Juan Ramirez carefully piloted his ship right above the landing area at planet Crete, home of the Corsairs. He could see people standing at the landing area, and also several Titan VHF's with mechanics busily working around them. Juan activated the landing autopilot of his ship, which in turn activated the landing thrusters. Juan relaxed and watched the magnificent sunset of Crete as his ship hovered down to the landing area.

Juan felt a bump as his ship landed on the ground. He opened his cockpit's canopy and stood up, looking around him. He realized that the other Titans near him belonged to his wingmen, and saw people busily unloading the weapon crates from their holds and quickly transporting them inside. As he climbed out of the ship using small ladders that had extended to the side of his ship from a hatch in the hull's left side, he saw two men, Elder Santiago and his aide approaching the ship along with several mechanics with Ageira-designed hovering cargo carriages.

"Did everything go well?" Santiago, a gray-haired man in his early 60's and a long-time friend of the Ramirez family asked Juan. His voice and everything in him clearly indicated authority.

"Yes. We destroyed the cruiser and got the cargo. There were no witnesses." Juan replied confidently and satisfiedly.

"Excellent. And i trust that the man who helped you to get this convoy isn't a threat?"

"No he isn't. He can't link his sister's kidnapping to us, and neither can his sister."

Santiago watched as the mechanics begun to unload the cargo from Juan's ship.
"We need to talk. Business matters." he suddenly said. Santiago's words filled Juan's mind with surprisement and curiosity. "What does he want?" Juan said to himself.

"Let's take a walk." Santiago continued. They turned away from the Titans and walked back towards the edge of the landing area, where Santiago's hovercar was parked.

"Juan, as you know, things are not like they were once. Recent events have affected us badly. We've been pushed back from the Border Worlds. Many of our best pilots have lost their lives, and we have lost several of our bases. Things need changing, but only thing the other Elders seem to do are powerplays and constant debating." Santiago explained with clear frustration in his voice.

"And where do i come in?" Juan asked curiously.

"I am retiring soon. I am tired of constant powerplays, backstabbing and fighting. Howewer, as said, things need changing. I still have power, and i can help you to...clear some obstacles on the way of progress. Do you know what i mean?"

"Yes" Juan said and nodded. It felt strange that the conversation had taken this turn, but Juan decided to continue. They had now reached Santiago's hover car. Santiago nodded to his aide, who gave a datadisk to him, who in turn gave it to Juan.

"What's this?" Juan asked.

"It's a list of my contacts in the House system and how to get to them. If you agree with my plan, among these are the people that can be useful to you." Santiago said, looking Juan straight in his eyes. Then he and his aide went to the hover car. "Think about my offer" Santiago said, before the hover car drove off. Juan stood and watched as the car raised altitude and soon disappeared among dozens of other similar vehicles.




You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Gareth Mykardi Ourmovitch Bough, was only said in furvative whispers. Others pefered the nickname Cerberus. He was a leader of the Mollies. BMM, the Bretonia Police and navy, and numerous corporations and hunters guilds, would have loved to see him in a body bag, or an escape pod, locked in the brig of the Battleship Essex. He was in charge of the tactics for the mollies and had a wide variety of fighters, weapons and other equipment avalible for him.

"Is the mining complete?"

"Yes sir. Over 45 tonnes."

"and the bomb? Has Dr Marcovitch and Professer Berchstrom completed the scanning disabler?"

"yes sir"

"Send them in."

The sliding door closed shut. Outside the asteroids bounced off the metaphasic shield. Energy weapon fire flashed past, and the man watched with intrest as a Bounty Hunter Barracuda moved gracefully out of the way of asteroids. The 4 molly Bloodhounds had been launched now though, and Bounty Hunter was avoiding great flashes of red light. The door behind the man slided open, and 2 short men walked in. The man paid no attention.

"Excuse me, you wanted to..."

"Silence!"

