The Valiant

Esperanza placed one hand on the back of William's chair for balance as the ship started to shake. She moved her legs apart slightly to get a better grip on the floor, and never lost her composure once. Like William, she knew Herbert was the best, so she wasn't worried in the slightest. She and William had been friends for years and she knew alot about his personal quirks, so out of the whole crew she was the only one to start acutally laughing as he flailed about and got his arm stuck again. He wouldn't really discipline her for laughing, he would try, but never did he succeed.

The ship landed and she made her way to the hull with the rest of the crew to recieve orders about the landing the the meeting. She nodded in aquiescence as William told her she would be going with him to meet Miss Moonshine. She moved to stand behind William and checked her gear, making sure she would be ready for anything that may pop up on this meeting.
 
When the ship finally landed, Herbert felt the tension disappear from his body. The Valiant felt much more harder to handle than it should have been, and the ride was too rough, even if the ship was not a new one. Sighing, he accessed the ship's structural diagrams, and ran the diagnostics to identify all errors. Unfortunately for him, the diagnostic program was also full of errors and refused to even start, even when he begun thinking rather rude thoughts about the programmer and their ancestors. Resigned to his fate, Herbert unbuckled himself from the pilot's chair, and carefully stood up, measuring the gravity of the planet against his underdeveloped muscles.

After finding that standing did not strain his legs too much, he inspected his rifle, then slung it over his shoulder as he exited the Valiant. He then started to inspect the damage with his own eyes, wishing that he had a competent mechanic with him.
 
Marrcko was finally relieved to feel the ship had finally landed. He listened attentively at the captain, his dark eyes observing it all without any expression. He crossed his arms across his chest, and nodded at the instructions given. He had already spent enough time on the wild areas of Asperas, and if there was someone who knew the local creatures that prowled in the woods, it was him.

He stepped outside, and breathed in the atmosphere. So many memories. He just couldn't wait to wander around and catch some large insect. Some delicacies one just had to find them oneself, and Marrcko was more than willing to take a stroll around the ship and see if he could find something tasty to eat whilst he kept a watchful eye on the Valiant.

''I'll take care of this babe,'' he announced, with his raspy voice, as he knocked the hull of the ship.
 
(sorry i took so long ill jump in where anglkate left me off)
Taking a different direction from Isolde, Eargor began to feel a small breeze which made his skin began to crack. Cursing in home planet language he threw the hood over his head and tightened the thick scarf as he heads his way to a junk yard. This was the cheapest way to find spare parts for the ship. Also his tools and strength where a big asset for picking up parts. Walking to the junk yard reminded him of his home planet. The more he got to the more dirtier parts of the city, the better the junk.
"This junk yard will be perfect for parts"
Once entering the junk yard he had seen the junk owner in thick cloths as if it was winter. Then Eargor realized it was one of his own race. Eargor had a nice conversion and had convinced the junk man to practicably gave Eargor the parts for no charge. It must have looked funny to see a person walking around in thick heavy cloths carrying heavy ship parts like as if they where small sacks of rice.
 
The busy streets of Asperas Prime, dozens of shops, hundreds of people…

Rudi blended in. Dressed in faded mercenary fatigues with a duffle bag across his back he was just one of many offworlders, foreign and resented upon this world.

Soon, he would be off world, away from the humidity, the swamps, and the critters that could rip a being apart as soon as you saw them. There was no sadness on his face that his job was over, he simply looked… tired, except for his eyes. His piercing green eyes were quickly glancing over people, dancing from one figure in front of him to another, piercing, analyzing, examining, and yet indifferent.

Until he saw her, red skirt, halter top, jacket, black hair silver highlights, nice measurements for a human. He tilted his head slightly to the side, a hint of a frown crossed his face before it vanished. For all appearances a definitely an offworlder, but something was … off. Rudi tentatively started following her through the crowd trying to piece together what was missing from his picture. Lost, but with a purpose, her movements were too… precise.

Curious…

He stopped as she entered a shop. "Buying supplies…" Rudi muttered. This meant at least one thing, a ship. Since she was entrusted to buy supplies that meant that at least she had some clout with whoever was in charge. He hadn't gotten transport off world, yet. Perhaps he could persuade her, and at the very least a conversation with her would resolve that curiosity.

With a small shrug Rudi slipped into the shop after the strange woman.
 
Just enough was almost an understatement. The ship managed to just cruise into the port landing of Asperas Prime while running on fumes. Locked into place, their ship was docked and cleared as Naidia prepared to leave the ship. Miss Naidia, are you sure this is okay? Aqua replied as the AI appeared in holographic form before Naidia. Aqua seemed nothing more than a young girl perhaps 15 as she stood there with her arms crossed behind her back. Naidia only smiled faintly, "Have faith my old friend! I will return. You're in charge while I'm gone!" she chuckled faintly. Aqua sighed some I'll hvae to run on reserves since the power is low. Do hurry back, ma'am. she stated as her figure blurred and then disappeared. Naidia saluted the thin air, "You know you can count on me" she chuckled and headed toward the exit of her ship. Making sure she had everything she stepped out into the humid air and glanced around the docking area. "Right...time for business" she said adjusting her things as she hurried into the busying crowd and became quickly lost in the masses. Naidia had arrived perhaps an hour or so before Valiant upon the humble planet. The damp atmosphere for the bog-planet was more ideal to Naidia's species than the drier planets found closer to the suns and stars. She kept her helm on, just in case, though. Aqua would take care of the gas while they were docked and meanwhile Naidia would get the needed supplies. At least it was just herself to worry about for food for the time being. Though, things did get sort of lonely on the ship. No matter. She slipped into the first store and would be making her way around to get supplies. Unbeknownst to Naidia, a familiar face was wandering through the streets of Asperas Prime...

