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Pillars of Salt (Pirate Mecha Quest)

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[X] Agree

Well... if she isnt making a move on the throne, we can use her to make our own move.

Biggest score there is!
 
[X] Agree

As a pirate, I'd prefer to make a name for myself and a fortune for myself and the crew.
 
[X] Agree

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

We just have to be ready for the sudden but inevitable betrayal.
 
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[X] Agree

This was something definitely worth skipping the last ship. We're gonna have some serious losses here, but this sounds like the kind of risk that's gonna be worth rolling the dice.

Hopefully we don't lose our pilots here. They seem too interesting for that.
 
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VII
  • Threadmarks
    • VII
    ​
    "That's an awfully generous offer," you say. "You must really need this."

    "Gloating doesn't suit you," Mandalay says. "Are you in, or not?"

    In response, you lean forward and extend a hand across the table. Mandalay smiles, a wicked grin that cuts across her face, and takes it in her own. With her free hand she pours the contents of the bottle over your clasped hands, drenching them in liquor. "No turning back."

    "No turning back," you echo. Liquor drips to the lushly carpeted floor as the pilots look on, witnesses to the bargain struck.

    Mandalay laughs and releases you, kicking both feet up on the table. "Never thought I'd be working with a pussy like August Eberhardt," she admits, taking a swig from her bottle.

    "Never thought I'd be working with a cunt like Mandalay Mandalara. Can we get to business now? What's the scheme?"

    Mandalay nods, tucking a strand of dark black hair behind one ear. "The Inaan of Sett is dying," she says.

    A sharp intake of breath beside you signals Johann's surprise at her words. "You know this for certain?" He asks.

    "He took to the sickbed last week and all signs point to a croak," Mandalay says. "By the end of the month, we'll be saying goodbye to thirty years of rule by the good Inaan Kasim."

    "So what's the angle?" You ask. "I'm not a Setti political scholar, I don't know what the Inaan's death really means."

    It is Johann that answers you. "When the Inaan dies, the Grand Clerics come together in order to name his successor," he says. "The city endures two weeks of prayer and mourning while the Inaan's children curry favor and fight amongst themselves."

    "Ah." You turn back to Mandalay. "Alexander has money on one of the hopefuls."

    Mandalay waggles her eyebrows, and her cybernetics ping yours with a video file. You open it to reveal a young woman around Johann's age, clothed in modest Setti garb, waving to a massive, adoring crowd. "Rhea bin Faisal," Mandalay says, your cybernetics finding a permanent storage slot for the name and face. "Kasim has twenty six children, from various wives, but we'll probably be looking at less than twenty by the time he actually dies. Amongst those, there are really only four or five that have a legitimate shot."

    "Be careful with assumptions," Johann says quietly. "Two weeks is a long time. It is not so uncommon for Inaans to rise from obscurity."

    "Point," Mandalay admits. "But that's what we'll be there for. To keep the dark horses off her heels, and the frontrunners out of her way."

    "And once she's named the next Inaan, she pays us?"

    "No. Well, yes," Mandalay says, tossing her hair over one shoulder. "But it's bigger than that. Alexander has money, August. He's aiming for something else."

    "Rhea has made her politics quite clear," Johann says. "She wants war with Ruskor, to avenge the fleet of 3230."

    Mandalay grins. "The assembled might of the Setti people, set to scourge the wastes of the pirate menace. Smashed to pieces against the mountains."

    "War is good for pirates," you admit, but a thought makes you frown. "But even in the twenty years since the fleet, Sett's military hasn't fully recovered. They can't match Ruskor."

    "Not alone," Mandalay says. "But with a little help from a certain freelord, the numbers start to look much better.

    So that was what Tau wanted. It had been years since the last real war – generations since Ruskor had last been sacked. Ruskor was a rich, prosperous country, and with Tau at their side – and a whole lot of luck – Sett might actually have a chance at their revenge. "So we ensure Rhea gets the title, she goes to war with Ruskor, and Tau makes a few billion jewels." You grunt. "Say one thing about Alexander Tau, say he dreams big."

    "Knowing Alexander this is only a piece of a much bigger, more exciting game," Mandalay says. "I can't wait for you to meet him. I think you two will really get along."

    "And when will that be? Does he need to approve of me?"

