RP: The Wayward The Ups and Downs (Ep. 3)

Gym - Room - Gym

Ana was relieved when Nan at least recognized that she was not comfortable and tried to make her feel more at ease. She smiled at her adopted brother and nodded. "Alright. And I'll be sure to bring TB with me. He may come in handy as well." She kissed his cheek and dashed towards her room.

Once at her room, Ana quickly got herself changed into a pair of shorts and short-sleeved shirt. She also gathered up any necessary tools she'd need that TB didn't already have and then went back to the Gym, her feet bare now since she'd be wearing a suit.

Back at the Gym, she went up to Nan, TB at her side after she had activated him from the engine room on the way. "Alright, bro. Umm...how do I get into one of these things?"

Anbruch Gym

Nan blushed further at the peck on his cheek and went about fully donning his EVA suit and UBM. He had never used an EVA suit in real life before but he had put one on plenty of times. He fitted it correctly, secured a few of his tools to the webbing and was sure to make his PHC accessible as well.

"Well I do declare, Nan you cut quite the fine specimen in that there suit," Pearl drawled in her heavy southern belle accent.

Nan grinned at the FARS unit enjoying his programming techniques. He had made sure she was fully hospitable and helpful. It also helped that he could add in a little adoration. He tested his personal levitation to get used to the weight in case he found himself within gravity once again. He was just touching down when Ana returned with this adorable little toolbox style robot behind her.

"First off, what is that and why is it so darn adorable? Second, Let's get you suited up," Nan said as he grabbed the suit he felt would fit Ana the best. He held it up for her to show her the various in's and out's of gearing up. Showing her the enclosures, the built in equipment, etc.

ISC Anbruch - Gym

Tanja made sure her suit was properly secure and spoke up as she grabbed her equipment out of the weapon locker. "This assignment is going to rely on technical expertise to succeed so I'm bringing everyone. We didn't have any information on a ship being here but it was kind of expected." Once her rifle was on her back, she holstered her pistol as well as a knife. "The station was overrun by pirates originally, and considering the ship is not broadcasting any of it's identification codes it's likely a pirate ship. However I don't want you guys shooting people dead unless it's necessary, we're not pirates ourselves."

Once she knew she had all her gear she went around to help others who needed it, though it looked like Nan was already on that too. She turned her attention towards Darling. "I don't have a space suit for cats..but if the compartment inside Buddy is able to be environmentally controlled and pressurized, we can rig and air tank up for you if you don't already have one. Environmental systems should still be online, but better to have a back up."

ISC Anbruch - Gym

Ana looked down at TB and then back up at Nan. "This is TB. Short for Tool Box. I made him." She was a bit sheepish at this as she got into her own suit and put her tools where they could be. She didn't have weapons like the others. She wasn't a fighter. Not like the others.

When she was ready to go, she looked over towards Tanja, waiting to see where she would fall in line. She only hoped that she wouldn't hinder the others. TB, meanwhile, attached itself to her back so that she could carry it that way.

Darling took her time in the galley to eat, and was the last one to be there. After being satisfied by her small meal, she took to her robot, commanding it to open its port, where she clambored in.

She took a few moments to adjust to her new senses once again, before the robot fully powers up again and she was ready to move.

Anbruch Gym

Darling made sure to grab her weapons beforehand, sheathing her greatsword along her bag and her Infantry Assault Rifle saddled onto her waist. If there were any combat to occur, she would be to lay down fire. She entered the Gym late, and listened to what everyone had to say.

Buddy was more than enough to keep Darling alive and moving in space if she had an air tank, and if that weren't the case, unfortunately she already knew there aren't any cat-sized EVA suits for her. "Yes, that would be suitable." -She responded to Tanja. "There is a compartment on my left side where the hose from an air tank could be attached. It is hard to miss."

Anbruch- Gym

Of course it was a pirate ship, grumbled Adiel internally as he absentmindedly checked his pistol. He gound himself quite annoyed by Tanja's orders.

Pirates, he knew very well, were quite possibly one of the most vile subsets of criminals in space short of slavers. If they even thought that their plunder was at stake, they wouldn't hesitate to brutally torture and execute the lot of them.

