[IC] World War Mars

[TheUnknowable]

In the main security office at the center of Party City a group of people were being briefed by the head of the city's security force. When a group of Space faction troops had been spotted setting up camp near the city using inflatable emergency habitat domes the city had sent out a message on the local network that they were looking to hire a team to investigate. Not many people had responded to the call, but those that did were ushered into the local security office and informed of the situation.

Party city was located in a series of craters which had been covered over by light-weight transparent polymers and pressurized so that it could be terraformed, a technique which was often used for farms and pastures but had become more popular in recent years in human inhabited areas due to advances in polymers by both Water and Space factions. The various craters were the city's districts, connected by tunnels which vehicles and people could move through. Larger vehicles meant for the surface were docked topside, with people and cargo being moved between the surface and crater floor using elevators.

Jacob Sanders recorded all of the information on his wrist computer in case he needed to review it later. The "enemy" camp was approximately five kilometers south of the southernmost district in party city, an industrial sector mad up of warehouses full of goods from other cities and factions. In fact, Jacob had come here to trade Power faction goods, and was storing several miniature fusion reactors and several cases of power cells in one of those warehouses.

After the briefing was over, those that weren't part of a group were split into groups by the city's security forces, and Jacob found himself partnered with a rough looking cyborg and a woman who was decked out in newer model space faction gear. Great, two warriors, he thought. That means diplomacy is probably off the table. He looked at the two of them, scrutinizing their gear. "So, I take it the two of you are warriors? I'm an engineer myself."

[Zhaliora]

Jane had followed her orders to the letter. Once the campsite had been located she had left under the cover of darkness. The night lights were quite enough for the night vision to be effective, along with all the lights that came off Party City. It had almost been too easy to make her way over she thought as she entered in the dead of night. No real sentries either, it was almost disappointing to her. She had even prepared a little speech for any guard that caught her passing into the city. None of that had been needed however.

"Stalker reporting in," she said into her headset.

"Go ahead Stalker," an elderly male voice responded.

"I've made it into Party City, initiating infiltration. I'll be on radio silence unless directive Omega is called upon. Stalker out."

"Copy Stalker, radio silence enabled."

Kelly clicked off her comms, better to be safe incase there was anyone trying to listen in. She took a few deep breaths, despite all her years she was still nervous before an operation. She considered that a good thing, reminded her that she was still human. Still human, and still had feelings. It comforted her in a strange way that she always felt regret if she had to kill anyone.

She shook the thoughts out of her head, she had a job to do. Kelly quickly found a place to stay the night, a small place run by two youngsters. Kelly had rented a room for a few days, knowing that the meetup was tomorrow. She had attracted a bit of attention with her getup. That was no real surprise though since Space Faction was camped not too far away and here she is in full Space Faction gear. She had not been questioned about it though, to her relief.

She stripped out of her armour and went over the details once again while the bath was warming up. Getting into the city had been easy enough, to do the rest of the mission, now that was a tough nut to crack. How would she ever manage to gain the trust of the Mars factions? Kelly sighed deeply again and sunk into the bath. First bath in quite a few days. It was nice, and she let her thoughts run wild.

Kelly had already prepared an alias for herself, a smuggler of people and information. Getting people in and out of Space Faction territories along with an information saleswoman. It was the best she could come up with due to her knowledge about the Space Faction and how it operates.

The new day came around and she found herself, after an information meeting, in a room with two others. A cyborg, and a normal looking human. She was surprised it was such a small squad, but that had it's advantages as well. When the question was asked she looked at the man and smiled.

"I'd call myself a trader of less reputable services," she said and bowed slightly. "While I can handle myself in a fight, it's not a measure that I'd take as first option.

[Athinar]

Edison smiled, and lit his cigarette, which, although it violated base protocol, air cleanliness and all that, nobody was about to stop the cyborg with a whacking big knife from smoking. The Power Faction Engineer had asked a question, and the Space Faction woman had answered vaguely, not giving him a straight answer either way. Suspicious. Edison was of a mind that you'd have to keep an eye on all Space Faction people, especially on this mission. Smirking at the woman's non-answer, he smiled, and waving with his metal hand at the two, he said, "Well, I'm a combat engineer, and a fighter. Metal Faction trains us well, after all."

