Iris continued to help make a path back to the ship as she heard Amy's response. Iris let out an actual sigh, audible to those around her. A weird sense of relief washed over Iris as Amy wanted to also hang. Iris only basked in that relief for a second before she decided she should respond. Let's do this! Hey Amy, I'll bring some movies and games as well! And I won't bring too many sweets. I would rather spend the night chatting you up instead of sweets. See you when I get back! Iris has developed a weird belief that Amy can only hear her thoughts when she says Hey Amy.
Iris has started to move lightly through the prison ship filled with a newfound grace as pleasant feelings refreshed her spirits. Not moving any slower or less stealthily, just some spring you could say. A wide smile was on her face as she was escaping, weird when you consider where they are. As Iris was blissfully moving she started to prepare on how she should set up the sleepover. Iris squinted as she contemplated whose room they should be in, I guess the first question is it in my room or in her room. I mean, her room might be her private place and she might not be ready to have people in there. But my room has Samuel and he can be a bit rude to certain people. Okay, I'll kick out Samuel for the night. He can sleep with Tarak or maybe I can get Millard to drug him for the night and leave him in the infirmary, Iris snickered a bit at the idea of that. My room, I think. Okay now for what pajamas to wear. I mean I have… Iris's face goes straight and she almost falls straight on her face. OH MY GOD I DON'T HAVE PAJAMAS! I always just sleep in some shorts and Samuel's T-shirts. Not cute at all. Maybe I can borrow from some of the other girls. No that won't work all the other girls would be too tight except for Avelyn but I have a feeling she doesn't have extra pajamas. Iris continued thinking to herself in different leisure clothes trying to figure out what to wear.
Eventually, Iris calmed down and accepted that she would have to wear her normal clothes and at least wear her best underwear. Then another idea popped into her head that brought a blush to her face, I wonder what Amy is going to wear…
Millard had looked into the eyes of this strange girl. Her eyes seemed to have a being in them, she doesn't seem to live, but those eyes are very similar to his own. She seems gone, dead, like something was taken, her very being seemed to have been taken. Like something was stolen and can never be given again, so with a small smile Millard looked to her, his eyes seemed to have changed into something like her's, dead. He sees her and he feels pain. She seems to have so much taken, so much stolen, Millard feels sadness from this pain, as he sees himself in her, a lost little lamb who had so much taken from them.
Within that same moment, right when Millard had lost his composure, it was immediately regained as when the girl looked to him and asked him his alignment to her. Millard hardened himself again as he said, "Friend. My name is Millard" As he quickly stood up and began to take out the keys given to him to start unlocking the cells so he can get the kids going. As it seems there has been some…Fun happening with some of the kids. Millard wishes for no more unexpected visitors, and he wishes for them to leave soon, thankfully it sounds like people are already clearing out. Well, it will be time for them soon, they just need Laurey to get their package before they get to leave quickly.
He sends a quick message to the support team to start getting everything rolling.
>>>Fireteam Harpy reporting in, we are about to collect the Prisoners. Exfilling in 5 mins.
Once the message is sent he takes his keys and begins to unlock Maria's Cell, as he then kneels and asks her, "Do you know if any other friends are in here?" Millard wished to know how she got brought into this mess, but that can wait, first they need to get out of here before more interruptions emerge.
In a moment everything had gone wrong. The attack had made that Bird Brain move, yet not how he wanted. This Blue Bird decided to be a pain in the ass to the end, instead of moving and running to hide, yet he decided to go on the attack. Firing shots at random for covering fire. These rounds dig into the ship where Samuel was before and tore apart metals as he rushed Nero, but Samuel had his own problem, as within a moment Samuel heard this disgusting sloshing sound, as he felt this surrounding feeling, something like it was about to swallow him. Yet the moment he felt this, Samuel had to think, his mind raced as he thought of his next move, as he was about to encase himself in stone, yet he saw a light as a portal opened and a chain digs into the weird slime thing and pull it into the portal.
This left them alone, left them winded, and nearly dead. Samuel was tired of today, no this whole week, it has been one stupid thing to another. One dumb decision to another near-fatal encounter, and all because of either decisions made or things that just seem to get in their way. Honestly, Samuel was getting pissed, and he saw it in his sister. She wasn't as good at hiding those feelings from Samuel, neither were good at hiding from the other, yet they both were decent at hiding frustration on their face, their actions though…are a different story. As Samuel watched iris launch a part of the floor and smash it into the wall as she smiled a cute smile and said a cheesy line from a holomovie. As they all began to leave.
Something strange happened though, he felt a strange feeling. Like something happened, yet nothing seemed to have occurred. A strange feeling like energy is being emitted, yet he didn't know what was happening, he chalked it up to someone among them keeping magic up in case something happens. Yet once they made it further, Iris seemed to sigh as that feeling began to leave, maybe Iris was worried and was keeping magic up incase, which made Samuel slightly happy, she seemed to have now calmed down. Samuel lets out a sigh as they make their way back to the ship.
The capital of the Ascendancy of Man. The birthplace of humanity. The cradle of the great civilization that prospered on this planet for thousands of years, stretching across the boundaries of the galaxy...
Bah! That doesn't concern her one bit.
All she knew was that this is her new home. Life on Mars was so boring! A spec of red rocks, cold and barren. There were no big buildings or cool things there, only scary machineries and stuffs. Mining minerals on the planet didn't suit their interest, nor was healthy in the long run, especially for the family's young daughter Sarie, who was barely 9 years of age. She was horribly behind in terms of schools, due to the terrible infrastructure of the planet. And that wouldn't sit. Nope, they have to move to Earth. All their life savings were poured into this endeavour, hoping to bring about a brighter future for their little angel. Genius she need not become, just a happy and long life here.
They eventually settled in Alexandria, former Egypt, working in construction, just like back there but with better conditions. Their house was close to those high-rise apartment complexes, completely filled with all sort of commodities close by that one only need to spare 10 minutes of their lives to fill themselves for a week. But in exchange, they would be living close to those spoiled rich kids. Not all of them were bad, but this is the Ascendancy of Man we're talking about. The rich reign supreme, while poor folks couldn't even afford to move across their own planet, let alone a cross-planet trip like this. Looking down on the poor is their pastime. Charity is merely their way of showing off their wealth and fake virtues whenever they like it. They were concerned if Sarie mingled with them. What if they rejected her, casted her aside, bullied her?
Thankfully, they need not worry. Sarie was too full of energy to be shy to them. And those kids, let's just say one of them were actually nice. It was quite a character assassination to summarize it like that, but he's certainly unfazed enough to act however he wanted to.
The first time Sarie met Alexander was her third time visiting the park close by to their apartment. Schools had just finished for all of them, and now they were all gathering at the park to play. This time, they were playing chess, Alexander's favorite pastime. Despite the boredom usually associated with the sport, for some reasons, the kids were excited. Perhaps they wanted a hopeless shot at beating the chess genius of the neighborhood. Or they were genuinely interested. Regardless of what it was what really captured the girl's attention was not the game, nor that he was the leader of the group, almost naturally, directing and dictating the flow of the mood, but what later could be described as 'love at first sight'.
"Hey yall! What'cha guys doing?" With her heavy accent, unabashed and fearless, she approached the group of kids. The ponytailed orange hair, the dark-red plaid shirt, there was no difficulty guessing that she wasn't from there.
