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RP: The Fringe [Chapter 2.0] - Salvage

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Cockpit

Oreza did not respond to Amelia at first as he fought to keep control of the ship as it took the hit. He had to compensate for the force of the impact and the sudden change in weight of the ship as at least several tons were stripped away when it went.

"Hull and engines are okay, were good" he said, sweat beading up on the retired Captain's brow. Bloody hell what kind of mess this is. Ten bloody minutes more! He thought and hunched over the pilots station. He had not flown a ship this hard in decades and was suprised this old bucket was holding up so well.

He had little time to talk or give orders at this point. He focused entirely on keeping the Veil out of the Vampire's gun sights. Just a little longer and the cavalry would arrive, then things would get sticky for the vampire.

Oreza roolled the Veil on her back, ducking around a chunk of deformed superstructure, then hauled back on the flight controls. He cut them behind the main bulk of the derelict, trying to impose it between them and their persuer.
 
Concordia Veil - Cockpit

The damaged little freighter whipped around the edge of the main wreck and ducked behind it, just as another blast from the Vampire's secondary cannons ripped apart another section of its hull, narrowly missing the Veil by mere feet. Interestingly, however, the ship's scanners showed the attacking craft slowing its pursuit, and by the time they made it around to put the wreck between them, it seemed almost as if the Vampire had simply let it happen. In fact, the scanners showed it come about and cruise off in a different direction; from what Amelia could tell, in the vague direction of the cargo pylon where they had shot down their shuttle.


Inside the Derelict - Medbay

Six Four watched as the beam of light got more and more intense as her hunter drew nearer to the open door, undulating slowly with each cautious step the slaver was evidently taking. After several tense minutes, the barrel of his weapon appeared in the doorway, eerily backlit by the beam from a shoulder-mounted lamp... and then it stopped.

The slaver didn't enter the room, but rather stayed just outside the doorway panning the narrow arc where he could see inside with his weapon, by the looks of it watching for any sign of his quarry. The beam of light was broken for a brief second, possibly by the slaver's other hand as it moved it back towards its body for a reason Six Four couldn't see from her vantage point, and then, surprisingly, he retreated. The beam of light occasionally swept back into the room, but from the way its cone was beginning to look wider and more diffused, it was apparent that he was leaving.
 
Cockpit - Concordia Veil

"It looks like they're breaking off the pursuit," Amelia said, both to Oreza and to herself, barely believing it. She brought her wrist up, checking her PHC; Not much time had passed, but she figured that the ship had to retreat to pick up any survivors before the authorities arrived'; it also told her that they weren't stupid, and would rather cut their losses and run than to risk stay any longer and get obliterated by the Yamataian attack, thankfully so.

The astrogator exhaled slowly, slowly withdrawing her hands from the controls, until she suddenly tensed and snapped out of it. The doctor was still in the wreck with the last survivor. "Six-four, are you alright?" She asked, finger pressing against the side of her helmet.
 
Above the Derelict - Debris Cloud

For several minutes Dylan jinked and dodged, forcing his pursuer to continuously alter his course to catch him, and darted between tumbling chunks of debris to avoid the pot shots from his firearm. His superior speed kept him far enough away to avoid getting in arm's reach, but the cover was too sparse to venture too far. From chunk to chunk he flew, staying under cover before the slaver approached too close, then darted as fast as he could on an erratic path to another one nearby.

Finally, while hiding behind another chunk of hull that was barely large enough to conceal him, the incoming fire stopped. Several seconds passed by, and nothing happened. Eventually he mustered up the courage to peek around, and saw nothing. The slaver was gone.


Concordia Veil - Cockpit

The Veil had no trouble keeping the Vampire on the opposite side of the wreck, largely due to the fact that the pirate ship had now decided entirely to ignore them. The scope showed its signature move away from them and circle the wreck the other direction and stop for a moment. After several minutes, it began to move again, and suddenly picked up speed, streaking out towards the outer system. Then, just as suddenly, it winked off the scanner as it jumped. They had fled.

Just before it did, a loud clank from the cockpit hatch startled all three inside. The door slid open, revealing Sienna, standing with her hands on either side of the doorway.

The look on the captain's face, however, was not one of rage or vengeance; rather, she looked as if she had just received a long, relaxing massage, or perhaps a long nap on a comfortable bed. Her hair was disheveled and clinging over her half-closed eyes, and her posture was slumped slightly to one side. A content little smirk was on her lips as she cocked her head to the side and took a step inside, ducking her head to enter, apparently unaware of the towering Lorath blocking most of her ingress.

"Who's flying this thing to make such a-- whoa, what in God's name do they feed you people?" she said in a sleepy voice, suddenly noticing Shrie and changing her tone in mid-sentence to one of mild suprise.
 
Cockpit

Oreza was taking the reprieve as a moment to catch his breath and let some of the stress bleed out of him, rven loosening his grip on the flight controls a little. He was concerned though as to why the vampire was backing off. The Yamataian warship was still wsy too far out to be picked up on sensors.. Had the vsmpire picked up the communications between the Veil and the Yamataian ship? If so, why was it still hanging around and not just bugging out?

