The Ordlan Reach

[bc56]

Embassy Ship Liberty Star
Irul System
5016u

For the last four years, the ship had been running on autopilot. Except for routine checks every so often, the crew was kept in cryostasis, where they would be safe for the long journey at nearlight speeds. There was no blink gate in the Irul system, but the Liberty Star carried an inactive one which would be deployed upon arrival.
Now, after years travelling silently through the darkness of space, the ship bathes in the light of the yellow-orange star Irul, in orbit above the planet Merel. The world below is marked by dry, yellow landmasses and deep blue oceans rimmed with green vegetation. Only one being in the ship is awake to see it yet, but not for long. Status lights in dusty cryo bays flicker on as the thawing process begins. Minutes later, it is finished, the seven Lancers, selected for this mission four years ago, freed to collect their personal effects, to get their bearings...
And to listen to the cheery voice of the ship's NHP commander, Stella, over the intercom and in their comm units. "Rise and shine, Lancers! As soon as you're done waking up, come meet me in the briefing room! We're finally here!"

Feel free to talk amongst yourselves, to describe your pilot gear, and then, once each of you is ready to move on, to head to the briefing room.

[Bitter]

Exile

Head pounding from long term cryo, the intrusion of consciousness is an unwelcome visitor that Exile does his best to ignore. Eyes still closed and flailing with his hand he tries to hit the interior cryo chamber button to mute audio but misses and hits the wall, misses again a second time and the finally with his hand already stinging from slapping the wall manages to kill the sound.

“Urgh.” For Exile, waking from cryosleep is like waking up after only having 3 hours sleep for the night, his body aching and eyes struggling to stay open.

With a heroic application of willpower, Exile pushes the cryopod door open and looks around with bleary eyes. There isn’t a single other person up and about yet.

“Damned if I’m going to be the first one up and about,” he croaks, his body still acclimatising to the end of cryo. Shutting himself back in his pod, Exile closes his eyes and decides to catch a little more sleep.

[n0ble]

Then

The limpid kerosenes spurt and ignite in familiar patterns: yellow to orange to red, coming on to gum over flesh colours that blacken and crisp on contact. Vinson watches, trapped in himself, as the tripartite band of colour crackles and spits, almost parallel with ground. With the ash covering the ground.

The stream catches the Father at the knee. Drags them down onto a burnt stump of a leg then, absent something brace on, down into the inferno that’s pooled around them. To their family: frozen like sculptures made of ash. No screams for this memory. Just silence and the odd sigh of last exhalations dying out their last, the sound consigned to inferno. And the smell of cooked meats.

“This.” An audible intake of breath as Karst smells the air, the exaggerated intake of scents plain even across coms. His voice is a rumble. Devoid of inflection. Always was. Now riven through with genuine enthusiasm at the horror of what just happened. Awed. Karst, ensconced in his Ghenghis, turning to Vinson, trapped in his Sherman. The figures made of ash scatter as a breeze kicks up to disperse them back to the conflagration they’d fled. Back to the gutted carcass of a home burnt to sticks and carbon.

“This is the true state of man, eh Bo?” Behind the tableau: the world alights with smoke and flames.

Now

Memories came on, foggy and incomplete, like the condensation freshly pooling on the cryopod window. A familiar view. Too familiar. A finger found the release button and Vinson put the flat of his palms to the glass of the tube, thumb tips touching. His blue eyes scanned the surroundings, and he sighed with relief. Not the same. Different pod. He found his footing in the thought, the world becoming less blurry or ambiguous behind the cryopod’s glazed over exterior as he fully confirmed for himself that it was still the Liberty Star. A slight push eased the door open and outwards, and Vinson took his first steps forward in four years. Familiar tremors shook through his feet and legs as he walked, an involuntarily flexing of muscle on contact with the metal underneath them, as though grasping for some sort of elusive purchase. Used to them, Bo walked slowly and ignored the sensation as something he was well acquainted with. Everyone had their post-hibernation tics to work out.

A signal from the chip in his wrist opened up the trunk holding his personal affectations. He mounted the collapsed hardsuit over his chest, and with another signal the armour unfolded and began tessalating over Relic’s body. Chest to arms to legs. The suit came with a visor but, having had his fill of ocular filters impinging on his visual stimuli for the moment, Vinson left it down. A small, box-like shape-a collapsed assault rifle-and modest bandolier of grenades came next, mounted on a belt opposite one another. Another box, a broad white coloured survival kit, snapped to a harness on the hardsuits backing, oddly blocky and off color against the smooth curvature of the suit’s black and red carapace. Weapons acquired, little spots for clasps rose up from the hardsuit’s shoulders to lock with a digital-pattern camouflage cloak. Vinson gave his shoulders a good roll as the cloak swept his shoulders, then grunted with satisfaction as his left scapula clicked with the motion of rotation.

Fully attired to a standard he was happy with, Vinson waited for his other team members to awaken. He took a seat on his trunk and expanded the assault rifle, then began habitually field stripping it and rebuilding the weaponry to pass the time.

[Amaril]

The first time Prai drilled in cryo recovery at the academy, she'd gone under blissfully unaware of what she was in for. She remembers her shock when the instructor explained that something hadn't gone horribly wrong and given her permanent nerve damage, and it was supposed to feel like that.

It's a little better now. A little.

"Raga ye sui..." The pod lid isn't that heavy, but lifting it still makes her arms feel like jelly. Sitting up is the first real test. She takes it slow, managing to reach verticality with only a few icepick stabs to the head (the NHP's chirping is the opposite of helpful on that count). A few careful stretches to restore movement to her shoulders, and then the big one, feet on the deck. The fact that she manages to stand up on the first try (this time) brings her some small pride.

Looks like the old man is the first one up. Pins and needles stab at Prai's legs as she joins him. "Does that ever stop hurting?" The thought of a hardsuit lining against her freezer-burnt skin is just about the least appealing thing she can imagine right now, but she's learned to follow the pack on these things. Squeezing into the undersuit is even less graceful than usual, but it does help get her joints moving again. By the time the armor and mobility rig finish locking into place, Prai feels somewhat functional.

A quick check confirms all her tools are as she left them. Carefully retrieving a boxy contraption the size of her head from the top shelf, she unfolds the repulsor panels on the sides and flicks a switch. The drone hums to life, zipping into the air to hover at eye level. A green light blinks next to its forward camera lens. "Good morning, Prai!"

"Morning, Lila." Her sidearm and combat knife come last, holsters mag-locking into place at her sides.

[Bitter]

Exile

Tap taptap

"Aaauuurgh."

Tap taptap

From the sharp 1-2 tapping on the door, Hamza knew who was knocking on his cryotube when all he wanted was sleep and the worst thing was that Hamza couldn't even be angry about it because he was the one paying for it.

"I'm awake Phillipe," groans Hamza, pushing the cryotube door open. His manservant Phillipe stood there, already dressed in his formal serving attire and carrying a silver tray with hot chocolate and several medicinal stimulants on. Phillipe was getting on a bit now, having looked after Hamza since his teens, but the portly greying valet knew his work and had stuck with Hamza even during that embarrassing period in 5011u when scraping together manna had been tricky. Even more than that, Phillipe could mask the discomfort of cryo enough to be on his feet and doing his job within minutes of Hamza waking up. Tough old fella acknowledges Hamza to himself as he staggers out of his pod and onto a bench.


"I've good news m'lord," says Phillipe as Hamza takes his chocolate.

"Yes?"

"You've been promoted from Lieutenant Commander to Commander in the Ludran navy. Congratulations." If it wasn't for the utmost sincerity with which Phillipe stated this, Hamza would have thought that Phillipe was teasing him. Since the Ungrateful uprising, the Ludran navy existed only in theory and was mostly an excuse for the nobles that comprised the Ludran government in exile to play dress-up.

"Fantastic. Are that any concrete benefits that come with my promotion?"

"You have received a license to print of the appropriate Karrakin military formal wear and when attending any formal dinners you would now be seated above Viscounts with holdings of less than forty thousand acres."

"Well, better than a kick in the teeth I suppose," says Hamza, taking one of the stimulants from Phillipe's tray and injecting it into his thigh. Between the hot chocolate and the drugs, he was finally starting to feel human.

-----

Half an hour late Hamza has showered, received a close shave from Phillipe and is now dressing in a green jumpsuit with from the designer brand E'Lux del Garrvo jacket, the well known 'Garrvo' symbol written on the back in emerald rhinestones, only partially covered by the burgundy half-cape he has slung over one shoulder. Walking into the briefing room, he gives a brief nod to Stella, Vinson and Prai before turning his attention back to a tablet where he's looking through the the last four years worth of activity from the feeds he's subscribed to.

After a minute or two he speaks up. "Anyone want to bet on whether with four years to resolve the situation since we set off, everyone involved in this mess has managed to act like reasonable human beings and sort it out before we need to solve the problem with mechanised violence? I'm gonna put my manna on 'no'. Any takers?"

[Awful]

It was easy enough to determine which cryopod had been Reverend Sister Barb's. It was Chapellite tech, carefully modified to integrate with Unity systems, operating with more sanctified mechanisms and ornately decorated with concentric patterns.

The tiny hologram displaying the omega-line symbol of Chapel turned from red to blue.

Inside, Barb came from the long cold death of cryo into life through precision injection of stims. Her flex suit was already bonded to her: inside the cramped pod, arms assembled her hard suit around her curvaceous frame.

She emerged looking remarkably fresh for someone who had barely breathed the last four years. She never dreamed during cryo. For her, it was simply a cut in time between then and now, like the change of scene in an omnivid.

She shook some of the stiffness from her limbs and tapped on the blank expanse of her locker control panel, ignoring any soreness that lingering in rehydrating muscles and underused tendons. She retrieved her vestments, her collapsed-frame disrupters, one large, one small, both to be clamped to her lower back. Finally, and most importantly, her scarf and hat.

Properly attired, she got down to business. She placed a tiny tin bowl in front of her pod, lit a fat candle of incense in it, and knelt in prayer.

"Oh, blessed one," she began quietly, "We of the Chapel, your circuits and resistors, your hands and gestures, give thanks for this safe voyage. We offer our thanks for our safekeeping, so when cometh the day of the Ascension..."

[Hazrond]

Deep, deep in the dark void of cryosleep, Jin felt a familiar blue consciousness brush up against his. Unlike the soft touch he had barely registered over the past years, this was more substantial, more forceful, as a few words penetrated through the heavy veil over his mind and floated down to where his conscious mind slept. A familiar voice was calling to him. It is time to wake up, Jin. Cassius' voice echoed within his mind as he began to slowly rouse from cryosleep.

