Capsuleers Caprice
19th May, YC115 - 18:23
Location ClassifiedThe dormant Arbitrator class vessel broods in stand-by, waiting to receive commands that do not arrive from it’s crew. The hulks golden carapace bathed in light from the gigantic star only several astral units away, its glistening hull stands in solitary defiance as a testament of Amarrian engineering against the ancient debris it floats amongst.
It’s tough shell, reinforced with 1600mm thick plates of regal armor, shows no scars of battle. Drones lay sleeping in the ship’s bays, prepared for the day that they would be called upon. Regardless, at some point the battle-ready cruiser had been condemned to the infiniteness of this frozen void, it’s quandary tragically insignificant in the grand schemes of the cluster.
Until, that is, a lone Catalyst appears several kilometers out, decelerating after landing on-grid. Suddenly, the forgotten Arbitrator exists again in a way very real to the paltry crew of this Gallentean destroyer.
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19th May, YC115 - 18:23
Location Classified, ‘Battlecat’ - CatalystA man of small frame glances around at his unit, who all file into seats around the airlock. He studies the men and the women who he has assembled through deeply lined eyes, betraying a spacefaring career of many years.
“Alright, assholes.” he pipes up. At once, all chattering amongst the environmental suits ceases. A plethora of faceless helmets turn to face him.
The aged Deteis paces back and forth as he addresses the operatives. “This is it, gents. It’s been a long road. I promise you though, after this you’ll all be able to retire with fat bellies.”
The man directs everybody’s attention to several screens overhead, which he coaxes to life with the push of a button on his wrist-mounted console. Shots of the disabled cruiser looming nearby are displayed to the crew at a multitude of angles.
“I’m sure by now you’ve got the gist of things, but just incase you bitches weren’t paying attention the first half-a-dozen times I’ll repeat myself. The Arbitrator you’re looking at was hired to carry some very important cargo for our client. Now, we’re not sure what exactly it is, but we know that it’s tied in to the Insorum booster. In other words, way above your fucking pay-grades.”
Above, the images transition suddenly to exploded blueprints of an Arbitrator, detailing it’s layout and the locations of it’s on-board systems.
“However, he never called in. That’s good for us, because the client - a very affluent Capsuleer no less - still wants their goods.”
Gossip fills the room. The sounds are silenced very quickly by a violent, sweeping motion of the old Deteis’ arms.
“Alright, alright. Seriously, am I going to have to tell you ladies to pipe the fuck down every time I say the word ‘Capsuleer’? Look; I can’t say I know why a Capsuleer wants us lowly mercenaries to lend our assistance and for the Kredits they’re willing to line our pockets with I can’t say that I give a shit. Therefore, our task is two-fold.”
His bony finger singles out two of the faceless suits as if having an instinctive knowledge of who occupied them. “Kalevi, as you know you’re leading Team Alpha. Lucas, Bravo.”
Deftly, he points to areas of the ship’s hull on the screens with his wrist device. Parts of the hull light up as he indicates them.
“Alpha, you’re on the primary. The primary is to secure the package. Fortunately, our gracious Capsuleer friend has seen it fit to clue in us mere mortals a bit. We’re looking for a metallic black briefcase. Our friend ensures us that we’ll find this inside a secure freight container within the ship’s hold, so we’re gonna crack it, walk right in and take it.”
“Bravo, secondary. Secondary is to figure out what happened out here. If possible, determine the whereabouts of the crew. There’s a very generous bonus in it for us. The difference for you is going from a retirement to a very comfortable retirement.”
Finally, the Deteis men cracks a smile. “Oh, but remember; either way, we’ll never have to work another damn job again.”
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19th May, YC115 - 18:41
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator Team Bravo snake through the corridors of the Amarrian hull, a dim orange glow revealing their path. The detachment expertly sweep each room, utilizing pairs to quickly cover multiple areas, however overall moving as one orchestrated entity.
“Emergency lighting.” a broad Lonetrek accent announces. “Ship’s powered down, but looks like vital systems are still running.”
A woman finishes analyzing data being churned out by a handheld Hyasyoda ‘Terraforma’ surveyor and nods in agreement. “Atmosphere is breathable, readings indicate life-support systems are fully functional.”
