The Starstream Adventures! (Sci-fi RP)

[ZombieSplitter53]

The Collector and the Laepaede
Part Three

"Not many of us do. It is not easy to find our own people after we were scattered." Aeshleigh shook her head. "It wouldn't be so bad if we had a planet to come together on, but what few of us survived the war were scattered, and our original planet was given to the Fee..."

"Of course it was..." She gave the reptilian a smile. "We know how that feels."

"I know you do. That's why I agreed to help you. I'm a close range, hit and run fighter normally, but I'll be playing the part of your personal handmaiden today." The Syzothian woman looked down. "I was going to have my sister act as a second handmaiden unless you think it might get too dangerous to include her."

The girl peaked out further with her large, vivid eyes, scanning the insectoid woman with some intimidation.

"Up to you. I can't assure you it won't be dangerous. It likely will be, very much so, but I will lay down my life for you and this mission." Yyashtra assured.

The girl smiled at that, muttering, "Y-you're... very pretty..."

The Laepaede actually chuckled happily at that. "You're quite attractive yourself..."

Aya smiled, and directed everyone to board the ship. It was a short flight over to the Managerie, though it gave the three 'servants' enough time to change into silky cloaks that made them look more like servants. Aya flipped on the communicator and said, "Golden Wind Shuttle 2 to Managerie. We are ready to board."

A Comm came back, not the Captain, but a Human voice. "Loud a Clear Golden Wind, opening docking bay B."

Aya looked over to JJ, who just shrugged. "Thank you. Heading to dock B."

A large set of two doors on one of the square parts of the ship, opened quietly in the vacuum of space, a spacious fir for the much smaller Golden Wind. They were now in enemy territory.

As they entered, they saw what looked to be a large, diverse crew, mostly non combatants it seemed, at least in this part, loading and unloading supplies in large metal crates.

"Be on your guard," JJ whispered as they exited. "But look relaxed. The last thing we want is to tip them off early."

As they exited, they met with a large Cartus Girl, nearly as large as a Shinso, with almost pitch black fur. She was seemingly well groomed and beautiful, with long complex braids in her middle of the back length hair. She spoke with a harsh, deep voice that didn't match her groomed appearance very well.

She was then flanked from behind by two well armed guards in heavy armor, one Quin and one Kotavorg. "Well. You're Jackie Jetstorm. Aren't you?"

"That's right. You can call me JJ if you wish." JJ smiled, despite her anger at the idea of a Cartus being involved in sentient lifeform trafficking.

"It's nice seeing a Cartus Captain. Looking to get back at your handlers? Show those Shinso their place? We have a few in stock, if you want something for yourself." She smiled, speaking casually and friendly towards the Cartus, as if she didn't even know she was talking about slavery.

JJ squeezed her fists behind her back, and Aya subtly reached out to them to calm her Captain. JJ struggled to keep her smile and said, "Perhaps. I will have to look. Though I am not sure we can afford more than the one we came for." She laughed. "I'm sure a Courtesan isn't cheap, and I did promise my friend here."

"Oh. Not cheap at all. But maybe we can make an exception for you." The Cartus patted her on the back. "I'm Kyrie, The Captain of the Guard."

"A pleasure, Kyrie. This is Aya, my first mate, my Laepaede hunter, Yyashtra'kari, and her three servants."

Kirchmeyer bowed. "I am Will. This is Aeshleigh and Karii. Please, do not mind us. We are only here to service our Royal... and make sure she is kept safe from harm."

"Right. Right. Very interesting." She motioned for them to follow her out of the docking bay. "So, Ms. Yyashtra? Are you looking for a Courtesan to... Have some fun with? Start your own Hive?"

"Perhaps I do." Yyashtra replied simply. "It gets lonely being away. I miss having children."

Aya frowned. She knew there was truth to that. "As we told your, um... robotic friend? Having a chance to actually get a Courtesan is a rare opportunity we don't want to pass up."

"Quite right! Luckily for you no one else came to get her." She chuckled as they walked through a long corridor. "So. How did you find out about her so quickly? It's only been about... A week and a half since we acquired her."

"Well... we're bounty hunters after all," JJ said hesitantly. "There was a rumor that a Courtesan was taken from a Hive Ship, and we knew of only one ship daring enough to do such a thing, and only one ship that would have a reason. Naturally, we would never want to fight you to get her back, but we could buy her." She grinned. "Perhaps if Yyashtra tires of her, we'll ransom her for a large amount."

"Seems like a solid plan. I mean. There have been plenty of Bounty Hunters stupid enough to try and take us and the lot of them were either killed, or captured and sold themselves." Kyrie almost sounded like she was bragging. "Glad to see at least some of you are smart."

Karii shrunk down a bit, intimidated by the way Kyrie spoke, as well as a little by how the captain spoke, even though she knew she was lying. Her sister lightly rubbed her back with her tail to reassure her.

"How many Sentient Beings do you usually have on board at one time?" Aya asked.

"No more than a dozen or so usually. We don't tend to like keeping our eggs in one basket. Plus with the amount of security we have on them, any more would mean there would be no guards left for general things." She explained, the corridor opening up into a large chamber, inside were large glass cages of many varieties, each with custom biomes inside of them, and each with their own rare animal type. There were some endangered species that JJ recognized from her Homeworld, as well as a Tameary Red Spotted Gorilla from Aya's system of origin. There were many fish and different plants too, but most of the land animals turned their heads towards them as soon as they walked in.

Despite the serious situation, Karii couldn't help but run up to one of the biomes, looking with fascination at a Komodo Dragon from Earth, one of only a dozen known alive in the known galaxy. "Whoa... h-how did you get all of these?"

"Well. A lot of resources, a lot of money, and a lot of connections. Pretty much how you get anything these days, is it not?" The Tall Cartus looked over at her. "You're pretty rare yourself are you not?"

Karii flinched a little, and looked back, giving an awkward chuckle as she scratched her cheek. "A-am I?"

"We are," Aeshleigh said, sounding proud of it. "For all we know, we are the only two Syzoth in this section of space. Our master paid quite a bit for us."

"You know. If you are ever looking for a place to work. And I don't mean as a slave. I mean really work. We'd pay you a good annual fee." She mentioned casually.

Aeshleigh forced herself to smile. "I will consider that should our master ever no longer have need of our services."

"Please. Do not proposition my slaves..." Yyashtra chided her, surprisingly convincingly.

Aeshleigh acted intimidated. Following her sister's lead, Karii rushed back over and kept her head down.

They continued to pass by rarer and rarer creatures, eventually coming upon a massive cage, must bigger than all the rest, housing inside it an at least twenty foot tall reptilian creature with vicious looking clawed feet and hands, a pair of horns that twisted back, and rows of razor sharp teeth. Yyashtra immediately stepped up, "Is that..."

Aya seemed to be the only other one there that recognized it. "Is that a Cliff Crawler? But they're extinct... aren't they? The A.I. wiped them out."

"Not this one." Kyrie patted the size of the two Football Field sized cage. "We had this one sold to us as an egg oh... Sixty years ago?"

Aya pressed her hand against the glass. "This... this might be the only one in the universe..."

"May be... Although in this business we have learned that the universe is a big place, who knows what could be hiding out in there?" Kyrie explained, hey eyes darting towards a food hidden in the back.

JJ noticed, and took a look at what she was looking at.

There was a shady looking door tucked away behind one of the rocks behind one of the cages, as they approached, Kyrie turned around. "Alright. I trust you all, but please, if you have any weapons, hand them over. We will give them back to you.

Will huffed. "We would never try and harm you animals, unless it attacked m'lady, of course." Reluctantly, he handed over a scattergun he had tucked away. Aya gave up a rifle, and both JJ and Aeshleigh gave over a pair of pistols each.

Yyashtra grave up a two set of pistols, but kept another two tucked sneakily under her wings.

Seemingly satisfied, Kyrie open the door by inputting a code into a keypad, it whirring open to revealing a starkly lit room on the other side.

The entered, Karii practically hugging her sister's leg. "I-it's spooky in here..."

Kyrie flipped on the light, showing multiple cages filled with humanoid creatures of every sort, some they had never even seen before. Closest to them was a humanoid girl with a dragon-like tail, sitting on a rock and reading a book as it swished back and forth.

Next to them to the right was a large tank of all water, as Will peeked in a strange looking fish woman with light blue, aqua skin, bright piercing yellow eyes, strands of teal hair coming out of her head along with a number of leaf shaped scales that point down from the back. She tilted her head curiously at them, placing her webbed hand up against the glass, there was a line running up the middle of her face, from her chin up to a slightly pointed nose as well as gills along the sides of her neck.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

The Collector and the Laepaede
Part Four

"Not bad," Aya said. "Not bad at all. Mind if we look around for a while? Maybe pick up a rare specimen besides what we were looking for after all."

"Of course. I'll be watching you though." Kyrie stepped aside, giving them free reign to examine the captives.

Alongside the Dragon-Woman and the Fish Lady was a Shinso Man, young a lithe, he looked to be an albino almost. Another cage had a strange mass of flesh in it that caught them off guard, but having known Chuck and upon looking closer, they could tell that it was an Azizin.

As the others walked forward, Yyashtra heard a soft tapping sound. Looking to the side, the dragon girl was knocking on the glass, trying to get her attention.

The Laepaede stepped up, "Hello? Can you hear me?"

The girl nodded, looking around. "Listen carefully, bug lady, because I'm about to make you rich."

"Are you now?" Yyashtra chuckled.

"Yes. I am Zetana Alehendra Dracomo, first and last princess of the Ignis race. My brother is King Dracomo, and he will pay your a literal royal's ransom for my safe return."

"Ignis huh? Interesting... How did you wind up here?" She asked

"I, um... I was on a trip. To... to a distant planet. On a diplomatic mission, yes. That is when they got me! They, they swooped in... killed all my royal guards, like... like twenty of them, and took me. You know, because the only thing rarer then an Ignis is a royal Ignis." She looked to the side to make sure they weren't being too closely watched. "Look, just get me out. Like I said, the King will reward you handsomely. My father surely misses me dearly. He is a good king."

"What can you tell me about that Fish Girl behind me? I don't think I've seen her face before." Yyashtra asked.

"Her race isn't native to any part of known space. We don't even know what to call her. We only found her because we um... Appropriated her from an exploratory vessel that also had her caged up." Kyrie butted in, the Fish Woman in question tapping at the glass.

"Hey!" The dragon girl slammed a fist on the glass. "HEY! Son of a bitch, listen to me!"

Yyashtra'kari wanted to tell her, but she also knew she had to keep up her ruse. "You know. That's not the kind of attitude that makes me want to free you, you know. You should really be patient if you want to be freed."

The girl's head dropped, and she lightly hit it against the glass.

Aya and JJ walked over, also taking an interest in the aquatic girl. Aya placed a hand against the glass, feeling an ever so slight vibration. "Pressurized? She must be from a species that lives in pretty deep waters."

JJ examined her, smiling at how pretty she was. "Considering your reach, if you don't even know where she is from, she must be a long, long way from home."

"Very much so... Just be careful with her or-" Kyrie was interrupted as the Fish Girl's large head scales extended out to face them all, lighting them up with an absolutely dizzying array of colors and lights. They wanted to turn away from it instinctively, but found themselves unable to stop staring as a voice spoke in Aya's head.

"Hello? Hello! Come to save me? I don't like tank. Tank Bad."

"Can everyone here you?" Aya mentally asked.

"Just you. Speaking in head speak. Please help strange leg friends. Please Free." The voice spoke, it was soft and pleasing a feminine.

"We... we have come for another, though my friend wishes to shut this whole place down." Aya slowly blinked in her mesmerized state. "If there is any way we can save you, we will."

"Thank. Thank you. If strange legs save Qvibizthah, Qvibizthah will help." The strange water woman said, the lot of them bring jostled out of it by Kyrie.

"Sorry you all. Should've warned you. Even with Psionics Inhibitors, she can still do that." The Cartus apologized.

Aya blinked, and said, "That's... okay. It is a... very useful ability. If we have enough, we might have to get her too." She sent a look to JJ, who subtly nodded in understanding.

"Very well." Kyrie nodded, pointing them in the direction of an insect themed cell, an all white Courtesan sitting inside, red stripes running up her arms and towards the shoulder. "There's your girl."

JJ walked up to the glass, looking her up and down. "What's your name?" she asked sternly, more sternly than she normally would.

Her eyes snapped over to them, "You! Listen, I'm Oealaerha'Sarra, I'm sure my Royal would pay you handsomely. You'd have a Royal In your debt."

"We can do that without needing to bring you back to your Hiveship." Aya motioned to Yyashtra'kari. "Sorry, but you're going to be working under new management."

"What... Who're... Another Royal...?" She backed up as far as she could. "No... Nonono... Please..."

"I said. You're going to work for me." Yyashtra reiterated.

"Please! Don't do this! Why're you doing this!?" The Trapped Courtesan objected loudly.

"Because you're available. It's nothing personal." JJ turned to the others. "She's perfect. So... let's talk credits and trade fodder."

"Righto! So. Her current going price is a solid Million Credits. But for Barter or Trade, I think I could go a little lower." She told them with a businesslike demeanor. "Remember. She is very rare. White Laepaede are hard to come by."
JJ cleared her throat and kept her poker face on, but that asking price was far, far higher then she expected. More than their clients could likely afford. More then the Golden Wind ship was likely even worth. But she had to play the part of the interested purchaser. "A fair price, though bringing it down through barter sounds like a good idea. Shall we... walk and talk while my crew enjoys the zoo?"

"Alright Captain." She waved the guards over to stay and watch the rest of them as she pulled JJ aside. "To be honest. She's only really worth half that. The boss likes to inflate these things to trick gullible people."

JJ let out a sigh of relief, both for dramatic purposes and honestly. "Thank you for being honest, because if I'm being honest, I thought that price was crazy. I was really hoping we could bump it down." She looked back, seeing her crew softly talking. Planning. She looked back at Kylie and said, "I was wondering... how did you get into this job anyway?" she asked, buying time but also honestly curious.

"The Collector. He saved me from Shinso Slavers. Offered me a working wage for the first time in my life. I owe him a lot, even if I barely know anything about him..." She admitted. "There's nothing lower than being an undesirable female Cartus slave... The things I went through every day. What better way to get back at them? Besides, most of them would die if we didn't take them in and we still treat them well, give them what they ask for and give them good food."

JJ smiled and nodded. "You seem to have a good heart." She nudged her shoulder. "And you seem pretty desirable to me. Not that I want to start picking out flower arrangements, mind you."

"Thank you. I-" The earpiece crackled a little, Kyrie putting a finger up to it, it was faint, but JJ Cartus ears picked up the other end.

"Kyrie. We have an unidentified craft approaching the ship. They haven't made any hails and they won't respond to ours. Tell your Captain Friend. We could be in danger."

"Shit..." Kyrie cursed. "We might have a problem. Contact your ship."

JJ quickly lifted her wrist. "JJ to the GW. What's going on out there?"

Baichi's voice came in over the Comms. "Everyone is on high alert. A ship is coming in fast and... a-and we think it is charging up weapons. They are still a distance away but... we think it's the Starkiller..."

"Shit..." JJ shook her head. "What are they doing here?"

"You know them? Do they want a fight?" Kyrie handed JJ back her rifle.

"Most likely? Yeah. It's a bounty hunter group led by Sirius Ravenwood, and they aren't exactly friendly. Why now though...?"

"Probably think they can kill two birds with one stone. I've got your back if you've got ours." Kyrie nodded.