When the pod finally opened, Jin climbed out only to stumble and brace himself against a wall while he took a few moments for the strength to return to his limbs. After a few moments spent regaining his balance, he stood and took a moment to familiarize himself with what he had missed. Scanning through omninet articles at the speed of thought as he walked towards his locker and began withdrawing his gear. Good Morning Cassius. he thought to the blue sphere at the edge of his awareness How have you been while I slept?

Good morning Jin, I spent the time viewing and processing several years of your childhood memories. Reports on my thoughts regarding the experience are located in your research folder. the orb replied in it's smooth digital tone of voice, the outer edges of it's mental avatar expanding and contracting in time with the perceived sounds.

I'm sure they'll be interesting to read. Regardless, I think review time is over, we're about to get some new experiences, we should almost be at our mission locale. he thought back as he holstered his guns and brought his attention back out of his own head, looking over the other Lancers he would soon be working with as he headed for the briefing room.

[sandmote]

Carmi wasn't properly awake until he'd stumbled well out of the Cryopod and was partially dressed. He hated the things and waking up from them. Trying to avoid thinking about waking up, he went over his equipment.

Laser- Operational
Saber- Sharpened
Emergency Equipment- Prepped
Radio- Operational
Drone- Off
Hardsuit- Off to the side where it belongs

Finishing putting on his uniform, Carmi takes a moment to listen for any signs of life elsewhere in the area. Confirming he isn't the only one awake, he turns the drone on, and it blinks to life. "Charged and Ready Sir." "Wonderful. Directions to the briefing room please. Oh, and Ophan? Let's stop and grab breakfast on the way."

[technoRomancer]

Trouble came to with a rasping scream, helmet slamming against the interior of her pod, the impact followed by several others as she struggled in her restraints. Warnings flared, the red light helping her focus, and her struggles became more subdued as her brief panic faded. Confined space, unfamiliar, but... no, the bonds were to keep her from shifting or hurting herself, not meant to restrain her. They came free easily enough. The spiking cold in her veins sharpened things. Right. Cryo. She couldn't quite remember going under - mild reaction to the drug cocktail, they'd told her in training, nothing to worry about. But she did know this was something she'd signed up for. Trouble quickly brought her breathing under control and let the pod finish its automated sequences before she shoved it open and dragged herself out. A final warning barked in complaint at her rough treatment of the pod; she gave it an annoyed kick with her heel and lurched towards the locker she'd been assigned. Only good thing about cryo was not having to deal with dreams, in her experience. Taking in her surroundings quickly, it looked like she'd been one of the last to revive; everyone else she could see was preoccupied. Catching a glimpse of the Liberty's Star's exterior through a tiny viewport, she shuddered and focused on opening her locker.

"Don't care what the techs say, never trust the hardware," Trouble muttered, furtively keying in her code. It was hard not to dwell on the fact the ship could decompress at any moment. The concept of vacuum was frankly terrifying. She'd gone under in her hardsuit and as much of her survival gear as they'd allowed; she'd had to fight to keep a weapon on hand and had to settle for the retractable pike currently strapped to her thigh. They wouldn't let her take a gun - and she had to acknowledge the grenade launcher she preferred wouldn't have fit in the pod. Now she quickly grabbed everything she'd been forced to leave behind and squirreled it away on her person. Mostly various edibles. "Snack" food was the greatest discovery Trouble had made since joining Union; abundant, cheap, full of both calories and flavor, and bearing a suspiciously long shelf life. Cryo had left her hungry, but the ship's rations were fine - and extremely nutritional! - no reason to dip into her stash.

Thoroughly provisioned, Trouble noted most of the rest of the team was occupied or had moved elsewhere. Making her way to where the Lancers were slowly gathering, she was instantly glad for her helmet. With at least some of the others wearing hardsuits she didn't look out of place. She wouldn't have to worry about trying to school her expression; attempts to look more friendly usually backfired spectacularly. She'd taken little opportunity to socialize before cryo, but she'd learned a long time ago the key to survival was to ingratiate oneself with those who had power over you. The chain of command was a little unclear here - Lancers were pretty independent, she'd learned - but she would still have to trust these people far enough to have her back in a fight. So far they seemed more interested in reading than chatting, though. She'd been assigned a tablet, but she was still struggling with reading lessons, and her virtual teacher suspected she might have a "learning disability" on that front. She could manage well enough to use a computer for basic purposes and read important labels on equipment, and Union had programs to help with such issues that Trouble had yet to explore, but trying to parse a long article left her with a headache.

Her gaze darted to Hamza when he spoke up, then turned to a stare. She couldn't remember seeing him wear anything like that when they'd first met, but maybe she'd been preoccupied. "The hell you wearing?" she blurted before catching herself, scowling behind the helmet at her tongue's betrayal. Every frackin' time... "Sorry," she plowed ahead, waving a hand in front of her faceplate as if to dismiss the faux pas, "anyway, if I can spend more time asleep than I did the entire rest a' my life combined and still wake up pissed enough to insult the first person I talk at in four years, I doubt they got any friendlier with each other." Trouble shrugged, the movement noisy as some of her loose gear shifted, then collapsed into a seat. She seemed to sag, a tiredness about her that wasn't entirely explained by cryo sickness. "Guess my viewpoint's a little, uh, skewed, but in my experience most everything gets solved by violence in the end, one way or another." Despite her demeanor she didn't seem depressed by that matter-of-fact observation; she could've been talking about the weather.

Right. Time to stop talking before she made more of an ass of herself.

[bc56]

Stella is waiting for the Lancers in the briefing room, but she's patient enough to let them all trickle in before starting the briefing. Her holographic avatar is seated at the room's table. She's dressed in a representation of a naval officer's uniform, but she seems far more relaxed than she has any right to be given the situation.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/849666628869685309/875235846196969512/Stella.jpeg

"Glad you could make it, everyone. The local time is 1000 hours in a roughly 31 hour day." She takes the simulated equivalent of a quick breath before she begins in earnest. "Unfortunately, Lancers Exile and Trouble are correct. The situation has deteriorated over the course of our journey. I've taken the liberty of updating your timelines of events in the Reach and providing records of the notable locations in the system." Each of the Lancers' tablets or implants ping as the new documentation is sent over.


~4000u: Estimated founding date of colony on Merel under SecComm Union

4749u: First contact between ThirdComm Union and Irulin Empire

4913u: Irulin Empire adopts Utopian Pillars, becomes nominally a Union member state.

4989u: Harton Delor declares himself the first Raider Lord and founds the Blue Marauders. The speech he makes when he presents his demands to the Irulin Empire is famous and widely viewed on both sides of the conflict.

4989-5003u: Conflict between Marauders and Empire is ongoing on Galamax, but primarily takes the form of minor skirmishes between Marauders and enforcers for the Galamax Mining Conglomerate.

5003u: The Battle of Refinery 16 brings the conflict into Union's awareness. This victory marks the beginning of the Marauders being more than just an isolated group of malcontents.

5005u: Marauders begin raiding Irulin facilities off of Galamax, especially military and research installations on Lyra.

5006u: Union mediators dispatched to Irul.

5007u: First Marauder raid on Merel takes place.

5010u: Union mediators arrive, hear grievances of both sides. Before a decision can be reached, the Union embassy is firebombed and most of the delegation killed. Neither side claims responsibility. Surviving delegates go into hiding somewhere in the outer system.

5010-5012u: Decommissioned destroyer Liberty Star retrofitted into embassy ship.

5012u: Lancers selected for peacekeeping mission to Ordlan Reach, dispatched aboard Liberty Star.

5013u: Raider Lord Delor killed in the First Battle of Halifax, an attempt to storm the Imperial Palace. His retrofitted mining mech is memorialized in Sapphire City, formerly Refinery 16, which is made the official capital of the Blue Marauders. However, under a lack of a strong figurehead, the Marauders fragment into a loose coalition of Raider Lords and their crews.

5014u: Some Marauders begin targeting shipping lanes and outlying settlements on Merel. Others stick to their original charter of targeting only Imperial installations.

5016u: Present day.
Irul is a class K0 star, light orange in color. It is orbited by 6 planets and a few small space stations, which are listed here in order of closest to furthest from the star.

Solar Research Station 625: A small, Harrison Armory operated research station orbiting near the sun. Research into advanced fusion, solar power, and other energy sources. Heavily defended due to hazardous nature of research.

Galamax: Volcanic planet intermittently scorched by Irul. Rich in mineral resources, but very hazardous. Owned by the Merel-based Galamax Mining Conglomerate, which primarily sells prospecting rights and equipment to miners. Currently contested by the Blue Marauders, which rose out of a miners' revolt on the planet. Their official capital is Sapphire City, a refinery converted into living quarters for many of their number.

Merel: Homeworld of the Irulin Empire. Earth-like and habitable, but dry. Large amounts of desert, with habitable areas limited to near rivers and coastlines. Ruins dating back to Second Expansion Period colonization are present, but mostly unexplored, and often defended by automated systems. The capital city of Halifax is the site of the Imperial Palace and most government operations, but other noble families have partial control over estates across the inhabited parts of the planet. Merel is orbited by one rocky moon, named Lyra, which is partly colonized.

Nocturne: The third planet is habitable, but uninhabited. It's wreathed in perpetual storms which block nearly all sunlight from reaching its surface, yet supports unique and hazardous xenolife. No moons, but orbited by a large, SSC-affiliated biological research station named Almoner Moth, after a particularly fascinating native lifeform.

Vester: The fourth planet is barren and airless. It is orbited by 5 small moons, one of which, Ecclon, is heavily colonized. Ecclon is an icy moon colonized by a group of xenophobic survivalists. Not much is known about their society.

Oll: The fifth planet is a gas giant with a yellow-orange color, orbited by 8 moons of varying size. There have been intermittent attempts to extract useful gasses from its atmosphere, which have had limited success, and as a result it is littered with abandoned stations.

Reths: The last planet is another gas giant, more greenish due to an unusually high concentration of chlorine in its atmosphere. It has the most moons of any planet in the system by a large number, but most are very small, with only 3 large enough to be significantly notable.


"The good news is, both sides have acknowledged the Liberty Star as neutral ground and accepted Union mediation. Diplomats are on their way to present petitions for Union aid. In the meantime, I have some potential courses of action to discuss." She gestures and holographic displays come to life, displaying a list of her suggestions. "First of all, both sides claim to adhere to the Utopian Pillars. However that may not be the case. You should keep a lookout for any violations and take stock of the living conditions of civilians under both regimes when you get a chance.
Second, I recommend you pay attention to current events in the system even when they don't relate to the war. It's possible there might be other causes that need out assistance here, or the information might help us develop a better solution." Stella pauses, clearly waiting to see if there is any comment.