His eyes glanced to Ash, Tanja, and Ana and his expression soured. Some, he reminded himself, would be spared.

He released the slide of the pistol with a satisfying CLACK! that did wonders to ease his apprehensions. There was something to be said about the feeling of security that came with a clean, loaded weapon in hand.

He wouldn't be killed by lowly pirates. If the situation turned unsalvageable through diplomacy, he'd shoot, stab, and fight his way out... or die trying. He'd seen what happened to those that had tried to surrender. He wouldn't be one of them.

Anbruch

Tanja assisted Darling with outfitting Buddy with a space ready oxygen system and then after checking to make sure everyone was in their suits properly, she made sure everyone was armed, handing out a Zen Arms .357 of a FEAR rifle to all those who didn't have a gun of some kind, even to those who were well equipped with melee weapons, she wasn't taking the danger lightly. Once they were all suited up though she took them all to the shuttle, which was a little cramped with so many people inside, and headed off.

Shuttle -> Station

The Onset shuttle sent out communication request, waiting for a reply from either ship, but after a few minutes there was no reply, so Tanja turned to her crew in the shuttle. "Be ready for both gravity and life support to be off when we enter the station just in case. Also I know I said don't go around killing everyone since we're not pirates, but I've dealt with smugglers and traffickers before, and I can tell you, these kind of people wont stop just because you ask them to. If they show hostility do not be afraid to hurt them, and if they put your life at risk do not hesitate to take there's, if you do it might be you who ends up dead, and you're all my family, I want you all to come back unharmed."

As she finished what she was saying the shuttle docked with the station and after a moment to let everyone get their helmets and ready themselves before the pressure locks opened and they were able to head into the station. The lights were dim and flickering, obviously not under proper maintenance, the gravity was off as well, but the state of the environmental systems was unknown.

"Move carefully and consider ricochet since gravity is off." Tanja spoke over the private communication devices they had there were patched into the suit to keep their discussion form prying ears. "We have to check to make sure there are no hostiles, then bring in the equipment and fix the place up."

Infornt of everyone lay a fork in the path, the signs were in Abwehran however a language most of the crew did not understand. "Hmm okay it seems we're on the floor where most crew related things are, amenities, messhall, and so on. There shoudl be an elevator on this floor though, or stairs to take us to the other floors." Spoke the captain.

Anbruch

Ash declined one of the FEAR rifles; it just was not her style. While she had her .45 for a backup weapon in the lockup, she was not going to turn down a .357. She grabbed for herself a holster and placed it and the pistol on her right hip, angled to her left so that she could cross-draw it if the need arose. She then quickly filed into the shuttle with the rest of the crew.

Station

Ash made last minute checks of her helmet and grav-boots before stepping out of the airlock and into the derelict. She turned on her headlamps and cautiously drew her laiz pistol. As much as she wanted to start looking around for salvage and scavenge anything useful, they could not afford to be caught unaware by the pirates. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Ash almost hoped it was the Blood Wolves. Despite running for so long, she relished the chance to kill some of them. A rueful smirk crossed her face for a moment, but she redirected her thoughts back to the task at hand.

She followed behind the Captain near the front of the group. All the signs were in Abwehran, but thankfully Tanja could translate them for the crew. At the mention of the elevator, Ash interjected.

"Captain, I would recommend the stairwell. Considering the fluctuating power grid, the elevator will most likely malfunction. While the stairs may take us longer to traverse, we can move about the station unhindered and without risk. Believe me, you do not want to be trapped and have to cut your way out."

Anbruch

"Shotgun," Nan yelled as he sped off to the shuttle. He was however disappointed when Reed took the driver seat and Tanja took the second. He shrugged and moved to the back of the shuttle. He seemed to always be fidgeting with something, be it the small tools on his belt, the computer on his wrist or the few drones he brought with him. Pearl bobbed patiently nearby merely humming to herself.

Station

As the shuttle doors opened and the lights flickered he gave a soft, "Ooooooo." He tentatively stepped out into the station, his eyes darting everywhere looking for oddities in the environment. He nodded along with Tanja's line of thinking and reached for two of his camera drones. He quickly tapped in the required information to allow them the proper gravitational input (or lack thereof) for flight. "Captain, I am sending two drones ahead to scout. I will hang back and keep in touch with info on the feed. When you find a station terminal let me know. I might be able to get more information on our situation here," He said as he leaned against a wall. He was good at what he does but both flying the drones and interpreting the feed would take some concentration.

