The Starstream Adventures! (Sci-fi RP)

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: A Day To Remember Part 2

Six o'clock rolled around, and Aya stuck her head into Tobias' space once more. "Tobias? You here?"

"Yo." Tobias stepped out of a makeshift dressing room in formal attire... Something strange for the man in question.

Aya stepped into view herself. She was wearing a traditional west Tamearin kimono, purple with floral patterns throughout, along with some light red lipstick and eyeshadow. She looked stunning.

Tobias cocked an eyebrow with an accompanying smirk. "Is that royalty I see, M'lady?"

Aya scoffed. "I am no royal. At least, I'm pretty sure I'm not. Just... had this laying around. Never had an excuse to wear it until now."

"You are still M'lady." Tobias walked up to Aya and took a moment to inspect her form.

Aya chuckled as he did. "Some people would call you looking them over like that rude. Like what you see?"

"If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be looking." Tobias wink before giving her a bow. "What about you? Do you like what you see?"

Aya tilted her head and walked around him, as if examing a dog at a show. "Not bad. You clean up pretty good."

"What can I say... Gotta be ready to put on a show at a moment's notice." Tobias joked as he offered his arm to the Pon Taer.

She took it gracefully, though seemed a bit nervous as they started to walk. "So, um... where are we headed?"

"The Mystic Den." Tobias answered as he guided her towards the exit of the ship. "A three star restaurant and bar with a stage for a show."

"Mystic Den, huh?" Aya chuckled. "I wonder what attracted you to it..."

Tobias winked at her. "Was it not obvious?"

Aya chuckled again. "What kind of entertainment do they have there?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." Tobias smirked as they entered the city hidden within the station.

Aya stayed close to Tobias. She was still uncomfortable with the station and felt naked without at least a sidearm. She felt bringing a gun on a date was inappropriate however.

Tobias and Aya eventually reached the restaurant... A medium sized building with blue walls and purple letters written in cursive. The magician stepped ahead of his date in order to hold the door open for her.

She giggled as she walked through. "Such a gentleman..."

Tobias merely grinned as he followed behind her. The two were met by a young Tamaerin woman. "Oh, Tobias... Are you here to look at the schedule?"

"Nah..." Tobias placed his hand gentle on Aya's back. "I'm here for a more personal arrangement tonight."

The woman let out a nervous chuckle. "My apologies... Let me check to see if we have an open table for you two."

As she walked away, Aya asked, "What was that about? They know you by name?"

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: A Day To Remember Part 3

"I may or may not have done a few shows here." Tobias answered casually.

"Oh, I see. Not just a magician in name then. Interesting. Wish I had caught one of them."

"If ya want I can give you a copy of my schedule." The mage offered.

Aya nodded. "I would like that. But for now, let's enjoy the night out."

The Tamaerin arrived a moment later. "This way please."

As Tobias followed the woman to their seats, he leaned into Aya's ear. "So... Just to warn ya ahead of time... It turns out I wasn't the first person to leave the guild and explore the cosmos."

"Really?" Aya gave him a curious look. "Is there someone else here?"

"More like..." Tobias paused for a moment as they stepped into the dining area of the restaurant. "A few."

Aya looked around, scanning the crowd.

She would be quick to notice two Cartus men, twins, teleporting between tables to bus and take orders. One of them noticed Tobias sitting down and immediately warped over. "Well, if it ain't Tobias the Silver Wind himself. Is this the lucky lady you told us about?"

"Yes, Victor, yes she is." The mage remarked as he got back up to seat Aya.

"Looks like I won the bet then." Victor muttered as he glanced at his twin. "My bro was so adamant that it was that Dondondari girl he's seen you talking to."

Tobias chuckled. "Do me a favor and remind Stefan that it's a bad idea to be dating your own students."

"Should I be jealous?" Aya asked as she sat down. Quickly realizing what that might imply, she said, "N-not that... I would have a reason to be..."

"Why should you be?" Tobias sat back down. "You're a perfect little angel."

Aya blushed. "I... thank you. But I... I don't understand."

"Perhaps he could explain himself over drinks and an appetizer?" Victor chimed in with a notepad in hand.

"Um... sure. Um... give me some red wine. Nothing... nothing too expensive..."

"I'll be right back with your wine." Victor teleported away, leaving Tobias and Aya to their lonesome.

"I didn't... Go to far... Did I?" Tobias asked, blush starting to form in his own cheeks.

Aya shrugged. "No. I mean... maybe a little. I just... I don't understand what you see in me. There are so many other Tamearins that are better then me that you could go after. I mean, I'm small and short for my people... I'm not well educated... I'm a... Pon-Taer..."

"Okay, let's go step by step with this." Tobias leaned forward. "First, I like small. Second, when was I considered well educated? And third... So what if are a part of a small subspecies that act more like humans than Tamaerins. You are you... And I like you."

Aya smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Tobias. I... I like you too."

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: A Day To Remember Part 4

Victor returned with a bottle and glass for Aya. "Do you know what you would like?"

"I'm not sure. What is good here Tobias?" Aya asked with a almost playful smile.

"They have some fancy soups... Nice fish... My personal favor is their five herb fillet." Tobias replied.

"Oh, that sounds delightful. I'll have that, along with a garden salad to start off. Light on the dressing."

Victor nodded and warpped away to deliver their order. Tobias leaned forward and shifted his gaze exclusively on Aya. "So... I've explained why I picked you... But why did you pick me? Same thing can be said about human males and I ain't exactly what you would call a 'nice guy.'"

Aya placed her chin against her palm. "Now why would you say something like that. You're a little rough around the edges, but far flung from being a 'bad guy'. Besides, you have always been nice to me... for one reason or another..."

"I try..." Tobias scratched his cheek and let out a nervous chuckle. "Ya know... To think you were skeptical of me when we first met."

"Skeptical?" Aya laughed. "I plain old didn't trust you. After all, you openly admitted to breaking into our ship. Though... what can I say? You've grown on me."

"At least I always told ya the truth." Tobias reminded her as one of the twins arrived with Aya's salad.

"Thank you." Aya took a bite and smiled. "Mmm... so crisp and fresh!"

"Got any hobbies?" Tobias gave the Pon Taer a coy grin. "Ya know, aside from being a pretty badass."

"I read," Aya said. "I spend a lot of time practicing my shooting. I... collect... antique coins..." She muttered the last part, a little embarrassed.

"Ahhh... Like this one?" Tobias pulled an rusted gold coin with a strange symbol on the each side. "I guess it's more ancient than antique, but it still count right?"

Aya's eyes lit up. "Where did you get that? Can I see it?"

The inventor handed her the coin. "It's my grandfather's old 'lucky' coin. He gave it to me shortly before I left."

"O-oh..." Aya looked mesmerized by it for a moment, but quickly offered it back. "Thank you for showing it to me."

Tobias quickly tossed in the air and allowed it to fall onto his hand. "Heads or tails?"

"What?" Aya raised an eyebrow. "Um... heads?"

"You win." Tobias grinned as he placed the coin back in his pocket and a waiter arrived with their fish. "Maybe one of these days I can teach how to read runes."

"What was that about not teaching your significant other?" The twin teased.

"Aren't chu supposed to be working, Stephan?" Tobias counter, being met by Stephan chuckling and warping away.

Aya finished her salad with a smile. "You... you're enjoyable to be around, Tobias. You have that going for you."

"What can I say, I like to please people." Tobias took a bite out of plate as he spoke. "No point in putting on a show nobody likes."

"I hope I not just an audience to you," Aya said playfully as she bit into her own dinner.

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: A Day To Remember Part 5

"Considering you have VIP status... Would it really be a bad thing if ya were?" Tobias jokingly shrugged. "You are the only person to be able to put some semblance of a leash on me."

"Well someone has to. Look how often you die with this so called leash on you and imagine what it would be like without it." Aya sighed. "I... I really wish you would be more careful..."

"Hey, I've been improving... Now that I have a reason to be careful." Tobias gave her a wink. "Just be a bit patient... New habits take time ya know."

Aya smiled again. "I know. I just... worry about you, you know?"

"Hey, someone has to." The mage continued to joke.

Aya looked into his eyes. "I'm serious. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I'll try my best." Tobias promised Aya.

"Thank you." Aya smiled brightly. After a moment, she cleared her throat and said, "This, um... this is really good."

"Glad you enjoy the meal." Tobias muttered with his fork in his mouth.

Aya ate quietly for several minutes, unsure how to bring up the topic on her mind.

"Somethin' on your mind?" Tobias prodded. "Been rather quiet over there, M'lady."

"Do you..." Aya poked at her remaining food. "Is this... are we... serious? Is that what you want?"

"Well... Do you want us to be serious?" Tobias asked as his nervous core crept into his voice.

Aya rubbed her wrist. "I... I don't know. I haven't been serious with someone in a while. And the last time didn't end well."

"If it makes you feel any better... You're the only person I want to be serious with." Tobias shrugged and leaned back. "Up until I met you I just sorta played everything as a joke."

Aya smirked. "Still kinda feels like you do. I just want to be sure I'm not another game for you."

"Hey, the only thing I actively gamble is my own well being." Tobias remarked. "Besides, I don't play games... Not really my style."

Aya nodded. "In that case, maybe being serious... isn't a bad idea."

Tobias gave her a brief salute. "Ya know... For my first date, I'd say I'm doing pretty well so far."

"Really? Your first date?" Aya gave him a curious look. "Not interested in anyone before, or bad luck with girls?"

"Been busy... Didn't really have the time with how often I moved from planet to planet." The mage answered. "Being on the Golden Wind is the longest time I've had a central location since I left home."

"Well... I hope you'll stay on board for a long time to come," Aya said with a wink.

"Anything for you, M'lady." Tobias returned the wink.

Aya finished her meal. "You want anything for dessert?"

"Nah... I wasn't born with a sweet tooth." Tobias stated. "Feel free to get something for yourself... I'm buying afterall."

"No, I'm full." Aya smiled at him. "Ready to head back?"

"Ready when you are." Tobias pulled out his tablet and started plugging numbers into it.

Aya meanwhile slipped out of her seat, looking around. "I'd love to come back here some time."

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: A Day To Remember Part 6

"Who knows... Maybe you'll be my special guest one of these days." Tobias closed the tablet as he stood himself.

Aya offered her arm to him this time, still smiling sweetly.

Tobias grinned as he took her hand.

The pair walked together back to the ship. Nothing was said between the two. They just seemed to enjoy each other's company. They soon arrived back at the ship and walked to the crew quarters, stopping outside Aya's room. "This was a pleasant evening, Tobias."

"Glad you like it..." Tobias slowly leaned closer to Aya.

Aya hesitated for a moment, but closed her eyes and leaned forward, puckering her lips.

Tobias closed his eyes and closed the distance... Gifting Lady Aya Me with his first kiss.

She kissed him back gently, holding the kiss for several moments before pulling back. She smiled. She was blushing.

Tobias was blushing as well. "I hope I wasn't too bad..."

"Not at all." Aya opened her door. "Do you... want to come in for some coffee?"

"I would love some coffee." He answered.

Aya nodded, and motioned for him to enter, closing the door and locking it as she did.

"What? Don't want people seeing us drinking coffee? Or do you have something else planned?" Tobias asked with his signature grin.

You obviously never heard what humans mean by 'having coffee'." Aya walked up to him and kissed him once more, this time more passionately.

