Post by Malik Moriga-Tay on Apr 24, 2014 15:28:09 GMT
“Of course ambassador….we can but hope…..yes well, I look forward to meeting with you again soon.”
Karrin Kora-Tay touched her ear piece and disconnected from the comms channel. “Damn” she thought, sitting back on the edge of her desk and starring out of the view port in her spartan cabin “this never gets easier.” Since the Caldari conquest, Mordu occupation and subsequent withdrawal the politics of maintaining Intaki interests between the Assembly and the Federal Government had become a dance without end.
Megathrons made for poor diplomatic transports, but a few homeworld comforts made a stay aboard almost bearable. Kicking off her shoes she curled her toes through the thick woven rug carpeting her office quarters and considered the tasks ahead
“Excuse me Ma'am, you have a priority call holding on an encrypted channel”
The voice of her aid Tomas Merrat brought her out of her thoughts and back to the present. Wearily she closed her eyes and raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose before replying “No more calls today please Tomas, we will be at the conference tomorrow so all this can wait to be done in person.”
“Sorry Ma'am, but it’s your daughter…should I decline the connection?” he replied.
Her eyes remained closed as she paused for just a second before responding “No, please patch her through directly Tomas…and then ensure I’m not disturbed until I call for you again.”
“Certainly. Call patched through, line clean and secure. Let me know if you need anything else this evening” came the aids reply.
“Namas Mottie darling, such an unexpected pleasure.” Karrin's tone was light and pleasant.
There was a silent pause before she heard a response.
“Namas kamjaitil, is this a good time? I can always try again later if you’re busy?” Malik asked.
Karrin turned away from the hulking shapes of the escort cruisers silhouetted against the starscape of her viewing portal and sat down at her desk. She kept her voice level and tone warm even as her hands worked rapidly on the command pad embedded in the desks glassy surface.
“You know I always make time for you dear…though you sound stressed…is anything the matter?” she asked calmly, eyes scanning over the information hurriedly projected before her.
“Oh I’m ok, busy fighting the good fight and all.” Malik replied with a small laugh.
“I hope your new corporation colleagues are keeping you out of trouble?” She scanned over the summarised intelligence reports held on the FedNet database.
“Quite a colourful group I see. So to what do I owe the honour of this late call?”
“Well, I had an interesting conversation with a new friend over a glass or two of wine and, attempted abduction and death threat aside it was quite enjoyable.”
Karrin’s finger tapping paused.
“What possible reason would anyone have to kidnap you darling?” she asked, quickly initiating a trace program on the call.
“That’s a good question”. Malik replied with a sigh. “I don’t think I was really the target, more a bonus I guess, though it bruises my ego to say so. No, their focus was directed elsewhere.” She paused briefly before continuing. “Thing is they had access to certain information on me, info that you were supposed to have buried nice and deep. Now the suspicious part of me is curious as to why you would be hiring freelancers to covertly investigate your own family….?”
The computer screen flashed up its findings. Trace complete. DED facility, Scolluzer six, Ancbeu, Verge Vendor.
“Freelancers I hire?” Karrin replied innocently, her practiced politicians mind swiftly sorting through possible lines and then discarding them just as quickly. Denial and damage limitation seemed the most sensible course so she waited for Malik to continue.
“I did wonder why you would just not just task Fed intelligence but, as the nice lady seemed to be to pursuing links with Serpentis I understand your desire to use discreet channels. Having family involvement with those pirates would surely harm your diplomatic standing no?” she asked.
“I could say that the only connection we have with those beasts is the one you established dear” Karrin replied curtly, deciding to push a few of her daughter’s buttons for a reaction. “The evidence was clear, and the only reason you avoided criminal proceedings for your actions was my desire not to tarnish you good name or hinder your chances of redemption” She tried a softer tack “You fell hard dear, and it took a lot of time and resources to get you back up and on your feet.”
“I know what you did.” came Malik’s whispered response. “Though I have no doubt it was as much to serve your own gains as much as to save me. As for redemption…” Malik let the sentence go unfinished, her laugh sounding bitter and without humour, though the concept seemed to amuse her.
