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eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 05:07 PM by eigos.)

OPERATION CODE: "Sombra Asunto"

In late 816, an entirely new chapter of outcast history began – the house of Gallia was put on the map, owing to the Council clearing a path through the minefields in Orkney and Omicron 80. With the current market for Cardamine partially saturated, the Outcast Elite quickly saw the opportunity for growth in gallic space, potentially uncontested. After a brief survey of the newly discovered Lorraine system, it became obvious - there needs to be an outcast base set up before any further exploration could be undertaken. The stakes were never higher and time was of the essence, so in 818, the first maltese outpost in Gallia was set up – Torino Base.

The base was deployed with all precautions in mind – it has a limited crew of ~150 people (including the fighter patrol pilots), all being expendable in the eventuality of a catastrophic clash with the lawful gallic side. Thus no valuable (or knowledgeable) people of the Maltese Nation would fall to enemy hands, should they capture prisoners for interrogation. Among the personell, there are less than 10% cardamine users, due to limited supply convoys, aimed mostly at bringing equipment and food. Most of the drug supply on base is prepped for marketing.

In the past year of 822, Torino Base has accelerated in its development, thanks to the lesser Royal Navy traffic in Lorraine, most likely due to its deployment in the ongoing war at the Liberty borders. The Maltese Nation leaders decide to invest in a small-budget reinforcement project, in the form of a cut-down Destroyer class vessel, to act as security for Torino and flex some muscles in the face of gallia’s unlawfuls. This experimental vessel is expected to be finished by late January of 823 and its captain is already chosen...

For Character Cast Intro: [CLICK HERE]

Connected Stories

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 11:34 AM by eigos.)

Date: 17-DEC-822; Time: 10:21
BLUEPRINT RECEIVED: RM-1LS (CLASSIFIED)

When one of the directors at Bastia Station’s shipyard, Diego Rojas, gets his hands on a “top secret” blueprint for a new vessel, he enters a “fired-up mode” that can impress even the lowest-wage shipyard worker into overtime labor. But not this time… his face went from excitement to shock, gradually turning into disgust and finally – hopelessness and pain. He calls his assistants Alonzo, Rico and a group of engineers to the briefing room about the project.

Diego: Boys… reading these blueprints really got me thinking about stuff.. about the effects of food poisoning… you know, the really powerful kind. Like two months ago, when we had that “special” in the cantina that turned out to be rancid, but we ate all of it and thought it was supposed to taste like that, so we washed that down with some chocolate milk, which reacted to the sourness and paved the way for the hours of truth sitting on these toilets for honor and glory.

Alonzo: Thanks for reminding us, boss. That’s one way to start a meeting… but what about the proje-- *he gets interrupted*

Diego: I AM GETTING TO THAT.

*there is a pause, everyone is staring at director Rojas, whose veins had popped out on the forehead*

Diego: This here is a Top Secret project, mi amigos. Secret, you know… like a dirty secret type of thing. But without chics in it. No, more like those embarrassing kind of secrets you hope noone finds out about. Like Rico here, who ran for the toilet first, but couldn’t hold it all the way, so he sat down on that engine component, unaware of the cables still connected to-- *the crew is laughing hard*

Rico: COME ON, MAAN!

Diego: …which ended costing me $180,643 credits to get it fixed and an additional two days of time. *he takes a breath, looking even more irritated, everyone stops laughing* -- It is serious. I am serious. We are about to take a dump on our own national pride and desecrate a work of art into something more fitting of the Rogue Scrapyard down in Cassini. AND I’VE BEEN THERE AND I'VE SEEN IT MYSELF.

Alonzo: Boss, what the hell is this project?

*sweat is breaking out on everone’s faces*

Diego: You boys remember the RM-2X CVL “Misericorde” Prototype I told you about? WE ARE NOT WORKING ON THAT. Maybe a shiny new RM-2A “Storta” with extra juice… NAWWW. Gosh, could it really be… it can’t be. It’s the good old RM-1 “Destruir”… at the beginning at least. But wait – it says here we need to kick it in the nuts, rip off its interior while its squealing, strip out anything unnecessary for it to fly and sew that thing back up before it breaks down structurally.

Alonzo: Senor Rojas…? None of us is laughing right now. Is this a sick joke?!

Diego: Oh, it’s sick. Dig this, it has its own class name: RM-1LS. The “S” stands for special, which we are going to love even more than that cantina special they used to serve. Now do you start to get why this project is a secret? It’s a bad joke that can shake the morale in this whole shipyard. Cutting costs like this can destroy us and I pity the captain of this pile of junk for whatever mission he is sent on.

*the director throws the documents on the desk and looks through the station’s windows*

-The Special- Construction Checklist

Diego: Alonzo, here are the schematics. Rico, take this checklist and get the hell to work. If somebody asks, tell them we are retrofitting a weapons platform here, hopefully this crate will be off the shipyard before anyone sees that it has engines on it.

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 11:49 AM by eigos.)

