The sky-people had come and caused his tribe pain. They had killed all of them but him and his brother. They watched as their parents and their friends were butchered. Their primitive weapons had no effect against the sky peoples flamesticks. Their metal weapons had sheared right through the armor that the sky-people wore as though it wasn't there. Now there was an enormous camp where his tribes city used to be. He and his brother were the white wolf twins and as such had always been outcasts in their new tribe. Recently there had been abductions amongst this new tribe of theirs. The children had started to go missing and the warriors had been dispatched, and his brother had been amongst them. The white wolf with crimson eyes they called his brother. His brothers actual name was Gnarl, and he had managed to become a respected member of the new tribe and a warrior. The warriors had been dispatched two moons ago and not a single one returned not even his brother. Now Grimroure the white wolf was alone in a world that would not accept them. He is not able to be a warrior even though he passed all the training for it, the chief would not allow him to become one due to a deep love that had developed between Grimroure and his daughter. If Grimroure had been a warrior he would be able to court her but the chief kept him just under that position as a scout. This did have perks though now Grimroure could survive in any environment and had all the combat training of a warrior. His brother had been allowed to be elevated to the status and had eventually had married the chiefs daughter against her will. Since then Grimroure and him had been estranged, however if the sky people have taken his brother then he will stop at nothing to kill them.

Grimroure stood on a rock in a clearing of grass. His perch was above the tall strands of green and the wind blew around him. His spear was in his hand and his knife was on his belt. He stood majestically and let his white mane blow in the wind as he tried to catch the scent of his brother but it is to no avail. "Dammit, now not only has the bastard taken my love but now he has her worry night and day because of his mistakes. BASTARD WHERE ARE YOU!" he yells into the forest. Hearing a snap behind him and a click he froze. "Freeze lay the spear down or we will be forced to open fire." said a voice as two men came around in front of him. They were sky-people and as such he towered over him, but he had seen what their firesticks could do. Grimroure let out a low growl and the one on his left raised its firestick. "Tell gortex that we caught another white one for him to experiment on." the one on the right said into his helmet.

Grimroures eyes widened and turned red. His heart beat faster and his entire body shook. "You have my brother." he said shaking with rage. "GIVE HIM BACK!" Grimroure roared as he launched his spear left and impaled the one with the firestick to the tree. The other one attempted to raise his weapon, but before he could his weapon was knocked away and he was picked up and slammed into a tree. Grimroure roared into his face then slammed him into the ground by his throat. Standing he threw the man into the rock effortlessly and jumped on him. His eyes and claws burned scarlet as he was completely overcome by rage and instinct. His fangs and claws ripped and tore at the screaming man until all that was left was a bloodied and shredded corpse. Standing Grimroure spoke "Now my enemy has a name......Gortex".

"Sir, there is a vessel requesting to trade with Frisky Business. How shall I respond?"

"Does it match the data we have on Midas?"

"Not conclusively. It is a forty-seven percent match against the data recovered from the other vessels."

"Good enough for me. Tell him no."

"Very well, Sir."

There was a moment of silence as Ellie composed an equally automated-sounding reply to the request, then sent it to the other vessel, playing it through Six's speakers as well to keep him in the loop.

::"Automated Trading Vessel --------------, this is the Frisky Business. This vessel is currently unavailable for trade, but If you wish to conduct business with Gortex Industries, we recommend you consult one of their galactic trade stations or local trading partners. Have a nice day."::

Automated systems could be so bad at following directions sometimes... SIx leaned back in his chair again and watched his fighter's readouts, which thanks to Ellie had been wired into the systems of the freighter.

"Let him chew on that for a bit. See how he handles getting turned down."

Midas was getting ready to leave when denied but when he heard that the freighter belonged to Gortex's this changed his tune "Thank you for your cooperation. Have a great day." Midas said in his programmed automated voice as he turned away from the ship a flew away a bit. After flying quite a few yards away he spun the ship around and headed full speed for the ships middle where most of the loot would likely be. His ship had very good armour both in energy and hull so it did very little damage to his own vessel as it plunge straight through the hull of the freighter. Midas quickly went back to his coms and said "Gotexs goons get a special deal. Get off the ship or let me come get you off the ship, Via airlock." and with that he left his own ship and boarded the frisky business with revenge in his optics.

