Special Branch: Overdue Reunions

POSTED BY: WashsYoungerSexierBr
UPDATED: Thursday, December 23, 2010 16:16
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WASHSYOUNGERSEXIERBR

Thursday, November 18, 2010 1:34 PM

WASHSYOUNGERSEXIERBR

Thursday, November 18, 2010 2:29 PM

The first order of Business is a Recap of all previous Threads leading up to where we are now.

Our story begins back in May 2006 with Special Branch: Unbound

After a brief Hiccup in the fabric of space time Seryn and Wisp find themselves transported across the galaxy in the Nandi to above the orbit of Boros. Meeting the Crew of the Dagger dragging the ISSVC Epsilon the valiant crew of boy-whores, theives and ne'erdowells. Land upon the surface in a blaze of glory and ectoplasmic gloop. After an evening of drinking, feasting and inventing plant folk the crew set off in various directions for parts and spares Soul and his crew enter orbit as they are so desperate to join the fun times. We quickly meet Vixen who very quickly has an altercation with Needy resulting in Wisp falling off a cliff. We also hear about a group of young children: Truth, Ghost and Shadow being abused by their cruel adoptive guardian. Finally a woman named Kyra McTaggert, manages to charm her way into one of the cells, to talk to a prisoner named Milton Reeves, former Companion and assistant to one Needy.

Leading us fluidly into Special Branch: The Chasing of Wild Geese.

The scene opens with Seryn, Needy, and Vixen trapped in a holding cell for misdemeanour's. Seryn and Needy are released straight to the nearest alcholery whilst Vixen is shipped off to a high security facility. Meanwhile Safe, Soul and friends go about hiring a Hover-mule from the Carson family who just happen to be the guardians of the three young children. Wisp spends this time unconscious in a hospital bed managing to come round and escape just as everyone turns up to rescue him. Unfortunately the all walk smack dab into an ambush and find themselves locked away in a hospital ward by the mysterious Crimson Squad.

Next comes Special Branch and the HUGE Hospital Bills.
The Rag-Tag Posse are all interrogated separately by various government agents. Each person seems to have complex pasts that become revealed. Seryn finds herself shipped out of the hospital in a near-death coma by a member of the resistance. with more resistance help and alarms blazing the rest of the gang manage to fight their way out of the building, nearly getting shot by Kyra on her way in I might add.

Special Branch: The Living Dead
Upon escape they meet up with the rest of Safes crew and some more resistance fighters and after a thrilling car chase find their way into an underground facility where they are reunited with Seryn and ScorpionRegent joins the squad. We also go and see the Carsons and them a thorough what for. This thread also features many LOST style flash backs and sideways with various shady and dangerous characters.

Special Branch: Motherhood for Heroes
We open with young Truth suffering from hypothermia, whilst Seryn suffers through labour, And Wisp suffers a dog chase with a gunship. After a brief escape into orbit we run across an SOS from the Dwarf where things are not all s they seem. Especially the woman who appears to be Soul's long lost love who is now the captains wife. This turns out to be a shape-shifting psycho bitch from The Expendables coming to kill Soul and the mystery cargo of the Dwarf. Meanwhile wisp suffers serious head trauma and Needy loses quite a few more marbles than a person can cope with. After the Changeling assassin steals the epsilon alliances are tested to breaking point...

Special Branch: Secrets and Lies
As people struggle to board the vessel drifting away the astral beings who seem to be following the crew play a few dice and help them out. The secret of the dwarf begins to be revealed but little is know about the mysterious 'weapon'. A brawl breaks out upon the Epsilon as Needy, Milton, and Vixen confront the shape-shifting Assassin, unfortunately they don't do too well and in the final moments Needy cashes in his sanity card and strangles his former protege without warning. The Dwarf finally catches up on they attempt to retake the stolen ship. Meanwhile A bounty hunter appears on Boros intent on tracking down our heroe

SOULOFSERENITY

Thursday, November 18, 2010 3:48 PM

The bar was seedy, but not as seedy as it's clientele. The dancers looked to be one drink away from passing out, and the bartender was asleep behind the bar. The handful of patrons were so far gone that they wouldn't have flinched if a bomb went off in the next booth. All of this served as the perfect atmosphere for a man who didn't want to be found, much less noticed.

Soul sat, perched on a stool at the far end of the bar, covered in shadow thanks to the light fixtures that had been in disrepair probably longer than they had worked. He nursed a small glass of the best whiskey that he could find behind the bar, his eyes darting back and forth at the crowd of people that wandered past the wide doorway, not one of them even glancing inside.

