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    1. Crossfire 12 yrs ago
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"Ok, was gonna cover some of this in the tour, but from the top then" Dawson rubbed his face tiredly, just wanting to get the degenerates out of his hair "The Revenant's equipped for a maximum crew of 30 or so, there's a dozen rooms on the crew deck with a pair of beds in each, Captain's quarters on the upper deck, as well as relief bunks that pull out from the walls in the cockpit, engine room, and the study in the med bay. So there should be enough space for you all to get started. If we end up recruiting more, you may eventually have to bunk up"

Next he addressed Hadrian "I'm not sure, most Alliance vessels have variable lighting, but the Revenant was lost to the Deadzone many years ago, we just recovered her from pirates for this project a couple months ago. If not, put in a request via the requisition terminal. If the Appropriations Committee approves it, they'll send someone to rewire the lighting"

Flicking at his datapad, Dawson answered the Dalentian's question "The Alliance has prepped a cover story and false identities, should you feel you require them, you can all read about it at your leisure at the terminals on the crew deck. Basically, you're meant to be a pirate crew, no details needed beyond that honestly"

The Kzargett asked about weapons, so Dawson queued that information up next "The upper deck, the ship's C.I.C., is equipped with an armory stocked with Alliance weapons, though I'm reading here that a large collection of alternative weapons has been loaded aboard as well. Ah yes, part of that man's agreement with the Alliance" he broke off and pointed out Maverick "He's to act as quartermaster according to the Executor, and per Alliance protocol, the armory door is locked down with a code, to prevent unauthorized access, so you'd have to ask him about specifics. Of course, anything you had on your person when you were "recruited" has been brought on board already"

Sometime during his speech, the final member of the crew arrived, which left the briefing itself "Let's head in now shall we? Be easier to brief you all from the war room"

He led the way down the walkway and up the ramp into the ship's cargo bay, a wide space largely filled by a pair of transport shuttles, the side walls were covered with stacks of sealed metal crates and the rear was left pretty bare save for a trio of doorways "Ship's got four levels, this is the bottom one. The crates are mostly for show, but a few marked ones have rations and tools inside, the shuttles are for atmo-to-ground transport, for the world's the Revenant itself aren't able to make a clean landing on. Down back there through the door on the right is the engine room. Middle's the elevator, and the left leads to a set of stairs leading up. Power's not back to the elevator yet, so we'll take the stairs."

After a quick look around the lower deck, which was mostly wasted space save for storage rooms, a gym filled with dusty equipment, an old research lab, and the row of escape pods, as well as the emergency ladders for quick access to the escape pods from upstairs, they moved up to the Middeck, or crew deck.

He gestured around the dimly-lit lounge they found themselves in just off the stairway "Here we have the common areas, the requisition terminal is on the far wall there, kitchen is through this door just on our left. The showers and quarters are on this deck, both are down towards the back of the ship. Up in front is the docking bay, and that's about it. Now, let's get down to business"

Finally, they arrived at the upper deck.

"Combat Information Center. War Room's the heart of the ship, that's where we are now. Up in front is the cockpit. Combat stations all along the path up to it, Forward battery for control of the main guns is down in back and up the ladder there. Med bay and armory are back towards the middle, on the right and left respectively. And right at the rear is the Captain's quarters, I'd assume that's yours then Stryker, eh? Now then, gather 'round the holotable"

Dawson flicked at his datapad, then sent the intel over to be projected on the holotable. A hologram of the galaxy popped up first, divided into sectors, it zoomed into one such sector.

"This here's the neutral zone between the Alliance and Federation. It's technically Republic territory, but as you all know, the Republic has no real power anymore. Now if I can draw your attention to this quadrant" he zoomed in on a cluster of planets, very close to the dividing line between the neutral zone and Alliance space "Zargos System, mostly derelict planets these days decimated by the Corvais War, it's deemed no-man's land as a result of the treaty, but a cruiser passing by last week reported back with these scans, showing something that wasn't there the last time an Alliance vessel patrolled the sector"

The image shifted to project a medium-sized space station, hovering in place above Zargos Major. The logo of Helsin Mining Corp. clearly captured on the relay.
"Helsin Mining has deep connections to the Federation, so we figure it's one of two things going on here. Either Helsin is strip-mining planets illegally, or the Federation set this station up to recon Alliance space, keep tabs on events in our territory, maybe even gather intel. No matter the reason for it's appearance, Alliance Command wants it gone. A strategist is drawing up a suggested plan of attack, should be ready by the time the engines get straightened away. I'll be back before you depart, until then, you're all to stay on board, explore, claim your rooms and whatnot. Hopefully you'll all be out of my face within the hour"

Dawson departed swiftly, leaving the crew alone in the War Room.
"Oh, and you'd be the one piloting the transport shuttle, not me."

