Chasing the Ghost || Peerless Crew

[Deleted]

Vitale and Roger's previous thread.

Location - Peerless Bridge
Time/date - 1155 Hours, April 8th, 2520

Vitale sat in front of the big computer reading on and on. He checked his watch again, and noted that the two hour mark was coming to a close. Davis would want to go soon. He wiped his eyes and went back to the screen. This was crazy. Who were they suppose to be? Superheroes? The door to the Captain's quarters cycled and Davis' footsteps could be heard in the hall behind the bridge. He turned around and stepped into the main entrance leading onto the bridge and called out, "Hey Captain!" Once he had Davis' attention, he motioned him up to the bridge. "Come check this out right quick sir." He went back to the screens and sat down. Now, Vi wasn't a computer guru or anything, but whoever Grimm was, he made it pretty easy to figure all this out if you had the password.

At first, an hour or so ago when he'd started, he'd tried to just open this stuff up. That went no where. Then he'd gotten his password from his gear they'd given him, and after that, it was a literal flood of information. He had tons of reading left to do, but this guy. Baby Jesus! Davis came up next to him, so Tali let his opinion out without waiting to see if it was wanted.

"Ok. So I came in here to figure this thing out, since I didn't really know what exactly we were doin here. Now, I done had this stuff fer... I dunno, two months or so now, but I hadin' actually read it yet. Ok, I admit, maybe not the best move. But this?" He said waving his hand at the screen, "This is who we are supposin ta kill? I mean, sure I suppose he's a prick or whatever, he does work for the government, but," Tali sighed, then said, "For real?"

He started reading mechanically from the screen on the left, "During the last quarter, the Cobalt PMC groups totaled thirty three billion platinum in revenue... blablabla, bunchacrap, um... here." he pointed to the screen, putting his finger on the screen clearly marked not to be touched, "This guy is employed on contracts by the gausi de mou Parliament! Who are these people? I mean, how is ah friggin chopshop wrapped up in all this?" He turned to Davis to ask him directly, "Ok. You say this guys got it comin, then I believe you. But these people... I mean... these people have access to tanks sir, tanks. I got ah.. uh.. nine mill, and uh.. two twenty three? I mean, unfair fight... doesn't really cover it."

After Davis had his piece, Tali added one more tidbit he'd found, pointing to one of the other devices that produced a holographically suspended map above the computer... desk? Each planet that was marked, pulsed with a red cross-hair reticle over it. Each of these contained a link, which Tali 'clicked' using a black gooey pad at the hologram's base. "Check this out too. This is a list of planets that his people are known to be on. Or his... not people." He paused and looked at Davis, then turned back to the projection, "Whatever. The point is, we are currently on one. So... since we are here in this city, and this dude is here, Cheverus, I'm thinkin he's someone we should stop by and see because..." He paused long enough to click on a link. The planetary map in the holographic swooshed away to the right, out of the screen's edge, and from the left, three repeating moving pictures of the guy, and his full dossier swooshed in, broad and easy to read.

Whoever this 'Grimm' dude was, he made this stuff easy. The dossier included Cheverus' current residence, occupation and even his current business address. Plus a bunch of crap about him that Vi had neither the time, nor the patience to read. "Check this out. Ok, he worked for Cobalt two years ago, and his contract was terminated due to 'Gross Misconduct and Discrepancies.' Now I looked in this... thing that the... Syndy boys gave us. And 'Gross Misconduct' translates into didn't kill a group of civilians in a no fly zone. He allowed them to leave peacefully, and they canned his piqu fer that. Who does that? But there's more look." He pulled up one last link from the page, "Ok, so this is his bank statements all the way to present. Cobalt still pays him, through this account. It's not through the same one that was paying him two years ago, but according to the computer thing here, it still originates from Cobalt." Vitale was excited, he didn't know much about computers, but he'd been able to navigate through all this with relative ease. For Vi, that was sayin something. Also, he swore that if Davis already knew all this, he was gonna punch him.

He added with a smile predominantly showing on the left side of his mouth, "I think I should get a bonus for putting this together."

[Roger Davis]

On his way to Vitale's newly claimed quarters, Roger was intercepted at the bridge door by the man. Roger followed the eager invitation to follow and soon was looking over Vitale's shoulder on the bridge. Cordoba had already broken into the ship files and apparently spent the majority of his first two hours aboard combing through the records available. Naturally, Marcus Lee, their main target, was the first search.

