54 replies to this topic

[Oni Storm]

11:20, 15 May 3025,
Interior Modified Union Class Dropship
Docked Planetary Space Port, Bay 15
Galatia III, Fed Suns.



He flicked his eyes at Victory, hoping his cousin would say or do something to relieve his nerves. His brain knew it was the most tactically sound and efficient option available to their party, but that didn't stop it screaming DID I JUST VOLUNTEER TO FLY INTO F*CK KNOWS WHAT IN A PLACE CALLED MOTHERF*CKING DEATH VALLEY???

Victory clasped his cousin on the shoulder and began to speak, but stopped short as Gabriel began on about the precautions and his wants and desires as their employer. He whispered in his cousin's ear "Hey if the man says he's got it handled and doesn't want us to do recon, then so be it. Just be damn sure when the **** hits the fan, that your on my six so both of can get out of thing alive."

They each were shown a copy and Victory made sure to scan it into his PA for further review and a copy of his own records. Once reaching article 126 before signing anything, he looked up and motioned to his cousin, then pointed out the wording once more to himself and Althalus. He whispered "That can't be right can it? Any world in the realm? They don't just do that? If this is legit, I want to know more, like who the hell is this guy and why would they give him a choice of anywhere in the realm? Hendrick didn't even get that? Something fishy here cousin. I was in on that little discovery and they barely offered me a thank you and access to discoveries way down the line. This guy gets land on any world? That just seems too good to be true. I tell you it's wrong. I'm not signing anything til I have more info on this nut and his Pope like connections and abilities, I mean what is he hand jobbing Hance personally?"

Article 126: If, upon discovery and retrieval of lost technology, the Signer is still with the Unit, the Signer shall be entitled to a landing in the sum of 40 acres from the lands held in trust by House Davion, for the Company Owner, for rendering service to House Davion, during the Company Owner's terms, for which lands and title were awarded. The lands will be available from House Davion upon the completion of Article 126 in the retrieval of artifacts of value, and the Signer may choose to take the lands on any world within the Realm.

Victory looked it over and over again stuck on that "any" line and tried to piece more of it together, "Ok, forgive me, but what happens, if the Company owner dies on this adventure and some of us still survive and make it out with tech? You're landed title and lands would be forfeit and that rate. Also what and who rates or decides what Lost technol is? I mean I could find an electric toothbrush down there that works off of coal or something, does that count? Then there's the question of pay or compensation is we don't find anything. I didn't see that mentioned here either. The title referred to here in, is that a title only to the company owner? artifacts of value? Does that mean the land is being given to the company based on the value of the recovery? or do you already have an open land grant set aside? Is the 40 acres anywhere for each of us, or do we all have to decide together, what planet we all want land on?" Victory shifted his weight as he waited for a final question "and finally do you mind, if I get back to you on this signing in a bit? No offense Sir, but I'd like to check out some these facts and a bit more about you before I go off agreeing to anything that seems "Too Good to be True." which in regards to that, do you mind getting me a notarized copy of this contract, so I can have my lawyer look at it, with a full non-disclosure clause of course."

Edited by Oni Storm, 20 October 2012 - 11:57 AM.

[Shadtiger77]

Gabriel grinned at victory. "Your a sharp kid," he chuckled. And no, I am not personally giving Hanse a hand job," he winked. "You may use any means necessary to research it on the simple condition that Com-Star doesn't get wind of it. Obviously I would prefer it be done here, but I will understand that you will want to make sure it is verifiable... Cob!"

"Got the ships legal officer in here for a reword on the contract, there is something I did miss, and this young man found it," he ordered when the man poked his head back in. "Payment is in the early mid range of the contract..." he flipped through the pages rapidly... here... Article Thirty Eight, Sections A through D..." (The sections state A: pay of 1000 c-bills every 2 weeks, B: If Company defaults on payment/ 3months severance, C: if Signer defaults on contract, Recomp to company for losses, and D: full munitions and repairs of any vehicle or equipment personally owned that is used in Company missions. With a replacement clause if said equipment is destroyed)

"Sir?" the legal officer nodded as he walked in. "Might I ask what you forgot to put in the contract?"

