After Dr Bohrs last communications with the unknown contact, he sets out for Pittsburgh in the Institutes heavy support vessel, the LRI)Technical.Support.
He arrives an hour before the suggested meeting time, and waits patiently for the contact. He wonders if anyone will show up, and if they did, would they be trustworthy.
He pours a gin and tonic, and sits at his desk and goes over the paperwork involving this case again...
// If you'd like to join in on this RP, send me a PM first with your 'angle' Cheers!
The Resheph-class cruiser sits idly at approximately 50k from Pittsburgh, towards the edges of the New York system; with its top-of-the-notch electronic countermeasure and signature masking systems, the ship is effectively invisible to all but direct visual contact. The recon cruiser scours the system with its powerful and sophisticated sensors, marking the position of every ship in the system. Onboard the ship, tension is palpable. Yellow lighs flash through corridors, a silent but constant reminder that the vessel is on potentially hostile space.
On the command bridge, dim service lights and dozens of screens cast a ghastly illumination; a group of officers, gathered around a holodesk, observe the data gathered by the sensors.
Woman: There it is. *points a small glowing dot near planet Pittsburg* The transponder is matching. He arrived earlier than we expected. Man 1: He's probably wondering if anyone will come. I understand captain Santiago's decision to not reveal the identity of our organization, but it may have caused difficulties in gaining their trust. Apparently, doctor Bohr is the kind of man that privileges facts and results over details. Man 2: I guess we'll find soon enough. There is our taxi. *points to another contact on the holodesk, quickly approaching their position* I'm not so sure about that one. He's a freelancer, after all... Woman: He's been working for us for quite some time, though, and so far he didn't fail our expectations. *touches the glowing orb representing the new contact and as a slide menu opens, selects "open channel"* Transport Far Star, you are on our scanners. Transmit your authentication code now or we'll open fire.
Some seconds pass, then an incoming signal is received and quickly digested by the cruiser's computer, obtaining a clearance check for the approaching BWT.
Freelancer: Ah, how sweet to hear your voice again, miss Gaiman! The trust and confidence I hear in your voice when you address me. Cpt.Gaiman: Enough of this, mister de Shahrizai. Both you and we have a very important job to do. Let's save the... pleasantries for later. De Shahrizai: How many times do I have to indulge on your cold demeanor? I'm mister de Shahrizai only for common, lowly customers. For you, I'll always be Erasmas. *brings the ship to contact with the cruiser* Proceeding to activate docking clamps now... *a loud metallic -clunk- can be heard* And you are free to come onboard whenever you want. Ah, if only this wasn't a business occasion...
Captain Gaiman closes the comm without a word in response, and quickly kills the grins on the two men's faces with an ice-cold look. The three officers then leave the command bridge and head down the main hallway to the docking ports.
Some minutes later, the BWT detaches from the cruiser; after performing a large curve to present a completely different approaching angle, it heads to Pittsburgh's high orbit, and in the direction of the LRI vessel. A communication request is sent.
Some time had passed, and Dr Bohr was deep in thought as he was going over some of the paper work about the case. An alarm bell sounded, a contact was detected on scanners. Bohr jumped at the sound and checked the monitor."A freelancer in a Borderworlds transport? Not what I expected at all..."The vessel disappeared off scanners again before Bohr could get a fix on it, and he assumed it landed on Pittsburgh. He turned back to his research and an alarm went off again. There was something out there, something his scanners couldn't read. He took a seat on the captains chair, and instructed one of his crew to monitor the sensors. The alarms died down but only for a minute, as the Freelancer BWT appeared on scanners again. "It's coming from deep space, not Pittsburgh"his crewman announced. At that moment a communication signal was transmitted from the vessel."This is it..." Bohr commented."Ahoy there!"
Erasmas:*opening a secure channel to the LRI-Technical Support* Good evening, my dear scientists! My name is Erasmas de Shahrizai, and I'm here on behalf of the individuals you are expecting. But before we get to the business at hand, may I tempt you with my "Offer of the Month"? I can get you any... *some rustling sounds, a loud thud and some whining suggest that Erasmas has been forcibly interrupted; the words "not even a Junker would buy it" are clearly audible* Ah.. yes... my apologies, I had to answer a, uhm, call. Yes. Ehm... I request permission to approach and dock to your vessel, and you'll be able to talk with them directly. Far Star out.
*** *** ***
In the meantime, onboard the Resheph cruiser, the sophisticated sensors of the ship detect a disturbance in the vicinity, and an attempt from an unknown user to eavesdrop the communications. The unidentified ship finds all its frequencies jammed, and the comm system overwhelmed by a 5 gigawatt emission, threatening to literally melt the circuits if its not turned off immediately.
//OORP: if you open a communication channel, you make yourself visible on comms, even if your ship is masked. Also, Resheph doesn't have exactly cheap civilian sensors, heh...
[after a few seconds the ship gives up. but movement can be seen alonge the scapes of metal. and then the ship opens comms to others nearby and a few seconds later three ships with the BoS insignia show up.]
Sara : "good mornin doctors, sorry about the recon ship, had to make sure who was sent was not infected."
escort 1 : "area clear"
escort 2 : "moving into guard area near Starlight"
Sara : "my ship is loaded with remains of a BoS base no persnal was found but the research might shead shead light."
"Erasmas, go ahead. We're ready to receive you."Dr Bohrs replied. He then instructed his engineer to prepare the docking connections.
Dr Bohr was surprised to have another vessel appear on scanners.Confounded university funding!he thought to himself. "Ah! That you, Sara?" Niels queried the newcomer. "I didn't expect to see you here! Erasmus, this woman is from the BrotherHood of Steel syndicate. These bodies I have on board here are their men. Sara, you wish to shed your light on this subject? You may have a better understanding about this than all of us."
"yes, the infection was first found by a doctor, named Huntson. but after he tried the infection without atharizson. he vanished with out a trace. and weve only discovered this infection is the same thing. thats were we started lossing everyone. but ive been away for some long on mission i was hoping you could explaine the rest."
Dr Bohr clears his throat."Erhmm, alright then. Let's start from the beginning." Dr Bohr brought up a log on his display monitor."Some time ago, a chap from the BrotherHood of Steel syndicate named 'Lyon' approached me on a secure communication channel. he described some kind of viral infection that was going through his vessel. I encouraged him to land upon my secure quarantine platform at the LRI, where the situation deteriorated and they all succumbed to the deadly virus. Minimal research has been achieved so far, and another organization have taken the task aboard also. In fact, when I brought up mention of the LSF, he quickly objected and suggested folk from The Order to take a look instead. I have limited knowledge on both groups, and have believed that the LSF were the primary folk to contact about this. This became more apparent when a Sara, Scribe_of_Steel caught up with me. Apparently Lyon was her father, and she revealed some startling facts about the virus...."
While dr.Bohr and the Brotherhood pilots go on discussing, the BWT slowly aproaches the LRI vessel; after some delicate maneuvers, the docking ports of the two vessels match position, and with a metallic *clunk* the docking clamps fasten the two ships together.
Erasmas: Docking port secured and pressurized, Technical Support. You have guests incoming!
Onboard the Techincal Support, three figures climb down the ladder from the docking port and walk the short corridor heading to the command bridge.
As the three figures enter the bridge, doctor Bohr can easily recognize them as the same agents saw in the Subject Zero interrogation video.
Cpt.Gaiman: Doctor Bohr. A pleasure to finally meet you in person. *offers her hand* I am captain Rebecca Gaiman, and I offer my best regards on behalf of Cerberus.