Mars, the great red orb lies before your little transport ship. On its edge the Yamato 01 can be seen orbiting slowly over the crimson planet. From this distance the ship isn’t as impressive as you imagined. Suddenly the silence is broken when your comms comes to life.

“H-Hello? Zeta Squad, do you read?” The voice coming thru is young and nervous. Its clear your operator is new hire, you wouldn’t be surprised if this was her first mission.

“Okay Zeta, my name’s Sammie. You can call me Sam, or Sammie, or whatever. Umm, yes, so I need to go over a few things. You all heard this in the briefing, but I’m supposed to refresh you before boarding.” Thru the comms the faint sound of papers shuffling only reinforces how inexperienced Zeta Squad’s operator is.

“Let’s see. You will be landing in Dock 1002. From there you need to work your way towards the bow of the ship, thru Residential District 1022 to the Command Room. Find Captain Johannes and gather what intel you can. Got it?”

Coming to a smooth halt, your transport shuttle pauses in place, allowing two ships to pass. The first one has seen better days, rust stains and scratched paint decorate its exterior. The second ship is a basic cruiser often issued to law enforcement. Red and blue lights flash as the pilot speaks over the public comms channel. “This is restricted airspace, leave at once or be charged for trespassing and destruction of property.” Its not surprising that scavengers and pirates have wormed their way here. Yamato Enterprises must have spent a small fortune hiring enough security to keep them all out.

“Oh yeah, a couple more things.” Sammie’s voice once again transmits over your comms. “You guys are immune from basic laws. You have been granted the power to arrest and detain uncooperative civilians and trespassers onboard the Yamato. Hmm, rules of engagement still apply but you won’t be penalized for discharging your weapon at your discretion. In the event of an air leak, you can access airlock controls by-”

“KONICHIWA! <3 I see some more friends have come to play!” Sammie’s transmission was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a young woman’s voice full of energy. “Oh, didn’t you know? You aren’t the first Yamato sent. They’ve been looking for their precious multi trillion dollar chunk of rotting steel for 7 years! Will our new contestants fair better than the last poor saps whose heads are hanging on Raijin’s flag pole? Tune in to find out! Fufufufu” The ominous transmission ended just as abruptly as it began, returning control of the comms to Sammie.

“-and that’s why the use of AP and High-Ex rounds is prohibited in the districts I mentioned. Otherwise, the whole ship will fall apart. Well, that’s that. I’ll be updating you with pertinent information along the way.”



The Yamato 01’s grandeur came to light as your pilot drifted closer and closer to the drop-off point. It truly was massive, enough that your ship’s boosters were on reverse to slow it down as the Yamato’s gravity beckoned it closer. At this distance no matter which direction you looked the Yamato’s walls spanned as far as the eye could see.

A faint pink glow surrounds your transport as it passes the plasma barrier of the hangar. Inside is black as the void you came from, the only light source being your ship and the stray sunlight from outside.

“I hope you’re not afraid of the dark” the pilot jested. “I’m gonna have to drop you knuckle-heads here, can’t risk maneuvering in this place. When the job’s all done drop your coded LZ beacon and I’ll pick you up in a jiffy, good luck.”

You all quickly dismount as the transport floated mere feet from the gray floor. And just like that your ship is gone, taking its floodlights with it. Only ¼ of the hangar was lit by ambient sunlight, but was shrinking quickly as the Yamato’s orbit was turning it away from the sun. You estimate to have 20-30 minutes before the place goes pitch black. The humidity in the hangar was striking, clearly beyond what it was meant to be.

“Zeta, do you read? bzzt” Sammie’s voice rings over your comms, obstructed by static. “I was afraid of this. bzzt Once you guys get deeper inside I’m gonna lose your signal. Thick walls and all. bzzt If you guys can find and fix the Yamato’s communications array, you can use it to boost your signal. bzzt” You can hear the static grow stronger the deeper you move in the hangar. “While you can still hear me, I would suggest you take the magRail or a shuttle to Residential District 1022. You could walk but it may take a couple hours. You’ll probably need to open the border locks to get in, the code is-”

You are unable to hear her as a screeching roar unlike anything you’ve ever heard pierced the blackness. A few seconds later another roar responds, followed by another. Before long a sea of the most goosebump inducing roars sound. Then silence. You estimate there must be dozens of them, whatever they were.