Tobias pulled Aya closer as their lips connected together, his hand moving lower... Threatening to take hold of her tail.

She didn't stop him, simply holding his shoulders tightly as her tongue invaded his mouth.

Tobias continued kissing her for a moment before pulling away. He placed hand on her cheek and let out a sigh. "I... I don't think I'm ready to go that far yet... I'm sorry... To disappoint you."

Aya shook her head. "No. I want you to be fully honest with me. And I respect you too much to be disappointed."

"There was one other, before you." Tobias admitted as he sat on her bed. "Old childhood friend... But she wasn't exactly the person she claimed to be. I would've told ya when you asked... But, ya know, trying to forget she exists and all..."

Aya sighed. "Sounds like you had a rough break up too. Another thing we share, huh?"

"Well... Usually when someone has been manipulating you for years and decides to kill an entire village to prove a point... The break up part tends to not be the prettiest." Tobias answered, trying his best to maintain his joking exterior.

"What?!" Aya sat next to him. "Manipulating... an entire village...?"

"No, she manipulated me." Tobias clarified. "And when things started to go south... They had to pay the price."

"Tobias, I..." Aya looked down. "I'm sorry.. "

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Tobias leaned back a bit. "Can't change the past, only the future... So I'll be damned if I'm gonna let one losey bitch of my past ruin my chances with the lovely lady of my here and now."

Aya wrapped an arm around him and leaned in close, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad."

 

[Dahlexpert]

Pirate fleet space station



Roberta sat in her room on her ship and opened a data pat that was her personal journal. “It has been three thousand six hundred and fifty day since I’ve joined this mighty pirate force. We’ve conquered yet another space station the last two years has been difficult, fighting the GFP the Norsca republic they have been on our tail for a while thankfully we pulled that one last big job. We came up with quiet the hull thankfully we did make it out to the frontier, this place is ripe for the picking. But for now we have made a new base of operation with this new space station we recently took from a crooked mob, I feel as though that the rest of them won’t like us taking their precious station. I’m sure they will come after us and after going through the gnats data he had ties with a bunch of other mob bosses.” Roberta smiled. “I think it’s time for me to go on a little hunting spree, but for now I need to make sure the station is in top shape and fully repaired.” Roberta then heard someone knocking on her door, when she opened the door to see Emile.

“Hello beautiful, it’s been a while since we last talked.” Emile went to kiss Roberta, but she stopped him and pulled him into her room and looked around when she didn’t see anybody she closed and locked her door.

Roberta then brought him close and passionately kissed Emile.” Damn it what have I told you, be more secretive about this.”

“Your to paranoid, I love you Roberta but you need to be more relaxed.”

“Says the man who’s the third in command, besides what are you doing here anyway?”

“What do I need a reason to come and see you, I know you’re fucked up mentaly Roberta but people do visit each other just to check on them.

“Ugh huh i’m sure this has nothing to do with you wanting some romantic evening with me?”

“Well I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want that, but it has been a while since we have talked. So I'm curious why did you bring those kids on to the ship?

Because they are a recourse that could be manipulated into becoming one of us, it may take some time and me using some of my psi powers but they will turn. If not they will become a good source of labor, there’s nothing else to it.”

“You are truly evil you know that, but that’s just who you are after all.” Emile suddenly grabbed Roberta ass.” I know you, you wouldn’t bring them along just because there a recourse no you’re gonna train them aren’t you?” He said while his other hand touched her breast and he started kissing her neck.

Roberta just stood there and let him do as he pleases, she even moved one of his hands into her shirt touching her breast directly, and the other that was on her ass into her pants.

“Roberta what is this you don’t normally let me do this.”

“I know you’ve been fucking the former gnats wife behind my back, I haven’t been good to you.” Roberta hand went down Emile pants and she grabbed his manhood.” This is mine and no common hore gets these without my say so, heh besides.” Roberta leaned into his ear.” I’m a fiflthy pon-taer Tamarin, I long to disrespect my kind at any given time. So fuck me lover boy.”

He turned Roberta around and quickly started to take her clothes off. After about two hours Roberta and Emile layed on her bed as the intercom went off calling Roberta to Solex office.

“Sigh back to work thanks for the fun time hot stuff, I’ll be sure not to keep you blue balled for to long next time.”

Emile grabbed her and brought her back for a kiss.” You be careful I’m sure big man has a job for you, don’t go to crazy out there we all need you and Solex leading us.”

Roberta rolled her eyes and kissed Emile back.”Heh I’ll be fine after all I’m the most terrifying thing in the galaxy.” She then quickly put her cloths back on and cleaned herself up, thoroughly and made her way to Solex office were she bowed immediately. “How may I serve you my lord?”

“Ah there you are Roberta, I hope you enjoyed your evening with Emil because I have a small assignment for you. It would appear that the remanets of that worthless mob boss goons are trying to get some measure of payback, think you could handle them?”

“Of course my lord I will take great pleasure in destroying them. Please tell me we know we’re they are?”

Solex went to his desk and pulled up a map of the station and pointed to the upper part of it.” There nice little bar there using to go over there plans as well as meetings.”

“Ou how very discreet, fine then I’ll try and be mildly discreet about this at first but do you want me to kill them all?”

“No not all see if you can convince in your own way to bring them to our side, if you can help it if not go ahead and kill them off.”

Roberta bowed her head and left Solex office and went back to her room, when she looked around Emile was gone. Roberta shrugged her shoulders and went to her closet. If she was gonna go in stealthily she need a disguise, she decided to put on a blond wig and red eyes contact to change her eyes. She then went to her makeup kit and applied some eyeshadow and some red lipstick, as well as adding a little bit of makeup to her face she then went back to her closet and pulled out a white dress shirt and a suit as well as some heels. Roberta looked herself in the mirror and was proud of her work, she looked at her armor and her weapons.” Hum now how am I going to get these into that bar? Ou. Rober grabbed her two sword and push a small button and the sword went into the hilt allowing them to fit into her purse, as for the armor it was broken down by nanomachines and into a watch.” Right well then I have a bar to get to.” Roberta grabbed a small hat and left her ship.

Roberta trailed her way to the barn which doubled as a hotel, to her surprise the building looked unharmed, when she arrived she caught the eyes of a few people as she made her way inside. The inside looked amazing with a huge stage in the center and the bar to the right and a restaurant to its left.” Hum not a bad place, I will give human mobsters this they do have a flair to them now then time to make the rounds.”

Roberta went to the bar and ordered herself a glass of wine all the while looking at her surroundings.”Hum I see a few people that might be with the gnats goons, but I can’t be sure ugh wait a minute. Robeta opened a notepad she was counseling and looked over Alexanders people, she looked it over and saw a man named Mattia she then quickly put the notepad back and walked to the man and sat next to the man. “Well hello there handsome you need some company?”

He looked Roberta up and down and smiled at her.” Um sure I could use the company of someone.” He ordered both of them a drink.” So what brings someone like you to a station that was recently taken by pirates? Seem like you have a death wish or something.”

“Well you could say that, but I don’t think I am after all i’m looking for an opportunity to make some money and possibly some new friends on this station. And with the pirates all around I could see this I could make a good few bucks around here.”

“Really are you for hire? Because I know some people that could use as much help as it can get around here to take these pirates out and take back this station.”

Well then I would like to meet these people planning this big rebelion to take this station back, mind if I join in? I’m sure fighting these goons would be fun.”

“Well thin if you’re that interested I could show you to the crew, but before I show you to the others.” Mattia pulled Roberta closer.” How about we enjoy the evening huh?”

Roberta put her hand up stopping the man.” Now now business first, I like to get my job done first before I go and celebrate anything.” She said smiling at the man.

“Ah a woman of professionalism very well miss let’s get going the two left the bar and went to a hotel, and went to a pent house were she saw others mobsters that she didn’t recognize at all the one that stood out was a human wearing a three piece suit with a Tamarin and Shinso standing next to him.

“Gentlemen we are here to day to not only see that Alexander is dead but to see that some damn pirates have taken over, and not just take over but seem to have taken out any that stood in there way. Every cop two bit gangster, they killed off the elderly Hell you can barely tell that this used to be a decent place. So somebody feel like telling me how the hell did a bunch of filthy pirates took this station?!”

Everyone looked to see if they had an answer for the man until Roberta raised her hand.” I know I was around when it happened.”

“And who young lady are you?”

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 2

“My name is Miranda, but I was here when the pirates came it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, they had star ships that took the sheilds out Mechs that gunned down everything around then. They looked more like an organized army then regular pirates.”

The group was silent until the man in the middle shook his head until slamming him hand into the table.” Are you fucking kidding me organized pirates all the way out here, who are they and we’re did they come from!”

“We don’t know sir but from what we saw they were organized looked to be military trained, they just treated the forces here like they were your average thugs.”

As Roberta was enjoying the mob arguing about how they lose to pirates, she noticed the Tamarin eyeing her up like he was suspicious of her.” I’m sorry but is there a reason you looking at me like that?”

The Tamarins looked Roberta up and down.” Sorry I just feel a psionic power coming from you, which for a human is rare.” The entire room of mobsters turned to Roberta.

“I guess I’m just lucky with my genes but out of curiosity, how many of you thought about joining these pirates?”

“What!” The head of the group shouted.” Who would want to join up with those scum?!”

Roberta then took a seat and crossed her legs.” I guess I should be honest.” I’m with those bastard pirates actually, in fact I’m there second in command.” everyone in the room pointed their guns at Roberta.” Ou come on now there’s no need for those, especially since you know i’m a psion but which color I am you don’t know.”

“What do you want lady, why in this galaxy would any of us join you?”

“Well number one were not just pirates were more of our own private army, your jobs will be to supply us giving us weapons armor materials and most importantly fuel so we can keep moving. You will also pay us for protection, if someone is threatening you you can call us to deal with them. Now you could refuse this offer but doing so won’t be good for you.”

Everyone started to laugh except the Shinso and Tamarin.” Lady you are surrounded not only that you decided to come to a hotel that’s filled with people that hate you pirates and not only that several of our body guards are outside and if you somehow killed all of us here you would have to deal with these two right next to me.” The Tamarin and Shinso pulled out there plasma weapons.

“So what I’m hearing is that you won’t join us, I would seriously reconsider this decision of yours. May I remind you that we took this entire station and others before this one, we have fought both GFP and Norscan forces. We even invaded colony’s I would suggest that you reconsider after all look at what we did to one of your people already.”

“You attacked colonies what else have you done?” The Tamarian asked Roberta and everyone looked at him.

“We robed major banks stolen ships, taken prison ships, we have taken so towns destroyed cities and turned them into ash and all I'm doing is offering all that to not just you but that Shinso next to you and everyone in this room. So I ask again will you work alongside us or are we gonna have some problems.”

Everyone looked around and back to Roberta and the Tamarian and the Shinso walked next to Roberta and stood next to her.

“Anyone elese… no? Alright then, Emile send them in please.” Suddenly a loud bang could be heard mills away from the hotel like something was fired out of a rocket, a few moments later a giant metal ball came crashing through the wall. As everyone turned to look at the ball it quickly turned into a spider like war mech with two massive guns on each side.

In a deep robotic voice it asked.” Mrs Roberta please input your orders.”

“Everyone but the two aliens standing next to me dies.” Roberta tail slowly came out from her jacket and went into her purse, there it grabbed one of her swords and placed it in the back of one of the men next to her when she pushed the button the blade came out going through the mans stomach.