Cmd. Socorro Pelaez	╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ INCOMING TRANSMISSION [LIVE] AUDIO FEED: [ENABLED] VIDEO FEED: [ENABLED] MESSAGING: [AVAILABLE] Date: 28-DEC-822; Time: 21:18 Subject: [CLASSIFIED] Priority: █ █ █ ▒ ▒ Encryption: [MEDIUM] ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝	Dir. Diego Rojas
Planet Malta, Omicron Alpha	│SENDER├─────── RELAY ONLINE ───────┤RECIPIENT│	Bastia Station, Omicron 85

The shift was over more than an hour ago, but director Rojas was expecting to have a talk with a certain Comandante he personally knew all too well. The live transmission was supposed to happen at 20:30 sharp, but for some reason Cmd. Socorro Pelaez set his transponder status as “busy” and wrote a short message “got delayed, wait for me – it’s important”. So Diego lit up a smoke and waited…

VOX System: *bleep* Incoming Transmission!

Diego: Oh, LOOK who -- *accepts transmission* …decided to call! You sleazy looking, nerve destroying, no-good piece of -- *gets interrupted*

Socorro: Wow, you’re definitely on a roll there, chief! Now, I know you are mad at me, but –

Diego: Oh no, I’M CALM, and you are STILL here! Because back in my day as Major, whoever came in late for a meeting with me, DIDN’T SURVIVE TO TELL ABOUT IT!!

*a pause ensues, Diego demonstratively crunches his burnt out cigar on the ash tray*

Socorro: I was delayed, Diego. It’s Friday and the higher-ups got drunk again… wouldn’t leave the quarters. I had to wait until everyone left to ensure we had complete privacy.

Diego: I know those bastards. But what do you have to hide from them? They are the ones who authorized this “project”!

Socorro: They signed what they were told to sign, but they aren’t briefed on the bigger picture. You are going to hate me for this, but I am just gonna say it – you have 6 days less for the deadline now. This has got to be ready before 25-th of January.

Diego: I am always two steps ahead of you and your dimwit handlers… I told Alonzo to speed things up the day we started, exactly one week shorter on the deadline. Make that even shorter and I will personally pick up that pile of junk and shove it up your most tender places.

Socorro: And this is exactly why they assigned you and your team for this project. If we had more people like you, this shipyard wouldn’t need 3 directors. Looks like I didn’t have to call you after all -- *a smirk of embarrassment crawls up his face*

Diego: You may have wasted MY time, but now I am going to waste YOURS. Because you are going to tell me every detail that your direct superiors don’t know nothing about. Starting with… what the hell is this crate for and who are you trying to kill with it, besides the very pilot that flies it?!

Socorro: Heh, believe it or not, I knew you were going to ask. A stupid rank in the Maltese Navy was never the requirement for getting to the juicy info… but being slick gets you there. Diego, what do you know of our operations in Gallic space?

Diego: That base in Lorraine…Torino, was it? I heard it was a hole with lowlifes who are working to fix it up and prepare for cardamine business. I am amazed it’s still standing and our military ain’t the ones keeping it that way.

Socorro: Gallia mopped the floor with Kusari, ate up the Colonials and is still hungry for Bretonia and Liberty. In the face of that, our military has but to sneeze in their general direction… and those maniacs will swing around and suplex us by our chest hair. I hear they are real busy in Leeds and California right now. But even so, we still have major issues – the scumbag contingent in Gallia is now active more than ever and they have noticed us.

Diego: The Council… and those rag-tag band of Brigands, didn’t we pay those gnats?

Socorro: We did, they are keeping their distance and supply our base now and then. But The Council has it out for us. I hear some of them are helping maintain Liberty’s borders. Thing is, they’ve got a terrorist bastard son of a faction, named The Maquis – rumor has it, they are too loyal to bribe off. But even they are not the issue! You see, there is a 4-th player in this game… a shady bunch that calls themselves Unione Corse.

Diego: Uh-huh. What are those bastards capable of?

Socorro: They have the smallest fleet of all… snubcraft. But you don’t win a war by throwing bricks – you pay others to do it for you. When they want something, they put their fingers up that “something”s butt until they come out on the opposite side. Our management doesn't like that… it is not money they want – it’s the stuff that makes the money, like our cardamine. Until recently we had a deal to split profits, but that changed last week when they showed up with an offer that could make Interspace Commerce curl up in the fetal position right on the corner.

Diego: So you cooked up that project here to do hard bargaining with them 4 weeks from now?

Socorro: My friend…we bargain with noone. We are going to test them so hard, until there’s nothing left to test on. A war where every credit we spend, they would pay quadrupal that amount. There was a closed conference exactly a week before you received the project. The initial idea was to send a pack of “Montante” gunships with a few “Cutlass” bombers to be cost effective. The base has enough knuckleheads to crew the ships, most of them were actually cardi farmers… god knows where we brought them all from.

Diego: So we ain’t losing much even if those Corso’s bring on some whoop-ass on us.

Socorro: Exactly. But at the last moment in that meeting, someone from the Torino security crew stood up and said he had a better idea. Imagine, he said, a ship with 1,5 times more firepower than 2 gunships and less maintenance costs. Also imagine it could be built within weeks with simplified handling that allows it to be flown by a single pilot. Does that sound familiar?

Diego: Hell… I never thought of it this way! That guy is genius, I wanna meet him! What is his name?