But then they jumped out system and were gone. They had listened in on the comm channel with the warship and done the smart thing and got out before it wad too late.

Oreza glanced over his shoulder as the hatch hissed open and Sienna, loopy from the druggs, just about stumbled into the Lorath.

"Sienna, what are you doing up?". He asked, then glanced at Amelia, "Take over, land us back on the wreck so we can recover everyone else" he instructed as he pulled himself out of the pilots chair. "Good work" he added then went to collect their drugged skipper.

"Lets get you some water, hmm?" he said and started guiding Sienna towards the small common area.
 
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Concordia Veil - Cockpit

Amelia kept staring at the sensors intently, watching as the assailing ship slowly took distance and then, after a brief burst of energy, simply disappeared from the proximity sensors once it had fired its FTL drives. She exhaled slowly again, pressing her back against the seat and slumping down, only then realizing how tense her whole body had actually been after the ordeal. The astrogator let her shoulders drop visibly as she exhaled again, staring up at some more switches and components from the cockpit as she willed herself to calm down.

The reprieve was short, however, when the cockpit's hatch clanked open, starting her again and Amelia straightened herself up once more, turning her head around to regard the captain. She started to tense again, half-expecting Sienna to jump on her throat, but then slowly realized that something was off about her good captain. 'Did she hit her dead or something,' she thought as her helmeted head turned to regard Oreza, watching as the burly man left his seat to 'tend' to Sienna.

"Roger," the astrogator replied, reaching forward for the controls. It was only then that she realized how her hands had started to shake, which she found odd at first, because she didn't think she had been that scared, or simply didn't notice during all the chaos that had passed; It wasn't the first time that had happened, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last, but it always caught her off-guard. Pressing her hands firmly on the controls, Amelia maneuvered the Veil back to where the abandoned shuttle was.
 
Derelict, Debris Cloud

Dylan looked around for a while to be sure his pursuer was gone. Suddenly, he saw a glimpse of the Vampire, as it got to FTL speed. " They're gone." He mumbled. He made his way to the shuttle, as Six Four had instructed him.

Three minutes later, Airlock shuttle

Dylan took a deep breath, after the airlock was repressurised and he had taken his helmet off. Then he stepped through the door. He made his way to the cockpit, and activated the gravitational field on the ship. Suddenly, he stood on the floor. He looked for the radio controls, and found them. He started a broadcast, saying: " This is Dylan Bjarkmar, reporting from a shuttle near a wreck in the Halna System. Does anybody copy?" He could only wait now.
 
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Concordia Veil - Outside the Cockpit

A dismissive, slightly off-put and very exaggerated frown creased Sienna's face at Oreza's proposition. "Water?" the doped captain replied as she was herded back down the stairs, steadied by Oreza's massive arms. "Pbpff. That's boring. Ain't we got anythin' better aboard?" Her voice was slurred and her gait was shuffled and slow; she didn't appear to have the disoriented wobble of a drunk, but she was very clearly impaired, almost as if she were sleepwalking. She reached up and slowly, lazily wiped a few strands of hair out of her eyes as her head lolled over to look at Oreza. "C'mon, loosen up a bit," she said with a thick tongue, leaning in and giving the big man a slight shove, just before she tipped forward and fell into him. A tittering laugh came from her as she steadied herself on his shoulders and pushed herself back upright.
 
Concordia Veil - Cockpit

As everyone seemed to get calm and disregard the Vampire now that it did not follow Veil anymore, Shrie looked away from her console. She saw the captain of the ship who seemed to still feel effect of being drugged. Captain's question surprised Shrie and the lorath did not really knew what to say back. Witty remarks were things of the past, back when talking was no problem. Now Shrie was a bit broken and talking was not so easy, especially with the stranger, so the lorath moved back a bit, giving Oreza space to pass by. She was glad that the nepleslian took the attention to himself, and she stood back, not saying anything back. She slowly turned around and checked the console again, the Vampire might come back and she wanted to be ready, not to mention she had to run a check on the damaged turret. Work, was nice and good, no worries to have while one worked.
 
Inter Computer Veil

Crash was in full panic mode. The SAoY was going to sweep in and "save the day"... Frack that, Crash was going to be another tally mark of some cat girl monster's kill count... Those disgusting tube monsters. He started working up jump figures to get the frack out of this system. Maybe a jump near a star with a short pause before jumping again. That might lose them... He would never be able to get Sienna's trust again, but he wouldn't stop running until either he found a place of other freespacers, or a place so far from the SAoY.

Screens and controls started moving and calculations started flying across the windows. maybe they could hide in Azorea for a bit of time. under all that water would help hide him.Maybe he could convince Amelia to join him in exile.
 
Cockpit - Concordia Veil

An expression of astonishment was clearly imprinted on her face when Amelia saw the ship seemingly start operating on its own again, and she almost instantly knew that it was Crash's doing. Not wanting to risk anyone overhearing her even if she talked on a private channel, the astrogator pulled out her Datajockey once more since there wasn't anyone nearby to see what she was typing, and then frantically tapped a message to the spiderbot.

Code: 
 What the hell are you doing?
 
