Andromeda: Episode 1

[Joey]

OOC: Okay I am having things start on a space station called Wolf's Head. Its in the outreach and orbits a massive red star simply called Fenrir. The station is a good size with plenty of lodging and supplies. Wolf's Head is quite old and shows its age particularly in its rusty alleys and steam filled courtyards. The people that frequent it are mostly pirates, refugees, criminals, independent merchants and the like.

Troa sat staring out the window at Fenrir. The star was old and its dull red glow had a sort of calming effect. It was like talking to a wise old Kostas Oracle only no words were exchanged. She wondered what the star had seen in its un-imaginably long life time. She sipped her wine. Wolf's Head was particularly quiet today and the Olivia Inn was all but busy. She leaned back and scanned the room. A Shun tended the bar. He was friendly enough for a Shun. There was another Polis sitting at the bar. He looked to be Baros house, but Troa couldn't truly tell. Other than him there were two Goudar making conversation in their native tongue and making their typical breathing sounds (Goudar, since i havn't made a lore entry for them, are a race that breath nitrogen instead of oxygen and thus wear enviro-suits when not on their home world). The Olivia Inn was pretty clean in comparison to the rest of Wolf's Head and the decor reminded her of home with its silvery furniture.
She sighed wondering where the Shun that brought her here had gone. Bortef she thought his name was. He had agreed to transport her and the Blue Death to Sneed for her next fight. He had charged a very modest sum of credits and the only catch was that he would have to stop in Wolf's Head for some business. He assured her it wouldn't take long, but she had been on the station for at least six hours now. She was growing impatient, which was a quality usually attributed to Shun, not Kostas. She was beginning to grow suspect of Bortef's intentions. She sipped her wine and her face shifted from calm to agitated.

[Tori]

Another successful hunt! Kazir walked into the small inn. He paused before glancing around, then spotted the two Goudars. The feline paused before walking over and holding out his hand. The two paused then smirked.
"You have him then?" One chuckled. Kazir narrowed his glowing green eyes before walking out of the in, hearing one of the Goudars say to the others, "I thought not." Just then kazir came back into the Inn with a unconscious polis over his shoulder. He then dropped the man in the floor, actually at the feet of the first Goudar.
Kazir then lifted his head up and held out his hand once again. The two stared at the large black cat before smirking and handing him a small coin bag. "Nice Job cat." They said before picking up the man and dragging him out of the inn. Kazir perked his ears after them. Wonder what they are going to do to him. Kazir then shrugged and walked over to the bartender. At the bar was a lady, gently sipping her wine and looking out the window, which you could clearly see the dying star that glowed a dull red. Kazir would of said hello, but he couldn't. The cat lowered his ears at the thought before turning towards the Shun.

"what would you like?" The shun asked. Kazir paused before looking for a something to write one. He then huffed and looked at the options. He then held up four fingers at the Shun. At first the shun was confused then turned around to see his menu. Four was beer. The shun smirked then grabbed a cold beer bottle.
"What's a'matter with you? Can't speak?" He chuckled. Kazir Had lifted the bottle to his mouth but suddenly paused and narrowed his eyes. The Shun's smiled then faded away and he turned away. Kazir kept his eyes on the Shun, before turning his attention back to the beer. Kazir stared at the brown bottle, small beads of liquid slide down the cold glass. Fog gently rose from the bottle, dancing and twirling in the air. Kazir let out a sigh before taking a big sip and then turning his head to stare out the same window, the same window that the lady was staring out too.

[George]

The old Wolf's Head....ruddy excuse of a station. Not for nothing though, there was always at least one merchant that could supply a ship for a few months if there were enough credits to be made. Skarr could hardly stand coming to this station and it showed in his body language, his kind were rarely seen around this station. Skarr's tail thrashed behind him as he waited for a Polis to finish looking over his supply requisition for the Void Runner. At least twenty minutes had passed before a reptilian growl rumbled in the large Brox's chest. "Are we done here?" He all but shouts at the male behind the counter. The response was a nervous chuckle from the other male before "Yes, everything seems to be in order, we'll have the supplies loaded onto your ship. Anything else I can help you with?" Another growl escapes from Skarr's chest. He shakes his head and swipes his credit chip, leaving without another word. Time to find a drink... The Olivia normally had pretty good drinks for a decent price. Simple enough decision so Skarr stalks away from the supply dealer, his body tense as though ready to strike as normal for him when he was irritated. Thankfully it wasn't a long walk to get to the inn and no one seemed to really want to get in his way with how he was carrying himself. Once he reaches the entrance to the inn he all but bursts through the doors, barely taking a moment to look around at who was occupying the bar area before taking a seat at the counter well away from others. "Beer...largest you got." He says simply when he was asked what he was drinking. It was then that he noticed a cat and a Polis woman occupying the bar as well. He sneers and turns his attention to his drink, not looking to be sucked into a conversation with strangers