Socorro: Ka…Kadego… something like that. He got assigned to pilot that thing and said he wanted to name the ship after his grandpa or something. Yeah, like we’d let that happen -- *gets interrupted*

Diego: Son, I think I heard enough for today. It’s past 11 p.m. and some of us have to actually show up to work on Saturdays. And by that I don’t mean you! You will hear from me when I wanna know more about these matters.

Socorro: Oh yeah, absolutely. And sorry for the deadline crunch – I’m gonna make it up to you when -- *gets interrupted again*

Diego: YOU just make sure that deadline doesen’t shrink any further, or I will speedmail that junk galley straight to your face, got it? Good night and thanks for the information.

Socorro: You got it, chief. Good night.

VOX System: *bleep* Transmission Ended.

Diego (talking to self): Kadego, you fool... you're in for it now, first thing tomorrow. I haven’t heard from you in a year and now... you're in a bigger mess than I thought. If YOU fly that ship, that'll make you priority numero uno target and I'll be served papers for your funeral, just like it happened with your grandfather!! Not on my watch, boy... not like that, you ain’t.

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 12:03 PM by eigos.)

Date: 29-DEC-822; Time: 11:09

The next morning, a very hung over Captain wakes up to the most annoying noise coming out of his personal comm-device. He yawns out loud, gets up and lets loose some rather hefty swear words. He sees a message on the screen with an anonymous sender and maximum priority…

Quote:HEY, JACKASS, IT’S ME! LONG TIME NO SEE, HUH?? WHY, I’M DOING GREAT, THANKS! What have YOU been up to? Wait, don’t tell me – you finally went to Engineering School in Liberty, yes?

Listen to me boy, and you listen up good – I know exactly what kind of crap you cooked yourself into and when I see you, you’d better be ready for the biggest smackdown of your life.

I have already sent Rico with a transport to Valetta Shipyard to pick up some stuff and YOU are gonna be on that transport between 12:30 and 13:30. You get on that thing, or I will personally come down there and fish you out of Malta in a way you won’t see coming. I will be seeing you and I can barely wait.

From: Diego (your worst nightmare)

Kadego: …holy mother of…the hell..? That old gas-bag, how does he find out those things! And what… oh! OH, 11:12 right now?? La madre que te parió!

After departing from Valetta Shipyard, the transport convoy headed for Omicron 85 with a still acceptable delay of 40 minutes. With a long uneventful flight lying ahead, Rico and Kadego spended their time catching up and talking about the most famous shipyard director that they know of. Five hours later, they arrive on Bastia Station, just as the saturday workshift had ended.

Rico: Well, my man – I guess it’s judgement time for you! Senor Rojas told me to send you straight to the bar, he said only a strong drink can hope to mellow him down a little.

Kadego: If you come with me, I might stand a better chance of surviving… you know, split the damage by two!

Rico: You jokin’ right? Both you and the shipment are late… he was pissed before… now it’s on the next level - and I’m outta here. Good luck!

A worried Kadego starts making his way in a fast pace to the station’s cantina, his mind occupied to come up with possible excuses to more than four misunderstandings, with the probability of them being way more than just four. He enters the bar area, looks around and sees a hand motioning in his direction, way back the other end of the hall. He starts walking toward it until he could see a familiar head next to the hand that waves him on. That head had a face, looking quite irate, eyebrows frowned into a single large one, a pair of eyes that can stare-off a reptile away and a smile which can only be described as diabolical.

Kadego: So, we are here… You look good, chief! …even better, you have the face of a murderer, in his prime 40-ies, fresh outta prison and ready to bring it. Damn…is that hand slowly curving into a fist, or am I just imag -- *gets interrupted*

Diego: YOU…are going to shut up and sit your skinny ass down. Put on your listening ears and don’t make a move… I’m struggling here to keep my hands off your face.

*to see director Rojas angry was to feel time itself bending around his presence*

Diego: Are you feeling suicidal lately? Like, going down with a big bang, so all can see how tough you’ve become? So first you sign up for being a tool in that god forsaken backwater station – a glorious security guard – then you sign up for a mission that NOONE knows or cares about…and not a word…not a single word to me, someone who raised you as a grandson! *he rests his head sideways on his left hand, looking disappointed*

Kadego: What? Suicide…? No! Diego, you misunderstand – I signed up as a prototype test pilot with basic security duties, 50% higher wage for doing –nothing- AND an immediate promotion to Captain 2-nd rank!

Diego: Boy, what you signed up for…is to be a boxing sack full of hot air with a sign on that says “Hit & Pop!”. But I know you are slightly stupid, so I will explain.

Let’s say management saw the need for heavier escorts in that area. That lights up the small candle, like - “oooh, so we are expecting a full-on pasting pretty soon”! Then they bring up the tell-tale issue “but look boys, we ain’t gonna spend much on this”. Zing-zing, a lightbulb shines – “they are cool with letting some of ours kick the bucket there”. And now comes our great hero, the Captain 2-nd rank himself – he looks around and says “I’m taking this one, I’m good from behind! And it WILL be cheaper!” And they say “well done son, lets do that a week sooner… screw the old plan!”

*both men look away from eachother, the tension prompts for another sip of drink*

Diego: Son, I received the ship schematics almost two weeks ago. Nobody told me what it was and only just yesterday, I got that hairgrease Pelaez to spill the beans on the whole operation. He is in it, but not as a military commander…the whole thing will be swept under the rug.
You stepped on a steaming fresh pile this time and I am doing my best here to pull you out of it. There is no use in hiding; deserters don’t go in prison…they are dealt with on the spot. Now, I have a plan that might get you out alive…

Kadego: That’s so messed up… how are we going to tackle this one?