“Though it brings us back again. Why commission a freelance investigation if there is no threat?” She spelt out her thinking “As I see it either Father had no knowledge of the actions occurring in his own facility, which I find doubtful. Or he was involved, which I find unforgivable.”
Again Karrin made no reply or denial, instead allowing her silence to draw her jajukham
to continue.
“So I’m appealing to your self interest, as I know that trait is strong in our family. The agent you contacted seems to have commissioned a group who are keen to act on their own initiative. Their brief may have been to gather information to locate Father and ascertain any Serpentis involvement. However they seem to have decided to extend their remit to investigate you and your connections in Intaki affairs. Now I don’t care what you have to do or what bargains you have to make with the demons of Placid to promote or protect Intaki interests….but I know your enemies would love that intel. Against leverage, blackmail or something else, its in your interests to help me….you unleashed the dogs, unfortunately they have your scent as well….”
“What is it you want from me?” Karrin asked calmly, her voice giving no indication to the concern she now felt.
“Just the name and location of the agent you commissioned” came Malik's simple reply.
“And if I give you a name of an agent who deals with this kind of enquiry what do you intend to do with the knowledge?”
“Just what you wanted. Ill find the contact, then persuade him to give me the details of the freelancers who accepted the contract. Then it will be a case of finding out all they know before cleaning this all up nice and neatly.”
Karrin considered her response for a full minute before tapping out a simple message on her console. “I’m admitting to nothing of course” the practised line came easily “but I promise you I have no involvement with Serpentis…you know that don’t you Mottie?” she asked in an almost convincingly sincere tone.
“Oh I know” Malik replied levelly “for if I thought for a second that you did this conversation would have been an awful lot shorter.”
Banking away from the Gallante diplomatic convoy Scarab turned and set a course for the system coordinates he had just received.
=============================================================
The station was in ruins. Hull breaches were clearly visible and entire sections were as dark as the void outside their buckled hulls.
“What a mess.” she thought.
The stations attackers had stopped short of complete destruction, primary targets seemed to have been the habitation modules and docks. The few twisted frigate wrecks seen showed that they had been successful in burning most in their hangers.
“Not a capsuleer attack then” she thought.
“How can you be sure?” came the reply.
“Stations still here of course” she answered grimly.
Scarab slowly orbited the structure as she reviewed the passive scan information collected. Control and operations sections showed atmosphere, along with four faint life signs.
“This is a stupid idea.”
She moved silently through the ruined hanger, occasional flashes from damaged power relays doing little to light the cavernous surroundings. The air, while still breathable, held a distinct taste of ozone and burnt metal.
“I don’t think the locals are having a good day.”
She scanned over the data again, checking the integrity of the section. Atmospherics and structural intensity indicators shimmered green, alongside the orange and purple warning flashes indicating large scale damage from multiple explosive and kinetic impacts. All internal systems were offline, so she had to rely on the data gleaned before disembarking Scarab to navigate her way.
The airlock was blown, scorching indicating breaching charges had been used. Burn marks and now cool brass casings attested to a brief and bitterly one sided fire fight.
The access corridor beyond was partially in darkness, ceiling panels dislodged by the concussive blast used to gain access.
“If there are combat troops here we are going to be spitting pod goo before we find out anything useful. Your not exactly dressed for a fight and, to be fair, you’re a rotten shot.”
Silently she drew the 12mm pistol from its place in the small of her back and regarded it for a moment. The magazine of crystalline capped rounds disappeared into a pocket as she slid home the spare.
“Now it wont matter.”
A change in the tone of her footsteps brought her to a stop. She looked down in disgust as the congealing liquid left a brown mark on the suede of her boot.
“Well those are ruined.” she noted with distaste.
She found the first body soon afterwards. He lay on his back eyes fixed at some point above only he could now see, his greenish grey uniform contrasting nicely with the bloated red and purple of his insides splashed across the walkway. His friends had fared little better, limbs and torsos stretched out silently marking the colourful passage of the stations attackers.
“I don’t think we are going to be talking to any contacts here today.”
“Lets just see if we can work out what they got” she thought in reply.
Twenty minutes later and two false turns found her crouching at the intersection between the stations small operations centre and comms room. Murmured voices and the occasional sound of machinery showed that the occupants were busy with their allotted tasks, confident that they were the only living aboard.