"In the event I die, The company employed personnel have no clause that they are granted land. As I won't have need of it I would like to see that the acreage is doubled to eighty, as if it kills me, they have been put in sufficient danger to earn that much, and also see that there is an additional subsection that includes one percent of the profits of the liquidation of company assets in the event I die as well..." he turned to look at Victory. "Is that acceptable son?"

[Shadtiger77]

"Oh, and I can't discuss the particulars of the reasons behind why I was given the ability to choose my grant wherever I like, as the files are still classified... MIIO likes their secrets and all..." he smiled apologetically at Victory. "I can however tell you that I was the commanding officer in the situation and that My men served well above and beyond. Of the four of us one was lost and the other two were knighted and landed. They have since retired to become Gentleman farmers... I was granted the title and lands of a count, so there is a one thousand square kilometer land grant there for you to take from. There shouldn't be anyone to challenge you to the lands once you choose them. I mentioned New Avalon to his Highness, when he awarded my title, and he directly told me there isn't a thousand kilometers left to give on New Avalon, but when I explained the question, he did say that a few small acreages could be found for those who requested it... seemed to think the situation a little humorous."

[Thom Frankfurt]

Mike looked over the contract perking up as he did so. It was good pay and he particularly liked the clause that all the other mercenaries were chatting about. Land. Even if it was just a small stretch of land, it should be big enough for his to put up a shack and spend the rest of his life fishing, surfing, and smoking. The good life.

Without a second thought, Mike scribbled down his name in a surprisingly neat signature and underlined it with a showmans flair.

"I'm in." He then said simply.

[dal10]

Janus had already signed the entire document by the time everyone started discussing the contract.well if all I need to do to get started on the first part of my pilgrimage is to write my name on these pieces of papers, whats the harm? he thought. Janus did not understand the concept of a contract, as the junkers had no such concept in their own culture. Everyone did what they said they would do, because that was just the way they were raised. To him, this paper was just a piece of paper, not anything of any particular importance. As such, he had not even read it.

[pinsndneedles]

15 May 3025,
Interior Modified Union Class Dropship
Docked Planetary Space Port, Bay 15
Galatia III, Fed Suns.

Katja had read through the entire document, long as it was. The pay was decent, a good bit less than she had made in the AFFS, but enough to live off of. The full repairs clause really interested her, that would certainly offset the decrease in pay, she had been worried Gabriel would make them repair their own equipment. Article 126 had given her some pause though, but she quickly dismissed it. 'They already own my *** anyway,' she though, putting pen to paper when Victory spoke up.

She paused to listen to the short conversation between him and Gabriel. By the time they had finished she had come to the conclusion that Victory was definitely just another whiny, prettyboy aerojock who blanched at the prosepct of any uncertainty. At the same time, Gabriel had freely admitted to being MIIO, which meant he doubtless had more secrets he wasn't telling them. He had been playing it straight so far though.... Suspicion swirled in her head for a few minutes before knowledge that Davion could call her back in any time popped back up. 'Yeah, f-ck it,' she thought, 'might as well get some land for my soul.'

She put her name on the paper in a small, spidery script, gathered the papers and tapped them on the desk to organise them. She set her pen on the pile and gently slid it towards Gabriel.

"So when do we get started?" she asked with a smile, putting just a touch of emphasis on the 'we.'

Edited by Brother Grim, 21 October 2012 - 01:57 PM.

[Shadtiger77]

"Once the refueling and repairs on Red Horse are complete," he said with a smile at Katja. He had expected some of them to have questions... hell he had expected a good bit more, but then, his law officer was rather good with the contract thing. "However, once contracts are completed, we should load everyone's equipment. At least... those that are coming along," he raised an eyebrow at the flyboys. They were the only ones truly hesitating about signing, and he wasn't going to hold the whole affair back for the want of two pilots. He didn't like going anywhere without proper air support, but he also wasn't going to sit on his thumbs waiting for it.

[Oni Storm]

"In the event I die, The company employed personnel have no clause that they are granted land. As I won't have need of it I would like to see that the acreage is doubled to eighty, as if it kills me, they have been put in sufficient danger to earn that much, and also see that there is an additional subsection that includes one percent of the profits of the liquidation of company assets in the event I die as well..." he turned to look at Victory. "Is that acceptable son?"

