The War Room (Larissa's Glory)

[Achilles Jones]

Achilles stood there in the rear compartment of the bridge standing over a graphical display of an Alliance Patrol "Boat," as he awaited the rest of his department heads to appear, today was going to be an eventful, and hopefully, a profitable one.
"I wonder if this new crew I have will be up to the task of an assault liek this. I guess I'll find out."

Achilles turned to the left and spoke to a man there.

"Crewman, round up the command crew and bring them here. It's already 03:52 and they're not here yet."

"Round up the command crew, I sir."

At that the crewman went off about his task.

[Jackson]

The crewman nearly crashed into the security chief as he hurried out of the room on the captain's orders. Jackson quickly sidestepped the man and made his way through the doorway. There hadn't been much time for sleep between the early hour and the need for some last minute preparations but the mercenary was ready for whatever the captain had planned... within reason. He was in battle dress for this meeting, not sure exactly what to expect but decided to dress his role. He was still missing most of his heavy combat equipment including a rifle though. A quick deployment was likely but a surprise exit the meeting right into battle was not.

Jackson approached Achilles and stood at an approximate stance of attention. He wasn't a soldier nor did he want to be one but he would give the commander the level of respect he deserved. As he stood he looked at the display showing the clear design of an Alliance patrol boat. He'd seen plenty of them before, back as a kid on Osiris and a merc that worked with the purple bellies on many occasions. He'd even been inside one before. Nice medium sized craft. If that was the target then this was certainly going to be a ballsy mission. Weren't many of those flying around that weren't Alliance which meant they'd be fighting soldiers, with the high probability of reinforcements, and the assured result that the feds would be pissed. On top of that the patrol boats have nearly unmatched frontal firepower which could take the Larissa out before they even got close and they had crews of about twenty to thirty... hardly a soft target.

Immediately Jackson set to work thinking up a plan to beat the odds and then thinking up an even better plan to do so with fewer casualties. He tried to quickly think of everything: an overall plan, individual instructions to the men regarding tactics, specialized load-outs, suggestions for other ship departments... Hopefully Achilles wouldn't be throwing them right into the fire without any prep.

[Achilles Jones]

Achilels was glad to see the Chief of Security finally show up, and be first to arrive. That is a good sign.

"Stand at ease Major. Here we have the objective. Alliance PT Boat number 117-652-9. e are going to hit it hard and fast for a snatch and grab. Once the others get here we'll go over it in detail."[/b][/color]

Achilles rubbed his chin and spoke again.

"You shoudl go tot he armory and issue out weapons to the crew as soon as this meeting is over."[/b][/color]

[Elyse Crossmen]

Elyse finished plugging in the last of the auto-pilot information before she swiveled around in her chair. Pushing herself lazily to her feet. She padded the short distance between the cockpit and the main bridge in only her sock feet (having shed her shoes for comforts sake during those long hours in the pilot's chair.)

"Mornin' Cap'n." she said with a yawn. Leaning one hip casually against the wall. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes baggy, the woman looked tired. Yet her voice sounded uncommonly bright and chipper. She gave a brief nod to the other man; she had met him only briefly and couldn't be bothered to remember even his name.

"We're gonna mess with that Alliance boat, eh?" Her casualness was out of place next to the two militaristic men. Yet she didn't bat an eye at the difference between their rigid posture and her casual lean - Ely was about as far from a soldier as you could get.

[flame4]

The slim woman had gotten out of bed at two, and had gotten black clothing on. WEll more moddled grays and blues, but still. She looked good in the jumpsuit, and she tied her hair back. She grabbed her belt, full of tools, and a single gun, which she had extra bullets for, but she hoped she wouldn't need it. At three fourty-five, she walked into the bridge. She'd grabbed a bit of food and coffee, and came in food in her mouth.

"Herro c'ptain!" the first part was muffled by the toast, but she swallowed quickly and eyed those around her. "Hello there. I'm Winifred, call me Fred. Your Chief Engineer and this mission's amusing little mascot who can disable nearly anything." she said with a half smile, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked at the man, then the girl. She was ignoring Achillies.