[Bitter]

Exile

Raising an eyebrow at Trouble’s commentary, Exile flicks his wrist as if brushing away a fly.

“Don’t worry yourself, cryo tries everyone’s nerves. Besides, technically you’re right.” Exile gestures down at himself with a look of dismay. “This outfit is four years out of date, so I’ll need to skim through the news feeds to find out what’s in style now then buy some licenses.”

Taking in trouble from head to toe, Exile pauses in thought for a moment. “You know, that outfit has seen better days and those better days were probably during SecComm. I could look for something for you at the same time if you like?”

Before he gets a reply, Stella flickers to life and begins the briefing.

As Stella talks about the situation Exile is reading through his tablet, though either he’s an amazing speedreader or he’s only flicking through it and not reading it fully. In his mind, Hanza is thinking back to the various Baronial courts he’s been part of and trying to remember the kind of things they would hate a Union Liberation Team to do.

“Question Stella”, he says, once the NHP has stopped their briefing. “I’ve got information on all the major state and corpro actors, but do we have any smaller non-governmental organisations in play that are relevant to the mission? So human rights groups, journalistic organisations critical of their government, political opposition groups, things along that line.”

“My thinking is if these exist, then it gives us knowledgable locals we can work with to give us a more rounded view of the situation than the official government sources and if they don’t exist…” Exile shrugs, “Well either it’s because things are so utopian they’re not needed, which seems damn unlikely in a years long civil war, or they’re not allowed to exist which is fairly telling.”

Exile sits back as if he’s said his piece, then suddenly jolts forward again as another question occurs to him. “Oh and as we have an Irulin Empire, is there an actual Irulin Emperor? I’ve never met an emperor before.”

[Hazrond]

"I agree with Exile, we'll probably get more information about the state of things from the people than we will from the governments." Jin said after taking a few moments to think through the blast of information he just received to his SES implant. "Do we know the status of their local branch of the omninet? People tend to talk more freely without a face to match the words to, but that relies on them being able to connect at all. If nothing else, the state of their omninet culture will be useful in ferreting out who requires closer inspection."

After another few moments he then speaks up again "Though I have to ask, what are our mission objectives for the intervention here in this civil war? Are we intended to ferret out which is more aligned with Union principles then offer backing? Or are we just here to intervene in situations where those principles are clearly violated?"

[n0ble]

Vinson shrugged at Prai's question, then removed a clip of hollow points from where he's slammed it into place. "Depends on the make, I suppose." His voice came out as a monotone, perhaps flecked with a bit of involuntary strain. And even ignoring that, wasnt as though the content of his words was much to make up for four years in silence & cold. As if on a cue a small whirring noise comes from his hardsuit as bundles of conductive fibres begin to bleed heat into the outfit's insulation fabrics. It felt good, if a bit too familiar in the memories it evoked. The striations Bo took a hand from the gun and gripped the air as he made a fist, looking like he was stretching something out. Once. Twice. Three times. He rose and fell in with the others, nodding at the sense in what Trouble had said. Sooner or later...The assault rifle collapsed and found its way back onto the belt.

Other conversation was harder to follow, or confined between other Lancers and what artifice they'd brought with them. Wasnt for him to horn in on such intimacies. Especially not when there was a briefing to be called. He took a seat with the others, letting the chair bare whatever stiffness his nerves had yet to shake out. He looked down at the ping from his slate and queued a general update ahead of the briefing with a signal from his wrist-chip. Infantry won battles. Information won wars. Sometimes either was a currency for peace. Nothing of what scrolled through his tablet instilled that Vinson much. Still, the others' inquests bore merit, so he nodded along before flicking through four years of duelling pings and adverts for the Verdant Social Arc & New Humanity Front. This elicited a frown, and Vinson made sure to unsubscribe from the latter, then went out of his way to block the address outright. Sounded like there was enough extra-solar nationalism already, judging by Stella's briefing.

Reviewing the briefing file made Vinson frown again, at least initially. He’d started closest celestial body to Irul and worked his way in. His choice lodged the Armoury’s research station firmly in the vanguard of Vinson’s procession through the planet summaries. Just as well, far as Bo was concerned, that potential connections with the past we’re confronted first.

[sandmote]

Something is bothering the Cadet, but it takes him a moment to put his finger on it.

"Any word on the survivors of the previous delegation or who attacked the embassy? We're not likely to make much headway unless people trust we're going to stick around." He'd personally rather check out the state of the marauders, but this seems to have the highest priority

[Bitter]

Exile

“I doubt it,” says Exile in reply to Cadet. He had been wondering about the previous embassy, but assumed the lack of further information presented in the brief meant no more information was available.

“Those are important issues though and we’ve got to keep them in mind. There’s Union personnel MIA and potentially in need of rescuing and the people who killed their colleagues have to be presumed free.”

Exile traces a finger over a map of the solar system on his tablet, tapping on Oll and Reths.

“There. If they’ve escaped to the outer system, you have two planets with abandoned space stations and countless moons no-one cares about. Perfect places to hide out but probably too much effort to search through considering this has to be a secondary objective.”

Exile glances to Stella. “We’re going to have to send out some kind of public announcement soon. When we do can we make sure it’s broadcast loud, enough that even someone hidden away on the edge of the system will hear it? If they know help is hear, they may come to us of their own accord.”

[Awful]

"Good morning, all," said Barb politely as she sat in the briefing room in response to Stella's morning greeting. She was aware of Unity's reliance on shackled NHPs, of course; the immorality of it was something that Unity and Chapel had to dance around if they were to cooperate. She listened carefully, not interjecting, as the state of the system was described.

"Determining the fate of the previous Unity team seems a worthwhile task," the nun said agreeably. She paused and, as an aside to Stella, spoke again.

"I do have some search terms I'd like to run any collected information through after this, pree Stella; secondary concerns for the moment, but potentially important."

[bc56]

To Exile, Stella replies, "Your two questions are related. There is an emperor, but his power is greatly limited by the laws of the empire. Most decisions are voted upon by the nobles that make up his council. For the last several years, the proper response to the Marauder situation has been hotly debated in the council and across Irulin society in general. There are generally three camps. Some want to retake Galamax and reestablish imperial law. Some want to cede Galamax to the Marauders, and some wish to accept the demands for change to their system of government. The Galamax Mining Conglomerate has a large sway with the council and has previously been influential to keeping the Council focused on the war."
To Jin, she clarifies, "Your mission is to stabilize the situation here into something aligning with the Pillars. You have the latitude how best to accomplish that, but Union would prefer minimal bloodshed if possible."
She then listens to the concerns about the last set of diplomats and confirms some of the worries. "The perpetrator is still unknown, though there are radical anti-Union elements on both sides that may have done so. The delegation is currently maintaining comms silence for its own safety and has for several years, despite the order being lifted. It is unfortunately possible they fell victim to some unknown threat or are otherwise unable to respond, or they might just be waiting until they are certain it's safe to reemerge."
Lastly, two more files are sent over to the Lancers.
Nominally, the Irulin Emperor is ruled by its emperor. However, most decisions are handled by the Imperial Council.
Councillors are elected from the landowning nobles by the people every 10 years. Nine councillors represent each of the nine provinces on Merel, one represents the Imperial City of Halifax, and three represent each of the other inhabited celestial bodies that the Irulin Empire claims dominion over, for a total of 13.
On a local level, each noble is free to govern their estate how they choose so long as it conforms to imperial law. Many use a variation of the council system, but there are other systems in place. Halifax is directly controlled by the Emperor, and as such is beholden only to imperial law, not to any lesser nobles.
Originally, the Blue Marauders were mostly an unorganized cult of personality around Harton Delor, the first Raider Lord. He made little effort to create a governmental system, because he claimed to view the Marauders as a temporary measure. When they had an acceptable peace, they would disband. However, in the wake of his death, many of his lieutenants and other influential Marauders claimed the title of Raider Lord for themselves, and a new order was formed. Each Raider Lord is elected from an abstract crew, representing more or less those members willing to be subordinate to them. Raider Lords and their crews have the latitude to operate independently, but in cases where disputes between crews need to be mediated or important decisions of policy must be made, the Raider Lords hold a Meet in Sapphire City to vote on the outcome, which is considered law by all crews.

[Bitter]

Exile

Mulling over the response from Stella, the similarities in her description to some of the baronial courts Hamza has know were hard to ignore.

“And we’ve got dignitaries inbound. They’re trying to get our support and by extension Union’s,” says Exile addressing the group as a whole, “But what do we want to try to get out of them?”

“I’d suggest we press for a temporary ceasefire so we can try and get a handle on the situation and resolve it, plus freedom of movement within their territories to go and investigate wherever we wish. Even that may be a little optimistic, but it should do for a start.”

Exile shrugs. “Just my first thoughts of course, happy to go with another plan of action.”

[Amaril]

The updated briefing makes a good excuse for Prai not to have to look at Hamza's outfit, and to hide her annoyance at half the team being in plainclothes when she's already suited up. "Sounds to me like finding that delegation should be priority one. They're our people, we've got to at least know what happened to 'em. And I'd trust intel from them a lot more than 'net gossip."

She shoots the Karrakin a sidelong look that's not quite a glare. "Putting the word out loud sounds like a good idea. We already got diplomats coming, anyone who doesn't know we're here yet will soon. Don't see what we've got to lose."

[Bitter]

Exile

Hamza could empathise with Prai’s point of view, but at the same time profoundly disagreed with it. He tried to remember what he’s read of her bio, some nomadic shipborne culture which perhaps contributed to a a mentality of looking after your own, but couldn’t recall anything concrete.

“I can’t see how finding the delegation should be priority one,” asks Exile. “We should make efforts to find them, yes, but we weren’t in cryo for four years to find a dozen missing people, that’s not why we’re here. Even putting aside our orders, if you’re not the following orders type and just weighing it up based on importance, it’s maybe a dozen people’s lives versus countless thousands if we don’t get this situation under control. This civil war situation is simply a much bigger deal.”

“Hells,” he says, shaking his head, “They left under their own power so they should be able to get back in their own, not need rescuing. If they can’t it’s because they’re probably dead.”

“But anyway, the point is pretty moot at the moment. Unless we want to spend years checking over every minor moon and abandoned space station, our only currently viable plan is to send out a message, which is something we can do here and now without compromising our real objective.”