~~

William took a moment to orient himself to the planet as they arrived in the city. Things were normal enough, but there was a slight...odor...in the air that was hard to miss. It wasn't bad per say, but more of just...musty. It was a bog planet, after all, so things were going to be a little more, "moist". Coughing a moment he looked around as they entered the busy streets. Isolde and Eragor had already gotten there much earlier. She was a BEAST of a driver! Glancing at his fellow shipmates he gave a faint attempt at a smile, "It's....quaint. We'll get in and out no problems, right?" They proceeded to simply give him their typical looks. As it stood with William...no job EVER went without some sort of hitch. Such was life and the course of their work, however. No pressure. Glancing at the markings he maneuvered their hovercraft to a parking area and hopped off to go the rest on foot. They arrived at the bar with no problems and William saw his target as he approached the young anthro. "The air here is quite has quite a pungent aroma" William stated as he placed his hand on Kira's shoulder and moved around so he was within her view. Kira glanced at William with a raised brow as she followed him and the others with her eyes a moment.

"They say the pungent air is good for the lungs and puts hair on your chest" she replied with a smirk as her guests sat down and the curtain was drawn for privacy. Kira herself was clad in a cloak to conceal her identity. "So, we have a deal then?" he said trying to seem lax. Kira only sighed as she lowered her hood and her ears flickered a bit listening carefully to the world around her. "I'm glad you were able to land safely, Captain Thricehaven. Why yes I'm doing fine thank you for asking..." she sighed, "Now as for our business..." Kira slid a small disc across the table to William as he picked it up and glanced at it.

"this is it?" he seemed uninterested until Kira took the disc back and placed it in a small device. A holographic image appeared as the details of the transaction scrolled quickly past and William was able to read the contract. "I see, so these are the coordinates for where the items are hidden and you just need us to pick them up and deliver them to this outpost? Easy. Half pay now half when the goods arrive"

Kira nodded and placed a suitcase on the table that had the first half the pay. William checked to make sure things were in order before leaning back, "this is all fine and dandy and I take you for your word, but why hire us for a job like this that can be done within your little organization?"

"The goods are from the government and are in marked boxes that can be tracked. I did my best to cover the shortage as if it was minimal, but I cannot fill empty spaces. There is a government checkpoint between where the goods are located and where they must end up. Unfortunately the only way to get to the outpost is through that point. It's simple enough to get through but since they are marked items you have to be extremely careful. The government is on high alert as of late so security is tighter. I must go but someone will be waiting for you at the outpost. Thank you again William."

The information was gathered now it was a matter of getting the goods and delivering them to finish the job. Easy pie...but something still bothered William. He glanced at his co-horts and stood with a nod. They'd gotten the information and could relay it to the others at the ship to start heading toward the site. Isolde and Eregor wouldn't be much longer anyways. Time to get down to business. Leaving William would be heading out to the goods.

~~

The shop was actually a decent size and larger than she'd expected. Isolde had placed an order prior to landing on Asperas but needed to confirm a few things with the owner to finalize the transaction. Entering the medical supply shop she began to do some browsing. The owner was currently busy and would be a short bit before Isolde could converse with them. That was fine by her, she enjoyed seeing all the different supplies and gadgets each store had to offer. Scanning the shelves she noticed through the corner of her eye someone enter. Based on their movements and occasional glances she calculated they had an interest in her movements. Now this was natural as the human population had the emotions and attractions that Isolde wasn't familiar with so she rationalized that perhaps it was this.

As she was scanning through the items nonchalantly with perhaps a bit too much intensity, she felt an odd tingling sensation begin in her fingertips. Her eyes became momentarily blank as the virus began to affect her again. She would appear to simply be staring off into space a moment, or very intently at the supply item before her, before her systems started to go down again. Warning, data corruption. Warning data corruption a voice sounded in her mind. A sudden reboot was necessary and as her systems suddenly powered down her physical being would become rigid, and then it would appear as if she were losing her balance to faint. The process was a quick one as her eyes closed but then quickly opened as her systems shot back online. She stumbled a moment but was able to catch herself, but the catch had her falling into someone anyways.

"I apologize. I had a momentary shut down spell" She stated as her systems were coming back into focus.
 
This was definitely not good. Inspecting the damage by hand took longer than Herbert thought it would, but even his inexperienced eyes could tell that there were several plates were in places where they should not be, and the heat shielding seemed to be burned to crisps in places. If he had not slowed down during atmospheric re-entry, it was possible that the ship would have been torn to pieces, and then he would no longer be on this world. One thing was for sure though: No matter what the captain decided, their next stop after picking up the payment for this mission will be a repair station, where he will get the hull replaced, even if he spends every single penny on the ship's account. There was no changing that.

Sighing, Herbert went back into the ship and attempted to start the diagnostics software again, only to meet by failure yet again, but at least this time, the system displayed a comprehensive error message and told him what needed to be fixed. It seemed software-based, so he started going through the troubleshooting steps, reasoning that this was something he could fix by himself.
 
He was surprised when the woman momentarily stumbled into him, causing him to take a few steps back to regain his own balance. In the process his duffle bag banged against the shelves behind him, knocking some of the merchandise off where it clattered upon the floor. The shopkeeper glanced up from his busy paperwork and frowned disapprovingly at Rudi before directing his attention back to his latest earnings statement.

With an apologetic nod at the shopkeeper Rudi bent down to pick back up the items he had knocked over. However the woman's comment troubled him.

