NationStates Jolt Archive

(see OOC thread to join: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=498341)

On Board Galactic Genetics Incorporated Battlecruiser: Orthanc

"...as you can see ladies and gentlemen, the Genomorph project, or 'Experiment Omega,' if you prefer, will yeild us astronomical profits if allowed to develop fully. The potential of these organisms is unparralled." Morgan Kain purred, his cat green eyes drifting slowly across the darkened room. In front of him the members of GGI's board of directors shifted uneasily in their seats, what Kain was suggesting was not only fiscally expensive, but highly illegal in every space empire in which the Corporation operated. Silence filled the boardroom, broken only by the occasional grunt or cough. A frown twitched at the edges of Kain's thin mouth, his eyes flicked dangerously over each of the boardmembers... daring them to object to his proposal.
Finally one of them spoke, nervously clasping and nuclasping his hands on the long mahogany table at which the board sat.

"If any of the governments we operate in find out about this Genomorph business, it'd land all of us in jail- or worse." a man in an expensive grey suit muttered, not making eye contact with the CEO.

For a moment Morgan did nothing but run a hand through his slick black hair and frown at the man in the expensive grey suit; then his eyes brightened and a smile broke out on his lean, wolfish face.

"Of course this venture isn't legal," he said, still smiling his sharkish grin, "But... neither are the drugs you have this company manufacture for you Mr. Sloat. Now, I wouldn't want to put a stop to your flow of 'painkillers,' but if you don't scratch my back I won't scratch yours. That goes for all of you, ladies and gentlemen."

The boardmembers glanced uneasily at their CEO; then at Mr. Sloat, who was blushing furiously.

"The ayes have it then, Experiment Omega will continue" Kain said softly, the smile leaving his face, "You are dismissed, boys and girls."

The board shuffled out of the room wordlessly, looks of silent dread on their faces.

After they had left Kain turned in his chair an looked at the words embossed on the wall behind him- the GGI company motto "Progress through Power." He tapped his chin thoughfully before pressing the intercom button on the table in front of him with a slight smirk.

"Mr. Kain?" said a cheery female voice, over the speaker "There's a Mr. Saddler here for you."

Morgan frowned, it was very rare that Osmond Saddler came to see him personally- since he was a wanted man in seven galaxies it was prudent to keep him at arms length.

"Send him in, Jessica."

The door to the boardroom opened and in stepped a tall, lanky figure in an expensive all-white suit. He had white, shoulder length hair and haunting grey eyes that peered out of a face so gaunt and pale it might as well have been a skull.

"Mr. Kain," he said in a suprisingly effeminate voice, "There's been an accident at the 'Nod Installation'..."


***************************

UEF Military Space Station Jerusalem 3, in orbit of capital planet "Calla"

"Alright lads and lassies," the Colonel growled, his iceburg blue eyes glaring at the SpecOps team assembled in front of him, "Here's the deal, at 0300 this morning UEF scanners in the 'Egypt' system picked up a generic distress signal sent from a moon in orbit of the gas giant 'November 7.' Now, the signal was sent from a Vespene gas mine on this moon that's been abandoned for 50plus years. We've got reason to believe GGI's been operating in this old mine, so command is sending us in to recover any survivors and, more importantly, find out what everyone's favorite pharmacy was doing in this mine. Our dropship leaves in 1 hour, I want all of you in the
hanger in 45 minutes. Get dressed, get some grub, get tactical."

With that Col. Arnold Callahan stomped out of the locker room where his team had been assembled, a smouldering cigar clenched in his yellowed teeth.

Dr Ariko Harada got showered and dressed quickly in her green fatigues, black boots and combat jacket. the final touch as was her flak jacket with a small cherry blossom badge on it and the steel helmet with the red cross on it.

her pistol was in the armoury and she could get that later on but her katana and medical kit always stayed with her.

a lot of people thought that swords were an outdated weapon but they were good in a tight corner and never ran out off ammo.

she was happy to find out that GGI was involved and wondered what they would find in the mine. nothing good most likely.

she ate the bacon and eggs and drained a mug of coffee. now ready for duty she got her .45 cal pistol and 6 extra clips for it. the automatic pistol may have been old fashioned but it had plenty of stopping power.

Ariko smiled at the rest of her team and got on her game face as she headed to the dropship.