“What was that- bzzt hello? can you hear- bzzt” Sammie’s transmission cuts off abruptly, breaking off your contact with the outside.

Along a wall lit by the receding sunlight you see something painted on the steel.

Uizādo sat in his seat looking rather bored. Nate had never left the Earth or Seattle for that matter. Yet here he was. Going in low orbit to some derelict ship lost in space. Yet here it was. Just sitting around like it had meant to come there. Like it had wanted people to come to it. He sensed a trap. Otusan had raised him to spot a trap and how to deal with it. Usually by calling in some Yakuza members to deal with it. The man had been grooming Nate to run the group after his death. He had not been born to it but the boy was ruthless and smart. He felt naked with out his group of gang members watching his back. Instead he had some corp me a following him.

He was just sitting there watching the little Matrix they had on the ship. He was following Sammie's comms bit not listening to get at all. He had his own orders from the company. Find information from the Matrix. He did have back up though. A Netrunner. It was not until the comms were hacked by something damn powerful did he get worried. "Raijin. The storm god. Traditionally a demon. Someone in that place knows their Shinto Mythology. I imagine it is a lightning rod perhaps?" He said to the group. The voice had sounded like one of Mother's game show hosts. Running around screaming like a loony. He stayed calm and collected till they got off the shuttle. "No gods ,no masters. A common phrase. At least I've heard. So where shall we go? Something clearly has taken control of the ship. Something Japanese. Luckily I know Japanese things. " He said watching the group and waiting for them to start talking about him being a kid.

Chess walked around the small cargo area of his ship that was blasting high paced punk-rock music while the auto-pilot made sure it was on course to the Yamato 01. He had plenty of space to fill and he would fill every last inch with anything he could sell, components, valuables, information and human remains if needed. He opened a metal locker that was filled with guns, ammunition and all sorts of explosives and other goodies. He picked a small caliber handgun, and tucked it into a compartment in his prosthetic leg, as well as a small knife. He then procured a compact SMG and several magazines and put them in the pack around his waist, along with a .45 handgun, and an archaic looking five-shot revolver. all of which fit comfortably in their respective holsters around his waist. He then reached in and pulled out a small metal contraption that fit in his hand, with slots for his fingers, he put it on and flicked his fist in a downward motion and a few metal plates slid out and locked into place, forming a gauntlet like knuckle over his hand. Chess shook his head approvingly and flicked it closed and stuck it in his leg.

Satisfied with his selection of armaments he closed the locker, but not a second later he cussed and turned around and opened it again. He reached in and pulled out a small one-shot shotgun that looked like it was made from spare parts from more than one gun. He slid that into an empty holster and grabbed a box of shells and stuck them in his bag. He reached in and grabbed a sleek, but sturdy looking bullet-proof vest, there was a Velcro police patch on the front that had the 'P' and the 'O' faded and somewhat forcibly removed so it instead read 'LICE' he slid that on over his head and strapped it on tightly. He then reached in and pulled out a dark blue jumpsuit with a dark yellow line running down either side and slid it on over himself. On the chest it read "ARCSYS ENGINEERING" It was a cheap disguise but it was better than nothing. There was a good chance that he would run into people that were in the same building in him when he was denied a spot on a team, he hoped they wouldn't remember him provided he did run into them, because they wouldn't hesitate to arrest him, and he wasn't going back to prison anytime soon.

The Auto-Pilot made a notification that they had reached the Yamato 01, Chess looked out his viewport and his mouth gaped slightly, the ship was massive.
He might be here for a while. After a few minutes Chess's ship docked in Hangar 1001, and he stepped out into the belly of the beast, there was already a team in the bay, he was hoping he wouldn't run into people so early but fuck him for being so early right? Chess shook his head and cussed under his breath, the official Arcsys duffel bag and plasma cutter would hopefully convince them otherwise, he was prepared to say he was an Engineer come to reclaim small parts and make minor repairs, anything that would get them to leave him alone. For the time being he stayed off in the distance and made it look like he was busy inspecting various things.

