Tibulus has a spark in his eyes. He was irritated by the bounty hunter, but he had to admit that Stryker would have his uses on this team. He decided that if a fight was to break out between the two that it would be settled behind closed doors and with the skeleton coming out on top. This was to be ignored for the time being, as the captain came out again and broke up the feud that was going on between the skeleton and the bounty hunter was interrupted by the head-honcho coming out and grabbing everyones attention. Before the skeleton went with the honcho and took the tour, there was a restrained girl in a wheelchair who complemented his appearance, and who also adorably didn't know what gender the skeleton was. "It's sir."

The tour was less than interesting than normal, to be honest. It was a basic run through of the freighter and what it was designed to do, where everything was, and what the crew could do. Once the honcho asked if there were any questions, the others within this group asked about a few things, one of them being about private rooms, another being about guns, and the final one being about what the first mission would be. Tibulus simply wanted to know one thing about the ship, and he proceeded to ask it. "Where's the pilots chair at?" Tibulus would probably just bunk there for the time he was with this crew, and he'd like it to stay that way for a good while. The girl who was restrained could visit though, she seemed cool.

"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.

Hm. Seems like a fairly restrained woman arrived. Likely dangerous, given the situation. In any case. She asked what she missed. Lataniva briefly thought of what had transpired, and then spoke very quickly to sum it all up.



And that was about it. Then, her attention refocused on the tour.

Fake identities. Merely pirates. Lataniva frowned a bit at that.

She’d easily be recognized through her unique armor and markings on the right side of her face if anyone actually knew what she looked like. Then again, with all she had been through… perhaps a change of look wouldn’t be too inappropriate. She’d been raised in a culture where lying was punishable by death… yet she knew that letting the truth about this mission out would be inadvisable. She resolved to that should she ever be questioned she’d simply seal her mouth shut.

So, they got a tour through the ship. Ample enough for their mission. Lataniva would never be able to pilot it or make any estimations from an engineering standpoint, but judging by the spaces and rooms within it would serve their needs. Then it was on to the war room and their mission was explained to them. Lataniva stared at the holotable from a bit of a distance, crossing her arms as she watched. Elimination of a mining facility. She could do that. They apparently had someone who was already devising an attack-plan for them, but it didn’t feel inappropriate for Lataniva to insert her own little quip.

Of course, multiple of them likely had their own means of gathering information, but that was hers.

Lataniva suggested, to see if any of the others had any other plans in the works with the weapons at their disposal.

A beautiful woman responds to Matija's queries. She seemed fairly out of place from the rest, considering how she looked. She also feels familiar to Matija but more like an interesting person that she passed by more than anything. Still, Matija knew that someone had to be someone fairly nasty to be ”recruited” into this project.

“We’re recruited because we’re the worst of the worst. We should cooperate or we will be punished. Ship is wired with surveillance, attempts to hack or so will result in ship shutting down. That guy’s Stryker, the captain. That guy’s Hadrain, the chef, report dietery needs and allergies to him. The Kzargett’s Vavnr, and his bowels aren’t long enough to digest salad. That guy’s Sasha, the medic, report medical conditions to him.’

The mushroom skeleton’s a pilot and volunteer, except he’s not a volunteer because he’s being paid. Captain and mushroom had a fight because mushroom’s going to be in his way. Chef and Kzargett had friendly conversation. Anyone who shares room with that guy will die from lack of sleep. I’m Lataniva, psionic and mind reader. We’re not to kill one another when Captain Dawson isn’t present. That’s it.”

Matija listened intently at the woman, and glanced at whoever she may gesture at. She found herself amused and feeling wasteful for being late considering that there seems to be more interesting people around here than she thought there was. Especially the mushroom skeleton and the disabled guy holding a metallic arm who apparently doesn't sleep.

”We have one hell of a ragtag team here, Miss..? Mmm... What's your name again? La, what?” Matija noted how delicate the other woman seemed and left it at that.

Then came the actual tour. Stryker took them into the cargo bay and Matija was almost tempted to ask if she could bunk there instead had it not been for those lousy shuttles. She glared at them, as if challenging them to fight for their territory, but was disappointed to find that the shuttles wouldn't bother with her. But Stryker seemed to be on a busy schedule, so the little crew of theirs moved around the lower deck with general disinterest. However, there were some spaces that seemed like a waste to leave as is. She told herself that she would take those spaces over whether they like it or not, and so left a piece of paper with a horribly drawn spider face and the word “claimed” written on it. Good thing she asked the crew of her transport shuttle earlier. But the rest of the tour was a bummer for Matija. She mostly just wanted to make a little nest of comfort for herself before they get towed around like the illegal conscripts that they are.

