[IC] Solar System Defense [A Mecha/Sci-Fi Roleplay] (Full)

[IceHeart]

XEON III - 1 Day from Fish Tail Comet The XEON III was quite busy as the crew prepared for its rendezvous with the Fish Tail Comet. The crew had already done this multiple times over the years but every time they made sure to be as ready as possible since anything from out of the system had the potential for new elements that had never been seen before. The times the XEON III had actually found anything alien was almost nill yet there was always the hope next time around. The research section was especially active as scientists prepared to discover anything alien when they reached the comet. The hanger was by far the most busy section as engineers prepared mining equipment, mechanics fine tuned Mechas and other craft for the operation, and pilots went through their checklists to makes sure their machines were ready. Marsha Wells was one such pilot as she went through her Drill Beetle's checklist. "Engine, check. Structural integrity, check. Oxygen recycler, check." On Marsha went through the vast checklist, until the entire machine checked out as green. "All systems within normal parameters, Marsha Wells signing off." She reported before popping open the cockpit to her machine, kicking the floor she jumped out of her mecha into the weightless environment inside the hangar. Keeping gravity in the hangar area off was quite useful for those who worked in it, as even the heaviest equipment could be moved with relative ease. As she floated past a couple of mechanics she saluted to get their attention, "I would appreciate it if you could add another coating to my unit's armor, I've noticed it being thin in a few areas, especially around the joints." "Will do Ms. Wells, we'll get some boys on the job right away." Marsha nodded back to them and then reached some railings on the hangar wall. Closing her fingers around them she quickly anchored herself and used it to pull herself toward the nearest door. She hit the panel to open the exit and readied herself as she stepped into an environment with gravity. It was always an interesting experience to move from a weightless environment to one with gravity as the body had to adjust quite rapidly but she had done it so many times it was second nature to her. Artificial gravity had been one of mankind's greatest inventions, as it made sure humans did not suffer the ill effects of zero gravity that made people weak. As Marshal walked the corridor she decided that her next destination would be the kitchen as she was feeling a bit peekish. She had a little time to spare before she would be sent ahead of the XEON III to the comet to make sure there was no pirate ambush in wait for them there. Pirates tended to know where vessels were heading and one of their favorite tactics was to lie in wait behind objects of interest so they could jump out and take expeditionary ships by surprise, which is why private security firms had become such a hot business these days, among other things. Time would tell if they would need to fight or not, but at the moment she needed to take care of herself first.

[Warbozz]

"I can check my own mecha thank you very much!" That concluded the short fight Reb Manning had with mechanic personnel floating around Mark-005-. Still seething from the minor nuisance he popped open the cockpit and settled in, closing it behind him. Blue lights of numerous displays danced around while Reb only performed basic checking. This is why he preferred the older marks, reliability, no need for all the fuzz. When the time came to kick some poor pirates around he and Heat Jack were always ready. Still, no need to offend those who write my paychecks. Leaning back he crossed his legs and reached for a sandwich behind the thruster controls. The sciensy type guys were all riled up earlier, one would think they had learned by now it was gonna be just another rock, maybe some minerals, ice and dust that caused that freaky tail thing. Still, he had an itch in his neck, one that seemed to appear when fates beyond his own were at the move, he liked to call this instinct his "space sense." "Hmpf, maybe Ill do full maintanance after all..." He reached for another sandwich but to his surprise found none. "After I stock up"

[Hebigami Shiho]

