Cold Fusion

[Shadowcatbot]

((I figured Fen thats why I went that way))
Tajer decides to browse the Solar Net for jobs at Jupiter while traveling between gates
((I can do that right? You said signals can be sent through the gates so I'm hoping so))

[Professor Fenway]

//JUPITER: Freight listings\\
|Europa colony Habitatus (ESU)| URGENT: Medical supplies needed IMMEDIATELY to deal with large-scale 'Jupiter Madness' outbreak ((Jupiter madness is a disease originating from the upper cloud layers, that causes; you guessed it, insanity.))
|Jupiter Magnetic monitoring station North (UAD)| PRIORITY: Require delivery of high-sensitivity Magnetometer booms from Earth for imminent military test ((This station is far from the gate, and time to the test is short. Delays will make military mad))
|Io ground-based production plant (Helion Co.)| PRIORITY: Cold fusion fuel from Venus (Helion Co. facility) needed for continued plant operation. Pilots must also arrange disposal of waste fusion fuel (costs, if any, paid for by the company) properly. ((Ground based facility owned by a corporation.))
|Jupiter Gas Pylon 8 (Jovian Exploitation)| MODERATE: Replacement atmospheric filters from Kuiper Belt needed within the next few days. ((Filters are really big and awkwardly proportioned))
|NRD 'Guardian' class combat ship (unknown)| LOW: A proposition. ((No more data available))
\\END LISTING//
___________________________________________________________________________________
OOC: An explanation
|This is the station/ship offering the contract (This is the corporation or entity station/ship is a part of| THIS IS MISSION URGENCY: This is a description of the mission ((This is additional info))

In this case, if a freight mission does not specify a location to pick goods up from, you must find the goods yourself and deliver.

[Luna]

She followed, this wasn't the first time someone had asked her to go beyond her ship to discuss payment but she didn't expect someone well dressed and with security guards. It made her uneasy and Nyxia was mentally preparing herself to pull out her gun. She was by no means trained for combat and had only been in two firefights, both of them were on her own ship of which she knew the layout. It took Nyxia all the courage she could muster to speak up. "May I ask of your affiliation? Corporation wise."

[Shadowcatbot]

Tajer pulled up the Jupiter freight listings over the solarnet and hummed thoughtfully as he scrolled over it, Pulling out his data pad and writing some numbers down for each order.

|Europa colony Habitatus (ESU)| URGENT: Medical supplies needed IMMEDIATELY to deal with large-scale 'Jupiter Madness' outbreak

'Damn shame all those sick people, Sorry mates can't really help yah. I've got a living to make, though maybe if I find some and have the time on an another order then ehh...'

|Jupiter Magnetic monitoring station North (UAD)| PRIORITY: Require delivery of high-sensitivity Magnetometer booms from Earth for imminent military test

'Earth huh? Lets see 80.. 40.. 15... that's about three and a half hours roundtrip, Goddamned military though so they'll probably want it in like 2 heh heh... Maybe what else is there first...'

|Io ground-based production plant (Helion Co.)| PRIORITY: Cold fusion fuel from Venus (Helion Co. facility) needed for continued plant operation. Pilots must also arrange disposal of waste fusion fuel properly.

'Gas? Bleh I hate hauling gas, about three fifty maybe four hours but then I gotta ditch that leftover shit and thats gonna take bloody forever with paperwork. Definitely not.'

|Jupiter Gas Pylon 8 (Jovian Exploitation)| MODERATE: Replacement atmospheric filters from Kuiper Belt needed within the next few days.

'KUIPER! Damn at that distance I could haul air and still charge the cost of a small country! Let us count 216, 312, 360, 60... 32 hours around! oh man that's far definitely a good run there.'

|NRD 'Guardian' class combat ship (unknown)| LOW: A proposition. ((No more data available))

