RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601, BlackOut, MarineAvenger, and ZombieSplitter53
The Beginning of Greyhound Squad: Part One

Somewhere in Subspace (February 11th, 2044)
The Einherjar (5:57 P.M., Earth Standard)
Пьяный медведь (The Drunken Bear, Holoroom 2)

The victorious soldiers all sat in a circle, laughing and cheering as drinks were passed around. While the synthetic projections of light would have done little to wet their whistles, the Bartender from the rec room had been sure to supply them with a healthy supply of the solid, or liquid, stuff. The patrons of the bar left the group alone, as they had been programmed to do, but occasionally joined them in their cheers.

Luna Inverse sat with the rest, but stared down at her drink, the loss of one member on her team, and the near loss of another, weighing heavy on her mind. She tried to hide it, however, smiling with the rest and making jokes.

For Korra’s part, she stared down at her drink with some confusion, unsure what the make of the unusual smelling drink that, to her, smelt of the infirmaries rubbing alcohol. “You humans have some… odd choices in celebratory drinks,” she mumbled, appearing to almost be afraid to sample the blend of vodka and cranberry juice before her.

“What do they have on Tamaer?” Kriemhiel asked with an eyebrow raised. “We’ve had alcoholic drinks for pretty much all of recorded history.”

“Alcohol, yes. Fermented foods.” The Tamearin shrugged. “We, too, have known of the intoxicating beverages. But realize that… aside from myself and those like me… the Tamearins are obsessed with their ability to control their emotions. Because of that, they’d view actually drinking something they know would impair their judgement as… I don’t know, silly? Maybe even like drinking poison.” She grinned widely, smiling at Wolfe. “But I guess they are… uptight, is the word? I suppose I have gone far enough away from them that I can give it a try.”

Wolfe chuckled, happy that he was interacting with people again. I still need to be cautious with this group. I’ll just nurse this drink for the meantime. Turning towards Hermes, Thomas said, “You were awesome out there , Hermes! Glad that you’re not my enemy.” the big man joked.

“I’m glad I was able to diffuse the situation,” Hermes responded. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be quick enough to take out those two combat droids in time.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to be a destroyer?” Karolina offered with a bemused grin. “You certainly are as aggressive as Charbonneau.”

The French soldier rolled her eyes. “He’s got wings, Magi. Paratrooper is the only class that makes sense.”

Korra leaned forward. “What, uh… what does being this ‘destroyer’ mean?” Her grin widened a bit. “Would I get to… go all out. You know… break things, blow up, shoot up, and all those other fun things?”

“Pretty much. Rockets, grenades… swords, though hell if I ever took fencing lessons,” Avril confirmed, leaning back in her chair slightly.

“Heheheh… count me in.” Korra leaned back, taking a gulp of her drink and hiding a face.

Luna perked up a bit at Avril’s voice. “You… you doing okay now?”

Avril stretched her arms out, though winced from putting strain on her bandaged torso. “Pretty much. They let me out of prison, also known as the medical ward, didn’t they?”

Luna smiled slightly, looking down again. Leaning close to Wolfe, Korra said, “That was almost you out there when we were breaching. Good thing Connor was able to tackle you out of the way in time.”

Thomas paused, the dire moment reappearing in his mind. “Yeah, it was also a good thing Aknin was there, otherwise they would have gotten me and Connor.”

The MEC soldier looked over at Thomas, and then over at Connor and shrugged. “I could not just let two teammates die like that. We have the armor for a reason, might as well make use of it the best I can.”

Connor was a little less talkative, swirling his drink in his glass. “It wasn’t anything too big. Just a moment of adrenaline, that’s all.” He had a slight grin on his face, glad he at least did something useful.

Korra shook her head. “Come on, man. You’re, like… a hero. Not like…” Korra’s eyes drifted away. “Not like certain people who… w-who froze up right at the beginning…”

Connor looked over Korra a moment, a little taken aback at her calling him a hero. “I barely did anything on the mission. You on the other hand did three times more important stuff than I did. You are a hero in your own right, I guess.”

Korra shook her head. “I… I guess…”

Airina looked between the others, and stood up. “Hey, why the long faces? We did it! We saved the station, not to mention all the people there! And let’s not forget my cousin, who disabled the bomb with seconds to spare!” Mari waved a dismissive hand. “I… I like this group. We worked so hard to save those people, worked so well together.” She smiled at Kriemhiel. “Largely thanks to such a quick thinking and skilled CO, of course.”

“I have more experience than most of you, so that is easily accounted for,” Kriemhiel responded. “I’m glad it turned out as well as it did though. I was… expecting more casualties than we got with such a high-risk mission.” I still don’t understand why the Commander saw fit to staff the newest and greatest large battleship with largely fresh recruits…

Hunter stood up with his bottle of beer in hand and he looked around the group. “Airina is right! We need to lighten up! I am sure our fallen member wouldn’t want us to be moping about their death, they would want us to celebrate on their behalf, and just get even better! Who’s with me?”

Luna stood up alongside him. “He… he’s right. No use moping. And his death wasn’t in vain. We were able to take out those seekers nice and quickly thanks to his sacrifice, and save lots of people! We should all be proud. So… to a great first mission.”

Korra stood up as well, raising her glass a little shakily. Zoya followed suit. “Da , da, vse, chto plyvet lodka,” she grumbled.

Avril just looked at the red-haired sniper blankly. Why would you speak Russian if no one but your one friend knows what the hell you’re saying?

Jelani stood up, obviously drunk, and raised his glass. “Kwa kubwa ya kwanza utume!” Receiving confused looks, Jelani quickly corrected himself, “To a great first mission!” the Kenyan slurred.

“Alright, I at least saw you have enough to be drunk off your ass… but…” Avril glanced over at Zoya again. “Didn’t she just have one or two shots of Vodka?” The French soldier’s confused look quickly shifted into one of amusement when she figured it out. “Oh, I get it. You’re a lightweight, huh?”

 

[Black0ut]

ZombieSplitter53, MarineAvenger, Black0ut, and DarkGemini24601 present:

The Beginning of Greyhound Squad Pt.2

“Chto yebat' ty tol'ko chto nazval menya?” “What the fuck did you just call me?” Zoya snapped, getting up but finding her footing much more unsteady than she had anticipated.

“Zoya…” Karolina cautioned, seeming to have to take on the role of the ‘older sister’ at the moment, having her friend sit back down.

“Fryd tuac light weight mean?” Korra asked, her face flushing. “Sh-she looks… plenty rayjo du (hick) me…”

“Looks like she ain’t the only one.” Hunter noted, rubbing his chin he thought, “Wonder how much more we can give them before a cat fight breaks out...those are always fun to watch.”

Several of the other soldiers laughed at the prospect, all seeming to enjoy themselves. All except Mari. She sat at the table, running her finger along the edge of her cup, worry and doubt filling her expression.

Wolfe stood up, smirking slightly. “Enough fighting. We’re here to celebrate the success of our mission. So knock it off both of you.” The big man said.

“Kto byl ubit, i sdelali vas tsaryu?” “Who was assassinated and made you tsar?” Zoya muttered, sitting back down in her chair.

Airina nudged her cousin. “Hey, we’re just messing around. Don’t be so serious.”

Mari shook her head, as if coming out of a trance. “What? N… no, that isn’t… what I was thinking about. Sorry, it isn’t important. Something just… worries me about that mission…”

“What is that?” Hermes asked curiously, not having touched any of the alcohol, figuring it probably wouldn’t do anything to or for him in the first place.

Mari sighed, her gaze wandering over to Kriemhiel. “I… I’m no expert, but I’ve been studying bomb disposal for some time now. That… that bomb… these are pirates we’re talking about. Sure, they can get their hands on some good tech, but this bomb was expertly made. It was a miracle I was able to diffuse it. And I don’t think intergalactic bandits are known for their deep pockets. It… it worries me…”

Luna shrugged. “Maybe… maybe the Triads and Venom pooled their resources.”

Mari closed her eyes. “That we’re seeing more cases of pirate factions working together worries me too. And that doesn’t explain the fighters they had in their own space station either. I… I don’t know what it all means.”

Jelani shambled over, his eyes a bit glazed. “Don’t worry, Bi Mari. The XS...DF always mafanikio. Er- Wins!” Jelani said, a dumb smile on his face, before he fell on the floor and began to snore.

Connor shook his head as he looked at the soldier on the floor and sat back in his chair. That used to be me at one point...but these people don’t realize how secretive an underworld can be, there could be a lot more we are not seeing here. Connor’s hand reached down into his pocket and he touched a folded envelope in his pocket.

Mari shrugged, and took another drink. “You might be right.” She glanced at Kriemhiel. “But… but you’ll let the Commander know just in case, right?”

Kriemhiel sighed. “I’ll tell… someone about it, though I’d prefer to go to the Lieutenant Commander first. Having to give a mission report to Streczyk gave me chills down my spine.”

Korra laughed. “Ba! She is all bite, none of… bark… dryd ec expression, right?” She took another swing of her drink, and smiled sheepishly. “I like you guys. I wants… I wants to work with you guys again. Lyh fa tu dryd? Can we be… group? Can’t… think of right word. Cxiyt?”

Wolfe nodded “Yeah, this group is amazing. I still want to do missions with you guys. You guys may eventually need a Medic at some point…” Thomas trailed off.

A shout emerged from the floor “Ndiyo! Tunapaswa Kumwomba kamanda kama tunaweza kuunda kikundi!” 'Yes! We should ask the Commander if we can create a group!'

Luna chuckled. “Anyone know what the hell he just said?”

Aknin shook his head. “Wrong country, sorry.”

Luna shrugged. “So… if we can convince them to let us be a squad, what should we call ourselves? Ideas?”

“We did that mission kind of quickly considering our time frame… and a group of others already used an animal for their team, so maybe we should name ourselves after something really fast!” Hunter suggested.

“The zylg nyppedc!” Korra shouted, and Airina tapped her shoulder, whispering in her ear. “I have? For how… they’re like earth… jack rabbits.”

Mari laughed. “I don’t think it would inspire much fear in our enemies. ‘Look out, the wabbits are coming!’”

“Rabbits, huh?” Connor sat back and crossed his arms, a thought occurring to him. “I remember a friend of mine back in Latvia had a hunting dog, how about we choose one of those?”

Airina looked at Krimhiel. “What do you think? Um… bloodhounds?” Her eyes wandered over to Hermes. “I don’t suppose you know of any crazy dogs?” She frowned. “Oh… right, memory. Sorry.”

The android shrugged. “I do know of the type of canine you are talking about, but I don’t have any specifics.”

Kriemhiel finished off her glass of beer. “What about the Greyhounds? That other squad can be unkempt wolves, but we’ll be an old and refined breed. And considering they’re used in races, that fits with our first deployment.”

Korra raised an eyebrow. “Are day… they cuty… cutey doggies?”

Mari shook her head. “No. They’re refined canines. Simple yet regal, and known for their speed.”

Korra grinned widely. “Den I’m in!”

Airina and Mari nodded, as did Luna, the latter saying, “I love it. To Greyhound Squad. May our skill and precision leave all the other teams in our dust.”

Wolfe raised his glass, as well. “To successful hunts. May we succeed in accomplishing any future goals, we set our minds to!” the slightly intoxicated man declared.

Connor just raised his glass silently, meanwhile Hunter was doing his best to be the center of attention with jokes and other attempts to be in the spotlight.

 

[Alzdude28]

Eating With The Pack

February 11th 2044
Somewhere in Subspace
Einherjar, Mess Hall.
1917 GMT


Al sat down at a bench with his meal in front of him, unappealing as ever. The meat was cooked all the way through, and evenly too. He longed for charred and smoky chunks, still bloody below the surface. As for the vegetables… he didn’t trust them. There were mushrooms. Those he could manage but the rest was too… green. And why didn’t the humans eat insects?

He was staring pensively at his plate when he heard a voice. “Mind if I join you?” Looking up, Al saw Geming Cheung, another White Wolf.

“Pull up a chair.” Al said, pointing with his fork at the space opposite him. Cheung sat down, and started eating.

“You’re Al, right? Odd name for a xe- non-human isn’t it?”

Ignoring the aborted slur, Al replied “I figured it was easier than trying to get people to pronounce my birth name.”

“Fair ‘nough” Cheung mumbled through a mouthful of salad. “Why Al though?”

“Long story.” Al returned to prodding at the meat in front of him. “I guess if we’re going to be in a squad together we should know a bit about each other’s fighting styles. What’s your role?”

“Engineer. I’m generally near the front, using grenades and either a shotgun or rifle, depending what we’re up against. I’m guessing you don’t have an assigned role just yet… so what’s your weapon of choice.”

“Rifle.” Al didn’t hesitate. “Although if they get close I’m fairly confident with my claws.”

“Will they work against armour?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“You can’t have had much chance to use them though, surely?”

“Again, you’d be surprised.”

Genming paused for a moment, before curiosity got the better of him. “So… what can they get through?”

In reply Al flicked his wrist slightly, sending the claw of his index finger below the table, then through the steel table top and the plate above, finally skewering the meat cleanly through the centre. Al couldn’t help smiling a little at Cheung’s shocked expression. “Convinced?”

Cheung nodded slowly. “Yeah… I guess I’m glad you’re on our side…”

Al chuckled a little, withdrawing the claw. “I could say the same. Grenades and shotguns don’t sound like a fun combination if you’re on the receiving end. We had a saying back on Styx: Vac’tenlc yentk uing hecsa’k ne kaac.”

“Meaning?”

“Roughly… if you hit something bigger than you, you’ll die. It’s a little lost in translation.”

They both laughed at that. “Come to the bar later, I’ll get you a drink.”