A comet, huh..? Bound to be interesting, Rock thought. In space, there's nothing certain, after all. The maintenance of his mecha had finished a long time ago, so he wasn't bothered at all right now by little technicalities and was just cleaning its outer plating. He smiled at his work after a while of scrubbing. He stood up and nodded to himself, proud of his work. He saw someone getting a bit spicky with the matters of his mecha and, this time, Rodrigo just shook his head at the prospect. One shouldn't be picky when it comes to maintaining a mecha, it sometimes can save your life. Then again, Rodrigo was one more for teamwork and putting heads togethers than someone who liked working alone on these kinds of things, better safe than sure. He saw a girl, the only girl, walking out of the maintenance room. Welp, if she was done with her own preparations, then he should step it up. He jumped up, towards the cockpit of his mecha and installed himself in it. Schwarzbiss, in his own opinion, his master piece. He couldn't be more happy with the result, and he was even happier to have made some fame for himself and his bodyguard job to be hired for an expedition like this. It was really interesting seeing what the other mechas looked like, and he could also pick up some useful mechanical skills while he was in there. He started setting up his mecha, and the several screens inside it lit up. 'Please, say the password.' A mechanical voice said, coming from the speakers. "Rodrigo Rock Zedler" 'Password accepted. Welcome.' It answered and the main interface started up. Rodrigo smiled adn started fiddling around with the buttons and whatnot of his mecha. "Check status, run a scan for anomalies." A window popped up in the screen. No anomalies to report, it seems. Rodrigo nods again. He started getting comfortable in his seat, ready to take a nap, until.... Did he have to report to a superior that he was ready? Maybe that girl from before knew... Well, they'll search for him if that isn't the case. He sent his seat back and was just about ready for his nap, though the doubt lingered in his mind. It bugged him and bugged him until it was just too much to bear with. He got out of his mecha after shutting it down and went out of the maintenance room, searching for the woman from before. What was her name again?

[IceHeart]

XEON III - Command Center The captain of the expedition vessel looked out of the view port, the vast expanse of space greeted him back with a bleak expression. "How long before we come in range of the Fish Tail comet?" He asked his navigator who only once glanced up from his monitor. "We will be approaching the comet in approximately 22 hours. Its a pretty sizable one too so it won't be too long before we actually get in visible range." The last bit was not necessary but a nice touch none-the-less. "We are on schedule then. When we are 4 hours out I want to send our security forces ahead to inspect the Comet and the surrounding area before our arrival. We never know what kind of trick those space pirates will try, so we must be cautious." The captain stared at the view port a while longer before averting his eyes. "Let's hope this missions turns out to be a profitable one." The vessel continued its trek through space as everyone made sure they were ready to divulge the comet's most minute secrets. XEON III - Mess Hall The ship's mess hall was quite small, certainly not large enough to accommodate the whole crew but this was by design. The ship was made to be quite efficient in its use of space and so non-essential areas, like the kitchen and somewhat unfortunately the bathrooms, were spartan and compact. Still it at least had some space and a view port for looking out at the stars; also while the kitchen itself was small as well, attached to the mess hall as it was, it still had all the necessary equipment to make a variety of meals and was decently stocked. Marsha walked up to the kitchen 'window' toward the ship's resident chef, Trip Walker. "Salutations Ms. Wells." The chef said in a cheerful voice, "here for a little pick-me-up?" Marsha blew away a lock of hair that had fallen onto her forehead before replying, "I suppose you could say that. I'll have a vegi-burger, something quick to make and tasty." Trip gave a small chuckle as he gave a 'right away' gesture and turned to find the ingredients. "You know I haven't met too many 'strict' vegetarians in my time. Sure meat isn't the most plentiful commodity in space but not many go out of their way to avoid it." Trip noted, making light conversation with the red-head. Marsha smiled slightly, "Well meat is inefficient and despite what people think there are plenty of ways to get enough protein without devouring the flesh of another being. Besides, not like anyone should complain, just means more for them." "Well that may all be true," Trip said as he finished preparing the burger buns and started to stack on the ingredients, "but I feel like you're missing out of some of my best prepared meals. Here you go, one vegi-burger with that 'griller' patty you like over a hamburger." He pushed the vegi-burger out on a plate for her which she took gratefully. "Also apart from the burger, do you happen to have my equipment?" Marsha asked the man who winked back. "Yep, got it all right here." He reached into a compartment and brought out a half-finished canvas, with what looked like a vividly colored nebula, along with brushes and paints, plus a few other tools. "Tell you what, I know you'll want that spot near the window so you can get inspiration so why don't I just set up your stuff while you eat that little vegi-beauty?" "Thank you, that is most appreciated." Marsha nodded and headed over to her seat near the window. She started to eat her burger as she watched Trip set up her painting equipment. She did not usually paint in the mess hall, her quarters usually sufficed and was less noisy, but occasionally she just wanted to look out at the stars while she painted. Having something to look besides the dull interior of the ship was quite helpful for the inquisitive mind. She set her burger down after her first bite, there was something missing, something quite vital to the integrity of the burger. "Trip could you get me some mustard as soon as possible? This burger is parched like the sunny-side of mercury." "Sure thing."