"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"

Thankfully, their first assignment impled that they can fuck up this one space station. ”Heh. Being forced into this is turning out to be great, don't 'cha think, guys?” she asked nobody in particular as she studied the image as much as they would allow her. When sated, she looks at everyone else again, studying everything that she could about their physiology and maybe try to infer things about them. ”I just wanna announce that the unused spaces in the lower deck has already been claimed, okay? So, what now?”

I have to admit, our last member knows how to make an entrance Benny thought as the strange lady arrived in a transport shuttle blasting old music at full volume. The Dalentian woman seemed to address her concerns so the rest of the introduction was left to Dawson's tour.

They had a few interesting members along for the ride, the Dalentian being the least strange. They had a Kzargett with them, he couldn't tell if their chef was even human under all that armor, and they even had one of those mushroom-driven walking corpses. Benny didn't like being kept on a leash, but he had to admit that this was one of the most interesting jobs he'd ever been contracted for. Normally he'd be more cautious around new faces, but he figured that since he was going to be stuck with this team for god-knows-how-long then he might as well be open with his thoughts, at least until someone tells him to shut his mouth.

They were led through the ship from the bottom to the top, with the different locations on the deck being explained by Dawson. When an old research lab was mentioned, Benny perked up. "I hope you lads don't mind if I move most o' my tools and substances into the lab area, be a lot easier to craft my explosives from there than in my room." Benny announced. It was then that he realized that he never did explain to this crew of criminals what he was recruited for. "Ach! Right, forgot to mention who I am to all of ya'. The name's Benny Boomer: Bomb connoisseur and technical expert. If any of ya' need to get in somehwere you ain't supposed ta' be in, my friend Skelly and I have you covered. Just let me know if you want a loud or quiet entrance." Benny said, introducing himself during one of Dawson's pauses.

After most of the tour had been completed, Dawson briefed them on their first assignment inside the ship's CIC. Apparently, they were to destroy a space station belonging to the Helsin Mining Corporation, under suspicion that it was spying on The Alliance for The Federation.

"Well what'da'ya know? Nevar thought I'd be screwin' with these jackasses again. I doubt Helsin will be happy to see my charmin' face again if they still remember me from Yggdrasil Minor. Really did a number on one of their ground facilities..." Benny thought out loud, remembering the clusterfuck of a heist he pulled on one of their mineral storage plants.

"If we need extra information, we could always capture someone who knows and let me look into his mind. I’m effective at that." The Dalentian said. The woman had mentioned earlier that she could read minds so getting information from a captive should be no problem for her. Benny thought that having her around would make interrogations a lot simpler.

"So, infiltrate a vessel that is heading in towards the facility and then somehow use it to destroy the base from inside?" Lataniva continued

"If we kidnap someone involved in the facility it would haf'ta be someone important enough to know how the station works. I've dealt with this corporation before, and they keep a lot o' information secret from most workers, and even some higher staff." Benny replied. He then thought for a moment before continuing. "A vessel hijack may be our best bet. Helsin Mining is serious when it comes to security especially in neutral regions so our ship will jus' get blasted apart. If you can get me inside their main security office, or better yet the office o' the facility head, I can get every last bit o' information about the station that we migh' need to sabotage it. May even be able to wreak havoc on their security systems while I move around once I establish a wireless link." Benny said, highlighting the uses the crew might be able to get out of his skills so that they don't send him somewhere he shouldn't be.

”Heh. Being forced into this is turning out to be great, don't 'cha think, guys?" The strange yet oddly cheerful woman said. "I just wanna announce that the unused spaces in the lower deck has already been claimed, okay? So, what now?” She continued. Benny turned towards her before replying.

"Personally I'd feel a lot better if we had some semblance of a plan before we get to fixin' our gear, since I dunno if I trust whoever they assigned to make a good plan for us, but I guess that depends on whether our commander gives a shit about what the rest o' us think about this assignment." Benny said as he slung his still-detached bionic arm over his right shoulder while turning to Stryker. Benny didn't like the idea of that guy being in charge, especially since Stryker already made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with them, but if Benny knew the Alliance, then he knew that rules were rules. He'd follow the guys orders, but they never said that he had to pretend to like it

@Rultaos@mackielars@PlatinumSkink@Banana@Sombrero@Xandrya@Metronome@Catchphrase

"Well you're right about one thing Benjamin" Stryker said "I don't give a shit, but at the same time, I agree with you, and Lataniva, a vessel hijack would be the safest bet. Hopefully these Alliance strategy fuckwits are thinking along those lines. We'll find out when Cap'n Shit For Brains comes back. Until then, I'll be in my quarters, thinking up the best way to keep myself alive in any situation they force us into"
Stryker walked off without waiting for a response, down the hall towards his quarters. Thankfully, this ship's layout was the same as the last Alliance vessel he'd been on, despite that being nearly a decade ago. 'Then again, Dawson said it was an older model, lost to the Deadzone until recently' He made it to the Captain's room, then tested out the biometric locks before removing any of his gear and settling in.

