to call it. It levatates things." The Junker replied, handing Udo the device.
"Oooh..." Udo picked up the device. "How does it work?"
"Easy. Just point, pull the trigger, and it locks on automatically."
Udo took hold of the device and pointed it at a potted cactus on a nearby shelf, the physics gun effortlessly picking up the device in an anti-gravity field and holding it infront of Udo.
"Wow, neat. How much?" Udo asked.
"Bout two thousand credits for that baby." The shopkeeper replied.
"Well... if Ich sell mein nanobots und batteries from mein ship, den das will be enough?"
"Sure thing."
"Ja, oki." Udo replied. Using his neural net PDA, he quickly emptied all of the safety equipment from his ship, and transferred the balance to the shopkeeper's account. A beeping tone indicated all was well, and the shopkeeper handed Udo his new toy (which was still holding the cactus), as well as an instructional manual.
Udo took it, and pressed the trigger again. This punted the cactus away violently, which flew across the hangar. Someone in the distance was soon heard yelling in pain.
"Hey hey there, may want to read the manual first."
"Ja, oki. But ich still need somethink for Frau Eva..." Udo said, placing the instructions in his coat pocket and taking the gravity gun and going on his way.
He looked around for a few minuites before hearing someone behind him...
"Psst.. you there. Farmer?"
"Ja, Hallo?"
"Hey there. Saw you browsing around and I have something you may like." The man said.
"Was?" Udo asked as he walked over. He was a bit suspicious, as the last time he was approached in this manner, trousers were removed.
"You wouldn't happen to be knowlagable of alien artifacts, would you?" The man asked
"Dey are scary, aren't dey?"
"Not really. Here..." The man pulled an artifact from his coat pocket. "...look at this. Not scary."
The artifact resembled a hollow crystal tube, with a hexagonal shape, and a triangular base made of strange colored metal. Within the tube was some kind of glowing light or energy which sparkled through the facets of the crystal casing.
"Ooooh... sparkly! Ist it dangerous?" Udo asked.
"No, it's harmless. No radiation, no volitility, nothing. Just a harmless trinket."
"Well... it ist sparkly. Frau Eva might like it! Ich need a present for her."
"Well, I'll give it too you for free as a matter of fact. I just need to get rid of it."
"Erm... why?" Udo asked, a bit concerned
"Eh... the Police and the Establishment don't like artifacts. And my... line of buisness precludes me getting in trouble with the law. Plus, this thing is useless to me. So it's yours." The man replied.
"Oh, oki. Zat makes sense... ich will take it!" Udo replied.
"Here..." The man tossed the object in the air, and Udo caught it with his gravity gun. Udo stared at the beautiful, sparkly thing he had. This would be perfect for Eva. His job done, Udo happily ran back to his ship, and headed back home to Darmstalt.
The man smiled slightly as Udo flew off, before going to his own ship, seemingly free and clear from his burdens... this was not so, unfortunately.
Neither he or Udo knew that things were about to get much, much worse...
The Orion Affair - Ironwatsas - 05-26-2009
Okinawa system, Kusari space
"MRAAAAAAWRGH!"
"Bwahahahaha! Chauvanistic fools!"
"We shall make them our slaves!"
The battlecries and screams of the GC pilots echoed like a death knell for the little hogosha Anki. It's engines ruined, the two men aboard could only watch and wait for the inevitable. The freighter, heavily laiden with artifacts from Crete, was unfortunate to have strayed too close to the GC's base of operations, and was quickly jumped by a patrol off of the Matsuda.
The Hogosha pilot and his Corsair assistant had no idea if their distress call had made it through. Their escort of two titans and two black dragons had been quickly wiped out, and now the GC heavy fighters and Sabres were surrounding the freighter. If they had wanted to, it would already be dead. Clearly, they wanted the ship intact.
"Damn them... damn them all to hell..." The Hogosha pilot snapped. None of the GC pilots would have been able to hear him though, as the comm transmitter was destroyed.