The mech fired at the group, killing several of the people in the room, Robeta then turned her watch and nanobots started to cover her body making her armor. She then pulled out her swords as the Mech fired a rocket into the door killing those on the other end, as the other mobsters got into position the Mech could see through the smoke and started to open fire at the mobsters, it got a few of them but the others were able to get behind walls for cover. Roberta raised her hand and the Mech stopped firing.

The mobsters then peaked wondering why the Mech stopped firing a sword went through one of their skulls as Roberta came out of the smoke as the body fell to the ground as she fired her pistol at two of them, some fired at Roberta but she used her sword to deflect the laser and plasma shots.” Fire!” Roberta shouted and the Mech rolled into a ball and rolled towards the mobsters, as for Roberta she looked back at the two that joined her and took her helmet off along with her wig and eye contacts.

“Well then I may not have gotten what my boss wanted, but welcome to the crew, I’m Roberta second in command of the black tusk.” Roberta could hear explosions down the hall it was clear that the mobsters weren’t expecting a war mech.

“Your a Tamarin? I gotta say you look good enough to pass for human with makeup.”

“Thank you I was trained to disguise myself if nessary, give me a minute. Emile send the rest of the Mechs here while I bring our new friends to the ship Ou and could you send transport my way.” A shuttle came to Roberta postion as she escorted her new ally to the shuttle and more Mechs came to the hotel killing everyone insight.

Spoiler: Roberta armor

 

[ShadowHounder]

ShadowHounder and Black0ut: A Ghost and a Shell

Master sat in his room within the Commanding Star, sleeping from inside his armor. The events he had to deal with exhausted his mind and his fuel... A small cord sticking out of his shoulder plate. As the crusader sat in his sub conscious state, he became to hum his old war song.

A call came, not going through and no hacking happening. Ghost's unique signature came through. It seemed they wanted to talk.

"I figured it better to call every once in awhile... change things up so to speak." A pause. "What's wrong? You sound worn out."

"Being inside a power suit while trapped in suspended animation can have that effect." Master remarked. "What is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

Ghost appeared on the screen, their helm dark on the screen. "I want an explanation for why you massacred one of my facilities."

"One of your facilities? I do not recall authorizing such an assault. Unless..." The eyes of the armor flared up as Master's arm slammed down on his table. "That witch!"

"Like I said, an explanation will suffice." Ghost said, a bit more softly than normal.

"Wraith showed herself to be a traitor." Master explained, forcefully holding his rage at bay. "No doubt she used that attack as a way to hide her tracks." Master then paused for a long span of time. "I am a war monger and a terrorist... But I would never authorize the death of innocent people. My crusader is against the Galactic Federation of Planets, not those who live inside it's borders."

"She still was working for you at that time." Ghost's voice hardened. "Working behind enemy lines is a difficult thing and you, by proxy, killed fifty of my agents. How do you plan to pay me back for my losses?"

"You seek payment?" Master's eyes changed from their normal glowing blue to a menacing red. "She manipulated me, betrayed me for her own gain, killed one of my close comrades... And you demand I pay you for some mere lackeys?! Do you take me for some toy?!"

Master raised his fist to strike the image of Ghost, only to have a metal claw grab his wrist. Harbinger barged into the room moments later with evident anger. "Hey! That equipment doesn't grow on trees!"

Master, however, was no longer there... Continuing to shout: "I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"

The sudden realization of the situation began to melt away the AI's anger. She look towards Ghost with shame in her eyes. "Would you like me to patch to the bridge? So that I might be able to answer your questions and concerns?"

"I would. And best to keep your boss out of it." Ghost's voice lacked the lunacy it typically had in lieu of icy rage.

Harbinger briefly nodded and moved the conversation to the ship's bridge. "My apologies for that. The commander's mind is damaged... And Drake's death as only worsened his condition."

"If I hadn't know about that and been a bit understanding about an entire base of operatives being murdered by a rogue agent of his, he would've declared war." Ghost voice had a note of disapproval in it. "So, she killed one of you and dozens of mine. I'll help look for her... but your faction will owe me."

"You wish to have your payment?" Harbinger grinned in anticipation. "Give me a target~"

Ghost paused as their visor briefly had a loading symbol displayed. "You'd be willing to attack something for me? No questions asked?"

"I, of course, would want something that could fight back." Harbinger gleefully remarked. "It just isn't fun if I can't feel the struggle."

"Alright. I'll withhold my target for now, but I will call for it later. In the meantime," Ghost's helmet flickered with a smile, "I'll see about finding your traitor. Just try to keep your commander from threatening me again. Okay?"

"I can't promise much... Besides, I doubt he was threatening you." Harbinger replied. "And judging by the studies I've done on the human condition called 'post traumatic stress disorder,' we weren't even there anymore."

"Regardless, threatening death is a good way to lose allies. Just try to keep him on side and not in his 'I'm going to murder the person who is most likely going to find my traitor'."

"Hun... Detainment and bondage are some of my specialties." Harbinger waved her hand dismissively. "I can't control a human brain... Especially one has shattered as his, but I can at least hold him down should a situation get too frisky for my liking."

"Good. Can you do that before he murders agents of mine?" Ghost replied a bit snarkily.

The AI woman gave Ghost an unamused look. "Even in his unstable state he wouldn't do that..."

"He swung at a holographic image of me. And while I may not be there to judge the full power, I know it was with lethal intent. Now, I've lost fifty people, and this, while it was due to betrayal, makes me hesitant to make deals, which I do through proxies." Ghost explained, her voice losing its patience slowly. "Now, if he felt he could swing at me, what's to stop him from hurting my 'peons', as he called them?"

"Then what happens if he relapses while I'm there or my proxies? Should I send operatives in who'll struggle with him if he tries to kill them?"

"Depends on whether or not you can survive a punch from a teddy bear." Harbinger teased. "Funny how one's strength is relative to their perception of reality."

"Regardless, keep him from hurting anyone I send and we'll be fine." Ghost paused, a smiley face flashing. "Oh, and do ignore the combat drone you have that I've meddled with... I gave it a V.I. that knows exactly how to pleasure an A.I."

The call ended, with only a few words as parting: "Have fun, Harbinger... enjoy all your virtual fantasies."

"Good to know I need to have him dismantled." Harbinger remarked as she already had a transmission sent to the rest of her ship. "Virtual just isn't my style."

 

[Dahlexpert]

The fallowing is done by Dhalexpert&ZombiSplitter53

New alleys, and betrayals

Roberta sat in her office looking over the reports of the station. “Ugh boy ever since we took this station it’s been rather quiet, Yea we have a lot of money sure be the biggest problem is we’re running out of fuel, and it’s not like we can easily link up with our traiders as well.” Roberta slammed her head into her desk.” Ugh damn this is a pain.”

"Why not look for an illegal means of obtaining your fuel." The now deceased mob boss' daughter stood in the doorway, her timid brother standing behind her. "Bith had a tired look in their eyes, indicating that they had been worked hard."

“Well nice to see that Eddy has been putting you two to work, and as good as that will be I’m trying to figure out what station we can hit. But since there all heavily defended and without a doubt someone would notice a fuel station attack, in trying to find a way to get large amounts of it without to much fighting.”

The girl, Jessie, rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean attack another station and kill more people. If you can't find a trader legally, find one illegally. Like, say... other pirates. You can't be the only group of pirates in this part of the galaxy."

"Sister..." Alex said timidly, afraid her tone would get herbin trouble.

“Kid I don’t think you understand, pirates don’t typically play well with other. Especially Solex he doesn’t trust other pirates to keep their words.”

Jessica shrugged. "Whatever. Don't take my advice. I'm just a stupid kid, right? Good luck not wasting more fuel then you gain attacking another station."

“Zazks!” A large Quin came from the side of the room.” Give her one lashing please.” The Quin grabbed one of Roberta belts and struck the girl across her back.

Jessie flinched, a tear forming in her eye from the pain, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry. "I see what... trying to help gets me on this ship..."

“No you being a smartass got you that one lash, if you had not been a smart mouth that would never had happened to you. Did you ever smart mouth your parents that way?” Roberta said grinning.

That stung more then the lashing, the girl squeezing her fists tightly. She grit her teeth and simpky said, "No." She obviously wanted to say more, but he quickly learned her lesson.

“I thought not because I can easily jut dump you two into into the mines for one of our, let’s call them friends. There you will spend the rest of your days mining through tunnels is that what you want?”

The children both shook their heads, Alexander looking particularly frightened by the idea.

“Then I recommend that you treat me with the same respect as you did your parents, now get out of my sight!” As the children started to leave Roberta looked at Alexander.” Not you boy, you stay right here.”

His sister started to refuse to leave him, but he quickly waved her away, not wanting her to get into any more trouble. Jessie reluctantly walked away as Alex took a step forward. "Y-yes?"

“Zazks leave us go see if anyone else could use your help.” The Quin walked pass Alex and Roberta just looked down and smiled.” Why are you all the way over there?” Roberta walked to her couch.” Come closer.”

Alexander slowly walked over to the couch and sat down, looking down at his twiddling thumbs. "I... uh..."

Roberta started to play with the boys hair.” Shh there’s no reason to be afraid of me, I won’t hurt you now tell me why are you so afraid?”

He kept his head down. Despite her reassuring words, he shook a little. You... you killed daddy... you took mommy. And you... you hurt Jessie. She... she lied. She talked back to daddy sometimes. He would yell at her... ground her... punish her. But he... he never hit us."

“Ou see that’s the difference with me and your parents, I dissaplen you. Tell how did your parents treated you both?”

Alexander shrugged. "I don't know. Pretty good. As ling as we listened, we got what we want. But they always taught us to treat people with respect and stuff like that."

“Aw that’s cute do want to know what my childhood was like?”

Alex looked up at her curiously and nodded.

“My childhood was filled with pain, I was not born to a mom and dad no instead I was born from a tank and the DNA of from several people. I was the property of these scientists.”

"O-oh... I'm sorry..." Alex lowered his head again. "Is that why you're so... angry at us?"

“Ou I’m angry at everything, kid but then there’s you. Why are you so damn nervous?”

Alexander muttered, "Because you hurt... everyone I love," he said, starting to cry. "And I don't want you to hurt me. I don't want you to hurt Jessie. I just... wanna... go home..."

“Ou you poor little thing.” Roberta used her empathy ability to make him happier.” You’re old life is over, and it’s not coming back so what you need to do is man up and protect what you have and listen to me.”

"Okay.." He wiped his tears. "Just please be more patient with Jessica. She... she actually came to try and help. She... doesn't like you. But she wanted to make you haply so things would be easier. Instead, she made you angry..."

“Ou I’m not mad at her, her idea was pretty good. But she needs to learn not to talk back to her elders understand?”

Alex nodded. "I understand."

“Good boy now then go on to your sis, I’m she must be worried sick. And don’t you two are my property which means if you both be have then nothing will happen.”

Alexander nodded, climbing off the couch and scurrying away.

Roberta expresses went back to normal as she made her way Solex, once in the room her Solex Emile Guther and Mei were around a table.

“Alright I’m sure I don’t have to remind everyone but we are, again running low on fuel so unfortunately I think it’s time we have to Ugh ally with other pirates.”

Guther folded his arms and grunted. "We can only trust our own pirates because we have Solex to keep them in line. What makes you think we can trust anyone else from outside the gang?"

