Beyond the Law: A Star Citizen Tale

Chapter 9: Jumptown

The ship came out of quantum travel, flying down toward Daymar, entering the atmosphere and speeding along towards the X that marked the spot. Calico would spot two fighter jets flying by, speaking through comms.
     "Leo we have bogeys in the airspace, scans pick up as bounty hunters. Take them down." Leo would happily oblige, firing at the anvil arrows that flew by and took shots at the hammerhead. The ships guns were quick at taking down the two hunters, sending them crashing into the ground below.
"Great hits Leo, everyone lock and load, landing shortly at Jumptown." The crew was preparing to head in, their guns loaded and ready for anything. Once the ramp came down, the crew rushed in, surprisingly no guards in sight as they approached the entrance. Calico soon came up behind and grabbed the skeleton key, unlocking the air cycle and moving in with the team. Marigold would look down at her MobiGlas, spotting incoming ships.
"Not good, Jango Org is inbound. We can't stay here much longer." Marigold said while looking over at Calico. He would start typing into his MobiGlas and from outside they would hear what sounded like the Hammerhead taking off. The auto pilot took into effect, sending it back into orbit until further notice.
"Best to keep our ship out of bombing range." Calico said before the airlock doors opened up. Inside was a stockpile of illegal drugs, enough to leave everyone rich for a lifetime to come. Anthony looked at it all in surprise, never having seen the idea of practically money sitting in front of him. His awe was broken by the rumbles of explosions outside and gunfire from what sounded like multiple ships. Marigold would look to her MobiGlas, eyes widening as it was covered in many dots that weren't from Grim Hex.
     "Oh my god... the air is chalk full of enemy aircraft.. seems we were followed by every solo operative in the solar system!" Marigold would exclaim, Leo now started to pace around the room, shaking his head.
     "Goddamnit!.. Can one thing we do just go smooth for once?!" Leo yelled out at the crew as Calico thought to himself. The tension in the room was growing as the sounds of ships crashing and possible ships landing were heard outside. Anthony would sit down, setting his gun up beside him while looking at the crew. He was trying to think up something, digging in the deepest parts of his brain for a possible answer when the lightbulb above his head would light up. Calico would notice the rookie get up and make his way towards something, pulling out a multi tool and starting to cut into it.
     "Hey! Rookie! Cutting holes in walls won't get us anywhere" Calico said as his arms were crossed.
    "This isn't just any hole.. it's a ventilation system, one that runs underground." The crew all looked to him once it was open, showing an entry to a shaft which went underground. Calico would smile under his mask.
     "Good thinking kid. So we start shoving the cargo into there and someone pushes it through to the other side.. wherever that is" Calico would say, met with Anthony shaking his head.
    "Close but this means that whoever goes through will go first.. So once you go in there is no going back... But we need one of us to decide who goes." He was met with silence, the crew all looking over each other as if no one felt comfortable with the idea. Leo would step up, taking a deep breath.
     "I'll go. Just tell me what I need to do." Leo said, sounding concerned but wanting to stay brave. The crew would all huddle, discussing the plan as Anthony hands Leo the multi tool. It wasn't a simple task, but Leo would have to drag the cargo through the vent for atleast a mile until he reached a exit hole. Leo had to be quick as Oxygen would run out quick within the tunnels. Once all was clear and agreed on they would watch Leo start to climb in, an uneasiness being felt amongst them all when Leo would turn to look at the crew.
     "Alright... I'll see you all on the other side" Leo would say before sliding down the vent. It was then that the team started pushing the cargo down the hole, moving box after box of cargo into the vent and letting it slide down to their crew mate who began using the tether tool on the multi tool. Once all was said and done, there was no time to wait as the door began to be cut open by the enemies on the outside. Everyone knew what this meant.. it was their last stand in this fight for Jumptown. Guns were cocked, ammo was refilled, and the clock was ticking. As they all posted up at their firing spots, Calico would look to Anthony and pat his shoulder
     "Y'know for a delivery boy, you sure are good at all this.. Once this is all said and done and we get home safely, all drinks are on me.. as well as a promotion." Anthony would nod, now focusing back on their objective as the cutting stopped.... BOOM! The doors blasted open as gunfire rang out, The Nebulas would return fire upon them.
It felt like hours had gone by as the firing back and forth went on, when soon the shots from the doorway shortened to only a few bullets firing at them. Calico would motion for the crew to move as they pushed their way out, shooting the remaining ground troops at the door. Outside the air battle continued, multiple ships were crashed into the surface as the Jango Org carrier ship filled the sky above.
"Alright, time to track Leo and leave with the cargo! No time to waste!" Anthony would yell over the roars engines and gunfire above. Calico looked up at the Jango Org ship as if he had other plans.
