Northwest Fringe, Janus Star System

As the Providence slips past the mercenary blockade, Domitia dons her armor.

Dell and Domitia had constructed an armor rack to make suiting up easier. Otherwise, each piece would have to be fitted over the Bellator by hand, which would take time none of them had. Especially as the Providence ran headlong into hostile space. The armor stands freely on the rack, the black paint having been chipped away from combat and weathering over the years; Domitia reminds herself that she'll need to put a fresh coat on it once they have the time and the paint to do so.

The armor rack activates with a single touch, the back of the armor opening up; she steps in, her arms extending out and finding the gauntlet and ion lance. Her head pops into a darkened helm that currently holds no displays, the bubble helmet giving her plenty of vision. Then the back of the armor closes behind her, and the seals activate with a sharp hiss. The armor’s power pack activates with a low hum as the systems bring themselves online. Domitia grits her teeth right before a stinging sensation shoots through her as the armor integrates with her nervous system.

Domitia starts her armor checks as the armor rack releases her, allowing her to move fully. She takes high steps, checking if her leg armor is fitted properly. Domitia then checks her gloves - her left-hand flexes without any hindrance, the armored digits moving as nimbly as her fingers. The ion lance on her right arm rotates and moves with similar ease, and targeting systems begin to display on her helm, giving her a precise readout of current energy levels directed into the lance and current heat levels. With a thought, she brings down the combat visor, covering the bubble visor of her helmet and cycling through the combat optics. Satisfied, she slides the visor off, finding Murci watching her from the door.

"It's rude to peep, you know?" Domitia says dryly.

"Well, I've never watched a Bellator armor up," Murci admits, "Far more practical than I imagined."

"What were you expecting?" Domitia asks.

Murci shrugs, "Perhaps more... ceremony," She settles on, "Heard stories, you know. How Bellators would anoint themselves with oils and paint their faces."

That gets a rare chuckle out of Domitia, "I think the very last thing I’d like is to be slippery when putting on power armor."

As she addresses Murci, she gathers the remaining gear for her hunt. She attaches several grenades to her belt, hand cannon, and a Kinetic Maul from the weapon rack. The maul is a relic, found during a job clearing out a ship of void-mites, and as Domitia holds it, a nostalgia that isn't entirely her own washes over her. Melee weapons such as these were status symbols for Bellators. While every Bellator had a hold-out weapon in case they needed to cut through their foes, Kinetic and Plasma melee weapons were a sign that whoever was wielding them had full intentions of not stopping until the job was done.

"I'd thought it'd make it easier?" Murci posits.

"Neural links need to be dead on; you have to be pressed in as tightly as possible; oils would make that a bit messier," Domitia says. However, something does occur to her as she looks over Murci, "You're not one of those freaks into gene-bulked women, are you?"

Murci laughs, "Oh no, no! Trust me, I am not remotely interested in anything sexual."

Domitia sighs, "Good. I don't need any of those freaks poking around my ship."

"Bad experience?" Murci asks.

Domitia cringes, recalling an escort they did a year or so back, "Creep we did a gig for. Hacked into our internal cams. Absolutely ruined them."

Murci cringes in turn, "Yeah, that is bad."

Domitia activates her helm's internal com, syncing it to the Providence.

"Dell, you read me?" Domitia asks through the link.

"I can't read you, but I can listen to you," Dell replies; Domitia can hear him smirk as he says, "Systems all green?"

"As green as they can be," Domitia says.

The sound of blast shutters closing on the various windows could be heard throughout the ship.

"Good. We're approaching the mine. Recommend you mount up."

________________________________________________________

Dell shifts mental gears to focus his attention back on the various scanners of the Providence. He’s already flipped the safeties off on the Providence's many guns and missiles. The retrofitted missile pods and various ion guns housed in automated turrets flash a faint green on his display. The cockpit is dark as he turns off all the lights on board to keep people from spying on him visually. The grumlian also turns off his long-range radar, using only the short-range guidance scanner to avoid debris and rad scans to watch for enemy vessels.