Diego: First of all, that junk you will be flying – it’s receiving an overhaul and guess who is paying for it out of his own pocket. *he points at his own irate face*
Countermeasure unit, capital thruster, advanced deep scanner, light 2.5 armor reinforcement and a secondary eject pod. And if THAT wasn’t suspicious enough, I am putting in a secondary IFF transponder which, if you are lucky, you won’t have to use.

Kadego: I am gonna pay you back to the last credit, you can count on it. My contract runs out after this mission anyway and I plan on bringing some of the equipment back with me.

Diego: You know…back in the day, me and your grandfather were crazy, but he always took it on a higher level than me. You inherited his craziness, alright…I hope you brought the luck to match that. Come with me, I am about to piss on the security protocol and show you that fruitbasket... I think you will like its name.

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 12:15 PM by eigos.)

MALTESE VESSEL DATABASE
SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON IN PROGRESS…

Ship Identification:	"Sudrossa" Heavy Escort	"Storta" Destroyer
Chassis Code:	RM-1LS	RM-2A
Vessel Class:	Experimental	Destroyer; Capital Ship
Hull Strenght:	246,000(u)	300,000(u)
Power Reactor:	CPC-R1	CPC-R2B
Engines:	Generic ZG-300 Type-T	Destroyer Class RM-2A
Scanner System:	Generic Adv. Deep Scanner	MT-12 Tracking Scanner Array
Onboard Facilities:	Bridge; Deck; Engine Room; Cargo hold;	Bridge; Deck; Engine room; Mission control room; Medical & Science facility; Engineering facility; Docking port; Cargo hold;
Crew Capacity:	1(min); 3(max)	10(min); 25(max)
Building cost:	$67,408,312 (loadout incl.)	$179,582,250 (loadout excl.)

If one were to look at the price comparison first, the question would be “why don’t we just compare walnuts to coconuts then”. But what one should be asking is the more essential question – why did we build that thing and what can it do for us. To understand the purpose of the experimental ship, one must take into focus the Heavy Escort role tag. In general terms, those two words can be used to describe anything from bombers, super heavy fighters, armored transports... all the way to gunships and gunboats. So let's compare it to a standard "Montante" border world gunship then – it costs about 2,2x times more, both can be piloted by a single person and optionally accommodate more crew. However, when we get to the loadout details, even two of those gunships cannot compete. Add the reduced need for pilots & provisions by 2x, with 1,5x times less fuel consumption…woah, those numbers are looking too good! Now we get back to our current comparison, against an outcast naval capital.

Looking at the chassis codes, we immediately see an outdated RM-1 with two extra letters to it – L for light and S for special. To counter the confusion, we will set our eyes on the hull stat. An original RM-1 is estimated at ~195,000(u), followed by the newer RM-2A with its 300,000(u) which is not just tougher, it also weighs less and is thus more maneuverable thanks to the advanced light alloy. Although the reactors are not that much different, the newer one is battle ready in a few seconds after disengaging from cruise, while the older needs almost half a minute to re-route power to the weapons system.
The big shock however is reading up on the interior differences in both ships, because that is where the money is….or was. So what do we make of all this?

The RM-1LS is slower than a gunship, but more powerful… a mobile weapons platform that is best paired with a small fighter wing, able to easily overpower a larger number of fighters with their own gunship escort. It completely lacks the graceful maneuverability of a destroyer capital ship (which requires a whole crew operating on it), but it can definitely take a punch or two for the team. It is not meant to be used in prolonged capital battles, as a lack of gracefulness means an inevitable defeat in the artillery trade-off.

However, there is a scenario that can possibly make this ship invaluable – a full speed frontal assault on another capital vessel with its shields down and its hull weakened means you can actually cut your target in half and come through the other side still alive, as if you were thrusting a shovel through a cracked piece of wood. No other capital ship can do this and here is why – the Sudrossa has all its vital compartments and bridge at its back mid-section, instead of the front!

The frontal part is a reinforced structure, sealed off from the rest of the ship and can possibly be entirely broken away without the ship exploding or decompressing.

This ship is indeed a formidable piece of engineering, built for a very particular job. It is through this way of thinking that the outcast nation has survived for 800 years in one of the most inhospitable places in the Sirius sector. Whether this experiment would prove successful is still to be determined…

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 12:15 PM by eigos.)

Date: 25-JAN-823; Time: 06:47
IT'S GO TIME

It was early in the morning when the doors in the briefing room were closed and everyone was scrambling to get to their seats. Short greetings were exchanged, the last dirty jokes were cracked and the small talk was slowly dying out when the mission commission walked in and took their stands on the left side of the room. A very familiar figure came up on the holo-board, stood right at the center and crossed his arms behind his back while looking at the audience. It was comandante Socorro Pelaez, a special agent of the Maltese Navy. Then there was absolute silence.

