Arc 1, Thread 1: The Event Horizon (Arkady)
For most people, the transports of the Living Fleet are a death sentence. The ramshackle buckets are little more than scrap metal welded to engines, constantly leaking air into the entropic void that surrounds them. Their sole purpose is to die for the Last Refuge, ablative armor populated by losers and desperadoes.
They're not exactly wrong, but anyone who called one of Allison Al-Sayegh's crew a loser would be in for a very painful explanation about how, in her many, many eyes, they were actually heroes. Then they'd get a very painful explanation about how her eyes were the only ones that mattered.
Life aboard the Trapdoor and the rest of Spiderweb's privateer fleet- the Golden Hind and the Paddy Wagon- is rough-and-tumble and hard. But it's satisfying. She pays well, they're entertained well on their off-hours, and anyone who wants a cushier job in the rest of the fleet often gets a glowing recommendation. Everybody truly deserves it; there are no lollygaggers on her crew. Though nobody in her lean, hungry crew could be truly called content, there's a certain satisfaction in their employment. As a whole they feel like their hardscrabble life has a purpose, and that's more than most have.
It also helps ameliorate what the captain of the Paddy Wagon calls the 'troubles'- the times when Spiderweb gets a 'fukkin' bug up her ass about somethin' again'. Spiderweb's avarice and aggression are legendary, and they almost always mean an even tougher time ahead. On the bright side, they're also pretty lucrative.
"Alright, ya scraps," Captain Murphy addresses Arkady and fifteen others of the Paddy Wagon's crew, "The Troubles are startin' again, so ya know what that means. We've got a new target and Spiderweb wants to collect. I won't bother yar tiny skulls with the specifics this time, but we've gone and lucked out. The Golden Hind's spotted a Bataan-class frigate off of some asteroids in a nearby sector. Normally we'd just crush it up, real good yah, but this time we've decided we want it whole and complete. I don't know if ya've all been paying attention but the Fleet's just captured a whole flagship, and I guess they want to complete the set! So here's what we're doing. The Golden Hind will be doin the busy work as usual, zapping it up good and disabling it. Trapdoor will be runnin' jammin' and countermeasures. We need to get on board, disable the comms, disable the weapons, and then bring it back home."
Captain Murphy scans the crowd of scrappers,
"Of course this is dangerous as all sin, it is. So that's the usual. But here's another tidbit. Spiderweb's offerin' a bounty."
This gets the scrappers muttering. A bounty? That almost never happens. Spiderweb apportions out cash and goods and services according to rank. Everyone does their job, no heroic stuff. That's what keeps them alive.
"Yeah, I know. A bounty. When we disable the frigate, there'll probably be a bunch of Neverborn fighters hooked up. Now we're not talkin' the ciggies, we're talkin' the real deal. We'll need people to go in, hotwire them, and maybe take them out for a spin while we hook up the Paddy Wagon onto the frigate for tugboat time. That way if we're ambushed we can blast our way out. So ya get to be pilots for a day and get paid good for it!"
More muttering. Most people don't like that idea at all. Pilots already have a low life expectancy, but piloting a Neverborn fighter?
"Anyway, that's the unusual. Remember, everythin's hostile in frigate, so that's the usual. Squad leaders, make sure everyone's loaded with rocksalt shotguns. Watch yar fire, watch each other's backs. Remember that if ya have to die, do it like a madman. Questions?"