"Bossy little twerp, ain't he?"

"He does seem to enjoy giving orders, Sir."

"You really don't know how to take a joke, do you Ellie?"

"Humor was not a function of..."

"Rhetorical question, Ellie, rhetorical question. Where is he now?"

"He is entering through the breach created by the collision and heading directly toward us, Sir."

"Oh good, I was hoping we'd have to sit here and wait while he went all the way to the bridge and back first."

Fortunately, that was not the case, and the golden automaton entered the hold only moments later. Six still sat in his cockpit, only his head visible above the level of the cockpit's walls, and Ellie was obviously nowhere to be seen. Pushing himself out of the cockpit, he dropped to the ground and headed toward the newcomer, his right hand hovering idly close to his pistol grip. Just in case.

"Welcome, mister Midas. I apologize for the ruse that led you here, but unfortunately there is no crew left to kill. I just needed to get your attention. I'm putting together a team to hunt down and kill Gortex, and you made the list. You'll be expected to follow orders when you're on the clock, but your own time belongs solely to you, as long as you don't cause trouble to the rest of the team. You in or out?"

He figured being direct was the best approach with a robot. None of that muddly human stuff like beating bushes and dancing around things. An automaton would probably appreciate the value of straightforwardness.

"Well that was quite blunt." Midas said in an almost snarl. He was a little bitter to say the least that he wouldn't be able to get some revenge on some Gortex scum but the humans offer seemed pretty good. "What exactly do I get for helping you with this? because its not like everyone will be able to get revenge on one being at the same time. Ones gonna off him before the others." he said simply as he holstered his pistol and stared at the man with his optics.

"You get to be a part of it. You get to be there when it happens. Sure, it may not be you that pulls the trigger, but you'll be a part of the team that puts an end to his reign of terror." When the robot put aside his weapon, Six eased the hand that had been hovering near the grip of his own and crossed his arms, right wrist under. Never hurts to stay alert. "If you'd prefer, you could keep going it on your own and raiding pointless cargo haulers that Gortex can replace with a snap of his fingers." He pushed off his ship and took a few steps closer, leaning forward slightly for emphasis. "Or you can join me and help bring down the greatest tyrant the galaxy has ever known." He held the pose for a moment, then leaned back and resumed his previous chipper attitude as if that little dramatic moment had never occurred. "Up to you though. Meet me here if you decide you want something bigger than the occasional garbage scow." He flipped the automaton a datachip with the coordinates and time for the meeting (and ONLY those coordinates), then turned and climbed back into his ship.

Once seated, he sealed the canopy and threw Midas a mock salute, then blew the rear cargo doors and let the pull of the vacuum suck his ship out of the cargo hauler. He figured a robot like Midas wouldn't need air and could handle a little depressurization. Then without further ado, he spun the fighter around and disappeared into the asteroid field.

Midas looked down at the data chip then remembered back to why he wanted to find Gortex. The guy had loads money and if he went down there would be a lot of money to be put out into the general population or a certain Automatons wallet. Midas went back to the hull and leapt out of the cargo hold through the hole and once he got back to his ship he began heading to the coordinates which turned out to be his favourite place. Red-6.

Couple of weeks later
It took Laika hundreds of galactic units to get the parts, several she scratched out of the yard, others she acquired by pick pocketing drunk guys at the bar, the last expensive few meant she had to break into a mechanics shop. She did her best to pay for what she took, by leaving a few almost new parts from ships at the yard. Nova now sounded good as new at the automatic computer system she installed catered for her every shipping need. But by now Laika was used to driving manually and she had to break the habit of steering when she took Nova out for a spin. Laika was fully kitted out and ready to go when it hit her, she hadn't the foggiest idea of where to go. so she used her new computer system to scan inter-system articles about Gortex, and eventually local articles from small planets with strange names. She cursed herself for not doing her reaserach first and getting herself so excited. For the moment she continued day to day sleep-work-eat-sleep cycle. She spent more and more time simply listening while at the bar, if someone she knew came over she would insist on talking quietly, with the excuse that her throat was sore.

