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pt. 1 From the mouth of an itani to the belly of a serco.
Born to an itani trader the boy never went for wanting anything. His family spent all their time in his fathers modified Behemoth which had sleeping quarters for his mother and father, himself and his sister. His father did most of his tradeing with the interior stations of Dau and Azek as they provided better compensation than most itani routes. Because of this he came to fly under the banner of a UIT trade guild that paid him well. When his father had made enough credits he purchased the family a nice dwelling at Eo's Welcome near the worm hole sector in Edras. From their new home his mother could more easily visit her family, who still resided in Divinia, and his father was still close enough to the home location of his trade guild he was able to continue working.
The young boy grew quickly and learned much from the traders in his fathers guild, many of whom he came to think of as brothers. He had seen his father often being approached by different men in itani military uniforms asking him to give up on the tradeing and join them to help defend his home nation from the invadeing serco war machine. Everytime his father would decline simply saying, "Just because I was born itani does not mean I believe everything they stand for. I will not oppose this war but I will not fight in it either. Have a pleasant day and may the your trade routes be storm free." and he would always shake their hands and wish them well. From the reactions he had seen on many of the men he could only assume they respected his fathers decisions to remain out of the conflict.
Years of good luck had brought the family even more money and his father a good position in the guild which he then used to purchase his son and daughter each their own atlas allowing them to help in the tradeing business. Since his sister spent most of her time with their mother visiting friends and family in Divinia she focused her attention on the long trips across itani space. His sister made her fortune very quickly and soon lost all but the occasional communication with her father and brother. The boy flew along side his father all those same years giveing much of his earnings to his fathers guild, hopeing to one day join the people that had brought his family from squander to where they were now.
More years past and the boy had become a man, he flew several missions without his father, further secureing himself a spot somewhere in his fathers guild. One day late in 4435 his father aquired a mission takeing him far from the regular trade lanes. An unsafe mission at best, this would take them to the reaches called Sedina. His father had told him never to go there because this was the area that the many pirates called home. His father explained that he felt the pirates had no business takeing any of thier hard earned cargo or credits. Even after argueing his position for seceral days the council explained to his father that they had requested him specifically for his confidence and efficiency. His father took him along to help pass the lonely time spent traveling such a great distance.
The flight to Sedina V Hold was totally uneventful so his father spent alot of time teaching him many of his trade secrets and special routes that he kept only to himself. They finally reached the station to find that it was was full of many different people coming and going constantly. His father kept them in Sedina for 3 days as some small repairs were made to their Centaur. Before they left he met many new people from all three nations. The serco and itani kept to themselves as tensions from their war had spilled down to this section of space as well. The one person that he met that held his attention the most was a serco named sheffield. Sheffield explained that he was the member of a serco national guild called [SCAR], which he would later find out meant SkyCommand Assault Regiment. Being itani by birth meant sheffield held some reservations about talking with him but flying for a UIT trade guild helped ease the tension. Sheffield explained that as long as the union traders were not moveing war supplies for the itani they were free from the assault of [SCAR] pilots. His father had explained many of the things he had heard about the war and the different guilds involvements in it and the fact that it had no bearing on their lives as they spent most of their time in union space where the war had not shown its face.
The end of the third day in Sedina meant that they would soon be leaving. Station gaurds reported that all monitored areas seemed clear and that their flight back home should be clear so his father fired up his centaur and undocked, hopeing never to return to this unsafe area again. At distance he engaged the jump engine to the worm hole area in the B-8 sector of Sedina. What they saw would forever change his life.
Two corvus marauders approached their ship and demanded that they drop their cargo or pay a fee to continue moveing through "their" space. A trader for life his father had no weapons in the centaur, and never haveing dealt with this before in union space, he paniced and hit the throttle instead of the breaks. Without another word the two mauds unloaded what the boy assumed to be hell into the hull of the ship. The first shot went right through the left side of the cabin compartment and through the fathers pod killing him instantly. The boy, seeing this, activated his pod as the cent quickly fell apart around him. When the pirates had finally opened the cent his pod jettisoned along with the cargo, 10cu of Sedina Chocolate for a wedding party, nothing of any real value. The boy could see very little from inside his pod as it slowly made its way towards home but he could see the pirates comeing towards him. Each let a shot off which hit his pod, shakeing it violently. As his vision blurred and his concious wained he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, a serco Sky Command Prometheus with [SCAR] emblazzened on the side. He could only assume he had died as darkness engulfed his pod and all the vibration stopped, he was still cold so he slept.
The boy would find out soon enough that sheffield had happened on the massacre of the union trader and dispatched the pirates, picked up his pod, and was flying back to Initros.
*edit* hopefully easier read and less Scarygoround?
Born to an itani trader the boy never went for wanting anything. His family spent all their time in his fathers modified Behemoth which had sleeping quarters for his mother and father, himself and his sister. His father did most of his tradeing with the interior stations of Dau and Azek as they provided better compensation than most itani routes. Because of this he came to fly under the banner of a UIT trade guild that paid him well. When his father had made enough credits he purchased the family a nice dwelling at Eo's Welcome near the worm hole sector in Edras. From their new home his mother could more easily visit her family, who still resided in Divinia, and his father was still close enough to the home location of his trade guild he was able to continue working.
The young boy grew quickly and learned much from the traders in his fathers guild, many of whom he came to think of as brothers. He had seen his father often being approached by different men in itani military uniforms asking him to give up on the tradeing and join them to help defend his home nation from the invadeing serco war machine. Everytime his father would decline simply saying, "Just because I was born itani does not mean I believe everything they stand for. I will not oppose this war but I will not fight in it either. Have a pleasant day and may the your trade routes be storm free." and he would always shake their hands and wish them well. From the reactions he had seen on many of the men he could only assume they respected his fathers decisions to remain out of the conflict.
Years of good luck had brought the family even more money and his father a good position in the guild which he then used to purchase his son and daughter each their own atlas allowing them to help in the tradeing business. Since his sister spent most of her time with their mother visiting friends and family in Divinia she focused her attention on the long trips across itani space. His sister made her fortune very quickly and soon lost all but the occasional communication with her father and brother. The boy flew along side his father all those same years giveing much of his earnings to his fathers guild, hopeing to one day join the people that had brought his family from squander to where they were now.
More years past and the boy had become a man, he flew several missions without his father, further secureing himself a spot somewhere in his fathers guild. One day late in 4435 his father aquired a mission takeing him far from the regular trade lanes. An unsafe mission at best, this would take them to the reaches called Sedina. His father had told him never to go there because this was the area that the many pirates called home. His father explained that he felt the pirates had no business takeing any of thier hard earned cargo or credits. Even after argueing his position for seceral days the council explained to his father that they had requested him specifically for his confidence and efficiency. His father took him along to help pass the lonely time spent traveling such a great distance.
The flight to Sedina V Hold was totally uneventful so his father spent alot of time teaching him many of his trade secrets and special routes that he kept only to himself. They finally reached the station to find that it was was full of many different people coming and going constantly. His father kept them in Sedina for 3 days as some small repairs were made to their Centaur. Before they left he met many new people from all three nations. The serco and itani kept to themselves as tensions from their war had spilled down to this section of space as well. The one person that he met that held his attention the most was a serco named sheffield. Sheffield explained that he was the member of a serco national guild called [SCAR], which he would later find out meant SkyCommand Assault Regiment. Being itani by birth meant sheffield held some reservations about talking with him but flying for a UIT trade guild helped ease the tension. Sheffield explained that as long as the union traders were not moveing war supplies for the itani they were free from the assault of [SCAR] pilots. His father had explained many of the things he had heard about the war and the different guilds involvements in it and the fact that it had no bearing on their lives as they spent most of their time in union space where the war had not shown its face.
The end of the third day in Sedina meant that they would soon be leaving. Station gaurds reported that all monitored areas seemed clear and that their flight back home should be clear so his father fired up his centaur and undocked, hopeing never to return to this unsafe area again. At distance he engaged the jump engine to the worm hole area in the B-8 sector of Sedina. What they saw would forever change his life.
Two corvus marauders approached their ship and demanded that they drop their cargo or pay a fee to continue moveing through "their" space. A trader for life his father had no weapons in the centaur, and never haveing dealt with this before in union space, he paniced and hit the throttle instead of the breaks. Without another word the two mauds unloaded what the boy assumed to be hell into the hull of the ship. The first shot went right through the left side of the cabin compartment and through the fathers pod killing him instantly. The boy, seeing this, activated his pod as the cent quickly fell apart around him. When the pirates had finally opened the cent his pod jettisoned along with the cargo, 10cu of Sedina Chocolate for a wedding party, nothing of any real value. The boy could see very little from inside his pod as it slowly made its way towards home but he could see the pirates comeing towards him. Each let a shot off which hit his pod, shakeing it violently. As his vision blurred and his concious wained he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, a serco Sky Command Prometheus with [SCAR] emblazzened on the side. He could only assume he had died as darkness engulfed his pod and all the vibration stopped, he was still cold so he slept.
The boy would find out soon enough that sheffield had happened on the massacre of the union trader and dispatched the pirates, picked up his pod, and was flying back to Initros.
*edit* hopefully easier read and less Scarygoround?
You remind me of Scarygoround's The Boy...
Don't know if that's good or bad tosh but I intended the first part to elude to the fact that Feeniks has not always been his name while leaving out unimportant characters or ones whos identity I want to remain a secret for later. It will hopefully become clearer in the next installment. But thanks for reading however far you got. But I will edit it a little to make it better.
hehe good story keep writing. :)
pt.2 Alive?
When he awoke the boy was afraid to open his eyes, every part of him hurt and he could not tell where he was. The place where he was laying felt cold against his skin and the air smelled of welding metal. Once he was past his initial fears he slowly opened his eyes and began to look around. On his left side he could see the heart monitor and breathing apparatus that he could only assume was hooked up to him. Through the blurr in his vision he could see someone standing at the foot of his bed. He tried to speak but the voice he heard was not his own and he stopped before he had completed his first full sentence.
"Where am ......"
"You're safe, for now, but don't try to speak. You're vocal cords were damaged beyond repair but the implant we have given you should allow you to speak as easily as you did before."
He tried to respond to the voice at the foot of his bed but instead heard the heart machine give an alarm as he passed again into darkness. When next he awoke he again lay with his eyes closed and could hear the voice again at the foot of his bed only this time it wasn't speaking to him but someone else in the room.
"Yes, I know he's an itani"
"And yet you felt it was ok to bring the dog here, into our home!"
"His father was killed when the pirates attacked their centaur and they were attacking his escape pod, I'm not a murderer, what was I supposed to do? Besides, from every bit of information I was able to get from the black box on the cent this "dog" has lived most of his life working and living with a union trade guild, and as far as I was told no civilian traders were to be harmed."
"An Itani! Here! In our capital! Simply flying for the union does not a union pilot make! If this goes bad it will be your head that rolls and I will be the one to roll it! Complete the repairs to his body, leave his face scarred, and clear his mind of anything that ties him to his itani heritage. We will see if your momentary slip will prove to be your undoing."
The boy waited until he heard the door close, signaling that the new voice had left the room, and opened his eyes. There standing at the foot of his bed was the man he knew as sheffield.
"You are awake I see."
"Yes."
"How long then? Did you hear what we were talking about?"
"Yes."
"Do you have anything to say about it?"
"Just that, if you please, allow me to remember my family. I have just lost my father and I haven't seen my mother or sister for many years. I don't want to forget them, ever."
"I can leave their memories but keep in mind, itani, if you try and track them down you will be treated no differently than the rest of the Dominion. The itani will shoot you! After today you will bear no resemblence to your former self, outwardly or in action. I will leave you your memories, a young man should know where he comes from but I leave you with one word of caution, keep them to yourself and live as a serco. We are a proud and noble people who do not take well to traitors and spys. If you so chose you can resume your trade for the Dominion trademasters, that is always an option. What do you say?"