[Jackson]

Jackson listed to Achilles speak. None of it was really news, at least nothing that he hadn't already guessed or knew already to do. Before he could respond in affirmation the rest of the officers began to trickle in. He nodded to the pilot in response to the one she sent his way. She was another new hire, very new, so he didn't really know what to expect from her. The other, the engineer, had been around on the Larissa for years apparently. The time didn't seem to really strengthen her bond with the captain unless it was just some kind of complex love-hate dynamic.

"Jackson." he said in reply to her. "Security." He contemplated something more elaborate but decided to keep it simple. He turned back to the display of the target and continued looking over the deck-plan. Not that he had anything against the two women who had joined them but they didn't exactly instill confidence in the crew. A full crew of badasses like Achilles could take on a dangerous job like this but Fred didn't seem like the rough fighting type and the pilot, although rough, didn't emit the aura of someone who followed a plan but rather fought through disorder. That was good enough for solo work but it could get teammates killed. Hopefully those two wouldn't have to get waist deep in the and be put to the test.

[Achilles Jones]

"Mornin' Cap'n...

We're gonna mess with that Alliance boat, eh?"

"Good morning Lieutenant Crossmen, and yes, we are going to hit Alliance Patrol Boat number 117-652-9. We have a snatch and grab, and the payment is anything we can Salvage from the target vessel."

"Herro c'ptain...

Hello there. I'm Winifred, call me Fred. Your Chief Engineer and this mission's amusing little mascot who can disable nearly anything...

"Looking good there Fred. Is the ship ready for combat operations Major?"

Achilles went back to the digital display, and then spoke again.

"As soon as the XO gets here, we'll go over the operation in detail."

[Sakura Kina]

The recycled air had a faint hint of copper that Sakura's nose simply could not agree with, but she had also smelled and endured worse during the war. The chilly temperatures of the firing range calmed her mind as she raised her pistol and fired off three rounds at the head. Putting the gun down, Sakura pressed the button on the side of the stall to pull the target up to her to examine her work. The head of the target had three clean shots, though the grouping was not as great as she had hoped. Looking down at her watch, she saw that she was late for the briefing for the ship's first meeting and so she reloaded her pistol with a new magazine, clicked on the safety and holstered her pistol on the belt of her pants. Not one to really wear femanine clothing, Sakura often stuck to wearing practical and comfortable clothing, and so she wore a breathable t-shirt and her durable, multipurpose athletic pants. As she walked down the hallway, she wondered what kind of team had been formed and what Achilles had in plan for the team. She wasn't too sure what to expect from the man, but she was more than sure that she would enjoy it nonetheless.

As she walked into the briefing room, Sakura saw a man and a woman, both of whom she had seen in the hallways but never been introduced to, and Achilles. Lit on the display was a projection of an Alliance Patrol Boat, one that Sakura had seen far too many times than she would have liked. The moment she had walked in, everyone had just finished introducing themselves, so she thought she would share her own introductions before Achilles began. "Sakura, XO and Chief Medical Officer." Having briefly introduced herself, Sakura sat down and waited quietly for the briefing to begin. She couldn't wait to bring out the explosives.

[Achilles Jones]

Achilles looked over the display and begun to talk.

"So here we have her eon screen before us is a design schematic of an Alliance Patrol Boat. Why is there an Alliance Patrol Boat diagram on my display? Simple. This is our objective."

Achilles stood up in a more upright, but not formal position.

"The job we have been offered is a specialty Snatch & Grab. Our objective is to infiltrate the vessel, navigate to its cargo hold, where we will find a safe. The customer would like us to liberate several sealed envelopes from the safe.

Our payment is anything we can salvage from the ship, the ship itself, the rest of the safe ad the safe itself."

Achilles now stood in a more formal stance and his tone changed to that of someone ready for combat.

"I will now hand out operations orders ad assignments.

