Out of Pod Experience

Perhaps it was a side effect of the medication or the threat of being turned into a pulp by an angry minmatar or his own memories of being held captive...But something stirred with in Matokin’ he quickly sat up right in his bed and walked over to the still beeping wrist communicator, picking it up he quickly shut it off and placed it in his pocket. And set of for the holding area where Laud was being held.

Upon entering he found Laud still pounding her head on the cell wall with a clear expression of pain and agony upon her face.

Sighing heavily Matokin turned and faced the two guards. “You are dismissed” he said with an authoritative tone. He waited till he was sure they had gone far enough, then walked over to the control panel on the wall and unlocked Laud’s cell.

Laud was still banging her head away and either did not notice or was in too much pain to care. Seeing this Matokin entered the Cell and passed her the wrist communicator. “Your Brother has been calling for you” He said with a note of sympathy Laud had never seen in Mataokin’s voice before.

Laud sat up with a start and stopped banning her head on the wall Matokin saw , her eyes were red as tears were running down her cheeks. And extended his hand as if to wipe the tears but suddenly retracted it in a flash after realizing Laud would probably just break it.

Laud said with tearful agony in her voice, “Why are you here? You have me locked up like some kind of caged wild animal what do you want from me”

Matokin replied “Like I said Your Brother has been calling for you”.

“Are you THAT a afraid of him...cause you should be” Laud said as she was trying to stand up. Still dizzy from the blinding flashes which was caused by her implants as she tapped out her message on the wall of her Cell she almost fell forward and Matokin motioned to catch her but the look she shot at him told him if he valued his live he had belter not. Catching herself and straightening up she looked at Matokin gone was the authoritative gaze and posture of an RSS agent and in its place was one Laud never seen him show before. “Could it be she thought...is he really concerned about me, or is he just worried for his own life...ya that must be it he is just scared of what Random will do to him.” Laud chuckled out loud at this thought.

Matokin looked puzzled and worried at the same time he knew laud was unstable “had she finally” cracked he thought” he thought of reaching for his pistol but instead he simply asked then asked “what is so funny”

“Oh nothing” Laud said smiling

Suddenly Matokin realized that this is the closest he has been to Laud without her threading him or acting like a complete nut realizing this he slowly backed out of the cell.

Just then both Matokin and Laud felt the ships thrusters get louder...the ship must have cleared the dock and was starting to picking up speed in order to get a safe distance from the station before aligning for warp.

“Matokin quickly said...before Laud could do anything ”There is not much time, I know we have gotten off to a bad start the whole way round but you NEED to trust me this time I really do want to help you...Call your borother let him know what has happened and have him standing by with an armed boarding party for when the ship returns to dock”

Laud replied “HA you expect me to believe you Mr RSS man after all this” but at the same time she was thinking “If he don’t want to help then why did he give back my communicator” She still had not completely convinced herself nor could understand he would do that.

Matokin replied “No I don’t but. I am the only chance you have right now to get out of here before we go to warp.” “ Look I have left your cell door unlocked” he said as he closed the door “Once I am gone there is an armory down the hall on the left and you will find your weapons in there. Grab them and head back here.”

“I will be back then shortly to....check on you” Matokin said with a sarcastic tone.

During his whole explanation Matokin notice that Laud had not said one word...something completely out of the ordinary for her thus far. Instead she was just standing there with a rather perplexed look on her face

Backing out of the room keeping his eyes on Laud as he could not completely trust her not to jump out and try to strangle him or something he said “Well are you ok with all this or not?...I am taking a HUGE risk helping you like this I hope you know that.”

He stopped in the door way and waited for his answer as Laud just stood in her sell and gleared at him like some kind of caged animal about to turn on its master....

Succus hadn't earned his reputation gratuitously; being hired by mistress Fazmarai was more a shared gift than a reward, as he could had easily have found better paying masters. Yet he was intriged by how that Khanid noblewoman had learned of him and his exploits, and in the deep of the heart he was a romantic and couldn't help to assist a lady in distress... specially if she was an exotic beauty like mistress Fazmarai, and she was in a messy affair.

He was a competent barman, as he had been using that cover for many years. But also he had developed the kind of intuition that allows a security officer to land on his feet no matter the circunstances. Yiole Gionglao, admittedly, had done a good job in securing the Bar and the people involved, but she was not a true expert, and she had not the ability to feel "hunches".

And it was a hunch what made Succus install a multiwave scanner and enhance it with several tricks... like the abbility to bling a warning if it picked Morse code in any wavelength, from any source.

"Let the ball start rolling... hope these amateurs are up to it", thought to himself, before rushing to meet Ishtanchuk Fazmarai.



