Disc I: Still Alive

The Atlas IV drifted through the vast expanse of space, its thrusters letting out a low, chemical flame. The ship itself looked to be in decent condition, though it was scratched, dented, and patched in quite a few places, but that somehow made it look more appealing, giving the ship its own unique appearance. The Atlas IV was famous alright, but the owner was not. He was just another lowly mercenary floating through the galaxy, trying to get through the weeks. This certain swashbuckler was named Jerry Miles, a floater and vagabond, known for his quick drawing skills and short temper.

Jerry's history was just about as complicated as any other mercenary. His life was full of mistakes, accidents, and quite a few unfortunate outcomes for bounties. Jerry himself would probably say his worst mistakes were haircuts, but that's far from the truth. But the past is the past, and as always, the present and the future are truly the only things that matter anymore. Luckily Jerry has been fortunate enough in those years to gather up a band of other mercenaries to help him in his quest to find out what the hell his point is in the galaxy. They make a nice, dysfunctional family, and as a result, tend to get things done well.

Now Jerry found himself in this vessel, the Atlas IV, trying to track down some sort of dark gate, a warp gate created for criminal purposes. Unfortunately, the leads were quite incorrect, as there were no dark gates or warp gates in the area he was pointed out to. Now he found himself far out in deep space, his course set for the nearest warp gate, which was quite far away. This wouldn't have been a problem if they weren't running low on food. Jerry himself expected this job to finish quickly, but one thing led on to another, and they found themselves out of supplies and even running low on fuel.

Jerry sat in the piloting deck, spinning himself slowly around in a rotating chair, occasionally checking the large terminal screen in front of him for any updates on their position. He stretched his arms and yawned, leaning forward in the chair.

"Looks like we'll be going back empty handed again..." he grumbled to himself. "Dammit... If we get misleading information again, I'm going to blow a fuse."

His stomach grumbled. There were literally no stores of food left, and that was bothering Jerry... Heavily.

"Once we get back to Mars I'm going to devour the first edible thing I see," he said to himself, thinking of a nice steak. "That is... if we do make it, after all."

Seeing no more point to staying up in the piloting room, Jerry took the elevator down to the second deck, entering the mess hall and taking a tired seat on one of the couches. He wondered how the others were doing. If they were as pissed off about this situation as he was, it obviously wasn't going to be a happy group meeting once any of them decided to visit the mess hall to waste time.

Viktor leaned over the railings, noticing Jerry grumpily sit down onto the couches. He seemed to be one of the more easy going members of the crew, at least more so than Jerry and possibly a few others, whom he knew had a horrid temper.

"Good job, Jerry," he suddenly remarked, hopping over the railings onto a chair. "Now I can't smoke because we don't have any food. If only we had gotten that guy and the reward we wouldn't be so bad off." he seemed almost happy, although he was serious. The lack of food annoyed him, but he could live on an empty stomach, which hopefully wouldn't last a long time.

"So, what's the problem this time?" he inquired, noticing that he came in grumbling, which usually meant he was pissed. He had a habit of angering others because of his rather easy-going nature which conflicted with some of the more ill-tempered crew members. Checking his PDA, he noted the time, date, and current mission, and replaced it within his pocket. Relaxing, awaiting his answer from Jerry.

Demetrio woke with a start from his nightmare. He took a few deep breaths and calmed down. "always the same damn one" he remarked to himself quietly. Demetrio stood from his bunk as his stomach growled only to remind him the food supplies were empty. He showerd, dressed, and sighed before he began to walk on the way to the mess hall to see if there was anything at all left to eat.