Julian just nodded at the colonel's words. He didn't know where they were going, nor did he really care. Heading back to his room, he picked up his gear and then headed to the armoury to pick up Nica.

He knew most people would find naming a weapon after someone unusual to say the least, but it was his tribute to his ex. Shouldering the MPVLOC, something that would appear like it should be close to impossible considering his relatively average build except for the fact that he was a HG-worlder.

With a slight tilt to his step, he headed to the cafeteria to pick up some burritos composed of rice, peppers, eggs, beans and ground beef and a tin of orange and raspberry tea. With the thudding of old-style electronica in his ears, he headed off to the hanger to eat and wait for the others to arrive.

"Urgle...." Generico hated mornings. Whats more, he hated mission statements. Something in his mind told him things were going to get ugly real fast after the marines would leave the planet. He just knew it. Every time his gut told him something like this, it usually came true. Possibly due to his training as a Phsyker.

None the less, the Padawan took the assignment as ordered (he never could refuse a direct order from a superior officer). He slugishly walked over to his locker area, pulled out the traditional robes which the Malkir would use when in combat (he doesn't even like armor), and walked over to the meditation chamber which was set up specifically meant for phsykers. There, he would practice his close combat skills, with and without a blade, and touch some of his more... Darker powers. While the Malkir are considered to be "good guys" in general, they will tap into their darker selves if it helps to win the fight for the greater good.

I hate this job...

Shadow would have smiled behind his mask, had he still known how to do it. People jumped up around him, nodded or saluted to colonel and headed towards their rooms, "to get prepared".

Shadow didn't need to.

Ninja is always ready.

He already had his Titan-submachinegun on his back, swords stucked under his belt, knives and shurikens hanging well placed around his black suit, and a small, compact backpack filled with equipment. He had his whole body covered with black, dark blue or grey - even his eyes were hidden behind his All-Vision goggles (that looked pretty much like downhill skiing mask of the 20th century). This is how he usually moved around the base, and trained. Ate. Slept.

So, he was in no hurry. He stood up slowly, stretched himself, turned around and walked... well, not "walked"... let's just say "moved" out of the room (for it looked like he was barely moving his feet, yet he was at the door in the blink of an eye) and jumped straight up, pulling himself to the roof.
Next time anyone saw him was some 7 minutes later, sitting in the lotus position under the shadow of their dropship's wing.

OOC Hok-Tu, just for the record I never approved your character. You can still RP here so long as you follow grammar rules... like capitalization...
sorry to sound picky, but I am

IC
Callahan grunted what might have been a laugh as he entered the hanger followed by MJ, a balding but sturdy ex marine who was the communications specialist.

"Well, looky who's here a tad early" the Colonel growled, his icy eyes peering at Shadow with what might have been mingled annoyance and respect, "MJ, set up your shit in the dropship, I'm gonna have a word with our resident samurai."

The comm specialist nodded and, followed by two droids carrying various scanners, communication equiptment, and computers, entered the dropship. Callahan lit a fresh cigar and swaggered over to Shadow, his wrinkled, scarred face split by an intimidating smile.

"Listen lad," he said, "I understand you've got a grudge against GGI, but I won't have your feelin's fucking up my operation. If we find survivors of whatever the hell kind of accident happened in this mine, we take 'em alive, none of this sepukku beheading shit. This is our chance to catch the Corporation with their pants down, I want answers, not bodies. Capiche?"

Carth just listened to the mission statemnt, half sleep deprived the other haldf eager to hear of what they were going be doing, he scratched th back of his head, where his recent implant had been "installed"

Carth stared at Callahan...your typical army colonel, all gruff and bark but even Carth knew not to cross him

"Ugh I need sleep right now, god this itches a bastard!" Carth muttered to himself as he left the debriefing room and headed to the canteen, in front of him were a few of hsi fellow mercs

After he ate his food, the taste or lack of it PARCHED HIS MOUTH, HEADING TO HIS CABIN HE FELT HIS CEREBRAL CHIP WORKING AGAIN AND A VOICE IN HIS HEAD SPEAKING

"It is about time you accepted the new version we installed Carth, otherwise you'll cause damage to yourself, you're one of the best soldiers we've seen, be a shame to wast this opportunity you have been given and you yourself volunteered..no get suited and booted, the mission awaits us"

LaFaye Yeskey, unlike several of her comrades, wasn't feeling even a bit tired. She had already been up for over two hours, spending most of that time practicing her marksmanship on the shooting range. This was the routine most days; get up early, practice for a few hours, perhaps eat a small breakfast, practice all day and well into the evening, grab a small bite to eat for dinner, then go back to practicing to ususally well past midnight. Then, do it all over again the next day. LaFaye was only running on an hour and a half's sleep at the moment, and she was perfectly fine.