Vitale went over a brief summary of what they were up against combined with a healthy dose of his own misgivings about taking on such a target. "Made a deal with the devil, that's how." Roger answered. "Got to where he is by betrayin' friends. Those on the right side of the Alliance merely had their careers and reputations ruined. Those not so well connected were killed." At least most of them were. This mission was about revenge for Onas, one of the few who had escaped such a fine "reward" for his trust in Lee.

"This ain't my first rodeo in asymmetrical warfare." Roger continued. "Hit 'em where they're weak and disappear before they can bring in the big guns. MBTs ain't much use against a small crew that could show up anywhere in the 'Verse to cause trouble." That was the abridged and also cheerful version of the strategy. Easier said than done, and even then hitting the weak points wasn't going to be a cake walk. It just wasn't going to be absolute suicide.

With misgivings hopefully pushed away for now, Vitale continued on part two of his research. In a short time the man had really gotten to the heart of things, much faster than Roger could have done. Unfortunately for Vitale, Roger had done it. He'd spent the better part of the trip over from Verbena looking specifically at Beaumonde and any potential leads in the area. Still, this was a good audition and Vitale had certainly proved that he should take over this responsibility from the captain.

Once Vitale had finished Roger looked at his watch and said, "I said we're goin' out. I remember a nice place on 14th and Magnolia a few years back." He turned toward the door of the bridge and started to walk out. "Dangerous neighborhood though. Who knows what could happen." They weren't ever really going out for "lunch" (well, they might in the end depending on how things went). Roger wanted Vitale along and he wanted him armed because Cheverus was the target all along.... 14th and Magnolia. "You comin'?"

[Deleted]

"You comin," Davis asked as he left the bridge. Well hell yeah he was taggin along. This Cheverus may have some nasty ideas about not being polite to Vi's new Cap. That wouldn't do, everybody here had a job to do, and this kind of thing, eating and violence, was his only real specialty. He grabbed his pistol off the top of the computer desk thing and raked it away heavily, leaving a thick scratch in the smooth metal finish.

"Gimme two secs Cap, I'll meet'cho in the bay." He said rushing into his room, swirling the hatch open in a rush. He grabbed his brown Jacket, and two extra mags. Then, he reached for his G36 and had it nearly taken off the rack when he thought, maybe that was a bit much. So instead, he grabbed two extra mags with their belt clip, the silencer and his brite-lite attachment for the P99. Then he bolted out the hatch, matching his weapons attachments to their prospective holster positions. He attached the extra mag clip to his belt in the small of his back while he hustled to the elevator, then hit the button. While he waited for it to finish it's short trip to the deck, he pulled his P99 and attached the light to it, chambered a round, left the safety off, and returned it to its bed.

The Cap wasn't at the bottom, so Tali waited for him, pulling out a set of brass knuckles, and cleaning the dry dirt out of the cracks with his fingernail. When Davis joined him a minute later, Tali turned on his heal, and fell into stride with the man. "So, we hailin a cab, or is it pit-an-pat?"

[Roger Davis]

Vitale was quickly on his feet behind Roger. The captain went right and Vitale went left at the corridor intersection. Both men knew what they were really doing and the potential threat they faced walking in there. As Vitale armed up, so did Roger. The Peerless captain grabbed nearly every pistol he had. A second shoulder holster went on, a .40 was slid into the holster on his waist back, and a sub-compact went onto his ankle. You could never have too many guns. The right tool for the right situation.

Over-top of it all, Roger pulled on his brown duster. Obvious armament suddenly disappeared beneath the concealing coat. It was fortunate that such attire would not draw much attention in this part of the 'Verse. Aside from a security checkpoint, no one would know the weapons were there until they were out and in use. Get the drop on Cheverus before things coul spiral out of control. Quick and precise.

It was but a moment before Roger too was ready and descending into the cargo bay. As the elevator stopped, he began to walk toward and then down the open ramp with Vitale in tow. He gave a dismissive wave to the two Syndicate crew members who rose to follow. "It's not far." Roger replied to the comment. "We'll work up an appetite." In truth it was in that in-between range where a quick drive was worth considering, but Roger didn't want that. "More concerned with getting back." No car was going to wait for them while they did their business, certainly not if there was gunfire or they had to make a quick escape. They didn't want a third party involved anyway nor did they want to detail a bunch of Syndicate kids to sit out in the street for them. It was easier to escape on foot as well in the crowded sections of the city, and it paid to have the route you took in fresh in your mind if it came to that. "Keep it small, simple, and personal."


Tune in here for the next exciting episode.