"Heh" Stryker chuckled to himself "We'll see sparky, see you on the bridge"
'Lucky if I don't shove him out the airlock' he thought as he walked away.

It was at that moment that Dawson and a half-dozen guards arrived.
"All right you lot, shut it!" Dawson shouted as he took his place in the center of the room "Now we just received a transmission that the last two shuttles are a little late, so it's just as well that the engineers and dockhands are behind schedule in getting the Revenant ready to depart. We'll hold off the briefing until the other two arrive, so in the meantime, lets take a tour"

Dawson began to walk towards the walkway leading to the ship, then doubled back.
"Little bit of housekeeping first, the Alliance has set aside a tidy little fund for this project. There's a terminal on the crew deck where you can place requisition requests, anything that's approved will be brought onboard at the next port. Next, the ship is completely wired with a full suite of surveillance equipment, any attempt to hack, disable or otherwise tamper with the equipment will result in the entire ship's system being shut down, so unless you all feel like being stranded in the Expanse, I'd keep my hands off. If there's anything else, I'm forgetting it, so any questions?"
Reaper nodded in response "According to the intel I've got, the basics of their plan involve 3 separate incidents, happening within minutes of each other" He unrolled a map of the city and began to point out the locales "Here, an alley off 152nd, there's a garage that doubles as a secure drop between Vigilance's Lancers and a couple of gangs- the Russian Bratva and the Wen Shu Triad. As far as I can gather neither of the gangs know that the other also uses the drop, until tonight that is. The Lancers are going to draw members from both gangs to the location, then kill them all, stage it as gang on gang violence, then replace the Vigilance-manufactured guns with those of the main competitors, and use the dead guy's phones to set the gangs against each other. Similar setups will be in effect over here just off Greater North Avenue, and over here at the alley connecting Westchester and Cicero, with different gangs and crews involved at each location. If their plan is successful, then those riots I mentioned will probably kick off, and the city will burn. But, we can stop them. We each take a location and subdue the gang members and the Lancers there, hopefully prevents any innocents getting hurt. After that, I can almost guarantee Vigilance will send out Crusher to stop us. And while a part of me wants to take him on alone, settle that unfinished business between us, I'm man enough to admit I may need some help. Of course, there's no point even attempting to fight him without this new weapon of mine"

Reaper produced a small rolled-up blueprint "That's where you'd come in, Techno, while we keep the peace, I need you to assemble these" He unfurled it and passed it along ".70HE-Gurren rounds, a product of the Experimental Tech ward in the military. I can tell ya everything about them, but when it comes to assembly, especially with so many electronic parts, I'm afraid I'm completely useless. The bullets have 3 major components, firstly on the end is the bullet itself, nothing special, in fact, it's barely more than a delivery system. Up at the tip is a mechanical device that functions as an anchor point, designed to burrow into even the toughest materials. From there its internal mechanisms begin to spiral and drill into the target, once it reaches a certain depth, it triggers an internal, low grade explosive. My thinkin' is if I can tag Crusher with a couple of these, it'll break through the armor on his skin, hopefully take him out of the equation."

He turned and pointed towards the entrance, where a fairly large metal briefcase and a cardboard box.
"I put the rifle together just before I came over, and there ought to be enough parts for 3 of the HEs, hopefully that's all I'll need"
@Chaotic Chao Always open!
@mackielars No problem! If everyone else has their intro post done and I bring Dawson back for the briefing before then, I'll just make mention of it, then delay the ship's departure from Chronos Station due to engine trouble or something like that
@Catchphrase@Sombrero Can you guys post your CS' over on the CHAR tab when you get a chance? No rush!
Maverick and SAL had stood by silently as the shuttles arrived one by one. When they had all gathered and Captain Dawson began speaking, Grayson blinked twice to engage the cybernetics in his eye, and sized up everyone in the room. The soldiers were no threat, a few had minor cyber-mods, but apart from that, they were all human. He scanned each of his new teammates for weak points, smiling as he compiled information in case any of them ever turned on him. The Funganoid spoke up to the abrasive tone of their supposed squad leader. Maverick chuckled as muttered sideways at SAL.

"This'll be good"




"Sorry you shitlord, I'm gonna be in your way the entire damn time this project is going on. Better learn how to tolerate me now you bastard."
Stryker rounded on the Funganoid and marched over, one hand still firmly on his pistol's grip. He grabbed Tibulus' shoulder and pulled him close to the visor of his mask, whispering so none of the others would hear.