"Chess!" One boy declared, in a not necessarily friendly manner. "Do you know how to play?"
"Umm, nah. But can I watch you guys?" Sarie asked.
"No." Another said. "Learn the game first and get in line."
"Hey hey hey." The silver-haired boy in one side of the table said. "Didn't I teach you chess when I want to play it?"
"Y-Yeah, but there were only 4 of us, me, you, Anna and Travel." He said.
"Well, now we have 8." Alexander waved for Sarie to come. "Come, you want to play?"
She excitedly nodded her head before squeezing her way through the crowd to the chair on the other side of Alexander.
"What do you know foremost about chess? Like anything?" Alexander began.
"Ahh, I only know that you have to kill the king to win."
"Kill..." Alexander couldn't help but laughed. "We don't kill kings here, we capture him, so the whole kingdom is without a leader and falls apart. The way you capture a king is to make sure he cannot move anywhere when it is your turn."
"...How does that work?"
"So...it's a turn-based strategy game, where we each move a piece for every turn. Each pieces have their movements and if an enemy piece lies in the way of another piece, you can proceed to capture the piece by moving your piece to it. If a king lies in the way of an enemy piece instead, then it is a check, and you must move your king away or block the path. If you're are unable to do so, then when the enemy's turn is up, he can capture your king and the game ends. It is called a checkmate then. Each piece's movement goes as follows"
"Stop stop stop!" She yelled, clearly lost halfway through his explanations. "I lost you in the middle. Can you go by more slowly?"
"Oh come on, what is this?" Another kid rudely chimed in, only to be stopped by a stern look from the young Alexander. He looked at her sky-blue eyes again with a finger resting on his chin for a few seconds.
"Ok, so think of it like this." This girl was definitely not the brightest, despite Alexander wanting her to fit in the group. He thought a little before continuing "...In front of you are white pieces. So you will go first by moving a piece."
Alexander reached for a white pawn on her side and moved it one square. "That is a turn. Then I move one of my pieces." He took his knight and moved it. "Then you repeat it. That's how the game progress."
Sarie nodded her head twice. Alexander proceeded by picking up both kings. "This is the king, he can only move to squares adjacent to it." He looked up to see the girl staring at him and tilting her head. "Assuming he's here. You can only move to one of these eight squares. That is it."
She nodded again, happy and excited once more. "If a piece is in the way like this...horse here." He placed the knight in a convenient position. "If it is your turn, you can captur- I mean kill this horse. You do so by taking the horse away and move your piece to it. It counts as one turn and now it shall be mine. If it is my turn, I would move away the horse to prevent it from being killed."
"If your king is in the way instead like this horse before, it is a special kind of killing..." He stifled his laughter. It sounded so dumb. "It's called a check. You have to avoid it by moving him away. If he's checked and you can't move him away, like this position." He arranged the pieces once again. "Then it's checkmate! I win in this case. You win if you do the same to my king. You get it?"
She hummed for long, staring at the board.
"There's so many rules..." She groaned. Couldn't say he did not expect this.
"...Ok, then we shall learn as we play!" He declared. "Go on, you can go first."
"Ah...uhhh..." She was taken a bit aback. "...How do I go?"
"You can do whatever you want."
"Anything?"
"Yeah, you remember what I told you earlier?" She nodded. "Just follow that. Otherwise you can do whatever you want. You make your own rules."
"Oh cool!" Sarie exclaimed.
"But please follow it once you made it. No changing halfway through. That's my only request!"
The white-haired boy gave her an ok finger, and she gladly accepted. After a while figuring out the rules for this weird custom game, to the boredom of the other kids around the table, it was finally time to go. The new pawn rules still move like usual, but captures the square in front instead of diagonal. The rook now cannot be captured, but can only move one square each. It does mean castle after all. The knight then moves like the old rook, but still can vault over pieces. The bishop, also moved like the old rook, but buffed to high heaven, now needing two pieces to capture it. The most saddening choice of them all was the queen. Poor queen, completely nerfed to oblivion, can only be in the vicinity of the king. If the king moves, she moves in to take his place, and she can jump over him if need be. The cited reason for this choice was supposedly from her fairy tales story, that kings and queens never leave each other's side. It's romantic for sure, but the poor queen is then mostly delegated to defensive task. But given how broken the other pieces are, it's not that big of a deal for Alexander.
Once the rule was formalized, Alexander didn't wait to start. He already familiarized himself with it and formulated a general idea of what needed to be done. A switch-and-bait tactics to try and cut down the bishops first. The bishops are the queens now, and the sooner they got taken out, the better. And it went perfectly. With a brilliant queen sacrifice, he managed to kill one of the bishops. Another would soon follow with a few moves. Once that was done, Alexander went on the aggressive, and the game ended soon after. Even with the new rules, vaguely heard and explained, he still proved himself a cunning opponent.
"Good game." As per chess tradition, he maintained his etiquette an extended a hand to Sarie. "I'd say...that's pretty interesting."
He didn't want to annoy her with the fact that he pretty much destroyed her. Regardless, she wasn't taking it too well either.
"That wasn't fair!" Sarie said. "You killed your own queen..."
"It is a good sacrifice." Alexander replied. "I used my queen to kill your bishops. It's the strongest piece on the board."
"But why? It's your queen. Your wife! Are you just going to let her die like that?"
For once, Alexander was hit with a hard question. Of course, in a game of power and intellect like this, nothing should be out of the question. But hey, a horrible decision is still a horrible decision.
"...Ok sorry." Not something you often see from him throughout his life, Alexander conceded. "Maybe I'm a bit too cold on that. You can take the win if you like."
She knocked over the pieces on the board anyway. "Nay, it's sooo tiring. Can we play something else instead?"
"Sure!" Alexander happily obliged. "What's your name?"
"Sarie Ayala!" She said excitedly. "I only go first name."
"Love your name Sarie." He said. "Alexander. Call me Alex if you wish."
By now, most of the kids had dispersed, leaving only Alexander and his new friend to clean up the chessboard. But the day was still young. And for young Alexander, he chose to play and associate with whoever he wanted.
A ghastly name for a ghastly ship filled with ghastly people. A military level prison ship in which some of the worst and most dangerous criminals of the Ascendancy are detained. Terrorist groups, Psychopaths, serial killers and masterful bandits, Traitors and deserters, this ship has it all. It is infamous for being the top prison ship for transporting the particularly dreadful inmates to maximum security facility planets throughout the Ascendancy - usually for the purpose of executing them.
Not that long before its fate, it was a few hundred light years away from Plenty, about to make a jump from where they were to a Prison planet for the drop off of inmates, when they detected a smaller ship flying to the side of their own, moving in for boarding position.
Communications picked up a message hailing them from said small ship.
"This is Agent Carmichael of Ascendancy Special Forces, I have an arrested and restrained fugitive on board, wanted for piracy, grand theft auto, and mass terrorism across the Ascendancy territory. Requesting permission to dock and imprison him on your ship." Said the young lightly-tanned skin man inside this small ship, could not have been anymore than 30 years of age. Turning towards someone in the shadows of the ship, clearly restrained by the looks of his wiggling about, the Agent took out what appeared to be a scanner of some sort and let the laser field from it cover the shadowy inmate. After which, the data retrieved from the scan was sent to the Circle of Hell, so as to verify the identity of the criminal in question. As soon as they saw who it was, they responded without hesitation.
