Escape Trajectory: Makkuro — IC

[Namelessjake]

"Hmpf," Vutir responds to your arguements, furrowing his brow.

"Well I suppose you're right, desperate times and all - which is not without precedence..." he says after a moment of thought. "It'll be strictly on a trial basis, though mind you. You won't be an official guild captain until completion of the contract - give them the information Lutar, they should know what they're signing up for at least."

"Yes, so it's a contract for our League allies. 50 tons of cargo to be delivered to coordinates in the Immaran Barrens," Lutar explains, taking the dataslab back from Vutir and using it to project a small holographic display of Antheus highlighting the coordinates in question.

"If you're not familiar with Anthean geography, that is in House Eedlon's lands - one of our Northern adversaries - so some opposition to the delivery is to be expected. This would normally be a milk run, but given the circumstances and the danger pay, the contract is worth 20,000 credits, payable on delivery," he explains.

"So, are you still interested Captain?" Vutir asks Hikaru.

[BartNL]

Info

What does Warner know about the house and area mentioned?

[Namelessjake]

Warner

From a previous lore dump;
House Eedlon
The North of Antheus is weaker and poorer than the South, however there is still one house in the North that most people would class as a Great House. The ruling house of the largest city of the North, House Eedlon with their Diktat backing, are the main instigators of the current war.

You also would know that the Immaran Barrens are a large arid, rocky and desolate area on the Northern edge of the equatorial desert. They are characterised by an elaborate network of canyons and gullies carved out of the rock by ancient rivers long since dried up. While the region is fairly low in population, it does neighbour some of House Eedlon's more prosperous, and heavily defended, holdings - some of which would presumably be able to target you on approach with their planetary defences.

[ratwizard]

Shipping cargo through hostile airspace, Cass considers. Sounds worthy of the time and risk considering the shit we've had to go through lately. We'll punch a hole through anything smaller than us and outspeed anything larger than us. He gives Hikaru a slight shrug of approval.

I don't even wanna know what's in those fifty tons.

[Chanchabruhh]

Kaze will keep his eyes on his captain, eyes scanning the room every once in awhile during the conversation to see if he picks up on anything.

Hm i wonder whats in there? stolen goods? leverage on another house..regardless lets get this done..i dont trust this guy also im itching to see what else we get into.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru grins as the guildmaster finally concedes. Well that was easy. Guess he really is desperate. "A frontline delivery then. The Makkuro is more than up to the task," he says proudly, knowing his crew can handle it. If we can handle pirates and Diktat fighters, we can handle this. Just have to go fast and careful. And being on better terms with the League never hurts.

"Can we assume we'll have clearance to land in allied cities after our delivery? In case we need emergency repairs or supplies." Doesn't hurt to ask. I'd rather not run into more trouble trying to land in Dacron.

[Namelessjake]

"Then it's settled," the guildmaster replies to Hikaru. "Lutar will get everything in order," he adds looking to his assistant.

"I don't see why they would deny entry to a Guild ship," he adds with a shrug in answer to Hikaru's final question.

[ratwizard]

Sounds like we got a way in for Bao's job, Cass considers. And another job while we're at it. Who knew entering an orbit at war would give us better options than before.

He gives a curt nod of deference to the guildmaster, betraying none of the disgust he feels.

[greysigil]

Kate, having fully dissociated through the negotiations, checks back in at the mention of an agreement being made. She is standing at attention, her back ramrod straight, her hands at her sides, and having stood still for so long, she is starting to feel the itch to move.

She follows Cass' lead, giving a similar nod of agreement to the guild master, internally thanking her muscle memory for keeping her from acting out of turn. Guess old habits die hard. At least it seems to have gone well. Can't wait to get out of here. Forgot how much I hate standing like this.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Settled indeed," Hikaru says with a manufactured smile, still surprised he actually managed to land them the contract. "The Makkuro and I won't let you or the guild down. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us again, and I hope this is a fruitful partnership." He looks to his companions and gives a quick smile and nod. 

He turns to Lutar, adding, "Let us know when everything's ready to go then, yeah? Or whatever else we need to do to prep for this."

[Fialova]

Stepping into the room, Tess can't help to be reminded of several of her past clients as she witnesses Vutir greedily, lazily gorge himself on his fruits. Living up to all the rich folk stereotypes, huh? What a tool. Bet he will pay us well, though. And if not, who cares. Her instinct is to frown at the sight of the man, but she resists it to the best of her ability, keeping a polite - if forced - smile instead as Hikaru speaks. 

"What kind of resistance can we expect from Eedlon forces?" Tess asks, turning to the much more pleasant Lutar, offering the man a much more genuine smile. "I am sure we can handle it, whatever it is, but any intel you can provide can help us with preparations for what's to come." Surface-to-air missiles? Fighters? Something bigger? Hopefully their defenses are modest and won't requires us to frequently get into dogfights.

