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

Darling pauses as she ponders the Captain's idea, remaining silent for a time. "What an amusing idea...I like it. I will wait for everyone to get into position then."

Darling pushes herself against a wall, out of view from the two individuals, then switches her own gravity off, ready to push off and drift limply towards the opposite end of the hall at a moment's notice.

"On your call."

Research Station - Access Terminal

Nan tapped away at his holographic keyboard, navigating the illegible shorthand used my coders everywhere. The information streams before his eyes, a veritable wall of code. Some were used to interfaces or operating systems. The life of a programmer or hacker dwells in the guts and organs of those things.

Nan paused as his drones found the elevators, he tasked one to stay and keep watch as he sent the other to meet up with the rest of the crew. He also grabbed two decoy drones and sent them hovering off towards the team as well. If violence was likely it couldn'thurt to have some back up.

"Cap, found the elevator. It's actually opposite side of the station from your current position. Sending some drones to give you all a hand. Also, I gained access to the computers. Searching for information now," he said as he turned back to his personal computer. His first task would be to find out if they had computer access themselves, and if the docked ship was linked in. If so, he might try to piggy back through that and gain access to their computer systems.

Near Crew Quaters

"We don't know if they're actual hostiles yet. I'd rather not kill them and they just ended up being a bunch of squatting merchants." Tanja spoke softly over the comms, even though they couldn't be heard she was still speaking as if it could be overheard. "So try not to do something that'll result in their deaths."

The two men moving about drifted together once again they seemed to be talking about something, and soon began to head towards the hall everyone was preparing in, it looked like they were moving on with their patrol.

Tanja smiled, keeping herself hidden and spoke once more. "Go for it Darling."

Research Station - Access Terminal

The operating system took a little fiddling as it was an old version but with some time Nan managed to get the code working properly with his more up to date OS and in his language, mostly. He could now operate the OS as if he was doing it normally from a terminal on the ship. It looked like it would take some time to break the higher rank passwords, since the ones they were given for the station weren't working, but he had enough to operate non key systems at the moment.

The second wave of drones made their way onward, being drones they could maneuver quickly and were rapidly approaching the group with out any real problems.The first wave of drones were not so lucky however, they had been spotted by a man in an EVA suit, and were about to be grabbed.

"See if you can get us data on the condition of life support and thanks for the assist." Tanja's reply was soft and direct,obviously focused on something on her end.

Near Crew Quaters

As soon as Darling heard Tanja's OK, her robot's legs push against the wall behind her and launches herself. The robot's body became lifeless as it sailed across the hall, comically spinning vertically. Darling floats by the two individual's view, at least three meters away, her large form almost impossible to ignore.

The robot slams into the opposite side of the hall, arm first, creating a large indenture in the wall. Thankfully, there's no sound made through the airless corridor. Darling remains motionless in case the two decided to investigate her.

Near Crew Quaters

The two men quickly turn their attention to the robot as it sails by, it wasn't exactly something they could ignore. They make their way over to investigate however, weapons ready just in case it's hostile. The men were completely distracted though, no longer keeping a look out at their surroundings.

Tanja spoke over the comm system to the team giving the order as soon as the chance appeared. "Get them, and make it quick."

Outside of Crew Quarters...

Without another word, Adiel swooped down upon one of the sentries like a raptor. From behind, he wrapped his arm around the man's throat in a naked choke, then squeezed firmly. Simple, effective, and ruthless.

Near the Crew Quarters

Ash silently pushed down from the ceiling, using her momentum to then spring forward at the other man. She grabbed the man's helmet from behind and slammed it hard into the bulkhead, hopefully to knock him out.

Nan's fun time

Ahh the challenges of computer hacking. It had been a while since Nan had really gotten into the sometimes frustrating, occasionally risky and always fun world of computer take overs. He was fully in his virtual persona as Hive. He focused on the tasks that Tanja had asked for, life support. He was data mining for its status, condition, location and if it can be manipulated virtually.