This operation will need to be clean and tight, remember, as much as we all hate the Alliance, their soldier are mostly professional and well trained. I don't' want any of you dead."

Achilles takes that moment to glare in a concerned expression specifically at Fred.

"Let's start with flight characteristics. Crossman, we will be VERY outgunned by the Alliance ship. however, we may be outgunned, but unlike the Alliance ship who's firepower is all concentrated in the forward arcs, our firepower is omnidirectional. We will use that to our advantage.

Step one, Fred will disable out satellite navigation, pulse beacon, and transponders.

Step two, we will start squaking a false Alliance transponder.

Step three, we will broadcast an Alliance distress call once we are within 10,000 kilometers that way no other Alliance craft will be close enough to pick up the signal. But the PT Boat definitely will.

Step four, once the ship comes to help, we will move alone side them, 5 meters away, and then open fire with full batteries just long enough to breach their airlock for boarding actions.

Step five, Crossmen will open fire on the ship's engines to disable their maneuverability and avenue of retreat.

Step six, I lead the boarding party into the enemy vessel.

Step seven, Fred will disable their comm system, transponder, sat nav, and pulse beacon, in that order.

Step eight, we well move to the cargo hold and the safe.

Step nine, we will secure the package and get back to our ship.

Step ten, once we have the package secured on our ship, we will used the Glory's guns to puncture the bridge and kill the command crew.

Step eleven, we will kill their command crew, we sill re-board the vessel and kills all Alliance personnel who resist.

Step twelve. One the ship is secured we will send all of the alliance personnel still alive, who are not valuable to us in life raft.

Step thirteen, we will secure all valuable alliance personnel in the two two cargo holds.

Step fourteen, we wil open up the bridge to take command of the vessel.

Step fifteen, we will repair the ship's engines and get the two ships underway to the buyer's location.

Step sixteen. We will repair the com system and any other damaged systems en route.

Step seventeen. After we find a safe place to put down we'll salvage the ship how we see fit.

Step eighteen. We'll find a way to profit off of the valuable Alliance personnel.

Step nineteen. Deliver the package to the buyer.

Step twenty. Be on our marry way."

Achilles looked at each of his officers and spoke once more.

"After the briefing we well all be suite up in Alliance uniforms and hear. Then the boarding crew will go over the combat operations step by step by the numbers till we get it right.

Do you guys have anything to say.?"

[Jackson]

Jackson took note of the plan. It seemed to have a little too much explanation in some areas and was lacking in others but that was probably due to the merc not giving two about piloting and such while only caring for boarding. The basic game plan got them in past the patrol boat's torpedoes and within easy striking range for a surprise attack... if the purple bellies fell for it. The Larissa wasn't a standard issue Alliance vessel so it was likely they'd be suspicious. Meanwhile dressing up as a bunch of Alliance soldiers didn't seem like it would provide any advantage. It would work to disguise a wave to the bridge but by the time they saw anyone else bullets would already be flying. Maybe the captain was just hoping that it would cause more confusion amidst the enemy trying to identify friend from foe. Hopefully they'd subtly mark themselves to avoid the same issue the target crew would face.

"Yeah." Jackson responded immediately to the captain's call for questions. "How long do we plan on this whole operation taking? Snatch and grabs can be quick but your plan isn't that simple. It's a snatch, grab, kill everyone, loot and then repair the ship. Now those actions get more time consuming in that order." He looked at the captain and then to the rest of the officers before returning to Achilles. "Not that I don't like the idea of an enormous payday which includes an entire Alliance ship and cargo but considering the damage we'll be doing it's likely that someone will find us before we can get underway with that amount of system damage. Alliance ain't like mercs; it's all about teamwork and superior numbers. They'll pick up our signal and come to check it out but not before sending their own signal telling their friends what they're doing. If they don't check back in then cavalry will arrive."

