File of Danien Dy'Reja #609816 found at -REDACTED- Name: Danien ”Dan” Dy'Reja Known alias: None Age: 17 Race: Human Distinctive features: Several tattoos along both arms bird, flower and marine motifs. Known associates: -REDACTED- Suspected crimes: Smuggling, armed-robbery, breaking and entering, aggravated assault Former sentences: None -Audio transcript of interview 4007-A987- Present: Danien Dy'reja: D, -REDACTED-:LH, -REDACTED-: KS D - Im tellin' you, Im innocent you bastards! *the sound of several punches follow* KS - *unintelligible* was you. Tell us who was with you or we will have to -redacted- D - -REDACTED- you! *sound of spitting followed by more punches* D - You broke my -REDACTED- nose you.. *another punch followed by retching* D - -REDACTED-holes... -End transcript -Video transcript of court proceedings 1498/b-65- *The camera is mounted in the corner of the room. It shows several rows of empty pews and a single chair in front of the bench.* *A single restrained man, badly bruised and unmoving, is dragged into view by two armed guards, he is placed in the chair and shackled to the floor* - How does the defendant plea? *the voice presumably originates from the bench* *There is no visual or audial response from the shackled man* *One of the armed guards re-enter view from the back of the room and hits the prisoner across the face with the back of his hand. There is no visual or audial response* - How does the defendant plea?! *again the voice presumably originates from the bench* *There is no visual or audial response from the prisoner* -Very well.. GUILTY! *the last words is yelled at a loud volume and followed by what is presumed to be the sound of a gavel hitting the bench* *The armed guards re-enter the view and pulls the prisoner out of the chair and drags him out of view.* - *unintelligible* *the voice is presumed to belong to the prisoner.* *The judge enters view from the direction of the bench.* - What was that!? *The voice of the prisoner is heard again from out of view.* - I said.. -REDACTED- you! *The voice is followed by the sounds of a severe beating as well as screaming from out of view. The sounds continue for another 4 minutes and 46 seconds. During this time the judge does not move. As the sounds of beating subsides he leaves the view in the direction of the bench. He is smiling.* -End transcript
- Come here Danien! - Comin', daddy! A little boy, no older than five stumbles across the metal floor. His clothes are far to large for him and the waist on his pants keeps slipping down, every few steps he has to hike them up again. The sleaves on his shirt are rolled up in big knobbly wads on his slim upper arms. He is tall for his age but still his head dosen't reach over the railings on the wide metal walkway he is now running across. If it had he would have been able to look out across the massive room that houses the HMS Providences star engines. He would have been able to see the many mechanics and technicans required to keep the great merchant ship moving amongst the stars. If he looked hard enough he would have been able to get a glimps of the great doors that lead to the Providences even larger cargo hold. But he was to short and so he couldn't see any of theese things so instead he runs on. When Danien turns the corner of a large storage container he sees his father. Cadien Dy'Reja is a bear of a man. He is tall and muscular, his thick arms are covered in tattoos and his face is framed by shaggy black hair and a large beard. For the moment his eyes are covered by the dark glass of his welding goggles, in his right hand is a blowtorch with which he carefully cuts away a piece of metal from a larger sheath. To Daniens eyes the blowtorch is a toy in his fathers massive hand even though he knows he can hardly hold it let alone use it with both of his own. Danien knows better than to disturbe his father while he's working so he patiently stands to the side and watches, occasionly pulling up his larg pants. A passerby might have commented on how well-behaved the little boy is. There is a chime from the speakers in the large engine room, the shift is over. Cadien straightens his back, puts the blowtorch down carefully at its assigned place and turns to look at his son. Before less than a second has passed Danien has thrown himself into his fathers arms and much like a monkey clamberd up to sit on his shoulder. The large man only laughs and lets the little boy have his way. - We goin' home, dad? His father turns his head up to look at him. - Soon, son. We gotta have theese here goggles replaced first. Straps done for. Danien solemnly nods and looks at the frayed cord around his fathers neck. This is a serious grown-up matter. One has to have ones straps in order. Daniens eyes grow wide as he looks around, from this height he can see everything and he feels like he's on the shoulder of a giant. Which in a sense he is. He has of course seen the sights around him countless times but they never fail to inspire awe in the child. The engine room is like a giant beating heart the people working and walking around looks confusing to him but he knows there is a plan with everything being done. He knows his father can see the pattern, the big plan, and he wishes he could too. - Someday you'll get it, Dan. His father usually says when he asks. As they enter the storage room they are greeted by the clerk on duty. As Cadien hands over the goggles the clerk looks them over and finally hands over a new pair. With Danien still on his shoulder his father turns to leave, as they are about to go through the door the clerk calls after them. - Hey, kid! You goin' to be a mechanic like your ol' dad someday?- - Course I am, Im gonna be the best mechanic in the 'verse! - Well, you'll need some welding goggles then. The clerk tosses his fathers old goggles to Danien who nearly looses his balance as he catches them but his father holds him. As they leave he puts them on. They are very big.
