Dante checked the ammunition in his rifle, “Tidus. Victoria. You're with me. The rest of you can do whatever you want, but you must travel in teams and be ready to leave at a moments notice. Let's move.” Dante was still wearing his loose, worn clothing, but now wore a brown leather jacket. Titus upgraded his armor with more metal, for protection in case Sere's shields went down. He still gets yelled at for saying it. A rather large (both in height and weight) rhino spread his arms and let a smile cross his face, “Ah, perfect! I was hoping you would accept my invitation.” His coat wasn't even close to covering his torso, and as such much of his stomach and chest was visible. A pilot hat sat upon his head, but the logo had long since fallen off, “I'm Blakovich, Captain of that beauty out there.” He pointed out of the window to the large cargo ship covered in rust. “Let's make this quick. What do you want.” “Easy, easy, we're all friends here.” Titus shook his head, “Are you drunk or just stupid?” “Aye, a bit drunk. But you will understand shortly. Please, you do not need bodyguards.” Victoria sighed, “We are not here to protect him. We are here to protect all of you FROM him.” The rhino looked a bit nervous, “Quickly.” “R-right. I have a collection of captains discussing a very important matter, and your expertise would be greatly appreciated. Hell, it is NEEDED. We haven't a clue how to solve this problem. Please follow me.” They walked for a bit through the old free port's captain dock. It was a bit rusty on the inside, but some of it was simply discoloration from use. A few counters were scattered about, primarily dealing with restocking and refueling matters, and a corridor at the far end led out into the main port, “Tell me, have you heard the rumors about the Disciplinary Military Collective?” There had been some rumblings in the underground about two free ports going silent for a while, then unanimously declaring loyalty to the DMC. Both incidents occurred about a month apart, and came without warning. The first one wasn't a surprise, the port was located in a dangerous sector of the galaxy and added protection was always welcome. The second was in much safer territory and had a rather large standing army of its own, “What do you know?” Blakovich knocked in a peculiar pattern on a section of wall and it opened up. At least twelve different people sat around a large, mahogany wood table. Of note, a deer soldier still in his heavy metal armor, a skunk woman, a weasal in a top hat, and a skinny parrot girl, “Those ports didn't go down quietly. It was a forceful takeover. Tell 'em.” The weasel stood up, “Me an' my boys were scavengin' and the pride and joy of the second rest stop was nothing but scrap, yeah?” He had a strange accent, a hint of australian but mostly simple-minded, “No distress signal, no nothin', yeah?” The skunk stood up, “We did a sweep on the area. Some residual radiation from cannon fire was collected, and with the help of Melissa we determined the source.” The parrot, Melissa, didn't stand up, “It was the Goliath.” Her tone was grim. The Goliath was an enormous ship, by many accounts it was about the size of an average moon. The sheer amount of weaponry, solid plate, electrical shielding, and manpower was simply mind boggling. It took well over two decades to build, and some say that if the DMC wasn't a military-based economy, it would have been impossible to fund. None knew where it was being hidden, but it was confirmed that it did exist when a council named a new class of ship Goliath in honor of the monster, “So what, the DMC is finally acting out on its ambitions?” The deer stood up, “Commander Dorset, we, uh... I was driving the truck, remember? Anyway, I suggested we seek out your help. I know we can't afford the full might of Fallen Sky, but at least-” “Guess they haven't heard.” “Appears not.” Titus took the opportunity to clear the growing confusion, “As of about thirty hours ago, we are independent.” “Oy... y-yeah?” Blakovich's eyes were wide, “That's... fantastic! We'd love to make you a permanent member!” Dante took a seat in an open chair, “I don't think I'm joining anyone for a while. Tell me what you want, and I'll tell you my price. The docking and restocking fees were just a consultation.” “Right, yeah.” The weasel had a habit of ending everything with 'yeah' which, understandably, was starting to annoy Dante, “My sister suggested that if you could, I don't know... she's better at this smart talk, yeah?” The skunk sighed, “I can't believe we used to date... Barnabia Penteroth, captain of the Shade. I appreciate you coming here, but I will take over what we need to know. Frankly, we're next. Tens of thousands of lives are at stake, and we need to know how to stop the Goliath. We've pooled together what we could, even asked for money from the visiting ships and people.” “As a consultation, I'll tell you some basics. The only weapon that could take the Goliath is the Siren II's cannon. Even then, it would have to be charged and ready at the exact moment the Goliath came into range and a large number of shield ships would have to be in front. Since the Goliath would be wary, it's likely it would stay out of range until the Siren II would have to fire, slightly weakening the blast and not dealing catastrophic damage. A retaliation would ensure defeat.” A wave of disappointment washed over the captains. “So, is there no other way?” Melissa was the most distraught, it was likely that this port had been her home for some time. “I've theorized a method, but it is just a theory. I can't