He had been sitting there for several hours, and was prepared to remain until his quarry wandered by. Internally, he cursed at no one in particular. His mind was racing, and every calming exercize that he tried ultimately failed. Ever since Santos...

He shook his head, taking a gulp of the whiskey. He had to stay focused. He couldn't think about the people, the events that had blown apart the calm, collected Soul and created this new, emotion-driven Marshall. He had to focus. There would be time for resolution. Later.

A flash of a familiar face passed the doorway, and Soul smoothly rose to his feet and blended into the moving crowd. His target walked slowly, and gave no indication that he knew he was being followed. As he had done hundreds of times before, Soul moved through the throng of people like they were standing still. He passed through open pockets, around standing figures and through groups, leaving no more than a quickly fading memory of his presence. He drew up behind his target and spoke softly into his ear.

"Hello Ciaran. It's been a while."

His target gave off the smallest of shivers as he kept moving. Soul couldn't help bit grin a bit as he spoke again.

"Considering that you can pretend to be anyone, why would you choose to be me?"

______________________

Soul, Security Chief of the Sereni-Tree, Captain of Destiny.

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

SAFEAT2ND

Thursday, November 18, 2010 6:39 PM

Safe sat at the base of an old tree in the small border-town's main square. An old dusty aviator's hat and a heavy gray streaked beard hid his face and blended with the equally worn clothing.

A battered tin protein can rested between his feet with a crude note, "Aerial surveys cheap".
From under the bill of his cap he watched the crowds pass. He hadn't had work in going on two weeks now; his belly reminded him of that loudly. But still he sat, just another vagrant, and he liked it that way.

No worries, no commitments, just the sun and his ancient fighter turned survey 'plane'. He had put her together with bits he could salvage or even occasionally steal from Alliance depots.
Still it wasn't the Dagger.

His mind shied away from that line of thinking; from dredging up old memories. But it went there anyways. Faces lost returned unbidden. Bear, Grunt, and Jennings had split up. It was easier to hide one person than a group. They had sold the Dagger, parted it out and with their share of the sale started new lives.

Bear opened a fight-club. Safe had participated for a while but the relentless pounding, took it’s toll. He ached in the morning, on rainy days and the alcohol was less and less effective in dulling that pain, so he moved on.

Jennings was teaching. Safe snorted, “Teaching? Who’dda thunk?” And last he heard of Grunt, he was guiding new settlers on some remote moon.
Soul, well, he wasn’t right after what went down over Santos. It was like something broke inside. He weren’t the same and seemed like he was chasing ghosts.

Safe briefly wondered where they were now. “Better off not knowing.” He mumbled drawing curious stares from passersby. “Not gonna get work if you keep talkin’ to yourself.”

Maxine, Amy, Seryn, his ex-wife... seems he couldn’t even keep women in his life either, not as friends or anything extra.

Concern overrode the grumbles coming from his gut. Where were they now? Seryn, Wisp, Needy? Why did things always go to hell...

He looked up as an Alliance shuttle roared overhead. “Well if I can’t earn an honest lunch...”

http://drlong67.wordpress.com

WASHSYOUNGERSEXIERBR

Thursday, November 18, 2010 8:01 PM

The incessant beeping of the alarm dragged Wisp out of an entirely pleasant slumber. Swinging himself out of bed he rubbed his face trying to get his brain into some form of activity. He looked up at the digital board that took up all of one wall of his cabin, photos and text boxes lay randomly connected by threads of varying colours. Stumbling across the room he pressed a small green tab in the corner baring an icon of a speaking man:
“Comman, ‘cough cough’ “His voice wasn’t quite as awake as he thought it was “Command: Begin daily cortex search” The screen began flicking through each file in turn. At first Wisp used to watch the search happen; each name and photo would appear and the computer would scan all cortex entries over the past 24 hours for matches. Each time a near hit would be found his heart would jump with excitement but he’d seen too many 70% matches turn out to be people with the same last name or similar face structures. Every time he watched he got more and more damaged inside so he stopped watching. Now he spent the time doing a few sit-ups and stretches, enjoying a shower, checking the real cortex headlines. The search usually took about an hour and he’d check it when he was finished. Back when he was on the Epsilon he would follow up on any hits that were above 90% certainty, now he was on the Tranquillity He’d cut that down to 95%.

