[IC] The Depths of Deception

[EliteCommander]

Since most of the team did not seem to have any further questions, the representatives started to leave, but Ghirn remained to answer Bit's question. "I wouldn't worry about supplies. Your ship will be very well stocked for any preferred weapon you might have. It is not ready yet, but if you are concerned about supplies, send a message to the ship's requisitions officer." He suggested, pausing for a moment to send Bit the contact information of said officer. He remained for a few minutes longer just in case there was more he wanted to ask.

As much as Rareth wanted to stay and question Ghirn, she decided it would be best to leave and return to the apartments. It probably wouldn't be best to let the others know just yet that she already had a professional relationship with one of their representatives. Indeed, she was quite curious about why it was him that was assigned to this task. His job involved collecting information and directing the actions of Datius; he was a very important individual. For him to be here seemed like a downgrade...unless this team was far more important than Rareth realized. There wasn't anything about this specific mission that seemed that important, but perhaps there was more going on than the representatives were letting on. Rareth did not like the fact that she did not know; she wasn't usually a person who was left out of the loop.

Instead of heading straight into her suite, Rareth decided to wait outside in the common area, which wasn't too crowded at the moment, and wait for the others to come by. There were a few of her teammates that she had not had much of a chance to speak to, and she wanted to do so before they set off the next day.

[Hailfire]

Ashley stood up as the meeting was adjourned having listened intently thoughout the brief and now feeling relieved to be able to move around once more. Ashley still had a couple of questions but they seemed more personal and therefore less mission critical than the questions the others in the brief had had to ask and so she had resolved to send them via her computer rather than disrupt the meeting for them which she did now, swiftly tapping her questions into the holographic display before sending them to the address she had been issued some of the information through. The questions were primarily focussed on her own role in the task force, namely would she be required to pilot the hummingbird or any other vessels for it and, if she was using the hummingbird, would expenses be covered. With these questions asked Ashley was able to turn her attentions away from the dull affairs of the meeting and to her gathering of teammates

"So... Thst was interesting." She said whilst straightening her casually worn suit.

[EliteCommander]

"Indeed." Rareth answered to Ashley as she joined her in the common area. "It has been a long time since I have been sent to a hostage situation. This one seems particularly strange. Usually, hostages are either for demands, or protection. Since they have made no demands, I can only assume they are keeping them for protection, but for what reason? From everything I read in the briefing, this seems like a normal mining station. Certainly valuable to the right people, but unless they are planning to stick around to mine the planet, which would be fairly impossible for them, it would be pretty useless. Perhaps we'll be able to figure this out when we arrive. Anyway, I don't think I will be replicating last night or anything, but we should go get a drink, catch up. We haven't been able to speak much over the last few days." Rareth suggested as she started off towards her room.

With their mission now explained and their departure planned, the rest of the day seemed to pass fairly quickly. There were a few final pieces of business that needed to be handled before they left, but the Assembly was quick to help take care of them. Ashley had the clearance to move her ship into the hanger of the one they would be using. It was a corvette of Rothian make, so its hanger was just large enough to fit it. Instead of its original crew, this vessel would be manned by an Assembly sponsored crew, to help minimize any potential conflicts. The rest of the crew was able to forward any and all special requests to the ship's requisitions officer, a Human named Akilah bint Fadia al-Harthi. She did her best to fulfill the requests, though they were all fairly short notice.

After a night's rest, the team had to wake up early to arrive on time for the ship's departure. The Assembly was helpful enough to send some crew members to help move their belongings, for those who were comfortable enough to allow others to handle their things, at least. Rareth had no issue in allowing the crew to help her, so she was among the first to arrive at the dropship waiting for them on the landing pad just atop the building. It probably wasn't necessary at this point, but she still wore her formal suit, just in case there was someone she needed to make an impression on. She sat down in one of the seats closest to the dropship's loading ramp. As it was a military vessel, it wasn't quite as comfortable as she was used to, but at least it was a Rothian dropship, so the seats were of the appropriate size for her. The others would be able to fit just fine, they might just look a bit small in their seats.