[Warbozz]

At times it annoyed Reb greatly to be on the short side, especially long floats trough weightless environments, he felt like a tossed football. It didnt take long however for the burly man to reach corridors leading to kitchens. "Artificial gravity, you magnificent bastard." He started his trek trough the ship. Another group of ships crew passed him by hugging the wall, Reb Manning wasnt the kind to give way to just anyone. He thought of previous ships he had been stationed in, including military ones in his youth. "33" Xeon III was the nicest one so far though he wouldnt say that aloud in a million years, it was kept clean and orderly, even sterile at places. Social areas were built like tin cans though. His mind wandered again to that one assignment he regretted wholeheartedly, the pirate one. What he had assumed as a regular merc group was revealed to be anything but. "Roses of Pluto" they called themselves, even today they still appeared in newsfeeds every now and then. At the time young Reb needed the money bad and piracy fit the bill, mostly earth military and merchant heists kept them rolling in cash for a short while, then they crossed the line, a purely civilian transport from a colony to another, spaceborn men, women and children like Reb himself. He would not stand for it. All that transport saw of the ambush was explosions at the distance and a lone, damaged Mark-005- flying past them. He knew they would one day come for him and find him ready, their leader wasnt the kind of woman who took betrayals lightly. Reb shook his head. Like the pirate tattoo on his back, all of this was behind him now. The kitchen was in sight and a lithe man was standing on the doorway, apparently arrived just before him. He had heard maintenance crew call the man Rock several times so he would follow suit, he preferred nicknames anyway. "Oi Rock! Dont tell me theres a bloody line here already?!"

[Hebigami Shiho]

As Rock was searching for the woman from before, she caught her through the corner of his eye and followed her all the way to the mess hall. Rock was about to do the same when he noticed that they had passed by the Command Center. Then, should he go there and see what was up? No, they might see it as something bad for him to show up unannounced if they weren't expecting him to report in. It was troubling, most definitely. He stood there for a while until someone called him, asking if there was a line. Getting out of his little own world, Rock quickly turned to look at the bearded man, Reb, if his memory was working right. He smiled and shook his head, before stepping into the kitchen and motioning at Reb to follow him. It wasn't until later that Rock thought that Reb might also know just what the hell should they do. He waited for him to pass by to raise his question to him. "So, do you know anything about what we should do now? I don't know if we have to report in to the captain or not, to be honest." Rock said, seemingly a bit embarrassed for his absent mindness and scratching the back of his head nervously. He still scanned the whole room with his eyes. Reb might, after all, not know what they should do, so knowing where the girl was was better for now. He spotted her next to the window and Rock started waving at her to try and catch her attention. He would have shouted her name if he just remembered what it was, though... 'It definitely is better to just call someone by a catchy nickname, it sticks better to your mind.'

[Apollosarcher]

James took his seats as a lot of mechanics watched, in awe of the mech. She was a unique model put together personally for him she was sleek and well taken care of, he could see the mechanics arguing over who would service her as pulled out his data tablet. He slotted it in and spoke. "Morning Fire Fly." He had no clue the actually time so he just guessed. After a few moments the screens flicked to life and a soft female voice responded. "Good morning James, do you need my run a systems check?" Fire Fly was third generation model of the artificial intelligence his family used for combat assistance. James leaned back. "Thank'ya kindly darling." After a few moments the checks on systems came up green, then the weapons were green as well. "All system are green James, shall I log off?" She asked in a polite tone, with just a barely audible hint of a synthetic voice. "Yeah, I'm hungry and techs wanna get you all packed away." He smiled as she shut down and he removed the data tablet before jumping out and float along. "Treat her nice boys!" He floated over and cycled out, getting a bit of a headache as he entered artificial gravity. He walked towards the mess hall, checking his tablet out to see the full roster of Mech pilots, he wanted to get know the others.

