First RP to be finished on Anonymatrix....hopefully....

First topic message reminder :

Ok, I said I was going to post this, and I will. I expect people to join, as many people expressed an interest.

Alright. I will keep this simple. It is the year 5052AD, and mankind has long since extended its reach to the stars and outside its solar system. It has encountered many new sentient races, some hostile, some friendly and some who are just trying to get by. The governments of mankind have banded together under one banner, the "true" UNEM; United Nations of Earth and Mankind. It sits on the grand galactic council alongside representatives from every other race in the galaxy, and ostensibly have Human-kinds best interests at heart. However, politics corrupt everything, and every member in the council has their own agenda, even within the parties. The miniature councils that run the solar systems are just as corrupt, allowing bandits and slavers to operate in many of the outlying systems where the UEP- the Universal Enforcers Patrol- have a very weak presence. Whether this is due to lethargy or corruption on the councillors part depends on the system. There are many different groups outside the councils, be they mercenary groups, terrorist groups, bandits or just wealthy, independent businessmen.

Of course, what do we care about this? You are all simple creatures- humans and aliens alike- who live a simple life, living in a colony on the planet Liberty, located in the Terminus System in the far reaches of the galaxy. News from the rest of the galaxy doesn't reach you, and your biggest worries include the occasional bandit raid or whether next years harvest goes rotten. Humans and aliens alike live together, side by side, reacting to each other based solely on personal virtues rather than racial stereotypes. You are all stuck here, after all, and you grew up here; most of your families have lived here since the colony was founded, or close to it. Liberty is an earth-like planet, albeit with different wildlife and a slightly higher climate, and completely isolated, more or less.
That is, until a ship from an unknown organisation- it could be military, it could be something else- drops out of hyperspace above the planet, and sends down six soldiers of mixed race in a dropship that lands just outside of the colony limits, near the outlying farms. They have heard rumours of a massive attack being planned by an unknown force, and they have been sent to find out why and to hopefully stop it. What in Gods name is about to happen to the peaceful planet of Liberty?

Ok, now most of you will be farmers or shopkeepers or working in personal security...generally an ordinary person leading an ordinary life. Myself and someone else will be playing the military personnel in charge of the other four who were sent down, and sorry guys, but that role has been reserved. This is simply to keep the story moving.
You can be human or alien, and I will not give you a list of aliens. It will be up to you to invent them yourselves...just PM me with your ideas and I will review them to see if they are viable to include. Alright?
If you wish to be one of the four soldiers, you may, but I do not want everyone choosing a soldier, and if you choose to be a "grunt" you will be wearing a red shirt. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedShirt

We start just as the dropship is finding a place to land.


Roles:

Civilians:
-Danny, farmer, Crystalline
-Faith, Book Shop owner, Human

Soldiers:
-Murdoch, Scout Leader, Human
-Jordan [Eljordo], Human

Other:
-Brandon (Dragon...symbiote...thing...)

I had grown close enough to the two now, that I was for sure I was following the right group of people. I could hear some of their conversation, but most of it was lost to my ears. Mostly I heard bits of conversation that didn’t matter. They weren’t stupid enough to speak of personal maters while they were in public.

That meant I would have to make contact with them. I would have to speak, and be nice. I had a feeling very few actually had been nice to these people. Maybe it was easier to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar. I sighed quietly, shaking my head as I quietly followed. I didn’t want to make contact until we were almost completely alone. There would be fewer ears that way. It would be easier if I just kept quiet until we made it someplace different.

I shook my head, taking in a deep breath as I hurried toward them. Screw that. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t keep my curiosity to myself. I couldn’t just let them walk away. What if it didn’t take them long to find what they needed, and they were gone before I could get the story from them? Then what impact would I have on this colony?

I shook my head, coming as close as I could comfortably to one of them. I watched them a moment. They were both males. I nodded to myself. I could do this, I had to do this.

“Excuse me sir, you two wouldn’t happen to be traveling to the Scrap yard, would you?”
They both stood tall, as if they knew where they were going. They did of course, but there had to be some uncertainty in them that the girl had given them wrong directions. It had to be there somewhere. Not everyone was innocent, and they knew that. If they didn’t, they were fools.
I kept my arms hidden behind my back, and under my cloak. It was easy keeping in stride with them as I watched their two forms. It was easier to maneuver the streets once you had been in them long enough. People didn’t watch for you. They watched for themselves, and that was about it. If everyone kept away from everyone else, then there was no problem with the streets. You just needed to learn how exactly to watch. They, it was apparent, didn’t know how to watch yet.