Like a good colony had multi tasked like a champ. His next concern was the man in the EVA suit. Obviously not one of his compatriots Nan was only half startled by the sudden appearance. He quickly cut the connection to the snatched drone allowing it to fall lifelessly. Of course he still kept the locator online but he knew better than to keep the connection open so it could not be traced.

Lastly, he decided to dredge up as much info on the visiting ship and its crew. It would be totally against his character not to at least see how he can rile up their competition.

Near Crew Quaters

Adiel and Ash both grabbed their respective targets, but neither of them went down without a fight. The man in Adiel's arms struggled and even threw a few punches, but the EVA helmet made it much harder than normal to get out of the choke hold and soon he was just floating unconscious. The man that Ash targeted was a little more difficult to deal with. The first slam into the wall was not enough thanks to the cushioning of the helmet, which was quickly fixed by a second slam against the wall and a strike with the butt of Tanja's rifle just for good measure.

"Okay let's tie them up and quickly check the rooms, make sure no one is around." Tanja spoke as she pulled out some plastic zip ties and started to cuff the man in front of her.

Nan's World

Nan let the drone drop and it seems it was soon picked up after and started to move. It looked like it might be heading deeper into the station, probably down the stairs.

Inside the computers there was a lot of work to be done, not because security was tight but because of deciphering unknown OS functions around each corner. It was slow, but it was steady and eventually he got what he needed. Life support was off at the moment, it looks like it shut down on its own due to a parts failure.

By time he finished he could confirm that the droid had indeed been taken to one of the lower levels, the point of access was found too, he had gotten 2 birds with one stone. The stairs were a bit away from the team, but they were there, and according to where the drone stopped, there might be a few people in engineering.

Near Crew Quarters

Analiese stayed where she was. Her eyes wide as she watched the others take down the two that were in the hall. Softly she spoke over the comms, "Tanja...I'm staying put. Let me know when you need me."

She huddled up in the corner where she figured she'd be safest of all with Toolbox.

Near Crew Quarters

Adiel growled silently as the unknown man struggled in his grip. The punches, however, were not painful- just mildly annoying. Once his target went limp, he was summarily bound.

Panting lightly from exertion, he drew his pistol.

"Not the most efficient method, honestly. Helmets make it quite difficult to simply knock someone unconscious." He jested silently as he floated past Ashtoreth, giving her his signature, shit-eating grin. "Perhaps a lesson in covert tactics is in order..."

The angel stopped himself to the side of the first door, gun in hand, and waiting for the rest of the crew.

Near Crew Quarters

Darling's mech settles to the ground feet-first after the ordeal is finished, and approaches the door near Adiel, standing in front of it. She reaches for her rifle and swings it in front of her, ready to breach the door.

"We aren't just going to leave them here, right?", she says, tilting her head towards the motionless men. "We could gather their intentions through an inquiry when they wake up. Although, I don't think they would be happy at all with the first impression given to them."

Crew Quarters

Clearing the crew quarters was a slow process but with all of them helping out there were no injuries in apprehending the two remaining individuals. It looked like most of the crew was not in the crew quarters, which fortunately allowed them to avoid any real altercation and keep everyone from getting injured. Once all the rooms were checked and everyone was gathered and restrained Tanja sighed and looked at her crew. "Well normally I'd suggest taking them back and holding them in the brig, but we don't have the man power to split like that. We're going to have to lock them in a room."

With the crew's help she had them do just that, in the middle of doing so however they all received a message from Nan explaining where the stairs were and that it was likely that more of the freeloaders would be in engineering.

"Looks like we have our next destination everyone. Annaliese we're going to need you in there too of course."

Just outside the Crew Quarters

Analiese remained hidden in the corridor. She heard over the comms what Tanja had said and was a bit relieved that everyone appeared to be alright. Swallowing a bit, she said tentatively, "Alright. Just let me know when it's safe. I'll be there."

