EliteCommander

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen had not intended to stop in the rec room, but soon found himself metaphorically pulled inside when Light spotted him. Just looking around quickly, he had a feeling he had been brought into the middle of something. “This area?” He blinked, with a quick glance towards the accommodations Hope and Omega had made for themselves over the last week. “Sure, I can think of plenty, but not with what we have on board. We didn’t really bring the sort of supplies we would need to make the whole ship comfortable.”

Stopping himself against one of the walls, Senjen stood with his arms crossed, tapping a claw against his forearm as he thought. “Let’s see...not sure if we have anything that would be helpful to a QV. Can’t flood the place, so that’s out. Your gelsuit is going to be more comfortable than any furniture we have. Um...do you like plants? I might be able to spare a few of those.”

At the same time, Senjen could not help but to be a bit curious about Omega in the corner. That droid had both his interest and concern, and out of everyone on the ship currently, he was probably the one that was most important to keep comfortable. He still did not know what might trigger one of his episodes, but that was something that seemed best to avoid.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Agreed.” Senjen nodded. “I guess there’s no getting around the fact that we’re going to need to do some scouting on our own. Probably best to keep our options open and not fixate too much on one approach. I’ll trust that you know how to put out those feelers without too much risk of someone turning us in. At the very least, it’s good that this place has a public terminal, because that means we’ll be able to linger around for a while without it being suspicious.” He reasoned.

Senjen gave a glance back towards Ruknar. She had been pretty quiet through all of this, but he supposed she did not have much experience planning a heist. If he was being honest, neither did he, but he had some transferable skills from previous jobs. He had to believe he was not going to be out of his depth here. They were putting together a plan, at least, even if they couldn’t get everything situated before their arrival. There was going to have to be scouting, and probably some improvisation.

Senjen released his grip on the ground and let himself float back a bit closer to the door. “Glad to be able to brainstorm something of a plan, at least. I’ll make sure to share it with Light.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Uhh…” Senjen started, sounding obviously hesitant at that last suggestion. “You might be right that we can do it, but I don’t think we should. Myrmidon is no small enemy to make. The best plan is one that lets us get in and out without them being any the wiser, I’d say. And if we cause trouble in orbit, that might end up with us being hunted down on the planet while we’re trying to work. It would really probably be best to avoid having that kind of pressure on us.”

Not wanting to purely poke holes in their plans, Senjen made sure to make it clear which ideas he did like. Or at least which ones weren’t terrible. "Finding a way to sneak me through the security checkpoints from the public area seems like the best approach we have right now, if there’s no way to get me on one of those automated transports. If there is an opportunity to make it to one through EVA, I do think I can do it, but like you say, there could be internal defenses. Not unless I can just grab onto the outside somewhere and sneak on that way.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“There’s a big difference between getting a single person, versus a whole ship and crew, down to a planet, but I get your meaning.” Senjen said.

The idea of EVA had occurred to Senjen, he had to look back at Bodach with a smirk. “Okay, on that one, I’m going to have to disagree. Utaysi are natural climbers, so we tend to think...three-dimensionally. It’s not all that much of an adjustment to get in the right mindset for moving around freely in 3D space. You should’ve seen what happened the first time I ended up on Korit. Zero-G gunfight, into a high-speed chase with armored cars...terrifying, but exciting.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen leaned back a bit, crossing his arms as he kept his eyes on the map. “You know, I actually considered the job angle when I first heard about all this. Problem is, that would put my information in their systems, and it would be harder to get away when I need to. I think that would make it a lot harder to get away clean. I do think that could work if we could spend a few months on this. Be real patient about it, and all that...but I don’t think that will work here.”

“I think…” Senjen interrupted himself briefly, considering the risks of the remaining options. “I think Bodach does have a point here. That plan could work, but we’d have to be real careful how we go about trying find someone to do it for us. That could risk exposing us. I still wish there was a way to get me onto one of the freighters, but if they go straight from the surface to the station, then I’d probably have to be on the surface to sneak onto one. I don’t suppose you can think of a way to get me, individually, down to the surface without a transponder?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen did not say anything for a while, as he was clearly pouring over this map for any important details he could glean. It was a lot to take in at once, but he felt some immediate relief upon seeing it. They had some intel, at least, on his part of the job. It was coming from Major, so he still was not sure if FGC had just sent him off with nothing and hoped for the best, but now there was something he could sink his teeth into to prepare.