[Namelessjake]

"As do I Captain," Vutir replies to Hikaru giving you a parting nod goodbye as Lutar begins to lead you back towards the lobby.

"We've been trying to find someone to fulfil this contract for a couple of weeks so the cargo is ready to be loaded as soon as you are ready to depart," the guildmaster's nephew says. "You'll have to collect it from the League on the military ring of the Redoubt, but all the clearances for that will be taken care of - I'll also make sure the Makkuro is added to the Guild's registry with the League and allied Houses - that way they'll only be one side of the war shooting at you. Orbit over Antheus is highly contested so I wouldn't advise spending much time there," he explains.

"The Barrens are located near some important holdings of House Eedlon, so I'd expect fire from the nearby planetary defence guns until you can get low enough to avoid them. It's a relatively desolate region so ground resistance should be minimal," he adds answering Tess' question.

Reaching into a pocket, he pulls out a black metallic ring, stamped with the golden symbol of the cartage guild, which he hands to Hikaru. "This ring signifies your status as a captain of the guild - pending your official induction after completion of the contract of course. It will grant you access to any of our terminals or offices in the system and serve as identification should you have to deal with any officials of any of the Houses."

"Here is your manifest,"  he adds tapping a button on his dataslab causing it to emit a holographic projection the document. "I'll send you a copy to present when you pick up the cargo. Should I tell them to expect you soon?" He asks as your arrive back in the office's reception area.

ooking at the manifest, you can see that it details a number of specifics, such as size and weight of the cargo, as well as details about the Makkuro and the coordinates for delivery. However a large portion of the documents has been redacted with a number of sentences heavily blacked out, save for the word 'Speartip'.

[ratwizard]

Cass listens to the details closely, running a recording app on his compad to make sure he doesn't forget anything. He chews on his cheek a moment, idly eyeing the ring handed out to Hikaru. Just like that, we have our way in.

"Anything in this cargo hazardous, flammable, or caustic?" he asks, keeping his curiosity in check with a routine, almost bored tone.

[FinalTemplar]

Creed spends the entire meeting staring at the floor- the officer's tone brings back rough memories of his youth and time spent in the flight academy. He's brought back to the present toward the end of the meeting, hearing something about dropping off cargo. I should be interjecting here... It's improper to accept a cargo contract without looking over the manifest first, or at least having some idea of what you're carrying. It's bad form, it's... He finds himself incapable of speaking, his throat squeezing up slightly in anxiety.

He nods and follows the others back out to the lobby. He reads over the manifest and grimaces, understanding why a lot of the information would be redacted, but... "I'm... n-n-not gonna back out but I've got a bad feeling about this." He stutters, hesitantly rubbing the back of his head. "There's a good rule of thumb that says you shouldn't take on cargo if you don't know what's in it..." He groans softly, his throat still only partially recovered from the meeting.

[ratwizard]

"Creed," Cass interjects, his tone uncomfortable. "It's part of the business. You know that. We wouldn't deliver something on the Mak if we weren't assured the cargo itself was safe to haul." He turns back toward Lutar. "And we have that assurance, right?"

Speartip sounds like munitions if I had to guess. As long as this cargo doesn't go up in sparks when we hit a high-G burn, the real issue here is making sure those planetary defenses don't scratch the new paint job.

[Namelessjake]

"That information would normally be found on our manifest here," Lutar replies to Cass, pointing to a redacted field on the document.

"But of course all shipments must be stored in compliance with guild safety regulations - regardless of the level of secrecy surrounding the cargo," Lutar adds. "To be found flaunting our regulations would be to put our ships at risk, which would quickly lead to blacklisting of a client. All of our regulations are a matter of public record should you wish to peruse them for your own peace of mind, although I will warn you, they make for some rather dry reading."

[ratwizard]

"I'll take your word for it," Cass replies, having no interest in reading pages of legal notices and compliance statements. He turns toward the others, waiting for any more concerns.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru takes the ring with a nod and a smile, examining it closely. Guess we're official then. This should make things a lot easier for us though. "Sounds like we've got nothing to worry about then," the idol says, eyeing their nervous pilot. "Trust in the Mak and in ourselves and we should be fine, as long as we're careful." We literally stole a ship from Diktat pricks and kicked alien ass, and this is what he's scared of?

 

[FinalTemplar]

Creed gulps but nods, letting the discussion proceed.

[Chanchabruhh]

Kaze will nod and smile as takes his earbud out for a moment to speak

"Well sounds like we have some action and some possible funds here im ready to head out whenever captain just say the word."