"I apologize. I had a momentary shut down spell"

Shut down spell? It made sense with what he had already guessed…

"Offworlder?" Rudi asked, posing the question to the woman.
 
"Offworlder?" Isolde questioned a moment before it registered what he'd meant, "Ah, you mean I am not from around here. You would be correct in that guess. I am just passing through with my ship to gather supplies." She gave a friendly smile and nod toward the shopkeeper who was still busy with his nose in the papers, "I am waiting to confirm the status of my order with him." As she said this the old gentleman finally glanced up from his paperwork and waved her over. Isolde gave a polite smile as she turned toward Rudi, "If you would please excuse me. I will return shortly if there was something more you wished to say." Walking off she went into the back room with the old man. A couple minutes later she would return with the confirmation. The order was ready. Normally the order would be taken directly to the ship, but since they weren't really "legally" docked Isolde managed to get the owner to agree to simply unload the stuff outside the shop so she could load it up on the land craft and take it back to the ship herself. Before stepping out from the back she lifted her wrist up as a small compartment opened to reveal some controls. Typing in Eragor's contact information she got in touch with him and let him know she was ready to be picked up so they could take back the supplies to the ship. As the compartment closed she thanked the shop owner once more and headed back out to the main shop where Rudi was still idling.

The male made his way toward her before she could exit the store. Stopped the two struck up conversation. Finally Isolde got to the root of the man's previous comment of her being an offworlder. He needed passage off the planet. "We can offer you passage for a price" she responded calmly. She was sure the captain wouldn't mind. They did that periodically to make some extra cash. Rudi accepted at least accompanying her to the ship to get off world, payment would come after. Stepping outside, the merchandise had been already been loaded onto the land craft as Eragor sat there. It was quite packed with the mixture of his load and Isolde's. Eragor admitted to already going back to unload once and returning.

"Isolde are you sure? I mean the captain--"

"He is a paying passenger. We are in need of the extra income. Details can be sorted out. We are on a tight schedule"

"I know but--"

"I'll drive" Isolde spoke in her usual tone. Eragor gave her a glance but it was no use arguing with the android. Sighing, Eragor turned toward Rudi as he reluctantly scooted over to relinquish the controls.

"Eh...you might want to hold on tight buddy...and possibly pray if that's your thing" he smirked some as he prepared for the take off. Similar to the ride into the city, the ride back to the ship was (at most) a blur, leaving Rudi momentarily surprised at the departure rate.

~~

William and the others had arrived back at Valiant during Eragor's first trip back to drop off supplies. William had briefed everyone there on the current situation and was going to fill in Isolde when she returned. As she returned in record time with Eragor, who looked rather sick, and a tense Rudi, eyes fell upon the extra passenger. William glanced at Rudi a moment and then looked at Isolde. She hopped down from the drivers seat, "He said he would be a paying boarder to get off this planet, sir. I thought there would be no harm. The extra income would be useful for our ship repairs, and perhaps he could be useful?"

Eyes moved to Eragor who put his hands in the air, "Dont look at me, you try arguing with her" he spit a few times before shakily getting out of the hovercraft.

"Isolde...er...if I may have a word" William said with a grin as he waved her over to speak to her quietly on the side allowing Rudi and Eragor time to recover from her driving. Isolde blinked some at him but obeyed his request and stepped over with him so they could have their private conversation. Meanwhile the rest of the crew was gathered outside the ship wondering what was going to happen next.

"Why did you bring a passenger back with you? We have a job to complete! we can't have people going around with us on an illegal job!" he said as his arm started to spaz causing him to have to hit it a few times. Isolde sighed and reached forward yanking downward on it as it locked at his side. She twisted it a few times and there was an audible pop noise as it began to work again for the time being. "Sir, with all due respect, if the passenger stays on the ship while you recover the goods and drop them off, Herbert can meet you at a desired pick up destination and we can be on our way. We'll just say that you had a prior obligation to attend to before we left planet side"

William opened his mouth to speak a few times but kept closing his mouth and contemplating finally he nodded his head a bit, "Right...well...yeah that could work. Glad we had this talk! But he's your responsibility then...and you said he's a paying type?"

Isolde nodded her head.

"Good, good. Alright then!" He clapped his hands together and lead her back to the others, "Uh...Rudi was it? Welcome to our humble ship! I understand you'd like passage off this planet? Well we can afford you that! But before we leave landside there is a prior obligation to attend to. Why don't you...go get yourself comfy and then when we're all good and ready we'll head off yes?"

The other crew members glanced curiously at the captain but he only grinned, "Easy peasy. Esperanza, Frieda, Eragor, you're coming with me. The rest of you remain with the ship. Herbert i'll contact you with the pick up location"

Everyone glanced curiously at one another (aside from Isolde) as they tried to figure out how this was to work with an outside passenger. William was the captain, though, and captain knew best. They'd gotten out of stickier situations before, so hopefully this would be another luck of the draw scenario. With preparations made, William, Esperanza, Frieda, and Eragor headed out on an equipped hover craft to finish the second half of the mission while the rest stayed behind as ordered.
 
"I will pick you up if the ship doesn't fall apart first," muttered Herbert as the captain introduced him to the extra luggage that the Valiant will be carrying. His mind immediately shifted to the increased fuel costs, the increased wear on the ship with the extra weight of whatever this young man wanted to bring to the ship, and the extra weight represented of the goods the Valiant will carry. All in all, the numbers in his head meant that the ship would be in desperate need of refuelling and repairing at the nearest space station, that is, if it did not fall apart at the second it started to lift off. This reminded to him to the errors of the Valiant's system, so he went back into the ship, sat down in the pilot's seat, buckled himself in and started debugging again. At least that would pass the time until...