“Glad to hear it. Major perk of joining a squad.” The two soldiers carried on eating and cracking jokes, swiftly becoming firm friends. I think joining was the right idea. Al reflected later that evening. I’ve missed company like this.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini24601, and MarineAvenger: “Those Intriguing Evenings, Part 1”

Somewhere in Subspace (February 11th, 2044)
The Einherjar (10:11 P.M., Earth Standard)
Room D-36

Sasha gave a sly smile as she moved her queen across the central table and chessboard atop it. “I believe that would be checkmate, Mikhail..”

The other soldier sighed in frustration. “So it is… probably the last time I’m going to try my hand at chess for awhile. Should have asked mother for more advice on how to play…”

“Your loss, quite literally,” his sister concluded, picking up a glass of beer off the table and taking a sip of it. The Dragomirov glanced around the room to see what the other three were doing.

Brigid yawned as she sat before a table full of beakers and bottles of booze, slowly and carefully mixing set amounts with the dedication of a chemist. She looked up as the sound from the shared shower indicated Korra was finished, saying a silent prayer that Korra would remember what she said about modesty. To her relief, Korra emerged wrapped in a towel, vigorously wiping her long hair, so much of which likely took a while to get completely dry.

Cayden was sitting off to the side, wiping a rag over the weapon he had gotten from his dad as a keepsake. Next to him was an open beer and music player, only one headphone in his left ear so he could hear the others with his right.

“I haven’t had a chance to ask you, but how was your first mission, Korra?” Sasha asked, looking up from the table over to her.

Korra blinked several times, as if looking for something to say. “It, um… it was great! Bagged me lots of bad guys. Should have… should have seen me out there. Like a fearless dekan, hunting her prey. I… I loved every second of it…”

Why do I get the feeling it wasn’t all that… Sasha smiled awkwardly. “Um… good to hear…”

Brigid chuckled. “Is that so? Maybe I should check out the footage, then. If it was all that exciting and all.”

Korra laughed nervously. “What… what footage?”

Brigid shrugged. “You know, helm cams. They keep them for training purposes. Not to mention if something bad happens, and they need to know…”

Korra sat on the couch next to Brigid, hard enough to make the Irish woman bounce. “Mind your own buisness, O’Brien,” she half whispered.

Cayden chuckled and shook his head. “Must you two always be at it? I swear, I am going to have to sleep with this thing under my pillow in fear one of you will shoot each other.”

Korra shrugged. “Well… not after the other day, I guess.” Korra smiled at the Russian siblings. “Big, bad Cayden offered to be my big brother. You wanna get in on this too?”

“Thanks, but I already have a sibling,” Sasha responded. “I don’t need two brothers.”

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to take that,” Mikhail muttered.

“Take it with as love,” Brigid said with a smile. She sat back, finished with her work, and asked, “You two and Cayden knew each other pretty well growing up, right? How often did you see each other?”

Cayden thought about the times, wondering how many there were that he didn’t remember. “When we were really young, a couple of times in the year. As time went on though, it became less and less but luckily me and Mikhail still kept in contact from time to time during high school. After though, things went silent after a couple of years.”

“And why was that?” Brigid asked.

Mikhail rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, after high school me and Sasha joined the military, and I think I just… forgot to keep in touch, honestly.” Of course, we lost contact more towards the end of high school, but I can’t tell them what happened to Sasha unless she’s willing to.

Brigid nodded in understanding. She scratched her chin nervously. “It… it’s kinda funny how I knew the three of you, and spent time with you, but even though I had free movement, I… didn’t stay in touch either…” She frowned. “It’s sad that I… I’ve known you all for so long, but there is so much I don’t know about you. S… sorry about that.”

Sasha shook her head. “Sometimes that’s just the way it works out. We’re all here now, though, so we should make the most of it.”

Korra nudged her short friend. “Makes you feel any better, I don’t know anything about you guys.”

Brigid shrugged. “Then ask something.”

Korra thought for a moment, tapping her chin. “Okay… what’s with the gun, Cayden? Looks a little old, don’t you think?”

Cayden raised an eyebrow, and he looked down at it, twirling it on his finger like an old western gun. “Was my father’s during the war. It used to just fire regular bullets before it got a beefy upgrade when Gauss was introduced in XCOM. He gave it to me to remember him.” There was a smile on his face when he said, “Was hell trying to get it on the ship. I wanted to use it for target practice but unfortunately...they sort of took a part out of it to make sure it wouldn’t fire, so it is really just a decoration piece until I get that part back…”

“Damn…” Korra pouted. “I was hoping you’d tell me how I could get them to give me my swords. Stupid… bitchy Commander…”

Brigid giggled. “Sasha. Those green highlights. Are they to honor your mother? And does she still rock the green hair look?”

Sasha smiled. “Well, sort of, and I thought they looked cool. What part of ‘her hair is permanently dyed’ doesn’t compute?”

Brigid shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she tried dying it something else. Always thought she’d look good in blue.”

Korra scoffed. “I don’t understand the purpose of dying your hair, at least not for humans.”

Brigid raised an eyebrow. “I’d think you of…” Korra grabbed Brigid, bringing her in for a smothering hug.

Mikhail and Sasha both looked at them with confusion. Is there something I’m missing here?

Cayden just chuckled and said, “I don’t really think she would have looked good in blue. Unfortunately, Aunt Eva did the whole blue thing and I thought it was kind of stupid.” Sort of like how she forces me to call her Aunt Eva…

Brigid pushed away from Korra, taking a few deep breaths and giving the voluptuous Tamearin a dirty look. “Well… I guess the green grew on her anyway.” She grabbed a lock of her own blond hair. “Me? I’m happy with my color. Even if people made assumptions about my intelligence.”

“Based on your hair color?” Korra scoffed. “Humans are weird.”

“Maybe we should dye Korra blonde, Brig. Color might suit her.” Cayden suggested.

Korra’s eyes widened. “Did… did you tell him!?”

Brigid facepalmed, shaking her head. “No, moron. But I think you just did.”

The soldier raised an eyebrow. “Might as well be out with it now.”

Mikhail nodded. “You’re really as bad at keeping your cool as Cayden said you are…and apparently it applies to secrets too.”

Korra folded her arms. “Fine. Just don’t tell anyone. I… I’m a yellow psion. I dyed my hair red so people would think I’m a red psion.”

Sasha tilted her head slightly. “Why don’t you want people to know? Do you think they’d treat you differently for being a red?”

Korra looked away. “No. It… it’s personal.”

Brigid rolled her eyes. “Come on. We’re all being open with you. And it won’t leave this room.”

 

[MarineAvenger]

ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini24601, and MarineAvenger: “Those Intriguing Evenings, Part 2”

Korra sat in silence for several moments, then nodded. “I… I don’t get along with my parents. And… they’re both yellow psions. I look just like my mother when my hair is yellow. But when it's red, I look like my grandmother when she was young. And I… I’d rather look like her. And I keep it a secret so people don’t ask questions. Don’t find out who my parents are… and what an embarrassment I’m considered because of it.”

“I can understand that…” Sasha responded, her expression growing more serious. “And I’m sure none of us are going to interfere with you keeping things that way. But I have to wonder how long you can keep that up. Once someone notices you using your powers they’d be able to make the connection, and not everyone on this ship is good at keeping secrets.” The Dragomirov frowned. “And I’m worried about what the Commander might do if she finds out that part of your file is incorrect.”

Mikhail scratched his head. “She is probably that much of a control freak, isn’t she…”

Korra’s eyes widened, and she reached for her special armband. “W-well, I… I can pretend to have fire with this. And… and a few people who saw it on my squad promised…”

Brigid gave her a nervous look. “But Sasha is right. My mother used to tell me not to have too big of a secret in a military base, because news will always get out, and it travels fast.”

Korra looked between her roommates frantically. “W-what… what should I do? I… I can try not to use them, but… b-but if I didn’t use them on that last mission, people would have died! I… I don’t know what to do…”

“Reinforce your lie with another lie. It is not uncommon for some skilled psions to have more developed powers in those that aren’t your primary field. Just say you spent more time on practicing yellow rather than red powers to explain it off. If she doesn’t believe you, that is her own opinion, and remind her of that.” He suggested. “Is it bad that all the stories my Dad told me about your mother, and the best lesson I picked up from it was how to lie to a superior officer?” He asked, looking at Brigid.

“Maybe a little, though I learned early on about the dangers of lying to her.” Brigid placed a hand on Korra’s shoulder. “Cayden has a point. Can’t you…”

Korra shook her head. “But my record only says ‘red psion’. Besides… Tamearins work differently from humans. We only have one major or two minors. That’s it.” She slouched in her seat. “I… I guess I could say I’m weak in both, and that I forgot to put the yellow down. It’s obvious she doesn’t think I’m very smart, so she’d probably believe I’d make that kind of mistake.”

“We can burn that bridge when we get to it. And if or when that time comes, we have your back.” Cayden reminded Korra, placing his gun off to the side and changing the music on his player.

Korra nodded. “Yeah. I guess… worrying about it now isn’t going to help.” She stood up and stretched, slowly strutting over to Mikhail. “So, tell me a little about yourself. You were from a place called… Russia, was it?”

The Russian nodded. “I’m not sure what Tamaer’s like, but the country I come from is a good deal of cold. Sasha and I were born in the furthest north city and warm water port on Earth, a place called St. Petersburg.” Mikhail smiled. “It is as nice a city as such a grand title would suggest.” Aside from certain people.

“I was raised in a capital city to the north on my planet. Quite the cold place, I tell you. But you get used to it really quickly.” Korra leaned forward in front of Mikhail. “You ever have the problem, after leaving a cold place, that everything else just feels so hot! Makes your clothes practically cling to you, right?”

Mikhail shrugged. “I’m… not so sure.” He adjusting his jacket. “I find that even in room temperatures I prefer to wear warmer clothing; the same goes for a friend of Sasha’s from St. Petersburg.”

“Hmm… guess it’s just me. Even this room is a bit warm.” Korra looked around the room. “Hey, we’re all friends here, right?”

“Yeah…” Cayden said warily, not sure what her intentions were.

“Good.” Korra tossed her towel to the side, now wearing nothing back jet-black underwear and a bra. She sighed as she sat next to Mikhail, grinning widely. “So what do they do for fun in… St. Petersburg?”

The male soldier’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he looked the other way. “W-Well, pool was one of the things m-my father enjoyed doing with us…” he stammered while his sister had just started to recover from the initial shock of what Korra had done.

Korra slowly nodded as her eyes stayed transfixed on Mikhail’s. “And what about when you’re with friends. Say, like… lady friends?”

“What… are you doing…” Sasha growled, starting to get up from her chair.

Korra smiled innocently at Sasha. “Playing with you brother. Why?”

Sasha bit her lip in frustration, looking to the side for a moment. “How much do you weigh?”

Mikhail looked at Sasha incredulously. “W-What kind of question is that?” Wait, is she- her brother considered, his eyes bulging a bit again.

Korra stood up, placing a hand on her hip. “I believe in your measurements… about 70 kilos. Why?”

“Shame,” Sasha muttered, putting her palm forward and trying to knock Korra behind her chair with telekinetic force.

Korra fell back, barely able to keep her head from slamming into the floor. She looked up at Sasha with disbelief. “What was that for?!”

Brigid rubbed her temples. “Can’t pretend like I didn’t want to do the same thing…”

“For trying to randomly seduce my brother.” Sasha looked over at Mikhail irritably. “You’re not off the hook either… I would expect better from you.”

Korra jumped to her feet, stomping forward and clenching her fist. “If you ever do that again…”

“Korra.” Cayden warned, looking up at her with irritated red eyes. “Unless you want the room to really get hot, I suggest you sit and cool down before we have a repeat of the first time we met.”

Korra looked back at him, then to Sasha again. Slowly, a smile crept on her face as she stared down Sasha. “So… I can’t even have a… little fun with him?”

“I don’t know if it’s different where you come from, but typically we… look at that sort of… promiscuity in a bad light,” Sasha said through gritted teeth, doing her best to keep another burst of psionic energy back.

“S-Sasha, you don’t have to antagonize her,” Mikhail pleaded, waving his hands defensively. “It wasn’t that big of a deal… d-don’t you get mad at me when I’m over…”

“This is different!” Sasha snapped, before realizing how absurd that sounded. With a sigh of defeat, the orange glow faintly visible around her right hand and eyes faded, and she collapsed back into her chair with a miffed sigh.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53, DarkGemini24601, and MarineAvenger: “Those Intriguing Evenings, Part 3”

Korra laughed loudly, and sat back in the chair, this time looking at Sasha. “Sorry, Mikhail, but a little fun isn’t worth your sister’s anger.” She gave the Russian woman a gentle smile. “And you should be happy to have a sister who looks out for you.” Korra looked Sasha up and down. “I’m sure, with the way humans judge based on looks, she has had to learn things I am only recently picking up on thanks to O'Brien and Cayden.”

Sasha looked at Korra with a good measure of comprehension. “Why are you… going from being like that to complimenting me?” The Dragomirov peered at Korra for a moment, wondering if perhaps she was like Tabitha. “Your hair doesn’t shift to blue sometimes, does it? N-Not that I am making fun of any Tamearins like that, I just...” Sasha stammered, seemin a good deal flustered from Korra’s behavior and trying to ask the question without sounding rude to the destroyer or her other friend.

Korra shook her head. “No. You want the truth.” Korra leaned forward a bit. “I’m attracted to strong people. People that stand up for themselves and others. People that stand tall in the face of danger.” She leaned back again. “Not the biggest fan of people that stand against me, but you did it for your brother. And I respect that. Besides…” Her eyes darted away for a moment. “Something about what you said… what you were going to say… reminded me I was… out of line…”

“I-I wouldn’t have,” Sasha responded quietly. “Get called a slut or a whore enough and you find yourself hating the prospect of doing the same.”

