ReSeed IC

[DeTess]

"So, it seems we're all agreed to trade the Einst queen to the Neo society, provided they're willing to commit to aiding Marrocos defense in some way. Very well then, let's see if the Society is willing to cut a deal like that." The captain gave her ear-piece a tap, opening a connection with the bridge. "Bridge, this is captain Evaro. Please contact vice-commader Lenya of the Neo Corporation's task force Red Alpha and inform her that I'd like to discuss the Neo Society's offer for the Einst queen." As she handed out the instructions, Theresa also quickly adjusted the screen behind her containing information on the offers from the three main powers, adding an explicit promise of military support for Marrocos to the steel crusader offer and increasing the monetary reward from the einst corporation to 80,000 gold credits.

(assuming that the commander returns my call. Otherwise I'll edit this out)

Within a couple of minutes, the bridge called the captain back, informing her that the commander answered their call. Very well, prepare to put her through to the meeting room. Full video please, and try to make the screen behind me just barely readable. We want them to feel smart for figuring out their competitor's offers from my 'mistake' rather than suspicious about the ease with which they got that information, after all. Shortly afterwards, the holoprojector in the table's center came to life, projecting an image of the vice-commander facing captain Evaro.

"Vice-commander Lenya, my thanks for responding to my call so quickly. We have just finished discussing the offers we have received for the young queen. In many ways, the Neo society offer sounds the most reasonable. Given the Einst' willingness to surrender and apparent naivety to earth customs, we believe that there is a good chance that the Neo Society's program of education will meet with success, resulting in more long term gains in this conflict than a brutal interrogation or autopsy would."

"There is one outstanding issue with your offer, however. Marrocos' own military was woefully ineffective at fending off the Einst. If another one tries a week or month from now when no outside assistance is in the area, the city is likely to suffer massive losses. When we leave this city, we want to do so secure in the knowledge that a second attack will not pose as large a threat to the city. Therefore, we'd like to know whether the Neo Society is willing and able to provide longer term protection for this city, whether through your diplomatic ties with friendly Einst Queens or through other means."

Spoiler: Diplomacy roll

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(1d20+20)[39]

[deuterio12]

The call is returned swiftly and a face is projected from the Neo Society:



"Pleased to make your personal acquaintance, captain Theresa, and we're truly delighted to hear a reply from you so fast, even more so that you're giving our proposal priority over the alternatives. If we are to end this terrible war for good, we must both understand the einst better and allow the einst to understand us."

Theresa's diplomatic skills allow her to notice Lenya's eyes discretly sweeping over the screen behind her while speaking her pleasantries, and then a subtle flash in her eyes as warrior preparing for a duel.

"Of course the protection of innocents should also be a priority. Task force Red Alpha would gladly garrison the city in the short term, and in the meanwhile we could negotiate the transfering of more permanent forces for Marrocos protection from other places. And there should be a vacant nest in the region now, we have a few homeless einst queens under our care that have proved their good intentions and would surely love a new home in an open place.

But I must ask, how would you like the public version of this arrangement be made? All of the Neo Society and allied Einst Queens will love to hear you trust an einst garrison, but certain elements of the Steel Crusaders and Einst Corporation may hold a strong grudge against you if they hear this as well. Or we can create a cover story to why the Neo Society will increase the defenses of Marrocos, in which case your popularity among the allied einst and most of my work colleagues wouldn't increase as much, but you would also keep more diplomatic ways open with the Steel Crusaders and Einst Corporations. "

[DeTess]

"My thanks, vice-commander. The reinforcements you describe should be more than adequate for keeping this region secure. As for the public side to this arrangement... The captain took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Adamantine is an independent mercenary company. To survive as such we can not afford to make enemies among the various powers of humanity*, even if I have my own preferences regarding which approach to the Einst to take. However, in this specific matter I can only speak for Adamantine and the Aurora, not for the other forces that helped us deal with the Einst attack." As she said that, Captain Evaro made a motion to the other occupants of the table, inviting any that wished to speak up to do so.




*OOC: by 'humanity' I mean all the current terran species, if there's a better IC term, I'd love to hear it

[5ColouredWalker]

James suppresses a growl.
'Yay, politicking. Of the sort where we can't just collectively chant no repeatedly.'

"Given the request that we devote some effort to providing defences to Marrocos comes from my squad, I'm more than willing to have our names plastered everywhere even if it gives the Crusaders cause to deal with us less favourably in the future. However as to the specifics I believe that's best discussed with the Mayor of Marrocos and or the local military commander Lieutenant Omargo, as they are the ones who will have to deal with the local civilian populace's moral, and they would be better versed in whether or not a full parade of friendly Einist is something the populace needs, or whether they'd rather just stop hearing about their military dealing with Einist attacks and the news claiming recent attacks have been blunted by Einist infighting."