"Wow... Those housewives were never supposed to be such good pilots..." The Corsair, brandishing a sawnoff shotgun, replied.
"They're NOT! I cannot belive this!"
Suddenly, a coded transmission came across the one remaining holoscreen in the Anki's cockpit. Indicating a squadron of Black Dragons were en route. These were seasoned Hogosha pilots, easily capable of slaughtering the GC with little effort.
"Hai! Re-inforcements are coming. We just have to hold on a little longer."
"I've got your back, Amigo."
***
"Four contacts, bearing 0-7-0. Declination 28. Range, 22000. Shield, Coagulate, Clamp."
"Charlie-Alpha-31, unit displacing to intercept. Merge in 45 seconds."
The Black Dragons, flying parallell to the cloud were getting close to the GC squadron, which was in a defensive position around the transport. As they got closer and closer, they dropped out of cruise and broke formation. As they surrounded the GC in a wide claw, they punched their thrusters to go in for the kill.
"Targets entering dischordance envelope. Commence Prosecution."
With little warning, a salvo of energy pulses rippled from within the Karatsu cloud, lashing out at the Black Dragons. Immediately, the fighters broke formation and began evading, as their new aggressor showed itself. An Outcast Destroyer, flanked by a pair of Tridente gunboats, moved in formation, bracketing the Hogosha fighters and forcing them to evade.
"Alright sisters, they're on the run! Pick your targets and engage!"
"Affirmative. Refocus firing solution, draw them into alligant delegate's formation for intercept."
The GC fighters broke from their formation and charged after the Black Dragons, despite being vastly outmatched in a one on one fight, the GC pilots were co-ordinated enough to get on the tails of the fleeing dragons and stay there.
One of the Dragon pilots did however turn and get a shot off at it's persuer, destroying the GC fighter in a single salvo. This manuver however allowed the attacking Destroyer to line up a battle razor shot, vaporising the Hogosha fighter instantly. The remaining Black Dragons stood little chance, being overwhelmed by the superior coordinated adversaries.
"Sector secure. Airwatch assume reaquisition and search pattern. Sweep for survivors."
"I don't see any pods, I think they got Nara!"
"Understood, we will continue tracking. Airwatch, assume aquisition of primary target."
***
Aboard the stricked Hogosha freighter, the two crewmen stared in disbelief. They were doomed, and there was little they could do to defend against forced boarding.
"Hermano... I think we're screwed!"
"I can see that! Just... Just... let me think..."
Before either could do much of anything, the Destroyer caught the little freighter in a Magnetic harpoon, and slowly drew it aboard. The vessel however was clearly heavily modified from it's origional form. Numerous bits of hardware and a small docking port on the ventral side were among the new componants. The Docking bay appeared like a great maw as it drew the Anki into itself.
Only a brief glimpse of the interior of the ship was seen, before a floodlight focused into the cockpit and temporarily blinded both of the crew. The sounds of a clamp grabbing the ship in place echoed through the hold. Seconds later, a metal grinding noise screeched, before a suspicious green gas permiated the cabin.
"Neural Gas!"
"Oshi... *coughing*"
Both men tried in vain to cover their mouths as the gas flooded the cabin. Within a matter of minuites, both men were unconcious.
***
\CS\-Darak.Ti, Fleet Staging Area, Okinawa System
Two Hours Later
James Dacker, the Coordinator of the Darak.Ti and it's attendant taskgroup, was in the labrotory and study chamber onboard. Arranged before him on several tabled were the highlights of the cargo of the Anki, lots and lots of artifacts.
"Useless. All of them." He coldly stated.
"Alright, there are a few more containers. I'll have this bunch slated to go to... the Siim Siilla for refining?" The head scientist and cargo coordinater replied.
"I don't know if they can break down any of the metal or crystal. But we shall see. It is of no use here."
The scientist commanded a robotic arm to deposit another metal crate before them. The robot's manipulator did so, and opened the crate. Dumping the artifacts onto a sorting table where a number of cameras, grippers, and human observers began scrutinising them.