--------

Maverick had wandered off just before the end of Dawson's speech. He didn't much care for plans that weren't finalized. As long as he was paid, didn't matter who was putting down. Instead he found himself intrigued by the announcement that he was quartermaster, and therefore, had lone access to the full extent of the Armory. He found himself in front of the door to that room, and decided to take a look.
"Let's see then" He put his hand out in front of the biometric lock, which beeped then flashed green as the door smoothly slid open.
"Bastards" he muttered at the thought of his DNA being forever locked on an Alliance file. He stepped inside and took a glance around. It looked to be about 20 feet from door to rear wall, and L-shaped, the back of the room had a little nook off to the right that was outfitted with a full work area, for weapon repairs, refits, and ammo recasing. The silvery-gray walls were mostly covered in display cases, showcasing all the standard Alliance weaponry. Crates stacked up on either side of the doorway, which he presumed contained his personal collection of weaponry. He made a note to find space to set them out later, then continued to familiarize himself with the room. A desk sat right alongside the L-turn that he'd probably use as extra workspace or display. Grayson heard the door slide open behind him, and SAL's clunking feet filled the room.

"Had a feeling I'd find you here" the robot announced "Captain Dawson has said we are due to depart shortly. He'll return with a finalized plan when we're given the all-clear. So this is where we'll be working?"
"Not 'we' rustbucket" Daniel turned to stare down the 7 foot mechanoid "Me. You remember what happened the last time you tried to fix up a goddamn gun? Almost took my fucking ear off. Wanna be useful? Go down to the cargo bay, get my stuff and put it in one of the rooms. We're gonna be here a while, might as well get comfortable"
"Have you gone delusional fleshbag? Vital signs read as normal, so you're not suffering from an illness. Seems you've forgotten, I'm not a servant droid"
"Well if you're not gonna help, get the fuck out of my face. Maybe perch in the engine room until we're freed from this fucking job, you'll be among your own people for a change"
"Joke all you want Grayson, but remember this; we're stuck together. And like it or not, but right now I'm the closest thing you have to a friend. I'm certainly the only one you can trust here, so mind your words"
"Fuck, I hate when you're right. Just go SAL. Meet the crew or something. I'll get my bags later"
"Acknowledged emotional state. I'll get it, and find suitable quarters. Shall I reside with you, or find my own space?"
"Thought you were an advanced 'bot SAL? I'm not your goddamn babysitter, decide for yourself. I'll see you in a bit"
"Acknowledged"

------

Almost two hours had passed since the crew were left alone. No one really noticed Dawson had returned until the ships loudspeakers came alive, and the Alliance officer's voice rang out.
"All Crew to War Room"
"First order of business" Dawson announced when the full crew had assembled "You, Nathan Briar, you've been reassigned. The Executor's just had something come across her desk that you're uniquely suited to, so for now, you're being pulled from the Revenant. Grab your things, guards are waiting in the cargo bay to escort you to a holding cell until your briefing. Get going"

The man none of them had truly gotten to meet exited without a word, once the doors slid closed behind him, Dawson got to work.
"So the techs wanted to test the briefing relay system, but that can wait 'til next time. When a job comes in for you all, I'll be transmitting it directly to Stryker, and he'll get to deliver the briefings himself. With any luck, I never set sights on any of you again once I leave this ship. Now then, the Helsin job. Once the Revenant gets in the Zargos system, you hold on the fringes and launch a boarding party in a shuttle. The other shuttle is going right behind it, with a sharpshooter on board. On the shit long range scanners they're expected to be using, the shuttles will resemble a small cargo transport, won't pay it any mind, especially when an imposing frigate like the Reenant drifts within their range, and their attempts at hailing the vesel are met with silence. Once you're in range, the sharpshooter uses a weapon outfitted with a graviton-field emitter to damage their IFF reader antenna, located here on the facility. I'm sure you can figure out what to do from there, enter the facility, either by talking or blasting your way aboard, then do what you do. Now let's assume it truly is a Federation outpost, and they mobilize fighter craft. A few will remain behind on the ship to man the guns and fight them off. If not, and it's just a mining facility, hold your fire until the crew finishes up, and then frag the facility. No survivors in either case. There's more details on the briefing file if you want them, but I can't be bothered to read it. I know Stryker would love to though, being the commander of this outfit and all, he's here to please his crew, ain't that right buddy boy? So address all questions to him, because I'm fuckin' out of here. Oh, and of course, Executor Lara didn't want to leave you short-handed, she's nice like that, so we've got one last recruit coming on. My men are bringing her aboard as we speak. Play nice huh? Been a fucking pleasure"

Captain Dawson left without another word, hoping to never have to deal with any of the Revenant crew again.

"Guess that means we're clear to takeoff?" Maverick observed with a wry chuckle.