[Hawk]

"You know this guy gives me the creeps" sassed Bethesda, Juno's AI spoke into her Ear Piece.
Juno Sighed, Coming to a short stop before the Olivia Inn. She Didn’t Like this guy either.

"This Guy" was Alme-on Shazza, the Shun that tended the Olivia Inn, But that wasnt his real job. He was actually one of the 6 Black Market Kingpins in the Andromeda Galaxy. Each Kingpin ruled over a different part of the Andromeda Sector, Almost like Feudal Warlords inhabiting and ruling their own lands, except in Andromeda, there was no Khan to establish Order or oversee his men. The Black Markets Kings control all trade that goes on within the Space in Andromeda, there is nothing that they don’t know about what’s being Shipped, Stolen, Sold, or Delivered. Shazza here at the Olivia controlled the Fenrir System and those systems that bordered it. Shazza preferred to do his business Personally, he liked to have a personal hand in every aspect of his empire.

One day, Juno thought to herself, she would take this guy down, but until then she had to bide her time for the right moment. And now was not that.
Juno shook her head as she entered the Olivia INN, she quickly sniffed at the supreme cleanliness of the Bar, the Air quality here was much better than anywhere in the station.

Juno quickly scanned the room with her hand resting on the base of her gun as her training and experience kicked in. There were not many visitors in the Bar, less than handful to be precise. Juno noted the large Alien away from the bar, It was a Brox. The others in the Bar she deemed not a threat to her.

The Shun at the Bar looked up to see the new visitor and smiled, his eyes beamed with recognition. Juno’s attention turned to him.

“He Better not call you Junebug, I hate it when he calls you that,” Beth hissed Protectively.

Alme-on Shazza threw his hands up in a Mock Rejoice,

“Ahhh, My Juny Juny Junebug, my Absolute Favorite Runner in the Galaxy, You are always on time.” He grinned a crooked smile, which did nothing to hide the menace behind his solid dark eyes.

“THAT MOTHER F-!” yelled Beth, but Juno tuned out the end, instead she grinned,

Juno neared the bar, she looked tall and lean in her skintight light armor as it creaked, her prosthetic left arm whirred quietly when she ruffled her orangeish red hair back and then rested it on the bar. Juno took a breath before talking, she always had to be careful of what she said or did around this Man. Her fingers on her left hand strummed metallically on the bar.

She didn’t have anytime for Shazza’s bullshit right now.

“You know why I’m here, Shazza.” Juno said as near neutral as she could. Her voice was passive.

If Shazza had had eyebrows he would have raised them, instead one side of his face squinted in disappointment, he grunted.

“One Day Juno, you will play the Game, Only the true Players can, and I see a lot of promise in you,” he said grinning.

Juno had to hide her disgust for that somewhat Compliment from Shazza, still, she said said nothing.

An Awkward pause drifted between them before Shazza lifted his head high and inclined towards her.

“The Usual?”

Juno Nodded.

Shazza reached down beneath the Bar and produced a small shot glass, the rainbow colored glass changed colors frequently, Juno didn’t know whether it was light doing it or just the Cup. Shazza turned his back to Juno as he looked for a bottle on the shelf behind him.

Shazza returned with a bottle of a liquid that looked like mud. He poured the drink quickly, splattering the table.  

“I honestly don’t know how you can drink this stuff” Shazza remarked, grimacing.

“Tradition is a great Motivator,” Juno said without emotion. As she downed the drink quickly.

Her CO would always have his Company take a Shot of Glubrum; A cheap Brox liquor that not even the Brox themselves would chance, before going into Battle. He would say,
“A Shot before, and a Shot After, and God’s Grace you don’t get shot in between.”

It burned all the way down. It did not taste good at all, but Juno did taste the drink anymore, only memories of comraderies and  good times and anxiety, of Close calls, of one night stands and Bad Decisions and…
Juno nearly laughed as her mind drifted to her past. She shook her head.

