Private We Who Survive - Three Shuttles

[Van Bri'tsyd]

A Story based off of events of the last Dominion of Baros

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Somewhere in wild space eastern edge of the galaxy. A cloaked ship watched as the scene played out over local comms...​

“Carg Tustas, you promised if we helped you, we would get our share. This is our cut, our property. We did the job, everything your master requested down to the bloody end. We need these supplies for our people. Please after what the Bryn’adul did to us, to our world, to our people, how can you take this from us. We have children dying of starvation, women from disease..."

The shields of the medium freighter buckle and fail as the words fall on deaf ears. Honor and mercy mean nothing to the Weeque pirates that see an easy mark. As the sound of sizzling circuits and groaning hull plating signaled the end of the chase.

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“I would say I feel sorry for you and your people but you have been lied to enough for one day I think. Now be a good Brubb and stand down, it will hurt a lot less I promise.”

As the pirate ended his transmission they locked tractor beams on to the smaller transport and began to pull it in. As they did the crew of the Voidwalker lay in wait. Cloaked with stagium, her captain had left events play out as they slowly crept up on the pirate vessel while distracted with prey of her own.​

"Capt'n we are in range." A shadowy woman with blue neon skin and florescent tattoos called out.

"Very well number one, hold here till they latch on and extend their boarding collars. Carg always leads the easy boarding parties."

A simple nod was all that was needed for them to confirm the understanding. They would continue there approach on the pirate vessel did just as they expected. As the first pirates raced through the force collar and to the medium transport the cloaked ship dropped it's field and opened fire.

At close range beams of plasma passed effortless through the pirate shields and with the precision of master struck, destroying the collar and sending the boarding pirates tumbling out into the void, their bodies freezing in time without the protection of void suits.

As the remaining shield rippers of the voidwalker made quick work of deflector screens the once noble patrol vessel was left nearly defenseless. Those left on her quickly released the stricken transport as they had no stomach for a fair fight, much less fight a possibly superior craft and began to fly away at sublight before jumping into hyperspace. ​

"They are running Sir." One of the bridge crew called out.

"Let them, the bounty was on the captain, not the ship. Soon the next captain will earn his bounty and we will be back then, galactic catch and release program."

The bridge crew seemed pleased with the mission as the probes from the Voidwalker were already collecting the dead floating in space and bring them back for review and processing. Once they confirmed Carg was among the corpse their work would be done and the Voidwalker mission complete began to slip into the black. All was going to plan till a voice cried out in the dark. ​

"Wait, whoever you are, our ship, it's crippled. If you leave we will die. Our people they will die…"

 

[Van Bri'tsyd]

"We don't work for free. What can you offer?"

Replying only by vocal comms the captain of the voidwalker open a channel to the stricken Brubb ship. It was a break in protocol, do the job, slip back silently into the black. It was the way, for as long as Captain Van Bri'tsyd had owned the ICE vessel this had always been the way.​

"We have nothing of value, only food and medicine. For our people, they need it or they will die."

"Your ship, once we fix it and get you home we keep it as payment."

There was a long silence, on the bridge the ragtag crew looked nervously at one another. Captain Bri'tsyd had been nothing if not predictable when it came to the mission. To now pause, and worse offer to help some strange aliens for so little, was … new.​

"Ok, we accept… "

A few seconds later the Voidwalker re-materialize and drew in close to the old medium transport. Soon salvage probes had began to fly around the Brubb ship tools soddering and repairing instead of cutting and deconstructing. As the guided droids continued their work the shadowy merc ship pulled in close to transport to exchange crew and begin repairs. Twenty five Brubbs were huddled into the damaged vessel, most of them nursing vibro-blade wounds and blaster burns. Many more lie under sheets soaked in blood. All were haggered and gaunt looking, as if they had ate and slept little in days. ​

"How can we thank you for saving us?" The oldest Brubb asked seemingly the leader of the group.

"Your ship will be enough." Captain Bri'tsyd replied.

Shaken by the blunt honesty, the Brubb returned to help tend to the injured, as he did Bri'tsyd's first officer came up to him to speak privately. ​

"Ship is in rough shape but it will fly. It has no nav computer and the astromech that was piloting it was fried when the shields overloaded."

"We got a spare, they can borrow it till we take control." The captain answered.

"Yes Sir, but I have to tell you, the crew... we got rumbling, they are not seeing the profit in this. Wondering if you have gone soft."

Bri'tsyd smiled as he lit a deathstick and put it to his lips. New crew barely a few months old and one score is a bit less profitable than usual and they are whispering. Hard to find loyalty these days he thought.​

"Tell them this is a long play, they need to wait till the end. Will be one of our best scores yet. They just need to be cool a few days more. Can you keep them together number one?"

"That's what you pay me for right?" She said before leaving and bark out orders for someone to fetch the astromech.

As Captain Bri'tsyd walked the medium transport he could feel the tension in his crew. They were all working but not happy to be letting coin slip through their fingers. Finally one named Lentis walked over to his captain and asked.​

"What's the real play here captain, you can't be thinking to let these things go with all this cargo?"

Van paused for a few moments as if mulling over whether to confess to his crewman or not.​

"You know how much a Brubb goes for on the open market?" He asked.

A large smile came over the crewman's face, " so we are fixing this craft so we can follow them home, get the lot of them with the ship and cargo."