'Unknown eh? I really shouldn't especially after last time buttttt I mean come on, If I dont It will bug me for the next few weeks...' "Well it couldnt hurt" Tajer said quietly outloud, Nigel looked up from sensors at Tajer and said "What couldnt hurt?" Tajer's eyes widened and he quickly said "Nothing, Nothing just looking at multiple runs" Nigel looked at him skeptically "Your not going to do another one of those private runs right? Last time we did that we were very lucky it was just a small shipment of contraband when the cops searched us and we got off with a warning!" Tajer replied with "I promise I promise only corporate runs" he said as he held up his hands in a surrendered position.
----
Latter
----
The thrusters of the ship fired with a hissing noise as the Light rotated into dock and clamped on to an airlock. The fuel lines were hooked up and started refilling the massive tanks on the ship meanwhile Tajer looked disgruntled at the price of fuel "Yeesh up another 5 cents!? Whats with the price of fuel these days?!" he said aloud as he walked aboard the station, Of course earlier he promised only corporate jobs and he would... If this private one wasnt any good of course. Walking over to a private area he pulled up communication with the unknown customer around the planet. It was a simple message of course. "Hello, This is Polikarp cargo and I'm interested in learning about this available job you have there, What might this 'proposition' be?". After sending that off he tapped a few messages out one to that mlitary offer and air filter offer to look at payment offers while waiting for a response.

[Professor Fenway]

_________________________________________________________________________[CvN]
As they passed the security guards, the first briefly took his eyes off his partner and scanned over Nyxia. The coat was a bit unusual, and the guard noted the way Nyxia was walking, ; a very slightly heavier step on her right, as if she were carrying something.

The man chuckled as he heard this. "Chaos Industries. Military. Can't really talk about it, unfortunately." They rounded a corner, out of sight of the initial security guards. As soon as they did so, the first guard pressed a small button on the headset mounted on his right eat.

"Security control, respond," he said.

"Security, what's up Jamie," responded a voice through his headset. The guard's friend realized what was going on and drew his weapon.

"Potential 877. Dock 7 freighter pilot Nyxia Kester is armed."

"Most freighter pilots are armed, Jamie."

"And inside the facility," Jamie continued. "Permission to follow?"

"Keep a respectful distance. We're not trying to start something." Security disconnected. The first guard motioned towards his friend, and they began to walk down the corridor, following the pair. They undid the clasps on their weapons.
____________________________________________________________________________[Shadow]
|Jupiter Magnetic Monitoring Station (UAD)|: Your interest in this matter is excellent. The magnetometer booms were just finished and command refused to provide any transports. We're offering a couple hundred thousand for their delivery; the test has already been delayed by a few weeks and the research team is getting impatient. Your ship will be able to hold them all.

|Jupiter Gas Pylon 8 (Helion Co.)|: We're certainly pleased by your interest in this delivery. The air filters were recently completed and are awaiting pickup in the Kuiper Belt, and while they're not urgent, the pylon is due for a replacement very soon. We're offering several hundred thousand for them; the filters are very fragile and not proportioned according to standard cargo hulls. You shouldn't have a problem with them.


About ten minutes after sending the message, the communicator buzzed with a message; a voice one at that. Upon activation, a very accented German voice spoke up from it. ((Though they are technically under one banner, the prior countries retain a degree of autonomy, like states inside the U.S, or provinces. Cultures are still relatively diverse.)) "The proposition is the transport of some extremely valuable cargo, cargo which would perfectly fit in a ship of yours. It is not illegal, but I cannot discuss it over insecure channels. If you return to your ship, I can contact you directly."

[Shadowcatbot]

Tajer looked at the offers, The gas pylon was out, The military order offered a much higher ratio of payment per time-distance compared to it. Listening to the private contractor he couldn't help but grin 'not lilegal' sure just like all the orders he carried in his career were technically 'legal'. He headed back to his ship while thinking about it, it could be just some company running a prototype or whatever and might fetch him a good price and maybe some high value future deals, On the other hand it might be some syndicate panning illegal goods out as something harmless and get him into some deep shit if he went through with it.
Upon reaching his cabin, Much larger then the broom closets the rest of the crew lived in but still fairly cramped, he set up whitenoise and pinged for a secure channel to the contact "down down into the rabbit hole, where it goes, no one knows" hummed Tajer while he waited for a response.

[Professor Fenway]

Tajer quickly received a reply. "The job is to transport eight highly valuable prototype Karima fighters to a contact in the Kuiper belt. Their safe delivery is of highest priority. The UAD has been attempting to get their hands on these fighters, and we have stalled them as long as we can. They need to be moved to a safer location before the UAD bring an executive order to seize the fighters. I am offering 8 million. Half upon pickup, half upon delivery."