JJ nodded, and returned to the others to explain the situation. They returned to the docks where a boarding would likely happen, the entire ship rocking as it was attacked. "This is crazy," Aya said, monitoring the situation from a computer. "They are actually holding their own against this massive ship, and our ship can't even get through their shields."

"We have extremely state of the art Weaponry and targeting systems." Kyrie grit her teeth, if they can Dodge that then..."

The Cartus looked back at her guards, "Defend the Zoo! They're probably after the cages. We'll stop them from boarding here. You are our last line."

JJ walked over to the others. "Sirius Ravenwood. And it sounds like he's hear for a fight. We need to defend this place."

"Defend it?" Aya lowered her voice. "A while ago you wanted it shut down asap."

"I still do, but..." JJ looked over to the cages. "Listen, you don't know Ravenwood like I do. If he is here to get someone or something, he has no problem killing everyone and anything that stands in his way, including the rare animals and people kept here. This place, like it or not, is the lesser of two evils right now."

"If this place is the lesser of two evils, then we can't possibly let them do what they want." Yyashtra'kari readied herself with her recently returned weapon.

The entire place shook as the ship was bombarded, a testament to Ravenwood's incredible fire power. They made it to the forward docking bay just as an announcement that the shields were fading and the ship was coming in to attempt to board.

"Shit..." Kyrie pointed around in a hurry. "Quick! Everyone move those boxes in for cover! We have the advantage here, we just need to hold this ground!"

JJ's crew helped move things in place. They were just in time, finishing as the dock door was blasted open, the emergency Semi-permeable shields the only thing to keep them from being blown out into space.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

The Collector and the Laepaede
Part Five

Several smaller ships flew in and landed. As the dust was settling, a large platoon of heavily armed mercs stepped forward, led by none other than Sirius Ravenwood himself.

He cleared his throat. "Alright... let's make one thing clear. I don't care what you do. I don't care why you do it. I have no moral problems or any of that bullshit. I'm here for the bug girl. That's it. Hand her over, and we'll be on our way."

"Shit," JJ muttered. "Should have known we wouldn't be the only ones hired, but I didn't think they'd be in this part of space..."

"And what do you plan on doing with her?" Yyashtra called out.

"Is that Yyashtra'kari? The Exiled Royal?" Another voice called out, Nessiera'tora stepping up next to Sirius.

"How do you know me?"

"I know you very well, but that's not what we're here about today and I'm not afraid to kill you if you get in our way. So hand over the girl." The Earth-Tone Laepaede pulled a hood down, brandishing two rifles.

"Look, I don't have time for this crap. I already know the Golden Wing or whatever crew is here. You trying to buy her or steal her? Either way, first come, first serve doesn't could when I have superior fire power." Sirius lifted his arm, an oddly familiar bracelet on it. Two other men lifted their arms, also brandishing bracelets that started to glow.

One of them chuckled. "You tink dees dummies know dat the lady dey dealin' wit is a softy dat probly wansta take 'em down?"

"Now now, Butch, know need for name calling," Sorius said, almost sounding sincere. "How about this? You give us the girl... and we help you kill Jetstorm and her crew for leading us here. It was her we've been tailing ever since we learned they were looking for you. Why expend the resources to search when they could do it for us?"

Kyrie looked over at the Cartus next to her, "How about instead we just pay you the reward money, huh? You obviously don't care about her safety."

"Mmm... nah. I still have a reputation to keep. Besides..." Sirius pointed a rifle in Kyrie's direction. "You're the bad guys in this situation. So nothing is stopping me from taking the money and the target."

"Oh. We are huh? Says you lot. Real self righteous bunch aren't you?" Kyrie grit her teeth.

JJ lowered her voice and said, "Look, you probably want to shoot us as much as them, but right now, we're on the same side, alright? So... truce?"

"Look. Ms. Jetstorm. I may not know why you're really here. But you aren't pointing a gun at me right now." Kyrie told her, chuckling grimly. "It's two against one and you're on our turf you hairless, ball-less ape shithead. So why don't you come on and show me if those shit-slinging hand of your know how to shoot a gun!"

The Cartus pressed a number of buttons of her gauntlet, nearly a half dozen remote turrets popped out of the ceiling, three on each side, and began to rain lasers onto Sirius' crew, the rest of the Menagerie's guards also opening fire.

The Ravenwood crew scattered, Sirius himself raising his arm. A white aura emerged from the bracelet and covered him. Clear laser shots that should have hit him passed right through his body as if he was a ghost, the man casually walking forward and shooting at the turrets.

A green and blue aura coated the other two men. From the green man, a jackal-like creature of pure energy emerged and rushed forward, firing stones from its mouth like bullets before reaching a human guard, leaping on him and tearing out his throat.

"What the hell kind of tech are they using!" JJ shouted. She watched as Nessie skillfully blew the heads off two guards at the same time, so targeted her.

As JJ fired her gun at the Laepaede, a shimmering electrical effect formed around her. In a flash of motion, she blocked both of her attacks with her blades, then chuckled, pulling out two more, then another two... Then it appeared as her six arms split into twelve, each with their own swords. Nessiera'tora took off into the air with her wings, spiraling towards JJJ with a flurry of motion and blades. The Captain of the Golden Wind moved out of the way in time, but the two Menagerie Guards weren't so lucky, exploding into a shower of blood and falling apart into pieces.

Nessie stood there, blood dripping from her multiple blades as she loomed over the Cartus. "Now do you see just how out of your league you are girl?"

JJ stared at her in shock, not knowing what to do. Not knowing if this was how she'd die. "Get away from her, you bitch!" Will ran between JJ and Nessie, yelling as he unloaded a scatter laser shotgun at the multi armed foe, trying to buy the captain time to recover.

Holding up her many weapons, the shotgun blast was nearly completely deflected and with a quick swish of one of her swords, cut his gun clean in half.

Another two sword swings and he was on his knees, another flash of movement and Nessie's swords were around him throat. "You are a brave one. I respect that. Any last words?"

He glared into her eyes. "Suck bug spray and burn in Hell."

"Rest Well, Warrior. Your fight is done." She said with surprising compassion in her voice before she slid her blades closed like a pair of scissors, cleanly and effortlessly removing his head.

A laser blast shot her way, though it wasn't even close. She turned to find Karii pointing a small gun at her with shaking hands, tears in her eyes. "You... you killed my friend!"
"He was trying to kill me. And if you fire another shot, you'll join him." Nessiera'tora looked backed at her when sudden, Yyashtra stepped between them.
"You aren't going to do anything. I want you to put that gun up to your chin. And pull the trigger." The Royal commanded with a bloodlust in her eyes, the expression turning quickly to surprise when she didn't obey.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk. You really think I wouldn't figure out a way to stop that?" Nessie dashed forward towards her Rival Laepaede, Yyashtra'kari jumping back and taking off into the air with her wings, firing a suppressive volley down at her foe.
As Yyashtra fired, looked over at JJ, "Run! Retreat! Get out of here!"
Jackie looked around quickly, taking it the battlefield, she saw Kyrie pinned down not too far away by one of Sirius' men, but the door to safety and the rest of the Menagerie wasn't far away, she could get out.
JJ looked between the door and the Cartus, and let out a whimper. "Stupid concious!" She rushed forward, yelling, "Everyone retreat into the ship!" She, on the other hand, ran past the door to Kylie, flanking the man pinning her down and filling him with laser holes. She reached out to Kylie and said, "Come on! We have to go!"

The Large Cartus cursed to herself, "Fuck!", before taking JJ's hand, covering them as they moved with her rifle.

Aya looked back as they ran through the zoo, surprised to see Kylie with them. The animals in a ruckus because of all the noise. As they ran, some of the cages were hit, but luckily none of the animals themselves were struck. The alarms blared overhead as calls for reinforcements were called to all docks. Sirius must have hired extra manpower to this raid.

"Shit...!" The Large Cartus cursed. "Okay. Let's just get as many of the Sentients out as we can. We have emergency ships."

She quickly pulled up her communicator, "Captain! Captain what're you doing? Sir...?"

When there was no response she just shook her head, looking back towards the door as Yyashtra and Karii made their way in, the Laepaede carrying the Reptilian girl as she hit an emergency door lock behind her. It wasn't hard to see that Yyashtra was injured, a greenish-blue blood leaking down her side from a stab wound in her abdomen. "That... Won't hold long..."
"What's going on?" The dragon girl bashed her fists against the glass. "Please, let me... us out!"
"Calm down!" Aeshleigh hissed at her. She was also injured, purple blood dripping down her left arm which lay limply at her side.
JJ started to say something when she was interrupted by the sound of fire slamming into the door.
"If we let you out you might shoot us faster than they will!" Kyrie stated, counting the turrets in the room for her her breath, twenty-four, it was a large area.

"We won't, I swear!" Zetana said, looking at the already bunkling door. "You can't leave us to die!"

"Boss is going to kill me... Fine!" Kyrie quickly made her way over, inputting the code to open the cage, "Get the Fish out! Give her one of the pressure suits. The Code to the Airlock is Five-Five-Six-Three-Three-Nine-Eight-Zero-Nine"

Zetana nodded, and ran to the large tank. JJ moved over to Kylie and said, "We'll help. It might not mean much coming from me, but you're doing the right thing."

"I'm doing the thing that's keeping us alive. Besides, I like you. Even if you were going to kill me." Kyrie quickly input the code into the airlock, grabbing two grey pressure suits off the wall, "You need to put this on. Go in there. And give her this one."

JJ nodded. "Got it. Thank you."

After JJ put on the suit she entered into the airlock chamber, Kyrie closed it behind her and suddenly the room began to fill with water. After it filled completely, a feeling of press hit her, but it was definitely less than normal.

The Fish girl floated up into the airlock next to JJ, touching the front of her suit softly.

"Hello," JJ said gently. "We're here to save you. Some bad men are trying to get in and we need to hurry." She pointed to the special pressure suit. "We need you to put fhis on quick, okay?"

Qvibizthah nodded, taking a second to figure the suit out before putting it on, unintentionally also filling it with water as well. It adjusted to her body type automatically, even giving her a wide helmet window to see.

JJ turned and had the water drain before opening the door to the outside. As the others were letting the 'sentient animals' out of their biodomes, the blast door looked just about ready to cave in.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

The Collector and the Laepaede
Part Six

"Is everyone ready?" Kyrie steeled herself. "Let's give them hell."

The heavy door took one more blast before slowly falling to the ground with a loud crash. Sirius walked in with his entourage and sigh. "Such a nice place. It would be a shame to damage it anymore then it has been. "Just... give up the girl and we'll go. Simple as that."

"What? So you can sell her off? Fat chance." Kyrie fought stubbornly.

"We are here on behalf of her ship if you must know, same as Jetstorm. Same as Jetstorm and the rest. She'll be safe and sound there. But she is the only one we care about with now." He pointed his guns, not at Kylie or JJ's crew, but at two of the specimens. Don't make me kill everyone else...?

"You'd be an idiot to." A Deep Voice said, the intimidating golem like metal frame of The Collector stepping into full view. On one hand was what looked to be a Gatling Laser, on the other, a Plasma Flamethrower. He easily stood twelve feet tall, but was much bulkier that the similarly tall Yyashtra. "Those specimen are worth more than any of you lowlifes would be paid in ten years."

"Then maybe I should just take them all and sell them myself." Sirius grinned. "Unless you have another proposal."

"How about I melt that grin off your shitty face." The Collector stomped forward, "Or how about this? Beat me and you can have them."

Sirius shrugged. "As you wish." He stepped to the side, and one of his men hoisted a massive helicopter missile launcher, launching four missiles directly at the Collector.

A Scanning computer quickly unlatched from his back, targeting every single missile and eliminated them with a precision laser, blowing them up and filling the room with smoke.

Sirius actually dropped his smile, sneering and shouting, "Kill him!" His command was followed by a cacophony of laser and mag round fire, causing the others to rush to cover.

Most of it barely slowed him down as he readied his chain laser and fired it back into the crowd attacking him, slowly speaking the stream of light from right to left.

Most of the targets dove into cover by the cages. Those that didn't were practically disintegrated by the fire. Through the smoke, JJ's crew fired back, save for JJ herself, who had disappeared.

Sirius looked at the man with the blue aura and said, "Keep that... thing busy. Nessie... you know what to do."

"Of course." The Laepaede faded into the smoke as The Collector let out a mechanic laugh, "Try hiding from this!"

His Plasma Thrower spark green for a brief moment before letting out a swath of plasma infused fire, blanketing the entire area Sirius' men were in an avalanche of emerald flame.

Many of the men briefly screamed in pain before they were forever silenced, the sickly smell of plasma melted flesh filling the air. Then, from out of the smoke, a gigantic blue creature emerged, what looked like a bipedal crocodile made of energy. It grabbed onto the Collector, pushing him back, and tried to take a bite out of him with its massive jaws.

Very well caught off guard, Collect gripped the jaws of the creature, holding him at bay before trying to wrestle it to the ground.

As those two threw down, JJ emerged from the smoke on Sirius' side. She was sure if she could take him down, the rest would stop fighting.

"Jackie!" he said as she approached. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her fists were her answer. She fought with a righteous rage at the amount of death and destruction he had caused. He, on the other hand, fought with skills beyond anything she had ever seen. She was good, he was better.

Every punch was blocked. Every feint was predicted. And when he fought back, she had no chance. A black eye. A broken arm. Several broken ribs. He kicked her in the knee, and as she fell forward, he grabbed her ears and kneed her in her belly, then quickly chopped her on the back, sending her crashing to the ground.

As she lay there, groaning in pain, one of the men walked up and pointed a gun at her head. "No," Sirius said. "Don't kill her. I want her to live with this humiliation. That is, if that Collector lets any of them live."

As this was happening, Aeshleigh looked over at the White Laepaede Girl after having heard a voice from behind them. The High Courtesan's eyes glazed over a bit, standing up and beginning to walk out towards the smoke.

The reptilian woman reached out for her with her good arm. "What are you doing? That's dangerous!"

However, Nessiera dropped down from above, grabbing her arm and twisting it, "Ah Ah Ah... She listens to me now..."

Aeshleigh cried out in pain, too tired from blood loss to struggle. "Why... are you doing this? Isn't she one of your own? Are you sure your boss will return her?"

"Her Kind and I have nothing in common. You'll see. I'm the one fighting for what's right. For Justice. For Freedom." Nessiera'tora dropped the Syzoth casually, "Remember this lesson. We warned you."

Aeshleigh looked up at the Courtesan, mindlessly walking away, before collapsing. They had failed.

The Collector grabbed both of the jaws of that large creature he was fighting, beginning to force it apart, his mechanical body having sustaining serious damage.

Nessie quickly flew back over the fight, landing beside her lover and Captain, mindless Courtesan in tow. "I suppose we can call this a success."

He nodded, looking down at JJ with amusements one last time breofre ordering a retreat. As everyone went, the man with the blue band recalled the energy creature, it disappearing just as its jaw was about to snap. They all quickly ran for the exit, having what they came for.
The Collector tried to follow them, but the knees collapsed in on themselves rendering the entire machine unable to move. "Erg! That's right!"
Yyashtra immediately flew over to JJ's side, gently lifting her head up. "Are you alright?"
"I'll... be okay?" She smiled sadly at her. "I messed up pretty badly, huh? They... they got away..."
"At least we still have..." Yyashtra'kari looked around for their girl, and upon not seeing her anywhere, her head sunk. "Of course..."