Korra’s eyes dropped a bit. “Y… yeah. I get that.” She cleared her throat, and smiled again. “I shouldn’t have flirted with your brother like that. Especially right in front of you. I’m s… I-I’m s-s…”

“Stingy?” Brigid asked with a smile.

“...sorry.” Korra finished with an irritated look. “Smartass…”

“It’s alright… I shouldn’t have overreacted like I did either,” Sasha responded. “Even if there aren’t cameras in here… as far as we know.”

“I don’t know, Mikhail might keep one or two in the bathroom…” Cayden joked with a grin.

“How or why would I do something like that?!” Mikhail sputtered, giving Cayden an accusing look. “That’s not funny…”

Brigid laughed loudly. “I’m actually happy we got this out in the open now. Better now then after Korra follows Mikhail into the…” She gave Mikhail a sympathetic look. “We… we’re all picking on you, aren’t we?”

“Just a little,” Mikhail grumbled, adjusting his ushanka. “I guess I just have to hope we get a sixth roommate and he actually is on my side in this sort of situation.”

“Can I flirt with him?” Korra asked innocently.

“No!” Brigid quickly answered. “Or at least let him get settled in first!” She laid back on the couch. “And can I get you to stop flirting with my brother?”

“I’ll think about it,” Korra answered, slipping into the girl’s room to finally put some clothes on.

“Well, we’d better hope they send a guy, otherwise they’d be putting some poor girl in a room with Cayden,” Mikhail managed to say with a straight face. “And she hits on your brother? Man…”

“Hey, if Brigid’s praise is to be taken seriously, I am actually quite the gentleman.” He stated, looking at her with an accusing look.

Brigid waved her hand dismissively. “Never a truer one. Just like his father. Guess that mother of his has the magic ‘make a gentleman’ touch. Could have used her with some of the guys I dated in highschool, I tell you what.”

“Oh, so you got around the crowd in school, eh?” Cayden asked with a grin, crossing his arms.

Brigid slowly turned to glare at him. “If you’re implying what I think you’re implying…” She smiled. “Well… I was no saint, but I kept my dignity. Besides… I was holding out for someone.” She shrugged. “For the most part, anyway.”

“Most part?” He asked. “Better spill now before Korra comes back and yells it out over the ship’s intercoms.”

Brigid huffed. “I take it back. You’re not a gentlemen. Asking a girl to tell all of her… intimate encounters. What would your mother think?”


Cayden shrugged, “Knowing her...she would hold you down and torture you until you spilled.” Cayden glanced at Sasha. “I am sure your mother can attest to that?”

“Yep,” Sasha responded. “And who knows, you might end up losing your pants in the process too.”

Brigid sat up, giving the pair a very confused look. “Did your mothers go through an… experimental phase or something?”

Sasha shook her head, waving her hands in a panic. “T-That’s not what I.. I-It’s a long story…”

Brigid laughed. “I’ll have to hear it some time.” She placed her personal chemistry set into a box, pour the contents of the vial into her flask. “For now, I think I’m gonna take a shower and hit the sack. Long day of training planned tomorrow. Want to join me, Sasha?”

“Just as long as you’re not going through an experimental phase,” Sasha mumbled sarcastically.

Brigid laughed again, and stepped into the shower.

Cayden chuckled and shook his head. “This is certainly going to be a weird time rooming with all of you.” He announced, taking out his headphones and stopping his music. “I think I will go to sleep too. Not much sense staying up any long and I don’t really want to be out here if Korra comes back out. I suggest you do the same Mikky.” He informed his childhood friend, remembering the name he teased Mikhail with when they were younger.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re weird too,” Sasha told Cayden, following Brigid.

“Is everyone going to call me that still?” Mikhail complained, getting up to find his bunk.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “Crazy Hour, Part 1”

Somewhere in Subspace (February 12th, 2044)
The Einherjar (6:24 P.M., Earth Standard)
Medical Ward

“So you’re sure she’s going to be alright?” The black-haired boy pressed, doing his best to hide his lingering worry with persistence.

Irina nodded. “I assure you, after a few days of bed rest and a few more to recover fully, she should be back to 100%. It seems it was a wise choice of her to get those genetic modifications after all.”

Fraser sighed, thinking for a moment. Well… I guess it didn’t turn out really bad then… I still would like to know how mom managed to get herself that injured though. Stupid… staff people not letting me watch the video feeds. I guess I’ll just have to sneak in next time.

The French doctor raised an eyebrow. “Something still the matter?”

Fraser quickly shook his head, not realizing his thoughts were practically showing on his expression. “O-Oh, it’s nothing…” A knock at the door made him sigh inwardly with relief. Saved by the bell…

The door cracked open, and a dark skinned man poked his head into the office, one of Irina’s coworkers, and he said, “Would you mind staying a little longer, Irina? There is one more patient here and he refuses to see anyone other than you.”

“Alright,” Irina responded, seeming momentarily confused. “I’ll notify you when your mother is awake again,” she briefly reassured Fraser before sending him on his way.

The other doctor moved out of the way for Fraser, ushering in the person he had mentioned. Nick walked in with an embarrassed look on his face and he thanked the male doctor as he closed the door behind him. “H-Hey...I sort of...fell...and I need some help. Can you do it?”

Irina seemed to recognize him but didn’t make a production of it, simply waving him over to lay down on a medical bed for a moment. “Where are you injured?”

“M-My stomach and side. I was working on a machine of mine and lost my footing and landed on it wrong.” He got up on the bed and laid down, seeming a bit more rushed than usual.

Irina retrieved her repair device, as well as a more scaled-down, handheld scanner. Placing the former on the table briefly, she surveyed the damage with the latter. “You’ve had these for several days,” she noted with a hint of worry. “Why didn’t you come here earlier?”

“Oh, you know...didn’t want anyone to worry and...a bit of pride…” He chuckled nervously, scratching his head but wincing as his side hurt.

“That’s no reason to not seek medical treatment for about a week,” Irina replied. “Heavy bruising and slightly cracked ribs… how far did you fall?”

“A-A...not...well...I am not a good judge of distance so…”

“Do you remember what exactly you fell on?”

“A table…” He said, not realizing his mistake in time, he quickly shook his head, “N-Not the table, sorry, it was the machine…” He spouted nervously.

Irina sighed, going over to sit in a nearby chair. “I need you to be honest with me. I can’t do my job properly if my patients aren’t telling me everything related to their injuries. Nothing you say here will be spoken of beyond these walls, I’m sure you’re aware of doctor-patient confidentiality,” The French doctor assumed.

“Y-Yeah, of course I have, and I am telling the truth I just got...confused, is all...nothing more…” Nick looked to the side and he gripped his pants hard.

“Very well. I believe you.” Irina stood back up, retrieving her medical unit and placing it over the damaged parts of Nick’s body in a spread. The doctor clicked a few buttons, and the Tz6 nanites got to work in mending the damaged blood vessels and tissue responsible for the bruising. “This will take a few minutes, and then I’ll use a different method to quicken the mending of your ribs, though I advise you don’t do anything strenuous until they’re fully healed. It should be a day or two, so check back then so I can make sure the process worked.”

“Yeah...alright.” Nick turned his gaze up to the ceiling and he fidgeted with his hands. “You know...I never really...thanked you. That day we met...I uh...had fun.”

“I am glad you enjoyed our talk, though no thanks is really needed for something that simple,” Irina responded, sitting back down in her chair while she waited.

“But still...not a lot of people paid me much mind on Megha...it was...nice talking to someone pleasant, so I thought thanks were needed at least.”

Irina merely shrugged, waiting two more minutes and then removing the pad, replacing it with a small device that injected nanites deeper to accelerate the process of bones knitting together.

Nick squirmed around a bit, being a bit unused to the procedure. “Why are people so mean to one another. Why do the strong always pick on the weak?” He mumbled to himself, mad at his entire situation.

Irina glanced over at him, but didn’t quite make out what he said. “Hm?”

“Nothing…”He replied in a low tone. “Is it almost done?”

The doctor nodded, and removed the device. “You should be good to go.”

“T-Thanks…” Nick slowly got up and he pulled his shirt back down, hopping off the bed. The engineer walked to the door and he opened it up, looking out into the hallway with an apprehensive look. “When you...you talk about confidentiality...would you stay quiet...no matter what that person told you?”

Irina seemed to study his expression, but not being able to really discern the meaning behind it or his words, simply said the first thing that came to mind. “I will not divulge any information that would violate HIPPA laws. If I am told information that outlines a threat to someone’s safety or the safety of the ship, I am obligated to report it to one of the Einherjar’s officers, but otherwise it would not leave this room.”

“And if you...were to go to an officer...how likely would it be that someone would know it was me who said it?”

“...that’s a bit too general. It really depends on the content of what you have to say, I can’t make a judgement with no understanding of what I’m dealing with.”

Nick scratched his head and quickly shut the door. “We’re...friends, right?”

“I assume so. It would be much simpler if you just told me what you said you were rather than asking unnecessary questions and questions I cannot answer,” Irina pointed out.

“Well...this isn’t exactly easy…” Nick took a deep breath and he looked down. “The bruises...weren’t from me falling...they were caused...by someone else…” He continued to look down, not wanting her to see his face.

“And who is that?” Irina asked, keeping her expression level for now.

“Another engineer...he and his buddies were walking to the bar and they pushed past me...I muttered something under my breath and they heard me and got...angry...he punched me and when I...when I threatened to tell someone, he hit me harder and said there would be more if I did...I’ve been through this before and...and...they always follow through with their threats…!” Nick tried to furiously rub his eyes while his head hung low, but it was all too obvious he was crying.

“Do you know their names or what they look like? If you tell me that I can tell Lieutenant Commander Mason that they assaulted a co-worker. Knowing the Commander, they’ll probably be dropped off at Progressus when we stop there, and be in the brig until then.”

“W-What if they get to me before that? I...they could do anything to me...I’m scared…” He admitted, holding his arm.

“I don’t see how they could. And if you’re worried about that, I could always get someone to assign you a temporary Outsider or combat droid guard,” Irina offered. “I don’t believe we have any civilian staff on this ship that would attempt to attack an armed guard just for an attempt at revenge.”

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger and DarkGemini24601: “Crazy Hour, Part 2”

Nick looked up at her with red eyes, and he slowly nodded, giving her the names and descriptions. “I hope I don’t regret this...I remember when I was in grade school...the other kids always made fun of me but there was this group in particular who were especially hard on me...the lead guy beat me up so badly...I needed a couple stitches and a cast...I never heard of him after that...I never wanted to go to school after that as well...so I didn’t. I was too much of a wimp...I always have been one.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to call yourself that… I knew someone who went through similar things to you, and she’s now a soldier in the XSDF,” Irina offered. “But you won’t have to worry about them hurting you after this. I’ll go inform the Lieutenant Commander immediately.”

“I-I…” Nick sighed and he shook his head. “T-Thanks. And...I’m sorry for lying to you. Was just scared.”

Irina shook her head. “I understand. They’re even worse than the people that… treated my friend so poorly. It’s one thing to bully someone your age and relative strength, and another thing to threaten someone who shouldn’t have to defend themselves in a situation like that…”

“When I was in school and being bullied...I also had a friend who stood up for me and helped me through it. Unfortunately...she’s dead now…” Nick was silent for a time before he spoke up again, “If you don’t mind me asking...were you ever...bullied?” Nick asked innocently.

“I might not have if I hadn’t stayed with that one friend of mine… but at times they targeted me because they didn’t want her to have any friends.” Irina closed her eyes, silent for a moment. “That’s in the past now though.” Even if it’s hard to forget.

Nick looked up and stared at Irina for a few minutes, scratching his head with a nervous smile. “You really are amazing…” He mumbled.

***

Somewhere in Subspace (February 12th, 2044)
The Einherjar (6:59 P.M., Earth Standard)
Office of Lieutenant Commander Mason

Irina straightened her medical coat as she clicked the mechanical ‘doorbell’ to Frederick’s office, not having even had time to change into her normal clothing on her way here. After a few moments the door opened, and she stepped in quickly. “Lt. Commander Mason, I have something to report to you.”

Frederick’s eyes widened a little. “Um… sit down, no need to be in such a rush…” As Irina complied, he asked more collectedly, “What is it you needed to tell me?”

“I’m here to report an incident regarding-” Irina began before the door opened again.

This time a man walked in, with a blonde goatee and shaved head, his badge indicating himself a member of the engineering team. “Uh...sorry, I did not realize you had company Lt. Commander, but...I have something important to request.” He stated nervously, standing straight rigidly.

Frederick raised an eyebrow. “Um… can you give me the short version, Irina? And then this man can say what he has to say.”

“Nicholas Cauthon was assaulted by a group of three engineers, one of them being responsible for the actual physical violence. Their names were Brett, Frank, and…”

“Me.” Malcom said, his back seeming to get even more straight. “Sir...I came here to turn myself in. I...I know what I did was wrong, but it was only a joke at first, this little kid trying to act tough. But after Brett...hit him...things went overboard. Even though I didn’t actually assault him, I still feel bad for what happened to him and came here to request punishment for my participation.” He said with genuine sadness and embarrassment.

Frederick seemed taken aback. Tapping his fingers together for a moment, he closed his eyes, thinking. “We’ll… review what that might entail at a later date. How long ago was this?”

“Over a week,” Irina stated. “I only found out about this this evening, and I came to you immediately.”