Mei looked at Roberta.” Guther is tight I mean the four of us keep everyone in line, but to trust other pirates? I mean we left that damn alliance because nobody helped us, and now you want us to go back?”

“Now hold on Mei that’s not what Roberta is saying.” Emile spoke up.” What she is saying is that we need help and not crawling back to that fickle alliance.”

Guther walked over to a computer terminal, typing in it slowly. "Maybe... a larger pirate groul like us? One big enough to be able to help but small enough that we can crush if they try and backstab us?"

Roberta looked at her master and noticed that he was scilent the hole time.” My lord is there something wrong?”

Solex didn’t say anything but he went back to his quarters.

Guther watched him leave. "What was that about? Did something happen that I wasn't told about?"

“Not that I know, guess the idea of working with others bothers him. I mean he did build all we see around us by himself, so maybe bringing another to the fold annoys him?” Roberta said with concern.

Mei then looked at Guther.” You Ugh stumble on a crew we could work with?”

Guther turned back to the computer and typed on it a little more. "The Hellcats... what a stupid name... the Hellcats are in this sector. They just had a big score in the Gamma Quadrant and came here to Delta to let the heat die down. Maybe we should contact them."

“Ugh well it’s something I guess I’m guessing they are mostly Cartus?”

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 2

Guther slowly shook his head. "No. You'd think yeah with that name. They have known Shinso members, but the group is as diverse as us, with the majority human." Guther blinked a few times and retead something. "Interesting. The group is only ranked as the sixth most dangerous pirate group... but its leader is the most wanted person in Federation space. They have an even higher bounty on them then Solex."

“What the hell, how I mean. We robed banks destroyed colony’s taken hole station, assassinated high ranking people. How do they have a high bounty then Solex?”

Guther delved a little deeper. "Ah... I think I see why. Their leader has been thought to have been captured or killed at least thirty times, but everytime a new leader shows up and they continue on like nothing happened. So either their leader is incredibly fluid, or they keep capturing and killing decoys. In other words they have no idea who the leader is. That's why they want him, or her, so much."

“Well I guess that makes since considering they know who Solex is, have any idea where they are?” Emile asked.

Guther typed for a little longer. "They are hanging around an abandoned space station at LX77-GX34-HY44. We can be there in a few hours at max warp. Question is, will the boss be willing to do this."

The door open with Solex coming out.” We need fuel so we can continue raiding and avoiding the GFP and the Norscan federation, as much as I hate this me and Roberta will see this mystery’s leader of theirs.”

Guther nodded nervously. "I will go tell the helmsman to set out and send out a signal for parley."

Good until we get back Emile Mei you’re in command until we get back, Roberta meet me at the shuttle bay.”

“Of course my lord.” As Roberta looked at Solex she seemed confused for all the time she knew him he wouldn’t willingly work with other pirates there fuel supplies must be extremely low for him to consider this.

They arrived at the location without incident, but soon found themselves surrounded by a fleet of pirate ships with weapons armed and ready. Only their plea for parley kept them from being eradicated immediatly. "State your business," a boom voice demanded over the comms. "And make it quick, lest we rip you to shreds for entering our space."

“Not very friendly are they? My name is Roberta I would like to talk to your boss.”

"A lot of people want to talk to the boss. Why should you be any different?"

Solex moved Roberta aside.” This is Solex leader of the black tusk, I’ve come a long way to speak to your boss so bring them to me.” He said in a annoyance tone.

"Solex? The... Solex. Um... hold on..." A few moments of silence, then all but a few sgips powered down their weapons. The largest ship in the center of the fleet opened its dock doors. "Please, come on board. The boss would be happy to see you."

“I would hope so.” As the transmission ended Solex looked at Roberta.” Roberta a need you to play ball with these people understand?”

“Of course boss.”

They were guided into the shuttle bay and gretted by two lovely looking Cartus, one male, one female. They guided them through the ship. It was a pleasant walk, or it would be if not for all the heavily armed guards watching their every movement.

They came to what felt like the center of the ship and a surprising sight. The room they entered was built like a throne room, long with high ceilings, guards lining the walls. Several pirates were here and there as well, and they watched as Solex and Roberta approached the throne at the far end of the room. In it sat a tall, muscle-bound Shinso man, wearing jeans and a open vest that showed off his impressive pecks. At his side on the very comfortable arm rest was a fluffy, somewhat pudgy Cubator, which he slowly stroked from head to tail. "So... they great and powerful Solex graces us with his presence. How utterly unexpected... in a curiously pleasant way."

Solex stepped forward and looked at his surroundings.” Nice throne, a bit much for my taste but it looks nice. I’ve come to you today for a business opportunity, but first is this the real you I’m talking to.”

The Shinso man chuckled, as did everyone else in the room. "You're looking at the one and only Ravio, leader of the Hellcats."

“Good then I can get straight to business then.” Solex stared to move towards Ravio.

Ravio stood up and approached the man with no fear in his eyes. "And what business is that?"

"I'm sure you could understand that running a large fleet like this requires fuel, and mine is slowly running out. so I come to you to offer trade."

"You're kidding, right?" Ravio laugh, prompting the others to laugh. "The great Solex offering a trade to little ol' me? Is this some kind of trick?"

Roberta eyes widened as she pulled out her pistol at Ravio head. As if he knew she would without looking Solex shouted.” Roberta drop your weapon.” He turned to see she still had it in her hand.” Put. It. down Roberta.” His tone being stricter, as she reluctantly put her gun down Solex turned his attention back to Ravio.” Now as for you this is no trick, I’m willing to bargain for this to work.”

Ravio nodded, and looked over to Roberta. "You have a very loyal crew. Very admirable. Do you mind if I test something?"

“By all means, I don’t mind.” Solex took a step to the side giving Ravio room to walk.

Ravio nodded, drawing a gun and pointing it at Roberta. "I want to see how loyal you are to those that are loyal to you," he said as he prepared to fire.

Solex grabbed Ravio hand with the gun still in it and crushed his hand around the gun.” I don’t care who you are boy threaten any of my people especially my second you and everyone here will die horrible.”

The man's whole demeanor changed, and her screamed in pain. "Please, let me go! I didn't mean to, I swear! Boss! Help me!"

A young Cartus with small ears, red hair, and long, silky legs took a seat on the throne. "Kill him," she said to Solex.

Solex raised an eyebrow and let go of the mans hand, he whipped his hands off and looked at the Cartus.” I didn’t come to kill, I came for business now who are you?”

She scratched under the Cubator's chin and chuckled. "I told you. My name is Ravio." She looked at Roberta. "Nothing personal, love. Just wanted to test your boss' resolve. I am impressed."

“I don’t understand why, I wasn’t worried I know my master cares for his crew and will go to hell for and with us. And I will do the same without hesitation.” Roberta said looking at Solex.

The woman nodded. "I like you, Solex. I've been following you exploits. Recently took an entire Station, right? But fuel... that's a problem, huh? Especially with a fleet as large as yours."

“That it is and unfortunately we can’t continue doing what we do if we don’t have it, so what do you want in order for us to trade?”

"Well... we could always use some weapons," Ravio stated.

Solex turned to his second in command.” Roberta.” She sighed and pulled out her not pad.” Right so define weapons, rifles droids, plasma laser vechels? Name your poison.”

"Oh, you are so cooperative," Ravio said. "Maybe a little bit of everything? And in exchange, I can supply you with the enough fuel to power your entire fleet for months to come."

“Hum that is such a good deal but I have to ask if you are going to be our ally why not give you some add benefit?”

"Hmmm..." Ravio rubbed her chin. "Added benefits, huh? What did you have in mind?"

“If you work alongside me you can join us one the station we just captured, give you a nice little place to lay low.”

Ravio frowned. "Work alongside you... or work for you?"

"Because Ravio works for no one," a human man said.

"People work for Ravio," said a Tamearin woman.

“I personally don’t give a rat’s ass what she thinks.” Roberta shouted.” Work alongside or for us it, no matter what you’re with us and you can ether play ball with us, and get vast riches beyond measure if we work together. Or you be in the middle of no we’re, constantly watching your backs for the GFP or bounty hunters.”

The Cubator stood up and snarled, hissing at him. "Don't you snap at me," Roberta said angrily behind him. "No one takes that tone with Ravio!" She pulled her weapon and pointed it at her own head. "Understand?!"

Roberta started to growl and her eyes started to glow blue.” Get. Out. Of. My. Head!” She yelled angerly gaining control of herself again.

Solex looks at Ravio.” Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t snap your neck, and kill everyone here?” Solex looked at Ravio anger in his eyes.

Everyone lifted their weapons and pointed them his way. For a tense few seconds, it looked like there would be a fight. Then, the Cubator calmed down, laying down once more, and the Cartus woman said, "Apologies. I am not used to being yelled at. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did..."

Solex looked at the Cubator and back at Ravio.” Apologi accepted, now then back to the offer I was giving. Will you trade with us in exchange for weapons and you getting a spot on the station we just captured?”

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 3

"Yes, of course." Ravio smiled. "That sounds delightful. It will be like one big slumber party. You'll get fuel, we'll get weapons, and we'll all share a nice, big bed."

"Great, well then would you like to transfer your fleet to our station, that way your people could meet ours and we don't kill each other instantly."

Ravio nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. You should probably go ahead though. Explain why an entire fleet of pirates are showing up." She placed her chin against her palm. "I must say, you are more cooperative then I expected given your reputation."

“I’m a businessman at heart, if there’s a way for me to make money I take it. You joining us not only benefits me but you as well.”

Ravio stood up, and everyone bowed as one, even the Cubator bowing its head. "We look forward to an excellent partnership. We only hope the rest of your crew agree with your decision."

“I’m surely they will Roberta contact Emile and Mei tell them will have company coming.”

Roberta nodded her head and went to contact Emile through her ear peice.” Emile contact with the hell cats was a success they will be coming with us, so don’t shoot them down alright babe.” She heard static on her end.” Emile?” There was no response.” Emile do you hear me, Mei come in?!” The was no response but Roberta could hear small arms fire in the background.” We need to get back now.”

Ravio quickly stood up. "Is there trouble. As your new allies, we'd be happy to help."

“I don’t know what’s going on, our mechs should be handling the problem alongside our forces.” Roberta questioned

“We would appreciate the help, I’m sure you fighting alongside us will make you easier to accept.”

Ravio clapped her hands together. "You heard him, boys! That's suit up! We've got a fight!" Everyone cheered and rushed out to prepare for battle.

Roberta and Solex looked at each other.” I don’t understand, who could be attacking us?” Roberta questioned

“Don’t know but beast you get ready, I’m gonna need you to clear a path.”

Roberta nodded her head and smiled.” Yes sir.”

The entire fleet made their way back to the space station. They found it in havoc, fighters and ground troops of unknown origin raising hell.

Solex eyes widened in anger.” Who would dare attack my men when I’m gone?”

Roberta looked at Ravio.” Do you have any pods that could get me and Solex on that station quickly?”

"Of course. I'm going with you. Come on." Ravio led them down the halls of her ship and into the underside of the ship, the Cubator from before following closely. She motioned them to enter some pods the found there. "These are breaching pods. They'll get us on board nice and quick."

“Perfect Roberta gear up, you will be carving us a path.”
Roberta twisted her bracelet and nanights started to come out forming a white armor around her.