The guard looked over the cargo manifest with the tired eyes of one who has read such papers a million times and hasn't cared about it since the first twenty or so. ”Perhaps he never cared?” mused Danien as he stodd smiling what he hoped was an encouraging smile at the guard in the toll booth. ”Farmin' tools and fertilizer, huh?” the guard finally asked and looked up at the smiling man. Danien continued to smile and nodded. ”Yes, sir. Supplies for the farmers, awright.” ”And your name is... Fanton Owlbright? The guard continued. ”Sure is, says so right there on the ID, dun' it?” The guard didn't respond instead fixing the still smiling man with a look of pure contempt before waving him and the crew carrying the cargo through the gate. ”That was easy boss!” Featherfoot called across the room as he was unpacking the plasma weapons from the crate marked ”shovels and rakes”. ”Sure was, p'tit boug” Danien responded as he idly picked his teeth with a splinter from the crate. ”We still gotta live through this meet though, ain't no walk in the park that either”. ”You worry to much, Dan.” The low rumbling voice of the crews second in command came from the bed of the truck they'd used to get the cargo to the warehouse. ”Id like to think I worry just 'nuff, Azzi” Danien responded, still picking his teeth. The unloading of the weapons continued for almost an hour before they were all laid out on the floor of the warehouse gleaming dully in the light from the overhead flourescents. ”All we do now, is wait” Danien said as his crew settled in among the debris in the great room. The shadows outside the warehouse grew as the small party waited inside. Danien was resting in the bed of the truck, his eyes closed. Featherfoot, the Avian, was nervously picking his rifle apart and assembling it again. Azzi was playing poker with the oldest member of the crew, Hancock. They were sitting a little ways off and their laughter and curses echoed in the large room. Finally there was Milo standing with his back against the others, cautiosly surveying the outside through a window, his rifle in his hands. Just as the sun settled there was a flash of light aginst the side of the building and it steadily grew stronger, headlights. ”They're here!” Milo called over his shoulder and moved to open the great door set in the side of the building. The two men stood, backlit only by the trucks headlight from the side and their men arranged in loose semi-circles behind them. Danien curiously looked at the man opposite, he was older, much older in fact. His beard and long hair were grey and his face bore the tell-tale sign of one who has lived a long and hard life. He was also taller than Danien, and bulkier. If push came to shove he'd stand little chance against this man, he'd have to trust his crew. ”You got the guns?” the mans voice was low, raspy and entierly void of feelings. ”We sure do, vieux” Danien replied in a voice much cheerier ”Do you have dem pixels”? The man raised a hand and snapped his fingers, immediatly another man came into the light from behind his boss carrying a large sack, he tossed it to the ground between the two men. ”Azzi, if you'd please” Danien called over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the man opposite. Azzi came over, grunting under the weight of several duffel bags hanging from the large mans shoulders and dropped them off beside the bag of pixels. ”Mais, we have a deal?” Danien stretched out his hand towards the older man. The man looked at the hand for a moment before throwing his head back roaring with laughter, soon after the rest of his men were laughing too. ”Wha' so fun-..” Danien stopped speaking as he saw the gun in the other mans hand, there was a clatter and he could see that the rest of the mans crew were armed now too. ”Look, we dun' have to make this misere, ol' ma-..” ”Shut your mouth, Louisiana boy!” The man snapped and trained his gun on Daniens chest. ”Heres whats gonna happen, we're going to take theese guns AND this money. Then we're going back in the truck and you won't be doing shit, got that?” Danien nodded slowly at this before replying. ”Only one problem, vieux. I think you'd die if ya were to do tha'” Without moving his eyes he raised his hand and snapped his fingers, a moment later there were small red dots dancing across the faces of the other party. ”See? So Im thinkin' you take the guns and you leave. Without the money o'course.” There was no response from the man, he only glared at Danien with eyes full of hatred, turned around and walked back to the truck. His men quickly picked up the duffel bags full of weapons and followed their leader, the truck started and rolled out of the gate. As soon as the truck had dissapeared out of sight Danien and his men burst out laughing. ”Told ya them spare sight would come in 'andy.”