Cockpit Computer systems

Code: 
What the hell does it look like, I'm getting the frack out of here... I'm
not going to risk that Cat bitch of a captain to kill me for sport..

The calculations continued but they were evident to Amelia that Crash was using basic navigational skills to plot advance jumps. With out help they might land the whole ship, and crew, into a star.

Code: 
I think we will bounce through a few stars before heading to Azorea...
there we can steal a ship and head to the blue nebula... I'm sure they
can't follow us there... though we might have to figure out a way to make
sure you don't get fried from the radiation or something....
 
Concordia Veil - Cockpit

Reading the messages, Amelia slowly felt her face burning with a feeling she couldn't quite pin down between frustration and anger. She would've been much more patient if that had happened on another time where she hadn't gone through all she had just on that day, but as far as things went, she was drained and her fuse was short. The astrogator, though, decided to try and talk Crash out of it before anything, so she sent another response to the bot on her Datajockey.

Code: 
 There's no way anyone can find out about you if you just keep quiet like before, and we're not going anywhere until all the survivors are aboard the ship
 
Cockpit's computer systems

Code: 
 But they have ways to fine my kind... frack they might already 
know that I'm here...

The calculations didn't stop but they slowed a bit as Crash started thinking of ways to try to mask his possible signature. 'If they scan the computer systems I'm screwed...'
 
Cockpit - Concordia Veil

Amelia groaned in frustration, how could the notion that nothing was going to happen go through its digital skull. There was still one last survivor out there, and they couldn't leave whoever that was behind, and the doctor. The doctor, who was also a freespacer. She sent yet another reply, still trying to appeal to the bot.

Code: 
 So are you also going to leave the doctor, who is also a spacer like you, behind?
 
Near Debris Cloud

Two flashes of light left brief teal shimmers in the distance, followed by a strong active sensor sweep strong enough to set off radar lock alarms in the Veil's cockpit. Immediately afterward, the radio blared to life. "ISS Concordia Veil, F7-1024, this is YSS Kasagi, NG-S12-23, sent from Second Fleet in the Nataria System. We request your ship's nationality, purpose, destination, and list of crew members, with their nationalities. Do you require medical or technical assistance?"

One of two Plumeria-class gunships blinked away, disappearing into hyperspace again, while the Kasagi approached the Concordia Veil rather rapidly, continuing its scans. "ISS Concordia Veil: Do not alter course or raise your shields," the Star Army ship ordered as it closed in.
 
Cockpit....

'That mean mean pet... well no treats for her..

The thought barely crossed its mind when the SAoY ships popped into existence before them. Crash froze. Locking down all external computer links and sealing itself deep with in a few redundant rom chips.
 
Concordia Veil - Cockpit

'How familiar,' Amelia idly thought as she heard the broadcast from the SAoY ship. Mix that in with the way that she always perceived how everyone on a military ship always sounded like they had a something up in their ass and it resulted in not calming her down in the slightest. She pressed a finger against the side of her helmet after switching to an open frequency to address the ship, "this is the Concordia Veil, damage sustained unclear but hull is not compromised. Stand by, Kesagee," she said, stumbling over the pronunciation of the yamataian word. Bringing up another display, she started to compile a simple message to the ship.

Code: 
>Independent ship ISS Concordia Veil: undergoing rescue operation on unidentified vessel when attacked by an unidentified ship, designation Vampire.
>Hostile ship broke contact and withdrew from the scene shortly before Yamataian support arrived.
>Be advised, the mining ship wreck contains unsecured military ordnance inside its intact cargo pylon, most likely a torpedo
>There is still one survivor on the wreck, as well as the Veil's doctor

Attached to the message was also a list of the current crew and its survivor, but without any mention of Crash. Going straight to the point, the astrogator sent the message, deciding that she didn't need to stall for time; she figured that if she gave the info on the torpedo, the Yamataians would care about it more.
 
Concordia Veil - Cockpit

The military gunship replied by voice again. "ISS Concordia Veil, YSS Kasagi: We copy your audio and text transmissions and are sending a rescue and EOD team to the disabled starship. Hold your present position and standby, over."

In moments, soldiers in Mindy armor suits were landing on the derelict's hull. As they entered, they explored the wrecked ship in teams with their weapons drawn, illuminating the passageways with bright rifle-mounted searchlights. A small swarm of palm-sized scout drones spread out ahead of the teams, mapping the ship's interior. The EOD team went straight for the torpedo, and started disabling it. The rescue team went for the medical lab.
 
Passageway

Oreza caught Sienna as she stumbled and helped right her. "Yeah, I think water is all you're gonna get right now, lass" he said as comfortingly as he could and lead her to the common area. Once there, he guided the captain into the most comfortable seat there and retrieved a glass of water for her, handing it over.

'Blimy, the doc really doped her up good' he thought as he observed her for a moment. That Yamataian ship should be on them at any time.

"Now, Sienna, I need you to stay here for a moment while I take care of a few things. I will be back shortly" he said, gave her a reassuring grin, then returned to the Veil's cockpit in time to catch the last bit of exchange between them and the gunship.

"How are things?" he asked Amelia.
 
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