Among Distant Stars (For Ecnalab)

[Weiss Ritter]

(Rebecca's Attack roll: 13 vs 4 + 6 + 6 + Speed 2 = 16. Damn, those are some lucky pirates.)

The man barely had enough time to yelp before the metal hand closed around his armored body. Even through the thick hull of her mech, Rebecca could heard swears and cries of alarm all around as the tarp fell and their comrade was hurled in a blur of motion. Rebecca's secondary target managed to duck and roll just in the nick of time to avoid the thrown soldier, as much out of sheer luck as reflex. Even so a stray boot hammered the pirate elite's helmet into the floor and the first soldier smashed into the wall opposite of Rebecca with a sickening crunch before falling limp to the floor, the top-of-the-line armor he wore doing nothing to shield him from the overwhelming might of the mech.

"Shit! Scramblers out!"

The pirates collectively reached for circular devices on their belts that were about as thick as a human hand and wide as a palm, with an ominous blue light glowing in the center of the disk. The military engineer in Rebecca recognized one of the last-resort tools for any infantryman caught in a battle with a mechanized foe almost immediately. The four remaining members of the squad hurled the devices at the mecha's hull. If the scramblers managed to get close enough, they'd use the magnets built into them to stick and begin sending surges meant to fry Rebecca's systems through her auger.

(Rebecca Defense Roll: 9 vs. 4 + 6 + 5 + 2 Precision= 17 )

(Rebecca Damage Roll: 15 vs. 16. One health point lost.

[X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ])

Most of the scramblers landed on the thick armor plating of the heavy labor mech, but one lucky throw just barely managed to attach itself to the crook of the machine's arm. The once manageable flow of energy blew one of the minor interfaces in Rebecca's cockpit right as she reached to stabilize the power. Electricity licked her outstretched hand for an instant, but it was enough to leave a faint yet painful burn.

 

[Ecnalab]

Cursing under her breath, Rebecca redoubled her efforts. Charging the nearest pirate, she made to simply trample him (Attack: 5+4+3+prescision 4=16, Damage: 6+2+3+5 mech strength? =16) on her way to the others, bringing her auger's fist up and into the next one she came to. (Attack: 1+4+1+prescision 4=10, Damage: 4+4+4+5=17) Rebecca groaned as she tried to guide the auger through fighting maneuvers, but the lumbering work mech was sluggish even at the best of times, and with a shot joint, it was only getting worse.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Yeah, I'd definitely say a mech meant for heavy labor and lifting gets a pretty significant advantage over footsoldiers in the strength department.

Hrm...it doesn't matter too much here, but looking over the rules, I think Precision governs the attack and damage rolls for ranged attacks and melee weapons that really emphasize finesse. Melee attacks tend to use Speed, although I suppose you could make the argument that Precision might still work for piloting a mech.

Rebecca Attack Roll: 16 vs 12)

Rebecca Damage roll: 16 vs 11. Full point of damage sustained by the Pirate Special Forces Squad [X] [ ])

The unfortunate pirate barely had time to curse and fire off a few rounds that bounced harmlessly off the mech's thick armor before a heavy metal swung into and over him. Again the pirates' special forces tier gear failed to even delay the inevitable once Rebecca got them in her metal clutches. The lightweight, reinforced synthetic compounds caved instantly and the sound of the man's screams were rivaled only by the snapping of his bones. Rebecca wasn't even entirely sure whether than man died then and there, but he certainly wouldn't be posing a threat to her anymore.

The remaining three hostiles were already pulling back, weaving around and under the impressive stock of cargo crates and machinery the civilian cruiser had in store. They were headed back the way they came, through a door and into a hallway much too small for the auger to navigate. The maneuver would offer them much more than just safety if it succeeded. The scramblers attached to the auger's hull needed a few more moments to gather the power needed for another systems-frying shock, but sooner or later they would overwhelm Rebecca's electronics unless she could remove them.

Thudding metal footfalls echoed through the chamber as the redhead's mech lunged forward. It may have been a relatively sluggish model that was partially crippled now, but each of its strides were worth ten of the retreating pirates'. The fist of Rebecca's mech swept through the air, knocking aside several crates standing in its path towards her targets. One of the crates smashed into one of the soldier's legs and a feminine yelp filled the air just before the hulking fist send a second pirate smashing into a bulkhead.

(Rebecca Attack Roll: 10 vs. 5 + 4 + 2 + 2 Speed = 13)

The third pirate narrowly avoid being caught up in the swing by throwing themselves forward and scampering up towards the door. Their one remainign comrade frantically all but yanked the armored man to his feet before sprinting to take cover in the hallway outside. Two down, two thoroughly demoralized troopers to go, but the scramblers remained and Rebecca was going to have to get creative or start tearing parts of her ship apart if she wanted to continue a mechanized assault.

 

[Ecnalab]

As the two remaining pirates scurried through the airlock door, Rebecca slammed her auger's hand on the emergency close switch, and drew her plasma torch across the seam between the blast doors; sealing them shut. With that done, she popped the hatch of her mech and sprinted toward the cockpit, pulling up the cannon controls, and aiming her lone blaster cannon at the end of the tubular walkway the pirates had used to cross over to her ship; and their own airlock. Pulling the trigger, the cannon let off a three round burst directly into the side of the enemy ship, turning the walkway into a cloud of debris and severing their hold on her ship. Hopefully, the blast had also blown their airlock, though she wasn't about to stick around to find out.

