From Darkness

[Manticore]

ROB

Wayfarer sat parked in a private slip at the Hamburg spaceport, looking as beat-up as ever. The loading ramp was down, and a young man was guiding a hovercart of supplies up and into the ship's hold.

Rob, Tanya, and a third man stood outside in the bay, quietly going over some last-minute details. They would be doing the actual work, this time, and the other four crewmembers would remain on station in case they were needed.

Rob checked the time. Mr. Arland had said he and his associate would be meeting them here... any minute now. Once Gage finished loading the supplies, the ship would be ready to depart at a moment's notice.

Moments later, Rob spotted James entering the slip, accompanied by a small young woman. Between them, they were carrying three nondescript bags filled with seemingly quite bulky equipment. They appeared to have been speaking animatedly about something before they saw their new acquaintances, expressions immediately sobering to become serious and businesslike.

James was the first to speak. "Good evening, everyone. As we've not all been introduced yet, I may as well begin: I am James Arland. This is Lisa Jaeger - she will be handling most of the tech challenges on this gig."

The girl, Lisa, simply nodded curtly.

Rob nodded to James, noting the casual dress both he and Lisa sported. Rob wore similar clothing himself, but Tanya was wearing what looked conspicuously like a set of military-grade battle armor, painted black with no markings. On her left was a Kusari man bearing a stern expression and wearing an identical set of armor - except his was painted matte gold - with a large rifle slung casually over his shoulder.

"Miss Jaeger, pleasure to meet you," Rob replied, amicably. "I'm Rob Shaw, this is my first office Tanya Carmen, and this gentleman is Kouta Miyamoto." Tanya mimicked Lisa’s curt nod, and the Kusari inclined his head in a slight bow.

Tanya then pointedly glared at Lisa, and Rob knew she was instantly doubting whether the young woman would be capable of handling this job.

Rob was unfazed, for he had long since learned not to judge people by first appearances. "The rest of the crew is inside. Perhaps we should head aboard and be sure everything is prepared?"

James nodded, hefting a bag. “We brought enough equipment for all of us, just in case. Sealed helmets, weapons, ammo - but you look as though you're mostly sorted,” he shrugged, then added, “Lead the way."

Rob gestured for everyone to follow him. They walked up the ramp and into Wayfarer's cargo hold. The young man seen previously was offloading the last couple boxes from the cart.

"Come on, Gage. It’s briefing time!" Rob called to him, as they passed through a door and into a corridor. The inside of the ship was a sharp contrast to the exterior - kept clean and orderly as opposed to pocked and scuffed. They took a right and entered a small gathering room with a few chairs centered around a small holoprojector. Rob pulled one up to the front, and gestured for the others to sit as he fished a small commlink out of his pocket and spoke into it, his voice echoing over the ship's intercoms. "Crew, meeting in the planner. Don't keep our guests waiting."

Rob turned back to James, lowering the commlink and smiling. "Kouta, as I'm sure you’ve already guessed, will be the third man on our end. He's a former Hogosha strong-arm, so long as you don't expect him to talk much he'll get the job done. The rest of the crew should be here soon."

“Very good,” James replied. “Lisa?" he asked expectantly as he turned to his associate.

The hacker handed him a small data storage unit. James promptly put it into the holoprojector, then flashed a grin at Rob. "I didn't bring any napkins this time, so I'm afraid holo's going to have to do. I'll start the animation when everyone's ready."

Rob nodded, turning his head towards the door as the rest of the crew started to file in.

First to enter was the young dark-haired man from the cargo bay. He was carefully wiping his hands with a cloth and took a seat next to Rob. "Gage Joiner, the ship's gunner," Rob introduced.

Next was a slim young woman, perhaps no older than twenty, with an animated face. She smiled at James and Lisa before taking a seat next to Tanya. "This is Sparrow Terrell, our pilot."

Right behind her was a gruff-looking old man with a trimmed beard that had gone almost entirely grey. "Lex Krause, the engineer." He glared at everyone before taking a seat back in the corner.

A moment passed before the final member of the crew entered - a curvy woman perhaps in her mid-twenties, with bright blue eyes and long brown hair. She spoke up as soon as she stepped inside, closing the hatch behind her. "I'm so sorry, everyone. Hope I didn't keep you waiting." Her accent was posh Bretonian, with lilting, musical tones.

"Not a problem," Rob responded, as she chose the closest seat to James and Lisa. "This is Floretta Kingsley, our doctor."

She smiled at the visitors with genuine welcome, nodding her head respectfully.

"Crew, these are Mr. Arland and Miss Jaeger - our employers for a job here on Hamburg,” Rob said. “Mr. Arland, if you would…"

James stood and turned on the holoprojector, and a wireframe model of a Gull-class cargo vessel sprung to life before them.

“Thank you, Mister Shaw. Now, ladies and gentlemen, listen closely. We have about an hour and a half until the Gull-class hauler Idus Martii arrives in this system, ferrying munitions, sensor tech, and heavy duty construction materials that they are hoping to sell off to the Rheinland Military.” His tone was smooth, confident and perhaps hiding a little bit of genuine excitement. “We are going to hijack this vessel, as Mister Shaw may already have imparted. Lying in wait just beyond the horizon, we’ll give pursuit when it reaches Hamburg high orbit, about here."

