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RP: The Wayward Trouble in the Mine (Pre-Story Aside)

Syaoran

Syaoran

Retired Staff
YE38
Himmel Der Bergleute Star system
"Heavenly Fields"

The ISS Bergmann, a large civilian cargo vessel idled in the massive asteroid field. Half a dozen construction class frames busily work around the ship. Equipped with pneumatic picks and plasma torches, they diligently extract resources from the surrounding operations. It was a common sight around the Heavenly Fields to see several mining operations taking place.

Vallynn Dor'Houl Barkemp had found himself a place of purpose with the crew of the Bergmann, in the shape of a frame operator. The unfortunate side of that was the frames were not personal nor were they luxurious. The cockpit was cramped, the chair was uncomfortable, and the last pilot might not have taken a shower before he took his shift. It wasn't the worst condition Vallynn had received the frame in, but it was by no means the best.

This was the night shift, and it was just another day with the 5 other minders on his shift

"So where you come from, does everyone have horns on their head?" The voice was Elena, a week old hire who always seemed to be looking for conversation. She had long dark brown hair that fell straight and reached her back side. Her hips were wide and her chest full. When she joined she had said that it was either this or selling her body since she didn't have many talents.

Elena's machine was right next to Vallynn's, it's pick wedged into the asteroid as it tried to dislodge a chunk of ore.
@LordAelfric, sorry about the delay on this.
 
Vallynn shifted uncomfortably in his frame, trying to work out some of the minor cramps that came with being 8'2". Thankfully he was short for being Kishargal, but he was above average in bulk. He was stronger than most. His thick arms and hands deftly managed the controls, but it left little room for much else. A voice of a deep baritone answered over the comms, "Indeed we do." He wasn't a very talkative person, but was always polite and answered questions. He had a fairly thick accent when he spoke in Trade, but was always intelligible.

There wasn't much to do out here other than listen to the sounds of the frame's tools scraping against the asteroids. He did have some quiet music from his home playing in the background, but he never let it drown out his concentration. As he was trained to do though, he kept his eyes scanning his surroundings. In this case he would constantly look to his monitors for updates. It was surprising how much of his former life benefited his current one.

Twisting his hands slightly he changed the direction of his pick's target and caught a slight crack behind Elena's, hoping to clear her chunk of ore and give him better purchase for more valuable minerals. He had been a miner when he was young. His whole family was in the business. He knew how to find the right kind of weaknesses.
 
With Vallynn's help, the chunk of ore was dislodged and Elena was able to secure it. "What about their height are they all as big as you...and how does that effect interspecies relations.." Her voice lowered at the second half of her question, it seemed even Elena could be embarrassed about something.

She did not stick around though and made her way to the ship with her large chunk of ore. Even though she 'ran away' she was still within comms range and could not escape a retort.

While busy being Elena flustered, Vallynn would notice that with that chunk gone his frame's sensors picked up another pocket of metal within the asteroid, it was a little smaller but seemed like it might be higher purity, the level that it wouldn't need to be sold to a refinery but could go right to a manufacturer.
 
Vallynn's comms clicked slightly as he began to reply, but no words came out as he was distracted from the sensor changes. He hadn't expected that. She seemed to pick the right spot without really knowing it, something to be praised once they were done here. After a few moments of open comms he finally replied, "Most of my kind are taller than I am. I am considered short for my people." He struggled with the controls for a moment, trying to adjust for the pocket of solid material, but that was more of a delay tactic to avoid answering the awkward question.

"As for inter-species relations I wouldn't even begin to know how to answer that question." He missed his mark and sighed as the pick glanced off the asteroid ineffectually. Zero-g mining was not the same as using your own two hands. Nor did it regularly include explosives. Give him a good set of charges and this rock would be broken into a thousand pieces all ready to be picked up easily. Unfortunately, without some kind fine mesh netting all he'd do it send particles of rock in a million different directions, none of which would be cooperative in gathering.