“Okay...okay.” Senjen mumbled to himself for a moment while he scanned the map. “Going through security checkpoints doesn’t seem like a great idea, unless we can find some way for me to steal or spoof a legitimate ID and serial number. This frame might be Myrmidon, but I imagine they have a database of machines that are meant to be on board. Do you think we’d have a better chance of finding a way to get through the security checkpoints from the public areas, or sneaking on through a different route? Maybe...I imagine the automated freighters use robot crews. If I could sneak on board one of those before it docks, then I wouldn’t have to deal with those security checkpoints.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“To clarify, I do know that part.” Senjen replied. He was not sure if Bodach was serious about trying to blocade run by force, but for his own sanity, he was going to assume he wasn’t. In any case, he supposed it was encouraging that Major knew this much. It meant they were trusted enough that FGC kept them appraised before they set out.

“What I don’t have a lot of information on right now is the actual plan for acquiring that transponder.” Senjen clarified. “I know I need to steal it and why, but I’m not sure if FGC has any intel on this terminal so we can make a workable plan for me to sneak in. You know, the layout, where I need to go, that sort of thing. I have experience winging it, but all the same, I’d rather have a plan going in. If FGC doesn’t have anything, then I suppose we’re going to need to do the scouting ourselves.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Um, right…” Senjen said with a bit of hesitation, having not the slightest clue what Dairmuid and Bodach were talking about. He decided instead to focus on what Major was saying, since he was a fair bit more comprehensible. He joined the group, not exactly able to sit, but nevertheless gripping onto the floor with his foot.

“Sure, I’ll let you know if there’s anything to talk about. Everyone’s still settling in for now, though, so I doubt there’s been time for anyone to get into trouble.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. Anyways...I guess I’d say I’m nervous. FGC has been light on the details so far, but I know a good part of this depends on me doing this infiltration and getting what we need. Have you gotten any details on what I’m going to need to do?” Senjen asked.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I’m just saying, it only really needs to decontaminate things going in and out of the ship, and only once we get there. I feel like that thing’s going to get real old if we don’t change its settings.” Senjen said, his gaze still following where the drone had went.

“But yeah…” Senjen was silent for a few seconds. He did not say anything about Ruk’s concerns with him getting caught. If something happened at that point, then she would be able to get away with Myrmidon never having known she was involved. The mission would not be able to proceed after that, so they would probably head back and the FGC would have to think up something new. For this to work, everything really was riding on him. For now, he tried not to think about that. “That’s probably a good idea. Let’s go see if we can find Major first.”

---

Fortunately, the mercenaries’ leader, Major, ended up being in the first place they looked: the storage room next door. He was not alone, as the two members of their group from Earth were with him. With Senjen and Ruk showing up, even their storage room could start to feel a bit crowded, so Senjen stayed hanging on to the wall near the entrance. “Hey, uh, you all settling in? Anything you’re going to be needing?” Senjen asked.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen had a feeling that “together” would not involve too much of him when it came to research. Just knowing the basics enough to be able to talk about it was already a lot for him. He thought that Ruk might be more involved in the research, but maybe she was feeling more like he was in the moment. She did practice medicine, not research it.

Senjen waved his hand in the direction of the floating drone as it passed, as if swatting it away a fly. “We really should check that thing’s programming…” He muttered.

“I’ll just try to make sure to get you down there to begin with.” Senjen said, his tone not exactly hiding his worry. “I’m hoping we’ll be able to gather a bit more in the way of intel on how I’m going to sneak in to clear the way for our landing. But, I’ll be the only one at risk there, if I get caught.”

The silence between them lasted only a brief moment before Senjen quickly resolved to try and change the subject. “But, um...we have time until then. Are you sure you have everything you need to be comfortable?”