(Pilot check: 1+4+3+precision 4=12) Gunning the throttle, her ship dipped into a nosedive away from the frigate, hopefully the odd angle would be enough to keep her out of their weapons firing arcs. As the belly of the frigate shrank behind her, she pulled up her navigation computer and tried to punch in a course for a micro jump. (Navigation check: 5+3+1+Int 4=13).

 

[Weiss Ritter]

At this range, Rebecca could almost feel the shock-wave of the explosion vibrating through the cruiser's hull, followed by the clicking of debris. Her shot probably didn't inflict much in the way of damage to the pirate vessel itself, but they were going to have to get creative if they wanted to board any other civilian vessels in the near future.

Her maneuver seemed to keep her just out of reach of the the carrier's firing solutions as well, though the interceptors were swiftly moving to flush Rebecca out. No matter! Her hands were a blur of movement across her navigation computer, entering coordinates almost as swiftly as she could think of them. Just a moment...!

(Rebecca 13 vs. William 5 + 1 + 4 + Int 5 = 15)

Rebecca felt almost physically struck as her sensors figuratively exploded from a surge of blinding white noise and low-level viruses playing havoc with her systems. It wasn't going to cripple the rest of her ship, nor would it take Rebecca long to root out and repair any corrupted code, but at least half her planned jump just went up in smoke. The engines were still revved up, but there was no telling where she'd be taken if she punched it now!

Distressed beeping from her radar alerted Rebecca to the interceptors descending upon her. Her cruiser was tough for what it was, but those were high-grade military drones that had been customized one of the few people who seemed to be able to give even her a run for her money in pure technical prowess, and Rebecca practically a sitting duck as long as she confined herself to just where the carrier above couldn't shoot!

 

[Ecnalab]

Considering her situation, Rebecca decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. At this point anywhere was better than hear. Crossing her fingers, she hit the jump drive ignition, and took a blind leap. The ship lurched as it was catapulted into and dropped out of light-speed in less than a second. Her instruments blared, and her ship shook as it readjusted to its new place in the galaxy. As it turned out, the new place was wasn't far from the old. Looking out the viewport, she saw that she was still over the same planet she had been, but on the opposite side of the globe. Breathing a sigh of relief that the immediate danger was passed, she set about imputing a new set of coordinates into her computer, and readied herself to get out of here.

As she worked, she wondered just how the hell the Jolly Reapers had known she'd be out here.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

The sensors that had been blaring warnings about the enemy weapon-locks went comfortably silent. Rebecca's radar confirmed that the pirates were scrambling to adjust their course and catch up, but the interceptors would have to dock with their carrier first if the captain didn't want to leave his drone escort behind once it was time for a mico-jump.

It gave her a few minutes of breathing room, at least. A few minutes to stabilize the damage William's cyber-attack had done to her tertiary systems and input new coordinates. Unfortunately, out here on the bleeding edge of the frontier, Rebecca didn't have very many options, and the ones she did have might have seemed...dubious depending on what ideas she had regarding the Merry Reapers' knowledge of her presence.

Relatively speaking, there was an asteroid field and mining outpost within a jump of this system. The former she might have been able to turn to her advantage, and while the latter would crumple under a determined pirate assault, it would probably have the equipment she'd need to get a signal out to the Terran Alliance. Assuming that techno-wizard the Reapers had didn't jam the signal.

She could also take her chances in the dark space between beacons. As long as she didn't drift too far into the unknown and didn't jump anywhere her scanners confirmed as safe, Rebecca's star charts would be enough to ensure she could safely return to civilized space. Of course, there really was no telling what she would find out there. Perhaps one jump would be enough to evade the pirates entirely, or perhaps she'd warp right in front of some hidden starbase for them to pick her up at their leisure.

Maybe she could go back the way she came to? Back towards the more established Terran colonies...? Even doing it at light speed, jumping right past the pirate ships carried the risk of being intercepted, and even if she did make it...well, Rebecca had seen what the Merry Reapers were capable of. Perhaps besieging an entire world just to get at her was rather far-fetched, but just bringing the renegade fleet's attention deeper into her country still carried the risk of getting even more people killed or dragged off in chains one way or another.

 

[Ecnalab]

Rebecca decided to take refuge at the edge of the star's asteroid belt. Flying into a field of space rock was tantamount to suicide, but by hovering near the edge, and powering down all non-vital systems, she could use the nearby celestial bodies to camouflage her presence until her pursuers gave up the chase. Punching in the coordinates, she made the short jump across the solar system in a matter of minuets. Upon emerging from light-speed, she was greeted by the awesome spectacle of the field. Even a hundred kilometers away from the nearest rock, many of them looked huge, and some even approached planet size. Settling into a steady orbit alongside the belt, Rebecca powered down most of her ship's functions, save for life support, and gravity. Then, steeling herself, she unclipped the safety belt of her gun holster, and made her way back to the cargo hold. There were a couple of bodies that she needed to make sure weren't going to get back up and give her anymore trouble.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

For now, Rebecca was safe. She didn't doubt that a vessel as advanced as a Geist, particularly with that man at its helm, would be able to pick up at least some of the trail leading to this mined asteroid field, but it would take time for them to make the jump and time to scan for her vessel.