Outside, the dogfight continued. The man watched with extreme intrest as the bounty hunters shields flashed. Another hit. The hull of the barracuda was smoking. With a great flash of light, an explosion cam from the back of the Barracuda. Debris flew through the air. A large piece of metal started flying towards the mans window. Marcovitch and Berchstrom dived onto the floor. The man stood still. Turning around he noticed them under his table, their hands over their face. Berchstrom pointed at the window. The large piece of metal, was gaining velocity, and only 50ms from the window. Gareth looked calm as the metal bounced off the shield.

"Metaphasic Shield. 25000 MW. Able to bounce a asteroid the size of a Liberty battleship."

Marcovitch and Berchstrom stood up. Marcovitch's bald head, was notably comparable to Berchstrom's mass of Curly black hair.

" I must congratualte you both, on your sucsessful developement, of the Phase Scanner Blocker. Phase 2 of the project has been considerably easy thanks to your efforts."

Both men smiled.

"I have instructed my assistant, to pay into your Kusari Bank accounts the sum of 10 million credits each."

"Thank you very much"

"Thank you indeed"

" I have a civillian starflier. You may use it to get back to Kyshu. You can keep the ship as a token of my thanks."

Dr Marcovitch, and Professor Bergstrom left the room briskly. The doors slid shut behind them. He watched via his Surveilence Network. They boarded the starflier and jetisoned out the airlock. The man pressed a button on his desk.

"I have uploaded a waypoint to your neural net. It will get you to tau space without being seen. Once again gentlemen, my profound thanks."

The Surveilence network showed the starflier activating its cruise engines. He pressed a button and his control panel lighted up. Then he pulled the lever. Outside ,a starflier was blown to dust. If this was a legal base, then everybody would be up in arms. yet this was Arronmore. Nobody asked any questions.

"Cancel Transfer of 10 milion Credits."

Gareth Mykardi Ourmovitch Bough smiled peacfully.


<<////\\ End Transmission////\\>>
Chocolat au lait suisse avec nougat au miel et aux amandes

OOC:Eeeep Gareth is my first name

Good updates ya'll

Edited by - DSQrn on 3/28/2005 6:50:03 AM

Ok sorry I haven't post for a while. I been having internet problems and I don't know when they will be fixed.

Sorry.

So.....is it over?

No. Not over at all.

Code, HK and I have been e-mailing about story arcs and such.

My apologies for not making any updates, I think everyone has been waiting on me!

I'm really busy with work things, so I can't devote enough time for this until another week or so, please continue on and use Tanya, or other characters to make the story live on!

ttfn

OOC: Here's an update. Co-written by Wilde and Hahukum Konn (who uses notepad…Bad Konn, BAAD Konn )

Nikolai stared at his hands. Red and raw, the hands screamed out the personification of pain at his stained eyes. Blood, deep crimson, streamed down them in torrents, mixing with yesterday’s dark brown hellish rain, drying slowly. The bruises on his arms shone through, his legs were stabbed and broken. His muscular, once-strong body felt weak, almost dead. His rugged face was fireless, empty—a husk of life, swimming through the depths of despair as his soul was slowly eaten away by the flames that tore at his being. Quiet, sitting silently in his dark cell as tortured sounds erupted from the cold corridor, he reflected on the day that his life ended…
--
He walked into the popular Rhineland bar, the Glasperlenspiel Cabaret. Nikolai stood for a minute at its entrance, admiring his rugged face and deathly good looks. He stared beyond the blackened glass of the door to the smoky bar inside, spotting the beautiful young man he loved at a shadowed table. Pushing the steel and glass door open, he sidled up to the bar, ordering two vodka paralyzers, his eyes inconspicuously making love to the young man’s slender body. Nikolai glided over to the table hidden in shadow, quietly setting the glasses down in front of Damien, deep in thought, and breaking his lover out of his spell of thought by planting kiss on his lips and probing deep inside Damien’s mouth.
He broke apart silkily, the corners of his mouth twisting. “Where did you come from, stranger?” his love asked, his mouth widening in a brilliant smile that bared Damien’s white teeth, glistening like pearls on his pale, passionate face. His eyes lit up at the sight of Nikolai, full of life and love. “Nikolai…” he breathed, the words sounding out like a whispered prayer from his mouth.
Nikolai seated himself at the table, gazing with a look that was a brilliant mix of hunger, love, and lust, a look that nearly brightened the entire dusky cabaret.

