Pioneer Exploratory Service: Beyond the Stellar Frontier

[Holeypaladin]

ooc

"Why do we explore? Is it a result of a biological need to produce offspring, resulting in growing populations and an increased need for real estate on which to spread? Is it out of fear of the unknown, a desire to know what lies beyond the curtain of known territory, just in case it has fangs? The monster under the bed, perhaps?"

"Or do we explore out of pure simple curiosity? We just desire to know the unknown, to unlock the locked, to peek inside just to see what's in there?"

"My guess..." he shrugged, "Is all of these, and more. I can't even begin to fathom all of the reasons why people need to know what lies just a few star systems ahead... but these people keep us in business."

His name was David Boone. He was Achenaran, but not associated with the Imperium. Rather, he hired his services out to the highest bidder.

Not a mercenary. Mercenaries were soldiers for hire, ready to kill and destroy the enemy just for a few credits.

Not a privateer, either.... although he did have a Privateer license for the sole purpose of equipping his ship. But no, real privateers were the bane of pirates, the cargo runners you send when you absolutely must get your supplies to their destination on time. Privateers were those crazy bastards that seek out and destroy bounties for the thrill of it.

Boone was instead, a mere explorer. He had little taste for war... plenty of that in his past. He had little taste for military affairs... plenty of that in his past as well.

And so, as he pulled the stellar exploratory cruiser Pioneer into Station Omega, the last Achenaran outpost on the newly-established Eastern gate network, marking the frontier of explored and heavily traveled space... he knew that ahead lay the unknown. Strange new worlds and all that jazz.

"Something about frontier outposts is just so... frontierish," he said to himself, as the final docking procedures were completed.

He made his way onto the Achenaran frontier outpost, where a myriad of various races made up sparse crowds... since it was so lightly traveled, most of these people were various frontiersmen themselves... or associated with the Achenaran security forces that kept these gate systems under control. Many of them were likely to be unemployed. For some reason, unemployed people loved to hang out at bars, so that's where Boone went.

[Whoami]

Kazanni stepped into the bridge of the ship just as Boone spoke of the frontier outposts. She took a few paces and stopped at his side, following his gaze out to the omega outpost, "You sound bored." Kazanni said.

Kazanni was wearing her lockout suit aboard the bridge. The air and the temperature was something she couldn't handle. The suit was intricately marked with Sohnen writings and symbols. Up the right arm was a line of engraved scripture which told of Kazanni's past and notable exploits. The suit was lined with a number of lights, all of them red. They traced along the chest place and back piece, down her legs and arms and up to her helmet. The helmet was simple compared to most Sohnen lockout suits; where most lockout suits were adorned with horn-like extensions and interface upgrades, Kazanni's was a simple black full face helmet. The suit was lightly armored as well, not what you'd expect to see from a Sohnen marine's lockout suit. Kazanni's suit was clearly feminine.

On her back was her antimatter repeater. The weapon was compact at the moment, the four guide rails which formed the barrel of the rifle were retracted into the main body of the weapon. At her hip, was the grav pistol Boone had gifted her with. She kept it handy often, not really having much experience with alien weapons. Kazanni was often found practicing with the strange pistol down in the cargo hold. Most notably, however, was her very interesting blade. The dagger was in an armored sheath on the side of her right thigh. The hilt was formed into the shape of some skull, an indigenous predator on Knossos which the Sohnen used as warhounds in their early years.

Kazanni heard the completion of the docking procedures over the intercom and took a few steps away from Boone, "I'll have my team ready for security."

With that, Kazanni walked off. The metal on metal sounds from Kazanni's footsteps could be heard until the door to the bridge shut.

[Legion X51]

"Lady Shadowstrider? Lady Shadowstrider, are you awake?" The voice of some crewman onboard the Intrepid sounded dimly in Aurelia's ears. She opened one eye, and saw the crewman in question.

"I am now... What is it, crewman?" Aurelia replied sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her long, dexterous fingers. Her hair was messed up - it would need a considerable amount of attention to return it to its previous silky state.

"My lady, we are approaching the Omega system shortly."

Aurelia swore in Elvish under her breath. "Ibilth... Can't a woman get some damn peace around here? I'm tired as it is, I don't need people like you interrupting me!" Aurelia took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Sorry... I'm quite reluctant to leave this rather comfortable bed, you see."

The crewman smiled. "It is good to see you appreciate the creature comforts onboard. We will not be arriving for another two hours or so, my lady, so if you wish to return to your slumber, pray do until disembarkation."

Aurelia sighed. "Now you've woken me up, might as well try and stay awake-"

"My lady, you do look weary. Should I ask for the captain to slow down? It will not inconvenience our service, my lady."

Aurelia smiled. "You would earn my gratitude if you did. Bid the captain to slow, and you'll be rewarded for your efforts."

The crewman bowed and walked off, locking the door to Aurelia's cabin behind him. Underneath the covers of the bed, Aurelia settled down to her usual sleeping position and closed her eyes again. She could sense the ship slow in the warp - she made a note to pay the crewman for his efforts, and drifted back off to sleep.