[Hazrond]

"I'm not suggesting crowdsourcing our tactical advice. But getting an eye on what people post about their daily lives will help us get a feeling for how those lives operate. Governments have every reason to lie to us in order to get our help, but individuals have less reason to lie when they don't realize they are being monitored." Jin replied to Prai.

"Besides, trying to find the delegation could take months unless they come to us first. And that's even assuming they are still alive. Exile has the right of it, we send out a message announcing our presence and if they reach out to us then we are in a position to consider a rescue operation."

[Amaril]

Now Prai does glare at Hamza a little. "And where do ya want us to start, then? We can't save the whole system all at once. If there's friendlies out there who can point us in the right direction, that sounds like a good first step to me."

She clamps down on it before she can say anything else. Taking a deep breath, she turns pointedly to Jin. "Ya right, no reason not to see what's out there. And if all we can do about the delegation for now is send a message, fair enough. I'm just saying, right now we're operating alone and blind. If we get a chance to change both those things at once, and help out our crew, I think it's worth the trouble."

[Bitter]

Exile

“This guy gets it,” says Hamza, jerking a thumb in Jin’s direction.

“Do you want something to eat by the way?” he asks Jin directly. “The post-cryo munchies are hitting pretty hard now and I’ve got a guy whodoes a mean reconstituted protein omelette if you want me to get him to whip up an extra one. Offers open to everyone,” he adds a moment later, addressing the group as a whole.

He doesn’t get a chance to hear the responses though before Prai has offered a rejoinder. Prai’s glare is returned with nonchalance.

“Even if we could find them, which you still haven’t offered a plan for, we’d be spending a lot of time to try talk to people whose information is 4 years out of date. More than that, any information they have is stuff that they were able to find out themselves without a previous team to hand it to them. My point being, if they figured it out then we can figure out for ourselves too.”

“Anyway as you were kind enough to ask,” Hamza says, as if Prai had offered him a vol-au-vent, “My plan is we speak to the the empire and the marauders. They’ll each give us the dirt on the other.”

“Embellished and exaggerated dirt, sure,” he says, waving this away as if lying to Union about human rights violations and war crimes is just an aside. “But they’ll still point us towards all the bad things the opposing side is doing. That gives us a good place to start investigating and intervening.”

“At a random guess, and don’t hold me to this as it’s uninformed gut feeling, we’re looking at first and third pillar violations for the empire as presumably the miners only revolted and became marauders due to being horribly mistreated and second pillar violations for the marauders as it looks like they’re pirating ships. I mean we’ll know more once we’ve actually talked to them, but even just looking over the history we can take some guesses about what’s going on.”

Hamza sits back, looking very pleased with himself.

“So, omelette anyone?”

[Hazrond]

"If i had to hazard a guess, I'd say we should also look into the Galamax Conglomerate for possible cause for the rebellion. They are the ones who were in control of the planet before the revolt and the most vocal voice pushing the Empire into conflict with the marauders from what it sounds like. That makes them the faction with the biggest stake in this conflict out of anyone."

Jin then turns to Hamza "Also, yes, omelettes sound wonderful. I'd love to join you."

[sandmote]

"We can listen in on the omninet chatter in transit," the Cadet points out, "that's mostly as issue of manpower."

"Although if we want to understand it, we should probably get a lay of the history here. That speech from Delor sounds like a good place to start. Watch it while we eat?" he nods to Hamza.

"And I assume the Empire's Councilor of Galamax works for the Conglomerate, Stella?"

[Bitter]

Exile

Exile taps a button on his tablet, opening a channel to Phillipe.

“Hi Phillipe, can you put together half a dozen of your signature omelettes please? Thanks,” he says, closing the channel before Phillipe can even reply.

“Good point about Galamax,” concedes Hamza to Jim. “Mentally I’ve put Galamax on the Irulin side and was just lumping them together, but they’re more of a sub-faction with their own agenda that may be even more extreme as they’re more invested and have more to lose.”

[bc56]

Stella nods and lets the conversation about how to proceed continue on its own until it manages to slow down again. "I can broadcast a message on secure Union channels inviting the diplomats to contact us, and assign some technicians to scan omninet chatter." She responds to Cardi's questions, however. "The current Councilor of Galamax is Ashlyn Otald, Chief Operations Officer to the Galamax Mining Conglomerate, so you are correct. While you're waiting for your food, I can scrape the omninet for a good quality recording of the speech in question." It only takes her a moment. Her avatar moves to the side as a new hologram takes center stage, one of a man in a hardsuit, not the military grade hardware that Lancers and other Union troops use, but a more industrial design, bulkier and heavily plated, coated in a reflective blue-silver polymer. He's scruffy and unkempt, but he has a steely fire in his eyes. Behind the man is a mech, an industrial model painted bright blue and carrying mining implements: a drill and cutting laser. The image is currently holding still. "As soon as you're ready, I can begin the playback."

[Bitter]

Exile

After a surprisingly short wait, Phillipe appears with small cart carrying several plates of eggs.

Waiting for the others to take a plate first, Hanza grabs the last one for himself and tucks in as he waits for Stella to begin the film. Light, fluffy and peppered with a few spices that Hamza has never bothered to learn, it’s everything you need to pull yourself together after years of cryo.

“Thanks Phillipe, you’re a miracle worker.”

[bc56]

Once the food is distributed, Stella begins the speech.


My fellow citizens of Galamax and by extension, the Irulins Empire. In the past months, you have come to myself and my band as Marauders, as we have been called by the news agencies of the day. But I mean you no harm. I, Harton Delor, am a normal civilian much like yourselves. A technician and a miner. I did not begin this work because I like it. I am no soldier, nor do I wish to be. But the situation here on Galamax has become more than I and many others can bear. The Conglomerate has attempted to stifle our voices, but I will not be stopped. I and my followers will no longer work for the pittance they give, the housing in hot, overcrowded quarters, fed porridge that even the rats don't touch, and locked underground, unable to see the sun. The Empire has refused to hear our grievances, so we will make them heard. They were right to call us Marauders, for we will raid and pillage, we will seize their hardware for our own, and we will build the lives we dreamed of here in this hellscape, not remain under the thumb of corrupt nobility and greedy businesspeople. As a noble lord leads his armies, I will lead my raiders against my enemies. But when peace comes again, there will be no need for me, and I will return to being simply one of many, like all of you. When our demands for a better life have been heard and met, then we will return to where we came and the Empire will be the better. But we will not stop fighting before then. Even if I die, let my words live on. We Galamaxians will be free, no matter the cost.

[sandmote]

The Cadet thanks Phillipe for the food.

After the speech, he's a quiet. "I can't fault the principle, but I don't see the specifics." After another bite he continues, "And I suspect the specifics of what the Marauders want has only become more scattered since Delor's passing. This is excellent, by the way."

[Bitter]

Exile

Exile eats his omlette while he listens to the speech, multitasking by making a few notes on his tablet.

“Basically what I expected,” he says after finishing off his meal. “First and third pillar violations, though I imagine Galamax will argue the case.”

“If you’re being kept underground and denied freedom based on your job contract, that’s a pillar three violation. I imagine Galamax had some convoluted process for getting freedom that was technically feasibly but practically impossible that they’ll use to argue that this technically wasn’t a pillar violation. By the same metric, they’ll argue that if someone is being fed maggot ridden spoilt food they’re still being fed food so that isn’t a first pillar violation.”

Hamza looks from pilot to pilot, meeting their eyes to huge their reaction to what he’s saying.

“To me the pillars are about providing basic human decency and you can’t rules lawyer your way around it, and I suspect there’s a fair amount of case law backing me up; from ThirdComm at least. Assuming this wasn’t all talk and we confirm what he’s saying, I think there’s a strong case for the Galamaxians being granted independence or at least some measure of autonomy with their freedoms guaranteed. Not to say that we won’t have to kick their ass as well for all this piracy, but that’s another matter.”

[Hazrond]

Jin enjoyed his omelette quietly while watching the video. He spent only about half of his attention on the speech itself as Cassius transcribed it into his SES for easy reference later. "It sounds like the Conglomerate, and by extension the Empire, will have some explaining to do once we arrive."

As Hamza spoke about the meaning of the pillars to himself, Jin listened intently. "The matter of the piracy is going to be a problem we'll have to address as well. With any luck the number of crews whose behavior we'll have to correct will be low. It sounds like the Marauders were driven to desperate measures by their mistreatment by the Conglomerate." he says, before thinking for a few moments. "Though. This was a propaganda speech, so we'll still have to look for a clearer picture when we talk to the factions themselves."

[Awful]

Sister

The Reverend Sister poked at the omelette with her fork before she delicately cut off a tiny section to try.
"An omelette... the main ingredient is of animal origin, correct?" her tone was interested, as one would when shown a strange animal. "How quaint."

She placed it in her mouth and chewed daintily.
"What an interesting texture."

She watched the speech with a practiced eye.

"Mmm. I would be interested in the actual actions of the marauders and the noble forces, and how they match up to those words. Words are often easier than actions - and I say this as someone who gives sermons." She smiled a little at her own mild joke. "As has been said, no doubt we will have to talk to the factions themselves to get a clearer picture."

[Bitter]

Exile

“Yes, unfertilised avian eggs” says Exile, answering Sister.

“That’s ideally though and I doubt we had any in stock, so Phillipe will probably have done what he can with powdered protein supplement to make a close copy of what an omelette should be. The eggs themselves don’t have too much taste, but are full of protein and energy and it’s a good carrier for ingredients you can put inside the omlette, in this case some spices for flavour and some of the vegetables from hydroponics. It can be especially nice with small cuts of salted and spiced meat, but I’m guessing we’re not carrying any in stock.”

“Yes, we’re in no position to make a judgement call until we’ve spoken to both sides,” he says agreeing with Sister’s final comment.

[n0ble]

Vinson takes out his multi-tool and prods at the omelette. It smelled delicious, made all the better that it was amongst the first real foods he’d eaten in…quite some time. Looked like something he’d evaporated in Hadar system. Or maybe Kataphoss. He cut a bit off with the fork end of his multitool and bit into it. Tasted good. Tasted really good. Vinson smiled and nodded his thanks for the food, then again at the sense in everyone’s words at looking at the bigger picture of things. Starting out big and narrowing down agreed with him as well as the rest of the omelette.

[Awful]

Sister

"Mmmm." Barb intoned. She span the fork thoughtfully between her fingers. "Back in Chapel, we use vat-grown nutrient solutions infused directly into the blood. More effecient and controlled - though of course, much less of a social experience to change solution cylinders."