All right people, this mission briefing is now in session, shut your traps and listen up!
Today we are having a private, almost intimate meeting with a bunch of snot-nosed, wig-wearing bastards who call themselves the Unione Corse. You don’t know them? That’s cause you ain’t seen them! But guess who turned out to be best buddies with them – The Brigands! And ya’ll know THEM, right?

Now this, my ladies, is bad! Brigands did tell us they were helping out The Council (who hate our guts), we later found out about their friendship with The Maquis (whose name sounds like a brand of sanitary lady tissues) and now, The Corse turns out to be like their big brother with a smug smirk on his face, who comes over and wants money! They’ve set their eyes on our cardamine shipments and, being sleazy as anything, they wanted in on the profit! Now, we have been real sports about it, we gave them a taste of the orange dream and kindly asked for a 32% return on whatever they sell. And a month ago they had the audacity to piss on us by wanting “more”!

However there is some good news. They have no idea about our station and our brigand pals here are keeping their mouths shut about its existence. Why? ‘Cause if the Corse find out their little brother has been shipping goods here, not to mention directly helping us set this place up, the situation could go south ‘till the omegas. So now, the ONLY ones who know we are even here, is them… not the Police, not the Royal Navy, not the Council, noone else! And it is in our best interest to keep it that way! If anyone else were to find out about it, we could be facing annihilation.

Today, we are about to take part in an operation that will be code-named “Sombra Asunto”, or in other words - ”shady business”. In our upcoming meeting with the Unione, there can be only three possible scenarios: A.) the meeting goes smoothly, we get what we want and leave; B.) they try to pull one over on us, we teach them a lesson in particle physics; C.) something unexpected happens, we are forced to improvise.

Now, in the cases of A.) and B.), the mission success is assured. Come to think about it, that’s some pretty good odds at 66,67%! As for the third one… boys, you never want to think about option C.) – it is a god-damn one way ticket.

Our forces will be split into two groups: Iota and Sigma wings. I will be leading Sigma on a Dromedary freighter with a cardamine shipment… Alvaro, Carlos, Federico and Santiago, you are coming with me!
Velasco, you are Iota leader and the rest of you will follow him! Last but not least, Kadego… you will be on Iota as well and I am expecting to see things from you today. Everyone, am I absolutely clear??

Everyone: SI, COMANDANTE!

Men, to your ships and let’s get this show on the road!!

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 12:45 PM by eigos.)

MISSION LAUNCHED: SOMBRA ASUNTO
Current Time: 07:21

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: All units, this is the mission commission… you will find the uploaded data in your navmaps, proceed to the target waypoints and follow the protocols. We will be tracking your progress on our long range scanners and are ready to assist you with coordinates in case of an anomaly. Remember, this mission is entirely in your hands – there will be no reinforcements of any kind, our patrol wings are going to remain inside the base perimeter for security reasons. Good luck and make us proud.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Affirmative. Sigma and Iota wings, enter formation and follow me!

There have never been so many fighters around Torino Base in its short history. Every available security patrol is out there guarding their respective zones, with the mission operatives standing in the middle next to the base. The primary group, Sigma Wing, is made up of 4 switchblade escorts and their leader piloting a dromedary freighter with a cardamine shipment - the exact specifications for the Unione Corse meeting. The secondary Iota Wing however, is the real ace in the deck - something more than capable of dealing with a "Plan-B" scenario. It consists of 5 sabre very heavy fighters (including the wing leader), armed with the newest kraken guns and cruise disruptors. And on top of that - the "Sudrossa" heavy escort, something that can seal the deal in more ways than one.
After the second mission waypoint, both wings split up: Sigma continues straight to the rendezvous point with the Corse, while Iota continues to another checkpoint to avoid detection, before flying out to their own strategic post - from there, it's the ideal entry point in case a direct strike is needed, should the negotiations fail.

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: Sigma team, we are detecting the Unione Corse envoy group at 4K ahead of you. Disengage your cruise engines and move slowly to the safe distance of 2K in between. Iota team, stay alert until further notice.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Attention, escort pilots of the Corse... this is Comandante Socorro Pelaez speaking, I am here on behalf of the Outcast Nation. I request that your leader identifies himself, so we may speak.

[UC]-Henri: Monsieur Pelaez, looks to me that you are 1 hour and 37 minutes late. *his voice is unbelievably mild* I was starting to worry you might be lost in this beautiful province of ours. Would you like to share with me the reason for this delay?

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Whom am I speaking to?

[UC]-Henri: You can call me Anrie. *soft laughter*

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): With all due respect, monsieur Anrie… your organization called for a date shift on a short notice, which we were kind enough to oblige…then you demanded another 10% commission on the cargo in your favor, making it an obscene 78% pure profit for you! Now what is your excuse for that?

[UC]-Henri: Monsieur Pelaez,… yes the date did change, but not the time -- *he speaks incredibly slick* -- in my culture, you don’t come late to a rendezvous and keep the lady waiting… because then you would have to make it up to her. Usually a very costly mistake.

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: This is Iota leader, we’ve reached the intercept position and are standing by for orders.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Let me repeat – you got an extra 10% bonus, leaving me with something that barely covers my costs! You should be glad we came through at all!

[UC]-Henri: *laughs softly* …aaaah, mon ami! That drug you are offering us turned out harder to sell than anything – of course we had to ask for a little extra margin! Unless you have something better to offer…

*Secure Channel* Sigma Leader (Pelaez): I don’t know if I can handle much more of that voice. Mission command, are you reading all this?