With a curse in his native tongue he adjusted as necessary and slammed the pick home, wedging it deep just behind the vein of ore. One sharp twist broke away the chunk in a clean separation. Using the plasma torch, he cut the piece in half and left it sitting just inside crack Elena had started. She deserved her fair share. "Looks like you stumbled onto a vein Elena. You should check it out when you return." Another swift strike of the pick on another part of the 'roid caused another hunk to break off. He gathered it with his free hand and headed back to dump the haul.
 
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"They get bigger than you? Beds must be huge." Elena chuckled over the comms as she spoke. "Actually everything on your homeworld must be huge, doors, vehicles...even the toilets." She began to make her way back after having deposited her the ore on the ship. "I guess it must be nice though now that you're -"

Elena's voice was suddenly cut off by the sound of metal being crunched and then static as her comm line went off.

With a quick turn, Vallynn could see Elena's frame 'fall' and then slam roughly into an asteroid, the cause was what could only be described as a 'cannon ball' that drifted into her previous location.

Only seconds after another frame replaced her in the spot and picked up the cannon ball. It was a heavy and powerful looking frame with brilliant red paint and an under arm cannon in one hand. It was obvious this heavily modified machine had been designed with combat in mind.

"Surrender your cargo or be destroyed!" Shouted a voice over the open radio line. "We are the blood raiders!"

At his second sentence two Hoshou fighter craft and a Ghoul Class patrol craft moved from behind an asteroid to reveal themselves. They kept a higher position, ready to fire down on them at any moment.

"We're Blood Raid and prepare to be boarded!"

The other four pilots on shift were frozen, unsure of what to do, and the captain of the Bergmann did not give immediate orders nor a response right away.
 
Assessing the ambush rapidly, Vallynn could see they were in an untenable position. Elena was likely dead or would be in moments. There was no time to play with. Opening his comms to the public channel he spoke in a semi frightened voice, "T-the frame you just b-blasted was carrying the best payload. The pilot found a rich vein. I-if you get it on board your hauler, I can help you. I don't want any trouble." He lifted his frame's hands up, his pick magnetically locked to it's back. "I have some more here, I will grab it and bring it."

He waited for their response before moving.
 
Elena's frame was wedged firmly into the asteroid below, it had sustained heavy damage from the impact, but all that mattered was the torso, or more precisely the cockpit. If the cock pit was fine then Elena would be as well. That was the problem though, the torso had sustained damage, and it was impossible to tell if it was just the outer armor or went down to the chassis, or even if there was a leak that was sucking out Elena's air.

The apparent leader of the Blood Raid did not seem to care about Elena's situation however and shot back a reply to Vallynn. "I said to hand over your cargo, all of it! Not just one hunk of metal!"

For a moment there was silence, but then the voice of the captain of the Bergmann, it was on a private line. "If you guys can hold him off, the authorities will arrive. we don't have to hand him anything."

The other pilots began to speak up and comment with mixed opinions, but it sounded like they didn't want to hand over the cargo.
 
Getting her on board their craft was still his best option. It would arouse the least suspicion, give her the best chance for survival, and change the entire battlefield.

"What she has is worth more than the entire week's haul. If you listen to me, you'll work less, risk less, and be away before any authorities can arrive. I will carry her, you can keep your guns trained on me. I will grab my piece here." He manuevered the frame to where he just dropped off his ore and blocked their view for a very brief moment to grab both the ore and an explosive charge for breaking the really tough rock. Using some cable to cover it up, he slung it over the frame's shoulder. With luck It would look like he intended to haul her with the cable.

Not making sudden movements, he engaged the thrusters to get to Elena quickly while trying to show them he was no threat. He replied over the private channel, "Tell the others to get ready to hide behind their asteroids. This is going to get violent. Be ready for those fighter craft."

He had a plan. Probably get him killed, but he never really let that stop him before. As long as he could get that other frame close enough, this would be a completely different set of odds.

Speaking to the other frame pilots privately he said, "After the chaos starts you four push those asteroids towards the fighters. Then haul ass back to the ship. Avoid straight lines. Don't let them get you targeted or you are done for. If you think they are simply going to let us go, don't bet on it. Fighting is our only option."
 
The d frame pilot seemed to grow aggravated and quickly moved the heavy frame down to Elena's position, landing harshly and causing the asteroid to move some. "I said get all of it! Are you deaf!? Maybe I should kill one of you?" He pointed the large cannon down at the cockpit of Elena's frame.