Her wounded hand stung a bit as she unholstered her pistol. Even as an engineer who spent more of her time in the hanger than on the battlefield, Rebecca had probably suffered worse injuries. It was still a damned inconvenient place to have been burned, though, and each painful twinge was a reminder of how dire her situation was. She'd done remarkable work in evading the pirates and their armada so far, but how long could she keep this up if they turned their hunt for her into a war of attrition?

The sight that awaited her in the cargo bay was a grisly one, even for someone with military training. The pirate her auger had stepped on lay flat on the floor utterly unmoving and with a caved in chest. The black and red armor covered up the worst of the gore, but it and the floor around it were stained with red blood decorated with pink and white bits that Rebecca was certain were what was left of the pirate's ribs and organs.

The female soldier Rebecca killed last was right where the engineer had left her too. She had only fared better in the sense that her corpse and equipment were not a complete wreck like her halfway flattened comrade was. The woman's head and one of her arms were bent at an unnatural angle, and there were some clear cracks spider-webbing through the otherwise high-quality armor she wore. Rebecca had definitely salvaged far worse during time with the military, but she needed to secure the cargo bay before entertaining any such thoughts.

There was just one more kill she needed to confirm. Rebecca found herself carefully weaving between the rows of crates and beacons, occasionally stepping over or around the ones that had fallen during her furious, mech-augmented assault. It could have been much worse, but things had definitely gotten a bit too...maze-y for her tastes. There were so many potential hiding and blind spots around every corner. If one of the elite boarding party had managed to survive, they wouldn't have to get too creative to set up an ambush.

Rebecca froze when she came around the last corner between her and her target. There was some alien blood on the floor, but no corpse.

A closer inspection revealed a faint trail leading back into the maze of fallen cargo and machinery. Rebecca pressed forward, scanning for even the faintest hint of danger with her pistol at the ready. She paused only when she could have sworn that she heard a faint grunt coming from behind one of the beacons that had fallen on its side. The bloody trail lead in that direction, but it was growing thinner and thinner with every step.

 

[Ecnalab]

Rebecca walked slowly toward her auger until she stood in front of it, before turning, and clearing her throat. "Hey! I know you're in there somewhere, give yourself up, and you don't have to die today!" (Intimidate: 6+5+4+char5=20) Rebecca's voice echoed off the walls and through the piled crates, seeming larger than even a woman of her frame should be able to muster. "You have until the count of three! One... Two..."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Silence fell over the cargo bay and lasted just long enough for Rebecca to start wondering if her attempt to offer mercy had just given away her position for nothing. Then a rough, wet cough echoed through the chamber, coming right from behind the beacon she scoped out.

"Alright...alright..." A hoarse and masculine voice called out. Rebecca heard another pained grunt and then the pirate soldier emerged from his cover. Well, limped, anyway. One of the armored man's legs was struggling to support its own weight and his left arm hung limp at his side. His right arm held up his rifle single-handily, which might have been surprising if not for the soldier's missing helmet allowing Rebecca to see that she was dealing with a Krayari. Even now, the purple-skinned alien stood head and shoulders over her.

Some of his jet-black hair was matted into clumps with dried blood, but if the soldier was having difficulty seeing or remaining conscious, he gave no sign of it. On his utility belt, Rebecca noticed that one of the medical-nano syringes typically carried by soldiers in the field had been used.

"If you're gonna shoot me, get it over with already..."

 

[Ecnalab]

"Don't tempt me, buddy, I'm not in the mood," she shot back. "Now drop the gun, and hobble your way to the cockpit." Waiting just long enough for him to comply, she then escorted him to the front of the ship and strapped him into the co-pilot's seat, before turning her attention back to the main console. "Now, while I work on charting a course out of here, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. Depending on how you answer, you might get to keep sitting in the comfy chair, or ride out this trip locked in the toilet. Your choice. Question one: How the hell did you people know that I was going to be out here?"

 

[Weiss Ritter]

The Krayari soldier stared at Rebecca for a moment as if he half-suspected she was about to pull the trigger anyway so that he would die with surprise rather than dignity. When she failed to liquefy his brains with a bell-placed shot between the eyes, he sighed and let his rifle fall to the floor. The walk back to the cockpit was a little slow for Rebecca's tastes thanks to her prisoner's limp, but the imposing alien proved cooperative even without her auger within bone-crushing range or a death-threat followed by one of her signature withering glares.

The alien male grunted unenthusiastically at Rebecca's ultimatum and leaned back into the seat with his eyes shut. The appropriate consoles lit back up as Rebecca began to restore a trickle of power to the systems essential for navigation. There was only a minimal risk that firing her cruiser's reactor up by that much would improve the Geist or Scorpion drones' chances of tracking her down, but getting the engines fired up or her sensors scanning again so she wasn't flying blind were much more likely to get attention.

"Heh...just so we understand each other, I'm no traitor and I've been in cramped spaces before...but sure, I'll fill in that little blank for you."

The Krayari opened his golden eyes and slowly turned his head toward Rebecca. His fang-filled grin was as predatory as any shark's.

"You were all over the news, at least in the Terran Alliance. All Hauser-" The soldier abruptly paused and made a face as if he were chiding himself. "Captain Hauser needs to do to blend in there is take off that collar, and you've seen what he can do once he gets behind a console for yourself. You really think he couldn't just hack a few systems and ballpark which neck of the frontier you were going to be surveying next? You think he can't do it again even if you give us the slip this time...?"