Somewhere in the island of Cuba, date and time unknown

"Since you're not talking, we're going to have to increase our efforts in order to attain the information we seek. I'm sure you're more than aware of the methods we use to force a confession out of prisoners, and you're no exception. Don't think we'll go easy on you because of your...condition."

Amy was almost positive that her captor was degrading her, but she didn't care. She had bigger problems to deal with than a sorry attempt at a half-assed insult. "You know, for as threatening as your voice sounds, you're not all that smart. I've been stuck here long enough for you and your stupid men to know that I'm not talking—”

She heard quick movement, and almost instantly felt the man's presence invade her personal space. Amy tensed up as her breath caught in her throat and she waited for him to react, but aside from both of their uneven breathing, she was met with complete silence. She didn't dare to move, and instead, she listened to the approaching footsteps in the hallway outside of her cell.

"Change of plans, Jackson," said a familiar voice after stepping in the room, "they plan to get some real use of her."

The young woman wondered what he meant by that, but she didn't have to guess for long.

---

Present day, aboard the Revenant

Amy was shown to what one of the men referred to as the "War Room". She closely followed the couple of agents as she attempted to memorize the path, although she knew that it would take her at least one more walk-through.

“Well, here we are,” Amy heard one of them say. She grabbed the edge of the door to step inside. “Sorry if I’m late, this was a very last minute thing,” Amy said as she stared ahead, unsure of how many individuals were in the room with her.

"I hope you lads don't mind if I move most o' my tools and substances into the lab area, be a lot easier to craft my explosives from there than in my room."

Matija's mind paused when that cheerful sounding guy said that he would stay in the lab. "The... lab? Isn't that the same floor with the empty spaces?" She felt worried with the lack of relative peace that she may not have considering that this guy said he works with explosives. "You're not going to make things explode all the time, right? Oh, Dawsonny? The lab is sound-proof, right?" Matija stared at the officer with her white eyes and tried to smile as cutely as she could for someone with pointed teeth.

As the odd lady and some Benny guy placed down their suggestions, Matija started bouncing up and down while flailing both of her arms excitedly."Oooh! Ooh! I suggest we come in loud and proud and give them the good'ol fuck 'em up but not kill all of them. Like, maybe get some people thrown off somewhere or something. Like, maybe knock them out? So Vina here can control their minds and get them to destroy the place from the inside while we keep the other people occupied?" She pauses, realizing that there may not be people there. "Uh... If there are people there, I guess? 'Sides, I don't trust these guys to keep us alive."

When no one had anything else to say, Matija stretched before speaking, then towards the door to exit. "Oh yeah. People call me Brown Recluse, Brown, Recluse, or even Spider sometimes. But brown seems offensive so I kinda get people to not use that one. If you need me, I'll be downstairs."

---

Within an hour, Matija had managed to take some of the unused spaces in the lower deck as a small space for herself. She had asked for some of the empty containers in the cargo bay for her to use as makeshift walls for her makeshift room. She had also taken a couple of unused matresses, pillows, and linens for herself. Now with her own "room", Matija starts dressing herself in her favorite and oversized stolen shirt before removing everything else but her underwear. Soon, she found herself asleep in her own little bubble of comfort.

An hour passes and the ship's speakers crackled into life, awakening the sleeping woman. Someone said something about heading to the war room, which Matija groaned since she felt as if she was just getting the rest that she had been wanting. But a job is a job and she had a reason to follow these guys. For now.

Groggily, the woman stumbles around the ship's halls and towards the War room where everyone seems to have assembled into before she could. For some reason, a guy had also been dismissed from the group. Something about him being taken into another special mission of sorts. She tried not to pay heed and instead leaned towards the table at the center of the room.

"So the techs wanted to test the briefing relay system, but that can wait 'til next time. When a job comes in for you all, I'll be transmitting it directly to Stryker, and he'll get to deliver the briefings himself. With any luck, I never set sights on any of you again once I leave this ship. Now then, the Helsin job. Once the Revenant gets in the Zargos system, you hold on the fringes and launch a boarding party in a shuttle. The other shuttle is going right behind it, with a sharpshooter on board. On the shit long range scanners they're expected to be using, the shuttles will resemble a small cargo transport, won't pay it any mind, especially when an imposing frigate like the Reenant drifts within their range, and their attempts at hailing the vesel are met with silence. Once you're in range, the sharpshooter uses a weapon outfitted with a graviton-field emitter to damage their IFF reader antenna, located here on the facility. I'm sure you can figure out what to do from there, enter the facility, either by talking or blasting your way aboard, then do what you do. Now let's assume it truly is a Federation outpost, and they mobilize fighter craft. A few will remain behind on the ship to man the guns and fight them off. If not, and it's just a mining facility, hold your fire until the crew finishes up, and then frag the facility. No survivors in either case. There's more details on the briefing file if you want them, but I can't be bothered to read it. I know Stryker would love to though, being the commander of this outfit and all, he's here to please his crew, ain't that right buddy boy? So address all questions to him, because I'm fuckin' out of here. Oh, and of course, Executor Lara didn't want to leave you short-handed, she's nice like that, so we've got one last recruit coming on. My men are bringing her aboard as we speak. Play nice huh? Been a fucking pleasure"

"Uh. I guess?"