Spoiler: OOC

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Powers of Earth/Terra.
Sophants of Earth.

[greenpotato]

Hennas eyes glaze over as she sits quietly in the corner

[deuterio12]

You see an aide come to vice-commader Lenya's side and whisper something at her ear.

"Ah yes, something else that may be of your interest. On route to here we hired the mercenary Rubii Bradamite just in case. But since task force Red Alpha will be doing garrison work, that would probably be a waste of Rubii Bradamite's abilities. Our contract will still last a while so we would like to assign her to support your future missions, we believe that way she'll be able to support all of our causes the best. Although Rubii Bradamite's not a member of Neo Society, she possesses certain... Talents that would help you in dealing with any einst you may meet in the future. I can open a private channel to her person so that you may get acquainted to each other and discuss any relevant details about this matter."

Spoiler: OOC

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This would be the cue for YuweaCurtis to meet the party.

Powers of Earth/Terra/Sophants of Earth both sound good and either may be used to refer to the collective humanoid
Although I also like humanoidity/humanoidkind now that I think about it.
But again either's fine.

[DeTess]

You see an aide come to vice-commader Lenya's side and whisper something at her ear.

"Ah yes, something else that may be of your interest. On route to here we hired the mercenary Rubii Bradamite just in case. But since task force Red Alpha will be doing garrison work, that would probably be a waste of Rubii Bradamite's abilities. Our contract will still last a while so we would like to assign her to support your future missions, we believe that way she'll be able to support all of our causes the best. Although Rubii Bradamite's not a member of Neo Society, she possesses certain... Talents that would help you in dealing with any einst you may meet in the future. I can open a private channel to her person so that you may get acquainted to each other and discuss any relevant details about this matter."

"Very well. Given your eagerness to assign us extra support, can I infer that the Neo society might have work for us in the near future? Well, if that is the case, I do hope you'll forgive me if I ask to discuss that later, once we've had time to ensure repairs and rest and I've had time to complete the post-combat paperwork. However, I do believe we're in agreement regarding the matter of the Einst queen, even if some of the final details remain to be worked out. You can send a team to pick her up, and we'll discuss the matter of endorsement of Einst defenders further once the local defense force has had a chance to weigh in with their read on civilian morale."

"It's been a pleasure talking to you, vice-commander. If you could pass on the contact details of Rubii Bradamite, we'll contact her. For now, I'll wish you the best of luck in calming and securing the city."

The captain leaned back in her chair with a sigh after the conversation with the vice-commander ended. She really wasn't looking forward to the paperwork. Eager to grab onto anything that'd delay the administrative work, she instructed the bridge to open a connection with the mercenary.

[deuterio12]

Vice-commander Lenya lets out a short diplomatic laugh while covering her mouth.

“Hohoho, you got me. We would certainly love to offer some extra work for a team able to make an Einst Queen surrender without any prior specialized training, but I understand you need some time for resting and recovery. So for now I’ll just leave you my private contact as well besides Rubii Bradamite’s. Anything else you need, even if just to chat, feel free to give me a call!”

Some time later the Neo Society task force Red Alpha arrives and sends a small but well armored transport ship to the Aurora. If allowed to dock, a small force of soldiers in fancy uniforms, scientists in coats and nurses in white dresses will come out to gently escort a somewhat confused Habladora to the Red Alpha’s own flagship as the einst queen’s’s showered with smiles and greetings and basic morale lessons while being scanned by multiple devices. They leave behind an elegant suitcase with the promised golden credits neatly arranged inside.

The Steel Crusader and Einst Corporation forces also arrive about the same time, but remain silent beyond the minimum greeting protocols and at a safe distance. Your lack of reply to their offers as well as the Neo Society’s transport approaching the Aurora already speaks volumes as who you decided to deliver the einst Queen to. Instead they go to patrol the surrounding area and checking the site of your battle, in particular the dead drones. The Einst corporation seems strongly interested in collecting those, but there seems to be some tension building up with the Steel Crusader mechas who appear more eager to just shoot and burn down the leftover einst bits until nothing remains.

[YuweaCurtis]

"Aiy, this is the Queen's Fury" answers a gruffy looking man with dark hair and a tied beard. He has a shirt with some sort of Japanese cartoon characters adorning it, and he looks a little irritated at being contacted. After receiving an explanation for the contact he would nod and then the screen view would shift. A young woman with white hair in loop pigtails, an oddly white eye, and her other covered by a black and silver eye patch comes into view. Her skin glistens a faint white. "Ignore him, I'm the one you're wanting to talk too. The Vice Commander filled me in. After what you and your allies did I'm unsure I would even be of use to you, but a contract is a contract so I will be arriving with the Neo Society fleet to join you... Though I would also add it's not for too much longer so if you're going to get into a scrap do it soon."

