This was a ramshackle base of operations if you had ever seen one. Tiles once meant to give these sealed corridors a pristine look already practically falling off from age and misuse. Idly you view a worn symbol of the Brazen Eagles across the next archway, a once infamous military arm of the Hegemony accused of high treason three decades earlier. It betrays the previous use of this station, meaning it was once a military installation. As you approach the hanger bay, you see two surly looking pirates with outdated but still very deadly submachine guns framing the door from both sides. The left one yanks his head to indicate you should keep moving.

Further in there's machines made to fix other machines and manned lifts to be used to help repair Starships. There's five men from what you can see standing under the nose of the Stardancer, two of them reclining on the foothills of a veritable mountain of crates. They're smoking a substance you can't quite get a good gauge on. The other three are more notable. A younger man, very much a pilot is standing there with his hand on the Stardancer's hull, admiring it. A towering Xenos with what look to be tentacles for hair crossing his four arms and frowning with his lipless mouth. In the center is the man you were told to contact based on a look one could hardly forget. His smile is crooked, both in manner and from some mistreatment of his face. One could likely imagine the Xenos or one of his kind having remade it with a mightly blow. He wears a jacket and worn privateer clothes, smiling impishly when he views the newcomer as they approach, rubbing his hands.

"Ah, there you are! My you're a desperate one aren't you?" He utters with a hissing lisp. "I like that in a man/woman, don't worry. You better be glad we've made this deal with you. Rico here never got the chance to fly the ship. Too bad for him, he still has to pay off his debt to the Blackcloaks..."

---

You three find yourselves in the Hanger of this ruined military installation after getting sent here by your contact, Schill. Whoever posts first gets there first, who posts second gets there second, and the third one is the last to get there. Consider this first job the prologue, but you still have a myriad of options. Obviously, you have the option to ask further about this pilot and perhaps try to get him on your new 'crew' or at least get him to join the mission with you. Or you can ask further on the installation, the pirates, your job, etc. The game has officially begun!

---

---

Even sauntered into the former military base with a toothpick in his mouth, and without an ounce of hesitation in his posture. This place was a bit run down, sure but Even had spent many nights in places far worse at many points in his life for a myriad of reasons, this one wasn't anything out of the ordinary. If there was anything to be surprised about, it was that the Hegemony would let a place of strategic import like a military base just go to waste rather than repurposing it, but those pencil pushers never seemed like the types to do the smart thing anyways. As he stepped into the hangar, Even pulled out the splinter in his mouth an flicked it into the box of crates before addressing his client.

"Hey, as long as I get paid, everything will work out just dandy for the both of us," Even replied, flashing a toothy grin of his own. "Schill never gave me all the details of what this job entails, mind filling me in?" Personally, Even didn't care for the client's assumptions and assertions, but he wasn't here to argue with his source of income. For another man, the potential implication of Rico's inexperience with ship handling would be another red flag, but as Even saw it, if worse came to worse and the kid turned out to be a dud, he'd end up meeting an unexpected tragic fate and he could helm the ship in the time being. Someone incapable of even driving the bus stood no hope of paying off a debt to an organization like the Black Cloaks anyways.

---

---

Shady dealings in former military bases were not precisely the ideal location for Ito, in fact it was a place that he openly disliked due to having to use such derelict bases to try and oppose the Hegemony. The memories flooded into the back of his mind as he walked down the hallway of broken tile, remembering the gun fire of the dishonorable Hegemony and being forced to run and hide in the shadows. Ito let out an audible sigh as he shook the memories away as best he could, trying to focus on the xeno family that he had been raised with. Eventually, he would finally shake free those thoughts, stepping into the hanger and allowed himself to look around to absorb the locale. It definitely seemed a place of banditry and pirateering, a harsh reminder to how desperate he had come to for needing money. It was a reminder that he hate but knew that he would have to deal with for the time being.

