The Cosmic Ocean

With a nod Crow did as he was instructed and walked over towards the section of the armory that held the pistols. It didn't take him very long to find one that would be suitable for defending himself and holstered it to his side. When that was out of the way, he'd heard Commander Lightwood ask if they had any question. A brief moment was taken to think about that before shaking his head. "None here Commander."

 

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Ana stared at the data pad before using her finger to breeze through a few of the paragraphs. She had already read this over a few times, just to be sure she knew what she was getting into. It was going to be risky, and the captain would have every right to shut her down, but she at least had to try. Especially since it sounded like things were going to get ugly, and fast. Ana took a moment to steel herself, filing her lungs with the recycled air of the ship. Brianne would not have left her here if it wasn't safe, she reminded herself. Brianne had promised that no one would do those things to her again. And she believed the woman, for better or for worse.

Eyes back on the tablet, Ana turned the corner, stepping into the lift and- She gasped as she smacked into something warm instead of the elevator walls, stumbling back against the real walls to steady herself as her data pad clanked to the floor, the screen fizzling out with a small chirping noise. "Shit." She said with a sigh, before raising her eyes to the person who had caused her to break yet another technological toy.

And then her eyebrows raised. "I was under the impression that the Coalition had standards. Otherwise I would have started up a long time ago." She told Quint, dropping to her knees to grab the bent remains of her tablet.

​

Brianne glared, very subtly, at the two who had to ask questions. So subtly in fact, she would not be surprised if they didn't notice. Or maybe she would. At this point, it didn't matter. "I had no idea an AI could sound impatient, but by the sweet sandstorms of my home planet, I now know. Let's walk and talk, people." She led the group towards the destination, the shuttle bay, which was, as the helpful Ritter ever so kindly pointed out, on deck twelve.

"Expect space pirates. Scavengers. They won't have expensive weapons, but they'll be good with what they got. Unless we're lucky, and they've already drunk their midday meal." She rounded a corner, grabbing the assault rifle from its holster on her back and checking the ammo stock, just in case. "Don't know how many, so don't ask. Just keep on your toes, don't act like an idiot, and keep your weapon pointed at the people who aren't wearing Coalition armor."

Finally, they arrived in the shuttle bay, and Brianne punched the button next to the closest vehicle, waiting for the ramp to lower to let them in. "As for you, Ensign Pavlov...it's not a what. I do believe that it's a who. So don't shoot anything that resembles a space pirate. I won't be the one explaining to Captain Altius why our mission failed, if that's the case. Understood?" She spun around without waiting and marched into the shuttle. "And you better hope whoever this life form is, that they don't bite. Or it'll be your job to hold them in your lap the entire way back, Pavlov. Grear." She jerked her thumb at the pilot's seat before picking a chair for herself, and buckling the harness.

 

Dietrich caught the subtle glare, from the Commander after she asked if there were any questions and there were. He sighed, not very loud, first ask if there were questions and then immediatly get annoyed when there were well con-****ing-gratulations. He did a quick check on his kit and fell in behind the Commander toward the shuttle bay. Dietrich only took in the information in and decided to let her expressions of annoyance regarding acting like idiots and the whole where to point the weapons, he had enough battlefield experience to know what the hell he was doing, he did make note of the fact that this might lead to possible conflicts, he knew what the hell he was doing, just a shame that his superiors only learned that later after a whole lot of back and forth annoyance, something he would like to skip this time.

He wouldn't say anything about it now, though he couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the fact that some young girl with the rank of Commander was trying to tell him how to do his job. He marched up the ramp into the troop bay of the shuttle and picked a seat closest to the ramp, that way he could rapidly deploy when they touched down. It was a habbit of his that died hard, first on the ground, last to leave the field. He knew full well the risks of being the first on the ground, but that didn't deter him. He strapped himself in the seat, craddling the HESU in his lap.

 

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Teliana glanced up, the elevator light shining off the injection as Irrin pressed the needle to his arm. She lowered her gaze back to the datapad, her mind racing. Her thoughts were pulled to a halt as Irrin's fingers intruded on her field of vision. She accepted the piece of her tablet from him, eyes downcast upon the ground as she nodded her head in reaction to his warning.

As the elevator doors closed, she finally looked up, rubbing her finger over the cracked surface methodically. "Nitazoxanide. Broad spectrum antimicrobial treatment." She looked down at the ruined electronic in her hands. "Usually they don't let people on that sort of medication just walk away, unless you're in recovery. Which you just said you're not. So..." She lifted her eyes to Irrin. "Your body is going to become resistant, eventually. You might already need a stronger dose. Have they tried combining Melarsoprol with Eflornithine?"