[DeTess]

"Aiy, this is the Queen's Fury" answers a gruffy looking man with dark hair and a tied beard. He has a shirt with some sort of Japanese cartoon characters adorning it, and he looks a little irritated at being contacted. After receiving an explanation for the contact he would nod and then the screen view would shift. A young woman with white hair in loop pigtails, an oddly white eye, and her other covered by a black and silver eye patch comes into view. "Ignore him, I'm the one you're wanting to talk too. The Vice Commander filled me in. After what you and your allies did I'm unsure I would even be of use to you, but a contract is a contract so I will be arriving with the Neo Society fleet to join you... Though I would also add it's not for too much longer so if you're going to get into a scrap do it soon."

Theresa gave the young woman a friendly smile. Something about her looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place figure out why. "I wouldn't worry about that too much. I'm fairly certain the vice commander already has something in mind. You're welcome to come aboard as soon as you arrive, but please send a manifest ahead for the hardware you'll be bringing. That way I can have sufficient room set aside in the hangar."

[5ColouredWalker]

As the call closes, James speaks up again before the Einist Queen can call.
"Miniboss will be needed in full for the hand off should they request curse removal. I'll organise that now."

With that, the two from Miniboss Squad leave the room, while the squad member assisting the mecha mechanics is likewise called away.

When Red Alpha arrives, James mentions the curses, and offers to lift them now or at a set time later, or upon being communicated with.
"However, keep in mind our dangerous profession. We can only release curses should we be conscious, so there's a small chance you'll have to hire a outside contractor should the worst happen if you want us to release the curses at a much later date."


Shortly after, one of the squad members takes a few steps back, raising their hand in the universal signal of one busy using their radio.
"Captain Evaro, there seems to be a fight over the Drone Corpses ongoing. We've no desire to claim right of conquest over them, but if you want to start another bidding war over them you might wish to inform the Corporation and Crusaders as to whether you or any of the others want to claim the corpses. It can be worth the hassle, but there's always a chance that they'll instead get in a huff and make sure the red tape brigade comes knocking in regards to proper disposal."

[DeTess]

Shortly after, one of the squad members takes a few steps back, raising their hand in the universal signal of one busy using their radio.
"Captain Evaro, there seems to be a fight over the Drone Corpses ongoing. We've no desire to claim right of conquest over them, but if you want to start another bidding war over them you might wish to inform the Corporation and Crusaders as to whether you or any of the others want to claim the corpses. It can be worth the hassle, but there's always a chance that they'll instead get in a huff and make sure the red tape brigade comes knocking in regards to proper disposal."

"I might be a mercenary, but I don't act that mercenary." The captain said with a small smile to show she wasn't offended. "That having been said..." She considered for a moment, then called the bridge. "Bridge, I assume we've still got the scans of those drones on file? Please send a copy of one of them to both the crusaders and Einst corporation, with my compliments for their quick arrival."

She turned back to James after addressing the bridge. "I've got no interest in joining the scramble for the corpses, but I might as well let them know I've got a bit more info that might be of interest to them."

[YuweaCurtis]

"Oh, so I will be riding along with you after all? Hold on then..." the screen would go to stand by for a minute or so before her face reappears. She looks a bit annoyed, "Alright sending the list now," Her manifest would include her, 4 mecha, and a young einst queen with three drones, and a scientist with a mecha and several pieces of equipment. "If possible, I'd like to have a part of the hang closed off for my use. The exist of the einst isn't something I want everyone knowing about and my scientist likes to keep his work to himself." Not to long after she finishes speaking the Neo Society arrives as well, fashionably late.

[DeTess]

"Oh, so I will be riding along with you after all? Hold on then..." the screen would go to stand by for a minute or so before her face reappears. She looks a bit annoyed, "Alright sending the list now," Her manifest would include her, 4 mecha, and a young einst queen with three drones, and a scientist with a mecha and several pieces of equipment. "If possible, I'd like to have a part of the hang closed off for my use. The exist of the einst isn't something I want everyone knowing about and my scientist likes to keep his work to himself." Not to long after she finishes speaking the Neo Society arrives as well, fashionably late.

Theresa suppressed a curse. The Society could have mentioned that their mercenary had an Einst in tow. Still, they wouldn't have suggested her if they didn't trust her methods and companions...

"I can get a 4-bay section of the hangar isolated for the use of your Einst. I agree that it might be for the best if she remained out of sight of the rank-and-file crew. The rest of your unit can use the bays in the main hangar near the isolated section." She sent the order for the creation of a new partition to the engineer in charge of hangar bay preparations. The bay itself was very modular, allowing for such changes to be made relatively easily. This was necessary for the Aurora to be able to accommodate a wide and ever-changing set of mechs of different sizes and design. "Miss Bradamite, please do make sure that the Einst doesn't go wandering from the partition unannounced or without escort. I'd prefer not to have to deal with an incident because your Einst companion surprised my shipboard security."