The Lieutenant Commander sighed. “Well, this should have been brought to me sooner, but I am going to take into consideration the fact that you did come anyway,” he told Malcolm. “In the meantime, we’ll see about a punishment for Frank, and especially the one responsible for actually assaulting Mr. Cauthon.”

“I would request that Mr. Cauthon be given a guard, perhaps one of the Outsiders,” Irina continued. “Just for his safety until he’s no longer in any situation to be worried.”

Frederick rubbed his forehead. “I’ll make sure to notify security to have one sent down in an hour or two. In the meantime we should probably find the other two people involved in this incident...”

“Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that sir. I have not talked to them since a week ago and have kept my distance, though it should not be hard for you, I’m sure. What...should I do in the meantime?” He asked.

“Return to your room. You’re temporarily under house arrest. And it is temporary, I just need to make sure I know where everyone is at the moment, I’ll decide what punishment needs to be given out once I’ve resolved this completely,” Frederick stated. May even leave it up to Cauthon, within reason.

Malcom nodded, and he gave a salute to Frederick, turning and walking to the door. When he opened it he stopped and turned around. “I-If you see Mr. Cauthon before me, could you tell him I would like to apologize to him as soon as possible?” He asked Irina.

The French doctor nodded her head. “I will… I do appreciate you coming here. I’m glad to see at least one of you has some sense of dignity…”

“Yes...what happened was crossing the line. I only regret not having put a stop to it when I had the chance to do so.” With that he let out a held breath as he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

***

Somewhere in Subspace (February 12th, 2044)
The Einherjar (7:02 P.M., Earth Standard)
Access Hallway

Brett stormed down the hallway, visibly in a rage as he had tailed Malcom, the person he had thought had been his friend having been acting weird, only to find that he went and ratted them out to the Lt. Commander. “Of all the low-life, backstabbing…!”

On his way down to engineering, he stopped in front of a room and slammed his fist on the door repeatedly, the door opening and Frank standing there with a confused look.

“Malcom squaked. I have a plan to save our asses, but I need you...now.” Brett commanded, the other man nodding and shutting the door as he walked out.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger, DarkGemini24601, and ZombieSplitter53: “Crazy Hour, Part 3”

Somewhere in Subspace (February 12th, 2044)
The Einherjar (7:13 P.M., Earth Standard)
Main Engineering

Nick exited his office and quickly walked out of engineering, his face and hands being smudged with grease, his progress on Clunker nearing completion. Having worked up a bit of an appetite, he wanted to grab a bite to eat before quickly going back to work.

His side felt good as new since Irina had helped him, but he still felt a little fearful being out of his office, especially after he let her give the report. This better not come back to bite me...dang it…

As Nick thought to himself and looking at the ground, he hadn’t noticed the two men quickly approaching down the hall, and when he looked up again, it was too late to do anything.

Brett’s hand was already on his collar and he picked the teen up easily, pushing him against the wall. “Listen here pipsqueak, and listen good. Someone went and told on us to the higher ups, and now they are out for our asses. Now I suggest you say nothing happened, or come up with an excuse real fast, ‘cause if we lose the jobs we worked hard to get, you are going to regret it, got it?”

Nick squirmed in his grip, trying to thrash around and smack Brett in the face but doing little with his relative low strength. “G-Get off me!”

“Hey! Did you hear me runt!” Brett yelled, slamming him against the wall again.

“I heard you.” A hand grabbed Brett’s shoulder from behind. “But like him, I don’t think you deserve to be listened to.”

Brett turned his head and sneered, looking at the red haired Tamearin behind him with a disgusted look. “Get out of here. This is none of your business. Why don’t you go run along and be boring somewhere else, you fucking alien.”

Korra’s eye twitched a bit, but she smiled. “Well… why don’t we leave the kid alone, and you and I can be not-so-boring somewhere private? I mean… he isn’t worth your time, right? But I can be.”

Brett looked her up and down, his eyes being particularly attracted to her chest. “Later. For now, I have business to take care of. Frank, why don’t you keep her company?” He said, looking back to Nick.

Frank walked forward and put a hand on Korra’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Korra sighed. “I didn’t want to do this here. If I get kicked out for this…” Korra grabbed Frank’s hand, and sent an electrical jolt through his body. “Don’t touch me!”

Frank pulled back his hand and shook it, looking at Korra with a bit of disbelief. “You shocked me you...you bitch…”

“Damn right!” Korra considered doing the same to Brent, but hesitated while he still held Nick. Instead, she simply settled for a solid jab to the ribs. “Let him go!”

Brett grunted and he threw Nick to the side, turning to hit Korra with a backhand.

Korra barely blocked it in time, not expecting such a big man to be so fast. She took a step back, trying to size Brett up like Brigid had taught her. “What do you expect to get out of this? Leave now, and it won’t be as bad. Stay…” She cracked her knuckles. “...you get in trouble and I kick your ass.”

“You threw the first punch, and openly used psionics. I say you are just as deep in this as I am. If you really are that crazy chick who keeps getting into fights...I say this would be the final straw.”

As Brett distracted her, Frank had snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms under hers, resting his hands on the back of her neck in a strong hold. “Besides, there are two of us, and only one of you.”

Korra grunted as she tried to break free. “Well… I know this won’t mean much to you, but I’d rather get thrown out defending a kid then for beating one up.” She dropped to the ground, slipping out of Frank’s arms, and quickly climbed to her feet, taking up a defensive stance. “What’s up with that anyway? Tired of all the boys and girls your age beating you up, so you decided to go after someone a third your size?”

Brett growled and he ran forward with a raised fist. “None of your business!” He yelled, Frank coming up behind Korra to back his friend up.

Korra deflected Brett’s punch and hit him in the cheek, laughing at her small victory. Having no experience fighting multiple people, she failed to react to Frank in time, and received a blow to the back for it. Dropping to a knee, she looked over to Nick. “G-get out of here, kid…”

Nick was too frightened to react, just laying there on the ground watching the fight with wide eyes, resisting the urge to crawl into a ball.

Frank kicked Korra to the ground and got on top of her, pinning down her arms. “Going to teach you to mess with me…!”

A few seconds later, a foot connected with the side of Frank’s face and he toppled over, crying out and holding his jaw, looking up to see Malcom. “You...sun...ova bith…” He stated, holding his very sore cheek.

Korra slowly climbed to her feet, holding her side. “Who the hell are you?”

“He used to be our friend, before the bastard turned us in!” Brett yelled.

“What happened was wrong and you know it, Brett! The name calling might have been cute the first time but hitting the poor guy was taking it too far!” Malcom yelled back.

“I didn’t see you stop it, now did you? In fact, you laughed right along with us.”

Malcom hesitated and he gritted his teeth. “Yeah, well I should have stopped you. Now thanks to you, all three of us are losing our jobs, I can assure you that.”

“You bastard!” Brett ran at Malcom and tackled the man to the ground, Brett being slightly larger than Malcom. While on top, Brett punched Malcom repeatedly in the face as hard as he could, quickly drawing blood.

“Get off him, you prick!” Korra jumped on Brett’s back, sending a solid jab to the back of his neck. “Take your punishment like a real man!”

Brett stood up and he ran back, trying to crush Korra on the wall to get her off.

Korra let out a pained grunt, but held onto him, refusing to let go in the hopes of giving Malcom a chance to recover. She wrapped one arm around his neck while beating at his head with her free hand, even as he slammed her into the wall. “Drehg ed'c ugyo du payd ib uh y lremt! Drehg ed sygac oui y syh! Ed sygac oui fundrmacc. Y secanypma bema uv kynpyka! Fryd tet E... fryd tet ra tu du tacanja oui tuehk dryd!" (Think it's okay to beat up on a child! Think it makes you a man! It makes you worthless. A miserable pile of garbage! What did I... what did he do to deserve you doing that?!)

“Get off me you crazy cunt!” He forcefully ripped her arm off of his neck and threw her off him and to the ground. He wound back his leg and sent a hard kick into Korra’s ribs.

“Enough!” A voice yelled, Nick having got off the floor, and was standing upright, a handgun in his hands pointed at Brett.

Brett stepped away from Korra and held up his hands. “Whoa...where the fuck did you get that!?”

“None of your business… now on the ground…” Nick ordered.

Brett nodded quickly, dropping to the ground and putting his hands on his head. Frank was already on the ground, still grasping his dislocated jaw.

Korra slowly climbed to her feet, and cautiously stepped towards Nick. “G… give me the gun, kid.” She cautiously extended a hand towards Brett, ready to throw up a shield if need be.

“N-No...I can’t…” Nick said defiantly, holding the gun perfectly stilled.

“It’s over…” Korra slowly walked toward Nick, trying not to make any sudden movements. “What’s your name?”

“Nicholas Cauthon… a name I hope this… pig head doesn’t forget.” Nick looked at Korra for a brief moment and he said again, this time more calmly. “And I can’t give you the gun.”

“I-I know they hurt you… and I know you have every reason to want to shoot them. But you saved us. Don’t soil that by risking putting a bullet in them.”

Nick glanced up at her once more and shook his head. “Not gonna do it.”

“Good to hear… I think there’s been enough violence for one day.” All heads turned to the voice, and found Lieutenant Commander Frederick Mason standing with two human security guards and two shimmering outsider guardians. “We’ll take it from here.” He glanced at the two human guards. “Take these two to the brig immediately.” They nodded, cautiously going in to grab Brett and Frank.

As they were escorted off, Frederick glanced at Korra. “And you too, at least for now…” One of the Outsiders went to retrieve Korra, and as she was escorted by him, he whispered, “Thank you for keeping him safe. I should have considered the possibility of something like this happening.”

Korra nodded, grasping her side. “Just… just make sure when I’m dismissed, everyone knows it was for something… less stupid then I’m usually known for.”

Nick looked between Frederick and Korra, quickly walking up to the latter and wrapping his arms around her. “T-Thanks for helping me out.” He told her, stepping back and holding up the gun he still had in his hand. “Gun is fake by the way. Just made it out of spare defective parts from the assembly line. Never had a single bullet in it.” He stated with a slight grin. “Thought I would...need it after I went to the infirmary…”

Korra chuckled, though the action made her side hurt. “Nice thinking, Nicholas.” She put an arm around the Outsider. “Come on. I need to lay down.”

“Trust me, if it is within my power, you aren’t being dismissed,” Frederick muttered, before giving the Outsider a nod to escort her off. It’s been a crazy the past hour, hasn’t it…?

 

[Dahlexpert]

Welcome aboard the savage mercenary Cassia Van Dam

10 years ago

Ashley is with Cassia outside the space port. “While I don’t support this, this is your choice but you’re going to be the leader of our clan and times have changed since I was chief.”

“Yea I know we never expected earth would change so much or that space travel will be a thing. But since I know that I will lead our people mom, can’t my brother lead them I mean. He’s younger then me and he’s been learning about the other races so he should.”

“CASS I know you want to travel the stars just like me, but I’m going to the ethereal home world to master my psionic powers. So while I’m gone Axton will take command but I thought about letting your brother lead and he’s currently taking the trials to become the new chief.

“So you’re telling me?”

“Yes, you are free to explore the galaxy as much as you want. May the gods serve and protect you in your journey and be safe Cassia. And remember what our rules are.”

“Never kill the innocent, protect any one that you can and never do something you will regret.”

“And what else.”

“And by the divine creator, I will punish and kill any corrupt individuals were ever they will be.”

“That’s my girl good luck and remember I love you, now go and make us proud.”

Present day location Progressus

“Good morning you beautiful animals, Raptor looking good blue keep that speed up come on I know you don’t like this physical but you have to do this. Cassia looks at the doctor so how are they?”

“There great, you take very good care of them. All there vitals check out no illnesses found there as health as the day you found them.”

“Great I’m going to check on mammoth make sure raptor and blue are OK.” Cassia goes to a much wider part of the animal park.

Mammoth where are you? Mammoth.” A giant blue creature appears from the forest. “Hay there she is you look good. Doc how is she?”

“She’s still stable nothing wrong everything seems to be fine.”

Great so my replacement should have no problem with them, Hay make sure my replacement knows how much to feed them and exercise them.”

“Yea yea, how long are going to be gone playing solder?”

“Until the crap on Forseti’s is done with, so my replacement might just replace me.”

“Ou don’t worry Cass, your always welcome here anyway good luck and don’t die.”

“That’s not the plan, anyway later Jake and I already said good bye to my pet’s so make sure they don’t kill the new guy please.”

“Yea yea don’t worry well be fine, you trained him for a month now so he should handle the job a ok.”

“Sigh yea I know, whelp time to go back to what I do best later Jake.”

“Later Cass and becarefull alright.”

“Yea I know whelp later.”

Spoiler: Blue

Spoiler: Raptor

Spoiler: Mammoth

 

[MarineAvenger]

“Friends and Circuitry” MarineAvenger and Alzdude28

February 13th 2044
Progressus Orbit
Einherjar, Engineering department.
1128 GMT


Brienne sat over her latest project, at the request of the weapons team. She was installing a module onto a scope to factor in the effect of the local gravity and atmosphere, or lack thereof. It made her a little uncomfortable somehow. It was the first time she had worked directly on weapons technology. She kept telling herself it was no different to working on a starfighter, those were weapons too, when viewed abstractly, but somehow she couldn’t convince herself. She sat back, looking down at the unfinished circuitry.

“Looks good.” A voice said from behind her, Nick leaning over next to her shoulder and inspecting the work with his eyes. “If you keep at it, you will be done in no time.”

She jumped a little, not having heard him come in. “Thanks…” She placed her tools down and then turned to face him. “How’s tricks?”

“W-What?” He asked, a slightly confused look on his face.

“Sorry, how’re you?”

