Looking for a bit more experience she had been taken from blockade duty. Tracking down a lead of some slaver activity as of late the particular section of space she had been in had outlawed slavery, at least legally. There was always someone willing to go behind the backs of others, always some crooked politician or smuggled living goods and while she was chasing down things in that realm. The initial works of a larger assault if she managed to get some rather interesting leads her communications panel flashed and chirped.

A message was coming through that contained a lot of static. “I need … immediate assistance … pirates … coordinates … attempting to reach Denovin … only sublight engines functional. One ship ...”

Then there was a long hiss that followed that ended the message. Denovin was not far from her present location. It was uninhabited by sentient life and had an atmosphere, breathable but the air was stale. Finding a vessel there could be easy or hard. Anything with an energy signature should be easy to pick up but scanning an entire planet could take time.

Of course pirates may or may not have information about slavers in this region or at least better knowledge about what they were doing in this sector and how they may have been connected to things.

When Catherine had volunteered for blockade duty, she had imagined it being a bit of retribution and a bit of helping those who she could sympathize with… helping others to save them from a fate she herself had been saved from. What she hadn’t counted on was that most days, the “blockade” consisted of only a couple ships, sitting there on guard duty against a threat that almost certainly wasn’t going to present itself. Most extra-planetary abductions took place around graduation time on the island, so she often found herself merely getting to know her fellow agents instead of doing what she had hoped to do.

So it was that when other opportunities presented themselves, she often jumped at them. Command had asked for volunteers to help with an anti-slavery operation. The Directorate’s jurisdiction over such actions was… murky at best, and so this was a strictly off the books operation. That hadn’t stopped Ms. Lyons from throwing herself in the running.

Tasked with being backup (meaning she’d get to keep her gear and suit… they didn’t think she had the experience to be an infiltrator yet), she found herself, ironically, sitting in orbit around a planet, waiting. When the distress call came over the group’s radios, there was a moment of silence. They weren’t officially supposed to be here… but the backup squad could probably make up an excuse.

“I’ll… check it out. I’m newest, and I’ll probably be the least help here anyway.” The young blonde admitted to her comrades. “Pride Amber detaching from formation. Will report as needed.” She said, trying to be professional.

“Roger Pride Amber… just be careful out there. It sounded like they might be having their own trouble.” Came the reply from the squad captain.

It was mere minutes in travel time with her interceptor’s engines, but by the time she got there she didn’t see anything in orbit around Denovin. Slowly she pushed her ship towards the planet, breaking atmosphere as she switched on various scanners.

Breaking through the atmosphere of the planet she checked her scans. Energy signatures would stick out here but there was a lot of ground to cover. The planet consisted of immense jungles. There were life signs too, animal, most had been scattered with a few in small social group.

It took a few minutes of detailed scanning before she picked up an energy reading, at first her instruments picked up the thermal heat from a volcano that showed some activity and nearly missed the ship near there. There was a line cut in the jungle that knocked down trees, the path of a crashed ship.

There had been no signs of a pirate vessel but she did manage to scan the crashed ship picking up the fact that it was a small freighter and that there was one life form in the immediate vicinity. She could land somewhere in that path of destruction that the ship left.

Her scans didn't pick up any other readings in the vicinity, animals would have been spooked and lesser life forms like insects not complex enough to be picked up by the sensors.

As the Directorate ship broke atmosphere and leveled out, she sighed… this planet was dense with foliage… even if she actually found something, she’d run the risk of getting lost if she couldn’t land AT the source of the beacon. Further, there were life signs all over… and she doubted all of them were friendly, intelligent or not.

By sheer luck, she managed to pick up on an energy spike after searching for only a few minutes and tracked it down. The agent surveyed the scene of what looked like a fairly rough landing from her cockpit… it had come down close to a volcano that was the actual source of the energy. By pure coincidence, she had just happened to see the large swath of land cut away by the impact of the smaller ship. Her readings told her it was a simple cargo carrier… definitely, an easy and frequent target for pirates, though she hadn’t actually SEEN any pirates on her way in, or around the ship. If they were here, they’d likely already stripped what they could and left. Still, they would have had to be lightning fast, she thought to herself. There was also exactly one life form in the area… a survivor, perhaps.

Taking her ship down nearby (the landing “path” had cut away enough foliage to improvise a landing pad), she let the autopilot take over and prepared her gear, checking the charge on her sidearm, making sure her suit was powered and grabbing a medical kit from the ship. Agent Lyons’ boots touched the ground almost before the ship’s landing struts, and she was off running towards the wreck, trying to see if there were any bodies, and of course to locate the survivor.