 

[Ecnalab]

"So, someone's feeling vindictive, eh?" Grumbled Rebecca, as she punched in coordinates that would hopefully take her back to civilized space, once she got her engines fired up. "Well, if he expects an apology, I'm afraid he's going to be disappointed." Looking outside to make sure the coast was clear, at least as best she could, Rebecca fired up the engines and prepared to depart. "Thanks for the tip, by the way, I'll remember to get a few more guns added to my ship before I set out next time," she said, flashing the krayari a smile.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Heh, vindictive?" The Krayari chuckled at first but seemed to seriously consider it after a moment. "Hrm...well, you did cost us some frigates and I'm sure someone lost a friend or two thanks to you, but we got what we came for back there. I'd say the Admiral's more...interested in you,"

Even while preoccupied with her cruiser's controls, Rebecca could feel the alien male's eyes roaming her perfect figure pointedly. "And Hauser convinced her that his way would be the quickest and cleanest. I wouldn't be too thrilled about proving him wrong, if I were you."

Power was flowing back into the cruiser's vital but non-essential systems now. Rebecca's sensors were coming online again, as were the engines. Given the distances involved, a visual check through the cockpit was rarely worth much in space, but for the moment it seemed like drifting asteroids were indeed the only thing she had to worry about.

"Mh...some of us like taking easy prizes," The pirate mused as he leaned back against the co-pilot's chair and shut his eyes again. Rebecca might have noted with some irritation that specks of blood were drying into the seat. "Others like challenges and taking risks...but from what I hear, you wouldn't know that about us. You weren't on the front lines of the war. All you got to see was the aftermath of our handiwork."

Rebecca was just about to pull free of the asteroid field entirely when a ghost of a signal flickered on the edges of her sensor range. A few adjustments that would have gone over the heads of most other technicians, and she confirmed it was no mere glitch.

At least one sensor probe had been deployed in the space surrounding the asteroid field. It didn't seem to have detected Rebecca yet despite the power flowing through her vessel's systems once again, but she was intimately familiar with just how effective such devices could be at passively detecting anyone who thought they were clever for evading a more flesh-and-blood patrol. A standard sensor probe had no armor and weapons, and Rebecca was reasonably confident she could shut it down through electronic warfare even with Hauser's customization. However, as long as the sensor beacon was taking readings, she could bet that her pursuers would swiftly track her down if she just tried to rush it.

Of course, directly neutralizing the sensor beacon would no doubt give away her position once the pirates stopped receiving its transmissions. Rebecca couldn't detect the Geist-class vessel with the current amount of power and effort she was putting into her cruiser's sensors, but it was impossible to say how much of that because of the covert cruiser's own efforts or its actual distance from her. Of course, as good as that information would have been to know, there was always the chance that Rebecca's efforts to find out could expose her instead.

 

[Ecnalab]

"No, I wasn't on the front lines," relied Rebecca. "I was busy pointing out the weak spots on your ships to the fighters, and making sure the guns shooting at you never ran low on power." With every other avenue risking direct detection, Rebecca realized that she only had one real chance of throwing these bastards off her trail. Following the beacon's signal back to its source, she powered up her main systems and locked on to the small probe with her little cannon. Pulling the trigger, she let fly a single round and smiled as the probe was blown to pieces, before angling her ship toward the asteroid field, and punching the thrusters. "Now, if this Hauser wants me so bad, let's see if he has the stones to come get me."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Hauser's gambit might have forced Rebecca's hand, but it wasn't perfect. By the time Rebeccan's fully-powered sensors registered the Geist-class cruiser, she was deep enough in the asteroid field to begin exploiting every advantage it offered. Not only did the asteroid offer a nearly endless source of cover, but the rich mineral deposits scattered throughout the field would make getting a signal lock on her that much trickier. Picking out the refined ore composing her cruiser's hull from the abundance of raw materials surrounding the vessel would be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack so long as Rebecca maintained a lead on Hauser.

And she was...or rather, he was keeping his distance. Rebecca's sensors detected the small carrier following her from "above", and every now and again she could catch glimpses of the black vessel through the curtain of asteroids. A few experimental shots were fired down at Rebecca's ship, only to harmlessly blast the massive space-rocks instead. Her lead was growing slowly but surely. At this rate, she would only need to linger in the asteroid field for a few minutes more to guarantee a safe jump closer to civilized space!

Rebecca's sensors beeped out a warning as four more signatures emerged from Hauser's ship. The four interceptor drones had been deployed and were racing towards her, the asteroids proving far less of an impediment to the nimble fighters than her comparatively bulky vessel. A barrage of searing crimson lasers raced towards Rebecca's vessel from every angle. Some of the shots harmlessly vaporized chunks of the asteroids around her, but enough got through to pose a serious threat.

(Elite Interceptor Squad: Attack Roll: 5 + 5 + 2 + Precision 2 = 14.

Potential Damage Roll: 10

Given our discussion regarding some of the complications of applying a character's stats to the vehicle they happen to be driving at the time, I'm not entirely certain how you would prefer to handle Rebecca's roles in this conflict. While I believe Speed is normally used for defense rolls, I think I can see how Precision could be argued to apply in the environment of an asteroid field. If you would like to work something similar to what we discussed in regards to Rebecca's auger vs. military-grade mechs, then I would be happy to do that as well.)

