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Post by Eliza Silvermantle on Nov 10, 2019 21:53:19 GMT
Location: Bryyo Cliffside, Bryyo, Kalandor Region, Galactic Federation
Eliza had been to more than a few worlds in the years of her travelling, between establishing business ties for her company, bounty missions, and the occasional trip for pleasure, yet she still had yet to set foot on one that intrigued her the way the ravaged planet known as Bryyo did. The most general scans from orbit revealed that the devastation that dominated most of the planet's surface was very likely artificial in origin, such that implied a high level of technology among the native sentient species, or at least, that it had existed. Standing in front of an intricately carved cliffside not far from wear she'd landed the Dancing Goddess, such assumptions were proven accurate as she read through an account of something the locals had called the Age of Strife. Going was slow, unfortunately, as the language wasn't one she was familiar with, and so to read the carvings meant the Witch needed her newly created armor, specifically for the VISR software it contained. References to individuals known as the Primals, who evidently had wielded magic in some distant past, and the Lords of Science, further caught Eliza's attention. The Galactic Federation valued this world for the rich fuel gel deposits it held, and while Eliza was not uninterested in such a valuable resource herself, that was but the tip of the iceberg. To know that there were others within GalFed space that were noted as magic users meant that perhaps, soon, she could shed at least a few secrets, and make life a little less cumbersome.
The armored woman wasn't sure how long precisely she spent simply studying the carvings, reading of a culture now long-dead, when a siren, loud and unending, rent the air. "Veska..?" she began as she turned towards the woman beside her. To all appearances, she looked like a Yl'fin with some cybernetic augmentations, though her companion was in fact not even biologically alive, but an AI with a rather convincing body.
"What? I didn't do it," the construct replied. "Raid sirens. Given our location and current events, I would guess Kromus activity. I'll get the ship prepped," she added before sprinting away at speeds Eliza would have been hard-pressed to match on her best day.
Eliza, however, made no rush for the ship, but instead scanned the skies warily. If the Kromus were here, then there was a chance that it was a scouting party, and data from the first part of the war indicated that such forces sometimes landed to perform more thorough raids. More importantly, they weren't nearly so large in number. She continued her way back to her ship, though by the time she reached the landing ramp, the slender vessel was already humming softly with power flow.
"What'd you do, walk?" Veska called from the command room as the ramp closed behind Eliza. "Although, sensor scans indicate a small Kromus force. Scouts, it looks like. Probably probing defenses and coming to take what afloraltite they can," she guessed.
"Perfect," came Eliza's reply as she entered the room herself, drawing a perplexed look from the AI.
"Sorry, but how is that in any way a good thing?"
"There's a major military base one system over. Wi th' forces we're lookin' at, this is jist a prod, nothin' else, and aye, a chance ta steal some fuel gel. That second bit means they'll be landin', and that means I can board them."
Veska stared at the Witch, who while legally her owner, rarely ever thought of her as such, and more an employer and friend. "You're mad. How are you supposed to pull that off?"
Eliza didn't answer immediately, instead glancing across the control console to observe the sensor readouts. "Aye, small scout force, likely countin' on th' relatively small outpost of GalFed personnel ta make an easy raid and establish a base inside GalFed space proper. Good bet they'll use it as a stagin' point ta assault Norion.." she muttered quietly before straightening. "Veska, take th' ship further down once I'm off, comms silence. Give me 12 hours. If I've na returned and th' Kromus are still present, give a call, but full encryption, Old French," Eliza ordered as she walked out to head towards the armory. She needed tools to pull data dumps, and likely a few rather small charges for what she had planned. As much as she'd have liked to blow up the entire scouting party, that would draw too much attention. More subtle methods would be needed, and intel would prove far more valuable to the war effort than a few wrecked scout transports, anyway.
Veska didn't especially like the plan Eliza had proposed, but it seemed sound enough, provided she wasn't caught. No words were exchanged as Eliza left the vessel, and Veska maneuvered the Dancing Goddess further down the cliffs, meaning to use the massive formations to conceal the transport. With any luck, the Kromus would never know they were present at all.