She moved further back into the shadow and tried to make herself seem small. “Run? stay? what if they have heart beat monitors, or thermal, or CO2 detectors.. they will find us!” The thoughts crashed through her head, realisation that she was out of her depth threatening to allow panic to seep in.
“Hush now” came the ever calming voice. “Breath. They don’t know we are here. Stations systems are offline remember?. Four trained men in a straight fight is bad news…so lets avoid a straight stand up fight. Training or no they will never be as fast as us….we just need to thin them out first.”
She kicked off her shoes and silently retraced her steps back to the last pile of corpses. Smiling faintly she paddled through the congealing blood pooled on the floor until she was covered to her knees. Selecting a spanner from one of the dead techs tool belts she hefted it for a second before tossing it over the rail, its progress to the lower levels producing a disproportionately loud noise as it bounced its way down through the silent space.
She did not have to wait long for a response. A silver beam of torchlight probed the darkness that enveloping her as the armed man cautiously followed the bloody trail down the corridor. He tensed as he spied the shoeless body slumped in the corner of the storage room that adjoined the corridor. Without hesitation he fired two hard rounds into the prone figure. Confident that no reaction was shown he ducked into the room and prodded the corpse with his boot. Satisfied he turned and moved to return to the ops rooms and his companions.
She dropped from the dark space above the doorway and landed lightly behind him.
He tensed for an instant before viciously twisting his torso round to deliver a blow with the stock of his weapon….but his target was already gone. She grabbed his webbing and, turning herself, added her momentum to his, spiralling him around. With one bare foot on the wall she heaved again and sent him crashing back onto the body she had placed, her right hand calmly flicking the remains of his throat after him. She watched with interest for a few moments until his gargled thrashing slowed and eventually ceased.
“That’s one.”
Ignoring the assault rifle she quickly checked over his equipment before, grinning, her hands settled on one of his equipment pouches.
The three remaining men were agitated and annoyed in equal measure. One scanned the doorway nervously while the others continued to disassemble the data core held in the centre of the room. Their hushed conversation indicating their expected pickup could not come soon enough.
The door guard glanced round to see how his comrades were doing, before snapping his attention back as the metallic click reached his ears.
Training and instincts carried him backwards even as the word left his mouth “Cover…!”
The remainder of his shout was drained out by the detonation. White hot shrapnel searing through consoles and flesh with equal ease. The mans warning call was enough to save his companions, who instantly dived for cover. He was not so fortunate, as he sat slumped against a bulk head, staring dumbly as his life poured away from his severed right leg.
Recovering from the concussive effects quickly the two remaining opened fire even as their senses reeled.
“Ah screw it.”
Leaning out from cover her first round tore a 2 inch chunks out of the bulkhead, completely missing the most distant of the two defenders.
“Too far! The other one!” Swinging low she changed target.
He was close enough. At 15m her guns range detection algorithm noted the optimal range to target and the micro flechette round triggered as designed. Instead of a single large bore projectile it shattered into a hundred explosive tipped shards.
She ducked her head back as the body exploded into a red mist, painting the room and his squad mate equally in a crimson gore.
One more shot and the temporally blinded remaining man had joined his colleague as a vivid wall decoration.
She gritted her teeth as the explosions scream passed to a persistent high pitched ringing in her ears. Moving slowly into the room she scanned around at the mechanical and human devastation.
“So, which corpse shall we question first?”
She knelt at the side of the recent amputee before rising in disgust, his blank expression showing that no answers would be forthcoming.
"So maybe the grenade was overkill?"
Everything was ruined. She scanned briefly for a hint of something usable before turning back and heading to the hanger.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rattlesnake arrived soon afterwards. No communication was made prior to it unleashing a barrage of cruise missiles. The already damaged station buckled and then collapsed inwards on itself. Apparently satisfied with its work the battleship turned and warped away.
Malik quietly observed the stations demise aboard a cloaked Scarab before setting a course.
“Well that was interesting.”
“Someone really wanted that place to keep its secrets it seems. And we are running out of leads.” Malik mused to herself.