 

[Ecnalab]

[Let's just go with what we've been doing for now, and assume that her ship has an endurance of 3 for the purposes of resisting damage, and health boxes. So, evasion roll: 2+1+2+presicion4=9. Resistance roll: 5+6+6+endurance3=20. That's half a health point right?]

The hail of laser-fire washed over Rebecca's ship, stripping away armor as it went. It was obvious that the drone's weapons had been dialed back significantly, in an effort to disable, rather than destroy, her cruiser. Still, they were bound to whittle their way down to something vital sooner or later. "Damn it, those things are getting on my nerves," griped Rebecca, as she tried to lock her sights on one of the nimble little craft. [Attack roll: 1+6+4+precision4=15. potential damage roll:6+5+6+presicion4=21.]

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Alright then, and correct.

Rebecca's Cruiser: [ ] [ ] [ ] [/]

Attack roll: 15 vs. 5 + 4 + 2 + Speed 3= 14. Hit!

Damage roll: 21 vs. 9. Critical Damage!)

The drones were blindingly fast even for interceptors not held back by an organic pilot, and even worse the programming guiding them was top-notch. They relentlessly pursued Rebecca through the asteroid field, rolling and weaving around each of the celestial bodies she tried to exploit as cover. Several times the engineer managed to either trick or outmaneuver one of the drones with a sudden turn or an abrupt stop that by all rights a cruiser like her's should not have been capable of without tearing itself in half. Each time Rebecca's systems had just enough time to register a weapons' lock before another of the drone pack darted in, weapons blazing, and forced her to break off or risk much more than just armor.

It seemed hopeless on paper. Four top-tier fighter drones against a barely-armed civilian transport? But Rebecca didn't need years of experience on the field to know how different the reality could be.

Her cruiser turned on a dime around one of the larger asteroids, firing into it as it went. Rebecca could feel the pressure against her body even through the inertial dampeners. Chunks of dead gray rock spewed out of the side of the asteroid...and right into the path of the drones coming hot on her tail.

One slammed hard into the floating debris, one of its wings almost tearing loose, and the second scarcely fared any better. Each of the drones attempted a roll that might have saved it from a less precise shooter, but Rebecca trapped them in her crosshairs with almost machine-like perfection. Her cannon ripped through each of the speedy yet delicate drones in turn, leaving little but a cloud of debris in her wake while the remaining two backed off to reassess the situation.

(Elite Interceptor Squad: [X] [X] [ ] [ ] )

 

[Ecnalab]

"Alright, now we're talking!" Rebecca exclaimed. Slowing her ship to a crawl, she focused almost entirely on her targeting readouts. As the interceptors circled around for another pass, she began firing again, not at the speedy little ships, but the asteroids that were in their path, turning them into clouds of debris. (Spending a special point. Attack roll: 1+3+4+6+precision 4=18. Damage roll: 2+5+2+precidsion 4=13.)

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Rebecca Attack Roll: 18 vs 16. Hit!

Damage roll: 13 vs 8. Full point of damage!)

The remaining drones veered around Rebecca's cruiser with a newfound sense of caution. The interceptors may have been piloted by fearless and souless lines of code, but they didn't lack a sense of self-preservation or the ability to adapt.

And then she all but halted her vessel.

The fighters almost immediately twisted back around and raced towards her with fresh charges glowing in their cannons. Rebecca was a sitting duck now, and that seemed to outweigh any risk! One darted down to flank her from "above" while the other veered around one of the larger asteroids nearby to come around at the cruiser's rear.

The light of Rebecca's cannon flared through the asteroid field again,smashing into a moderate-sized asteroid the first drone made a point of rolling away from. Dull gray stone and faintly shimmering ore burst through the field as if fired from a shotgun. The drone avoided the worst of it, and twisted away as the debris began to spew in every direction, but a stray chunk smashed into its engines just as it steadied itself to lock on to Rebecca. A well-aimed follow up shot tore the lightly armored fighter apart as surely as its two comrades.

(Rebecca Defense Roll: 13 vs. 12)

The sole remaining drone blitzed around the corner, its cannons flaring crimson. Several crimson bolts passed mere inches over Rebecca's hull and burst several of the smaller asteroids she was situated between. The debris pounded into the cruiser's armor hard enough for the terran to feel the vibrations running through her controls, but failed to inflict any real damage as she powered up her engines and twisted her vessel behind the cover of the much larger, much sturdier asteroid the interceptor tried to flank her with before it could fire again.

The fighter speed forth a few more seconds and then...darted upward? It was retreating back to its carrier, but the engineer in Rebecca knew better than to celebrate just yet. If Hauser was half as technically-minded as she was, he could probably get some useful readings and battle-data from that drone's sensors. If the man really was going to keep hunting her, there were any number of ways he could exploit such information. On the other hand, Rebecca's escape was all but assured now, and chasing after that drone carried the very real risk of exposing her to the larger carrier.

 

[Ecnalab]

The cruiser broke free of the asteroids on the opposite side of the belt from the frigate, and Rebecca paused just long enough to transmit a comm signal to the larger ship. "Sorry, Hauser, better luck next time. Give my regards to your boss." With that, she cut the comm feed, and punched in the nav coordinates for the nearest stretch of terran space, and punched the jump drive. Her ship lurched as it fired into light speed, and the rest of reality was left behind. Rebecca leaned back in her seat, breathing hard, and heart pounding as the adrenaline still coursed through her system, and a wide smile spread across her face. God she had missed this, the euphoria of a successful engagement, the thrill of trading blows with the enemy, and the satisfaction of sending them limping home. The feeling brought flush of red to her face... and somewhere else.