Outside, Eliza moved quietly across the landing pad, rushing as silently as her armor allowed for into one of the side caverns near the engraving she'd been studying before. She had comms turned off to avoid even an accidental transmission, then waited for the initial assault as the raiders unleashed a torrent of plasma on the defenses that had been installed when the GalFed had started up mining operations. Unsurprisingly, one transport had elected to land not far from where she had herself landed initially, owing to the relatively low number of viable landing zones. Even so, it made her task both easier, and far more risky. With so many Kromus in close proximity, she knew she couldn't afford to be discovered. More frustratingly, the main GalFed defenses were centered around the mining facilities, leaving only a token defense for Eliza to mask her own actions.
"Well shite..best wait until they spread out a bit more.." she mused to herself as she observed three full squads move out from the transport, watching through the linked optics of her Valkyrie Magrail Rifle. For the moment, however, she only watched and waited. For now, the Kromus were far too close together for her to risk engaging any of them, especially when her own presence was as of yet unknown. Minutes ticked by as the Witch hid in the mouth of the cavern, concealed by shadow and stone. She watched with a sort of forced detachment as what defenders there were engaged the Kromus, killing perhaps a half dozen before they began to retreat. "GalFed really needs ta step up their security forces.." she muttered, smiling in spite of the allied deaths. With a fighting retreat occurring, the Kromus would be almost certain to pursue in that direction.
Eliza moved out of the cavern carefully, placing her steps to avoid creating any noise or trigger the motion trackers the Kromus almost certainly had. Stealth was key, after all, and detection meant death. Step by step, the Witch crept across the stone, keeping a close eye on the scouring squads through her HUD. The transport wasn't far, but given the stakes, it felt like miles. Even when the weapons fire grew more distant, implying that at least some on the security team had some idea of the importance of mobility in a firefight, she didn't relax. Before she was even to the entry hatch, Eliza was considering her options to gain access. Her plasma blades could almost certainly cut through, but that would bring down the Kromus in full force on her position, not something she was willing to risk. Hacking entry didn't seem likely either, however..maintenance. The Witch grinned as she circled to the side of the vessel, scanning carefully for the access panel that it surely possessed. As mad as Kromus designs seemed to be, they still needed maintenance, after all, and not all the components could be reached from the ship's interior. "Perfect.." she whispered to herself as the armored woman located her prize, then quickly went to work setting up her hacking kit and blank datapads and began jacking in. Beyond taking the precautions to avoid being detected, she made no real effort at finesse. Any data she could access, she copied to the datapads. Since such equipment was designed to more or less run itself during upload, the Witch used the short time she had to prepare a cluster of shaped charges, then programmed the detonator to ignite in 12 hours. With any luck, the transport would be back aboard its carrier ship while in Slipspace. Once the charges were prepared, Eliza unhooked her datapad and hacking kit, then moved to the rear of the ship to plant the charges carefully between the starboard engine and the main section of the ship. Once the charges went off, the copper penetrators would be blasted into the main section of the dropship and, if she had the schematics right, the reactor core, causing the entire ship to explode, and likely cause significant, if not catastrophic damage to the carrier ship if it went off in Slipspace transit.
There was a moment of tense silence as her gauntlet brushed against the hull perhaps a bit too loudly than she would have liked as she made certain the explosives were seated and angled properly, but when nothing seemed forthcoming, Eliza began to move once more, assuming that the noise simply sounded louder than it was because of the risks involved with her actions. While the Witch might have liked to collect a few bounties on the Kromus still hunting down the last doomed security personnel, she preferred living more, and the helmet video data would likely serve as proof enough. Satisfied with her handiwork, Eliza made her way back to the caverns as silently as she'd come from them, then moved through the tunnels to the base of the cliffs where the Dancing Goddess awaited. Given the proximity to Norion, GalFed forces would soon be arriving, and as formidable as the Kromus were, a simple scout force wouldn't stand a chance if they tried to hold their ground. Sadly, the Kromus had the numbers to throw away forces such as this like so much chaff, but at least they'd have their passage offworld, and with data that Confed would no doubt be quite happy to analyze.
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