Kaze says with a upbeat kind of tone as he hears that there is a chance to get into action again

[Fialova]

Planetary defense guns, wonderful. Not something we can really expect to fight back against, then. "Well, Creed, looks like your piloting will be the make or break for us here," she says, stepping over to the man and patting him on the back. "Get us there safe," she continues, offering the man a smile. And if not, not like we'll have much left to worry about.

Despite her uncertainty about their prospects, she is content with the answers given. "Well, let's get it over with, then," she continues, eager to leave Vutir behind and return to more pleasant company. How many jobs must we do here before we get a chance to complete the one Bao is holding over our heads? Will be nice to finally be square with him and free to do as we please.

[greysigil]

"Sounds good t'me. Are we loadin' up ourselves, or will the guys there handle it?" Kate asks Lutar, following the group out of the room, scanning the manifest from over Cass' shoulder, taking a half step back when he turns, to give him some space. Shouldn't get too close, least not here, gotta keep it professional.

[Namelessjake]

"I would assume both parties would be interested in seeing the cargo safely secured aboard, but it is likely your role will only need be supervisory. The military ring is not short of heavy machinery or burly men," Lutar replies to Kate. "If that is all, I look forward to hearing of your success," he adds, bowing in the manner of the Anthean courts as you take your leave.

You make your way back to the Makkuro and make the necessary preparations to move the ship over to the military docking ring of the Redoubt. Your clearance is granted not long after you are ready, and Creed undocks the ship, moving on maneuvering thrusters to a new berth across the station, docking alongside a sleek looking corvette belonging to the League Coalition Navy, the VCLN Jian Zhu.

You make you way down to the cargo bay and, with confirmation of a hard seal, open the cargo ramp.

The military ring appears to be of identical design to that of the civilian ring. It is also equally bustling with activity however there is immediately a greater sense of order on this part of the station, rather than the hectic chaos of the civilian docks. As the ramp opens fully, a pair of League marines, armed with rifles, wearing neatly pressed uniforms and white berets, and a fresh faced League logistical subaltern greet you.

"Captain Tsukiakari? Sign here," the young officer says, looking up from a copy of the manifest Lutar provided you earlier on a dataslab, which he extends out to you. At the bottom, a circle with the sigil of the guild glows, its diameter appearing to be the same as that of the face of the ring given to Hikaru.

Behind him sits your cargo, a grav container painted in a utilitarian military grey, its antigrav elements holding it close to the floor of the zero gravity docks. On its side, the word "Speartip" has been painted in blocky white letters above the emblem of the League Coalition Armed Forces.

Grab Container

Grav Container

Massive ceraplast boxes with integral antigrav elements, grav containers are commonly used in high-traffic ports to ease the loading and unloading of both starships and wet-navy cargo craft. Up to one hundred tons of cargo can be fit neatly into a grav container and a single handler can get it on or off most standard craft with no more than fifteen minutes’ work. Grav containers float at the rate of 5 meters per round and maintain up to one meter of clearance over the ground. A fully-charged container can move up to four kilometers before requiring a fresh Type B power cell or ship recharge. The containers are pressurized and temperature-controlled, but have no integral oxygen supplies. In an emergency, a grav container can be “hot dropped” out of a starship, jettisoned from the cargo hold without landing. Fragile cargo will lose 1d6 x 10% of the contents to breakage and any passengers in the container will suffer 4d6 damage if not carefully secured inside. Ground-based anti-air defenses can pick off grav containers effortlessly, but some pilots find them the only way to get supplies and people into remote territory. After a hot drop, there is a 3 in 6 chance that the container’s antigrav cells are hopelessly ruined by the strain of slowing the fall.

[ratwizard]

Cass eyes the VCLN Jian Zhu, feeling a mixture of remorse for his stolen past and concern for his dangerous future. Let's hope this is as close as we get to the League Navy again.

As they arrive on the ramp, Cass takes a brief inspection of the cargo, holding his hands behind his back as he goes. Grav container. They must be planning on a hot drop, then, with the defense grid active. He whistles softly to himself. The Mak can take a few hits, but this thing can't. We'd have to get low enough to dump it with as minimal descent as possible.

[greysigil]

Kate watches the ramp lower, eyeing the movement of the soldiers with a growing sense of unease. Just long enough to get the good onboard. We ain't stayin' long.

She stays back in the cargo bay, checking and double checking the space to ensure it's clear and ready to receive the grav container, glancing at Cass as he surveys it up close. Hope we don't gotta just drop and run, those things ain't built to last. Plus, it might be munitions, which would run the risk of premature detonation, which would be bad for everyone involved. She muses, settling against a wall once her checks are finished.