------

Aurelia awoke several hours later to find the ship nearing the Omega sector. She yawned and slowly got out of her bed. She was famished - she hadn't eaten for a long time, and as such her stomach was protesting against the lack of food rather irritatingly. Aurelia showered and dressed herself in a fine red silk sleeved dress, Nd holstered her gun and sheathed her sword. She was about to walk out of her room when the ship shuddered to a halt. Curious, Aurelia tried the door. It wouldn't respond to commands, nor would it be forced open. From the message she saw on the console, which read, "WARNING: POWER FAILURE", Aurelia reckoned the engines had given out. Sighing to herself, Aurelia walked back over to the bed, and laid back down. "I think I'll be here for some time - damn it..." she mused to herself.

[Holeypaladin]

As he took a seat, David Boone accessed the station's contract bulletin system via hyperlink. His hyperlink was a small biotech organ in his head that utilized neural induction to allow him to wordlessly access the Hypernet, combining the functions of a cellular telephone and laptop computer that operated at the speed of thought. So it allowed him to quickly browse the list of contract exploratory contracts.

"I wonder why the Imperium has such a great desire to know these far reaches of space..." he said to himself. "A desire to extend the reach of their hegemony, perhaps? And with the gate network being the main means of transit out this far, they must feel safe that they can just close the portals if they find something they don't want to deal with..."

Overconfidence. Likely because the Imperium had never lost a war. But Boone knew there was a first time for everything. He went through a great deal of those "First Time" moments in the exploratory business, after all.

[Legion X51]

Aurelia had been waiting for some ten minutes for anyone to walk past, but there was nothing. She strained her ears for any signs of life... nothing. The room was completely silent but for Aurelia's breathing. She walked silently over to the door and opened up the console. This time, instead of the words "WARNING: POWER OUTAGE", there was a far mor chilling message: "CODE RED:CONTAINMENT BREACH" was in red letters across the screen. Aurelia looked around for any source of life... Still nothing. For as long as she was within her room, she was safe. Her heartbeat quickened; her breathing became more rapid as Aurelia tried to wire into the door controls. She wondered what the ship's 'containment breach' was due to. Then, she heard what she thought was something scratching at one of the doors in the cabin section of the ship, with a grating screech of claws upon metal. This continued for a minute or so, followed by a blood-curdling scream that echoed down the hallway. Aurelia finally hacked the door controls, and she drew her plasma pistol... Aiming it at the door, Aurelia fired, blowing a hole through the door's metal frame. With the door's shield down, Aurelia could now damage the door itself instead of hitting the shield protecting it. She could hear scuttling towards her location.

"What the hell is going on..." she muttered to herself. "'Containment breach'? What's all that about? What was this ship carrying?" Aurelia had many questions, but her priority was to get off this ship. The Intrepid was not about to become her blood-soaked tomb, if there were hostile creatures aboard. Aurelia remembered something - she activated her hyperlink (that she got when she was travelling the more developed galaxy) and activated her AI, Iraqlae. Aurelia had a small holo-map on her wrist, and there were several red dots... Moving around. Aurelia opened the door. The corridor was streaked with blood and with body parts. At the end of the corridor stood a terrifying humanoid with four arms... Two clawed hands and two fingered hands were at the end of them. Aurelia grew pale (for a Drow) as she realised what it was...

[sartorous]

Grelarr made his way toward the bridge of the ship, his boots clicking on the metallic floors. He was wearing his simple grey clothes at the moment with a re-breather over his mouth. He was unable to breath oxygen, as it was poisonous to his kind. He also wore his pistol strapped to his leg. As he passed various crew members, they nodded at him in silent greeting. The one part of the security force went so far as to salute him briefly as he passed. He walked with a graceful and sure-footed stride. He carried himself with the authority necessary to lead men and women of various races into battle. The only ones he didn't lead into battle aboard the ship, besides the crew members not on the security team, were the Sohnen Marines. They were Kazanni's to lead into battle and possibly to death. Grelarr respected that and so steered clear of giving them or her orders. In return, he only asked she give him the same respect. Soon enough, Grelarr made it to the bridge, brushing past Kazanni on his way, giving a short nod as he passed her. He walked up to David Boone, the Captain of the Pioneer and his employer. He noticed David using his Hyperlink and asking himself why the Imperium had such a desire to explore the unknown reaches of space.

"It's because they have a desire to rule everything they can. The only reason they don't invade my home world is because we Quelyn tend to stick to ourselves and because the air and most things on my world are poisonous to others," Grelarr said with a slight smirk on his face. He stood next to David and crossed his hands behind his back.