"I will do it."
"Very well, stay in that bed and we will begin the remainder of your surgery. Is there anything you would like to change about yourself while we are at it?"
"My eyesight. I have spent so long in those trade ships it was hard for me to focus on those pirate fighters as quickly as I needed to."
"You will not have to worry about that in Dominion territory we are very careful not to let pirates into our areas. How about a fast processor chip so you can do your profit calculations faster while tradeing."
"No! Eyesight and whatever else will help me be a better fighter pilot. I will never trade again. After today I am a warrior. The business of trade is what seperated me from my mother and sister.....and took my fathers life!"
The serco nodded his head and reached over to turn on the anesthesia that would make the operation more comfortable for the injured young man.
"A name then? What shall we call you, you know, to help us fill out the hospital charts?"
"Call me Feeniks."
"Feeniks, I thought it was spelled Phoenix."
"Yes, I want a new start but I want to remember I am not like everyone else. When people see my name I want them to know who they are dealing with, it will stick in their memories."
Feeniks slowly fell into the sleep induced by the medicines that the serco had given him all the while hopeing to one day be able to see his sister again and tell her what happened to our father. Several days passed that Feeniks slipped into and out of awareness until finally he was able to sit up in his bed. He no longer felt the cold of the bed and no longer did he hurt. The monitors and machines that were attatched to him were gone. Feeniks stood up and made his way over to the mirror above the sink. What he saw in that mirror brought a tear to his eyes. The burn scars from the pirates rockets remained makeing it hard for him to recognize himself. He could see that biologic implants now sat along side his eyes sharpening his vision. He could see the patches and implants that covered the rest of his upper body as he slipped on his shirt.
"So, Feeniks, I see your alive!
Feeniks turned to see sheffield enter the room.
"Alive?"
When he awoke the boy was afraid to open his eyes, every part of him hurt and he could not tell where he was. The place where he was laying felt cold against his skin and the air smelled of welding metal. Once he was past his initial fears he slowly opened his eyes and began to look around. On his left side he could see the heart monitor and breathing apparatus that he could only assume was hooked up to him. Through the blurr in his vision he could see someone standing at the foot of his bed. He tried to speak but the voice he heard was not his own and he stopped before he had completed his first full sentence.
"Where am ......"
"You're safe, for now, but don't try to speak. You're vocal cords were damaged beyond repair but the implant we have given you should allow you to speak as easily as you did before."
He tried to respond to the voice at the foot of his bed but instead heard the heart machine give an alarm as he passed again into darkness. When next he awoke he again lay with his eyes closed and could hear the voice again at the foot of his bed only this time it wasn't speaking to him but someone else in the room.
"Yes, I know he's an itani"
"And yet you felt it was ok to bring the dog here, into our home!"
"His father was killed when the pirates attacked their centaur and they were attacking his escape pod, I'm not a murderer, what was I supposed to do? Besides, from every bit of information I was able to get from the black box on the cent this "dog" has lived most of his life working and living with a union trade guild, and as far as I was told no civilian traders were to be harmed."
"An Itani! Here! In our capital! Simply flying for the union does not a union pilot make! If this goes bad it will be your head that rolls and I will be the one to roll it! Complete the repairs to his body, leave his face scarred, and clear his mind of anything that ties him to his itani heritage. We will see if your momentary slip will prove to be your undoing."
The boy waited until he heard the door close, signaling that the new voice had left the room, and opened his eyes. There standing at the foot of his bed was the man he knew as sheffield.
"You are awake I see."
"Yes."
"How long then? Did you hear what we were talking about?"
"Yes."
"Do you have anything to say about it?"
"Just that, if you please, allow me to remember my family. I have just lost my father and I haven't seen my mother or sister for many years. I don't want to forget them, ever."
"I can leave their memories but keep in mind, itani, if you try and track them down you will be treated no differently than the rest of the Dominion. The itani will shoot you! After today you will bear no resemblence to your former self, outwardly or in action. I will leave you your memories, a young man should know where he comes from but I leave you with one word of caution, keep them to yourself and live as a serco. We are a proud and noble people who do not take well to traitors and spys. If you so chose you can resume your trade for the Dominion trademasters, that is always an option. What do you say?"
"I will do it."
"Very well, stay in that bed and we will begin the remainder of your surgery. Is there anything you would like to change about yourself while we are at it?"
"My eyesight. I have spent so long in those trade ships it was hard for me to focus on those pirate fighters as quickly as I needed to."
"You will not have to worry about that in Dominion territory we are very careful not to let pirates into our areas. How about a fast processor chip so you can do your profit calculations faster while tradeing."
"No! Eyesight and whatever else will help me be a better fighter pilot. I will never trade again. After today I am a warrior. The business of trade is what seperated me from my mother and sister.....and took my fathers life!"
The serco nodded his head and reached over to turn on the anesthesia that would make the operation more comfortable for the injured young man.
"A name then? What shall we call you, you know, to help us fill out the hospital charts?"
"Call me Feeniks."
"Feeniks, I thought it was spelled Phoenix."
"Yes, I want a new start but I want to remember I am not like everyone else. When people see my name I want them to know who they are dealing with, it will stick in their memories."
Feeniks slowly fell into the sleep induced by the medicines that the serco had given him all the while hopeing to one day be able to see his sister again and tell her what happened to our father. Several days passed that Feeniks slipped into and out of awareness until finally he was able to sit up in his bed. He no longer felt the cold of the bed and no longer did he hurt. The monitors and machines that were attatched to him were gone. Feeniks stood up and made his way over to the mirror above the sink. What he saw in that mirror brought a tear to his eyes. The burn scars from the pirates rockets remained makeing it hard for him to recognize himself. He could see that biologic implants now sat along side his eyes sharpening his vision. He could see the patches and implants that covered the rest of his upper body as he slipped on his shirt.
"So, Feeniks, I see your alive!
Feeniks turned to see sheffield enter the room.
"Alive?"
Yes, I was commenting on the omission of the name. For comparison.
That is not to say that I did not enjoy reading the story :)
That is not to say that I did not enjoy reading the story :)
pt. 3 Growing
It had been several months since Feeniks had been rescued by sheffield and he was really beginning to like flying these Dominion ships. The response and manuverability that these serco implants provided was second to none. Most of his time had been spent eradicateing the rogue hive presence from Geira Rutilus so that the SMV Nemesis could patrol without haveing to deal with them.
Life in Geira Watch wasn't all that different than any of the other places that he had been since joining the Dominion except for the constant alarms when a rogue itani would venture through the worm hole. Not haveing the combat training from birth, like most of the serco he had come to know, Feeniks was reluctant to engage these itani let alone venture across the worm hole into itani space. He did know that the day would come when he would be called upon to join one of the groups that regularly raided the itani border in an attempt to drive the dogs out of Deneb, but not today, today he would test out his new SVG on his favorite pesky Prosus bots.
Feeniks launched from the docking bay as he had done hundreds of times before only to nearly run his shiny new SVG directly into sheffields beat up Prom.
"ello Feeniks, long time no see. How is the training progressing?"
"Well I think I'm doing ok they finally gave me clearance to get this SVG that I've had my eye on."
"Good! Then you're ready to come up to Deneb with me and help our capital ships drive those itani back?
"Heh, are you crazy those itani would eat me for lunch. I just bought this ship and I don't plan on loseing it any time soon."
"Are you sure? I could use and extra hand up there."
"I can't say as I'd be much help I've never fought against anything that had a brain."
"Perfect! Come up and fight the itanis with me, you will quickly find out that they don't have one either!"
"Heh! Alright I'll give it a try"
This sheffield was a good sort. It was hard for Feeniks not to burst into uncontrolled laughter when he compared the itani fighting on the border to the hive bots he had been fighting for the last few months so albiet a little reluctantly Feeniks followed sheffield to the border of Deneb. The two serco pilots cleared the worm hole and Feeniks' radar went crazy pinging to notify him of the multitude of itani ships that were swarming in the sector. Sheffield quickly engaged several of the quick moveing centurians as Feeniks made his way in behind the heavily armored SCP. Sheffield made quick work of the two cents but slowed a little as he approached the warthog. As Feeniks watched both ships unloaded a hail of AGT bolts and flares at each other. He could tell that this itani was dangerous as he watched shot after shot hit sheffields prom. Right then Feeniks life made another grand swing as he manuvered his SVG underneath the itani hog. As sheffield kept the hogs attention Feeniks unloaded both nlll into it's underbelly. Quicker than he could imagine Feeniks recieved notification that he had just made his first real kill. It felt very good.
Over the corse of the next several hours Feeniks and sheffield fought the itani scourge in Deneb. Feeniks lost his precious SVG but bought a few more. He liked this fighting. When they finally returned to Geira Watch, tired, sheffield approached Feeniks.
"Have you ever thought about joining SCAR?"
"No, I actually haven't ever givin it any thought."
"Well after seeing you in action today I think you would make a good fit. Keep it in mind and I'll talk to the officers."
"Ok, I will. Thanks for showing me the ropes today sheffield. I think I've found my newest favorite spot."
With that sheffield left Geira Watch headed back to SCAR hq and Feeniks returned to his bunk to think about this new situation. It would be nice not to fly alone again.....
It had been several months since Feeniks had been rescued by sheffield and he was really beginning to like flying these Dominion ships. The response and manuverability that these serco implants provided was second to none. Most of his time had been spent eradicateing the rogue hive presence from Geira Rutilus so that the SMV Nemesis could patrol without haveing to deal with them.
Life in Geira Watch wasn't all that different than any of the other places that he had been since joining the Dominion except for the constant alarms when a rogue itani would venture through the worm hole. Not haveing the combat training from birth, like most of the serco he had come to know, Feeniks was reluctant to engage these itani let alone venture across the worm hole into itani space. He did know that the day would come when he would be called upon to join one of the groups that regularly raided the itani border in an attempt to drive the dogs out of Deneb, but not today, today he would test out his new SVG on his favorite pesky Prosus bots.
Feeniks launched from the docking bay as he had done hundreds of times before only to nearly run his shiny new SVG directly into sheffields beat up Prom.
"ello Feeniks, long time no see. How is the training progressing?"
"Well I think I'm doing ok they finally gave me clearance to get this SVG that I've had my eye on."
"Good! Then you're ready to come up to Deneb with me and help our capital ships drive those itani back?
"Heh, are you crazy those itani would eat me for lunch. I just bought this ship and I don't plan on loseing it any time soon."
"Are you sure? I could use and extra hand up there."
"I can't say as I'd be much help I've never fought against anything that had a brain."
"Perfect! Come up and fight the itanis with me, you will quickly find out that they don't have one either!"
"Heh! Alright I'll give it a try"
This sheffield was a good sort. It was hard for Feeniks not to burst into uncontrolled laughter when he compared the itani fighting on the border to the hive bots he had been fighting for the last few months so albiet a little reluctantly Feeniks followed sheffield to the border of Deneb. The two serco pilots cleared the worm hole and Feeniks' radar went crazy pinging to notify him of the multitude of itani ships that were swarming in the sector. Sheffield quickly engaged several of the quick moveing centurians as Feeniks made his way in behind the heavily armored SCP. Sheffield made quick work of the two cents but slowed a little as he approached the warthog. As Feeniks watched both ships unloaded a hail of AGT bolts and flares at each other. He could tell that this itani was dangerous as he watched shot after shot hit sheffields prom. Right then Feeniks life made another grand swing as he manuvered his SVG underneath the itani hog. As sheffield kept the hogs attention Feeniks unloaded both nlll into it's underbelly. Quicker than he could imagine Feeniks recieved notification that he had just made his first real kill. It felt very good.