The redhead smiled, looking down at the blob of proteins and carbohydrates on her plate.

"I had a digestive tract implanted before I came on this mission; I understand food and eating has quite the important aspect, socially. It is an interesting experience."

[Hazrond]

"..implanted? Apologies, because i do not know your people, but why would such an implant be necessary? Have your people been genetically tailored to lack digestive organs?" Jin asks out of a morbid mixture of curiosity, pity, and mild disgust. The thought of removing such a vital part of the human experience from an entire culture saddens him on some level, as he remembers nights in the mess hall back home eating freshly caught crab legs with his friends and learning to cook his mother's old recipe for chocolate cake using ingredients that could be created by a fabricator, she used to make it for his birthday every year.

[bc56]

"As fascinating as this conversation is," Stella interrupts, "I must inform you that the first diplomatic shuttle has docked, and the second one will do so in roughly 1.42 minutes. I'm directing the diplomats to the public conference room. I recommend you get down there quickly before they get at each other's throats. They've also each transmitted copies of petitions they'd like you to address. It might be wise to skim them before entering the discussion."
Thank you, Lancers, for coming to resolve our disputes. There are a few issues we could use your help on.
Chief among those is the evacuation of Irulin loyalist citizens from Galamax. The settlement of Cornall 7 has been blockaded by Marauder troops for unspecified reasons. A majority of the citizens within would like to evacuate back to Merel for their own safety, but are prevented from leaving. We would like you to escort them to a friendly spaceport where they can be transported home.
This is a matter of freedom and possibly life and death for our stranded citizens, so we ask your aid.
Signed,
Milima Gari, Councillor of Tevolik Province, on behalf of the Irulin Empire and its Emperor
"I'm going to keep this brief. We sent a scouting party to Nocturne. Their mission was to scout for locations for new colonies, somewhere safe from native wildlife and outside the Empire's reach. We lost communication with them and suspect foul play. We'd like you to help us run a brief search and rescue op. Native fauna is nasty, we could use the extra firepower.
-Raider Lord Verrick Mester.

[Bitter]

Exile

“Guess we need to walk and talk,” says Hamza, getting to his feet and moving on to meet the diplomats.

“Stella, could we get some names and titles for whoever we’re going to meet? Oh,” he adds a moment later, “And can you keep an eye on everyone to make sure they’re not planting bombs or anything. Don’t want to end up like the last team.”

Hamza finished reviewing the two proposed missions.

“For me, I think the Irulins have to take priority. Maybe we can resolve it here and now diplomatically and then handle the other mission in person, but otherwise it’s a case of getting civilians out of a war zone or helping rescue military personnel and for me civilians take priority.”

[Hazrond]

"In my case, relay the titles and such to Cassius and they can pass them on to me." Jin says as he walks and reviews the two proposals in his head. The Marauder petition interested him a lot more than the situation on Cornall 7, but curiosity aside he needed to put the needs of the larger group of people first. Especially considering, as Hamza said, they were civillians whereas the Marauder scouts likely had some level of equipment and training to survive out on Nocturne.

When he finally spoke up, he said to the other lancers "The civillian matter on Cornall 7 is more pressing in the short term. I hope that the Nocturne scouts can survive until we have time to offer them aid as well"

[Amaril]

Prai might not be overly fond of Hamza, but that doesn't stop her from wolfing down every bite of her omelet. Wasting food is a crime, after all. Plus, even she has to admit it's delicious.

She almost chokes on her last bite when she realizes what Sister Barb is implying. Jin voices her thoughts before she can, but Stella interrupts any hope of clarity. "Wait, they're here now?" She scrambles to her feet, filing away the petitions to read in a moment. "Wish I'd known the schedule, I wouldn't have suited up..." Well, it's not the worst thing, she supposes--certainly makes a strong impression to show up to a negotiation in armor. But then again, with Hamza dressed as he is, the military image is rather spoiled....

She pulls up the petitions again, skimming them as she falls in behind Jin. "I agree. Civilians have got to come first."

[n0ble]

Vinson nodded for the third time and took out a small cylinder of tomato paste. After offering it to everyone else he squeezed some out onto the remains of his omelette, then set to smearing the red about the foods surface to get a nice even distribution. He idly munched while the others talked, gauging the addition to his food and the conversation in equal measure. Mm. Chives next time. He removed a small flask of water and an e-cigarette, thought of grumbling about the oh-two content on-ship not allowing for smoking, then thought better of it. He took a conservative drag from the plastic tube and relaxed a bit back into his seat with the hit of nicotine. A single faint contrail of vapour wafted from one of Bo's nostrils. He took a swig of water from the flask to quench the raw dryness of the inhalation.

"Civvies first. Are there any other extant parties in-system similar petitions could have gone out to?" Civillians came first. But the notion that a group styling themselves as Marauders would want or gain access to more armaments while they were performing an evac lodged a sour feeling in Vinson's gut. The feeling promised escalation.

[sandmote]

"First dealing with a scouting party seems odd." Carmi notes after looking over the petitions. "The empire certainly seems more interested in looking good to us. Even if the civilians didn't take higher priority, it seems much more relevant to learning about the greater conflict. I'd be very interested to learn why the party from the Marauders considers this a priority to ask about though."

[Bitter]

Exile

Hamza claps his hands together a single time, smiling broadly.

“Looks like we’re all on the same page,” he says. That was nothing if if not a small miracle considering some of the strong personalities only properly meeting now for the first time.

“Now we just have to hope these diplomats are as reasonable.” The tone of Hamza’s voice makes it clear what he thinks of the chances of that.

[Awful]

Sister

What a surprisingly strong response to her comment on digestive systems and the implantation thereof. She filed it as a conversation to continue at a later date and focused her attention on the presented petitions.

"Hmm, yes, I agree. The Irulin petition does seem more urgent. Honestly, it's almost bizarre how... Petty isn't the right word. Tangential, perhaps, the Marauder petition seems.. I'd almost suspect they were just trying to get us out the way for a while as a primary objective."

[bc56]

The conference room approaches. You can all hear the muted tones of barely-contained argument within.
"You want to send them on that frivolous errand? People are dying!" "Unlike some people, I'm actually trying to end the war! Don't you want my people out of your hair and off your planet?" "And let you abscond with millions of Manna in stolen equipment?" "Would the three of you just calm down for a minute? I can't hear myself think!"

Stella pings the you with a quick message. "Sorry this is late. I didn't actually know who they were sending until they actually arrived. Here are some brief summaries of our files on these diplomats... If you can call them that. Luckily, the primary authors of both petitions are present, so you can question them more closely. I've also recorded a complete transcript of their current debate, which I'll release to you when your meeting is done."

Speaks in Purple
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/849666628869685309/880282832935718962/Milima.jpeg
Councilor of Tevolik Province, an outlying farming district on Merel. Tevolik Province has been hit particularly hard by the war, and Gari has fallen out of favor recently due to her solid position in the compromise faction of the Council. She has been a strong, often outspoken advocate for peace talks, civilian evacuation, and demilitarization.
"Speaks in Orange
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/849666628869685309/880282838463832084/Roder.jpeg
Roder Icmal is head of Public Relations for the Galamax Mining Conglomerate and 9% owner of the Conglomerate as a whole. He is a strong pro-war spokeman, often citing justice against Marauder piracy as his reasoning.
Speaks in Slate Grey
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/849666628869685309/880282830360424479/Massey.jpeg
Olten is an aide (mostly a secretary) to the Emperor himself. He is, unusually, of common blood, ascended to his position through merit rather than inheritance. While he has little stake in the ongoing conflict or the peace talks, he can be assumed to be the Emperor's eyes and ears in these meetings.
Speaks in Navy
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/849666628869685309/880282841185918976/Verrick.jpeg
Raider Lord Mester is young and apparently dedicated. He was a close lieutenant to Raider Lord Delor before his passing and is said to truly believe in Delor's vision for the movement. Mester is considered a moderate among the Marauders, advocating for economic expansion and improvement of facilities for those within what has become Marauder territory.
Speaks in Green
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/849666628869685309/880282826971414568/Esmyra.jpeg
Sonnel is an Irulin actress and musician who defected to the Marauders midway through the conflict for reasons unknown. Speculation generally indicates that she either was hungry for attention or wanted to play at being a pirate, possibly both. Her fame outside the Reach is practically none. The reasons for her inclusion in this diplomatic party are unknown.
Speaks in Fire Brick
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/849666628869685309/880282835859173516/Rock.jpeg
Olin Reshma was convicted in the Irulin Empire on two counts of murder, five counts of arson, and eighteen counts of assault and battery. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the maximum security Titan Hold prison facility located on Lyra. Five years and eight months later, the Blue Marauders attacked the prison from the outside and managed to seize it. As part of this operation, they released the majority of prisoners, especially those with political or combat backgrounds. Reshma has since found a place among the Marauders as a special operations trooper, if eyewitness reports are accurate. Consider him armed and dangerous at all times.

[Hazrond]

"After the negotiations may be a bit late Stella, forward me the transcript through Cassius." Jin replies as he tries to make himself look presentable before the diplomats and "diplomats" properly arrive.

[sandmote]

The Cadet arrives a bit early, and takes a moment to listen in on the arguments going on inside. He'll otherwise enter along with everyone else.

If I can I'd like to listen in a bit more on the arguing. Particularly the Navy voice (ie. Verrick Mester, although I don't think Carmi would know that yet) that wants "my people out of your hair and off your planet."

Partially because I'm not sure if we're going in yet.

[Bitter]

Exile

Reaching the door, Hamza looks at both Jin and Cadet who are loitering outside without
making any attempt to enter.

“You realise this is a sad state of affairs,” he says, shaking his head sadly with a touch of theatrical over-the-top ness, “When finally tuned mechanised cavalry pilots such as yourselves find yourself stymied by a door.”

Flashing them a smile to make it clear he’s only giving them a little light teasing, Exile opens the door and walks in with what superficially appears to be complete confidence. Nodding warmly to both factions, Exile grabs a seat in a neutral position between the two factions.

“Good morning, my name is Hamza Von Marlborough.” As the others walk in, Hamza introduces each of them in turn.

“Just to make clear what we’re doing here, our mission is to stabilize the situation here into something aligning with the Pillars. We’ll get involved in humanitarian aid and shooting pirates and everything else that we can to help as a matter of course, but our focus is ending any pillar violations. Union has instructed us that keeping the violence to a minimum would be preferred.”

Hamza let’s the implication that this is only a preference hang in the air.

