18+ Among The Stars

[Drahkma]

"Sure, okay." The girl said, sounding worried. Obviously, she'd noticed that the one armed engineer had vanished. "We're about done anyway. We've got enough to head back. Maybe Griffith got lost checking out one of the system corridors. Or he could just have a bad transmitter. I'm sure he'll meet up with us at the rendezvous point. Ready whenever you guys are." 'At least we got our job done. Hopefully we can repair the engine and get the hell out of here'

"Yeah...you're probably right. Come on." He said, knowing that he sounded unconvincing. He knew something was out there, despite not seeing or hearing anything definitive. The three of them, soldier and two engineers made their way towards the hangar bay. They made the way there in a small amount of time where the captain and her team, along with both bounty hunters, were waiting for the ship. The gunship landed in the hangar and he boarded it, and heard voices in the hangar bay. Moments later, Miruvor Janx, the sergeant he'd tried, and failed to get in contact with walked int othe gunship.

He would have liked to question the man, but before he could, they were back aboard their ship, and the altmer assassin was being shoved towards the the brig, by Garza. Deciding it wasn't worth questioning now, he turned to the two engineers, and said "You two might as well take that stuff down to the engine room and get to work."

 

[TheShadedOne]

She watcched Garza take the Dominion agent towards the brig, satisfied, at least for the moment, that he wasn't much of a threat, she sighed and turned towards the rest of the group, most of whom were milling about the immediate area. "Hey, captain. We did your little scouting mission. Time to pay up" the green armoured hunter told her. Ria smirked at him behind her helmet. "I don't think so. You and your pal are stuck here until I say so." She glanced at the other bounty hunter, then said "and anyone that attempts to leave before I give permission, my gunners will use as target practice."

 

[Baneloth]

Derek scowled at the Khajiit woman from behind his helmet. He thought about maybe trying to talk her into paying, but she didn't seem like the negotiating type. She struck him as the kind of person to vent the hangar bay if she thought it would remove the problem. He took a step back, and nodded. He had enough enemies without adding a cruiser full of mercs to them. "Fine. But if you want me to stay, my price has just doubled." He turned and glanced over at the other bounty hunter, then opened a private helmet to helmet channel. "When you have a minute, find me. We've got to talk about your job"

He suspected that Marek wasn't so much working for the captain as working with her. And he had a feeling that it was temporary. He spotted Kyle standing nearby, using the Nomad as cover. 'Smart kid. He motioned him over, and the boy obeyed, walking quickly to his side, keeping a wary eye on the others. "Uh, I'm not the best at math, but..weren't there more mercenaries?" Derek nodded.
"Yeah.Don't ask what happened. I don't know, and it's probably best not to find out"
"Is that a bounty hunter thing? Don't ask don't tell?"
Derek scowled at the kid. "No, it's a 'know when to keep your mouth shut so you don't get shot' thing. Now let's go"
"I hate to point out the obvious, but the ships that way" Kyle jerked his thumb over his shoulder, back towards the hangar bay.

"I want to talk to the other hunter first. I'm not having him aboard my ship, so we'll talk to him here." 'Here' turned out to be an empty room, probably a break room for hangar bay mechanics. Kyle took a seat where he could keep an eye on the door, and Derek sat beside him, and removed the datapad he'd taken from the cargo bay on board the destroyer.

"What's that?" Kyle asked.
"Looks like a cargo manifest. They took on about twenty unmarked, sealed containers about a month ago. Quartermaster seemed nervous about storing them, if his notes are any indication. But...this doesn't make any sense" he frowned. The cargo bay had been empty when he and Marek had swept through it.