Over the corse of the next several hours Feeniks and sheffield fought the itani scourge in Deneb. Feeniks lost his precious SVG but bought a few more. He liked this fighting. When they finally returned to Geira Watch, tired, sheffield approached Feeniks.
"Have you ever thought about joining SCAR?"
"No, I actually haven't ever givin it any thought."
"Well after seeing you in action today I think you would make a good fit. Keep it in mind and I'll talk to the officers."
"Ok, I will. Thanks for showing me the ropes today sheffield. I think I've found my newest favorite spot."
With that sheffield left Geira Watch headed back to SCAR hq and Feeniks returned to his bunk to think about this new situation. It would be nice not to fly alone again.....
pt. 4 A new SCAR
Feeniks had been spending most of his time in Deneb fighting back the rows upon rows of itani that seemed to appear. It had been a month since sheffield had mentioned that he should concider joining SCAR. As things had been heating up in Rhamus with the appearance of the HIVE Feeniks had not seen many pilots from SCAR up in this area so his thoughts had slowly drifted away from that possibility.
Feeniks jumped out of his rack and headed for the flight deck, intent on getting in his trusty SVG and heading back out to Deneb for another go at the itani who pagued the border, when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop dead in his tracks. The pride of the serco military, a brand new Sky Command Prometheus had just arrived in the sky dock and the workers were busy buffing the SCAR emblem that had been freshly painted on its side. "That is one lucky pilot" Feeniks thought to himself as he turned and continued on his way.
Feeniks climbed into the now well worn pilot seat of his favorite SVG and activated the comm.
"Pilot Feeniks requesting launch permission. Destination Deneb border sector C10."
"Permission granted Feeniks, may the Lady guide your path home again safely." was the reply he got, just like every other time.
Feeniks launched, breaking his SVG into the almost automatic roll that would line him up with the jump point to Deneb. As he oriented himself with the worm hole he could see that the SMV Nemesis was headed into Deneb also. "That would make a good escort," Feeniks smiled to himself as the two ships jumped into the itani border sector. The worm hole sector was swarming with itani both military and pilots from ITAN, easy picking but he was on his way to his patrol sector and did not want to deviate from his flight path just to engage in the killing of dogs from ITAN so he continued on.
When he entered his patrol sector he was rather dissapointed as it appeared that only 2 itani were patroling as well. Feeniks engaged the combat controls of his SVG and proceded to engage the two pilots. The two cents flew a close formation which was not common for the rookie military pilots that frequented these border sectors so Feeniks slowed down and began to formulate a new strategy he hoped would help him keep them from overpowering him. He adjusted his course and approached at combat speed from a slightly elevated point and engaged. Almost as soon as he had the leftmost cent in his sights the two pilots split and his shots went right in between them. Quickly orienting himself he turned on the closest cent and began to engage. Several shots caught the cent squarely in the hull before the itani made an abrupt strafe out of the way. As Feeniks adjusted his path to intercept the fleeing itani the cent that he had forgotten about aquired Feeniks in his sights and let fly. The neutron blasts tore through Feeniks' SVG like it was butter, sending him and his pod back to the Geira Rutilus station.
Upon wakeing up Feeniks could hear, over the global radio transmissions, the two itani pilots patting each others egos for killing the noob serco. He would later find out that the two itani were pilots from ITAN. It was no wonder they flew so much better than the normal fighters he encountered on his patrol missions. If he was going to take on two ITAN pilots who were by far better than he was he would need a little extra insurance to help him out. Instead of makeing directly for the SVG docks he made his way further down in the station to where they kept the much more heavily armored SCPs.
"Good afternoon, pilot, what brings you down here? I haven't seen you here before."
"I'm here to buy my first SCP what can you do to help me?"
"Well, that depends on how much you are willing to spend. I have a few used ones and one brand new one that came in this morning" "Oh, wait, a lt. of SCAR purchased that one. Nautargos I think was his name but I do have an older one that he left behind if you would like."
"I'll take it! I want it fitted exactly the same way you would fit a rig for sheffield or Nautargos."
"Ah, a new SCAR member huh?"
"No, I just know sheffield is deadly in one and if that is what a councilman from SCAR flies then I figure it's good for me as well."
"Done, AGT and dual sunflare rockets it is."
"An extra bit for you if you can speed it up I got some ITAN to squish."
"Give me half an hour and I'll have it at the launch bay for you."
"I'll be waiting."
With nothing to do but wait Feeniks made his way up to the launch bay to wait for his new SCP. Along the way he stopped in to listen to the chatter coming over the comms from the border. It sounded like Nautargos, sheffield, A-Dawg, and a few other SCAR pilots were busy defending the SMV Nemesis from the itani HAC IDV Sola and a few ITAN pilots. Feeniks decided that is where he would take his search for the two pilots that shot down his favorite SVG. Just as he was leaveing he heard a report of a lone itani pilot bearing the Phoenix Alliance banner flying through serco space. Apparently the pilot had dissapeared into a bot sector and strike force was unable to locate the pilot. Feeniks made a mental note that a lone itani might serve good target practice maybe he would check it out when he was done here.
Feeniks waited almost 45 minutes before the dockman showed up with his SCP. He could see as it approached his bay that it was indeed an old SCAR ship as the hasty paint job barely covered the bold insignia emblazened on the side.
"Here you are Mr. Feeniks. Fresh paint and a full arsenal at your disposal."
"Thank you I will put it to good use."
Feeniks climbed into the pilots chair which was quite a bit more roomy than the SVGs that he was used to piloting and fired up the engine. He pulled away from the doc and made his way out the door and activated his comm.
"Pilot Feeniks requesting launch pemission. Destination Deneb border sector B-12."
"Permission granted pilot."
With that Feeniks engaged the engine of the SCP and began the familiar roll to orient himself with the worm hole before he remembered he was in a much larger ship. Luckily the SCP responded quite well to his controls and he was able to avoid slamming into the station before getting lined up for the jump.
Feeniks cleared the worm hole into Deneb and immediately got pings on his radar from the multitude of ships that were flying around in this area. He paid little mind to most of the blips as he had his eyes trained on the two ITAN pilots flying wing to wing that he had spotted when he first entered the sector. They were who he had gotten all dressed up for.
"Look, here comes the noob again." Feeniks heard the ITAN chuckle as they adjusted their course towards him. Feeniks didn't change his flight path at all he went straight for them. At 300m Feeniks fired both sunflares at the pair of ITAN pilots. They were apparently not expecting this tactic as they had just began to split like before. The splash damage from the flares knocked the two itani into a slight spin. That was enough of a chance as Feeniks locked the left one in his sights and pulled the trigger on his AGT. Being in a cent did not afford the ITAN pilot alot of armor so in short time Feeniks had wittled its hull down to near nothing and it was almost a waste as both flares plowed into its waiting hull. The secod ITAN had again gotten behind Feeniks and began ticking away his hull with neuts but the extra armor of the SCP afforded him enough time to get turned and in range of the cent. Feeniks rolled and strafed to avoid the neut but this ITAN was definately the better of the two as he was still hitting more than he missed. Feeniks disengaged the forward thrusters on his SCP and allowed the itani to drift away a little. By the time he turned them back on the ITAN pilot was coming straight for him. Feeniks pulled the trigger fireing his AGT straight at the cent and also threw a couple volleys of sunflares in the mix. Hidded by the numerous shots from the turret the itani didn't see the flares until it was too late both volleys smashed directly into his face. Feeniks spun his SCP 180 degrees in response to his radar going off expecting to see more itani on his tail. It was not.
Nautargos, A-Dawg, and sheffield sat completely still 2000m away.
"We won the sector so we thought we would sit and watch the show."
"Did you like it"
"Indeed we did, good show young pilot."
"Thank you."
Sheffield made his way closer "Have you given any thought to what I asked you before?"
"I hadn't actually. My thoughts have been with the border patrols but I see you haven't forgotten."
"No, hadn't forgoted," was the reponse he heard but not from sheffield it was from Nautargos."He sent me up here to specifically look into recruiting you. I was going to give you a little test but when I saw the Nemesis leaving for Deneb I decided you could wait. After what I just saw I don't think a test will be necessary. Would you like to join SCAR?"
"Yes! That would be an honor."
"Done. Welcome our newest SCAR, Feeniks."
Feeniks had been spending most of his time in Deneb fighting back the rows upon rows of itani that seemed to appear. It had been a month since sheffield had mentioned that he should concider joining SCAR. As things had been heating up in Rhamus with the appearance of the HIVE Feeniks had not seen many pilots from SCAR up in this area so his thoughts had slowly drifted away from that possibility.
Feeniks jumped out of his rack and headed for the flight deck, intent on getting in his trusty SVG and heading back out to Deneb for another go at the itani who pagued the border, when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop dead in his tracks. The pride of the serco military, a brand new Sky Command Prometheus had just arrived in the sky dock and the workers were busy buffing the SCAR emblem that had been freshly painted on its side. "That is one lucky pilot" Feeniks thought to himself as he turned and continued on his way.
Feeniks climbed into the now well worn pilot seat of his favorite SVG and activated the comm.
"Pilot Feeniks requesting launch permission. Destination Deneb border sector C10."
"Permission granted Feeniks, may the Lady guide your path home again safely." was the reply he got, just like every other time.
Feeniks launched, breaking his SVG into the almost automatic roll that would line him up with the jump point to Deneb. As he oriented himself with the worm hole he could see that the SMV Nemesis was headed into Deneb also. "That would make a good escort," Feeniks smiled to himself as the two ships jumped into the itani border sector. The worm hole sector was swarming with itani both military and pilots from ITAN, easy picking but he was on his way to his patrol sector and did not want to deviate from his flight path just to engage in the killing of dogs from ITAN so he continued on.
When he entered his patrol sector he was rather dissapointed as it appeared that only 2 itani were patroling as well. Feeniks engaged the combat controls of his SVG and proceded to engage the two pilots. The two cents flew a close formation which was not common for the rookie military pilots that frequented these border sectors so Feeniks slowed down and began to formulate a new strategy he hoped would help him keep them from overpowering him. He adjusted his course and approached at combat speed from a slightly elevated point and engaged. Almost as soon as he had the leftmost cent in his sights the two pilots split and his shots went right in between them. Quickly orienting himself he turned on the closest cent and began to engage. Several shots caught the cent squarely in the hull before the itani made an abrupt strafe out of the way. As Feeniks adjusted his path to intercept the fleeing itani the cent that he had forgotten about aquired Feeniks in his sights and let fly. The neutron blasts tore through Feeniks' SVG like it was butter, sending him and his pod back to the Geira Rutilus station.
Upon wakeing up Feeniks could hear, over the global radio transmissions, the two itani pilots patting each others egos for killing the noob serco. He would later find out that the two itani were pilots from ITAN. It was no wonder they flew so much better than the normal fighters he encountered on his patrol missions. If he was going to take on two ITAN pilots who were by far better than he was he would need a little extra insurance to help him out. Instead of makeing directly for the SVG docks he made his way further down in the station to where they kept the much more heavily armored SCPs.
"Good afternoon, pilot, what brings you down here? I haven't seen you here before."
"I'm here to buy my first SCP what can you do to help me?"
"Well, that depends on how much you are willing to spend. I have a few used ones and one brand new one that came in this morning" "Oh, wait, a lt. of SCAR purchased that one. Nautargos I think was his name but I do have an older one that he left behind if you would like."
"I'll take it! I want it fitted exactly the same way you would fit a rig for sheffield or Nautargos."
"Ah, a new SCAR member huh?"
"No, I just know sheffield is deadly in one and if that is what a councilman from SCAR flies then I figure it's good for me as well."