They talked in hushed voices about the Bundschuh plans of attack against Rhineland, but soon the conversation fell to matters of less galactic importance…
Damien’s hands stroked Nikolai’s face, his eyes gazing at the strong man with infatuation and delight. Nikolai’s mouth creased into a smile, then moved his hand away and stood. “I’ll get us another set of vodkas, ok? Don’t go anywhere.” He winked down at the young man and set off for the bar counter.

And never came back.

The next minute was a flurry of fists and elbows, his own flying out at those who assaulted him…bones cracking beneath his blows…and the unmistakable gruelling shock of a electrostick, shoved into his abdomen.

He came to in a luxuriously furnished room, staring into the eyes of a balding man whose arrogant, cold eyes commanded power beyond belief. The man stood and turned towards a guard. “Leave us.” His voice was made out of sadism, seasoned with a Cambridge accent.
“I’m sure you’d call these methods unorthodox, Herr van Haalien. But they are effective nonetheless”
“Kidnapping? You did a sloppy job of it at least. I’m sure I took down at least 5 guys before the dip****s pulled an e-stick on me.”
“Hmm.” The other man sighed. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Mason.”
Nikolai’s eyes widened. “You ****ing whore! What the **** do you want from me?”
Mason leaned in, staring deep into his captive’s eyes. “Assassination. But not from you. From Herr Solkovsky.”
Nikolai’s jaw dropped open. “What’s Damien got to do with this?”
“Only that he is the only one directly fit for this job…and he’ll do anything to get you back. Even murder. One cannot underestimate the power of love.”
Fear choked Nikolai’s throat. He attempted to scream as Mason stepped away from his captive and signalled to a guard outside the door, who entered and roughly dragged the stunned Bundschuh away.

Hi guys, Altho i am off TLR technicaly im gunna still read and write for this...

i might be less frequent and my parts might seem sadder tho, so yoru forwarned

I've been busy right now, but i'll write something soon.


You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Tanya docked her ship and jumped lithely out of the cockpit to the hangar deck of Holman Outpost, Tau -31.

Much to the annoyance of the Senior Flight Master on duty at the time, a man who had several safety procedures to follow and "hot-landings" with low shields and high speeds, plus excitable pilots leaping from their ships made for a complex day. The heavy-set man was in his late thirties, greying at the temples and hiding a bald patch under an IMG cap. He sighed then approached the woman who had removed her helmet, stowing it under her arm.

He stopped momentarily as she noticed him approach and smiled warmly, her entire face seemed to glow and granted she looked as though she had been doing some exercise, or space combat. Gathering his senses, he raised a hand in greeting.

"Hail, and welcome to Holman Outpost. I'm Senior FM O'Connell. I'm in charge of the ships that enter this hangar. If you need repairs, see that droid over there," he pointed to a cluttered area behind Tanya's ship. "If you need refreshments head on up those stairs and the trading quarters are adjacent nearby."

The woman nodded but said nothing.

"Are you staying long?"

She shook her head.

"No," Tanya replied. "This should be a pit-stop. Thanks for the information," then turned on her heel and walked over to the droid.

O'Connell watched her walk away, sighed again and returned to his duties.


***

"Travis, you on-line?" whispered Tanya into her comm. There was static for a moment, then the usual swaggering tone resounded in her ear.

"Yeah, baby. It's cold out here. How long do I have to sit in this tin can outside the station?"

Tanya laughed. It fired the ex-bounty hunter's blood.

"As long as it takes for Rob and I to find out more information on the survivors of the Sigma-19 battle with the Nomads. Besides, I've been out the loop for a while and I need to learn more about what's happening in Sirius." She paused. "So maybe a while. Maybe not."

"Remind me why I'm out here again, please?" sighed Travis.

"Ship sensors are good early warning. If we're in the base, we won't know who's coming. I learnt that one a while ago. So stay sharp."