Looking around, and still smiling, he said, "However, there is one thing I have to address before we take on this job, otherwise, I'm fine. Can we talk about why there's a woman in full Space Faction dress, on a mission AGAINST SPACE FACTION?" He held his hands out, shaking his head, and taking a long drag on his cigarette, he continued.

"I mean, YEAH, she could be a salvager, or a smuggler, but c'mon. What are the chances that those are her real jobs?" Smiling, he looked the woman in the eyes and winked. "However, I really don't care if she is or not. I'm just reserving the 'called it' rights."

He really didn't care one way or another, his words weren't just all talk. He could handle the woman, he had taken out countless others like her. It's what he was trained to do, so he was completely ready. He would work with her, for now, unless she tried to interfere with the mission.

Ah, Space Faction. What do I remember about their W.A.R. Suits... Let's see. Light and maneuverable, with decent firepower (Space Faction's infantry weapons are pretty powerful, but with little defense, compared to my Bolter. ) Edison had fought against Space Faction forces on the polar cap, where they had tried to create a base planetside. Despite the fancy tech Space Faction had, the skill and power of the Metal Faction machines and pilots had overwhelmed the relatively few soldiers Space Faction had sent. It was a mistake they wouldn't make twice, after they tried to raze a Metal settlement, a large mine. They regretted that incursion as well, getting beaten back by one of the two Titans Metal Faction had built. Each Titan was equivalent to a small capital ship in terms of firepower, but they had relatively low mobility, as a trade-off for their obscene firepower and armor. It was one of the reasons that the two main Metal Faction mines hadn't been taken by anyone else, and also a reason Metal Faction couldn't threaten anyone with them.

Looking around the room, Edison asked, "So is there anything else we'd like to cover before we begin?"

[Zhaliora]

Kelly smiled equally back, already thought out what she was going to respond with if this question arose. "I used to work for them. It was a nice and comfy job, paid well too. I like simple jobs that pay well," she said and winked back. "However as time went by they paid less, there was a distinct lack of comfort, and the fact that someone tried to double cross me."

She walked up closer to the man, looking up at his eyes. "When I do a mission I expect fair treatment and fair pay for my services. They backed out of our deal," Kelly took a few steps back again and spun around once while 'showing off' her suit.

"As for the suit, it's a parting gift that I took. Easier to blend in with their forces as I made my way away from the capital. I trust you do know that the entire planet isn't terraformed," she said with a slight smirk. "This suit allows me to stay alive out there for ages without the need of a dome or habitat. Allowed me to build one though."

Kelly smiled again and looked at the both of them. "I've got a grudge, and that's why I'm here." She paused for a few seconds. "Anything else you want to air out before we go?"

[TheUnknowable]

"This suit allows me to stay alive out there for ages without the need of a dome or habitat. Allowed me to build one though."

@Zhaliora

"You built your own habitat?" Sanders asked. "Nice. I'd love to see it some time. I always wanted to make my own homestead. Any advice you could give would be nice. As for staying out there on the surface, all I've got is this pressure suit I'm wearing. I could survive on the surface, even during a solar flare, without getting hurt, but I've only got about three hours of battery life, even with one of Power's top-of-the-line power cell, another thirty or forty minutes with a Space cell. If I need to survive out there, I've got an old Metal faction transport I can live in as long as I've got enough fuel to keep the reactor online. I could give the two of you a ride if you need it. It's well armored if we come under attack."

[Zhaliora]

Kelly smiled and looked slightly embarrassed. "It's nothing impressive, nor too fancy. I just shipped parts out and put them together after time. It's taken me a number of years to put it together. You'd be surprised how much of it builds itself." The part about the armour made her wince though. She had made an error.

"Not many know the inner workings of the W.A.R suit... The suit is made of fibers that convert the sun and radiation into power. It also has it's own climate control system." She scratched the back of her head. "This allows Space Faction insertion teams that can travel across the surface without the need for transports. Another reason for their sudden appearances in different places. It's not an item manufactured here on Mars, but on Earth."

She gave a wry smile. "As for transport, it had been nice, depending on where we're going, of course."