[deuterio12]

When Red Alpha arrives, James mentions the curses, and offers to lift them now or at a set time later, or upon being communicated with.
"However, keep in mind our dangerous profession. We can only release curses should we be conscious, so there's a small chance you'll have to hire a outside contractor should the worst happen if you want us to release the curses at a much later date."

The scientists that seems to be in charge of the retrieval thinks a bit before replying:

“Hmmm, I was wondering about those myself. So you’re the one who applied all those curses? An unorthodox method of restrain but has a lot of potential now that I think about it. Just that usually it’s not pratical to apply them in such large amounts over such a small period of time. But we should keep options open for all non-lethal and painless methods to help keep a patient in check. If you can dismiss the curses at distance upon contact, I’ll rather keep them on our new friend for some more time until we complete the preliminary scans just to be in the safer side. If all goes well tomorrow we should be asking you to release her. Oh, and if you can do this every day, there certainly would be a permanent position for you in the Neo Society, I-we could really use your help for limiting some more unruly subjects. Have you heard of our great medical benefits? But well really need to go now, you can always check our site and social media for details.”

"I might be a mercenary, but I don't act that mercenary." The captain said with a small smile to show she wasn't offended. "That having been said..." She considered for a moment, then called the bridge. "Bridge, I assume we've still got the scans of those drones on file? Please send a copy of one of them to both the crusaders and Einst corporation, with my compliments for their quick arrival."

She turned back to James after addressing the bridge. "I've got no interest in joining the scramble for the corpses, but I might as well let them know I've got a bit more info that might be of interest to them."

A couple communications arrive shortly after:

Spoiler: Steel Crusaders

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“Hmm, thanks for that data, really. Guess the Neo Society just had some pretty deep pockets today.
Won’t ask for the details of what they offered you for that queen, that’s your business. But any other intel about this battle that you’re willing to share with us would be highly appreciated. Know your enemy as they say. Those damn einst always evolving and spawning new kinds of drones, gotta keep up with their latest tricks.”

Spoiler: Einst Corporation

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“Ah, such a kind present, you have our gratitude. Good to see the Neo Society didn’t completely scam you of the valuables you acquired today. They know how to speak sweetly but aren’t properly preparing for the future. The einst, we need to learn as much from them as fast as possible, there’s no time to take things slowly. So I’ll go right to the point now, have you got any more einst information you would be willing to share with us?”

[YuweaCurtis]

Theresa suppressed a curse. The Society could have mentioned that their mercenary had an Einst in tow. Still, they wouldn't have suggested her if they didn't trust her methods and companions...

"I can get a 4-bay section of the hangar isolated for the use of your Einst. I agree that it might be for the best if she remained out of sight of the rank-and-file crew. The rest of your unit can use the bays in the main hangar near the isolated section." She sent the order for the creation of a new partition to the engineer in charge of hangar bay preparations. The bay itself was very modular, allowing for such changes to be made relatively easily. This was necessary for the Aurora to be able to accommodate a wide and ever-changing set of mechs of different sizes and design. "Miss Bradamite, please do make sure that the Einst doesn't go wandering from the partition unannounced or without escort. I'd prefer not to have to deal with an incident because your Einst companion surprised my shipboard security."

Noticing Theresa's own comfortableness, she shrugs. "Hey I'd prefer not to have to even tell you, but it's unavoidable if we actually work together. As far being noticeable, you're likely not to even know. And she will only be with me if she moves at all. Also please either call me Captain or Rubii... Or both together. We will be give me a few minute and we will be ready. Just open your bay when ready." she looks past Theresa at the others, "I guess we can all formerly get introduced when I board. She then ends the communication and goes get her things together. When the Aurora is ready, she would move over her equipment, directly piloting the mecha because it's more convenient. Her crew's mecha would haul in containers that secretly held the einst drones.

[DeTess]

Noticing Theresa's own comfortableness, she shrugs. "Hey I'd prefer not to have to even tell you, but it's unavoidable if we actually work together. As far being noticeable, you're likely not to even know. And she will only be with me if she moves at all. Also please either call me Captain or Rubii... Or both together. We will be give me a few minute and we will be ready. Just open your bay when ready." she looks past Theresa at the others, "I guess we can all formerly get introduced when I board. She then ends the communication and goes get her things together. When the Aurora is ready, she would move over her equipment, directly piloting the mecha because it's more convenient. Her crew's mecha would haul in containers that secretly held the einst drones.

"Very well then, captain Rubii. We'll have everything ready for you by the time you arrive. The officer in charge of bay operations will provide you with directions for where you can store your gear, and once you're settled in you can drop by meeting room 3 to meet the rest of the freelance specialists."