In his mind, if he can sneak past any lingering pirate vessels and drop Domitia off, he can simply slip into the floating graveyard at low power and wait for this to play out. He's done it before - it was a rewarding tactic that came with the risk of vulnerability. Clever enough captains knew that gambit well. They would wait for such vessels to go into hiding only to strike when their prey was most vulnerable. Despite the risk, it’s worth trying. Dell doesn’t want to start a dogfight in all this debris - both the ruins of ships and the clouds of rock kicked up by the mining colony.

Minutes seem to scrape by as Dell keeps vigil over the various instruments, guiding the Providence with care as he draws closer to the colony. He then realizes how close he is to it; a cracked-apart planetoid, maybe about the size of Mayden Station, hangs in the blue light of the system's star. Sprawling out across the ruins, Dell can see the suggestions of habitation. Silhouettes of buildings hiding in the shadow of the ruined planet, the barely visible flash of warning lights giving some shape to the mining colony.

A dinging from his central console redirects his attention to the scanners. The thermal has picked up an anomaly off the starboard side of the Providence. Dell focuses on it, directing a scope on it, scanning for ion radiation, and he eventually makes a visual on it. A boxy-looking freighter that Dell knows as a Star-Hauler.

There's a tense moment as Dell watches the freighter power up fully, the trailing of the engine only matched by the pin-pricks of bright blue on various points on the hull. It was either powering up weapons or shields. Nevertheless, Dell knows what that means; the Providence had been spotted. Dell double-checks his ID tag, verifying that it’s off; that way, there wasn't an immediate means of telling he’s a bounty hunter. As the ship becomes more visible, Dell can tell it had been in a fight recently and not on the winning side. The hull is scarred by recent ion strikes that sparked slightly, and several of its point defense weapons are gone.

Dell hopes that the Star-Hauler will see reason. While the grumlian keeps the ship's weapons in ready status, he hopes that by simply carrying on and not targeting the vessel, maybe the pirate will determine it isn’t worth it and simply peel off. Of course, the Providence can hold its own in a fight, but it would mean having more munitions for the extraction later if he could avoid a fight now.

Those hopes are dashed as Dell reads the first salvo of ship-to-ship missiles racing toward him.

Dell guns it. Blasting the Providence forward at combat speed, he releases his own salvo of anti-ship missiles; the plasma warheads race across the blue-tinted void as the Providence dives past another dead hulk, using it as cover as the Star-Hauler begins to close onto the Providence. Dell knows he needs to get as close to the station as possible to give Domitia the best chance of getting there. The Providence's point-defense systems fire missiles out of the void before they can even bother the shields. As Dell pushes the ship to its limit, he picks up two new signatures on his scope. He judges them as gunships, considering their size and their array of weaponry. They emerge from their concealment, dead star ships, and blast the Providence with high-caliber weaponry. The hard light shielding holds, but Dell feels the impacts ripple across the ship.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Report, Dell," Domitia demands over the comm-link.

"Gunships, nothing too dangerous," Dell says as he maneuvers the ship, the Providence's keel faces the gunships.

The ion batteries mounted there get to exercise their wrath on the gunships. Dell sees one signature cease to exist while the other peels off before suddenly jerking to one side and smashing into the haul of a dead void craft. Yet in their place, three more gunships, along with another freighter-sized vessel, move to intercept the Providence before it can make it to Janus Station. Dell's scope manages to identify it; the name that flashes on the screen makes him sharply inhale: a Ganzorig. This isn't any old fashion upgraded transport ship; this is a military-grade vessel.

That's when he sees the power signature on the Ganzorig begin to rise; Dell doesn’t need a visual to know what that is. He’s seen the signature of an ion wrecker before and knows exactly what it can do. Dell pulls up at the last moment, flipping the ship suddenly, causing things to fall and flip internally as the ship's gravity lags slightly behind the grumlian's maneuver. He tilts the ship and redirects the shielding just in time to feel the impact of the wrecker beam scrape across the hull. Warning lights across the vessel flash.

"That wasn't a gunship," Murci remarks, fear in her words.

"Dell?" Domitia opens the comm, "How bad?"

"Outer layer was hit pretty bad, but no breaches yet." Then, another impact rocks the Providence, "Shit! Missile hit! Looks like a dud, thankfully."