"More of the same?"
"There's something diffrent. I think they sorted them by color." The scientist looked around.
He picked up three triangular artifacts which were apparently radiating energy.
"It looks like these three snap together..." The scientist arranged the three in the percived pattern. The artifacts began glowing in unison.
Dacker raised an eyebrow. "It's missing something..."
The scientist remembered seeing a similar object which would fit right in the centre of the three. Searching around a disposal bin, he pulled out the prism-like object, and set it in the middle. A low hum emminated from the objects, which in unison, levitated into the air.
Propelled by some unseen force, the three outer objects orbited around the central object, glowing brightly before emmitting a series heiroglyphic symbols holographically in the air.
"I see... it's a data storage device. And a secure one at that. I recognize it..."
"You are farmiliar with it?"
"I used to work for Cambridge Research before I... came... here..." The man paused. "I have seen a similar device, but this one is displaying diffrent symbols."
"Can you decipher it?"
"Most likely. Though I will need time."
"Do it. I think you can finish this up without me here. In the meantime, I have an interrogation to attend."
The scientist simply nodded, and went to his computer console. Beginning the process of decoding and deciphering the artifact's message.
***
Darmstalt Depot, Stuttgart System
"Frau Eeeeeeeevaaaaaa!" Udo sang out, searching throughout the station for his beloved. He still carried around the artifact with his gravity claw, running through the corridors in searching.
"Eva? Are you here?" He poked into the shower facility, but Eva was not present.
Udo ran up several flights of stairs to the station's control tower.
"Ist Frau Eva here?"
"Nein Udo, check the biergarten. Und do not give me that look!" The flight director on Darmstalt replied, glaring at him, unamused by his normal flirtatious nature.
Udo ran back down the stairs, and into the Biergarten, to see if Eva was there. Again, she was not.
"Where ist Frau Eva?" he asked.
"Ah, Udo! Good to see you, my boy. Sorry, I haven't seen Frau Morgenrot today." Replied Wenzel Ranis, the bartender. "Hmm... was ist that thing? It looks a bit Dangerous for you."
"It ist mein Gravity Claw thingy! Look was ich can do!" Udo replied, before chucking the artifact into the air, and catching it again.
"Not that, die crystal. Remember what we said about sharp things, Udo? Not to mention Glowy."
"Erm... nein. Die man zat sold it to me said it was safe."
"Hmmm... what is it anyway?"
Udo walked closer to Wenzel and whispered. "It ist a present for Frau Eva. Ich wanted to get her somethink nice."
"Oh, ah! Ich see. Well... you may want to check it with Nurse Olga first. She knows a thing or two about artifacts. With all the ones she pulls off of Corsairs"
"Erm... Ja... Ich will do zat..." Udo replied, lying. Before jogging back out into the halls of Darmstalt.
No matter what the problem was, Udo did NOT want Nurse Olga. Besides, the man on Kreuzberg said the artifact was safe...
Reassured by this, Udo continued to run about Darmstalt, searching for Eva.
The Orion Affair - farmerman - 05-26-2009
Karl was entering the Biergarten just as Udo continued his search. "Oh, hallo, Udo!" he said in a lighthearted manner. "How are you today?"
Udo informed Karl of his quest to find Eva, as well as his fancy new object.
"Quite an odd artifact there," he said. "I've never seen anything like that! You know what I have seen though? The current flight manifest. It looks like Eva was headed to Wedel for a meeting with the Unioners. Oh! And some miner fellow left a message for you. He's at Kreuzberg, he said."
With that, Karl gave Udo a pat on the shoulder and continued into the Biergarten.
"A strange man, Udo is," Wenzel said. Karl could only nod in agreement.
The Orion Affair - pieguy259 - 05-26-2009
[font=Agency FB]ROCHESTER BASE, NEW YORK SYSTEM.