Although his little speech did criticize the plan he tried to do so in a polite tone. He was only a new hire after all but he was also an officer of the ship. It was his duty to mention such problems with the plan rather than stay silent like a grunt. Actually he only had a problem with step five and ten. Crippling the engines and blowing a hull breach in the bridge would make the ship unflyable. It certainly assured that they'd capture the vessels but it was unnecessary damage. They could easily just grapple and board quickly. If the ship tried to flee then it didn't matter because the boarding team would already be aboard and taking over. So long as the communications were knocked out then there wouldn't be any long term issues with a patrol boat limping around.

[Achilles Jones]

"Well we will follow each step one at a time if time permits. We will have exactly 22 minutes and 37 seconds before another Alliance cruiser picks up our signals. I accepted this job because of the isolation of this vessel form the rest of the fleet. We will do as much as we can within the 20 minute timeline. Then we will exfil the Alliance PT Boat, scuttle the ship, and depart ASAP.

However, your statements have made me realize we should have Fred disable the propulsion system from the inside so that we can reinitialize them if time permits.

Our primary objective is the package for the customer.

Our secondary objectives are anything of value we can loot the ship for.

Our tertiary objective is valuable personnel from the ship.

and Our quadrisary objective is the ship itself. We will complete the mission with that list in mind."

Achilles stood up completely and spoke some more.

"Remember... our pay is whatever value we can get from the ship, not direct cash."

[Sakura Kina]

Sakura looked at the schematics of the ship as Achilles spoke and as Jackson brought up his concerns. The plan was definitely tight on time, but she wondered if it was possible to evade any Alliance patrols? "What if we were to disable the whole engine itself from the inside? If we can take out the ship's communications array from the outside, then disable the communications suite from the inside, we would have more time to take out all Alliance personnel in the ship, then we can take the ship elsewhere from where the ship had notified that it was going. That way we can deal with valuables once we've gone dark. We could most likely use the dark side of a nearby moon or large asteroid to cover our tracks while we do the transfer. And we could possibly save time by boarding the ship in suits and overloading the ship's life support."

Sakura knew that the objective would be the package at their client had asked for, and that would be something they could not risk losing by stealing the ship like she had suggested. "We could have someone disabling the comms, engines, life support and weapons in that order, another person securing the primary objective, then the rest of us clearing the ship. If we do this efficiently, we should be able to get out of the area within 15 minutes, giving us a few minutes to get away from any patrols that may be closing in on the position."

[Jackson]

It was good to hear that the captain was open to suggestion and so easily modified the plan in response to the concerns for time. They were lucky to have such a man rather than someone who would take any constructive criticism of the plan as a personal attack. Jackson nodded a bit in agreement as Achilles spoke and further explained the escape plan and willingness to abandon the job halfway through if necessary. The big payday was not worth certain death or capture.

Then Sakura, the XO/doctor added her piece. Here idea seemed a bit riskier but if they could pull it off then it would certainly buy them more time. Instead of focusing on completing the job before the Alliance checked up on them they would simply take control of the ship and move it someplace where they could finish the job. Any surviving crew could possibly sabotage the ship and end the plan in a hurry but the reward might be worth the risk.

The idea to board in suits and just go straight for the life support was genius and Jackson couldn't help but smile. It was horribly brutal but it was a great idea if they didn't care about killing off the entire Alliance crew. It would cut out whole sections of Achilles' plan including the Alliance disguises, taking prisoners, having to damage the bridge to take it, etc. The captain might not want to go for it. Still, Jackson was beginning to like this XO. If nothing else she thought outside of the box.

[Achilles Jones]

”What if we were to disable the whole engine itself from the inside? If we can take out the ship's communications array from the outside, then disable the communications suite from the inside, we would have more time to take out all Alliance personnel in the ship, then we can take the ship elsewhere from where the ship had notified that it was going. That way we can deal with valuables once we've gone dark. We could most likely use the dark side of a nearby moon or large asteroid to cover our tracks while we do the transfer. And we could possibly save time by boarding the ship in suits and overloading the ship's life support.”