As Ito reached the contact that Schill had pointed him to, Ito felt an overwhelming feeling of disdain come behind his mask but was forced to swallow his pride as he allowed himself to interact with the man. Ito gave a customary bow to the impish man, still showing the politeness that he would need to, even offering a bow to a man who had the toothpick in his mouth. Ito did not personally know either of them so he had decided to follow the path of politeness for a good first impression, rather than acknowledging the pirates with a sword as he had been told to do in his youth. He met the eyes of the contact before speaking, his voice holding a neutral tone, “I do not suppose that this installation has been used for some time before the Blackcoats had come.”

---

---

It irritated Miranda to see a Hagemony base in such disrepair. Hallways that should have been sparkling were shabby and run down. All in all the effect was too close to a metaphor for her own fortunes to be entirely comfortable. Despite her current shortage of credits she was dressed in a sleek suit of shimmering silk which shifted between dark gray and black depending on the lighting or angle of the viewer. Her natural dark brown hair was concealed beneath an expertly applied wig of platinum blonde.

"Gentle...men," she paused for a heartbeat as she took in the presence of Xenos. They certainly were a rough looking crew but a ship was a prize worth almost any risk. They looked as though they would be good material for the plan already forming in her mind.

"Are we all here?" She asked, having deliberately timed her arrival to ensure she was last.

"Yeah, why don't you fuck off with that, Skrivver?" The pilot tells the ugly one, betraying the contact's name. The two pirates smoking laugh, high as the stratosphere. They don't realize what had just happened, though neither does the pilot it seems. He is suddenly grabbed from behind by two of the four armed Xenos's powerful hands to be slammed into the hull of the ship, cheek pressed to the Syronian Steel of the hull. Skrivver shambles over to him and punches the immobilized man in the gut, sending him reeling.

"You owe us 1,500 small ones there, Rico. You keep it up and I'll carve the money out of you." He promises, before clearing his throat and turning to put on a pleasant smile to answer Even's question. Somehow it makes him look all the more ugly. "The details of the assignment is simple." He makes small guns with his fingers at the three of them. "You got the coordinates in the ship. You have the codes to get in close. Once you land you're in what's pretty much the only Embassy within two systems, which means it's not just a prison. In fact most of it is a pit stop for big name nobles looking to refuel and planetary chiefs to fly up and suck their dicks. You go in, go to the bottom level, spring our boss out and get him back on the ship without anyone being none the wiser. You do that and you get the ship. I don't need to ask if we have a deal because we've made it already. You should be glad I like Schill."

At Miranda's question, the two smokers howl with gusto. Skrivver looks around. "We don't have anyone else coming unless you brought a crew in your shoes."

---

So, just tell me you pass in the OOC or make a post and roll for it in here. Though you'll probably want to tell me what kind of roll it is in the OOC too.

---

---

Ito watched as the pirate berated the underling, Rico, with a certain level of disdain as Skrivver shoved the would-be pilot into the side of the ship. He knew that discipline had to be instilled every now and again but the manner about which it was instilled was always something to be watched, never too lenient nor too forceful. Skrivver, however, would dare to threaten his own underling with such a horrid punishment that it made Ito sick to his stomach. Such threats were beneath someone who was supposed to be a higher up, remembering that those under you needed to be not only worked with but also work without fear. Fear was the path of the coward, and it seemed that Skrivver was very much a coward who would resort to fear in order to keep his crew in line.

The most honorable of the people there snarled behind his mask before he would declare, in a stern voice, “Treating your underlings in such a manner is without honor!” He took a moment to make sure that Skrivver was paying attention to Ito before stepping forward, “Fear is the path of the coward! Anyone in a place a command should know such things,” the Viper hissed, eyes narrowing and metaphorical fangs bared as he stared down the pirate. His eyes focused purely on pirate, unmoving and unwavering as his arms crossed themselves over his chest as he took another step towards Skrivver, awaiting whatever response the pirate would dare throw his way.