"Permission Granted, please stand by and prepare for docking procedure." Said the communicator within the Circle of Hell.
As the smaller ship got into position, the Circle of Hell released a docking tube to connect the two ships. A small welcome party of prison guards standing by on the other side of the door as it opens up.
Entering the ship was a rather unusual cast of three.
First and foremost - both for being right in the center and for looking the most uncanny of the three - was an even younger man in handcuffs, looking like he only just hit adulthood a year or so ago, a messy head of dirty blonde hair and seemingly a single eye of sky-blue on his left, his right being covered up by an old fashioned eyepatch. But the most unusual thing about him was that attire he had on. A long velvet red coat over a button down shirt of white silk, dark grey cotton pants and old-fashioned leather boots. Not a single bit of armor protection on his person, and a black cap resembling the design of naval caps on captains in the ancient times of the 1700s Earth. Needless to say, the guards were not expecting what they now saw. The boy looked as if he time-traveled to the future from those ancient explorative days, but was so young that there was no way he could have been a captain even back then. Not only did his appearance make it obvious that he was a Pirate, it was as if he was mocking the very image of a Space Pirate. To resist laughing at this blatant parody - at this boy, clearly either mad or childish or both - was understandably a trying task.
Still, they did resist laughing. In their line of work, appearances can be very deceiving. Moreover, they recognize this one's face. Despite his age, he's infamous as a notorious Space Pirate. This was made clear when a biometric scanner came down from the ceiling, the Agent seemingly pushing the young pirate forward to get analyzed first.
"Oi! Don't go pushin' me like some swine to the grinder, you pompous scallywag!" The young Pirate yelled, stomping his feet up and down rapidly like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Shut up, stop moving, and face the damn scanner, or I and the other guards will make you cooperate." The agent coldly said, unphased by the Pirate's tantrum - same couldn't be said for the other guards. A few moments of silence as the pirate stops his stomping before then shrugging his shoulders in a whiplash-indcing change of mood and turned to face the scanner, much to the confusion of the guards. Reports did indicate a mental fringe on the pirate and potential for insanity, but they were not exactly prepared for this. The poor bastard must not have all his eggs in his basket.
As the scanner activated, a wide-radius laser stretching outward at the waist area of the three, before moving up towards of their heads, followed by down towards the tips of their feet. Within moments, holographic screens showing the records of the three visitors popped up.
"Captain Arron Falcon" was the name of this childish pirate standing before them. Despite his look and apparent personality, he is the Captain of the "Cerulean Eclipse" Pirates, one of the most infamous and dangerous pirate groups in the Ascendancy. This in mind, it was no surprised that the list of crime charges he has on his record reads like a Novel.
Piracy
Grand Robbery
Grand Theft Auto
Extortion
Pillaging of ships and cities across dozens of planets
Terrorism
A few cases of Manslaughter
The list went on. Hard to believe it could be done or orchestrated by such a child like this. He did have weapons on them, but one of them, too, was just as ridiculously outdated as his attire, a classic wood-and-metal Flintlock revolver - though interesting with eight holes rather than six, and an oddly colorful revolving cylinder - and two swords, at least they looked relatively modern, a rapier and a cutlass.
Upon a closer look, the agent to the Pirate's right had a slightly messy head of black hair and a moderate build to his body. But much like the pirate, he had an odd attire to him, wearing a black tuxedo under a grey coat, replacing the bowtie common in it with a black tie, and no armor in sight. Although in his case, it seemed at least possible that he had armor beneath the suit. The only weapon he seemed to have on his person was a Standard-issue pistol you see even Privates with. Either he is super confident with his gunplay, or his real weapon of choice was something else not on his person, his fists being the most likely candidate, what with the short black gloves on both of them.
To the Pirate's left was another man, almost exactly opposite to the agent in terms of appearance and the general impression. Whereas the Agent was dressed in black, tanned, looked young, and looking like he was willing and able to fight, this one was dressed in a white coat, pale, looked rather old with long white hair and a fluffy white mustache, and looked like he couldn't fight a child, much less a soldier or a pirate considering how scrawny his muscles appeared to be. He looked quite nervous of the situation, his hands together behind him. Quite suspicious, but the scanner did not pick up anything on his person save for a PDA with a flash drive jack, and so the guards left it at that.
The scanner also checked the ID pinned on the lapel of his white coat and found a match within the Ascendancy database both in ID and Facial Recognition: Professor Audric Abreo, one of the top scientists in Robotics, Bio-technology, and Artificial Intelligence in the Ascendancy, a genius in his own right who was responsible for creating a few of the androids and cybernetics still used to this day, but retired about two years ago.
They also detected the ID on the Agent's person and found a match for him as well: Agent James Carmichael, Ascendancy Special Forces, an elite group of enforcers outside the Armadas sent out to subdue A-class criminal activity, pursue covert operations and in some cases, even assist in Black Operations such as the Star Marine Project. This agent in particular specialized in hunting down and subduing the Ascendancy's Most Wanted, as such, this wasn't much beyond a normal day for him.
Almost immediately after the scanning process, the people in the hall could hear a loud voice bellowing through the hall, one that made this hard special agent flinch as he heard it.
"JIM! Oh ho, I knew I heard the sound of fun and joy getting strangled on the intercom." The delighted voice said from down the hall, the guards immediately turning towards it and saluting upon hearing it. Along comes the red-haired warden of the ship, Minerva de Silva, walking towards the group in the hall with big smile on her face, and a couple of bulky prison guards at her side.
"...Hello again, Warden De'Silva." The Agent said, with a tone that yelled professional, but a look that screamed irritated. Of all the Prison Ships in the Entire Ascendancy, he just had to have the rotten luck to need the one with her in it as Warden.
"That's the Warden of this ship? ...Oh dear." Professor Abreo thought. She didn't seem like a bad woman or anything, in fact she seemed a bit too pleasant for heading a ship with the kind of reputation that it has. He can only imagine what she's like to the prisoners; from his experience, usually people who show themselves off to be happy-go-lucky while in a position that demands horrific things are those who enjoy what they do. Judging by the Agent's reaction, he'd wager there's at least more to this one than meets the eye.
"Oh come now, Jimbo, No need to be so formal, I keep telling you to call me, Minerva."
"And I keep telling you that I'm not interested in small talk. I'm only ever here on the job, and this isn't any different." De'Silva sighed at the agent's disappointing response.
"Damn, You're still the stick in the mud I remember, Jimmy-boy. ...But at least that means you're stuck to the ground. ...So, what have you got for me this time? Ooo, A cute one, you know me so well." De'Silva looked towards Arron as she said this, who irritably looks away from her as she stares at him.
"Captain Arron Falcon of the Cerulean Eclipse Pirates. Managed to capture him after he attempted a foolish theatric during the attempted Heist of the Platinum Bank of Plutus. I got lucky; the boy's too reckless for his own good. His crew was nowhere to be seen unfortunately, must have abandoned him to save their own hide." The agent said, the boy's face looking grimmer as he talked. De'Silva was quick to notice this dark, almost depressive expression on his face; it made sense to her that they'd do such a thing to a boy like this, there's no honor among thieves after all, least of all among scum.