"Waste not, want not. Just keep this under your hat Lentis, don't want it getting out to the brubbs." Van said.

Putting his finger to his mouth the crewman signed to his captain his understanding before leaving to return to his work. Van watched him leave before turning his attention back to the Brubbs. He noticed how they worked together, sharing and scraping together what little they had to aid their kin. It was honorable, so much more than his current crew. Shame he would have to do them like this, but in this verse you need be always looking to the future. ​

 

[Van Bri'tsyd]

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LOCATION:

• Planet SE-472 - Unknown region​
• Abandoned Mining Operation​

It had taken hours to get the transport back up and running. In those hours the "plan" had of course spread to every member of the crew just as Van had hoped. Their greed now satisfied he was free to concentrate on winning the trust of the brubbs which he would need if his ruse was to work as he intended. It was the small things he found that moved the needle. He had offered them food, and cloths taken from the pirates bodies. He also showed their leader the SFRC, and promised he could help them, for a price.

All was going to plan as they reached orbit above heavy gravity dust ball the Brubbs called home. Captain Bri'tsyd allowed the Brubbs to fly down to the abandoned mining colony alone. They would have no reason to run and it once again would foster trust.

Little did they know above them that most of the crew of the Voidwalker was gathering in the hanger getting ready to attack. All with weapons that would stun, this wasn't the first time they had gone slaving, all were as cutthroat as any pirate, some had been, and already spending their cuts in their minds.​

"Captain, the men have gathered themselves in the hanger. They are just waiting on permission to disembark."

Before the raiders had a chance to board their shuttle the blast doors to the ship interior slammed closed and the forcefield hold the atmosphere dropped flushing both crew and cargo out into space.

The skeleton crew still on the bridge looked on in horror as their shipmates painfully glided into the void. With confusion in their eyes they looked to the captain only to be staring down the barrel of a gun.​

"Captain, why?..." Lentis began to ask. He never had a chance to finish as a blade crossed his throat taking his head from his body.

With the last of the crew neutralized he looked over to his first officer as she cleaned the blood from her Shikkar.​

"Heading planetside, keep the lights on."

 

[Van Bri'tsyd]

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LOCATION:

• Planet SE-472 - Unknown region
• Abandoned Mining Operation

Red-brown dust kicked up as the shuttle craft groaned under strain of two and a half g's that it worked under as its' landing struts touched the barren world. As the gang plank extended the lone occupant we met by over twenty armed brubbs. Hidden behind an air mask that protected him from the Type II atmosphere Captain Bri'tsyd labored out his hands raised in surrender. Silently he was lead through a maze of crumbling durasteel buildings until taken underground.

As the door to the surface closed old atmosphere scrubbers engauged taking the excess CO2 and other toxic gasses from the air. The Brubbs who had lead Van to the underground began to breath easier. Van however, removed his mask and struggled against the weight of the planet that still pulled down on him. ​

"Not so easy to live as a Brubb, huh human?" said a Brubb woman as she emerged from the shadows.

"Go'rinc told me of how you saved them, but no matter what deal you made with him I can not let you have our new ship. Our other are gone, only three shuttles made it off our world then the Bryn'adul invaded. Three and they are all gone we have nothing but that..."

"A deal is a deal, not leaving without it." Captain Van answered.

"You're in to place to demand anything Captain. Less you brought your crew here to fight us for it." The leader continued.

Captain Van said nothing but instead took a holo-projector from his pocket and held it for all to see. As the images played out all present watched the events that had transpired above them only a few hours ago. Looks of confusion and shock spread to the on looking Brubbs as the projector dimmed and was returned back to Van's pocket.​

"But I don't understand, we overheard your plans to ..." The woman leader asked.

"Not mine, finding a good crew in this neck of the galaxy is hard. Finding a loyal one near impossible. If a captain can't trust his crew then hard decisions need to be made. So you have your food and medical, will work for you now, but what about a few weeks from now, months, a year? How long is that gonna last you?" Captain Bri'tsyd said.

"We have our ship, we can..." She began to say.

"You can't do poodoo, you might as well strap a big target on that thing and broadcast on all channels for someone to rob ya." He said cutting her off.

"You have a better idea?" She asked.

"Yeah, first you honor our deal and give me that ship..." he exclaimed

"So you can sell it and leave us here to die?" She accused.

"No, you then give me twenty men to crew my ship, they will be full share crew and can..." He began

"Die just like your other one did?" She retorted.

"Feth will you let me finish... Those men were the scum of the galaxy. They had to be to get me to this point, I needed hard hearts but a crew with no loyalty save for the next score is a mutiny waiting to happen. What I'm offering is a way out for you all. A chance to earn a living for your people starting with the sale of that bloody ship. Give me your loyalty and I'll give you a way to not just survive day to day, but the tools to rebuild." He said.

"How with money we can't spend?" She replied.

"No with a Solid fuel / Ration converter." He offered.

"I have seen this device, it is amazing, it can make food, cloths even tools. The captain showed it to me when were in space." The one called Go'rinc confirmed.

The Brubb leader paused gathered a few of the older leader around her and whispered for a time. When they were done they walked back Captain Van with only one more question.​

"How do we know we can trust you?" She asked.

"My papa was from Zonju, but my Mama was of Kesh..."