Or so he thought. It took him about two minutes to fix the problem with the software, which was disappointingly short, considering what kind of problems he had with the Valiant earlier, especially when he first flew it. However, that left him with a new problem to work out: because of the irregularities in the thermal shielding of the Valiant, he really needed to calculate a safe take-off route for the ship, so he quickly started to work on his console.
 
Rudi watched and listened to the events as they unfolded around him, a hint of a smile crept upon his lips as he shook hands with the Captain. Quietly he was onlypartially listening to the tirade of false enthusiasm from the lips. He had seen the looks of surprise and questions that had exchanged between the different crew members, and knew exactly what that meant.

Smugglers…

Or at the very least mercenaries that dabbled on the wrong side of the law. Either way it placed him in an awkward position of pretending not to be aware of what was going to be occurring around him, not like he had not done that before in his life. Rudi watched the pilot give him a small glare of distain before muttering to himself and disappeared into the ship. A humanoid lizard in a black spacesuit continued to stare curiously at Rudi. With a false smile Rudi waved at the lizard as he approached the entryway following diligently behind Isolde, quietly scanning with his eyes all the details of a ship in need of some extreme repair.

"The crew is not exactly… friendly are they," it was a statement not a question that he posed toward the medic.
 
Isolde gave a kind smile to Marrcko as she entered the ship. The Lizard man would enter the ship soon after Isolde and Rudi would. Rudi would feel Marrcko's eyes upon him as he watched the stranger and then moved off to do his own things on the ship. Once aboard, Isolde glanced at Rudi a moment with a slight shrug, "The crew is friendly enough. Come I'll show you around" she said dismissing his statement. The ship was quite spacious without the rest of the crew aboard it. Directly after entering they were in the cargo area. It was large and stretched out. Their smaller transport ships were housed off to either side. The main hull had a winding stairs on both sides that lead to the upper quarters where the rooms, exercise facilities, medical bay, and some storage were. Directly back a passage lead to another storage area, an armory, the dinning area, and the kitchen. Winding back to the front of the ship was of course the main controls and access to the weapons systems. Going toward the back of teh ship was the engine room and the energy core. It was simple and spacious.

By the time the tour ended, they were back in the cargo area, "That's about it. As you saw we have open rooms. You may habitate one of those. Any questions?"

~~meanwhile~~

LOCATION: storage spot of stolen goods..

William and the others had finally made it safely to the position of the stolen goods. Kira was right when she said it was a remote location. Still, it was good to find the stuff. They'd already dug the cargo free of its hiding and loaded it upon their hover craft. Now came the fun part, transporting it to the intended location. In reality it should be easy enough. The cargo was covered and hidden. They'd make their way to the drop off post disguised as transport officials who were doing a routine delivery. If they were given any trouble...well...Esperanza could take care of them. She was a capable woman. So get into the camp, unload the goods, and get out of there. Easy as pie right?

Well, it was a good plan up until they were ambushed on their way to the checkpoint. Apparently someone had leaked information and tipped off the police. That wasn't good, that also meant that the IGA would be involved in this mess since it was IGA territory. Of course if they were found out, that probably put Kira herself in danger. William only hoped that she would be able to get out okay. She was a fierce ally to have and it would be a shame to lose her. With William at the wheel they zipped through the sky on the hovercraft, evading the open fire upon them. Esperanza and Frieda were busy returning fire while eragor served as the navigator while William flew. They had considerable lag with the extra weight of the cargo, but they couldn't afford to lose it. "Time for plan B" William said accelerating at max speed. The hovercraft jerked forward as everyone braced themselves.

"Plan B? and what might that be Captain?" Esperanza said as she quickly reloaded her weapon. William, determined as ever, pressed forward, "I have no fucking clue except we'll have to fly this baby in and drop the cargo then make a run for it."

"Drop and run with the IGA on our ass? Are you NUTS?"

"No i'm the captain. That's what I say...come on come on!" He pressed them onward. They were only a mile from their destination. They might actually have a chance. Hopefully lady luck was on their side. Closer they came as William grinned, "almost there baby! almost th--" he suddenly was cut off as bullets flew from before them as well. Eragor gasped, "Shit he's been hit!" the hovercraft made a dive as there was no one controlling it. Cursing, Eragor pulled william to his side as he climbed over him and took control before they dove to their own demise.

"Frieda take over!" Esperanza ordered as she sprang to the front to tend to William. "Fuck this isn't good!" she muttered as she tried to stop the bleeding. William was coughing up blood as he looked at Esperanza. He knew that they needed to get rid of weight to outrun the IGA on their tails. William was dead weight now. He couldn't do anything. He lifted his arm up to Esperanza's cheek and looked into her eyes. He didn't speak but she seemed to know. "No! We're not leaving without you!" she shouted as Eragor and Frieda turned to look at her. William only gave a smile, "Get the job done and get back. You're in charge" he said coughing one last time as he pulled himself to the side and promptly over the edge as he plummeted to the ground below. There was no time for mourning as they had a mission to complete. That's what William would have wanted.

Bullets continued to fly at them in hopes of taking them down. Frieda had been shot and was wounded and Eragor wasn't faring well with bullets coming from both front and back. Esperanza took charge as she ordered him to continue on. They weren't going to make it to the worker camp at this rate. They'd have every gun upon them if they tried to fly over. "We won't make it" Eragor said glancing at their coordinates. He was no pilot but he wasn't stupid either. This was bad. This was very bad...