Shortly after her conversation with captain Rubii ended, the bridge reported that the Steel crusaders and Einst corporation had responded to her lintel, so taking advantage of the short break she quickly composed some messages in response.

Spoiler: response to the Steel Crusaders

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Lord marshal, I certainly agree with you on the importance of exchanging information. Even if people disagree on the overall methods, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that a lot more Einst will have to be fought before peace returns to the system, and good intel can decide battles before they begin. I've got another deep scan of the drone the queen herself used as a mount or command center of sorts, as well as more general battle footage and telemetry. I'd be happy to share a copy of the scan with you. Likewise, if you have anything of note on recent Einst developments to share, It'd certainly help us in future combat operations against the Einst.

Spoiler: Response to the Einst Corporation

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"Grand-representative, I do in fact have one more scan that might be of particular interest to the Einst corporation as it happens to be of the drone that the Einst queen was using as her personal mount or command center. I had been planning on using this scan to figure out a more efficient way of determining when a drone is carrying a queen, rather than having to rely on luck or intuition. However, we don't have the kind of specialists needed to extract this kind of information quickly. I'd be happy to share a copy of the scan with the Einst corporation, provided you are willing to share any useful insights regarding queen detection and Einst-interdiction tactics that this scan helps discover."

[deuterio12]

Spoiler: Reply from the Steel Crusaders

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Captain, sounds like she was one of those ‘adaptative’ types. They can take a ride inside their drones like we pilot our mechas, which makes them a pain to deal with. But then the other bug leader types we’ve identified so far are all a pain to deal with as well.

Anyway sounds like you’re prosing a trade, intel for intel, fair enough. As you may’ve heard recently the space colony side 13 was attacked by some space specialized einst. Official news is that the bug got eradicated to the last, but recently we found out their queen escaped and settled in some nearby orbital station ruins, pumping out fresh drones and preparing to attack again. The higher ups all agreed to keep it hidden from the public for now to avoid panic. Side 13 was already damaged enough and is is critical condition, kept in a delicate balance so if people hear there’s more einst on the way, they may tear the place down themselves in fear before the bugs actually return there.

We could just nuke the infested space station until only dust remains, but thing is this einst queen has some brains and got herself some high value hostages, keeping them alive instead of eating them right away. A princess and high officers that were traveling nearby. Another big blunder kept in secret.

The Neo Society and Einst Corporation would rather play defensively on this one since the einst queen has fortified that space station pretty heavily, but we in the Steel Crusaders believe that what we need is a pre-emptive strike against that space nest. However we’re pretty stretched so any help from proven warriors would be great up there. In particular soldiers so adept at stealth as you are. I believe you may have what it takes to rescue those hostages and maybe even take out that bug queen, currently codenamed ‘Ruin Monarch’, out of the picture

Spoiler: Reply from the Einst Corporation

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Captain, of course you would be entitled to a fair share of any new discoveries obtained from your generous data donation. Actually we were already researching such a subject and with your scans added to our work so far we may be able to produce our first prototype for field testing soon enough. We would even allow you to conduct this first test if you wish so, we already have the perfect place planned and everything. An Einst Queen, thereafter refered as ‘Emerald Crown’, that settled in the south america jungles. She’s been there for some time and declared low priority by the Steel Crusaders and Neo Society since the Emerald Crown’s not actually killed any sophants of Terra so far, actually she allows them to live nearby her nest as long as they present her with regular offerings of fancy food or just drives them away. The Emerald Crown’s however destroyed a significant amount of property from several companies just trying to do honest business in the nearby area such as chemical plants and heavy mining and thus has multiple bounties on her head. Yet The Emerald Crown has evaded all hunters that tried to go after her precisely due to often hiding inside her drones and having multiple decoys. A perfect opportunity to test a device to figure out if a drone is carrying an einst queen inside or not, and of course you would be able to collect her bounties as a bonus. How does that sound?

[DeTess]

The captain looked over the messages from the crusaders and Eisnt Corpo and sighed. She did appreciate the pledge of information from the Eisnt corporation, but it'd had been too much too hope for a simple exchange of intelligence. It should have come as no surprise that both powers where instead trying to get them to work for them, however. "Bridge, please send a copy of the scan of the Einst drone holding the queen to both the Einst corporation and the Steel Crusaders, and inform them that we'll consider the suggested operations and inform them whether we'll take the job tomorrow at the earliest. Then, please inform the Neo Society that we'll be leaving Marrocos on a new mission soon, so if they've got a job for us that's time-sensitive, it'd be best to inform us now."