[cqbexpt]

Shuo pushed the chair back behind him and saluted the tenth's as they left the room. Once they exited he returned his chair and filed out with the rest of the crew. When Shuo's eyes adjusted from the darker room they were just in, he heard his name. Shuo stepped aside from the group to allow them to continue out. He looked around and saw the Tempu they had just conducted the meeting with. She waved her hand infront of her then turning to Shuo said "5th Yunyu I must ask that you come with me. This pertains to the mission you are assigned to." Before Shuo was even able to ask what she wanted him for she told him. Shuo gave a quick "yessir" and looked at the group as they headed to the elevator. He then turned back to the Tempu now walking down a separate corridor. He started down the hallway and quickened his pace to catch up. Once he did he slowed down to match her steps. "Just another thing before we send you off on this "mission", the medic we assigned your squad is up for her sentence being lifted. In other words if she preforms well for the duration of this team her treason charges will be expunged and be allowed to leave the army if she so wishes. Granted a close eye will be kept but she will be offered a choice again. But there is something else more important." She said apon opening a door to their left and walking through.

Shuo thought for a moment, what could be possibly more important than Shiva being reinstated as a citizen? The room was rather simple with a desk and 3 chairs, one of the chairs being behind the desk. Beyond that was a window looking what he assumed to be west. Shuo closed the door behind him as the Tempu took a seat behind the desk. "Yesterday the Assembley turned the footage they captured of some of the hostages over to us and we....found someone." An image poped up on the screen of a scared looking human male with light brown skin and dark hair. Shuo had never seen him before in his life. The Woman then continued " You are looking at Yasen Liam, a known arms dealer, one who most notably sold to the humans that killed your squadmate a few weeks back." Shuo's jaw began to tighten but he managed to keep his composure calm. "We suspect that the separatists currently occupying the station don't know who he is. We also asked the humans if we would be able to take him to trial after the station was liberated and they told us no. Furthermore, they stated that they would arrest him and question him themselves. But last time he was arrested in a joint sting operation he was allowed to walk free. We believe he ratted on his cohorts and then continued to sell arms whether or not the UN knows is unconfirmed. This means we have to deal with it. We are authorizing you to kill him, though we would like if you could make it look like the rebels did it. As this would not implicate you and allow you to remain on the team. It should also go without saying that this stays between us for now and you not speak a word. If you understand this and have no questions you are relived and may rejoin the group."

Command had just decided to drop on him what equated to a bombshell. But he would have a whole FTL ride to think about it so he thought best to put the information aside and leave. He gave a salute and said " I will preform this task to the best of my ability sir. I will report back to you then when the task is complete correct?" She looked up from her desk as the image behind her faded away and gave a quick "yes". Shuo saluted and then exited making his way to the elevator and eventually back to the apartment. He once again entered his empty suite and gathered up his clothing into a duffel bag and traded his dress uniform for a pair of blue fatigues. He didn't want to show up looking completely unprofessional after all. He quickly went to sleep and woke up early so he could eat some real food before they set out. After emptying the contents of the fridge and making his way to the drop ship on the roof he was irritated to find out that they would be taking a Rothian dropship to the Rothian corvette. He knew all about the never ending smugness Rothians carried with their gear and was sure he was going to get an earful on this trip. But he really didn't have a problem with the crew handling his luggage seeing as his weapons and armor would already be on board the ship. Even if the clothes he was taking with him got lost he wasn't really that attached to them, though he did like the cuff-links on the suit he had worn earlier.

He climbed into one of the seats in the drop ship. As he strapped in he became very aware of how large the seat really was. After getting himself settled he leaned back in the seat and said. "I hope the others arn't too far behind, I'm rather eager get to the mission."