"Uh-oh. Come on you, it's time to settle in for the trip." Rebecca got the pirate to his feet, and marched him to the small bathroom. "Welcome to my makeshift holding cell," she declared, as she sat him in the corner, next to the toilet, she cuffed his good arm to the pipes behind the commode, before stepping back to admire her work. Satisfied that he wasn't going anywhere, she unzipped the front of her flight suit, and discarded it, revealing the tank-top and shorts she wore underneath. Then, with a smirk, she unfastened her shorts letting them drop to the floor, and putting her naked nethers on display. Rebecca had never liked panties, hadn't worn a pair since she was twelve, but her womanhood was still hidden by a thick, but well groomed, bush. She then lifted her shirt and tossed it aside, and began unfastening the black bra that strained to keep her generous breasts under control. With the hook undone, her tits were free at last to bounce and jiggle as much as they liked. Which, with her considerable endowments was quite a bit.

"Now, if you don't mind, I need a shower after all this excitement," she said, as she stepped into the stand up shower stall; setting her gun on one of the high shelves inside so it wasn't in danger of getting wet, yet still in easy reach. Keeping the curtain open, so that she could keep an eye on her prisoner, in case he decided to try anything stupid, she turned on the hot water and began lathering herself up.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

For a moment, Rebecca's captive stared blankly at the stars flashing by as the cruiser made the jump to light speed. For all his bravado about liking a challenge, it seemed that the Krayari had not expected the Terran to do what many would have believed impossible. Rebecca almost had to repeat her command to get the pirate back on his feet and into the ship's bathroom.

"It could use some work," He grumbled dryly as soon as she cuffed him to the pipes by his good arm. The soldier's eyes scrutinized them almost too quickly for Rebecca to catch, no doubt searching for some flaw he could exploit or trying to estimate whether he could just rip the pips right out with a good yank. Not that it would do him much good so long as half his limbs were crippled and Rebecca was even remotely alert.

The alien male tensed in surprise and shamelessly stared as Rebecca began to strip right in front of him. There was a hint of wary tension in his body and gaze at first, as if he half-expected some sort of practical joke or for the Terran to abruptly leave as soon as things were getting...interesting. The pirate perked up in clear yet pleasant surprise when Rebecca stood naked before him, her genetically perfect and exquisitely maintained physique displayed in all its glory.

"Heh..." He chuckled faintly and grinned cheekily, staring at Rebecca's triple set of D-cups. "Is that part of the enlistment package for all female Human soldiers these days? I'm almost sad the war's over now,"

The man's smile broadened as soon as Rebecca stepped into the shower, yet the corners of his lips twitched faintly downward when she refused to pull the curtain shut. It probably had been foolish on his part to even hope Rebecca would make such a mistake, but it was about all he had left now. Still, the alien male's golden eyes continued to shamelessly oogle Rebecca's perfectly sculpted body while she ran her soapy hands over every curve. If escape was out of his reach, it seemed the pirate was intent on at least capitalizing on the silver lining as much as possible.

 

[Ecnalab]

After a solid fifteen minutes in the shower, Rebecca stepped out; water streaming down her body. Grabbing a towel, she dried herself off, bending at the waist to reach her legs, and giving her captive a clear look at her nethers, before grabbing her clothes and walking to the door. She paused and looked back at him with a smirk. "A little something for you to think about while you're in prison," she said, giving her ass one last good wiggle, and slamming the door. Locking it behind her, she was confident that the pirate wouldn't be able to break free without alerting her, and so headed for he quarters. Laying on the bed, she reached over to the nightstand opened the top drawer, and pulled out her longtime traveling companion. It was bigger than even most genetically enhanced men, bright neon-green in color, and had seven different settings. Flipping it to her favorite, she smiled. "Come on, big boy, it's playtime." The halls of the ship soon echoed with orgasmic moans and screams as Rebecca proceeded to kill the several hours it would take them to reach Terran Space.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Tch...you sure you're an engineer and not a torturer?" The pirate managed to match Rebecca's smirk with a wry grin of his own, undercut though it was by his inability to avoid staring at the woman's firm yet ample ass. The bathroom door slammed and locked with all the finality of an actual prison cell. Rebecca was very much left to her own devices now...or rather, device.

Several days later...

The journey back to Terran space had been an uneventful, but not unpleasurable one. The authorities were both eager and grateful to get their hands on Rebecca's prisoner, no doubt hoping to squeeze out more intelligence regarding the Merry Reapers and perhaps to cross-reference and confirm anything J'zora may have shared during her captivity.

Right now, Rebecca had more immediate and pressing concerns to worry about now, though. The pirate's words regarding Hauser and hit hunt lingered with her. As flippant as she might have been when she wished Hauser better luck next time, the possibility of there being a next time was all too real. Given what Rebecca was up against, a civilian transport with a holdout cannon mounted onto it just wasn't going to cut it. Acquiring anything close to that kind of military grade hardware would have been nearly impossible for most, but for her it would merely offer a challenge. The engineer's military background and connections would be enough to at least get her foot in the door, and if money was a concern she had her own wages as well as potential help from her wealthy family...assuming they didn't just try to pressure their darling to retire from such dangerous work on the frontier.