Lieutenant Colonel Taylor

Sitting on his seat in the small craft LC Taylor was reading and reading the mission brief, going over schematics of the ship making sure everything they had been told and what they were supposed to do was possible. He had been on many missions where intel had been wrong forcing him and his team to make drastic changes, often almost messing the mission up because command and funked the intel.
He Knew this wasn't going to be simple. Often missions like this never go as planned and whatever went wrong he knew that his team would be tested and stretched to their limits. He Had been put in charge of Zeta Squad. Going over their Dossiers, He could see there was A Bounty hunter, Decker , Netrunner, a PMC, Some military Grunt And A Driod of some kind.
"Humph, This should be fun" Looking around he could pretty much tell who was who.
Thats when the Woman's voice started to babble on about everything he already knew. Just before she finished a stranger voice interrupted the comms.

“KONICHIWA! <3 I see some more friends have come to play!” Sammie’s transmission was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a young woman’s voice full of energy. “Oh, didn’t you know? You aren’t the first Yamato sent. They’ve been looking for their precious multi trillion dollar chunk of rotting steel for 7 years! Will our new contestants fair better than the last poor saps whose heads are hanging on Raijin’s flag pole? Tune in to find out! Fufufufu

As soon as that had finished Sammies voice came back briefly before dropping out. after the dismounted their craft.

"Sammie? Come in over?, I repeat Command Come in over? Ahhh Fuck!" Turning to the rest of the group making sure all was accounted for before he spoke.
"Right you lot, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Taylor i have been put in charge of Zeta squad. Now i get that non of you probably give two about each other. but whatever has happened here needs sorting out. Now that transmission we heard interpreting Sammies, is probably nothing just fault hardware or something. But i want you all to be alert and ready to move in Five.
I'm open for suggestions but i think that the Decker and the Netrunner should be in the middle in a diamond formation. They are out best hope for restoring comms."

---

Private Malcolm
Malcolm suddenly woke up to the sound of the Craft doors and the voice of the pilot telling them that he will meet them at the LZ once the mission is complete.
Quickly disembarking and checking his equipment and weapons Pvt Malcolm lifted his rifle and started to scan the area "No Gods" he whispered as he spotted the painting on the wall.
Thats when he heard the Big Special forces Guy telling everyone what's what. and suggesting a Diamond formation
"Diamond formation Got it Sir, If things are about to get pretty Dark i can take point my suit is geared up with Night Vision thermal and all the rest." He didn't really want to take point walking first into the unknown but he wanted to prove himself to the team and to Himself that he could be the best.
The Lc Agreed to this so he took up position ready to advance keeping his weapon aimed and his thermal on for now.

Kaitlyn sat in the shuttle peacefully going over her rig. She paid close attention to her surge protectors. every inch of this rig looked ready to fail. It was one of her signature Junker Rigs. She didn't think it would be wise to bring her only "High" tech rig. She began looking around at who was here she had been given basic data on those who she would be working with. "Zeta squad." She knew enough to know that means Z-squad meaning at least 2 other squads had been sent probably more. She was travelling with a man in an obvious military environment suit, a robot she intended to get to know, there was a kid with them, and then there was their great leader. He looked strong but she doubted that he could handle what was up here. She heard Sam talking, but wasn't paying her any attention. She began attaching her re-breather to her face and checking its charges. That was when that person overwrote the comms.

“KONICHIWA! <3 I see some more friends have come to play!” Sammie’s transmission was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a young woman’s voice full of energy. “Oh, didn’t you know? You aren’t the first Yamato sent. They’ve been looking for their precious multi trillion dollar chunk of rotting steel for 7 years! Will our new contestants fair better than the last poor saps whose heads are hanging on Raijin’s flag pole? Tune in to find out! Fufufufu”

Then Sam came back. Someone mentioned a lightning rod, "No you don't need a lightning rod on a ship like that. I think that might have been a warning about what we will be facing so I expect Tesla Rifles, or Railers" She packed her rig back in her bag and was ready when they dropped into the hangar. She climbed out and saw "No Gods," She replied with "No Masters. It is painted on the side of my old workshop." She looked around realizing there wasn't anything her eyes could pick up so she blinked twice triggering her eyes paradigm shift into electro sight. She saw pulses of electricity in the walls. With this activation her eyes began glowing Purple

The two military men began deciding on the formation to use. "No, If we use a diamon formation I won't be the one in the middle we have 8 which means that we would have to line up like this." She took a screwdriver out of her bag and etched into the ground.
X
XX
XXX
XX

"Being in the middle Is safest but It extremely restricts the visual range. And while pretty boy there has an array of military scanners I doubt he has what my eyes can do. The ability to see electricity. I would actually reccomend we use an echelon formation."