"Done, AGT and dual sunflare rockets it is."
"An extra bit for you if you can speed it up I got some ITAN to squish."
"Give me half an hour and I'll have it at the launch bay for you."
"I'll be waiting."
With nothing to do but wait Feeniks made his way up to the launch bay to wait for his new SCP. Along the way he stopped in to listen to the chatter coming over the comms from the border. It sounded like Nautargos, sheffield, A-Dawg, and a few other SCAR pilots were busy defending the SMV Nemesis from the itani HAC IDV Sola and a few ITAN pilots. Feeniks decided that is where he would take his search for the two pilots that shot down his favorite SVG. Just as he was leaveing he heard a report of a lone itani pilot bearing the Phoenix Alliance banner flying through serco space. Apparently the pilot had dissapeared into a bot sector and strike force was unable to locate the pilot. Feeniks made a mental note that a lone itani might serve good target practice maybe he would check it out when he was done here.
Feeniks waited almost 45 minutes before the dockman showed up with his SCP. He could see as it approached his bay that it was indeed an old SCAR ship as the hasty paint job barely covered the bold insignia emblazened on the side.
"Here you are Mr. Feeniks. Fresh paint and a full arsenal at your disposal."
"Thank you I will put it to good use."
Feeniks climbed into the pilots chair which was quite a bit more roomy than the SVGs that he was used to piloting and fired up the engine. He pulled away from the doc and made his way out the door and activated his comm.
"Pilot Feeniks requesting launch pemission. Destination Deneb border sector B-12."
"Permission granted pilot."
With that Feeniks engaged the engine of the SCP and began the familiar roll to orient himself with the worm hole before he remembered he was in a much larger ship. Luckily the SCP responded quite well to his controls and he was able to avoid slamming into the station before getting lined up for the jump.
Feeniks cleared the worm hole into Deneb and immediately got pings on his radar from the multitude of ships that were flying around in this area. He paid little mind to most of the blips as he had his eyes trained on the two ITAN pilots flying wing to wing that he had spotted when he first entered the sector. They were who he had gotten all dressed up for.
"Look, here comes the noob again." Feeniks heard the ITAN chuckle as they adjusted their course towards him. Feeniks didn't change his flight path at all he went straight for them. At 300m Feeniks fired both sunflares at the pair of ITAN pilots. They were apparently not expecting this tactic as they had just began to split like before. The splash damage from the flares knocked the two itani into a slight spin. That was enough of a chance as Feeniks locked the left one in his sights and pulled the trigger on his AGT. Being in a cent did not afford the ITAN pilot alot of armor so in short time Feeniks had wittled its hull down to near nothing and it was almost a waste as both flares plowed into its waiting hull. The secod ITAN had again gotten behind Feeniks and began ticking away his hull with neuts but the extra armor of the SCP afforded him enough time to get turned and in range of the cent. Feeniks rolled and strafed to avoid the neut but this ITAN was definately the better of the two as he was still hitting more than he missed. Feeniks disengaged the forward thrusters on his SCP and allowed the itani to drift away a little. By the time he turned them back on the ITAN pilot was coming straight for him. Feeniks pulled the trigger fireing his AGT straight at the cent and also threw a couple volleys of sunflares in the mix. Hidded by the numerous shots from the turret the itani didn't see the flares until it was too late both volleys smashed directly into his face. Feeniks spun his SCP 180 degrees in response to his radar going off expecting to see more itani on his tail. It was not.
Nautargos, A-Dawg, and sheffield sat completely still 2000m away.
"We won the sector so we thought we would sit and watch the show."
"Did you like it"
"Indeed we did, good show young pilot."
"Thank you."
Sheffield made his way closer "Have you given any thought to what I asked you before?"
"I hadn't actually. My thoughts have been with the border patrols but I see you haven't forgotten."
"No, hadn't forgoted," was the reponse he heard but not from sheffield it was from Nautargos."He sent me up here to specifically look into recruiting you. I was going to give you a little test but when I saw the Nemesis leaving for Deneb I decided you could wait. After what I just saw I don't think a test will be necessary. Would you like to join SCAR?"
"Yes! That would be an honor."
"Done. Welcome our newest SCAR, Feeniks."
"We won the sector so we thought we would sit and watch the show."
"Did you like it?"
"Indeed we did, good show young pilot."
"Thank you."
Sheffield made his way closer "Have you given any thought to what I asked you before?"
"I hadn't actually. My thoughts have been with the border patrols but I see you haven't forgotten."
"No, hadn't forgotten," was the response he heard but not from sheffield it was from Nautargos."He sent me up here to specifically look into recruiting you. I was going to give you a little test but when I saw the Nemesis leaving for Deneb I decided you could wait. After what I just saw I don't think a test will be necessary. Would you like to join SCAR?"
"Yes! That would be an honor."
"Done. Welcome our newest SCAR, Feeniks." Nautargos proudly spoke over the Regiment commlink.
I opened up a private channel to Nautargos and asked, "You think he's ready?"
The smile on Nautargos' face was quite obviously heard in his answer, "You ask that all the time. Pull up his stats and take a look." Classic Nautargos answer...
As we headed back to the wormhole to Geira Rutilius I pulled Feeniks' licenses up once again on screen: Feeniks Serco 9/9/10/1/2. They looked good enough, and his kills for only the relatively short amount of time flying looked impressive.
"He has potential Naut."
"Don't thank me, thank sheffield."
"Will do."
Docking at Geira Watch we exited our ships as soon as the post flight routine was finished. Feeniks' craft was an old SCAR SCP, the hasty paint job hardly covered up the vehicles many smoke burns, hull scarring and SCAR insignia. Feeniks stepped out of his cockpit and jumped to the floor, his full body still covered in his flight suit, back turned away from sheff, Naut and I.
He turned on his heel and undid the latches around his pressurized helmet. A scarred, broken face lay underneath the sweaty-matted hair of someone who had just come out of combat. He grinned at us impishly almost as he took jovial steps towards us. Upon closer inspection, dark metallic implants protruded slightly on the side of his face by his eyes, it must've been some type of visionary enhancement.
Before he could speak about his battle achievements I brought my shoulders back and saluted at attention. Nautargos and sheffield followed suit. I could hear their combat boots click together and flight suits swish as they saluted in tandem with mine. Picking up almost as quickly, Feeniks saluted as well, eyes forward, locked into attention.
"At ease." I commanded. Feeniks dropped his hands down behind his back in perfect textbook military fashion. He was new, and the ambition in his eyes was extremely intense.
"I'm not one for formalities so much..." Reaching into my pocket I grabbed the pair of wings and pinned them on the front of his flight suit.
"You've earned them." I spoke through a smile. It was always good to induct a new pilot into SCAR.
I continued, "Now, no successful skirmish is complete without hitting the bar. C'mon, we have some celebrating to do!"
"Did you like it?"
"Indeed we did, good show young pilot."
"Thank you."
Sheffield made his way closer "Have you given any thought to what I asked you before?"
"I hadn't actually. My thoughts have been with the border patrols but I see you haven't forgotten."
"No, hadn't forgotten," was the response he heard but not from sheffield it was from Nautargos."He sent me up here to specifically look into recruiting you. I was going to give you a little test but when I saw the Nemesis leaving for Deneb I decided you could wait. After what I just saw I don't think a test will be necessary. Would you like to join SCAR?"
"Yes! That would be an honor."
"Done. Welcome our newest SCAR, Feeniks." Nautargos proudly spoke over the Regiment commlink.
I opened up a private channel to Nautargos and asked, "You think he's ready?"
The smile on Nautargos' face was quite obviously heard in his answer, "You ask that all the time. Pull up his stats and take a look." Classic Nautargos answer...
As we headed back to the wormhole to Geira Rutilius I pulled Feeniks' licenses up once again on screen: Feeniks Serco 9/9/10/1/2. They looked good enough, and his kills for only the relatively short amount of time flying looked impressive.
"He has potential Naut."
"Don't thank me, thank sheffield."
"Will do."
Docking at Geira Watch we exited our ships as soon as the post flight routine was finished. Feeniks' craft was an old SCAR SCP, the hasty paint job hardly covered up the vehicles many smoke burns, hull scarring and SCAR insignia. Feeniks stepped out of his cockpit and jumped to the floor, his full body still covered in his flight suit, back turned away from sheff, Naut and I.
He turned on his heel and undid the latches around his pressurized helmet. A scarred, broken face lay underneath the sweaty-matted hair of someone who had just come out of combat. He grinned at us impishly almost as he took jovial steps towards us. Upon closer inspection, dark metallic implants protruded slightly on the side of his face by his eyes, it must've been some type of visionary enhancement.
Before he could speak about his battle achievements I brought my shoulders back and saluted at attention. Nautargos and sheffield followed suit. I could hear their combat boots click together and flight suits swish as they saluted in tandem with mine. Picking up almost as quickly, Feeniks saluted as well, eyes forward, locked into attention.
"At ease." I commanded. Feeniks dropped his hands down behind his back in perfect textbook military fashion. He was new, and the ambition in his eyes was extremely intense.
"I'm not one for formalities so much..." Reaching into my pocket I grabbed the pair of wings and pinned them on the front of his flight suit.
"You've earned them." I spoke through a smile. It was always good to induct a new pilot into SCAR.
I continued, "Now, no successful skirmish is complete without hitting the bar. C'mon, we have some celebrating to do!"
pt.5 first assignment begins
After several hours spent at the bar with A-Dawg, Nautargos, and sheffield Feeniks felt a little less than perfect. Nautargos had told him about a SCAR shop down in Sedina where he could get some special weapons that were hard to come by and maybe he should check it out. Feeniks spent the first couple hangover hours getting what paint he could off of the SCAR insignia on his new SCP so that others would be able to read what it said. He had just finished scraping the last bit off of the port side when the dock foreman approached.
"What ya doin there lad?"
"Well, I figured that after yesterday's events and being a new SCAR member and all I had better get this old paint off and let everyone know I'm proud to be SCAR. So thats what I did. How does it look?"
"I can read it now but you didn't have to go through all that trouble ya know."
"Whada ya mean I didn't have to go through all that trouble? Didn't I just say I wanted to show off the SCAR on my ship?"
"It's just that your three friends bought you that new one sittin just over there. Didn't they tell ya?"
Feeniks looked through the widow of his beat up SCP to the dock directly next to his and there sat a shiny new SCP with a blood red paint job and much more up to date insignia on its side.
"Damn it! No they didn't tell me."
Feeniks gave the old SCP a swift boot leaving a sizeable dent in the heavy armor plate and walked over to check out his new boat. The lines were smooth and unmarred, the windows clear and unscratched, and the insignia read SCAR RECRUIT FEENIKS. If his tear ducts still worked he would have cried. It was the most beautiful thing he had seen since he had come from the hospital.
Feeniks climbed into the cockpit and reached for his helmet. Taped to the front was a data stick marked "PLAY ME" so he placed it into the computer and waited.
-Welcome, Feeniks, we are pleased to have you aboard. I hope you didn't waste too much time cleaning that old boat heh, oops forgot to tell him, anyways, make your way down to sedina as soon as you can we have a couple things we would like you to do and see where you best fit into your new position.-
Feeniks undocked and made a b-line for Sedina not fully understanding what they were expecting from him but hopeing for the best. The comms were quiet today and they were likely to be that way for the rest of the trip. It was ok it gave him time to think.
After several hours spent at the bar with A-Dawg, Nautargos, and sheffield Feeniks felt a little less than perfect. Nautargos had told him about a SCAR shop down in Sedina where he could get some special weapons that were hard to come by and maybe he should check it out. Feeniks spent the first couple hangover hours getting what paint he could off of the SCAR insignia on his new SCP so that others would be able to read what it said. He had just finished scraping the last bit off of the port side when the dock foreman approached.