After sending the instruction she stood up from her chair, then addressed the other specialists present. "I've made details on two new job offers available to you on the ship's network, and if the Neo Society sends any concrete work our way I'll have it added as well. If you've got the time and the interest, look through the details and we'll meet here again tomorrow morning to discuss what everyone's next move is going to be. James, I'd ask you to take a look at the Crusader's offer in particular, as I'd prefer to have squad Miniboss-Ja running point on the hostage rescue part if we decide to take that job. We've got the resources and equipment on board to rig the other mechs for stealth operations, but there's a difference between a stealth-capable mech and a stealth specialist piloting one."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a bunch of paperwork to finish and repairs to check up on. I suggests everyone checks up on their own gear and gets some rest afterwards."

[5ColouredWalker]

The Einist Queen Exchange
"It's best to contact our superiors. Miniboss-4 is going to send their contact information your way, but such a use is likely. While we're technically Government Military they prefer to use us on a more mercenary basis. And our most recent contract is up, as it was for one Einist attack or a set time. I imagine some rather intense negotiations will be going on soon."


Back at the Briefing Room
Having strode back quickly from transfering the queen, Miniboss Actual pipes up.
"We'll inform our superiors regarding such arrangements. We're mostly a free team used for testing equipment and obtaining funds given the current state of the government. Perhaps we'll be with you for a time. Also, thanks for giving us temporary use of your hangers, we'll return to our barracks in the city shortly."

With that, the members of Miniboss give curt nods, before collectively leaving the room.

[deuterio12]

The Einist Queen Exchange
"It's best to contact our superiors. Miniboss-4 is going to send their contact information your way, but such a use is likely. While we're technically Government Military they prefer to use us on a more mercenary basis. And our most recent contract is up, as it was for one Einist attack or a set time. I imagine some rather intense negotiations will be going on soon."

“They always are in the current days, everybody competing to be first in the requisition queues. Habladora should surely help us get some extra funding for our department. So rest assured we’ll be contacting your bosses, maybe we’ll be able to rent you for some time and increase your salary while we’re at it, who knows.”-winks the scientist.

Spoiler: A new income from the Neo Society

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“Yes, we have some work that could use your assistance.

First there’s a delicate situation near side 13. After attacking the space colony, the Einst Queen known as Ruin Monarch has taken refuge in the nearby remains of an abandoned space station and captured important hostages, junior colonel Elizabeth VII and several of her aides. So far she’s been using them just as a shield and hasn’t issued any demands for the hostage’s releases, but an Einst Queen taking captives alive is quite unusual in the first place. Capturing prisioners and using them as shields is hardly ideal, but it is still better than devouring them. So we have some hope this Ruin Monarch has the potential to become neutral or even an ally. That would demand a team capable of strong stealth to get close enough since the Ruin Monarch appears to be refusing all long-distance communications. Priority would be ensuring the safety and release of the hostages, secondary objective negotiating with the Ruin Monarch, make her see that the world is not just eat or be eaten. From what we’ve seen and heard from Habladora so far, you’ve already done a wonderful job educating an Einst Queen on such matters.

Second there’s been some tensions in the south america jungles. The Einst Queen calling herself as Emerald Crown has taken a liking to Terra’s nature there and seeks to live in harmony with it. However since the region is rich in a variety of resources several companies are looking to industrialize the área, and the Emerald Crown has disrupted their actions. She’s however also taken great care to not claim any humanoid life. There’s been an influx of bounty hunters hired by the corporations trying to take out the Emerald Crown and the situation is escalating slowly but surely every day. The natives are divided as well, some look forward for the prospect of new jobs and modernization, while others complain the companies are in cahoots with corrupt politicians, exploiting their workers while destroying the environment in the name of pure profit, and that Emerald Crown is just keeping them from going too overboard. We would like you to go there, stop the conflict between all the involved sides, and help them reach some kind of agreement or truce.

Third a more unusual request, from the Einst Queen who goes by Rock Lady. She’s settled peacefully in a range of south-east Asia mountains, and has recently sent a formal complain that somebody has been raiding her domains. Usually most neutral or allied Einst Queens would take such matters in their own hands (or their drones claws and teeth to be more precise), but this one is specifically requesting for outside aid. Even promising a reward for a job well done besides what we would pay you. If we are to live side by side with the Einst properly one day, we must show that we can cooperate with them both ways.

Your help on any of those would be greatly appreciated. If you’re efficient enough, you may even be able to solve all three before any of those situations become too dire.

There’s no more incidents in the area for the rest of the day, the Einst Corporation and Steel Crusaders end up running out of drone corpses to bicker over and you are able to rest and repair your systems.