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: Affirmative… either he’s flipped the door lock around, or the gallic women have one sick taste in men. Socorro, you finally met your match there, huh.

[UC]-Henri: But where was I with my last thought… aah, yes. It seems you didn’t understand my allusion when I mentioned about keeping girls here waiting. Think of me as your girlfriend. *he imitates a female voice* You are late in delivering la cargo… a direct contract breach and we are entitled to compensation. We -- * open channel muted*

*Secure Channel* Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Iota wing, proceed to our location… Those powdered wigs here are starting to get cute with me! Flank them from the rear and we’ll see if we can’t change their attitude a bit!

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: Understood, engaging cruise engines… ETA – one minute to your location.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): *open channel unmuted* Anrie, there was a strange interference in your last transmission, eh… would you mind repeating that last -- *gets interrupted*

[UC]-Henri: My patience has reached its limits, comandante! *he still sounds ridiculously feminine* Your commission fee is void now and the cargo will be handed to us freely as compensation for our loss of time and resources here. There are only two options for you now – comply or terminate the contract… which means YOUR termination in the most literal sense. Comprenez vous?

*Secure Channel* Escort Sigma-2: Sir, we are picking up 8 fighters en route to our location! They have brought reinforcements!

*Secure Channel* Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Men, the Unione Corse has just threatened us with death and we have more of them coming in to finish the job. Iota group, break formation immediately, get here as soon as possible and light them up like cardi candles.
Sigma-1 and Sigma-2, you will ram through their front formation and focus them one at a time. Sigma-3 & 4, you are coming with me… we are making an omelette à la Anrie here and I am HUNGRY. On my marks!!

[UC]-Henri: See around you, comandante. Think of those ships that are coming here as a sort of timer – when they get here, your time will be up... they already got their termination orders. I am the only one here who can stop them *soft laughter* Hand me the cargo and I will gladly turn them away… then we may talk about our next meeting and maybe even get our business relations to the next le –

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Compañeros, open fire and send those buffoons to el abismo!

Escort Sigma-4: For the Malta Nation!!

Escort Sigma-1: Soy el portador de la muerte!!

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 01:04 PM by eigos.)

The outcast surprise attack catches everyone off guard, with units Sigma-1 and 2 ramming Anrie’s closest escorts at thruster speed, sending them flying like paper planes with depleted shields. With the comandante in the middle, the rest of the Sigma wing unleashes a tachyon salvo, hitting the freighter of [UC]-Henri so hard, it barely survives after an emergency deployment of both shield batteries and nanobots. It takes the Unione Corse a whole 3 seconds to realize what had just happened. Then the fight erupts to its fullest, with the Corse reinforcements now at the location, bringing forth a shower of plasma in its wake.

Iota Leader: Backup has arrived. Now show us your leader, so he may face annihilation.

Escort Sigma-3: Taking heavy damage, get these bloodsuckers off me!

[UC]-Escort-15: You have no chance, you lowlife narcs! There is more of us here than you can ever count to! Groupe, engager!

Escort Sigma-2: Holy Santa Maria novella, 4 more of them are appearing on the radar!

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): What’s that now, only 17 of them? Men, listen - even if they send their whole god damn population at us, I don’t care! We are the Outcasts, the pride of The Hispania! And we are going to make compost out of them for Malta’s plantations! Fight with everything you’ve got!!

[UC]-Henri: Manger ma merde! Et tout ce que je vous donne à manger! Et sucer ça!

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Whatever you just said, Anrie, you’d better not have mentioned anything about my mother, because at the end of the day, we are going to have -- *a huge vessel appears right in front of his ship* -- a serious….what in the – ESCORTS, WATCH OUT -- *the two escorts and the comandante pull up at the last second before collision*

Iota-5 (Kadego): This is heavy escort Iota-5, I hear you called for a burial and I brought the shovel. Watch out comandante, you are going to feel this one!

Seconds later, at full cruise speed, the destroyer ploughs through the closest two corse fighters, causing a massive explosion.

The shockwave manages to sling commander Pelaez and his escorts further away, while the debris from the epicenter heavily damages the other two pursuers.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): …Kadego…! What you just did makes me wanna hug you until you drop dead!! What sort of devil taught you to fly like that?! If you are going to run them over, we could’ve saved the money for installing those turrets –

Iota-5 (Kadego): First things first, el capitan! I am going to need a minute here until the furnace heats up, so stay tuned for that! *he disengages the cruise engines and lets the powercore charge up*

Escort Sigma-3: Comandante, my systems are cooked, I am ejecting!

[UC]-Escort-11: Préparez-vous à mourir!

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): I’ve got you, amigo… *tractors the escape pod* …Iota leader, get these guys off us! …where the hell is our backup?!

Iota Leader: Comandante, my wing is out of position and I have two of my men pin down under heavy fire from all sides. We are doing the best we can to –

Iota-5 (Kadego): Alright, people…weapons online, thanks for waiting. Comandante, I am right behind you and you should definitely move aside for what’s coming.

The Sigma wing immediately makes a sharp turn, heading directly towards the destroyer for cover.

