The faint smell of well oiled machinery permeates the cabin as the pod races across the landmass of Umemii III, A dry planet but reasonably civilised if you know where to avoid and which palms to grease.

Colonel Baron Askel Orin sits in one the crash chairs watching the other man across from him, sleeping on the ride, a new face but came highly recommended, a necessity when going into a situation where you do not have all the variables. Being outside imperial space, his influence not having as much traction as he is used to, he has to make do with what he can get. But at least some favours got him this man at no cost. His mind flashes back to the message he received which placed him in his current position…

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ENCRYPTION ACTIVE ## BLUEFISH XT7 MILITARY CYPHER ##
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URGENT – FOR THE ATTENTION OF COLONEL BARON ASKEL ORIN ONLY

Colonel, I understand it has been many years since I served under you in the 17th Battalion and you may not remember me. It is as a last resort I contact you. I am led to believe you are currently in the Tobia Sector so I hope this message finds you quickly.

I have managed to get myself involved in something since I left imperial service not through any fault of my own but by something I have seen while in said service. I fear there are people out to hunt me down or worse and that some of these people may even be part of the Imperial military which is who I message you directly.

I have managed to secure a safehouse on the planet Umemii III in the Umemii System. I have attached exact coordinates to this message using our old 17th Battalion battle encryption.

If you are able, please contact me, I could really do with your guidance.

Corporal Axim Dimas

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His return messages sent through normal channels and some more esoteric have gone unanswered which has led you to being on this Pod staring at the mercenary opposite. You hope he is as good as they say and can watch your back adequately, without the military behind you anymore, its only your wits and experience.

The mercenary stirs, waking from his nap. Dixon you remember his name being.

***Brzzt*** Attention, We will be arriving in our destination in 5 minutes, please prepare for landing ***Brzzt***

Looks like this is it, you see the land moving quickly below you as you head to the coordinates you had decrypted in that last message from Corporal Dimas.

In reply to The GM (msg # 1):

Askel stands and makes sure all his gear is stowed safely before he kicks Dixon's foot. "Hey, get your kit secured before we land. I've been in too many bumpy landings and whacked on the head too many times to want that again today. Pilots promise to get you there just not necessarily all in one piece." The man is a weather-worn thirty something. A slight scar shows on his neck and goes below his clothes to who knows where. He wears, to anyone who knows what they're looking for, cloth armour with a telltale glint in any gaps revealing he also wear reflec. At his hip he has a holstered pistol of some kind. He settles back down in his seat and buckles in. "Damn, I hope Dimas has got some rum when we get to him." he thinks to himself.


This message was last edited by the player at 08:27, Sat 04 Feb 2023.

Dixon's eyes flicker open, pale glass eyes that look up at Askel. He sits up a bit and rubs them between forefinger and thumb and says softly "No way I get onto a dropship without securing my shit so we're right there".

He's a lanky man, pale hair, eyes and skin that give him an odd appearance. Behind him are gun cases and an armour bag as well as his personal gear that includes the distinctive 'IISS survival kit-large'. He breathes deeply through his nostrils as he fully wakens. Like Askel he's scarred, a distinctive one splits his lower lip and tracks across the waxy pale skin of his jaw.

He to is armed albeit with only a stunner under his armpit in an external holster. His street clothes are nondescript, just a few years out of fashion but not too far out of fashion to be noticeable. If it wasn't for his distinctive features he's merge into the crowd.

"This friend of yours, is he bolted-down? Can we trust him?"

In reply to Dixon Lyshenko (msg # 3):

"Well, he was a corporal in one of my squads years ago. At the time I would have and had to trust my life to those guys. But life can deal you a funny hand sometimes so you never know. While he's probably on the level there's always a chance he's up to something a bit off and might be stitching me up. Best to keep that stunner fully ready just in case." Askel's voice is flat and betrays no emotion as he speaks. "I'm sure you'll do it anyway but best keep an eye out in case we're followed when we get off."

Dixons's lips are a grim, flat line "I hate to sound paranoid but with the enemies I have I'm always checking to see if I'm followed, that shouldn't effect us out here though. I'll do my usual sweep at landing, during the route and when we hit this safehouse. If I spot anything you'll get two beeps on your comm"  He cocks an ear to the thundering outside the hull as the pod slides into atmo
"Just so you know, I usually don't go 'lethal' as a default and I'm hesitant about working with people who do. I know you're a soldier with a soldier's reflexes but as SecCorp you have to understand I've cleaned up after a lot of ex-soldiers have 'dealt' with problems their way. I also understand you didn't get to where you were without prudence but just a reminder is that my first instinct is to de-escalate, sorry to be judgemental." His clear eyes flicker a bit as he pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to Askel "but then again, sometimes you just can't get people to see reason. Here's a friend-or-foe tag linked to my weapons if we go automatic."

