IC

The stapping Human enforcer rises to his feet and looks at Bud
and speaks. "Bud, you tub of goo, I didn't think you had it in you to
escape. What happened to your travelling companion? Hey how many Drals
does it take to...Oh forget it! Who are your friends?"

"Payne's starts to look at the the rest of the party. He stands
just over six feet tall. Payne wears a rather dirty military uniform.
Those familliar with White Light will recognize the uniform as that
of a branch of the service that is made up of off worlders who fight
for White Light(OCC: much like the French Foreign Legion.) Even in
captivity he has retained the composure of a soldier. He bears a 2 inch
scar down the left side of his face. His dark hair is now close to
shoulder length. His intense green eyes carefully study each member of
the party.
    BudRREEPboopboopboop pauses a moment from unloading supplies from the
supply room with Telgar and turns toward the human prisoner.  He offers him
the White Light salute that Payne taught him in captivity, and says,
"GEEEECH-gloop-burrrUUUP!"  His poly-vox translates, "I *told* you I would be
back for you, Payne, old chap!  Did I not?  I regret to inform you that my
companion DARgoop was vaporized by our captors in our attempt to escape.  I,
however, made it out by the epidermis of my membrane.  Not bad for a
terraformer from Inner Reach, wot?"
  Bud places his pseudo-extremity on his belt, caresses his albedo screen,
and says, "GABBLE-gruuuuup-SCREEEECH."  His poly-vox translates, "I only wish
I had been equiped with *this* device at the time.  I may have been able to
get the others out alive with more protection.  Nevertheless, I kept my
promise when I told you I would not let you perish here, did I not?"
  Bud tosses Payne two doze grenades from the supply crate and says,
"Burble-BOOP!"  His poly-vox translates, "Now I say, old man, arm yourself
with a couple of these and help us rescue the others."
  Bud points a pseudo-digit at each party member, "My friends are Kah'liss,
Brenon, Raleigh, and Telgar."  (Bud blatantly omits one.)  "Gentlemen, meet
T.J. Payne."
    Payne then speaks to the group. "Who is incharge of this unit,
and what brings you the garden spot of Volturnus?"
   Bud steers clear of *that* little Pandora's Box.  He defers to the rest of
the group to let them argue that one out for themselves, and returns to
inventorying the loot.
    Zhirrzh slides a careful eye over the newly freed prisoner. The steady stance and confident demeanor told him that this man was a warrior. Nodding mentally to himself, Zhirrzh hoped that the man fought as hard as he looked.
        He notices that the cowardly Dral had omitted him from his list of "friends." A toothy, satisfied grin escaped Zhirrzh's lips, despite his best efforts at suppressing it. The Dral was rattled. That was good. As Zhirrzh listed to the rest of the conversation unfold, an idea began to take form.
    With no immediate answer from anyone else, Zhirrzh steps forward. "Brenon gives the orders around here."
     Deciding that he didn't know enough about the Lab or Computer rooms to be of any use, Zhirrzh decides to search the Power Generator room.
The freed prisoner asks which of the group was the leader.
     Brenon steps up at the question of leadership. "That would be me." Brenon says, emotionless. He extends his left arm; so as not to have his gun arm occupied. "You're welcome to join us if you wish....."
    Brenon leaves the offer hanging and moves on to give more orders. "Telgar, retrieve our subspace radio from the explorer, we're long overdue to send a signal to Pale? Zhirrzh, I'd like you come with me to the communications room, you're right about checking those comm logs? Kah'liss, continue to see to Raliegh, and check out our new friend here. After you're done there I believe you'll find some things of interest that need to be logged in the Laboratory....."
     Brenon and Zhirrzh step over the dead body of a pirate and enter the
     Radio Room. On the desk is a radiophone that is obviously not working.
     It is dismantled and some of the parts are lying about on the desk. A
     logbook also sits on the desk. Brenon picks the book up and begins
     thumbing through it.
        After examining the book, Brenon and Zhirrzh find that one
     transmission is made every day at sunset from the outpost to somplace
     called "Slave City One." The last few days reports the radio
     transmission becoming increasingly poor. The last entry in the log
     book was yesterday's sunset (remember, it is about 4am right now).
     The last entry reads "Problems with primary radio circuitry - will
     repair tomorrow. Transmitter chip probably bad."
        The notes in the log are short and cryptic, and most just
     acknowledge the communicaiton with Slave City One was complete. Just a
     few have side notes, such as the following: "Edestekai research good."
      "Rodnium ore dep. found" and "Another escape attempt. Killed
     escapees."   The last note, dated 2 weeks ago, states "all prisoners
     sent to Slave City except one, T.J. Payne kept here...Outpost
     reinforced since loss of copter, all well."
        BudRREEPboopboopboop hangs over the side of one of the crates, digging deep
down to the bottom, his pseudopod legs wagging in the air as he balances
precariously on the edge of the crate.  He hears Brenon mutter the log entry
and his voice echos from the bottom of the crate, "Buuuurg BeDEEP."  His
polyvox translates: "Not all of us."
    Euromada, the head of the Kurabanda warriors, seeks Brenon out. In
     his familiar broken Pan-Gal, he tells Brenon they are ready to return
     home, as it is early and the Kurabanda will be expecting them. They
     want to take the heads of the defeated pirates home as trophy.
         Following orders, Telgar makes another trip out to the Explorer and retrieves the sub-space radio. After making his best attempt at setting it up, he ventures over to check on Raleigh. "How's he doing, Kah'Liss?
       Payne steps towards Kah'Liss, stoping a respectful distance from the
Vrusk as not to interfere in the of the wounded Human. Payne then snaps
to attention, straring off at something without blinking. He continues
this until he is spoken to.
    BudReeep heads back into the corridor and upon seeing the freed human in trance, speaks. Bud plops back down onto his pseudopod legs, studying a gizmo from the crate
and notices Payne in a trance.  He snaps his pseudodigits toward Payne to try
to awaken him, "Pynnn!  Pyynnnnnn.  GarEEEP DudOOOp!"  [Polyvox translation:
"Payne!  Payne!  I say, old chap, on your toes, wot?  What's eating you, old
man?"]
       Zhirrzh walks lazily down the hall, carrying a supply of charged items back to the Explorer. He stops momentarily over the body of LStaric, just long enough to spit on the smear that is LStaric's head. Satisfied, he continues on to the Explorer.
 