[IceHeart]

Marsha Wells gratefully accepted the mustard bottle and started to apply the condiment to her burger while Trip returned to his kitchen duty after getting her painting supplies. After she finished applying the yellow condiment and put the burger back together she noticed movement near the entrance of the mess hall. It turned out to be one of the other Mecha pilots, Rodrigo Rock Zedler and next to him was Reb Manning, also a Mecha pilot. Like her they were assigned on this mission to keep the vessel safe as it divulged all the secrets from the Fish Tail comet. Soon after she had joined this expedition she had made it her duty to know all the other pilots by name and appearance from the crew manifest, she had also studied their Mecha as well so she would be better able to work with them in the field by knowing their strengths and weaknesses. Marsha decided to wave back in acknowledgement as a simple nod might not register with the man across the room. Sure that 'Rock', as he liked to be called, saw her she returned to her burger, wanting to finish it before attempting to continue her artwork. This time the burger felt and tasted like it should, so she was satisfied. She decided not to say anything and just continued eating, besides, across the room conversation was not very effective or polite to the other patrons. If they decided to join her it would be a good opportunity to get to know some other pilots better, even if they did distract her from painting.

[SgtEasy]

Daniel came to the world of the conscious with a groan. He was curled up in his, pillow under head and his alarm going off. The native of New York stretched his legs and let out a yawn. He pressed the "off" button of the alarm and raised the hatch on the cockpit. He was already dressed, armor on. He always felt safer in the confines of his armor. It made him feel safe. Stretching his arms with his upper body out of the hatch, Daniel looked at his trusty Mech. "Imperator" was the most awesome thing that has ever come in his life. Modest and sturdy, it was his Mech. No one elses. He came out of wanderings and pulled the rest of his body out of the cockpit. He jumped down and landed gracefully on the cold, hard metal floor. 'Comet, huh?' Daniel reached out to where he hanged his sword at the back of the Mech 'Never been on one of these ships before. Might be an interesting job.' His mind wandered to how he was hired to protect the XEON III. "Noize!" Daniel turned to see an elderly man approach him. It was a bright day, according to the Luna domed city he was currently residing in. Headphones hanging on his neck, Daniel "Noize" Bhane greeted the elderly man. The white suit talked about an expedition into the unknown. He was wanting to hire him to protect the ship alongside some other Mecha pilots. He continued saying that Daniel wasn't getting any younger and this might be an opportunity of a life time. Of course, Daniel accepted. Now here he is on board the XEON III, guarding it from "unknown" threats. He doubted there would be any real alien presence. 'It's just a meteor. Nothing to worry about' Daniel grabbed his signature "Noize" headphones and hanged it around his neck. He took the key from his pocket and pressed the button. The mech started to shut all openings and blare music out. "We are the Champions My Friend" was a particular song he liked and left it on, walking away hands in pockets towards the mess hall.

[Lmpkio]

While the XEON lll cruises in space, several asteroids can be seen slowly passing by the ship. Most of them were rather small, no more than several kilometers, but if a fast runaway rock were to hit the ship, it could cause some damage. Yet unaware to the ship, there happened to be something hiding on one of the larger asteroids. Blending almost beautifully to the rocky surface, lies a mecha unit. Ceres watches as he is shown onscreen the massive XEON lll cruising along, nearing the comet. He was in fact part of a corporate pirate gang, the leader in fact, and also wants a piece of that comet. If he were to take control of it, he would be making millions of credits right about now. "So you want to steal my prize, huh?" Ceres said to himself as he continues watching, "Not while I have anything to say about it..." He then presses a button, alerting other allied mecha vehicles in the area. A large strike force was ready to spring the trap... "Fellow Corporatists," he announces, "Get Ready to attack under my signal. We will begin once the ship passes us, with its rear vulnerable. Knock out her engines and prepare to board. Our flagship will arrive to finish her off in 20 hours max." His mission was clear. Destroy the Xeon lll and take the comet for themselves. Such success will have to do with their timing and accuracy. Lack only a little in these spots and the mission could turn to disaster. They must be as perfect as can be...