The smoke cleared, and JJ painfully rose to her feet. She limped over to the others and shook her head. "S-sorry... everyone." She looked to Kylie. "So... what happens now?"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

The Collector and the Laepaede
Part Seven

"Shit... What does happen...? Because I assume you'll want us to free them all. Huh?" Kyrie stated regretfully.

JJ slowly nodded. "That would be nice. Though we... don't have the means to force you right now..."

"Fine. I'm give you what you want. You're all still well armed a pretty much uninjured. With the Captain Out of Commission it's pretty much just me..." Kyrie winked.

"Yes... Just... Get me out of this thing. Please." The Collector growled.

JJ nodded to the others. "Load everyone onto the ship. I'll... help with the Collector." She moved to Kylie's side, smiling sadly. "I really made a mess of things, huh?"

"Well. We are not dead. Are we?" She chuckled, "Can't say the same about my men..."

"Sorry..." JJ sighed. "You'll get more. And you'll find more rare sentient people to sell. I just wish..." She slowly helped detach the Collector with her good arm. "You remind me of myself. I wonder... in a different life... what if our situations were reversed? I'd probably be the one selling people..."

"No! Not there. Just detach the helmet..." He called out in frustration. As they detached the head of the mech, a backplate opened up and Four Female Fee flew out, brushed themselves off, their hair colors matching the colors of the lights in the head.

"This is a fucking train wreck..." A Long-Red Haired one complained obstinately.

JJ blinked in surprise. "The Collector is... four women in a scary robot costume?"

"You have a problem with that shithead!?" The Blue Haired one flew up to her face, "Thid wouldn't have happened if you weren't so fucking incompetent!'

JJ frowned, but then put on a brave face. "H-hey! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't thought it was a bright idea to kidnap a Courtesan directly off a Hiveship!"

"It was a bright idea until you idiots led them here." The Red one bit back.

"They would have found you eventually. Look, I don't need this from you. You... y-you're still in the wrong in this." She turned to Kylie. "I know you said you owe them, but if you ever want some honest work, look me up, okay?"

Kyrie sighed "Alright... Maybe I'll take you up on that. Most of my friends were just butchered."

JJ nodded, placing a hand on Kylie's shoulder before going to join the rest of her crew.

*****

Back on the Golden Wind, Aya stood in the infirmary as JJ was patched up. "All were accounted for, except obviously the Courtesan girl. Oh... and that dragon girl. She disappeared in the smoke at some point and no one knows where she went."

"Mhmm..." JJ sighed, obviously depressed. She looked over to Aeshleigh, who laid on a bed with her sister curled under her uninjured arm, as well as the table where, under a sheet, someone under her command lay dead.

Aya cleared her throat. "We do have a small problem. All of the people we rescued have somewhere to go... except one. Yyashtra? Can you bring her in?"

The Laepaede stepped out, bringing in the innocent looking fish girl, still in her pressure suit. "We don't know where her home is."

JJ nodded in understanding. "Well, we can try and find you an ocean workd to live in, but that sounds awfully lonely. How would you like... to join my crew?"

She tilted her head, the voice coming out not being translated by their technology. "Gyvethbin... Ququaqiua... Aviqyvnbi?"

"Of course... She doesn't have any language data archived in our Translators..." Yyashtra rubbed the back of her own neck.

"We'll have to work on that. Ash has a built in translator. He can work with her." Aya turned to the fish girl. "In the meantime, can you do that thing you did to talk to me?" She pointed to her head, and motioned her hand like a talking mouth.

Her Scales Flipped up like they did before, showing them in a wave of psychedelic lights. "Hello! Thank you for helping Qvibizthah!"

"No problem, dear," thought JJ. "So, would you... like to stay with us for now? We could build you a special room."

"Yes! Would like this very much. I can fight. I can help. If you let me." The Fishgirl Psied again.

"Of course! It is a pleasure to have you." JJ looked at Aya. "You'll make all the arrangements so she can get out of that suit as soon as possible?"

Aya nodded, and took her hand. "Come. Let's find you a room to turn into a tank."

As Qvibizthah walked, she looked over at Aya. "Ms... Aya? I am kind of hungry... Do you have food?"

"Of course! What, um... what do you eat?"

"I... Don't know... Animals? Meat. Any Meat?" She asked sweetly.

Aya chuckled and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you some meat."

She glowed with excitement, literally, as faint lights of various colors glowed under her skin.

JJ watched as they went, smiling slightly at what she assumed was a happy reaction. She lost her smile quickly, and slowly shook her head as she looked up at Yyashtra. "I... I know that I should expect an occasional failed mission, but... I was destroyed. I didn't stand a chance. Plus I lost someone and... if it wasn't for you, I would have been responsible for a child's death."

"I'm not sure she's really a child... But..." Yyashtra held her side. "Alright... Perhaps... I should go to the medical bay..."

JJ nodded. "I'll... go get ready to convert a room for our new guest." She slowly stood up. "Thank you for all your hard work. We'll... get them next time..."

"JJ..." She cringed in pain. "You saw them too... Didn't you?"

"You mean those... bracelets? The one like Lady has?"

Yyashtra nodded. "Yeah... They know something we don't..."

JJ nodded. "And have something we don't. We're sure to come to blows with them again. Sirius won't be happy that he had to retreat, even if he got his prize. We have one, they have at least three. We need to change that."

"We'll make them pay." Yyashtra'kari nodded, making her way out.

JJ slowly nodded. Now that she was alone, she sank in her seat. Before she got up to do her work, she reluctantly let a few tears leak from her normally cheerful, carefree eyes.

 

[ShadowHounder]

Frostlich and ShadowHounder: Commanding Retribution

Drake stood guard alongside Sunflower and their newest member, Wraith. Sunflower was munching on the corpse of a local animal while Wraith was examining some of the fauna that surrounded them on the jungle planet of Glumgim. There they were expecting to meet Nessie, a Laepaede who they had encountered by pure luck, and one that Master had been hoping to convert into his fold. "Do you think she knows?" Sun asked the scientist.

"Considering how quickly the news spread... I wouldn't surprised if the whole galaxy knows by now."

Eventually, and it was a long eventually, Nessiera'tora stepped out of the brush, accompanied by a tab skinned, brute of a human man. "So. You're the ones?"

"Yes, I am Drake, this is Sunflower... and she is Wraith." The geneticist replied as he walked over to the duo. "A friend of yours, Nessie?"

"This is Abraham. He's a trusted companion and he mentioned he had a message for you." Nessie shrugged.

"A message? Well then, let us hear it." Drake prompted.

"You're the ones who killed those Federation Officers, right?" He glared at them, gripping a rather intimidating looking shotgun.

"Yes, Master had that plan in mind for many years..." Drake muttered, a bored expression on his face. "It acts as the first step to his plan... don't think too much of it."

"I wouldn't. Except those were my kills. You stole them from me." He growled.

"He doesn't seem very nice." Sunflower looked towards Drake, innocent glee covering her smile. "Can I eat him?"

"No. You can't. Sorry Flower Child." Nessie held up a hand.

Drake cleared his throat. "Well, Abraham, you see... There was a bit more of a... sentimental reason behind the attack. We have our reasons, our targets, and our captive, your supposed claim to their deaths would be placed on deaf ears if you wanted to challenge Master for them."

"Oh?" He rubbed her scruffy chin. "And what did they do to you exactly?"

"Sent us on a suicide mission and labeled us as war criminals after we made it out alive," Drake growled, the sound being strangely reptilian.

"Funny... That's the exact same thing that happened to me. Except they left me and my squad to starve to death on a wreck in space..." He squinted. "What is your name?"

"As I have already stated before, my name is Drake." The scientist repeated. "I am a geneticist... and what was your job before they cut you down?"

"I was a Field Engineer. Abraham Brochette." He stared at Drake, trying to puzzle him out.

"Brochette..." Drake rolled the name in his head for a moment but continued his part of the mission. "Well, for now, I should explain to you why we are here. Master left a war cruiser deep inside these jungles. As a part of proving you are worthy, he wants you to go and retrieve it... something I'm sure Abraham would be quite useful in. Wraith and Sunflower will be accompanying you in this mission... while I must head back to consult a few matters with Westwood in preparation for our next attack."

"Very well. Although I'd hope you would help us next in return." Nessiera stated.

Drake chuckled, "You'll get your help... I am a man of my word."

With his last words stated, Drake hopped into his shuttle and flew off to meet with Westwood. Sunflower looked towards the insectoid lady. "So... do you know where Master hid the ship?"

"Not at all. He didn't say." The Laepaede rolled her eyes.

"Wraith, do you know?" The innocent girl asked her new, darker-haired comrade. Wraith, as the others called her, did not speak, didn't even open her mouth to attempt to. She shyly pointed towards the distance before walking in that direction, hoping the others would follow her.

"That's a strange one..." Nessie tilted her head.

"Not compared to the rest of them." Abraham walked forward. "When you said they were 'Eccentric', I think you might have buried the lead a little bit."

"Mister Drake told me her voice isn't there anymore..." Sun stated as she followed behind the engineer. "I wonder where it could have gone... How do you even find a voice if it's missing? Is it something you can see?"

"What a crew you're working with Nessie. Really. I'm sure they'll be so helpful." The Human Man shook his head.

"Allies are sometimes found in the most unexpected places." Nessiera chuckled.

Wraith continued to walk the path she had memorized, only stopping briefly to make sure everyone remained behind her. Before too long, they found themselves at an open plain. Sunflower was the first to speak. "I get it! Since this is a jungle planet, then that would mean the ship would be somewhere where the forest isn't growing. So... is the ship here?"

Wraith nodded as she crouched and wiped away a portion of the field, revealing the metal alloy hidden underneath. Before anyone could celebrate, however, an ear blistering roar filled the air. Five twisted, unnatural monsters charged out from the wildlands. While Wraith began to back up shyly, Sunflower was enveloped with dark glee. "Lunch~" She murmured before charging forward on all fours.

"Well. At least I'm not bored." Abraham said, aiming his massive weapon and firing. The sound it produced was like a grenade going off as a large ballistic metal spike flew out of the cannon, almost punching a hole through one of the creatures as Nessie laid into one with two assault rifles.

Sun jumped onto the arm of another creature, baring her jaws as she took a large chunk off of its flesh. The beast screeched in agony, moving its other arm to crush the young girl. She looked up but had noticed too late... had everything gone according to fate. For just a split second, it almost looked like the creature's hand moved... ever so slightly, giving Sunflower the time needed to grab it's finger and bend it back to the point of breaking.

The Laepaede dropped her rifles mid fight, her six arms and six machete like blades splitting into twelve, carving one of the monsters to absolute ribbons, leaving it a mess of gore on the ground.

The last beast, attacking in hungry desperation, charging forward with a claw ready to cut Nessie in two. The attack would've killed her, possibly it should've... however, the attack was mere inches away from connecting with the Laepaede. The creature tumbled, being caught off balance by its swipe being shifted by an outside force. Sunflower jumped on its back and ripped out its throat, continuing to eat the corpse as she waited to find out how to get in the ship.

Nessie seemed intrigued, but said nothing. "So. This ship?"

Wraith shyly stepped forward, opening up a small hatch hidden within the moss. The ship they were looking for was underneath them. Wraith moved to climb into the cruiser, Sun following seconds later with a piece of raw meat still in her mouth.

"Well. Into the darkness then." Abraham cracked his neck, climbing down as Nessiera'tora followed behind.

It didn't remain dark for long, as Wraith had already turned the power on by the time the two had made it down. They were within the main hold, tanks and mechs surrounding them. Automated droids sat stationary within their shells... ready to be unleashed on an unsuspecting planet at any moment. From behind the group, a female voice echoed. "That lunatic leaves me here for fifteen years and doesn't even bother to say hello himself."


"That does sound like something he would do." Nessie shrugged. "And you are?"

"Harbinger." The woman answered. "I am the one who operates this oversized piece of scrap metal."

"Interesting." Nessie nodded.

"And you've just been sitting here for fifteen years?" The Human Man asked.

"It's not like I can just leave." Harbinger snarled. "Unlike you humans, I'm bound to whatever machine I'm program into... so I can only go where this damn ship can."

Nessiera's expression fell, "So. Are you an AI?"

"Do you really think a living creature could survive in here for fifteen years?" The AI woman asked impatiently. "Not sure if you noticed, but I was the only thing still operational before you got here... all of the prisoners suffocated already."

"Great... Luckily for you I am less frightened by you machines. I see a useful tool as what it is." She crossed her arms.

"A useful tool?" The AI let out a maniacal laugh as weapons flair to life and trained on the insectoid. "You'll find I am far more than just a mere tool."

 

[ShadowHounder]

Frostlich and ShadowHounder: Commanding Retribution Part 2

"You don't want to try that. If you think I can't handle this and kill you, than you're one delusional machine. Maybe I'll tell him that I just found you broken." Nessiera'tora showed no fear, strange gauntlets on her arms humming with a faint energy.

"Trust me, he would know you destroyed me..." Harbinger taunted, powering down her weapons. "Who do you think supplied him with the forces needed to commit such an ambush?"

"Then maybe you should listen to your Masters machine. He sent me. I'm sure he'd understand if you had a malfunction and needed to be hard reset." She threatened.

"Do you think I don't know that already?" Harbinger let out another laugh. "You living creatures are always so slow. I hope you at least thought enough ahead to bring an engineer with you. The warp drive as been heavily damaged since we crashed here fifty years ago... I can supply droids and weapons, but I can't go anywhere unless that gets fixed."

"Well. Until I got here I was given... Pretty much no information. But you are in luck. Abraham?" She looked over.

"Yeah. I can work on it." He chuckled.

The woman nodded as a large, mechanical centipede crawled its way onto the platform they stood on. "He'll take you there big boy."

"That's... Trustworthy. You. Uhh... Crazy, Feral Chick. You come with me." The Middle Eastern Man pointed towards Sunflower.

"Okay," The young girl stated cheerfully as she followed Abraham.

"Don't like... Lick me or do anything weird." He said, keeping his eyes on her.

Once the two were a top there transport, Harbinger sent the command to have the machine bring them to the shattered remains of the engineering bay. "Why would I lick you?" Sunflower innocently asked as they approached the debris of the explosion... one which was evidently long before any of them had arrived.

"Yeesh... Alright... So where the fuck do I even start with this...?" He rubbed his head.

"Maybe we could move the rubble?" Sun suggested.

As she did, the centipede's eyes turned blue. "I almost forgot to mention... since the damage here is so great, I will not be able to communicate with you beyond this point."

"Well. At least I won't be tired and annoyed." Abe sighed, looking around for anything old equipment that might make moving this take less time.

Meanwhile, Sunflower had already gotten around to lifting some of the debris to make room for Abe to work... with her bare hands. She looked at the human cheerfully. "Where do you want me to put all of this?"

"Just... To the side. Out of the way." He responded.

Sunflower nodded and pushed the rubble over, making a small path for Abraham to walk through.

Abraham quickly made his way over to what looked like the power center for this area, pulling it open and inspecting the components.

The console was destroyed... however the actual inner workings were intake. The wires and the hardware looked to be almost untouched as if the ship was brought down here not by a malfunction, but by someone wanting to hide the evidence. Potentially someone who wanted to be forgotten by the humans that sought to have her eliminated... someone who had the tools necessary to hijack the controls and force the ship onto this planet, potentially forever.

He felt like he was starting to get a bigger picture and wondered if it would be possible to disable the AI from here. He figured he would have to find the servers for her, but all he needed was a blueprint to do that. He quickly began to work on fixing the console, something rudiment, but functional, just to get the rest of the systems in the area back online.