Nate looked at the message. It was blood. Or maybe it was red paint. Honestly there was no real way to tell right now. He took out his rig and activated it using the ASIST to lead him. He looked around the what little of the Matrix the hangar had and then turned his focus to his team members. To anyone looking at him he would seem to be out of it. He was looking up information on them. Mostly mercs and other such people. There was one Netrunner but she was smarter than this lot and her information was harder to find. He was not all that interested in being talked down to right now.

He then logged off to look at the group. "First things first. I'm an Otaku, not a Decker. Technically I am a Decker but prefer the term Otaku since there are differences. Second the message said Raijin's flag pole is where the heads are. I think it's literal. I think we are dealing with something Japanese. I would know I was raised that way. That and the message was not a malfunction. It came from the ship since something hacked into the signal. Third something is blocking the signals. I'm guessing whatever caused this." He said staring the things in a list like he was just stating the obvious. "Just get me inside so I can do my work. " He said pointing to a giant door.

LC taylor

If we are going to do that sort of formation it would be better to do two files at 1 meter spread. With Pvt Malcolm and Shadow kat is it? Taking point. We Move to the Comms room first. Priority is to get communications back or atleast Security Camera functions back online as they appear to be Dead" He looked around and realized that Nate was talking." Right i meant no offence by calling you a decker. its what my file said you were" Standing up and taking the safety of his Gun LC Taylor Looked down the passageway, "Right Lets get this show on the road, Are we agreed on this? you fall behind you stay behind unless you can catch up. No heroics" Taylor didn't give anytime to answer that. he didn't care, he wanted to get this mission started properly and now was as good as time as any. He Let the others Fall in front with him and that PMC At the rear.

Chess kept a close eye on the team from a safe distance, it was dark but their own lights made them somewhat easier to identify form a distance. The two military types would be the most trouble, meaning he would have to be as convincing as possible for as long as possible.
The other two were deckers or netrunners or something, nerds regardless he highly doubted they would be a problem, if anything they would be an asset.

Deciding to not stay in the shadows too long he thought it best to make himself known, Chess slowly walked up to the group with his fake Arcsys identification card in hand. "Hey everyone, don't mean to startle you." He said slowly in his gravelly voice, he held up his badge with a photo of himself and the name 'Walter Sobchak' underneath it. "Names Walter, Arcsys sent me here to get a few small components and make sure the work they commissioned is intact on the ship." He paused briefly and let the ID dangle at the end of the lanyard around his neck. "I don't mean to be a bother but could I follow you folks around they didn't give me much to protect myself with and well shit thus place scares me." Chess finished, hoping that they would believe him, he just smiled dumbly and acted as innocent as possible.

"Well I have a suggestion" The PMC guy finally spoke " Lets not get killed so if everyone hasn't noticed that were in a ship?"

"diamond formation, I disagree, your too close that any explosive would kill everyone, fire team wedge - stick to the basics"

"You Sobchak, your an engineer, you stand 10 meters back from the point man, your job is to open doors, block doors and provide power. "

" Col you or your compatriot can take point man position or rear guard, I don't care"

" you two that can jack in stay in the middle but keep your eyes peeled from both left and right sides. Stay 10 meters from each other"

" I'll be near the center for command and control unless anyone has objections"

"Have either of you two netrunners, login yet?"

" Mr Sobchak, can you make sure that we have power and anything else that they need, please"

" You two military types... can I get some security set up right now, like a 180, please?"

"We have less then 20 mikes to figure this shit out..."

Turning to the R.O.B.E.R.T. unit
" If its not to much to ask... mind running up about 2k meters and let us know what is past the hanger?"

Swiftly, Zeta Squad moves in formation to the airspace control center in order to repair the communications array. A quick data-dive by the squad’s resident hackers reveals there is in fact no malfunction. Instead it appears someone has taken complete control of the ship’s network. Not only that but the ship’s cyberspace has been heavily modded, it would take days or even weeks to go thru and examine all the changes. Whoever did this must have direct access to the Yamato’s database and mainframe.

