Craith spends the day walking the streets of Heras, the main city of the Elysium Protectorate on Heras. It took some time to make his way down from the space station above the city, but now with some hard dirt below his feet, he looks forward to a new life, free of his past. Dozens of posters line the whitewashed walls of the reconstructed streets asking for anyone with administrative, military, or civic skills to report to a recruitment center. The signing bonuses are lucrative alone and a small stipend is even being handed out for simply popping in and showing interest in the first place. Dozens of people mill about the city streets near you, some with shopping bags, others just talking in small groups. It looks like one such office might be at the end of the next block

The first moments on a new planet had always helped Craith breathe easy, it wasn't often he had the chance to start fresh and he was determined not to waste it this time. He pulls one of the posters off the wall with mild curiosity. He hadn't ever thought about joining a military, but the offer of a stipend for even putting your head in seemed too good to be true. He had very few credits to his name after all. Crumpling the poster into a ball and putting it in his pocket he takes a moment to get his bearings, before he spies the office at the end of the block and heads towards it. (edited)

The office is a small corner building with three clerks inside. One of them is filing paperwork behind the counter. A second is at a table on the far side of the room conducting an interview so it appears the third clerk behind the counter is all for you. Seeing you coming he smiles and gestures for you to come forward rather than follow the maze of pipes and ropes on the floor to accommodate a queue. “Good morning. Interested in serving the protectorate ?”

He pulls out the now crumpled poster, laying it out in front of him, before looking up at the clerk. "Uh, yeah. Looks like you guys are doing a big recruitment campaign at the moment... What's the deal?" He's uncomfortable being in a military office, his whole life they'd been places to avoid, not places to go and ask for a job.

"As you know the Proectorate is trying to expand, we're looking for those willign to investigate some new frontiers for us, and get essentially a temperature check on the people living there. We don't want to be sending diplomats and more clerical types into an ambush or to treat with those who would normally remain unfriendly. "

Craith was not fully aware of this, but he nodded along like he had every piece of information the clerk was telling him. "So you're looking for lemmings to send out?" He replied with a wry smirk. "Well I'd say my particular set of skills is relatively suited to checking temperatures, what have I gotta do to sign up?"

"Just some routine paperwork, and we'll get you outfitted with what you need. I understand everyone has different needs before getting sent abroad, did you have friends or family here, or anyone you need to make arrangements with before leaving? "

Craith shakes his head at that. "No friends or family worth mentioning around here, i'm free as a bird." He pauses for a moment to consider what he's doing, even if he did need the credits, did he really want to move to working for the government? His thoughts drift back to where his previous life had taken him and with a shrug decides the military surely can't do much worse to him. "So where do i sign?"

You're shown where to sign and initial on the documents. "Very good, your transport will have some gear aboard it for you, along with your destination. We don't get that information on this level, but wherever you go you're going to be the first of the Protectorate, and probably the first outsider Post Scream to set down somewhere

Craith signs dutifully along the dotted lines, though his signature is more of a scribble than anything legible. "Sounds like an absolute picnic, can't wait to get started." He replies with only a hint of the sarcasm he feels at the words. He might have gotten over his head with this one, being dropped on an alien planet alone did not sound like an ideal task.

(I actually forgot about a potential thing too you could do, we have a pirate base out in the ocean being blockaded, with your mask walking you're uniquely suited to get inside and destroy from within, if you're feeling some saboteur kinda work)

(that is super up my wheelhouse, happy to retcon into that one)

Orders come in a short while later, amending your mission to something more planetary based first. Several pirates were captured in a Protectorate raid a few weeks ago, and are being held in Heras pending trial. They confirm- and later satellite imagery also confirmed- that there is a base deep in the western ocean where the pirates are based. They deploy from there and raid up and down the mainland rivers, carrying off whatever wealth they can. A large ECM bubble prevents bombardment, or easy imaging from space. Drones are also scrambled by it. The best way to destroy the place it seems is from the inside

Reading over the mission parameters a level of relief comes across Craith, this was much more in his wheelhouse. He takes a moment to wonder at the speed in which they were getting him deployed, clearly the protectorate had a lot of work that needed doing. He prepares himself for the mission to come, cleaning off his gear and reading further for where he needed to be and when.

the Protectorate has a captured pirate skiff, and news of the raid has no doubt reached the pirates. You driving a damaged boat home impersonating the sole survivor of a raid seems to be the suggested method of getting in. Six demolition charges for use on Anti air emplacements, the ECM field generator, and any other targets of opportunity are also being provided for the trip. Once those targets are down, Protectorate airstrikes will be vectored in to founder the fleet sitting there at anchor, at which point you will make your escape and be picked up