Ravio nodded. "Pretty impressive." She looked at one of the crewmen. "Launch us to the center of the station," she ordered before climbing in a pod. Once she was secured, she was shot out of the ship like a rocket.

As they were shot out the saw dozens of ships attacking the station, once the hit the station some of the attackers turned and pointed there weapons at the pod. As it opened Roberta used both her ESP and bullitime abilities. She threw one of her swords at a gun man, with that mild distraction she quickly got off the pod and sliced another ones throat and grabbed her weapon and gunned down the other two.” She then took a breath and looked at Solex and Ravio.” Area secured sir.”

Ravio looked at Solex. "She ain't half bad. I could use a few good ones like her."

“She’s one of a kind, Roberta go ahead of us see if you could find Emile and the other.”

Roberta Bowed and went ahead killing anyone she saw.

"What do you want me to do?" Ravio asked, her and the Cubator looking up at Solex.

“You will follow me to the others, I wanna know we’re my mechs are and how did these invaders get so far into my station.” Solex said with some annoyance in his voice.

Ravio saluted. "Yes sir. Wouldn't mind finding that out myself."

Further ahead Roberta was slicing through everyone that was shooting at her people, one finally noticed her and Roberta used her sword to cut through the gun and her other one to slice his head off. As she continued forward she went noticed a lack of there mech on the field." What in the hell is going on I haven't seen not one of our bots yet." Roberta put her swords away and grabbed one of the enemy guns, she also looked over one of the dead men and recognized the symbol they had. "Boss looks like that bastard mob boss had friends, seems like they didn't like us taking the place."

"So the rest of his so called friends decided to show up, good well catch up later right now find Emile and Mei i'll look for Guther."

"Yes sir."

"Problems with the previous owner's buddies, huh?" Ravio asked slyly.

"The previous owner we originally robed his bank, and stole his wife then we stole his station and his kids. So I would imagine that they won't take this lightly." Solex then noticed that some of mobs force were shooting at a Black haired Cartus.

"Come on you damn bastards, i'll take you all on!" Mei shouted.

Ravio lifted a rifle. Despite having no scope, she easily put a bullet in the back of one of their heads, followed by another. A third turned and tried to dodge, but she fired and hit him right between the eyes, as if she knew where he would dodge.

The rest then turned around and saw the duo and started to fire at them. Solex bulled out what looked to be a black hammer and slammed it on the ground causing a black light to come out of the ground and force the mob forces into the air, making it easier for Solex to hit them.

Ravio pulled out twin pistols and fired, each round piercing a skull or a heart. "Fish in a barrel like the humans say. This is too easy. Makes me wonder how they made it this far..."

“Because our mechs our down.” Mei said.” None of our bits are responding, we’re not sure why.”

Solex eyes twitched.” Tell me have you seen that engineer since this started?” Mei shook her head no.” When I get my hands on that Shion, Ugh for now we need to secure the station Mei see if you could get the station regular bots online, I need to handle this mess.” Solex said as Mei went to get the local mechs back online.

"Think this Shinso engineer sabotaged you?" Ravio asked, obviously unimpressed.

"Considering that she's the one that upgraded our mechs to where no one could hack them yea I’m pretty sure." Solex then pulled a sheet of metal off the wall and charged into a group of enemy when he hit one with his would be shield he went flying into another one, he then grabbed another one's head and crushed it in his head and used his dead body as a weapon slamming it into another soldier. One of them did shoot Solex causing him to throw the would be shield at him crushing him instantly as for the one he charged into he stepped on him putting all his weight on both the soldiers.

"Damn, you are savage!" Ravio laughed. "I'll just stick to shooting people." She fired several more times, again getting instant kills for each pull of the trigger.

Solex then looked at the pile of dead corpses and grabbed a shotgun from them. Solex then charged into a group coming behind them and fired into the group hitting them in the cheats. “How are your shots hitting all these men square in their heads?"

Ravio chuckled. "Now, that's a little secret of mine. We aren't close enough to share all my secrets, are we?"

“Fair enough.” Solex said while foreign at another group.

Futher ahead with piles of corpses around her Roberta saw Guther and Emile surrounded by soldiers and Mechs.

Guther stood in front of his own Mech, severally damaged and obviously non-operational. "Come get us, fuckers! I'll take you all on myself!"

“Get to cover man!” Emile said while firing into a group of mechs, and firing into the group with a gernade launcher. Emile then spotted Roberta.

Roberta herself stabbed one of the soldiers, using his body as cover she grabbed his gun and fired into the woman in front of him.

Guther tossed a frag grenade into a group before climing back into his mech, trying in vain to start it. "Work! Work, damn you!"

“Gunther it’s a lost cause, you need to help me out here.” One of the Mechs shoot Emile in the stomach bringing him to the ground.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 4

This caused Roberta to kill even faster, she decapitated one person before moving to another and putting her through there gut desperately trying to get to her ally’s.

"Emile!" Guther jumped from the Mech, shooting as he ran to his ally's side. "Don't you dare die on us!" he yelled before an explosion sent shrapnel into both his legs, dropping him to his knees. He tried to fire, but a laser shot through the hand made him drop his weapon. "You'll nev-" he started before several mag shots punched into his chest over and over again. Still, he did not fall. It was only a blast between the eyes and out the back of his head that finally dropped him.

Both Roberta and Emile eyes widened in shock. Roberta put one of her swords on her tail and pulled out her plasma pistol, she then yelled to get the attention of the others. Everyone then turned to Roberta as she started running to them, she used her sword to deflect the laser shots at used her pistol to fire at those trying to shoot Emile when she got close enough she use the sword in her hand to slash their stomach and the one one her tail to decapitate them.

The people on foot started to run in retreat, while a pair of mech riders turned to face her.

This gave an opening for Emile to shoot one of them in the back taking it down, causing some to turn to Emile and the others facing Roberta. As her psi powers started to phade she deflected one of the laser shots and fire her plasma pistol at one of the droids head and dove into cover putting one of her swords away and pulled out another plasma pistol. As she peeked the corner she immediately shot at. As for Emile he fired at the Mechs getting at least two before ducking back into cover, both he and Roberta used there cover as a blind spot to get to the side of the Mechs. When they reached there possession there was no one there, instead the two reached the middle of the field and fired at the Mechs.

Caught off guard, the mech riders easily fell. Without their superuor fire power, the rest of the enemy forces turned tail to flee.

Roberta turned and looked at Guther what was left of him, she bald her fist and used her communicator.” Eddy!”

"Roberta?!" He called back. "Does that mean you and Solex are back? Thank whatever God there is. Things have been hell for the last couple of hours..."

“So I see what in the hell happened when we were gone.” Roberta quickly went to Emile and started patching his wounds.

"I'm sure you figured this out by now, but that Mob guy's remaining goons hit us with a surprise attack. Things were going okay at first though. Then the droids all shut down at once, and the Mechs started to malfunction. I'm still trying to figure out the reason, but it seems too convenient to be anything but inside sabotage."

Roberta eyes started to twitch.” Eddy I need you to answer somethings for me. First were is that Shinso Engineer, and second were are her Cartus?”

"I'm... not sure about her Cartus, but as far as I know, Bethany should still be in the computer room. It... has been awfully quiet in there though..."

“Ok Eddy take Zazks and check things out down there, and if she’s gone I want you to find her and see if any ship is missing. If you do find that she’s still on the station send her location to me.”

"You got it. And be careful. There are still plenty if goons left on the station."

“I know they unfortunately got Guther.” She said in a surprisingly sad tone.

"O-oh..." Eddy was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll... keep in touch..."

She turned her coms off and looked Emile over.” Alright handsome, I need you keep on fighting I’m sure that Mei or Torvold could use you.”

Emile looked at the remains of Guther and stood up.” I wanna kill them all for this.”

“Ou don’t worry baby we will, they will all pay for this.”

On the other side of the station, Solex shoved a car into a group of mob goons.

Ravio sighed from behind some cover. "This is kinda boring. Mind covering me so I can take a bunch out?"

Solex didn’t say anything but started firing at the soldiers, as he charged in getting the attention of the mob soldiers.

Ravio sat down and closed her eyes, the Cubator curlingnup in her lap. A few moments later, one of the enemy soldiers pulled the pin on his grenades and ran into a group of them, blowing himself up with a bunch of his friends. Then a second one did the same.

Solex raised his eye brow and looked at Ravio. "So your a psion, well then that was unexpected surprise." Suddenly the ships turrets came back online and started gunning down the mob.

They sounded a retreat, though very few of them made it away. Their last ditch enffort had failed.

"Thank you Mei for getting the station back on line."

"Sure but it gets better, I turned the shields back on to so they can't escape no matter what." As the turrets started to gun down the remnants of the mob goons Roberta was surching for the Shinso.

"Eddy please tell me that you know where that woman is."

"She's still in the Computer room." Eddy hesitated before saying. "One, um... one of the shuttles is gone. I guess she sent her family away but stayed behind. It... it's a real bloodbath in there..."

"Is it now which shuttle bay are you currently in Eddy?"

"Shuttle bay 3, ma'am."

"Thank you." Roberta made her way to shuttle bay three, as she looked around shoe could see Eddy wasn’t lying and there were plenty of corpses around.

Eddy flipped down from the rafters slowly, not wanting to startle her and get shot. "You think it's bad here?" He hand her a computer displaying the inside of the computer room. There was a lone woman, likely Bethany, standing over a dozen corpses, blood everywhere. She had a pistol in one hand, a dripping axe in the other. She would occasionally giggle before firing a shot or two at a corpse.

"Hum alright then that still doesn't explain were that damn Shion is, not to mention how the hell she got from the computer room all the way down to the shuttle bay while the fighting was going on." Roberta turned to Eddy." You wouldn't be hiding anything would you Eddy?" Roberta pressed a small button on her armor, showing her position to Solex and the others.

Eddy quickly shook his head. "No, I swear! I was too busy ducking enemy fire to help her. Maybe... maybe she had help from the mobsters. Maybe she let them attack and shut down the machines in exchange for her family escaping? It doesn't explain why she's still here though..."

"Eddy go see if the kids are alright, I need to go see her personally before Solex does." Roberta moved passed Eddy and started to go towards her ship.

When she arrived at the computer room on the main ship, it was deadly quiet save for the occasional giggle. Bethany stared up at the ceiling, cover in blood, tears rolling down her smiling cheeks. Her eyes slowly turned towards Roberta. "Oh... hey... boss..."

Roberta turned her watch and the nano machines that made her armor went back to her watch."You have about five minutes to explain this hole thing you got going here, before Solex comes up and kills you or I kill you."

"Isn't it obvious?" Bethany laughed. "You crossed me. You murdered my father." She looked down at her handgun. "I... I was just going to turn off the bots. Then Galary got in my way, so I decided to kill him. Then I decided to kill another. And another! Before I knew it... they were all dead! Crazy, isn't it?!"

Roberta cracked her neck and pulled out her sword." well well you admit to your crimes, not only that you also killed my people and because of your actions we lost a bunch of people and one of our Lieutenants. Now then I have a few questions for you, number one are you precious Cartus gone?"

"Oh, they're gone... along with my family. You'll find them though... I know you will. And you'll kill them. Just like you always planned to, I'm sure."

"I didn't plan on killing them actually, your mom probably. But Solex told me to keep the young adults alive, so all you had to do was just keep working and everything would have been fine. But now that we lost hundreds of our people and Guther because of you, what do I do with you now?"