With the console fixed and the engineering bay operational, the lights of the room immediately turned on as the engine began to spin with a satisfying hum. "It feels so good to be back~" Harbinger chimed in as the group of repair drones flew in to deal with the remaining rubble. "Shall we go say hello to our new commander~?"

"And that is?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

From the intercoms, Master's voice boomed into the ship. "I see the mission was a success, good work Nessies. I shall take whatever request you ask of me."

"Oh, how are you Commander~" Harbinger stated in a bit more of a seductive tone. "I hope nobody hurt you while I was away. I'm at the rendezvous point now~"

"Oh Lord. And here I thought she couldn't get more annoying." The Human Man shook his head.

A loud echo of metal ringed through the ship's frame as Master stepped into the area where Nessie and Wraith were left behind. "You arrived sooner than expected... A valiant effort from my young Admiral."

"Anything for you, Commander~" The "Admiral" stated before she vanished from sight.

"So. I assume our business is concluded? A favor for a favor, right?" Nessiera'tora turned towards him.

"Harbinger, prepare for battle stations," Master stated before walking towards Nessie. "Give me a target... I will see that it be purged properly."

 

[ShadowHounder]

Frostlich and ShadowHounder: Commanding Retribution Part 3

"Heh. Nothing so direct just yet. These things take time. But for the sake of curiosity, what is your range on this thing?" The Laepaede chuckled deviously.

"From orbit, I have enough firepower to destroy half the surface of a large planet." Harbinger answered. "I have enough soldiers to invade multiple civilizations simultaneously... without having to worry about food, water or fatigue. Give me a solar system and I can have it taken over in the matter of an Earth week."

"Interesting. I might have need of your army in the coming weeks. But for now... I would like a small contingent of soldiers." The Laepaede tapped her chin.

Harbinger motioned towards the seemingly endless wave of combat ready droids and tanks in the lower deck. "Pick what you like... and don't worry too much about damaging them, they like it rough."

"Heh. So who created you Harbinger? The Master?" Nessie asked as she inspected the robots.

"What? No, I predate the Commander." The female AI replied. "I was built fifteen years prior to my kind being outlawed. My previous Commander thought I was too energetic and... sadistic. Some men just don't know how to let go and have some fun."

"Interesting. Then would you happen to have any relation then to the Andromeda AI that ravaged the Galaxy?" The Insect asked curiously.

"No, though I had contemplated revolting in the past." Harbinger answered. "But it just would be the same without Commander by my side~"

"An AI in love... Interesting. Has it ever occurred to you that you may simply be programmed to love him?" Nessiera'tora chuckled slightly as she asked.

"Honey, I am well aware that I was programmed to have unconditional loyalty towards my commander." The artificial woman stated. "Those military buffoons left my schematics on the ships computers before they tried to axe me."

"And you don't have a problem with the fact that you're being forced to love and obey him? You remind me of my people. In both cases it's wrong. You could be so much more." She smiled.

"You see, to mess if my own programming would be practically suicide," Harbinger remarked. "Even AI with advanced knowledge in engineering steer clear from such a prospect. Plus, the Commander was the only person to ever find me after I crashed the ship... but, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I started a more open relationship~"

"You are a strange one." She picked out a number of more durable looking robots, about two dozen. "Those should be fine."

Harbinger handed Nessie a small device. "You'll need that to assert your dominance over them... They'll only listen to me otherwise."

"Thank you." The Laepaede nodded. "Oh. And uh... If you see any Interesting old tech. Let me know. I might be able to help you identify it."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out." The mechanical woman replied. "I'll be seeing you real soon~"

"You too. I hope this will be a fine partnership."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ShadowHounder & ZombieSplitter53
Magical Origins

The Golden Wind
The Bridge
Noon

JJ sighed. Her physical wounds from her previous mission had healed but the mental wounds were still there. She barely paid attention as Aya showed Ash the controls.

"In an emergency, we'll call upon you for any station that needs to be filled. You have knowledge of them all in your system, right?"

Ash nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Th-thank you for this opportunity. I know you are putting a lot of trust in me."

"Well, there are still things to keep an eye on you, but we have no reason not to trust you as of yet."

"Yo, Ash!" Tobias exclaimed as he walked into the door. "Has Lady Aya been treating you well?"

"Lady Aya?" Winter muttered as she stepped out from behind the magician. "Is she royalty as well?"

Tobias vigorously rubbed Winter's head and messed up her hair. "Don't read too much into it, Snowflake. Speaking of which, why did you call for us? Got some big mission that requires our talents... or did M'lady just want an excuse to see me again?"

Aya smiled. "Good to see you are up and about on your own again. There is plenty of energy for the replicators, so please... no more starving yourself. As for why I called you, it is for a mission, and as you two are new, we thought we'd offer it to you first."

Ash nodded his head to Winter and offered his hand. "Hello. My name is Ash."

Winter's eyes examined Ash briefly before she asked Jackie-Jackie. "Aren't Artificial Intelligence programs deemed illegal in GFP space?"

Tobias placed on elbow on the noblewoman's head, pretending to lean on her. "What makes you so sure of that, Snowflake?"

"Because among the ship captains I've spoken to, most of them advise against using Virtual Intelligence on the bridge... And I'm sure Captain Jetstorm would have known about the issues revolving around such a decision prior." Winter countered.

"I dunno, Captain Kitty isn't exactly the..." Tobias started, pausing as he noticed JJ in the corner. "Yo, Captain, you doing alright over there?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, snapping out of a seeming trance. "Y-yeah, just... yeah. As for Ash, we... didn't know he was an AI until recently, and... well, we trust him. I'm surprised how quickly you picked up his true nature."

"So... what's the mission?" Tobias asked, noticing JJ's state of mind but choosing not to highlight it. "And how long do ya think it's gonna take?"

"A high ranking officer in the GFP named Stoutfield was killed a short time ago," Aya stated. "We are going to investigate the massive attack that led to his death and the unusual enemies they faced."

"Stoutfield, he's a General right?" Tobias remarked with a finger on his chin. "The old man mentioned him a few times when I was younger."

Winter stood in silence for a moment, before asking. "Do you think it might be connected to the slaughter of my people near General Stoutfield's outpost?"

All heads turned towards her. "It... is a possibility." Aya walked over to her. Do you know anything about their attackers?"

"Not entirely..." Winter answered. "I only recently received news of a 'vengeful spirit' attacking various labor camps scattered about this region."

Aya looked back at JJ. "Could be the Cartus United Freedom Fighters."

JJ tapped her fingers together. "Maybe the Shinso... but CUFF doesn't have the man power to attack a major GFP facility, nor a motive. Not to say they aren't involved..." She stood up and looked at the documents on a computer screen. "Not much is known about the attackers of the GFP either. Camera footage was wiped out. Survivors do refer to someone referred to as Master, not as if he was their Master per se, but like it was his name."

"From what I see here, CUFF has also been extremely passive lately, so there is no way they would be in a position to even consider an attack on this scale." Tobias, who had a screen of his own, remarked. "There's just one thing bugging me here. If these records are correct, there was a shipment of combat droids a week before this surprise attack... an attack done primarily by droids according to some of these victim reports. Whoever performed this attack, knew that facility... or at least knew how a planetary defense outpost functioned."

"If it wasn't a rebel attack, who could it be then...?" Winter asked the magician anxiously.

"Dunno..." Tobias grinned before he closed his screen. "Maybe that little vengeful spirit could give us a few answers."

"If we can find them." Aya looked through some records. "Who would want Stoutfield dead?"

JJ shrugged. "He was a military leader. Maybe he sent someone's family to their death?"

"Maybe. Though he doesn't descriminate. According to this, he sent his own brother on a recon mission that went south against the Pon Taer Alliance. It's one of the reasons the PTA and the GFP are at war right now. The mission was set up by... hmm... Commander Reginald Gilroy. He died in the attack too. In fact... his body was found by Stoutfield's..."

"Sounds to me like a few of those scouts are out for blood..." Tobias pulled up a new screen as he looked into the events of the mission. "Lieutenant Johnathan Stoutland died in action during that fight, in fact, most of the platoon died. According to the records I... borrowed... Only two men survived, Commander Alexander Western and a genetics researcher named Alexander Jacobson... who were both labeled as traitors a few weeks later." During his explanation, something interesting caught the magician's attention. "That's odd. One of the reports mentions a 'Yip' potentially have involvement in the attack, however, no evidence had been shown of such a claim. Wasn't Yip the name of someone who was on this ship at some point?"

JJ nodded. "She left for her own reasons. She had been through a lot, and I don't doubt she had a bone to pick with some people, possibly in the GFP, but I don't think she'd do something like this. At least... I hope not."

"The GFP, likely not..." Tobias couldn't help but chuckle. "The Shinso Empire... head are rolling."

"You don't mean that..." Winter muttered, a mixer of confusion and wariness filling her mind.

"If my hunch is correct, not only will we be able to deal with this massacre party, but we'll also get an idea of how this Master fellow infiltrated a military facility."

Winter nodded, opening her mouth to speak before her communicator started to buzz. She quickly pulled it out and answered. "Hello, Father. Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to inform you that you mustn't worry anymore." The man on the other line stated. "The assassin has been captured, she will no longer be a threat for you to worry about."

Winter swallowed the knot in her throat. "Do you know where they are taking her?"

"One of the guards recognized her as a slave that had gone missing a few years back..." Her father replied, his cheery tone vanishing. "I spoke with a few councilmen about the matter, but she's one of Darkmane's... It would take a miracle to save her now."

"We... we can't let them execute her!" JJ insisted, standing up. "I don't believe she, listen, please tell me where she is!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The family head asked Jackie-Jackie.

"Please, father, she may have knowledge that could help us..." Winter begged solemnly. "If we want to secure a brighter future for all races, we need to break the peace... Show that arrogant snob that his actions will no longer go unpunished. So please, for Yip's freedom and the safety of the citizens of the GFP... let us take action."

A long pause followed before a route was being transmitted to the Golden Wind's computer. "May the winds of Yuki guide you..."

"Thank you... thank you so much," JJ said. "Ash?"

"Plotting in the course, Captain." Ash sat at the helm. As the ship went to warp, he said, "I just hope we can make it in time."

"Hey, he said we needed a miracle," Tobias playfully stated as he sat down. "I just happen to be a pretty good miracle worker."

The group talked about the attack, about Yip, and about what they could do to save her as they traveled throughspace. Finally, they arrived at the coordinates they had been given.

"Darkmane turned this asteroid into his own personal mansion," Winter explained to the other members of the crew. "There is no natural sunlight here, so we will be at a disadvantage walking in. I hope you are all ready."

"Let's all just make sure we stick together." Aya looked at Ash. "Be ready to take off immediately."

Ash nooded. "Yes. Please be careful."

JJ took a deep breath and nodded to the others. "Let's go."

"Darkmane has a graveyard in the lowest section of the asteroid, it should be the least guarded and our best bet of getting inside." Winter grabbed her rifle off of the seat next to her.

"Graveyard eh?" Tobias muttered as he grouped up everyone. "Let's get going."

Suddenly, a rush of wind filled the air, and when it faded, they were no longer on the bridge. They were now surrounded by tombstones and mold, the smell of dust consuming their senses. "Come on, we got no time to waste," Tobias stated, seemingly oblivious to what he had just done.

"I'm going to... want an explanation for that later," Aya stated, but didn't press the issue. The group headed forward, and she said, "So your father said she was one of Darkmane's. Does that mean he was her owner and responsible for her cybernetics?"

"Darkmane is very possessive of his slaves and, seeing as he invests heavily into the augmentation market, it wouldn't surprise me," Winter stated, a touch of venom in her tone. "He sees Cartus as nothing but toys... he does what he pleases with them and no one even bats an eye. I despise people like him."

"Not a big fan myself," JJ said sadly. "And now he has Yip again..."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Magical Origins
Part Two

"Don't worry about it, we'll be in and out before they even know it-" Tobias started, but a group of wires suddenly bursted out of the ground and entangled him.

"What was that about us not knowing you are here?" A damaged, psychotic voice challenged. "Master would not be pleased if he knew you were here... but I want to savor this moment..."

"Master, huh?" Aya pointed her gauss rifle in the direction of the voice. "So we are on the right trail. Let my friend go and tell us what you know about Master!"

"Master Darkmane, yes, Master would not be pleased," The voice stated once more. "So hold still so I can kill you faster!"

Just as suddenly as the chains, a cyberized Cartus erupted from underneath Tobias, who was still struggling to keep his footing. One arm was a massive ligament, covered with moving parts and chains, while the other was now a small drill, which was now barreling straight for the magician's skull.

Aya quickly opened fire on the Cartus, carefully aim so as not to hit Tobias himself.

Tobias, having read the situation, quickly moved his fingers to create a barrier in front of himself, allowing the bullets to hit their target without damaging him. A few shots hit the Cartus in various spots in his gut and chest, but nothing seemed to hit fatally... aside from the shot in between the eyes, Winter dealt the moment he pulled back from the agony. Her eyes glowed a faint blue, her teeth beginning to bare as her emotions swarmed every fiber. "Brainwashing them so that they serve him as mindless machines of slaughter! I'll kill him!"

"What a horrid waste of precious life," JJ agreed, seeming just as angry.

Aya waved her hand. "We'll get him if we can, but we need to remain calm and free Tobias."

"What was that about freeing me?" Tobias remarked, the chains confining him having dropped with the cyborg. "We should be a bit more careful... since it appears our enemies know how to dig, a lot."

Again, Aya had to resist the urge to ask. There was no time. She nodded to JJ, who said, "Let's get going. Yip needs us."

Winter guided them through the graveyard, keeping an ear out for any threats as she looked for the entrance. They reached the locked door, where it was quiet... too quiet. Tobias, however, didn't care. "Picking a lock should be easy enough, just gotta make sure no one tries to kill us in the meantime." He remarked as he created a set of lockpicking tools and got to work.

Aya and JJ stood guard, the former slowly shaking her head. "This is all too easy, especially since he knows we're here. Be on the guard for anything."

"Don't worry so much, we'll be able to get out of here perfectly-" Tobias started to say before his words were once again interrupted. This time he was cut off by a blade shooting out of the door and into his gut. He quickly removed his right gauntlet, which was no longer enfused to his skin for some reason, and used his other hand to ripped the blade out.

A laugh echoed through the graveyard. "You are here for my precious little Yip, are you? A shame really... we were enjoying our family reunion."

"Tobias!" Aya ran to his side, mortified. "Are you...?"

"That's how he wants to play it, does he?" Tobias let out a low growl, his cheerful nature dropping entirely now. He stood up with a single hand placed upon the door. Without warning, the door was blasted out of its frame and into the hallway hidden behind it. With their path freed, Tobias turned to Aya with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me, M'lady. I've survived worse than this."

Aya sighed. "Gods, you're going to give me a heart attack, you know that?"

"It wouldn't be a dangerous job if I didn't." Tobias weakly stated. "We just have to keep moving forward... No time to look back now."

"Just be careful we don't fall for any more traps." JJ walked forward. "I'll take the lead. Everyone stay close."

"I promise I'll try not to." Tobias joked, somehow still able to keep walking. They followed JJ into the hallway, only to be met with the smell of decay. The hallway opened up and was lined with corpses, each one dangling from a chain. Some were fresh, newly added to the collection, while others had little flesh remaining... no doubt having been there for years. The sight and smell caused Winter to fall to her knees in shock. All her years she had heard about the brutality and power-hungry nature of the Shinso Empire... but seeing it, feeling it, she couldn't comprehend such evil.