In reply to Dixon Lyshenko (msg # 5):

Askel takes the tag "I do try to avoid killing people when I can. Now I haven't got the weight of the Imperium behind me law enforcement tend to frown upon making civilians dead. I can do it quietly with this if need be." He reaches into a hidden pocket on the sleeve of his jacket and slides out a long, thin blade. The stealth dagger apparent to anyone who is familiar with them.

You hear the whine of breaking jets firing up and momentum of the vehicle arresting before a slight thump as the landing feet settle onto the ground. The all to familiar sound of machinery settling into an idle state with whirs and hisses echoes through the hull before the rear exit starts to descend letting in a slip of light.

The intercom clicks on *** You are free to disembark now, but may I suggest you use a Combo Mask, the air is a little thin here. If you don't have one you can find a couple in the storage bin next to the ramp. Once you are off we will go airborne again, just raido in when you require pickup and you can return your masks then. ***

As your eyes get used top the daylight streaming through the rear exit you can see a dry dust bowl of a world, minimal vegetation indicates a lack of available water and of course the low atmosphere doesn't help there. Around 500m in front of you stands a temporary habitat looks sturdy enough and not too old, with a cheap grav car sitting out front.

Askel slides his stealth dagger back into its hidden sheath before he reaches up for his pack. He hefts it onto his back, an accelerator rifle is trapped to the side of it.
He turns to Dixon "Not quite what I was expecting but I think the best way to approach is to split up. Keep 50 meters between us and walk towards the habitat then close in from opposite sides. At least that way only one of us gets shot unless there's more than one in there." He reaches for a combo mask and dons it. "Keep your weapon ready but I shouldn't draw it yet." he adds

"Are you sure you want to run it this way?" says Dixon through his mask. "How about you let me scope it out first without a weapon, no need to draw attention to us. If this is a safehouse we don't want to blow it by prowling around with weapons out and drawing attention."

"OK, we'll do it your way. I'll wait here then. I'll keep you covered though. If someone shoots at you drop and they can feel what a round from an accelerator rifle feels like." He lowers his pack to ground and lies prone behind it.

Dixon nods "sounds good, keep under cover while I give this place a once-over."

Not feeling as confident as he looks, Dixon wanders up and gives the place a glance over. He checks the state of the doors and the windows looking for any signs of anything untoward be it a crime scene of the subtle signs of a barricaded location. Not pausing, he glances as far around the building as he can and then walks to the door. If there's nothing concerning him he activates the door notifier.

Dixon Can you give me a Recon Check please (INT)
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:15, Mon 06 Feb 2023.

Askel unstraps his rifle and resting it on his pack takes a loose aim at the habitat keeping an eye out for movement at the windows.

Dixon scouts around the perimeter noticing the windows tinted to prevent anyone from seeing in from outside. Its also pretty sunny so could also just be sun protection. He feels the engine housing of the grav car... cold to the touch (aside from ambient heating by the daytime sun). As he approaches the front door he starts to reach for the door notifier when he spots a slight bend and some scratches on the housing of the door locking panel just below.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:22, Tue 07 Feb 2023.

Dixon stands relaxed. not showing any outward signs of seeing the marks. "Baron, we have a problem. The door shows sign of an intrusion. Can you come up and back me up as I go in?"

In reply to Dixon Lyshenko (msg # 15):

"Take cover, on my way." Strapping his rifle to his pack Askel again puts it on his back. He pulls his gauss pistol out of its holster and moves up to join Dixon "Any sign of movement?"

Dixon is out of line of the door and as Askel comes up he slides his stunner our of its holster, activates the laser spot (he's not wearing his HUD) and shakes his head.

"I'll go left, you go right. You know not to stop on doorways. If there's cover in the room I'll keep going around the wall to get an angle on it."

Dixon looks around the area, seeing if the house is under surveillance and making sure there's no drones silently hovering overhead.

"I'm going to leave the call to you, if your friend is dead do we put anyone down in there or take prisoners? I'm saying this because once I take a prisoner I won't let anything happen to them."

In reply to Dixon Lyshenko (msg # 17):

"In and right, gotcha." Askel nods his agreement. "I want one alive for questioning. If there are others they can burn. On 3. 1...2...3." He is up and moving towards the door as the three comes out of his mouth.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:35, Tue 07 Feb 2023.

Askel pushes in through the door and turns immediately right, following the turn of the wall round into a kitchen space, stairs run up on the opposite wall leading to an upper level.

Dixon moves in and takes the left side. in the immediate entry area is a seating area containing a sofa and a chair along the back wall is a refresher room in the corner furthest from the door.

The entire downstairs area is open plan with just the small refresher as a second room.

Kneeling against a counter, he avoids leaning aginst a wall in case they're thin enough to register a thermographic signature outside, Dixon whispers into his comm.

"Floor clear, we have to do the stairs. I knew I should have put a flashbang in my purse today along with my lipstick. This might suck, do you have armour? I've got some light ballistic on."

He holds his stunner up pointing just above head height and slowly scans the area, his odd unblinking eyes sweeping everything.