Impersonation was his expertise, and while the stakes were a whole lot higher then usual, this job wasn't dissimilar to ones he'd done in the past. Impersonate an individual, get in, get the goods (or in this case, press the button) and get out. Only this time it was to a group of pirates. Who would shoot him in a heartbeat. That part was new and scary. Regardless, this was what he signed up for. The only extra piece he'd need is a bit of DNA from the survivor he'd be impersonating. (edited)

Your first port of call is the prison where the pirate is being held and after being cleared for entry you are granted a one on one interview with him. his injuries are healing, and a small table separates the chairs from one another. Two guards stand behind him, just in case.

Craiths enters the room with what he hopes is an air of confidence, pulling the chair on his side out and turning it backwards, he sits down like he's seen in a dozen detective shows, resting his arms on the backrest. He drops a file on the desk as he does so, it's filled with loose sleeves of paper where he's written notes that have no relation to what he's doing. He's hoping it makes him look prepared. "So, you're the pirate whose buddies are causing us all a bit of grief huh?"

"I might be. You'er here to what, get answers to questions I've answered a hundred times already?"

Craith chuckles quietly at that. "No, no I doubt very much the questions I'll be asking are like the ones you've been asked already." He leans back slightly in his chair to get comfortable. "So why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

“Been involved in the maritime arts for about fifteen years now. Sailed since I was a teenager and me mum kicked me out. Had a pretty good run until you lot showed up to dash it all. Halcyon days” he sighs to himself “and we didn’t even realize it “

He smiles at the phrasing of 'maritime arts', he'd have described his previous career in a similarly blase fashion. "Well they say you can't live the dream forever, sometimes 'when you can't beat em, join em' really is good advice." He drums his fingers on the table in thought, to pose as this man he'd need to get a few pieces of information. "How about you're fellow 'sailors'" he mimes quotation marks for emphasis. "Any close friends, anything of note? If you answer truthfully we might be able to bring you back someone you love safe and sound."

"Ah me sea wife, Erwid. She's a beaut, even though she's missing an eye. Wishh she could have made it off that station, we were both going to leave soon, just be done, start over'

"We had this joke you see, about ending our lives of plying the waters before she lost her other eye"

"Erwid" he repeats the name to cement it in his memory. "She sounds like quite the lady. I'll see what I can do for her for your cooperation. Final question, do you think you could draw up a blueprint of the boat, so we can get a feel for what goes where?"

"Of the station? I can tell you what I know, if there's something you're looking for specifically I might remember some more details'

"Station, boat, tomato tomato. I'm looking for the quickest route to the anti air emplacements and the ECM field generator. Also info on how many individuals on the station, patrols expected and so on. Again, the more you give me, the more likely it is Erwid gets off this station unharmed."

"Alright, here is everything I know. There wont be any boat patrols right now due to the blockade. Long range missiles won't work with the ECM shield up, and anything coming inside of it to fire is going to be hit by the fort's cannons, but your ships could still use conventional cannon shells to sink anything leaving- that isn't you, i suppose. With no patrols out we're looking at about 500 armed pirates aboard, and probably another 200 of the newest or oldest doing things like cooking, cleaning, and supplementing crews where they can. There are five anti air batteries on the base , one in each corner, and then one in the center to protect the ECM field generator. As far as patrols inside, there's going to be changes from what I remember, since none of the ships are out and everyone's stuck in.

probably no help to you there, but I'd use the maintainer gangways whenever possible. Like ducts but for personnel to get to those hard to reach spaces"

“That’s all I know. You disable that stuff somehow and your friends will habe an Easy time leveling the place”

He lets out a low whistle as the man lists off the numbers, he's not sure why but he hadn't expected quite so large a contingent. For pirates to be a real issue to the Protectorate there had to be a lot of them, he supposed. "Well i appreciate all the help you offered. If everything goes well i'll be seeing you again soon, and we'll have you reunited with Erwid before you know it." He stand from his chair to gather the items he had brought in with him. "Oh and i'll need a few locks of your hair, for some testing purposes of course." He walks over behind the prisoner, ready to cut off a tuft of hair with his blade so long as nobody stops him.

He nods and removes the woolen cap that keeps his head warm. He has more than enough to take/ "You picked a good time to come, they're de-lousing me later today so I'd probably have been shaved already if you''d have stopped for breakfast on the way over"

The hair sample is taken, and with it you're able to complete your own plans to masquerade as this pirate. He is returned to his cell and your belongings are inventoried and returned to you satisfactorily upon leaving the prison.