Rebecca was in the midst of contemplating all of this and perhaps making tentative plans and inquiries when she received a formal message in her inbox from a Colonel Blackwell. She recognized the name at least. The man work in the Terran Strategic Intelligence Service and had commissioned a number of special engineering projects from Rebecca and her team during the war. They had been among her most challenging assignments, practically requiring them to all but design new technologies on their own. Usually to conceal entire mechs or ships, or come up with some innovative way for a single special forces team to overload an entire planetary defense grid. And now the man wanted a meeting to discuss Rebecca's "pirate problem".

Whatever the man had to say or offer, there was no way it could hurt to hear him out.

The sprawling cityscape of Earth itself was a striking change from the untamed frontiers Rebecca spent so much of her time mapping. Pristine skyscrapers stood tall wherever she looked and veritable swarms of personal transports and automated cargo haulers flew through the air between them. This particular branch of the TSIS was only slightly less busy, yet Rebecca's escorts had little trouble picking her out from the crowd of analysts and agents filling the halls and entryway. She was quickly guided into a large yet modestly decorated office.

"Miss Corvo, I'm so glad you were willing to take the time to humor me," The colonel smiled warmly from his desk, but there was a coldly analytical glint in his eyes as they surveyed Rebecca. "It's a shame we were never able to meet in person before. You did excellent work during the war...and it doesn't seem you've slowed down since. That's something I would like to speak with you about, provided you understand the...sensitive nature of anything I elect to share with you."

 

[Ecnalab]

Ah, yes, it was starting to come back to her. The difference between what could and could not be shared with the general public would surely surprise most of the civilian population; as would what happened to people who decided to let their gums flap. Fortunately, Rebecca had always had the good sense to stay out of business that didn't smell right, and so, while some of the projects she had worked on in the past were secretive, it had always been for a good reason, and not because they skirted the bounds of morality. "Don't worry, sir, I may not be in active service anymore, but I'm a military girl through and through," she replied.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Colonel Blackwell smiled. "I never doubted it. Your record speaks for itself, but a certain amount of formality and protocol is required."

The older man rose from his steel gray desk and pressed a button on the built-in console. The lights dimmed and the holoprojector in the desk's center generated a map of known space. The gold of the Entirian Republic stretched to the "left" of the blue Terran Alliance, and dwarfing both of them "above" was the crimson Krayari Imperium. Rebecca was able to take some comfort in the empire having visibly shrunk since the war, but the strategic map was a reminder that the interstellar power that had once blazed a trail of conquest across the stars was merely curbed rather than broken.

"Quite a few people have been worried that the next great war is right around the corner," The colonel spoke barely louder than a whisper as he made his way to Rebecca's side. Despite his age and position, the man had clearly worked to maintain some semblance of youthful vigor in his body. Blackwell stroked his white beard thoughtfully while he gazed upon the holographic map. "They think these pirate raids on our colonies that are conveniently led by Krayari and retreat into Krayari space whenever our forces pursue are the Imperium thumbing its nose at us. Reminding us of our place..."

Rebecca may not have been a politician or an analyst, but it was easy for her to understand the fear of another war with the Krayari Imperium inspired in many within the Terran Alliance. As considerable as the losses the Krayari had sustained from the joint Human-Entirian assault, its would-be conquests had shed quite a bit of blood defending themselves as well. With the sheer amount of territory, resources, and slave labor the Imperium controlled, it could recover much more swiftly than them, and their warrior-led feudalism ensured there were no shortage of warlords and footsoldiers eager to gain glory and wealth with the conquest of new worlds.

"Lately, though, we've been hearing...whispers from the other side of the border." Black lines began to cut the once-united and seemingly unstoppable tide of red into smaller chunks. Half a dozen Krayari names appeared within each of the individual fiefdoms. And that was just along the border between the Imperium and the Terran Alliance.

"The details of what happens within the Imperial court are still very much a mystery to us, but it seems that losing the war hurt the Krayari more than they would like us to believe, if not quite in the way we expected."

Colonol Blackwell turned to face Rebecca. His eyes bored into her intently. "They've fractured, greatly if my analysts and their sources are to be believed, but that may not last if those..."pirates" you've been clashing with have anything to say about it."

The holoprojector flickered again. This time it displayed an image of the imposing Krayari woman the Merry Reapers had called their admiral smirking down at Rebecca. Beside her was a scaled-down but unmistakable replication of one of the most infamous mechs in the entire war. The Grim Reaper that had stalked the battlefields of a dozen Terran and Entirian worlds. It was a jet-black Vanguard-class of Krayari design with a crimson, grinning alien skull painted onto its head. The mech was a quadrupedal machine with a humanoid torso resting above the legs, heavier armor than almost anything else in its weight class, and retractable blades in the arms capable of shredding through most mechs like wet tissue. Relatively light, inaccurate autocannons mounted to the shoulders were its only real option for ranged combat, but Rebecca had seen and struggled to repair enough of the Reaper's handiwork to know how few of her comrades even had a chance to try and leverage that against the enemy ace.

"She's been doing a lot more than raiding colonies and convoys. According to our sources, this woman has been making a good bit of headway in gaining the support, or at least intimidating, a concerning number of the Krayari fiefdoms. We don't know for sure if she's just one aspiring warlord of many or the instrument by which the Imperium could be united and revitalized, but we can't afford to sit here idle,"

The holoprojector deactivated and the lights flickered back on. Colonel Blackwell moved to take his seat at his desk once more.