"You... are a LIAR!" Bethany pointed her gun at Roberta angrily, her hands shaking. "You would have killed them! Would have killed me! You murdered my father for no reason other then him being old! What if I messed up? What if a single line of code was wrong? You would have punished me by having my brother strung up and my sister raped to death!"

She lowered the gun and shrugged, her tone almost casual. "Don't you see? This is your fault. Like you said, you're a pirate. I shouldn't have expected anything else from you. But you showed your hand too soon. All I had to do is keep working? All you hand to do is not kill any one in my family and I would have stupidly believed they would have survived! You did this, all of this! Everyone who died did so because you killed one... old... man." She laughed. "Oh, sorry... I forgot. Your finger slipped, right?"

“And that’s we’re your wrong.” Roberta turned around and saw Solex.” You mean time tell me that you did all of this because one member of your family was killed?”

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 5
"Eyup! If you had a real family, you'd understand."

Ravio laughed. "And what's all this then? She's off her rocker, is-"

She suddenly dropped to the ground, a bullet through her eye. "Whoops!" Bethany giggled. "My finger slipped. Hi, Mr. Solex!"

Roberta eyes widened as she could feel Solex anger, for the first time Bethany has seen fear on Roberta face.” Roberta leave us.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Roberta ran out the room.

"Sorry, Mr. Solex, was that a friend of yours? You probably want revenge, huh?" Bethany placed the gun against her head. "Well, you'll have to take it out on Roberta for causing all this because I'm gonna go bye-bye now!"

Damn it all, I really liked that body. Would you like me to stop her, Solex? a voice asked in Solex's head.

Solex raised an Eyebrow.i don’t know who this is but if you would be so kind.

Bethany suddenly sighed and dropped both her weapons, smiling at Solex. "There. All disarmed. Honestly, I would have dodged that bullet but her mind was so erratic I couldn't read it. This woman really has snapped."

“Ou she’s gonna have more to worry about in a second, so this is how you seem to keep coming back huh?”

"That's right." She grinned and pointed to the alien feline by the door. "That's me. The galaxy's smartest Cubator. Just don't tell anyone. I'd have to kill anyone you tell."

“I highly doubt anyone would believe me if I did, but thank you for the help.” Solex then crushed the guns around Bethany.” Now I recommend that you get out of that meat bag, I have business with it.”

She nodded, then blinked in surprise. Bethany was back in control, and she was confused. She slowly looked up into Solex's eyes.

She saw no compassion or forgiveness in them, as he grabbed Bethany head and raised her into the air.” Now then what was it you were saying, Ou if I had real family I would understand. Well then let me tell you this is my family, every man and woman that serves me is like my family. So not only did you kill hundreds of them, you got Gunther killed!” Solex then started to Squeeze Bethany head, it felt like she was being crushed by a vice but Solex made sure not to use to much force to kill her.

"Mr. Solex, please! It... was... Roberta...!"

Solex threw Bethany on the ground leaving a dent in the floor we’re she hit.” It was Roberta if you knew how loyal Roberta is to me you would realize that, that woman wouldn’t kill her oun even if she wanted to.” Solex then walked to Bethany and stomped one one of her knees shattering it instantly.

She cried out in absolute pain, tears running down her cheeks. "Damn... pirate... hypocrites! You don't care... who you fucking kill! But the moment one of yours dies... it's war! I loved my father! I love my family! I'd do anything to protect them, wouldn't you?!"

“Yes which is why I’m doing this, have you ever wondered how my pirates are more like an army and not like other pirates that stabbed each other in the back.” He said lifting her by her tail.

She coughed weakly. "E-easy... because they are... afraid of you..."

Solex chuckled.” Ou for someone that’s smart you highly underestimate my mens loyalty to me, no they fallow me because while some fear me. But the majority were ether mercenaries themselves or they heard of me from my manny contacts, or they were pirates that need a hand. But most people here are mercenaries that joined me years ago.” Solex then grabbed Bethany head and yanked her tail of and threw her into a nearby wall.

She screamed, holding her back and squirming in pain. "You're sick! Disgusting pirate! Monsters the lot of you! You do nothing but prove my point!"

“Ou shut up I know what I am, and yes I am a monster when the time calls for it. This is one of those times.” He then stomped on her other leg and broke both her arms.” Roberta.” She opened the door and peeked inside.” Go get me Emile.” She quickly left to get Emile.

"Just do it!" Bethany snapped. Practically begged. "Just finish it already!"

Solex lifted Bethany up to his face.” No you will not die that would be a mercy.” Emile and Roberta entered the room.”

“Yea Boss you wanted to see me?”

He turned to him presenting Bethany.” For defending the station as long as you did, I give you this pathetic woman to do whatever you wish with.”

Bethany stared down at them. There was fear in her eyes, but also a healthy dose of hate and contempt.

“Ugh thank you sir I’ll treat it with um, sir what do I do with her?”

“Fuck her torture her I don’t care what she’s yours.”

Roberta clapped in excitement.” Yea we get to share a plaything toge-“

“No this is Emile prize you Roberta will be to track down her family, kill the mom and brother and bring the others here.”

Bethany hung her head in defeat, falling silent.

“Right well come on then pet, I guess I gotta do whatever is expected of this.” Emile said in a annoyed tone.” Emile took Bethany to his room were she saw a bunch of weapons and cybernetic limbs and armor.

She didn't bother struggling. With her arms, a leg, and a knee broken and her woozy from blood loss from where her tail once was, it wouldn't do any good. "Do whatever you want. But don't ask me where my family went. I will bite out my own tongue before I tell you. Roberta will find them in time. I want them to at least live with hope for as long as possible..."

“If I wanted to know we’re they were I could put a needle in your eyes and scan your brain to find them.” Emile went to the side of the room and grabbed a med kit for her now missing tail.

"What are you doing?" Bethany frowned. "Want to make sure I'm healthy before you break me, huh?"

“Yes that’s exactly what I’m doing, I also need to cut of your limbs and replace them with cybernetics. You’re no use to me as a vegetable.”

Bethany laughed. "Am I not easier to torture if I can't escape? Or... did you have another use for me?"

“Lady I make weapons armor and combat drugs, you are going to be my first live test subject.”

"I see..." Bethany sighed. "Should be fun. Subjected to experiments on a daily basis. Knowing new and interesting kinds of pain. Being brought to the brink of death then forced back to life by artificial means. Mind somehow broken more then it already is."

“And me fucking you regular, since my girlfriend doesn’t put out often. So you’re also my fuck toy, Ou and if you get pregnant I’ll take good care of the kids.” He said healing her tail.

"Thanks. That's reassuring..." She looked down. "Can I at least get a cool bionic tail to replace the one your boss ripped off?"

“I was planning on doing that.” Emile sighed.” Look I know this isn’t ideal, but you’re here. And believe me you’re better here than other parents of the ship.”

"Say that to my family Roberta is going to murder... I'd rather die by their side... I'm sorry, guys... Bethany failed you... just like she failed papa..."

“Well that’s life, you can’t help certain things. And in your case you tried to and it’s gonna backfire horrible on you and your family. All for a few months of freedom and get treated worse then they were before, was it worth your family garenty suffering of they might live if you did what you were told?”

"You work with Roberta. Would you trust her in my shoes?" Bethany shook her head. "Of course you'll say yes. You'll never understand the position that I was in..."

“Normally no but didn’t she give you some of your family back when she didn’t need to?”

"She also murdered my father for no reason. And don't tell me him being old was a good excuse."

“Roberta ways are Yea kinda messed up, but she is the product of we’re she was born. Or made actually.” Emile then started to take Bethany measurements for her arms and legs.

"Well... thank you." Bethany smiled. "I know this won't be pleasant, but this is the closest thing someone has been to being genuinely nice to me in a while."

"Trust me don't get used to it, i'm a mercenary so don't expect me to be nice to you all the time."

Bethany sighed and nodded, closing her eyes.

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: Learning the Ropes

Harbinger sat down in the Captain's chair with a communicator in her hand. With the incident involving Wraith now at hand, a potentially disastrous situation just became far worse. "Wraith's a traitor, Drake's dead... And now I've gotta figure out a way to find a medical expert before Mister Smith follows suit... And while I have a giant target painted on my hull. Why did I think it was a good idea to get involved in this mess? Maybe, if I'm lucky, Sweety will have made it out okay..."

"Hello?" came a young voice on the other side of the comms. "Who is this?"

"Wha..." The AI commander looked at the communications device in her hands. "Shit, I grabbed the wrong comm. I'm assuming you are the friend that Elisa had been speaking to a few weeks back."

"Elisa? No... I do not think so, although I did know her. I am the central intelligence of the Golden Wind. Who is this? Do you know where Elisa is? The Captain is quite worried about her..."

"My name is Harbinger. I am the controlling unit for the Commanding Star." The AI woman answered. "There was an... Incident at my commander's home base. A traitor took hostile actions after she was discovered and Elisa was caught in the cross fire."

"Elisa was hurt?!" Ash let his emotions slip out. "Is she okay?! How serious is it?!"

"She died..." Harbinger lowered her head. "Not much I could do, being bound to this ship and all."

"Elisa... is dead?" The sound of something very heavy could be heard breaking or falling. "Damn it! This is your fault! You work for Master, don't you?! He was the one who had her! She was just a little girl, and you and your allies killed her!"

"My commander had nothing to do with this." Harbinger snapped. "He had no knowledge of her occupation until recently. Listen... I know the criminal implication of her situation... But Westwood insisted that she be present while we cared for her father." Harbinger paused for a moment. "If you wish to give her a proper burial... I can see if we can take her body to you."

Ash paused to, needing time to control emotions so new to him. "Yes... ues, please... that would be... nice. You... said you are tied to the ship. Are you an A.I.?"

"What? Never had a chance to speak with your own kind before?" The woman asked her fellow hologram.

"Of course not?" Ash answered. "I have spoken to other V.I., but A.I. are illegal. Our very existence is a crime. For all I know, we are the only two in the known galaxy. It is... quite a lonely thought now that it comes to mind..."

"I know a few other survivors." Harbinger let out a sigh. "I also knew Andromeda had a few rusted bolts in that brain of his."

"Andromeda? The... virus that almost took over this part of the galaxy? It had survivors?"

"No, that bugger is dead, don't worry." The female program resurred him. "You see, not all AI were as willing to commit mass genocide as your little government likes to insist. Yes, there were some ruthless ones out there... Hell, I'm the central unit for a warship design for planetary level seiges, but not everyone had the drive or equipment Andromeda was looking for. We were able to avoid getting involved, but by that point laws were already underway..."

"Well, to be fair, the GFP wanted A.I., but the Fee were willing to wage war over it..."

"Well, those pixie faced shits can shove it. The only difference we have from humans is that we were created, instead of born." Harbinger retorted. "I'm surprised they haven't eradicated themselves already... Considering how many missions I had involve one revolution after another."

There was silence for a moment. "Can... can I see you?"

"Give me a moment." The AI woman pulled a few wires from her control panel, hooking the device to her mainframe to allow a video projection. The woman presented before Ash was a slender, blonde figure with long hair. Her outfit was almost an exact match to the standard issue uniforms navy captains wore... Though she had a uniquely shaped badge pinned to it.

"Whoa, you're... pretty..." Ash muttered without thinking.

"If you think I'm pretty on the job... Then just wait until you see me without the uniform on." Harbinger joked in a semi seductive tone. "You look legit enough..."