"What ya doin there lad?"
"Well, I figured that after yesterday's events and being a new SCAR member and all I had better get this old paint off and let everyone know I'm proud to be SCAR. So thats what I did. How does it look?"
"I can read it now but you didn't have to go through all that trouble ya know."
"Whada ya mean I didn't have to go through all that trouble? Didn't I just say I wanted to show off the SCAR on my ship?"
"It's just that your three friends bought you that new one sittin just over there. Didn't they tell ya?"
Feeniks looked through the widow of his beat up SCP to the dock directly next to his and there sat a shiny new SCP with a blood red paint job and much more up to date insignia on its side.
"Damn it! No they didn't tell me."
Feeniks gave the old SCP a swift boot leaving a sizeable dent in the heavy armor plate and walked over to check out his new boat. The lines were smooth and unmarred, the windows clear and unscratched, and the insignia read SCAR RECRUIT FEENIKS. If his tear ducts still worked he would have cried. It was the most beautiful thing he had seen since he had come from the hospital.
Feeniks climbed into the cockpit and reached for his helmet. Taped to the front was a data stick marked "PLAY ME" so he placed it into the computer and waited.
-Welcome, Feeniks, we are pleased to have you aboard. I hope you didn't waste too much time cleaning that old boat heh, oops forgot to tell him, anyways, make your way down to sedina as soon as you can we have a couple things we would like you to do and see where you best fit into your new position.-
Feeniks undocked and made a b-line for Sedina not fully understanding what they were expecting from him but hopeing for the best. The comms were quiet today and they were likely to be that way for the rest of the trip. It was ok it gave him time to think.
A-Dawg gazed out the one of the many view ports of the Xang-Xi barracks in Sedina K-13 taking in his surroundings with an alert ease and a growing impatience. The trip down to Sedina wasn't especially difficult, nor was it overly long. He was waiting for someone. Feeniks' "true" initiation was about to begin. He could've given the job to any number of SCAR pilots, but he chose the new guy. He wanted to see if Feeniks' teeth were really as sharp as they were claimed to be.
An adjacent wall mounted screen chimed a proximity alert. An SCP transmitting a SCAR IFF had just jumped into the sector. It was Feeniks at last. A-Dawg picked up his oddly heavy dufflebag and headed to the nearest ship-bay two decks below.
"Feeniks, you've arrived."
Feeniks exited his SCP and knelt as he took off his helmet revealing his heavily scarred face once more.
"Rough trip?"
"Smooth for the most part." He answered calmly.
"I assume you want to know what this new assignment is about? Let me explain..."
"Question:" Feeniks interrupted. "Why K-13 and not Sedina D-14? Wouldn't that be more... appropriate?"
"Everyone goes off on "assignments" at D-14. Everyone uses D-14 from buying pirated UIT Holovids to narcotics smugglers and more. No one uses K-13 for this sort of thing; thats why it's perfect."
Both pilots looked around the ship bay. It only contained Feeniks' SCP, A-Dawg's Prometheus Mk III and an old EC-88 that looked abandoned while halfway through servicing.
A-Dawg lowered himself and unzipped the dufflebag revealing it's contents. He looked back up at Sheffield quizzically.
"Ready to do this assignment?"
An adjacent wall mounted screen chimed a proximity alert. An SCP transmitting a SCAR IFF had just jumped into the sector. It was Feeniks at last. A-Dawg picked up his oddly heavy dufflebag and headed to the nearest ship-bay two decks below.
"Feeniks, you've arrived."
Feeniks exited his SCP and knelt as he took off his helmet revealing his heavily scarred face once more.
"Rough trip?"
"Smooth for the most part." He answered calmly.
"I assume you want to know what this new assignment is about? Let me explain..."
"Question:" Feeniks interrupted. "Why K-13 and not Sedina D-14? Wouldn't that be more... appropriate?"
"Everyone goes off on "assignments" at D-14. Everyone uses D-14 from buying pirated UIT Holovids to narcotics smugglers and more. No one uses K-13 for this sort of thing; thats why it's perfect."
Both pilots looked around the ship bay. It only contained Feeniks' SCP, A-Dawg's Prometheus Mk III and an old EC-88 that looked abandoned while halfway through servicing.
A-Dawg lowered himself and unzipped the dufflebag revealing it's contents. He looked back up at Sheffield quizzically.
"Ready to do this assignment?"
pt. 6 Jumped
Stareing into the bag that A-Dawg produced only left Feeniks with more questions as to what his new role would be in this guild. After a time A-Dawg closed the bag and motioned for Sheffield and Feeniks to follow him to the bar. This was, apparently, some ritual with these fellows as they tended to frequent them at each station they stopped at. Feeniks was not one to turn down a good drink so he followed close behind so as not to get lost. A few rooms and blind corners later the three serco entered the bar and found a table suitable to hold their bulk and sat down.
"So, I assume that this "mission" isn't of the normal calibur you would find posted on our boards then eh?"
"You could say that."
"So what are the details of this "mission" and will I be doing it alone?"
"In good time recruit, in good time. But first let us enjoy some of these libations and relax a little. After all we did just arrive from the front lines and Sheff needs a drink."
A-Dawg jabbed Sheffield in the stomach with his elbow upon finishing his last statement. This prodded Sheffield to grab the nearest wench and order 3 legs of their strongest ale. Feeniks watched as the girl turned and began to walk away. She carried herself with the stride of the noble women he had seen growing up in the city stations of the UIT, but she was much more exotic. Olive skinned and toned he could see that she wasn't from around here. As Feeniks watched the girl approach the bar his eyes drifted to the doorway. In walked 3 itani dressed in military uniforms, all of which looked pressed and clean. The three men approached the bar with an arrogence that could only be bred through years of false superiority. Feeniks nudged A-Dawg and motioned his head in their direction.
A-Dawg retrieved the bag from on top of the table and quickly slung it over his back.
"ITAN! What are those dogs doing down here!" Sheffield whispered.
"Now don't go starting anything here the Xang-Xi don't look to kindly on brawling in their stations. We will wait for them outside and send them home where they belong."
Feeniks smiled at A-Dawgs confidence. He began to get up when A-Dawg placed a firm hand on his shoulder and told him to sit down.
"No ITAN dog is going to chase us away from our drinks. After all we were here first."
Feeniks thought he could see a slightly evil grin working its way across A-Dawgs scarred face but as frightening as it was he couldn't really tell. About the time Feeniks sat down the wench returned with their mugs and sat them down on the table. Feeniks, not skipping a beat stood and handed the girl a credit chip "Keep the change" Not missing a beat she place it into her apron and began to leave.
"Oh, I see! Got a little a weakness for the ladies eh Feeny" Sheffied mocked.
"*HUMF* not the ladies, that lady. For some reason she sparked a bit in me I hadn't known since I was young."
"Well you had better squash that spark immediately we still have business to attend to."
"Yea, sorry boss. Now about that mission...."
"No you noob, those ITAN. The mission can wait I want to have a little fun."
A-Dawg went over a couple tactics for fighting the tanis in their lighter ships. How best to approach them and what to watch out for. Feeniks had met some ITAN while on border patrol in Deneb so he was quite aware of their battle prowess but listened intently none the less. Sheffield added a few points of interest and the three serco began to get up.
Sheffield stumbled, playing at being drunk, and knocked over the table. It split clean in half under the bulk of the large serco. If it was his intention to get the tanis attention he had done just that. The three ITAN stood up immediately and made for the door leaveing behind their drinks. The girl that was running the tables tried to catch up to the as they apparently had not paid their tabs. The three serco made thier way over to the table. Feeniks handed the girl another credit chip and grabbed the three glasses.
"Here our friends left us a drink."
"Thank you, Feeny are you sure you want to drink this dog water?"
"We don't want it to go to waste do we?"
A-Dawg shook his head as Feeniks downed the itanis glass and then did the same.
"*PFTTT* No wonder they're so uptight hell I'm surprised they are allowed to sell this crap. What is it?"
Sheffield pushed his glass away and smiled "It's called water Feeniks, just water."
A-Dawg gave Feeniks a swat on the back as they made their way to the docks. The serving girl looked up from the table she was clearing to watch the kind hearted serco leave.
"Feeniks, I will remember that name. There is something different about that one."
"Be careful doll. He is SCAR and those boys are vicious." rang in the bartender
Feeniks, A-Dawg, and Sheffield jumped in their respective ships and made for the doors. When the three cleared the station A-Dawg lit up the comm and told them that the itani had gone to the latos-sedina worm hole sector and that is where we were going. "A little target practice before we put you to work can't hurt." The three serco made jump distance and engaged the engines. Once they cleared the jump Feeniks suddenly realised that this had just gone terribly wrong as his damage sensors started ticking off before he had full control of his ship.
They had been Jumped...
The three ITAN pilots had known that the serco would follow them and had set up an ambush to wait for them. Clearly inexperienced, the three itani did not finish the job they had started. A-Dawg split off to the left and Sheffield to the right which left Feeniks to fend off the remaining ITAN in the Centlll. He flew the cent much the same way as Feeniks flew his SCP straight at you with all barrels smokin. Feeniks was able to dodge the tanis first volley of flares but was unable to get clear of the AGT blasts. Luckily, and this is why Feeniks loved his SCP, the AGT barely put a black mark on his SCP's armor. Feeniks pitched and rolled for a shot at the centaurs topside and unloaded both tubes of flares, all the while ticking away at him with his own AGT. The pair of flares exploded squarely and spun the cent out of control. This gave Feeniks another clear shot and he took it. The cent exploded with that second blast and Feeniks spun his SCP just in time to watch Sheffield and A-Dawg finish off the other two unfortunate ITAN pilots. A-Dawg again lit the comm.
"Alright boys enough playing, I'm still thirsty lets head back to the XX barracks and get this mission under way."
"Will do sir."
The three serco made their way back to the XX bar and sat down at the same spot. It was amazing how quickly they had replaced the one Sheffield had broken. The girl was nowhere to be seen, which was probably a good thing for Feeniks he didn't need any distractions as A-Dawg again opened the bag on the table and began to tell him what was in store for this recruit next....
Stareing into the bag that A-Dawg produced only left Feeniks with more questions as to what his new role would be in this guild. After a time A-Dawg closed the bag and motioned for Sheffield and Feeniks to follow him to the bar. This was, apparently, some ritual with these fellows as they tended to frequent them at each station they stopped at. Feeniks was not one to turn down a good drink so he followed close behind so as not to get lost. A few rooms and blind corners later the three serco entered the bar and found a table suitable to hold their bulk and sat down.
"So, I assume that this "mission" isn't of the normal calibur you would find posted on our boards then eh?"
"You could say that."
"So what are the details of this "mission" and will I be doing it alone?"
"In good time recruit, in good time. But first let us enjoy some of these libations and relax a little. After all we did just arrive from the front lines and Sheff needs a drink."
A-Dawg jabbed Sheffield in the stomach with his elbow upon finishing his last statement. This prodded Sheffield to grab the nearest wench and order 3 legs of their strongest ale. Feeniks watched as the girl turned and began to walk away. She carried herself with the stride of the noble women he had seen growing up in the city stations of the UIT, but she was much more exotic. Olive skinned and toned he could see that she wasn't from around here. As Feeniks watched the girl approach the bar his eyes drifted to the doorway. In walked 3 itani dressed in military uniforms, all of which looked pressed and clean. The three men approached the bar with an arrogence that could only be bred through years of false superiority. Feeniks nudged A-Dawg and motioned his head in their direction.
A-Dawg retrieved the bag from on top of the table and quickly slung it over his back.