He walked alone down to corridor to the mess hall and walked through the door to two of his fellow mercs already relaxing on the couches, he also noticed Jerry seemd to be in a bad mood while Viktor still seemd his easy going self. "so anything new?" Demetio said sitting on one of the couches

Darian dabbed sweat from his brow as he slid out from under his ship. On one of his last flights he had noticed a few things that needed tweaking on his plasma cannon, it had been an easy fix but the lack of food was taking a toll on him. He sat upright and lit a cigarette, hoping it would take the edge off his grumbling stomach. A puff of smoke came up from him as he stood up and stowed his tools inside a small side hatch on his ship. He threw his coat in the cockpit of his ship and sealed it, locking the compartment. He looked around the large bay, reaching for a cylindrical water bottle on his belt. As he brought it up to his lips he could tell it was dry, replacing the cap he left for the mess hall.

When Darian entered the mess hall he noticed the others at the couch, with a nod he passed them to a sink toward the back where he filled the bottle. Once full he took a long swig and re-clipped the bottle on his belt. As he walked back to the people by the couch his footsteps were silent against the floor despite his heavy boots and the metal floors. He found himself a wall near the couch where he could lean and chat, leaning back against it, the light reflected off of a large amount of blades stashed in different places along his body.

He nodded a greeting to each as he finally took his place. After taking a final puff on his cigarette and putting it out he said, "How far out are we?"

Dante half asleep on the couch listening to his MP3 only hearing the music going through his ears and his stomach growling like a doberman on steroids. The couch shacked making Dante to look and see Jerry sitting on the couch looking as if he was ticked by a cop. He takes his headphones off hearing Victor's little speech. He stands up and looks to Victor saying "Look lets not blame each other and kill the bastard who ripped us off". Dante starts heading towards his room only thinking of his project and not on his stomach. He finally reaches his room and sees Demetrio room door open and just comparing Dante's room with Demetrio's room he just decided to fix it. He grabs his trash can that is full and just switches it with Demetrio's. After the little fix he locks himself in his room and starts re-looking his prototype design. Saying to himself "This is to good to be shared".

Jerry narrowed his eyes, looking over at Viktor, sighing.

"We were mislead once again," he answered, grumbling. "I was planning on spending the money on this bounty for some good food, but apparently that's not going to happen. I'll keep a note to myself about this bounty company that hired us for this and try to stay away from it from now on."

Soon after Viktor's entrance, most of the others started to pile into the mess hall, gathering at the couches. Jerry looked at Demetrio as he came in, shrugging at his question.

"Anything new?" he replied. "Other than being half starved and misled once again... not much."

When Darian entered and asked where they were, Jerry sighed.

"We're pretty far out," he replied. "It will take at least a day to reach the next warp gate, so be prepared to starve a little while longer, okay?"

Once Dante awoke and commented on Viktor's words, Jerry chuckled a little.

"As much as I want to be a branded criminal," Jerry said. "We might not want to do that. I'll definitely give them a visit later on, though. You can count on that."

Interrupting all this chatter, the TV screen suddenly turned on, the screen flashing as the words "Incoming Message" appeared on the screen. The TV was wired to the ship's mainframe, so Jerry could do a lot of things from the TV, including responding to messages and negotiating with contacts.

Jerry looked at the screen, seeing an unknown calling code. He looked to the others, shaking his head.

"Not sure who this is, but I'm almost fifty percent sure it's either a prank call or someone trying to sell us unconventional items," Jerry said, sighing. "Should we answer, or just let it fly and forget about it? Truthfully, I'm in no mood for these calls."

Dante leaned in his chair with his feet kicked up on his desk while his hands holding a blueprint to new designs. "This should work or at least I hope so" said to himself.

While staring at the blueprint he hears his TV turning on, he rolls his eyes to the TV reading 'Incoming Phone Call'. Trying to ignore it hoping it would just end. Minute later the phone is ringing. Two minutes later the phone rings again. Three minutes later the phone rings again. "Who the **** keeps calling" saying to himself.