[Legion X51]

The Genestealer rushed towards Aurelia with blinding speed, and attempted to leap onto her. Dodging the pounce, Aurelia drew her sword and slashed at the creature as it landed, cutting open a thin wound on the Genestealer's back. Howling in pain and anger, the Tyranid creature whirled around and slashed with its claws at Aurelia's face. Blocking the first and dodging the second, Aurelia returned with her own stab at the Genestealer's chest, which the Tyranid dodged. The Genestealer then leapt onto the walls and attempted to leap onto Aurelia. She rolled out of the way, and pulled out her plasma gun. The Tyranid grew wary of Aurelia - it recognised the plasma pistol as a very dangerous weapon. However, Aurelia heard something sneaking up behind her. Spinning around, Aurelia fired... and hit a Genestealer squarely in the face, vaporising the Genestealer's head. The other Genestealer, with Aurelia distracted, leapt towards her, and Aurelia only barely dodged, with the Genestealer's right claw raking across her back. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Aurelia aimed a slice at the Genestealer's neck. The sword cut through the arm raised to defend against it and sliced the Genestealer's head clean off. Aurelia walked over to the door which led to the rest of the small ship. It had been ripped open, probably by the Genestealers. Every step she took aggravated the injury to her back... She needed to get to the bridge, and fast. She was struggling to keep calm.

Aurelia jumped through the hole in the door which had been rent asunder by the Genestealers. She kept her sword and her plasma pistol at the ready as she slowly made her way towards the bridge. Then, to Aurelia's frustration, the lights failed, plunging the ship into darkness. Aurelia and other Drow could see in alternatives spectra of light, and so there was no actual issue, but it meant that there was yet another difficulty to add to the list. The crew were dead, she was on her own, there were Genestealers, she had a nasty injury across her back and now the sodding lights were out. Sighing to herself and then biting back a cry from her back, Aurelia continued on towards the bridge. A Genestealer was busy prowling the corridors, and it had seemed to not notice Aurelia. Sneaking up behind it, Aurelia rammed her sword through it's heart, killing it instantly, and more importantly, silently. She walked silently towards the bridge door, and to her fury, it was locked. Perhaps there were people still alive in there? Maybe? Just a fool's hope, but it was hope nonetheless... Aurelia tried the door. It wouldn't budge. Covering herself in her piwafi cloak to mask her from the Genestealers (at least for a while), Aurelia set about hacking into the door controls.

A few minutes later, Aurelia finished typing in the override code for the door. It slid open to reveal a terrified group of crewmen huddling in the corner. They grew less fearful when they saw Aurelia, and one of them stood up. "My apologies, my lady... Had we known it was you, we would have unlocked the door in a shot."

Aurelia shrugged. "Never mind that now. I'm going to try and restart the engines from here. Relock that door and make sure nothing gets in. Oh, and if any of you have medical experience, can you please make sure this back injury doesn't kill me..."

[Holeypaladin]

With a slight chuckle, Boone addressed the security chief's comment. "You don't have a very high opinion of Achenarans, do you?"

He shrugged. "Poisonous environments never stopped them before. Especially not since they developed blood cops. But you're not alone in your theory..."

"Some people say that there are two kinds of powers in the world," he explained, "Achenaran territories and those who have not yet been conquered by Achenar. I don't think it's so simple as that. The Imperium doesn't need to rule over everyone, so long as they are the indisputable hegemonic power in the galaxy. We Achenarans are always taught in school that the Imperium exists to protect its Citizens and Civilians, and everyone else is a potential threat until they are brought under Imperial rule."

"But then," he shrugged, "My allegiance to the Imperium these days extends only so far as to follow the law and fulfill the contracts they give me.... so long as they offer the most credits."

[sartorous]

Grelarr nodded at David's comments. He was from the Imperium, even served in its navy, yet he share Grelarr's opinion of it in some ways. When David said something about there being only two kinds of powers int he world, Grelarr couldn't help but to grimace. He thought about if the Imperium did try to conquer Vyr. Grelarr would, of course fight for his home world, but he wondered if the different kingdoms would be able to set aside their squabbles long enough to band together against a common enemy. The most likely outcome of that situation would be that the Imperium would join together with who they thought to be the strongest kingdom on Vyr and help them to conquer the planet, so they would have someone they were on good terms with ruling. His grimace grew into a look of complete disdain at the thought.

"If you were taught that, then why hire me as your Security Chief?"

Grelarr smirked slightly, making his joke obvious. As for his allegiance to the Imperium, it went about as far as David's. He only tolerated them in order to be able to get hired as a Mercenary.

[Holeypaladin]

Boone chuckled slightly at Grelarr's opinion. "Just because someone teach me something, does not mean I agree with them. Regardles... I am not the Imperium. I do not share the Imperium's goals, nor their motivations."

"To me..." he said, "There is only the desire for knowledge. I wish to know what is unknown, to explore the unexplored, to chart the uncharted. It matters very little who is paying me, who hires me, and whose goals I serve... Civilization is... quite boring, to be honest, and the unknown holds far more interest to me than the known does."


"So then," he confirmed, "I hire you because you are suited to the job. Because you can do what you need to do, and keep my crew safe while we discover the unknown. The interests of my ship and crew are far more important to me than the Imperium is."