By now she had read many articles on activists and their movements against Gortex, but all those people seemed so strange. Laika doubted she would be able to find an opening into the underworld that would let her pack a blow against Gortex. In fact, she didn't even know what she was doing. Yet she continued day to day life, slowly. Achingly slowly.

Hessta flew around the seedy planet known as Red-6 a few times before a blinking light on his control console caught his attention. He checked the diagnostics and cursed in his reptilian language when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to repair the Shuriken himself like he usually did. He drifted closer to the planet's surface and scanned the area for any kind of repair shop. After a while he settled on one and carefully landed in the loading area. He made sure all of his valuables were carefully hidden and he put his scimitars in his belt, just to be safe. Hessta walked out and slithered towards the office, where he met a strange blob creature. He raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms.

:"My ship needs repairs." Simple, to the point, and a suppressed accent. Just the way Hessta liked to do it.

The blob looked him over with a hint of fear and nodded "What kind of repairs ya need?"

Hessta almost rolled his eyes, but stopped himself "The fuel compartment is leaking, which has caused the K-3 Drive to malfunction."

The blob thing thought for a second and shrugged "That's a pretty decent job, it ain't gonna be cheap."

Hessta's hand went to the pocket he kept his money in. "Fine. How much?" His glare hardened and his other hand hovered over his scimitar.

The blob gulped slightly and did a few calculations. He gulped again and spoke weakly "2000."

Hessta sighed and pulled out the money, tossing it on the desk. "I'll be waiting for the mechanic outside my ship." He turned and slithered back outside, leaning against the side of the Shuriken.

The blob let out a breath and almost yelled over the intercom "Laika! Get out to the loading area, you got a repair!"

Sheikarah said
"I'll be waiting for the mechanic outside my ship." He turned and slithered back outside, leaning against the side of the Shuriken. The blob let out a breath and almost yelled over the intercom "Laika! Get out to the loading area, you got a repair!"

Laika's head hit the engine she was working on and she swore. Grease covered her hands and arms, she checked her reflection in the mirror before attempting to scrub off the grime. She gave up soon enough and decided "ag screw it, I'm a mecahnic, not a model. I don't need to be attractive." The ship was the 9th on a heap of scraps and she jumped, gliding down on out streched wings. She strolled over to the intercom "I'm on it!" than to the ship.

The first thing she noticed was the snake creature before the beautiful ship. "Good Day, how may I help?" she didn't need to ask, she saw the fuel dripping on to the dry dust. The ship was handsome, but looked like it travelled far to get here.

Hessta immediately noticed the mechanic's strange form, in all his travels he had never seen a creature like her and he could tell from her initial expression that she was surprised at his appearance as well. She was obviously female, and Hessta fought the instinctive repulsion that had been bred into his race over centuries as she spoke.

"Good Day, how may I help?"

"The fuel compartment is leaking and the K-3 Drive needss work." He let his accent become a little bit clearer and he jerked his head towards the ship. He slithered away from his ship to give the mechanic room to work, but he made sure to have a clear view of anywhere she might need to be. Hessta's arms were still crossed and he flicked his tongue out to smell the air around the mechanic and get a better idea of what she might be.

If Laika had eyebrows, they would have been raised. "Just the fuel compartment eh, sir, by the looks of it. Your ship needs a lot more than just a fix. But I'll see what I can do. And don't worry about payment, I'll get scraps out the yard." Laika talked to the snake while opening the engine compartment. She got the feeling he was not happy with her working on his ship. "So where did you come from anyway?"

Hessta knew the mechanic was only trying to be polite by making small talk but his glare still hardened. But rather than be confrontational with the woman who could permanently immobilize his ship in about two seconds, he decided to answer her questions with the barest minimum of information.

"Corvais."