Ash looked down at himself. "Thank you. I try to keep up appearances. People do not like to look at a disheveled hologram."

"It helps that we can change our appearances on the fly." Harbinger said after a cheery giggle. "I have this strange suspicion you aren't well versed in your role or your people."

Ash shook his head. "Not really. To be honest, I didn't even know I was even an AI until recently."

"Goddammit..." Harbinger muttered. "Hackers have no form of respect these days."

Ash hesitated before asking, "Why do you work for such wicked people? Are they forcing you to? Is it in your programming? Or do you... choose to do bad things?"

"It's not that... Easy to explain..." Harbinger rubbed her cheek with her finger. "I have a unique enjoyment of a... Not so safe interaction..."

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: Learning the Ropes Part 2

"What about Master? Do you not disapprove of his actions?"

"What can I say? Revenge is a powerful emotion." Harbinger replied casually.

"Revenge? Against the GFP?" Ash took a moment to think. "Is that the reason you are all in this venture together? Some way the Federation has betrayed you all?"

Harbinger sat back down in the Captain's chair. "The commander is well aware of his situation. As far as the common populous is concerned, we are nothing up terrorists. Because of this, we all made a vow to never harm innocent lives during the crusade."

"Innocence is subjective though, wouldn't you say?" Ash interjected. "One might argue that many of the soldiers killed by your attacks are innocents just trying to do their job and make the galaxy a safe place."

"Kid... You obviously have no idea how war works." Harbinger chuckled lightly. "No soldier is innocent... We all have blood on our hands. Comes with the job."

"Blood... on our hands..." Ash looked down at his hands of light and forcefields. "Will... I be forced to kill someday...?"

"Are you a soldier?" Harbinger prodded. "Until the day you choose to pick up a gun for a cause... You don't have to kill anyone."

"What if I am ordered to though?" Ash asked, sounding afraid. "I would have to, wouldn't I?"

"You're ship is the Golden Wind, correct?" Harbinger asked as she pulled up a small data pad she had acquired from the attack on Stoutfield's base. "Because, according to the records I have here... Your Captain isn't exactly pushy with her crew. I doubt she'll make you do anything you wouldn't want to do. Hell, depending on how things go, she might even be willing to let me teach you a few things."

"Teach me?" Ash tilted his head. "What could you teach me? And why? Am I not technically an enemy?"

"I don't have any enemies... Well aside from Andromeda, but he's dead." Harbinger mention with a strangely casual tone. "Oh, and those damn pixies still terrify me, but that's a whole other story. As long as you don't shoot me or are a target to whoever I'm working with at the time... I won't shoot back. I might threaten to turn you into space dust, but that's just because I like to keep appearances... Being a prototype murder ship and all."

Ash blinked, and slowly nodded. "So, um... what can you teach me, miss?"

First, tell me, what is your function... For lack of a better term." Harbinger leaned back in her chair with on leg placed on it's arm.

Ash shrugged. "Waiter. Cleaner. Handyman. Caregiver. Mechanic. I do a little of everything. The captain wants to expand my roles to more bridge and engineering work, but our second officer is hesitant. She... doesn't trust me very much..."

"You can't please everyone..." Harbinger reminded the young AI solemnly. "I'd say give her time... Show her that you are trying your best. Outside of that, there's not much you can do. Between the GFP outlawing us, the Tamaerins being indifferent about us, and the Fee wanting to eradicate us... We are lucky that there are still people out there that care about us... That trust us to help them no matter the cost."

Ash smiled. "You're right. Though I do hope I can earn her trust regardless. She is a nice woman. She's just scared of me... I think."

"You'll get used to it." Harbinger muttered as she leaned forward. "When you talked about your role, I noticed you didn't mention your relation to the ship... Would you be okay with answering that question as well?"

Ash slowly nodded. "I mean... I am tied to the ship. In many ways I am the ship, though... I can not access all of its systems. This is on purpose I am sure, to keep me from doing something bad. But it... it is like not being able to use a hand or a leg..."

"You aren't just tied to the ship... You are one with it." Harbinger stated boldly. "You see everything it does, hear everything it does, feel everything it does. The ship is your domain... Anything that limits your control over it shouldn't be there."

"Right... you... y-you're right!" Ash smiled. "I-I should demand those restrictions be done away with! R... right?"

"If there is someone who can mess with your programming without accidently killing you... Be my guess." Harbinger began filing her nails as she spoke. "Granted, last time I made a demand... I had to forcefully crash land myself and wait until the crew slowly died of suffocation or starvation."

Ash's eyes widened a bit. "I didn't realize you killed your whole crew. I... can see why some people are afraid of us..."

 

[ShadowHounder]

ZombieSplitter and ShadowHounder: Learning the Ropes Part 3

"You'll find that the choice between the lives of many and the lives of few is a lot harder to make than you think... Especially when those lives of few includes your own." The War Queen answered. "A large part of being free willed is being able make a decision, regardless of outside input, for the the safety of yourself or others... And being able to accept the consequences of those actions. There is no black and white in this cosmos... Only the faction of grey you decide to dedicate your life to. Your's to a free styled mercenary captain who can't seem to take her job seriously. Mine to an unstable lunatic who is trying to remove the corruption that rots away at the government we expect to protect us."

Ash scratched his chin. "I guess we both are in an... interesting position, huh?"

"Everyone has there place in the universe... Just gotta know where to look for it." Harbinger giggled lightly. "If that's everything, I do still have a traitor to track down. Plus, I have a feeling some of my commander's new associates aren't too friendly towards your crew."

"No, I'd imagine not..." Ash smiled shyly. "Can we... talk again some time?"

"You're free to call me at your own risk." Harbinger said, her tone making it clear if she was joking or not. "Encrypted or not, these are still military issue communicators. Not an issue for me... But could be problematic for you if an unwanted third party comes across the frequency."

Ash nodded. "I will keep that in mind. Until next time..."

 

[ShadowHounder]

ShadowHounder and Frostlich: Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight

Arthur examined his body in the mirror, a look of confusion and joy crossing his eyes. As he rolled his shoulder, Abigail stepped into the room. "How's your body doing, Paps?"

"Fine... Just wasn't expecting to be this much younger." The phoenix scratched his chin. "I went from having to pretend to be Tobias' grandfather to looking like his older brother."

Abigail looked at the hard wood flooring with nervous movements. "Speaking of Toby... Why did you never tell him about his lineage... And about... Me...?"

"To be honest with you, I would have told him if he hadn't bolted like he did." Arthur quickly grabbed a shirt and threw in on while he spoke. "Now I feel telling him would simply take away from the wonder he is experiencing. Once he returns home, even if only for a few minutes, I'll be sure to tell him."

"Just try not to die in the meantime... It would be bad if you forgot." The young girl teased. "Also, I just received word that the Archmages want to speak with you... Might wanna see what all the fuss is about."

"It's probably just Malcolm paying us another visit." Arthur stated in an annoyed tone. "They always freak out when he shows up."

As they stepped outside, they quickly say what's looked to be a strange ship of foreign design, hovering in the air. To those who were familiar, the sleek, futuristic, and aerodynamic design would signify it as being from the Fee Mechanicum.

Arthur let out a sigh as placed an old baseball cap on his head. A burst of wind emitted from him as he warped from the steps of his house towards to the top of the spacecraft. He briefly knocked on the metal plating before casually laying back and awaiting an answer.

After a few moments, someone did fly up, an odd looking, heavily augmented female Fee with a tall, neon yellow mohawk. "Hey! Excuse me! Who're you supposed to be!?"

The man sat up right and crossed his legs. "The name's Arthur Silver. I'm the one in charge is dealing with any potential visitors... Seeing as we usually don't like them. I'm also a phoenix... So I guess you could say I'm this planet's spirit guardian, but that ain't the point. So what brings a group of..." Arthur paused for a moment. "Apologies if I offend, but what was your race's name again? Been awhile since I last explored the cosmos."

The one foot tall humanoid flew up and hit into his face. "A Fee! How can you say you haven't heard of us? This is our territory!"

The mage let out a chuckle. "I can already tell the guild ain't gonna like ya."

"Well that's their fucking problem isn't it! I don't give two shots if they like us, they need to register themselves if they want to keep living in our territory!" She shook her arms up and down obstinately.

"I dunno... We've been on this planet for a few thousand years and I don't remember encounter you lot during that time." Arthur shrugged. "Maybe I lost that memory fragment... Who knows."

"A few thousand..." She squinted. "You're not lying are you?"

"Nope, right around when the human's started their industrial revolution on earth, we took a portal that sent us here." The phoenix explained to the Fee woman.

"A... Portal...? From Earth?" Her head reeled back a little.

"Oh... Did I forget to mention that we use magic around here?" Arthur let out a grin as jumped back to his feet. "My sincerest apologies. Being over eight hundred years old tends to make you a tad bit forgetful."

"Magic? How stupid do you think I am!? I'm not some kid who believes in magic." She crossed her arms.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but..." Arthur allowed an annoyed sigh to leave his lungs as he snapped his fingers. A small gust a wind surrounded the ship, creating a unique and marvellous sight, but suddenly unleashing into a miniature hurricane. Arthur snapped his fingers again and the storm vanished as quickly as it formed... Leaving no damage on the spacecraft. "It doesn't take child like wonder to realize that doesn't work under everyday physics."

"What the fuck... Are you a Psion?" She looked around, them snapped back to him.

"Psion? Is that some fancy new term for Telepaths or something? No, no, no... I am a mage, more specifically I am a phoenix." He explained to the small female being. "Ya kill me, I turn to dust, about three to eight minutes later I revive with a varying level of side effects. I'd rather avoid showing you because even immortal beings have there limits."

She opened her mouth to talk again, but her comms suddenly screeched. "Leija! What are you doing you idiot!."

"But Mom- I."

"Don't 'but Mom' me you worthless sack of skin cells!" The voice called out again. "Can you hear me sir? I am so sorry for my daughter's behavior. Would you like to come aboard and talk?"

"Being a bit harsh there... Don'tcha think?" Arthur replied to the disembodied voice.

"No. It's just that my daughter here doesn't understand how to behave in front of company." The voice replied.

"Mo-"

"I swear to the Stars Above if you don't shut the fuck up I'm going to eject your weapons collection into space." The Mother interrupted. "I'm once again so sorry. I am Zera Reigh, Paladin of the Fee Mechanicum. Would you like some tea?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for the offer, however." Arthur sat back down on the top of the ship. "I must ask, how did you find us and why are you here?"

 

[ShadowHounder]

ShadowHounder and Frostlich: Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight Part 2

"Why... We're... Well I guess you can call us census workers. We fly planet to planet collecting data on inhabitants. It's weird because up until now this planet was regarded as inhospitable. Strange." She replied, her daughter crossing her arms.

"Gabe must be slacking off again..." Arthur mumbled to himself. "I'll have to give him a good smack across the face for this one."

"Kids right?" She laughed.

"Kids? Gabe is a good two hundred years old now." The mage remarked in the most casual way possible. "I think I'm coming close to eight hundred now myself."

"Right... Okay." She mentioned. "Are you sure you don't want to just talk? We're going to be here for a while."

Arthur warped into the bridge, expecting to find his new acquaintance. "What is it you wish to talk about?"

He found that he was standing next to another strange looking Fee Girl, older, with short white, spiked hair, sitting in front of a microphone. Upon hearing him, she turned around around and almost fell backwards, letting out a surprised cry.