~~later~~

While Herbert was busy messing with Valiant's navigation system, an urgent message would come to him. It was Esperanza and she was calling for immediate back up. No set point, just to have him come get them. This was bad news. With that kind of message it meant only one thing, shit had hit the fan and they were in need of a VERY hasty exit.
 
Marrcko followed the newcomer with his eyes, his gaze almost piercing his neck. It was not hostile, just wary; he wasn't too confident with strangers straight away. He wasn't going to cook for any extra-passengers, that was certain. He soon slid away to the kitchen, hoping to get his hands on the egg container again. They were about to have a meal in a hour or so, and he liked to have everything ready beforehand. Marrcko hated stress.

He had just straightened his cook hat and placed it on his head -he didn't mind how ridiculous it looked on him- when he heard the alert call, but the crew moving in response was missing, as they were pretty much on their own without the rest. He feared what it was all about. They were either in trouble, or they had to go towards trouble. Not many options. But he still had to check. He rushed to the control room.

''What is it?'' he asked, ready for anything, to Herbert.
 
Compared to the outside, the inside of the ship was in far better condition. Throughout the tour Rudi memorized the layout of the ship, noting that despite the urgent need for repairs on the outside the inside seemed to at least be held together with more than scorched and rusted steel. The engine appeared to be in fair order and with proper containment, the kitchen was spotless. He also noted how barren the cargo bay was, only a few scattered crates present.

"No ma'am, no questions at all," looking past Isolde Rudi saw the lizard from earlier rush through the cargo area. A chef's hat was comically atop his head and Rudi would've grinned if not for the sense of worry upon the lizard's face.

Curious…

Rudi was puzzled, but the expression upon his face was one of politeness as he made eye contact with Isolde.

"Seems there might be a problem," He stated gesturing to the direction in which the lizard had ran "if you'd excuse me, I think I'll retire to one of the empty quarters and stay out of your way."
 
Herbert was almost finished with his calculations for the take-off, when suddenly, a message appeared on his screen that demanded his urgent help. However, there were two problems with said message: one, it was scrambled and its tone was panicky at best, so Herbert almost got a headache by the time he pieced it back together, and two, it did not specify a single coordinate, location or relative position that he could use, so he had nearly no idea where it came from. What he did know, though, is that the crew of the Valiant was in trouble once again, and not in the good kind of trouble. Herbert put away his calculations right away, then started to work on somehow tracing the location of the message, which was when Marrcko approached him.

"The others are calling for help," said Herbert as he tried to salvage some kind of positional data. "And as usually, they leave it to me to get them out of trouble, and they did not even care to give me a location," continued the man as he tried to take apart the message. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence passed, followed by a triumphant grin on Herbert's face as he finally figured out where the message was sent from. He then switched the ship's outdated announcement system back on, and speakers all over the Valiant came to life.

"All passengers, buckle up because this is going to be one hell of a ride," said Herbert as he initiated the ship's start-up sequence, making sure that he gave enough time for everyone to sit down, then switched the guidance system on. The engines of the Valiant suddenly roared to life and all doors of the ship closed... except the cargo bay, that stayed wide open. It was a while since Herbert last did an in-atmosphere flight with the Valiant. To outsiders, what he did seemed like a suicide move. To him, this was business as usual, so he just stoically sat in his chair, then switched on the improved guidance and control system. With a mighty roar, the Valiant obeyed his will, and took off into the direction Herbert thought the others would be.
 
There seemed to be a commotion mounting outside the main city walls. Naidia had finally finished getting the needed supplies, avoiding the watchful eyes of the familiar individual. Hurrying back to Aqua, she quickly did a few patch repairs before boarding. Welcome back Miss Na--

"No time Aqua. There is much to do and I fear there may be little time. Come on we need to get off here. Hurry" she hissed in a rushed voice as she quickly got things situated and headed to the pilots seat. God it would be so much easier with a few more hands to man the ship. Not that she was incapable, she'd manned Aquarias for a long while by herself with Aqua's help, of course, but still. It did get mighty lonely now and then when she was doing her usual raids and such. Survival was something that should be shared. No matter. With great speed, Naidia piloted the ship off Asperas Prime, making sure to put her in a cloaking mode as they exited the atmosphere. What she saw when they passed through made her happy with that decision. Waiting just outside the planet was a small fleet of IGA ships awaiting to apprehend whoever was causing the commotion planetside. Whoever they were that set them off..well...they were in for it. Even on her best day, Nadia would have trouble combating and escaping something of that caliber.Carefully she maneuvered her way out of this situation before things escalated, slipping under the radar of the IGA.

~~

Shit! The captain had taken himself overboard, the only thing left behind was the jacket he used to wear, covered in his blood. They IGA was on their ass and they would only have a small window to finish the job and escape alive. What the HELL had gone wrong? Luckily Esperanza was able to patch the message through to Herbert and from what she gathered he was on his way. It was going to literally be a drop and go mission.

"we're not gonna make it!" Eregor kept screaming as he piloted the hovercraft ever closer to their destination. Esperanza wasn't going to have it. She shoved him out of the way and took control as the vehicle jolted. Frieda was being an angel of death and taking her position as weapons control to the max. She turned over her shoulder a moment, "I can't hold em off much longer! Running out of ammo!" she growled as a bullet grazed past her arm. She was looking a little worse for teh wear but she was a fighter! She was a crew member of the Valiant and they didn't give up! Esperanza suddenly pulled the hovercraft up high into the air as Eragor and Frieda held on tight. "Yer gonna flip her! We need to get rid of some weight!" Eragor shouted at Esperanza in a desperate plea. Esperanza was busy guiding th ehovercraft. "I know!" she finally shouted as she thrust the craft forward at full speed and then hit the release mechanism on the totes suddenly pulling the craft to a stop.