The pursuing corse fighters decide to regroup at a distance ahead and form up for a full frontal assault on the large ship. This would prove to be the biggest mistake of their lives, as their salvo only manages to bring the shield halfway down, while its turrets managed to shred 3 of their ships like nails through a cardboard. With 5 enemy fighters remaining, the Sigma group is starting to regain its composure.
Meanwhile the Iota wing is fighting in the north-eastern part of sector 7B, right in the Le Thillot asteroid field. However, they were late to realize the trap they stumbled into – the unione corse had the advantage with their faster ships, while the outcasts were more busy dodging asteroids, not being able to adequately return fire. There, the situation rapidly deteriorated when the corse leader put into action the second part of the trap - ridding the area with nuclear mines. In less than two minutes, the mines started exploding on impact with the asteroids, rapidly depleting the outcast group of shield batteries. The final nail in the coffin came when a chain mine explosion disabled three of the outcast fighters, thus forcing their pilots to eject and be tractored by their two remaining comrades.

Iota Leader: Base command, this is Iota Leader… I have just lost three of my escorts, but we managed to bring the men in… Requesting permission to fall back at previous location…! I repeat, we are outnumbered 2 to 7 here, we need assistance!

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: Affirmative, we are uploading coordinates now. Heavy escort Iota-5, get over there immediately and assist your wing. Sigma team, we read four remaining enemies at your location… finish them off as soon as possible and proceed to rejoin the rest of Iota group.

Iota-5 (Kadego): Roger, swinging the shovel around right now. Iota leader, do you copy? Bring these gnats over to me and let me at them! There is going to be a surprise like they’ve never seen before!

Iota Leader: We are making a run for it, they are right behind us. Whatever you do, do not enter the asteroid field… it’s a death sentence.

Iota-5 (Kadego): I see them… boys, out of the way NOW! Let’s see if they like this!

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 01:14 PM by eigos.)

The destroyer launches two pulse shots left and right, followed by the light mortar at the centre and two reinforced cruise disruptor missiles at the enemy’s flanks. What follows is a terrible explosion that obliterates 4 out of the 7 corse fighters, leaving only their leader and two escorts standing. With their pursuers now on the run, Iota wing starts dispensing their full loadout on them without mercy.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): ...was that Anrie flying here just now? Ah, monsieur Anrie, glad you could join us again! Look, these are your two remaining goons here and over there you will find the last remaining “reinforcement” that is still in the process of being cooked. *laughs* You know what’s funny? Somehow you managed to lose 13 of your 16 men right on your very doorstep of home space! We lost about…what’s that, 4 ships..? And our men are safely inside the cargo bay, just waiting for me to bring you in with them as well! How’s that for taking our “relationship” to the next level? *laughs even harder*

Iota-5 (Kadego): Err, I think we just broke two more of them over there… all I see is Anrie and that guy with the holes in his bucket right now. I’d say there isn’t much else for me to shoot at, so I am just gonna grab a cold one from the fridge here.

[UC]-Henri: You imbeciles, this is not over! *his gallic accent is heavier than ever* I will arrange to have your entire nation kneel before the Guillotine de Malheur! I promise you this! *he fires up his cruise engines, leaving a thick trail of countermeasures behind*

Iota Leader: They are both making a run for it, comandante!

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Iota leader and Iota-3, don’t let those sleazy bastards escape. You will have the honor of finishing this job alone. I hate to say his, but life support over here is starting to fail and I have a cargo hold with escape pods that management would die to get their hands on.

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: Comandante, this is the mission commission. Give us a status report, over.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): This is Socorro speaking, I have sent what’s left of the Iota wing to chase down the last two fleeing corse scumbags, who are running out of countermeasures as we speak and will be in custody very soon. My Sigma wing is down to 3 heavily damaged switchblades, and my freighter has more holes in it than gallic cheese. The heavy escort took well over a dozen explosions head on, but that thing is still 85% intact – gotta get me one of those rather soon, I’d say!

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: Understood. Sigma wing, proceed to the base at once, we are sending a patrol to escort you. Iota wing, catch their leader and you will get your payment tripled today. Heavy escort, you are to remain there and secure the area for your wing’s return.

Sigma Leader (Pelaez): Kadego, once this whole thing is done, I will be waiting for you at the base with a fat stack of credits in my hand. We definitely have some things to discuss, so get back as soon as you can.

Iota-5 (Kadego): Sure thing, chief! In the mean time, I will be going through the loot that’s floating around here, because who knows – I might just find something valuable to pay for my repairs.

With the Sigma team departing back to base, the young captain was left all alone with the tempting thought of his forthcoming payment and the success of the whole operation. As he was combing through the abundant debris left by the crippled Jaguar Noir fighters, his imagination started working on the image of his mentor, Diego and his possible reactions after his return. While tractoring items of interest and scanning ahead for more, a sudden secure channel transmission came in that felt like a stinging slap to the captain’s face, effectively ending his short meditation.

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: Iota-5, this is Iota Leader, come in!! *heavy static noise* We have a situation on our hands here… Iota-3, stay in formation, we are bugging out of here… Iota-5, do you copy – *static*

*Secure Channel* Iota-5 (Kadego): Leader, I read you loud and clear, where are you? What the hell is going on out there?!