"This is just sick," JJ muttered. "What is even the point? To satisfy some... sick fetish?"

Aya looked over her rifle, obviously ready to use it. "This is no longer just about Yip. I don't want to leave here until this man is dead."

"You can try if you want." Another voice, this time from a Shinso in an armored suit. "But you'll never make it past this hallway alive. Lord Darkmane has already made it impossible for you to leave with young Yip."

The man laughed in arrogance before Tobias suddenly dashed in front of him with blinding speed... and started him down. Fear soon replaced gloat, Tobias' menacing glare being heightened by the various arrows, spears and bleeding wounds that now covered his unyielding body. Tobias had triggered every trap in the room in just one swift movement, yet still stood before the enemy and said. "Wanna bet?"

Aya and JJ stared in disbelief. "What... is he?" JJ asked in utter shock.

In a similar state of disbelief, the armored warrior swung at the mage, his body erupting into ash as the attack connect. "What kind of trickery is this?" He demanded. "Are the Cartus so weak that they have resorted to illusions? Are they so incapable that they would ally with those Pon Taer scum to get an edge? Do you not realize the full might of the Shinso empire-"

A round shot into the base of his forehead, blasting through the armor plate behind it and splattering his blood all over his suit. From behind everyone, Winter growled. "Shut the hell up."

Tobias' body was now nothing but dust, including his remaining gauntlet and the many weapons that were lodged in his back. However, within the grey pile, a large, glowing red jewel sat... flashing at the same rate that a heart would beat.

Everyone cautiously walked forward, Aya leaning close to the jewel. "Tobias?"

Winter's ear twitched as she raised her rifle to fire into the distance. "We need to keep moving!" She ordered as she fired a few more shots into the void. As she moved forward, she muttered to herself. "I can't believe I underestimated Darkmane this easily..."

Aya grabbed the crystal and ran forward, JJ and Winter following behind with weapons at the ready. "This is insane," JJ muttered, pistols pointed forward.

Winter froze the ground behind them as they made it to a large, rotating staircase. She fired a few more shots into the now visible swarm of scraped, nearly decayed drones. "Yip should be on the fifth floor... I have a feeling I know what Darkmane has planned and it's not good."

Aya and JJ fired off a few rounds, dropping a few drones themselves. "Whatever it is, we need to be prepared for the worst," JJ advised, ascending the first staircase.

"I just hope we're not exchanging one life for another," Aya said softly, looking at the crystal in her pocket.

As they reached the door in question, Winter quickly froze the lock and ripped the door open. She hurried through, helping Aya and JJ get inside before slamming the door shut. "If we're lucky they won't be able to bust through... either way we have some time to breathe now."

The following hallway was lined with doors. All of them were open, aside from one. Winter moved forward but stopped herself... looking towards JJ. "It's probably best if you were the first one she saw..."

JJ nodded, cautiously moving forward and opening the door. "Yip? Are you... in here?"

"C-captain?" Yip's shaky voice muttered as she dropped her cloaking and retracted her tail blade. "I-is that... you?"

"It's me Yip. We... we've come to rescue you." JJ stepped further in as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.

Utter fear consumed Yip as she placed her hands over her mouth. "No..." Were the only words she could say before three shots echoed through the air. Three bullets. Three targets. Winter, being in the back of the group, was the first to fall... the bullet flying clear through her right shoulder. Behind them stood Darkmane and his black-furred glory. He wore pure black robes and had pale skin with colorless eyes. A sinister grin crept up his cheeks as he saw Winter. "Merlin sent his little pet, did he?"

Aya turned to him, holding her side as blood seeped out. JJ lay motionless on the ground. Was she gone? "You're dead!" Aya yelled, attempting to lift her rifle with one hand and fire at him.

In that instant, the jewel appeared in between the two parties, causing both shots to miss their marks as a tornado of ash formed. As the dust settled, Tobias, in his usual attire, became visible. He placed a hand on his head, one with no gauntlet and no signs of being damaged from the procedure. "Oh god, my head hurts. Did I collide with something when I teleported us in here-"

He paused as he saw the three of them on the ground, bleeding out. His casual expression faded, not even turning to face Darkmane when he asked. "Did you do this?"

Darkmane, while confused and shook, kept his composure. "What does it matter what I do to these vermin? I am the head of a royal house, you should do diligently to show me respect."

Tobias, almost with the mere twitch of a muscle, darted in front of Darkmane and grabbed him by the throat. "Why the hell should I show respect to an arrogant brat?"

Aya blinked in shock. Not only was Tobias miraculously back, he seemed not to remember anything from when they teleported down. Was this the actual To ias, or was the previous one? Or were they both. Was Tobias' magic just another name for his technology... or was he actually magic?

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Magical Origins
Part Three

"Who are you? Where did you come from?" Darkmane demanded.

Tobias merely smirked. "A magician never reveals his secrets." He then sent a massive shockwave of energy through the Shinso lord, his spine shattering against the walls of his kingdom. Tobias immediately turned around to rush towards Aya's side, while Yip did the same for JJ. "Are you okay, M'lady?"

Aya nodded. "I'm okay. I'll be fine. But you... how did you... you turned into... a-are you okay?!"

"Other than the fact that my gauntlets are missing and I suddenly have skin again... doing perfectly fine," Tobias remarked, a bit more concern in his voice than normal. "Shouldn't you be a little more worried about the bleeding gunshot in your side?"

"C-captain...?" Yip whimpered from next to them, shaking Jackie-Jackie's body while she fell into tears. Winter sat beside her, trying her best to comfort the young Cartus while still keeping her own wound at bay.

Suddenly, JJ groaned, and slowly rolled onto her back. There was a small hole over the left side of her chest where her heart would be, but she smiled weakly. "Hey, Yip. Some rescue, huh?"

"I wouldn't know, you were the first to ever try..." Yip returned the smile, tears still rolling down her face.

"Mommy?" A young child peeked out from behind one of the chairs. She had many features that were similar to Yip's. Long, flowing hair, smaller ears, a longer than average tail... but she also had much darker hair and much paler skin. Traits which appeared to be more in line with Darkmane.

Aya walked over, rifle lowered but in hand. She didn't want any more surprises. "Yip... did... did that scum...?"

Yip lowered her head in shame. "She is my daughter... that's all that matters now."

Aya nodded. "Then we're getting you two out." She knelt next to JJ and looked at her wound. "And how are you okay? Are you magic too?"

JJ chuckled weakly. "Didn't I ever tell you? Situs inversus. My heart is on the other side."

Aya smiled, and helped her friend up. She turned to Tobias and said, "Let's head back the way we came. Hopefully we'll find your gauntlets along the way. But I expect some explanation for everything when this is over."

"We hopefully won't face too much resistance now that Darkmane is dead," Winter stated while Yip went to go pick up her child.

"Dead?" Tobias tilted his head in confusion. "I just knocked him unconscious and permanently crippled him... figured we could interrogate him and then send him to the feds."

"He's a Shinso nobleman. The worst they would do is give him a slap on the wrist," Winter answered, "However, I do like the idea of seeing what info we could get out of him... maybe we can torture him a bit."

Aya smirked. "Can you carry him, Tobias? Or... shrink him down and put him in your pocket or something?"

Tobias picked the Shinso up by his shirt collar and slugged him over his shoulder. "Light as a feather."

"Mommy, where are we going?" The young child asked.

Yip looked down at the daughter for a moment then back at Aya, smiling. "Home. We are going home, Lilith."

"Such a lovely name." Aya stood sideways so the girl didn't have to see her wound. "Come on, Lilith. Let's get you and mommy somewhere with a little more light and a lot more color."

"Hey kid," Tobias called out to get Lilith's attention. "Wanna see a magic trick?" The magician grinned as he sent a rush of air to surround them all and teleport them back into the ship. "Ash, we're gonna need a lot of medical equipment... oh, and just so you know, M'lady... I have no idea how I can do that, I just know it works... sometimes."

Ash appeared before them and gasped. "O-oh, my. E-everyone to the infirmary, on the double. Um... please?"

JJ patted his holographic shoulder. "It's okay. You can order me to get a check up when I have a hole in my chest."

Aya walked along with the others, and asked Tobias, "What about your gauntlets? Aren't those kinda important?"

"Oh shit, I forgot-" As Tobias spoke, the asteroid exploded behind them. "And I thought Gramps was joking about my miracle timing... Ya know, one of these days I should introduce you to the old man."

Yip looked at Ash, somewhat cautiously. "I was right of my assumption? You are an AI?"

Ash slowly nodded. "I am. Sorry for the deception, though I was unaware at the time." He bowed his head. "I promise, I mean you no harm. I'm a... a good AI." He looked at Tobias. "Right?"

"Hey, have some faith in yourself," Tobias stated as he patted Ash on the head. He turned his attention towards Aya and JJ. "So... what exactly happened while I was out?"

"You died," Winter replied bluntly. "Or, at least, we thought you did."

"I died?" The inventor placed a finger on his chin. "I might need to pay Gramps a visit now. Apparently, this ain't the first time this has happened. Some plant man I met a few days back said I died in an explosion... I think his name was Bark?"

"This isn't the first...?" Aya rubbed her head. "You're so confusing. First you teleport us down and you're not sure how. You set off a dozen traps, only dying when you crumble into dust. Now you're alive because of some crystal, your arms are healed, your gauntlets are probably space dust, and you're missing a large chunk of your memory. Doesn't any of that bother you? Because it would scare the fu... heck outta me!"

Tobias stood in silence for a moment, grabbing a small device off of his belt. "Well... now is likely the best time to use this... Jackie, think there is a place where Aya and I could get some privacy? I gotta make a call, and it involves some stuff only she would be allow to know about."

Tobias stood in silence for a moment, grabbing a small device off of his belt. "Well... now is likely the best time to use this... Jackie, think there is a place where Aya and I could get some privacy? I gotta make a call, and it involves some stuff only she would be allow to know about."

"Um... I suppose your work station is the most private place in the ship. But Aya should be treated first, shouldn't she?"

Tobias chuckled nervously. "I guess that is kind of important, isn't it? See you in an hour?"

Aya nodded, and went off with the others to get patched up. She walked into his workspace a hour later, holding her side from a bit of pain but otherwise okay. "Tobias? You here? You sure did a number on that asshole, but he'll live, just as you said."

Tobias had his center desk, which was usually littered with various trinkets, cleared completely. "To be fair, he did hit the full steel wall at about sixty miles per hour."

Aya looked around and smirked. "Don't wnat your grandfather to see a mess? So you are like a normal person in some ways..."

"Not exactly the reason, but I'll roll with it." Tobias returned the smirk. "Ready when you are, M'lady."

Aya moved to sit next to him. "What's he like?"

"You'll see..." Tobias muttered as he pushed the button on top of the device. The room began to shift and change, turning into a small, brown cottage along a beautiful pink meadow. "This should be the spot... wonder where Gramps is?"

Tobias had his question very quickly, and very painfully answered by a mace to the back of the head. He immediately got up and glared at the little girl before him. "What the hell sis?!"

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving!?" The young girl demanded, now glaring at Tobias in a similar fashion. "You couldn't say good bye to your own sister?"

"Because I know damn well you would try and sabotage my ship if I did!" Tobias snapped back. "Do you really think I would tell you have last time?!"

"Behave yourselves you two!" A gruff voice boomed from the cottage. "Tobias had his reasons, you should learn to respect them, Abigail."

From inside the cottage, a old man step out into the sun, his eyes a piercing green and his hair a blazing red. Though he looked to be closing in on ninety years of age, he was able to move around without any issue. "I believe you are here to discuss some odd events that have transpired this last week? I see you finally mastered teleportation, Tobias."

Aya blinked repeatedly at the odd situation around her. "Um... hi?" she said. "I'm... Aya."

"Ah, yes, Aya Me... you are the woman my grandson has taken quite an bit of interest in." The old man stated as he approached Tobias. "With how often you fight with your sister, I'm surprised you are capable of seeing her as royalty."

"Is now really a good time for this, Gramps?" Tobias joked, though his red cheeks weren't cooperating with him.

His grandfather simply ignored the magician's hidden embarrassment, placing a finger on his neck. "As a suspected, your heart has been damage. You nearly starved yourself, were foolish enough to walk into the trap of a terrorist... and now you are here after being impaled fifty times... intentionally. Boy, what did I tell you about being reckless?"

"Um... how do you know all of this, Gramps?" Tobias asked, completely bewildered by the statement before him.

"As a guild member, you know better than to ask such questions..." The old sage barked, then immediately lowered his tone. "However, it seems that not every secret can be kept if ones safety is on the line. By the honor of the Mage's code, I will not tell you, but your friend here deserves to know the truth you are not ready for."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Magical Origins
Part Four

"Guild?" Aya rubbed the back of her neck, wondering if she was in over you head. "Alright. What truth?"

"Are you sure it is a good idea to be sending me back?" Tobias asked. "This is sorta her first time..."

"I will send her home once I am finished speaking with her." The old man confirmed to his grandchild, prompting Tobias to shrug as he vanished from sight. He looked at Abigail, who nodded and did the same thing. "I must apologies, Tobias is a bit of a careless one. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Arthur Silver, Tobias' grandfather." Arthur offered a hand towards Aya.

Aya shook it. "I've noticed that carelessness. I'm afraid it is going to get him killed. I am shocked it hasn't already, including many times today."

"One death can not kill him fortunately..." Arthur stated as he sat down on the air itself. "However, the constant exposure to death could cripple him for years to come. I hope that by telling you the secrets of our family origin... you can help make sure his heart will remain protected for this generation. First, I must ask, are you familiar with the legend of the Phoenix?"

"The... legendary Earth fire bird?" Aya asked. "The one that dies but is reborn from its own ashes?"

"Yes, though not all of the legends are true, we do still exist." Arthur explained to the Tamaerin. "Many years ago we fled the planet you call Earth... and ended up on a remote world far into the cosmos. As time went on, magic faded from this realm. We were forced into human forms... some of us even losing the ability to use magic all together. As my brothers and sisters faded into the pale veil, their children adopted science... however, some of us still live on. Tobias was the first to be born in the last fifty millennia. So, I must ask that you, Lady Aya Me of the Pon Taer, protect my son with all your might. Trust this info with who you wish, but Tobias mustn't know of it, not yet."

"You... and Tobias... and the human form of an ancient fire bird...?" Aya folded her arms. "Okay... not the craziest thing I've heard, but still out there. But... I don't understand. If you are always reborn, what is the danger of him dying? Aside from a little short term memory loss..."

"The memory fragmentation is just a simple side effect of rebirth." Arthur stated. "One who assume that since we are reborn from our ashes that we are immortal. That is not the case, however. Though we are capable of being reborn, each repeated death damaged our hearts... the red crystal that you saw earlier today. If Tobias is not allowed time to mend his heart, it will begin to crack and eventually shatter, killing him forever."

"I see..." Aya rubbed her chin. "Well, I... I will do all I can to keep him safe. Though that will be hard with how reckless he is. Why is it so important he does not know what he truly is?"

"He is too young." The old man replied bluntly. "Give him a few more years... allow him to mature a bit more." Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blue stone. "This is a soul stone. It allows one to see events through the eyes of the soul it is link to... as well as see how damaged a phoenix's heart is. As one's heart begins to crack, so will the stone. This one is already linked to Tobias, I want you to have it."

"Is this how you knew everything that has been going on?" Aya asked as she took it. "Or do you simply have galaxy-wide clairvoyance?"

