"Two pounds." Serenity corrected, slipping the card back into her dress. "Lumina will be in touch." Sure enough, the shop keeper would receive a communications message from Serene Designs Research Vessel, Stellar Seer. The message stated that a shipping drone would be by shortly to pick up a previously placed order.

"Tell me about your cloak first, shopkeep." She suspected she might want to leave, once she learns what's in the drum. She takes another puff of the space moss she'd broken off previously, finishing the sample amount.

The Shopkeeper paused for a moment, as he moved more space herb onto the parchment, "Ah yes, two pounds." He used his right hand to correct the mistake on the terminus, "My apologizes, my apologizes. Yess... yes, my cloak." The Shop keeper took off his cloak with his left hand, as he held it out towards Serenity. "This cloak was passed down to me by my ancestors, yes." He gestured at several of the inner runes, which were glowing bright blue. "These runes in the center, are personal." He pointed at a rune which looked like a circle with a seven diamonds entanged within it. "Yes, this shows the heritage of the mining of my clan, yes. The number is luck, as we were rather fortunate not to be culled during the War of Kal'rik Belt."

This war was primarily financed between two mining corporations for the rights to mine in the Kal'rik Asteroid Belt, and the war lasted for twenty four years, well judging by the calendar they use. Most of the native inhabitants of belt, were dislocated due to the war, especially those who fought among the Gorplex Excavation Corporation. After the war the company stocks dropped so low, and they were immediately bought out by Victorious Ventures (the winners of the Kal'rik Belt Wars), and was immediately gutted out to make more credits. Victorious Ventures still operates, and still maintains the rights to the Kal'rik Belt, alongside other asteroid belts, and a variety of planets.

The shop-keeper then pointed towards a rune which seemed to mark the cloak the most. The rune was composed of a triangle marked out with an x, and all of the points of the x had a small circle on them. "These runes, well they are simply the symbol that an old space-faring crew I used to work with. As for why it has the most marks on the cloak, well, the loyalty I shared with them affected me greatly." The shop keeper wistfully remarked, as he returned the cloak back onto himself, "Well, that wasn't all of the things I could share with you about the cloak. But, I figured those were the ones that mattered. Oh yes, yes, I shall make sure your order heads to your ship."

"The name's Wildmax. And don't celebrate just yet Sliz, I'm still planning to turn you over to some other place, where you might actually reform instead of just getting killed". He somewhat playfully placed one of his hands on the reptilian's shoulder, using the other one to shake the dust off of him. "You're tagging along with me in the meantime. It'll be fun, you'll see. Now, do tell, who is this Johnson and what did he want with this corporation, whichever it is? I'm mighty curious and I'm sure Miss Mika here would love to know as well. Speaking of, you can hire my assistance for a very reasonable fee Miss Mika, just as long as it's nothing too questionable. I hate to bring money up like that, but times are tough".

Slizardo scratched the back of his left hand as he glanced up at Wildmax. "Well he is a Johnson, from another Corporation. As for what this Johnson wanted from the Tokugawa Corporation, he didn't tell us what exactly he wanted, not in any real detail, just that there were some information to extract. Information that he was willing to pay large credits for." Slizardo shook his head at Wildmax, "So as we are considering this Parole, er do you mind if I consider it as Parole, for the moment I will consider it as parole., if I am extra good, and I reform, will you not turn me in?" He tilted his head as he glanced at Wildmax. "I mean it is your choice, and I am just thankful you didn't turn me in to the Syndicate... I could only imagine what they'd do to me." Slizardo shivered a bit, as he began nervously tapping the floor with his toes. "Anyway, oh yeah, Wildmax. I know..." Slizardo glanced at Mika, "Mika is it? Huh." He shook his head, "Anyway, the ship I came here on is still in repairs. Figured you'd want to know that. Uh, anything else you want me to talk about?"

Serenity's eyes gaze over the various runes. So it was an ancestral possession, was it? Most intriguing, and informative. "The Kal'rik Belt? Oooh..." She watches the cloak and smiles softly as he wraps it around himself. It was a cherished possession of his, she could see. "Thank you for sharing that with me." She bows politely, her fluffy white tail swaying gently. "I have lost interested in your drum of... strange contents. Learning a little about your cloak has sated my curiosity. I thank you very much for your time and business."