[Muttonhawk]

Uncharacteristic of the time the others in her suite knew Shiva, she wasn't quite as talkative for the rest of the night. She spent probably more time than was useful flitting through the intel they had been given. Not necessarily to plan, but more to understand. However withdrawn she seemed, Shiva did respond to people if spoken to, and eavesdropped on any conversation with the same topic as her thoughts. It at least appeared that the others had the same questions as she did. Even though Shiva could have spent the entire night scrounging through the mission data provided to try and wrap her head around why the mining station was targeted, she disciplined herself enough to head to bed at the regular lights-out time.

When Shiva woke up with a clenched and sore jaw the next morning, she realised that all of her overthinking was probably nerves all along and tried to just swim with it. The morning seemed to pass by quickly, even for the little time they had to get prepared. Akilah, The Assembly's quartermaster, or whatever the equivalent title she had was, almost seemed relieved to hear Shiva's request for her equipment. Shiva had only requested her standard issue equipment. This was simply because she didn't have time to get acquainted with anything new and fancy, more specifically things beyond her regular pay grade.

Shiva jogged up to the drop ship and strode up the ramp to see Shuo and Rareth already seated. Shiva gave Rareth a quick smile and claimed the nearest available seat to the door, happening by Shuo. The fact that her head didn't even touch the headrest of the seat made her feel momentarily surprised, but at least the seat wasn't too small.

With the extra time they had, Shiva gave her weapons a quick check. To distract herself from her slightly shivering fingers, she spoke to the others. As it was now established that Shuo didn't have quite a prominent stick up his arse, Shiva's tone was a tad more casual. "You know, I always thought the engines on these Rothian ships always sounded strange. Not broken, just...I don't know, more like a rising whistle, rather than a roar like other ships. It's a little bit comical."

[EliteCommander]

"Indeed, they are a bit quieter than the engines of most other ships. I've been on Sovereignty vessels before. Overall, I would say they are efficiently designed, if not quite as...aesthetically pleasing. It's not like a military vessel is made to look good, though. They are made to wage war. Despite what some might try to tell you, even Rothian architectural design has a functional purpose. Curved surfaces don't have as many points of failure as angled ones." Rareth commented to Shiva.

The small talk continued for a while until the rest of the team arrived and took their seats. Then, with the press of a button on her wrist computer, Rareth directed the dropship's autopilot to take them to the spaceport. With military clearance, they were able to avoid the standard lanes of traffic and head directly to their hanger. Their ship was a Rothian corvette, which, while not the largest class of vessel, was still rather large at around a thousand meters in length. It had two hanger bays, one on either side. By Ashley's request, Rareth made sure to take them to the one that contained the Hummingbird. She was sure to message the ship ahead of time to report their arrival, so there was a welcoming party awaiting them once they landed.

As soon as the ramp lowered, Rareth saw a group of officers of all races, Dirophyds excepted. They each had uniforms of their respective races, with one in particular being highly decorated: a Tempu male who was the first to step forward, salute, and greet them. "Ah, it is good to finally meet you all. I am Repentant Solace, the new Captain of the, forgive my pronunciation, Tares'Synkuur. Boundless Light, translated. For those of you who sent your belongings ahead of time, we have taken the liberty of moving them to your quarters on the starboard side. There are a higher than average number of officers on this mission, so you may not all have your own rooms, but it should not be crowded. You may go there now if you wish, we will be departing for our destination shortly. In the meantime, however, I like to get to know my crew. If you so choose, I would like to take the time for more detailed introductions."

The other officers with Captain Solace stepped forward as well to give their introductions. The First Officer was a Rothian woman by the name of Fa'Vita. The Requisitions Officer, Akilah, who most of the team was already familiar with, was also present. The two other officers were the Maintenance Officer, a Rothian male named Korak'Vaer, and the Communications Officer, a Masulu male called Hirintka. After exchanging names, each of them remained to speak with the team who were at the center of this entire mission.