Juno opened her eyes and saw that Shazza was no longer at the Bar, instead near her glass was a small Light Drive, Juno picked it up and locked it into her Headset.
Juno waited patiently for the details of her job.

“Its the Bar Across the Hall,” Bethesda spoke finally,

“The White Fang.”

Juno turned and left the Olivia Inn.

[Joey]

Her mind began to race. It shouldn't have been taking this long. What could be happening. Maybe he was planning to leave her? Could he do that? The Blue Death was certainly worth the prize. It would fetch several million credits.

A Cat walked in to talk to the two Goudar. Their exchange was brief and Troa mean mugged them throughout their entire encounter. 'Who cares!' she thought to herself. That was just her anger building, really. Clearly someone cared for the capture of that polis, who was evidently Drakos house based on the dragon shoulder tattoo he had. The Cathar concluded his exchange with the Goudar and sat at the bar. Troa pretended to look out the window, but in truth she was still mad and would not mind venting to the cat; He seemed to have a calm about him, despite Troa having never seen him before.

A Brox walked in shortly after. Troa turned her head to the lizard. 'What a zoo. We have a tiger and now a lizard.' she thought as her rage filled thoughts continued to flutter in her mind. She briefly locked eyes with the massive Brox, her face still locked in a boiling rage. He sat down, ordered a beer and snickered. Troa gripped her glass tighter, nearly breaking it. When her anger began to flood, she found almost everything increasingly annoying. It was like a balloon being filled with air; It could only contain so much until it popped.

Troa's breathing became heavy. She was trying to push her rage down, but her thoughts kept drifting to what may be happening to the Blue Death. As she began to calm a bit in walked a human female. 'And now our zoo is complete. A tiger, a lizard and a monkey.' she thought. sounded like the start of a bad joke. 'A cat, lizard and monkey walk into a bar....' she actually chuckled a moment. She took a deep calming breath.

Perhaps Bortef, or whatever his name was, was just engaging in a long pessimistically skeptical conversation with an old Shun friend. Most verbal interactions with Shun were quite narrow and depressing. Was it in their DNA to naturally complain about everything?

Troa lightened her grip on her wine glass and leaned over to talk to the cat when, as her mouth was opening, the human began to converse with the bartender. The only thing Troa truly heard was the name Shazza. She had been in enough AS pits to know that name was not a good one. Shazza was some sort of major crime boss. He had hands in several AS pits Troa had fought in. If he was here then that could mean anything. Her mind again drifted to her precious machine. Her rage immediately returned two fold. She realized how close she was to the cat, but her sudden shift in emotion made her not care in the slightest. She squeezed the wine glass so tight this time it snapped. Wine spilled everywhere and likely onto the large cat. Troa did not care though. She had to find the Blue Death. She leaped from the bar stool as the wine spilled and rushed to the door.

Shazza gasped and yelled to Troa "You gotta pay for that!"

Troa made a gesture with her longest finger "Fuck off ya dirty Shun!" She said as she stormed out the door.

She truly wished the doors were not automatic, purely so she could slam it shut. The human was still passing through the hall. Troa glanced at her, attempting to lock eyes. Troa withdrew her hateful gaze and drew her pistol. She loaded a clip and began speed walking towards the starport. If the Blue Death was moved even a millimeter then there would be hell to pay.

[Tori]

Kazir did notice the large lizard who came into the Inn. He didnt look so happy...when are the Lizard folk ever happy? Kazir glanced at him before looking away. Best not lock eyes with them, he didnt want to start anything. He just wanted a peace of quiet for a moment. Was that too much to ask? Maybe for like a minute everything was quiet, peaceful? No, just quiet. Of course that ended when a human came thought the doors. The cat perked his ears and turned his head to see a red-headed lady coming through the door. The cat sighed when he heard the shun talk. Why, why must he talk? The cat lowered his black ears and looked at the shun then shook his head before taking another sip of his beer.