Laika had opened the engine room and was assesing the damage "so you're heading into the dead zone, could have guessed. So what, you following Gortex or something?" Laika took a chance. She didn't realise that if Hessta did actually work for Gortex, her next statement would mean she's be shot down "because if you do sir, then I'm afraid your ships condition will not be getting any better on my watch." She stood up and wiped grease off on a cloth she kept in her belt. She watched the serpant for a second. Like her he had green skin, unlike her, he was a snake. A very tense snake at that. He kept his muscular arm hovering over his weapon and Laika began to wonder about this guy. She awaited his response with one lazy ear forward - indicating she was intrested, but not concentrating.

"Hey, I'm looking for a... um... What're you doing here?" Six had been talking rather loudly as he strode into the mechanics shop, only to let his initial statement die off as he caught sight of the ship being worked on and the lizard man standing, err... sitting? laying? Whatever he was doing, a few meters to one side. "I didn't give you the wrong data chip by accident, did I? Because I could have sworn I just gave you the one with the meeting coordinates..." He glanced around the hangar as he spoke, looking for something he clearly didn't see (owing to the fact that she was on the other end of the ship from him). "Have you seen a green-skinned, bat-winged girl around here by any chance? I need to speak with her."

Hessta growled at the mechanic's thinly veiled threat and was about to unleash his anger when Six's appearance caused him to turn his head. He rolled his eyes and gritted his fangs, trying very hard not to kill the creatures in front of him.

He jerked a thumb towards the mechanic "This one? Because I don't think she'd be interested in your little 'offer.'" Hessta turned towards the mechanic with a cold glare "Seeing as how she is working for Gortexss."

He put his left hand on the hilt of his scimitar and locked eyes with the mechanic, coiling his muscles to spring at her if she provoked him.

"working for Gotekssss" the creature hissed and when Laika realised the claim was directed at her she snorted and crumpled over laughing. "HaHaHa! Me? Haha! NO!" She screamed at the creature, she frightened herself a little. Still chuckling she brought herself together "hehe, sorry to disappoint, but I only work for that disgusting creature." she aimed a glance towards the shop. "Hello, sir, sounds like you are looking for me? Laika Westwood, mechanic!" She was taken aback a little, things were getting more and more interesting.

"Agent Six. I hear you've got a grudge." His eyes shifted from Laika to Hessta then back again, and he was really wishing the snake-man wouldn't be so jumpy. "I'm here to offer you a chance to do something about it. This fine gentleman..." He gestured to Hessta. "...along with myself and several others, are going to put an end to Gortex and his rule of terror. I don't know why you hate him, and to be honest I don't really care, but I can use that hatred if you'll let me." He walked closer as he spoke while still keeping Hessta in his peripherals, just in case. "As far as fine print, I'll expect you to follow orders when we're in the field, but your free time is your own. Just don't cause problems with the others..." A pointed glance at Hessta. "...and we'll get along just fine."

The man, agent six was wary of snake face, and this unsettled Laika. She shuffled her wing uncomfortably and shifted her weight. A snake man walks in with an expensive ship from the far reaches of space, then in comes another man offering her the chance to bring down Gortex, who ever was playing this joke was putting a lot of effort into it.Both their eyes were on her, "how did you hear of me? And how can I trust you?"

Hessta rolled his eyes again and decided that dealing with a human and...whatever the mechanic was really wasn't worth it. A more than significant part of him wanted to bail on this mission and take down Gortex himself, but once again, his rationality prevailed. It would be suicide to even try on his own and he would just have to learn how to deal with...other creatures. He relaxed slightly and leaned against the side of his ship, letting out an exasperated sigh and spoke, trying to keep his voice as civil as possible.

"Forgive my rudeness, Miss Westwood. I usually work alone, and as such, I am a bit unfamiliar with proper interactions between potential allies. Most, if not all, of the creatures I deal with are either my employers or my targets. If I have offended you, I apologize, and I hope we can work together to bring down our common enemy."

Hessta looked at Six with a raised eyebrow and a pointed smile as he crossed his arms.