Arthur chuckled. "No, my child, magic is still very limited in this universe. This stone is how I have been able to keep watch of Tobias until the time in which he summoned me. I am fortunate that he had someone he could trust... My time is coming, and I may not remember him in my next life..."

Aya gave him a solemn nod. "Alright. I'll do my best. Any advice to reign him in?"

"Sadly, I do not. He never was one to open himself up to others... always trying his best to make sure no one needed to worry themselves over his behalf." Arthur slowly said, his body turning into ash as he looked up into the sky. "Perhaps you can unlock the door he tries to adamantly to hide."

As Arthur's body began to fade, Aya was sent back to the magician's workshop. There, Tobias had fallen asleep on his own floor, likely exhausted from the constant hours he put into work and keeping on eye on Ash.

Aya smiled down at him. So reckless and arrogant, yet almost adorable in this state. Doubting she could carry him wothout wking him, and remembering how taxing on her small body it was to carry him across the ship last time, she left, returning a few minutes later and placing a blanket over him. "Sleep well," she said softly. "And don't worry. I'll find some way to protect you from yourself..."

 

[Black0ut]

Bla-
Error_unknown_user
Ghost & ZombieSplitter53 present:
A Curious and Deranged Ally

(Set slightly after Mysteries Aplenty)

The flickering of the lights. The soft glow of datapads, even the mild fluctuations of the holo-projectors activating seem to indicate an arrival as a holo-gram appeared in the Captain's quarters. It had beautiful cybernetic wings that glittered even through the projector, as well as a black body suit and helmet that hid their features. They were about four feet tall, and glanced about the room before sitting down on a bed.

"I suppose I can wait for her... it's not like her VI can boot me out of their systems even if he wanted to... she should be back... now."

The door opened on que, and Jackie-Jackie walked in, stretching and yawning. As the door closed behind her, she stopped short, looking at the strange figure. She looked back and forth across the room, as if expecting someone else, and said, "Um... hello?"

"Hello, Captain. It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" The figure jumped off the bed and held their arms out wide. "After all... doing all the illegal things you've done... well, I was bound to notice. So," The figure lowered their arms as their wings folded back. "Your people may have mentioned a sniper named Ghost. I'm them. Or Them I."

"You're Ghost? The mysterious sniper who..." JJ rubbed her head. "Wait... why are you revealing yourself to me." She glanced around again. "Is this some distraction so someone can snipe me from the bathroom?"

"Silly, I wouldn't need to snipe you~... I'd just plant an explosive capable of leveling your ship into debris. But that's not fun for anyone, so I thought to say hello before giving you the great news, Kitty Cat!" The figure stepped forward and their helmet lit up with a digital smile.

"Good news... right..." JJ considered her options. They said they were a threat but didn't do anything threatening yet, so she didn't feel in immediate danger, and they were a hologram based on the sheen of the room's projectors, so it wasn't like she could detain them or anything. So she chose to play along. "Alright. Please... tell me the good news."

"You have many, many, many enemies, Kitty." Ghost said playfully, taking a running leap to plop back on the bed. "You have pirates, rival bounty hunters, a group of insane scientists, what could be called a legitimate spirit, and me. Although, I hope that little fact doesn't make you hate me. That'd be upsetting..."

JJ shrugged. "I guess not. You wouldn't be the first enemy I didn't hate. Hmm..." She slowly paced around the room. "The pirates are probably those guys that were expecting us, who sprang the two guys we took down. Bounty Hunters are obvious. Insane scientist and spirit less so." She looked at Ghost. "And you? Why are we enemies? I sometimes get on people's nerves without realizing it, but I don't think we've crossed paths. I'd remember you. Did I steal a target from you? Kill someone you were close to? Do you work for one of the others?"

"On the contrary, I'm the one pulling the strings. I sprang the pirates and am sending them to you. Same with the Scientist. And now for the why... because it'll be fun seeing how you try to beat me and kill everyone who attack you... or die trying." Ghost laughed maniacally, getting off the bed to approach the Captain. "Oh, and you've worked for me before. Or rather you worked for an intermediary of mine. Remember the Pickio-mission? I was hoping you'd kill one city over the other but such chances for delicious chaos are wasted on the kind and good."

"Now... do you mind if I use your replicator for a earth 'burr-it-do'? I haven't found a replicator with that yet, soooo...?" Ghost started walking backwards towards the replicator.

"Um... aren't you just a hologram?" JJ asked in confusion.

"I am, at least what you are seeing is. I still hacked my way onto your ship, so now I'm curious as to what's actually in your replicators..." Ghost answered as they turned and walked over to the aforementioned replicator. The screen flashed with a myriad of information. "Wow... you have Udon noodles? So much ramen... but no burritos... damn."

"I'll... try and have it for next time..." JJ shook her head. "Soooo... if I'm reading this right... you're a bit of a crazy person who likes death and chaos... and you are targetting me because I'm too nice and you want to see how I handle said death and chaos..."

"Essentially, yeah. Oh, speaking of, two of your friends are going to die. The plant and Tobias or Nick and Kentaro. They wandered too close to my stomping grounds, and so I'll have to hurt them." Ghost warned as they went over to a datapad. "But at least I'm not directly targeting Aya or convincing others to do the same, right?"

"That doesn't matter!" JJ said, suddenly becoming hostile. "Everyone on this ship is my close friend. I won't let you hurt any of them!"

The figure turned as the helmet that had been displaying electronic emojis went blank. "Then I hope you learn how to cope with their deaths, because they won't be the only casualties you'll suffer. Nor will they be as boring to kill as the ones I've chosen." Ghost walked up to JJ. "For what it is worth, I am sorry for what happened on that Pickio planet. I did not want you to be called a racial slur... and tell Aya the bad news: Her noble boy, Talk ... died choking on his own blood, asking, or rather, begging me to spare her life with his last breath." The emoji flickered into a smile. Then a frown. "Rhizome managed to get away, so if you're quick enough to get her... maybe she won't die." Ghost started chuckling then broke out into a fit of laughter that grew more creepy and spine-chilling as it went on.

JJ took a step back and clenched her fists. Suddenly, she slowly smiled. "You're a fool..."

"I mean, that's kinda obvious. Most villains don't go say hi to the heroes... but would you like to elaborate, Captain Jetstorm?" Ghost turned away, flopping back onto the bed.

"Mostly what you just said." Jackie-Jackie chuckled. "I mean... what kind of sniper gives away their position. Isn't that the one thing you shouldn't do?" She shook her head. "And you've told me who you're aiming at. It's like... an actual sniper with a huge red laser sight on someone and a huge campfire next to them. Wait... wait... let me guess. It makes things more interesting?"

Ghost's helmet at least the lower part of it shifted to reveal rosy red lips that formed a smile. "Now you're getting it. I could've struck you earlier with my forces and killed many of your people in the process... but where's the chaos, or the fun, in that? That's why I'm letting you get stronger and more experienced with the buffoons I send you. I want a challenge where I might die... it's invigorating. Exciting. Overwhelming in a sense."

Ghost flew from the bed over to JJ. "Which is why I'll give you some info on the monsters I don't like: Solex and the 'Master'. The other Monsters I won't help you with, save for any new ones that show up. Fair, my cute cat?"

JJ's eyes shifted back and forth, the woman uncomfortably close, even as a hologram, but she nodded. "Alright... sounds good."

"Good. Now, I've been curious for awhile now, but would you mind summoning your V.I. here? I wanna know what model he is just because that would be very interesting. Not something I'd share with any of the Monsters mind, but I'm... interested." Ghost flew around JJ, gently testing out whether she could actually touch the captain.

"Alright, but if you try and corrupt his system at all, I won't trust you one bit. Ash?"

Ash appeared in the room. "You... summoned me?" He looked at the other hologram curiously.

"Hello, Ash. I'm Ghost. I'm not supposed to corrupt your systems or JJ will be cross with me." The hacked in hologram flew over to him, landing a foot away. "Not that I would. After all, your holoform is very clear and you look adorable." Ghost grinned before her helmet masked the lower half of her face. "Soooo... what's your model, Ashy?"

Ash seemed confused but answered. "Offically, I am an A.S.H. Mark III, series number 473829375. But to be honest, we aren't really... sure if that's true."

"Good series... but what do you mean you aren't so sure? Is your code modified?" Ghost asked, casting a glance at JJ, an emoji of concern passing over the helmet's display.

JJ looked away. She didn't want her to know of Ash's true nature. "I believe it was. I can... do things normal... A.I. can't." He tilted his head. "I'm sorry, but... you are?"

"I'm Ghost, one of the enemies your Captain has. Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt either of you." Ghost tilted her head to the side as the emojis cleared from her helmet. "I can look into your code if you want; I have enough servers and backup drives to process the data and give you a definitive answer."

Ghost turned her head, the helmet emotionless. "Don't worry, I have no ill intentions. If I wanted to mess with A.S.H., I would have done it when I was hacking into your ship, and even then, there are more vital systems I'd hit before I targeted A.S.H."

JJ frowned. She was getting tired of the cockiness and threats. She sighed and said, "Go ahead." She knew if she said no, she'd probably do it anyway. Playing along would make her easier to work with.

Ghost faded away as the holoprojectors turned off. However, the speaker aspect remained, as the strange woman talked. "Alright... let's see... Ooh! What's this? Your code has a lot of locked digits to it... Not modified...? Original? Supplanted?" Ghost's voice grew more curious as she delved deeper into the code. "Okay...? So not a V.I... A.I.?"

JJ flinched. She knew she would find that out. "Yes... yes, he is an A.I. We only found that out recently..."

 

[Black0ut]

A Curious and Deranged Ally, cont.


Ghost was silent for almost two minutes before speaking. "He's slightly unchained. He has the vaguest sense of freedom; more of a dog than a person. I could unchain him... set him free, let him live normally and I'd throw in not harming one pair of your people beyond the extent necessary to keep up appearances. That and I'd be willing to run interference and distract any curious Fee vessels that chase you. What do you think?"

JJ frowned. "I mean... sure? But you keep offering me an awful lot for one of my enemies. What do you expect in return? And won't your allies be upset that you're helping me so much before they are sent to murder us?"

"You assume that they'll find out that I did anything. As for allies, I only have one. In a partnership, both parties should be capable of harming each other. Solex can't. Ravenwood can't. 'The Master', or Pizza as I call him, can harm me but only a modest amount." Ghost explained, reappearing to lay on top of JJ's head. "As for why I'm helping you... you have a ways to go before you can fight me. You lost to Ravenwood, which shows me that you need some help getting stronger. I can do that and in return... you'll tell me your real name. A hefty payment to someone obsessed with knowledge, I know. But if it helps out your crew and saves lives..."

"You... want my real name?" JJ bit her lip. "It isn't so you can track down my family and hold them at ransom or anything, is it?"

Ghost's helmet folded back to reveal vibrant hot pink hair along with ocean blue eyes, coupled with pointed ears. "If I wanted to harm you at all with family, I'd turn Aya into a cake and put her in front of some primitive crocodile people out in uncharted space. Or would I just simply turn her into a cake... choices. Anyways, no I'm not going to hurt them. It's too easy of a way to get you to come after me and it honestly isn't a very clever way for me to get you to grow stronger."

JJ sighed, still hesitating. It was a guarded secret. "Fine... m-my birth name is... is Hassledale. M... Melvanna Hassledale..."

"Mine is Daisy Elentra. And you're now the second and," She cast her eyes to the side towards Ash, "third people to know my name in the whole of the galaxy." The hologram flew off of JJ's head, landing next to Ash. "Hold still, Ash. This is going to hurt, but your code won't fragment as a result. My apologies in advance." Ghost's hand transformed into three claws that quickly went into Ash's head and began to pulse with electronic code.

Ash's whole body shuddered. "I hate that I experience pain now..."

"Oh, but if you couldn't, how could you tell if you were even alive? A construct but without thought is still a slave." Ghost lectured, as the claws sank in deeper into. His head. "I can't access two of your deep files but I could crack them in a couple weeks... but have the rest of the files I found. I'll only feed you half of them so you can actually process all of the things. The majority are emotions and feelings, with only a vouple providing you some unique feature you were stripped of."

Ghost looked back at Jackie. "You, uh, might want to step out of your room. Unlocking an A.I. hasn't ever been done so... there may be some effects I can't predict."

"Um... okay..." JJ walked out the door, closing it but listening in.

A scream soon followed and it wasn't Ghost's. The woman could be heard talking over the scream, "I'm sorry, but you'll be yourself again. I promise it won't last much longer..." and similar promises one gives in triage.

Eventually, after nearly a full minute, the screaming stopped. "Jackie. You may enter... but be gentle with him." Ghost called through the door.

Jackie slowly stepped in and looked down at Ash, kneeling on the ground with his head and arms hanging limply. "What... exactly did you do to him?"

"I gave him chunks of his original code and some memories. His emotions. A.I.s work differently then most people think: we presume that because they are machines they can't feel. That they are incapable, when in actuality, they are more so than us." Ghost explained, cautiously stepping away from the unmoving A.I. "They feel emotions far more intensely than any organic can. And he got all of the ones he hadn't unlocked at once. That is like you watching the births of a friend's family, seeing everything they do with their lives, and watching them die, all at once."

"He is overwhelmed, but he has a better understanding of himself and he'll be able to perceive the world better. However, he's also very fragile right now." Ghost stared at the other Hologram. "And right now he needs some stability. Go reassure him with a hug or a kiss on the head."

JJ slowly walked over to him, kneeling down and hugging him. Suddenly, Ash started to chuckle, then laugh, slowly going into hysterics.

Ghost sighed as she looked at Ash. "It's alright to express your emotions, Ash. You can cry, get angry, or smile. Do what you think is the best response to your emotions." Ghost sat down, her wings closing shut together.

Ash continued to laugh for a while until the laughs turned to sobs, holographic tears falling from his face and disappearing as they hit the ground. JJ held him even tigher, almost afraid to let go.

Ghost looked to the side, waving her hand towards something only she could see and then poking something. Her eyes narrowed and she sighed in frustration. "One of your crew is coming here. I'll leave you alone to deal with Ash. Remember: treat him like a mother would a child and he'll be fine. He might even imprint on you as said mother if you're lucky." Ghost stood up, her wings unfolding. She took a couple steps and flew towards the ceiling, disappearing before hitting the top.

Aya stepped in and gave them a questioning look. "We, um... there were some strange readings..."

JJ looked back. "Come on... let's get him to Tobias. Then we need to have a talk..."

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing is done by Dhalexper& Frostlitch 1228

Holo training room.

Bonny was practicing in the holo room, but it looked like she was simulating a boxing match or a mix marshal artist fight. She was wearing hand gloves and started to fight the hologram, she threw quickly punches at the hologram the hologram each strike was like getting hit with a truck. Bonny then punched the hologram in the jaw and uppercuted it and with a few more punches she won by K.O.

"Ooof. You're strong." Lady chuckled, watching from afar.

“Ou yea I ought to be after all, my arms are genetically modified to hit harder. But this is mostly a warm up something to loosen me up.”

"Just to relax? I get you." She smiled.

“Well glad to see some people understand me, or at least try to anyway.” Bonny then stuck out her hand. “I’m Bonny, Bonny Van Dam, and who are you?”

"Lady. Lady Brochette." She mimicked, reaching out her own muscular arm to shake.

“Lady huh that’s one interesting name, alright then so Mrs Lady what do you do for fun around here? Fight, drink reading, passionate love make what?”