Murdoch raises an eyebrow as he hears a girls voice behind him; he thought that he felt someone following them- it's an instinct you develop when in the military- but he had put it down to the fact that it was a crowded area. More fool him, then, but if she meant them immediate harm, than she wouldn't have revealed herself or spoken to them so politely. She may be planning harm eventually, but for now, they're safe.
Turning around, he inclines his head. "Indeed we are, ma'am," he says politely, "May I ask why it is of interest to you?"

I smiled as he turned slightly, acknowledging my presence like many of the others wouldn’t have done if I had been speaking to them. To be honest, I felt like the welcoming committee. The girl, or at least what I had seen of her through the shrubs, had been rude and ignorant. First impressions always seemed to stick in my head. That one would definitely.

“Pardon me if this sounds rude, but as it is so crowded around here. I couldn’t help but overhear you speaking of currency. Are you the new arrival I’ve heard so much about?”

I lowered my voice, keeping my words in only their earshot. The colonist that were now passing us by had a thing for getting their jobs done, but they would stop to hear anything about new comer, any day they had the chance to.

Jordan sighed in relief, at least this one was polite. If she thinks that she will slip past his guard by being nice, she is dead wrong, still it's nice to not get barked at.

"what gave us away?" Jordan said in a low serious tone, once again only in earshot of himself, Murdoch and this newcomer. He probably shouldn't have told her that, but they do need help, and it's not like people can't just look at them and not think they were soldiers.

I had to keep from rolling my eyes. If he was being sarcastic, I would just ignore the sarcasm. See? It wasn’t hard to be polite when others weren’t. Of course, if he wasn’t being sarcastic, then…Well we would just get to that when we got there.

“Well it is rather obvious” I addressed the second that had spoke, the smile keeping sweet on my lips.

“You two aren’t really wearing…Colony Attire…It’s scaring some of the children actually”
I gave a slight giggle, before shaking my head and looking back to the two. It wasn’t of me to say they were frightening small children, but the thought of it made me want to laugh.
I watched them quietly, bringing my arms out of their hiding space to rub the side of my face. I gave them both another look up and down. They would definitely be strong. I smiled lightly to myself. At least that way I didn’t have to help the lug anything back to wherever they came from.

They wouldn’t want me to help them anyway. They wouldn’t want anyone near the crash site I presumed. I wouldn’t if I was in their positions. Of course, I had no galaxy smarts whatsoever, so I didn’t really know what their position was anymore.
I shook my head, I was thinking too much. I was thinking about this too hard, and sometimes that hurt me.

“I’m assuming you have a Colony Currency Card, yes?”

This girl seemed nice enough at least, and he couldnt help but see the humor in her joke, even if he didn't show it.

"We have an intergalactic credit chit, it should be compatable with your currency cards"

Murdoch shakes his head slowly, "No, Jordan, I wouldn't be so sure. An intergalactic Credit Chit is only good if the planet accepts credits. Most planets do, but a colony this far out? It's far from a sure thing..." he looks at the girl, possibly the one person so far on this colony planet that has expressed any desire to help them at all, "Does your planet accept Credits, or does it only accept your local currency?" He asks.

I gave a slight hum, nodding my head as I watched the one again. They both spoke. They were both right on one level or another. I looked them both over.

“They may take your credits, but they may not. Hopefully the Scrap yard owner will have the equipment to convert the currency. We don’t see many outsiders, and many of us shop owners don’t see the need to get such ‘advance’ equipment. Besides, most outsiders either make the trip here to live here, getting their own CCC or they’re run out before their need of anything from the markets came up. Of course, my shop does, but you wouldn’t have any need for Colonized literature.”

I shook my head, not knowing whether I would want to help these men or not. If they checked my card to see that I had helped outsiders, when they had really been looters, I would be tried for treason. I sighed quietly. They weren’t light on those kinds of punishments either.

He nods thoughtfully. "We could always try the credits, and if that doesn't work, try and strike up some kind of deal," he says, starting his walk again, gesturing for the girl to follow him. This could present a problem; if they can't get a deal struck, they very well may have to steal the parts they need. It sounds criminal, and it is, but they need to get the ship working again, and they can't do that without the proper parts. Unfortunately, in cases like this, the mission comes first. Of course, that is plan E, for when Plan A, B, C and D fail.

"What sort of deal would they accept if they don't accept Credits?"