[Kyelin]

With no further conclusions, Opus had excused himself, and made his way back to the suites. On his way through the common room, he had noticed the Rothian and the human female were conversing once again, and decided not to join. His understanding was that there was no sense in talking about what had happened, as everything the representatives had agreed to share had been said, and that anything else was mere speculation. Actions speak louder than words, and the agent would converse only when he could get one of the team alone, as social interactions were not his greatest strength.

The mission was still hazy, and there was no way to know if this was legitimately the case, or there was some other ulterior motive to forming the team. Most likely, the Assembly was simply testing them, to see if this could actually work. Whatever the case, Opus insured he would be prepared, and made his way back to the barracks, for more training and physiotherapy. Helped to clear his head before a mission.

---

The next day

Opus was well awake before he received a notification to meet up with the team. The night before, he went to check on his ship, and had found it was missing, only to be notified by the dock master that the actual owner had returned for it the other day. So, now he was committed to this operation, and there was no backing out (not that the agent actually had a choice in the matter). They were quickly whisked away to a drop ship, and swiftly were delivered to their actual base of operations, a small corvette that seemed to scream it would be used for precision strikes behind enemy lines. He couldn't wait to get started.

But that had to wait, as the welcoming party of superior officers had made the effort to introduce themselves, a custom the agent was not used to. Normally, in SpecOps crews, no one bothered to try and be friendly, just slowed everything down. Opus stepped forward from the group, and commented on the ship. "A very nice vessel, definitely Rothian. This should be quite the excursion, if we survive, that is. By the way, Opus here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[EliteCommander]

The Maintenance Officer, Korak, took the most interest in Opus' comment, given that he was intricately familiar with every aspect of the vessel. As the other officers and members of the team began to exchange introductions and converse, he approached the Dirophyd. "Indeed it is. I have been assigned to this vessel since the day it was built, which was fairly recently, actually. This will be the vessel's first official mission, though as Maintenance Officer, I have overseen all of its stress testing, as well as the shakedown runs of some of its newer systems. I can personally attest to its functionality. Among other things, it has an improved stealth system, so it should be excellent for operating in dangerous regions."

Out of the entire group, Akilah took particular notice of August. She approached with a bit of curiosity, as if she was surprised to see who he was. "Requisitions Officer Akilah bint Fadia al-Harthi, at your service. You...are the Jayrin Augustin, aren't you? I saw your name, but I thought it must be someone else. I did not expect they would select someone so well-known for this mission, though I suppose you are a professional."

[Kyelin]

"Indeed, Korak. The stealth system is a nice touch, very familiar with those in SpecOps... Should be useful later on down the road, right?" Secretly, the agent was probing for more clues as to the nature of this whole ordeal, to see as to how he should best prepare. Something wasn't right: Opus just couldn't let this go, couldn't let it slip from his mind. Perhaps it was just from years of dealing with the paranoid nature of his work, and he was simply uneasy for no good reason. "I must admit though, I am not too familiar with technical matters regarding ships. If you had seen my weapons arrive on the ship, you would probably guess that I am not a mechanic."

[EliteCommander]

"Well, I wouldn't expect many are." Korak responded to Opus. "For some of these systems, it can take decades of study and training to even be competent in their operation and repair. And much longer if you want to be considered an expert. The crew on this ship is pretty diverse; I hadn't saw a Dirophyd before you all arrived, but all the others are pretty well represented. However, for obvious reasons, all of my maintenance team is Rothian. I'm sure there are others out there that can do it, but considering that only the Rothian military can give an official certification to work maintenance on a Rothian military vessel, that limits the potential candidates. If you see anyone tampering with the ship that isn't a machine or a Rothian, you might want to report it." He recommended.

[Muttonhawk]

As was required, Shiva's first reaction after walking onto the hangar was to salute to captain Solace and his crew. The masked one, Opus, seemed to hit it off with the rothian maintenance officer, discussing the ship itself. The ship was very impressive, but Shiva didn't pretend to know its underbellies. Rather than stand around awkwardly, Shiva took a step forward and continued the introductions. "First echelon Shkitliktuit Tasthagk, the medic. Just call me Shiva, it's easier."