As soon as the hackers jack-out of the system the squad’s comms comes to life with a crystal clear signal. “Fufufufu~ silly mortals. Fight over meat-space all you want, but cyberspace is MINE.” The voice is the same one as before, but this time it sounds even more excited than before. As if the person on the other end is enjoying herself. “I control everything and I see everything. Like, the port from which people jack-in for example! Maybe I should tell Hachiman where you are, he’s hasn’t killed anyone in a while. On second thought, that guy is kind of a dick. Since you all are new I’ll go easy on you… this time.” The signal cuts out once again, leaving your comms silent save for some static.

Shuffling and scratching can be heard somewhere in the darkness. Those with enhanced or augmented vision make out the occasional mysterious inhuman figure scurry behind crates and scrapped cargo ships. In fact, of what’s left, none of the ships are able to fly. Some even look like parts of them have been chewed on, as evident by scratches, dents, and pieces of steel that appear to have been torn like scraps of paper.

Hastily Zeta Squad weaves its way thru the massive hangar, picking up pace as the sound of scratchy footsteps gets louder and louder. Once they reach the border door the hackers get to work slicing the terminal, this time making sure to cover their digital footprints. According to the log the door has been sealed shut for the better part of a year.

Hangar 1002 -> Residential District 1022





The border doors open just long enough so that Zeta Squad could pass thru without any of those creatures following. Suddenly the members of Zeta Squad finds itself bathed in blinding light, it takes a few moments for human eyes to adjust. Inside you find yourselves in a very clean, spacious, modern looking city. The shiny blue and white color pallet make it feel utopian, the phrase “a brighter future” comes to mind.



Up in the ceiling an impressive hologram of the sky is displayed, and along the wall an image of green hills and blue lakes, fooling all but the most trained eye. You could almost believe you were on earth if it wasn’t for the border doors behind you, with a symbol painted on it that you just now noticed:



As you cautiously and in formation trek deeper into the city, you notice how empty it is. When you do spot a civilian they almost always run inside or duck in fear of you. Sometimes they just watch, but all of them keep their distance. None of them appear to be armed or particularly dangerous.

The amount of people increases the closer you get to the heart of the district. On the walls of cafes and clothing stores you notice posters hastily stuck in place. Two in particular repeat often:



Every time you approach someone they back off like you have the plague, until a little wide-eyed girl no older than 4 tugs on LC Taylor’s sleeve. “Heeey, you’re new here aren’t you mister? I’m Emmy, Emmy Stills. Did you come from outside? What’s it like? I’ve never been outside before…” The girl (who is apparently braver than anyone else you’ve seen so far) continues to talk with LC Taylor and Zeta Squad a while longer before the sound of a panicking mother’s voice pierces your ears.

“Emmy! Get away from those people!” she said, pulling the girl safely into her arms as she backs away from you. She is wearing slightly dated, but still stylish clothes that fit in well with the city. There’s little doubt she belongs here.



“I don’t care which god you worship, this is a neutral zone! We just want to be left in peace!” Before you know it police sirens ring as two cruisers come from both ends of the street, surrounding Zeta Squad. Four officers get out, but keep their small pistols holstered. On their light bullet-proof vests the words “DISTRICT SECURITY” is stitched in along with their names. You know District Security is small time, only slightly above mall-cops.

“Hold it!” one of the officers shouts, approaching cautiously with one hand ready to pull his pistol out. “Drop any weapons you’re carrying, this a conflict free zone! What do you want? There’s nothing of value here!” he’s clearly intimidated by Zeta Squad’s colorful characters.

Nate decided to probe the Matrix to see what was going on. It appears the Matrix was all kinds of messed up. Like someone had taken a hatchet to it and ditched all back up. Something powerful did this. He glanced at the Cat. She most likely saw it too. It was hard to have a wired in member and a non one. Then the voice chimed in again. Hachiman was the god of archery. He turned to the Cat. "Hachiman is the Shinto god of Archery. Still thinking this is a metaphor? The voice is clearly obsessed with Shinto religion. We might have a problem. " He said as they rushed to the door. Something had been locked here for a while. He and Cat could have both been dead and still be able to get the doors open. Old tech was so nice.

Once they got in he looked around. It reminded him of old pictures of what Earth could have been. It was sad really. Then he saw the girl. She clearly had been born on the ship and the mother spoke of gods. "No gods. No masters. It's how we work. " He told the woman softly but she could not hear him. Once the cops showed up Nate took up the chance to do something. He was the most unthreatening. "Follow my lead." He whispered before addressing the cops. "Please we mean you no harm. As you can see I'm unarmed and my companions would not shoot me to get to you. Please. We are new here. " He said holding up his hands to show he meant them no harm.