Dawson spoke almost without letting anyone butt in. The man seemed to hate even breathing the same air as they are and it bothered Matija. Mostly because she felt that the man would not hesitate to kill them if only they weren't useful somehow.

Then came another person. She was another woman and seemed to be a little off with where she's looking.

"Heyy! Welcome to the party! We're going to blow up a space station. I guess you're the new guy? Er. Gal?" Matija walked towards the new person and extended her hand towards her. "Name's Sandra. S-sandra B-bollocks..." Matija was witholding her laughter even before she could properly say her name. "What's yours? What're you in for?"

@PlatinumSkink@Rultaos@Crossfire@Xandrya

Arex sat slightly slumped and rigid in the co-pilots seat, all alone in the silence of the empty cockpit. Eyes closed, face void of emotion. He was blank except for the sporadic violent twitching of his eyelids.

His arm hung loosely at his side from which cables ran to and from the security monitor connecting him to the cameras. This was not of his idea or interest but more of an instinctive impulse that he blindly followed.
His methods were simple and non-invasive, he didn't access anything of the ship that wasn't readily available on the screen or a mere few clicks away.

As he sat there almost looking like a junky, it was as if his sub-conscious. No. An alternate conscious, used the live and recorded footage to map out the ship, create facial algorithms for the crew and then search a range of data bases for any available personal information. The artificial side of his brain did further things that his conscious awakened mind wouldn't know or recall unless needed. That is often how it went.

As people started to leave the war room the cables retracted back into Arex's arm and he suddenly woke up startled.
Quickly reassembling the dash he picked up his brief case and with a snap of his fingers his guarding turret and drone latched onto either side before folding away inconspicuously becoming a part of it.

Having already chosen and left his armour in his desired quarters, Arex casually returns to his room. To avoid the War room where the others were Arex carefully takes the emergency ladder down to the second deck where he passes through the common area.

She cleared up to the other girl before they went on the tour.

She acknowledged what Benny was saying after his introduction, keeping it in mind, but it seemed that there were other things afoot. Stryker acknowledged her plan and then went off, and it seemed this was the plan most others had, too. Lataniva herself did not much care about or need any specific space of her own, somewhere to sleep suited her just fine. Having lived as she had, few places had ever been deemed safe enough to remain on for long, so the habit of owning a place had deteriorated over time. Her equipment and skills would do fine. It was those and not any location that kept her safe, after all.

Then, to jump to after the captain had held his speech.

Lataniva inquired of their captain. And that was that. Otherwise, she’d follow any command that would be made.

And then, there was another woman, yeah. She heard the other girl introduce herself. Sandra. Very well.

Lataniva said, before repeating Dawson’s constructed plan so that the new woman wouldn’t feel left out. @Xandrya can now act as if she heard Dawson’s rundown and tour. There.

“Nice to meet you, Sandra,” Amy smiled, turning in the general direction of where the female voice was coming from, but obviously unable to see her extended hand. “My name’s Amy—Amy Rosseau.” The young woman felt around for her luggage, then sat on it to take a quick break. “I’m here because…well, I just can’t seem to keep my hands off of things that don’t belong to me.”

That last statement was said in a matter-of-fact tone. Amy’s cover-up was simple as she didn’t want to go too much into detail to avoid getting caught up in her own lie. Just then, another female voice chimed in, repeating the briefing they’d just had to Amy so she could be caught up with everything. The young woman couldn't help but give a slight smirk as the entire plan was unveiled to her. She would definitely have to report what she'd heard to her commander later when she was shown to her quarters.

"That was very informative, thank you," Amy said, sounding genuinely appreciative. She stood up again to address everyone in the room.

"As some of you probably already know, I'm blind. I can get around using sound, but that method isn't entirely foolproof. With that said, my armor helps me see basic shapes and outlines. It's--it's something I've gotten used to, but there's always room for error. What I ask from you though, is that you don't treat me any differently than you do those around you. I may need some help here and there, but that's the extent of it."

Amy refrained from speaking any further. She reached for her luggage and waited to either be dismissed or given other instructions.