"ITAN! What are those dogs doing down here!" Sheffield whispered.
"Now don't go starting anything here the Xang-Xi don't look to kindly on brawling in their stations. We will wait for them outside and send them home where they belong."
Feeniks smiled at A-Dawgs confidence. He began to get up when A-Dawg placed a firm hand on his shoulder and told him to sit down.
"No ITAN dog is going to chase us away from our drinks. After all we were here first."
Feeniks thought he could see a slightly evil grin working its way across A-Dawgs scarred face but as frightening as it was he couldn't really tell. About the time Feeniks sat down the wench returned with their mugs and sat them down on the table. Feeniks, not skipping a beat stood and handed the girl a credit chip "Keep the change" Not missing a beat she place it into her apron and began to leave.
"Oh, I see! Got a little a weakness for the ladies eh Feeny" Sheffied mocked.
"*HUMF* not the ladies, that lady. For some reason she sparked a bit in me I hadn't known since I was young."
"Well you had better squash that spark immediately we still have business to attend to."
"Yea, sorry boss. Now about that mission...."
"No you noob, those ITAN. The mission can wait I want to have a little fun."
A-Dawg went over a couple tactics for fighting the tanis in their lighter ships. How best to approach them and what to watch out for. Feeniks had met some ITAN while on border patrol in Deneb so he was quite aware of their battle prowess but listened intently none the less. Sheffield added a few points of interest and the three serco began to get up.
Sheffield stumbled, playing at being drunk, and knocked over the table. It split clean in half under the bulk of the large serco. If it was his intention to get the tanis attention he had done just that. The three ITAN stood up immediately and made for the door leaveing behind their drinks. The girl that was running the tables tried to catch up to the as they apparently had not paid their tabs. The three serco made thier way over to the table. Feeniks handed the girl another credit chip and grabbed the three glasses.
"Here our friends left us a drink."
"Thank you, Feeny are you sure you want to drink this dog water?"
"We don't want it to go to waste do we?"
A-Dawg shook his head as Feeniks downed the itanis glass and then did the same.
"*PFTTT* No wonder they're so uptight hell I'm surprised they are allowed to sell this crap. What is it?"
Sheffield pushed his glass away and smiled "It's called water Feeniks, just water."
A-Dawg gave Feeniks a swat on the back as they made their way to the docks. The serving girl looked up from the table she was clearing to watch the kind hearted serco leave.
"Feeniks, I will remember that name. There is something different about that one."
"Be careful doll. He is SCAR and those boys are vicious." rang in the bartender
Feeniks, A-Dawg, and Sheffield jumped in their respective ships and made for the doors. When the three cleared the station A-Dawg lit up the comm and told them that the itani had gone to the latos-sedina worm hole sector and that is where we were going. "A little target practice before we put you to work can't hurt." The three serco made jump distance and engaged the engines. Once they cleared the jump Feeniks suddenly realised that this had just gone terribly wrong as his damage sensors started ticking off before he had full control of his ship.
They had been Jumped...
The three ITAN pilots had known that the serco would follow them and had set up an ambush to wait for them. Clearly inexperienced, the three itani did not finish the job they had started. A-Dawg split off to the left and Sheffield to the right which left Feeniks to fend off the remaining ITAN in the Centlll. He flew the cent much the same way as Feeniks flew his SCP straight at you with all barrels smokin. Feeniks was able to dodge the tanis first volley of flares but was unable to get clear of the AGT blasts. Luckily, and this is why Feeniks loved his SCP, the AGT barely put a black mark on his SCP's armor. Feeniks pitched and rolled for a shot at the centaurs topside and unloaded both tubes of flares, all the while ticking away at him with his own AGT. The pair of flares exploded squarely and spun the cent out of control. This gave Feeniks another clear shot and he took it. The cent exploded with that second blast and Feeniks spun his SCP just in time to watch Sheffield and A-Dawg finish off the other two unfortunate ITAN pilots. A-Dawg again lit the comm.
"Alright boys enough playing, I'm still thirsty lets head back to the XX barracks and get this mission under way."
"Will do sir."
The three serco made their way back to the XX bar and sat down at the same spot. It was amazing how quickly they had replaced the one Sheffield had broken. The girl was nowhere to be seen, which was probably a good thing for Feeniks he didn't need any distractions as A-Dawg again opened the bag on the table and began to tell him what was in store for this recruit next....
pt. 7 confusion
The three serco sat in the XX bar with Feeniks trying his best to listen to the instructions that A-Dawg was giving him as to what he was expected to do with the various elements that were contained inside the duffle bag when they noticed a strikeing female itani stroll into the bar.
"Not again!" moaned Feeniks.
"Wha? Oh, her? No Feeny that is Tohasandra Chi. She is a Lt. with PA, nothing to do with ITAN, not even in the same league."
"Aye, she's a good lot that one. Friendliness with PA not withstanding she would be free from our wrath. When it comes to Chi we have never seen her fire a single shot that was not in defense of her goods."
"So we can pick what itani we shoot I thought they were all bad?"
"They are. Don't get to wrapped around it Feeniks just trust me when I say leave this one alone. After all you should know first hand that not all itani are bad look how good you have turned out so far."
That statement made the three serco laugh. Feeniks couldn't help but watch as Chi sat at the bar and ordered a drink. She carried herself with an air of importance that Feeniks had only seen in A-Dawg and a few of the other council members of SCAR. It was interesting to watch her talk to the various people who came and went from the bar that afternoon. Everyone seemed to smile a little more when they were finished their conversation. A little more than an hour later they watched as Chi tipped the bartender and deliberately made her way towards the table.
"Good day to you A-Dawg, Sheffield. Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"This is our new recruit. Feeniks is his name."
Feeniks felt rather uncomfortable as he stood and extended his hand to Tohas. After all he had spent his last several months devoted to blasting itani from space. His tension eased when he grasped her delicate hand and looked in her eyes. For such a small being her eyes showed confidence and a careing he had not seen in a long time.
"Nice to meet you Feeniks."
"You as well Tohasandra."
"Quiet one isn't he A-Dawg?"
"Not usually, it looks like something has choked him up a bit. So, what brings the queen of PA down to these parts of the verse?"
"Nothing specific I am just researching some of my trade lanes, after all someone has to keep the money flowing for PA man those guys can go through the money. Heh!"
"Well safe travels to you then, and let us know if you need anything while we are here."
"Will do A-Dawg. Good day to you Sheffield, Feeniks, again nice to meet you."
Tohasandra turned around and left the bar. Feeniks watched her leave. Something inside him told him that he should know her but he couldn't figure out why. He had never met her, and she was a tani. Regaurdless of what A-Dawg said he would still be reluctant to look at her as much more than just another itani feeding the war machine. But he had to admit there was something different about this one.
"Pleasant diversion from business that was." grunted Sheff.
"Anyways back to busin......" A-Dawg started but was cut short when his comm beeped that he was getting a message. Feeniks and Sheffield sat drumming their fingers on the table as they waited for A-Dawg to finish his conversation on the comm. As they watched they saw he was getting more and more aggitated as he listened.
"We'll be right there just be careful" was all they heard as A-Dawg slammed his comm on the table and again retrieved the duffle bag.
"Get your shit together and come on!"
Without a word Feeniks and Sheffield jumped to their feet and followed A-Dawg out the door. He was almost running back to the hangers and it was hard for Feeniks to keep up with this powerful serco.
"Where we goin boss?"
Climbing into his SCP A-Dawg shouted back "The damn rats are crawling all over the worm hole sector and Tohasandra is in trouble."
"So what? She's a tani what do we care?"
He had said it before he had time to think and that was a mistake A-Dawg stepped down from his SCP and threw a backhand at Feeniks that must have knocked him back 10 feet.
"I told you Tohas is a good lot tani or not. We hold no quarrel with PA. Pirates, on the other hand, deserve nothing more than the full force of what we can bring to bear against them. As it says on the wall of our base traders are not to be harmed and Chi is nothing if not a trader. So get off your ass and get in that ship recruit!"
Feeniks pulled himself off the floor and ran to his SCP. He had barely gotten into the pilot seat when A-Dawg cleared the docking bay.
"Catch up! Sheffield and I are going on ahead, don't forget do not shoot Tohas, get the rats and give her a clear path. Understand!"
"Aye sir!"
Feeniks cleared the dock just in time to see the warp signatures of A-Dawg and Sheffield as they made their way to help out the itani. He engaged the turbo and made for the same spot. Fifteen seconds later Feeniks was entering the worm hole sector. He had just oriented himself from the jump when he saw, coming straight at him, was Tohas herself in a moth. Feeniks had just enough time to move out of the way before she ran into him. Following closely behind her was one of the pirates in a warthog. Feeniks adjusted his path and launched both tubes of flares at the pirate. Both flares connected solidly on the hog as the pirate hadn't adjusted himself for the new threat yet. The pirate spun out of control allowing Feeniks to close the distance and hit him with the full brunt of his AGT. The rat regained control of his ship enough to make the turn to bring Feeniks into his sights but it was too late. The flare tubes were ready by then and Feeniks fired both again and again both nailed the pirate directly in the hull splattering him across the front of his SCP. '"wheres my wipers"'
Feeniks turned to find where A-Dawg and Sheffield were and saw they engaged with two other pirates 1000m away. Feeniks engaged the turbo and went to intercept the others. He reached the fight just in time to see Sheffield shoot down the SYN pirate Clinkscales. That one had done some pretty good damage to Sheff, he flew a taur with AGT, Jacks, and sunnies. Sheffield disengaged and went to escort Chi out of the sector before returning to the XX base for repairs. Feeniks turned away and went to join A-Dawg who was fighting a doozy with Swag Man. A-Dawg had gotten a few good blows in but Swag Man was flying a rev and with the great difference in weight was able to stay just out of range of most shots that A-Dawg was fireing. Feeniks adjusted his course in behind Swag Man and let loose both tubes of flares knocking Swag into a spin. The fight was over the two serco converged on Swag with a hail of AGT ripping the pirates rev to pieces.
"Good flying recruit now get back to XX we still have business to take care of."
"Will do A-Dawg"
The two serco began to make their way back to the station when Feeniks' comm beeped.
"Thank you for your assistance Feeniks"
"Tohasandra?"
"Yes, I am grateful for SCARs help with that would you please pass that on to your wingmates"
"I can do that. Be more careful out there SCAR wont always be around to save ye."
"I don't need any saveing I have plenty of help. But thank you nonetheless."
With that the comm went silent again. Feeniks, A-Dawg, and Sheffield made their way back to the station and again sat down at the now, all to familiar table in the XX bar.
"Lets try this again shall we?"
The three serco sat in the XX bar with Feeniks trying his best to listen to the instructions that A-Dawg was giving him as to what he was expected to do with the various elements that were contained inside the duffle bag when they noticed a strikeing female itani stroll into the bar.
"Not again!" moaned Feeniks.
"Wha? Oh, her? No Feeny that is Tohasandra Chi. She is a Lt. with PA, nothing to do with ITAN, not even in the same league."
"Aye, she's a good lot that one. Friendliness with PA not withstanding she would be free from our wrath. When it comes to Chi we have never seen her fire a single shot that was not in defense of her goods."
"So we can pick what itani we shoot I thought they were all bad?"
"They are. Don't get to wrapped around it Feeniks just trust me when I say leave this one alone. After all you should know first hand that not all itani are bad look how good you have turned out so far."
That statement made the three serco laugh. Feeniks couldn't help but watch as Chi sat at the bar and ordered a drink. She carried herself with an air of importance that Feeniks had only seen in A-Dawg and a few of the other council members of SCAR. It was interesting to watch her talk to the various people who came and went from the bar that afternoon. Everyone seemed to smile a little more when they were finished their conversation. A little more than an hour later they watched as Chi tipped the bartender and deliberately made her way towards the table.