The local news and social media are filled with news of your recent battle. and there’s quite a bit of pending messages from reporters asking for interviews for all of you. Red Alfa has already taken perimeter positions around Marrocos and is running a campaign of their own to get to the people’s hearts, spreading posts and pamphlets explaining their version of the events with photographs of Habladora in a simple white dress and plenty of subtle make-up that would be hard to notice if you hadn’t already seen her “natural” form, seeking to present her as an innocent child that had just too much power and hunger but would be a great help in the future if properly educated. There’s some toxic replies from Steel Crusader and Einst corporation sympathizers but in average the Neo Society seems to be handling the city situation well, sharing their supplies for free to gain some extra goodwill.

As the sun rises over the sand and buildings, it seems like a good time to decide your plans for the future.

[DeTess]

Captain Evaro was treated to the sight of the rising sun as she strode onto the bridge, holding two cups of coffee. The bridge was silent, with only the small handful of crew of the night's watch present.The captain took a moment to soak in the ambiance, then walked over to the captain's chair and handed one of the cups over to the watch officer. He took it gratefully and another moment of silence passed as the two of them sipped their coffee and admired the sight of the sun slowly climbing away from the horizon.

Finally, the officer spoke. "A message from Adamantine HQ arrived around midnight, confirming the completion of the Marrocos contract and confirming that we're free to pursue contracts independently for a while. Apart form that, we've had a report from one of the engineers working on the main hangar deck last night. He mentioned hearing a loud 'skittering' noise from the section of the deck sealed of for captain Rubii's company. I increased security slightly, but some member of her crew where present and acting like it was business as usual so I left it at that."

As the watch officer made his report the bridge had slowly come alive as the night's crew got relieved by fresh officers. Cevet had arrived on the bridge and had settled into his position, overseeing operations. "That was the right call. I know what captain Rubii is keeping in there and as long as it stays in there there's nothing to worry about. If that's all, you're now relieved, so get some rest."

The watch officer nodded in response, then got up and left the bridge with he rest of the night's watch. Theresa spent a couple more minutes watching the sun rise, then left for the meeting room to discuss the plans for the coming days.

[YuweaCurtis]

Rubii rolls to the side of her bed, reaching for something on the night stand. Her hand hits a bottle and she grabs it as she sits up with a slouching posture. As she takes a drink, the small figure on the makeshift bed who was already sitting up opens an eye. "Do you intend on meeting them drunk? The small humanoid asks, having an elongated lower body. A grin creeps out the corner of Rubii's mouth, "It's going to take a lot more then this to get me drunk, you should know that. This isn't even the good stuff sis. Anyways, I suppose we should get ready and head to that meeting room."

It was a pretty busy day yesterday, so Rubii and her team only really had time to briefly meet the captain of the Aurora... Well in person, the pirate had had run in with the battleship and it's mecha squad before do to all the honest business deals they are involved in.

Rubii herself would don her custom Civilian Clothes, while Xelya would put on a sailor fukuesque School Uniform dress. Anyone would see her as a commoner Numan, even the snake like body below the dress would seem to disappear underneath the trail. Since it was only a meeting, Rubii would only bring her large scimitar, strapped across her back, and some nondescript bottle of alcohol clipped to her belt. The two would exit the room and meet up with the crew's scientist, Matthew Googanheek, before going to the meeting room. The girls would sit down while the guy would reaming standing roughly behind them, his hands working the screen projected from his personal compact computer.

[Arayl]

Once the meeting had been adjourned xenia and Caiden returned to the quarters they'd been given for privacy as they were interviewed by the various news agencies that wanted to interview them about what had happened in the defense of the city. Once the last interview had concluded Xenia stood up and stretched before saying, Well Caiden I believe it's time we resume your lessons, after all a lady needs her companion to be able to accompany her to more than just the battlefield" With that said she held her hand out and began to lead him through a basic waltz she had been trying to teach him for the past few weeks.

The next day they returned to the briefing room and once the meeting started Xenia said, "My preference in regards to the missions on offer is to go to Side 13 and rescue the hostages. I'd rather not be on the bad side of the Steel Crusaders, and undertaking this mission for them might soothe their tempers towards us all"

[5ColouredWalker]

When it comes to Miniboss Squad, only one actually enters the Aurora, disembarking from their mech suit to head for the bridge, despite permission to come aboard being extended to the whole team. In this case, it's Miniboss 1 again, the one who identified as James.

Listening to Xenia, he seems to smile.

"That's good. Captain Evaro, my commanders have decided to let our squad have a bit of lee-way for now in mission selection, having said that as long as we keep either Macross or whoever we base with happy, we would be free for a week, probably because they planned for us to be busy at least a fortnight more. They did however exhort that we assist with SSC 13. Given we're adept as space operations we would be willing to try this ourselves, however we'd be more than willing to receive help."

James' stance relaxes some from his formal stance, going from almost attention to almost at ease.

"Should the Aurora be space capable, we'd like to try this mission working together, and perhaps a few others. If we work well, perhaps we can convince our commander to work out a deal where you get the support of another Mecha-Squadron, while letting others worry about the upkeep."