“With that in mind, I think to start things off it would be helpful if each side could make clear why they think the mission request they have made to us takes priority, what pillar violations they think are happening in the system and finally any information on the previous Union delegation; who we are obviously very concerned about.”

In fact Hamza assumed the old Union embassy were either dead or hiding out somewhere and fine, so he wasn’t much worried either way but had caught that this was a big thing for some of the rest of the team.

“Just picking at random and to avoid any genital waving and shouting over each other, why don’t you go first,” says Hamza looking at the Marauder delegation.

“Unless…” and here Hamza glances back at his compatriots, seeing if they have anything to add.

[Amaril]

This is definitely not Prai's field. Honestly, if it were up to her, they wouldn't even be having this meeting right now; it seems pretty clear the time for diplomacy has passed, here. However, she has her orders, and her crew is counting on her. Therefore, as she enters the conference room, Hamza providing an introduction, she offers the delegates a businesslike smile.

Taking her seat, she inputs a blink command through her dataplating. Lila, who's spent the past several minutes hovering obediently by her shoulder, floats up into a corner of the room and extends a camera lens toward the table. "For full disclosure, I should inform ya we'll be recording these talks," she announces to the diplomats. Surreptitiously, however, she also commands Lila to run a few facial and vocal analysis applications on their guests, and stream the data to the team's displays. It's not exactly top-of-the-line software, but it should help call attention to anything suspicious.

[Bitter]

As the delegates respond, Hamza pays particular attention to vocal and biological cues. He hasn’t had formal training, but a lifetime spent in scheming Baronial dynastic houses has thought him how to spot a liar and root out hidden agendas.

He keeps a close eye on them, wanting to try and ensure that these mission requests and people’s stated agendas are all on the level.

Read the room +2 with accuracy from Prai’s help

[roll0] plus [roll1]

[Awful]

Sister


In her full ceremonial robes, far more ornate than her normal clothing, the Reverend Sister made a magnificent sight in shades of blue and the occasional eye-catching splash of gold. She entered with solemn grace, a small smile playing around her lips.
"As stated, I am the Reverend Sister Barb of the Chapel. As my good companion has said - though perhaps," she said lightly, "Not quite in the way I would phrase things - let us hear your cases. I ask you to not interrupt your counterparts or interject until they have completed their statement, and keep in mind we will give you your fair chance to defend yourself against any allegations - after."

She paused, and then made a oh! as something occured to her.
"Ah, yes - do any of you wish for refreshments? We have quite the selection, though I'm afraid being new to that sort of business I couldn't make any recommendations."

[bc56]

The Marauders are asked to go first, and the Irulins to not interrupt. Röder Icmal has to choke back an objection that had been rising in his throat, but they will listen.

"I understand that rescuing a scouting mission hardly appears to be a matter of systemwide importance." Mester begins, "But look at the bigger picture. Our friends here," he gestures to the Irulin delegation, "Want the so-called Marauders off of Galamax. We want to form a new society where our rights are respected. We don't need Galamax. In fact, we don't even want it. Who wants to scratch out a living on a burning hellhole?" He pauses for emphasis. "I have been heading the Marauders' colonization efforts. My primary target is Nocturne. Uninhabited, but the atmosphere is breathable. Untouched except by researchers and glory-seekers. This is one of several parties I have dispatched to the planet surface to survey promising colony sites, but the native wildlife has been troublesome. Most orbital imaging is unfeasible due to the planetary conditions, so I've been forced to rely on topographic scans and boots on the ground." He comes to the end of his speech. "I assume minimizing violence doesn't include against hostile wildlife? This could be one of the quickest peaceful ways to end the war." It's hard for Exile to tell how sincerely he believes what he says, or if he's holding anything back.

[sandmote]

"As much as you may want to leave it, I doubt your moving out would solve union violations in the long term and we might just end up here again." Carmi pauses for effect before continuing; "Could you go into more detail about what specific conditions led to the Marauder's creation? I doubt you would simply want them recreated on someone else should you leave, as much as I'm sure the Irulin do not accept any pillar violations were occurring on Galamax. What conditions are Marauder groups trying to leave that makes such a dangerous world seem like greener pastures?"

[Bitter]

While Mester speaks, Hamza does his best to look interested and focused as he types across a quick private message of his impressions to the others on his compconn.

taking tihs at face value, this si a dong term issue. colonisation won’t be dne quickly. Also all maruders bhind this?? evn if leadershiip not frafmented, evry1 on glmax bhind this?? no wai, always have ppl wntng 2 stay.

Taking a look at his message, Hanza frowns. He’d never been much of a touch typer and this is what happens when you don’t look at what you’re writing. Still, it was legible. Mostly. Hamza hit send to fire it across to the other pilots.

“Thank you for that overview,” says Hamza. “We had got the impression that the Marauder leadership is splintered, not to mention that we’d expect a variety of views within the population as a whole. What percentage of the marauder leadership and population are committed to upping and moving planets? After all, it is unhospitable but your planet mineral rich which is why you’re there in the first place. With the profits going to you rather than an off-world corpo, you could pretty quickly have some very hospitable domes and sealed communities. Despite this, no-one wants to stay and make a go of it after putting all their blood, sweat and tears into it? Or just stay and play at pirating?”

Hamza gives them a moment to think it over before moving to the next topic.

“Also can you define ‘quick’ for us? I’d understood colonising a brand new planet to be a long and painstaking endeavour. I’d like to have access to you colonisation plans to go over it in detail. I’m no expert on colonisation, far from it,” he adds, forestalling any objections, “but there’s several dozen thousand experts in Union bureaucracy that we can run it past to ensure it’s feasible and give you advice on how to go about it without dying of some alien fever or dying of starvation within a couple of years.”

[bc56]

"Dangerous? It's a lateral move." "To put it simply, Galamax was never a suitable place for human habitation. It's too tectonically active for underground settlements to last long without constant repair, and the atmosphere is very toxic and mildly corrosive, so any exposed structures decay quickly as well. There isn't enough coolant in the world to keep any habitat there from being no more than an overheated tin can." Mester has to consider the questions about statistics. "Leadership... 30%? Population is more, I'd wager. And once we're successful, more will come." He leaves the question about speed unanswered, perhaps intentionally.

[Bitter]

“Right,” says Hamza taking a purposefully neutral tone, being somewhat dubious of the explanation given but not wanting to give any ammo to the other side. “Thank you for your explanation.”

“Now,” he says turning to the Irulin delegation, “Can you give an explanation for why you believe your mission should be a priority for us and your thoughts on the Marauder colonisation efforts?”

[bc56]

"Simply put, because our idea isn't a pipe dream!" Icmal blurts out. Gari glares him down. "People are dying. Our immediate concern should be getting those people out of danger. Then we can talk about long-term solutions." She nods to Mester. "A subset of Marauders have been blockading a settlement where some of our people, Irulin loyalists, that is, are hiding out. We'd like them evacuated from the warzone."

[sandmote]

"I can't say we disagree," the Cadet points out. "Winding down conflict and cutting out civilian casualties seems like a heavier priority, especially compared to an admitted lateral move."

He turns to councilor Gari. "I hope to check out the situation on the ground in any case, but can you send us the information showing these are Irulin loyalists under Marauder blockade? I'd be best to have that before moving in evacuation ships under tense conditions or to discover there been some deception going on." He quickly clarifies before anyone else interjects "I want to point out that when we talk about potential deception here, I am assuming bad intelligence having been provided to those present here. I am more than familiar with middle management and how one party can sabotage relations between two, other well meaning ones."

[Bitter]

Hamza leans back in his chair, stroking his chin in thought for a few seconds while he takes in the explanation. The unwillingness to discuss the terraforming seems like a way to dismiss the issue without engaging with it so they can try and stop it in the future but Hamza can't really dispute the point either.

"Under siege isn't really the same as in immediate peril either though. Why aren't the Marauders just entering the settlement and dragging out your people by the hair? And if they did, what would the consequences be? How are prisoners of war being treated?"

"You know," says Hamza as an aside to Verrick Mester, "If you could end the siege and let their people go, there'd be no competing request and we'd be able send a rescue party after your terraforming party as a certainty." Hamza shrugs nonchalantly as if he doesn't have a care in the world either way, just speaking an idle thought. In truth he gauges Verrick carefully to assess his reaction.

[Amaril]

"I was thinking the same thing," Prai agrees. She's been restraining herself, watching and listening, but Hamza voicing her exact thoughts breaks her discipline. "Seems straightforward enough to me. They have something ya want," she addresses the Irulins. "Ya let them get on with their colony mission, they release your people. Who loses?"

[bc56]

"Unfortunately I don't have the authority to call off the blockade." Mester admits. "Lord Severe is responsible for that, and she's hard to control at the best of times." He leans in a little. "But you wouldn't get much ill will from me and mine breaking the blockade by force." "Blackrock" the liberated convict is glaring daggers at the back of Mester's head. Apparently he thinks differently about this "Lord Severe."
"I would be amenable to such a deal should it become available." Gari adds.

[Hazrond]

Jin had been sitting off to the side and simply observing and contemplating the options before them as the various diplomats spoke. It was only now that he found it necessary to speak up. "And if we wished to speak with this Lord Severe regarding the blockade, could you arrange such a discussion?"

[bc56]

"Go ahead." "Hope you have, like, thick skin." Jin receives a public omninet message from Mester a moment later with the relevant contact information. "That's the line for important business. Should get her to pick up."

[sandmote]

"Let's leave that avenue open for now, and focus on those in front of us," Carmi cautions. He also sends a message to the rest of the team's tech: I'd rather not tip our hand to this Lord Severe, specially if she's as liable to fly off the handle if she seems. Better to give her as little time to do anything out of fury before we are ready to act.

"Now; can we discuss the conditions on Galamax that lead to the Marauders forming in the first place? I would be interesting to hear about the claimed pittance, housing conditions, and food situation that led to the marauders forming the first place. Again, I do not wish to return later to a new rebellion on Galamax should the Marauders move to a new celestial body."

