NationStates Jolt Archive

As he left, Crimond thought for a moment. "We should maintain contact. Lay an LOS transmitter in the elevator bottom to the top. We'll relay the signal. You care to bait the cannons, or shall Riev contact the Argus?"

jensen nods and Biggs and Wedge follow her up the elevator back topside. They hop back into their mecha and wait... warmer at least.

Davik: "Riev should contact the Argus."

*Davik walks up to the wall where the elevator shaft is, then turns to a nearby Marines.*

Davik: "When I bring the elevator back down, you plant the LOS transmitter. Oh, and watch this for me."

*With that, he lays down his Heavy Repeater Blaster outside the shaft, looks up the shaft, then triggers his jetpack. The Main rocket booster flares to life, and Davik is jetted upwards about halfway up the shaft. As his fuel nears it's limit, he tilts his body forward and digs the serrated wrist blade into the wall, activating the other wristblade and driving it into the wall as well to stop his downward descent. And then he begins to climb the rest of the way up, letting the macro plasma torch in his jetpack replenish the fuel.
*The going is slow, but it doesn't take long for Davik to reach the top, where the elevator is blocking his path. Pulling both blades out of the wall, Davik lets himself fall backwards, his body paralell to the ground. Then he triggered the Jetpack, rocketing away from the wall and out from under the elevator pad. Bringing his body upright, Davik guides himself to land on the pad.
*Reaching out one hand, the Mandalore presses the down button, bringing the elvator back down where the rest are.*

jensen nods and Biggs and Wedge follow her up the elevator back topside. They hop back into their mecha and wait... warmer at least.

((OOC: This happens after Davik's ascent to the top, where he then takes the express elevator back down to the bottom. :P))

On of the Marines sets the beacon on the floor of the elevator as they ride. When they reached the top, Riev fixed a second transmitter on the roof of the shaft and stepped out. He placed a beacon in the main cavern. "We should be safe here. The firing line is over there." he pointed south. Pulling out a commlink, he called the Argus and explained. Toggling to another channel, he called Crimond. The transmission went from the beacon to the topside LOS transmitter, which pulsed a low laser at the bottom of the shaft. The LOS transmitter there received that burst, then sent it to Crimond. "You ready?" Riev asked.

"Go ahead when you're all set up there, but give me heads up." Crimond replied calmly.

Riev shrugged, closing his comm. "He's a piece of work, ain't he?" he commented wryly.

OOC: Krowemoh, where are you? We've been waiting. Just hop in when you get back.

Jensen smiled, "Yeah, we're ready. Are those beacons for teleportation?"

Riev shook his head. "Nope, just for communicating past the jamming." He toggled over to the Argus's frequency. "We're go." He changed channels. "Crimond, get ready!"

The Argus flared its drives, blasting past the planet at full speed, roaring along. The Cannons began to fire as it peeled away safely.

Below, Crimond waited tensely. The crystal began to hum, to glow. The shields around the room began to flux, and the wall shield fell away. The doors flipped open with sudden motion, and energy burst forth from each, spearing the crystal, which hummed brighter and brighter. Crimond stood amid the channels of energy, his armor sparking from every electronic device. He didn't flinch, but his normal smug grin twisted into a wince as his skin tingled and his insides vibrated with the pulses. The energy flow from the doors stopped, and they began to close. The crystal, charged, began to hover, aligning on some point beyond the roof/lense. Crimond ran, his booted feet impacting the perfect ice.

Ahead, the door was almost close, the shield was recharging for the firing. He slipped, stumbled, staggered, but kept running. He was almost there. He dived forward, hitting the weakened shield, which gave with a pop. He crashed past the door before it closed, the shield snapped back into place.

He rolled to his feet, his pistol in hand. Behind him, the chamber shook as the cannon fired. He smirked again, tried to turn on his radio. There was only static. This wasn't in the plan. He felt something behind him and he spun, his gun aimed-

"That is pointless." the unseen voice boomed.

Crimond glanced around, flicked the LAM on his gun on, casting a beam of pure light before him. "Who are you?"

"Don't you know? You know everything, Crimond." The unseen voice mocked him from everywhere.

"Cute. Who are you, or I start shooting."

"Pitiful. I am the Guardian of this place."

"Great." Crimond holstered his gun, no longer afraid. "Now then, I need to make a communication to my team on the surf-"

A roar shook the room, hurling Crimond to the ground and sending his flash-glasses skittering away. "Silence! I am not some tool or trinket! You stand before power, and you do not show respect!"

"You are a novelty of a bygone era, and I have nothing to fear from a mere protocol-"

"Protocol? You insult me when you stand in my chamber? Could a protocol know you? Could a protocol show you the future?"

