Core Space: Heist on Arcturus Station - The Playthrough

With a thunk and a hiss, the airlock of the Ebon Fox attached to Arcturus Station.

"You remember the plan?" the bear of a man known as Kylan Hesketh asked as he holstered his Outland pistol. It would be nice to have something more reliable, but for now they just have to make do.

His partner, the diminutive Riva Doan, tossed her green hair as she rolled his eyes. "Are you serious, Kylan? It's not that complicated; find Dolin, get the codes, grab the goods, and get out. Now are you going to open the lock so we can get started?"

A smirk played across Kylan face as he slapped his hand against the airlock release. "Alright then Riva, let's go get us some credits."

Kylan and Riva make their way onto the darkened station. There is still a buzz of activity even though the station has ticked over to the night cycle.

As the crew make their way from the docks to the market, the delivery man moves to finish his route for the day as an augmented canine wanders around looking for scraps.

Kylan casually strolls through the market, heading towards his contact. Dolin the trench is known for being able to get anything for the right price, and this time the price is perfect. He owes Kylan a favor, and this is the perfect time to collect. "Dolin, my friend!" Kylan booms as he approaches the weaselly man.

"Sorry Hesketh, I've got places to be. Can't chat now!" Dolin says as he slips away.

Damn it!, Kylan thinks to himself. As he follows the man, he looks around for his partner but Riva is no where to be seen.

Meanwhile, Riva opens one of the sleep spaces off the market. Hmmm... Nobody home, she thinks. Let's see what I can find...

Heading into the dimly lit room, she notices a cargo container in the far corner of the room. Bingo! Checking to make sure no one is looking, she cracks it open and finds some quality goods inside (mechanically it was a 4UA roll on the goods die). Stashing her prize away, she heads back out into the market to find the captain.

Kylan breaks into a trot as Dolin tries to get away by heading into the other sleep space. "Come on now Dolin, fair is fair. I helped you out when Shovar was after you, time for you to pay up."

"Alright, fine! Here, take the passcodes but you didn't get them from me, understand?"

Kylan takes the datacard from the man with a nod and a wink. "Absolutely Dolin. Always a pleasure doing business with you."

Now where did he go... thinks Riva as she approaches the terminal outside the cargo bay lock. Hmmm... looks pretty basic. Maybe we don't need Dolin's info after all.

"Riva! What are you doing?" Kylan hissed as he walked up to the terminal. Riva was bent over the terminal running through the displays.

"You weren't here and I was. Might as well see if I could get us a head start." she said and the terminal buzzed at her again.

"Guess it was a good thing I was able to get the info from our friend." Kylan said with a smirk as he slotted in the data card. The locks flipped to green, there was a hiss, and the door to the cargo bay opened up. "Easy, right?"

And then the sector alarms rang out.

"What the Hell did you do?!?" Riva yelled over the alarm.

"That wasn't me." Kylan said as he worked the terminal. "It's a proximity alert. Something is on a collision course with the station. What is that... Uh oh, that's a Purge scavenger vessel! Quick Riva, grab the goods and lets get out of here!"

Without a word, Riva ran into the bay and threw open the nearest crate as everyone started heading for the the transports to get off the station.

"Jackpot! There's some good stuff right here Kylan, get in here and grab some!"

"I'll grab the rest." Kylan said to her. Dolin dropped something when he was running for the transport. Go see if it's any good!"

Kylan grabbed the rest of the supplies from the crate, only to look up into the glowing red eyes of two harversters.

I'm going to regret this, thinks Kylan as he runs over to another crate and cracks it open. Damnit! I'm risking my life for a knife?! "Riva, I could use some help in here!"

"Get out of there!" Riva shouted as she ran back and opened fire on one of the harvesters. The bullets struck home but bounced off its metal body.

The two harvesters scamper towards Kylan with inhuman agility and swing at him. He dodges under one blow but the other harvester gets a glancing blow on him. As he curses under his breath, an explosion sounds from another part of the sector and the lights briefly flicker.

"What the Hell was that?" Riva asked.

"They must be attacking the power systems in maintenance. We need to get out of here!"

Riva covers him as he runs out of the cargo bay, and together they are able to drop both of the harvesters as the sound of energy blasts rang out near by. "Hear that Riva? There must be a devastator here now. Head for the Fox!"

With the Purge closing in, Riva and Kylan ran through the empty market. The could hear more blasts coming from Oblivion's Edge but they were able to keep their distance from the approaching machines.

"Disengage the lock! I'm getting us out of hear!" Kylan yelled as he pounded towards the cockpit. Riva sealed the lock and with a thunk released the magnetic ring holding the ship to the station. She slumped down on the floor as the Fox rocketed away and dropped into core space. There's gotta be an easier way to make a living.

And there we have it! Was the mission a success? Did the mechanics I threw in make any sense? Just what the heck did Kylan and Riva find in those crates? We'll find out soon! Until next time...