The other pilots had already made their way somewhat close to the asteroids, ready to make a sprint for them when they needed to. However, the captain was getting very nervous and didn't like the sound of what Vallynn had said to the opposing pilot. He did not say anything back yet, but his distaste was obvious in his tone when replying to orders.

The fighter ships were in a sort of holding pattern, tracing a circle around the group, ready to swoop in at a moment's notice.
 
"Very well." He stopped his frame and moved back to to gather the materials up. Talking to his AI, he said internally, "At best Elena's got very little time. Can you give me a idea of how much oxygen she might have? Set a timer for that. Also, be ready to activate and immediately detonate the explosive charge I am placing inside the cargo. Disable all safety protocols." Still moving quickly he pulled everything together in a train of sorts. All the open cargo boxes lashed together by clamps, he closed them one by one. As he did so he made sure to sneak an explosive charge into one of them. He knew the strength of these frames. They weren't fast, but could haul a lot of cargo and take a beating.

He turned the frame towards the cargo ship and began moving everything in that direction. With the explosive inside one of the cargo boxes, it should make one hell of a makeshift mine. Switching his comms back over to the other miners, he said, "Make sure you try to lead those ships. Make them have to worry about the asteroids, not us."

As he reached the cargo ship he opened his comms again to the local space, "What do you want me to do now? I doubt you want me inside your hauler, but you are going to need a frame to pull all this in."

Internally, "How much time left?"
 
Until now, Vallynn had a measure of control over the situation, but things had begun to fall apart. The first thing to unravel was the AI put an unknown up for the time until Elena ran out of oxygen. It could not tell how damaged the cockpit was, and thus could not tell how fast air was leaking, the sensors just weren't calibrated for that on this kind of mining machine.

The second problem came in the shape of the Bergmann captain. "Don't give him anything! Fight him or something! If we lose our cargo we won't even break even this month!" The captain shouted to Vallynn and the rest of the miners as he kept the cargo hold sealed. "There's more of you!"
 
As the AI reported back with a "Calculating...", he kept at his plan. Making a secure channel to the Captain, he spoke quickly and quietly. "Captain, breathe. Open the other cargo holds like you intend on giving him our cargo. I need them to take the bait. If I fail, you can take it out of my pay." The AI finished it's calculation, "No ETA. Our scanners are not equipped to handle that kind of need."

Vallynn sighed, "Always have an auxiliary plan," he mumbled to himself. Lining up the row of cargo boxes he already had he came to a stop and let them drift. Opening is comms back to the public channels, "Hey big guy, you will need to haul that to your ship. I will get another row and follow you."
 
"I'm not letting you take it!" The captain shouted over the comm and then rocketed the ship off.

The other pilots saw this and confused it for a signal. They pushed the asteroids forward like they were told. One of the Housho managed to avoid, but the other one slammed into it and exploded.

There was no turning back now though, the red frame had seen everything and he turned towards you. "You tried to trick me!?"

The plan had fallen apart, it was a good idea, but none of them were soldiers, their composure had crumbled under the panicky Captain and it was do or die.
 
Recognizing that the world just erupted into chaos, he did the next best thing. Make it up as you go along. He flipped his comms over as fast as he could to the rest of the miners, "Don't go in the same direction. Use the asteroids as cover! Run!" His sigh was audible, "Fool Captain." With a pair of cargo containers in his hand he hurled them as hard as the frame would allow towards the Red Mecha. He slammed the throttle all the way forward, "Go! You heavy hunk of crap!" He rushed towards the train of cargo boxes using the other two as a distraction. Without slowing down he rammed it towards the enemy hauler, it just needed to get close enough. As he hit, he spun his frame around and snagged the pick from it's maglock, with another quick motion of the controls he blasted towards the Mecha while he said over the public channel, "Elena! Now! Get him from behind." Knowing she would not likely respond, he hoped it would cause enough panic to get him to give him an opening.
 
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The pilots quickly responded to Vallynn and rushed behind the asteroids and tried to get their distance. The remaining fighter did not pursue them, however, instead, he went after the captain, if he could disable the Bergmann they could steal all the cargo after all.