---

Rolled 3 for Command on Skivver

Skrivver turns his attention to Ito, his mangled face muddied in confusion. "What?" He asks you, though you realize it's more of a rhetorical statement than him wishing you to repeat yourself. Rico tries to turn his head to look at you but he's stuck in his position, being pressed into the hull. "He's not a member of our band. He bloody owes me! You know what? Just for that he now owes me 2,000." Skrivver gives you a gaptoothed grin, clearly enjoying raking up the price as long as he's given a reason. "You and your new crew better get the fuck out of here and get us Marco or we'll string this pilot here up and use him for target practice!"

---

As this is the prologue, nothing bad happened to you personally. But generally a 6 is a favorable outcome, a 4-5 is a partial success, and a 1-3 is a bad outcome which means not only do you fail, but something bad happens. In this case, the pilot was simply given a larger debt, but that doesn't mean it can't be talked down nor he can't win his freedom.

Miranda cleared her throat pointedly having managed to blend into the background while the altercation had taken place. Fortunately she was as good at avoiding attention as attracting it when the circumstances were right.

"I am quite certain Mr Skrivver, that the rescue of your pirate captain will not be hastened by shooting this miscreant, nor by battering a hole in the side of our ship with his skull... amusing though that might be," she gave Rico a look of cold appraisal.

"You have taken care of your end of the business, let us take care of ours," she wen't on the slight edges of her Imperial accent sharpening.

"We will bring the kid along to, who knows he might catch a bullet during the break out and spare you all the trouble," she concluded brightly.

That wasn't something Skrivver foresaw, and the same could be said for the Xenos who's grip on Rico slackens. The pilot wriggles out of its grip and slides away with a screeching of his shoe leather over the station-steel floor. "What? I never said!" The underboss says, but as Miranda speaks, he clearly feels this was killing two birds with one stone. Having the pilot help get his boss back to pay off his debt, though it also meant that if he were to die he wouldn't get any of what the pilot owes him. Still, he thinks for a moment and acquiesces to the request. "Fine, but he still owes me. He can talk to Marco about that maybe, but you have to grab him first!" The fellow declared, and waves you all off. If there was no more questions among you, then it would be time to depart. The pilot practically leaps into the ship to keep the xenos off of him, and the two fellows smoking laugh again. Until Skrivver smacks one over the head, that is.

---

Can't really argue with 2 6's

---

---

Even watched the scene play out before him, silent and the smile on his face unbroken. He had seen many kids like Rico have far worse to them done for less, one more such incident didn't sway his heart with sympathy, even if he didn't like to see it. However, it was the reactions of his two soon to be crewmates that he diverted his attention to. The masked one seemed very ill-suited to this business with the way he spoke of honor and cowardice. True there was a way you should and shouldn't conduct yourself even in the lowest pits of criminal society, but the way he said it reeked of one of those warrior cultures you'd run into occasionally that would get demolished as soon as they made any trouble for The Hegemony or anyone of worth.

The woman on the other hand, she seemed to have a better head on her shoulders, but everything about her screamed "bureaucrat." You dealt with that lot all the time, especially as you moved up the ranks, but seeing someone like her in a situation like this was rather rare. Politicians tend to loathe dirtying themselves with any of the work they want done. Even wouldn't be surprised if she still held the illusion of her being better than the job she desperately needed. But if there was any job where having her type around would help, it'd be this.

"Before we go, got any details on the boss. A face? Name? Where he's probably being held in the embassy? Wouldn't want to spring the wrong sap and end up getting your boss relocated somewhere less accessible." These were pretty vital details that hadn't been explained, and the last thing he wanted to do was roll into the black without even a clue who they were supposed to rescue.

"A name? You haven't been listenin' have you?" Skrivver challenges, looking at you with a suspicious gaze. He shakes his head. "Schill told you his name and where to go. He's Marco Gaebril, and when you land you go to the bottom section of the station. Wherever the guards aren't? That's where he'll be. But you need to leave now or you'll lose your window. You got here just when you needed to get here and now you need to fucking leave when we need you to fucking leave get it!?"