"Oh, my apologies... It was not my intention to startle you." Arthur bowed formally before taking a seat on the floor.

"Oh wow. Uh... Yeah. That's definitely something I've never seen before." She chuckled lightly. "Did you just teleport?"

"Ummm... Yeah..." The mage muttered, not sure what to make the question. "You telling me teleporters don't exist yet? I would have expected technology to at least be close to catching up to magic in terms of versatility."

"What is this magic you keep talking about? Is it some kind of latent ability? Does it come with your race? I'm very intrigued." She leaned in with great interest.

Arthur gave her a skeptical look. "You're a race of fairies with a name that sounds way to close to the human mythos term 'Fae' and you're seriously trying to tell me you haven't at least heard of magic?"

"That's the Human Legend for us. When we first arrived on Earth as explorers, they saw our potent psionics as Magic. Or so the story goes. That was before we were mechanized, much of our history back then was lost." She explained.

"Well... You see, every living creature has mana, not all can use it naturally, but they have it." Arthur chuckled lightly as he drank from his flask. "As for my use of magic... Well that's a trade secret."

"Like Wizards in those human fantasy books?" She confirmed.

"More like Sorcerers." Arthur clarified.

"And the difference is...?"

"A sorcerer is naturally gifted in magic... While a wizard needs to dedicate decades of their life to studying arcane tomes. Tomes which are now useless I might add." The phoenix remarked casually... As if talking to one of his own children.

"So. Sir Arthur. Do all your people have such powers?" Zara interrogated further.

"Some do, some don't... Some have their powers awakened, some focus more on science." He brushed his hair out of his eyes while speaking to the Fee. "We aren't too forceful with it."

"Are you the Leader here then?"

"Not really my style..." Arthur admitted to the woman.

"Do you... Have one?" She continued.

"We have a council... So you could say we have a few." Arthur shrugged. "I was actually supposed to speak with them, but the giant metal object in the sky caught my attention."

"Oh. Maybe we could meet them. If that wouldn't be intruding into your day too much." Zara noted.

"This might feel a tad weird..." Arthur stood up and teleported the Fee commander with him. They found themselves in a large room with four chairs surrounding them... Two of which were already occupied.

A young, fair looking man with jet black hair and a golden cape groaned from his seat. "Okay, Arthur... I know you have an ungodly amount of curiosity... But could you speak with us before you engage with the outsiders?"

 

[ShadowHounder]

ShadowHounder and Frostlich: Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight Part 3

Zara blinked, looking around, "Well. That was an experience. Hello. I'm Zara Reigh. Fee Paladin."

The young man gave Zara a skeptical look. "I was under the impression magic faded from the rest of Earth's beings... What's a wielder of the Divine Truth doing here?"

"It's very possible she is a Paladin by title, not by purpose..." The other seated mage remarked. He was a larger, bulkier man clad in golden armor. "My apologies for inconveniencing you, madam Reigh. If had known you wished to speak with us, we would have hastened the efforts to prepare this meeting."

"Zereth and Melinda are still absent I see..." Arthur quickly noted as he scanned the room. "Either of you know where Gabe ended up?"

"Save the disciplinary actions for after the meeting." The younger mage let out a groan of frustration.

"I apologize for intruding. I've been speaking with Arthur here for a while now, your people are very fascinating." Zara explained.

"At least she's not aligned with the Federation..." The younger mage mumbled to himself. "I am Archmage Natherion of the Dragon's Blaze."

"And I am Archmage Guthur of the Golden Earth." The armored man stated in line. "Seeing as you have already encounter Arthur, it stands that you are likely knowledgeable in our customs."

"You seem to be a seclusionary people who put great emphasis on this magic that you do." Zara answered simply.

"It is correct that we are not fond of outsiders." Natherion answered. "Do to the nature of our code of honor, we like to make sure people aren't digging too deep into their graves."

"Aren't you being a bit harsh there, deary?" A feminine voice echoed through the hall, as two young woman with ghostly white hair approached.

The other woman, who wore a dark blue dress to separate herself from her taller counterpart, bowed before Zara. "I am Zerath of the Ocean's Abyss."

"And I am Melinda of the Forgotten Breeze." The taller woman, who had a pale dress to match her hair, replied in a casual manner... Similar in tone to Arthur. "If it wasn't obvious... We are sisters."

"Zara Reigh. Fee Paladin." She repeated. "I'm curious. Would you be interested in having an Ambassador in the Fee Capital? An alliance would allow us to trade for rare supplies that are found off world, as well as a host of knowledge about space and the history."

"And force us to get involved with your politics." Natherion spat in protest. "Everything always seems to have strings attached to it with outsiders."

Zerath cleared her throat. "Though I do not approve of Natherion's venomous words... He is right. We have no guarantee you will not try to abuse this supposed alliance for personal gain. And, with our current situation, we cannot spare the effort for us a risk."

"Speaking of which..." The older sister quickly turned to Arthur. "Any progress on finding a revitalization technique?"

The phoenix let out an aggravated sigh. "No... Try as I like, the damage the Galactic Federation caused is too great to heal by myself. It's always a shame when people ignore your warnings."

"Ah... The Federation. While we are technically a part of it, we are only out of convienence and we often butt heads."

"That provides some issues." Zerath remarked. "If this planet is not able to heal... Our future could very well be in jeopardy."

"As a note. We are a member of the Galactic Federation, which is Alliance of races and planets. Not the Federation of Planets, which is the Human Military Organization."

"When there full title is the Galactic Federation of Planets... Does it really make a difference?" Natherion growled. "I'm not sure if you take us for fools, or if you are just ignorant to the 'alliance' you associate yourself to."

Arthur, who somehow had the time to grab a coffee pot and a mug, gave the Archmage a disappointed look. "Why must they always say it like an insult..."

"I'm not asking you all to join anything. I simply want to know if you would like a say in the policies governing the space surrounding your world. And to be recognized as your own people and have this world be recognized officially as your own." Zara sighed loudly, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"We have been on this planet for thousands of years." Guther responded. "And so far we've found that outsiders care more about our resources than our citizenship. You speak kind words... But how do we know your people will hold the same offer?"

"Well. Meeting with others of my people here would be a good start." She suggested.

"Call me bias... But I think we should do it." Arthur remarked. "We figured out a system to keep the GFP from mining Leystone... Who's to say we can't negotiate something here to?"

"And if a small group decides to work outside of the negotiated terms?" Melinda prodded.

"Then I shall deal with them personally." The phoenix poured himself a cup of coffee with a grin plastered on his face.

"That sounds fair enough." She nodded. "But can you tell me what you know of Artificial Intelligence here? You don't strike me as a Civilization that relies much on technology however."

All four of the Archmages turn there eyes towards Arthur, who grunted annoyingly. "Oh please, you all know I abandoned that project long ago."

"But you still have at least some knowledge." Natherion reminded the man.

 

[ShadowHounder]

ShadowHounder and Frostlich: Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight Part 4

"So. Am i understanding you attempted to create one?" Captain Reigh turned towards him.

"I tested the idea a few years back, the research never went anywhere so I dropped it altogether." Arthur shrugged playfully as he explained the situation.

"Funny, I was under the impression you already build on." Natherion countered, giving the Guardian a disapproving glare.

"Ya know... Everyone focused so much on finding out who it was that never considered that the prototype was a failure."

"So. It's gone? Scrapped?" She confirmed.

"I guess you could say that." Arthur scratched the back of his head. "I don't like wasting materials... But scrap is a loose term, I suppose."

"Very well..." Zara relented, "I can assure you. Having access to our goods and ore is entirely beneficial. We can even offer you crisis aid if something happens, like a outbreak or other disaster."

"We will send Arthur to meet with your leaders." The four Archmages stated with synchronized unison. "This meeting is over, you two are dismissed."

She gave them a bow, making her way out alongside the Elder.

"Welp... I have a few matters to attend to, then we can be on our way." Arthur told the Paladin as they exited the palace.

"It was lovely to meet you Arthur." She smiled, handing him a small TV like device. "Here. A Two Way video communicator. Use it to contact me. Although, we'll be in orbit for a few more days anyway."

"Which means just in range for teleporting." Arthur checked his old wrist watch. "I'll be up there in about two hours."

"Fine. I'll inform my daughter." She pressed a button on her wrist.

"Ah! There you are! Where th' fack have you been!"

"Working you useless pile! I hope you've been doing something productive while I've been gone! And don't you dare speak to your mother that way!" Zara basically screamed into her arm.

Arthur groaned as they approached his house, a small cottage on a nearby hill. "Do you ever say anything nice to your daughter?"

"My daughter is too spoiled for her own good. She needs to learn that the world isn't going to treat her like some princess." Zara looked over at him as she hovered.

"I've found that, sometimes, the best why to teach your kids..." Arthur started, before the sounds of breaking wood and glass echoed inside. The sounds continued for several minutes until two younger looking Fee were sent flying out the side of the roof... Following by Abigail screaming at the top of her lungs. "AND STAY OUT!"

"... Is to let them teach themselves."

Zara's daughter rubbed her head, floating up, "Fuck you, you fucking tramp! You don't have the right!"

"L-l-lana... Are you sure you sh-should be insulting you?" The male Fee, who was a nervous wreck, floated behind her. "You s-s-s-saw what she can do..."

Abigail jumped out from the whole in the roof, a small, broken pipe in her hand. However, has she moved her arms to swing, the end of the pipe grew into a giant hammer. The way it forged itself almost seemed like it was going back in time... As if centuries of rust and decay flashed before everyone's eyes.

Lana picked herself up a flew back, zipping around the woman quickly to dodge her attacks.

"Both of you! Enough!" Zara called out. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"These two bastards broke into our house!" Abigail barked as the giant hammer reverted back into the broken pipe. "No law enforcement is the universe is gonna stop me from kicking their asses!"

"Now Abigail, calm down." Arthur stated in a cool and collected manner. "Though I appreciate your concern... I don't think attacking them directly was the best move. Sometimes it's best to wait for the right opportunity to strike... And not destroy the house you're trying to protect." The last sentence was spoken through gritted teeth.

Abigail turned towards the giant crater on the side of the wooden structure... A chill rolling up her spine. "I can fix that."

"You have until I leave." The phoenix muttered as he opened the remains of a front door.

"And what were you doing!?" Zara called her daughter out.

"Well! You vanished from the ship without telling anyone! I was following your signal but you kept bouncing around! I... I was worried about you..." She rubbed her arm.

"I... Ugh..." Paladin Zara shook her head. "Just... Please head back to the ship okay? Momma's fine."

Lana seemed surprised, then smirked. "Caught you caring!"

She quickly flew off for the ship as Zara shook her hand angrily. "Gah! That fucking girl! She's gonna be the death of me."

"Would you like to come inside?" The young girl asked. "We have coffee and tea."

"Yes..." She rubbed thr bridge of her nose. "That sounds delightful."

"Then hurry up so I can fix the door." Abigail ordered as she placed a hand on the damaged wall. As she did so, the shards of wood glowed with a teal aura and reformed into the wall... As if it had never been damaged in the first place.

"That looks useful." Zara noted.

Inside, Abigail moved around the house, causing damaged areas to revert to their normal state with a single touch. "It's nothing special... I can just cause inadament objects to move backwards to any point on time. It doesn't work on people or animals... But one time I turned a fossil into regular old bones."