In the Dungeon

[TheWhitefire]

@Binks

Jason descends the elevator in the back of the coffee shop, drink in hand. Before long, the unmistakable smell of burning metal and sparks hits his nostrils after walking down the long hallway towards Ashe's so-called "dungeon."

 

Ashe is still working on the old Worldkiller mech, a cigarette hanging from their lips as they evaluate their work so far. As Jason approaches, Ashe begins to speak.

 

"You know, I know there's rumors about me. That I used to be Seccom. Funny thing is, I'm not nearly that old." They say, looking over the Worldkiller. "Don't get me wrong-I'm a cosmopolitan. I'm very old, just not that old. Weird thing about cosmopolitan old though, is I'm still basically in my thirties experience wise. Except this whole goddamn universe has just trucked on without me. But I'm guessing you didn't come down here to listen to an old cosmopolitan complain about the good old days."

[Binks]

Jason shrugs as he walks up to Ashe. "I certainly wouldn't mind hearing stories of the good old days, since I missed out on them stuck on a backwater, but yeah, I was hoping to chat about something else if you don't mind. We've got an op out at Sanjak if you haven't heard, trying to slip some troops onto the planet. Clyde mentioned you were familiar with the place so I thought I'd stop by, see if you had any advice 'fore we head out." he says, finding a railing to lean against out of the way of any moving parts.

[TheWhitefire]

Ashe puffs on their cigarette. "Did he? He would." Ashe pulls a stool up and sits down, wiping their grease covered hands on a rag, before pulling a bucket out for Jason to sit on. "Yeah, I know Sanjak. Grew up there, after all. But that was nearly a century ago now. Still, I might know something you can use." They say. "So, ask your questions. We'll see if I feel like answering them today."

 

OOC

Ashe has no reason not to help you, so we'll call this Power At A Cost. You're going to get your reserve, I'm going to decide what kind of strings come attached.

 

[Binks]

Jason takes the offered seat with a nod of thanks. "Alright. Sanjak. Been blockaded for quite some time as I understand it. Way too long to be reasonable frankly, but I don't pretend to understand the kind of people running that. Obviously some people have found ways around it, no way it's had a perfect record for this long. You ever hear of anyone successfully running the blockade? Anything that worked before? Might make a decent starting point even if they'd be ready for an exact copy of the tactic now." he asks with a shrug.

OOC

Sounds good.

 

[TheWhitefire]

Ashe nods and taps their chest. "I was smuggled out on a medical transport after the incident that left me burned. I spent an objective 20 years, subjective 2 weeks in an ice box getting slow boated to Cradle. I was unconscious the entire time."

Finishing their cigarette, Ashe tosses it down and stomps it out. "And I know I was not the only Ungrateful to escape. Where I eventually found myself, there were a handful dozen of us in the Revolutionary forces. Even had our own foreign corps.

"But let me make something absolutely clear: if they suspect that something is up, that Hornets nest you are flying into is going to get really, really bad. So be careful when you get out there."

 

Ashe leans back, gazing up at their mech thoughtfully. "There is one other thing I can tell you. And maybe it will be useful in blowing past the blockade, I don't know. I just need a favour.

[Binks]

"Alright. What do you need?" Jason asks simply, doing his best to keep his face relatively expressionless while a combination of anger at what's going on and worry about the scope of the mission fight it out in his head.

[TheWhitefire]

"I need you to find someone when you're done on Sanjak, and... no, I'll tell you why later." Ashe says. They produce a small picture from a breast pocket. It's gold creased and worn. In it is a picture of a younger Ashe kissing another person, only a scant few inches taller than them, with dark wolf-cut hair, sleepy eyes, and wearing a fishnet shirt with a binder.

In the picture the two are flanked by a tall Victorian looking gentleman with a bowler hat, mutton chops, a dueling scar and a robust handlebar moustache. Opposite him, a tall blonde woman wearing a half face mask with kaleidoscope eyes and a dress that would leave Beyonce jealous.

 

Ashe points to their partner. "That is Nino. As far as I know, this is the only picture that exists of them not from a corporate bounty board. I left them on a planet in the KTB a while ago, for medical care. My... two friends with them contacted me and told me...well it doesn't matter, but it's time Nino came home. When you are done on Sanjak, I need you to get them. Can you do that?"

[Binks]

Jason pays careful attention to the picture, doing his best to memories the face of the person that is apparently named Nino. After a few moments thought he nods. "Swing by the KTB and pick 'em up? I'm reasonably confident I can convince the team to manage that, yeah. Anything specific that makes this a job we need to run rather than something a normal transport can handle?" he asks, trying to make sure he understands the ask before completely agreeing to it.

OOC

Is this functionally going to end up as something similar to the last power at a price, with something related to this ask becoming the next op, or is it just something that would happen between the end of this op and the next one? Just trying to understand.

 

[TheWhitefire]

"I can't do it, because I cannot go back into Karrakin space. I'm a wanted criminal there. I do not trust normal transport to get them out, and my two friends... well, let's just say they're perfectly capable of piloting ships, sure, but for everyone's sake it's probably better they didn't. Also... Nino is not well. They are very, very sick. And they are very important to me. I want someone trustworthy to bring them back. Please. It is my only price on the information I give you." Ashe says, looking at Jason pleadingly.

[Binks]

"Alright. I'll make sure that Nino gets here safely." Jason says with a nod after spending a few seconds considering everything Ashe has said.

[TheWhitefire]

Ashe nods. "Okay. Thank you. That... means a lot."

 

Standing, Ashe taps some dataplating on their wrist, then moves over to a table. They take the dataplate watch off and set it down, as it projects several images of mechs, vehicles, and ships.

"You're heading straight into the maw of the House of Stone's blockade. There's not really any hiding from it, fact is you'll have to fight your way through. HoS forces likely won't try to kill the soldiers you're escorting. More likely, they're interested in capturing them and ransoming them back to their families if they're from any sort of Karrakin affiliated household. That said, they won't hesitate to slaughter you and blame Union for invading their space afterwards.

"So with that said? Make sure you're packing EVA suites on all your mechs. Moving through 0G is a bastard and a half if you're not. Second, HoS is absolutely going to follow you to the surface of Sanjak. You don't blockade a planet just by keeping ships out, they raid Sanjak regularly to keep the population scared. That said, Ungrateful forces will likely try to secure your LZ once they realize HoS is after you. They do not take kindly to house forces on their turf.

"As for what you'll be up against? You're small enough that they can't really engage you with the bigger ships. Likely they'll stick some seeders or interceptor ships after you. Typical HoS forces usually include Bombards, Archers, Cataphracts, Ronins, and Scourers. In short, you'll want to be able to tangle in close quarters, and have some way of eliminating the ranged enemies quickly. I also expect at least one ship to engage you with some sort of short-cycle heavy weapon. So being able to move, and quickly, will be vital."

 

OOC

RESERVE: Pre-knowledge of the Enemy Load Out.

Once I have the encounter fully set up, I'll post the enemy types for each OpFor you'll be facing (some have already been mentioned) giving you a chance to build your mechs to be able to properly counter them.

Also, you now know that at least one mission will be under the Microgravity effect, so you'll want to make sure you have EVA suites to be able to maneuver effectively.