Seeing as LaFaye was already geared up and had already eaten, she didn't really have too much to prepare for; she spend twenty minutes polishing her various weapons and checking her ammunition. When she was satisfied with the job she had done, she walked into the hanger, her massive anti-material rifle hanging from her shoulder. She caught sight of Callahan conversing with Shadow. LaFaye frowned; she had never liked Shadow much, but mabey that was becuase she didn't really know him. Then again, who did know Shadow?

La Faye approached the pair, nodding to Shadow, then waving to Callahan.

"Morning, Colonel. Fine day for a mission, isn't it?"

Callahan grunted and turned from Shadow towards LaFaye, a tobacco stained grin plastered on his scarred, battle worn face.

"Mornin' lass," he called, swaggering away from the silent ninja without waiting for an answer... if Shadow tried anything that put the mission in jeopardy, the Colonel would put him in a world of pain, "Aye, tis a good day for a little fighting, though I doubt we'll face anything worse than a few GGI mercs- and they fight like chickens with their heads cut off."

Arnold Callahan's faded blue eyes regarded Yeskey with a sort of fatherly pride... it was no secret that he liked LaFaye as much as he mistrusted Shadow and disliked the phsyker, Generico. Yeskey had an eagle's eye and a steady hand, but more importantly to Callahan, she took orders without complaint. And so, ever since the squad had been assembled on Earth, LaFaye had been the Colonel's favorite.

Carth entered the hanger and saw several of his fellow soldiers there waiting to get under way, he handt even hit the age of 30 and yet he felt so much more older than them all

His tiredness no longer was there, he'd managed to get some sleep before heading to the hanger and awaited further instruction

"This better be worth what I sigend up for, I'm tired of fighting a few mercs to be honest, it gets so repetetitive" Carth seemed to say to himself

"Well just think of this as a step up to the evntual post you'll HAVE to assume, imagine it..emperor...or is taht the opposite of what you want" the A.I. implanted into Carths mind said back to him as he strolled over to a large container bearing his name on there, he hated the fact they had to place HRH on it, he'd scraped the best part of the initials off, he was a regular soldier as far as the others and he was concerned

In the corner of his eye he caught Callahan and LaFaye talking..LaFaye was alwsy the eager young kid willing to impress Callahan and it seemd to have paid off because she never questioned Callahan as much as Carth did, both were veterans of major wars except Carth had seen a few even before his 25th birthday

He walked over towards Shadow but stopepd to say hello to master and apprentice as many called them

"Hello LaFaye..hello colonel...how are you both?"

LaFaye smiled at Callahan, unslinging her rifle from her shoulder and pointing it skywards, peering through the scope.

"You know, Colonel, I sometimes wish we would get something a little more...substantial than the current targets we get now. Mercenaries and common pirates aren't tooo much of a challange, wouldn't you say? Back on my home planet, war was life, no matter where or when. Hell, I'm even starting to miss the excitement. Nothing this side of the Saryal system has even tried to stand up against me."

She laughed and put her rifle back on her shoulder.

"Of course, let's hope we don't run into anything too substantial; otherwise, we might get in some trouble."

LaFaye turned as Carth walked into the hanger. She liked Carth; he was a very interesting man, and at least open to conversation, unlike Shadow.

"Hey, Carth. Just telling the colonel here about our recent adversaries. Don't you think these GGI soldiers are a bit...lacking?"