"You're expecting trouble, babe?" asked Travis, his voice rising slightly.

"No. But it pays to be prepared. Tau-31 isn't exactly a safe zone patrolled by House ships. Out here, we have Outcasts, Planetform starfliers and IMG pacifists. Oh, not to mention those weird Gaian people. The ones who hate us technology-using-thus-polluting-the-universe types. Like ninety-nine percent of Sirius," she laughed, then suppressed a bigger laugh when Travis groaned.

"Guard duty. I'm relegated to guard duty. Great. We need a bigger ship. And more people. I'm busted if I'm gonna be stuck out here for so long. Do you have any idea how sitting on your butt for hours feels? Tanya? Tanya? You there?"

But Tanya had signed off.


***

In the bar, Rob Schaefer had found a typical Rob corner, his back positioned to the wall so he could all who entered and left. The shadows of a dimly-lit interior cast entirely over his table and he was confident an ambush would be relatively easy to detect. He'd ordered a Sidewinder Fang, and Sigma Blue for Tanya, wondering what the delay was.

"Tanya, what's the hold-up?" he asked over the comm.

"One sec," she replied. Rob could overhear her negotiating with the repair droid purchasing supplies. Nanos. Shield bats. Missiles. Torps. Torps?

"Uh. We going to war?" he asked once more.

"I was beginning to feel naked without some real hardware," she retorted.

"I'm on my way, Rob. Keep my seat warm."

He snorted then continued his watch of the bar. There were a few people on the IMG base, it was so far out into the Border Worlds he was surprised this place had any visitors at all. Still, it was the primary source of water resources kept at several hundred degrees below centigrade for transportation around the galactic north west of Sirius. Strategically, where there was water, there was power.

Rob took another sip from his drink, then paused as he saw two people walk into the bar. One, he'd seen before in Liberty space. Hawk? Beak? Talon. That was it. Jake Talon. He wondered what this guy was doing so far away from Manhattan. Konn followed in behind, though not with Talon and grinned as he saw Rob seated at his table.

The freelancer quickly but imperceptibly shook his head at Konn who noticed the gesture, then smiled inwards as the trader walked over to another table and sat down.

Rob hated coincidences. In a galaxy of a hundred million souls, why would Jake Talon be on Holman Outpost this minute?


***

On the other side of the galaxy, a fleet of battleships, cruisers, frigates and a swarm of gunboats and fighters were making their way to Solarius Station, Omega-11 owned by the Daumann Corporation. A small garrison of ships had been launched from the station but the Hessian invaders outnumbered them at least three to one, even though the Daumann defenders were boosted by the additional presence of the Baron's gunship escorts.

But not a shot had been fired yet.

Yet.

***

Jeez Athena, took you long enough!

My update is on the way, then...

thanks for updating guys, i was becoming worried that this thread was dead, and that would be sad...

OOC: Co-written by Codename and myself. Timeline-wise the events in this part lead up to athena's update just above.

IC:

Hahukum Konn had been dispatched to Planet Harris after having been given a datadisc and instructions by Tanya. He was to locate a brown-haired freelancer of average, perhaps slightly stocky build, named Rob Schaefer.

Upon landing at the sparse docking area, Konn surveyed the windswept red landscape, and winced as a breeze a few degrees too cool for his liking blew across the docking bay. He double-checked his pockets: credit stick, hand blaster, ID, and glasses.

Upon walking inside the Planetform central dome, Konn put his glasses on. Out of habit, he checked out what the commodity trader had to offer, and then went on to the bar. At the door, he activated the zoom-lens feature, then entered and began scoping for someone who might match the description given.

It wasn’t hard, since the guy was walking towards the door. He swiftly deactivated the electric field, then approached the gentleman.

---

Rob entered the Planet Harris bar, again, and scanned the room for Carshalton. The two men had agreed after a few days of waiting that they couldn't hold out for Tanya and anyone else she might be bringing with her. Neither Rob nor Carshalton was particularly happy about this but they both knew that the longer they waited, the more momentum Mason would regain and that would translate into one helluva tough time putting an end to his machinations.