Of course, Kazir was completely clueless that the lady beside him was trying to talk to him. He listen to the small conversation, at least a little bit of it until a cold liquid fell into his lap. Dammit! He wanted to say, but all that came out was a grunt. The cat quickly stood up and knocked over his chair. Whoops. Kazir groaned before looking at the lady, who was now storming out of the inn. The shun called for her to pay but she snapped and continued out of the inn. Kazir sighed then pulled out some money and placed it on the counter, he then pointed at the glass that was broken. He paid for her mess. Now best time to leave now. He didnt want to stick around to see what the Lizard had to say. Kazir then proceeded out of the inn and looked around for the girl. Why? Well to see if she was okay. Though he was a mercenary, he was a giant sweetheart when it came to certain things. Kazir perked his ears when he spotted a glimpse of the girl. He sighed before quickly walking after her.

Now he would of said, Excuse me miss, are you alright? Do you need anything? Bla bla bla... But he couldn't. Why? Why couldnt he speak? Was he scared to? No... his tongue was gone.

[George]

((OOC It's really squished together, my enter key doesn't work...))Skarr wasn't all too excited to see a human enter the bar. He remembered the wars, not all fondly at that. He had been young in those times, mostly a berserk child barely out of the training pits and thrown into the fray. He'd grown since then, now a more calculating fighter than reckless but it worked for him since he traveled alone more often than not. Skarr's eyes narrow slightly at the human's order, a brew that he only ever drank on special occasions. His thoughts were interrupted as everything seemed to go awry. First the human leaves shortly after her drink, then the Polis woman leaves, loading a weapon. "Should be interesting..." He mutters to himself as he stands, "Free drink day then? Works for me" He says aloud to the barkeep. Skarr didn't even wait for a response, one that he was sure the barkeep didn't have the nerve to utter, before he was out the door as well. One of two things was about to happen, either his blades would taste blood or he would be up for an early departure. He took a leisurely pace, staying a good distance behind the three who had so abruptly left the previous inn, hands always close enough to make a quick grab for his combat knives should the need arise.

[Hawk]

Juno Stopped before the White Fang, its blackened door loomed in front of her.

“What do we got Beth?” Juno quizzed, Beth started to hum as she scanned the next room for bio-signatures; her tune was short and sweet, reminding Juno of the songs her mother used to hum to no-one in particular. Juno almost registered a smile when Beth’s voice broke her thoughts,

“We got a lot of big guys in there Honey, I’m counting at least six Brox, and one Human.”
Juno arched her eyebrow, it was usually dangerous when such creatures gathered in such numbers. The saying went, One Brox was Trouble, Two was Danger, Three was Death, and Anymore, War.
Juno readied her hand upon her sidearm and slowed her breathing, steeling herself. Anxiety creped into her brain, flashbacks of immense pain and shock flowed through Juno’s mind, but as soon as they started, they were gone, drifting back into the crevices of her deepest memories, leaving Juno momentarily frozen in place.

“You can do this Juno.” Beth breathed silently into Juno’s ear, calming her instantly. Juno finally inhaled. There were many reasons why Juno kept the AI around, and this was just one of them. Juno nodded and entered the Bar.
She nearly bumped into a Brox that was guarding the door, Juno paused, looking up at the scaled beast. For a few moments, hostility roamed behind its eyes before recognition finally registered. He nodded to her and then pointed to a door in the back of the Club. He moved aside as Juno moved quickly towards the door, noticing the Bar itself was empty, save for the doorman.
The door opened before Juno neared it and a fully armored Brox emerged from the door, looking somewhat menacing. He too said nothing but nodding as he pointed inside the room. Juno, somewhat puzzled by this, entered the room.

“My, my” Beth whispered, “Aren’t these the most well behaved Brox you’ve ever seen.”
Juno had to suppress a chuckle.
Two Brox dressed in mercenary gear stood guard in the back corners of the room, their arms crossed, and both giving Juno a mean look. Juno ignored them as her gaze settled to the two figures between them. One was a Brox, head to toe in fantastic military regalia, he looked like a general. The other was a human, nearly as tall as the Brox, dressed in a business suit that hugged his toned body, his muscles bulged as he talked animatedly to his companion. Juno couldn’t hear what was said, as the conversation ended when she entered the room. The Brox and the Man turned to her. Juno could not take her eyes off the man, he was ruggedly handsome, his face was nearly flawless.

“NOW THAT’S A MAN, WOOOO!” Beth gasped, just as shocked as Juno was. Juno finally came to her senses as the man neared her smirking, his smile melted her. He towered over Juno, almost a foot taller then her. He offered his hand.