 

[TheShadedOne]

She glared at the bounty hunters retreating back, but didn't bother responding. As soon as the engines were repaired, and they were back at Starflare, payment wouldn't be an issue. Deciding she should get back to work, she headed to the brig. It was best to interrogate the Altmer before he got too comfortable in his cell. The mercs nodded at her as she entered the brig. "Which cell is he in?"
"Third one on the right, captain."
She thanked him, and stepped to the cell, handing her weapons over to one of the guards. She stepped inside, and the cell door closed behind her. "So. The Dominion is sending assassins after its' own people now?"
She was aware that the assassin was a dangerous individual, but so was she. Because she was rather younger for a ships captain and mercenary leader, people tended to underestimate her. It was often the last mistake they made.

 

[Simus]

Jessica had never been so relieved to be on a small, cramped gunship than she was now. She was squeezed between Jon and Knits-Bone in their row of seats against the ship's wall but they were leaving that destroyer. When they landed and emerged into the cool, brightly lit and populated hanger bay of the Dragon's Talon Jessica audibly exhaled. They were back in the land of the living. When they got out it dawned on Jessica that there was more room in the gunship coming back than there was going there. Not everyone had made it back. In fact, about half the crew was missing and Griffith was nowhere to be seen. She flushed with worry for a moment but then remembered their mission: to determine what had happened to that destroyer and evacuate any survivors. It was a big ship and there were sure to be people still on it so the captain must have just left the rest of the mercs to search the ship. Griffith must be with them! Yes! They might need someone with technical help! Of course they would! Jessica smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, taking comfort in her logic and her valid conclusion. Feeling better now that she had figured out what happened she looked for the captain but saw her leaving with the Altmer prisoner. Knits-Bone and Garza were with them too. She didn't want to bother them but radioed Knits Bone anyway so she could pass on the message.

"Hey Knits-Bone? This is Jessica."

"Hi sweetheart. What's up?"

"Not much. I'm just really relieved to be off that ship. Did you guys find anything?"

"I am too hon, and no, we didn't find much. Our Altmer assassin found some data and the captain want to debrief him but nothing you need to worry about." Knits-Bone said, lying to Jessica but knowing that she'd be satisfied with that answer. She didn't need to know what that bastard did to that poor crewman.

"Oh. Okay. Well could you tell the captain it'll be about five hours before the repairs are complete and that we found all we needed to get back to Starflare?"

"Sure sweetheart. I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay, bye."

When Ria arrived at the brig to question Arcanus, Knits-Bone spoke up. "Captain, Jess says they've got everything they need to fix the engines. Be about five hours. I was gonna head to the mess hall, help the Legionnaires we picked up integrate into the crew. Unless of course you need some 'help' talking to our friend here."

Jessica than looked over an inventory Garret made and was satisfied. She turned to Jon, who seemed to be her immediate superior on this ship. "Hey Jon? Do you happen to know when Griffith and the rest of the mercs are scheduled to be picked up from the destroyer? I'm guessing they stayed behind to search for survivors, poor guys, while we work but that leaves Garret and I a few men short for repairs. I can coordinate the effort but I could use some extra hands with some of the heavy lifting. Four strong men should suffice. Or you and three others if you'd like to help, but I understand if you're busy."

 

[Madrar]

"So. The Dominion is sending assassins after its' own people now?" They'd taken his helmet, rifle and gauntlets. Which was hardly a surprise. What was a surprise was the captain strolling in on her own, with no visible back up. True, he looked less menacing without his helmet and blades, but he'd been trained to fight since he could walk. He could snap her neck in an instant. Of course, then her mercenaries would probably storm in and fill him with blaster bolts. So instead, he smiled coldly at her. "Captain. Every government sends...specialists to remove problems. My own government sent me to remove a problem on that destroyer" he purposefully kept his explanation vague.