A brief movement in the corner of his eye caught the freelancer's attention, he turned to see the marshal moving his hand ever so slightly in a successful attempt to get Rob's attention.

“So, you ready to head out?” Rob asked as he settled onto a seat not quite perpendicular to the bounty hunter.

“I guess.” Carshalton replied, draining a glass of a swirling blue and red concoction. “Would be nice if we had some more backup though.”

“True that.” Rob said. “And I may actually be able to rustle up a few trustworthy types if the action looks to be too hot for the two of us to handle alone. I've a couple of friends on both Java and the jump gate construction site.”

“Well, aren't we just well-connected?” Carshalton said, rolling his eyes ever so slightly.

“In our line of work it pays to have friends.” Rob said. “Besides, I don't have the luxury of being able to call for company backup all the time.”

“Call that a luxury, do you?” Carshalton asked with a raised eyebrow. “For me 'backup' is usually a buncha greenhorns in second-rate Piranhas who couldn't hit the broadside of a Freeport with four Winchesters.”

“Well, that's exactly why I like to be able to choose who I work with. When you make friends with competent people, you reap great rewards.”

“Well, you do, at least.” Carshalton grunted.

“Anyway, that's neither here nor there.” Rob said, hauling the conversation back on track. “D'you have any last minute changes you'd like to make to the plan be fore we head out?”

“Not much to change, is there?” Carshalton said. “Blast through Tau-23 as fast as we can and then head on to 37. Sweep the Malvinas and Bermejo clouds and hope that the ships are stashed there. As you said earlier, it would make sense for the Outcasts to keep 'em there if they hope to use them any time soon. Nobody's ever messing around in those clouds, especially not Bermejo. It would be real easy for the Outcasts to set up a repair and refit station without anybody knowing. Also, every minute not spent in jumpspace is a minute they can use to their advantage. When we find 'em, either report back to BAF command or land and take a look, depending on the circumstances.”

“So we go with that then?” Rob gave Carshalton one last chance to reconsider.

Just in time Carshalton woke up and realized that their plan ignored one possible situation. “What about Cali?” He asked.

“What about it?”

“Don't you think maybe we ought to check around it as well?” Carshalton mused. “I mean, it's already got a full complement of Outcasts and is the most likely forward base for an assault against the Bretonian systems.”

“Well, I suppose it can't hurt. Being relatively busy, I'd say 23 isn't a great place to hide a fleet though; there's too great a chance someone might just stumble across it.” Rob thought aloud. “I'll tell you what, since you've got the ship more suited to scoutwork I'll get you to make a few fast passes around the station and see if you can pick up anything that looks funny. If you do, we'll link up and take a close look. Sound good?”

“Sure thing.”

“Great. Let's get moving then.” Rob said and the two men stood. Carshalton ambled over to the bar to pay for his drinks and Rob went to wait for him by the exit. Never the busiest of places, the Harris bar was even more quiet than usual, allowing Rob to hear the footsteps of someone approaching. The rhythm was almost military in nature, but not quite. Ex-military, trader most likely. Nothing to see here, was Rob's silent evaluation.

It came as a bit of a surprise to him when he felt a slight tap on his shoulder and heard the man behind him clear his throat.

“Excuse me, but are you by any chance Rob Schaefer?” The man asked as Rob turned to face him. He quickly sized the newcomer up. About the same height as Rob, the man was to Rob quite unremarkable, save his eyes - or rather what was in front of them. At first glance it looked like the man was wearing the empty frame of a set of shades similar to those Rob was wearing. A closer look revealed that there were, in fact, lenses in the frames but they were clear instead of tinted. Rob didn't know what to make of it.

“Who wants to know? And why?” Rob asked, putting his hands behind his back and covertly checking his hold-out pistol.

“Hahukum Konn, at your service.” The man, if he was put off by Rob's somewhat brusque greeting didn't show it. “I'm a, well I hesitate to say 'friend' so I'll say acquaintance, of Tanya Williams. She said I might find one Rob Schaefer here on Harris. She has a message for him. You match the description she gave me.”