"Lacking isnt the word to be honest, I get more of a fight with this new A.I. theyve got me stuck with haha... and how many more pirates do we really have to disarm and ship off again really... hopefullythis venture we're going on seems different, something isn't right about it, but hell I'll just be glad if it isnt a bunch of mercs running around liek headless chicken" Carth laughed as he and Lafye spoke to Callahan

few people knew about his A.I. chip besides the unit he was placed with & he had worked with LaFaye before but never actually been the talkative type but when he did speak he liked to ridicule himself to make others seem less worried but LaFaye was a good fighter, Carth had just seen better but he knew LaFaye could surpass the best, she just needed a challenge

"GGI in some rundown mines in a god forsaken part of the galaxy... well sounds weird but if I find out its just soem GGI spooks I wont be best pleased, ill just let my A.I. bore them to death haha!" Carth laugh as his A.I.projected itself before them

"I heard that! & I am not a bore...I'm just not givena chance to talk to others than this boring meathead!" she snapped back at Carth

OOC: Assuming that there are droids in this era, since it is pre-clone wars but after halo era

IC:
If anyone would be looking for Generico, they would find him training his sword skills in the local training grounds for Psykers... Training for things which would normaly kill a normal being.

Generico swung his Light Katana to block the multiple blades which were being sliced at his chest far too closely for his liking Probably the Colonels configuring he thought to himself as his blade pushed the droid's blades away. Training for a Huntarian, light or dark, must be intense when it comes to combat. One of the nearby groups of droids turned and began to charge at Generico with their swords raised. He stood his ground as the droids charged and he charged into them just as they were within two lengths of his sword.

He then used his phsycic skills to run onto the droids chest and jumped on the top of their heads and threw some bolts of lightning at the group of droids. While his intentions were to only disable the droids, he ended up destroying them. Great. Now Colonel is gunna give me some B.S. about "You're not suppose to destroy military equipment" lecture. Might as well start cleaning up

"Alright." the Colonel grunted shortly, "Get your asses on board, enough foreplay."

Smirking at his own sarcasm, Callahan trudged off towards Vera Floyd and Kevin March, who had just entered the hanger and were chatting amiably.

"Enough chitchat!" the grizzled vet bellowed at the pair, "Get on board, now. Where the hell is Bashard and that psyker?"

Wait... AWW PISS! Generico just remembered that the launch would be in less than five minutes from now, he was too distracted from his training period to have to follow protocals right now. He had to quickly grab a hand full of Light Shurikens, his Katana, and then disapear in a puff of blue and white smoke heading for the local drop ship area where the rest of the group was.

He soon appeared right in front of the colonel a few moments later and saluted, "Hiya Colonel Sir!"

Julian heard the colonel's call over his music and stood up as he polished off his last breakfast burrito and chugged the last amount of hot, sweet tea. Hoisting Nica, he headed onto the shuttle and moved to his regular seat to strap in himself and the cannon.

OOC everyone is aboard the dropship, sorry to take minor control of Shadow, Madnestan, I just want to get this underway.

"Don't hiya me, you pissant. Get on board." the Colonel rumbled, before stepping into the dropship himself. He watched Shadow slither aboard with mild disdain before giving MJ, the pilot, the all-clear. The ships engines rumbled to life as the doors slid shut with a hiss.

"Please fasten your seat belts and observe the non-smoking signs at all times" the pilot said lightly, "That means no cigars Colonel."

Callahan grinned as he gave MJ the finger and lit a fresh smoke.

Outside, the hanger doors slid open and the ship was sucked into space. The pilot drifted away from the space station before making the announcement that he was jumping into hyperspace.

"Now laddies... the moon we're landing on hasn't sufficient atmosphere for us to breath on, as we approach you'll all need to suit up in combat armor." the Colonel said, then pulled a ratty paperback book from his pocket and began reading... only a fool would disturb Arnold Callahan while he was reading.

OOC: No problem at all. I can't spend too much time on PC at the moment, at least as much as I'd like, so you're free to RP his minor actions when you have to.

IC:

Shadow didn't seem to react - not to the insult thrown at him by the colonel nor the look at his face when he looked at his scout. "Some grudge"... that company had caused the death of his whole planet, and this despicable gaijin dared to talk about it like someone from GGI had accidentally stepped on Shadow's toes!

But, there was nothing he could have achieved by responding, so he didn't. He was trained from his early childhood to hide his emotions, and that was exactly what he did now... remained silent in lotus pose, as usually, and meditated, however briefly following the conversation around him.

Carth sat silently, almost meditating like Shadow except in reality he was conversing with A.I.

"You know Callahan has been even more of a pissy motherfucker ever since the last mission... any info on what happened Jonova?" Carth said to his A.I.