 

Not going to lie, just sitting around at his station was pretty damn boring. While the task of keep the ship in it's idle position was an simply one, despite which he didn't plan on slacking off in this task. With there being very little to keep himself occupied, he simply just wandered about in his thoughts. He didn't think of anything specific and in fact he more so just jumped from one thing to another. This worked for a little bit before he heard heard someone call out to him. Removing himself from his thoughts and seeing just who it was that had spoken to him. Seeing that it was the captain, Aeros simply replied with a "Right."

Crow boarded the ship, laziness op

 

Alexei Pavlov​

Alexei met the commander's glare with a raised eyebrow "Hey it was a good question, which is a rarity for me" Alexei protested with a shrug. The mention of space pirates made him bolt upright and eyes widen, though he quickly tried to return to a casual act. No, it was unlikely they'd be any pirates he knew, it would be fine. "I'm perfectly fine with carrying it in my lap, especially if they bite, I like someone feisty" he grinned, before getting into the shuttle. He flopped onto a seat and propped his feet up. "Don't be so serious, military man" Alexei said to Dietrich, who looked just about ready to shoot anything that moved "It's only space pirates, and it's only our first mission"

Doctor Walter Beowulf Saturday​

"Five came within sight of Doctor Saturday. The second they saw him, they would open fire"
"Oh really? That's not very nice. I was hoping they were here for a tea party" Saturday said to thin air "Five. And I have less than a second once they see me? Easy" Saturday straightened his jacket and stepped out from the rusted archway he'd been behind, coming into sight of two of the pirates, who turned an raised their guns the moment they saw movement. "boop" Saturday said, as they began to open fire. But just as the plasma blasts were about to hit, he disappeared, with another "boop". The bolts harmlessly hitting the wall. The pirates exchanged a confused glance before walking forward, under the archway. Saturday, from his new position on the roof of an adjacent building, sighed. "Why are all these people so stupid?" he asked the thin air, before hopping down on top of the archway and landing with elegance. The archway began to creak and groan precariously, and as Saturday tapped his cane upon the rusted metal, it finally gave way. The first pirate never had a chance, a strut of metal instantly impaling him as the structure collapsed. The second tried to run, but was caught underneath a plate of falling metal. His head and an arm poke out from underneath the debris, and he could see a pair of beautifully polished black shoes walking towards him. Looking up, he could see the perfect white mask of Doctor Saturday staring down with an amused smile "Sorry about that, I just don't really appreciate people trying to kill me. It's one of my pet peeves, you know? Kind of irrational, I am aware" he rambled to the man calmly, before he noticed the man had abruptly died from his injuries "How rude, you can't just die in the middle of our conversation" he protested. Before turning and walking away to find the other three.

 

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Brianne grinned at Alexei, though she was quick to hide the response. At least someone wasn't just a robot. As the shuttle lifted off and exited the loading pad, she placed her hand on the holster of her pistol, just making sure it was there. Like her security blanket, she always had it at her side. Ensign Greer proved to be a reliable pilot as they dropped out of the Ouranos and drifted into space. She leaned back when she felt the blasters turn on, steeling her mind and calming her adrenaline to more tolerable levels until they had landed.

The entrance into the planet's gravity was rough, and as she jostled around in her seat, she checked to make sure the rest of the crew were still steady. Suddenly, the turbulence evened out, and she unfastened her seat-belt getting to her feet as they gently set down on the planet's surface. "Weapons check." She announced, doing so herself and making sure the safety was turned off. Ammo caches, full. "Alright people, get your partner and stick to them. In case you forgot on the short ride down, Lieutenant Winters, you're on point. Take the rest of the security team and make sure to keep the fire off the rest of us. Ensign Yvette, you stay with Ensign Alexei at the ship, keep it undamaged and in flyable condition until we return. Ensign Crow, you're with me, but stay to the back. We'll be covering Lieutenant Winters." She paused, looking at each of them.

"And I don't believe I'll be asking if there are any questions." she finally continued with a small smile before smacking the door to opening the landing pad. As it slowly lowered itself to the ground, she drew her assault rifle, holding it against her chest and cocked, ready for action. "Weapons hot, let's move people!"