The minor mecha units

[Warbozz]

Reb responded to Marshas wave with one of his own and turned to Trip "Got any of those sandwiches from yesterday left my man?" Trip turned around with an amused look on his face. "Why, yes I do mister Manning, might I add that you are by far the most efficient waste disposal unit I have ever had honor of owning, most compact sized too." "Well the flight so far has been so peaceful Im glad to be of some assistance to the crew" Reb grabbed the sandwiches presented to him and disregarding table manner etiquettes yelled to Marsha. "Sorry for the interruption! To be honest I still have some tinkering to do so Im returning to hangar!" Before he started his walk back towards mechas.

[Apollosarcher]

James made his way to the mess hall, he stopped putting down his tablet. He wasn't hungry but he did want to get know his fellow Mech pilots, surveying the his eyes rested on a young woman, painting. A strange hobby for this day and age, however the closer he looked the more he recognized her, Marsha Wells. A successful Martian security contractor like himself, not as famous to the public but she had a solid reputation. James made his way over to the women, proper introductions were in order, she was a fellow Martian and Mech pilot thus deserving of utmost respect. He carefully took a seat near her, wanting to see her painting also not wishing to disturb her to much. "Hello Ms. Wells I'm James Rockefeller, I was a bit of last minute addition to the crew, figured I should come over and introduce myself. If your busy though I'll get out of you hair." He maintained politeness though he did try to get a good look at the canvas, his father always had canvas painting lining the halls of there corporate offices. He knew a little about art, enough to get by at charity dinners and such.

[Hebigami Shiho]

Rock approached Marsha after her wave, though it was a bit sad to see Reb parting ways with them, surely they could have had a merry chat if he stayed, though Rock actually wanted him to fill in the silence that Rock would probably leave all of them in after a few words. Well, he could try and prolong the conversation a bit, with some luck. She approached Marsha's table and sat down in front of her. He looked at her curiously as she drew something. Tilting his head a bit, he felt compelled to ask. "What are you drawing?" He gasped, thinking he had sounded rude to her. "Ah, sorry. My name is Rodrigo Zedler, though you can just call me Rock, if Rodrigo is too hard to pronounce." He said, scratching his cheek a bit. Oh, that's right, he went there for a reason... But now that he had started the conversation, it seemed a bit dumb to just ask her that and then just leave. "Um... Great weather we are having today, no?" An outdated way to fill in the silence of a conversation, but most terrible of it all, it had no meaning in space, where all they could see was starts and the infinite. 'Gah, I should just have asked about the command room and leave. I'd have felt as dumb if I had asked that.'

[IceHeart]

XEON III - MESS HALL As she worked on her eventual masterpiece two of the other Mecha pilots joined her at the table, James Rockefeller and Rodrigo Rock Zedler, somewhat of a coincidence that two mecha pilots would both have 'rock' in their names. As James was the first to talk to her she started to converse by responding to him. "A pleasure Mr. Rockefeller, your family is quite well known, I suspect your contribution to this mission is partly as a way to increase your family's reputation in the solar market?" She was polite enough to at least make sure she split her attention from her increasingly vibrant nebula to the person she was talking too. "Please do not take me the wrong way, certainly a noble goal to increase your family's standing while helping humanity increase its knowledge of the galaxy. Those who can find a constructive way of promoting themselves can be in short supply after all." Marsha added a dab of purple to the canvas before half-turning her attention to Rock. She somehow managed to squash the urge to shake her head at his attempt to start a conversation, the slightest curve to the corner of her mouth almost managed to sneak onto her features. "If we were having bad weather inside the ship I would be severely concerned for the safety of the crew since that would mean something was wrong with the ship's climate control" Admittedly he was obviously talking about space outside but unless the ship somehow accidentally ended up in a meteor shower or a gaseous nebula, its would be almost impossible to have bad space weather, so she decided to make a joke out of it. "As for what I am painting, it is a nebula I saw on duty years back, I have no way to look at it again but the image has remained with me since then. Looking out into space somewhat jogs my memory of that view. Needless to say, I have a long way to go." She had been working on it off an on but it was nowhere close to the beauty that she had remembered on that day, she just hoped to capture even a fraction of its glory through her work. XEON III - COMMAND CENTER The Captain had one of those feelings that happen before an event is about to occur, usually a bad one. He looked at the view screen with a furrowed brow at a few rather large asteroids in the vicinity. "Why have we not gone around this area? Certainly we could have avoided some space debris without putting too much extra time on the clock?" He asked his navigator, expecting a quick answer. "Well sir, they drifted into this sector, somewhat like the comet did I believe, just without the ice of course. Frankly sir, they were small enough they just did not really catch anyone's attention." "Certainly the comet is many times larger than the largest of these but why did you not alter our course!" The captain said with a little more urgency in his voice. "Sir, I did not deem it necessary as there is zero chance of them colliding with our vessel. Still you are right sir, I should have followed standard procedure and altered our course." "Hmm yes you should have...still you said these came from out of the solar system like the comet did? Could be worth a look with a probe at least." The captain turned to a crew member at one of the command consoles. "Launch a surveilance probe to have a look, maybe if there is something of interest we can stop on our way back. Also keep an eye out would you, I have premonition something is going to happen soon. I've been out in space long enough that I know I should pay attention to my 'feelings'." "Probe away." A small spherical object shot out from the bow of the XEON III and headed toward the nearest asteroids to make its rounds.