"Sounds pretty good, let me shoot it over to our le..lawyer. Then as soon as he gets back with me, we should be go provided everything checks outs. Hopefully we'll know something by the time your done refueling, otherwise if you want to go ahead I'm sure we can catch up to you fairly quickly and easily." Victory took an immediate about-face and heading out towards the spaceport and the LAMs.

Grabbing some of his gear and reaching into the security access to the black box housing and safe, he quickly recovered to security coded defragmentor and reassembly device, that he and his cousin had been using to communicate via the HPG links back to their family, a series of sudoku puzzles that you had to purpose get some of the answers wrong in order to decode the proper corresponding letters. Heading into the space port Victory paid the extortion fee and sent a simple message hidden [encode file; full background Count Gabriel Dante & Red Hare, Davion] into the puzzles along with the usual tripe "Hey Mom, found these here at the Resort, Let me know if you get them all correct. We're having a blast. Althalus sends his best, tell his folks hey. Love ya." He then shot off one other quick note to the New Avalon Institute of Science. "Hey Professor, you ever heard anything about a Count Gabriel Dante?"

Edited by Oni Storm, 22 October 2012 - 03:25 PM.

[ivan the ghost]

having looked over the contract and signed it Ivan made ready to go get his mech The Nitro Express .

[Shadtiger77]

[time jump: 2 days]

The loading had gone by the numbers for the largest part, with the usual hitches here and there that everyone had grown used to. Once that was done, and the flight path had been confirmed, they had moved out, flying to the rolling hills and light forests near the area reserved as their proving grounds. Once there, the offload and initial day of maneuvers had gone according to plan. Formation runs, calling targets for air strikes and the usual of getting to know how to work as a team.

The next morning was when it really began. An APC was rolled down the gangplank, the door slid open for loading. Gabriel called everyone out, and nodded to the group as they arrived. "Janus, I want you on drag with the tank, Mike, I want you and the fly boys here to stand with the dropship until we clear a road in and you can get in close. If we need a lift out with a quickness, the planetlifter is going to be required to do that." Turning, he stepped aboard the APC found a seat and buckled in.

[dal10]

Gabriel Alexander Dante III, on 27 October 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

[time jump: 2 days]

The loading had gone by the numbers for the largest part, with the usual hitches here and there that everyone had grown used to. Once that was done, and the flight path had been confirmed, they had moved out, flying to the rolling hills and light forests near the area reserved as their proving grounds. Once there, the offload and initial day of maneuvers had gone according to plan. Formation runs, calling targets for air strikes and the usual of getting to know how to work as a team.

The next morning was when it really began. An APC was rolled down the gangplank, the door slid open for loading. Gabriel called everyone out, and nodded to the group as they arrived. "Janus, I want you on drag with the tank, Mike, I want you and the fly boys here to stand with the dropship until we clear a road in and you can get in close. If we need a lift out with a quickness, the planetlifter is going to be required to do that." Turning, he stepped aboard the APC found a seat and buckled in.

Janus had not slept the greatest the previous night due to the excitement of what was happening today, though he was at the moment fully awake. "Eye, commander. I will get right on point." Janus then scrambled up onto the top of his tank, and slid into the seat through the open hatch, sealing it afterwards. Janus then slid his feet into the track controls of his modified demolisher. each one encased his foot, so he could both push and pull using his feet. Pushing caused the tread on that side to go forward up to the throttle control amount, pulling caused it to go into reverse at a much lesser speed. During normal transit they are locked together to facilitate easy driving, though with slightly more effort you can pull them apart to turn, without having to precisely control the tread speed. though this requires the turret to be aligned with the nose of the demolisher. In order to turn the tank on pedal must be pushed and the other pulled. the turret rotation and targeting were handled by a joystick opposite the throttle.

"Ser-Pounce-A-Lot, is the radio working?" Janus said to his cat while he was changing into his cooling vest (I think he gets a cooling vest.) The cat nodded back that the radio was working. Then Janus double checked to make sure both of the Demolisher's cannons were loaded with their 185 mm shells. Then to everyone he said "This is Vanguard on point, I guess I am clearing the path for you guys, so I am rolling out." With that he kicked his demolisher up to its cruising speed of 32 kph, and headed off towards Death Valley, and whatever awaited the group there.