 

Alexei Pavlov​

Alexei grinned back at Brianne, he knew she wasn't as uptight as she seemed. At the mention of a weapons check, he did nothing more than glance at his weapon. It looked alright.
"So I get to just stay at the ship? Cool" Alexei shrugged. As they landed the others exited in a military manner, weapons ready. After a couple of seconds, Alexei left, hands in pockets, stretched, and looked around "Wow, someone really wrecked this place" he said to nobody in particular, before starting to head back into the ship once he was sure the commander was gone "Hey wing-chick, wake me if anything shows up okay? Thanks" he asked Yvette casually before flopping onto one of the seats in the shuttle, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

 

Dietrich sat near the ramp with five other people from security, his team. Two of them equiped with a Soldano, the other three equiped with HESU's. all brought AER side arms. The engineering ensign, named Alexei told him not to be so serious that it was only their first mission and it was only space pirates. "Neither of those things are any guarantee that you don't get killed, boy." The Lieutenant Commander told the Engineer. He then looked to his security team, during the flight planetside he formed them up. "Alright, Frost, Grayburn you're with me. Gough, Hackett, Lathbury, you are team two, Hackett you lead." Dietrich said, the teams were equally armed with two HESU's and a Soldano in every team.

When they were landing Dietrich and his men all unfastened their harnesses and formed up, having already checked their weapons. When the Commander told him he was on point again, he tapped the side of his head. "It's all in there, Ma'am." Dietrich said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. Dietrich punched the button to lower the ramp. "Go... go... go..." Dietrich shouted as they filed out of the shuttle, shoulder to shoulder, he himself moving right and together with Frost and Grayburn securing the right half of the semi-circle while Hackett's team secured the left hand side. They took a moment to watch, their landing appeared unopposed, Dietrich heard weapons discharging though.

He told Hackett to switch to channel two on the COM as to not bother the others with their tactical chatter, Dietrich himself swapped too, though he would keep an eye on the little light for channel one if the Commander needed him. "Alright, Hackett, we'll move up towards the gun fire, open formation, we'll take the right side, you'll take the left side of the street, keep your eyes peeled, this is a retrieval mission so try and engage as we move, we'll be covered by the Commander and her back up, make no mistake they're relying on us to keep them safe. Alright let's move up! Coalition ain't paying us by the hour!" Dietrich said as the two teams moved up the street towards the sound of battle a squad on each side of the road, eyes peeled, ready for a fight.

 

Once the ship had reached a complete stop, Crow had went along and checked his weapons as he was instructed. He may have been primarily a medic and lack any real combat experience, but he did have some basic knowledge on how to use a gun. Once everything was all set up and accounted for, Crow awaited for Commander Lightwood to give them the rest of their orders. That was when he had noticed an contradiction in the orders that he was given prior to arriving and the orders that he was now given. "Excuse me Commander, before we had taken off you told me to stay behind on the ship so I'm not at risk of being shot." He wasn't sure if she had simply changed her mind or made a minor mistake. Regardless of which, he had to ask to make sure just what exactly was he supposed to do.

 

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Ana frowned, crossing her arms across her chest. "Well they didn't have me back at CM, did they?" She retorted, offended that he didn't believe in her ability, or perhaps her determination. "And you're lying. Why are you lying to me? Does my opinion of you matter that much? I hardly think so. And I don't need the help of the "stubborn medical officer". She waited until Quint left, before exiting the lift herself. Depositing the remains of her data pad in the nearest trash receptacle, her eyes narrowing as she watched Irrin approach the pilot's seat. He was uncomfortable; the tension in his body, the wrinkle on his brow, the jerky manner in which he moved. He was trying to hide it, and doing a very good job. But it was Ana's job to notice things.

"Captain, I-" She was interrupted by Quint, who reported no life signs. Furrowing her brow, she stepped forward, and promptly clapped her hands to her ears as the sirens wailed throughout the ship. A tremor of fear went through her as Quint reported an attack on the ship. They won't take me. Brianne promised. But Brianne wasn't here. But Ana could help. There might be a bit more of a mess in the end. But she could stop this. She could stop what happened to her from happening again.

She stuck her hand in her pocket, felt the vials there, and smiled grimly before following Quint towards the lift. She might not have a gun, but she had something better.

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Clarity was sorting through her medical supplies when suddenly, sirens jolted her out of her revere. She frowned, raising her head as she looked out the door of the medical bay, trying to understand what was going on just as the lights went out. She was encased in darkness for nearly a minute before a red emergency light flickered into life, throwing her surroundings into relief once more. It was quite surreal, and not altogether comforting. The opposite in fact.