Amy Carmichael had many problems to deal with, and she certainly didn't have the time or inclination to deal with this one. Yet, there he was. A well-dressed man with oily hair and an unpleasant grin, seated opposite her with his hands folded on the table in a way that was supremely calculated to irritate her as much as possible. Clearly an agent for some Manhattan powerdresser who wanted to buy illegal trinkets but didn't want to sully his hands dealing with the Junkers directly.
"My client wishes to know why his purchase has not arrived at the promised time," the man said.
"You can tell your client that his purchase arrived at Kreuzberg from Crete on schedule," Amy said. "Something must have gone wrong at Kreuzberg, because when our artifact shipment arrived here at Rochester, it wasn't there. Would he like another one?"
"No," said the agent. "He wants that one."
"What for? I've seen pictures, and trust me, we have a lot of artifacts that are much prettier than that one."
"That is irrelevant," said the agent. "My client wants THAT artifact."
"We have several artifacts identical to it, in fact. Won't one of those do?"
"No. It has to be that one."
"Why?"
"Because otherwise, you people don't get your fee."
Amy leaned forward. "Listen, Mister..."
"Vincent. Call me Vinnie."
Figures. "Listen, Vinnie. I am a very busy woman. There are Xenos running amok in Jersey, rogue Rogues causing diplomatic headaches, LPI and LSF constantly snooping around. The last thing I need is to be bothered by some jerk in a cheap suit complaining about a missing artifact. If you have a problem with a shipment, talk to the commodity trader downstairs, and not the Director of Liberty Operations for the Junkers Congress!" She motioned to her bodyguards. "Please escort Mister Vincent to the warehouse, where he may pick out one of the twenty artifacts we have that are completely identical to the one his client ordered."
Vinnie stood up. "Listen, Amy-"
"That's Director Carmichael to you."
"Director Carmichael, then. You don't understand the situation. When my client orders an artifact, my client expects to get the artifact he ordered."
"And he shall get one that is completely identical to it, which looks just as nice and which he can show off to his bourgeois buddies just as well as the other one. Goodbye, Mister Vincent."
As the bodyguards hustled him out, he called over his shoulder, "Get me that artifact and I'll double the price!"
"Not interested, Mister Vincent!"
"I can also give you some very valuable intel on the Xenos!"
There was a pause.
Amy motioned for the bodyguards to let go. "I'm listening..."
The Orion Affair - farmerman - 05-26-2009
Islay Base, Edinburgh System
Padraig McFadden paced back and forth in his rather spacious room on Islay. While most Gaians had quite economical quarters, he had arranged for much more room (much to the chagrin of many Gaians). He entertained many guests in hopes of helping the cause, and in his mind this made it worth it. This also happened to be the cause of his pacing today.
He heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. In front of him stood his friend and former student Dan McKay.
"Hello, sir," McKay said, "sorry I was late. The elevators are running slow today because of the ionic activity on the second sun."
Padraig nodded. "Of course," he said, "our visitors have yet to arrive after all. Is Miss de Leon going to arrive?"
"She should be," McKay said, "but it's still quite the flight from Holmfirth."
As if on cue, the sound of another sound rang out across the room. McKay opened the door to find a Corsair woman standing outside. He swallowed nervously and tried to say hello, but it didn't work out quite as he hoped. Eventually he muttered, "Hello Catalina."
"Oh good, you're here," Padraig said. "Now we just need our guests."
The group made small talk for several minutes (or tried to, in McKay's nervous situation) before another knock was heard. Two men, who appeared to be Corsairs, entered the room with a briefcase. They walked over to McFadden's desk and laid it down.
"You say you may have found something?" Padraig asked.
The taller of the two men nodded. "Word has it an interesting artifact has been discovered. It's far more active than the rest, at least according to rumor."
"Rumor is all you have?" Catalina asked, a scowl on her face.
"We have some readings from it," he said, pulling a variety of papers from the briefcase. "As you'll see, they seem to match the energy signatures your scientific associates were looking for, or whatever all that stuff is. I'm just a pilot and entrepreneur."
"This good be good," Dan said, reading over the papers. "Where is this?"