There were no bodies in the immediate vicinity. Some of the vegetation produced small fires and there were numerous insects flying about. The air was stall and carried the buzz and drone of bugs that lazily flew by. After shooing some away she got a good look at the ship, the freighter wasn't likely to fly again and there was no way that it was going to be repaired, not unless the cargo had been a plethora of spare parts.

There were a few hull breeches and the wreckage of cargo containers that had spilled out from the ship, which had been fortunate for her when a blast came out of the ship. Someone was firing at her from within, as luck had it the person's initial shot narrowly missed allowing her to get some cover.

From within the ship using the side of the breached hull for cover was an individual armed with a simple plasma pistol and adorned in a black environmental suit. She really didn't get a good look at the person who only was exposed for brief periods when they fired out at her.

The insects in the vicinity scattered as the shots went off moving away from the immediate vicinity

The young agent slowed a bit as she reached the wreckage, looking around… glad to not be seeing any bodies, though she wondered just how small a crew this thing was running. Her chest puffed up and down slightly, highlighted by her skin-tight suit, as she caught her breath and looked around. The ship was in bad shape… it had definitely been fired upon… or otherwise suffered SOME sort of catastrophic damage (she couldn’t really tell the difference yet, but she was trying to learn).

It caught her completely off guard as the high pitched whine of an energy discharge came from the ship, fortunately going wide and sending her sprawling for cover behind a chunk of the ship’s hull. After she managed to fight down the adrenaline rush a little, she chided herself for not announcing herself somehow… they probably thought she was a pirate coming to finish the job or take the haul.

Catherine waited for a break in the fire, cringing a little as more shots rang out, before calling across the field of scrap to her assailant. “I’m ADD! Please hold your fire, I’m here because of a distress beacon!” She called at the top of her voice, hoping they could hear her.

The shots ceased. The figure peaked out from behind cover for less then a second then returned back to her with a feminine voice calling out for ID, a name, some sort of information then she approached, the plasma pistol still out but no longer pointed at her, not unless her weapon had been trained on her.

“Sorry about that. I thought you were the pirate.” She glanced to her ship. . “I really didn't get a chance to scan the other ship knowing it was a fighter, it was quicker then mine and better armed.” One ship? A fighter of some sort. Just one pirate? A scout maybe. If so then that pirate should have located the wreckage by now and either chalked her up as dead or marooned here.

“I need to get my cargo off planet, it isn't much but it's what the pirates are after. The fighter must be going back for a freighter to get my cargo since the fighter doesn't have much cargo space. Give a girl a lift?”

Catherine kept her head down long enough for the shots to give way to silence, and then a woman’s voice. The young agent called back her ship ID… she doubted that it would matter to command despite the actual mission’s clandestine nature. After listening to the explanation, Agent Lyons peeked out, making sure she wasn’t being tricked, and then jogged across the expanse to the stranded pilot.

“No, it’s fine, I should have identified myself sooner…” She admitted. “Just here to help is all. Is it just you? Are you hurt? I can carry you of course but there’s not much room in my ship to haul cargo of any sort…” She admitted, trying to look past her at the damaged vessel. “What needs to be transported? I can call in more help… though I suspect that would take a bit of time… we’re pretty far out…” She said, her voice fading into her French accent as she surveyed the area absentmindedly.

Something about all this seemed off to her. She was new still, so maybe she was just being paranoid, but why hadn’t the pirate confirmed the kill and just waited there for a freighter to arrive? She doubted this woman was deceiving her about needing help… her vessel had certainly been knocked out of space somehow. When she could get away, she decided she would run a scan of the ship’s ID, though for now she needed to tend to the matter at hand.

“Just a little rattled from the crash, a bit dizzy but I'll live. The cargo is small and will fit in my lap.” The damaged section of ship looked as if it was blasted by a cannon, likely in space. The interior of the vessel had not fared much better with debris all along the floor, most of it being metal that had been impacted but some had been rock and parts of plants that found their way inside with the crash.

Lighting was dim and clearly on backup. A door sealed off this section of the ship that the pilot had to key opened. The hull breech had to occur in space, the section sealed off. “The name is Jules,” she announced before proceeding much further. “Thank you.”

She did not go to the cargo hold as one may have suspected but rather to the bridge where there was a metallic case a little bit bigger than a brief case that sat upon a chair.