“May I introduce myself, I am Neil Osbourne.” He said. Juno would have thought the encounter weird had it not been for how incredibly enchanting the man was. Usually introductions never happened during her smuggling. The Man continued talking.
“And I am the Brox Militia Alliance Trading liaison.” At that Juno raised her Eyebrow, her mind finally shaking of the spell of the beautiful man. The Brox Militia Alliance was formed out of the ashes of the fallen Brox Empire (After the Second Galactic War) of those Brox that did want anything to do with the Triumvirate, and instead wanted to keep on Warring. What started off as a large group was eventually hunted down to small numbers before dispersing into deep space borders. The BMA hasn’t been seen in years. This intrigued Juno. A lot.

“I’m Juno.” She said. Short and sweet. The man’s smile receded, Juno tried to read the man’s eyes, but they told her nothing.

“Oh, we certainly know who you are, you were chosen specifically for this, we know all about your skills and…reputation.”  Neil Said, his voice somewhat serious. For some reason Juno had a sense of familiarity about the man,  almost Déjà vu of Neil, but she was absolutely certain she never met the man before, she definitely would have remembered his face. Still, her mind was starting not to like the situation at hand. Instinct was starting to kick in.
Juno must have been staring, because Neil produced a small data pad before her, tapping on it twice.
A video feed of the hanger bay blossomed in front of her, showing her ship in the view.

“As you can see, the Cargo is already being loaded on to your ship, all you have to do now is fly.”
Two rather large Cargo cases were being lifted onto her ship, the Apollo. A silent Beth finally spoke up,

“I’m sorry Juno, I tried to prevent that, I know you like being there for the loading process, but they…they bypassed me completely, I couldn’t do anything.” Beth sobbed. Juno stared directly into Neil’s Eyes. She did like this one bit. As if reading her mind, He tapped his pad a couple more times, revealing the Payment of her Job. Juno honestly could not believe the amount being displayed on the Screen. She had never seen that much credits. Ever. She was speechless.

"I’m sure this will settle those nerves of yours.” He calmed. Juno could only stare at the screen.

“You will receive half now,” he said as the credits on the screen halved, “and the rest upon completion.”
Juno was still stunned, this was an exorbitant amount of money for such a simple job. She could only nod. Neil Smiled, disarming her yet again.
What was the matter with me? Juno thought; being enchanted by some boy and a “little bit” of money. Whatever was happening, it was working and she needed to get out of here. Her mind was screaming at her. Without pausing to say goodbyes, Juno Turned on her heel, and exited through the door. Juno could feel the man’s smile piercing her head as he spoke to her back,

“So long, Ms. Juno Warwick, I’m quite sure we will meet again!”

Juno raced to the Exit of the White Fang, The Brox doorman, silently nodding to her as she left.

“I have a bad feeling about this Honey, we need to get outta here ASAP!” Beth exclaimed.

Juno could only grunt in acknowledgement; as the spell of Neil Osbourne still lingered, she hurried to the Hanger Bay.

[Joey]

Troa trudged down the hall. Her thoughts raced and she ground her teeth as her mind boiled. The Blue Death was the only thing she had of value. It was everything to her. Losing it meant losing everything she had ever worked for; all her sacrifices. For nothing.

Her grip tightened around her pistol. She could see a Goudar down the hall. He walked lazily and his head was thrown back. A periwinkle smoke floated from his enviro-mask. He looked to be in his own world. ‘Idios’ Troa thought.

Once Troa was close enough she shoved him into the rusty wall. Something broke, but Troa did not look to see what it was. The Goudar shouted something in his own language and stood staring at Troa as she continued on her rage induced march.

The docking bay door was before her. She stood, feet at shoulder length and drove her fist into the console. The door swung open. Troa scanned the massive hangar. Wolf’s head did not have a typical star port like other stations. It was older and rather than having several bays for spacecraft, it had a single large bay that housed only so many ships at once. It could not accommodate any of the larger military vessels like those owned by the trade guilds and the Xiphos Autarchy (as those would be the only two factions in this part of outreach space that would have cruiser class ships or larger) as Wolf’s Head was once, long ago, a science facility meant for monitoring the red giant, Fenrir.