It was clear Skrivver didn't have the most meticulous specifics in mind, but following the directions and the proper excuses and you would make through it easily. He tugs at his belt and yanks it up as if to make himself look taller.

Once in the ship, it's clear the Stardancer has little to no modifications done to it. Rico finds the cockpit in no time, not waiting for an invitation before he takes his seat at the helm and begins arcing the power up, awaken the ship with an advanced thrum from within. Despite the bruises on his face, he seems to have kept his anger and nerve. "While it's probably true Skrivver intends to pay you a bit of pocket money, if you're planning on fucking him and just steal the ship let me know. I'd love to imagine his face if you go down that route."

---

I couldn't find a Stardancer map. But you can safely know there are

• Cockpit
• Cargo bay
• Leisure area
• 4 small sleeping quarters
• Engine room
• Pressurized connecting pods for connecting to other ships
• Access corridors to each of these chambers

Miranda leaned forward and examined the control panel, running her fingers over the surface of the nearest console.

"It does have a certain elegance," she admitted, forming her finger and thumb into a child's imitation of a gun.

"We drop a plasma blast in the landing bay, Skrivver and his boys get all cripsy, the Hedge execute a pirate chief, the Blackcloaks are leaderless, piracy goes down and we get a ship... everybody wins."

"That's not how that works, Sugarplum." Even chimed in, finding a seat in the cockpit and strapping in before the overzealous pilot could take off. "Any survivors or friends of the Blackcloaks hear about that stunt and want blood and will gather as much support as they can possibly muster. Even without a leader they've managed to procure a ship like this and will let us just fly off with it. Anyone else who hears about this won't trust you in the future, cutting off possible jobs, contacts, and resources. This is a hot ship. We're in a Hegemony base, abandoned or not. If any shrubs decide to look into the whole situation, they ain't comin' down on our side. And on top of all that, we don't get paid. If you pull a stunt like that right now, the ones you know for sure who aren't winning is us. For now we should be thinkin about springing Gaebril without getting our asses burnt."

Of course, after the job's settled and the checks are cleared, making off with a nice ship like this could be a very valuable asset, but one thing at a time. He needed the cred first. Betrayal could come later when this whole agreement had worn out all of its use. But right now? What would the point be of deciding to plant a sapling only to burn it the moment you finished digging the hole for it.

Miranda affected an exaggerated yawn.

"Sounds like a marketing problem easily handled. Personally, I'm not too worried about a group of pirates who don't have the balls to spring their own boss," she disagreed fixing her companion with a speculative look.

"But then perhaps the shortage is sector wide..."

---

---

Ito shot a silent look to the woman, taking a moment to think of a proper response to dignify such a suggestion of betrayal. “Betrayal will get us nowhere, once our deal with those pirates is up you may do whatever with them. For the time being focus on the mission at hand,” the warrior stated, agreeing with his other companion for about the issue displayed. After making his statement, he proceeded to walk around the ship to get a feeling for it, allowing the silence to follow him as the sound of the ships engines cut into his thoughts for the time being.

Eventually, he found the engine room, the source of the noise that had dulled his mind to a lovely, momentary silence. Quickly did Ito make himself comfortable, sitting on the floor of the ship and crossing his legs as he kept his back straight. These moments of reflection were rare, especially when he was unaccompanied by the delights of liquor or other dulling substances to make sure that he could not fully remember the past and its tribulations.

The ship began to lift itself off the ground, pushing no air current as it via a different medium. You could see Rico gaze down at the pirates who watched them with a mixture of haughty arrogance, mirth, or hatred. Despite his suggestion, Miranda's tone noticably chills him and he glances back at her. He gives her a measuring look while Even speaks. You can tell he does not wish to admit it, but Even's suggestion has merit in his eyes. Rico turns back to the controls, confident the team behind him won't resort to infighting and keeping his more private thoughts unreadable. Ito would feel the thrum of the engine beneath him as the ship slowly drifted towards the pressurized hanger bay; a massive wall that opened and closed that separated the inner hanger to where the ships then begin to enter space.

