[b][u] Peripheral Colony of Aquarius Orbital Dock 14 [/u][/b] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/3212571e-04c6-4f6f-84ca-36e7fedaf069.png[/img] Several days had passed since Malcolm's fateful encounter with Agent Severis, enough time to have his own affairs set in order. He and Isana of course couldn't divulge the true details of their mission to the family, all that could be said however, was that they both would be reinstated for one last mission, along with announcing a truly well-deserved retirement to New Eden, much to the pleasure of their children and grandchildren. ----------------- Malcolm, Isana and the others all sat alone in the troop bay of a razorwing dropship, the four enjoyed some small talk among themselves and with the pilots, exchanging some terrible jokes here and there. Occasionally the would pester Malcolm once or twice about his time in the war with the free stars, but eventually, they had finally arrived. "Commander, we're on approach to Orbital Dock 14." one of the pilots declared, following this, Malcolm stood up and walked over to the cockpit, followed by the others. Malcolm was first to sneak in the cockpit, taking in the view as they drew closer to the installation, the docked [i]Retribution[/i] coming into view. Caris let out a loud whistle. "Impressive ship." "She's a beauty." Giddy said. The dropship continued its approach, moments passing as they finally entered one of the the [i]Retribution[/i]'s hanger bays, making its slow descent to the floor, the interior of the ship making a "thump" sensation. "Well Gentlemen." Malcolm spoke. "That's our que." "Good luck, Commander." One of the pilots said. "Give those bastards a good beating." The other pilot said. "Will do." Malcolm said, backing away as he and his crew grabbed their luggage. The loading ramp lowered, the four stepping out into a wide hanger bay, buzzing with life as support staff, engineers and such were going about their duties. "Departure in 0300." The shipwide intercom announced. Malcolm took in the sight, his unit had only ever been on one of these fleet carriers once, and that was back the war. Not too long after their arrival, the Gravemakers were greeted by a small group. The group was headed by the now former Captain of the [i]Retribution[/i], who extended his hand to Malcolm. "Commander." He begun. "Name's Julian Tanner, formerly captain of this ship, now your second in command." "Pleasure to meet you Tanner." Malcolm said. "You familiar with my crew?" "That's right, sir." Julian replied. "The Gravemakers, the banes of the frontier, we hear plenty of old "horror" stories about your exploits." Isana chuckled a bit." Glad our reputation Precedes us." "After all the hell we raised in the years, we better!" Giddy joked, letting out his own chuckle. Julian nodded as he moved aside to let the others introduce themselves. The first among them was a Simmie dressed in an orange jumpsuit, around his neck was an audio translation device. The Simmie oook'd several times before the device sparked to life. "Hiya Bossman." The translator spoke with a distinct Old Earth English accent, no clue what region though. "Names Alex Turner, Chief Engineer of this 'here girl." Another stepped forward, a tall, well-built young man, he stood at attention and saluted to the Commander specifically. “Colonel Xavier Sanders, sir!” He declared. “1st Joint Ground Operations Detachment and chief of security.” Colonel Sanders stood back as he allowed an older woman in a medical uniform to step forward, shook hands with each one of the Gravemakers. “Dr. Tamala Hoshi at your service. First Medical Officer of the [i]Retribution[/i].” “Hmm, a pleasure, doctor.” Carris winked at the doctor with a sly grin. She simply smiled it off. Ending the brief awkward moment was the sudden introduction of another recent group of arrivals. A young woman dressed in a blue uniform typical of a field agent of Federal Intelligence was seen briskly walking towards them and with her was an entourage of armed men in similar, if lightly armored, uniforms. “Agent Silvia Connors.” She declared with an air of professionalism. “Intelligence Assault Division. I know this was unexpected, but the Director himself saw it necessary to have us assist you in your endeavors in whatever way we can.” “I’ll take all the help I can, Agent.” Malcolm said with an approving nod, then followed by a loud yawn, stretching his arms out up in the air. “Now, if it’s all the same with you, I need shuteye.” He paused as he turned his attention onto Julian. “Captain Tanner, you have the helm for the time being.” Malcolm then scanned the whole group, nodding one more. “We’ve got good people here, and know that we’ll put to a stop to whatever the hell is going on out in the frontier.” He paused as he took a small breather. “We’ll save our people and countless others. We either go home losers and dead, or go home alive and as heroes, and I sure as hell ain’t planning on going home a dead loser, dismissed."