"Good day to you A-Dawg, Sheffield. Are you going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"This is our new recruit. Feeniks is his name."
Feeniks felt rather uncomfortable as he stood and extended his hand to Tohas. After all he had spent his last several months devoted to blasting itani from space. His tension eased when he grasped her delicate hand and looked in her eyes. For such a small being her eyes showed confidence and a careing he had not seen in a long time.
"Nice to meet you Feeniks."
"You as well Tohasandra."
"Quiet one isn't he A-Dawg?"
"Not usually, it looks like something has choked him up a bit. So, what brings the queen of PA down to these parts of the verse?"
"Nothing specific I am just researching some of my trade lanes, after all someone has to keep the money flowing for PA man those guys can go through the money. Heh!"
"Well safe travels to you then, and let us know if you need anything while we are here."
"Will do A-Dawg. Good day to you Sheffield, Feeniks, again nice to meet you."
Tohasandra turned around and left the bar. Feeniks watched her leave. Something inside him told him that he should know her but he couldn't figure out why. He had never met her, and she was a tani. Regaurdless of what A-Dawg said he would still be reluctant to look at her as much more than just another itani feeding the war machine. But he had to admit there was something different about this one.
"Pleasant diversion from business that was." grunted Sheff.
"Anyways back to busin......" A-Dawg started but was cut short when his comm beeped that he was getting a message. Feeniks and Sheffield sat drumming their fingers on the table as they waited for A-Dawg to finish his conversation on the comm. As they watched they saw he was getting more and more aggitated as he listened.
"We'll be right there just be careful" was all they heard as A-Dawg slammed his comm on the table and again retrieved the duffle bag.
"Get your shit together and come on!"
Without a word Feeniks and Sheffield jumped to their feet and followed A-Dawg out the door. He was almost running back to the hangers and it was hard for Feeniks to keep up with this powerful serco.
"Where we goin boss?"
Climbing into his SCP A-Dawg shouted back "The damn rats are crawling all over the worm hole sector and Tohasandra is in trouble."
"So what? She's a tani what do we care?"
He had said it before he had time to think and that was a mistake A-Dawg stepped down from his SCP and threw a backhand at Feeniks that must have knocked him back 10 feet.
"I told you Tohas is a good lot tani or not. We hold no quarrel with PA. Pirates, on the other hand, deserve nothing more than the full force of what we can bring to bear against them. As it says on the wall of our base traders are not to be harmed and Chi is nothing if not a trader. So get off your ass and get in that ship recruit!"
Feeniks pulled himself off the floor and ran to his SCP. He had barely gotten into the pilot seat when A-Dawg cleared the docking bay.
"Catch up! Sheffield and I are going on ahead, don't forget do not shoot Tohas, get the rats and give her a clear path. Understand!"
"Aye sir!"
Feeniks cleared the dock just in time to see the warp signatures of A-Dawg and Sheffield as they made their way to help out the itani. He engaged the turbo and made for the same spot. Fifteen seconds later Feeniks was entering the worm hole sector. He had just oriented himself from the jump when he saw, coming straight at him, was Tohas herself in a moth. Feeniks had just enough time to move out of the way before she ran into him. Following closely behind her was one of the pirates in a warthog. Feeniks adjusted his path and launched both tubes of flares at the pirate. Both flares connected solidly on the hog as the pirate hadn't adjusted himself for the new threat yet. The pirate spun out of control allowing Feeniks to close the distance and hit him with the full brunt of his AGT. The rat regained control of his ship enough to make the turn to bring Feeniks into his sights but it was too late. The flare tubes were ready by then and Feeniks fired both again and again both nailed the pirate directly in the hull splattering him across the front of his SCP. '"wheres my wipers"'
Feeniks turned to find where A-Dawg and Sheffield were and saw they engaged with two other pirates 1000m away. Feeniks engaged the turbo and went to intercept the others. He reached the fight just in time to see Sheffield shoot down the SYN pirate Clinkscales. That one had done some pretty good damage to Sheff, he flew a taur with AGT, Jacks, and sunnies. Sheffield disengaged and went to escort Chi out of the sector before returning to the XX base for repairs. Feeniks turned away and went to join A-Dawg who was fighting a doozy with Swag Man. A-Dawg had gotten a few good blows in but Swag Man was flying a rev and with the great difference in weight was able to stay just out of range of most shots that A-Dawg was fireing. Feeniks adjusted his course in behind Swag Man and let loose both tubes of flares knocking Swag into a spin. The fight was over the two serco converged on Swag with a hail of AGT ripping the pirates rev to pieces.
"Good flying recruit now get back to XX we still have business to take care of."
"Will do A-Dawg"
The two serco began to make their way back to the station when Feeniks' comm beeped.
"Thank you for your assistance Feeniks"
"Tohasandra?"
"Yes, I am grateful for SCARs help with that would you please pass that on to your wingmates"
"I can do that. Be more careful out there SCAR wont always be around to save ye."
"I don't need any saveing I have plenty of help. But thank you nonetheless."
With that the comm went silent again. Feeniks, A-Dawg, and Sheffield made their way back to the station and again sat down at the now, all to familiar table in the XX bar.
"Lets try this again shall we?"
Pirates, on the other hand, deserve nothing more than the full force of what we can bring to bear against them
Awfully self-righteous for A-Dawg, past activities of himself and the guild he led considered.
Awfully self-righteous for A-Dawg, past activities of himself and the guild he led considered.
Pt.8 A fresh uniform
It had been nearly six months since Feeniks had taken the time to return to his apartment in GR but today seemed like as good a day as any.
What a whirlwind this young pilot had gone through in the last few months, A-Dawg had gone missing leaving SCAR in the hands of Sheffield who had a very good grip on what he wanted for SCAR. Trying to bring the renegade elements of the Serco nation together under one unified flag had not gone as smoothly as he had wished. With A-Dawg out of the picture and Sheffield as new commander several of the more extreme members of SCAR took it upon themselves to strongarm some pilots during one of the regular air shows. While not entirely against any sort of code that he had known of, Feeniks had been rather disturbed at this incident. So he was not totally suprised when approached by Sheffield and Keria about taking the Serco in a totally new direction. The pleasant benefit would be that these two great Serco pilots would be joined by the, now infamous, former VPR Vehement.
With the help of more Serco [ONE] had been formed and Feeniks found himself in a greatly increased position within the guilds hierarchy as a council member.
Knowing that he was still relatively new he left many of the important work to the 3 admirals Sheffield, Vehement, and Keria as they of course knew what the hell they were doing. Feeniks spent many weeks shuffleing trade goods in Serco space trying to wait out the rush of new people to join the guild. When the initial flood had subsided he returned to patrols in Deneb only now he would be joined by more of his guild mates than he had experienced before.
ITAN had waned in presence as of late so the opportunities of fights with their elites had greatly been deminished so Feeniks spent alot of time wadeing through the countless new recruits that the itani government decided to send to the border. This was ok as it had given him the much needed practice that he needed to overcome the next trial he had set forth for himself, defeat Keria in 1v1 combat.
His first attempt had not gone quite as he had invisioned it. Feeniks had caught Keria floating around Sedina and issued the challenge which she of course accepted. What Feeniks would soon find out is that in order to beat Keria in a duel with light fighters it would take alot more practice than just splashing a few itani n00bs on the Deneb border.
The duel started out very well for him as he caught Kerias vult full on the left wing with a sray from his SVG tearing a few big holes as it went. After that it was all downhill, Keria settled into a more defensive posture and kept her vult well out of his neuts affective range and at the same time slowing bleeding the life blood from Feeniks' SVG. Feeniks had had enough he was going to end it now, patience is not one of his strong points, he engaged his thrusters and opened fire. Quick to answer Keria dodged the spray and fired her own load of AAP into what was left of the poor rookie. Keria 1:Feeniks 0
A month of patrols had passed and Feeniks had again run into more and more ITAN pilots in Deneb so he finally decided he thought he was now again ready to challange Keria for the bragging rights he had lost in their first meeting. He found her again in Sedina and issued the challange, which of course she accepted. This time he felt he was ready. The two pilots bore down on each other ready for whatever was thrown at them. It started out much the same as their previous encounter Feeniks lay a stream of fire across Keria's wing and she assumed her defensive posture all the while fireing AAP to constantly chip away at Feeniks' hull. This time however Feeniks was ready and changed his frontal attack to a variation he had been defeated with a few times by ITAN. He alternated fireing his neuts so that they made a much tighter line and he layed them in an area well in front of Keria as she dodged the last set. This would be her downfall as she moved her vult into position to fire she was met with the trap I had just put in space. *BOOM* Keria 1:Feeniks 1
"GF Keria, care for a drink now that we're done?"
"Sure, why not. After all you earned it"
"So when we get instation I have some questions for you."
"Like what?"
"Well, now that I've gotten you I guess my next target will be Sheffield and his Prom test. I thought you might be able to give me some clue as to how I can beat him."
"We'll talk about it when we dock, you're buying Feeniks, after all you cost me a vult and 2 AAPs not a cheap day for me if you know what I mean."
"My pleasure Admiral."
It had been nearly six months since Feeniks had taken the time to return to his apartment in GR but today seemed like as good a day as any.
What a whirlwind this young pilot had gone through in the last few months, A-Dawg had gone missing leaving SCAR in the hands of Sheffield who had a very good grip on what he wanted for SCAR. Trying to bring the renegade elements of the Serco nation together under one unified flag had not gone as smoothly as he had wished. With A-Dawg out of the picture and Sheffield as new commander several of the more extreme members of SCAR took it upon themselves to strongarm some pilots during one of the regular air shows. While not entirely against any sort of code that he had known of, Feeniks had been rather disturbed at this incident. So he was not totally suprised when approached by Sheffield and Keria about taking the Serco in a totally new direction. The pleasant benefit would be that these two great Serco pilots would be joined by the, now infamous, former VPR Vehement.
With the help of more Serco [ONE] had been formed and Feeniks found himself in a greatly increased position within the guilds hierarchy as a council member.
Knowing that he was still relatively new he left many of the important work to the 3 admirals Sheffield, Vehement, and Keria as they of course knew what the hell they were doing. Feeniks spent many weeks shuffleing trade goods in Serco space trying to wait out the rush of new people to join the guild. When the initial flood had subsided he returned to patrols in Deneb only now he would be joined by more of his guild mates than he had experienced before.
ITAN had waned in presence as of late so the opportunities of fights with their elites had greatly been deminished so Feeniks spent alot of time wadeing through the countless new recruits that the itani government decided to send to the border. This was ok as it had given him the much needed practice that he needed to overcome the next trial he had set forth for himself, defeat Keria in 1v1 combat.
His first attempt had not gone quite as he had invisioned it. Feeniks had caught Keria floating around Sedina and issued the challenge which she of course accepted. What Feeniks would soon find out is that in order to beat Keria in a duel with light fighters it would take alot more practice than just splashing a few itani n00bs on the Deneb border.
The duel started out very well for him as he caught Kerias vult full on the left wing with a sray from his SVG tearing a few big holes as it went. After that it was all downhill, Keria settled into a more defensive posture and kept her vult well out of his neuts affective range and at the same time slowing bleeding the life blood from Feeniks' SVG. Feeniks had had enough he was going to end it now, patience is not one of his strong points, he engaged his thrusters and opened fire. Quick to answer Keria dodged the spray and fired her own load of AAP into what was left of the poor rookie. Keria 1:Feeniks 0
A month of patrols had passed and Feeniks had again run into more and more ITAN pilots in Deneb so he finally decided he thought he was now again ready to challange Keria for the bragging rights he had lost in their first meeting. He found her again in Sedina and issued the challange, which of course she accepted. This time he felt he was ready. The two pilots bore down on each other ready for whatever was thrown at them. It started out much the same as their previous encounter Feeniks lay a stream of fire across Keria's wing and she assumed her defensive posture all the while fireing AAP to constantly chip away at Feeniks' hull. This time however Feeniks was ready and changed his frontal attack to a variation he had been defeated with a few times by ITAN. He alternated fireing his neuts so that they made a much tighter line and he layed them in an area well in front of Keria as she dodged the last set. This would be her downfall as she moved her vult into position to fire she was met with the trap I had just put in space. *BOOM* Keria 1:Feeniks 1
"GF Keria, care for a drink now that we're done?"