"It's slipped away from us," the second man said, "but we believe the Junkers in Rheinland may have an idea."
"Rheinland, eh?" Padraig asked. "Not sure if that's helpful."
"Oh, wait!" McKay said, enthusiastically, "I knew a Junker out in those parts - Roger Thompson. Maybe we should look him up?"
Padraig nodded to him before turning to the Corsairs. "Good, good," he said to them, "you'll have your full payment as soon as it's found. We'll give you 5% upfront, as agreed."
"Hey!" the tall Corsair said, "the deal was 20% to start!"
The two men seemed quite unhappy with this situation and seemed to move to get sidearms. Catalina was faster, producing a small plasma gun and pointing it at them.
"This isn't good enough for the whole, so we're changing the terms," she said, "Seems like Corsair business, no?"
The second man nodded and grudgingly accepted the deal.
In the meantime, McKay had gone to the flight area and had the engineers ready the Windbirds' Refuge, for a flight to Kreuzberg.
The Orion Affair - Ironwatsas - 05-26-2009
Darmstalt Depot, Stuttgart System
T -6 Days
With Eva apparently away on official buisness, Udo decided to take the artifact back to his quarters. Now becoming quite skilled with his new gravity claw, he sat the object down on a shelf in his room, and then headed back out to go get something to eat.
Minuites after he left, the artifact began pulsing, emmitting several strange colored lights. The lights glowed through the room before displaying several heiroglyphs. This continued for several minuites before the artifact seemingly de-activated.
Nobody saw this, Udo specifically was already in the Biergarten, making himself a sandwhich using his Gravity Claw. He had figured out how to rotate objects and managed to arrange slices of bread, ham, bacon, cheese, lettuice, tomato, and other delecious treats into a sandwhich. Taking the whole thing, he went over to a table, and munched down.
He took his time finishing the delecious sandwhich before sitting back for a bit and watching the clouds of the Ostnebel out the large, reinforced windows. He never noticed the slightly overweight figure slowly moving toward him, until it was too late.
"Guten Tag, Herr Udo!" The shrill voice from Udo's deepest nightmares tore out at his very soul, as he was caught in an embrace from which he could not escape.
It was none other then scary Nurse Olga, who picked Udo up and turned him around to face him. Udo tried desperately to escape, but it was futile...
"H...h....hallo... Frau... Olga..." He whimpered
"How are you today?" She asked, sitting down next to him.
"Fine! No medical bad things happenink to me! Ich do not need to be nursed!"
Olga looked at him cheerfully, a look which made Udo's stomach churn. "Ich do not belive yoooou. *giggles* Feisty little Udo..."
Olga quickly checked Udo over, much to his protest, before letting him go. "Hmm... das ist new... usually you can't avoid hurtink yourself."
"Ja, ich am fine! Ich can go now please!?!?!"
"Ja, you can go."
Udo fled faster then he could have possibly concived. Quickly running to his secret hiding spot inside the station's ventilation shafts, where Olga could not fit.
Olga got herself a strong mug of beer and sat down, somewhat tired from her usual work. She had only recently returned to Darmstalt from the Omega sectors, where she was mainly tasked with tending to the battle wounded hessian pilots... and interrogating various Corsairs.
She guzzled down the beer, and sat for a few minuites, before Wenzel walked over. Wenzel was one of the few people on Darmstalt... or anywhere... who were not terrified of Olga. Quite the opposite. This fact made most people who knew about the subject cringe...
"Hallo Frau Olga. How are you doing, mein darling?"
"Oh, Ich am just a bit tired. Dese Hessian pilots do not know how to avoid gettink hurt. It can be stressful sometimes."
"Well, it ist gut to see you are back. Have you seen zat artifact that Udo brought home?"
"Artifact?"
"Ja, it was crystalline und sparkly. May want to look at it."
"Hmm... ich will check it out den." Olga replied, before standing and heading to search for the artifact.