-Analysis of surveillance video from the colony of Ascension- Camera placement: Bank of Ascension, Interior Timestamp: 0807 AM local time The camera shows the interior from an elevated position. To the right is the entrance to the bank, a large ornate glass door. To the left is a line of cashiers. The largest part of the interior consists of the waiting area. It is a large open space holding several desks at standing height as well as several benches. There are eight (8) visible customers inside the bank as well as three (3) members of staff. 08:07: Customers are seen waiting inside the bank. Two desks are currently occupied by customers. 08:08: There is some commotion outside and the large glass doors are violently thrown open, several masked and armed men enter the bank. There are four (4) humans and one (1) avian. The four humans enter the bank proper while the avian stays at the door, presumably to keep watch over the street outside. One of the robbers fires his weapon several times at the ceiling, panic ensues. 08:09: Another of the robbers climb a desk and looks to be shouting. The video contains no audio. More shots are fired and the customers of the bank lie down on the floor, covering their heads with their hands. Two of the robbers move up to the tills and look to be talking to a female staff member. 08:10: The female staff member calls over an older man, later identified to be one Mr Conradsson, the bank manager. The two robbers look to have a heated discussion with Mr C and after a moment the three of them move out of view to what is presumed to be the vault. 08:10-08:17: Nothing of note happens on screen. The two robbers left in the waiting area of the bank keeps a close watch on the customers of the staff. An elderly woman looks to be crying and the avian robber leans down to speak with her. She has in later interviews stated that ”he was very courteous and reassured me that everything would be over soon”. 08:18: At exactly 08:17 the robber at the door looks at his wrist and looks to be calling over his shoulder. Soon after, the two robbers that had previously left for the vault enter view carrying several large bags. All the robbers leave the bank through the main exit. As the last robber leaves he take off his mask. Facial recognition software has identified the man as one Robert Hancock. 08:19-08:25: The customers on the floor get up and start walking around. Several of them are visibly shaken. 08:26: A canister of teargas is thrown in through the front door. Panic again ensues inside the bank. 08:27: Peacekeeping forces enter the bank through the main door subduing and restraining everyone inside. End of analysis. Notes: The robbers are believed to be the ”Magpies” a band of criminals led by one Danien Dy'Reja. The members are wanted for several counts of armed robbery, smuggling and fraud. The operation to find and apprehend the identified robber, Robert Hancock, is ongoing.
”If you walk out that door you are NOT welcome back!” Cadien Dy'Rejas voice was very loud inside the small apartment and Daniens hand fell from the door. He turned around, pure fury in his eyes. As he turned he could see the small apartment where he had grown up. Where he had cried, laughed and taken his first steps. There was the shoddy table where had done his homework and there was the bunkbed where he had struggled awake every morning to go to school, do his chores or best of all, help his father at work. There on the couch was his mother, crying, the woman who had raised him and whom he loved and there.. Was his father, clutching the report from the local police. ”I said...” his father began, shaking the now crumbled papers in a giant fist. ”I heard what you said! An' Im leavin!” Danien shouted back to his fathers face. His father looked dumbstruck for a moment but then his gaze hardened again. ”You.. Gaté brat! You bon rien!” his father shouted. ”At least Im not settling for this!” Danien shouted as he pulled the door open, slammed it shut behind him and ran. He never looked back.