[Lmpkio]

"Sir!" a Corporatist pilot warns Ceres, "We have an incoming surveillance probe heading towards our position!" "We will need to find a quick way to distract it," answers back Ceres in a calm, but with an annoyed tone, "If it finds us, then our trap will be sprung and we would've come here all for nothing." "Why not blow it up?" asks another pilot. "You fool!" the captain responds annoyingly, "If we do, then the crew will certainly know something is wrong and will investigate our presence immediately!" There was a slight pause as the captain tries to think of a quick strategy. "Got one." he then says, "Raven, do you read me?" With that, another mech can be seen appearing almost out of nowhere. It was of sleek design, with a red visor, a horn, but most importantly it was equipped with stealth armor. Enter the EOS--IX8 Sidewinder, the fastest mech in the Asterion Alliance. "Orders captain?" asks the pilot Raven Eclipse in a deep muffled voice under his mask. "Get into stealth mode and redirect the probe's course." Ceres responds, "Once you do, override its systems for a few seconds and it should return to the ship." "Will do sir." Raven responds. Ceres then talks to the rest of the crew. "The rest of us will try to stay camouflaged to the asteroid surface as best we could and wait for the ship to pass us." "SIR YES SIR!" the rest of the crew responds in a hundred voices. With that, the Sidewinder becomes practically invisible and heads towards the probe without detection...

[SgtEasy]

Daniel walked into the mess hall, 'Hooked On A Feeling' by Blue Swede starting up on his Ipod Ion. He looked around the room and saw two men next to a woman painting- Marsha Wells??. He walked past tables, chairs and other people until he found himself nearing Marsha Wells. She was a lieutenant from the Marsian Expeditionary Force and was one of the many like him that left their home planets military to go into the mercenary world. He found out about her from a contact in the Marsian Expeditionary Force. "Marsha Wells?" he asked politely "I must say that is a beautiful painting you have there. I am Daniel Bhane. You may know me as Noize" he extended a hand towards the red headed private contractor.

[IceHeart]

Asteroid XTS - 1537 It was an asteroid only about 2 kilometers in width and height and appeared to be devoid of life, mechanical or otherwise, until something started to move on the surface. It would be almost impossible to make out visually because of camoflague but what could be described as a mechanical spider with a powerful telescope crawling along the rock. The robot was now making its second pass of the area, the XEON III was already in its sights. When the ship sent out its probe the spider scoped its trajectory quite intensely, ready to go into full hiding mode at a moment's notice, but then it noticed something curious, a distortion in the stars approaching the probe, increasing its intensity the scope soon noticed a shape that docked with the probe and started to hijack it. Data quickly flowed from the drone to its masters about what was transpiring in the asteroid surveillance zone X-3, one of several such zones scattered around Fish Tail comet to provide early recon data of anything approaching, serving as a first line of defense. Pirate and explorer alike had no idea of what would transpire quite soon. XEON III - MESS HALL Yet another person joined her seemingly ever expanding circle, Marsha was starting to loose focus on her painting. Sometimes she was lucky and managed to get in a good 30 minutes without too much interference but obviously today was not such a day. Like it or not in any real 'public' section of the ship she had the disadvantage of well, being a woman on a mostly male expeditionary vessel, making her one of the first targets to try and start up a conversation. She was not about to be overly rude without a meaningful reason though so when Daniel Bhane extended his hand she did the polite thing and shook it back. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Bhane. I made sure to know the names and faces of all the other pilots on the ship before the start of this mission in case you were wondering." She figured might as well get that bit out of the way straight up. Marsha considered telling them all to leave her, but at this point she had lost her image of the nebula so there was little point in continuing, besides she had yet to finish her burger. She repressed a sigh as she set her painting utensils down and reached for her meal. "I take it you have all completed your maintenance and checklists already? No doubt we will be moving out in short order." Marsha Wells had no idea how soon that time would be, but it would be sooner than she expected.