“I see.” Rob said and scrutinized the man before him once more. His voice, with its odd combination of Libertonian and Bretonian accents was hard to read but the man's body language indicated no subterfuge. Not that that means anything.

“If you are not he, I will be on my way then.” Konn said and began to walk past Rob.

“Whoa there, buddy.” Rob put one hand out to stop the man, his other closed around the pistol. “How about we have a little chat about you and Tanya.”

“I don't know if I have the time...”

Quick as a flash, Rob whipped his gun out and pointed it at the Konn's chest. “We talk. Now.”

His eyes widening slightly at this unexpected turn of events, Konn allowed himself to be guided by Rob to the nearest booth.

“Good.” Rob said. “Now, tell me what's going on with you and Tanya.”

“From your reaction I'd be willing to bet that you are, in fact, the man I'm after so I'll gladly pass along the message.” Konn said. “I would appreciate it, however, if you would please point your gun elsewhere. They do give me the willies.”

“Hold on. CARSHALTON!” Rob shouted over his shoulder. “Get over here! I've got a guy who says he has a message from Tanya.”

The marshal didn't need to hear anything else. He quickly finished his transaction and hurried over to the table where Rob and Konn were sitting.

“Okay, Konn was it? Out with it. But first, tell us how you came to be Tanya's messenger.” Rob said and lowered his pistol.

“Very well.” Konn said. He took a deep breath and began his story...

“I’m an ex-Bretonian military officer, turned freelance trader. I was born in Liberty, but wanted to serve in Bretonia for reasons that don’t concern us at this time. I normally run Diamonds and Niobium, but I wanted to try running H-fuel instead.

“I ended up on New Tokyo, and ran into what I now know were Blood Dragons who desired to appropriate my cargo and ship. Having led them astray with a story about getting in a shipment of Niobium, I located Tanya, and explained the whole thing to her after having managed to track down her ship. I had been lucky so far, and so had she, since she hadn’t known that she could potentially have been in danger.

“Our luck ran out, and she killed the three Blood Dragons after they accosted us. We escaped Kusari space, and I led her and her friend Travis through the Tau system jump hole network to land us here. She told me that I had to convey you her message since she wasn’t going to go on a wild-goose chase looking for you.”

Konn handed Rob a datadisc. Rob took it, and played back the message:

“Rob, Tanya. Glad to hear that you've made some progress with this
whole thing. I wasn't able to get much snooping done in Kusari thanks
to this new guy we've picked up. Your lead sounds interesting though
and I'd like to follow it up with you. Meet me on Holman. I'm waiting.”

Rob looked over at Carshalton, saw that the latter was ready to go, and said, “Let’s get going. See you both in space.”

The trip out to Holman was uneventful, to say the least. Rob used the calm to apologize to Konn for his aggression.

"No harm, no foul." Konn replied graciously. "I don't blame you either. I was hardly expected so a warm welcome on your part was not what I had planned to face. I must say, I do find your devotion to your partners quite admirable."

"Well, I'm glad there's no hard feelings." Rob said. "And yeah, I do take my partnerships seriously. I don't link up with just anyone, and when I do, I make sure they live to owe me a favour or two."

"Or ten." Carshalton put in.

"Yeah, or ten." Konn and Carshalton could hear Rob's smile over the comm channel.

"So, where do I fit into this scheme?" Konn asked.

"Uh, I'll have to think about that." Rob said. "Tanya seems to trust you though. That's a point in your favor."

Just then a new voice came over the comm channel, confident but with more than a hint of boredom.

"So you found 'em?" The new voice asked.

"Hey," Carshalton said, "I recognize that voice. Travis?"

"The one and only. I still owe you for busting me outta that cell." Travis said. "Go ahead and dock with the station. Tanya decided to go for a sweep of the system before docking. You know, just in case."

"Got it." Rob said.

"Ah, so you must be Rob." Travis said. "Nice to sort of meet you."

"Likewise. Formal introduction on the station?"