She grabbed the hilt of the trem blade on the table, grippinig it tightly as she grabbed a nearby bag, shoving as many supplies as she could before looping the strap over her shoulder and across her chest. Moving slowly, wincing each time the needles and bottles clinked in the bag, she exited the med bay and moved along the corrider, towards the lift. Trying to press the call button did nothing. Everything was eerily silent, except for the wail of the sirens. This is so not good.

She headed towards the opposite wall, hoping to find a stairwell of some sort. She wanted to know what was going on, and she would be damned if she was going to wait for it to find her first.

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Brianne raised her eyebrow at Lieutenant Winter's tone of voice. "Careful, Winters. I'm sure you've heard the stories, but I don't take insubordination particularly well." Whether it was because she was a woman, or younger then him, it didn't matter. She hadn't slept her way to the position of Commander, and she had been dealing with his kind all her military career. If he proved to be a problem she would simply request a difference officer from Captain Altius. Whatever his issue, she would not let it cost her the lives of the others.

"Well, glad someone was paying attention." She told Crow, winking at him before exiting the ramp. "You're safer with me then with them. Just keep your head low and don't do anything stupid." Easier said then done as Winters and his team walked into the enemy's spotlight.
She fired at one of the pirates running for cover, her eyes narrowed as her body relaxed, instinct kicking in as the gun pressed against her shoulder, the trigger held back by her fore finger. "Winters, on your left!" She called, moving her self to right and towards a low wall that might have been the foundation of a garden or something at one point. "Crow, on me!"

In the heat of battle, honorifics hardly mattered. And the seconds that were spent saying them could be used to fire bullets at the enemy instead.

​

 

Their formation was spotted by the search light, as a reflex Dietrich immediately shot the drone itself with a short controlled burst. Ten pirates came onto them, not yet firing, Dietrich wasn't gonna return the favour, as he gave a handful of standard quick handsignals. Dietrich himself moved for cover too, his light HESU perfectly suited for firing as he went, the entire reason he had chosen this weapon, that and it's dual-purpose design that he liked. He fired in short controlled bursts as the Commander joined them in the field. He saw the light of the other COM channel and switched channels catching the last part of her message. He scanned to his left seeing them. Not all were crossing the street. Given he and his team were on the right hand side they had the best angle on the chaps on the left "I see them." Dietrich said, switching channels again back to his team "Alright, Frost, Grayburn pour it on them. Hackett, watch the right. Let's keep them in that cover lads." Dietrich said, if only the engineer was along purely for the sake of having an LMG on them which would make surpressing these bastards a lot easier. Alas they would make do with what they had, his team firing in short controlled bursts.

 

She had a point, he certainly would be safer sticking with them oppose to staying here. Not saying that he didn't trust the two who he would be staying with if he was still to be staying behind. One of which was a pilot so she probably had as much combat experience as he did, maybe a bit more. Hell maybe even less. He didn't know for certain. Then there was the guy sleeping, that alone limited how helpful he could think he'd be in a firefight.

As they left the ship, Crow did his best to look around for anything that stuck as something of potential harm to them. Though that became fruitless when the security team had been spotted by a spotlight. Following that they found themselves to be under fire. Following Commander Lightwoods instructions, he quickly moved right towards the low wall where she was, keeping his head down as he did.

 

Alexei Pavlov​

"Taking a nap is always my priority" Alexei quipped to the pilot with a cocky smile. After a moment, he took out his phone and lazily had a look at the screen, before having a look through the contact list. He eventually found what he was looking for under "Blue Chick", and rang the number "Yo. You doing anything interesting?"

Doctor Walter Beowulf Saturday​

"Ah! You've found me! Or did I find you?" Saturday exclaimed before ducking briskly behind a wall as the pistols fired at him erratically. There, on the floor, a gun! Perfect. One of the other pirates must have dropped it. Saturday picked it up with a grin, briefly poked his head around the corner, and threw it at the pirates. "Perfect" Saturday exclaimed when he was back around the wall. Unfortunately the gun did not hit any of them, because Saturday was incredibly unathletic. "Time for plan F" Saturday lifted his hand slowly. A pebble in front of his began to rise, along with several others. The bullets that shot around his location curved upwards as they flew. As Saturday concentrated, a few larger stones began to disobey the rules of typical gravity and float upwards, hanging in the sky. "If that's not a beacon for Brianne to find me, I don't know what is"