"What are you do--" eragor shouted before he was hit by bullets. The items flew forward in a slight arch from the momentum given and were literally hurled toward the encampment ahead. They wouldn't get completely there, but hopefully it'd be close enough. Esperanza turned the hovercraft around as they began to weave in and out of fire once more. The IGA were thrown off guard by the maneuvering but kept close on the hovercraft's tail. Then, to Esperanza's relief, she saw the familiar shape of Valiant approaching at great speeds. Herbert was a god!! Her grin widened as she put the thrusters on full again and pushed the craft forward. They might have a chance of getting out of here alive!

"Hold on tight! It's going to be a bumpy landing!" Her grin remained plastered as she flew forward toward the approaching ship. This was a dangerous maneuver and she knew arleady what Herbert had in mind without him telling her. He'd flying toward her, open the hatch, she'd somehow maneuver the hovercraft into the hatch as the hatch would close Valiant would take off into the atmosphere for its escape! Brilliant! Simply brilliant! With a yee-haw call the hatch opened as she expected as she expertly maneuvered the craft and carefully pulled it toward the widening mouth of Valiant. Miscalculating a little she nicked part of the hatch but she made it inside. Losing momentary control of the breaks she powered down to coast as the hovercraft slammed forward. She prayed she powered down in time so that the craft didn't crash through the hull instead. The craft bounced a few times as she floored the breaks and the craft coasted. Isolde was up ahead as the craft moved closer and closer threatening to crush her. "look out!" she shouted.

Isolde only stood there calmly and reached her hand out. The craft seemed to stop just as it touched her hand. Esperanza let out a sigh of relief as Isolde moved forward. "Critical condition, immediate medical attention required" she stated quietly. She quickly began to pull Frieda and Eragor out of the craft. Eragor was injured badly to the chest, but Frieda had taken quite the eating being in the weapons seat. Isolde tended to her first. Esperanza jumped down and didn't' notice the pool of her own blood forming. "Where is Captain?" Isolde asked finally. Esperanza became stern as she limped forward, "He didn't make it..." she said as she went to the intercom and paged to Herbert, "Herbert get us the hell out of here!" She said as the ship jolted a bit but was felt moving skyward. "I'm working on it" A response came, "Hold on tight..."

Esperanza turned toward the others a moment with a smile, "Captain would be proud of you all" she coughed a moment as blood came up. Isolde glanced up at Esperanza and nodded faintly. It didn't take long before the turbulence kicked in as they began to hit the atmosphere. Now the question was whether or not the ship itself would hold up. Parts were heard flying off, possibly buffers, as they left the planet. Finally the turbulence stopped and there was a momentary calm and collective sigh of relief. The reprieve was short lived though as Herbert came over the intercom again.

"Uh....guys....we've got some...uh...trouble. You might want to see this"

With that vid-screens popped up to reveal what Herbert was seeing outside. Surrounding them was an IGA fleet with guns aimed and ready. Esperanza looked at this with renewed anger now as she limped forward. "Hey they're trying to send a message" Herbert replied. Esperanza gave him the go as the message was broadcast to through the ship.

"This is Commander Kelly of the IGA fleet 62AF1. You are hereby under arrest by the IGA and are to surrender yourselves and hand over the ship to IGA jurisdiction. Failure to cooperate will result in military action! I repeat this is Commander Ke--"

"Yeah we heard you the first time!" Esperanza said with authority as she smirked, "You should know by now, Commander Kelly, we don't go down without a fight!"

With that the signal was cut as Esperanza turned toward the crew, "Captain would have wanted it this way. We are not going down so easily, you hear! Isolde how is Freida?"

"She's stable for now she--"

"I'm...okay. What ya need? Weapons? I'm on it" she said with a weak grin as she got herself up and headed to man the few guns they did have. esperanza grinned and nodded solemnly. Going to the intercom she spoke to the entire ship, "This is Second Command Esperanza...The captain has fallen and I am now in command. As you just heard the IGA wishes for us to just hand ourselves over. However, I could never disgrace the captain's beliefs like that! I for one will not go down without a fight! We are a crew! We are one! And we will fight back for what we believe in! Herbert! We'll need you to show us just how great a pilot you are and get us the hell out of here. Set a course for the nearest repair station. Frieda is taking turret. We need all hands on deck to help get us out of this! So lets show the IGA what Valiant is all about!"

With that Esperanza limped forward to go take her position in the second turret. Isolde was tending to Eragor as she watched esperanza pass. So this is how it would be. The chances of Valiant escaping at this point were slim to none unless by some miracle....

~~

LOCATION: Outer Planet Border

The Destroyer continued to slither its way through the broken remains of the outer planets it was ravaging. Gallatros sat in the captain's seat watching all this with little expression. His fleet had already destroyed a handful of lesser planets without even flinching, and he was prepared to continue his rampage. The fleet that followed him was impressive to behold as well, and certainly just seeing his main ship The Destroyer was enough to strike fear in his enemies. He would have the universe in his hand one way or another at ANY costs. It was his destiny to do so. At that a wicked grin crossed his lips as a general came forward to report.

"we are approaching the system with Aseperas Prime ahead, sir. Orders?"

"Full speed, lets see if this planet actually puts up a fight"

"Shall we prepare the cannons?"

"Not yet, lets actually give them a moment this time. i'm curious to see if this solar system is any better than the last" He stated off hand as the ships continued to slowly make their way forward. It wouldn't take Gallatros more than 20 minutes at the speed they were traveling for him and his fleet to arrive on scene to disrupt the 'shindig' between Valiant and the IGA...
 