An interesting man, certainly. She may have to come back some time. But, now it was time to continue on her vacation. The ship architect turns and waves over her shoulder as she leaves the store, but only after picking up the wishing paw and plant she'd just purchased. She steps out and nabs another bit of her purchased recreational product and floats it in the air next to her, doing as she did before. She has a bit of fun with the shape this time, though, weaving the smoke all around her as she inhales it.

As she walks, she realizes she's forgotten which direction the casino would be in. She was scolding herself internally for letting herself be so airheaded when she felt a large amount of infrared nearby. Some kind of really intense oven, it felt like... an incinerator? In the streets? It was around the next corner.

She stepped around and her foot nudged against something on the ground, next to the building. She looked down and moved her foot away, one ear lowering. "A gun grip?" She crouches briefly to pick it up, mumbling to herself, "blown apart... some kind of internal reaction?" She carefully felt at the bent edges of the metal piece. Some of the metal on the grip had torn as the metal had warped and was very sharp, she should be careful not to cut herself. She shrugs her shoulders and looks up. Oh, cleaning bots were here... As well as a really sophisticated robot! Her ears perk up and she bustles over. "Aah, a Ceedromian? Wooow~, it's really rare to see one of you!" She then proceeds to gush about the fine craftsmanship of his hand and arm parts, clearly crafted for precision, and what else have you.

"Well. To put it more plainly, I'm going to rescue my brother from slavers. Up to you if that's questionable or not, since I'm going to be breaking into wherever he's held, and getting him out however I can." Something about the way she says it suggests that she's just going to go and do it alone even if she can't get anyone else to help. Mika actually hadn't considered looking around for allies, but... With the opportunity here, it'd be foolish not to check it out. "If that's alright by you, I wouldn't mind hearing your fee. I'm not really made out of credits but not having to do this alone would help a lot. And Slizardo, not that I can think of." 'Johnson' wouldn't have given them his real name anyway, likely incase something like this happened.

Mika does notice Serenity picking through the debris: "That would be what happens when you're wearing way too many guns and get shot..."

"Sorry to throw caution to the win-NUOHGOD" Akira shouted, catching the flying creature. He wrestled, spinning about before tossing it away from him, but not without a few new cuts.

"You guys gotta give me some elbow room, you know!" he said, jumping into the air and doing a flying elbow drop onto Booger. "You can't just crowd a guest!"

Senator Vicaver began cackling as Virus lunged onto Akira. "Yes, yes, break that slave! That insolent worm shall be kneeling before me soon! Ha!" Senator Vicaver took a hefty quaff from his mug, before staring incredulously as Akira had Virus tossed away. "NO! NO! NO! NO! THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE!" His flesh began crawling, well not literally, but was shaking and gaining a red hue. "... SLAAAAAAAAVE!"

---

Virus was tossed a far bit away, as he slammed against the walls of the arena, as chips of rock fell off. Booger, was elbow dropped in precisely the right location on his neck, as he yelped, before falling to the ground limp. The announcer spoke up, "AND BOOGER IS OUT! THE ONLY REMAINING MEMBER OF THE WILDSTONE PACK IS VIRUS!" The crowd began roaring into cheer, "AKIRA! AKIRA! PARTIAL METAL AKIRA!"
Virus shook his head as he glanced back at Akira, as blood was dripping from his back. He stood there for a moment, as he began hissing a bit, after that he charged towards Akira returning back to his normal howling. Something was different about Virus, well besides the injuries, it seemed that now some viscous rust colored ooze was now dripping from his maw, and a small bit was coming from his claws. Virus now, closer to Akira attempted to bite at Akira's torso.

"Rescue from slavers, eh? Well, any jurisdiction that allows that doesn't sit right by me, so I'll give you a hand". Widmax cupped his chin as if he were in deep thought. "For something like this...let's say 3000 credits, 200 regulation star crystals, 80 standard bottles of Fordix oil or 3 Ceedrom Discs, which is one less than the standard exchange rates but I've yet to see even one outside of Ceedrom, I might add. Your choice". The price was crazy low, even for newbies or people with no reputation prices rarely dipped below 6000 credits for a simple job and tackling a slavery operation was rarely simple.

"As for you, Sliz, first we find you a cooler name, then you tag along and we'll see what I do with you. What would you like to be called anyway? You must've thought about it at some..." he was interrupted by the newly arrived humanoid girl gushing about his species, himself and the craftsmanship that had gone into his hands. "Er...yes, I was born as an artist unit so I was fitted with s then top of the line artistry body. I had it modified after I left to pursue more...exciting interests. And you are?".