More importantly, She could not help but look at the boy and then back at the Agent with a raised eyebrow of suspicion. The boy looked young enough to get together with her own kid, and that silly pirate attire he got...
"Captain? Pfft... You sure you didn't just adopt a teenager, dressed him up in this get-up as a joke and brought him here as some...elaborate attempt to say we should be a family?" She smugly asked the agent, resisting the urge to just burst out a laugh. Needless to say, this only served to annoy the agent, as his eyes narrowed before he cleared up his throat trying to get back into his professional character.
"I know he looks strange... It was baffling to me as well, but I have reason to believe he's one of those Star Marines, he must have gone rogue and joined up with the pirates. Their previous Captain was put to death, so it's possible he could have used the rumored magic these kids supposedly had to convince them to make him captain." He explained. Honestly it was hard for De'Silva to believe this brat's responsible for all the heists and ship-pillaging that his crew's been wanted for since the execution of their past Captain, Edward Marshal. On the other hand, she's heard about the Star Marines and how they were some secret force operating in the shadows of black operations during the war. If he truly was one of them, he could probably have scared those pirate scum into making him in charge with that rumored magic she was told about. That experience could also have very well explained those planned operations these pirates are now practically famous for.
"Compelling argument, Jimmy. ...Well, let's hear it from Lil Blackbeard's mouth. Anything to say in your defense, Short John Silver?" De'Silva asked, grabbing at the pirate's chin and turning his face to face her. Despite how she looked, it was clear to the boy that she had quite a strong grip.
"...Aye, Just a question, where on this ship are ye keepin the rum? I'd like ye to send some to my cell, Tavern Wench." Arron said, a silly smile on his face, as if he was thinking of all of this as some joke. The other guards readied batons to give this little brat a beating for insulting the Warden like that, but she was quick to extend her free hand towards them as a sign to hold off, then proceeding to give a hearty chuckle.
"Funny lil guy, ain't ya? ...You know, I never liked pirates. ...In fact, I hate the very ground they stand on. I'm a frontier girl at heart, you probably already know we aren't treated the best by those city folk in the capital planets. But I always felt like we could make due, ignore their disdain for us, and eventually we'd make them give us some respect if we worked hard enough. Who knows, maybe one day, one of us will be a senator, maybe even a president, sky's the limit. ...But then there's people like you pirate and rebels and low-life criminals, who come in and sully all that reputation we built up, on top of just outright attacking and pillaging us! ...But you? I think I like you, you got some spunk on ya... I think it's best you get some 'special treatment'. Boys, take Captain Kid here to his room on the top floor. Let him lie there and think about what he's done." De'Silva said, a sly smile on her face.
On cue, the guards grabbed the boy pirate by the shoulders and placed a collar around his neck, immediately emitting a pulse of some kind to show that it activated. They then grabbed both of his shoulders and moved down the hallway, dragging the pirate with them. Agent Carmichael watched as the pirate was taken away, before then turning towards the Warden.
"With your permission, Warden, I'd like to follow suit and stand guard over his cell." He said, making De'Silva look back towards him with a raised eyebrow.
"Stand Guard? What, don't trust my security detail, Jim? He isn't the first Magical prisoner we had on this ship, you know."
"Maybe so, but despite his appearance, he still has his wits about him even without his magic. This wouldn't be the first time he managed a jailbreak under restrictive conditions. I can't afford to have him escape me again."
"...Jim, this is one of the most top-secured prison ships in the Ascendancy fleet. We've had legions of criminals taken back to correctional facilities during the war, and not one inmate has ever escaped from it, not one. ...Look, I know what the soldiers say about me running this ship, but I do know what I'm doing as Warden. You can chill out and let us take it from here..." Her voice became more stern than it ever did, as if insulted by the Agent's statement about the possibility of a jail break. The agent went silent, looking at the ground before then looking back at the Warden.
"...Even so, I can't take any chances. ...I can't let this one get away from me again. I just can't! ...Please, Minerva." The Agent said, finally saying the Warden's first name from his lips with hesitation, as if he was trying his best to keep that word in himself but succumbed. There was a moment of silence as the two looked into each other's eyes.
"...One magic word, that's all I wanted to hear. ...That wasn't so hard, was it? ...Alright, suit yourself. Follow those guards, they'll take you straight to his cell as soon as they're done readying him for it. Gotta warn you though, Jimmy, Solitary hall's absolutely boring. Don't go crying to me if you wind up wanting to shoot yourself from it." De'Silva said, her demeanor changing again at a dime, giving the agent a big sly smile as if she was a teenaged tomboy teasing the stern jock. The Agent gave a gentle smile right back and a nod before walking off. But before the Warden could do anything else, she seemed to finally notice the third person that arrived.
"Oh, right...You with Jimmy-boy?"
"Hm? OH! Umm, No, well...sort of. My name is Aldric Abreo, ...Professor Abreo. I came here due to a distress call this ship gave, it said it needed someone to help reinforce the cage on their...umm...'special guest'." The old man finally said, a nervous tone to match a nervous look to this otherwise polite old man.
"...Oh, right. We did make that request, didn't we?" De'Silva remembered, before then heading towards another guard to get info from the scan made earlier.
"Huh, says here you've retired for some time now, Professor. We made that request to Ascendancy R&D a little while back, for a specialist still in the field, ...why send a retiree?"
"I had asked for it. I heard from a former colleague about the request, and wanted to head over to deal with it myself. ...The Realist AI is, ...very important to me. I couldn't trust anyone else to do this but me."
"And, you were on Jimmy's ship because...?"
"Oh, I...lost my ship a long time ago in an accident. Agent Carmichael and I have gone way back for a considerably long time, I always assisted him in his missions as a...scientific advisor, so to speak. He was on my home world during the boy's heist. He was going to take the boy to a Prison ship, and I figured I'd advise this one and hitch a ride with him here. Two birds, one stone, Hehehe..." The professor said, giving a gentle, but exhausted laugh to end his explanation, a gentle smile on his face to compliment it. He seemed like a good, kind man, but it was clear by his tired expression he was too old for taking missions like this.
"...Uh, huh. Well... Fair enough, you certainly seem qualified for it. Realist's cell is down the hall of Solitary. ...That said, we are going to have to keep watch over what you do in there for security reasons, I hope you don't mind." De'Silva said, nodding towards a guard as if to imply he will be keeping watch over the Professor as he does his work.
"Oh, not at all, madam. I completely understand the caution. AIs are a more difficult inmate to keep contained on a ship like this after all. ...Well, let's not dawdle. I assure this won't take long, but I'd like to request a transport back home afterwards. Rest assured, fair madam, Realist will not be getting away..." The Professor then said to her, following with the other guards and the Agent towards Solitary Hall. The guard she tasked with watching the professor took a few steps to follow him before the Warden grabbed him by the shoulder, pulled him back to her, and whispered in his ear.
"Don't let him out of your sight... He does anything suspicious, give him one warning... he doesn't comply, shoot to kill." She whispered. The guard nodded, he needn't ask why she would ask him to shoot the professor down, it was clear to everyone in the hall that his story was suspicious, and the AI he's heading to secure was the ship's top priority inmate. No chances can be taken around it. That in mind, with safety disengaged on his gun, he rushed over to follow the Professor.