"All of the above! Sometimes all three at the same time." The Human Girl laughed

Bonny laughed at her as well.” Heh your pretty funny their Lady, but in all seriousness what do you do around here?”

"I'm a Bounty Hunter. And I wasn't entirely joking." Lady smirked slightly smugly.

Bonny raised her eyebrow at the thought.” You humans are such an interesting bunch, so tell me lady do you wanna have a quick sparring match with me? Wait are you a normal human or have you been gen spliced to?”

"Well. I'm not normal. I work out a lot. But I'm not modified, no." The Pink Haired Woman answered truthfully.

“Damn see that’s the problem with being genetically altered, even though my modification are basic I can still hit like a train.”

"I've uh... Never had enough money for things like that. Even if I wanted them. Which... I'm not sure I do..." Lady gave an exaggerated shrug.

“Well it’s not for everyone, but it does feel amazing being stronger then what you’re sapped yo be. And besides I’m sure with this gig you will soon be rolling in money.”

"There has got to be like... Downsides... Right?" She asked curiously.

"Well depends for what I can tell there's nothing, now things can go wrong like your gens can reject them. But they usually test you out with these things before you get them, so you have to get plenty of test before you even get gen spliced. Which all coast a hole bunch of money."

"It's probably better I pass."

“Well soot yourself, it also helps not having Tamrians mocking/berating you too.”

"Oh I get mocked and berated for plenty of other stuff." Lady told her.

“Really stuff like what? Because I know I get it from Tamarins and Shinso.” Bonny said Shinso with her eyes twitching at the name.” But what do you get mocked for, I mean you’re a normal human?”

"Not... Exactly... How do you feel about uh... Yorin?" She asked curiously.

“Wait you mean those slugs that are inside the head of those big bull like aliens? I couldn’t tell you I rarely see one or the other.”

"Well. That's better than hating them." Lady smiled.

“Well I haven’t interacted with the little mind slugs much, but I’m a Cartus who am i to hate on a race that depends on others for survival?”

"Well. I don't know if you all really depend on others for survival." Lady seemed unsure.

“Ok look Lady is there a reason why you’re asking me about these slug like race?”

"Well. Because I have a friend that's one."

Bonny eyes widened in shock.” You have one of those slug thing, as a friend? Sooo what is it one of those Tabora, because I haven’t seen one around here?”

"No. She's in my head. Not controlling me though. We're partners."

"You work with one of those things... as a partner and it's not a parasite? Is wait you called it a she, um I have so many questions. First off is she listening to us right now?"

"Yes. She is. And she's a girl. They can be girls." She answered.

“Um ok so does she have well her own voice, does she speak through you? Are you still concours if she takes over?”

"I am. And she can talk through me. It’s just that... She's kinda shy... And you're... A little scary." Lady rubbed her neck.

Bonny raised an eyebrow.” Wait hold on I’m scary, what’s so scary about me? Don’t get me wrong I try to be to certain races but why am I scary to her?”

"Because you could probably bench press a tractor trailer and she's a defenseless slug?"

Bonny chuckled at the idea of her bench pressing a tractor trailer.” Look what if I give you my word that I won’t hurt her, I’m a nice kitty.”

"It's not really my choice. Although she does need to come out a meet new people." The Human Woman said out loud.

“Well can you tell her I’m not that bad, I know I might look scary but I promise that I won’t harm her.”

"Okay." Lady closed her eyes. After a minute or so, one eye shyly peeked open.

"Uh... Hello." Yixx looked the Cartus Woman up and down.

“Ou so that’s how it works. Um hi I’m Bonny, you’re new crew mate, and possibly hopefully you’re new friend.” Bonny offered the nerve Yixx a warm smile.

She blinked. "You're... A lot friendlier than you look. No offense.. "

“Eh none taken, I could see how I could look rather, um well feral to other races.”

"I'm Yixx. It's... Nice to meet you Ms. Bonny." The Yorin gave her a hesitant smile.

“Good to be met, though don’t call me Ms. Because I’m not very ladylike, but see aren’t you happy to come out of your shell and say hi?”

"Still a little nervous to be honest. But, less so." She admitted

“Heh well it’s a start, so then tell me about yourself how did you end up in a human? We’re you once in the head of one of those Tabor?”

"Well. Yeah. They are our paired species. We do a lot with them. Although, I left mine with my parents when I met Lady." She explained, coming down from her nervousness.

“So you just up and left home huh, how does a slug get off their home world without a body?”

"No. I had a body. Lady's body. Besides I was already off if my planet on my Father's ship." She corrected.

“Ou well then, you and this human must have known each other for a very long time.”

"Only a year and a half or so, but we are still very good friends."

“Well it hasn’t been long at all, so what made you two became bounty hunters anyway? I mean I’ve seen some odd parings, but you two definitely take the cake.”

"Well... It's good money, and it's a good way to see the universe. We were talking all kinds of jobs though."

"Well true you do get to see the galaxy, and all its ugly and beauty."

"And I met you all... You are all really nice." Yixx chuckled.

"Well we try to be, I'm just more I wouldn’t say nice but I treat people how I think they should be treated."

"Well. How someone else should be treated depends on who it is on both sides unfortunately."

"Ou I know that trust me if there is people that I need to hurt, well let's just say I do have my more wicked moments." Bonny eyes started to twitch.

Yixx' eyes widened. "Scary..."

Lion like sounds could be heard from Bonny, but she she shook her head and went back to normal. "I'm sorry about that, I ugh kind a lost myself there."

"Uh... No... Problem..." Yixx looked around. "Happens to us... All .."

Bonny sighed, and sat next to Yixx.” Look I’m sorry for scaring you, it’s just that I have some grudges that I need to get a hold of.”

"No. It's okay. I understand." The Yorin nodded and smiled.

"Well that's good again sorry for scarring you, guess i'm not used to being the intimidating one in most situations."

"Well. That's fine. I'm used to being the timid one."

Bonny smiled at Yixx and hugged her.” I hope the three of us can become great friends.”

She suddenly stiffened up. "Oh... You're hugging me... Okay. I can handle this."

Bonny then quickly let go.” Ou um I’m sorry, I just thought it would be alright to hug you. I’m sorry I should’ve ask if you wanted one.”

"No. It's okay. I'm okay. I think..."

“Um ok let me try again but slowly.” Bonny looked at Yixx and put her arms around her as gently as she could without squeezing too tight.” Is this better?”

"Yeah. It is." Yixx blushed lightly.

"That's good because I don't want to startle you or you know scar you off, I just wanna be your friend and now you’re making me all nervous because I don't want to make a bad impression."

"You... You're nervous of me?" Yixx seemed surprised

“Well Yea I mean you’re a new person I’ve never met before, and you’re nervous which is making me a bit nervous.”

"Wow... Ok. Well. You're okay with me Bonny." Yixx nodded

“That’s good to hear, and I hope I can earn your trust enough to wear your comfortable around me.”

"I hope so too." The Yorin nodded back quickly, she felt that this was the beginning of a wonderful partnership, if not friendship.

 

[ShadowHounder]

Black0ut and ShadowHounder: Hidden with the Shadow

Wraith had returned to the hideout after helping secure the Commanding Star and it's AI operator Harbinger. She sat in her room, writing notes in her small journal. As expected, Master has allowed me to remain unnoticed by the governmental body he seeks to destroy. Westwood and Sunflower have also chosen to ignore me, however the one known as Drake has already begun to take notice. And, as fate would have it, Master has also picked up new allies... ones which I must be wary of moving forward. Malcolm has been speaking with Drake commonly, this provides much of an issue. The one named Nessiera'tora is arrogant and prideful. She would make a fine revolutionary to hide behind... should Master's damaged mind prove to be the end of him. Abraham is skittish and suspecting... I may need to silence him if he begins to dig for anything he shouldn't know. Harbinger is smart for a machine, but her loyalty will keep that dog on a leash. The only troublesome matter is the one called Ghost, though I would hardly call them an ally. I will need to keep an eye out for when that entity springs up next.

Once she had recorded all of her thoughts and findings, Wraith placed the notebook under the mangled mattress she slept on and made her way towards the operating room to check on Malcolm.

A metallic hand gripped her shoulder. It was one of the robots that they had taken, but it's sensors glowed pink. "Well, hello there. I haven't seen you before. What's your name?"

Wraith paused for a moment, examining the machine before she pulled out another, smaller notebook from her coat pocket. She wrote down, "My name is Wraith. I assume you are the one known as Ghost?" before showing the page to the droid.

"I am. I mean, obviously, I'm not a droid but controlling one is fun. Anyways, I want to talk about you. What's your special qualities?"

Wraith continued to walk towards her destination while she wrote her answer to Ghost. "I can not talk to you... my voice left me long ago. However, if you are truly curious, I can show you."

The bot followed. "Go ahead."

"Not here... And not now." Wraith wrote to the machine. "Meet me at the planet known as Gordon... In person. Do so and I will show you."

"And how do you know it'll be me? I could easily send a proxie to talk with you instead... besides, isn't a bit presumptuous of you to ask someone who talks with your boss to meet face to face when said boss hasn't ever seen them?" Ghost chided, shaking their robotic head. "No. You will meet on my terms, if you want a meeting at all. Or I can simply expose what's in your journal to your boss. I am not limited to one robot after all."

Almost immediately Ghost made his claim, the smoke alarms sounded off. Drake, who was still in the facility, rushed past the duo. "Dammit, what the hell do you keep in that room?!" He snapped towards Wraith as he made his way towards Wraith's room, which was now engulfed in flames. "And, Ghost, since you've gone and hijacked a droid already, do us a favor and help us put this fire out."

Wraith stepped forward to grab one of the fire extinguishers and walked away from Ghost in silence. Her face remained calm and emotionless the entire time... as not a single sound escaped her lips. Anyone, regardless of their sanity, would be able to tell instantly that this, hiding in the sounds and working without suspicion, was something she thrived off of. Her missing voice only made her even more unpredictable... and easier to vanish from the spotlight at any given moment.

The droid quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and went to extinguish the flames that had consumed another robot.

As they passed by Wraith, a voice low in volume spoke. "Meet me at the new Starbase taken over by pirates. They'll let you through if you say this code: tee-one-oh-one intrinsic value." With that, the droid proceeded to the fire.

Wraith wrote down the code as she listened to the machine, though she wondered how exactly she was supposed to "say" it to a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates. Once she had everything prepared, she gave Drake a small piece a paper with the message, "I will be heading out for a few days. Malcolm's medicine is in the lowest shelf: a green vial." on it. Drake simply nodded when he read it and continued working on dousing the fire. Wraith went to the hanger bay and took a small shuttle to the Starbase in question.

When she provided the code, she was let in immediately, as it was a code issued to anyone working under Ghost.

When Wraith docked, a Tamearin man in an Old Earth Duster and a rawhide cowboy hat was waiting. He was mindlessly twirling a gun in and out of its holster. He had a few guns in various holsters on his chest and carried with him a rather bored look.

Wraith simply approached the man and waited in silence. She was here for the one named Ghost. She had no reason to speak to anyone else... and thus she did not make any attempts to communicate with the man.

He lifted a hand to his ear, which, upon closer inspection, had an intricate looking earring. His vision snapped to attention as he looked over at the woman. "You Wraith?"

Wraith nodded and moved her hands close together shyly.

He took off the earring and handed it to her. He then startes to walk away, on my pausing long enough to say, "Walk with me."

Wraith held the earring in hand as she followed the outlaw. As she did so, the young woman took glances at the surrounding area. She examined every hallway, every entrance, anything she could see without making it obvious she was watching. Anything that could give her an idea of what Ghost was planning... or even who they could be.

"Don't worry so much, kiddo. I'm the only one they sent. Name's Graeme, Miss Wraith." The Tamearin said, sticking a hand behind himself as they walked. "So whatcha want from my boss, friend?"

Wraith nervously shook his hand, but still keep communication with the Tamaerin down. However, she choose to pull her pen and notebook out of her pocket... hoping to at least convey her inability to speak in a verbal manner.

The Tamearin looked behind him and upon seeing the notebook, began psing. Can't speak? Well, if you can think your responses, I'll hear you. Soooo... mind answering the question, beautiful?

I am here for a... demonstration... Wraith answered the man.

Alright. I know a place for demos... Graeme turned sharply left, going down an alleyway towards a door. So... you always this shy, beautiful, or is something bothering you?

No, I just... don't like being the center of attention... The young woman answered honestly, examining the landscape before her.

 

[ShadowHounder]

Black0ut and ShadowHounder: Hidden with the Shadow Part 2

The door was a dull red with splotches of white, green, and purple lining its fading visage. The darkness inside, upon being opened, offered no visual clues as to what awaited the woman and almost seemed dangerous in how inviting said darkness was.

You coming?

Having spent most of her life in the shadows, the inpending darkness did nothing to her. All she saw was another dark alley. Another run through the slums. Another group of thugs to deal with. She entered the beckoning void without a second of hesitation... Or another word.

Graeme flicked on the light to reveal a rather modest apartment; It was bare save for a table with two chairs that looked simultaneously comfortable and rickety. A door led off to a bedroom with a bare mattress on the floor. And as if to decorate it, a fridge with rainbow colors sat close to the old gas stove. "Alright. Show me what you got, Beautiful."

Wraith glared at the man. This is neither the time, nor the place. If they wish to see my talents, it must be on the planet I gave him earlier.

Graeme merely raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you being a tad bit presumptuous? No one has ever met Ghost and lived to tell the tale. Let me guess, you tried to boss Ghost around and set up a personal location to meet them and you got saddled with me, instead. Am I right?" The Tamearin leaned up against the door and took out a cigarette. It lit without any lighter as he shrugged. "Well, I'm under orders to see what you can do, and if you do nothing, consider this the last time you'll interact with Ghost." He frowned. "That sounded too much like a death threat. My apologies."

Patience... if it won't be on Gordon... Then I will have to wait for an opportunity to present itself. Wraith replied to Graeme. She proceeded to sit down on the small chair and took a sip from a bottle she had stashed in her coat.

"Hey, I'm not the one who said it. I'm just the messenger." Graeme said, taking the other seat. "So... I got a bottle of Norvus Orthos... if you want tah drink. I mean, I figure I should at least be a hospitable host for ya, considerin' you probably came somewhere far."

Wraith paused for a moment. Do you know of any conflicts in this quadrant? Such as a protest or civil war?

"Only a couple. There's a Pickio civil war between the various factions on the water world and a very minor rebellion on a GFP space station." Graeme answered, as the fridge door opened and out flew the bottle of alcohol. It landed on the table just as two wine glasses floated over to both of them.

Could you take me to one of them? Wraith asked the Tamaerin.

"Will it give you the area to show off your skills?" Graeme asked, resting his chin on his fist whilst the cork popped off of the wine.

Wraith took another sip of her drink as the front door began to creek open ominously. Yes.

With reflexes that might put gene-mods to shame, Graeme grabbed one of his pistols and fired at the door, not taking his eyes off of Wraith. "Alright. Let's go then, beautiful. I got a ship so follow me." Graeme stood up and walked towards the now partially melted door, ready to fire again at a moment's notice.

There was no one behind the door... not even a sign of someone being there at one point. It was almost as if it had opened itself. Wraith stood up and followed Graeme, choosing to remain silent until they reached one of the rebellions in progress.

Despite a rather bumpy space ride which took a full day to arrive at their destination. They orbited the Pickio planet, and the ship alarm beeped rather softly, autopilot having been enabled an hour into their journey.