[Archduke Daynel, PhD]

Edmund and his crew returned to Jupiter. As they approached the planet, they received a message, saying that Edmund was to meet with the boss upon arrival.
Ganymede came into view, and the ship moved over to the moon and landed by one of the larger colonies. A limo was waiting for them, and they got in. A few minutes later they arrived at a smaller skyscraper, fit to be the headquarters of a large organization, or several smaller ones.
And it was, too; Edmund's boss, one Malay Surya, was not only the boss of a criminal organization, he was also the leader of several minor businesses, providing an excellent cover story.

Edmund stepped into Surya's office, and there, in a rotating chair, looking out over the colony, sat Edmund's employer, a slightly overweight middle-aged man of oceanic heritage, wearing a turquoise silk suit.
"Mr. Surya?" Edmund started. "You wanted to see me?"

[Ivan2006]

OOC: okay, two missiles then. Now that we have decided upon exactly how much dakka my ship has, I can start as well.
BIC:
Upon the Glawischnig, the blue alert was sounded. While not indicating a dangerous situation, everyone went to their seats and strapped themselves into it with the savety belts, as it meant a change in orbit, and with things like artificial gravity or inertial dampeners being still the topic of science-fiction movies, that meant accelleration and everything that shouldn't get thrown against the walls had to get secured. After about 30 seconds, everything was ready and the captain announced the reason for their change in orbit: "There's a ship that just went into orbit within the rings. we're supposed to get into visual range to find out what they're doing."

OOC: I assume I can do small events like that, after all, suspect ships propably aren't that rare and I need to somehow get my plot going.

[Error]

The ship pinged slightly as it exited the acceleration gate's field. Yanking the ship around, Alternis fired thrusters and set up his orbit towards the UAD Navy station. A thought struck him.

>>Comms Channel Open<<
"Zheed. Remember that favour you owe me, and yes, you owe me one, because you're still in posession of a Black Widow corvette? Mmm... UAD Navy's got me heading to their Jupiter station 'cause I saw something they probably wanted to keep secret. I need you to play footsies with your UAD contacts and see what's what; getting me out is secondary, figuring out what's happening is primary. Respond on this channel when able."

[Professor Fenway]

OOC: I'm now officially super busy, so don't expect a reply until much later today.

[Julo]

"Captain, we are approching the Pluto gate."

"Alright, is this box secured?"

"Of course, we will not lose it."

"Olga, you have the permission to enter the gate."

The Orion entered the orbit of Pluto and prepared to dock to the station.
>>Pluto HQ
-We are delivering the unknown crate from the Kuiper belt.
-Requesting docking permission.

[DeadlyMiddie]

The Vindication took up position above and to the starboard of the convoy. The convoy began moving. It would be a 20 hour journey.
Hour 10
"Captain, we have a contact on scanners." Warrant Officer Brombe didn't sound too worried.

"Which gate did it come from?"

"Venus, sir."

"OK, we're 10 hours away from there. Just keep an eye on it."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Julius sat back in his chair and downed another cup of coffee. Admiral Thrace was sitting in the XO's chair. XO Kompton didn't look to happy about that, but what could they do?

"SIR! 2 contacts movin' fast! Coming in from our side!"

Julius bolted upright, "Sound General Quarters and run out the guns. Comms, hail those ships and order them to turn away or be fired upon. Weps, load torpedoes."

"Aye, aye, sir," came the replies as the klaxons wailed.

[Luna]

Nyxia relaxed knowing that she wasn't dealing with thugs or any major faction based operation. She somewhat regretted bringing her gun but as long as they don't know about it she should be fine. She kept walking with the man in the suit. She didn't want to ask any more questions so she remained silent. Nyxia felt the urge to flip around her knife but considering that there were two guards with them she decided that wasn't the best idea. "The guards are being rather quiet" she thought to herself. She turned around and looked them just for a moment, and saw their weapons were unholstered. They didn't seem to be acting so she kept walking, the tension that had just been released now wound up tight again.

[Professor Fenway]

'M'kay, can respond now. Lets go through;
________________________________________________________________[Ach]
An automated drone near the gate is broadcasting a message. Upon connecting to it, it tells you that a CME has been spotted heading towards Venus, with an estimated arrival time of 5 hours. The probe advises temporarily shutting off magnetic shielding to prevent a dangerous power surge when it reaches Venus.
________________________________________________________________[Daynel]
"Please," Malay said, "No more of this 'Mr. Surya' nonsense. We both know each other."