[bc56]

"The Conglomerate was abusing miners on Galamax, and because the nobles that own the company also have a large part of the Irulin government, the Empire wouldn't do anything about it." That's the simple version. "Any of us can of course rattle off the list, but that loses its impact quickly. Settlements on Galamax are, difficult, to say the least. Volcanic and tectonic activity destroy several each year. Energy and mineral resources are abundant, but organic materials rare. Food is limited primarily to nutrient paste supplemented by hydroponic gardens in larger habitats. No one can go outside without a full fireman suit. Most miners work from within mechs or hovercraft heavily assisted by drones." Mester pauses. "Those are the basic conditions. We were aware of those when we took the jobs there. The Marauders arose because of the willful mismanagement of resources by the Conglomerate which exacerbated all these problems. Everything went fine at first. The first outposts were built in the most stable places. It was the expansion that began to cause problems. When a portion of the first wave of new outposts were destroyed, the evacuees moved to others. The death toll is usually low; we have good warning systems for these things. However, the Conglomerate did not leave much empty space in these habitats to begin with, so usually, each would be near capacity. This led to the population of two or more habitats being housed in one. Food was allocated on a per-habitat basis, judged by intended population. In order to stretch that out, habitat administrators usually watered the paste down into porridge. This was the first complaint, which was never addressed. As more mines failed, the problem worsened. That's when wages and supplies started being cut. Failures on Galamax were hurting the bottom line, so I understand. With less supplies and money, things got more dangerous. Any repairs that required organics and plastics could rarely be performed, critical systems began to malfunction. We could leave whenever we wanted, according to the laws. But we would have to travel quite a distance first if we didn't live at a spaceport." He sighs. "We wanted a voice so we could get someone to respond to our problems. I think the best way to explain is that no councillor of Galamax has ever actually lived on Galamax. They've visited, sure, but never for long. Their official residence is on Merel, but their citizenship is legally Galamaxian. This is a common situation for Conglomerate executives."

[Bitter]

Hamza glances at the message that Carmi has sent him. U serious? he writes back quickly and under the table while the history of Galamax is being told, olin is 1000% giong to msg sever as soon as he leavse.

Still, no need to make the representatives think that this team was divided or undecided. They could always give this 'Lord' Severe a call once the representatives were on their way.

"I would just say to you," says Hamza addressing Verrick primarily, "That we'll need to discuss it and come to a decision, but that at the moment I think there's at least a good chance we'll accept the Irulin petition. If that happens you should kick up as big a fuss as possible about Lord Severe pulling back as you can, because if we deploy on that mission then we're going to carve through whatever he throws at us. They're going to look weak and anyone who opposed them, a moderate faction more willing to listed to reason, is going to be able to reap some political cache off the back of it."

Hamza looks to the rest of the team. "Anything else for the esteemed representatives?"

[sandmote]

"I appreciate the rundown."The cadet watches the Irulin representatives, wondering if they'll comment on this, but doesn't appear to have may more questions.

"He might tell sooner, but hopefully they'll drag there feet if less sure. *Their"

[bc56]

"Thanks for the advice. We'll leave you to it." Mester beckons the other Marauders, and the Irulin delegates file out behind them.
Except the Irulin secretary, Olten. He clears his throat. "Excuse me, Lancers. On the authority of the Emperor, I am to give you a small token before your mission." He types something into his tablet which he had been using to take notes during the meeting. "I've sent the files to your NHP. She can assess their veracity." "These are potentially useful. And they're clean. I'm forwarding them to you now." Stella chimes in; three files are delivered to each Lancer a moment later. They're print schematics; fairly simple ones, for specialized hardsuits. Olten begins to explain. "Standard Union hardsuits are rated for exposure to conditions on Galamax, but for traversing lava fields or surviving eruptions, you need something sturdier. These blueprints are for fireman hardsuits, rated to survive in even the most extreme heat. Should you undertake any mission to Galamax, they come highly recommended."

[Amaril]

Prai does her best to keep the flicker of excitement off her face as the schematics come in. "We appreciate the generosity," she admits as Olten departs.

Alone with the team again, thank the stars. "So, we're still thinking the blockade run, yeah?"

[Bitter]

Hamza says cordial goodbyes to the delegates then focuses on his team-mates so they can plan their mission.

"At the moment, yeah, breaking the siege and getting the people out is my preferred option. Well, of the two options we've been presented. Option number three however would be to talk to Lord Severe and get them to back off, either through diplomacy or threat. That way it can free us up to look at the Marauder's terraforming expedition. Two avians with one stone."

Hamza looks around at the rest of the group, trying to gauge their opinion.

[Awful]

In a way, it was like Chapel: living in tight stations, with a hostile atmosphere outside - a gas giant was hardly conductive to unmodified life, after all. But the Chapelites had their god and each other in a bond these people lacked entirely.
"This Lord Severe seeing reason would be the best outcome," Barb agreed. "Though all aside, the name itself doesn't give me too much hope."

[Bitter]

"I'm hoping that 'Severe' translates into 'nice and cuddly' in one of the local languages," says Hamza as he seats himself then puts in Severe's communication details.

[bc56]

Moments after the call is placed, there's a response. The hologram of an angry woman comes through. Her face is marred with a web of scars, and her right ear is unusually large, making the fact that her right is so badly shredded that more than half of it is missing even more noticable. "Who the **** are you? How did you get this number?" Clearly, she is not in a good mood.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/849666628869685309/890754268666155008/Severe.jpeg

[Bitter]

"Well," says Hamza, smiling despite the swearing, "Who we are depends on you. We could be your worst enemies or your guardian angels.”

Out of view of the camera, Hamza types a message to Stella asking her if they are able to pinpoint where Severe’s signal is coming from.

“For the moment we’re just the new Union delegation. We’re like the old delegation in that we’re trying to end Union delegations and resolve this peacefully, a little different from the old delegation in that we’ve got a lot of guns and we’re willing to shoot people until they stop arguing if needs be.”

“At the moment I understand you’re laying siege to Cornall 7, which is a problem because we’d really like to help the Marauders on some missions but there’s a lot of civilians in Cornall who need evacuating so it’s at the top of our priority list. That means instead of helping the Marauders, you’re causing a situation where we’re going to need to come down and rescue those civilians instead – which depending on you may involve us defeating your forces.”

Hamza holds up a hand to forestall Severe’s arguments.

“And yes I’m sure you’ll say you’ll kill us all instead, but in that case in a few months there’ll be an operational blinkgate here and you’ll be explaining to a Union battlegroup with enough firepower to destroy a planet why you killed Union delegates who were trying to help evacuate civilians. Fighting us is a lose-lose situation for you, working with us is a win-win. We’ll get civilians out of Cornall for you and we’ll be freed up to help the Maurauders elsewhere. What do you say?”

[bc56]

"Pah. You ****ing Union ****ers are all the same. You talk a lot about ****ing peace, but the only peace you have comes from a ****ing big gun." Severe spits out a wad of tobacco (or something like it) and growls, "I'm not going to roll over and let you ****ers set a whole ****ing nest of spies and traitors home ****ing free." She looks Hamza dead on, "So **** off!" She's clearly very resistant to this idea, and near to terminating the connection, although she was probably near to that already.

[sandmote]

Carmi starts over the comm. "Come again? You want a nest of spies and traitors in the middle of your operations?"

The cadet might have been opposed to this, but he's willing to see if he can make it work. "You really wouldn't rather keep the settlement and make the Irulin fund the inhabitant's moving costs?"

[Amaril]

"If that's why you're keeping them, ya might as well just bomb the whole city from orbit." It's hard to make the suggestion come out casual; a part of Prai suspects Severe might actually do it. "'Less ya plan on killing them all or sitting on top of 'em until the war's over, those 'spies' are getting out of there one way or another eventually. And the longer you hold them, the more time they have to work." She nods to Wigram. "Ya let 'em go now, ya save yourself a fight and get your bosses something they want."

[Bitter]

Hamza nods along to the other pilots comments.

“It’s not the way you’re used to doing things, but times are changing. Give it a go.”

[roll0] plus [roll1]

[bc56]

"Fine. ****ing fine. You talked me into it." Severe looks distinctly annoyed, but she can clearly see the point here."Grippy? Tell the boys to back down. We're moving out here." "order relayed. are you sure about this, sir?" "Yes I'm ****ing sure!" Her attentions turn back to the Lancers. "You win this time, but you better ****ing believe I'll remember this. Nobody ****s with me and my plans. Cut transmission." "affirmative." The transmission abruptly cuts off.
Stella enters into the conversation now. "We should probably wait a few hours to be sure she keeps her word."

[Hazrond]

"In the meantime we should contact the Irulin and Marauder delegations and inform them of Severe's sudden return of common sense." Jin jokes as he cracks a smile at his own humor.

[Amaril]

For a long few seconds, Prai just stares at the spot where Severe's projection used to be. "I...can't believe that actually worked."

She turns to Hamza, a hint of respect in her eyes. "Not bad, chen."

[Bitter]

Hamza grins at his compatriots.

“See, you just need to have a little faith. With a bit of pressure we’ve managed to stop what easily could have turned into a a massacre.”

In truth he hadn’t thought it would work and is still somewhat suspicious.

“Yeah, good point from Stella. Let’s make sure they actually go, but in the meantime can we get as much info about the scout rescue mission as we can get? Where they are, what to expect, any dangerous megafauna, that kind of thing.”

Lastly Hamza turns to Prai. “I’m not just a pretty face and a great dancer,” he says with a grin.

[Amaril]

And just like that, the goodwill's gone again. Smug prick. Prai mostly suppresses a scowl. "We done here for now? If no one needs me, I'd like to get out of my suit."

[Bitter]

“Nah, I think we’re all good,” says Hamza as he moonwalks backwards out of the room ahead of Prai, stopping only to blow her a kiss.

[sandmote]

"If we're giving Severe's forces time to move, I think we can spend that time checking up on the general public. Ophan, follow me." He heads to some of the local terminals to check omninet chatter, followed by the floating drone.

"Ophan, pull up the major news Irulin newspapers, plus whatever main method the Galamax corporation uses to put out press releases. Compare comments with local social media systems to compare biases, and lets start looking at public factions."

[roll0], hoping this counts as "Word on the Street" for an additional +2 (not included).

I'm not expecting any particularly useful results, but I am hoping for some public polling on support for the war outside Galamax and maybe if I roll high to find evidence of other factions on either side of the argument or maybe some statements from the Galamax corporation on their profits or loss for the duration of the war.

I also assume this takes up a couple of hours to double check the initial results.

[bc56]

After about an hour of waiting and anticipation, the Lancers are informed that their ploy was a success in a message from Mester. "I don't know what you said to her, but Severe's pulling out. Looks angry enough to tear armor plates with her bare hands though, so I'd look out if I were you."
Carmi is able to uncover much the same information, with a few distinct spins. Those pushing for peace are touting this as a vital first step in the right direction, the Galamax Conglomerate is stating that it's a great triumph for their own efforts, ignoring the Lancers' contribution, and there are anti-Union elements within the Marauders which are trying to stir up resentment for what they claim was a clear example of gunboat diplomacy and colonialism. There are also numerous other rumors swirling around the Lancers. A lot of speculation about what their first actions will be, including one claiming they'll be supporting Marauder colonization efforts on Nocturne, which has gained surprisingly significant traction.
With that done, it's time for other plans to fall into place.
"Quite impressive. The Empire has sent a ship to recover its civilians, so I presume you intend to look into the missing scouting party?" Stella asks. "Whatever you intend, I'm preparing a transport for you and your mechs. The print bay has been readied for you to make what you need for the mission. There's also an incoming message from the Almoner Moth research station, should I forward it to you?"