I smiled lightly. He was definitely thinking through things, but the uncertainty of his plan didn’t seem very professional. The last travelers that we saw here made sure they had everything they needed, and if they didn’t, they contacted colony headquarters. I didn’t meet them, but that’s what was heard down the grapevine.

He waved a hand as he began walking, and I continued forward, the small smile on my lips. If I seemed homely enough, I might be able to pry information out of them. Just enough to give to the papers. They had rewards for stuff like this.

I looked over as he directed a question towards me. He seemed to be the leader, although at the beginning of the conversation I was unsure. I gave a hum through closed lips before turning my head toward the path ahead of us, and sliding my hands behind my back.

“I’m unsure about that. I, personally, have never been into the Scrap yard. I’ve never even met the man. I would assume it would be like any other districts though. People are always looking for new…out-of-galaxy goods, and will pay out the nose to get it too! Of course, if he can’t make a deal with you, maybe I can?”

I kept my eyes straight as I pulled my arms from where they were hidden under the cloak. Around my neck was my own Colony Credits Card.

“I, myself, would kindly help you kind gentlemen out, if I know you’re not the looting, thieving, Get little old bookshop owner put away, kind of people” I let the card drop, replacing my hands back behind my back for further use when needed.

Ooc- Soooo Sorry! Being Dragged to the mall (1 1/2 Hours away) For school shopping. Be back as soon as possible TTFN

He raises an eyebrow. Is she offering to pay for them? It can't be that simple. She wants something, and that something is probably not a small thing. He's learnt on the cutthroat business planets not to trust a silver platter, or an innocent looking deal. He'll explore it, but he will not give in to any demands that may compromise him or his team or his fellow crew members aboard the ship.
"I suppose a simple assurance that we are not looters would not suffice? After all, how many looters come so well-equipped?" He pauses, then sighs. "Very well, girl, I'll bite. What do you want in return for this little favour of yours?"

I smiled, we had been at this less than five minutes, and yet he had already somewhat caves. I shook my head lightly. Truthfully, I didn’t know what I wanted from these people, but they didn’t have to know that. I looked over a moment, placing my index finger beside my nose.

“Let’s just wait and see how events unfold, and if it’s a necessity, we’ll discuss it when we arrive to it.” That would give me enough time to think while they were looking for scrap and the likes. I shook my head, thinking back to the first thing he had said. I had completely thought over it at first.

“If we arrive at such a bridge later then No, assurance isn’t enough. I’ll need Insurance. I won’t jump at this on one simple man’s word. I hope you’ll understand where I’m coming from with this. You don’t turn out to be who you say you are, and the whole thing is on me. Helping an enemy of the colony is no simple slap on the wrist”

He sighs, nodding a little. "Very well. We shall see how this unfolds, but I warn you, girl, that I make no promises; you can ask your questions, but I may not answer them. You ask anything that is classed as Classified or may endanger my crews lives, and you will not get an answer. I hope you understand," Of course, he doesn't care if she understands or not; whilst he's happy for the help that she's giving, he isn't about to give up any information that could be sensitive in any way. She probably just wants the information to sell to some newspaper- from Omicron Delta to the far reaches of the Terminus Systems, all newspapers are the same- and he isn't about to make their mission her some tabloids field day. However, just because she asks the questions doesn't mean that he has to answer truthfully. She has no way to corroborate the data...and that's the weak point in her little extortion scam. He can easily lie. Of course, he'll have to play it right. Make her work for the information, make it look like she's prying it out of him. Then she'll be far more likely to believe it...and by the time she works out that he didn't tell her the truth, then they'll hopefully be long gone.

Or, he could give her a partially true story; give her just enough details of their mission for her to extract the wrong conclusion. Then he can argue, should she find out, that he gave her the non-sensitive details and she merely added two and two and got five. Plausible deniability, and it's harder to find out that they were out-and-out lying. Simple, easier to remember, and more likely to work. Good...that is a good plan. He keeps the consideration off of his face, though, keeping it neutral and only a tad annoyed-looking.
"If you want information, you'll have to settle with the non-compromising stuff. Just as you have no idea who I am, I have no idea who you are, and I don't know what you intend to do with the information," well, he doesn't know, he only suspects, but that is enough of a distinction to fall into his 'Don't lie unless there is no other way' policy.

I nodded, what he spoke of was correct. He didn’t know me. I sighed quietly, nodding.
“Very well” I spoke simply, looking forward. The shop seemed to be rather close now. I nodded. It wouldn’t be the best time while they were worrying about business to bother them with questions, but I wouldn’t have any other times. After they got parts they would be gone.
“So, I’ve not gotten a name, nickname, or anything. What should I call you stranger” I raised my head, looking around the area. There wasn’t really anyone threatening around. People snooping around didn’t help my cause at all. If anything, they hampered progress, and made itless likely I would get the truth or results.