As Troa’s eyes swept the immediate part of the bay, she noticed three ships. One clearly belonged to Bortef (still unsure of the Shun’s exact name) and was a typical Shun built transport. The second was an exceptional hybrid of an interceptor (smaller military vessel) and freighter class. It was sleek, well built and read Athena 0517 along it. Troa had a soft spot for exceptional engineering, especially in regards to starships.  She found it odd, however, that this ship, which had a more human aesthetic to it, would have a Polis name. The third ship was like the moros (Polis word for people with severe mental disorders, particularly in regards to psychics who have mental instability due to the events of the Brox wars) cousin of the second. It was old, rusty and looked barely space worthy. It, like the second ship, was a freighter class and had no admirable features aside from a single large cannon that appeared to belong to a much larger military vessel. Troa made a face as she examined the cannon on the rust bucket of a ship. It would surely knock the ship through a loop if it ever attempted to fire the behemoth.

What truly caught Troa’s attention was the two crates being loaded onto the Athena from Bortef’s ship. They were about the size of the Blue Death and its weaponry. Troa wasted no more time. She bolted towards the crates. The Shun operating the machinery looked at her in shock as she charged.

“Open this crate right now.” She demanded as she climbed onto the lift, grabbed the Shun by the neck and pressed the barrel of her gun to his cheek.

He uttered something unintelligible and moved the lift away from the crate. He waved his arms at the workers, who simply stood in awe. It was clear they were unarmed. Two other Shun scrambled across their datapads. Troa worried a bit that they could be calling reinforcements, but she only cared to see if her precious Blue Death was inside the shipping container. The massive steel door creaked open and sure enough, the AS was snuggly packed inside.

Almost immediately as Troa spotted her ‘mech, two Brox entered the hangar through the same door she had arrived. Almost instinctively she threw the Shun off of the lift and in the way of the Brox’ line of fire. The Shun took a few rounds and flopped to the cold metal floor. Troa took cover behind the lift. Both Brox were of typical gigantic space lizard build, adorned with combat armor and pulse rifles. Troa sighed. She only had her heat pistol and a combat knife. She was by no means equipped for a firefight.

She peaked out from her cover. She only got a glance before pulse rounds zipped by her head. She spotted some smaller cargo crates on a platform near the Borx. In Troa’s experience Brox were tough, but they weren’t smart. Troa popped up from behind the lift. She fired four swift shots, the third one meeting her target. The platform holding the cargo dropped from position sending the crates down onto the Brox. It wouldn’t kill the Brox, probably wouldn’t even wound them, but it would halt their fire just long enough, leaving Troa precious time to reach the Blue Death. As she tapped her wrist-key to open the cockpit, she smiled. Now she was equipped for a firefight.

[Tori]

Kazir perked his ears as he watched the mysterious lady quickly go around a corner. Odd. Why was she in a hurry? Kazir listen to the female's voice then a Goudar's upset voice. Once he was sure that the She had left, the cat walked out and smirked at the Goudar who was sitting on the ground against the wall.

The goudar didn't look so happy. Well who would after being thrown into a wall. Kazir was gonna walk past him, but then he mumbled something, obviously a insult since he spit at the cat's foot. Kazir scrunched up his nose ad walked over and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

Kazir smacked him against the wall ad raised his arm, balling his had into a fist. Sadly that fist never met the Goudar's face because the sound of gunfire caught the cat's attention.
What?! Kazir flicked his eyes at the goudar then dropped him onto the floor. Lucky bastard. Kazir huffed before quickly continuing his way. He came to a door, and opened it. Bad idea... As soon as he opened it a bullet zipped past his arm, lucky it missed. Damn. Kazir quickly ducked down and jumped to the nearest cover. A box. Wow, a wooden box.

Kazir peered over the box and scanned the area. Broxs? Dammit! Kazir growled the pulled out his combat rifle. Although guns where different and much more powerful, this feline loved the old guns. Big softy for them.
Kazir looked narrowed his eyes as he spotted two broxs, firing at something. The cat grunted as he made his way past some more cargo. He thought he was doing good when a bullet zoomed across his head, nipping his ears. Shit!!! The cat scrambled back behind a metal cargo crate. Yay he was spotted! At least He had manged to get a little closer and was ow able to see the thing they where shooting at.

A large blue robot machine. It stood ready, its guns getting into position, and locking onto targets. Well fuck. Kazir closed his eyes and leaned against the metal trailer. what did he get into? He ran into one of the most feared things in the galaxy. For a second, he remained still, but shook his head from a tickle, which turned out to be a trickle of blood that came from the tip of his ear. Eh just a graze. Kazir turned his attention back to the machine. It really was it.

It was the Blue Death!