Avanhelsing said
Nate decided to probe the Matrix to see what was going on. It appears the Matrix was all kinds of messed up. Like someone had taken a hatchet to it and ditched all back up. Something powerful did this. He glanced at the Cat. She most likely saw it too. It was hard to have a wired in member and a non one. Then the voice chimed in again. Hachiman was the god of archery. He turned to the Cat. "Hachiman is the Shinto god of Archery. Still thinking this is a metaphor? The voice is clearly obsessed with Shinto religion. We might have a problem. " He said as they rushed to the door. Something had been locked here for a while. He and Cat could have both been dead and still be able to get the doors open. Old tech was so nice. Once they got in he looked around. It reminded him of old pictures of what Earth could have been. It was sad really. Then he saw the girl. She clearly had been born on the ship and the mother spoke of gods. "No gods. No masters. It's how we work. " He told the woman softly but she could not hear him. Once the cops showed up Nate took up the chance to do something. He was the most unthreatening. "Follow my lead." He whispered before addressing the cops. "Please we mean you no harm. As you can see I'm unarmed and my companions would not shoot me to get to you. Please. We are new here. " He said holding up his hands to show he meant them no harm.

Mr Johnson grimaced but maybe the kid and cat knew what they were taking about..... and that was even scarier to him. The kid said follow his lead... so Mr Johnson stood and watched the make his own magic.

** I fricken hate magic... dam it, we should of had a technomage with us** Mr Johnson thought to himself as he watched the kid and the security guards interact.

Both LC Taylor and Pvt Malcolm had their guns raised at the officers. The Lc could easily take them out with a small burst of his trigger as his LMG used electromagnetic armor piercing rounds.
As Nate spoke to the Officers and said that his squad mates wouldn't shoot him to get to you Lc Taylor turned around to the Pvt and whispered "Ha thats bullshit"
As the talks continued Lc Taylor was getting more and more pissed off they was wasting time, He didn't want to take them out but he was starting to think they would have to detain them. he was going to give it 30 seconds before he would but in
As the 30 seconds passed, Lc Taylor walked up with his gun raised still. the Officer yelled at him "Lower your weapons and dont step any closer or i will shoot1"
"I am Lieutenant Colonel Taylor Special forces and Security Detail For The Yamato Corporation" Still advancing forward with his gun raised "Stand Down Or we will be forced to Execute Order 2399, Detaining of Hostile Civilian Personnel" Looking straight at the officer who was at point. "Son Do not test me, I'm sure you have a family to go to, and i would hate to stop you from doing that"

Pvt Taylor was still holding his gun scanning the area for more hostiles. before aiming back to the Officers.

Shadowcat followed the others and wasn't surprised when someone caught on to them. So now they were running for their lives from beasts. She looked around and found the border door and dashed through looking around she saw the sky and her eyes knew immediately that it was nothing more than a hologram. Then a strange girl approached being very brave. She tousled the girls hair. then the mother showed up and snatched her away. Sirens "Cops." Her instincts went into overdrive and she began running.

She ran away just as the cops were able to see her she was dashing towards the nearest door that didn't lead back to the hangar. she found another border door and started preparing her rig because it was locked.

Chess stood in silent surprise for a brief moment when not one person questioned him, and one even ushered him into the group with no hesitation. He just smiled and followed along and acted like he knew what to do. Soon enough they were in the residential district of the ship, for whatever reason he wasn't expecting this, despite the graffiti and the fact that everyone was afraid to be outside in their own little simulated utopia, save for a strange little girl, it was a nice place. Then the rent-a-cops showed up, they looked pretty official at first speeding in on their cruisers, but that was blown out of the water when they were hesitant to engage a group of random people. Chess held on to his plasma cutter and duffle bag, he wasn't ready to blow his cover just yet, one officer stated there was nothing of value here, which meant that there probably was and they didn't know it or they're just bad liars.

Chess looked back at the rest of the group just in time to see the cybernerd chick run off, either she had a bad experience with the police or she was crazy. Chess got a little apprehensive at this, if there was a fire fight because of her he might not have a choice and he'd have to drop the act, but Sargent meathead and the quiet guy seemed to have things under control, but who knows being stranded on a ship for seven years might make people a little crazy.