While Olga was a 'medical professional' by career, she was the most knowlagable person on station in regard to artifacts and alien technology. Olga quickly made her way to Udo's quarters, and input the access code, opening the door. Udo was not present, but the artifact could not be mistaken.
Olga took the artifact and immediately headed toward the Darmstalt Med-lab. Examining it closely as she walked along. The glowy artifact was not like any she had seen before, and she had seen alot, given her commonly dealing with Corsairs. It was clearly atypical of the Da'am K'vosh artifacts that were usually encountered, by shape and coloration. Once she arrived in the medlab she placed the artifact in a scanning machine.
She activated it, and did not detect any distinct dangerous radiation or energy sources, nor any signs of explosive properties. She did however detect a strange series of repeating pulses of energy, almost like a data stream. Curious, she began a long process of cross referancing her database, finding little relevent information.
The Orion Affair - farmerman - 05-27-2009
Kreuzberg Depot, New Berlin
Roger Thompson sat behind the desk of his small office on Kreuzberg. He earned it when he was representing the Junkers Congress in Rheinland in the past and was due to have it transferred to another Junker before the paper was "accidentally" lost in transit. Though he had several desks, this was his favorite. It was made of solid Stuttgart Oak inlaid with Dublin's finest gold. How he got it was also a favorite of his: In a poker game with a Republican train captain. Despite the fact he loved to tell the story to anyone who would listen, there was currently no one nearby who hadn't heard it. But not for much longer.
Glancing at the nearby datapad, he noticed a rather beaten up Mining Ship was headed to the mooring fixture. While normally this wouldn't draw much attention - lots of mining ships stopped by - but he recognized the callsign to this ship. It was a ship belonging to a group of Gaians, who were rarely seen or heard in such parts, but it was also the ship of his former business associate Dan McKay. Roger always liked the optimism the man showed (plus how bad at cards he was). With that, he walked toward the landing bay to wait their arrival via CSV shuttle.
As Roger arrived, he couldn't help noticing the Atlas class transport also mooring outside. A newer model such as that was far less common than the older mining ships. As he stood waiting, his brother Jack disembarked from an Armored Transport and walked over to Roger.
"What are you waiting for?" Jack asked.
"It looks like some Gaians are arriving," Roger responded.
"Huh? Strange. Must be something important I'm guessing?" Jack asked.
Roger nodded and said, "That was my thought. Something important and good for business!"
"I like your thinking," Jack said, "make some money for us both. I'm needed elsewhere. I need to negotiate some further diamond deals."
Roger nodded to his brother as he walked away. He continued to wait and after another couple minutes, a pair of people dressed in typical Gaian attire, along with a Corsair woman.
"Roger!" Dan McKay called out, walked over to the Junker, and shook his hand. "It's been a while. How's business?"
"Same as ever," Roger answered. "What can I do for you gentlemen today?"
"Let's talk about it in a more... secure area," Padraig said, "as things are a bit delicate and important."
Roger nodded and the group began to walk down the hallways of Kreuzberg towards his office. Having a Corsair among them, they received several suspicious glances, but given the general policies on Junker station, no one thought to try anything (at least in the open). Soon they arrived.
The Junker closed the door and turned to the others. "Now, what was it you wanted?"
"We are in search of a certain artifact that was traced to here," Padraig said. "Our sources indicate that it may be able to assist in our search for fixing the terraforming situation in Bretonia. Or at least get rid of the Shetland."
"Hmmm, interesting," Roger replied, "I may know a guy who has that sort of thing. Let's go and speak with him."
The group left and walked down the hallways once again. They continued to some small quarters, in which Roger had indicated the man with a particular artifact that seemed to match that description had been staying. But they arrived to find the door open and the room empty. Two Junkers stood outside already and informed the group the man had already left.
"Any idea where the artifact is?" McKay asked.
"Someone mentioned one of those LWB fellows carrying something odd. You might want to check with them," the first Junker said. "In fact, I think Miss Morgenrot is getting ready to head back there now. Might want to ask her."