The figure at the head of the group spares no time in depressing and twisting a lock at the back of his helmet, which causes the piece of headgear to section away into dozens of angular pieces and melt into the collar of his suit. A discrete, almost transparent headpiece continues to adorn the grey-haired yet young man, whose soft, rounded features tell that he was born Gallentean despite the accent he had spoken with.
“Lucas?” the woman asks, brushing her red hair out of her face and pocketing the gadget. Worry is plastered across her narrow features.
Lucas lowers his rifle and turns to face the Intaki girl. The rest of his team mill around, each disengaging their helmets in turn and exchanging weary glasses, before diverting their attentions back to the surroundings.
“This entire job reeks of fedo shit.” she protests, gently.
The boyish team leader turns and begins walking again, indicating for the group to follow with a practised signal. “I know,” he agrees, “I don’t want to hear about it until after the mission, Lynnette.”
Lyn purses her lips, slinking close behind. “I mean, this ship was delivering a package, right? So why is out here in the ruins?”
Lucas frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but is cut short by the sound of a disgruntled old Deteis man over their comms line.
“There’s a lot of fucking talking going on about who-knows-what in there. If you pussies are so scared, you know you’d get out of there a lot faster if you quit flapping your lips and got the job done.”
The Gallentean man smiles at that. Somehow the familiar needling of his boss brings him reassurance. “Aye-aye, commander.”
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19th May, YC115 - 18:41
Location Classified, Team Alpha, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator Kalevi is a sly dog. The bald-headed, facial tattooed Civire had long-since figured out how to circumvent the mandatory ‘open mic’ setting on his teams communications devices so that he could do his job his own way without interruptions from the old man.
“So yeah,” the mercenary hound grins, proudly. “I got a little girl on the way.”
A huge Brutor man behind him gives the Alpha leader a hearty slap on the back. If his tribal markings are any indicator, his name is Erund. And, judging by his close proximity to Kalevi whilst the rest of the team hung well back, he was the Civire’s right-hand man.
“Very good, my friend!” the Minmatar roars, “So, you’re going to raise her to be a fearless warrior, like her father, am I right?!”
The bald brute chuckles, “Well, shit. I don’t know about that, I mean, how is she ever going to be half the warrior I am? Her mother’s Brutor, after all...”
His massive friend begins to growl at that, leering down at the man as if to hit him. Kalevi just howls with laughter.
“Shut up!” a voice, fed up with trying to make itself heard, interjects from behind.
“The fuck did you just say to -” the Civire begins, turning on his heels, fire in his eyes.
“Ssh.” a sleight of build Sebeistor girl ushers. “Listen to that! Can you hear that?”
Everybody stops in their place.
There’s a long silence.
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19th May, YC115 - 18:50
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “Clear signs of an internal struggle.” Lucas reports, sounding solemn. “Large amount of gunshots fired. Hundreds, even...”
Lynette overlooks the barracks that the team is scouring. The interior walls have been completely marred and chewed up with blaster fire. Yet, there were no visible casualties.
“Whoever was here, commander, they’re not here now.” Lynette chimes in, confidently.
“Affirmative.” responds the Deteis, sounding agitated.
The Intaki picks up a familiar shape off of the ground, observing it against the light of a torch. A scrambler pistol, she notes internally. An implacable worrisome feeling manifests as a frown as she looks around the floor in a wide arc. It appears as if whoever had attacked the crew had not taken their weapons or equipment, for they now littered the ground en masse.
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19th May, YC115 - 18:43
Location Classified, Team Alpha, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator Nobody moves.
Finally, a soft skittering sound is heard overhead.
The Civire grunts, “What, that? That could be anything. You gonna interrupt me every -”
A sharp series of metallic clicks rushes past the group above them, as if something with many legs had just raced through the hallway on the upper level. Erund yelps and ducks low, then everybody falls quiet again.
Kalevi watches his Brutor friend through wide eyes, then finally barks with laughter. “Oh, Winds help me, you should see your fucking face! Shit, did you just soil your suit?!”
The Brutor smiles nervously and the team wastes no more time in pressing on. Not another word is said about the noise, instead the sounds of their usual banter begin to fill the air again. Erund, however, cannot help but to glance back every so often.