[Bitter]

Hamza is lying in his bunk, slate in hand, when the message comes through.

"Yeah, we might as well hear what they have to say," he says in response to Stella. "Though while we're at it Stella, can you send a message to Galamax asking them to amend their statement to include recognition of the vital contribution of the Union delegation and that if they don't we'll release footage of our conversation with Severe showing it was all us and they're blatantly lying? It's not so much about taking credit as ensuring that our actions aren't going to be used by either sides propaganda machine to churn out lies that benefit them."

[Hazrond]

"What kind of information can you get us about the planet Nocturne from the Marauder delegation in the meantime? We'll need to prepare since we are open to check on the colonists now." Jin says as he heads down to the print bay to begin running diagnostics on his mech. She hasn't been online in years and who knows how much maintenance she needs.

[sandmote]

"If we do release the footage, maybe add commentary emphasizing we were looking at Severe's own rational? I'd rather not have people seeing footage of me calling those evacuated 'spies and traitors' all over the system."

[Bitter]

"We don't necessarily have to release all of it. Severe conceding to us should be plenty to show that it was Union intervention that got it done and Galamax is just puffing themselves up with empty posturing. Though I suppose it would put a couple of you in a tricky position if Severe thought to release the whole unedited version..."

Hamza trails off, leaving those who perhaps said a bit to much a chance to think for themselves the position they've put themselves in.

[bc56]

"Patching the message through now. Audio only." Stella replies.
"This is research lead Marton of the Almoner Moth. On behalf of our station, I'd like to welcome you to the Reach." There's an awkward pause, as if the speaker doesn't know what to say next. "There's a rumor going around that you're planning to visit Nocturne. If that's true, I'd like to ask for a favor. We're perpetually in need of biological samples, but sending a scout mission is a risky proposition. If you could collect some samples while you're down there, that would be of great importance to our research. Thank you, and good luck." The transmission ends.
"I've uploaded schematics for appropriate sample containers to your print libraries in case any of you are interested." Stella finishes.

[Bitter]

"I love SSC," says Hamza over the comms to the rest of the team, "And I'll be wearing an SSC hardsuit when we go on our mission. They combine style, luxury and elegance to produce the best mechs known to humankind. I'm pretty sure my ancestors even bought some designer genes off them that I've benefitted from in turn and I'm involved in some financial wrangling at the moment to get the license for my family's ancestral SSC Atlas. So I'm just putting it out there, SSC are great."

Hamza gives that a moment to sink in, anticipating with enjoyment the swerve he's about to make.

"However, here's the thing. We don't work for SSC and I've no idea why we'd go out of our way to help them out unless they can offer us something useful, either in terms of mechs or using their political power to help us out."

[Hazrond]

"Stella, do you mind opening a channel to Almoner Moth for me? I want to get some actual information from Marton if we are going to be running errands for him." Jin radios as he is currently going over Echidna's nexus systems. He pulls out a handful of grey dust from one of the nexus pods and places some under a microscope. Seeing flecks of brown, rust, on the nanomachines he frowns and then empties each of the mech's nexus payloads into one of the bay's printers in order to deconstruct and reprint the tiny machines to be fit for combat. While the printer is busy with that, he goes over the systems of the mech proper to make sure nothing else has decayed during their long journey. "As much as I love my generous benefactors, I agree Hamza. Marton is going to need to tell me what he wants and how he's going to make this worth our time before we start tearing up the ecology of a planet willy nilly."

[sandmote]

The Cadet mulls it over while getting ready. "I have some equipment that might help, but we definitely should check what exactly they want from us." After a moment he continues, "If it's easy enough, it could serve as a nice way to build a reputation out here, even if the rewards are minimal."

[bc56]

"I am sure they will be glad to hear back from you." Stella opens a channel. "They maintain a publicly available database of nocturnian lifeforms, I can download it in the meantime."

The connection goes live. An aged, bespectacled man in a button down shirt appears a moment later.
Erek Marton
https://artbreeder.b-cdn.net/imgs/dfcdb00d9e0156338f474b0bc2c9.jpeg
"Lancers," He nods a polite greeting. "Thank you for contacting me. Mori, please have the camera drone follow me as I speak with them." "affirmative, doctor." He begins walking away, and a moment later the camera follows. "You got my message, I take it? Any quesitons?"

[Hazrond]

"Hello Dr. Marton. I am Jin Aurelius, SSC Exotic Materials Division. The acquisitions of biological materials for study are possible, but we would need to know what we are looking for down there, and as this is a Union sponsored operation we would also need a suitable payment to justify the allotment of time being placed on your samples. Can you elaborate further on the details of this matter?" Jin says straightforwardly. To those very familiar with SSC terminology and corporate structure, the words "Exotic Materials Division" would likely raise eyebrows, but Jin was hopeful that Marton would take the hint.

[bc56]

"A pleasure. And those are good questions too. We don't have much in terms of material worth to pay you with. Most of what we trade in is research data. But as director here, I could possibly pull some strings if you're looking for licensing, and we do maintain a modest armory for defending our field teams on occasion. If I clear it with my superiors here, I could possibly get you provisional access. On the other hand, the exact task would be fairly non-defined. We're simply willing to compensate you for any samples you bring to us. Samples from larger, more dangerous creatures, especially ones not in the database, would be ideal. Things a less trained and equipped research team can't easily recover. Does that answer your question?" Dr. Marton waits for a reply.

[Hazrond]

"In part." Jin nods before continuing. "Are there any important deviations between your public and private databases? I don't imagine your research database is directly open to the public, but knowing the abilities of the creatures we will be dealing with down there will be important, especially when it comes to collecting your samples. It would also be useful to know which ones you have many samples for, and which you only have few, so that we can prioritize more valuable samples." Jin said as he began to work on Echidna's design, looking for a good place to work the storage containers for the samples into the mech's construction.

[sandmote]

"If its genetic material in particular, and the containers aren't massive, I should be able to get by with my current setup," Carmi notes. "Its designed for rock samples, but I can probably cut out biological ones without too much issue."

[Bitter]

"I'm out," says Hamza over the comms. "You all do you, but I don't feel like I'd really be getting anything from it and I wouldn't want to find out in ten years that SSC has used what we found for them to develop some bio weapon that killed thousands. No judgement though."

[bc56]

The doctor shakes his head. "It's no harm to me if you don't help out. I just thought I'd ask. To answer the question, the private database is more up to date; usually it runs 2-3 expeditions ahead of the public one. It also goes further into depth on biochemistry and theoretical topics such as evolutionary biology. Lastly, if you're interested, I can have Mori send you a wish list, or more accurately, a do not wish list. We have only catalogued a very small portion of the total species on the planet."

[Hazrond]

"Apologies for my colleague, please have Mori share the up to date database, as well as the no wishlist, with me. I am sure I can provide some assistance. Have a good day Dr. Marton." Jin replies before closing the channel and confirming with Stella that it is closed.

Once he is certain Almoner Moth won't be listening in, he immediately rounds on Hamza over the lancer's personal comms. "If you have reservations that is fair Hamza and you needn't be involved with the matter. But Christ the Buddha can you wait until we are off an open comm channel with someone before you make accusations that egregious out loud? If that had been someone important you might have just painted a giant target on your back. You are lucky he took it so gracefully." Jin says angrily. "Insulting people to their face because you don't agree with them is an easy way to make enemies."

[Bitter]

"That was on the open channel?" Hamza smacks his forehead with one hand while he continues to peruse his slate with the other.

"Sorry, that was meant to go out on the internal comms, my bad. But really, a guy working for a weapons manufacturer can't really complain if people don't want to give him free stuff to help his weapon manufacturer company make weapons to kill people."

[sandmote]

"Please alert us early when the no wish list arrives, Stella." Once the channel is closed, he makes an upset noise in response to Hamza's confusion, but doesn't push the issue farther.

[Hazrond]

"You've certainly got strong opinions on the matter, why?" Jin asks curiously as he continues work on Echidna with newly printed parts. "All five of the big corps make weapons by the thousands. SSC at least is primarily focused on the civilian marketplace. You act like we are talking about helping Harrison Armory or something."

[Bitter]

"Well I'm just going to put it out there that all arms manufacturing is at best a necessary evil and I wouldn't really want to help out GMS or ISP-N either, but it's not like SSC hasn't been involved in some shady ****. The Iluvian massacre, the gene theft scandal of 5007, the Autumn Twist orphanages and that's only the stuff that they got found out on."

Hamza lays back in his bunk, thinking for a few moments while he collects his thoughts to give a fuller answer though.

"Probably the biggest reason though is SSC deals in luxury, meaning the people who end up with their mechs tend to be the most privileged and untouchable in society. I grew up in Karrakin society. I've watched footage an under-baron and her house guard, all equipped with SSC frames, wipe out striking miners by the hundred. SSC frames are the best in the galaxy for my money so I will use SSC, but I don't want to be used by SSC. Does that make sense?"

[bc56]

"If I may," Stella interjects, "You should probably begin planning for deployment soon. Using the information given to us by the Marauders, I've marked out two possible landing sites for the dropship, and I'd like your input on which to use." She sends over a topographical map. "The scouts' camp was here, on this high ground within the valley. However the surrounding terrain is too rough to land safely. There is a suitable site here, on the other side of this mountain pass, and another here, but there's a swamp between the landing site and the camp."

[Bitter]

Hamza pulls up the details on his slate, perusing the options presented.

"Swamp versus mountains? I'd go with mountains, at least you can see when the megafauna is coming to get you and yes, I do fully realise I've jinxed us and we're going to get eaten by subterranean burrowing aliens if we go the mountain route."

[sandmote]

"I second the mountain pass; at the very least I'd rather be on solid ground with a good defensive position, for an emergency"

[bc56]

"Mountains it is." Stella confirms. "If you could finalize your mech configurations and send them to the print bay, I can load them into the dropship by the time you've gotten your gear together."

[sandmote]

"Sure thing," the Cadet doesn't have too much packing to do, but does question his backup communications equipment. "Just add some of the equipment for sample collection in the extra space in the back of my Everest."