"So Laude says she's prisoner inside some Scorpion? Where?"
"I don't know, but likely it's on this very station. I've fed a false warning in the station security channnel concerning a Scorpion, so they won't be allowed to undock untll the officers figure out that it's a hoax... that will take some minutes and you should assemble something able to stop that Scorpion in the meanwhile"
"Maybe we could warp scramble it... but then we'll need some firepower if they want to fight. Whoever tackles them will be flagged and we don't know who will be out there"
"OK, you do what you can while I recruit some more patrons, mistress Fazmarai..."
"Of course I'll do. Warn Random and I'll ask Yiole... that should be three ships at least. Whoever interested, let them know that I'll be tackling with my Nightmare and Yiole will field a Caracal, se better we fleet up to don't start shooting each other inadvertedly"

Succus looked at Ishtanchuk Fazmarai as she rushed to the CQs linked to the appartments. Before explaining the situation to Random McNally and the other patrons, he wondered wether the Scorpion woud be a capsule fit ship or a commoner one, and what kind of risk was taking everyone. He knew that neither mistress Fazmarai nor her friend Yiole Gionglao were used to capsuleer on capsuleer combat...


(meta: I'm assuming that tackling in hisec is a yellow flag so anyone can engage the tackler but the tackler can't fire unless it is being shot at, either it becomes a red flag and NPC will also shoot on the tackler. If I am wrong, feel free to warn Ish )

Lailyana is sitting next to her Merlin Class Frigate reading "everything you need to know about Energy Grid Upgrades Vol. 2" and directing the workers fitting her ship

"No no", she proclaimed " I purchased the Navy Anti-Matter charges, not the civilan. and also take off my afterburner, theres a 1MN Micro warpdrive I got yesterday over in the corner there"

"Yes Mamn", says a nearby fittings mechanic

"Hm i hope Navy Anti Matter will be enough, I hope my ship will be enough" she thought calmly to herself, taking a pause from her reading to reminisce on the last time she fought in a merlin, suddenly she starts to hear the sound of her system indicating she was in low structure.

"Mamn", a voice snapping her back to reality says.

"what is it" she says taking a deep breath.

"Youll be cleared for undock in 20 minutes we are making final adjustments to your regolith shield inductor and making sure your new Damage Control Unit upgrades are in working order." the mechanic says.

"thank you very much, and also ive been having and issue with my Stasis Webifier, can you please re calberate it"

"Yes mamn, we will notify you when your cleared for undock"

The mechanic does a hurried about face and starts barking orders at the other mechanics as Lailyana goes back to her reading.

(meta: I hope its acceptable to use fits that I use ingame and also reference past fights that I have been in, if not let me know and I will edit)

Random stood very still. The communication burst into static, but the gist was clear.

Laudenum had been taken.

A rush of emotion charged through him and it took a moment to sort through it. The RSS man. The Concord agent. The threats.

They had taken Laud. They had taken his little sister.

His eyes burned and he spun around and dropped to a knee. He reached under his bed and drew out an old wooden box. He quickly flicked the latches and swung the top open. Gleaming, under the dim lights of his room, was an old Matari boarding axe. Reverently, he pulled it free from its protective sheath and hefted it. The blade was polished and honed to a razor’s edge. He looked up at Yiole, hurriedly getting dressed, and said, “I need your help.”

Yiole smiled, and nodded. Together, they left his quarters at a rush.

When they entered the common area, Succus was moving towards them. “Your sister has been …” he began but Random finished sentence.

“Captured. Yes, I know. Thanks!” Random quickly looked around to survey the patrons in the bar. There were a few he recognized, more that he didn’t. He drew a deep breath and said loudly, “I need help! Laud has been captured and I need assistance getting her back!” He turned to Succus and said, “Look for the Kaltana’s. Have them organize a boarding party and tell them to bring ALL their toys. If Sheimi or Alice is available, we’ll need outside assistance. We’ll need to bump the Scorpion to prevent it from warping. I have a bump Stabber in the hangar if someone needs it. No tackle! GO!” He turned and sprinted to the front door with the enormous axe in hand. “We are leaving!” He shouted, and they quickly exited.

Random and Yiole ran through the halls towards the hangars. Both Random and Yiole calling ahead to their ships. Inhabitants of the station soon moved to the side as Yiole shouted to make space. Those that questioned her warnings soon faced the Matari bull with the great axe. They stopped for nothing.

Yiole flashed Random a smile and sprinted to her Caracal while Random turned to the great Tornado he had recently delivered to the station. The ship was already powered up and the dock master was awaiting him at his pod. He turned to the captain and said, “Make arrangements for two more. Purchase and outfit them like this one, no matter the expense. This will not be pretty.” He moved quickly to submerge into his pod. Yiole patched into comms and the two began coordinating with the additional capsuleers that trickled in.

The Tornado received the capsule and Random began calling for departure clearance. Regardless, the Matari battle cruiser began moving and Comm Control began waving off ships with prior clearance. The assemblage of capsuleers began moving to the undock.

Docking drones tried to redock the Scorpion due to signals of the lockdown. The Scorpion’s captain increased thrust and was able to slowly pull away. Inside the Scorpions Bridge, the comms officer turned. “Captain, I think we have a problem.” The captain turned to the comms station and said, “On screen.” Suddenly, the image of the Tornado and several other attack ships cleared the undock.