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19th May, YC115 - 19:00
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “Oh, shit.” Lucas mutters, the hair on the back of his neck standing to attention.
Lynnette steps into the room after him only to immediately recoil, gagging.
“It’s blooders.” the Gallentean announces. “Commander, come in.”
Before them, what had been the ship’s bridge had been transformed into a temple of perversion. Figures lay out nude and on display all over the large room assembled into formations, rows and rows of pallid bodies, looking completely drained.
Surgical equipment lays littered all over, along with vivid banners hung above emblazoned with Sani Sabik imagery. Lynnette, composing herself, gets a good look at a nearby Ni-Kunni woman who has been spread eagle, noting the puncture marks in her wrists where the blooding equipment had penetrated the flesh.
Bravo Team get what feels like an age to contemplate this morbid spectacle, the bridge of the proud Amarrian vessel that had been twisted into some sick cathedral.
Lucas finally breaks the silence, coming to his senses. “I repeat, commander, come in.”
The young, silver-haired leader turns to his team. Several tense gazes are exchanged between one-another.
An irritated Deteis voice responds “Bravo, come in. What the fuck is taking so long? I want a report.”
The group collectively breathe a sigh of relief and Lucas eagerly responds “The crew have been butchered - no, not butchered. Killed, very surgically. Blooded, commander. It’s the Sabik.”
There’s a long pause.
“Bravo? Bravo? Ah, to crap with it. What the damn fuck is going on? Damn kids, no respect for their elders these days.”
A frown creases the Gallentean’s scalp. With a short sigh, he delivers the news to his men. “It looks like comms are out. The Commander can’t hear us.”
Lucas takes another look around, only now spotting several dim console screens. With the initial shock stemming from witnessing these horrific sights, he easily overlooked them at first.
“Alright, each of you, start searching the terminals. Something doesn’t add up here.”
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19th May, YC115 - 19:03
Location Classified, Team Alpha, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “Come on, come on.” Erund snarls, beating his fists on the sides of the console. He glares up at the reinforced bulkhead door that leads into the Arbitrator’s cargo hold.
The hammering above them pounded on and on. The skittering seemed to get closer and closer. Inarticulate voices closed in all around Alpha Team.
The Sebiestor who had first identified the noises keels forwards and hurls. He hadn’t eaten well, is vomit is clear.
“C-can’t you open that thing up any faster?!” Kalevi stammers whilst fiddling with his headpiece. He clears his throat before giving a firm address. “Commander. Come in. We’re getting multiple reports. There’s something... something huge in here chasing us. Commander, please advise.”
The Civire’s eyes dance from side to side, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “Commander? Commander? Commander.”
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19th May, YC115 - 19:05
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “The engines,” the Achuran man announces. “The propulsion systems of the Arbitrator were compromised. The warp-core is off-line. I don’t understand, we saw no external signs of-”
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19th May, YC115 - 19:05
Location Classified, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator Both team’s comm lines crackled with a fragmented report.
“This is Command, please stand-by, the Battlecat’s warp-core has suffered a malfunction, preparing to send a distress call. No hostiles, I repeat, no hostiles, primary is still live, primary is -”
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17th May, YC115 - 21:48
Jita IV, Moon VI, Ytiri Storage - The Bunny LoungeThe club pounds with aggressive beats, lights strobing in the background. Deep within Jita IV - VI there’s a hide-away that all kinds are drawn to for it’s bountiful hedonistic pleasures.
An attractive waitress wearing a rabbit-ear headband places a tray of drinks down onto a table, circled by a rag-tag group of mercenaries.
Lucas flashes his winning smile, before leaning in to give the redheaded Intaki in his lap a tender kiss on the cheek. Lynette giggles and shies away from the man, flushing with color.
The old Deteis man stares at the pair like carrion. If this was a Naval unit, he thought, this behaviour would not be tolerated. He sighs, though, for he knows this isn’t a Naval unit, and it was him that had set this standard of behavior. Those days were long behind him.
“Cheer up you old fart,” Kalevi laughs, patting his boss heavily on the shoulder. “Hey, didn’t I say I had a surprise for you?”
The commander gives the Civire man a leery glare. “Yes, I know already. You’re finding out whether your baby is a boy or girl tomorrow. Spare me it, you know I don’t give-”
Kalevi frowns and cuts him off before he can complete that sentence. “Check it out.” the Civire spins his datapad across the table to the Deteis.