Jordan wasn't sure if it was wise to give out that information. She seemed nice enough, but Jordan could tell she had other plans on her agenda. He turns to Murdoch

"Sir?"

Murdoch considers, then nods slightly. Their names won't do anything if she knows them. Even if she owns a computer connected to the intergalactic network, she won't find anything should she search; much like this mission, and much like the organisation that they belong to, Murdoch and Jordan don't exist. "I'm Murdoch. He's Jordan. Your name, Ma'am?"

I gave a light hum, thinking the names through a moment. Jordan was an old name if you thought about it. It probably showed up the 3000 years ago on Earth, just like my own. Now the other, Murdoch, something of a mind twister. It would do some research, but it sounded somewhat familiar from my books.
Certain planets and systems had their own names. People went with whatever everyone else was naming their kid mostly, and if there was a large quantity then it would just have been easier to name them all one name. So names were common in some places where they weren’t in others.

I looked up, the smile light on my lips.
“You can call me Faith, Gentlemen”

I gave a light bow, but not one that would show off or push me out there as being prissy.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both”

I'm just waiting for the others So, Aki, Jade, Brandon, Jordan...you know, those people who posted once or twice and left, or the people who aren't on much.

ooc- Understandable.

ooc: Most amicable.

OOC- I swear I’m never this bad with not posting on Roleplays..

BIC-

It pays to work the markets on a daily basis; you know how to get in and out without a struggle from the crowd. You just have to know where to go, and what to avoid, and you’ll pass through without any jams or people knocking you on the wrong path.

The men, how I hate to admit this, unfortunately weren’t stupid enough to just assume I was racing off to finish my own personal affaires. They’re probably taking precautions as we speak, for any situation. God only knows what type of communication equipment they have on them at this very moment, who they’ve contacted and what they’re planning. The thought comes to mine though.. If they’re contacting people, which is just a guess, it means they’re far from being alone there. But where are they hiding? Crash site? In the colony? The outer lands? If they’d changed clothing, they could be walking around right now and the people would never know. Sure.. We can spot unfamiliar faces, but people do pass by here. No one would give them a second look. Damnit! While they’re roaming here, standing out and keeping what attention is spared, the others could have wandering in right under our noses. Well, here or not, I’m getting to that crash site. If I find others there, then at least it’ll make me feel a bit better about there being only these two in the colony. Although, I do have to think of a plan before I go poking around in the outer lands. If they have communicated with someone at the site, I highly doubt they’ll believe a different girl who looks like.. Well.. Me, would just coincidentally end up at the site. Although, playing ‘stupid’ may stop them from shooting me.

Murdoch gives a little half bow in return, "Pleased to meet you, Faith," he says, smiling a little. Truth be told, names don't really mean much in the grand scheme of things; if she has access to the Intergalactic Network, it will take quite a lot of work to at least find out the origins of the names. After who knows how many years of spreading out and intermingling, there are names all over the place. All it takes is for one person to hear the name somewhere and like it and call their kid that name, and then that name is on another planet. All it takes is the parent to move, or the name to be a family tradition...it's possible to narrow down where it's from, but then there are going to be hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of 'Murdochs,' for instance, in the universe. As he said, though; they don't exist, so all records of them have been removed from the net, and every mission file, background document, every detail is in their organisations classified archives...and their organisation itself is hard to find mention of other than the odd rumour.

