Macus strolled through the security checkpoint with a barely suppressed smile. It was hard to imagine any of the ragged lifeforms posing him a serious threat. All of them lesser beings wielding weapons they neither understood nor held mastery of. He didn’t know why he expected anything better. Still it was best not to damage relations with future employers so he resisted the urge to make a mockery of them. Ancient scanners groaned to life as he walked past, checking his body for any hidden weapons, another laughable concept. Any true soldier was his own weapon.
The second rate security detected no threat as he strode through, another failure on the part of his hopeful patron. If the man continued to embarrass himself Macus would have to withdraw from the contract. He had his pride after all.
A rusted living quarters loomed ahead. The only large building on the colony, at least that he had seen. Ostentatious, in its own meager way. Crossing beams of scorching laser funneled Macus towards the large heavy doors of the entrance. Poorly armed and barely trained men and women gazed at him from either side. No longer able to resist he shot them a confident smile.
Out on the fringes of human space he doubted any five of them had much of a chance in fair combat against him. Everyone of consequence was near the capitol, where the money was found. Of course there were the brave souls that explored outside of protected space, most of them likely even more deadly than himself. He doubted he’d see any of their type here though. The colony had little more to offer than shelter, subpar at that, and Marauders were dreamers all, heads full of stardust.
Finally he enter the ‘great hall’ of the Primarch, and couldn’t help but chuckle. Such a grand title for someone with holding over something so paltry. The guards inside were far more impressive. Large creatures all of them, bulking humans, no doubt engineered for combat, towering terrans, their earthen skin glimmering in the fluorescent light. This Primarch had his priorities straight at least. Leave the rookies to defending the peasantry and their meagre belongings.
Macus was led up a set of stairs to what could only be described as a throne room. The whole political structure was shockingly archaic, but it was surprisingly refreshing. Sitting on the throne was his future benefactor. His body decked in finery worth more than anything else he’d laid eyes on. Taking a moment to view the angles and folds of the cloth Macus realized he had made a mistake. The Primarch was a woman.
An absolutely gorgeous human woman to be precise. Likely she had taxed her people into their current state of poverty for those looks. God above if it wasn’t worth it though. As her stark red lips curled into a smile Macus thought of a few good reasons to accept the contract.
In a corner of the satellite colony Triumphant a small force armed itself to raise against the malevolent Primarch. Amongst them a woman turned her scarred and shaven head towards one of her many subordinates. She replied with terse orders and returns to her duties. An ancient communication array, if a message could only be sent help might be received. The only chance for an ally would be sending it far away and deep into space.
“Arias?” A young voice gets the rebel leader’s attention. A young girl just old enough to join the fight pulled on her shirt, terror in her eyes. She’d shaved her head too, just like her hero. Arias shook her head then turned to the girl.
“Yes?” She finally replied.
“Scouts. Just outside the perimeter.” Arias’ eyes shot open and she leapt into action. There were only minutes before shots would be traded. It was time to prepare. She slammed her fist into the console and felt the hum of electricity as it began broadcasting.
“Go!” She shouted, for several minutes she was barking orders. When everyone was busy she finally returned the array. If the Primarch got the message first there would be no help arriving. The calibrations were easy enough but slow, meticulous.
She grabbed the pistol from her belt holster and readied herself for combat. Explosions rocked the buried compound and dirt began flying, leaking from the ceiling, churned up by feet. Bright blasts of energy began flying, illuminating the clouds of dust and dirt. She fired off a few blasts herself then returned her hands to the console.
“There! The leader!” She heard a gruff voice. Shadows of soldiers made their way toward her. Some brave soul placed himself behind her and applied suppressing fire. Not long until the array was active. The rebel behind Arias took a blast to the chest and stumbled to the ground gasping.
A light on the console flickered on and Arias raised her weapon again, it was impossible to see friend or foe but she fired a few shots in the direction of the voices she’d heard anyway. Retreating Arias stumbled on the rebel who had saved her. She bent briefly to thank him for his sacrifice.
A young face greeted her. Hair just like hers. Arias closed her eyes and stood.
“Boss, common!!” The slightly garbled voice of Gerad, her second, called from somewhere in the smoke. She followed the voice but her legs were heavy, her mind frantic. A child was dead. Dead because of her love for her leader, her cause.
A gloved hand grasped Arias’ wrist. The pale mask meant it was Gerad. His white hair had darkened with dirt and debris.
“Get down, Boss!” He pushed her to the ground and energy rushed forth from him, the room went blinding white. After the dust had settled it was just her and Gerad. He sighed, the tiny speaker on his mask crackling. “Shit. We lost a lot of guys Ari.”
“Boss.” She reminded him on reflex. “And yeah. Too many.”
“At least you sent the message right?” He offered, sounding unsure.
“It’s sent.” She put her head in her hands. “Doesn’t feel like a win though.”
After a long silence the two rebels made their way from the wreckage.
Stardust will be a space exploration RP starting out on the human satellite colony Triumphant, which is run by a corrupt woman calling herself the Primarch. We will be playing as crews of mercenaries who explore unexplored space and offer their skills for hire known as Marauders. I have a handful of people lined up who will probably be members of my crew but there's absolutely no problem with starting a crew of your own.
It would be ideal for everyone to do the mission I've laid out here first. Both these sides are offering cash for muscle in this conflict.
I will obviously be running all the non-player characters so in the case of meaningful story-advancing combat (say anywhere near the big-bad) I'll be involved. Other than that things will be pretty free form. Also I'm very open to idea suggestion. I'll create basic mission ideas which are going to be broadcast as jobs, then I'll throw out a few at a time for Crews to choose from. I've been out of the roleplaying game for almost a year but I'm interested in jumping right back in so this will likely go up pretty quickly (assuming I can stay on my friends' cases about making characters)