Rudi's face was clouded, his suspicions were correct about Isolde, a gods damn 'droid. He had seen the way she had stopped the hovercraft with a single arm. Quietly as the crew rushed to their battle stations he returned to his quarters. Rapidly he secured the dufflebag and braced himself against the bunk.

Now he had a whole list of problems. He was aboard a derelict ship of incompetent smugglers with an overzealous second in command, against an IGA patrol fleet.

Tall odds he mused, if the pilot was competent they might survive with only a few hits, and jump away. None of the anti-capital ship weapons would be able to track the smaller vessel, but the point defense systems could severely harm the Valiant, flak systems could rattle the ship around, knock even further parts off of the ship. Last thing the rust bucket needed was an even further compromised hull.

If it came to the worst he'd be attempting to breathe vacuum...

Rudi involuntarily flinched at that prospect, while he wondered why he had chosen this ship of all of them to leave the planet on.
 
Some muffled shouting can be heard at the bay of the Arden Space Station, close to Asperas Prime. Suddenly, the shouting stops being muffled, as a bay door opens. "Well, up yours! It's not my damn fault that the engine blew! You're the ones who pulled all the parts out of goddamn wrecks!" The one shouting is a older man with a rather large, metallic arm, leaving the ship with a bag. "Where are you..." A second man, appearing from the ship started. "I'm fucking leaving! If you want to keep the damn thing flying with nothing but scrap, then you'll have to do it without me!" The old man shouted back at the second man, as he stormed off.
A glass of whiskey and a cigar at the station's bar. Always a great way to calm down a bit after *leaving* another ship. It wasn't the first time he'd left a ship on one of these stations. Nor the first time he'd been thrown off at one of these stations. "Another ship, another day... Good going Are..." The old man muttered to himself. He was getting tired of the constant circle of finding a ship to join, staying there a while, before ending up on another one of these damn stations. Are took a large puff of his cigar, before sighing deeply.
 
Once again, Herbert confirmed that both the crew of the Valiant and the adventures that the Valiant has seen, were, to put it simply, insane. Of course, that also included him, so instead of being outraged our surprised at this rather unfortunate turn of events, he took it relatively calm and started analysing the fleet composition of the IGA. Naturally, they were outmatched as always, but he would not be here right now if he were not the one who got them out of situations like these on a regular basis. As usual, the captain's, or in this case, the second-in-command's speech gave some time for Herbert to see what they were up against, but the longer his eyes scanned the IGA's fleet, the more convinced he became that they were never going to make it out alive from this situation. Sure, he could escape from a wolf pack of frigates, some cruisers or a lone battleship, but not from a fleet of frigates with fighter and assault craft support. That was way beyond his area of expertise, but he had to try.

Before he could even come up with a plan, though, the guns of the IGA already started to fire, so he quickly pulled the Valiant towards the gravity well of the planet, a hail of mass-based projectiles trailing after the ship, followed by a volley of lasers that hit dead on, puncturing the already shoddy armour of the Valiant in several places and triggering even more bulkheads. This threw Herbert off a little bit, but he managed to rescue the Valiant before it entered the deadly pull of the gravity well, then he suddenly had an idea. An insane idea which may crash the Valiant on the surface of the planet, but an idea nevertheless.

Defying all logic of space combat, he flied the Valiant even closer to the planet's atmosphere, a move which took the whole IGA fleet by surprise, which meant a few, precious moments of confusion, which, in turn, were used to push the Valian't speed to the place where it would stabilise it in a circular trajectory dangerously close to the upper limit of the atmosphere. Naturally, the IGA fleet took pursuit, recalling some of their small attack craft in the process so as not to waste fuel. However, the fleet also split in two, which told Herbert that the leader of the task force was not as experienced as he would have liked him to be. Still, not even the commander could count on the insanity that followed, as Herbert quickly switched the main engines off, rotated the ship to face away from the planet, then ignited the engines again at full acceleration. As a result, several layers of the armour literally peeled off, and Herbert did not even dare to think of the damage he caused in the cargo bays or the goods that have not been secured yet. He only hoped that the others took his advice and buckled themselves up, or they would suffer serious injuries.

At least his escape plan seemed to work. The IGA commander was not prepared for such a move, nor was he willing to take such a big risk to catch the Valiant, but he ordered both fleets to take sharp turns and try and cut off the Valiant. Unfortunately for them, the decreased mass of the ship meant higher acceleration, and only the smaller ships could even aim to reach the Valiant, and by the time they caught up into sensor lock range, Herbert will have already engaged the FTL drives of the ship in a safe distance from the planet. The IGA fleet, however, refused to give up pursuit and sent its fighter squadrons out to engage the Valiant. Confusing them, though, would be far easier than having to do it and dodge the bullets of the fleet than doing both at the same time, so Herbert smiled and started plotting a course to the nearest shipyard, which was when a huge, dreadnought-size craft arrived almost literally in front of them. Gallatros has arrived.
 
[dash=darkblue]Naidia let out a sigh of relief when they'd slipped away from the radar of the IGA. She wondered who had caused so much chaos to bring in that much of even a smaller fleet to intercept the individual. No matter, it wasn't her, and that was all that mattered. She actually had managed quite well planet side. As she'd expected no one recognized her with her mask off, but she made sure to allow her hair to cover the scar upon her face. She'd not only procured the needed materials to fix up Aqua when they docked at an Arden repair station, but managed to pick-pocket a few individuals as well. The change should be enough to allow her a little 'free' time at the entertainment district of Arden. The thought made her grin as they coasted away from the scene behind them now.