promise it will work, and even if you can get what you need, an immense amount of luck would be needed. I'll lay out my theory, but... what can you afford?” Blakovich stepped up to the table and took a sharp breath through his nostrils, “It ain't much, but... we have eight million credits... will that be enough?” Victoria and Titus leaned in so that only Dante could hear, “That's pretty low for what they want.” “I feel pity for them, but I've been in the same situation before Dante.” It was low. A plan of Dante's caliber would cost a minimum of 40 million, “I'll tell you for four. You'll need the rest for materials. Think of this as an investment on my part, got it?” Relief could be felt in the air, “First, the Goliath is a near perfect ship, defenses were designed for both physical, digital, and electrical attacks. Even sabotage has been accounted for.” “But... that's all we got, yeah?!” “I said near perfect, now shut up. I did my own research, an EMP burst cloud would be useless for its intended purpose. However, a specific frequency of burst in a very specific area of space with specific gravity would have the effect of knocking out navigational systems for approximately ten seconds.” “Woah... how did you learn that?” Dorset was in shock. “Fallen Sky knows a lot, so do my contacts. This wasn't learned in a day, or even a month. It was learned over a period of about a year. Now, simply redirecting the navigation would be pointless, as onboard systems would self-correct. What you need to do is alter the programming of the entire ship in the short window you have and adjust the systems, make the ship believe that the 'natural' EMP cloud set the ship adrift in the wrong direction.” “That don't make a lick of sense.” Blakovich snorted, “Hell, programming an entire ship would take weeks! Is that really your plan? And wouldn't they just self-correct again?!” “Listen closely. The pilots will correct the ship in the new 'correct' direction, which will have to lead into the Gates' Meteor Shower. It won't take out the ship, but it will cause enough damage and create doubt, the ship would have to go through well over a year of repairs.” “That's bloody insane, yeah? Not to mention impossible, yeah?' “Like I said, a lot of luck is involved. Considering the proximity of the Gates' to this port, you would neeed to get this ready at a similar distance to further enforce the plan.” “I'll bite. How would all of this be possible? A cloud that large would take a master engineer or two.” Barnabia asked, “Not to mention we have no idea how long we have. Deadline is no doubt close.” “My sister could probably build somethin' like that, yeah?” Dorcet nodded, “My men aren't the best with this sort of technology, even our ship was designed for scouting. But we're strong, we can at least help with contruction.” “Dante, don't you have a master engineer on your ship?” Melissa was still very quiet, and if her feathers weren't bright colors she would have blended into the background. “Sere would jump at a chance to design it, but she needs help. How good is your sister?” “Oy, bloody best in the business, yeah?” He smiled, “Gaffer's the name, co-captain of the Brass Gear, yeah?” Blakovich smiled, “His sister goes by Zed, she's the real captain but she's always working out new ideas. Never gets much done, but her ship is a marvel. I bet she could help, but what sort of frequency are you talking about?” “I memorized the number. 242.23.5.5.2.2.31.512673.” The room was full of mumbling until Dante spewed out the numbers, “The only one with a chance, and I remind you that there is no guarantee of it working. Who can program?” Barnabia raised her hand, “My ship is designed for spy work, as is my crew. We can get to work designing something, but we need to know which systems and what language.” “A new version of the standard DMC code, custom made but fundamentally the same. Lots of redundant code and failsafes. A hacker's nightmare.” “Lovely. I'll send my girls the information so they can get started.” “Don't forget to add in protocol for hacking into communications in addition to setting up a false support line. Otherwise the scheme would be found out quickly.” Barnabia shrugged, “Sure, impossible wasn't hard enough.” Dante clicked on his wrist computer, “I'll get together material lists and send them to each of you.” Blakovich cleared his throat, “Not to distract, but I would like to know why you left Fallen Sky. Weren't you on the Board there?” Victoria put a hand on Dante's shoulder, “Backroom dealings. We were used to aid a suspect mercenary group, and it turns out that they were to become new Fallen Sky allies.” Melissa looked up from the table, the weight of an impossible task briefly leaving her shoulders, “I've... heard about the group. Murderers and thieves, they kill without thinking and wipe out entire cities of innocents, even against the wishes of their contractors. Brutal people, and not particularly effective.” “Damn bastards nearly blew us up because we flew into a zone they had flown through. I can see why you left.” Blakovich was irritated, “Were they okay with letting you keep the Albatross?” “She was never theirs, it was always in my name. They didn't have a choice.” Gaffer was talking on a flip phone, “Sis, meet up at the docks, yeah?” He shut the phone, “Don't get no ideas about my sister, she's pretty as a peach, yeah?” Dante stood up, “Titus, get your sister ready. She needs a gun, remember? Victoria, we're heading back to the ship as well.” “Understood.” The two said in unison, leaving the ship captains a little worse for wear. The