“So what now”
“Now we have think up a new plan, ask for some help and hope that Allena Veelat is not the sort of person to hold a grudge.” came the reply.
Karrin Kora-Tay touched her ear piece and disconnected from the comms channel. “Damn” she thought, sitting back on the edge of her desk and starring out of the view port in her spartan cabin “this never gets easier.” Since the Caldari conquest, Mordu occupation and subsequent withdrawal the politics of maintaining Intaki interests between the Assembly and the Federal Government had become a dance without end.
Megathrons made for poor diplomatic transports, but a few homeworld comforts made a stay aboard almost bearable. Kicking off her shoes she curled her toes through the thick woven rug carpeting her office quarters and considered the tasks ahead
“Excuse me Ma'am, you have a priority call holding on an encrypted channel”
The voice of her aid Tomas Merrat brought her out of her thoughts and back to the present. Wearily she closed her eyes and raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose before replying “No more calls today please Tomas, we will be at the conference tomorrow so all this can wait to be done in person.”
“Sorry Ma'am, but it’s your daughter…should I decline the connection?” he replied.
Her eyes remained closed as she paused for just a second before responding “No, please patch her through directly Tomas…and then ensure I’m not disturbed until I call for you again.”
“Certainly. Call patched through, line clean and secure. Let me know if you need anything else this evening” came the aids reply.
“Namas Mottie darling, such an unexpected pleasure.” Karrin's tone was light and pleasant.
There was a silent pause before she heard a response.
“Namas kamjaitil, is this a good time? I can always try again later if you’re busy?” Malik asked.
Karrin turned away from the hulking shapes of the escort cruisers silhouetted against the starscape of her viewing portal and sat down at her desk. She kept her voice level and tone warm even as her hands worked rapidly on the command pad embedded in the desks glassy surface.
“You know I always make time for you dear…though you sound stressed…is anything the matter?” she asked calmly, eyes scanning over the information hurriedly projected before her.
“Oh I’m ok, busy fighting the good fight and all.” Malik replied with a small laugh.
“I hope your new corporation colleagues are keeping you out of trouble?” She scanned over the summarised intelligence reports held on the FedNet database.
“Quite a colourful group I see. So to what do I owe the honour of this late call?”
“Well, I had an interesting conversation with a new friend over a glass or two of wine and, attempted abduction and death threat aside it was quite enjoyable.”
Karrin’s finger tapping paused.
“What possible reason would anyone have to kidnap you darling?” she asked, quickly initiating a trace program on the call.
“That’s a good question”. Malik replied with a sigh. “I don’t think I was really the target, more a bonus I guess, though it bruises my ego to say so. No, their focus was directed elsewhere.” She paused briefly before continuing. “Thing is they had access to certain information on me, info that you were supposed to have buried nice and deep. Now the suspicious part of me is curious as to why you would be hiring freelancers to covertly investigate your own family….?”
The computer screen flashed up its findings. Trace complete. DED facility, Scolluzer six, Ancbeu, Verge Vendor.
“Freelancers I hire?” Karrin replied innocently, her practiced politicians mind swiftly sorting through possible lines and then discarding them just as quickly. Denial and damage limitation seemed the most sensible course so she waited for Malik to continue.
“I did wonder why you would just not just task Fed intelligence but, as the nice lady seemed to be to pursuing links with Serpentis I understand your desire to use discreet channels. Having family involvement with those pirates would surely harm your diplomatic standing no?” she asked.
“I could say that the only connection we have with those beasts is the one you established dear” Karrin replied curtly, deciding to push a few of her daughter’s buttons for a reaction. “The evidence was clear, and the only reason you avoided criminal proceedings for your actions was my desire not to tarnish you good name or hinder your chances of redemption” She tried a softer tack “You fell hard dear, and it took a lot of time and resources to get you back up and on your feet.”
“I know what you did.” came Malik’s whispered response. “Though I have no doubt it was as much to serve your own gains as much as to save me. As for redemption…” Malik let the sentence go unfinished, her laugh sounding bitter and without humour, though the concept seemed to amuse her.
“Though it brings us back again. Why commission a freelance investigation if there is no threat?” She spelt out her thinking “As I see it either Father had no knowledge of the actions occurring in his own facility, which I find doubtful. Or he was involved, which I find unforgivable.”