Stitchblades said
"I am Lieutenant Colonel Taylor Special forces and Security Detail For The Yamato Corporation" Still advancing forward with his gun raised "Stand Down Or we will be forced to Execute Order 2399, Detaining of Hostile Civilian Personnel" Looking straight at the officer who was at point. "Son Do not test me, I'm sure you have a family to go to, and i would hate to stop you from doing that" Pvt Taylor was still holding his gun scanning the area for more hostiles. before aiming back to the Officers.

“Err, umm, y-yes sir!” the officer straightened his posture as if addressing a superior officer. “Eh..” the officer was about to say something when he saw Shadowcat running for the hills, but was too intimidated to inquire. The other officers and civilian spectators whispered to each other out of curiosity. “No wonder they dress so strangely, is that what earth fashion is like now? Ewww”

“Sir! Um, I think you better come with me. Besides, I think the townsfolk have been frightened enough for one day” the officer said meekly, offering Zeta Squad a ride. Upon closer inspection, the police cruisers were nothing more than painted smart cars with sirens on them. LC Taylor’s machine gun could easily make swiss cheese out of them. Since they clearly didn’t pose much threat, the team played along and were taxied to the District Security office.

The building was rather quaint, with a few rows of desks and a single holding cell in the back. It was reminiscent of a small town sheriff’s office. As you step in you are all greeting by an aged man with grey taking over his hair. You estimate he must be in his 50s or 60s. “Sorry about the rude welcome, its not often we get visitors who don’t shoot at us. I’m Sheriff Peterson.” His eyes look tired, his spirit worn away by time. “I’m surprised you fellas haven’t been shot yet. If you haven’t guessed, folks around here don’t like Yamato. Its the one thing everyone can agree on.” He lets out a long sigh, reminiscing on the past. “You’re looking for the command center right? That’s the typical protocol. Well, its gone along with Captain Johannes. Floating somewhere out in the void… why don’t we have a seat? This may take a while.”

The man sits, careful not to overexert his aging bones. Soon a secretary comes and gives everyone a mug of coffee. Peterson takes a sip before going on. “Well, you want to take the ship back, yeah? I’ll help you, anyway I can. Not because I’m on Yamato’s side, no I don’t think anyone’s on their side. Because I wanna go home.” The other officers in the office watch, and nod in agreement when Peterson mentions going home.

“If you want to understand how to take the ship, you have to understand what happened. It started about when we passed Saturn. People were getting rowdy, as people do when they’re cooped up for too long. Yamato thought it best to remind us who’s in charge, forcefully. Of course, this only pissed people off even more. Eventually the chief engineer overlooking the powerplant rose up and started a rebellion in that district. I think his name was Yoshiro Maeda. In order to protect himself he led the rebellion under the alias Raijin. People seemed to like it. Others started rising up as well, starting rebellions in their own districts. The leaders for one reason or another also used gods as their aliases. Eventually with uprisings all over the ship, Yamato loss. The ship was ours. Everything was supposed to be fine and dandy after that…” Peterson took a second to exhale a deep breath.

“In retrospect we all should’ve seen it coming. The rebellion leaders couldn’t agree on who should be in charge. So they talked, and when that didn’t work they fought. Over time Raijin and the others went insane, fancied themselves god-kings. Funny thing is, people actually worshiped them. Got on hands and knees and bowed before them. Now the ship is all split up at war with one another. Each “god” controls a different area of the ship. This district and the redlight district are the only ones I know that are neutral. If you want to take the ship, you have to stop the gods.” As he said this he opened his desk and retrieved some holo-cards.

“See these guys?” he said, looking at the district security officers. “They aren’t soldiers. Jimmy over there is an accountant” he said, motioning towards the one that confronted Zeta Squad earlier. “Lieutenant Daniels, now he was a soldier. He gathered our best men and formed a commando unit, the 51st. Went out there hoping to do some good. His team gathered all kinds of intel on the 5 big players, maybe this will help you.” He said, dropping the intel on the table before him. In it detailed information about the 5 gods:



“If you want this ship back, you have to stop these 5 idiots. Otherwise they’ll continue to play god on this blasted chunk of steel. I haven’t heard from Daniels and the 51st in a while. If you find them, maybe they could help you. My officers can taxi you to the next district. Oh and take these” he said, handing Zeta some funny looking headbands with wires sticking out of them. “They’ll let non-augmented people interface with cyberspace. Its not as effective as being cybered-up, but you may find it useful. That's all I can do to help, good luck out there."