    Satisfied with his find in the radio room, Brenon will enlist Telgar's help in searching the remainder of the rooms. Again, stressing to Kah'liss the importance of logging everything in the Lab room.
 
Brenon speaks into his chronocomm:
"Telgar, when you're finished with the supplies I could use your hands and eyes, in searching the remainder of the rooms. Kah'liss, when your finished with the wounded, find them a spot in the living quarters to rest the remainder of our visit....after that I need you in the Lab examining everything in there... And Telgar, tell Bud on your way to the radio room that I'd like him to round up the Kurabandai and tell them we'll be leaving shortly......"
    When Telgar arrives, he an Telgar will go through each room, CAREFULLY searching it for anything useful.
    Payne turning to Bud, "I do not need medical attention at this time.
While Kah'Liss tends to the wounded I am going to look for some real
weapons. These doze gernades are fine if your a pacifist. I am not a
pacifist. With that Payne walks off to what is left of the dead Vrusk.
Payne looks to see if the headless corpse that was formerly Lstaric has
any worth while equipment. The blood and guts that surround the stiff
does not bother him, almost as if it was sight he was all to familliar
with.
    Telgar acknowledges Brenon's request and finishes with the sub-space radio. On the way to the radio room to meet Brenon, Telgar speaks to Bud, "Hey Bud, Brenon says to gather the Kurabandai together and let them know we will be leaving shortly." With that, Telgar reports to Brenon.
    Brenon and Telgar enter the Power generator room as Kah'liss, after
     making sure the wounded Raleigh is as comfortable as possible, heads
     to the Lab to investigate the strange creature there.
 
     POWER GENERATOR ROOM
        In this room is a small type 1 power generator and a small reactor
     which powers the generator itself. It is the central power supply for
     the outpost. Nothing else is of importance here. Brenon and Telgar
     make their way into the computer room.
 