Dante gets off his chair and head towards the Mess Hall carrying his machete in his right hand. He walks by the other rooms both seeing the TV's reading 'Incoming Phone Call'. He reaches into the Mess Hall and says out loud "Hey Jerry pick up the phone after all its probably Victors mom asking for seconds" he jumps over the rails and crash lands into the sofa. "Pick up the phone, hell who knows it might be some bounty hunter who screwed up on his mission asking for directions or food........oh wait thats us, so lets see whos calling" saying to Jerry. He picks through his pockets pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. "At least I still have a pack of cigs left" saying to himself.

((OOC: Desertback, please refrain from using censoring and/or very offensive words. It would be alright if it were a very rare occasion, I suppose, but please try not to use them very often. The censoring doesn't look too good and some members don't like the use of heavy cursing, so refraining from using them so much will be very helpful. Moderation is the key.))

Jerry looked over at Dante, his eyes narrowed. He was obviously a little spunky today. Jerry sighed, shrugging.

"I guess this means I'll be taking my chances and hoping for the best," he said, shaking his head. Jerry grabbed the remote to the TV, pressing a button and letting the message come in. The face of a man, a little stocky and plump looking. He had dark brown hair that was balding and a beard, giving him almost a comical appearance.

"Who is it and what do you want?" Jerry grumbled. "Can't you see we're busy starving?"

"I presume that you are the owner of that fine vessel?" the man said, having the air of someone who felt they were above others.

"You got that right," Jerry replied. "That doesn't answer either of my questions, though."

"Pardon my bad manners," the man said, clearing his voice. "I am Count Vincent Alacrat, and there is only one thing I want."

"Which is?"

"Your ship. Will you give it to me?"

Jerry paused for a few moments, not even replying. Then he finally came up with an answer.

"Well... let me think about that one... Let's see.. How about NO." Jerry said, his voice rising as he leaned forward, looking at the TV screen. "Who the hell do you think you are asking me a question like that?"

The man laughed in response.

"I thought you would respond that way," the Count replied. "Just like all the others... But this is different. I am looking at none other than the Atlas IV! I simply must have it."

"What? What's wrong with you?"

"I have a deep interest in mercenary ordeals," the man said, scratching his chin. "Taking the Atlas IV itself will be a brilliant first move in investigating the world of mercenaries! If you're as easy as the others, it shouldn't be too hard to take you out..."

Jerry glared at the man.

"Is that a threat?" he asked, laughing. "You're obviously not mentally stable. Get away from me before I get angry."

"You dare mock me!" the man replied angrily. "You will regret thi-"

Jerry cut him off, hitting a button on the TV, turning it off. He sighed. That was definitely one of the strangest calls he had received. Whoever that man was, he was obviously insane.

"See why I don't like to answer these calls?" he said to the others.

Viktor ignored Dante and his remarks, instead surprised by the rather unstable individual on the screen. "Well, you know what this means. Insane or not he's coming for us." he hopped from the couch and made his way rather casually to his own ship -- the Kodiak Mk. III -- a beautiful machine that displayed quite well his former occupation, albeit out of date and not exactly up to par with current military weaponry or design. Walking through the halls, he wondered whether the man would destroy or steal their ship; although it was probably the latter, his 'parting' words seemed to say otherwise. As he got to his ship, he took out his phone and called Jerry, an idea sparking.

"Hey, instead of blowing the bastard out of the sky, why not loot his ship? I think we can all agree the man has some left over food and fuel. Although, I get first dibs on any Vodka." he chuckled, staying on the phone as he got into the cockpit and prepared to bolt off the deck in the Zipcraft. "Prepare to launch." he said, almost as if he were talking to the ship, pressing down onto the identifier so that it read his hand and turned on. Seconds later the ship came to life, and after a few maneuvers Viktor was out of the Atlas IV and flying towards this new adversary.

Looking at the huge ship, he laughed. "Now what would he need with a ship that large? He's probably hiding something." he wasn't one for caution, or worry for that matter. What happened, happened; he'd just have to see what this nut case did next.

Dante looks at Jerry on the couch and says "Why so mad, did you forget to pay your alimony checks to your ex boyfriend?" He hops off of the couch grabbing his pistols and machete heading towards to the ship bay.