“We could have someone disabling the comms, engines, life support and weapons in that order, another person securing the primary objective, then the rest of us clearing the ship. If we do this efficiently, we should be able to get out of the area within 15 minutes, giving us a few minutes to get away from any patrols that may be closing in on the position.”

Achilles looked at his XO and spoke.
“Vere good Commander. I knew I picked a good XO. This is what I want people. You all should bethinking two things when we plan an operation. First and most important, is survivability. We don't go on a mission unless we have a plan that brings us all home. Second, is efficiency. We should be completing job with the human maximum in efficiency as our goal. Third is to think outside of the box. Thinking outside of the box makes our operations less predictable by the opposition forces and increase our statistical probability of survival and success.”

Achilles turned around standing in a obviously military stance, that seemed to come without thinking about it, as he looked out into the stars.

“Taking out the communications array from the outside, is a very good idea. My normal preference is to use the ships' guns as rarely as possible. The one's that use ammunition are hard to resupply and the energy weapons drain a lot of power.

However, this job may be big enough to warrant it.

I do not want to destroy life support. I'd rather turn it off. Long enough to cause the crew to cause blackout and then turn it back on to prevent death.

I want to kill off all of the combat operations personnel, and sell the technical, medical and operations personnel if we can. That could get us 20 times the value of the ship itself.

Normally since we have three objectives, in Alliance Army Special Operations, we would split up into three teams. But since this crew is mostly newly assembled I wasn't sure if you all would be up for that, or if you could pull it off.

If we are going to split to assault the objectives, then I will alter the plan as follows.

One. We make our identity and presence with the false electronics signatures.
Two. We disable the boarding airlock.
Three. Team Alpha, lead by me goes for the cargo hold for the main objective. Team Bravo, will secure the bridge. Team Charlie, will deactivate communications, then propulsion, then life support in that order. Destroy only what necessary, and even then only if you can't figure out how to disable the system within 120 seconds.
Four. Once the crew is in blackout, get the ship underway to our destination.
Five. Drag all living Alliance personnel in the cargo hold and brig for safekeeping.
Six. Once crew is secure, conduct sweep and clean operations, making sure all corridors and rooms are clear of personnel.
Seven. Drag any found personnel to said cargo bay.
Eight. Lockout brig and cargo bay control stations and computer terminals.
Nine. Physically lock out those two locations.
Ten. Deliver package to customer.
Eleven. Get paid
Twelve. Sell valuable crew.
Thirteen. Leave non-valuable crew on back-water planet.
Fourteen. Use profits to repair the ship if necessary. Then replenish supplies and equipment, then upgrade ship systems. Then finally divvy up everyone's pay.”

Achilles paused a moment in order to give them a moment to take it all in.

"We will be wearing Alliance Army uniforms, under Alliance issue EVA suits, under Alliance issue body armor. Even though we are changing the plan, we will keep up the disguise, because we will not be killing off the crew. And the disguise keeps them from knowing who we are.. and some of the, will actually think a rouge Alliance Special Operations Team did this. disinformation never hurts. Remember folks. keep your faces and skin covered when around and dealing with the Alliance crewmen.

[Sakura Kina]

Sakura honestly did not want to ask exactly how Achilles, or their client, got their hands on Alliance equipment, but she supposed that if the client had things that the Alliance was holding onto, then they must have some sort of bad blood with them. As she listened to the set plan, Sakura agreed with everything that was set up. Overloading the life support might possibly fry the systems permanently as Achilles explained and that would not have been a good situation if they were intending on selling personnel. "Is it possible to gain access to the ship's power generators? If we can, we could probably kill many birds with one stone by disabling the generators. That would take care of the comm suite, the engines, nav systems, and life support. But the generators are usually very well guarded for that exact reason." Sakura knew that by trying to head for the generators directly, they might possibly blow their cover before they were able to do anything, but if they succeeded in sabotaging the generators, the mission's estimated time of completion would be cut in half. They would save a lot of time, but it would require very little errors and a hint of luck.