"You're the volunteer then? You must be insane, or a little empty up there, no one volunteers for a job like this. I'm a nice guy, so I'll give you a little advice. Change your tone when dealing with this lot. They're not as forgiving as me, they're dangerous, and won't hesitate to take you out at the smallest slight. Now that son of a bitch Dawson stuck me on this crew, and honestly I just planned on sticking myself in the cockpit, sealing the door and waiting this disaster out, but since you're here, that's out the window. I don't care if you like me or not, hell maybe I'll even co-pilot for free, but if you have another outburst like that in front of the crew, all you'll be piloting is the transport shuttle, got it?"
@Catchphrase It's all good! You're accepted
@Banana The basic setup of the team is the Alliance forcing criminals/undesirables into Project Revenant so their actions can be written off as thugs doing thuggery, but I'm not holding anyone to that. If you've got a creative way of being brought onboard as a regular hire, go for it! (Provided the context makes sense!)
REVENANT

Part I
Project: Revenant


Location: New York City
Date: August 19th, 2366

"If this meeting is so urgent, Why did the Chancellor invite us to New York City? Why Strattix Tower?"

"Maybe he thought Virginia was too dangerous. Remember what happened in Washington DC? All of the world's leaders incinerated in the blink of an eye. I imagine the Chancellor would want to keep us far away from the former capital"

"Wait, I think he's coming"

The windows of the room, which offered a panoramic view of New York City, dimmed until they were completely black. The lights even dimmed, making the conference room dark. About nine representatives took their seats at the round table and prepared for the Chancellor's emergency meeting. When the doors finally opened, however, the Chancellor was nowhere to be seen; Executor Lara walked in and closed the doors behind her. She took a seat in the only empty chair in the room, sitting a small briefcase on the table.

The fair-skinned woman, with her perfectly-cut, shoulder-length brown hair smirked at the committee. "Shall we begin ladies and gentlemen?"

"Perhaps we should wait for the Chancellor, Executor Lara."

Smirking again, Lara shook her head as she pulled a file folder from the briefcase. "The Chancellor won't be coming. This is classified. Off the books. Project: Revenant. It's risky, but after the Incident, it's the best choice we have right now" When Lara mentioned the Incident, a wave of guilt passed through the room, but Lara was unmoved by the thought. "For those few unfamiliar: imagine a task force composed of the galaxy's most dangerous criminals: assassins, mercenaries, pirates, and so many more. Now imagine they worked for the Alliance. We could send them anywhere, to do anything. It doesn't matter if they get caught. They're bad guys. The Federation - the Republic - they'll never suspect a thing. To them, it'll just look like a bunch of thugs doing what thugs do. My contacts have already pushed the order through and we've been gathering and prepping a first wave of assets"

"And where are they now, Executor?"

Lara smiled. "Chronos Station"




Sector 7
Chicago, IL
August 16th, 2366

"Encryption Complete. CommsNet link established"
"SAL? Maverick. I'm in position, setting up now. Status report"
"Transport acquired. Tailing target at suggested distance of 357 meters. Tracking. Target is following route 4A. ETA 4 minutes"
"Grand. Now shut up. You better catch me when I drop"

Grayson muted his comms and turned his attention to his armor's wrist CPU. There was a satellite antenna on his left with a rather thick base, an excellent anchor point. With a quick jab to the hologram on his arm, a grapple cable shot out from his belt, and jabbed into the antenna base. After tugging at the line to ensure it was solid, he scanned the nearby architecture and found an excellent space to send the other line. With another tap on the CPU, a second cable shot out from the Spider's Web and embedded itself in the structure on the opposite building. He did a security check, then engaged the reels, lengthening the left cable and shortening the right, until he was suspended between the two buildings, nearly 50 stories up.

"Time to go invisible" He muttered to himself as he engaged his suit's Active Camo mod. The final step of preparation was pulling out the compacted rectangle from his MagSling. At his touch, the rifle unfolded into its sniper configuration, he loaded a magazine of Heavy Piercing 7.62 rounds, and sighted up, carefully watching for the convoy to round the corner.

Meanwhile, on the ground, SAL was following their target closely, minding the distance meters on his HUD as they ticked closer to 0. He engaged a subnet access to log in to their ship's CPU and initiate pre-travel procedures, knowing they would need to get off-world quickly after assassinating such a high-ranking member of Earth's government. Aware that his appalling partner in crime likely had muted or even cut off their comm link, he hailed him over a newly encrypted frequency.
"SAL to Maverick. 600 meters to kill zone"
With no response, SAL had to assume Grayson had heard him, and carried on.
For this outing, SAL had selected a newer model of hovercar, cleared for in-city travel of up to 35 stories, and also miraculously easy to hack, he would likely have to push the upper-thrusters to their limits to successfully overtake the convoy and catch Grayson when he dropped from the Spider's Web, but he knew the raw speed of it would be more than enough for them to clear any pursuing vehicles and get back to the Vulture, hopefully before any authorities could lock down the docks.

The timer hit 0 and SAL put the pedals to the floor.

Up above, Grayson engaged his cybernetic implant and locked on to the target.
"Hello there, Executor Lara, I'd like you to meet a little friend of mine" He sneered as his finger tightened around the trigger.