[Fialova]

Speartip, huh? Tess thinks, keeping to the side to observe as the military men come aboard. So probably some sort of munitions, or artillery, with that sort of name and markings. Glorified gun running it is, I guess. Hopefully we've enough time to drop this and still extract Bao's target in one go, last thing we need is to be flying in and out of a warzone. Especially if it ends up painting us as targets. She smirks at the younger officer as he glances their way, winking to the man as she has done to so many others before. At least the men they sent are easy on the eyes. Never known a military man to look bad.

[Scratcherclaw]

Hikaru nods, his glance casting toward his new ring. So do I just... He presses his ring onto the matching symbol, assuming that to be the signature required. Less room for forgery, I'd assume. His gaze turns toward the cargo, a wave of apprehension coursing through him before he steadies himself. We're already piloting a stolen ship. What's a little contraband? Just have to trust in ourselves and I'm sure it'll be fine, right?

[Namelessjake]

"Thank you," the subaltern says as Hikaru's ring signs the document, leaving a Cartage Guild seal imprinted on the document. "At the given coordinates, the package is to be delivered to Major Reyes of the 12th Advanced Recon Section, callsign 'Photon'," he adds.

With the signing of the document, the young supply officer instructs a couple of nearby deckhands to begin the loading process alone with your help. The combination of a grav container and the zero-g environment of the docks, makes it a relatively straight forward affair and the container is secured inside the Mak's cargo bay with mag-locks in a matter of minutes.

"Fair winds," the officer says once the container is aboard, using an old naval saying from Strocho for good luck. "You'll need to push off in the next ten minutes or so I'm afraid," he adds. "We have a tender in from the Berez due in this berth shortly," he explains, referring to the League cruiser at anchor several kilometres from the Redoubt.

Hikaru, Cass, Tess & Warner

You recognise the mention of the Advanced Recon Section, or ARS as they are commonly referred to as. Despite the League's preference for diplomacy over violence, the ARS is as close to a household name as it is possible for a military unit to be. They are the League's premier planetary combat unit - an elite reconnaissance special ops force trained to sow chaos and disruption behind enemy lines using the cutting edge of the League's advanced arsenal. Despite the general lack of real world experience across the League military as a whole, the ARS are some of the few men and women in the services with combat experience under their belt, having been deployed to assist in various flashpoint scenarios over the last couple of decades across League space and the systems surrounding it.

Warner

While your deployment to Antheus during the Bronze rebellion was as an exchange officer, it was something of an open secret that some ARS units were operating planetside, despite the League's limited role in the conflict.

[Scratcherclaw]

Goddamn, supplies for the ARS? No wonder they needed this delivered. Must be some pretty serious stuff. Hikaru gives the officer a nod, casting a glance at his crew as if to gauge their reactions. Speartip. Sounds like some fancy League name for a missile or something, knowing them. They love that kind of metaphorical BS.

"Let's make ready so we can leave ASAP then," the idol says to the others, not keen on incurring the wrath of military bureaucracy. Met enough of these types at charity events to know you don't mess with their timetables. The way that one guy cussed me out for being five minutes late. It's like he didn't even care that my hair had to dry.

[ratwizard]

The 12th? Shit, those are some real killers. If the League's got the ARS relying on a hot-drop that everyone's dragging their feet to move, what the hell does that mean for the war? Cass wonders.

He feels the eyes of Hikaru though he returns only a cool gaze back. This better not drag us into something nasty down there. Let's just get the job done, get paid, and move on. He makes for the Mak, eager for a sense of security once again.

[Chanchabruhh]

OOC

would kaze know anything more about these people and whatever could be helpful?

[greysigil]

Kate's eyes widen at the mention of a callsign. Shit. Callsign? Last time I heard a callsign was back on Sarma. No, no, it'll be fine, plenty of people and professions use callsigns, he won't turn out to be a pilot. It'll be fine. She pushes off the wall, forcing her attention to the grav container, and monitoring it's progress.

"On it, Captain, runnin' final checks now." Kate responds, double checking the mag-locks and ensuring everything is secure.

[Namelessjake]

Kaze

You recognise the mention of the Advanced Recon Section, or ARS as they are commonly referred to as. Despite the League's preference for diplomacy over violence, the ARS is as close to a household name as it is possible for a military unit to be. They are the League's premier planetary combat unit - an elite reconnaissance special ops force trained to sow chaos and disruption behind enemy lines using the cutting edge of the League's advanced arsenal. Despite the general lack of real world experience across the League military as a whole, the ARS are some of the few men and women in the services with combat experience under their belt, having been deployed to assist in various flashpoint scenarios over the last couple of decades across League space and the systems surrounding it.

During the Bronze Rebellion you remember hearing boastful stories from other soldiers who claimed to have fought against fully armed ARS detachments and other League troops, despite the League not officially being involved it the conflict beyond providing arms and personnel in an advisory capacity.