     COMPUTER ROOM
        "Ahh," Telgar says as he takes a seat at the computer. This guys is
     locked all up. He gives a grin to Brenon. "I know a bit more than the
     muscle, this computer business has come in handy quite a few times."
     He begins chattering on the keyboard, announcing what the
     security-locked system is presenting to him.
        "Looks like a level 3 system with a few programs running on it -
     Computer Security, Installation security....Information storage...
     hrmm, Life support....Analysis. This baby is loaded."
        "Can you get anything out of it?" Brenon asks.
        Telgar shakes his head. "I don't know anything about breaking this
     security program...I tell you who could do that -- Raleigh. It looks,
     though, like the data in this thing is encrypted. I can tell by some
     of the data footprints here." The enforcer looks odd as he looms over
     the computer, typing away with the finess of the stereotypical wiry
     programmer. "If indeed this stuff is encrypted, I can give a hand at
     cracking it. I don't think Raleigh has any Cryptography experience.
     Kah'liss might not like it, but if you want to get into this thing
     now, Raleigh's gonna have to crack it."
 
 
     LAB AND RESEARCH
        Kah'liss examines the lab, the operated-on creature, the notebooks,
     and the rock samples. After 20 minutes of investigation, he reports.
        "Looks like the pirates have found good deposits of vibrillium and
     tomarium, rare minerals, somewhere around here and are preparing to
     build a second mining operation here. They've discovered an
     intelligent race, this being here, who call themselves 'Edestekai'.
     These live in the hills far to the northeast, near 'Slave City One'.
     it appears the pirates have taken advantage of their religious beliefs
     to enslave them. They accomplish this by capturing priests, planting
     radio receivers in their brains, and convincing them that the voices
     they then hear are the voices of the gods. Of course, the voices are
     the Star Devil, telling them they must serve and obey the Star Devil
     and his men.
        "This Edestekai has been operated on, but is quite dead. Either the
     surgery failed, or was abandoned. This facility is quite nice, and I
     should be able to use it to aid with Raleigh's treatment (+1 Column to
     medical rolls here, as it is a well-stocked medical room)."

    Raleigh...
Wind and sand blasted away at the small, twenty-two man platoon as they trekked across the Sulana plains of Verakoss. With steep mountains on either side, a sort of natural wind tunnel was created, one that pushed winds in excess of 60mph regularly through the narrow valley. Verakoss was the fourth planet in the Demir system, deemed classified by the UPF and thus "off-limits" to civilian traffic. Due to it's ideal position at the crossroads of frontier space and suspected Sathar space, Verakoss had become a listening post of sorts in anticipation of another Sathar invasion.

The patrol itself was one of the more famous units under the UPF's ground command wing, the Skeleton Crew. The 121st Light Infantry Brigade was famous for their rapid response teams. More than once the 121st had been called in to quell a rebellion, bring under control a prison riot, or end a terrorist holdout.

The commander of the 121st was Vice Dragoon Ear Dahna De, a Yazian of modest temper and outstanding leadership ability. The reason, however, for the Skeleton Crew's success of late was the addition of an exceptional battlefield command structure, lead by Captain Dan Thoms. Capt Thoms had seen a great deal in his day. From his first days in the White Light Colonial Marines, his commanders knew he was destined for greatness when he lead a team of marines to retake the Port Loren Governers office after it had been taken by Pirates in an effort to hold the governor for ransom. From there, he served aboard the CMS Osprey as a boarding team member, fought in numerous small civil wars, and was awarded the Service Star for exceptional bravery in ending a corporate war on Pale, Truans Star.

As a new gust of wind blew sand and dust across the barren plains, Capt Thoms peered through his omnoculars at the horizon ahead. Just hours ago, command had given information of several landings in the area. What was unknown was wether they were civilian explorers looking for a mining boom, military aircraft out of radio contact, or other. It was quite normal for civilian shuttles to squeek through the light outer defenses of the system and try to setup shop. What Dan didnt like is that now that they were within half a click of the suspected landing sight, still he could see nothing. Only a series of large rock formations loomed in the distance.

Turning to his senior NCO, Dan pulled down the mask shielding his mouth and nose from the elements and shouted over the howling wind. "Zebra, get on the comm and see if command has any more details on this landing, I dont like this one bit!" The big Yazirian gave the thumbs up and then moved back into the formation in search of the radio man. Another downside of operating in the Sulana plains was that only high powered radios stood a chance of relaying a message out of the high peaks and through the heavy storms.