Walking in the loading bay seeing his fighter shining like silver makes Dante smile a bit until hearing Viktor statement. He says before entering his zipcraft to Viktor "I get first dibs on the rum".

He jumps in his zipcraft starting it up and preparing to launch into space. He sees Viktors launch first then hearing the computer's countdown for Dantes time to launch.

Computer: "Prepare to launch in 5"

Computer: "Prepare to launch in 4"

Computer: "Prepare to launch in 3"

Dante: "Common hurry up you piece of junk"

Computer: "Prepare to launch in 2"

Computer: "Prepare to launch in 1"

Dante's zipcraft launches into space while playing Viktor's response over the radio. He flicks the switch on for the rail gun as well for the mic.

"Lets takes in Jerry's ex boyfriend as well just because he might have a bounty on him as well unless Jerry rather prefer killing his old boy toy then selling it" saying over the radio.

Jerry shrugged at Viktor.

"Go ahead and scout him out if you want to," Jerry said. "But everyone else, stay here. If this guy is dangerous, I don't want all of you going out there to die."

When Dante decided to get up and go as well, Jerry shook his head.

"Hmm, you never do change, do you?" he said, bringing his face to his palm. "Good luck dying. I can't say I'll miss you."

Jerry scratched his chin, thinking about the situation. This man was obviously a threat, but he wasn't sure if he could stand up to the threats he made. The Atlas IV was quite a fine vessel and it would take quite a bit of power to stand up against it. For all he knew, Viktor and Dante would be able to take out the ship himself if they were lucky.

Unfortunately for Viktor and Dante, the ship that met his eyes was undeniably large, though it was still quite far off. It appeared to be some sort of junker ship, made up of several components from other crafts. It didn't look entirely stable, but it definitely looked a little bit dangerous.

Jerry looked to the others.

"Let's go up to the piloting deck so we have quick access to the hangar in case Viktor or that dimwit get themselves in trouble," he said, pointing his thumb back towards the elevator. "Take your time and do whatever you want, though. It's not like anything is going to happen too quickly."

Jerry turned and entered the elevator, going back up to the piloting room. He walked to the large terminal and took a seat back in the chair, looking at the radar. He could see Viktor's ship, Dante's ship closely behind, and another ship that he assumed to be the enemy's farther off. There was no telling what it looked like. Jerry leaned forward and pressed a few buttons on the computer, allowing radio contact with Viktor's vessel.

"Viktor, what's it looking like down there?" Jerry said over the radio. "Your idea about raiding that ship sounds good, as we're all starving to death over here. Is the ship an easy catch or what?"

Dante saying over the mic "Tell us Jerry what do you see and any info on your ex boyfriend will help us". He looks at the huge ship seeing that its a junker made as if by a ten year old. "Who knows if this is going to be easy since the ship is large enough to hold lots of people" saying over the radio.
[b]

Darian took in the events as if they almost didn't happen. He walked slowly to his ship, unlocking the cockpit and jumping in. The moment he hit the seat the ship came to life.

"Running initial systems scan." Said a computerized voice... "All systems stable."

"Thank you!" Darian said to the computerized voice as if he expected it to respond. He flicked a few switches and the hum of the engine could begin to be heard. He reached down and flipped a small switch near a monitor. The monitor came to life and he could be seen by Jerry as well as see him.

"This is Darian, all systems are a go, standing by for engagement." He propped his feet up over the edge of his ship as he waited for the enemy ship to close in.

Demetrio sat quitly as everything unfolded around him and as a few of the others had left to there ships. Man that guy was a weirdo, He just kept thinking in his head. he saw Jerry go up onto the pilots room, and Demetrio followd soon after.

As the elevator door opend he saw Jerry looking over some computer, and heard a glimpse of the last radio transmission of a possibly raiding the ship. "hey so we see this thing or what?" Demetrio asked wondering what the ship they were up against looked like.