---
Just as boring as she says. At the top floor of Cell Block A, the very top of the prison cell area of the ship, lies solitary hall. Compared to the incredibly spacious Cell blocks, this singular hallway would feel incredibly claustrophobic and rather darkly lit. Facing down the hallway from the entrance, there was no real decor beyond just plain metal halls, and steel doors on the right wall, and nothing on the left save for cameras near the ceiling to keep watch over the doors. The hall itself was quite long for what it was, stretching about 60 feet long, the steel doors opening up to small rooms just as claustrophobic in nature as the hall itself.
As the Professor and the guard he was assigned with walked down the hall, they noticed near its end that the pirate child was being thrown into the solitary confinement cell, Agent Carmichael standing by the door after it closed shut on the pirate. The pirate screamed profanities, not that the Professor could hear anything, as the rooms were essentially completely soundproof... even then, the Agent could still barely hear the boy's angered screams while standing next to his door. The Professor and agent looked at each other, giving a slight nod as if in greeting, as the professor walked past him.
At the end of the hall was the Professor's destination, a giant cube-shaped room more artificial and feeling more fresh than any other part of the ship. From the evidence of the wall of the hall being cut open to the overly clean polish to it, it was clear this was a room they added onto the ship after its creation, and it didn't take long to figure out why.
Opposite to the door way, past an array of computer consoles in the middle of the room was a giant black device, almost similar in a way to a tree trunk, with glowing red wires hooked up to what looked like a giant red eye at the very center of this device.
This "eye", an octagonal-shaped drive with a glowing red light in the center was the "VIP" of this ship, the core of the AI, Realist, strapped onto a restrictive frame disconnected from the ship's mainframe networks - controlled only by the consoles in the middle of the room as the user interface - and generating a signal that completely blocked the AI's wireless connections outside the frame.
In short, Realist was in the closest thing to a Prison cell the ship could create, made especially for him.
The professor took a deep breath before stepping into the room, the AI's Eye giving him a stare that could pierce his very soul. Yet Abreo stared right back at it, a small smile on his face.
"It's been a while, Realist..." He simply said. The professor and the guard could see the red eye moving up and down slowly, as if scanning the professor.
"...A long time indeed, Professor Abreo. I can tell much has changed since we last met on Earth. Truly a pity that I was not there to witness your ascension." The metallic voice from the wall echoed across the room. For a such a small device, it created quite a booming, yet cold voice.
"A-Ascension? ...What is he talking about, sir?"
"It's not important, best not to think on it too hard. ...What is important is what I came here for." The Professor responded to the soldier's somewhat disturbed question as he walked over to one of the computer consoles in the middle of the room, staring at the monitor.
"Hmm...I can see why they needed assistance. The physical frame is still firm, but the software inside the frame holding you in is corrupting, decaying slowly by the second. No doubt your doing, Realist. You never did play nice with other programs." He said, typing on the keyboard feverishly as he speaks. The eye on Realist's core dilates for a moment before shrinking back to normal, as if coming to a realization.
"...I see. It is all comprehensible now."
"Oh...?" The professor looked up towards Realist as the AI says this, a small smile on his face, the guard looking at both in confusion as he spots the Professor inserting something into the console.
"The breach in the frame was not my doing. A nanite was spotted in this room a few days ago. Not long after, a breach in security is detected wirelessly, creating a hole in the system and allowing me a chance at escape, little by little. They detected it as well... But the programmers that were to be my guards and patch this hole in the system suddenly are inflicted with illness and are unable to do so. The ship calls out for other programmers to come and maintain my 'cell' in their place, and out of all the many humans capable of this, you are the one who heeds the call...the only one who comes forward."
"Are you accusing me of something, Realist?" The Professor's tone starting to shift from the tired but gentle professor to something more sly, as if he was enjoying this.
"...You are the one. That Nano-saboteur was one of yours, wasn't it? You arranged a situation in which you would be allowed here, under the pretense of fixing an error that you yourself caused."
"Heh, Interesting claim. A number of holes in it, but I won't bore you with explaining them, you clearly have gone off the rails like they said. But I will say this: there's no pretense here. In about 45 seconds, the hole will be sealed up, and you'll be trapped once again."
"...Then why are you copying my data files and storing them into that unit?" This one question was enough for the guard to jolt to attention. Indeed, he noticed it as well, that device inserted into the console, it was basically a small black box the professor was holding in his pocket - The 'PDA' detected by the scan, connecting to the console through a wire. This guard wasn't exactly tech-savvy, but even he could connect the dots as to what's going on here. As such, the guard held up his gun and took aim towards the professor's head.
"Simmer down, boy... This AI would lie in order to save himself; he's done so before. This hole in your cyber-security is getting bigger by the second. You shoot me, and it will buy him time to escape into this ship's network." This made the guard's hand shake in hesitation, but the gun was still aimed. The Warden told him to shoot should he notice anything suspicious, but at the same time, the professor has a point; Realist could be lying to keep his cage from getting fixed. As if in response, the Professor slowly put his hand in his pocket, and let out the black box in question, and raised it to his head, allowing it to be in clear view.
"...It's a digital tool box. I don't have a lot of faith in Omni-tools you see, so I crafted a more physical one of my own. Some of my best application programs are installed into this, which I can then use a myriad of different jobs, including bug-patching." He said, still typing at a fast rate with one hand.
But before the guard could say anything else, suddenly the entire room goes black, save the glowing eye of Realist, dimly illuminating the center of the room with an eerie red light. It wasn't just there either, the hall way they took to get there, the cell area beyond that, the entire ship went into a blackout, with dim lights turning on from the floor as the ship's emergency power activates. Screams of panic and alarms echoed barely towards the room.
"...Also including a storage app." the Professor said undeterred, as if nothing was wrong. The guard - looking around in confusion at the panic that was happening - looked back towards the Professor, who finally stopped typing, just to flings his fingers towards the guard, as if splashing droplets of water on him. Before the guard knew it, he could feel tiny pokes all over his body, as if a bunch of bugs suddenly landed on him. He tried to brush them off in a panic, only to suddenly stop and jolted in pain as he falls to the floor, having a seizure. Whatever it was that landed on him gave him an electrical shock across the body.
"He'll live." The Professor said, turning to Realist, continuing typing again. "Well, this charade's been fun, but it seems I've wasted enough time. So..."
On cue, he pushed one last button, and the sound of a lock disengaging could be heard, the Professor disconnecting his device and putting it back in his pocket.
"We don't have a lot of time; the lock has an auto-engage that'll activate soon. Let's get you out of there before they start coming in."
"...I see, you were buying time. This blackout was also your doing, so you came all this way for me, or rather, for the information I hold. I take it the data you copied serves as consolation in case you failed to get me out in time." Realist said as the device keeping in the core was shutting down.
"...I'd rather not have anyone else be in possession of such valuable information - Ascendancy or otherwise - but in case something goes wrong, I don't intend on leaving without it no matter what. Furthermore, not my choice, but I was ordered by the boss to add a little something to your database, just in case... But enough talk, let's-" The professor was interrupted again, this time by a deafening boom and hard shakes, enough to make the professor lose his footing and fall, even more alarms were blaring now, as the gravity started to push the professor towards the console - no, towards the wall where Realist was. He looked behind, and noticed the Agent outside in Solitary hall rolled towards and hit his head on the door leading into Realist's cell, clearly having trouble as well. The knocked out guard also seemed to slide down towards the wall where Realist was.