Padraig nodded and the group continued back to the landing bay. True to the Junker's word, Eva of the LWB was there. By chance she was engaged in conversation with two men, both wearing the variety of jacket popular among members of the IMG.
Dan walked over to them and said, "Hello Will. What's going on?"
"Oh, this is my half-brother Vincent," Will said, indicating the other man. "And this is apparently Eva. She works with the LWB. Vincent was just talking to her about some kind of shipment of silver. I guess an associate of hers was interested."
"That's fortunate!" Padraig said, "The Junkers suggested we needed to pay a visit with these LWB folk. Miss Morgenrot? Would you mind if we joined you? We're looking for a man named Udo."
"Ja?" Eva asked. "What do you want with Udo?"
"He's supposed to have purchased an object of interest to us," McKay said, "an odd artifact."
"Oh no!" she replied. "We had better hurry. I don't trust him."
"If you'd like, we could give you a ride there," Padraig said.
Eva nodded and the group boarded the Mining Ship and flew towards Darmstadt. Luckily, the trip was uneventful. All were quite anxious to see what was happening with Udo.
The Orion Affair - Wolfs Ghost - 05-28-2009
Aniu Depot, Hokkaido
A Sabre landed in the hanger bay on the station. A man, of all people, climbed out of the ship. He was wearing a white uniform, the uniform signalized that he was a Consortium pilot. However, he wasn't augmented or heavily implanted with cybernetics. He was what they called an experiment, a 'trustee' if you will, and...he had long hair instead of the once short military cut he wore.
"I thought I would never see this place again." He said, he stretched after being in the cockpit for awhile, then proceeded to walk off to some random destination, preferably the tea room.
On his trip to the tea room he passed a few Dragon guards, those that remembered who he really was. One even attempted to kill him on the spot.
"Ishimaru!" the Dragon had shouted, wielding a ceremonial blade. "Today you die!" The dragon had launched himself into an offensive, which Ishimaru side stepped out of the way. Then placing his hand squarely on the Dragons back and shoving him into the wall. Another dragon quickly ran up to aid his fellow pilot, who also broke up the fight before anything else could happen.
He could hear the semi-wounded pilot muttering when he was escorted away by his friend. Tired of the recklessness that he's caused already he continued to the tea room. Content on his return, even though a few people didn't care. He was a trustee, and a Ronin. Sakura. He thought as he walked down the corridor, and rounding a corner. The name stuck with him even during his time on the Suffolk in Bretonia. Doesn't matter, no one remembers me, aside from these Dragons and Crysanthemums.
Upon reaching the tea room he pushed open the door and proceeded inside.
The Orion Affair - Ironwatsas - 05-28-2009
\CS\-Darak.Ti, Joint GC-Consortium Fleet Staging area, Okinawa System
T -6 Days, 19 hours
"Overwatch, suspect contained in juristiction block Eleven-Thirteen. Repeat malcompliance. Advise?"
"Deservice political conscripts. Extracate information, force submit to prosecution code Nine-Eighteen-Three, over."
"Temporary waiver of capital prosecution directives, copy."
The Hogoshan heard the warped mechanical voices as he began to come to, he couldn't see or comprehend much as he awoke. He determined he was blindfolded, and could hear people rummaging around beyond him. He was aparently heavily restrained, but still too groggy and weak to move or respond...
...then, a sharp pain in his neck and the injection of a powerful chemical agent forced him awake. The man was wrakced in pain before the blindfold was removed.
The men standing over him all wore lightweight tactical armor and gasmasks, speaking through built-in vocoders and brandishing batons. There were three of them, obviously neither Chrysanthemums or Blood Dragons. One of them shined a bright lamp into his face and spoke.
"State your name, occupation, and place of origin." The man said coldly.
"Why should I tell you anything, Gaijin scum..."
The interrogator drew his sidearm and fired into the Hogoshan's lower leg, causing him to scream in pain.
"Name, occupation, and place of origin." The interrogator repeated, in a much more cruel voice tone.