    Mandalay shakes her head. "Of course not. You were on the list of pre-approved partners," she says. "Not right at the top, but it was a very small list."

    "I'm flattered."

    "You should be!" Mandalay bounces a little on the couch, as if she can't contain her excitement. "Your name is going to be in the history books, August. Right under mine."

    *​

    It's a few days before Mandalay's crew is ready to start the trip to Sett, but once word gets out about the size of the score you'll be seeing, you have very few issues with deserting crew. With your approval, Luthor hires a handful of new engineers, and the Ahriman buzzes with life and energy as the crew preps it for the job ahead. True to her word, Mandalay orders you a Sybil, a girl a few years older than you, though you choose not to be present when she's wired into the Ahriman's systems.

    On the last day before Mandalay is ready to de-port, the Ahriman is approached by a handful of men and women you don't recognize. They wear combat armor, personalized but sharing the same red and black color scheme, and they're heavily armed even for Libertalia. They carry themselves with the practiced patience of veteran killers, but when you send out a high frequency ping with your cybernetics none of them so much as bat an eye. No pilots, then.

    "You Eberhardt?" One of them asks, a tall, battle scarred man twirling a vape between his fingers. He inhales deeply and takes a moment to enjoy it before exhaling heavy blue smoke.

    "Who wants to know?" Behind you, your marines have quite obviously put their hands on their guns, but none of the men or women seem particularly bothered by the implied threat.

    "I'm Rickett." The man extends a hand for you to shake. "Commander of the Striking Vipers."

    You take his hand in your own – his grip is strong but not crushing, his hands rough and calloused. "Should I know the name?"

    "Fuck yeah," Rickett says, with not a small amount of injured pride in his voice. "We were first through the breach in Ranchicourt. Cut the royal guard to fuckin' bits."

    The words spark a memory in you. You'd been far from Ranchicourt when the regime fell, but you remember the Striking Vipers being mentioned as one of the factors that helped the revolutionaries – nicknamed the "Greens" for the hats they wore – overwhelm royal forces and topple the royal family.

    Chalcedony's family, to be exact. She's out in the city now, but she'll back soon enough. You wonder what her reaction would be, seeing the man who played so pivotal a role in killing her family and forcing her into exile. "Why are you here, Rickett?"

    "Heard you're moving out to Sett."

    You scowl. "Who from?"

    "Come on man," Rickett says, looking genuinely pained. "Ain't a free ship in the damn world that can keep a secret for long, especially not a secret as big as yours. I won't rat out a friend who did me a solid."

    You sigh, not entirely unsurprised. You hadn't expected total radio silence, but you had hoped that you wouldn't come face to face with walking, talking evidence of your crew's loose lips. "So you know where we're headed."

    "We want in," Rickett says.

    "I have marines." You gesture back at your men, hands still on their weapons.

    Rickett nods appraisingly. "I know a couple. Heard of a couple more. They're a solid crew." He shrugs. "We're better. We'd make them better. You better."

    Your cybernetics pull up a Striking Viper combat record, and you scroll through it while chewing on your lip. Rickett isn't wrong. Your marines are good, some of them even vets – but the Vipers are world class, and they've fought everywhere there is to fight, from Ruskor to Alleghaine. "So you want to tag along?"

    Rickett inhales on the vape again and nods, blowing smoke rings that drift lazily downwards. "Figure you might need some guns."

    It certainly wouldn't hurt. "I'm assuming you're not cheap."

    "Not particularly. But we could be flexible. A good discount. We've got…beef with some Setti boys that it'd be nice to resolve."

    "Is this beef gonna get in my way?"

    "Not as long as you're paying us," Rickett says, and he seems to be telling the truth. From what you're seeing, the Vipers do good work, and you're about to jump into the fire here.

    [] Hire the Striking Vipers

    [] Don't
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Hire the Striking Vipers

    Mixing oil and vinegar huh. We'll have to make clear
    to Chalcedony that if she's gonna run high end work like she's got us into, she's got to act the part. She wants to pick a fight, she waits for the second after our contract is done and not a moment before.
     