"Well, not right now. Tanya's got me on guard duty." Travis said, his voice clearly indicating his distaste for the job.

"I see. Well, it'll just have to wait then." Rob said. Switching the channel, he prepared to ask for clearance to dock when Konn's voice came over the radio.

"IMG Outpost Holman, this is Freelancer Beta-dash-three. Three ships requesting permission to dock."

"Roger that, Freelancer Beta-dash-three, we have you on our scopes. Your request to dock is granted, please proceed to docks one, three and four."

"Talk to you guys later." Travis said as the three other men guided their ships towards the bays designated by the controller.

Once his ship was powered down, Rob exited the craft and headed towards the bar. Konn and Carshalton followed close behind. Rob occupied a seat in a dark corner by the entrance and indicated that Carshalton should take up a position kitty-corner to him. Konn, not having been given any order, instruction or even suggestion, just sort of wandered aimlessly. Eventually he found his way out of the bar and paced up and down the corridors of the station. For lack of anything else to do, he went back to his ship and grabbed a spare credit stick in the event he’d need a beverage or three. Konn momentarily thought about cargo hauling, and realized that he didn't know where he was going and that he'd do better to have a beefier ship. It's back to the bar, then.

Just as he turned to head back to the bar, Konn saw a tall, thin Libertonian emerge from one of the docking bays and turn towards the bar as well. Though he only caught a glimpse of the man's face, Konn swore he had seen it somewhere before. He was pretty sure it was from his time in the BAF, but that didn't really narrow down the possibilities at all. No matter. He didn't recognize me, so it's unlikely that we knew each other.

-----

Summary: Konn meets Rob and Carshalton, and it's old down-home week at Holman Outpost.

Edited by - Hahukum Konn on 5/20/2005 7:29:36 AM

Having concluded her business with the repair droid, Tanya strolled casually into the Holman Outpost bar and smiled, it took a lot of willpower to suppress a giggle. Rob Schaefer and Major Carshalton were sat in a corner table. Hahukum Konn was in a booth nearby. There were a few representatives from Planetform and IMG relaxing in the bar too. All-in-all, this semi-deserted ice and water station was the last place you'd expect to see three hardened killers and a trader.

The young woman saw another man with his back to her sat at the bar too, some freelancer no doubt, but was curious to see what he looked like.

She walked over to Rob's table and barely able to stop herself from smiling sat down, pleased to see a Sigma Blue waiting for her.

"So, boys. What do you have?" she asked lifting the drink to her lips and sipping gently from the straw. Tanya hadn't felt this safe in a long while. Usually she'd be on the run, or hunting someone. Finally she had met a group of people she could trust. "And before you answer, what's our fearless trader doing way over there? You put him in the naughty corner?" she asked in mock seriousness, before taking another sip from the strikingly-blue beverage. It was a mix of crushed ice, fruits from Planet Baden-Baden and the finest Bretonian liquer.

Rob grinned.

"Well. The three of us sat here is probably the talk of the station. These boiler-heads," he pointed at the IMG and Planetform workers, "probably don't get out too much."

Carshalton chuckled.

"What about him?" she said, subtley nodding her head at the man sat at the bar. Rob shrugged.

"Don't know. I've seen him before. Jake Talon. Ex-Bret Navy pilot. No idea what he's doing out here."

"So you're not just pleased to see me, that really is a gun under your jacket," pouted Tanya. Rob shifted uncomfortably. Carshalton laughed making the freelancer feel even worse. "Anyway. We'll worry about him when we have to. What other news?"

Rob downed the rest of his drink then produced a small datadisk. He loaded it into a small palm-top and soon a holo-image of the system they were in, Tau-31. He pushed a button and an image of Tau-23 appeared. A blinking red dot indicated a waypoint of some kind.

"Cali Base," whispered Tanya. A flash of light appeared behind her eyes and her vision swam for a moment. She heard voices, tortured voices screaming, maniacal laughter. Hundreds of boots marching in tandem, the cogs of war grinding onwards.

"Tanya? Tanya!" snapped Rob looking concerned. "You alright?" he stared into her green eyes, now luminous under the lights of the bar.