Just then, he hears the crackle of his comm opening. Straightening, he says, "One second please," and opens his comms. He isn't worried about the girl hearing half his conversation; she is unlikely to draw any conclusion that is harmful to them from his conversation other than there are more here, and he has hardly made a secret about that. It's not only a deterrence not to harm them, but also a bit of honesty, should anybody discover them and panic. He can just say 'I did tell you' or 'I did mention it' or even 'did you think we'd pilot a ship on our own and then leave it lying around?'
"Sir?" comes Tarya's voice over the comm.
"Here, Tarya," He replies. She's technically a Colonel, but they never address each other by rank other than 'sir'. The informal air does help the interaction. Everyone knows who's in charge, and there aren't any rules against friendship or fraternization, meaning that moral is a hell of a lot higher and people are a lot less likely to run away; if you have people you like or even love fighting beside you, you're less likely to desert them, after all.
"Sir, the Cloak is up and running. The ship is invisible. Had to sacrifice scanner efficiency, but at the moment, I don't think we need it."
"Good work," He says, "Oh, and we're coming up to the scrapyard now," it's true; he can just about see it around the corner, "what did you need specifically?"
"Well, sir, the outer repairs are done save for the cosmetics and a few plates, so some panels of scrap metal would help. We also need an Electric Cord Conduit or two to bridge broken circuits, we need a few sensory receptors- ours broke in the crash, which is why we couldn't radio the ship; a small battery of aluminium should work- and a few bits and pieces needed to patch up the engine shielding matrix, which has several malfunctions that could cause the engines to explode while in flight. Which would be bad."
"That would be bad," He agrees, suppressing a small chuckle despite himself, "What do you need for that?"
"We would need maybe three 4X2 metal panels, a steel coil-and-spring, three working 2 centimetre valves, an iron rod about a metre long and a lot of sticky tape. Oh, and sir, the coffee machine is running out of sugar."
"And we can't have that!"
"No, sir," she says, and he thinks he can hear her laughing a little.
"I'll be sure to grab you as much stuff from that list as I can find. I'll also drop into the cafe and steal their supply of free sugar for you. I know how you get when you don't have enough caffeine...you make the Grixhorn Beast look tame." The Grixhorn Beast is a creature that lives on the planet Gamma One, an arid desert planet, and stands about twenty feet tall and fifteen wide, and is actually not dissimilar to the "Rancor" in one of the old Earth films. It's just a lot smarter, a lot grumpier and its mouth can extend to swallow prey double its size. It can also shoot poison spines out of its back and fingers...you don't want to mess with it. It is probably one of the most aggressive creatures in the galaxy, almost overtaking humans.
"Thanks, sir. I'll do what I can without the bits of scrap until you get them back,"
"Good. Oh, and Tarya, we may have an issue with our Deltapacks," they don't have Deltapacks- they don't even exist, as far as he is aware- but it's a code they worked out long ago.
"Nosy local?"
"Yes, when I inspected it earlier, the light flashed purple," Purple is the code colour for approaching civilians; they had to come up with a code for it after it happened on every single planet they crashed. Much easier to say "Code purple" than "Civilians are coming our way, be prepared". It also means that it's easier to sip into conversation when around people you may not want to tip off what's going on. "Should we reroute the two currents to bypass the error?" Again, code; the two currents mean send out the Dwarves to hide in the surrounding area, the camouflage on their armours on, and then apprehend the local if they get too close. Then, Tarya will emerge from the treeline opposite- no need in letting the local know where the ship is, after all- and question the nosy local.
"Affirmative, sir,"
"The AI should really sort this sort of thing out on its own...it's smart enough, after all!" Again, code; it means that the girl is not stupid, so don't fall for the classic 'play dumb' trick. Seriously, people seem to think that it's a new thing. Everybody tries it! Ok, some people are dumb, but still. Tarya and the Dwarves won't shoot her, but they will question her and only let her go if they think she's not a threat.
"I read you sir. Thanks for the heads-up."
"Thanks for your help, Tarya. Murdoch out." He shuts off his comms, and inclines his head towards 'Faith' politely, thanking her for waiting so patiently.

"Sorry about that. Shall we continue?"

He seemed to take a millennium to finish with his conversation with someone I couldn’t hear. The last words I heard before I turned and took a few steps toward the side of the street was something about ‘deltapacks’ Of course he was probably communicating with someone that was back at the crash-site. The one reason I didn’t go to crash-site myself. Of course I had to admit; it was pure luck that I had even come across them in the first place. I had been looking, but I couldn’t believe I had found them so easily.

I hadn’t realized how long I had been lost in thought. The quick, subtle movement and words that sounded like they were directed toward me brought me from my travel into another dimension. I gave a slight grunt as I looked up.

I smiled, shaking my head. “It’s not a problem. Yes, It may take you awhile to find whatever you need. He isn’t always the neatest person in the Colony.” I took the first step forward, giving a flick of my wrist to signal for them to follow. Three minutes, and we would arrive to the shop they desired. Maybe their tongues would get slick whilst they worked. You never knew, you could always take the chance.

Jordan understood the code Murdoch told to Tarya. Those two always seem to be flirting, even during a mission, bug as long as the job gets done Jordan cares little.

"So, let's hope we can find what we need here" Jordan said. Kind of obvious, but true nonetheless.

From a distance the scrap yard looked quite unorganized, it would seem like finding the specifics they needed would be damn near impossible In that jungle. Jordan just sighed and continued along the path.