“I-I am doing better actually.” Nick rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed look on his face. “Look Brienne...I...I’m really, really sorry...for everything I said to you the last time we talked. If it was as obvious as I thought it was...a couple of the engineers here got mad at me and beat me up. I was terrified ever since because they threatened to hurt me worse if I told anyone….” The young engineer looked down and hung his head in shame. “Please forgive me…”

Brienne smiled at him. “Don’t worry about it. I understand completely. I heard that one of them turned themselves in, and then shit hit the fan.”

“Y-Yeah. Luckily a nice woman stepped in and saved me from...more extensive injuries…” He said with a bit of dread.

“How lucky you are to have a wonderful guardian angel!” She said with a smirk.

“A-Are...are you teasing me?” He asked with an amused and accusing tone.

Brienne’s face immediately became serious. “No.” She deadpanned, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Nick scrunched up his nose and he crossed his arms. “Brienne…” He said in a childish voice. “That’s not funny…” He stuck out his tongue and pushed up his glasses, hiding a slight smirk.


Brienne just laughed even more. “Stop it Nick… Please…”

Nick laughed along with her and he quickly walked up next to her and threw his arms around her.

Brienne returned the hug. “I told you things would work out, didn’t I?”

“Y-Yeah...you did. I still hope we are good friends after this. You seem to be such a nice woman...and I would like to work with you more.” He told her confidently.

She smiled a little, giving in to her ego slightly. “I like the sound of that. Robotics and Astronautics seem like a good combination…”

“Well...not to gloat but I am the most probable leader of robotics here...just...need a little more actual field experience. Still need to finish that heap of scrap metal in my workshop…”

“I forgot to ask before, what sort of things will it be able to do?”

“Well...he is just sort a general prototype right now. If I was just spitballing what I would love for it to become...well...maybe it’s future models could be more enhanced versions of a SHIV. Like...Clunker could be a heavy armor unit...even if the SHIVs are pretty heavy duty right now, I doubt any of them could hold a giant cannon on the top of it’s head, or carry heavy plated armor and still move faster over all terrain...oh...the possibilities!” Nick speculated with a twinkle in his eye, his spark of enthusiasm having seemed to return. “But...well, for right now at least, I still need to get him functional. I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I looked over him repeatedly but I can’t seem to find the source of his problems…”

“I don’t know much about robots, but I’ll happily take a look at him if you want me to. And if you think it’s a software problem, there’s a computer engineer somewhere on board who help me out the other day.”

Nick looked excited for a brief second before his look quickly disappeared. “I didn’t want help on him though...I always wanted to complete something big on my own...to prove I was just as good as the experts or the best. If I have people do the work for me...all that work would have been for nothing…”

“That’s understandable… but then again, very few of the greatest engineers in history worked alone. The same goes for most academics. Take the moon landings. Werner von Braun worked on the Rocket, along with a huge team of both Germans and Americans. The flight computers were designed by a team at MIT, based on work that the British had started during the war. Grumman built the LEM, North American Rockwell the Command Module. That diversity is what made the project work. If you think you can handle it alone by all means do so, it would be a fantastic achievement, but if you want my honest opinion, it would be better to have a collaborative project that works, than a non-functioning heap of metal you made by yourself.”

Nick looked down and he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was real stupid trying to think all this time I could make something so grand on my own. It’s just I saw all the great things Ms. Randolph did with her time at XCOM and she was like...eleven. I guess I deluded myself into thinking I could be her.”

“I don’t think it was stupid, just overly ambitious. Ambition can be a great driving force, but too much will hinder you.”

“I guess you’re right. So...who was this engineer you were talking about?” He asked curiously.

“Taoming Wang, I just submitted a request for a software expert to the chief, and he sent him down. I don’t know if he’d be busy or not though.”

“I guess I will have to ask him when I can then…” Nick then glanced at the work Brienne had on the table and he had an idea. “How good are you with circuitry?”


“I’m pretty good with it. Building circuits was how I first got into engineering.”

“W-Well...could you take a look at his circuitry and wiring for me? See...if I missed anything vital?” He asked with big. pleading eyes.
“Certainly, I could do with a break from this.” She replied, indicating the improved scope on her desk.

Nick looked at it a little longer, trying to see if there was anything he could do. “Well...good luck with that. I am good with robots and design. Oh, did I tell you I made a fake handgun out of scrap and broken parts from the assembly line? Came in handy.”

“You should probably be careful with that. If you use it to bluff, and they realise you’re bluffing, then you are probably not going to have a very good time.”

“Well the whole point of a bluff is for the other person to not realize you are bluffing. Besides...I don’t have the fake gun on me anymore. I let the woman who saved me keep onto it. Not like I really need it anymore with the two guys who tried to assault me are probably already off the ship.” Nick stated with a content smile. “It will probably make you happy to know I am going to start seeing the ship’s therapist at least as regularly as I can. The threat may be gone but I still...well, I am still an introverted little crustacean.”

“At least you’re not… shellfish…” Brienne said, grinning widely

Nick gave her an unamused look and told her, “I hate you…”

She sat back in her chair. “Well, if you will provide the perfect opportunity…”

Sticking his tongue out at Brienne, he reluctantly gave her one last friendly hug. “I hope you do your best on Clunker...I may not look like it, but I could seriously kick your butt if you break him.”

“Nothing like a little pressure to improve productivity…”

Nick gave a maniacal giggle and pointed to nowhere in particular. “I finally have my own slave! I must really be on my way to being the best engineer on the ship!” He stated in a stupidly manly voice.

“Now, where did I put my extra strong magnets… it would really be a shame if one of them found it’s way into Clunker…”

“Now you’re really teasing me…” Nick accused, pouting a little bit. “A boy can dream, can’t he?”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Thank Your Lucky Star

XSDF Progressus Colony
New Manaus West Plaza
Feb. 13th, 1600 Hours

Brigid sighed as she watch her insectoid companion sort through what looked like, at least to her, random piles of circuitry, metal, and junk. To the Baʒir, however, it was a gold mine of useful parts. While Brigid couldn't tell herself, Bɒkɒ was being very careful to watch his expression and hide how excited he was.

As he chatted away with the dealers, pointing at various doodads and thingamajigs, Brigid looked down to the ground. "You know... I know what my job is here... and I know what his job is. What, exactly, is your job, cat?"

The incubator at her feet did not cease scanning the area as she responded. It is This One's duty to assure the safety of one human, O'Brien, Brigid, and one Baʒir, Bɒkɒ.

Brigid chuckled. "Um... no offense, cat..."

Dinah.

Brigid shook her head. "No offense, Dinah, but I can take care of myself, and I'm sure I can handle any trouble Bɒkɒ might get into, if any." She leaned against a post. "Why now of all times... I can't begin to..."

You are here as a test of your ability to follow orders. Dinah turned to look up at Brigid. So is This One.

Brigid raised an eyebrow. "The Commander told you that?"

No. This One read the thoughts of the human Mason. As he instructed Master Alice, This One heard a thought saying the Commander does not trust Dinah. This One is here to see if This One can be trusted to 'not lose control'.

Brigid sighed. "And she probably sent you with me so, if you did go crazy, she wouldn't lose someone she'd miss." Great. Once again, my fate is tied to one of these things...

This One heard that. Dinah tilted her head slightly. Master Alice has informed This One of your reasons for mistrust. This One understands. However, This One can not be controlled by a Humiliata, and This One would not sully her pallet with human meat. Master Alice... and This One... insists on only the finest hand-prepared beef, chicken, and fish for This One's diet. You have nothing to fear... at least, not from This One.

Brigid smiled. "Is that a fact?" She laughed. "Alright then. I guess if Alice trusts you, then I owe it to you to give you a shot."

You owe This One nothing. Dinah turned to scan the area again, adding, But This One thanks you.

Bɒkɒ rejoined the pair, the sophisticated translator on his neck able to match the excitement in his clicks and chatters as he typed on his computer pad. "Our mission was a success! As the humans might say, the Dondondari trader speaks a big game, as their people usually do. Big... game, right?" Brigid nodded, and he continued. "However, he did not know a tracking cortex from a fusion core. I received an excellent deal on parts to upgrade nearly all of our fighterss tracking systems, and replacements for the weapon systems on our damaged vessles."

Brigid nodded. "Good news then. I'm sure the Commander will be happy to hear that you made out like a bandit."

Bɒkɒ blinked several times. "I... I can assure you, Ms. O'Brien, I... I haggled fairly, and I intend to assure he receives the compensation..."

Brigid chuckled. "Just an expression, buddy." She patted him on the shoulder. "Great job." She glanced at her watch. "And just in time for my meeting. Clear to join me?"

Bɒkɒ nervously rubbed his antennae. "With... w-with the Shinso? I'm not sure..."

Brigid shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it would probably help make us look less... 'intimidating' as a representative if we had... um..."

Bɒkɒ nodded. "If there was a weaker individual like a Baʒir with you." He took several deep breaths, and nodded again. "Alright. Let's go."

Brigid and Bɒkɒ made their way through the crowd, Dinah ridding on Bɒkɒ's shoulder as she scanned the area. They arrived at a small outdoor diner, their Shinso contact already enjoying what looked like an steak, though whatever it came from was probably three times the size of a cow. He appeared to be middle-aged for his people, his mighty mane of brown fur starting to grey, his face spotted with scars.

At his side was a young Cartus, appearing to be in her mid to late teens. She had small, petite features, small ears, and dark black fur on her ears, hands, and tail. Where as the Shinso wore regal clothing, her clothing was only a slight step up from rags.

The Shinso watched the XSDF trio closely as they approached, like a predator watching a potential rival. The Cartus' cautiously looked up, her eyes darting between her master, Brigid, and the floor, as if she was afraid to look at anything without permission.

Brigid stood before the Shinso, bowing her head. "My name is Brigid O'Brien of the XSDF Battleship Einherjar. This is Bɒkɒ, engineer in charge of ship maintenance, and our... guard Incubator, Dinah. I believe you are expecting me?"

The Shinso waved to the seats before him. "Sit," he said in a booming voice. "I am Dabura of the Shinso Galactic Freighter Korana." Brigid nodded, sitting down and looking down at the steak that was placed in front of her with some apprehension. "I took the liberty of ordering for you. I... hope it is not too much for one of such a... diminutive size." He smiled widely, baring his fangs.

Brigid grinned back, and cut of a large piece, popping it in her mouth. "Not bad. Wouldn't mind it a little more rare." She leaned back. "So... I believe I was sent here to receive information about pirate activity in Shinso space."

Dabura grunted. "And why would we give you that information?"

Brigid blinked several times. "You, um... I... I see no reason why you wouldn't. I mean, it would not only show the XSDF good faith, but if there was any activity above normal... anything that would pose a serious danger, we'd probably stop to deal with it, which would only make your space safer."

Bɒkɒ cautious said, "Per... perhaps we could offer you reports of pirate activity in our space."

Dabura shook his head. "Unacceptable. Should reports of pirate activity... and thus our vulnerabilities... get to the Quin, they could use it against us."

Brigid chuckled. "I... I don't understand... sir. Why... am I here? You said you had information for us."

"That I do." Dabura leaned forward. "Relations between the Shinso and the Quin are... I believe the human expression would be 'heating up'. I am here to inform you that it would be unwise to travel through our space. And... should you choose to ignore my warnings, make sure your Commander is aware that any assistance given to the Quin, especially if it should have any negative effects on the Shinso whatsoever, will be considered a declaration of war."

Brigid tapped her fingers against the desk, taken aback. "Why... couldn't you tell the Commander over the comms? Or send a message? This... seems like a waste..."

"All messages of this matter are to be delivered in person. To send a message would be considered insulting, and until your Commander, and the XSDF as a whole, proves otherwise, your commanding officer does not have the right to speak with my commanding officer."

Brigid folded her arms. "Well... I'm pretty sure the Commander will want something more then this. That might be seen as an insult to us."

"That is not my concern," Dabura responded flatly.

After a tense moment of silence, the Cartus to Dabura's side meekly said, "I... M-Master... could you not... give them... m-maps... or something... a-a-as a sign of..."

Dabura quickly rose from his seat, snarling. "You will learn to silence your defiant tongue! You WILL learn your place, or I'll..."

The Shinso rose his mighty hand, and Brigid suddenly jumped up to her feet. Her snarl nearly matched that of Dabura, enough to make him hesitate. After several seconds of tense starring, Bɒkɒ privately told Brigid, Please, Brigid. I... my people know all too well of the pain of slavery. But we can not cause a planetary incident over this... no matter how much it may pain us.

Brigid swallowed slowly, and relaxed her shoulders. Dabura lowered his arm, looking at the Cartus and pointing an angry finger. "Be grateful you are worth more undamaged. I believe I shall search for a buyer willing to deal with your defiance." He turned to Brigid. "You... you may send my apologies to your commanding officer. And... I shall send your ship some star maps." He pointed at his plate and looked at the Cartus. "Clean this up and meet me at the inn."

He bowed his head to Brigid, and walked away. The feline girl frowned at the near empty plate, and quickly ate what was left of it, looking disappointed when she was done. Brigid smiled at her. "What's your name?"

The girl flinched slightly, and cautiously said, "It... i-it's Mayane."

Brigid pushed her plate closer to the slave girl. "I... I'm sorry, I..."

"Don't be..." Mayane smiled shyly. "This... i-is just how it is." She took a quick bite of Brigid's steak, cutting off and carrying away another piece to eat when she was done chewing.

Brigid watched as Mayane disappeared into the crowd, and sighed. She glanced at Bɒkɒ, and shook her head. "Listen... I'm sorry if the humans... ever..."

Bɒkɒ shook his head. "We are within your debt for freeing us from the Ethereal's rule. And for not deciding to enslave us yourself."