"Fine. Thanks," she replied.

"We lost you there for a minute. What's up?" asked Carshalton. Tanya didn't respond immediately, looking down into her drink. She spoke softly without looking at either of the men.

"I still get flashbacks. Visions of another life. When I was," she hesitated. "Working for Mason."

Rob narrowed his eyes. Tanya continued.

"I've been to Cali Base before. It's an Outcast anchorpoint in this part of Sirius. They often stage raids into the Tau, Kusari and northern Bretonian systems there. Why is it important?" she asked looking at Rob.

"Because the good Major here, did a brief sweep before we arrived and found a number of large ion trails leading from Cali to the Malvinas and Bermejo clouds nearby. The kind of trails you find on dromedary freighters. This wasn't a regular patrol route."

"And you want to take a look around the clouds? What about Cali Base?"

"If we can avoid any direct contact that would be wise," suggested Rob. "But I'm not afraid of any scoutwork if necessary."

"And what about him?" asked Tanya, looking directly at Konn.

"Well. Carshalton came up with this great idea. Y'see, Konn is a trader. Which probably means he has a non-hostile rep with most groups."

"Apart from greedy Blood Dragons. But do continue," replied Tanya, eyes flashing dangerously.


***

On the far side of the galaxy, a small Gas Miner was cruising through a trade lane to its next waypoint. Aboard, the ten crew assigned to the ship were performing their regular duties.

Captain Ambrose, the commander of the mission was a man of average build in his early thirties. He'd been a space mariner as long as he could remember and been gas mining in some of the most dangerous zones of Sirius for over a decade now. The familiar "whump-whump" of passing trade lane nodes slowed down as they approached a break.

Sitting at the helm of Centrum IV, a ship four times the size of a dromedary he surveyed all the monitors and scanners. The trip from New Berlin had been short and uneventful, just the way he liked it.

The ship passed Bautzen Station at a break from the trade lane, then vectored galactic east towards a group of asteroid miners.

After a few minutes of fllght, Ambrose began to get unease. The asteroid miners weren't there.

"Uh, Cap'n?" began one of his navigators. A youngish woman who had recently joined his flight team. "Shouldn't we be seeing some Daumann miners here, sir?" she asked.

"Yes, we should be. Tell the crew to lockdown and power-up the defenses. By the colonies. I hope we haven't flown into something bad!"


***

A group of ships lay hidden on the surface of a large asteroid. Powered down as they were, their engine signatures wouldn't feature on any scanners nearby. Of course, their own scanners worked perfectly using the latest in stealth technology.

"Now?" asked one man sibilantly.

"Yes. Now."

One of the ships suddenly burst into life and launched from the surface of the asteroid in a direct path towards the incoming Gas Miner. The ship was like an elongated cone in shape and dark as space. Starlight glinted from the exterior as the shadowy missile streaked towards its target.


***

A huge explosion rocked the Centrum IV, forcing Ambrose and his crew to hold on tighter to their seats.

"What in Edmund Marshall's name was that?" he shouted over the comm. "Someone talk to me!"

Static greeted him at first. Ambrose checked his status panel and although the Gas Miner seemed to be losing power life support was undamaged.

"Engineering! Anyone down there?" he demanded, but met with silence. He swore, unstrapped himself from his seat and marched towards the ladder that led down into the bowels of his ship. He got on the ladder then shouted over his shoulder at the young helmswoman.

"Get this ship turned around and head back to Bautzen! Send a distress signal. Hopefully those Daumann people will send out a patrol. Damn those Hessian scum! We're neutrals!"

With that, the Captain slid down the ladder a couple of decks, landing expertly on the engineering deck.

It was eerily quiet, but for a moment Ambrose thought he heard a strange clicking sound echoing from the end of the corridor. Always prepared, Ambrose pulled out his blaster and crept along until he reached the corner. The clicking sound was louder and now accompanied by a rending noise too. Of something being torn. A crack. He swallowed. Was that chewing?

His throat went dry as he peered around the corner.

Then screamed.