"I suppose that was a no to my suggestion," He says as he flips a few switches, analyzing a 'flight' path for them as they enter the outer bay. He doesn't look to perturbed by it, however. Rico has the look of a soldier; youthful, fit, and apparently a reputable pilot. "At least I know which of you is the coldest."

---

You can take this time to speak to Rico, roll to influence him on anything, or speak to one another in the OOC on plans after the mission.

Miranda tossed her head and then took a seat at one of the consoles, bringing up some of the video compiler software and beginning to tap at the holographic keys. She began to import footage she had prepared before the mission on the off chance she ran into just this kind of idiocy.

"Perhaps we should name the ship?" she suggested with tart sarcasm tinging an artificially bright tone. She made a show of considering it, looking back and forth between the two other newcomers.

"Perhaps 'The Cowardly Boyscout' would suit you gentlemen?" she asked with pie eyed innocence.

"Or maybe 'Opportunity Lost' is more to your taste?"

Considering that the pirates were giving away a ship for what they were billing as a simple extraction, Miranda might have gone with 'Obvious Setup' but that really didn't fit in with the through line of her other jokes.

---

---

"I'm quite partial to 'Nagging Hen,' myself. Or perhaps 'Overconfident Fool.' You're here the same as the rest of us for the same reason: you need cred, and you need it bad. Probably need it worse than any of the rest of us, so it's funny that you're looking to backstab your employer at the drop of the hat for short-sighted gain without so much to show as payment in advance." Even could feel an impending headache come in if he had to deal with this for a prolonged period of time. If he'd wanted to be pestered for every little thing he did or didn't do, he'd have gotten married and probably end up like his old pal Nyx. Poor bastard would try to stay in the bar as long as possible to avoid her, only to make the tongue-lashing he got even worse.

Even chuckled to himself as he briefly reminisced before he reached into his jacket and pulled out his deck of holocards and began to fiddle with them. Although they were designed to trick suckers into parting with their funds prematurely, he didn't use them for that purpose often these days. He'd been on many ship rides, many of them without built in entertainment and they got drear real quickly. On one of these voyages he had picked up sleight of hand from another passenger. The only people Even cared to show off the tricks to were his family, but it was a good way to pass the time and keep his hands busy.

"No payment...you realize the ship is the payment right?" Miranda began, wondering if the fool could possibly be that dense. She gave up on arguing the point, he was certainly sexist so why not simple as well. Shaking her head and adjusting her expectations downward she went back to work. The pirates claimed they had taken care of everything, but if that were true they could certainly have just had Rico fly them in to retrieve their boss. They needed a plausible reason to be on the station if things turned out to be more complicated than advertised, well that could be arranged. While she had what she needed for herself, the cameras on the ship itself weren't of good enough quality for her purposes.

"Do either of you have holos of yourselves, preferable something not quite current and at high definition?" she asked.

[Asking for assistance on a hacking roll to create some false documents]

---

---

"Hey, that's not what Schill told me." Even kept the rest of his words cursing Schill for not telling him all the details in his head, not realizing the fact that both Schill and Skrivver had both told him, but he wasn't listening when either of them said so. He couldn't pay the bills with a ship, especially not one he owned with 2 other people who weren't likely to sell it, which meant he'd need to go on another job soon that he really wouldn't be able vet.

"If you need them to make forgeries, you don't need to both with mine. They're already done." Even put down his cards to pull out the forged documents from his coat and tossed them over to Miranda before going back to what he was doing. She could reference what he already had done to maintain consistency with whatever she was planning or just look at them to be sure of their (apparent) legitimacy. "Nice job communicating on our plan of action by the way. I guess we're using fake documents to slip into the prison and then busting the boss out before the whole station can notice?"