Again Karrin made no reply or denial, instead allowing her silence to draw her jajukham
to continue.
“So I’m appealing to your self interest, as I know that trait is strong in our family. The agent you contacted seems to have commissioned a group who are keen to act on their own initiative. Their brief may have been to gather information to locate Father and ascertain any Serpentis involvement. However they seem to have decided to extend their remit to investigate you and your connections in Intaki affairs. Now I don’t care what you have to do or what bargains you have to make with the demons of Placid to promote or protect Intaki interests….but I know your enemies would love that intel. Against leverage, blackmail or something else, its in your interests to help me….you unleashed the dogs, unfortunately they have your scent as well….”
“What is it you want from me?” Karrin asked calmly, her voice giving no indication to the concern she now felt.
“Just the name and location of the agent you commissioned” came Malik's simple reply.
“And if I give you a name of an agent who deals with this kind of enquiry what do you intend to do with the knowledge?”
“Just what you wanted. Ill find the contact, then persuade him to give me the details of the freelancers who accepted the contract. Then it will be a case of finding out all they know before cleaning this all up nice and neatly.”
Karrin considered her response for a full minute before tapping out a simple message on her console. “I’m admitting to nothing of course” the practised line came easily “but I promise you I have no involvement with Serpentis…you know that don’t you Mottie?” she asked in an almost convincingly sincere tone.
“Oh I know” Malik replied levelly “for if I thought for a second that you did this conversation would have been an awful lot shorter.”
Banking away from the Gallante diplomatic convoy Scarab turned and set a course for the system coordinates he had just received.
=============================================================
The station was in ruins. Hull breaches were clearly visible and entire sections were as dark as the void outside their buckled hulls.
“What a mess.” she thought.
The stations attackers had stopped short of complete destruction, primary targets seemed to have been the habitation modules and docks. The few twisted frigate wrecks seen showed that they had been successful in burning most in their hangers.
“Not a capsuleer attack then” she thought.
“How can you be sure?” came the reply.
“Stations still here of course” she answered grimly.
Scarab slowly orbited the structure as she reviewed the passive scan information collected. Control and operations sections showed atmosphere, along with four faint life signs.
“This is a stupid idea.”
She moved silently through the ruined hanger, occasional flashes from damaged power relays doing little to light the cavernous surroundings. The air, while still breathable, held a distinct taste of ozone and burnt metal.
“I don’t think the locals are having a good day.”
She scanned over the data again, checking the integrity of the section. Atmospherics and structural intensity indicators shimmered green, alongside the orange and purple warning flashes indicating large scale damage from multiple explosive and kinetic impacts. All internal systems were offline, so she had to rely on the data gleaned before disembarking Scarab to navigate her way.
The airlock was blown, scorching indicating breaching charges had been used. Burn marks and now cool brass casings attested to a brief and bitterly one sided fire fight.
The access corridor beyond was partially in darkness, ceiling panels dislodged by the concussive blast used to gain access.
“If there are combat troops here we are going to be spitting pod goo before we find out anything useful. Your not exactly dressed for a fight and, to be fair, you’re a rotten shot.”
Silently she drew the 12mm pistol from its place in the small of her back and regarded it for a moment. The magazine of crystalline capped rounds disappeared into a pocket as she slid home the spare.
“Now it wont matter.”
A change in the tone of her footsteps brought her to a stop. She looked down in disgust as the congealing liquid left a brown mark on the suede of her boot.
“Well those are ruined.” she noted with distaste.
She found the first body soon afterwards. He lay on his back eyes fixed at some point above only he could now see, his greenish grey uniform contrasting nicely with the bloated red and purple of his insides splashed across the walkway. His friends had fared little better, limbs and torsos stretched out silently marking the colourful passage of the stations attackers.
“I don’t think we are going to be talking to any contacts here today.”
“Lets just see if we can work out what they got” she thought in reply.
Twenty minutes later and two false turns found her crouching at the intersection between the stations small operations centre and comms room. Murmured voices and the occasional sound of machinery showed that the occupants were busy with their allotted tasks, confident that they were the only living aboard.