rust and discoloration of this area of the free port was common, nobody ever wanted to clean up after the spills and the gunfights. Titus rushed ahead of them, “I'm guessing that's Zed.” A tall, skinny weasel wearing oily overalls was standing around with her arms crossed. One of them at least, her right arm was missing from the elbow down and replaced with a complex brass replacement. Judging by the bumps in her pant leg, her right leg was also missing, “You, one-eye, you're supposed to be the go-to guy on all of this.” Her accent was a more tame one, especially compared to her brother, “The hell's the matter with you asking for all of that?! I have things to do, mate.” Sere stumbled out of the Albatross, and from the look of things she had been drinking, “Hey! You! I made you a... a new... “ She proceeded to vomit on the floor while Tidus held her up, “Gun! And you, big boobs, fancy new stabby...” “This... this must be a joke.” Dante shrugged and sighed, “Nope, this is the best engineer in the galaxy. Now if only she could handle her liquor better.” He looked at Sere, who did her best to straighten up and appear sober, “You remember my plan against the Goliath, right?” “'Course!” “Time to build. Limited amount of time available, so hop to it. Zed here will be helping, there can be no mistakes, got it?” Blakovich's ship could be seen leaving the port to gather supplies with the deer people close behind, “There is no margin for error.” “You got it, captain. Who's Zed and when can they get started?” Zed was huffing to herself, almost trying to get attention, “Well, this is just great. Why can't I just build this bomb myself? I'm more than capable.” Victoria, Sere, and Titus looked to Dante, expecting one of his angry speeches, “Because, dear idiot, you only have expertise in conventional weaponry, and mimimal experience with EMP explosives. Sere here has designed weapons and shields that can withstand the brunt force of a small aircraft AND take them out of the sky in a single shot. I know nothing about you, but I already don't like you. So either work with Sere or get the hell out of my sight.” “Fine, dragon girl, come with me and help work out the plans.” Sere stumbled forward, “Weapons in the armory boss, now Imma go school this bitch.” “Just don't kill her.” Dante turned to face the Albatross outside, “How is restocking?” “Fine, but we got word a few Fallen Sky soldiers are on the station, possibly looking for you. There's a hefty bounty on your head remember?” Dante looked to the corridor and saw the familiar armor, “Titus, get the word out. Victoria, let's take care of business.” She drew her long sword while Dante drew his rifle, “Hey, shitheads!” This was enough to startle the soldiers, only a few thought to draw their guns, “Hey! It's him! Let's do this!” The two furthest away grunted as their throats opened up and blood sprayed onto their comrades, “What the hell?!” The confusion allowed Dante to put two down while Victoria charged forward and cut the remaining soldier in half. Miss Star turned off her cloak, “Thought you could use a hand. A few more are down in the main area, but they wouldn't dare try anything there.” “Good. Where are the others?” “Around. Nothing to worry about, they're armed to the teeth. But you will be happy to know that I got this little treasure off of their captain.” She held up an envelope, “Apparently Fallen Sky's new friends upped the bounty on your head. No mention of Isa or the others, but it sounds pretty serious. Large fortune for your sexy head.” She smiled as goofy as possible. Dante checked his rifle as Victoria wiped her blade, “Well then, I should place a kill order on all Fallen Sky soldiers out of their own territory.” “As you wish. Should we hunt down the others?” “No. Star, I need you to get the captain roaming about isolated, then let me know. Keep it quiet, alright?” She saluted and winked, “Can do! You'll be hearing from me in a jiffy.” She flipped on her cloak and presumably ran off. “Interrogation?” “You got it.” Victoria looked around, “Are we in much danger? We are alone out here, and none of the other captains seem capable.” “Victoria, you know why I like you?” She jumped, “Because you're the same as me, just in a different place. We both led hopeless campaigns with next to no resources, teamed up with suspect characters, and never gave up. When I think about it, if we had switched places we would have turned out the same.” “That's... very flattering Dante.” “It's true. So you'll understand me when I say that we are always in danger. Sleep well when you can, with an eye open when you can't. Keep your weapons close and never be far from an escape.” “Trust your true friends. Think with your head, not your heart. Use the world around you as your ultimate weapon.” Dante nodded, “Told you, we're almost twins, except I have an eye missing and more scars than you.” “I see, so that's why you keep me close. It's not just my vow.” She shifted her weight. “I trust every member of my ship and would take on an army just for them. I believe in your judgement and the fact that we think alike makes you valuable in tight situations. I wish I had a friend like you years ago.” Victoria crack a small, but rare, smile, “That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me. If I had a friend like you dying in a last bout of glory would have been enjoyable. But until that day comes, I will be your friend Dante.” “Enough of the sentimental stuff, I'll start blushing.” He looked down the corridor and saw Miss Star carrying a man on her shoulders, “Time to get back to work.”