The red frame, however, was more interested in the one that tricked him. Before he could get a pompous statement out though his suit was hit with two crates of ore. It was an action that served only to anger the pilot, with the combat designed armor, the damage done was minimal.

The distance closed fast there wouldn't be enough time for Vallynn to act, but when he called out to Elena over the open comms, it caused the pilot to stop and quickly turn around, expecting an ambush, but there was nothing there. It was the time Vallynn needed to close the gap and get in with the red mecha.

The refitted patrol ship held its position once everything broke out. It had more than enough fire power to deal with the situation, and it used it to keep the workers behind the asteroids busy as they ran for their lives from cannon fire that could end them with one well-placed shot. Because of its focus on the others, it did not notice the loaded crates that slowly approached it.
 
Using the frame's considerable strength he raised the pick high and brought it down directly into the main sensor package of his opponent's frame. He hoped it would cause enough damage that it would completely knock out his ability to pilot the mecha, but he always aimed at ensuring his success with a secondary maneuver. Using the mining torch he turned it to full power and aimed right between the shoulders where the pilot's body and head would be. It should cut through the armor, but he was unsure it it'd take too long. He prepped for an incoming blow that would likely send him reeling.

"AI, let me know when the crates are within five meters of the patrol ship." As he fought he shifted the position of his frame to be just enough behind the red frame as to not allow a clear shot to be taken on him.
 
The red frame turned back around in time to bring it's arm up in an attempt to block the pick, however, the actuation caught him off guard and the 'eyes' of the frame were hit. Then the torch came up and started to burn at his armor. It was the most durable part though, with the job of protecting the pilot. Before Vallynn could get through he was kicked away by the red frame, which was then followed by a throw of the ball.

He did not have a lot of time to stand around and look, but there was damage to the sensors, and the armor, both strategies worked at least partially, but he would have to survive to see how effective they were. Though the AI was very helpful and did not just ready to inform him, it actually put up a display to indicate the distance. The distance was less than a kilometer and it was rapidly closing.
 
Vallynn jolted as the kick sent him back. Not built for combat, but could take a hit. Using the momentum from the kick he accelerated backwards, hoping that the quick boost of speed would let him catch the ball. He pulled out one of the cargo nets they used to deal with the smaller yields of ore and opened it to capture the ball. "This is going to hurt," fully accepting that this might do massive damage if he failed to time this right. Using the last blast charge he had on him, Vallynn hooked it to the cargo net away from the center of where the ball would hit. "One makeshift high explosive cannon ball, coming right up."

He glanced at the display, trying to gauge his time. "AI, give me meters per second. Pretend the patrol ship is a dense asteroid, recalculate for maximum damage yield. Guess if you have to. At what range do we detonate? Display on screen."
 
The net did not have the elasticity that Vallynn needed to send the large ball back to the red frame immediately, but it did provide the needed support to lessen the impact. It still connected with the cockpit area, but it only put a dent in the surface layer, none of the internal structure was damaged.

The information from the AI flooded the screen in an all too intrusive way, it was not a combat AI, after all, it did not have a sense for battle. Either way with quick glances it was easy to tell the closer the blast the better. And that it was only about 200 meters away now, just a few seconds were needed.

Those seconds would be tough, however, his split second of leeway from the surprise of the Red Frame that his attack was stopped was over. The Aggressive pilot rushed forward to try and close in, however, Vallynn had his weapon, a solid metallic ball.
 
The impact with the ball rattled the frame hard and cracked his head into one of the panels. He was fairly certain there would be blood. And likely some kind of concussion. With the metallic ball in hand, he quickly secured it with the net so it would not fly out. The explosive charge snug right next to it. With a deft move of the controls he forced the frame to throw the netted ball and explosive right back at his assailant, however he held back just enough to make the throw look weak and entice his opponent to catch it. This was the biggest gamble of all, give his opponent back his weapon. "I'm totally going to die here."

The only backup plan would be if the timing ended up right the explosion from the other ship would turn his attention again, he could make a break for it. "May the Trees protect me from ill. Fire in the hole!" He barked at the AI, "Detonate."
 
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