"Sure, why not. After all you earned it"
"So when we get instation I have some questions for you."
"Like what?"
"Well, now that I've gotten you I guess my next target will be Sheffield and his Prom test. I thought you might be able to give me some clue as to how I can beat him."
"We'll talk about it when we dock, you're buying Feeniks, after all you cost me a vult and 2 AAPs not a cheap day for me if you know what I mean."
"My pleasure Admiral."
Very good story and very accurate account of what went on! I have enjoyed this story very much. Keep going!
-Miex
-Miex
Part 9. An annoyed Admiral.
Sheffield sighed as he put up his thick heavy pilots boots on the commanders desk. Operation 'Nero' had been succesfull beyond his wildest hopes; the easy part, Operation 'Vespasion', was the one not going to plan.
His eyes came off his reflection in A-Dawg's mirror ('aquired' from Sky Command HQ when ONE moved to Catequil outpost) and glanced at the reports on the desk again. The normal list of sightings in Bractus and Pelatus from Da Gu, he could read that later. Keria's 'report' on pirate 'fighting' vz Azumi after she came back from leave on Supay made him smile again. Schelling's ever efficient report on pilot morale. Blitzkreig Bob's list of commodities. Both, too, could wait.
His thoughts went back to the 'Prometheus Ferry Pilot's Association' annual dinner. No, he couldnt do that again.....
"When am i gonna be able to retire" sheffield thought. Sigh.
Then he remembered the report from Feeniks towards the bottom of the pile. What was that noise from the pilot's lounge? Oh some visiting news bod, lol, the boys are probably winding him up.
No, this report from Feeniks. Vehement, now dead the silly sod, had complained that Feeniks had been spending too much time onboard the 'Nemesis'.
Suddenly sheff jumped up, adjusting his kilt on the way to the pilot's lounge.
"Feeniks can bloody well explain right now!"
....they were watching some old earth-war movie.
Sheff put his face into the gloom, and said:
"AH, that film. Totally inauthentic. Gunther Prien was in the navy and Winston was so fat, everyone knows he could only pilot Hurricanes!"
Feeniks jumped up to attention from his prone position on a table and saluted his 'commander', awkwardly adjusting his ocular implants back from some acute angle.
"acka acka acka acka" sounds came from the screen.
"Feeniks! We cant see the ending! Aargh!" screamed everbody.
Some actor's germanic voice: "gankers!"
Erebus was jumping up and down in excitement about something, whilst the the poor reporter was hiding in a corner..
"Feeniks, this report about A-Dawg's lost 18bis transponder"
"Yes, chief?"
"I know they were long range scans, but how on Sol are there THREE life signs, and was the duffle bag aboard his SVG for lady's sake?!"
Sheffield sighed as he put up his thick heavy pilots boots on the commanders desk. Operation 'Nero' had been succesfull beyond his wildest hopes; the easy part, Operation 'Vespasion', was the one not going to plan.
His eyes came off his reflection in A-Dawg's mirror ('aquired' from Sky Command HQ when ONE moved to Catequil outpost) and glanced at the reports on the desk again. The normal list of sightings in Bractus and Pelatus from Da Gu, he could read that later. Keria's 'report' on pirate 'fighting' vz Azumi after she came back from leave on Supay made him smile again. Schelling's ever efficient report on pilot morale. Blitzkreig Bob's list of commodities. Both, too, could wait.
His thoughts went back to the 'Prometheus Ferry Pilot's Association' annual dinner. No, he couldnt do that again.....
"When am i gonna be able to retire" sheffield thought. Sigh.
Then he remembered the report from Feeniks towards the bottom of the pile. What was that noise from the pilot's lounge? Oh some visiting news bod, lol, the boys are probably winding him up.
No, this report from Feeniks. Vehement, now dead the silly sod, had complained that Feeniks had been spending too much time onboard the 'Nemesis'.
Suddenly sheff jumped up, adjusting his kilt on the way to the pilot's lounge.
"Feeniks can bloody well explain right now!"
....they were watching some old earth-war movie.
Sheff put his face into the gloom, and said:
"AH, that film. Totally inauthentic. Gunther Prien was in the navy and Winston was so fat, everyone knows he could only pilot Hurricanes!"
Feeniks jumped up to attention from his prone position on a table and saluted his 'commander', awkwardly adjusting his ocular implants back from some acute angle.
"acka acka acka acka" sounds came from the screen.
"Feeniks! We cant see the ending! Aargh!" screamed everbody.
Some actor's germanic voice: "gankers!"
Erebus was jumping up and down in excitement about something, whilst the the poor reporter was hiding in a corner..
"Feeniks, this report about A-Dawg's lost 18bis transponder"
"Yes, chief?"
"I know they were long range scans, but how on Sol are there THREE life signs, and was the duffle bag aboard his SVG for lady's sake?!"
Very good read, I will be checking in on this one from time to time.. lol
Sheffield was honorable. He WOULD NOT open the dufflebag.
Despite A-Dawg being 'light years away' without full power, he knew his ex-commander's 'mistake' was no such thing. And why deliberateley equip a vult with an old mark18 bis transponder?
It doesn't transmit DNA, that's what.
No-one can be in two, perhaps three, places at once. And no-one is.
Mmmmm. Who's just come off flight patrol? LD and Bliston. LD would be.... too enquiring. Sheffield got Bliston to report to the Command Office.
"Just pass this bag thru the cargo xray machine for me, Blist. "Oh, and scan it for EM waves and organic particulates while youre at it!"
"yes Sir" a nervous young pilot replied, pleased that the commander seemingly hadn't noticed his excessive ammo usage in Deneb....
-------
The results were on one holopad. Sheffield nodded his head in satisfaction. 'Just as I thought. One life support circuit and a perfect DNA match...'
Why create three A-Dawg's, two in stasis or 'away' while you handed over command to an old ferry pilot?
Sheff nodded again. Now he knew....
Despite A-Dawg being 'light years away' without full power, he knew his ex-commander's 'mistake' was no such thing. And why deliberateley equip a vult with an old mark18 bis transponder?
It doesn't transmit DNA, that's what.
No-one can be in two, perhaps three, places at once. And no-one is.
Mmmmm. Who's just come off flight patrol? LD and Bliston. LD would be.... too enquiring. Sheffield got Bliston to report to the Command Office.
"Just pass this bag thru the cargo xray machine for me, Blist. "Oh, and scan it for EM waves and organic particulates while youre at it!"
"yes Sir" a nervous young pilot replied, pleased that the commander seemingly hadn't noticed his excessive ammo usage in Deneb....
-------
The results were on one holopad. Sheffield nodded his head in satisfaction. 'Just as I thought. One life support circuit and a perfect DNA match...'
Why create three A-Dawg's, two in stasis or 'away' while you handed over command to an old ferry pilot?
Sheff nodded again. Now he knew....
Everything was black, and cramped.
Being in the fetal position; even for a Serco in what could be easily explained as hibernation was still uncomfortable.
A-Dawg opened his eyes slowly, not because he was expecting to see anything, but because it felt better than having them closed. He reached down and unsecured the knife tucked by his ankle. Slitting a small hole in the side of the bag, he slipped out as quickly as possible until he was kneeling on what was perceived to be deck plating.
The room was dark and still. The exit was in front of him. He saw the light switch to the right of the door, but didn't bother, he'd just use his cybernetic connection to turn on the switch with a simple thought... nothing happened. A-Dawg tried again... no effect. He stood up and moved to the manual switch on the door, the lights gradually brightened when he moved his hand over the panel.
Looking down at himself, A-Dawg was dressed in the standard Serco flight overalls. The room was a storage area, around it hung the various incarnations of the [SCAR] Unit's insignias through the years, along with other various equipment and memorabilia. Some of it had seen better days, some looked like it was, new? He must have been out longer than anticipated. What was the date?
He tried again to turn the lights off with his implants, still there was no effect. Either his brainpal and other implants were damaged during hibernation or... he ran up the sleeves of the uniform... there were none of the usual protrusions from implants or bumps beneath the skin. No wonder his implants didn't work, they weren't there.
Without warning the overhead lights went out once more, and the door swished open. He must have set off a motion alarm. A silhouetted figure flanked by two armed Serco MP's rushed in. A-Dawg swung his fist at the lead Serco's face to no avail. The figure caught A-Dawg's fist in his left palm and grabbed his throat with the right. The silhouette easily pinned him to the nearest wall, one hand still on his throat, the other across his chest to pin his arms to the bulkhead. Dawg's feet dangled helplessly attempting to reach the floor.
The lights from the MP's rifles shone in his eyes blinding his sight. He croaked, "Who are you?"
"You're at Catequil Outpost, Pyronis -" The man pinned him to the wall tried to explain, his voice was familiar...
"Let me go! I'm Commander A-Dawg, ID#53-"
"No, you're not." The Serco who pinned him to the wall said plainly.
"What the hell? What is this?! Who?..." A-Dawg rasped.
"What was the last thing you remember?"
Being in the fetal position; even for a Serco in what could be easily explained as hibernation was still uncomfortable.
A-Dawg opened his eyes slowly, not because he was expecting to see anything, but because it felt better than having them closed. He reached down and unsecured the knife tucked by his ankle. Slitting a small hole in the side of the bag, he slipped out as quickly as possible until he was kneeling on what was perceived to be deck plating.
The room was dark and still. The exit was in front of him. He saw the light switch to the right of the door, but didn't bother, he'd just use his cybernetic connection to turn on the switch with a simple thought... nothing happened. A-Dawg tried again... no effect. He stood up and moved to the manual switch on the door, the lights gradually brightened when he moved his hand over the panel.
Looking down at himself, A-Dawg was dressed in the standard Serco flight overalls. The room was a storage area, around it hung the various incarnations of the [SCAR] Unit's insignias through the years, along with other various equipment and memorabilia. Some of it had seen better days, some looked like it was, new? He must have been out longer than anticipated. What was the date?
He tried again to turn the lights off with his implants, still there was no effect. Either his brainpal and other implants were damaged during hibernation or... he ran up the sleeves of the uniform... there were none of the usual protrusions from implants or bumps beneath the skin. No wonder his implants didn't work, they weren't there.
Without warning the overhead lights went out once more, and the door swished open. He must have set off a motion alarm. A silhouetted figure flanked by two armed Serco MP's rushed in. A-Dawg swung his fist at the lead Serco's face to no avail. The figure caught A-Dawg's fist in his left palm and grabbed his throat with the right. The silhouette easily pinned him to the nearest wall, one hand still on his throat, the other across his chest to pin his arms to the bulkhead. Dawg's feet dangled helplessly attempting to reach the floor.
The lights from the MP's rifles shone in his eyes blinding his sight. He croaked, "Who are you?"
"You're at Catequil Outpost, Pyronis -" The man pinned him to the wall tried to explain, his voice was familiar...
"Let me go! I'm Commander A-Dawg, ID#53-"
"No, you're not." The Serco who pinned him to the wall said plainly.
"What the hell? What is this?! Who?..." A-Dawg rasped.
"What was the last thing you remember?"