There was a flash, and Crimond stood back at the TSD base, his hands bloody. "This is the past." he declared, a quaver in his voice now. The scene shifted slighlty, and the dead were not his old squad but his current companions. Praetorian Janus stood behind him, holding a medal. Crimond looked at the bodies. They were dead by a 10mm pistol... the pistol he held. Janus was praiging him for this. The world was praising him. The darkness was closing- "No!" Crimond screamed suddenly, his control breaking.

"Afraid, Crimond?" the voice resounded. "Do I sense something beneath your venear? You would kill them, wouldn't you? You're a real good soldier, Crimond. You'd follow every order. You've killed on a whim, for a meaningless order, for your cosmic balance. How is this different? Why do you defy Janus? You won't dare confront your CO, would you. No, you'll follow orders. That's right. You're a good soldier."

"Get out of my mind!" Crimond screamed. He spun, holding up his hand to block the piercing light. He found his pistol on the ground, firing blindly into the light. It faded, and he lay alone on the floor. He collapsed in the chamber. Behind him, the door opened into the firing chamber.

On the surface, Riev saw the blast fade. "Crimond?" he commed. There was no answer. "We'd better go down there." he commented, his expression worried slightly. No way the spook could be wrong.

The group heads to the elevator after waiting a minute to make sure it didldn't fire again. Jensen hit a button and the door opened. Biggs, Wedge, jensen and the others get inside and the lift descends rapidly.

When they reach the chamber, Jensen immediately notes the open door.

Biggs walks towards it, and he doesn't have to go very far before he finds Crimond laying on the ground unconscious. The others rush over while he checks Crimond's pulse. "This guy is out cold! Does anyone have a hypo?"

Jensen shakes her head.

Biggs sighs, then looks up to Riev. "Riev, help me get this guy up top. We need to get him some help. Jensen, I suggest you take the others down into the chamber... be ready for anything."

They all nod and slowly walk down the hallway, while Biggs and Riev pick up Crimond and carry him to the lift.

*Davik went with the others down to check on Crimmond. While Jensen and co. went through the open door, Davik took this time to inspect the room more fully.*

Davik: "Who or whatever made this place sure knew what they were doing."

Biggs: "This guy is out cold! Does anyone have a hypo?"

*Jensen shook her head no, and Biggs asked Reiv to help carry the man. As the trio reached the elevator, Davik holds out the requested hypo.*

Davik: "I always carry a couple of these 'round, never know when one will come in handy."

*Judging by the design of the hypo Davik offered, it was a black market one, probably with extra stamina and adrenaline boosters.*

Reiv nodded his thanks and injected Crimond. The Intel agent jerked awake as they held him, flinging himself forward with a choking noise. He dived for his pistol, rolled up and around-

His eyes unglazed, and he lowered the gun, breathing hard and trying to survey the room around him. He shuddered a bit, then dropped against the wall. As he noticed the others staring at him, he sneered a little. "What are you looking at? There's still a mission to complete." He leaned against the wall and tried to regain complete control.

Riev shook his head. "I think he means thank you."

Meanwhile...
Above the planet, the Argus was running scans when they picked up a very slight anomoly. Johanson leaned over the junior officer's shoulder. "What do we have here?" he muttered. "Shields up. Charge batteries." he ordered, and the ship sprang into action. "Warn the Capsule ship and the Icarus that we have a bogey on sensors."

In space, the disturbance grew and grew, becoming monstrous. Then, with a tremendous flash, the Overlord appeared in space, accompanied by its support group. Johanson turned white as the Dreadnought rumbled forward. "Praetorian Janus." he hissed.

The channel opened, and Janus dominated the main viewscreen. He was a big man, his dark hair slicked back, wearing ornate black armor with a cape behind. It was black on the outside, Imperial purple on the inside. On his ornate breat plate was the silver Seal of the Republic. A small cap sat on his head, and he had numerous cords around his shoulders. His voice carried quite well inside each ship as he transmitted from the bridge of the Dreadnought Overlord. "I see you've already arrived to aide us, Captain Monroe. That is good, and as it should be. We send you our heartfelt thanks." There was no gratitude in his tone. "Now, if you will kindly relinquish the Artifact to me."

Monroe answered, standing in front of his command chair in salute. "Yes, sir. We are down on the planet now, attempting to recover it."

Janus nodded. "As it should be. Are the Indiginous down on the planet with you?"

"Yes, sir. They are our allies, the Capsule Corporation-"

"Allies? You made allies? Since when were you an ambassador, Captain?" The mocking tone became angry. "Only with the Chancellor's permission can you make these decisions! And the way to the Chancellor is thorugh me. You never came to me, Captain, so this alliance is treason!" Janus smiled cooly. "Now, I suggest you follow orders, Captain, or I'll have your entire crew hanged."

"Yes, sir." Monroe said, defeated and frightened. "What are your orders, sir?"