@mackielars
@PlatinumSkink

@Xandrya@PlatinumSkink@mackielars@Dark Light

"Right" Stryker said "Well Ms. Rosseau, call me Stryker, I guess I'm in charge of this op" He had access to slightly-redacted versions of the Alliance's dossiers on the crew, giving him basic rundowns of the crew's abilities and specialties. He pawed at his datapad, quickly skimming through Amy's "From what the Alliance has made available to me, I expect you'll fit right in. I'm sure someone's willing to show you around, until you get a feel for the place"

He turned to address Lataniva "From the dossiers, I get the feeling they're expecting the assassin, Maverick, to be the sharpshooter, we'll figure out proper roles and discuss how your talents can help out a little closer to the target. It's nearly a 12 hour journey to Zargos. I'll be in the cockpit, getting ready to take off. Until then, dismissed, I guess" He headed out of the war room, taking the Funganoid pilot with him.

The cockpit was cozy, to say the least. Most of the immediate floorspace was dominated by the 2 command consoles for the pilot (on the right) and co-pilot (left), a small ladder led down to a lower section containing a pair of bunks jutting out from the walls.
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on cozying up here with you" Stryker said as he took his (surprisingly comfortable) seat and began to run pre-flight checks.

--------

Grayson had wandered off just after Dawson left, wanting to check out the quarters for himself. He noted his bags lying by the door to room #7 and wandered over to kick them across the threshold. As expected, two bunks sitting against each wall just a couple feet apart, a desk at the rear, and storage spaces beneath the bunks. Standard Alliance affair. Deciding to unpack later, he strolled back out and took a few steps down to the end of the hall to peek inside the spacious restrooms
"Nice place" he noted.
He heard a bit of noise coming from an ajar door behind him, and cocked his head in response. Engaging his cyber-eye, he scanned for signs of life, and found an odd signature that didn't match any of the known crew. He kept one hand close to his holster, just in case it was some unknown hostile and stepped into view to see a newcomer
"Hey there" he said

-----

Down in the engine room, SAL was doing a routine scan of the systems, making sure everything checked out. He heard the telltale sign of the ramp closing up behind him. They'd be departing shortly.

Meanwhile in the cockpit, the pilots were finishing up and broadcast permission to disembark. Stryker tapped into the PA system to speak to the crew.
"Attention everyone, we're shippin' out. Might get a bit rocky for a second when we exit Chronos Station's artificial atmosphere, so you might wanna hold on to something"

A voice came in from the pilot's console "Revenant, you are cleared to take off"

Arex was inspecting his armoured suit when a voice from the doorway interrupted the silence. He turned to face the dark haired assassin, immediately drawn to the cybernetic eye marked for notice by the large fierce scar on his face.

Arex stood tall, very little emotion displayed on his face beyond his analytical gaze. He was about to speak when the Comms system suddenly came to life interrupting him and warning of their immanent take off.

Once the PA stopped emitting sound, a half grin grew across Arex's lips as he held out a hand in greeting. "Arex" he announced with a small nod, introducing himself.
"If you don't mind, I have some things to secure down. Perhaps we can finish this later?" He asks as he turns away. His voice was deep with an odd raspy quality that made him sound slightly sick.

@Dark Light

"Grayson" he said as he took the strange, heavily-augmented man's hand "Guess you were another late addition that Dawson forgot to tell us about then? But anyway, you're right, we can chat later" He turned and walked back to his own room, wanting to make sure his gear didn't fly about when they broke through the atmo. As he arrived felt the subtle vibrations of the engines firing up and the oh-so-slight lift as the ship began to hover and rotate for its departure.

"Oooh! Ooh! I suggest we come in loud and proud and give them the good'ol fuck 'em up but not kill all of them. Like, maybe get some people thrown off somewhere or something. Like, maybe knock them out? So Vina here can control their minds and get them to destroy the place from the inside while we keep the other people occupied? Uh... If there are people there, I guess? 'Sides, I don't trust these guys to keep us alive." The cheery woman said at the conclusion of their discussion.

"Well you're right about one thing Benjamin. I don't give a shit, but at the same time, I agree with you, and Lataniva, a vessel hijack would be the safest bet. Hopefully these Alliance strategy fuckwits are thinking along those lines. We'll find out when Cap'n Shit For Brains comes back. Until then, I'll be in my quarters, thinking up the best way to keep myself alive in any situation they force us into" Stryker said dismissively, as expected, but he appeared to have the same idea as everyone else, even if the only common ground they had was that none of them wanted to die on this assignment.

"Oh yeah. People call me Brown Recluse, Brown, Recluse, or even Spider sometimes. But brown seems offensive so I kinda get people to not use that one. If you need me, I'll be downstairs." She added as an introduction before leaving the group.

"Helluva' team we have. This'll definitely be fun..." Benny said to no one in particular as he left the war room.