Brigid nodded as she poked at the steak, still shaking her head and thanking her lucky star she was born on Earth at the time she was.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Frostlich1228 & ZombieSplitter53
Strength in Numbers, Strength Alone

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Outside Engineering
Feb. 14th, 0800 Hours

Korra slowly peaked her head into Engineering, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, but seemingly unaware of the fact the her long, bright red hair made her stand out. As a Baʒir walked by, she hissed, "Hey, you! Bug man! I'm looking for..." The Baʒir quickly skittered away. "Hey! Come back!" She growled to herself, and hesitantly tried to peak in further.

James stood behind the woman, curiously peeking in to see what she was looking at and saying in a straight voice, "I think he may have taken offense to that."

Korra jumped a bit, quickly turning around. "I... I-I'll apologize later. Right now I'm looking for someone. Do... do you work here?"

He smirked, putting a finger to his chin, "Well, if you ask them, no... But if you ask me... Also no... However, I am an Engineer, that good enough?"

Korra smiled. "Maybe. I wanted to check on a kid I was told... works here for some reason. Nicholas... something. You know if he's okay?"

"Oh, the kid!" James seemed to perk up a bit, "He works here because he's an engineer, genius, why else would he work here?"

Korra's eye twitched slightly. "I... maybe in school or something. I didn't know he was an engineer at his age."

"You don't really seem to know much about him. So why are you looking for him exactly?" Fancypants asked, tilting his head.

Korra folded her arms. "Well... not that its any of..." She closed her eyes. Be nice. You're on thin ice around here as it is. "I... there were a couple of big guys messing with him, and I defended him. I've been in the brig for fighting, though. Do you know if he's okay?"

"Haven't seem him for a while." He replied, crossing his arms, "You know, you really should've let him protect himself."

Korra huffed. "When a geddah is surrounded by a pair of fumjac three times its size, you don't simply walk away. Besides, I..." She looked away. "I can't simply ignore a child in trouble. Whatever their reason, they had no right to gang up on him like that. I makes me sick..."

"Let me tell you something. I may not have known the kid for very long, but if he can't defend himself from a bunch of jocks, then the world is just going to keep shitting all over him and treating him like a doormat. If he wants people to treat him with respect, he's got to show them that he's worth it, and if he can't, then he won't get anywhere. That's how the world works." James explained with a high and almost superior tone, "Having someone fight your battles for you means that you'll become reliant on that someone to save your ass every time you get into a scrape instead of learning to save yourself, because as soon as that person isn't there, you're just going to be a doormat again, whether it's the same group of people, or a different group somewhere down the line."

Korra's eyes widened, and she gritted her teeth, taking an angry stomp towards James. "Did... did you give that advice to that kid? Because from what I heard, he tried to deal with it himself. And you know what it got him? A bruised stomach, cracked ribs, and what could have turned into a bunch of muscle heads beating him to death to keep a secret."

Korra turned away, her arms shaking slightly. "One should rely on their own strength... when they have it. But when you don't have that strength... when you're a child, facing a group of men stronger and more powerful then you, then not asking for help isn't brave. It's stupid." A tear rolled down her cheek. "It... i-it just let's them continue what they're doing the moment they realize you're powerless to stop them, and that you either won't ask for help... or you... o-or you don't have anyone you can go to..."

James sighed, "Please, this seems like it's coming from some personal event that may have happened to you, but I could tell even from the small conversation I had with that kid, that he's not powerless, not even close. What he lacks in power, he makes up for in smarts, all he has to do is outwit them, a hidden, armed drone, a well placed camera, and they're gone, not a problem anymore.

He shrugged, "I didn't tell him that myself because I didn't know, but I wish I could've. There's a old human saying, If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, but if you teach a man how to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime."

Korra wiped a tear from her eye, and turned back towards James. "You... don't know the situation. And I have a simple question for you. What if he tried to do it on his own? What if he tried to... to use a fake gun to get them to surrender, and they realized it was fake and attacked him? What if they left, and he thought he won, only for them to now decide he is a risk for telling on them, and he can't be intimidated, so they waited for him in a dark corridor with a knife in hand?"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Korra slowly approached James, fists opening and closing. "Because those were the people he was dealing with. Would it be okay? If we found him dead the next day, would it be okay because he dealt with them himself? And the fact that he died only meant he wouldn't grow up to be a doormat? Because as I see it, there is a difference between expecting someone to catch fish... and expecting them to catch sharks."

"He's smart enough to have more than one back-up plan! And I wouldn't settle for a fake gun... I'd want them to have a reminder of what'll happen the next time they try something like that..." James replied, looking at her fist and looking back towards her eyes, "It's all about playing to your strengths..."

Korra scoffed. "You have no idea what it is like to be backed into a corner. To have so few options, so little to turn to. It is all well and good to talk about what other people could do or should have done, but in the end, you weren't there, and all you do is make it sound like you're blaming the victim. 'He should have come up with back-up plans. He should have taught them a lesson. She shouldn't have been so gullible. She should have been willing to sacrifice everything so they wouldn't... touch..." More tears rolled down her cheeks as she snared at James. "You make me sick. You're no better then them."

"You say that... But aren't you the one who's been calling him weak, helpless, and a victim?" James asked, "Maybe you see just as much of yourself in him as I do... But that raises the question... Do you think you're weak, helpless, and a victim? Because if you're here, the XSDF, a place where only people that are worthy ever get in, that proves to me that you're not."

He chuckled a little, "And you're about to punch me in the face! Even after my whole 'shooting people so they remember not to fuck me with line'. Takes balls."

Korra's eye twitched again, and it took everything she had not to punch him. "I never said I thought he was weak. A laser pistol is not weak, but it lacks when compared to a plasma rifle." She shook her head. "That child was anything but weak. But an inability to admit when you need help? Yeah... that's weakness."

His look grew more serious, "Well, he can-"

James stopped suddenly, busting out laughing as he looked down at her breasts, "I- I'm sorry...! I know we were having a serious conversation but... It's so hard to keep a straight face with all of that there! Like, h-how do you even walk with those things?! You're spine has to look like a fucking bendy straw, my god... hehehee..."

Korra suddenly smiled softly. She approached James, firmly pressing her chest against his. "So... my breasts make it hard for you to take me serious. Is that what you're saying?" She gave him a playful pout. "That's not a very nice thing to say," she said in a childish voice. As she stared at him, her tail slow snaked up her side and around James' back

"Sorry, but you're barking up the wrong tree sister... I can take you serious, I just can't help but wonder how you even move! I feel like if I tried to punch you my fist would get deflected off like a suit of armor! Ah... Wow... " James chuckled, wiping a small tear from his eye.

Korra's tail gently wrapped around James' neck, enough to apply pressure but not enough to choke him. Without changing her expression, she whispered, "The only reason I'm not strangling you right now is because my job is more important then you. Just understand that it is really, really hard not to right now."

"Same here." Korra felt a bop at the back of her head, a small, armed drone pointing it's weapon directly at her, guided by laser sight, "There's an irony to this somewhere, and you called me the bad guy."

"You are," Korra responded without hesitation. She removed her tail and stepped back, ignoring the drone. "You speak of things you know nothing about, and assume it would be better for a child to find a way to physically harm is aggressors then go for help through the proper channels. That you might put those ideas in his mind..." She turned around in disgust, and stared at the drone. "Either shoot me or get out of the way!"

"And you think you're at better influence, you act just like the people that beat him up. Grabbing my throat, threatening me. I'll give you one thing though, you make for a very good hypocrite." James smugly stepped out of the way.

Korra shrugged. "Maybe. But if you don't see the difference between a full grown man being threatened by a woman smaller and physically weaker then him, and a child being threatened by two adults three times his size, then... well, I'm wasting my breath, aren't I?" She walked past him, saying, "Sorry to waste your time... and mine. I have someone I was looking for."

She stepped through the door and James focused on her flowing red hair. Smaller and physically weaker maybe, but I'm no psion...

As Korra walked away, James turned towards his drone and typed a few commands on his wrist pad. The machine beeped, "Recording saved. Transferring to drive."

Fancypants pulled out the small drive at the bottom of the drone, twisting it in his hands a few times, "He deserves to see this, if he still thinks she's worth spending time with, then that's his decision. I tried to be civil, after all."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

XSDF Planetside Mission
Alien Abduction Mission
Operation Old Enemy

System: Progressus System
Planet: Progressus
Location: New Manaus West Plaza
Date: February 14th
Time: 2100 Hours, Neo Brasilia Time

Mission Briefing:
An hour ago, we received a strange communication from the township of New Manaus. Officials there reported a large ship landed in the jungle somewhere nearby, and about twenty minutes later as the Einherjar prepared to assist, the west entrance facing the jungle fell under assault by extraterrestrial forces. The description of the enemies located there matches forces from the old Ethereal Empire, and their aim appears to be the abduction of humans for testing.

We can only assume they answer to Iudicium, the deserter general from the era of Phobos, or one of his two assistants. Although we have no indication that one of their capital ships is in orbit, thus eliminating the possibility of pursuing this old enemy, we should still stop their incursions whenever they appear. A squad is being deployed to deal with this threat and protect our colony in response. Show them their time was over at the dawn of 2019, Strike One.

Number of Soldiers for this Mission: Twelve (12) XSDF Troopers with Two (2) Mechanicals

Soldier’s Names:
(Soldiers will be taken to the town by the Skyranger)

**SPC Blackbourne, Geoff (Knight)
PFC Samora, Sorie (Nat. Muscle Fiber Density)
PFC H.H. Ts'kalik-sha, “Al” Zz'khaz
PFC Vonnegut, Siegfried
PFC El-Ghazza, Miraj
PFC Tambaamrant, Izebboudjin (Reaction Time Overclocker)
PFC Thompson, Kaylee
PFC Metharom, Nyo-Kwang
PFC Xanthopoulos, Kiki (Smart Macrophages)
PFC Ursu, Dmitry
PFC Gopal, Manju (Muscle Fiber Density)
Legion Frame
SHIV One
SHIV Two

**Squad Leader
*Team Leader
Italics are player characters.

Gear: (link)

Terrain:
The majority of the alien forces can be found in a large plaza behind the west entrance to the city. A small wall about 8 feet high surrounds the town proper to keep wildlife out, and the entrance itself is a gate about nine feet long and ten feet high at its highest point, curving downwards two feet on either side to come in line with the wall. It is blasted open, however, and the extraterrestrials have already come through save for their elite group.

The plaza itself is a road built around a large fountain in the center of the area, dotted with market stalls of all sorts. A few cars are stopped at various points, and act as cover alongside the low walls of the market and the cars themselves. Be aware that plasma weapons and car fuel mix in an explosive way, however.

Not all of the enemy forces may start out in the plaza, having gone to abduct civilians in numerous side alleyways towards the west end of the plaza, but once you engage a pod or two they will come to investigate most assuredly. The Skyranger will be landing in a small square just in front of the plaza itself, so the archway leading in counts as cover and concealment as well.

Enemies:

One (1) group of three (3) Sectoids [Plasma Pistols][Mind-Merge, Psi Panic, Mindfray, ESP]
One (1) group of three (3) Drones
One (1) group of three (3) Thin Men [Plasma Carbines]
One (1) group of three (3) Floaters [Light Flight Armor, Plasma Carbines]
One (1) group of three (3) Mutons [Heavy Powered Armor, Plasma Rifles]
One (1) group of one (1) Heavy Floater [Heavy Flight Armor, Plasma Rifle], one (1) Seeker [Plasma Pistol], and one (1) Outsider [Plasma Carbine]
One (1) elite group containing one (1) Sectoid [Plasma Pistol][Mind-Merge: for Mechtoid Telekinetic Shield], one (1) Mechtoid [MEC-1 Suit], and one (1) Sectoid Commander [Mind-Merge, Psi Panic, Mind Control, Mindfray, ESP]

Special Enemy Notes: All opponents are similar to variants developed prior to the Ethereal Subjugation War, and thus resemble what XCOM fought more than twenty years ago.

Conditions for Completing the Mission:
1) Elimination of all enemy forces.
2) Rescue of any nearby civilians. (They are automatically rescued if objective one is complete)

Civilians:

There are about twenty civilians scattered in the plaza area, but all of them are covered in a green binding preservation agent. It is surprisingly durable, but watch your fire around them nevertheless. A small family of four can be found hiding behind a market stall, as well as a couple hidden in a car.

 

[Alzdude28]

Alzdude28 and DarkGemini24601:
“Operation Old Enemy, Part 1”
West Plaza of New Manaus

The Skyranger touched down just before the way into the plaza, which was only lit by street lamps and the dim lights of houses and market stalls. Already upon landing two people doused in the green preserving agent could be seen nearby, but there was no sign of the enemy quite yet. Blackbourne was the first out, the MEC Trooper providing cover for the others while they exited the dropship. Once everyone was out, it sat in wait for them to return upon completion of the mission, keeping its guns trained on the entrance in case any aliens tried to attack the pilot.

Al ran down the ramp with the rest of the squad, setting himself behind the wall at the street corner. He took a moment to inhale the warm air of the Progressus night. It’s good to be back. He then scanned the street through the sights on his rifle, watching for movement. Satisfied that there was no immediate danger he looked back at the rest of the squad, who were in similar positions. Some were making last minute checks on their weapons, patting their sidearms to make sure they were ready or gripping hand grenades nervously.