"Recover the Artifact, of course. And don't let the Indies have it. As a matter of fact..." Janus motioned, and the transmission was sent to the Aaron, "Capsule Ship, I would recommend surrendering now. I wouldn't want to have to waste ammunition on a non-threat."

Deeply confused, commander Gidoni responded, standing up from his chair, "Surrender?! Who are you to--"

A bridge officer below him whispered something along the lines of "I wouldn't mess with that guy if I were you..."

Gidoni sighed and said to the Praetorian, "Fine... We'll get out of here. Can you allow us to recover our men back down on the planet? We will not leave without them."

An officer suddenly linked a message to his brain, CCSS Valiance on its way for a check-up, ETA 30 minutes...

Gidoni smiled knowingly as he waited for the Praetorian's response.

Janus nodded politely. "You have ten minutes. Then we open fire. I would not delay." Around the Dreadnought, the rest of the battlegroup set up a screen, an impressive display of might.

In the cave...
Riev pointed to a large ark. "I think that's our Artifact. Let's get it topside." He motioned to two Marines, who picked it up. They headed for the elevator.

Gidoni sighed, "We can not transmit a message to the surface, we have to wait for them to leave the planet, but they will leave shortly. Don't worry, We'll let you have the artifact."

*Davik walked alongside Riev as the Marines carried the artifact to the surface.*

Davik: "This is the last artifact, no?"

Riev shook his head. "Probably not. These things are everywhere and anytime, hidden by the Elder races for our fight against the Shadow. We're kinda hijacking them to help this reality against the Red Dragon." He shrugged. "Some people think that that is treason, but I don't see how saving lives is being a traitor." The elevator approached the surface.

Crimond, leaning against the wall, commented. "There's a Gate Forge in this dimension. I'm sure of it."

Riev was about to snap a reply when the elevator reached the surface. Outside, a hologram stood in the chamber. It was a projection of Janus. The projected Janus glared at all of them, declared. "Take this artifact to the Overlord. All TRSN personell, return immeadiately. Others leave immeadiately before we destroy you. You have stolen TRSN materia, and are lucky we are not killing you know."

Riev looked confused. "Sir?" he declared. "We need this to defeat the Red Dr-"

"It doesn't matter what it's being used for. No one else shall possess them. This reality can burn, for all I care. This is needed for the War."

"Sir-"

"Silence, Marine. Now, return to your shuttle with the artifact." The image vanished, and Riev stood, dumbfounded.

Jensen throws a fit internally.

Biggs on the other hand, whips his shotgun off his back and cocks it hard. He aims it towards Crimond, probably stupidly. "You are not taking this. We NEED this artifact!"

"Biggs, stand down."

"Screw you Jensen, I won't tolerate this."

Jensen sighed helplessly. She couldn't change Biggs' mind if she wanted to...

Crimond dived for a rock, yelling some odd phrase. Riev caught part of it, and it sounded like a string of greek letters. Around him, over half of the Marines raised their rifles at Jensen, Biggs, Wedge, and Davik. Riev glanced around, stupefied. "What the-"

Crimond silenced him with a wave of his pistol from behind cover. "Did you really think that I wouldn't seed your squad in case of something bad? Ravens are much more reliable than Marines, anyway. Now," he sneered, "Throw down that shotgun, Biggs. No one has to be hurt here. Just turn over the artifact, and we'll settle this in a civilized manner. You'll all be held under house arrest until we have cleared the system, then you'll be released."

Riev began to speak, "You can't expect them to do that!"

"I don't expect it. I demand it. Now, step over here with us, or you can be hung for treason." For a moment, his expression softened. "I never wanted to see this. But orders are orders."

"Damnit, Crimond!" Riev swore. "I won't let you... let Janus, get away with genocide. Hang me if you want, but I won't step away."

Crimond's face twisted in disgust. "Fine. It's your move, Biggs." The squad of Marines held at the ready, their weapons ready.

Biggs didn't flinch. Wedge and Jensen stood silenmt, but scared.

Biggs spoke up calmly, yet angrilly. "You said we could use it. You have no right to just take it! That is OUR salvation you are taking, and you have absolutely no use for it in your relaity and you know it."

Crimond responded. "Come on, my man. This is suicide. You against twelve fully armed Marines, on a planet with a fleet in orbit? You can only lose! At least this way you have a way to recover and do some good against the enemy. If you're dead, you're worthless." He grimaced a little, "And about the tech... it is a Dimensional Scanner, which we could use to track Shadow transitions before they dropped on our heads, and this tech could give us the edge."

Crimond readied his gun to shoot. He didn't intend to kill the man. If he could help it, he would shoot the gun. Barring that, the gun arm would work. But he wouldn't disobey an order... that Artifact would leave this planet in his hands, or not at all.

Biggs thought for a moment, looking at the anti-matter shells strapped to the side of his weapon... there was about 10 different ways he could easily take out all those marines at once.