[George]

Skarr had fallen back a bit further, a shady merchant having caught his attention. The Polis had waved him over, recognizing him as a pirate by his attire, to show him a new shipment of weapons lifted from an imperial supply freighter. The shipment had contained mostly weapons that Skarr had little interest in, though there was a particular machine pistol that had caught his eye. This one was equipped with a reflex optic and a modded receiver to allow for a higher rate of fire of a larger caliber heat-round, obviously designed for an officer or some elite unit. The sale was just about final when the sounds of a conflict arose followed by a klaxon....welp, time to run.

Skarr turned away from the Polis, leaving the pistol behind without much of a second thought as he makes his way to the hangar. The sight before him made him freeze in his tracks...and Arm Slave? There goes the neighborhood. This just reinforced the notion that it was time to get on the Void Runner and get out quickly. Now to figure out just how to get there since there were the two Brox clamoring from underneath a few storage crates.

The answer was pretty simple. Skarr is Brox. He snaps out of his trance induced by the presence of the AS before making his charge, a snarl rising up as he closes the distance to the two of his kinsmen. As he reaches them a blade lashes out, the high frequency vibrations of the knife causing it to slice through combat armor as if it were butter. The other Brox would be rocked by Skarr's fist, though it was only enough to stagger the other for a moment to give Skarr a chance to get to his ship. This was getting out of hand fast and it was only a matter of time before...too late

A half dozen more guards burst into the hangar. A growl rises om Skarr's chest as the pulse rounds started flying. The cargo ramp on the Void Runner lowered at the push of a button on a small (for him) remote, allowing him to rush aboard and into the cockpit where he started the sequence to get the engines warmed up and running...now to wait...for ten minutes...Ok there was no way he was hiding from a fight, but he needed a gun. There was a footlocker with the word "Firestorm" written across the top in crude letters within the armory on board the ship. He opens the box, pulling his prized Firestorm shotgun from within and jamming a magazine of shells that glowed a deep orange into the magazine well before racking the weapon and making his way back to the fray

[Hawk]

Juno’s thoughts were cleaved into by Beth’s voice, followed by a blaring Warning Alarm that was also followed by bright flashing lights in the hallway she turned down.

“Juno, you are not gonna believe what’s happening in the Hanger Bay…Hold on, I’m patching the Camera feed to your HUD.”

Juno paused in the hallway, waiting for the feed. A small screen flashed in front of her eyes, In crystal clear clarity she saw an unexplainable situation in the Hanger Bay. It was pure chaos.

“One of our Cargo Crates was opened and contained the now fighting Arm Slave!” roared Bethesda.
“WHAT!!!” Yelled Juno Incredulously.

Juno watched the firefight starting out between a dozen Brox Guards and An Arm Slave. The Arm Slave made the Formidable Brox even look small. Energy weapons discharged with abandon and seared the metal walls of the hanger. A single familiar Brox cut through two of the Brox Guards as it moved with determination toward what seemed like its ship and disappeared inside.

“BETH! Fire up the Athena and its shields, we need to get outta here!” yelled Juno as she broke in to a dead sprint towards the Hanger Bay.

“Roger” Beth replied.

Juno’s heavy footprints echoed down the flashing hallways. Reaching the entrance of the wide bay, she pulled two distinct grenades from a back pouch.

Her ship was about 50 yards away, with most of the combat in between her and her ship.

“Of course” She mumbled as she judged the distance, quickly did the math in her head and lobbed both grenades in to the air in front of her.

The Grenades arced perfectly, landing precisely where Juno wanted them. Juno launched herself in to a dead run towards the fray. She switched to a darker toned visor, ignoring the energy projectiles hurtling around her.

The first grenade exploded on impact, but instead of a rapture of shrapnel, an excruciating blinding light filled the bay. A split second after that, the pair Grenade erupted. An inky black smoke started to fill the area around the combat, every millisecond it increased in all directions, enveloping the stunned combatants. The flashbang only lasted a second, but its effect was instantaneous, the shooting stopped, albeit for a moment.

In a span of seconds Juno met the smoke, her visor immediately changing to an infrared scanner. Heat signatures popped into view, as Juno easily weaved in and out of bodies. Juno finally cleared the smoke; wisps trailing in her wake, her ship loomed before her, its Cargo Ramp already down.