"I'm aware that her Merry Reapers are hunting you specifically, which is why I would like to extend two offers to you. I'm putting together a special task force meant to gather intelligence on and deal with or exploit this threat if possible. I would like you to be a part of it. You were one of our best engineers during the last war, and you've more than proven your abilities in the field just by standing here alive and without a Krayari slave collar. If you're not interested in that, I can also offer you a place in one of our workshops. The security would be second to none, and there are a number of projects your technical expertise would be invaluable in, if you don't taking a more...indirect and quiet approach to all of this."

 

[Ecnalab]

As much as Rebecca liked the idea of tinkering with cutting edge tech again, the idea of running and hiding had never really sat well with her. "I'm in, on one condition. I want my own mech this time." Back during the war, there had been plenty of times when bases she had been working at had been in danger of being overrun, and the safest place to be was in an armed mech. That didn't help much, though, when every machine was locked to its own particular pilot. Granted it was a necessary security measure, but it meant that anyone not designated as a pilot was on their own if a base was invaded.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Of course. I have no intention of sending you back in harm's way without the appropriate equipment," The colonel reached for the terminal on his desk. "You'll be registered in our system as a contractor-unless you intend to reenlist outright- and I've just given you a very respectable amount of latitude in what you can requisition. We may not be the army, but you know as well as I how invaluable a suitably equipped mech can be in even the most sensitive of assignments,"

Blackwell's smile was almost wry.

"Before we get too ahead of ourselves, though, I would like to introduce you to two of your colleagues for this assignment." His fingers glided across the terminal again. The intercom was activated. "Jack? Evangeline? She's agreed, you're clear to enter."

The door slid open behind Rebecca. A man and a woman dressed in lightly armored Terran military uniforms entered. The man was a striking specimen with jet black hair and brown eyes who looked to be just a few years younger than Rebecca. The woman cut a similarly impressive figure, her cool blue eyes sweeping the engineer up and down behind while one of her fingers twirled her medium-lengthed hair into a curl around it.

"Jack is one our younger operatives, but he has several missions under his belt and one of the highest aptitude scores on record."

The young man nodded politely to Rebecca and smiled. "Thank you, Colonel. We've been briefed on you already, Miss Corvo. I'm looking forward to seeing some of that techno-wizardry of yours first-hand,"

"Evangeline is one of my most trusted veterans. In addition to work in the field, she will be overseeing these operations and handling the more...specialized tasks where intelligence-gathering and interpretation are concerned."

"Miss Corvo," The brunette offered a shorter nod and her gaze swept over Rebecca in a manner that was more analytical than admiring. "If you'll follow us so that we can get your requisitions in order? I've worked with Jack long enough to understand how our abilities can complement each other. I'm curious to see what equipment you would to bring so we can plan accordingly."

Unless Rebecca had any objections, she would have been briskly guided deeper into the TSIS headquarters. Several times the group was stopped at security checkpoints along the way where even Jack and Evangeline were required to furnish their passes before being allowed to continue. Things only seemed to grow busier as they proceeded. Rebecca could only catch glimpses inside the other rooms, but a small army of technicians and analysts were hard at work in a sea of terminals while her fellow engineers briskly walked in and out of closed-off laboratories. Weary-looking men and women lingered in the hallways around the snack and drink dispensers and snippets of their conversations made their way to Rebecca's ears.

"...Entirian colonies have been getting chatty lately. Still working on the encryption..."

"...Hard to tell if the attack on Khinireth's Stand cowed or galvanized them. The Republic's been making more statements lately too."

The trio arrived in what appeared to be a hub connecting an armory to the elevator leading to a hanger bay beyond. Jack approached one of the desks and flashed the woman staffing it their paperwork while Evangeline gestured for Rebecca to approach one of the terminals. She had been given something a blank check, and it was understood that these sorts of assignments had a way of becoming dangerous, protracted, and unorthodox affairs. Within reason, Rebecca's authorization would have allowed her to procure just about any personal weapons, armor, and equipment she felt she would need in the coming days...as well as a personal mech to pilot and customize as her own once again.

 

[Ecnalab]

With the government footing the bill, Rebecca felt like a kid in a candy store, though she knew that there were limits to just what would be deemed acceptable by her superiors. Weapons and armor were low on her list of priorities, she didn't plan to be in the thick of combat, so instead she focused on finding a proper mech. Whatever she chose would need to be fast enough for overland travel, yet sturdy enough to hold its own if things went south on a mission. She eventually settled on a medium model known as a shocker. The little workhorse of a mech had always been one of her favorite chassis. At twenty meters tall and fifty tons, it was a burly machine that still boasted a top speed of over sixty miles per hour. The humanoid mech was equipped with a pair of particle cannons instead of hands in its forearms as its primary weapons. The PCs packed considerable punch, and possessed a range rivaling most long range cannons. Best of all, being energy weapons, they didn't have to worry about carrying ammo, which let the machine pile on several extra layers of armor. While shockers typically came with a small missile pod, Rebecca decided to have it removed, and replaced with a long-range communications array/jammer.

With her vehicle selected, and basic supplies the only other thing she needed, Rebecca was ready to report for duty, and meet the rest of the people she'd be working with.