The bay doors of Cochrane's Hangar 2 slowly close as the Eagle of al-Nizari hovers towards the gravity pad. The ship is painted black, no exterior lights, heavy armor plating and a Cheetah Thruster to boot, the perfect ship for an assassin - quick, cool, discreetly armed to the teeth. The ship came to a stop on the pad, surrounded by moored Vagrant fighters and the odd gunboat emblazoned with the Vagrant sigil. Al-Nizari emerged from the cockpit, veiled by dark armor covered in tick marks and bullet holes, he points to a dockhand, then to his ship - "Hoist the colors, mate - I want a Vagrant flag on that Eagle in under thirty minutes", after his exchange he strolled to the bar, revealing a host of Vagrant Raiders and Hackers with their eyes firmly trained on al-Nizari, he removes his helmet and speaks.
"Where's the Taskmaster? Nobody knows, eh? Oh, screw it, the booze are on me lads, get to work on it!
A volley of cheer erupted from the patrons, tantalized by a night of free drinks - it seems al-Nizari will fit in just fine.
We're going to be dispatching a squad to Rheinland for some extra revenue, there's much cash to be made but remember - this is for the Natio in the long run, funds are required to make just about everything work and we are a bit short on it. Not to mention we're hoping to net some good will with the Navy out of this but that's just a bonus really.
Targets will be Rheinland corporations and lawfuls, military included but we'd rather not get involved with them on account of limited manpower down there. The Red Hessians, Unioners, LWB, and Bundschuh are not to be attacked under ANY circumstance besides self-defence - we don't want to piss off our only potential allies in Rheinland. Gunship support will be limited if not non-existent so think before you shoot.
The squad ID tag is 'Pasdaran' and we've already secured a hangar on Freeport 10 in Bering, it came with a bar by the way. If you don't have a ship there it needs to be there as soon as possible, this operation is of utmost importance to our cause.
Stuck on a crude audio feed. I think this thing predates the Eighty-Years War.
Raider Combs, reporting from Yanagi. It's a long story, but I'm out here in a Scimitar instead of my Surveyor. I'll be heading back soon.
Escher has approved me working with Pasdaran as an auxiliary. I'm not flying your colors or under your command, technically, but I'll be providing scanner support when I'm not otherwise occupied. I believe he has a few other tasks in the area for me to deal with.
First, however, I need to meet up with him to retrieve my ship.
Quartermaster Nitzan here. Taskmaster Kane is currently EVAing with a plasma torch and can't come to the phone right now. Apparently repairs on the Metropolis were going too slow for his tastes. Flo-- er, our chief engineer Ms. Clemens is not exactly happy with him for this.
Combs, good to hear you're in one piece. We're expecting your return.
Meanwhile, a status update, right from High Command: No pilot is allowed to threaten, harass, pirate, or otherwise engage Libertonian and Bretonian lawful forces, police, intelligence agents, or corporations, except in self-defence. We're trying for non-aggression here. Breaking that non-aggression will get you shot by Taskmaster Kane himself.
In addition to giving you all guns, I seem to have become Kane's secretary.
-{| Incoming Transmission
-{| Visual Link Established
Upon arrival at the Gate, I found my old Surveyor already prepared for departure.
A few contacts among the Rogues got me landing rights on a nearby Unioner base. I would rather not jeopardize the Zoners, so I personally will continue to work from Pacifica for the moment.
While in transit, I found a few interesting things. First, a "Zoner Alliance" ship passing through Rheinland. As I recall, the Bafflings were quite unhappy with the "Alliance". If the politics haven't changed, they'll make a fine target.
Second, just as I undocked in my fighter, I encountered a Colonial transport. Her captain didn't attempt to cause any problems, and indicated that it was part of either a patrol or recruitment operation.
For the moment, I can be contacted at Pacifica Base, dock 1, hangar 7. However, I'm not certain how long this arrangement will last, and I know better than to overstay my welcome.
=== Incoming Transmission ===
== Encryption: Fax a copy to the Sisterhood ==
We're an equal-opportunities military. We'd let in a talking kangaroo if it could fly a Bayonet. My chief engineer is female, and she's the best damn engineer in our fleet. She's heading up Metropolis repair operations, you know.
Sender: Erasmas de Shahrizai Location: Gran Canaria Subject: Sneaky Santa
Hi guys! Great space, the scenery is really something down here! Anyway, about business; you wanted me to do something for our Zoner pals, right? Well, uncle Erasmas braved the perils of space and said "hello" to the Molly blockade, and carried some much needed shipments of medicines to the refugees. Attaching shipping manifests. Now, I think I'll go and taunt the Mollys a little bit more, just for sport; see ya!
=== Incoming Transmission ===
== Encryption: I still can't pronounce Shahrizai ==
For exemplary duty in both peaceful and military purposes, I am pleased to announce that Erasmas de Shahrizai has been promoted to the rank of Raider. Feel free to continue pissing off the Mollys in whatever kind of transport you want.
That is all for today. Kane out.
=== Transmis16F2994E16D2A5F8
Okay, if you can read this, you're ranked Marauder or higher. Let's keep what I have to say here that way.
We fought a bunch of big squishy things today in Leeds, Dublin, and Chester, alongside the BAF, Council, and Navy. We lost a couple ships but otherwise the battle... went less horribly than expected. The Nomads seem to have found a way to repair each other by sacrificing their own regeneration capabilities. If they couldn't, we would have won.
Also, we highly suspect the Gallic cruiser named RPC-Vatan is infected, as it did not show hostility towards the Nomad battleships and instead ran away when the Nomads were threatened.
I don't like Nomads being this f**king close to our space.