[Thom Frankfurt]

Gabriel Alexander Dante III, on 27 October 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

[time jump: 2 days]

The loading had gone by the numbers for the largest part, with the usual hitches here and there that everyone had grown used to. Once that was done, and the flight path had been confirmed, they had moved out, flying to the rolling hills and light forests near the area reserved as their proving grounds. Once there, the offload and initial day of maneuvers had gone according to plan. Formation runs, calling targets for air strikes and the usual of getting to know how to work as a team.

The next morning was when it really began. An APC was rolled down the gangplank, the door slid open for loading. Gabriel called everyone out, and nodded to the group as they arrived. "Janus, I want you on drag with the tank, Mike, I want you and the fly boys here to stand with the dropship until we clear a road in and you can get in close. If we need a lift out with a quickness, the planetlifter is going to be required to do that." Turning, he stepped aboard the APC found a seat and buckled in.

"Okay, Boss." Mike eyeballed the two LAM pilots that he'd be waiting around with while the others moved on to scout out the area where the old Star League depot was rumored to be. Not sure how to make small talk with them, he went back to his plane to wait for the call to join the others. With a sigh he slumped down on the fold down cot he mounted to the cargo hauler's bulkhead. Bored he picked up an old battered accustic guitar and began strumming away on it playing obscure patched together songs.

[pinsndneedles]

Katja fell in behind the Demolisher, cursing to herself. This convoy was moving so slowly, she could feel the engine of her Phoenix Hawk purring away beneath her feet. It wasn't particularly happy either that they were moving so slowly. She punched up a comm channel.

"Hey, just a thought, but since I'm that much faster than the rest of us shouldn't I go ahead and do some recon?"

It wouldn't do to walk into everything blind. Sure, with the concentration of firepower they had anything they came up against would go down fairly quickly. It would still take them by surprise though, and to avoid that someone had to be out front. She fired her jump jets hopped out to the right of the formation by a few meters.

[Sparks Murphey]

“Just you be careful out there, girlie. A forward scout’s no good to us if they get ambushed and killed before they can report in. I’ve had to rescue more than one scout because they’ve over-extended themselves,” Nelson chimed in, “In fact, there was this one battle on Neo-Viridia - you won’t find that on any of the maps, by the way, because of what we found there - where we had a scout that got cut off from his unit. So the lance commander ordered his lance to go in and extract the scout, but of course, they got pinned as well. Now the major ordered the company to go in to support the lance, and wouldn’t you know it, they got stuck in there too. Next thing you know, there’s d*** near a whole regiment camped on this pathetic outcrop of rock, just because one scout went too far.

“Of course, I was in my Thug then, so it was a lot easier for me to support than it is now,” he added, whirring the Chupacabra’s rock cutter for dramatic effect.

“Speaking of that Thug, Old Man, you might be pleased to know it’s right here,” Oscar cut in testily, “You go ahead, Katja. I’ve got you covered with me PPCs if you need it.”

[RogueSpear]

Althalus stomped moodily around the big dropship, examining it's outside to identify weapon mounts, sensor blisters and simply where the hull had been reshaped to fit in something bulky. After seven or eight circuits, he decided he didn't even want to know what kind of unholy sorceries powered the ugly, misshapen, blighted abomination.
He had also noticed he was in a foul mood. Returning to the hangar he mounted up into the Terror, hoping it would calm him. He responded to Victory's query with a grunt, knowing he should pay attention to what was said but simply was not bothered. Running a few preflight checks, he eventually stalked down the ramp, changing from Mech to AirMech mode midstride, trying to smooth the transition as much as possible. He grinned darkly when the guitar playing airlifter pilot jumped in shock at the loud metallic hammer strike of his retractable blade deploying. Nearly four metres of solid rolled homogeneous steel the width of a human torso and as deep as a man's head, painted a rippling midnight black.
As Victory walked out his own LAM, the Stingray, Althalus groaned petulantly. "This sucks! I can't stand this waiting!"
A moment of silence answered him before his cousin's incredulous voice replied, "Althalus, we can still see them!"