Station

Adiel already had a plan. Despite the possible presence of pirates, this trip could be profitable. He had no eye for salvage like Ashtoreth, however...

...This was a military installation.

Military.

Guns.

Simply put, there was a lot of room for plausible deniability. If the armory got cleaned out, fingers could be pointed at the other guys. No one would believe the invaders if they tried to defend themselves. Genuine military weaponry would fetch quite a price to the right people- like those strange cat-creatures with whom he had sparse encounters. Just file off the serial numbers, disable any other tracking mechanisms, and presto! Weapons and supplies could also be taken from any hostiles that they killed. Double-win.

There was the small problem of the do-gooders, the Elysian thought as he eyed his crew mates. Would they react negatively to such an action, and if so, how would he sneak the guns onto the ship? Bridges to be crossed when the time came.

Now, it was time to focus. He put himself on high alert, using all of his senses to detect possible threats, as he'd been trained to do in the Celestial Navy. He mentally practiced drawing his pistol, but didn't dare touch his weapon just in case they were being watched. If his line of work taught him anything, it was that one should never draw a weapon unless they intended to use it. Drawing a weapon was a hostile act that could shatter any attempts at diplomacy, and he still held on the idea of befriending the other party aboard the station.

"I suggest that we seek out our 'guests', Ms. Dunst," said the bird quietly. "Learn who we're encroaching upon. However, we must do so quietly, and not make contact until we're sure of their intentions."

If they were lucky- Adiel added silently- he may know some of them. That would be an excellent way to engage in dialogue, and it might allow them an opportunity to leave peacefully without bloodshed, should they prove outmatched.

Station

The large mech stepped out of the shuttle, grabbing a hold of an object stuck to the wall so she wouldn't drift off into the station. She activated the gravitational portion installed in her robot's feet; While the lack of gravity could have actually been advantageous, she still rather not be floating helplessly around. There is no kind of boosters installed onto her robot in this kind of scenario, a problem she seeks to remedy at a later time.

She reached to her head to turn on a headlamp and look around, then reaches for her rifle strapped to the robot's waist, and raps against it, juuust to make sure it still existed. Buddy could get up to any pirate's face, especially equipped with the greatsword that is currently hoisted upon the robot's back. With its heavy regenerating armor, Darling can decide to get reckless and cause chaos among their ranks if the need arises. Still, she'd have to actually get in range to do that, hence why she has her rifle. She would otherwise be useless until then.

It made Darling somewhat excited with the prospect of combat, which was obscured by all the metal plating surrounding her body. She almost hoped these potential hostiles were in for a battle. "I agree that we look for these people. We will not be able to work with them looming over us." She scans the area, her head and body swiveling and making note of all entrances and cover, before she steps a little further into the area, ahead of the others.

Rosenthal Nebula - Research Station

Tanja looked around at her crew as she listened to their comments and then gave a soft nod. “Nan, keep your bots out of line of sight and be careful, if they’re spotted things could get messy. They already know we’re here though if anyone was watching sensors.” She took another look around and then lightly kicked off the ground, floating down the hall. “If we’re going to catch them before they catch us, fist place to check is the crew quarters. Nan, I want your drones to find the stairs, and you should be able to patch into the sub systems from here, there’s the manual operation for the docking clamp that connects to a remote system. You need to be careful though, get back into the ship if things get dicey.”

With that she continued on further, making her way around, using the signs to guide her. It was easy to tell the woman had a military background though, her rifle low to not seem threatening, but always ready to be pulled up in an instant. She refrained from using her thrusters at the moment as well and did all her maneuvering by kicking out the structure of the station, she didn’t see a need to move fast yet and wanted to keep the noise down.

In no time the team reached their first destination, a hall that broke off from the main ring of the station with several doors leading to just as many rooms. If it wasn’t for the two people floating about it would look like it was entirely uninhabited. They were wearing light EVA suits as well, the life support really must have been off.