Juno raced up the ramp, sidestepping the first open container. As soon as she passed it, a screaming whistle pierced the air. Juno turned and saw a Rocket viciously collide with one of the main engines of the Athena, causing a huge explosion. Juno had no time to protect herself as the shockwave threw her backwards violently, her shield taking the brunt of the impact, but not enough as the back of her head hit a wall inside the Athena’s Cargo Room.

The last thing Juno heard was the unintelligible yelling of Beth in her Ear as she blacked out.

[Joey]

The cockpit closed. The outside world went silent. A few vibrations maybe, but silent. It was the interior of an AS. The thing Troa had dreamed of since she was a girl. The only true serenity in her world. The smell of the cold painted metal. The smooth, black leather seat. And the pressurized air of a confined, secure cockpit. It was like home to her. She touched the screen on the right arm of her chair and the blue death woke. Troa purposely redesigned the start-up protocols so that her machine would slowly stir to life when turned on, if only to savor the serenity of sitting in an AS. The neuro-inhibitors lowered and surrounded her skull. They sent their usual impulses and Troa closed her eyes.

All AS pilots had to be psychics. Without psychic potential, the neuro-link required to operate the machine at its full potential was impossible. There were machines in Andromeda that could be operated by non-psychics, but those machines could never hope to compete with the movements of an AS. An AS moved like a fish in water; Smooth and fluid. The neuro-link made the AS an extension of the pilots psyche. It was like a second skin. AS cockpits had a single console within them if only to activate the neuro-inhibitors. No other controls were needed.

With Troa’s eyes closed she could see through the optics of the Blue Death. The familiar hangar filled her vision once again. She scanned quickly. The internal systems of the Blue Death registered exactly fifteen life-forms in the hangar. Eight were confirmed hostiles, thugs that worked for Shazza or Bortef or whoever. Four Shun workers, three cowering and one of them still unconscious. What remained was a Cathar (the one from the Olivia no doubt), an un-aligned Brox who was booting up his junker, likely trying to escape this madness.

Just as the scan was finishing a volley of rockets came hurtling from one of the new Shazza thugs. Troa had only enough time to throw her arm up as several of her combat systems were still in start up. One rocket collided with the Blue Death’s forearm. The second made direct contact with one of the Athena’s engine, doing significant damage and resulting in a chain of explosions. The third was the worst of all. It hit the second crate being loaded onto the Athena. The crate was most assuredly filled with the Blue Death primary and secondary armaments, which were highly explosive. The crate exploded most violently as the ammunition stored inside burst from the intense heat and kinetic impact. Several of the explosions caused secondary explosions which damaged several systems belonging to Wolf’s Head. This was not good.

The room went red as the stations emergency systems kicked in. The damage from all three explosions had nearly crippled the Blue Death. The right forearm in particular was rendered completely useless. Dash systems were offline and the AS could do little more than limp. Those had to have been some sort of anti-tank or anti-ship rockets. It all happened to quickly to tell.

The Blue Death’s head vulcans were still functional. Troa revved them up and let loose a hail of 12mm armor piercing rounds. The rounds ripped through several of the thugs, creating large clouds of red mist. Their small arms fire was doing little to harm the Blue Death. Troa spotted the thug who fired the rocket volley. Troa shifted the Blue Death and swung wide with her good arm. The sound of cracking bones as the Goudar’s body met the cold unforgiving fist of the Blue Death.  The poor soul, most likely already dead from the punch, soared through the air like a rag doll, colliding with the hanger’s wall and flopping to the floor. Troa Smiled as she avenged her machine, but the smile faded quickly as she realized how much it was going to cost to fix the damage she had done.

[Tori]

Could it truly be the Blue Death herself? The feline had heard of her. Hoe dangerous she was and this always captured his attention. But now, here she was fighting so beautifully. Goodness how he was fascinated in this machine. Sadly, Kazir's day dreaming had to come to an end. A guard popped up behind the cat and attempted to shoot. Fool.
The cat quickly moved then grabbed the gun that the guard held and slammed in into his face.
idiot Kazir rolled his eyes before noticing more guards popping up. Damn.

The smirked and began to shoot, and once out of ammo, the cat tossed the weapon aside and made a beeline towards a small ship. The girl in the machine would be fine, she had something to protect her. Kazir, just thin armor. The cat forced the door open an made his way in. His eyes searched the controls as he entered the cockpit. Ok, guns guns guns???? Where were the god damn guns? Ah here they where!

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