Slizardo paused for a moment, as he immediately glanced up at Wildmax, grinning as he revealed his fangs, many of which were replaced by metal ones. His metal fangs were dark blue, and they all had a small, but noticeable square chip on them, probably an enhancement of sorts. "Well I always wanted the gang to call me Abyss the Master of Devastation! Buuut, they never called me that. Usually I get called Helix, well when they don't mock the given name. But yeah, I usually go with Helix. Sometimes I also go with Grek, but usually, it's just Helix." Slizardo, or as he rather preferred to call himself, Helix spoke with much enthusiasm about discussing his name, well nick-name rather.

Helix scratched under his scaly chin, as he snorted a bit. "Ah, excuse me." He coughed a bit, before cleaning his mouth with the edge of his sleeve robe. "Well, if you pay the Big Guy's price, I suppose I'll be accompanying alongside you. And slavers huh? Rough breed, well at least some are, you'll probably need some fire power. Well I suppose that depends, do you know where the guy is being kept? Because if it is a low grade area, I suppose you won't need to prepare as much. Still, preparing is a good thing." Helix immediately glanced near the debris that the new-comer was going through. "Those droids did a good job cleaning up Ripper's mess. Glad it wasn't me for a change... usually it is me." He sulked for a moment, before shaking his head. "Well, I suppose I'd offer Ripper's guns if you need fire power, but uh, well... That is pretty much all gone now. But so, rescue mission... Eh, are you paying big guy to help you out?" Helix glanced at Wildmax, "So, if she doesn't pay, where are you going to take me now?"

"Hmm..." Mika ponders. Three thousand credits. She wasn't exactly the most streetwise person on Lucky Shots, being a teenage girl who had never so much as been in a fistfight before she'd come here. But she'd imagined that hiring a mercenary or bounty hunter would cost a lot more than that. He looked pretty competent too... Yeah. Nothing to lose here, might as well go for it. "Well, I guess you weren't kidding when you said 'very reasonable' price. I'll do it. As for where he is, I know someone in the White Nova who can help with that. They were paying him to get rid of some particularly nasty criminals around here. I'm going to need to get some better gear before we go out and do this, though. A laser pistol isn't exactly going to cut it for a rescue operation like this. Not to mention that we'll need a way to get there, too."

"Ah, is /that/ what happened... I figured it must have been something like that." Serenity remarks, gazing at Mika before she turns back to the robotic marvel in front of her. "Mmm, a modified artisan chassis? I see... modified for gun slinging. A lot of these design decisions make... a lot more sense, knowing that." She continues to gush over him for a moment before she realized she was asked a question. "Hm? Oh, me? My name's Serenity. I'm... an inventor. It's always exciting to get a chance to see craftsmanship like this." She smiles sweetly, though something else caught her ear.

"Er... what's all this about a rescue mission? Sounds like you need a ship."

Helix glanced at Serenity, "What do you know someone who has a ship? Mine is in the shop, so I can't offer it." Helix then glanced towards Mika, "I apologize for that. And so you know someone in White Nova who is willing to help you in this huh? Why don't you contact him? That seems like it'd be a good idea. As for gear, do you think that White Nova contact would help you out with that, or should I just head and see what I can find in the Black Market District for ya?" Helix then immediately looked towards Wildmax, "See, I am trying to be a Team Player with you and, well the Agent you are going to be working for." Helix paused for a moment, as he finally stood up. "Yeah..." Helix began stretching his back as he moved his arms back inside his robes. "That feels good."

"Anyway, so what is your game-plan? Oh yeah, I'm going to need to stop by the ship, before we go out on this rescue mission." Helix turned to Wildmax, "I presume you want to keep an eye on me, while I go over there. Perfectly understandable, making sure I don't give you the slip, and what not." He gave a toothy grin, "Although if you DON'T want to come with me there, that is quite fine with me." He chuckled a bit, "Yeah, I doubt you'd let me do that."

"I'm going to get my brother back from slavers. And yes, we're going to need a ship. Why do you ask?" Mika looks over at Serenity.

Then back to Slizardo: "I was going to contact him once I'm ready to do this. I think he was going to help me track the slavers down. As for equipment, well. I was just going to pick up a better weapon or two, then see about making or buying some devices to help me get past whatever security they have. Some kind of high frequency polearm would probably suit me well. Reach would be good, especially since they use power armor - and I'd rather not get right up close with that if I don't have to. Also a bigger gun. Not really sure what else I'd need for something like this. I'm a little new to the, well. Dangerous missions thing." Though it was already starting to feel more normal than it probably should.