“We’ve got two down the hall..but we can’t make too much noise, no telling how many are in the rooms.” She spoke again with only the comm system, there was no need to whisper though, since the sound was trapped in the suit.

Research Station

Nan looked about and spotted the docking controls. "Oh, duh. Thanks Cap. I will hook in and let you know what I find," he said as he practically skipped over the terminal. "Pearl, hang out at the closest corner and let me know if anyone besides the crew come along."

The FARS unit floated off with the group only stopping at the nearest corner and chimed up as the rest continued on, "Have fun y'all. Be careful now ya hear?"

Nan flipped open his PHC and connected to the terminal. While he waited for the handshake he kept an eye on his camera drones. He flew them close to the ceiling to avoid being spotted. It was natural that normal people never really looked up. He followed Tanja's command and searched for the stairs.

Anbruch

As everyone else was equipped with a weapon of some sort, Ana of course didn't take one. She had never used anything like them before and she was more afraid of hurting herself before she could hurt anyone considered an enemy. Lucky for her, the suit was movable enough that, if she was lucky, she could find a hiding place should things get heated.

Station

Being as small as she was, Ana kept herself as close to Nan as she could, knowing he'd keep her as safe as he could in spite of everything. She looked around, blinking as she felt the weightlessness and as small smile graced her lips. If she could have, she would have hopped and skipped along, but knowing how grave the situation was and could potentially be, she had to remain content with just following along with the others.

Ash was unsure how to proceed. Her first instinct would have been to start firing at the two individuals and ask questions later. But that was not her anymore. The Captain wanted to see if they could get through the station peacefully, then that's what they were going to do.

"Nan, do you think there is a way to lock the living quarters down? While they would know we where here, that would contain most of the occupants. There are probably emergency partitions that we could use," Ash suggested.

Station

Darling stood slightly behind the group as they discovered the predicament and turned off her headlamp, carefully watching the two individual's behavior. The robot's hand reaches quietly down to the slung rifle, hovering above it. Like a cat would carefully observe its prey before pouncing, Buddy's head doesn't move, entirely focused on the two, and ensuring she and the others were undetected.

She didn't believe it was up to her to call the next decision, waiting for the others to make it.

Research Station - Hallways

The two drones roamed the halls quietly as they searched. Everything was going smoothly without any issue and they were quickly able to explore the floor without much interference and discover the elevator. Nan couldn't read the signs but he knew it was on the opposite side of the station from where the rest of the crew went.

Along with that there was also good news in the form of his PHC managing to connect to the stations' network.

Research Station - Near Crew Quaters

Tanja took a breath and relaxed herself before continuing to speak. "Let's try and knock them out, don't tense up however until you're ready to strike, and try not to get seen." After speaking she lightly pushed off the ground and let herself rise to the ceiling. The hall was only about 3 meters tall so there wasn't a lot of hiding room, but by laying against the ceiling one could just barely get out of line of sight. "Darling, do you think you could be a distraction, just drift into a wall like a lifeless robot once everyone's in position. Then we can ambush them without being seen, we'll check the rooms immediately after."

Research Station - Near Crew Quarters

Adiel huffed and followed behind Tanja. Well, he mused, at least this outfit seemed somewhat reasonable.

The angel reached onto his belt for his combat knife, which he twirled expertly in his fingers, a reminder of his military training.

"...Define 'knock out'..." he muttered to Tanja casually, starring at the sentries down the hall like a hawk would a mouse. Pressed against the ceiling, with his wings tucked tight to his back to better hide them, he remained motionless and mentally practiced slicing open the suits and draining the atmosphere within.

Leaving them alive, in his opinion, was a stupid idea. They would become loose ends, and loose ends always came back to bite you.

Ash followed suit with the rest of the crew, pushing herself up to lie flat against the ceiling. She did not like feeling exposed like this, but hiding in plain sight could work when there was so little illumination.

She hid quietly on the ceiling, waiting for the right opportunity.

Analiese, not being an active fighter herself, looked up and back and, as quickly and quietly as she could, lifted herself up to the farthest corner of the hallway and then curled up there with toolbox sticking out. That was the best cover she could think of given that there were no others present.