Viktor chuckled over the mic, noticing others follow. "Seems we're playing a game of follow the leader. Now, as for that ship, it looks like an easy take for us, it's a huge pile of junk. A pile of junk too large. He's hiding something, so... Watch out." he wasn't normally one to tell others to be cautious -- often it was the opposite, to which he had a habit of not listening to -- but there was something not right about this madman's ship.

Jerry seemed rather OK with his idea, something he didn't see everyday. Either he was getting better or they were just real damn desperate, and willing to take any idea. Either way, they were going to get some food tonight if they didn't destroy the ship.

Darian came across the intercom saying, "Why don't we board their ship now before they are in range of ours? We could get on board, take the leader hostage, take the food, and escape." He paused for a moment saying, "I could probably do all but carry the food out myself."

Dante's zipcraft on idle face its front to the junker ship. A green light turns on in the cockpit indicating the rail gun is fully charged. Hearing Darian over the radio Dante picks up his mic "Lets just ask them to open up and give us food and fuel since they are probably so nice" sarcastically saying over the mic.

Dante looks around the junker ship through the cockpit seeing its just ugly. "Can I just fire my rail gun at it, since blowing a hole in it would be easier than invading the piece of junk". saying over the radio.

"It sounds like this will be an easy steal..." Jerry said over the radio. "However, keep your guard up. Something isn't right about this guy. And Dante, as much as I want to see this guy burn to pieces, hold your fire. We might be able to salvage a few things, after all. Not like we have a choice, either."

Suddenly the screen flashed again, "Incoming Message" appearing on the screen once more.

"...Hold on," he said over the radio, turning it off briefly. He pressed a button, accepting the transmission, the fat face of their adversary once again appearing on their screen.

"Looks like someone got a little angry!" the Count said, chuckling. "I see that you have sent your minions to come and attack me. How clever."

"Shut the hell up," Jerry answered. "You asked for it."

"No, I asked for your ship, but apparently that is too much for you to handle," replied the fat man, scratching his chin with a grin. "No matter. This small, insignificant crafts cannot do a thing to me."

"Ha! You don't know what you're up against."

"You don't either."

Jerry paused for a moment. What was this guy implying?

"Don't bluff, your ship wouldn't be able to stand up against a single bullet," Jerry said.

"It's not my ship you should be worried about," the Count answered, laughing. "You should be more worried about your little friends. I can't tell you how excited I am for them to come join my party! Adieu!"

The fat man dropped the line, the screen going blank with static. Jerry scratched his chin, looking at the radar. Suddenly he noticed a few smaller dots appearing, heading straight towards Dante and Viktor. Quick as lightning, Jerry switched over to the radio, finally realizing what was happening.

"Get the hell out of there now!" Jerry yelled through the speaker. "Four heat seeking missiles are headed towards you! Evade and get back here! MOVE!"

Computer: *Beep*Beep*Beep* "Four Heat Missiles Locked"......"Locked"

Dante: "Guess the fat bastard aint all weak"

Dante flicks the rail gun switch off to thruster power. He floors the pedals hitting the ship at max speeds away from the missiles.

Dante: Himeself "There has to be something"

Computer: "Missiles increasing distance"

Dante: To radio "Jerry any ideas"

Jerry watched as the missiles got closer and closer to the two ships. He cursed and turned to the radio speaker. The four missiles split up into two groups, two of the missile going after Dante, and two of them going after Viktor.

"Get your ships closer to the Atlas IV!" Jerry said, gritting his teeth. "I'll try to beam down those missiles down with the plasma cannon."

Jerry pressed a few keys on the computer terminal, turning on the weapons system, activating the 360 degree turning plasma cannon. If he fired off a sustained beam he could pull this maneuver off. It was a long shot, but it was their only chance, unless they had any better ideas.

"Dammit... get closer..." Jerry said to himself, preparing to use the controls to fire once he could.