[Lmpkio]

As the probe made its first pass, Ceres and his strike force became dead still, trying their best to blend on the asteroid's surface. For a moment, it appeared as if it indeed noticed them, but in fact passed them. Yet as soon as it was going for a second pass, the cloaked Sidewinder moves in and looms above the probe. "Commander," Raven says to Ceres as the mech's invisible hands loom over the unsuspecting probe, "I'm in position. Has it spotted you?" "I think not..." answered Ceres unsurely, "I think its coming back for another round. There's no time for you to redirect its path, override its systems immediately! It should go back to the ship after a few seconds of shut down." "Copy that..." Raven obliges as he carefully moves into precise position. He then takes out a small, canister-looking, object, which is in a small EMP emitter, good for jamming and even shutting down small electronic probes and vehicles. He lightly throws it at the probe, which attaches without disturbing the probe. Then the Sidewinder pushes the button, which makes a small beeping noise and quickly retreats upwards. Then suddenly, it releases the pulse...

[IceHeart]

As the probe is disrupted by the emp the connection back to the XEON III is temporarily disrupted which causes a bit of a stir in the command center. "Sit we've lost connection with the probe!" "What!?" "Wait, the probe is back on and is returning to the ship." With that report the captain pondered what could have happened to the probe to 'reset' it. It was possible it was just a glitch but it was highly doubtful. The probe was designed to return in the event of something like that happening, so they did not lose the probe and any information it received so that was normal but the fact the probe had barely even began its observations was highly irregular. He hoped it was not outside interference but he was not about to allow his feelings interfere with his duty. "Recover the probe at once, we will now enter high-alert! There is a chance the probe has been compromised by pirates, it may only be my intuition but we must be prepared until we leave get through this section of space." A few comments of affirmation from the crew and alarms started to blare throughout the XEON III. The captain reached for the ship-wide speakers and pressed a button. "All pilots prepare for combat! Crew members get ready for a possible bumpy ride, quickly lock down all important equipment and get to your stations! There is a high probability pirates are in the area and I am not about to take any chances so get moving!" XEON III - MESS HALL Well now she really had no more chances to work on her painting, but this was what she had been hired for and now it was time to show the crew what she was capable of. Marsha dropped everything and quickly stood up. "Well checked or not its time to defend this ship. Let's get a move on!" Using some of her military experience as an officer in her voice she quickly rallied the pilots and headed for the hangar. Before long she had jumped into her Mecha and started up its systems, making the cockpit start to glow with lights. "MVT-012 ready to launch!" As soon as she was given clearance by hangar control she hit the engines and launched from the ship into space and immediately began the scanning the immediate area for enemy units.

[Apollosarcher]

James smiled as the Marsha took off, he looked at the others and turned sprinting along side her. "Show time!" He pulled out his data-tab as he ran. "Firefly, activate priority one remote start." The tablet responded with a flurry of different screens as his AI raced through the remote systems activating it. She even asked for clearance and moved it in launch position. "It's done sir." She said matter of fact as he reached the launch bay. He board shooting out just after Wells, damn she was fast. He began check monitors releasing weapon safeties and killing his after burners as he took up position behind Wells, he was fast and she was tough figured it should work for now. "Fire, start long range scanning, any frequencies that aren't our own crack them and patch me in, if there's pirates I want to hear them before I see them." The AI didn't respond she just set to work immediately, he hated the damn waiting.