He liked the Tranquillity he really did. The crew were solid and friendly, and it was a welcome change to have people to talk to. He’d been alone on the Epsilon for around eighteen months before he found the Tranquillity in distress and he’d been forced to cannibalise his own ship to save theirs. The needs of the many and all that. It was just, they weren’t his crew. He was always separate from them, they just didn’t have history together. The captain was very generous with destinations which would help Wisp unite with his own crew but He never found more than whispers and rumours. He’d come close a few times but he was always a few days too late, Chasing ghosts. On top of that he had Crimson Squad chasing him at every turn. He could tell that made the crew jumpy. It was nice having a neurologically enhanced genius on board but it wasn’t so good that the Alliance were intent on having him back for dissection.

Wisp finished his morning routine a little early today and only the scan wasn’t even three quarters through. ‘Screw it’ He thought to himself ‘I’ll get some training in’. Grabbing his quarter staff and a training rifle he headed down to the cargo bay. When the scan finished not long later a large red message filled the screen:
“100% Match located”

SOULOFSERENITY

Thursday, November 18, 2010 8:04 PM

OOC: Man...I have not been this excited about something I've been a part of writing in a very long time!!!

______________________

Mantichorus: "So is there a reason they call you 'Soul'?"
Soul (after a long pause): "Yeah. Because I have one."

http://havenofsouls.wordpress.com/

NEEDY

Thursday, November 18, 2010 11:27 PM

OOC: Loving it!! I'll try to post something tomorrow :)

-----
My brand new writer's blog! http://dicksquinty.wordpress.com

KYRA

Friday, November 19, 2010 8:25 PM

Things were perfect.
They had a house on Xiansheng, overlooking Lake Sho; they both had decent honest jobs and a steady income. And they weren't wanted by the Alliance. They weren't fugitives. They were settled on this moon, at the system core living the life that most people could only dream of.
But it was more than security that they had, it was love.
Kyra McTaggert was loved.

So why did things have to be so complicated?
Why couldn't she just let things be - to forget about the past and live in the now?

Kyra laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, the cool morning breeze gently wafting against her feet.
It would all end someday. She knew that. Which is exactly the reason why she couldn't relax now, why she could never relax or settle. Always looking toward the door, waiting for some intruder to burst in to steal her from this life.
Or in the market, for someone to sneak up and snatch her, like the bounty hunter had on Santos.
Truth was, maybe she wanted that to happen. Maybe this life wasn't for her. Maybe it never was.

Kyra sat up from the bed, and pulled the photo out - the one that was pinned underneath the dresser, hidden.

Needy. Bernie.
It was the only photo she had of him now.
All the others had been destroyed. But she couldn't bring herself to destroy this one. She had tried. She knew that holding onto it wouldn't do her any good. But it was all she had of him now. A photo of the two of them together, taken before Santos, taken before he'd even found out who she really was. When he was still the man she loved.
Now... Now he couldn't have been more different. The Bernie that she knew, the man that she loved, was dead. The truth was the man that she'd loved died in an alleyway on Boros years ago.

"Hey," a man's voice called out from the doorway. "You okay?" He said, stepping out from the shadows.
Luthor McNab was tall and well-built, a black man in a white shirt and neatly pressed trousers. He could handle himself in a fight, sure, but he was not a fighter, that wasn't his job, he specialised in law - it was how they met.

Kyra's cheeks shone under the light, her eyes red. "Yes." She answered him. "I'm just..."

"Oh..." He says, catching sight of the photo in her hand. "I'm sorry, I forgot. Today was..."

Kyra sighed and gently nodded her head.

The man took a seat beside her and wrapped his large arm around her, pulling her close to his chest. "Did you want to do something for him?" He asked.
He knew about the man in the photo - her friend, the one that she had lost. Granted, he didn't know the whole story. She couldn't tell him the whole story. She couldn't tell him what happened, he would never believe it. And besides which, that would mean coming clean about everything else.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I've got work to do." She pulled herself away and stood up, returning the photo to its not-so-secret hiding place. "I should probably get going."

"You know you can take the day off once in a while." He invited her warmly. "We can get away."

"Believe me I'm fine. Keeping my mind on other things, it's good."
She showed him a smile and made her way to the door.

"Okay, but anytime you need it - to get away, or whatever. You'll let me know. I'm all yours Emma, always have been."

Emma nodded.
Some things never change.