    Well, helping to start a war, isn't that interesting. It's not the strangest thing leaders have done for profit or power or revenge or whatever it is they seek, but the way Mandalay is so confident there's something else Tau is planning than 'just' war...my first thought is a backstab. Get this girl in power, get her to commit to a war, support her, and then at the point where her forces are weak but almost victorious turn on her, wipe out both factions and claim all the loot. Really though, there's almost no way to know for sure. Maybe he's planning on marrying her. Well, I suppose we'll find out in time.

    As for the Vipers...I'm worried about alienating Chal...but these guys are professionals, so they won't go out of their way to antagonize her, not to say the opposite can't happen. It is quite the worm in the apple for her, helping to get her boss a cool new job, only for him to hire the guys who helped kill her family because of the dangers of the job. I think at the end of it, she'll deal with it. She might be upset and confront us about it, but as long as she's not blown off she should be fine. (With how much she's antagonized by our decisions I'm imagining something like Dragon Age 2's Rival loyalty in the works for her.)

    [X] Hire the Striking Vipers
     
    Problem: They should know how to walk away from a fight that's just business.
    I don't think our Pilot does though, that was personal for her.
    Also a thought: They're talking to us, but Tau has deep pockets and we're not the only Captains involved. Plus they claim they got beef with Setti, they want in on our side even if we don't hire them.

    [X] Don't
    -[X]Reccomend them to Mandalay if she wants them, you're worried about relations between you and one of your Pilots if you hire them.
     
    [X] Don't
    -[X]Reccomend them to Mandalay if she wants them, you're worried about relations between you and one of your Pilots if you hire them.
     
    Hey, a mecha quest! Moreover, one with a male protagonist who's probably hetero to boot, which is becoming a rarity in SV! He also looks like the standard mecha anime protagonist, complete with white hair, likely red eyes, too young for his position, a tsundere aide, and grimdark cybernetics stolen right out of Gundam IO and others.
    Good enough for me to follow.
    I also noticed your liberal use of mythical names, and then there's Libertalia, lol.

    Jackalope said:
    August Eberhardt
    Captain of the Free Ship Ahriman
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The char sheet is not threadmarked yet.

    [X] Hire the Striking Vipers
    -[x] Tell them to be careful around your other pilots. One has reasons to dislike them, but you wish to not reveal their identity to strangers.
     
    [X] Hire the Striking Vipers

    - we listened to the Princess, now time to listen to the facts of war and that more men wont hurt.
     
    Would hiring these guys really be worth the possibility of one of our pilots leaving us? Mind you, they're valuable, but I think a mech pilot is far more so.

    [X] Don't
    -[X]Reccomend them to Mandalay if she wants them, you're worried about relations between you and one of your Pilots if you hire them.
     
    [X] Don't
    -[X]Reccomend them to Mandalay if she wants them, you're worried about relations between you and one of your Pilots if you hire them.
     
    Jackalope said:
    Mandalay orders you a Sybil, a girl a few years older than you, though you choose not to be present when she's wired into the Ahriman's systems.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Didn't realize a Sybil was an actual person. Makes sense that they are, but it's interesting.


    [X] Hire the Striking Vipers

    They're a very good group and should be fine to work with, but they have one thing that really fucks with us hiring them. I'd be fine if the don't hire option wins
     
    [x] Don't
    -[x]Reccomend them to Mandalay if she wants them, you're worried about relations between you and one of your Pilots if you hire them.

    Pilots are worth their weight in gold; Chalcedony already had concerns about our venture; we are short on raw mech power and Johan is getting on in years by pilot standards. It's not a trade I am willing to make.
     
    Hm, the "Recommend them to Mandalay" option seems like a good compromise, but it depends on what exactly our role in the plan is - the mercenaries won't be much use to us if they're with Mandalay and Tau's plan requires her to be somewhere else. On the other hand, antagonising Chalcedony is probably a bad idea.


    [x] Don't
    -[x]Reccomend them to Mandalay if she wants them, you're worried about relations between you and one of your Pilots if you hire them.
     
    VIII
  • Threadmarks
    • VIII​

    A ping opens the war chest, so to speak, giving you a glimpse at your finances. Making the necessary repairs and tweaks to the Ahriman hasn't been cheap, and your treasurer has been on your back for the past few days about the state of the slush fund, but money isn't a concern for you at this point. If you pull this job off you'll be more than set financially. And if you don't…well, you won't care much about jewels when hanging from the walls of Sett.