The engineer was shaking badly, scared because of all the confrontations, but she would stay and wait. She knew she would be needed.

Nan spent time still delving into who these people were. He was curious as to what their own computer capabilities were.

"Captain, i will leave a camera on these two if you want. The two decoys will tag along with you and I will use them if things go south for you."

He turned to Pearl, "Hey, could you go and hang with Analiese? She and TB might need an extra pair of hands. Also, if there is trouble, kindly put yourself between it and Ana. Thanks sweetness."

The FARS unit turned lazily and replied, "Sure thing sugah. I'll protect her like my own. You count on me." With that the unit bobbed away at a pretty decent pace to join and stay beside Analiese. It's two manipulation arms and torch tucked up tightly against it.

Near Crew Quarters

"Engineering then," said Ash. The Iromakuanhe followed the directions Nan had given them and headed towards the stairwell. She kept her pistol handy, although it seemed the crew were going for a more subtle approach. She inspected the stairwell with her helmet lamp to search for any obvious damage.

Otherwise, Ash would begin floating down the stairwell.

Near Crew Quarters

"I was expecting more of a fight..." Adiel muttered whistfully, nudging another unconscious intruder into the holding room with his foot, as though he were brushing aside a piece of garbage.

"Oh well! Time is money!" he sighed and moved for the stairwell.

Near Crew Quaters

Tanja took a moment to consider Analiese' request and looked around. She could stay hidden until she was needed, and she wouldn't get stressed from the combat, there was the risk of enemies being between her and the location though so the captain pondered some more. She folded her arms and then gave a nod once she came to a conclusion. "Okay Ana, we'll go on ahead. Avoid contact with the unknowns and contact me immediately if anything gets weird. You also have to stay calm on your own." The older woman then gave her a pat on the back and made her way off with the others.

Nan's World

Nan continued his exploration of the computer systems but he was quickly finding out that these people were not that computer savy, or they just didn't care. There wasn't anything on the computer about the new residents really. He could get the basic identification information of the ship docked at the station, but all of that had been doctored, fake registration codes and name, it was fairly obvious it would only be enough to let them dock at a low security station that didn't routinely check credentials.

The idle drones came back to life, though not moving, they surveyed the area around them as much as they could. There were 2 people they could identify in the room about 10 meters away.

Stairs

Adiel and Ash made it to the stairs with the captain, it was difficult to see down them, the lights were out around the stairs. However even though environmental was off there was still some gases in the station and they could hear sounds coming from below, there were definitely people down there and not too far away.

"Sounds like something is down there." She turned her attention to Nan over the comm line. "Nan what's your situation? Can the drones move and provide support without drawing attention?" She began to ease her way down the stairs, her rifle at the ready, singling the other two to follow her.

The corridor at the bottom was narrow, but long, the lights were dim and door could just barely be made out. However about 100 meters down on the right there was an open door with light coming from it, as well as a shadow, someone was coming out. They would be spotted at their current position if they turned this way, no doubt. Their only options were back up the stairs, the door 5 meters in front to the left, of what looked like a possible branch to another hall on the right, about 8 meters. They didn't have much time to make their decisions though.

Hiding spot

Ana kept herself hidden out of sight but with some directions she gave, Pearl was able to find her way over without any worries.

Analiese nodded and her demeanor looked a lot more relieved at this. She got into the hiding spot well enough, even with the bulky suit that she had on. TB and Pearl guarded the 'entrance' to the spot, providing her with some cover as she sat and waited for the others to clear out the station. She had no problem waiting for however long it would take. She just hoped that, in the meantime, nothing would happen with her.

Stairs

Adiel's eyes darted to and fro. The door was close, but there was no telling who or what was behind it. The hallway would allow them to keep eyes on the squatter, but it left them exposed to anyone coming down it.

So, deciding to play it safe, Adiel gave both Tanja and Ash a quick pat on the shoulder with his unarmed hand, jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and pushed away back into the stairwell, just out of sight of their new quarry.