"Okay then Malay," Edmund responded, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. We've run into a small problem and I need you to take care of it."

"Of what sort?"

"One of our secure packages in the Kuiper Belt was recently located and is being brought to the Pluto HQ. Though the package is indeed hard to open, I am worried that it will fall into the wrong hands; namely, the UAD." He pressed a few buttons on his chair. "I want you to retrieve that package. I've sent you the required codes to get it. I would appreciate haste. I have agents delaying the package, but it can't last forever." ((This is Julo's package btw))
_________________________________________________________________[Ivan]
As the ship entered visual range, it's purpose was clear; research. A manipulator grabbed one of the floating rocks just outside the main ring, briefly analyzed it with a laser, and returned it to its original position.
_________________________________________________________________[Error]
>>Comm channel response<<
"I have no fucking clue what's going on. All of my contacts are silent and the military channels aren't being useful. However, I can tell you that you aren't in trouble. You're not appearing on any of the lists."

"I doubt I can get you out of this one. Whatever you got yourself into, the military is being really anal about it."




_________________________________________________________________[Julo]
>Laser Transmission Established
-Docking denied, Omega. All of our patterns are currently full.
-Please remain in a holding pattern until space opens
_________________________________________________________________[Middie]
The communication channel opened. After a second, a voice responded on the other end, "Что вы хотите?" The communication officer looked at the screen, confused for a second.

"This is the U.A.D.S Vindication," he started. "You are entering a protected space. Divert your course immediately or you will be fired upon." No response for a second.

"Я не понимаю," responded the first of the ships. Neither of them diverted their course.

"Divert your course immediately or you will be fired upon!" repeated the communication officer. Rear Admiral Thrace got up and walked over to the communication officer, putting on one of the headsets.

"Что вы спрашиваете нас?" responded the ship. They kept approaching.

"Sir, they're not diverting their course."

"Prepare to fire on my ma-" Julius started.

"Hold on captain, I speak Russian," Thrace said. She turned to the screen. "Товарищ, вы можете переадресовать корабли и пойти другим путем? Вы приближаетесь на военную автоколонну."

"О, конечно!" the first ship responded. "Мы раньше не понимал. Мы новичок в пространстве." After a few seconds, the ships began diverting their course, moving around the convoy rather than through it.

"Очень высокую оценку, товарищ." She shut the channel off and took off the headset.

"Why do you know Russian, Rear Admiral?" asked the communication officer. "It's a dead language." ((Since practically all of Russia was destroyed, along with a significant portion of the bloc, Russian is practically a dead language)).

"Special fleet operations. I've had to deal with a number of Russians." Thrace didn't return to the chair, instead electing to stand near the back of the bridge.
________________________________________________________________________[CvN]
((The guards didn't unholster their weapons, merely undid the clasps keeping them in place. This is meant so they can draw their weapon quickly. I'll suppose you noticed that, realized what it meant, then worry.))
The man stopped near a door- a fancy sliding one at that- and pressed a few buttons on the keypad next to it. It silently slid open and he gestured Nyxia inside. He followed behind her, closing the door. The guards took up posts on either side of the door outside the room, listening in for trouble.

The man took a seat behind the desk sitting in the middle of the room. "I apologize for the lack of introductions," he said as he opened up his portable computer and began typing. "You can call me Gordon." He typed in a few commands and brought up a cargo report. "All of the cores are intact and accounted for. If you'll hand me your account drive, I can transfer the payment to your account."
((Account drives are basically multi-functional cards of sorts, connectable to approved banking machines, that allow for a seamless transfer of money between two entities' accounts. It is fingerprint-tied to each individual, preventing theft.

Physical or paper currency is nonexistent. Instead, smaller drives, known as Credit drives, store the data for a certain amount of credits on a small drive that plugs into the Account drive. This transfers the funds to the Account drive, given that the issuer of the drive wrote it for the recipient, a check of sorts. Upon funds transfer, the drive wipes itself to be used again.

If neither is usable, as long as you have the appropriate fingerprint, you can still access your account.))