    "Fine then," you tell Rickett. "You're aboard, pending an agreement on price. I'll set you up with my treasurer, but don't expect us to wait around if you get stubborn on the specifics."

    "Pleasure to be doing business with you," Rickett says, his battle-scarred face twisting into a rough approximation of a grin.

    You turn and signal your marines. "Lieutenant Alvarez."

    A short, tan-skinned woman in baggy fatigues nods to you. "Orders, Captain?"

    "We're going to be taking on additional firepower. They'll need bunks."

    Alvarez rubs the back of her neck. "The ship was built to hold a lot more marines than we've got, so there's space. Our boys are a little spread out though. Should I consolidate them?"

    You shake your head. "No need. I'd prefer to keep the Vipers split up, keep them mingling with the crew. Just make everyone aware that there'll be company."

    "Aye aye."

    *​

    When Chalcedony arrives, you're waiting for her. Best that she get the news from you.

    It's strange to see her on her off-hours. Chalcedony hasn't been a member of your crew for long, and for nearly the entirety of her tenure the Ahriman has been out in the wastes, alternatively hunting and being hunted. When battle is always just a sensor ping away, the pilots tend to remain ready to fight on a moment's notice – and that means plug suits and sensible hair.

    Now that the ship has been in port for a few days, Chalcedony has taken the time to let her hair down, both figuratively and literally. She's dressed in one of the few outfits she managed to escape Ranchicourt with, a flowing sundress done in red and gold – her family's colors. Her hair, a thicket of dark brown curls, hangs nearly to the small of her back, and she's even covered her face in makeup. If she had walked by you on a crowded street, you're not sure you would've recognized her as your pilot.

    In this moment, at least, she's the princess again. You're not sure if that makes this harder.

    "August?" Chalcedony asks, raising one hand to shield her eyes from the harsh fluorescent lighting. "What are you doing out here?"

    "I hired the Striking Vipers."

    Chacedony pulls up short, a multitude of emotions flickering across her face before it settles into a wary confusion. "Is that…a joke?"

    "No." You stand, closing the distance between the two of you so that you can speak casually. "They'll be accompanying us to Sett."

    Chalcedony's mouth opens, then closes. It's only after a moment of thought that she speaks again. "How do you expect me to react to this?"

    "Professionally."

    "Professionally." Chalcedony's eyes narrow, the pale grey of her irises glinting like steel in sunlight. "I should just treat the people who murdered my family like…co-workers?"

    You keep your face carefully blank. "The Striking Vipers didn't murder your family."

    "They didn't?" Chalcedony asks, the beginnings of a strangled laugh in her voice. "I must've just imagined them running through my house, dragging my mother out the doorway as she…" she trails off, clenching her fists at her side.

    "The Greens murdered your family," you tell her, and you try to let the stoicism slip just a little bit, give her a glimpse of the man under the Captain's mask. "The Vipers were just a tool. Will you turn your back on guns, because you were shot by one?"

    "That isn't the same."

    You nod. "It's not. I don't expect you to like the Vipers, Chalcedony. Just to let them do their job. We need them, unless we want to end up hanged."

    "You weren't. There," Chalcedony says, so quietly that you have to step in closer just to catch the words. "You can't trust the kind of people that would do anything for money."

    [] You're right
    "I don't." You reach out with one hand, and when Chalcedony doesn't shy away you let it rest on her shoulder. "But I trust you. To keep a clear head, and to get us through this." You meet her eyes, and try to look past the rage and pain of the princess, to see the pilot underneath. "Do you trust me?"

    [] You're wrong
    "And what kind of person do you think I am?" You reach out with one hand and take Chalcedony by the shoulder, forcing her eyes to meet yours. Rage and pain flashes in her gaze, fresh wounds still bleeding despite the bandages. "This is the world you live in now, Chalcedony. Hate won't change it."

    "And what will?"

    "Money," you tell her simply. "Money and guns."
     
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    • [X] You're right
    "I don't." You reach out with one hand, and when Chalcedony doesn't shy away you let it rest on her shoulder. "But I trust you. To keep a clear head, and to get us through this." You meet her eyes, and try to look past the rage and pain of the princess, to see the pilot underneath. "Do you trust me?"
     
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