"You can't... *cough* ...break me that easily..."
The Interrogator gestured for one of the other men to hand him what resembled a caulking gun, squeezing an expanding foam into the gunshot wound. The foam rapidly expanded in the wound, causing significantly more pain. The Hogoshan yelled loudly.
"AAAARGH!... I... will... DIE before I betray..."
"Forced integration." The interrogator coldly said to his compatriots.
One of the men assisting pressed several buttons on a nearby console. The Hogoshan's head was secured with a leather strap, preventing from moving. From the cieling, extended a robotic arm, which unfolded, revealing it was tipped with a massive hypodermic needle. The arm aimed the needle directly at the Hogoshan's forehead, tracking perfectly wherever he went.
"What... !?"
"Execute" The interrogator nodded.
The needle then forced directly into the Hogoshan's forehead and directly into his brain, prompting him to scream louder then he ever had before. Despite the injury, he remained fully alive and concious as the machine did it's work.
***
Ainu Depot, Hokkaido system
A small, unmarked shuttlecraft touched down on Ainu depot. The only inital clue to it's identity was it's tail number, identifying it as a Consortium personell transport. The Consortium military had dramatically scaled down it's operations in Hokkaido due to pressure from the GC and the necessity of operations elsewhere, although Consortium patrols often refueled there and added to the bases' defense forces.
As well, several administrative assistants were present to handle diplomacy with the Sisterhood and 'recruitment specilists' were present to examine any captured prisoners of war for 'recycling'.
The shuttle's doors opened revealing about a dozen men, all wearing typical Consortium attire (lightweight battle armor). Most of the men began unloading cargo and heading off on assigned tasks. One man, dressed in a military-styled trenchcoat, proceeded directly to the Tea house, seeking out one individual in particular.
"Iret-Kappa-one, Overwatch has dispatched me to you. We need to speak." He said, hinting at Ishimaru.
Most of the GC patrons gave the men little notice. They were generally accepting or indiffrent to the Consortium. The Consortium officer motioned for Ishimaru to join him in a corner booth to speak.
***
Darmstalt Depot, Stuttgart System
Udo poked his head out of a vent shaft in one of Darmstalt's hallways to check to see if the coast was clear. Hearing footsteps, he withdrew into the vent and continued to crawl around, eventually falling out of a cieling-duct in a women's bathroom. Sadly, there was nobody in there at the time, so Udo ran out into the hallways, still brandishing the gravity claw, heading toward the hangar, passing Helmut Pajo on the way.
"Guten Tag Herr Pajo, Olga ist around! Run away!" Udo quickly babbled before continuing on.
"Ship Mooring." Came the voice of the station intercom. Followed by a dull 'clank' which reverberated through the whole depot. Udo, curious, went to the observation deck to see what was going on.
Infact, a huge mining ship had docked with the station. With the potential of new friends, he made his way to the external gangways, where he encountered several people exiting the ship... including Eva Moregenrot, his beloved....
"Oh, dere you are! Hallo Eva!" Udo sang as he jogged over to greet Eva and the various visitors. "Eva, Ich habe a present for you, come see!"
The Orion Affair - farmerman - 05-29-2009
"Oh, Udo!" Eva said, running over to the man, "there's something important we need to tell you!"
"Also," Vincent said, "I have that silver you wanted."
"This isn't the time," Eva said, "the fate of mankind could be at stake!"
Vincent raised his eyebrow in confusion while Eva started to shake Udo. At the same time, the others continued off of the ship.
"Did you get a dangerous artifact?" she asked the man.
"Oh, you're Udo, right?" Dan McKay asked. "I think I met you in jail once?"
During all the ruckus, Karl and a Hessian named Hans entered the cargo area. Karl had just entered a deal with the Hessians to transport two shiploads of their blood diamonds. With the LWB's limited resources, this was certainly a good way to get supplies. Unfortunately, Hans entered the area just as the Corsair Catalina left the mining ship. He took one look at her, screamed a warning, and grabbed his Daumann Devastator.