Instead, he realized the futility and angrily threw his shotgun against the wall hard, smacking the ice with a loud clank and rattle as it hit the floor.

"That's right." Crimond stated. "That's the only way. Ravens, bind them." Several of the pseudo-Marines moved in with stun-cuffs while others stood back to give cover. Crimond motioned to Davik. "Sorry, buddy, but lose the armor. We can't bind you in that weaponry."

Riev glared coldly as he was cuffed. His eyes never left Crimond as he was knocked down. "You'll get yours." he declared icily.

Crimond shrugged it off. "You chose this path. Now, none of the rest of you will be harmed. Once this is over, we'll release you all, everything given back." He commed the Overseer, "I've got everything under control. We're boarding the transports now." The Ravens moved their prisoners towards the shuttles and prepared for lift off. Crimond thought for a second, then turned to Davik again. "Dress like a Marine." he threw BDUs at the man. "Janus would kill you if you're seen."

Riev glared at Crimond again. "What's this? Compassion? Isn't that against orders?"

Crimond ignored him as the shuttle began to lift.

OOC: Better wait for Krowemoh.

The CC Trio communicated via CapsuLink between themselves while being dragged to the ship. They all agreed to put their mecha on standby anbd prepare to access the remote control.

They would shoot the shuttle down as a last resort... that is, if the Planet's weaponry didn't do it themselves.


Back on the Aaron, an officer notified Commander Gidoni that the Valiance was less than 15 minutes away.

*Davik watched with disinterest as Biggs and Crimmond went into a showdown. It wasn't his fight, and he had little intention of getting himself involved. Biggs then threw down his shotgun, and then the Marines were handcuffed. Crimmond turned to Davik then.*

Crimmond: "Sorry, buddy, but lose the armor. We can't bind you in that weaponry."

Davik: "I'll lose the armor only if I'm allowed to store it on my ship first."

*He awaited the other man's reply.*

((OOC: Hey CC, the Capsulinks, can they transmit radio waves, or function as a cummincator of sorts? If they can, they (Jensen, Biggs, Wedge) could send Davik a message if they want him to free them, or to go along quietly. I got an idea for either way, so it works with me. ^.^))

Crimond considered the man's request. Well, this is a trap, but he has a legitimate request. Compromise. "Althos, Derrin, Xalliph, go with Davik. Make sure he doesn't pull anything." He turned to Davik. "I'm not against you here. My men will not harm you unless provoked, and they will not kill you unless you force that situation. I'm trying to maintain a Zero-loss game here. You have heard of Game Theory, right?" he shrugged. "Just do as I say, and every one of us walks away from here. If you don't, some of us won't. Who that is, I don't know yet, but if you break the Zero-loss boundaries, we're in a Loss situation. That's all of us."

*Davik shrugged non-chalantly.*

Davik: "Works for me."

*With that he and the three Ravens venture on over to the Slave V, Davik's remote access allowing them entrance to the patrol ship. Inside, Davik removes his black and red armor and returns it to it's hanger in the cockpit, then dons the Marine BDUs. With that out of the way, he returns to where Crimmond and the others are.*

Davik: "Crimmond, you're lucky I don't care particular much for this whole ordeal. In my line of work, double crossers don't live very long..."

Crimond shrugged. "Only the best live. But those best are damn good." He motioned to the Ravens. "Load 'em up. Let's get out of here before Janus slags the place out of spite."

The shuttles, loaded, rose into the sky. In orbit above, the Argus was dwarfed by the tremendous Overlord and its support ships, all of them military. The pilot whistled appreciatively as the shuttle entered the cavernous bay. Inside, several picket ships rested, along with other shuttles. The fighters were kept far away.

Crimond spoke to the passengers. "Everyone, this is just a layover. I'll give the Artifact to Janus, he'll be placated, you will all be released. Riev, you can back out now."

"No." The lieutenant declared defiantly.

Crimond sighed. "Very well. Davik, remain in disguise, unless you want Janus to make you a dead man. Ravens, watch him closely, but pretend he's one of you. Okay, I'll be going now." With that, Crimond, followed by two Ravens carrying the artifact, left the shuttle.

Reiv sat in the shuttle for moment. "Bastard!" he swore.

There was a clipping impact of a boot heel on the entrance ramp. The Ravens on board saluted as the officer boarded. This officer bore a seal on his ornate armor, the symbol of Praetorian Janus's elite guard. He looked around the hold and smiled darkly. "It's time for your interviews..."

*Davik saluted the officer a mere milisecond after the Ravens did, and remained so until the other Revans went to ease. He mimiced the nearest Raven, and although he lacked much knowledge of the Ravens, he was confident that his disguise would hold, unless one of the others gave him away.*

((OOC: Bumping for peace, justice, and the last slice of pizza! Go Teen Titens! *Passes out.* Must... Sleeeeeeeeeeep...))