NEEDY

Saturday, November 20, 2010 1:01 PM

Clayton Payne had made a deal with the devil. He knew that. But he had made the right choice.
He just wished that she had understood. He knew it wasn't easy, but for her to leave? For her to run away into the arms of another.
This was for her. It always had been. For her and for his father - to restore his name once and for all.
But Kyra... he would have protected her, would have done anything, all that he could.
He still was doing, even thought she couldn't see it.

But Kyra would never agreed to it. The Crimson Squad could not be trusted. He knew that they were dangerous, but they could also be useful.

He understood that today more than ever. He may have made a faustian pact, but without it, he never would have been here, now, making this discovery.
As he stood over the burnt crisp body of a loyal soldier, Clayton could console himself in knowing that he made the right choice. Finally, he was in a position to make a difference.

-----
My brand new writer's blog! http://dicksquinty.wordpress.com

WASHSYOUNGERSEXIERBR

Monday, November 22, 2010 2:18 PM

Wisp re-read the news report for perhaps the seventeenth time. Mostly it was his previous acceptance of failure that made this success difficult to accept. It was an in house Military police memo detailing captures, trials, and executions of various wanted persons. About halfway into the report it stated that a highly wanted criminal had been captured and was to capital punishment without trial due to overwhelming evidence and confession for a variety of crimes. The name of this Criminal was one Vixen Goddard. Apprehended after a bait and sting operation on Beaumonde she was currently in biostasis being shipped to Ariel for public execution in four days.

Execution without trial. How Civilised the alliance were.

The Tranquillity had just left Hera bound for Athens, there was no way even at full burn they could make it to Ariel in time. But if they could drop him off on Persephone he could take a fast courier ship and make it there in time. Just. Wisp plotted the mental calculations of time vs. speed. If the Tranquillity went full burn from its present position it could be at Persephone in 28 hours if they docked at the orbital Transfer station. A class one courier could have him to Ariel in 15 hours, however it was unlikely a fast courier would be docked somewhere like Persephone just by chance. Figuring he’d need at least one day before the execution to put a plan together he needed a class three courier, four on the outside.

Stepping out of his quarters he found Captain Shadow in the galley doing his morning routine of cleaning his pistol whilst cradling some coffee.

“Captain. I need to speak with you”

“Where to this time Wisp? We’ve got perishables in the cargo bay so It’s gonna have to wait till we reach Athens whatever it is.” He and the Captain had had this discussion many times. It was like a monthly routine nowadays.

“Unfortunately it cannot wait but it’s not far out of the way” Wisp seated himself opposite “I need to get to Persephone”

“Hell that’s not much out of our way we can drop you off in no time and pick you up when were next in town”

“I won’t need a pick up. I’ve finally found something concrete but time is a major issue. I need us to go to full burn from here to orbit. It should take just over a day.”

“Your leaving? And… wait a second that’s a lot of fuel on the fire”

“I’ll pay for it. Think of it as a job. The last job we’ll do together.”

The Captain pondered a second then stood up and jabbed the intercom. “Pilotwash alter course to Persephone and go to full burn. Shiny if you can give us any more juice It’d be much appreciated” The Captain then turned back to Wisp “I don’t need to know but If you can tell me what your planning I’d be thankful.”

“I think your owed it” Wisp poured a cup of coffee from the pot sat in the middle of the table as Shadow returned to his seat. “Remember Vixen Goddard I told you about?”

“Old flame? You met her in the Academy. She was a pretty dangerous lady from what you mentioned”

“Very dangerous. Anyway she’s been arrested and is being executed in a little under four days on Ariel. With a bit of luck I can get to Ariel in three days, maybe two with a lot of luck. My ideal plan would be to snatch her as soon as her ship lands but If I cant get there in time I’m gonna have to spring her off death row.”

“That’s one ballsy plan.” Shadow took a long drink “you sure she’s worth it?”

“She may not be a nun but she’s an old friend. The oldest I’ve got. And If I can find her then maybe I can find the rest of em.”

“You’ve got friends here ya know? We’ll all be mighty sorry to see you go.”

“I know. But I have to know what happened to them. Our separation on Santos was…Messy. But I owe them all a piece of my hide. Even Vixen”

“Well then you better get packing. And if your doing something as silly as breaking into death row then you’re gonna need all the firepower you’ve got stashed down there”

“Oh don’t worry. I’ve spent the past two years making sure that when I finally got the chance I’d be ready. And boy, Am I ready.”

htt

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