”To a job well done, mes amis!” Danien shouted over the din in the crowded bar. The men assembled around the table cheered back and the sound of glass against glass followed as they all struck their bottled together. Danien leaned back in his chair with a content sigh and looked around at his crew, his ”Magpies”. He loved them all like brothers. Azzi, or Azrael as was his full name, was a childhood friend. His parents had worked the same ship as Daniens own and they had grown close over the years. It was with Azzi at his side that he had taken his first contraband through customs. Duct taped to his back. Danien laughed to himself as he remembered it, how innocent they had been. Azzi and him had gone to jail together at age seventeen, they had refused to talk and the interrogations had been bad. A year later they had gotten out and immediately, as they say, gotten the band back together. Azzi was a hothead, it was him who had fired the rounds inside the bank, but Danien trusted him with his life. Milo was the crews sniper, he had the eyes of a hawk, or so he liked to say anyway. He was a little younger than Danien and had all the cocky swag of a criminal in his late teens. Him and Danien had met just before Danien and Azzi went to prison. Milo had actually been part of the botched up job that landed Danien and Azzi a year in the slammer. But it wasn't Milos fault so Danien had figured he'd get a second chance. Besides, behind the cocky facade lay the heart of a professional. Featherfoot was the youngest member of the team, at only fifteen he had been recruited after trying to snag Azzis wallet on some backwater planet. He was an orphan who had had to fend for himself in the slums. He was young but his skills at sleight of hand made him invaluable for the kind of work the Magpies did for a living. The Magpies all saw Feathfoot as their little brother and they all went out of their way to take care of him. As Hancock had said on a particularly wet night, ”I guess he's our collective innocence”. Danien didn't like it but he knew it was true. In fact Danien didn't like Featherfoot being in the crew at all. But he also knew he was skilled. The conflicting emotions often made Danien hold Featherfoot back, something Featherfoot noticed and resented. Better angry than dead. Robert Hancock, the final member of the crew was also the oldest, he was a kind and jovial man who had become something of a father for the Magpies. He was at least thirty years older than anyone else in the crew. He was old enough to have had a life on Earth and he had been living the life of an outlaw before any of the others were even born. Sometimes when they were in transit between worlds or while laying low after a job he'd tell them all stories about the lost world or play old tunes on his guitar. Those were some of the best times in the crew. Other than being the crews collective father he was also a very skilled gunslinger and his many years in the business had finely honed his instincts. He also wasn't at the bar that night. ”Another round, gents?” This time it was Milo trying to make his voice heard over the rest of the patrons. ”Always!” they all cheered and Milo promptly waved over the serving girl. ”Besides” said Danien grasping Feathefoots shoulder ”that'll give our feathery friend here another chance to speak to the lovely barmaid!” They all laughed, cheered and slapped the mortified Avian on the back.
The scene is the street in front of a large ornate building, it might be a bank. The street and surrounding roofs are currently occupied by several men in uniform, all firing freely at the entrance to the building. Just inside the doors we can barely see a small group of men firing back sporadically. The sound of gunfire is deafening. The loud barks from the slug weapons mingled with the sharp whine from lasers. The air is heavy with the smell of cordite, filling the mouth with the taste of aceton. There is also the sharp metallic taste of blood and electric discharge, like licking a battery. Ricochets kicking up dust and the smoke from the guns makes it hard to see, the gunfire is a thunderstorm leaving ears ringing and the flashing muzzles blind. In this chaos we see a man dragging another into an alley. The lower part of the first mans face is covered by a scarf and on top of his shaved head is a pair of welding goggles. The other man is an Avian. He struggles against the first man as fires his pistol in the direction of the street. We do not hear the actual shot that kills the Avian. The amount of gunfire is just to great. His head snaps back and his body goes limp. The man with the welding goggles continue dragging the Avian further down the alley before stopping and sitting down with his back to the brick wall. He cradles the Avians head in his lap, takes the scarf off and presses it to the wound in the dead mans chest. The pair sit like this for a while. Tears streaking down his dust covered face the man speaks to the Avian. We can't hear what he's saying. Finally the man lets go of the now bloody scarf and leans back against the wall. With his face a mask of pure agony he turns it to the sky, opens his mouth and screams. There are no words. Some time passes. The sound of gunfire is dying down now. A few yells are heard and four men in uniform enter the alley from the street. The man is still sitting down with the Avians head in his lap. The uniformed men rush forward, weapons at the ready, there is no reaction from the man. As they pull away the corpse of the Avian he clings to it, refusing to let it go. Two of the soldiers push him up against the wall. The dead Avian is unceremoniously thrown to the side. As the soldiers drag the man away he struggles against their grip, reaching for the Avian in the gutter. He yells out. ”Little brother!”