He doubted they'd believe him if he started ranting and raving about airborne viruses. Or a Thalmor strike force on its way. "I'd like to thank you for transporting me to my objective in such a timely fashion. I was afraid I might need to hire a smuggler, or some filthy pirates to find the destroyer." He smiled coldly. "I'm not going to tell you anything more about my superiors or my mission. I'm sure you can show yourself out"

 

[Simus]

Knits-Bone snorted at the secured agent's response. Typical High Elf arrogance with they typical uncooperative attitude of a captured spy who thinks he's still in control. There were a lot of questions he needed to answer and dominion agents had no equal in the known galaxy. Knits-Bone had captured and tried to interrogate several of them in the past, only to have them remain tight-lipped even after hours of merciless and inhuman torture. Sometimes they died without breathing a word. Worse still, sometimes they committed suicide before being asked a single question. This agent would have to be kept alive at any cost and pressed to answer by whatever means necessary. Knits-Bone had left Nyoxious long ago to join the Legion and escape widespread tribal warfare but she was still an Argonian. She had many ways to extract information, both natural and technological, and being a doctor had given her a very good understanding of humanoid physiology. One side effect of patching up wounds was learning how to inflict them really well.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. As I'm technically not part of this crew I don't have any duties. I've got all night and I'm not as nice as the captain is. So you can either answer her questions or you can try and answer mine. I'm a doctor, which means I know how to treat a lot of injuries. The reverse is also true. I also know lots of ways to bring people back if they decide to...check out early. Cyanide pills in the upper back left molar, optic neural flashbangs, auto-clotters in the brain. I can save you from every single one."

 

[Andre Marek]

Aden stepped off the gunship behind the others and wandered towards the Judicator, absentmindedly reviewing some of the scans his helmet had done during the trip to the Glory. Most of them were useless but he was only interested in a few minutes worth. Specifically the moments when Darek and him had heard the scraping. Whatever was on that destroyer, he hoped to be able to glean some information about it from the data.

When he was about ten yards from the Judicator a crackle in his ear told him that someone had opened a private channel to him. Before he could wonder who it was, a voice said, "When you have a minute, find me. We've got to talk about your job."

Aden sighed and didn't bother to respond. Obviously Varastian had figured out that his involvement wasn't exactly kosher. At the very least, he had some suspicions. Aden glanced in the 360 degree view in the top of his HUD and spotted the Altmer assassin being led away by a handful of the Talons crew. He may have put Varastian on to me with whatever he did over there. I'll have to find him and have a word once I'm done with Varastian.

Without bothering to go to the Judicator first, Aden turned on his heel and began walking across the Talons massive hangar bay in the direction that the other bounty hunter had disappeared to. It took him nearly two minutes walking at a fairly sedate pace to reach the other side. He found Varastian in one of the break rooms for hangar crew speaking with the young boy that he had picked up in Aden's absence. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Aden said sarcastically, as he stepped through the door, "Varastian... you had a question about why I'm here?"

 

[Baneloth]

The door opened, and Marek walked in. Kyle glanced up at him, and then back to Derek, obviously wondering what he should do. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" The other hunter said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He stepped through the door."Varastian... you had a question about why I'm here?" The man stepped through the door.
Derek glanced at Kyle, then put his helmet on. " I guess there's nothing wrong with your ears. Kyle, why don't you head back to the Nomad. And close the door behind you"

The former thief glanced from Derek to Marek once more, before nodding and heading outside. The door closed behind him. Derek quickly disabled his ships defence network, before looking back to Marek. "I know you're not here for the same reason as the mercs. So, that works out Dominion work. I get the feeling, you're not here to rescue anyone. More like keep this quiet so that the rest of the galaxy doesn't get exposed to someone's ugly little secret."

He couldn't see the mans face to gauge his reaction, but he didn't need to. He'd worked that much out on his own. "So, I need you to level with me, 'cause I'm not about to leave this room, and neither are you, until you fill me in" that was risky. Marek wasn't exactly known for being chatty, and he probably didn't take kindly to threats. But then, Derek was no lightweight himself. He meant what he said. He'd beat the information a line at a time out of the other hunter if he had to. He wanted to know if he should bang out while he was still ahead.