The journey to Arden would be a quiet one, but it allowed Naidia to think over things a moment. As much as she loved her ship to herself, she knew that at this rate she would be needing SOME help. Hell, maybe she could start her own band of pirates and join forced with her old lot one day. That might be fun, and her old captain would be so proud of her! She chuckled some at the thought and then Aqua appeared beside her in the co-pilot seat.

Miss Naidia are you thinking about getting more crew members? Its hard enough to keep the ship up myself as I am only an interface a few more hands would be much helpful, especially with how you run things She said innocently enough. Naidia turned to glance at her AI with less than enthused expression, "I'm so glad you have such faith in my abilities, Aqua" she said flatly. Aqua simply smiled at her and turned to look out the window before them. I have always had the utmost faith in your abilities...but you are only one person, ma'am

Naidia sighed and leaned back, "I suppose...but lets just get you repaired first, and relax some then I'll think about scrounging me up a few other people. It does get quite lonely on here at times" They would continue to drift through space toward Arden Space Station for another half hour. When they docked, under an alias, Aqua began repairs that she could manage and Naidia had taken off to explore the station's entertainment a bit. In the process was when a breaking news bulletin came to one of the screens, sparking her attention. Gallatros had attacked another planet...[/dash]

~~

[dash=white]It seemed as if all time had slowed down when the massive dreadnought ship appeared seemingly out of nowhere with its fleet. Esperanza gasped as she saw it approaching, there was no denying who belonged to that ship. She'd thought that all those stories were just rumors, but here was the actual ship in real life. Her eyes widened in horror, "No..." she whispered. "Herbert...Herbert! Get us the HELL out of here!" she suddenly shouted into the intercom.

"Is that--" Freida started to say but broke into a pained cough.

"You okay Frieda?" Esperanza asked worriedly. Frieda took a moment to respond but she did, "Yeah---just--peachy. Is that who I think it is?"

"I sure as hell hope not, but I'm thinking it might be I--"

Then a voice, cold and heartless, came over the entire ship intercom. Gallatros was broadcasting live to everyone in the vicinity, IGA, Valiant, and any transmissions that Asperas Prime might have.

"No need to introduce myself. My demands are simple. As you can see right now I have all my weapon power focused upon you. Either you relinquish your planet to me or I destroy it all. Any attempt to defy my power and I will destroy you like the filth you are. So...what will it be?"

Gallatros' lips curled into a wicked grin as he rested his hands beneath his chin and gave the fleets a moment for this all to sink in. It would give them the time they needed to charge their cannons. In truth, he planned on wiping out the planet anyways, so really there was no choice. Pandemonium would surely surface for them. Meanwhile, on the Valiant, Esperanza was in a tight situation. Herbert was ordered to continue course, but this would be one hell of a risk. Finally the message was responded to by the IGA commander.

"we will not stand down! You will not take us without a fight! Prepare yourselves!" with that all fire turned from Valiant onto Gallatros' army. After that it was all downhill. The IGA had made a mistake to stand against Gallatros at this point. Without a second thought the buster cannon was prepared and aimed at Asperas Prime. The particles gathered as the cannon prepared to fire. At the same time, Gallatros' fleet opened fire upon the IGA fleet which was much smaller. It was a massacre on many levels. Finally in a blinding show the cannon was set off as its blast was enough to incinerate the core of the planet and destroy it.

Poor Herbert was left with a mess to navigate through in pure chaos. The carnage was almost unbearable and the collateral damage...well neither Eragor nor Frieda would survive and Esperanza in her state would last long. The planet of Asperas Prime would be destroyed by the blast in a blinding flash of light. However the distraction of that would be the key to Valiant escaping the heat of this mess. Herbert booked them out of the vicinity, turbulence was a given. They barely had enough armor or fuel to make it to their next destination. However, Herbert wasn't hired for his good looks, he was an expert and knew Valiant inside and out at this point. Damage done, they woudl set a course for the nearest Arden Space Station for repairs and just barely make it. Coasting into the docking bay with what was left.

News reports of the destruction of Asperas Prime and the IGA fleet would circulate. No survivors were noted. Isolde had managed to gather the fallen corpses of Frieda and Eragor. Esperanza was in critical condition and wouldn't last long. It was her wish to go to Arden space station. Isodle didn't understand why, but it would make sense in due time. Valiant had lost so many crew members they would be needing recruitment soon or face their own demise. With all that had happened, that was not going to happen. Valiant would live on.[/dash]

~~~

"Arden...space station...I've sent a message to an old friend. We need to get there. They may be our only hope" Esperanza coughed as blood came up, she was a fighter, "We can't go down. Not like this. Avenge our crew..." she looked up into Isolde's violet eyes with determination and hope. Isodle looked down at her with a frown. She couldn't let her die, but what was she to do? Even her own skills were not enough to bring someone back from the dead. Esperanza laid on the examination table on her own death bed. Coughing again she spit out blood, "put me..on intercom" seh ordered Isolde. She complied reluctantly, "save your strength ma'am" she said but Esperanza wouldn't have it.

"This is Esperanza speaking. I know..we've been through a lot. You've all been so amazing words cannot express my gratitude. Captain would have been proud of you all...I'm proud of you all. Don't let this set you back...you'll find a way to get back on your feet. I have an old friend who may help. Look for him at our next destination. I wanted to let you all know that it's been an honor to serve along side you, and I wouldn't change a thing. Never give up...we are the Valiant and we will persevere!"

her words spoken, they docked into Arden Space Station for repairs...
 
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