Unlike Opus, Shiva didn't have a means to really start a conversation. Being that there mission was going to start soon, Shiva actually would have preferred to be dismissed sooner rather than later so she could continue the train of thought she was on yesterday. Another reason was so that the comms officer didn't start asking questions about her convict mark that she didn't want to answer.

[EliteCommander]

Just as Shiva feared, among the first thing that Communications Officer Hirintka noticed was Shiva's mark. He showed the same kind of respect and saluted, but he still remained firmly interested in her. As introductions were exchanged, she was of course the first person he approached. "Communications Officer Hirintka, of the Assembly Bureau of Joint Intelligence. I have been told that your team consists of some of the best specialists in the galaxy. It will be an honor to work with you...but to satisfy my curiosity, how long have you had that mark? You must be a highly talented medic if you have earned your place here while bearing it."

[Muttonhawk]

Shiva's eyes looked to Hirintka, quickly went to the floor, then looked ahead again. There was a pause where Shiva's silence gave a hint at her disposition to such questions, but she indulged the minimum about of information. "Twenty-two years, sir." She said as tersely as she could.

Funnily enough, Hirintka's tone didn't indicate hostility, but it was still rather shaming to draw attention to her mark with the ship's officers present. This masulu may have been assembly staff, but he either didn't have tact, or had his own way of making Shiva's life difficult. Why couldn't he just greet Shuo and talk about old war stories or something.

[baskets]

Coin adjusted her lab coat awkwardly. Fortunately, her belongings had been taken on board the ship ahead of time, so she didn't have to worry about keeping track of her things. She'd just have to figure out where she'd be sleeping in order to find her clothes and weapons, which didn't seem too daunting a task. Rather, Coin was more worried about the details of her role within the team. It was something she had not thought to ask at the briefing on Pax, but became more and more pressing as the mission came closer and closer.

Coin glanced around, noting Opus and Shiva already conversing with some of the officers. She turned to the Captain, figuring she'd try to make a strong first impression. "Dr. Natalia Ricard, sir. Most people call me Coin, though," she saluted, then approached the Captain. Stuttering briefly, Coin asked, "Is there a tech lab or anything on board, sir? I was assigned here under the impression that I'd be primarily operating in a scientific role, though I am also effective in combat, as well." Coin fidgeted uncomfortably. "I'm just curious about what exactly my role will be in the team, since I'm probably gonna be most useful in a lab, y'know?" Coin slapped herself mentally. She had been on board the ship for minutes and she'd already lost her sense of formality, instead replacing it with her markedly less impressive casual demeanor. So much for strong first impressions.

[EliteCommander]

Hirintka could easily pick up on Shiva's discomfort, which he admitted he should have expected. His reaction to her wasn't nearly as hostile as some other members of the Sovereignty might have been, but he couldn't shake having a small level of distrust, even if he was keeping it well hidden. Even so, depending upon her actions in the mission, she could easily gain his trust. "I see, well, I look forward to seeing your skills for myself...or hearing about them, rather." He said with a faint chuckle before taking his leave of her.

Rareth did not immediately approach one of the officers, so she ended up overhearing the conversation between Shiva and Hirintka, which piqued her interest. She had just assumed that the mark on Shiva's forehead was some kind of tattoo; she was unaware that it had actual meaning. It was hard for Rareth to differentiate Masulu facial expressions, but she didn't seem too thrilled to talk about it. Regardless, Rareth was now curious and wouldn't mind learning about that mark. She approached Shiva and motioned towards the exit of the hanger. "Say, do you want to go ahead and get to our rooms? See how they have been situated?" She asked.