 

[Drahkma]

"Hey Jon? Do you happen to know when Griffith and the rest of the mercs are scheduled to be picked up from the destroyer? I'm guessing they stayed behind to search for survivors, poor guys, while we work but that leaves Garret and I a few men short for repairs. I can coordinate the effort but I could use some extra hands with some of the heavy lifting. Four strong men should suffice. Or you and three others if you'd like to help, but I understand if you're busy." Jon glanced up at the girl that had collapsed on the drifting destroyer.


He shrugged at her question. "I'm not the one to ask. Could be a few hours, could be a day. Best to get started without them" 'not to mention that you're not sure what happened to those men....' a sinister voice whispered in his ear. "I'll have some men go with you" he removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm. He gestured to a few men that were standing nearby, doing nothing overly important. "Get this stuff to the engines. I want us ready to go as soon as possible." He turned away from the group, eager to get some shut eye. He was acutely aware of a small, but persistent headache forming, just behind his eyes.


He shook his head, hoping the feeling of drums beating inside his head would fade. Heading to his quarters, he stripped out of his armour, and stretched out on his bunk, closing his eyes. He still couldn't get the question of what exactly, had happened to Manxs' squad. And the sergeant, he was acting really weird too.

 

[Madrar]

Arcanus stared at the Argonian doctor as she did her best to intimidate him. Guessing how he'd seen her handle herself on board the destroyer, she was ex-military. And, she obviously fancied herself some sort of interrogator as well. He sneered. Despite not sounding or really resembling many of his Altmer brethren, he could still manage a terribly derisive sneer when he put his mind to it. "Oh, why, yes doctor, I'll tell you anything you want, since you offered to help me... you think I'm new to this business?"

He didn't bother trying to stare her down. He didn't have more than a couple of days, and needed to figure a way out before then. He couldn't do that with this lizard jabbering at him, trying to get him to divulge information. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about yourself. After all, you abandoned the Empire to join this...merry band of mercenaries. Last time I checked, Imperial Intelligence didn't take to kindly to deserters. I believe the punishment is death." He said. "And I very much doubt that these mercs will try too hard to keep you alive"

 

[Drahkma]

Jon was awake sooner than he would have liked. His head felt like someone had taken a sonic blaster to it, and his eyes felt like a pressure was building up behind them. Grumbling, he got up, and re dressed in his armour, grabbing his pistol and shoving it in his holster before he left. Maybe he could ask that Argonian doctor for something to help with his headache.

He left the crew quarters, and made his way towards the medical bay. However, when he got there, only Ria stood in the bay, talking with her med droid. Frowning, Jon turned and nearly ran into a fellow merc. The man remembered to throw up a quick salute, at least. "Sir! What can I do for you?"

Jon had been about to tell the man he didn't need anything, when a sudden thought came to him. "Are you assigned to this corridor?" At the mans' nod, he continued. "Did you see where that Argonian doctor got to?"

"I think I saw her talking to the captain, saying she was going to 'have a talk' with that Aldmeri assassin" the man replied, setting off little alarm bells in Jons head. He thanked the man, and walked as quickly as possible to the detention area. Sure enough, the lizard was in there, although it seemed the elf was doing all the talking. A quick listen told him that she'd failed to break him. Jon keyed the door release, drew his pistol, and stepped inside.

"This is over." He stated, keeping his pistol aimed at the agent, but glaring at the Argonian. "Get out. Now." The woman looked like she might argue, but at the sight of his expression, evidently thought better of it, and retreated. Jon stared at the elf a little longer, before closing and relocking the cell door.

 

[Andre Marek]

Marek sighed as the other hunter finished. Now he had no choice but to tell Darek, or show him rather, the data he'd received from Skylar regarding the 'thing' on the Glory. Otherwise he would have to kill him. It wasn't that he had threatened him that had brought Marek to that conclusion, although he admitted that it was a factor, but rather, if Darek were to leave the Talon after having been on board the Glory, he ran the risk of spreading whatever was on the derelict destroyer. If that happened then the whole universe would be in trouble. That was bad for business.