Jules carried it by the handle with two hands showing that it was heavy, whatever it was. Jules explained that the rest of the cargo didn't matter, that the pirates could take the grain if they so choose. She was more upset about loosing the ship but what she had now would get her a new one.

If she pried Jules would tell her that this was a prototype engine, one that she wished she had installed and had not been transporting, apparently it had even greater speed then a fighter, if that were true then the engine would be quite valuable.

Having gotten an ID from the ship, the Comet, she could run it back at her ship … if she got there … when they were leaving Jules was shot and went down, her only warning that someone was out there.

The case dropped with a thud, the shot was a stunning one and she had not been seen yet indicating that the shooter had believed that the pilot had been alone. Whoever it was had been getting closer too, brush had been crashing as they came closer as if it were being knocked down rather than brushed aside and there was a faint humming sound as well that had been more in line with the whine of an engine from a repulsor sled or hover car ...

The young woman followed the pilot, who identified herself as “Jules”, into the wreck, looking about at the rather catastrophic damage inflicted upon the ship. It occurred to Catherine that this Jules must have been a hell of a pilot to have even landed it in as many pieces as she had. “Agent Catherine Lyons. Cat for short.” She said. More and more she had found that formality had little place out here on the frontier. “And I’m just glad I could help…” She said in a tone that said there was more on her mind.

As Jules retrieved the case, Catherine, of course, inquired as to the contents. Even listening to her explanation… something was still off about this. “Jules… I get the feeling that…” She started, but was cut off as a blaster shot rang out, the discharge of energy creating that increasingly familiar sound as it ionized the air before Jules was struck.

“Damnit!” Catherine hissed, trying to find cover instinctively and doing so easily. It seemed that she hadn’t been spotted yet, or the likely would have targeted her first. From where she hid, she could see that Jules had merely been stunned by the bolt. Suppressing her instinct to drag Jules into cover, she bit her lip, using the girl as bait to draw in her assailant… hoping that there was only one.

There were no orders or shouts and it appeared that there was just one being out there. Maybe one that rode a hover bike indicating that whine as they neared. That may have been the case as she heard the repulsor stop once it was close to the ship followed by a loud crunching sound as a metallic object fell a short distance to the ground.

Feeling the vibrations in the ground whatever it was had been heavy. It might have been the bike, at least that was what she might have thought until she heard the crunch of heavy foot steps each sounding metallic and each vibrating the earth. Whatever was out there made no attempt to disguise their approach further bolstering the fact that she had not been discovered yet.

Close enough where it could not take cover behind parts of the ship she could now see a very large shadow sweep over Jules as the shooter had been virtually atop her. From the shadow alone she could see that the target was big, at least seven feet and armed with a rifle.

Taking no notice of her she could hear mechanical gears as it dropped to a knee rolling the shadow of Jules over, the rifle pointed up into the air so it wouldn't be at the ready. Best guess now was that the shooter was in some sort of mech or battle suit.

Oblivious to her the shooter had turned their attention to the case after checking her. Definitely some sort of battle armor she could hear the mechanics of an arm attempting to unclasp the case with no luck. However, it did not grow frustrated and never once stopped to get out of that suit.

If she peaked out from cover she would see someone in battle armor, gun pointed in the air attempting to open the case with one hand that ended in a large clamp to little success. Their focus was on the case and Jules right next to it.

Catherine waited quietly, her heart beating in her chest quickly, but otherwise silent. Her eyes widened with adrenaline as she heard not just a single heavy impact on the ground, but footfalls of a similar, increased weight. Whoever had fired, was well out of her weight class. As quietly as she could, she flicked her own sidearm from the stun setting to its maximum output. That said, if they were in some sort of mech, it likely wouldn’t be enough unless she scored a lucky shot.

As the thing came into view and begin toying with the locked case, she tried to decide on a course of action. It WAS immense… her sidearm wouldn’t do anything against that. It had a rifle, however… if she could get that away from it and use it against it, she might stand a chance. Or, she could try to grab Jules and run. Jules would hate her but she wasn’t here for what was likely a smuggled good in the first place. Even with her suit’s enhancements though, she likely wouldn’t get back to her ship if the mech opened fire on them in the long, open stretch between crafts. Further, the downed trees would make a dead sprint risky at best.