Domitia is quiet before asking, "You need me to go now?"

Dell mulls over it for a minute before sighing, "Yes. Yes, I fucking do. Hop on the Steed and get your ass down there!"

________________________________________________________

The Providence races towards Janus, pirate vessels flanking it as it goes. The Star-Hauler keeps its distance, its rocket barrage ceasing as it peppers the Providence's shields with ion shots. This is a mistake, as Dell launches several plasma-tipped missiles at the Star-Hauler. The missiles sail through the void, striking the Star-Hauler in the keel. The two-step missile system blasts a hole through the outer shielding, the ship shimmering purple in response before the plasma warheads detonate. Fire bursts through the open cargo doors as the Star-Hauler dies. Meanwhile, the Ganzorig continues its pursuit, its escorting gunships still blazing away at the Providence, trying to get the shields to buckle just a little.

From the keel of the Providence, a cargo door opens, and an object, no more than two meters in length, slides out undetected and unpowered. While riding on it, Domitia watches the Providence rocket off, peeling off slightly as its foes try to close with it. As they get closer, Domitia powers up the Iron Steed. Shaped like a dagger, it's a rail cannon with a jet bike built around it. Designed to give Bellators a means of transport and function as a void-support craft, its ion shield glistens around Domitia as it powers up. Integrated with her armor, Domitia feels like it's an extension of herself, maneuvering it with mere thought as she races after the enemy craft.

Her first target is the Ganzorig; the crescent shape craft begins to power up its ion wrecker, although it won't have the chance to fire it. The rail cannon of the Iron Steed fires; the sudden strike by an object going at one percent the speed of light causes the shields to buckle, allowing the missile pods on the flanks of the Iron Steed to unleash a killing salvo. The strikes ripple across the upper hull of the Ganzorig, causing the bulkhead to burst open, sending several crewmen screaming into the void as Domitia passes them by.

"Ship kill," Domitia confirms over the comm as she watches the vessel begin to list starboard, its escorting gunships breaking off.

"Good kill, but I'm picking up more friends."

Domitia flips through her own radar, spying three more gunships and a larger signature leading them. She looks, catching a visual of another Ganzorig flanked by similar gunships. The gunships are no bigger than her jet bike, retrofitted mining craft, with weapon ports mounted on them so their crew has something to shoot with. Ordinarily, she'd simply go dark and hide, allowing them to pass, but she has a job to do.

"Dell, give me cover," Domitia orders, the Iron Steed already racing towards Janus station.

"Moving in; I’ll do what I can," Dell says as the Providence banks over her, weapons opening up on the other Ganzorig.

Domitia guides the Iron Steed through the graveyard of ships, her helm already searching for breaches she can utilize to get into the station. She spies a darkened hanger bay and decides that will be her entry point. However, as she races towards it, her Steed's shields flare up as projectile fire rips past her. She banks to the left, spying two gunships on a path to intercept her. With a thought, she brings up her targeting array for her Iron Steed's seeker missiles and locks onto the first one. She fires a single missile that tracks and destroys the gunship, sending its crew into the void. She notes the kill for only a moment before she focuses on the last one. She can see the crew riding upon the mining vessel; they realize she's closing on them rapidly, and they decide to turn to face her head-on and charge her, guns blazing. Her jet bike's shields eat the shots of RMARs and other PDWs they have as she evades the missiles fired from the craft’s flash-welded munition’s pod. The Iron Steed's ion lance fires a quick burst, catching that one on fire and killing two of the other crew members. She watches as the gunship loses control and smashes into a freighter.

"Dom, you got three more; look like fighters!"

Domitia barely avoids the heavy ion lance shots that speed past her like lighting bolts. She looks up to see three arrow-head-like craft racing after her. Realizing she's outnumbered, outgunned, and without the element of surprise, she knows this fight isn't worth having. She banks and speeds away, trying to put distance between her and the fighters now after her. She sees one get hit by one of the Providence's lances. Still, Domitia knows Dell can't be helpful while dealing with the other Ganzorig. The Bellator briefly looks, seeing the Providence exchanging fire with the other vessel, their shields flaring.