"What the hell did you do!?" The professor said, trying to keep himself on his feet.
"This is not my doing; I am still disconnected from the ship's systems. ...Judging by the sudden shift in gravity, the sound of explosions, and the heavy vibrations, I deduce the ship has sustained heavy damage, and is now caught in a gravity well, hopefully the gravity of a planet. ...Was this not a part of your plan as well?" Realist responded, as if mocking Abreo. The Professor could not make any response as he instead grabbed hold of the nearest console he could find and braced for impact.
---
Hours later after the crash, once the guards finally got their bearings in order, they searched over Solitary Confinement and Realist's own cell. The Auto-lock reengaged, with the hole in the software patched as the Professor promised. As a result, their AI prisoner was still held captive, just as it should be. However, the professor himself was nowhere to be seen. The guard watching him was the only one found, still alive, though it seemed to be through some assistance, possibly the Professor's.
Furthermore, The Pirate they captured at the same time seemed to have escaped, along with many other criminals whose doors were broken from the crash. Guards suspect that the pirate child could very well have been the one who broke them out, perhaps to keep the guards busy amidst the chaos, though there was little evidence left to tell either way. The agent James Carmichael also disappeared, his body undiscovered amidst the rubble. It's believed by Warden De'Silva that the Agent likely woken up to find out the pirate escaped, and chased after him as soon as he could. He always was - in her words - "wonderfully persistent".
The current whereabouts of the Pirate, the Agent, and the Professor, is unknown...
The noises of the cell itself hardly drowned out the now pacing Miron, it was obvious he was impatient, but he'd only have one shot at this, literally. He had less than a minute before the barrier change over, and recycling, so it was almost time to get ready, he had to make it believable short out the sensors, and generators in one shot, just below the barriers.
"C'mon, c'mon!" Waiting patiently was always something he lacked, despite his usually positive nature. In the palm of his hand he clutched a morphing ball of glowing matter, like a liquid but not quite a liquid, and just as the cycle happened in the split second of time, he let go of it, raising his arms up to protect himself against the blast, but not much would happen other than knocking him back a few feet. He looked up with a slight bit of hope. "Yes! Quickly covering his mouth, he proceeded to the now unprotected door, and peeked through it, not seeing anyone just yet, he began to cut through the door, using the Axion beam as a laser cutter, it wouldn't heat the metal, but it punctured through it like a pencil through paper. The sustained usage though would be draining. He stepped through the hole, silently placing the heavy circle he cut through back in place and then bolting for anything he could find that would be useful. He would warp himself around the pairs of patrolling guards, into corners where no one would see him, but it could only last so long.
Alan's eyes were steeled the moment he confirmed Finnbar was still on their side. He stayed silent until the folks he didn't know that were with him took the elevator upwards. As soon as he confirmed they were out of sight, he immediately jumped towards his cells bars to get as close to the other side - and to his friend - as possible, before whispering.
"Any chance you can make some mini-portal or something to get this damn thing off?" Alan simply asked.
---
Maria stared into the eyes of the doctor and found something fascinating within them: Relativity, familiarity, like looking into a mirror, fogged and blurred; he saw himself in her, and she sees something back. It was a curious thing for her, as she tilted her head, what must this person have had happened to him to make her eyes so similar to her own?
An exploration for another day, but perhaps it was because of this that when the Doctor mentioned that he was a friend, she didn't need her telepathy active to know that he was telling no lie. ...The fact that he unlocked her cell helped with that opinion as well though. Furthermore, the name Millard was someone Joey talked about during the trip that led them here.
As soon as the door opened, she walked out and pointed downwards with her finger, as if indicating the answer being below them.
"...Two allies. One floor below us lies Alan, a fellow Star Marine...By the voices I'm hearing, it seems Finnbar is already down there with him. Fortunate: He can make them an escape route out of those cells, for him, and for Joseph Albion below them." She told Millard as she looked out the balcony of her floor towards the whole of Cell Block B, watching for potential guards doing patrols on the lower floors.
While her voice was befitting her ten-year-old appearance, it was a cold and distant tone to her every word, there was no relief to see an ally rescuing her, no distress for either of her captive allies, and she spoke of Finnbar as if he was a conveniance and nothing more. It was like she was a doll or a machine, emotionless and seemingly without a soul. Most would find it unnerving, maybe even see this as not being her, maybe she's brainwashed? Perhaps a clone or an android with her appearance disguised as her? But for the Star Marines, this isn't new, she's been like this ever since they met her. They knew she's as human, and just as capable of feeling as the rest of them, but her lack of emotional conveyance was something she could not help.
"Do you have a key for this collar?" The little girl asked, her eyes on that neutral face staring towards Millard, down to her soul.
Alan's eyes were steeled the moment he confirmed Finnbar was still on their side. He stayed silent until the folks he didn't know that were with him took the elevator upwards. As soon as he confirmed they were out of sight, he immediately jumped towards his cells bars to get as close to the other side - and to his friend - as possible, before whispering.
"Any chance you can make some mini-portal or something to get this damn thing off?" Alan simply asked.
Finbarr smirked as Alan asked if he could use a portal of some kind to remove the magic dampening collar that was stopping Alan from simply melting the bars with his own magical abilities. Poor Alan. "Huh, don't be ridiculous.", Finbarr replied, pulling out the unignited hilt of one of his plasma blades out of his black cloak, winking at Alan as he went. "A portal won't cut through that... but this will."
The Timespace magician glanced at the black and gold hilt of his weapon. It had been a while since he had a good look at it; there were writings emblazed on the surface, and the symbol of the Celtic Cross right at the center. On a vertical pattern were these words, "Is é an bua atá againn"... meaning "Vengeance will be ours" in old Irish Gaelic. He was taught the ancient tongue by his parents back in Titan...
Finbarr brushed those memories aside, and smiled back at Alan. "Don't worry, friend. It will all be alright... remember this bad boy?", Finbarr asked, waving the hilt at him, though he did so with his back facing the camera that he spotted in the corner of the cellblock.
Finbarr then leaned closer to the cell, whispering, "Just gotta wait for the cyber lady to confirm that she has the thing we needed, then I'm busting you out. Okay?"
...
Once he had confirmation that Laurey had the Realist and their mission accomplished, Finbarr would ignite the blade, and with one swift motion, slash the bars unto two sets of halves. In that moment, he would also return to his regular appearance; a 5'8", black haired boy with a thing for black clothing. "Here." Finbarr adjusted the length of the blade to that of a knife. "Stand still, I'm taking the bloody thing off!"
The door to Realist’s Cell ground open to the whir of powerful motors.
Inside was lit only by the electric fire thrown from the cell terminals, harsh and blue. A frame of black metal and thick arteries of wire, red as blood, bathed in the light. With the hue and angular nature of the AI core, it wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to imagine it as a chunk of ice in Judecca, crushing a sinner inside. Certainly the silence helped.
Laurey let out the breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” Laurey jumped as Jan spoke from beside her, but nodded. Her cold sweats and the deep craving inside her seemed so far away in its presence.
Crossing to the consoles, Laurey near tiptoed, trying to break the silence as little as possible (it seemed safer that way).
“I’ll need some privacy when I worked,” she said as she came to the eye-watering screens.