'First things first', He thought. In the blink of an eye, literally, Marek raised his right arm to waist level and blinked. The silenced projectile pistol mounted in his gauntlet fired. The 7mm armor piercing round clipped the fabric of Darek's jumpsuit where it encompassed his neck and punched a neat hole in the wall behind him. Equally as fast, Darek brought his own gun to bear on Marek.

"Never warn someone that you intend to harm them unless they have no way to retaliate." Marek said as the other bounty hunter took aim at his head. Before Darek could pull the trigger he continued, "Follow me and I'll fill you in Varastian." Marek turned on his heel and glanced over his shoulder expectantly.

 

[Baneloth]

Derek didn't remove his aim from Marek as he turned and walked away. He knew the man was proving a point, and, in his situation, Derek probably would have done the same. But now Marek had revealed another of his weapons. Derek wasn't terribly worried about the bodysuit. It had a repair protocol that would kick in, though it would take another two to three hours to repair completely. He was fully aware of Kyle standing at his side, eyes wide with surprise, but no fear. Speaking of fear....

"It's that bad, huh?" He lowered his pistol, but took the precaution of having one of his shoulder mounted concussion missiles lock onto the back of Mareks' neck. It wouldn't punch through armour but the sheer force contained in the fairly small explosive would snap the other mans neck. Derek hoped it wouldn't come to that. With no real alternative, he followed the other hunter. Just because Marek had gotten the first shot in, didn't mean Derek had in the least lost his interest in the answers he believed the other hunter to possess.

He glanced down at Kyle. "Go back to the ship. Don't come out until I call for you" the boy looked like he might protest, but when Derek gestured, he obeyed, slinking out the door with his head bowed. Derek felt bad for the kid, but not as bad as he would have felt if he got killed because he was in the way. Frowning, he followed Marek out into the corridor.

 

[Andre Marek]

Marek could almost feel Dareks gaze on the back on his neck as he led the man across the hangar towards the Judicator. Oh he didn't like that. He thought with a smirk. When they reached the Judicator, its ramp lowered without any prompt on Mareks part. Behind him, he noticed Darek hesitate for a moment, no doubt a little apprehensive about boarding another hunters ship. His hesitation was short lived as he stalked up the ramp behind Marek into the cargo bay. Immediately, the ramp hissed shut behind them, "This is better done in private. If the rest of the ship saw this, they would likely blow the Glory to dust without a second thought." He paused and glanced over his shoulder, "You'll understand why that can't happen in a moment."

Walking over to the consoles near his weapons locker he punched in the access code and quickly brought up the data packet that Skylar had given him. With a few more commands he highlighted the most important aspects of the packet. Mainly, the parts concerning what the Imperials knew about the work that the Altmer were doing aboard the Glory. Without a word he stepped to the side and allowed Darek to step up and see for himself.

Darek stood in front of the terminal for several minutes, his helmet tilted forward as he read the information on the screen. Marek waited until the other hunter stepped back and placed a hand on his weapon before saying, "Does that answer some of your questions Varastian?" He kept his thoughts to himself but he did hope the other hunter would reach the same conclusion as he had. He couldn't allow Varastian to interfere with his job. If he did, then he would have no choice but to either capture or kill the man.

 

[Baneloth]

Derek followed Marek into his ship, weary of traps. He set his caution aside, for now. He needed answers. He'd barely set foot inside the ships cargo bay when the boarding ramp retreated and the hatch hissed shut. Behind his visor, Dereks eyes narrowed. "This is better done in private. If the rest of the ship saw this, they would likely blow the Glory to dust without a second thought." Marek stated shortly. Then he glanced over his shoulder, and added: "You'll understand why that can't happen in a moment." He moved to a console near what Derek assumed was a weapons locker. He spent a few moments there, before stepping aside to allow Derek to look for himself.