The aged veteran looks down, surveying the information on the screen. His eyes twinkle with a strange emotion, one he thought he had forgotten. “... This is incredible. They’re paying how much?”
Lynette looks up to see what the commotion was about. Her lover quickly steals her away for another kiss.
“Weird, right?” Kalevi chuckles, taking a healthy swig of beer that foams his upper lip.
“This is... this is going to change everything.” the breathtaken Deteis gasps. He squints at the bottom of the page after scrolling down. That was strange, he thought. No name provided. Just this little emblem of a flower.
The faces of each man and woman at the table light up as their commander shows them the reward that was being offered for their next contract. Their drinking and merriment continues well into the night.
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19th May, YC115 - 19:08
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator Lucas struggles to regain the reigns of control over his unit as the Bridge floods with discussion, the mercenaries conflicted about the transmission from their commander which had abruptly been cut short.
He swears he sees a corpse twitch.
“We’re at the objective. Come on, people. We dig around for a bit, we leave, okay? We’re not-” he growls at one of his men, “We’re not going until the job is done. That isn't how we do things.”
The din begins to simmer down. That is, until the walls come to life with a demonic chorus, the sounds of thousands of chitinous limbs scratching over each-other, a roaring sound of life pulsating in the walls all around.
Lucas bites his lower lip, unsure of what to make of the situation. He quickly removes a device from his suit and jams it into the terminal he’s standing over, punching in some codes. “We download the logs, we move. All of you, go!”
“No, we have to go, now!” Lynette interjects, frantically. The Gallentean scowls at her; he could not believe that she would contradict him here, right now, when he was in command.
“Lynette, what the-” Lucas begins, before stopping mid sentence. The words are only spoken with her lips, but he understood perfectly.
‘I’m pregnant.’
The thunderous boom of the blast doors deploying drowns out all sound, creating a beautifully pristine moment of silence.
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19th May, YC115 - 19:18
Location Classified, Team Alpha, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator The sound of running feet comes to a stop, so that only their heavy breathing can be heard. It’s only then that the mercs realize that their predator has stopped giving chase.
“T-thank... fuck,” the Civire grunts, speaking between gasps of air.
“It stopped!” Erund gasps, releasing a nervous laugh.
“Y-yeah, seems like it. Alright, here we are.”
The team, still catching their breath, look up at the modest container in front of them. The Brutor steps forwards towards a silver control panel, intent to waste no time in cracking the locking mechanism he had been briefed on.
“Let’s grab this and get out of here.” Kalevi mutters. The Civire’s grey eyes focus a million miles away, far past the goal before him. For Kalevi, all he saw was the image of his wife, which he had burned into his brain.
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19th May, YC115 - 19:20
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator Lucas wipes the sweat off of his brow, trying to formulate a plan. Finally, he turns to the Achura who continues to labor over a screen and asks “Can you override the doors?”
“No, sir. The ship’s locking me out, it doesn’t want me in there.”
Lucas swears he sees a corpse twitch.
“Are you sure?” the Gallentean licks his lips, trying to moisturise his mouth.
“I... I’ll keep trying.” the man nods, rapidly.
Their heads turn towards a crisp, menacing sound that rings beyond the massive bulk of the blast doors. A laughter, but no laughter that the vocal chords of any human could produce.
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19th May, YC115 - 19:31
Location Classified, Team Alpha, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “Alright, fuck it. Plant some charges.” the bald Caldari orders, glaring at his men.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” his Brutor friend urges. When he sees the look that Kalevi gives him, he is very quick to drop that argument. “Understood.”
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19th May, YC115 - 19:35
Location Classified, Team Bravo, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “It’s going to be okay.” Lucas assures the small, red-headed woman as he pets her hair, kneeling before the huddled form. The other mercenaries in the room stand around, some over consoles, others mourning or in various states of distress.
And he’s sure that he sees a corpse twitch.
The Gallentean’s eyes widen, the narrow, his pupils dilating. With a snarl, he gets to a stand and levels his rifle at the lifeless body, firing several rounds in quick succession.