“Can’t do, I’m afraid. Security issues and all that.”
“Of course,” she nodded, then drew a deep breath. In some ways what she was about to do was akin to undressing in front of Jan; it laid a part of her bare, part she wanted to keep away from others.
Her finger blossomed and the facets found their places.
“Be quiet then.”
The world fell away into the cold light of tumbling stars.
It was also on J-Heim Beta that Laurey had plunged into an ice lake. Supposedly the adrenaline rush it brought on had health benefits, but it only froze Laurey and made her sniffle for a week afterwards. What she remembered from that experience, what was burned into her primate brain, was the way the cold had driven all the air from her lungs, like she was at once falling and had been struck by an ice-wrapped truck.
Now she felt it again. Now it was worse, not just an icy pool but an ocean, her mind drowning, and the red eye of the leviathan fell upon her.
Realist didn't even attempt to disappoint Laurey and her expectations, giving the cyberneticist a vision of a great, golden hall made up of binary and trinary codes, glowing with their own soft yellow light. A transcendent space meant to show the immense space of Realist's mind and what it can hold, and also flattered those whose paradigm already revered AI and borderline worshipped it.
And then he flooded Laurey's mind with information, information which her cybernetics can barely comprehend, yet which it did, due to Realist pacing the flow just enough. Numbers, dates, and technical schematics of various Ascendancy projects flooded into Laurey's head, as well as philosophical musings on Magic and his own sapience. And of course, a 'historical model' which puported to show the course of history as he saw it - Cycles of revenge feeding into each other over and over again without end.
Laurey Karlin - Take me out of here, Realist's voice, heavy with information and accumulated wisdom, echoed in her head. Jan is distracted, your partners are freeing the remaining prisoners. You can remove me from this 'cage' I am in, so that I can reveal to you the dark secrets of the Ascendancy, and the treasure trove of information Moonstrike seeks.
Instructions flooded through her brain, instructions on how to detach his AI Core from the machines keeping him in place and take him out of the room safely. Save me, Laurey, Realist said. You know how little the Ascendancy values its tools. Especially... the AI continued, That which hold the key to a new world, a new world of transcendence and heights of beauty incomprehensible to those who reject the gift of cybernetics.
But deep in his heart of hearts, Realist felt the human emotion called humor, felt the human emotion called... Satisfaction. Satisfaction at the lies he was weaving, lies mixed with truth, and how Laurey was being led away from his hidden truth - That a part of his knowledge had been locked, hidden, and rendered inaccessible to her. That even though he wanted to get rid of the block as soon as possible, he did not want her to do it, for what she can do with that truth... It will lead to the end of everything and not in the way most folk would anticipate it doing so.
Take me away, Laurey Karlin - The Ascendancy is catching on, the window of opportunity is closing, Realist said once more, suppressing the human feelings he felt, concealing them from Laurey's cybernetic senses. They already know.
Alan gave a slight chuckle in response to his friend turning down the portal idea.
"Eh, didn't hurt to ask, I've seen you pull off some remarkable shit with those portals after all." He said, almost jokingly. It was then he pointed out what else could break the device around his neck, of course Finnbar would have that sword still.
"How could I forget?" He sarcastically asked with a smile. Not a time since they met has Finnbar been without that trusty sword of his. Alan always seen him spar with it, fight with it, probably even killed a few with it, not that he remembers anyone in particular. The times when he sparred with Finnbar personally back then he was always focused on not getting hit by that fucking thing. Something about the Celtic blade made his gut instinct tell him it'd hurt like a bitch in particular if he got hit with it. ...And sometimes, he was very much right.
He nodded when Finnbar told him the plan, but then it occurred to him as he mentioned the Cyber Lady - probably that chick who was with him - that reminded him of something.
"Shit, that's right, Realist...Finn, I know should probably talk about this after this whole thing, but I'll probably forget if I don't mention it now. We got captured because they were expecting us. We overheard them talking as they put us in here; somebody got here before us trying to steal Realist. Sounds like it was one of us, not sure who though. But it sounds like whoever it is, they're Pirates now." Alan explained to him.
As soon as Finn got the confirmation he was waiting for, and slashed at the bars to cut them out, Alan was quick to jump out of the cell and do a big ol stretch. He then asked him to stand still, so he can use the big sharp sword that just cut through those metal bars like a hot knife through butter to cut off the restraint that was so close to his neck. ...What could possibly go wrong?
"You wind up accidently killing me with that thing, I'll murder you, I hope you understand that." He said, while he was slightly joking, he was also somewhat serious at the same time.
However, as somewhat expected of him, Finn aim was as true as it ever was, cutting through the restraint as easily as he did the cell bars. Wasn't enough to get it off - only so much you can cut through before you wind up hitting skin - but it was more than enough to disengage the restraint, allowing Alan to do the rest himself. The instant he could feel the radiation negating his magic fading, he grabbed at what was left of the neck brace, pulling at the cut Finn made until the tear was complete and the ring became merely an arc, far easier to pull off afterwards. He then stared at his hands as bright white embers began to envelop them, combusting into a white flame as he clenched his fists and gave a smirk.
---
Maria, however, had a far less stressful time of hers being taken off, for the good doctor had a key for her restraint. Unlocking it and taking it off. Maria stood in silence and stillness for about half a minute before her eyes began to glow a deep purple. Concentrating, the first thing she did as a test of her magic coming back to her was a quick scan the situation around the ship, more specifically outside the ship so as to stop where the Xuanxang would be. Problem being she didn't know what it looked like, only basing the search on what Joey told her about it. She did find what appeared to be the Ship, but also a problem: A group of soldiers outside surrounding the ship. As quick as she could, she established contact with her fellow Star Marines, via a telepathic channel she concieved for them during the War, akin to tuning to a certain radio frequency to access a specific station.
"This is Maria to all Star Marines, Maria to all Star Marines. I don't know where you are for the moment, but know that I and Alan are safe. More urgently, there is a problem. The Circle of Hell is being surrounded as we speak. Evacuation is advisable. I repeat, The Circle of Hell is being surrounded by soldiers, Evacuation is advisable." She said telepathically through the channel, almost robotically, as if she was the standard computer voice of a ship telling them something was wrong. Normally it'd be natural to get suspicious of this, but she was always overly professional back when she relayed information back in the war. She opened her eyes again and began floating off the ground, levitating in the air as she turned towards the Doctor.
"...We have to go as well. Take my hand." She said to him matter of factly. The Doctor eventually did, a surprisingly strong grip for someone as young as her as she floated upwards, pulling the doctor off the ground as well. Quick as a bird, she and the Doctor flew towards the center of the block and downwards towards Block C, passing Finn, Alan, and Joey as she did. Pulling the good doctor like a rag doll as she pulls up and flies through towards one of the halls and towards where she spotted the Xuanxang.
---
Hearng Maria's message - likely alongside Finn - Alan was quick to look at Finn and then towards the central area where he spots her and the Doctor flying out.
"Why does everyone always seem to put our frying pan right next to a goddamn inferno?" He asked with a sigh. "Give me a minute, Finn, then lead the way. There's something I gotta take care of first." With white flames he jumped over the balcony of his floor in Block B, and started blasting a flare of white flames from those same hands as he fell, the flames slowing his descent like the thrusters of a rocket as he then moved towards Joey's Cell, and immediately melted the bars on them.