She moved further back into the shadow and tried to make herself seem small. “Run? stay? what if they have heart beat monitors, or thermal, or CO2 detectors.. they will find us!” The thoughts crashed through her head, realisation that she was out of her depth threatening to allow panic to seep in.
“Hush now” came the ever calming voice. “Breath. They don’t know we are here. Stations systems are offline remember?. Four trained men in a straight fight is bad news…so lets avoid a straight stand up fight. Training or no they will never be as fast as us….we just need to thin them out first.”
She kicked off her shoes and silently retraced her steps back to the last pile of corpses. Smiling faintly she paddled through the congealing blood pooled on the floor until she was covered to her knees. Selecting a spanner from one of the dead techs tool belts she hefted it for a second before tossing it over the rail, its progress to the lower levels producing a disproportionately loud noise as it bounced its way down through the silent space.
She did not have to wait long for a response. A silver beam of torchlight probed the darkness that enveloping her as the armed man cautiously followed the bloody trail down the corridor. He tensed as he spied the shoeless body slumped in the corner of the storage room that adjoined the corridor. Without hesitation he fired two hard rounds into the prone figure. Confident that no reaction was shown he ducked into the room and prodded the corpse with his boot. Satisfied he turned and moved to return to the ops rooms and his companions.
She dropped from the dark space above the doorway and landed lightly behind him.
He tensed for an instant before viciously twisting his torso round to deliver a blow with the stock of his weapon….but his target was already gone. She grabbed his webbing and, turning herself, added her momentum to his, spiralling him around. With one bare foot on the wall she heaved again and sent him crashing back onto the body she had placed, her right hand calmly flicking the remains of his throat after him. She watched with interest for a few moments until his gargled thrashing slowed and eventually ceased.
“That’s one.”
Ignoring the assault rifle she quickly checked over his equipment before, grinning, her hands settled on one of his equipment pouches.
The three remaining men were agitated and annoyed in equal measure. One scanned the doorway nervously while the others continued to disassemble the data core held in the centre of the room. Their hushed conversation indicating their expected pickup could not come soon enough.
The door guard glanced round to see how his comrades were doing, before snapping his attention back as the metallic click reached his ears.
Training and instincts carried him backwards even as the word left his mouth “Cover…!”
The remainder of his shout was drained out by the detonation. White hot shrapnel searing through consoles and flesh with equal ease. The mans warning call was enough to save his companions, who instantly dived for cover. He was not so fortunate, as he sat slumped against a bulk head, staring dumbly as his life poured away from his severed right leg.
Recovering from the concussive effects quickly the two remaining opened fire even as their senses reeled.
“Ah screw it.”
Leaning out from cover her first round tore a 2 inch chunks out of the bulkhead, completely missing the most distant of the two defenders.
“Too far! The other one!” Swinging low she changed target.
He was close enough. At 15m her guns range detection algorithm noted the optimal range to target and the micro flechette round triggered as designed. Instead of a single large bore projectile it shattered into a hundred explosive tipped shards.
She ducked her head back as the body exploded into a red mist, painting the room and his squad mate equally in a crimson gore.
One more shot and the temporally blinded remaining man had joined his colleague as a vivid wall decoration.
She gritted her teeth as the explosions scream passed to a persistent high pitched ringing in her ears. Moving slowly into the room she scanned around at the mechanical and human devastation.
“So, which corpse shall we question first?”
She knelt at the side of the recent amputee before rising in disgust, his blank expression showing that no answers would be forthcoming.
"So maybe the grenade was overkill?"
Everything was ruined. She scanned briefly for a hint of something usable before turning back and heading to the hanger.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rattlesnake arrived soon afterwards. No communication was made prior to it unleashing a barrage of cruise missiles. The already damaged station buckled and then collapsed inwards on itself. Apparently satisfied with its work the battleship turned and warped away.
Malik quietly observed the stations demise aboard a cloaked Scarab before setting a course.
“Well that was interesting.”
“Someone really wanted that place to keep its secrets it seems. And we are running out of leads.” Malik mused to herself.
“So what now”
“Now we have think up a new plan, ask for some help and hope that Allena Veelat is not the sort of person to hold a grudge.” came the reply.