Dan took a moment to locate his point man in the omnoculars. Landon,the second youngest of his four brothers, crouched next to a boulder forty yards down track. After the death of his father, Dan had promised his mother that he would personally look after all four of his brothers. Three, Trevor, Landon, and Desval, all served in the military. Trevor was a gunner on the UPFS Biedmont, a light cruiser in the Fromeltar system. Landon and Desval had been assigned to Dan's squad, much to the disapproval of his superiors. Raleigh, on the other hand, was a differnet story. That one had decided to join some mercenary organization under Streel and take off across the galaxy on a glory hunt. At least, Dan thought as he waited for Zebra to return, he would be safe and out of harms way.

A few moments later and the big NCO came lumbering back through the wind, which had begun to die down over the last ten minutes or so. "Mulge cant raise command on the stack, says it may be the storm!" Zebra shouted through the wind, the irritation in his voice easily apparant. Dan shook his head in disappointment, "Bullshit! we didnt have any trouble at all three hours ago and we arent much farther, get back there and have that smelly Humma try again!" The comment was made more as a joke than anything as Dan had close ties to everyone in his unit, even their seemingly suicidal Dralasite heavy gunner BugRush(pronounced BuoyRoosh).

Zebra nodded and began to speak again when suddenly a great thunderclap sounded in the distance. Every member of the Skeleton Crew was trained and well disciplined and no sooner had the sound been heard than all 21 members were under what cover they could find, boulders, shrubs or even just a small mound of dirt. Dan and Zebra both found a place behind a 5' high boulder along with their grenadier, Joskins. "Find me that shooter!" Dan yelled over his comm headset while he tracked over the left mountain ridge with his rifle scope, looking for a possible snipers perch.

"Man down!" Zebra yelled almost immediately, pointing ahead of their postion. Dan, rising to a knee, could already feel the fear burning in his stomach at what he hoped wasnt true...but it was. Lying face down next to the boulder was Landon, a pool of blood was already forming just under his left armpit. "No!" Dan yelled, lunging forward to rush to his brothers aid, it took three men to keep him under cover. Zebra, seeing the distress on his long time friends face, decided to take action.

"Ok people, I need three teams. Fire lance will provide covering fire. Concentrate most of it on those rocks ahead. Knight lance, move in on the left flank and stay close to those hills. I need three men with me, were going to get Landon." In a concert of precision, the members of the Skeleton Crew moved quickly to their positions and waited for the go. Zebra, with Dan, Joskins, and the Ifshnit medic Pekis close behind, waited for all teams to give the green light before ordering the commencement. With that, a concerted barrage was placed on the rock outcroppings 120 meters from their position. Between two of the 7.62mm machineguns, 1 sonic devestator, 2 rocket launchers, and another seven assault rifles the rock formations became a symphony of destruction and chaos.

During that time, the four members of the recovery team sprinted all out at Landons position. The seconds passed like hours as each man sped as fast as possible, hoping that the sniper would indeed be surpressed by the covering fire. Finally reaching Landon, Dan first grabbed his brothers limp body and drug him to better cover behind the small collection of boulders nearby. With Zebra and Joskins providing cover, Pekis began to apply immediate first aid. The shot, no doubt made by some form of high powered rifle, had struck him just below the left peck. In great pain, Landon fought for air through ragged and heaving breaths. He had already lost a great deal of blood and even though the body armor he wore had absorbed a good deal of the blow, it still appeared as if the shot may become mortal.

"How is he," Dan hissed though clenched teeth as he stroked his brothers hair tenderly, cradling the young man's head in his lap. Pekis, between injections and patching, looked up at his commander and shook his head somberly. "If we dont get him back to base soon, he's as good as gone."

Tapping his headset communicator, Dan hailed Knight Lance, specifically the radio operator Mulge. "Mulge, do you have anything from command yet?" Mulge, normally full of piss and vinegear and willing to crack a joke, had an almost sick sound to his voice. "Sir, base is putting out a mayday...theyve been overrun." Dan would have cursed and taken a moment to think had there luck not gone from bad to worse at just that moment. "Sathar!" Zebra hollered over the howling winds before shouldering his assault rifle and letting off a string of short bursts at the rocks ahead. Dan, gently lowering his brothers head to the sandy ground, took a moment to peer over their cover.

In the rock formations some sixty meters away, the rocks began crawling with Sathar. So many in fact, that they were beginning to move into the hills to the teams left in an effort to flank and expose his mens vulnerable side. The war had begun.

 
.....

fin.