For a brief moment, she feels a rage fall over her; she should be helping Dell; she cannot leave a comrade behind to fend for themself. Then again, he is doing this so Domitia can get onto the station so she can get the bounty. That rage is then redirected at Flynt. His continued existence offends her very being; he has to be put down.

With that, she presses the Iron Steed to its limit, racing it through a field of debris, trying to lose her pursuers in the remains of other ships. While it doesn’t shake them off her tail, it does block several lance shots fired her way. As she closes onto the mining colony, she can see the true extent of the damage to it. Several of its buildings have been breached, flames dancing at its edge as they leak oxygen into the void. She sees the bodies and ruined forms of androids floating around it, with small figures occasionally racing between the floating forms. Domitia knows exactly what they are; scavenger drones, looking for bodies and machine bits that are worth anything.

She puts the engine of the Iron Steed into the red as she evades the last hasty bursts of ion fire from the fighters. She cuts the thrusters and then flips the jet bike around, allowing her inertia to take her into the hangar; she fires all she has at the fighters. One peels off, and the other takes a rail shot head-on, its shield failing and the vessel exploding in a great ball of fire. The Iron Steed’s thrusters reignite, slowing and finally allowing the Bellator to stop, parking herself in the hanger bay.

She dismounts, checking and rechecking her Iron Steed for any damage. Moreover, she ensures the casket placed on top of it has remained intact; it is what she'll put what remains of Jericho Flynt in once she's done with him. A fire burns within her as she thinks over her target, her Ion Lance charging up without realizing it. She contains herself, turns, and heads into Janus proper.

________________________________________________________

Dell watches from the scope as the last of the pirate vessels break into molten pieces, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's whatcha get!" Dell says with a chuckle as he maneuvers the Providence to safety.

He begins bringing the ship to a safe space to hide out until Domitia transmits that she's got the bastard—all the while, Dell mulls over what he'll do with his share. Some of it will go back into the ship, but he figures maybe a few grand will be left over for some needed luxuries. He's been dying to get a new console onboard the ship. Gaming is a hard hobby to maintain out on the Fringe, with spotty connection to the net and few gaming stores; Dell ponders the possibility of taking a trip to the Mid Belt to see about maybe indulging. After all, if what he saw on the Net on Mayden was true, a sequel to Innocent Cog was out, and he would love to crack that open.

Eventually, he brings the Providence into a particularly dense portion of space, where the ship's graveyard mixes with clouds of mining debris. Once there, he shuts down the ship’s weapon systems and brings the ship into stealth mode. While he doesn’t have any fancy cloaking field, it's equally effective to go into low power, turn off any tail lights, and simply float around. He checks his scope to see if anyone is following him, then rechecks to see if anyone is burning radar trying to find him. Once he confirms nothing is following him nor scanning for him, Dell starts a diagnostic sweep through the ship. While it runs, he wanders off to get some caffeine. As he leaves the cockpit, Murci greets him as she stands by the cockpit door, worry written on her face. While it startled Dell a bit, he quickly collects himself.

"First time in a void fight?"

Murci sighs, "Not exactly an easy thing to sit through."

"Nah, it really ain't." Dell admits, "Chin up. Once we're done here we’ll get you back down on your cozy space station."

The hacker scoffs, "Think I'm going back to that dump?"

"Where, too, then?"

"The Core." Murci smugly admits, "I got a place all lined up."

"Oh, like--"

The lights flicker and then fade, with dull red emergency lights coming on soon afterward. Dell is thrown off by that and the sudden loss of gravity. Murci’s shaken even worse than him, immediately clinging to the cockpit entrance to keep herself stable.

"Did we get hit?" Murci asks, a bit of anxiety lining her voice.

Dell, having lived a good portion of his life in zero-g, adjusts almost instantly. Using his tail, he manages to get a hold of the same cockpit threshold. He flips himself to the pilot's seat, where he begins to cycle through the Providence's menus.

"Don't think so," Dell says passively, "Maybe--" Suddenly, the display freezes, and then blue screens; Dell curses, "Ah fuck."

"What?"

"I think we picked up a hitchhiker."