What he saw gave him his answers, but he wasn't particularly fond of the implications. Then he remembered the missing mercs on the way back, and the sounds they'd heard. "Well. At least now we know what got those mercs that disappeared. But those noises we heard? That's not-" he gestured to the console. "-Increased aggression. That was almost like some sort of animal trying to dig through the deck. And if it's airborne..."


He froze. If the virus or whatever it was was airborne, that meant there was a good chance the mercs, and Derek himself was infected. He also knew what he had to do. "We have to contain the virus. Lethal force. I mean, they never said if this 'vaccinnation' worked, did they?" Derek never enjoyed killing people. Not even those he was hired to hunt, and when he did kill, it hadn't been personal, except for that one gang of Argonians years ago. But they weren't given much of a choice. "If you're not going to try to kill me, and we're going to work together, I want a fifty-fifty split" those words spilled out automatically. If he survived this, he still needed to eat, after all.

 

[TheShadedOne]

Mila breathed a sigh, and leaned against one of the consoles. She'd just finished her rounds, checking on the patients, all of whom were recovering phenomenally. She guessed that she'd be able to release them within a day, with more minor wounds, in a couple of hours. Doc was bustling around, checking the amount of pain killers and bandages. "I envy you Doc. You've got enough energy for the both of us" she said, and the medical droid paused in its work to give her a quizzical look. "A doctors job is never finished" the droid replied, with what seemed to be his favourite phrase. Mila still wondered where he'd picked it up. "However, I will need to recharge in the next four to five hours" Mila smiled. Doc was the closest thing she had to an equal. "Feel free. I can handle most of the patients anyways. Most of them are-" she was interrupted from heavy bronchial coughing, coming from the corridor outside the medbay.


She and Doc shared a look, and Mila dashed to the door, hitting the activation for it to slide up. One of the mercenaries was outside, leaning against the wall. As Mila approached, he was bent nearly double by another coughing spasm. Grabbing the mans' arm, she guided him inside, and Doc prepared a bed for the man. "Recommend a full scan, with injection to calm muscles, to assist with minimizing the patients cough" Doc said, even as the man began coughing once more. "Do a blood test a well. I'm not liking the sound of the cough" Mila ordered, wondering how the man could have gotten sick. He was a long time mercenary, and not one of the ones who'd travelled to the Aldmeri ship. It wasn't normal for people to suddenly get sick, and it had the Khajiit medic worried.

 

[Andre Marek]

Aden was about to object to Dareks terms but thought better of it at the moment. He needed his cooperation. The easiest way to get it was by cutting him in on the reward. Besides, it would be a dangerous mission, getting over to the destroyer and retrieving the cure. The other hunter just might not make it back. His mind made up, Aden pretended to chew the proposal over in his head for a couple more seconds before muttering, "As you wish." Then he walked over to the weapons locker near the terminal he'd been at and spun the dials. The lock disengaged with a snick and the door swung open. Revealing his arsenal, one of them at least.

Everything from hold out blaster pistols, easily concealable in ones boot, all the way up to anti material rifles that could blast through several inches of armor and everything in between was housed in the locker, hanging from hooks. Besides the military grade assault rifles, there were several different types of explosives sitting in neat piles at the bottom of the locker along with several types of grenades. Two backup jet-packs that were identical to the one he wore were also inside the locker. Sliding his rifle off his shoulder, Aden swapped it out with a custom DP-49 assault blaster. He also filled his pockets with several of the grenades and explosives as well as grabbing another pistol and shoved it into his boot.