With a sickening sound, the carcass explodes, strewing guts and bone shrapnel across the room. Several shadowy figures buzz past the Gallentean’s head faster than his eyes can follow. One by one, each and every body pops, firing entrails into the air like confetti. Hundreds of black shapes fire around the assembled lambs, dropping mercenaries like flies with rapid, pronged attacks from electrocuted barbs, paralyzing their victims.
The screams are drowned out by the beat of thousands of wings in unison. The unprepared and completely surrounded guns-for-hire fill the air with every clip at their disposal, to little avail. Where a drone drops, a dozen more clamour over it’s carcass in an orgy of chitinous clicks, repurposing the damaged circuitry into frankenstein machines like frenzied surgeons.
Other bullets rip through flesh, not metal, due to the mass hysteria. Lynette meets her end when several rounds punch through her chest, extinguishing her life before she can give even a gurgled scream.
Lucas is amongst the last to succumb to the horde’s tasers, hitting the ground like a bag of concrete. A few moments more pass by and then all falls silent, the only movement in the room coming from the twitching of bodies trying desperately to get their limbs to respond.
Unable to will himself to move, he’s forced to watch his fallen love, frozen in place. Tears impotently stream down his face as he tries to apologize, only to find that his voice has been stolen away.
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19th May, YC115 - 19:35
Location Classified, Team Alpha, ‘Radiant Dawn’ - Arbitrator “It’s hot! 3... 2... 1!”
The controlled detonation blows the freight container right open.
Erund cheers triumphantly. His cocky Caldari friend also flashes a fox-like grin. They share a look and for just a moment truly believe that they’re going to see their families again.
All the more shame that the swarms of vicious hornets just beyond that fading veil of smoke had no intention of killing them immediately, then perhaps their dying thought may have been one of happiness and not terrible remorse.
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19th May, YC115 - 20:20
Location ClassifiedA duet of vessels lay paralyzed in the dark wreath of space, waiting to receive commands that do not arrive from their crews. The twin exteriors of glorious gold and rich green stand as two defiant splashes of color on an otherwise black canvas. The two fulcrums stand proudly as testaments to the engineering prowess of the lands that manufactured them.
Their weapons loaded with charges that would never be fired, shield systems pulsing which would never be tested. Tragically, the ships willingness for battle would be in vain, for in all of the hardships of the universe it is a sad but firm fact that these hulls would soon be forgotten, as in time would the lives of those on board.
Capsuleers tend to measure their engagements in numbers of or value of ships destroyed. Yet, they squander away the lives of many, many more of their own human flesh and blood. These losses are rarely important to the Capsuleer. The lives of these people become less than a statistic. For some of these Empyreans, death is an unfortunate necessity. For others, sowing death is a thrill. For many others still, death is brought about by their insane caprice.
A looming industrial ship lands on grid, decorated with the emblem of a delicate flower. It lazily burns towards the duo of ghost ships before boarding with the Battlecat.
Hours pass and then finally the tendrils of the behemoths tractor beams embrace the Arbitrator, forcing it to follow the mysterious, hulking ship into the darkness of the ruins, far into the depths of the debris where even the sun cannot reach.
Deep within the bowels of the ruined structure, many little electronic eyes blink awake. Another sacrifice had been completed.
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20th May, YC115 - 01:01
Location ClassifiedThe dormant Catalyst class vessel broods in stand-by, waiting to receive commands that do not arrive from it’s crew...
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21st May, YC115 - 19:48
Sirsehin VI, Moon I, Mercantile Club Bereau - Koira ClubVibrant, disorientating lights pulse in the background. A group of contractors share drinks whilst contemplating their next mark.
A wiry Deteis man laughs as his friend ruffles his ginger hair in congratulations. “Yeah, she said yes! She’s going to marry me. I’m so happy... everything’s been so hard, lately. What, with her being diagnosed with Derj’s disease...”
Across the table, a looming Khanid man studies his datapad. A smile as modest as royalty creeps his lips and he claps for attention from the table. The massive cyber knight composes himself before he speaks, carrying himself with a slow decorum.
“This is... this is going to change everything.” the hardened Khanid nods. He squints at the bottom of the page after scrolling down. That was strange, he thought. No name provided. Just this little emblem of a flower.
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Topic: Capsuleers Caprice [Story][Long] (Read 857 times)