---

Within an hour, Benny had managed to offload most of his equipment into the ship's old lab area and reattached his bionic arm with great difficulty. It was a small rectangular room with counters and shelves lining most of the walls, along with a secure observation cage made of some hard transparent material in the middle of the room, it looked like it was originally meant to contain live subjects. The place was fairly clean, even if it was lacking resources, but Benny had a feeling the place would look a lot messier within a week of him working there. And that's just the way I like it. He thought to himself.

He had a few marked cases carrying raw materials and chemicals which he used to craft most of his explosive ordnance and had them placed on different stacks on an empty counter top. The containers were marked with a yellow plastic glued to the top that said "BENNY'S TOY STASH. DONT TOUCH". They would probably be enough to last him a few weeks if he didn't use explosives on a daily basis, but he would need to use the requisition terminal eventually as their mission continued. I sure hope they let me use materials for banned explosive types... Maybe they won't catch on to what I'm crafting if I throw in some useless material requests along with what I need... He mused.

Other marked containers holding electronics and other parts, such as laser lights and signal receivers/emitters were placed on a separate counter. They were mainly for the more precise aspect of his explosives, such as remote detonators or laser tripwires. Some were also for the repair and maintenance of his bionic arm.

He had also brought in what appeared to be an inconspicuous metal barrel about 1/3 of his height, but the side of it would slide open to reveal a wide array of tools from screwdrivers to chemical droppers, hanging in a circle around the cylindrical metal center. He kept the tool container closed for now just so no one would get any funny ideas about "borrowing" some of his stuff.

Once he was satisfied with his setup, he decided to head back up and get some rest at the bunk area and claim a bed before all the non-shitty ones were taken.

---

Captain Dawson's announcement came loud and clear over the ship's intercom as Benny made his way into the war room, having changed out of his prisoner jumpsuit and into a black T-shirt that said "I'm a bomb technician. If you see me running, KEEP UP" in white text, along with some dark green cargo pants.

Once he had reached the war room, most of the team had already assembled

Dawson outlined the plan that the Alliance strategists had cobbled together for their demolition mission, and added some snide comments towards Stryker before he finished. I think I'm starting to see why Stryker's such a prick. With company like that I'd be a real ball-sack too Benny thought as Dawson left the room and brought in their new member.

Spider/Sandra along with Lataniva quickly greeted her and got her up to speed. Apparently their new member (Amy) was blind? and based on what Amy said she was some kind of thief.

Stryker even greeted the new arrival personally without being as much of a prick as he was to the initial team when they had met. Benny was mildly surprised but he figured that it was just a sign that their leader was slowly getting used to their company. The talk quickly resumed to their upcoming operation.

‘I am no sharpshooter. I assume I will be on the boarding party, then?’ Lataniva asked.

"From the dossiers, I get the feeling they're expecting the assassin, Maverick, to be the sharpshooter, we'll figure out proper roles and discuss how your talents can help out a little closer to the target. It's nearly a 12 hour journey to Zargos. I'll be in the cockpit, getting ready to take off. Until then, dismissed, I guess" Stryker said as he left with the funganoid skeleton guy.

Lataniva also entertained Sandra's idea about mind-controlling some staff members for their operation. ‘We could indeed seek out a few people who look like they’re in charge for me to operate on, depending on what kind of a mess we want to make.’

"If you're willin' to do that then perhaps we can help each other there. If you can get one of the staff to grant me access to the main security room I can render most o' their automated defenses worthless... Or make their IFF's go haywire if you lads and lasses want to cause some real havoc" Benny suggested with a smile.

"Jus' don't make me do tha' talkin' if we're gonna' to have a chat with them first. I have a bad habit of pissin' people off" Benny added as something of a joke. Though it was true that he was not the best option for jobs that needed a polite/civil touch.

Eventually, the ship's PA activated once more, this time with Stryker's voice coming through them. "Attention everyone, we're shippin' out. Might get a bit rocky for a second when we exit Chronos Station's artificial atmosphere, so you might wanna hold on to something" He announced.

Benny had Ol' Skelly grasp onto the war room table in case the turbulence lasted for a while. He turned towards Amy who still seemed to be carrying her luggage around. "Hey lassie, you might want to stuff your bags underneath something before they end up sliding into an emergency ladder hatch or somethin'" Benny suggested.

@Mackielars @PlatinumSkink @Xandrya @Crossfire

When someone named Stryker practically welcomed Amy with open arms, she couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of satisfaction. Apparently her captors had glamorized her skills, if only to make her seem like a more suitable candidate for this mission, but it nonetheless helped her fit in that much better. The poor Alliance bastards were shooting themselves in the foot and they didn't even know it.

After they were dismissed, Amy wanted to go down to her room and get a hold of her commander given that she already had much more information than she would have expected, but then a few moments later, Stryker made the announcement that they were just about ready for departure. With that, Amy frowned. She reached out a hand to place it against the nearest wall, taking a few steps forward until she touched the cold surface, when she heard someone address her about her bags being somewhat of a safety issue.