[DeTess]

The next day they returned to the briefing room and once the meeting started Xenia said, "My preference in regards to the missions on offer is to go to Side 13 and rescue the hostages. I'd rather not be on the bad side of the Steel Crusaders, and undertaking this mission for them might soothe their tempers towards us all"

"That's good. Captain Evaro, my commanders have decided to let our squad have a bit of lee-way for now in mission selection, having said that as long as we keep either Macross or whoever we base with happy, we would be free for a week, probably because they planned for us to be busy at least a fortnight more. They did however exhort that we assist with SSC 13. Given we're adept as space operations we would be willing to try this ourselves, however we'd be more than willing to receive help."

James' stance relaxes some from his formal stance, going from almost attention to almost at ease.

"Should the Aurora be space capable, we'd like to try this mission working together, and perhaps a few others. If we work well, perhaps we can convince our commander to work out a deal where you get the support of another Mecha-Squadron, while letting others worry about the upkeep."

"The Aurora is indeed space-capable. I also happen to agree with prioritizing the Side 13 situation, as it seems the most urgent of the jobs shared with us. That having been said, it's also a tactically complicated job. The queen we're dealing with is behaving somewhat oddly. Taking hostages suggests a certain amount of understanding of how we think and respond to such things. The last queen we dealt with, for example, wouldn't even have even considered such a tactic. The 'Ruin Monarch' has also had plenty of time to dig in and prepare, so this mission will require a degree of finesse." The captain shrugged, realizing she was dangerously close to starting a lecture on the particular dangers of this mission. Everyone present here was a professional, so she doubted any of them needed such a lecture. "What I'm trying to say is simply this; I'm in favour of taking this mission, provided everyone else is as well and more importantly believes that they can bring the right tools for this job."

[5ColouredWalker]

"We'll need to swap out our Tesla Drives for their space variants and adjust our Radar's settings for Space Use... We could also insert the Non-Zentradi pilot systems, but I don't think we know that the hostages have pilot training, which means using that method for extraction would be difficult... Ideally, I think we'd use your forces as a distraction for exfiltration. If spotted however, we'd need extraction ASAP. Or bosses aren't great with using standardised pilot materials, preferring standard army grade ones."

James shrugs. Even more legendary teams occasionally got caught by something as annoying as a drone swarm bumping into them. It was always worth planning for exfil.

"Fortunately we can survive sans our mecha-suits in space. So there's no need to fear us suffocating... A thought, the briefings say only long-distance communication has been refused. Approaching close with powered down weapons may allow for negotiations, in good will or as a distraction."


James looks somewhat hopeful.

[YuweaCurtis]

Rubii yawns and props her head up with her right arm, I'm up for whatever as long as I get paid. But yea, taking hostages is definately out of character for Einst. Due to this I think it's safe to assume she has some sort of plan." "Perhaps she's found the pleasure of pushing creatures to their limits..." the girl with her adds, drawing a half nervous laugh from Rubii. "Heh, yes, well let's hope nothing harmful has been done to the hostages." If one listens close enough, they could tell at least half the reason she said it was to keep up appearances. "Anyways, as unlikely as talking to her will work, I volunteer to try. I'm just as handy talking as I am piloting. And I have a bit of experience talking to Einst Queens."

[DeTess]

The captain suppressed a shudder. She'd been wondering about Rubii's young companion, but her comment on the Einst's motives had made her identity pretty clear. Theresa forced herself to tear her gaze away from the young queen, and addressed the group as a whole. "I'm not certain how viable attempting to negotiate is. The Einst has apparently made it clear that she's not particularly interested in talking or trading the hostages. If we were to use our stealth capabilities to get close enough to actually force communications, the Einst could very well decide that the hostage threat is not being taken seriously and kill a couple of the them to demonstrate her point. Opening negotiations first also indicates that someone is coming for the hostages in the first place, and the element of surprise is something that would be very useful to us if the Einst is unwilling to talk." Captain Evaro tapped a couple of buttons, and the projector in the middle of the tables started displaying a map of Side 13 and the surrounding space, including the ruins currently occupied by the Einst. "Another thing we need to keep in mind is that rescuing the hostages is only one part of the mission. To keep Side 13 safe from further incursions that Einst needs to go, and I doubt she'd be willing to just agree to leave when she thinks she is in a position of strength."

"That having been said, I'll contact the Steel crusaders and ask if they could provide us with details on all communication with this Einst so far, as well as whatever information they have on the ruins this Einst currently occupies." She picked up her tablet and quickly drafted a short message to the Steel Crusader representative.

[5ColouredWalker]

"Be sure to ask both for pre-capture layoutt and any detectable changes. It's nice to know the layoutt of our infiltration targets first. Avoids us having to shuck our suits in surprise."