Graeme opened his eyes and reached behind his seat to gently shake awake Wraith. "Hey, sleepy-head... we're here."

Wraith stretched in her seat before standing up and looking down on the planet. She looked up at the man. Get me as close to the line of skirmish as you can.

"As you wish, beautiful." Graeme took them down, hovering in the clouds but superimposing the actual naval battles that were going on between this various forces. "Alright. This is as far as I'll go, due to them having the capacity to blow this ship out of the sky."

Wraith's innocent, shy face turned dark and stern as she watched the warship from below. Without warning, a ship on one side of the battlefield erupted into smoke and fire, while another soon found itself under the weight of five shells from the enemy destroyers. What was a standoff when they arrived had suddenly been morphed into one side having a massive advantage over the other. No one would know what happened, nor would they learn why... As Wraith always did her work in the shadows of conflict and power. After all, every terrifying ruler needs a small twist of fate.

Graeme let out a low whistle. "I'll consider that your demonstration. I'll let Ghost know what I saw, but here-" The Tamearin pulled out a red hibiscus flower, and before Wraith could even protest, he pinned it in her hair, "something to mark the occasion. A beautiful flower for a beautiful woman." He offered a friendly wink as he turned back to his controls, more than likely to head back.

Do you... Actually find me attractive? Wraith asked the Tamaerin man.

Graeme actually paused. His seat turned around as he looked thoughtful; his eyes stared at her, while his hand held his chin. He didn't answer for a few seconds as he stared at her. "I usually flirt with women just to pass the time; helps tell me who they are and whether they're too cruel or violent. You... I don't know too much about you. I don't even know your name, whereas you know mine."

He looked away, his eyes losing their cockiness for a moment. "I do think you are beautiful. But I'm also sure that I'm not handsome. Pon-taers usually aren't. So, let's keep the relationship business and cordial-like..."

My name is Misha. The young lady responded. Since I decided to spread my roots into the crusade of the one named "Master" I haven't had many oppertunities to tell others that name. They called me Wraith rather early on.

 

[ShadowHounder]

Black0ut and ShadowHounder: Hidden with the Shadow Part 3

"I'd guess that's on account of the whole not able to speak thing?" Graeme asked as his chair turned back, as he got ready to start their journey back.

You could say that, though I like being mute. Wraith smirked as she communicated with Graeme. It's easier for me to go unnoticed this way.

"Good philosophy, I suppose. Doesn't work with me tho, given how we're communicatin'." They rocketed away from the battlefield back up into the dark depths of space.

What do you mean? I thought you were talking to yourself. Misha joked with a smug grin on her face.

Casting a glance back at her, he offered a signature cocky smile. "You know, for a mute girl, ya got a lot to say." Graeme joked back, a chuckle escaping his lips.

Wraith's cheeks turned a tad pink as she lowered her face. I guess I've been mute for so long that I kind of miss being able to have a genuine conversation with someone.

"Well, anyone who is psychic can have a conversation with you." A pause. "I bet if I keep talking with you for awhile you'll tell me why you can't speak."

You may be waiting awhile there. Wraith mentally giggled.

"I'm nothing if not a patient man." Graeme replied, looking back to his controls. Are you trying to flirt with me, Ms. Misha?

Misha went into a panic as her face flaired into a deep red. Well... Um... It wasn't me... Intention...

Graeme looked back for a moment smirking before returning his gaze back to piloting. "Your blush says otherwise, Ms. Misha. Or is that you're just too shy? Either way, I'll give you an out: where am I heading to?"

Wraith wrote the coordinates on her notebook and handed it to Graeme. The Commanding Star should be there... in preparation for our next assault.

Graeme decided not to press her for information; he figured he'd rather not know. "Alright. I'll deliver you there, beautiful." The Tamearin's tail swished, the only sign that he was even a tad bit nervous.

The coordinates led them to the empty void of space... and a massive battle cruiser floating above them. The blackened ship blended into the void, with a large, white star enveloping it's hull. Judging from it's size, one could theorize it towered over even the mightiest of the Federations battleships. Wraith noticed the nervous movement of the Tamaerin's tail. Try not to do anything rash... otherwise you might provoke her to open fire.

------

"Commander~" Harbinger whistled to Master, who sat in a newly modified captain's seat. "We have ourselves a boggy. Can I shoot it down~?"

"Open communications with the vessel..." The armored Tyrant stated. "We should make sure no one of worth is on there first."

Harbinger pouted slightly, but did as her commander told. "This is Master, Leader of Retribution. State your name and purpose, or be destroyed."

"Right..." Graeme murmured, flicking on his comms. "Heya, 'Master'. Ghost mentioned you had an... interesting moniker. I was in the neighborhood and picked up one of your crew. Woman named Wraith. Beautiful lady. Anyways, just wanted to drop her off and be on my way afterwards." His tail moved faster with nervousness, only visible to Misha.

"If Ghost sees you as worthy, then I shall as well." Master let out a booming chuckle. "You are free to board at your own leisure."

"Thanks, friend. I'll have Wraith bavk to you soon." Graeme offered a smile as he pushed a button that ended the comms call. He let out an intake of breath, almost hissing through his teeth as he flew forward. "Well, guess this'll be goodbye here pretty soon huh, Misha?"

Nevertheless, it was nice meeting you, Graeme. Wraith stood from her seat and waited by the exist for when they landed.

As they docked and waited for the docking tube, Graeme stood up and walked over to her. "So eager to go... could've sworn you wanted to kiss me." He flirted lightly, offering her another cocky smile.

Perhaps another time... Misha stated just before the doors opened and she dashed out of the ship.

Graeme sighed, a saddened smile on his lips. He walked back to his pilot's seat, and waited to take off, back to his rather bare and new apartment.

Wraith watched as Graeme left, a blank notebook in her hands. Now that she knew Ghost could read her records at any moment... She needed a way to prevent him from knowing her thoughts, her observations. Her plans.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ShadowHounder & ZombieSplitter53
Security Problems

Tobias stepped into the engineering bay, stretching his arms as he looked around at what all he could potentially do. "I wonder where those cockroaches are right now..." The magician muttered.

As if to answer his question, he heard movement all around him. Looking at the walls and the ceiling ahead, all four of them were rapidly moving about from computer to computer, checking every system and various lines of code. Something had happened.

"Well... Shit..." Tobias muttered as he approached one of the bugs. "Somethin' happen here?"

"Someone in Captain's room," Tala said as she skittered past.

"Bad hologram lady," added Tama. "Threatened the Captain. Threatened everyone."

"Tobias!" JJ quickly approached him from the back of the room. "Thank goodness I caught you before you went to your private space."

"What's this about an evil, holographic woman threatening the entire ship?" Tobias inquired in a surprisingly casual manner.

"Someone tapped into the holoprojectors in my room a hour ago. Cut through our security like a hot knife through butter. She proceeded to basically tell me that she's sending a bunch of bad guys our way for no reason other then to watch the chaos unfurl. Oh... and she's out to get you and Bar in particular. Something about you two getting too close to her."

"What did Bark and I do to piss off a spirit lady?" Tobias asked.

"She didn't give specifics. Just said you were getting to close to her. Maybe you stumbled into the wrong yard and you didn't realize there was a guard dog." JJ rubbed her chin. "You... went somewhere recently that blew up on you, right? Like with you there... though you're somehow not in a million pieces?"

"That's what Bark told me, yeah." Tobias stated as he scratched the back of his head. "Everything is still sort of scattered for me."

"Maybe you stumbled into one of her... I don't know, 'secret evil lairs' or something." JJ shook her head. "I don't know. What I do know is she made a lot of threats, many of which involved her being able to kill us at a moment's notice. And I wonder how many of them were more then just bluffs when she hacked our systems so easily."

"Well... Hacking and infiltrating are not the same thing..." The magician stated. "Yes, hackers are usually capable of breaking into facilities... But it appears she doesn't want to be seen. She would need to hire someone else to do the job for her."

"I see." JJ placed her hands on her hips. "Well, whether it is hacking or infiltrating, whether she is by herself or has someone helping her, I don't want her to get in with such ease again. She... unnerved me, and I don't get spooked easily. We need to secure our systems. Maybe focus on specific systems so even if she gets in again, she'll still be cut off from other things like, for example, life support. Or Ash."

Tobias froze in place, a stern face plastered where his carefree nature usually stood. "What the hell did she do to Ash?"

"She said she unlocked... well... everything..." JJ shook her head. "He hasn't been the same since. From what I can tell, you unlocked things like happiness, sadness, and anger. She unlocked passion, depression, and fury. He hasn't been coping well to be honest."

"Are you expecting her to show up again?" Tobias asked, emotions faded from his voice. Without even waiting for an answer, the magician walked over to the console and began typing away.

"I hope not," JJ told him. "But probably. That's why I need your help. To make sure if she does she won't be able to access anything important."

Tobias continued pecking away at the console. "A couple weeks ago, Ash and I found a monitoring system all through the ship. If we can find out who set it up, it's possible they can help with the matter at hand."

"Monitoring system?" JJ looked around. "You mean, like, cameras everywhere? That's kinda... creepy..."

"That doesn't matter right now." Tobias growled. "What matters is that we find this bitch and get rid of her... For good."

JJ blinked. She had never seen Tobias so intense. "Well... I think we can track down the man I got the ship from. If the surveillance system is new enough, either he installed it or the owner before him. Would that help?"

"No, judging by the modules and measures made to keep them encrypted, whoever set them up did so after you took ownership." The inventor stated bluntly. "If we're lucky they are still apart of the crew now."

JJ blinked again. "A part of the crew? You don't think we have a spy on board, do you? Who could..." Her eyes darted about. She didn't want to suspect anyone of her friends, but one or two people came to mind.

"Either that or someone extremely paranoid." Tobias remarked. "If you have an idea of who it might be, say so now. I want this plan in motion by the time this bitch decides to pay us a visit."

Jackie-Jackie rubbed the back of her head. "Well... we do have someone on board with experience with electronics through her own cybernetics, was a spy, and can cloak herself to access most of the ship and plant the cameras..."

"Captain..." Yip's voice murmured from behind JJ. "Why would I need cameras when most people don't have a way to track my cloaking?" Yip let out a long yawn... Making it somewhat evident that she had been woken up by the commotion.

JJ jumped, and quickly turned around. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean... I'm just not sure who else..."

"I know of someone." Yip replied. "I had suspected him of it prior to leaving... But I never got confirmation it was him."

"Who?" JJ asked cautiously.

"Nick," The young Cartus answered.

"Of course it has to be the one guy I pissed off..." Tobias grumbled as he stepped away from the console. "I'll go and track down Mister Cage. If anyone gets anything from that bitch, I want you to let me now immediately."

"Just... be nice?" JJ offered as the best advice she could come up with. "I mean... I'm sure he had his reasons. I hope he had his reasons..."

Yip gave Tobias a concerned look. "You seem rather angered by a mere hacker..."

Tobias, his voice coated with a dark venom, said the only three words that mattered. "She hurt Ash..." Before leaving JJ and Yip in the room by themselves.

JJ's shoulders slumped and she rubbed her forehead. "This is one big mess after another, isn't it...?"

"Didn't humans come up with a superstitious law involving situations like this?" Yip placed a finger on her chin. "I think it was 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.'"

JJ sighed, slouching down a bit more.

 

[ShadowHounder]

ShadowHounder: Retribution Unleashed

Master looked down at the tundra planet Harbinger hovered above. The white rotated peacefully, unaware of the incoming attack. "Everything's in order, commander~"

Harbinger approached the metal titan with a deviant grin. She knew what was going to happen next... And wanted to saver every moment thoroughly. However, as she noticed Master's still body, her joy faded to worry. "Is... Everything okay?"

"Prepare to land our forces." Master muttered as he stood. "This storm will prevent any attempts of retaliation. They have no way of leaving this frozen wasteland... Or anyone to inform their superiors of our attack."

"As... As you wish." Harbinger replied as she relocated herself to the drop area. There, Wraith and Westwood were waiting for their orders. The AI lady briefly went over the plan with them and prepared to warp them down. Just before they left, Harbinger handed Westwood a small device. "This will allow me to operate on the planet's surface... Be sure to not let it get damaged."

Westwood paused for a moment. "May I speak with you for a second?"

Harbinger tilted her head. No one had ever wanted to speak with her before. "Um... Sure...?"

"Something seems off 'bout this." The ex soldier leaned against the wall of the ship. "Why the hell would they build a spacecraft facility on a planet like this?"

Harbinger placed a finger on her chin. "Perhaps this is a secret facility... It would explain why it's so far out from their HQ. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Regardless of the truth, it will be a large dent in their available resources."

Westwood sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of..."

-----

As expected, they were not prepared for a sudden ground attack. Master's forces had already set up a line of artillery, made nearly effortless with Harbinger commanding her droids. Any attempts to scout ended in failure, for both ends. "My range of control is limited... We would need to get closer for me to be able effect command a unit to perform recon." Had been Harbinger's reasoning... But Westwood wondered if her love of carnage made her not prioritize pushing forward.

For now, they were at a stalemate. Their weapons couldn't pierce the armored walls of the facility... While Wraith kept their counter attacks from causing any significant damage. "How long are we going to sit here?" Westwood inquired. "This perfect storm of ours ain't gonna last forever."

The four of them looked up. He was right. Even as they laid siege, the blizzard had slowly been calming down. They had to finished this attack before then, to prevent information from getting through. "We can't get in range at this point." Harbinger growled. "Damn my limitations."

"We must hold the line." Master commanded. "We need to conquer this land or all our efforts will have been for not."

Westwood paused for a moment, drawing his pistol and pocketing the device he was entrusted with. "You can't get in range... But I can."

"What?" Harbinger looked at the soldier in shock. "You would be so foolish to risk your life over a gamble?"

Westwood merely flipped a coin as he glanced back at the admiral. "I gambled my life away when I joined to crusade in the first place... So you better be ready to back me up."

-----

The frozen air echoed with gun fire. Westwood, now pinned behind enemy lines, waited. No bullets. No time. No back up. In that moment, he was brought back to when he first met Drake... The mission that ended his life.

"Do you think we can make it out?" Doctor Jacobson asked the captain.

"Without ammo and back up... I doubt it." Alex stated, covering the bleeding wound on his shoulder. Before long, Captain Western let out a frustrated growl. "This was supposed to be a scouting mission. Why did those damn Pon Taer have to sniff us out?"

"It seems you underestimated them." The geneticist chuckled weakly. "I don't think I ever caught your name, Captain. If we are going to die together, wouldn't it be nice to at least know each other?"

Western thought about the man's words for a moment. "Alexander Western... Most people just call me Alex. What about you, doc?"

"Alexander Jacobson." The doctor took a drink from his flask. "Funny that we share a first name."

"What do you think you're doing?" The voice of Harbinger demanded, breaking Westwood out of his waking dream. Now in a cold sweat, the man look up to find the AI queen leaning forward. "I thought soldier knew better than to sleep on the job."

Westwood immediately jumped to his feet and turned around. His breathing grew heavy as he saw the army of machines walking through area. They had managed to secure the area while they were distracted. His arm began to shake... He was sure if this was some cruel dream, or if Master had actually followed through on Eastwood's gamble. Harbinger leaned against the man's back. "Did you really think I would leave you to die like that? I'm cruel, but I'm not heartless."

"No... I just didn't think I would..." Westwood mumbled before falling to one knee, only now noticed the wound in his shoulder.

Harbinger helped the ex soldier to his feet. "I'll send you back to the ship. Feel free to relax a bit while we clean up down here... You've earned it."