The diagram changed, showing Planet Hamburg, its two immediate trade lanes, then a bright red point somewhere in-between.

"We will then proceed to chase them towards the atmosphere, upon reaching the border of which I will perform a HALO jump from our vessel, the Emerald Venture, onto the Martii."

To his credit, he managed to say the last sentence with a completely straight face.

Most of the Wayfarer's crew simply gaped at him. Tanya even let out a short laugh, but Rob kept a straight face - as always the calm at the center of the storm. "You didn't tell me about this at our prior meeting, Mr. Arland. I was under the impression that our team was going to be boarding the ship in-flight, using Wayfarer." Rob paused, gazing at the projector for a long moment. "How are you planning to pull this maneuver off, anyways?"

James held up his hands a bit, a gesture of peace. "Rest assured, Mister Shaw. Your team will perform the main assault, though we've improved on the plan a bit - taking the transport planetside to a pre-prepared location, instead. Now, as for how I plan to pull my little stunt off, I intend to use this."

James unbuttoned his overcoat, then removed it entirely, showing off the construct beneath - matte black, sleek, vaguely-organic in form and very obviously not your garden variety suit of combat armor. He then sat down again, casual as could be.

"This suit has a great many advantages. I intend to use it to precision-guide me onto the ship with the help of a few portable thrusters and a grav-chute. Then I’ll infiltrate the ship, slave it to our AI, and pave the way for your assault."

Rob's face grew pensive, and he slowly started to nod. Tanya, however spoke first – her voice dubious. "You have an AI... and this advanced cybernetic suit? Exactly what sort of freelancers are you?"

James fixed Tanya with a look - cold, blue, and piercing. "The sort with a past, my friend. Pasts we'd rather keep for ourselves, unless you somehow think digging into our backgrounds now is mission critical?"

Rob shot Tanya a look as well, then turned back to James. "Mr. Arland, forgive Tanya for that. Your pasts are indeed not critical to our mission, and, after all," he paused to glance at Tanya again, "we're only getting involved if you actually do succeed with your part."

He nodded to James, a look of understanding passing between the two of them. "So, you'll be paving the way for our assault... I assuming rerouting the ship to set down at the location where the rest of us will be waiting? And that will be when we clear the ship for you?"

"Precisely. Provided nothing goes wrong, I will be holding down the main crew airlock until you arrive, making nobody escapes, and then I’ll join you. We push forward and clean house. I suspect we should hit each compartment in turn like this."

Lisa fiddled with something on a wireless device and the diagram changed. Four blue dots began to move through a floor plan of the Martii, in a pattern very similar to the one James had written on a bar napkin last night.

"Yes, I believe I understand it from here,” Rob responded. “You're correct, bringing the ship to us will make it much simpler on our end."

Abruptly, Floretta chimed in. "Sir, if I may ask - will Gage, Lex, Sparrow, and I be involved in any way?" If anything, she looked upset at having not been included.

Rob shrugged. "I suppose you could be on hand in the event of any injuries. Sparrow, Gage, and Lex should be on the Wayfarer, ready to leave as soon as needed."

He turned back to James. "What's the plan for after the ship is taken? Will we be joining you in selling the goods?"

James and Lisa shared a look. One almost imperceptible nod later, he was speaking again. "If you'd like the extra insurance, then sure. We'll also be selling off the vessel itself if it's still in working condition after the assault."

Rob shrugged. "I figured you'd want us for plausibility reasons, mostly. It takes more than two people to crew a Gull, and freelance traders who want to impress the Rheinland Military would be well-served to bring an escort ship along."

James smiled again, and it didn't look contrived. "In that case, the more, the merrier." He then looked to the rest of the crew in the room. "Better get ready for launch, our window is approaching."

Lex was out the door before he'd finished speaking, and Gage and Sparrow stepped out soon after.

Rob stood. "I suppose I'll walk you back out." First, he glanced at Tanya and Floretta, who were still in the room, and said, "Floretta, prep the med bay for a possible emergency, and Tanya, would you mind firing up my suit?"

The women departed - Tanya with determination and Floretta reluctantly - and Rob led them off the ship. "You know, this plan of yours is real sharp. Usually we have to do most of the planning ourselves, but this time I don't even have to lift a damn finger. I enjoy working with professionals."

As they emerged back into the cargo hold, he added, "This is going to go well. Nice and clean."

"The best kind of plan," James agreed. "Though, it's worth remembering that even the best plans might not survive first contact with the enemy, as they say."

Pausing at the top of the ramp, he added, "Before I go... What sort of jobs do you lot usually get up to, when you're not helping crazies with ship hijacks?"

Rob shrugged, smiling. "All sorts of things, really. Courier work, assassinations, bounties, protecting VIPs, escorting traders, even occasionally reconnecting loved ones. No two jobs are ever the same - keeps things interesting, you know?"

James nodded then turned to add one final thing on his way down the ramp, Lisa followed quietly - she seemed to be content to watch and listen.

"You know what, when this is done, I'll send you our frequency. You never know what the future might bring. For now, let's see if I can avoid being reduced to a stain on the ground or on a freighter hull, yeah?"

Rob smiled. "You got it," he said, and watched them turn and walk down the ramp. They were certainly among the most interesting employers he’d ever worked with. This wouldn’t be a dull job.

(Credit to l3wt for his character's portion of this chapter.)

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