"Not much is actually known about his last mission, I can pull up every bit of detail even of the most reclusive and that includes substantial on Shadow but Callahan..its as if he exists from time to time and never all the time if you get me" Jenova replied as she tweaked her A.I. and searched for more data

"Hmm..a spook perhaps?" Asked Carth as he opened his eyes and saw several members of his team suiting up to enter their target destination "It doesnt matter Jenova... he's the boss gotat accept hsi orders..up until a certain point that is"

Carth placed his combat gear on and waited for the order to begin, he stared at Shadow again still meditating and remembere seeing Shadow at work

Guile & Precision were beautiful things but the noble part of Carth didnt like the whole idea of assassination yet he admired Shadow's skills

He stood up and to Jenova he said "The Empire could use someone like Shadow.."

Jenova quickly retorted to Carth"Thinking like the Leader of millions again eh Carth, for a guy who refuses his birthright you sure do ttalk about it a lot..."

"Yeah..I gues I do but right now we've a job to do, you think you can outdo your previous version?" Cockily asked Carth as he smirked to himself and then Jenova's image burst in fornt of him and projected herself to Carth & everyone

"Without a doubt, think you can handle a real woman!"

Carth chuckled "An Articial Intelligence with a sense of humour...well..this might just work out fine"

Ariko buckled up and contemplated the mission ahead of them. It had to be dangerous otherwise they wouldn't have been sent in the first place.

The Kirisubans still followed the ways of Bushido and Ariko was no exception. Her ancestors had been Samurai and although her primary weapon was a medical kit she was still Samurai herself.

She knew that Shadow had a similiar background to her and although she didn't know his story she was cut from the same cloth as him.

the others she would get to know over time.

LaFaye frowned. She had never been a fan of combat suits herself; she preferred just a light layer of clothes to anything else. Combat suits tended to weigh her down, and she felt unbalanced in them. As Ironic as it seemed considering her huge gun, LaFaye valued mobility over armor.

Still, it's not like she had a choice. It was either put the suit on, or not participate in the mission. LaFaye shivered; she hoped they landed soon. She had never been very fond of space travel-she couldn't stand the feeling of being trapped on a hunk of metal in a huge void on nothingness. The sooner the ship landed on firm ground, the better.

The dropship rumbled slightly as it dropped out of hyperspace; for a moment it seemed to be falling before its secondary engines kicked on.

"ETA fifteen minutes," the pilot called, "I'll drop you fuckers off at the mine's old landing pad, and stay in orbit. I've downloaded the shaft's original blueprints, and will provide ya'll with directional and scanner report via comlink."

"Alright, you heard the man, laddies. Suit up, shut up, lock and load." the colonel grunted, putting aside his book, "There she is, November 7...."

Outside the cockpit window a massive, yellow-green planet rotated in the glow of a distant sun. Swirls of gas and massive storms filled the gas giant's atmosphere, occasionally illuminated by a crackle of lightning.

"Ah, and there's our moon, 'Lud'," the Colonel said, pointing to a small chunck of rock rotating the massive planet. Callahan smiled and lit a cigar, the time for talking was almost over... the time for shooting was almost here.

LaFaye quickly got suited up, checking and rechecking her weapons to see if she had missed anything. She locked a large explosive shell into her rifle and swung it around her shoulder. Whatever was down there was going to get a rather nasty suprise in the form of fiery death.

LaFaye was glad that they were almost on the surface of the small moon; the hyperspace jump had made her a bit queasy.

Julian sealed the filters on the 'viro suit. While most were suiting up in combat armour, the enviroment suit he wore was almost as effective. Not as durable, but could accommodate the sling harness that was nigh-vital to a MPVLOC gunner, something the combat armour couldn't do with to the same extend.

After giving Nica another once over, he called out to the colonel, "Regular load-out, or my choice?" He hoped the colonel would let him decide on the load for the cannon rather than insist on the fusion charge.

"Your choice, maggot, just don't fuck up." Callahan grunted as he donned his own, battle scarred armor. The dropship slowed as it neared the moon, which now filled the cockpit window. A tiny metal landing pad and tower could be seen projecting from the surface right at the base of a lunar mountain.

"That's our drop-point," the pilot said, pointing to the distant complex.

Ariko took of her flak jacket and got into the battle armour hoping it wouldn't slow her down too much but being able to breathe was the priority now.

she took out her spare clips and put them in the medical bag and was ready for battle as she checked the seal on the suit.

Happy that all was well she sat down again.

Umm... BUMP, anyone?