"You guys go.. I have some business to deal with." Calico would say, starting to walk toward the ship which brought the ground troops. He would be stopped by Anthony who grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"Save it for later, the cargo comes first! I know you aren't stupid enough to fight that by yourself" Anthony stated, hoping Calico would listen to reason. With a shake of his head, Calico would look to the rookie then back to the ships above him.
"Either you come with me, or leave with the cargo.. I will have Porters head!" Calico exclaimed, the rage in his eyes almost burning holes in his helmet. Anthony would think to himself, knowing full well Calico wasn't going to make it out of there alive. The rookie placed a hand onto Marigold's shoulder, looking to her and sighing softly
"Go find the exit port and make sure Leo gets the cargo." Anthony said, reaching over and grabbing the remote from Calico's arm and handing it to his crew mate.
"Get far enough away and get out of here on the hammerhead." There was hesitation from Marigold as she kneeled down by the two, her head nodding as she took the remote and ran off, heading for the exit. Anthony then brought his attention back to the captain who was eyeing a C8X Pisces ship still intact in the field.
    "Ok kid, we make a run for the ship and then try to get within the ships hangars. They won't think twice when seeing one of their own landing inside. " Calico would say with confidence, before taking off to the Pisces. Anthony followed behind, looking up at the chaos that unfolded. Among all of the chaos, one ship stood out, an Esperia Talon that was demolishing both Jango Org and Indie Mercenary ships. Anthony thought to himself as he saw it, finding himself now at the Pisces and getting into the back cargo door. He shut the door and grabbed onto something while Calico powered it up and quickly took off into the sky.
     "Careful Calico! Some guy is up there demolishing our enemies!" Anthony yelled while trying to keep himself standing.
     "No need to worry kid, I've got this in the bag." Calico would grin, dodging incoming bullets and ships that were looking to ram him. Barrel roll here and there which made Anthony tumble and roll a bit with it. The ship soon came to a halt, descending and landing on the landing bay of the Carrier ship. Calico opens the exterior and cocking his gun as Anthony catches his bearings.
     "It's a straight shot to the command deck. Only problem is the mass amounts of soldiers! Keep up or stay here till I'm done" Calico would say before exiting the Pisces and firing at the soldiers still on the landing bay. Anthony cocked his gun and soon caught up, firing at those who were close to getting a shot on the Veteran. From above the Talon flew over, firing rockets down upon the ships on the bay.
It was then that an Esperia Scythe flew its way toward the carrier, ramming headfirst into the carrier and bringing an explosion that shook the ship like crazy. Everything started to tilt as we grew closer to the entrance, crates slid by us and Gladius' slid down and off the ship. Soldiers lost their footing and began sliding down. One sliding by and grabbing Anthony's ankle and tripping the rookie. He slid by, trying to grab onto something as the ship was now rolling over sideways. Calico would grab one of the light poles and hang from it, watching as the rookie now was in free fall, plummeting to the surface of the planet.
In the blink of an eye, the Talon flew by and caught Anthony, slowing down for him to grab onto the wing as it flew. Anthony's heart would race, catching his bearings as a voice filled their comms.
"So, looks like the almighty Calico has a new rag tag crew of bandits." The voice rang. Calico knew that voice from anywhere, one he wished to hear once more.
     "Milton you son of a bitch! Haha I knew you'd come back!" Calico cheered as the Talon came to him and stood still, letting him get on the wing and taking off back to the surface as the ship was tumbling to the ground. The two looked over their shoulders at the carrier as smoke bellowed out of the hole in its side.
     "Porter is on that ship still! What if he is still there?" Calico said, looking to the ship with a chill down his spine.
     "Like your rookie said before you went for him. Save this fight for later." Milton said as he would make his way to the hammerhead that was landing nearby. Anthony tilts his head as they flew to the ship, how did he know this was our ship? How did he join our comms? The ship would land and Marigold had her gun trained on the ship until she saw her crew mates hop down. She sighed in relief as the two came over, all hugging each other as the cargo was officially safe from Jango Org. From behind, Milton would climb out of the ship. His armor was the same, but with some upgrades to it. Milton looked over the Hammerhead, reminiscing over the memories he and and his old crew had with it.
     "I see you've kept our old ship. My oh my is it just as beautiful as the last day I flew in it." Milton would say as his gaze met with Calico and the Nebula crew.
     "Mind telling us how you still heard our comms?" Anthony would ask, Milton beginning to laugh at that statement.
     "One day I started to hear voices again and thought maybe I had schizophrenia, but turns out the old suits comms are still linked with mine. So I decided to come and help out." Calico came over and shook hands with Milton, a moment of silence as a the respect was shared among the two.
      "I know where this is headed.. and I abandoned you once before because I knew of the consequences to come.. Now I wish not to run anymore. We will demolish what's left of Jango Org and by the end of it... Porter's head will be yours Calico."