Helix simply nodded at Mika, "Just making sure you didn't forget. I mean Ripper would forget all kinds of important things." He shook his head as he slammed his right claw against his snout. "Blasted idiot..." He slowly removed his right hand from his face. He paused for a moment before grinning at Mika, "Well I suppose I may know a person whose job was to hack through security. And perhaps I know where they keep a few of their tools of the trade." He flicked out his tongue as he licked at his mechanical fangs. "Yes I may know a person who can help with that. As for bigger guns, polearms, armor... This place should be filled to the brim with it, people would totally sell you those things here. Maybe barter for it or something."

"Very well, it's a deal then. You'll pay me when you get your brother back, it's how I operate. Can't collect a bounty I haven't caught now can I?" Wildmax slightly tipped his hat at the girl. Speaking of bounties. "As for you, my newfound associate, looks like we'll be sticking together for a bit. I might have gone with Abyss if you'd tried to kill me, but I'm not sure that name fits you. Helix sounds good. Have you considered Gorge? It's like Abyss, but a bit more grounded. Regarding ships, I'm open to suggestions 'cause I have none, got here using public transportation. No shame in that, but I doubt it'll work for this mission. I've no need for any extra gear, my two pistols are all I need, so I'd like to come see your ship if you don't mind Helix. And since we're talking about gear, what's that on your teeth?"

Helix glanced at Wildmax, "Sure, sure, I honestly would expect you to come. I mean the ship still needs repairs, but..." He shook his head, "Oh you asking about the teeth huh? Well I've got interesting stuff, electrical pulse generator on one of them, usually it gets the bastard who attacked me to at least back off, or stun them. Sometimes it just kills them. Oh another injects a stream of nano-bots into the body." Helix flicked out his tongue as he rubbed his hands together, "Anyway so Mika, what's first on your agenda? Getting firepower or getting the transport?"

"Slavers, huh?" Serenity took a moment to consider the information before speaking again. "Yeah, I've got a ship. A cruiser. Docked at the orbital elevator. Before we go running off to fight slavers, though, we'll need a plan. We'll need to know what we're getting into, their defenses. If you can give me something to start with, I should be able to dig up some information and put something together. Oooh, I hope they're on a ship..." If they were on a ship, she could try to capture it during their rescue operation. And then she could refit it to her purposes, maybe sell it.

A ship used by slavers would have a lot of holding cells, or at least a large holding area and life support enough to support their 'freight'. She could refit it into a hospital ship and sell it to an underfunded medical outfit with a reasonable payment plan. Give them the edge they need to get past financial problems.

As she considers the various possibilities, she takes another puff from her space moss. "Mm, anybody want some, by the way?" The smoke, as she inhales it, is drawn through a long path, going around her body like a crazy straw. Really, she was just entertaining herself by doing that.

"Space Moss eh? I personally don't partake in the stuff. Ripper occasionally would, to relax when not working. Though he enjoyed partaking in Red Psychostims..." Helix paused, as his pupils widened. "At that point, we all would stay far away from the potential blast radius that Ripper would make with the carnage." He quickly shook his head, "... You know, even though he was an idiot, and never knew the word of subtlety, I am going to miss him." Ripper held his head down low, for a moment as he mourned the passing of his fallen comrade, before quickly moving it back up. "Still, told the bastard that he didn't need to wear that many guns."

Helix stretched out his arms and glanced at Wildmax, "Anyway. Yeah, I'll show you to the ship, as I've got a few stuff I need to do over there, before going off and rescuing someone from slavers with you fellows." Helix flicked out his forked tongue as he began licking around one of his non-metal fangs, as he removed a piece of food that was lodged in his gums. He quickly swallowed it, "Ah, 'scue that, thing was bothering me."

Mika's attention focuses on the other girl - Serenity, she called herself? "Wait, you're saying you'll help out? And you have a ship? That'd be great. Are you a bounty hunter too?" Well, this had been a strange but unusually lucky stream of events. First she ended up stopping some thugs out to cause trouble for Tokugawa, and now she was up two allies, and one of them even had a ship. It still wasn't going to be easy, but having people watching her back was going to make this a lot less risky. Still risky, but definitely better than running in alone.

Now, the preparations... "I'm thinking equipment first."