"Mind helping me?" Amy asked, turning her head towards the male voice, "I'm not the least bit familiar with the ship and I'm afraid that I'll end up with a broken arm or a leg if I attempt to make a break for my room at the last possible minute."

@Rultaos

"Mind helping me? I'm not the least bit familiar with the ship and I'm afraid that I'll end up with a broken arm or a leg if I attempt to make a break for my room at the last possible minute." Amy responded as she turned towards Benny.

The bomber audibly sighed as he released his hold from the table and approached the girl's luggage back. Using Skelly pick it up, he dragged the container towards him as he used his human arm to brace himself once more on the war room table. Amy's luggage was fairly heavy, and though Skelly could carry a great deal of weight, the shoulder joint was still not as secured as Benny would've liked. Regardless, the bag was held firmly by his bionic arm. "Jus' so ya' know, lass, if Ol' Skelly comes off'a me again 'cause of whatever rocks you're carryin' in here, you're helpin' screw him back on." Benny said as he awaited the ship's takeoff.

He felt that something was off about this woman. She seemed far too nice in comparison to everyone else on board. People like Hadrian, their chef, and Lataniva, the Dalentian, were polite yet clearly wary due to the nature of their team. Benny himself and that Sandra woman were more cheery, but it was mainly because of their natural quirkiness and not a desire to "fit in" with the crew. Amy on the other hand was behaving as if she were assigned to a civilian vessel, speaking as if everything they were doing was normal. Maybe I'm just overthinking this... Hell, she could be a serial killer for all I know and the nice and normal act is all a facade, in which case she'd fit in perfectly. Or maybe she's another Alliance bitch that Captain Dawson sent here to keep an eye on us. No wait, she's blind... Ehh, statement still stands, she seems perceptive enough. No use pondering about it now though. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. He thought silently, putting the suspicion aside for now.

As soon as the ship was stable Arex exited his room and went straight towards the kitchen. He could hear signs of the rest of the crew around him, noises from behind the dorm doors and down the hallway but he wasn't feeling overly inquisitive or social.

Once in the kitchen he began to search through and study the quality of their rations. After all this would compose his main diet from now on. Plenty of nutrient heavy packaged processed foods lined the shelves with powders and pastes by the plethora. The fridge and freezer held a bit more promise but segments were rationed and locked, only to be accessed by the chef.

Knowing where the cameras were Arex subtly pocketed a few bars and pouches with some simple sleight of hand. It was a selfish move but he would not rely on the good will of the others should they become stalled in deep space and short on supplies.

Tearing open the packaging of a dense dry chewy nutrient bar, he eagerly begins gnawing away at the near flavourless snack. It wasn't until now did he realise just how hungry he was.
A short moment later he sat at the table with a drink and bowl of semi solid mush before him. The food in the bowl was the instructive result of mixing one of the powders with liquid then zapping it.
Flavourless would have been better, but right now he didn't care.

“Sure, trust the blind girl to patch you back up. What could go wrong, right?” Amy smiled sarcastically, wondering what the hell he was referring to when he mentioned Skelly. She did genuinely like the man’s accent though, if only because it was different and goodness knows Amy appreciated the hell out of accents. They broke the monotony of having to listen to similar voices all the time. It’s like being stuck listening to one specific music genre; there isn't any sort of variety.

“But really, thank you,” she added minus the sarcasm, “I promise I won’t be this much of a bother once I become familiarized with the ship. The first day or two is always the hardest, then it's easy as cake. But you know, what can you do when they throw an assignment on you at the very last possible moment."

Amy found the door frame again and braced herself for departure, hoping to all hell that they just hadn't sent her to her death.

@Rultaos

Blind. Lack of such a vital sense for a human, yet still a crewmember of this ship? Lataniva felt immediate doubts in terms of Amy’s expected performance, and gave a judging stare. However, it also held true that she must be on this ship for a reason. Lataniva hand twitched in her direction, her fingers flexing, but managed to suppress the desire to leech out the information through mind-reading. As she had learned, people tended to not appreciate that outside her home planet.

@XandryaLataniva asked, her voice not being so nice as to mask her judgmental nature. It wasn’t in her nature to keep such doubt unaddressed.

As for the strategic discussion, there was something she wished to clarify on something which Sandra had said.

"Oooh! Ooh! I suggest we come in loud and proud and give them the good'ol fuck 'em up but not kill all of them. Like, maybe get some people thrown off somewhere or something. Like, maybe knock them out? So Vina here can control their minds and get them to destroy the place from the inside while we keep the other people occupied?"

Lataniva commented.

She looked to Benny when she was spoken to further along with the plan, and considered what he had to say. If she could allow him into the main security room…

@Rultaos

As they were also suggested to prepare themselves, Lataniva found a suitable place to sit down and prepare herself until the take-off was complete.