Captain Solace did not seem to be bothered by Coin's informality, as his tendency to try and become familiar with his crew usually led to that happening at some point. Nevertheless, he maintained a strong, commanding stature as he spoke to her. "From my understanding, Agent Rareth is your team leader, so you will need to speak to her about your specific role, but the Boundless Light is equipped with a tech and bioanalysis lab. It allows us to properly examine in the field unidentified or fragile lifeforms or pieces of technology. I believe it is often used more for the former purpose, but it is equipped for the latter."

[cqbexpt]

When the dropship settled and began to spool down inside the hanger Shuo was prepared for atleast the deck crew to be entirely Rothian. After all it was their ship and he doubted they would hang over the keys so willingly. Once he stood up and began shuffling out the ramp he was pleasantly surprised by the fact that they had put a Tempu in charge. He was also interested in the speed in which everyone had decided to break off into discussion. From what he could tell however most questions were atleast related to the mission. He managed to catch the comms officers pupils dilating apon initially seeing the full mark. Though he was rather curious about something invloving the comms officer. After seeing Shiva begin to leave he made his way over and asked. "Hirintka, something I'm curious about is are you and our captain simply on loan from our military or are you assigned to more "permanent" assembly assignment? It has been awhile since I've haven't had a chance to read up on Sovereign policy in this regard."

[Balmung1100]

Bit entered the ship with some caution. He had never really been on a Rothian vessel.

"So this is going to be my home for a bit...I've seen worse." He said with a yawn. He didn't really know what his role could be on-board the ship, but he knew what he wanted to work on.

"So, what's the armory look like on this ship?" Bit asked nobody in particular. While he doubted manufacturing explosives while on an unfamiliar ship would be encouraged, he was certainly going to try.

[Muttonhawk]

Good to hear some things haven't changed, Shiva thought sarcastically in her head in response to Hirintka. As far as she was concerned, he was just subtly showing his opinion in his words, making him sound obnoxious. Thankfully, Shiva quickly got her wish as Shuo grabbed the communications officer's attention. It wasn't until Shiva exhaled in relief out of Hirintka's vision that she realised how tense she had become.

When Rareth approached and spoke to Shiva, she was startled enough to twitch her head towards her. "Good idea," Shiva replied in a flat tone that reflected her current mood. Without any more words, Shiva picked up and headed to the exit. It wasn't the kind of ship that was so big that you could get lost in it, and there were readable signs, so she figured finding the rooms would be easy.

Shiva made a mental note to thank Rareth for bailing her out of that awkward situation.

[Kyelin]

"Will do, Korak. Any who, I must be off, you must be incredibly busy anyway. I'm going to show myself aboard, if you don't mind. I have some critical life support maintenance on my suit to attend to, so I will be in the med bay if anyone needs me." Opus nodded respectfully at the officer, and moved past him up the ramp. Guy must really love his work, hopefully he can keep his head under fire, the agent wondered to himself as he explored the ship, before arriving at the medical bay.

He conversed with their chief of medicine and her fellow doctor for some time, before he was allowed a private bench to work on. He sat down calmly, fitted his various life support systems directly to his head, and faced the wall before removing his helmet and beginning work.

[Lightbox]

August boarded onto the ship behind everyone else, he was nervous about the mission and he didn't expect it to be as simple as it first seemed. He put on a false smile and tried his best to look like he didnt have a care in the world as he walked more onto the ship, others had begun conversing with the ships crew but august didn't want to. Normally he was friendly enough with ship crew since they were often responsible for quickly pulling him out of a dangerous zone but seeing everyone else splitting off to them put him off, he didn't know these 'teammates' and if he didn't know them he couldn't trust them especially since a lot of them seemed to be fairly high up or from various special ops sections and lets face it they were quite a bit above a 'bounty hunter' in status even if august himself was semi famous he was mostly used for the publicity and he knew that, these guys though. These were people who most likely excelled at what they did and probably deserved to be on this a hell of a lot more then a 'pretty face' did.

August leaned against one of the walls losing himself in thought, he wanted to get this mission underway immediately so he could really learn what these 'teammates' were like