Deciding there was little choice, she readied herself, holstering her own sidearm for now to keep as a last ditch effort. With surprising speed, she leapt from her hiding place, trying to simultaneously grab for the rifle and sweep out its leg, hopefully forcing the pilot to focus more on stabilizing than keeping their grip on the weapon…

As she move out from behind cover it brought it's gaze up from the case. There was a visor, behind which she could see the flicker of various lights. The rifle was larger then norm and had no trigger guard, the trigger was exceptionally large and it was held in a clamp like arm.

Grabbing at the weapon while kicking at a leg did not do any good. It's grip was strong and the blow to it's leg didn't even rattle it. It seemed to process things quicker than any human or alien pilot reacting to this threat as it turned toward her. It was even bigger this close up it seemed.

A plate opened up in it's chest as if the pilot was going to get out … from the front rather then the back … only a second later cables fired from the thing at point blank range serving as bolas and pinning her arms to the sides of her body. As it moved she could hear those heavy foot falls and metallic movements. Grabbing her with a clamp it picked her up with ease bringing her to it's head giving her a better look at the lights that flashed behind that visor.

That was when she realized that this was no mech …

YOU ARE THE PILOT? CALCULATING …

A more concentrated light slipped out from the visor, a yellow light scanned her features taking little time before it carried her closer to jewel that chest still opened she could see smaller grappling arms extend toward her removing her helmet. Jules looked similar to her and it stood there processing matters for a moment.

Why it had not used those grapplers earlier to open the case had been beyond her at present, not that it had mattered as the thing looked back at her. Good news it had not bothered to disarm her, she might be able to get her pistol out with a bit more effort but she needed time.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF.

*KLANK*

The agent’s metallic boot impacted off the knee actuators on the suit… and it didn’t even flinch. She managed to grab hold of the rifle’s barrel, though to little effect… the thing kept a firm, inhuman grip on the weapon and she ended up practically hanging off the weapon like some sort of absurd ornamentation instead of stealing it.

“…Oh.” She got out before it snapped to glare at her. Dropping to her feet, she didn’t even have time to go for her sidearm as the chest suddenly snapped open and the pilot… wasn’t there? A drone? She didn’t have time to wonder before a bola launched around her, tethering her arms to her sides. Despite the electrical whine telling her that her suit was straining, she couldn’t instantly snap the binding. Without much pause, the thing extended it’s other “hand” (actually a robotic clamp) and picked her up about her waist, putting a fair bit of pressure around her but not crushing her.

“AUGH!... Put… me…” She started before the thing regarded her with a cold, synthesized voice. It seemed to be trying to decide who the pilot was, and what the extra person was doing there. More importantly, it seemed to be either an artificial or at least programmed intelligence. It DID seem to be after the pilot…

“Yeah… I’m the pilot. What do you want?” She growled back at the thing. “You want that case? Just take it, it’s not worth this…” She said, trying to get the thing to just leave her and Jules… getting Jules’ cargo to safety wasn’t really her top concern.

Though her arms were pinned to her side, she realized she could still reach her weapon… and if she got off a shot into that open chest cavity, it MIGHT do some damage, she reasoned. But its reactions were faster than her own so far… it would need to be a bit distracted first. “Identify objectives.” She said, seeing if perhaps the person who had programmed the thing had gotten sloppy and left any of its subroutines open to public access. It had been known to happen, and she needed something to go on…

It studied Jules with that same yellow light then looked back at her. Her question to it gave it pause, a few noticeable seconds then an answer.

RETRIEVE THE STOLEN PROPERTY AND THE PILOT. RETURN THEM TO MASTER VEN. SUBDUE, DO NOT KILL THE TARGET.

There were several of those grapplers that went to work opening the case and checking the contents. It was hard to say what was in there without a closer look but it was some piece of machinery. That done, the stolen merchandise confirmed it looked back at her.

THEN SHE IS THE PILOT OF THE OTHER VESSEL? It asked about her ship. Regardless of her answer it calculated the best option her, uncertain due to their similarities so it took up it's rifle and the case with the graspers and picked Jules up with the other clamp.

She the heard the hum of repulsor engines again coming from the machine as it lifted up off the ground barely above the scattered branches and vegetation. It rotated facing down that trail and had been about to go to it's vessel when it lowered back to the ground and cut those engines.

Realizing that two passengers would not fit in it's vessel it had opted to take the undamaged one so that it could transport both of them at once and headed toward it instead.

Her fingers finally reached her sidearm and the machine seemed focused on moving toward the other ship with the pair in tow.