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: The runaways have escaped, we have aborted the retrieval… *more static* We are currently… *indistinguishable noise* …4B sector, they are closing on to us!

*Secure Channel* Iota-5 (Kadego): THEY?? Who else is coming with you??

*Secure Channel* Mission Control: Attention Iota-5, this is mission control. We have just received a transmission from your wing leader... it turns out the Unione Corse has deeper connections than we thought and now they have called the Gallic Royal Police for backup. We have set up an intercept course for you to meet up with the rest of your wing, at 7k above the asteroid field in sector 5B. Make your way there immediately, while we assess the whole situation.

*Secure Channel* Iota-5 (Kadego): Damn it all, I am on my way! Maldita sea todo!!

eigos · (This post was last modified: 01-28-2024, 01:24 PM by eigos.)

As the seriousness of the situation started to slowly sink in, captain Kadego felt a cold chill up his spine and realized it may not even matter whether he could get to the waypoint on time or not. Once the Royal Police engages in battle, any officer you manage to gun down will cost you enough time for their backup to arrive and there cannot be a victory at the end.

The only possible good outcome would be to quickly shoot down a few of them with the first salvo and to make a run for it while the others fall back to regroup. And another grave detail makes this thought even scarier – the base won’t send any backup. No way. They’d rather lose a few men, than to risk revealing the location of their hideout.

*thinking to himself* Maybe old man Diego was right after all. This really IS a suicide mission… hell, if I manage to get out of this alive, I am personally throwing that security contract in Socorro Pelaez’s face… after he pays me of course. But right now, I see only one option to survive here… that second transponder Diego told me about… bingo, there it is. Now, those maniacs from the police will not wait for an order to use their cruise disruptors, but if I switch to the civilian transponder at just the right moment, their automatic tracking systems will disengage and the disruptors won’t fire. It’s sort of like a hidden countermeasure that noone ever expects… it would take them at least 10 to 20 seconds to realize what happened and to manually target me. In that time, I would have reached cruise speed and I am going to start launching my reinforced countermeasure ammo to fully block any possible disruptor missiles from reaching me. The only problem is, I have no idea where to run after that… might as well run straight out of the system into deep space, as I have tons more fuel than them to spend.

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: Iota-5, we are now seeing you on our scanners, but we’ve lost contact to base! The police are jamming our communications with static interference! Their position is 4k behind us and there isn’t much room for us to change course without getting in their disruptor range! What do we do now?

*Secure Channel* Iota-5 (Kadego): Amigos, the only option left on the table for us now is Option C). Wing leader, you and your escort are carrying 3 of your pilots who lost their ships. Now, I promised to kick ass today and I am not going back on that promise… but I will be doing this one solo. Velasco, get your men to safety.

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: Kadego, what the hell? We can take ‘em, I have seen you fight! You don’t have to be a hero, let’s all turn around and wack those bastards!

*Secure Channel* Iota-3: They ain’t got nothing on us!! I can do this all day!

*Secure Channel* Iota-5 (Kadego): Boys, listen to me, there ain’t much time left! Those fools from the Unione Corse are one thing, but messing with the entire Royal Police is suicide. Now, I’ve already made up my mind about this and I have a plan that may work to save all of us. But it can only work if I remain solo here… right now, head towards my ship and after you pass me by at 10k, set course for Torino straight away. I am going to disrupt the crap out of those bloody police dogs and then my secret weapon will do the rest. You’ve gotta trust me on this!

*Secure Channel* Iota Leader: Kadego… you have never let me down on any of our missions together at this hellhole. I just hope you don’t let yourself down by doing this. If you don’t come back, I will make it my mission to claim this whole system under our control. That’s a promise!

[GRP]Lt.Bissette: Attention, les pirates! This is your final warning… give up running now, or face the King’s wrath of justice! Comprenez vous?

Iota-5 (Kadego): I don’t care about your King and I am not running. Say goodbye to your toupees, because they are about to get shredded into ribbons for your own funeral.

A volley of three reinforced cruise disruptors, followed by a great explosion and a full squadron of 8 fighters that have just had their cruise engines blocked. This is something that the Royal Police didn’t expect. Neither did they get any beforehand intel about the powerful vessel they would have to face, without any bomber assistance. The two sabres they were sent to apprehend were now out of reach and the only thing left to do was call for backup and keep a safe distance from the fast turrets that captain Kadego was aiming at them.

*talking to himself* Ooh, you don’t wanna fight, eh? You definitely don’t want a piece of this… that’s fine. I don’t wanna be here much longer either, I am sure you dirty little cowards have already cried your girly voices out on the comms for backup. Let’s see now, this maneuver ought’a set me straight for cruisin’ *cruise engines charging* and this transponder here will make damn sure you can’t stop me from it. Here we go….3….2….1…. SWITCH!!

With the sharpest possible 360 degrees turn and the nearest police escort at over 2k distance, the cruise engines engaged, the outcast transponder was shut down and replaced with an unknown civilian signature. Seconds started passing, the patrol was left behind in disarray after losing its target and the distance between them grew ever so greater. The only thing that tarnished this moment of success was the burning question “What now..? Where am I going from here?”. At that moment, as the captain was scrambling to plan his flight coordinates, something else caught his attention: an incoming transmission from an unknown source, directly on the new transponder’s secure channel.

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