Alliance Blacksite
Location Unknown
August 18th, 2366

Grayson sat chained to the interrogation room table, he'd spent most of the past 48 hours in a dark hole. Ever since the Alliance surrounded them as they made their escape. The target was eliminated and the payment received, but everything was gone now. All their assets had been seized when they were tossed in here. At least they'd kept them separate so Daniel didn't have to listen to SAL prattle on about how they could have better handled the situation, and the improbability of their capture. The door shooting open cut off his train of thought.

"Daniel Grayson. We meet at last. I'm Christen Fareed, executive assistant to Executor Lara" He was a pompous-looking prick was Daniel's first impression.
"So I kill your boss and you toss me in here. Cute, but dead is dead, and I have rights, so I want my ship, my guns, my credits, and I suppose I want the rustbucket back too, won't get far without him"
"Actually, you killed a decoy... Executor Lara is alive and well. You've been had my friend. This whole thing has been a test of sorts. The Alliance hired you with a contract on her, or rather, a cleverly disguised double, to ensure you're everything they say you are. You see, we're putting a team together, you can take your time and read the basics here" He produced a mini datapad and laid it in front of Grayson.
Grayson sneered at the device "No thanks, I don't play well with others"
"Curious then, that you've spent the past 4 years working with the robot" Fareed replied.
"Yeah, it's a long story"
"Well at any rate, you have a day to decide. The terms are as follows: If you refuse, any sentence imposed on you in a court of law will be tripled, you'll spend the rest of your life in a place far worse than this. If you agree however, time will be reduced from your sentence for every mission you complete as a member of Project: Revenant, once we feel you've done enough to service civilization, your ship and assets will be returned to you, as well as quite a large sum of credits"
Grayson considered for a moment "I want half up front and my equipment returned, otherwise you can just shoot me now"
"You'll get 33% up front, more than enough to cover operation costs. You ship out to Chronos Station in the morning"




Location: Chronos Station
Located on the fringes of Alliance territory, Chronos Station serves as a military checkpoint for Alliance vessels patrolling the Expanse, and a rest stop for traders. The Expanse is a vast region of space, mostly unexplored, not fully colonized, and inhabited by alien races not belonging to the larger galactic community. On the other side of the Expanse is Deadzone, a lawless region of the galaxy.

Stryker looked out of the observation window of his shuttle to see he was entering one of the landing bays on Chronos Station. Only a few other shuttles were located inside, as opposed of the other bays which were actually quite busy. The shuttles brought in each 'asset' of Project: Revenant. They were either locked up in some cell somewhere and promised freedom, or hired... or forced by the Alliance to be a part of this operation.

Captain Dawson walked up behind Stryker. "Alright, bounty hunter, time to get out"

"Yep," Stryker replied, picking up his bag of equipment.

"Don't sound so glum, Stryker. You might actually make a few friends"

"Shut up Dawson. The only reason I'm here is to settle the debt between us. As soon as that's over, I'm out of here"

"Don't forget mate, I've got your dirty little secrets all locked up, so play nice"

The Captain led the bounty hunter over to where the other assets were being gathered. Stryker sized up a few, and felt uneasy at the sight of them. Some of these guys were pretty bad. "Damn Dawson, where'd you find these guys?"

"I didn't. Lara did". Dawson found himself in the middle of the crew members, holding his hands in an attempt to keep any insults at bay. Nearly twenty armed guards stood sentry in the docking bay. Outside, through the force field, one could see into the vast expanse of space, as well as the ships flying in and out of the space station.

"Alright everybody, listen up" Dawson began. "I'm Captain Dawson. Last year my boss compiled a list of the worst sons-a-bitches in the galaxy. That happens to be you. Then she went about recruiting them. Those of you standing here are the ones who accepted the invitation. I don't know if she promised you credits, or freed you from prison, or offered you information... whatever, I don't want to know why you agreed to do this job. There's no turning back, the moment you stepped on this station you are officially under Alliance command. You will cooperate, or you will be punished"

Dawson motioned a hand signal to one of the guards, who left the area through an automatic door. The Captain started talking again. "The Alliance is handing over one of their former frigates, which we're dubbing the Revenant. Orders for your first assignment are coming in shortly. I'm going to get them, brief you all, then hand you off to my boy Stryker here and enjoy my vacation. He'll be day-to-day command on this, like it or not, I don't care. Alliance wanted me on board, but I couldn't be bothered with the detail. Now, I'll see you in a few minutes. Don't kill each other while I'm gone"

The Captain and the armed guards left the docking bay, so only the crew of the Revenant was inside - along with the shuttles they each flew in on.

Stryker gripped one of his pistols and said "I don't have anything to say to you scumbags. Just stay out of my way and let me do my job"
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