It was risky gearing up with Darek standing right behind him but Aden wasn't too worried. Darek didn't strike him as the type of man to kill someone in cold blood, especially after having entered a deal with them. Without turning around, he said, "If you need anything from your own ship, now is the time to get it. We'll have to move soon. Before the Captain and the crew catch wind of what they're dealing with." And I have an errand to run. He added silently, thinking of the Aldmeri Agent that the Captain had detained in the detention area. Darek seemed to take the hint and made for the ramp, which opened to allow him to leave. Aden closed the weapons locker and followed shortly after.

As Darek went off on his own, Aden made his own way towards the hangar wall and one of the many corridors that led into the Dragons Talon. It took him nearly ten minutes to reach the detention area due to the size of the cruiser but it took him only seconds to find the cell that housed the Altmeri Assassin. A condescending voiced echoed down the hallway, saying something about a death penalty for Imperial deserters. As Aden rounded the corner he found himself watching a rather amusing exchange between the assassin and the Argonian medic that had accompanied the team that boarded the Glory. He waited for the Altmer to finish speaking before stepping up to the bars and saying, "He's right. The empire pays a hefty sum for deserters to be returned to them..." He said to the Argonian, hoping that she would take the hint and leave. Turning to the guard standing nearby, he said, "I'm taking custody of the prisoner. He will be moved to the holding cell of my ship pending payment from my client." It was a bullplops line but the Guard didn't know that, and by the time he figured it out, it would be too late.

 

[Madrar]

"I'm taking custody of the prisoner. He will be moved to the holding cell of my ship pending payment from my client." Arcanus glanced up at the new , but familiar voice. It was the bounty hunter he'd fought in the medbay, and he looked up slowly. The guard wandered off, and the bounty hunter stepped inside the cell. Arcanus tensed, but he knew there was very little he could do against an opponent in full armour, and obviously armed. Unless he could catch the man off guard and snap his neck, he was at his mercy.

"This is either a rescue, or an execution. If it's a rescue, I'll need my weapons. If it's an execution, get it over with and stop wasting my time" he drawled. Then he stood, keeping his hands in plain sight, and well out of arms reach. He very much doubted there was a bounty on his head, unless, of course, it had been placed by one of the Imperial survivors of the raid on Theren. No one else knew his identity. 'Interesting.So one or the other. But why? I doubt anyone would hire a bounty hunter for a rescue' Unless... The hunter knew what Arcanus had guessed. Some airborne sickness was spreading through the crew, and the man needed help.

 

[Andre Marek]

Aden watched the assassin carefully as he spoke, ready for any attempt to catch him off guard. By the time he was finished speaking Aden knew that the Mer was far too smart for that. He could see the calculations running through his mind. Arcanus knew he didn't have a hope in hell of taking on Aden at the moment. In full gear? Well, Aden wouldn't push his luck. Aden smiled slightly behind his visor. "If you'll follow me then."

Aden turned his back to the Mer but his eyes never left the man,
courtesy of his 360 degree view in his HUD. Without a word, Arcanus followed behind Aden as they made their way towards the detention area exit. Stepping up to the blastproof glass, Aden beckoned over the merc standing behind it, "I need this mans weapons and armor. Quickly." The merc eyed them both for a second before disappearing behind a row of shelves. He returned a few moments later and placed a large duffel bag that he placed in a slot on his side of the wall. He pressed a button and the slot slid through the wall, allowing Aden to pick it up and continue on towards the hangar bay with Arcanujs in tow.

Ten minutes later they were both aboard the Judicator. Aden dropped the duffel bag near the boarding ramp, "Get your armor on. I doubt we'll get a very large window to work with." He walked over to the terminal that still had the data packet highlighted on the screen. Pulling his pistol from his holster and held it on the assassin as he opened the duffel. "Would it be safe to assume that you have some idea of what's going on on the Glory?" He gestured to the screen with the pistol. "I won't bullplops you. You know I'm not here to bring you to the Empire. I need your assistance on this. You know your way around that ship and speed is of the essence. Will you cooperate? Or should I shoot you now and turn in your corpse for whatever the Empire will pay?"