Geoff gave the order to advance, and half the squad moved forward into the plaza while the other half followed a bit behind to spread out their forces more. The forward group found cover behind two parked cars, empty though one was still running as if someone had fled in a panic. The near-silence was broken as there was the sound of some sort of chattering, and then a Sectoid darted behind one of the nearby market stalls, its glowing green weapon marking it as one of the enemy. It fired off a few distracting shots while two more of its grey bretheren mind-merged and moved into position. The strengthened Sectoid launched a stream of violet energy at Geoff, making his vision blur and forcing him to wait for the effect of the mindfray to wear off.

The rest of the squad went into action. Samora, who was behind the first car, fired at the isolated Sectoid, wounding it. Metharom and Al dashed forward, trying to flank the other sectoids while remaining in cover as El-Ghazza moved up and finished off the wounded sectoid with a single pistol shot at point blank range.

“Hold your fire.” Al barked into his radio, before rising out of cover, sighting at the now exposed sectoid that was merging with it’s comrade. There was a loud crack from the rifle and the sectoid slumped against the wall, blood seeping from the large gunshot wound in it’s head. The following silence was broken only by the screams of the other sectoid as the telepathic link was broken, sending its brain into fatal shock.

Soon three more aliens joined the party, vaulting over one of the stalls and landing behind the stone structure of the fountain. They were wearing civilian clothing, but had black sunglasses, and were unusually tall. They quickly took aim with plasma carbines, one of their shots connecting with Blackbourne’s armor and giving him pause before he fired off a retaltation shot, blowing one of them away and creating a cloud of noxious chemicals where the body landed.

“So that’s what we were like then, huh…” Sorie muttered to herself as she took aim at the Thin Men.

Staying low, Thompson and Ursu moved forward, as Samora and Metharon provided cover fire. Simultaneously the two running soldiers pulled the pins on their grenades and tossed them at the surviving Thin Men, before diving to the ground. “Fire in the hole!” The rest of the squad ducked down, covering their faces to shield them from any stray shrapnel or debris.

As the echo of the explosions died away, they were replaced by another noise. Engines. Al peeked out of cover to see three larger aliens in flight armour each one accompanied by a small drone. “Six more contacts!” He shouted back to the rest of the squad.

The drones seemed to hold back for now, merely following the floaters as they jettisoned in odd patterns, firing sporadically. Most of the shots missed, but they did a good job of pinning the XSDF troops down. Two of the drones started to advance to the left flank, seeming to be heading straight for some of the soldiers, while the third covered them with periodic heat blasts.

The closest drone exploded in a ball of flame as it was caught in the crossfire of Vonnegut, Xanthopoulos and Gopal. Thompson and Al fired at the other, but most of the rounds they fired went wide or just didn’t do enough damage to stop it. “Bring that fucking thing down!” Al yelled at the rest of the squad. Finally, a burst from Metharom crashed the drone a few meters away from the troops, where it bounced and rolled, before coming to a stop next to Al, who quickly swung the butt of his rifle at it, scooting it away before it exploded like its counterpart.

One of the floaters went down to a burst of fire from the two SHIVs, and the other two that remained decided to try their luck rushing forward on either side, the third drone priming its explosives and moving forward in the center.

Al moved his rifle back up to his shoulder and fired at one of the floaters, destroying its left engine, leaving it to struggle on the ground, until a second shot found it’s mark between the floater’s eyes. Meanwhile the drone was brought down by Tambaamrant, as he unloaded a full magazine into it’s casing.

El-Ghazza pulled the pin on his grenade, counting under his breath as he did so, before throwing the grenade with devastating accuracy into one of the turbines on the remaining floater’s flight armour. The floater was blown to pieces before it realised what was happening.

It was then that real trouble arrived, three hulking Mutons stepping out of an alleyway. Although they took fairly low cover, their plasma rifles and aegis armor were not equipment items to be taken lightly, the first of which sent a spray of fire downrange from two of the Balmadaar. The third pulled the pin on his grenade, tossing it and blasting apart half of a car, lighting it on fire and creating the need to move.

The SHIVs provided covering fire as the troops behind the burning car scattered, seeking safer positions. Rolling behind a market stall, Al rested his rifle on the counter and took a well aimed shot at the grenadier, the bullet slamming into his armour, knocking him off his feet but not killing him.

Next to Al, Vonnegut tossed a grenade at the two other Balmadaar, which curved through the air, bounced once on the road and then came to rest next to the cover they were behind, blowing it apart and wounding the two hostile aliens.

The rest of the squad took the opportunity to break cover and run forwards, dropping down behind anything that might provide a shield against the plasma blasts. As the last soldier scrambled behind a wall, all three Balmadaar stood up again.

Al ducked down as a burst of plasma sailed over his head, melting the front of the building behind him. Vonnegut leaned to the side, returning fire and killing the Balmadaar that Al had wounded before with three deliberate shots.

The two remaining Balmadaar were gunned down easily by the rest of the squad who simply sprayed until their weapons were empty as the Balmadaar ran for cover.

With the latest wave of enemies dispatched, the XSDF troops stayed put, reloading their weapons before walking further down the street.

After a few meters, Al tasted the air. He looked across at a stall laden with local fruit, then at Samora. “You smell that?”

The Replitan’s forked tongue darted out briefly, then she nodded. “Humans, unharmed.”

The soldiers took up defensive positions, then Thompson went over to the stall, finding four humans, a family by the look of them. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this area clear.” She said to them. “Run down that way, our dropships that way, you can get help there.” She pointed back the way they had come.

The human survivors ran off hurriedly, the parents half dragging, half carrying their children behind them. Once the soldiers were satisfied that they were safely out of harm’s way, they began moving again.

As they emerged from cover, there was a roar of engines as another floater zoomed into view, sending the soldiers back to cover. It swooped down, then seeing how outnumbered it was, it flew up to a building, hiding behind a raised air vent.

Following a quick radio exchange, Blackbourne unloaded at the floater’s position, the range making it impossible to accurately target the floater itself. Despite this, the hail of fire had the desired effect, as it shredded the metal duct, that was obscuring the view of the infantry.

The squad opened fire, most missed however, as the height difference and angle made it a very difficult shot. Those that did hit, didn’t seem to have much effect. “Shit, that things armoured!” Tambaamrant shouted, as the heavy floater retreated.

 

[Alzdude28]

“Operation Old Enemy, Part 2”
West Plaza of New Manaus


“Hold position, it’ll be back.” Gopal said, and the rest of the squad acknowledged this, hunkering down behind their cover, and resting their rifles on top, to give them a steadier shot. Thus prepared, they waited.

After what felt like an eternity, movement caught the eyes of the whole squad, who immediately opened fire. The heavy floater crashed into the ground. But it hadn’t been alone. A stream of plasma came at the squad as an outsider ran for cover from behind the floater’s corpse. Luckily for the soldiers, the movement had made the shots inaccurate.

The Outsider positioned itself well, the wall it was hiding behind soaked up all of the shots that were directed it’s way. Al ran low across the street, moving to the opposite corner. He pulled out his grenade. Popped the pin and sent it around the corner with a flick of his wrist. After the explosion, there was no more shooting. He looked across the street at Xanthopoulos, who gave him the thumbs up.

The smile fell from Al’s face as he saw a seeker materialise behind Xanthopoulos, wrapping its tentacles around her throat. Checking that there were no other enemies apparent, Al ran over to Xanthopoulos, drawing his pistol, and shooting a hole in the side of the seeker. When the seeker still held on, Al plunged his hand into the hole, his claws tearing apart the internal circuitry of the seeker, until it fell to the ground, the tentacles twitching slightly.

He wiped the oil off his arm, and then helped Xanthopoulos up. “We good Kiki?”

Xanthopoulos doubled over coughing, then looked up at Al and grinned weakly. “Yeah, we good.”

At this point the squad had reached the end of the street and arrived at the hole that had been blasted in the perimeter wall by the attackers. The squad split in two, half taking cover against the near side of the wall, and half staying inside, taking up defensive positions behind the rubble and cars.

As the closest squad members leaned out to look beyond the hole, the whine of servo motors was heard and a Mechtoid lumbered into sight, its body surround by the purple glow of a psionic shield.

The Mechtoid stopped about 10 meters away from the squad and launched a barrage of plasma at the soldiers. Thompson and Ursu panicked and ran for cover further away, as the wall that Al was sheltering behind was destroyed, battering him with a mixture of plasma and flying concrete. He fell to the ground, his vital signs showing on the monitoring panel, but barely, dark blood spreading around him at an alarming rate.

Seeing their comrade critically wounded like this, the rest of the squad opened fire, emptying their rifles into the Mectoid, which shook at each round hit it, first breaking the shield, then punching through the armour. Eventually, it sagged and keeled over, smoking through the bullet and laser holes.

Through the smoke, the shape of two sectoids became apparent. Most of the squad now having empty rifles, they pulled out sidearms, dispatching the first sectoid with ease, but the other evaded the shots, crouching behind a tree.

As it did so, faint tendrils of psionic energy appeared around Vonnegut, who shuddered slightly, then turned around and unloaded his handgun at El-Ghazza, who fall back, stunned by a glancing shot that grazed his temple, but protected from the worst by his helmet.

“That’s a mind control psion!” Samora shouted to the remains of the squad. “Take them down before they can do any more damage!”

At this Xanthopoulos and Gopal rushed forwards, hurling their grenades at the Sectoid Commander, completely obliterating it in the ensuing blast.

As the psionic energy dissipated, Vonnegut fell to his knees, and threw up violently. “Shit…” he choked. “I just shot Miraj in the face…” Then he passed out from the shock.

Samora looked around, seeing Al bleeding under a pile of half melted rubble, and Vonnegut and El-Ghazza unconscious closer to her. She pressed the push-to-talk button on her radio and said wearily. “Einherjar, this is Strike One. All hostiles eliminated, require a medical transport ASAP.” Then she sank down against a car, not noticing the two humans cowering inside, as the adrenaline started to leave her system and she realised how physically exhausted she was.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Old friends reunited
This a collabe by Dhalexpert & Zombiessplitter53
XSDF Colony Progressus
Central Market Gun Shop
Feb. 14th, 0900 Hours

"James," Cassia shouted. "Yo, James, you in here?"

The shop owner stepped out from the back. "Oh crap. Hey Cassia. What brings you in today? I mean, didn't you just buy all the ammo that I had, like, three months ago."

"Yeah, I know, but I want to know if my scouter is done yet?"

"Yeah, the mark 27 scouter, with Intel on everyone with a record in the galaxy. Very good for bounty hunters. Yeah, it's done, let me go and get it."

The door slowly opened behind Cassia, two woman arguing with each other.

"And I told you, it isn't like I can run anywhere," the red-haired Tamearin said.

"That's why you've been allowed to even come here. Because the Commander knows that," the blond human responded. Behind them, and very nervous looking Baʒir followed closely.

James returned with Cassia's scouter. "Here you go, Cass, your new scouter, fresh off the market."

Cassia put the scouter on her right eye and activated it. "Nice, it seems to work. Hmm, let's see." Cassia turned around to test her new scouter.

"Alright, let's see. We have a Tamearin named Korra, and a human named..." Cassia looked at the name. "Wait, no way, this thing has to be broken." Cassia took it off. "Bri... Brigid? Is... is that you?"

Brigid raised an eyebrow, looking Cassia up and down. "Yeah. My name is Brigid. Brigid O'Brien."

Cassia screamed and ran to hug Brigid. "Brigid! It's been so long! How long has it bee? Five, six, maybe... seven years since we last saw each other?"

Brigid hugged her back. "Yeah." She smiled as her memory finally clicked. "I forgot you moved here. How have you been, Cassia?"

"I've been great. I'm still bounty hunting, but I got this second job working at this wildlife preserve that's nearby. I also became psionic, so a lot has happened. So how about you? You and your mom still arguing?"

Brigid chuckled. "Actually... no. We were, especially after I joined the XSDF without telling her, but... thanks to my brother, we're actually talking again." Korra stepped behind Brigid, quietly listening, while Bɒkɒ talked to the store owner.

"Heh, you travel with interesting company." Cassia looked at the pair of aliena. "So are you going to introduce yourselves, or are you going to keep eavesdropping?"

Korra folded her arms. "I don't know about humans, but on my planet, the polite thing to do is to introduce yourself first."

Brigid rolled her eyes. "Be nice. Please."

Korra sighed. "Korra Devolina. XSDF Soldier, Destroyer Class." She pointed to the counter. "Bug man's name is Bɒkɒ. Engineer." She nudged her head towards the waving white tail in the doorway. "Outside is Dinah. Guard cat."

"Well nice to meet you. Name's Cassia Van Dam. People call me lot's of things. Mercenary, psychopath, savage, and the lot." Cassia looked back at Brigid. "So you actually joined the XSDF, huh Briggie. Well, that's not surprising. To be honest, you always did like a challenge."

Mhmm." Brigid grinned. "Had to toughen up. Didn't want to force you to always protect me after all."

Korra laughed. "You needed her to protect you?"

Brigid rolled her eyes again. "When we were children, I mean. Her mother told her to keep me safe. We were six, give me a break."

Korra only laughed. "So was O'Brien as small as this when she was a kid, or had she actually grown a little," she teased.

"No, she's practically the same since I meet her. She didn't grow one single inch since then." Cassia smiled at Brigid.

"Well, we can't all be blessed with the Van Dam bloodline," Brigid muttered, sticking out her tongue.

Bɒkɒ approached the trio. "I am afraid this shop does not have what we are looking for. We will have to go to that Masquer trader after all."

Brigid raised an eyebrow. "Can you handle that?"

Bɒkɒ lowered his head a bit. "I... I examined their 109,662 rules in anticipation for this. Depending on how well I negotiate, I will either get them for face value, half price, or... three times normal price."

Brigid sighed. "Can't be helped."

"You guys having some trouble or something? What kind of guns are you guys looking for, I mean what are you guys up to and maybe I can help."