“We’ll need a diversion.” Random said. “I want one volunteer to warp to the belts and find someone, anyone. I need a gank on cue.” One of the frigates peeled away and warped off in the direction of the asteroid belts. Preemptively, Random called on comms, “Yiole, I know the look you’re giving me without even seeing it. I will compensate the miner for the ship. I’ll even throw in a nice bonus besides.”

Yiole shot back, “Random, why are you going to need a miner to get shot at?”

“Because, I’ll need someone to pull off Concord.” Random said grimly.

The smaller ships began bumping the Scorpion, preventing it from maneuvering into warp position. Between the bumping ships, and the effects of the docking drones, the Scorpion was slowed to a crawl. “Remember,” Random chimed out, “no effects, you can target but no effects!” He activated the weapons array as he moved to Tornado to range, the monstrous artillery guns thrumming into life.

“Keep bumping, keep bumping.” Random called out. “Don’t let it maneuver. If it performs any hostile act, then tear it apart.” Random turned to the weapons crew. “Overheat the cannons and prepare to fire everything we have.” He said, the weapons crews moving quickly to preheat the powerful cannons and loaders.

Over general comms, Random said, "Non essential personnel, evacuate the ship. ALL non essential personnel, evacuate the ship and reform in the station. There will be another Tornado being prepped as we speak."

Random turned to tactical and said, "Lock target and prepare to fire."

There are two bits of wisdom commonly known in the Matari culture. Both of which can be traced back to Old Earth, in the days before the closing of the EVE gate. The first…

“The female being of the greater deadliness of the species…” and

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn.”

Laudenum drew breath and screeched to impress the ancestors. Lemant stepped back and involuntarily covered his ears, the sound raking through his head. He moved to silence the woman but she swung her leg and connected her boot with the other side of his face. Stars swam in his eyes and he crumpled to the floor. As his vision returned, he was aware of the woman walking unsteadily towards him. Her eyes burned with hatred beyond rationality.

“You won’t need to worry about my brother, RSS man.” Laudenum purred. “I’m going to kill you myself.”

The ship shook violently and alarms changed throughout the ship. Lemant knew those alarms. The outside tactics had changed.

The Scorpion was now under fire.

Lailyana heard a commotion as she was waiting for the clearance to undock and reading her book.

"the scorpion is being bumped!" a random mechanic yelled as he ran past her.

"hm, could it be someone found laude already" thought lail perplexed at the scene, "also a its a scoprion...and if its being bumped off station, the next course would be someone will fire, but what side"

At this point Lailyana got up wasting no time "You!" she proclaimed at a mechanic running by, whether I have clearance or not im leaving, get me out of this station!"

"yes mamn" the caldari said.

Lail jumps into her Merlin "Navi, set course for undock and orbit that scorpion at 500 meters!"

"set undock and orbit" her Navi computer repeated back to her

"If this is a scorpion I have to get under its guns if it starts to fire, there is no way I can tackle that ship and survive" she thought to her self" she switches to the onboard targetting system "Lock Scorpion, but DO NOT engage until you see it firing, sheilds up!"

a voice comes on over the comms "youre cleared for undock Ms. Enaka"

"FINALLY" she thought to herself, lets just hope the next time im here isnt a painful activation with a salvage crew picking over my ship"

"Navi", she yells, "Get us out of here now!"

(/meta If im doing something wrong in my own story progression please let me know never attempted RP on any other game, Im attempting to make it seem like I stormed out of the bar, refitted my ship, unknowing to the fact Random is currently bumping the ship. Im also trying to play around with the inside of what I would consider a 1 crew frigate, correct me if im wrong, also I found it hilarious that me and Laude changed pictures within a few hours of each other)

"The Nightmare has opened fire!" said the tactical officer, staring into his control screen. "Shields are dropping fast and it's into armor!"

Random turned his focus away from the Scorpion and to Ishtanchuk's deadly Nightmare. He opened comms to Ish and said, "Ish, I'll thank you properly later, but you need to listen to me now! Shut down your guns, hurry!"

The Tornado's comm officer announced, "Concord is on alert! We have been criminally flagged and they are warping in. ETA, 20 seconds."

Random took in the comm officer report and returned his attention to Ishtanchuk. "Ish, power down your systems and begin open communication to the Concord officers. You have to convince them that there is a fake Concord officer on that ship. Show them the bar tapes, send them your measurements but you have to get them to listen!"

"But Random," Ish began, "You opened fire on them!"

"Yea, Ish," Random sighed "I wasn't expecting to redock this ship."

"Tactical, Random" the tactical officer shouted, "Do we take another shot?"

Random looked briefly at the state of the Scorpion, it was in structure. One more round could destroy the ship and he had no idea if Laud was safe.

"Comm, Random" the communications officer shouted, "Concord ETA 5 seconds."

Random furrowed his brow. He couldn't take a chance of the Scorpion escaping but he also wouldn't chance Laud's life. "Random, Tactical" he said quietly, "activate scram and shut down the guns. Lets hope that pretty Khanid noblewoman can talk some sense into the space police."

"All crew, prepare to abandon ship." Random thought, as the first of the Concord ships appeared.