As you are about to leave, you see the woman from before, with her daughter by her side waving towards Zeta Squad. She walks up to Zeta somewhat awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry about before, I didn’t know who you were” she said, looking at her feet. “Don’t take this the wrong way but… I have a favor to ask of you. You’re all soldiers right? I think you’ll understand” she said as she took out a letter and handed it to the team. “If you find the 51st, could you please give this to Pvt. Stills? That’s all I’m asking.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the district…





It took 3 different magRails for Shadowcat to find nearest border door. Having some sort of personal transportation would be extremely useful for traversing the huge ship. Then without even breaking a sweat, she hacked thru the border doors leading into another district. According to the schematics it was Entertainment District 2066, fondly called the redlight district or “442THz” by those who frequent it. The district was intentionally poorly lit, the holo-sky displayed several unnaturally colored moons and simulated rain pouring down on the pseudo-wet concrete. Buildings were rougher than in Residential District 1022. They had a darker color pallet and boxy designs with sharp edges. Neon signs and obnoxious advertisements shone brightly in the dark streets. People crowded everywhere completely disregarding the district’s population limit. The entire place reminds you of a dark dystopian future. As you would expect, the place was filled with casinos, strip-clubs, and bars. At least half of the people you see are either high, drunk, or jacked-in.

As Shadowcat wandered the wonderland of sleazy entertainment, a woman with augmented legs bumps into her. “Careful where you’re walking kitty cat” the woman said in a sultry voice before heading into a club called “Dirtless”. She was dressed head to toe in a strange cat-like outfit. She would stand out anywhere else but here.



A little ways down the street an impressively stylish motorcycle pulls out of a mechanic’s garage. The sign on the building says “Joe’s Garage, if it has an engine we fix it!” in bright flashing neon colors. A young girl covered in grease stains revs the incredibly loud bike a couple times before it coughs and sputters to silence. The girl audibly curses before returning the bike to the garage.

"Anyone want to work together... as a cohesive group?" Asked Mr Johnson " Or we can split up like cat and go our separate ways".

Mr. Johnson will then address Mr. Peterson " Can you tell me when things started to change for the inhabitants of the ship?. Did it start when other people started to worship these false gods?". Mr. Johnson continues his questioning " Do you know of any other people that have tried to retake the ship from the outside or are we the first set of people that you have seen?"

Mr Johnson will use his access to the plans for the ship and look for where the power comes from.

" If one of you other gentlemen don't mind then I would ask if you will show me around this district, then the red light district and if you can answer some questions like why did this section choose not to worship like the red light district". Mr Johnson asks.

Chess bounty hunting instincts into overdrive after seeing the intel on the members of tis rebellion. Not only could he get away with a fat sack of loot to sell, but that was small time in comparison if he could convince the sheriff here to pay him, He had enough on him to start but he'd have to run back to his ship if he were to take on all of them, and as much as he hated to admit it, he'd probably need the help of Zeta squad, but he wouldn't let them know that until he needed them. After little deliberation Chess finally decided to make himself known. In an anti-climactic fashion as the sheriff spoke he unzipped half of his jump suit exposing his bullet proof vest and the tattered ends of a sleeve-less shirt he was wearing underneath it, and multitude of tattoo's he had on his arms, hands and neck. And the guns he had strapped to him and the pack full of ammo and who knows what else.

Chess hoped his reputation preceded him for a brief moment, he walked over to the sheriffs deck and put his heavily inked hands down on it. "Chess Dune, bounty hunter" He said arrogantly "I don't know if you've heard of me, but I'm sure you can look me up, I'll take care of those five fuckheads for you if you pay me, and I'll make it look so nice you're gonna think they were never here, but only if you pay me, we can come to terms on an amount I'm sure but I know I can take care of them." He paused and looked back at the members of Zeta squad "And hey maybe these fools can help me out in a small way, but you need to pay them, big business got's their paycheck." He stared into the sheriffs eyes hoping it would convince him, he wasn't bluffing any of this, he was crazy enough to go up against them, he'd even bring their heads back if it meant money.