"Increased pirate activity has required us to increase the supply of weapons for our Forseti colony." The insectoid alien typed rapidly on his computer pad. "We picked up most of what we needed on Novum. However, we are still short 200 pulse rifle packs, 50 type 121-D detonators, 10 kilos of red phosphorus, and a rotator cup for an Alloy SHIV."

"Don't tell someone outside the XSDF that," Korra snapped.

"Is that it, that's practically nothing." Cassia turns to James and starts whispering to him. James locked the doors and put up a sigh saying that the store is closed.

"OK listen here I can give you guys the weapons you need, but you must fallow these rules. First don'e ever mention this place ever, second you might want to hid those emblems were were going the the XSDF isn't really liked. And finally stay close to me are we clear?"

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 2

Korra exchanged a look with Brigid, and grinned. "I'm game."

Bɒkɒ shuddered. "I... I'm not so sure that..."

Brigid tapped him on the shoulder. "It"'ll be fine. Just follow our lead, and if anything bad happens, stay behind Dinah." The alien cat jumped on her shoulders, and she nodded to Cassia and the clerk. "Lead the way."

Very well." Cassia took the XSDF soldiers to the the back of the shop. She moved one of the gun shelves and entered a code, which revealed a elevator. Once inside, the elevator went dow. As it went down, the soldiers saw a huge complex filed with people. "Welcome to the underground market. For this planet, anyway."

"Interesting..." Brigid rubbed her chin, and shot a questioning look at Cassia. "You, uh... you're still one of the good bounty hunters, right? Not a pirate... right?"

"Brigid, I'm insulted. You know I still love chasing criminals. I would never change who I am for money, you should know that." Cassia said with a smile.

Brigid smiled back, wrapping an arm around Cassia.

As the group stepped out of the elevator, Dinah sent a private message to the group. Proceed with caution. This One reads target in the minds of many. Many plan to trick us. Others to harm should they get the chance. This One does not like it here. This One hopes human Cassia knows what she is doing. She looked at Cassia.

"This should go without saying, but please keep all valuable items in ether the crotch of your pants or taped to your chest."

Brigid nudged Korra. "Good thing your valuable items are part of your chest."

Korra smirked. "And a good thing your don't have to worry about that, huh?"

Brigid folded her arms and pouted. Damn it. Walked right into that one...
A shady looking Shinso with a large scar over one eye and her hands in her pockets approached the group, but walked the other way when Dinah started growling, her due standing on end.

Bɒkɒ tightly gripped his computer pad. "Can... can we hurry, Ms. Van Dam?"

"Yeah, yeah, cool you jets we're almost there." Cassia led the group to a weird looking gun shop. "Raish? Raish, you here?"

A Balmadaar came from the back and looked at Cassia. "Ah, Cassia. To what do I owe the pleasure of having a Van Dam grace my store?"

"I need gun supplies, and lots of them."

"Of course, but first, your package came in today." The Balmadaar picked up a box and placed it on the table. "Your new power gauntlet mark 5 is ready."

"Nice, been waiting for this." Cassia looked over her shoulder at her friends. "Oh right. Raish, I need 200 pulse rifle packs. 50 type 121-D detonators, 10 kilos of red phosphorus, and a rotator cup, can you manage that?"

"Of course. Give me a few minutes."

Brigid patted Cassia on the shoulder. "Thanks, friend."

Bɒkɒ nervously glanced up at Cassia. "Will... Will we get a good deal, Cassia. The Commander will be displeased if we are... um, ripped off."

"You'll be fine. This Balmadaar is loyal to me. I saved his family from some hard times, so you will get a good deal."

Raish returned with Cassia's order. "There you go Cassia. That will three million credits."

Cassia jaw dropped. "Three million! That's three times what it was last time."

"Sorry Cass, but pirates attack shipments, and body guards aren't like you. They are mostly worthless mercenaries in it for a check. You are true hunter and I know you pay well."

Cassia growled and paid Raish. "Send this to dock 57, okay?"

"Yes, of course. Have a good day, god of hunters."

"Oh, dear." Bɒkɒ rapidly typed on his computer pad. "Is that... really the best deal she can get?" He shuffled through the ship's inventory rapidly. "This will not do... we... we have an excess amount of tridium ore. We do not have a need for it ever since the X... ever since we updated our engines fifteen years ago, but we still carry it because it is quite useful in older freighters using last generation engines, and quite valuable due to its difficulty to make. We could part with... seven kilotons of it if you were to give Ms. Van Dam back, say... 1.5 million?"

"Look, it's fine. I have no problem paying for this. Three million is practically nothing, so let's go."

A group of aliens walked up to shop and were surprised to see Cassia. "Human!"

"Oh crap. Look guys, I don't know what I did, but can you just let me go? We can talk about..."

The alien punched Cassia. "You hunted my brother and turned him in, then when he escaped, you were waiting for him, and you killed him! Time for you to finally pay for what you did!"

"Look, your brother was a criminal. I'm a bounty hunter, it's what I do for a living. Surely you can understand that."

"I don't care what you are! You will pay for what you did!"

An explosion of fire went off in front of Cassia's attackers, causing them to back up. Dinah jumped in front of Cassia, her skin ripping as she quickly grew to her monstrous size.

"Back off," Brigid warned, grabbing the flask off her belt. "You mess with her, you mess with all of us."

"I listen to her she's crazier then me, Cassia looks at Brigid I had this under control you know."

"The aliens looked at Cassia and the company she was with "Ugh thought you would be alone you normally are, we will settle this next time."

"Your right we will settle this just not the way you think it will." Cassia shoots the alien that threaten her with her new galuent tazzering him. "Nice Now listen up you come any were me or my friends again I'll be sure to come after you got it."

The aliens look at Cassia and there boss who is unconscious the aliens decided to retreat and live to fight another day.

"Smart choice," Cassia looks back at Brigid "I had that, honestly I would have told you to mind control them and tell them to leave."

Korra folded her arms and scoffed. "I believe one is usually obligated to thank someone for coming to their aid. I don't usually make a habit out of helping strangers, you know..." She walked away, thinking to herself, Though between her and the kid, it is turning into a habit.
Brigid shook her head as she watched Dinah transform back to her smaller form. "We weren't afraid you couldn't handle yourself. But that's what friends do. You would have done the same for me, right?"

"Of course I would, but that reminds me of the old days huh Brigid you me drinking and getting into fights good times. Hell Brigid you seem different I mean you normally don't question weather or not I will help you is something wrong?"

Brigid shook her head again. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, we had your back. Just like I know you'd have mine." She placed a hand on Cassia's shoulder. "I trust you. Of course I do. Just... I've been through so much. For the last ten years, I've traveled the Earth, and sometimes beyond. Learning survival and firearm use from your family. Fighting and sword use from the Mr. Desmond. Psionic control and focus from Ms. Atka. Psionic diversity from Emily. Shadow skills from Ammy and Ayame. It... it changes you. But I've missed being with my friends... you included. I... I just wish we didn't have to leave so soon."

As the crew heads back to the Elevator and the elevator starts to rise, Cassia holds Brigids hand "Now that were clear I can finally talk normally, Brigid I missed you yes for ten years I also been allover. I've been on god knows how many planets killed who knows how many criminals but I missed you that hole time. But there is some good news I'm not leaving you not this time friend."

Brigid chuckled. "What do you mean? You coming along with us to Forseti?"

"Aw you rued my surprise, yes i'm coming with you to Forseti."

Brigid smiled brightly. "That's great news! You going to work there, or are you joining the XSDF as a solider?"

"I'm joining as a solder, would I ever be any thing else the elevator finally reaches the top of the weapons shop."

Brigid squeezed Cassia tightly, and Korra rolled her eyes. "You guys want to be alone?" She stepped out of the elevator, stopping after a few feet. Without turning, she said, "We'll meet you back at the dropship, O'Brien. And Cassia..." She turned her head slightly. "Welcome aboard."

"I'm happy to be aboard, Cassia puts on her scouter and scans Korra "Miss Devolina hum, Hay Brigid since win did you hang out with a Tsundary?"

Korra chuckled. "I'll expect a definition for that later... and to beat the shit out of her if I don't like it."

Korra and Bɒkɒ walked out, leave Brigid and Cassia alone, save for Dinah. Brigid laughed. "Making friends already. Like mother, like daughter."

"Heh maybe it's my Van Dam charm working again, any way I want to show you something Brigid it will be fun."

Brigid nodded. "Of course. Lead the way."

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 3

Cassia leads Brigid to a wildlife preserve. "Hay Jake how have been?"

"Ou your back, did you save Forseti already." Jake says jokingly

"Of course I did and was easy as pie those pirates were a joke."

Jake smiles "who's your quiet friend."

Brigid bowed her head. "I'm Brigid O'Brien. XSDF Soldier."

"Ou you don't have to do that, i'm not a Van Dam. She a friend of yours?"

"Yea child hood friend actually, think it's ok if I show her rapture and blue?

"Nock your self out but make sure she stays behind the cage alright."

"Pets of yours?" Brigid asked.

"Sort of but not really." Cassia takes Brigid to were raptor and blue are. "Now these are not like the wolves that you saw back in my camp, there much bigger."

Cassia opens the cage were blue and raptor are and enter the area. Cassia blows a whistles and two big blue creatures come out of the forest.

"Brigid close the cage and stay behind it."

Brigid did as she was told and stepped back. She could feel Dinah tensing on her shoulder. "What are they?"

"They are the wolves of this planes, Hay raptor blue you two still look good." Cassia eyes turned blue as well as the alien wildlife.

"Good good now, come on I need you to go near the cage were that blond woman is and don't eat her." The aliens or the alien on her shoulder.

The aliens started to move towards Brigid growling and hissing at her.

Cassia stand in between the aliens making sure the don't do any thing. "You can pet them if you want Brigid."

Brigid raised an eyebrow. "Are... are you sure sure they won't bite my hand off?"

Dinah relaxed a bit. This One believes the human Cassia has them under control.

"Yo see there eyes there blue, that means there under my control well i'm telling them not to bit you. as long as there eyes are blue they won't bite you, even though they relay want to but you will be fine Brigid just trust me."

Brigid nodded, and slowly reached into the cage. She cautiously pet them, smiling gently.

the aliens seem to like Brigid petting them, Cassia quickly tells them to go back to were they were. And the aliens left as quickly as the entered." See I told you I have every thing under control, now I want to show you one more animal then we can go and catch up alright."

"Alright." Brigid smiled brightly. "Animal empathy, huh? Like Ms. Atka. That's awesome."

"Yea mom taught it to me, and were I live it made it really easy to master." Cassia takes Brigid to the biggest part of the area "Don't worry you can enter this time there aren't any carnivores here it's perfectly safe."

"If you say so. You sure keep odd pets though." Though so does Alice, I guess, Brigid thought.

I heard that, Dinah said flatly.

Cassia and Brigid start to feel the ground start to shake,a giant animal comes out of the forest."

"Brigid meet Mammoth, my biggest so called pet actually she's the biggest thing on this planet. So what do you think?"

"Mammoth is right," Brigid said with a big smile. "He's a biggun. Good to see you're getting along with the local wildlife. One of the XSDF's concerns when starting a colony is how it will effect the planet."

"Yea that's one of the reasons the XSDF want me to join you on your mission, they want me to examien the wild life and see what were up ageist. Hell with my experience studying the plants and animals will be easy to do, I don't want to wipe out the wildlife on Forseti. Mammoth!" Mammoth lowers his head to Cassia, Cassia starts to hug mammoth "Aw i'm going to miss you you love able cow." You want to help me feed him?"

"Yeah, of course." Brigid smirked. "Heh... tough soldier and local zoologist. Interesting combo."

"Hay I can't kill and capture people constantly, I need hobby. Cassia opens the giant gate to release Mammoth. "Get in." Cassia and Brigid dive mammoth to his feeding ground once there mammoth is eating a what looks like a mountain of grains. "Alright Brigid this is what you do, this is going go be fun. Cassia shoots down one of the branches here help me pick this up."

"The two solders pick up what seems to be a small tree. "Hay mammoth lookie it's your favorite!"

Mammoth makes a loud roar and goes to wards Cassia and Brigid sinking his teeth in to the large bark

"Sigh eat up big guy, it's the last time i'm going to feed you like this." Cassia pets Mammoth.

Brigid glanced into Cassia's eyes. "You... I know you're going to miss this. But you'll be back. And you'll love the XSDF... as long as you stay on the Commander's good side. The facilities, the thrill. Heck, even the food compared to XCOM."

"The food alone makes almost not want to join, and you telling me to stay on the commanders good side. Something tells me you alone already give him or her a headache, with the two of us we there head might explode. But i'm a bounty hunter and a good one at that, I oue it to my self to defend my fellow humans and the other races. Hell i'm a van dam it's I could never deny the call of action, pulse I have you what's the worst that can happen." Cassia says with a smile.

"Exactly." Brigid looked up at mammoth. "Good to have you with us. Something tells me are problems will be bigger then your friend here. I just hope we're ready for them."

"Heh odds stacked agents us with a big challenge, that's just how I like my jobs makes me realize why i'm a bounty hunter." Cassia sees the sun setting. "Hay the suns going down, hay I know some bars in town, though a warning the liqure here is way stronger then it is on earth so it takes some getting used to. So be sure to bring some on to the ship."

Brigid walks to wards the car. "Were not driving well not in that way." Cassia climbs onto Mammoth "You coming or not, might as well give you one last bit of fun while your here."

Brigid simply nodded, climbing on behind her.

"On word Mammoth back to the city!" Mammoth makes a loud roar and makes his way to wards the city with the two friend reunited on his back.