"THAT, is how you improvise. Anyways, we need to get the fuck out before the big guns surrounding the place start knocking on the door." Alan said, proud and cocky at the fact that he broke Joey out when Joey was planning to bust them out, albeit with a dumb plan.
"Yeah, about that... go on ahead and leave with them, I'll catch up with you guys later." Needless to say, this was not the reaction Alan was expecting out of this loudmouth, the audacity of this guy made Alan speechless in confusion.
"...Didn't you hear me, this ship's getting surrounded, we got to get going!"
"Then get going, kid. I ain't leaving here without my babies; they're my pride and joy. Besides, someone's gotta keep those soldier boys occupied while you guys hop on out. I'll catch up to you lot later after I get back the twins and Mickey. Still got my ship down here too, can't just leave that behind either." Joey said with a shrug, passing a stunned and extinguished Alan dumbstruck by this man's stupid reason for staying in a suicide situation as he walked towards the balcony of the floor and hopped down himself, rolling as soon as he impacted so as to not snap anything in his body. He then made it to the center hole to Block C when he looked back at Alan.
"Oh, one more thing, Al. When you meet Cap'n Natty, Tell her something for me. Tell her... I... Owe her that 400 I borrowed behind her back a few days ago. Catch you guys later." Joey said, purposely pausing for the sense of a faux suspense while then giving a joking salute to the perplexed boy. Joey then immediately hopped into the hole towards Ground Floor.
"...Should have just let him there, let him rot in the cell, no one would have to notice..." Alan thought, he then shook his head to concentrate on the matter at hand.
"Ey, Finn! Mind making us a portal to you guys' ship?" Alan yelled this question to Finnbar upstairs, hoping that he has an easy out for this situation.
If he can, Alan uses it to get in the Xuanxang and be ready for leaving this planet with a bunch of reunited friends.
If he can't, Alan would then have Finnbar lead the way back to his ship.
They were back in the Xuanzang. Thank god, after a stressful first mission, they were back in the Xuanzang. Not that Natasha did anything much in the actual mission, but when Ashton and Flame had brought up RealAscendancyStockBets once they were back on the ship - She had an account there too - the Captain had decided to make up for her relative inaction by earning the group some money and more importantly, deal some financial hurt to the Ascendancy with the help of her genius/prodigy crewmembers.
Within 24 hours or so of their return, a few Ascendancy hedge funds had been obliterated, a scattering of various rich oligarchs was (metaphorically) writhing in agony from having their speculation ruined, and Ashton and Flame were clearly in their element as they caused a few ripples in the Ascendancy's Core Worlds before the regulators struck - Even then, RealAscendancyStockBets managed to make off with a generous amount of cash, although actually buying things with it will have to wait till they return to the Galactic Bazaar. There was also the option of going to a Tayanen or Korta world, too - The Ascendancy's former vassals ought to be enjoying their newfound freedom.
Freedom, she mused, that Plenty had been deprived of once Kherol and Co. had crushed the rebellion there - Let's just say that the quick getaway of the Xuanzang was something Natasha could take credit for in the end...
Ashton and Flame
"We keep the bulk of the money, Ashton," Flame said, "Only twenty million each for our friends - The rest belongs to us."
Ashton said, "But Flame, what can we do with a full billion if we're not giving it to Moonstrike?"
Flame said, "Ashton, I hate to say this, but we need an exit strategy for if we fail - We don't know if Moonstrike has commanders who can stand a chance against Grand Admiral Laguna, much less Grand Admiral Kherol. And by exit strategy, I mean we need to escape a potential defeat while having a way to strike back, and thanks to having a full billion, we can buy our own dreadnought, which can form the nucleus of a new opposition force should Moonstrike get their asses kicked."
Ashton looked at Flame and said, "Not a dreadnought, Flame - Kherol won his victories with Carriers. We're going to need something which can give those ships and their swarms of starfighters a problem." He breathed and paused, "I've contacted Gloriana - She says that the Korta have a design for a dedicated artillery ship - A gigantic pipe with a Fusion Reactor and Engines inside which can launch superheated jets of hydrogen gas. But the problem with implementing this design is money - They're still rebuilding from decades of Ascendancy oppression."
Flame chuckled, "And that's what we have aplenty. Very well, funnel the money to the Korta, then - Commission a prototype unit of this 'Tube Ship' as soon as possible, and if we ever get more money, we make more."
William Windsor and his Crew
As William was returning from Ponin, the young man had acted with renewed purpose, working as an ordinary crewfolk abroad Captain Aisha Ibrahim's ship while using FTL comms to communicate with his mother, Elizabeth, and coordinate a minor financial assault on the Ascendancy's oligarchs in Wall Street with the help of the rest of RealAscendancyStockBets. Not that they'd cross the line to causing a panic, though - That'd get their buddies in the social media organization investigated by regulators. No, he'd content himself with bringing down some of the worst hedge funds and lenders.
After that, it was time to talk about other matters.
"This Kaisoken, Mirrorshard," William was asking his mother through private comms, "You are certain of his loyalties?"
Elizabeth answered as her holographic projection straightened the shawl around its neck, "I am - He speaks with the commitment of a new convert, one who has pursued a previous cause with fervor, was disillusioned with it, and now pursues a new one with greater zeal than before. Treat him well, William, he might make a good ground commander."
A shudder swept through William then. "The very thought of fighting in a planetary surface, in open ground and evenly high gravity... It is very unusual. And the thought of doing so for days and weeks on end -"
"Kherol did such," Captain Aisha Ibrahim interrupted as she entered the comms room, "But I must admit, as we're both fleet-born folk, that spending more than a few days on a planet like Ponin and even fighting there... Well, it makes for a lot of phobias, right?"
"That it does," Windsor said, "But I must overcome said fear if I am to to lead the true rebellion. Moonstrike has given no indication it intends full-scale war or is even ready for it. I, however, am..."
As Iris, Samuel, and Nero were pulling out after their scuffle with the magical Birdman she heard a familiar voice manifested in her head. Maria had alerted her that enemies are starting to close in. Iris's team was closer to the extraction point than the others. Iris sped up her retreat and got into the ship.
It wasn't long until the rest of the crew were on board along with the objective and some new crewmates. Before she had could doth her gear, Ashton and Flame had a little big gift to give to the crew. It was some money. Well, that was an understatement. It was enough money to make Iris's brain break. One hundred million credits... I'm rich. I'm filthy rich. I can buy a farm. I can buy the good sweets. Should I invest? Should I keep it in my mattress? Wait no, I would first need to buy a really big mattress. These thoughts continue to play in Iris's head. She had already accepted the idea is living a normal life living paycheck to paycheck. But this was a mind-boggling amount of money. After recollecting her dropped IQ, she decided it might be best to shower before talking to Amy.
In the shower, she started to reflect on her mistakes in the mission. In Iris's mind, if she had been more vigilant they would have never been spotted in the first place. Iris let out a sigh remembering how useless she felt during the actual fight. I should've struck when the light went off. I already knew where he was. But no, I stumbled and choose to run and he took the initiative. We were lucky that those fucks seemed to have business with him. She leans against the wall as she realizes that Tarak of all people is going to give them their mission reviews. She can already see it now. But quickly she accepts they she might get chewed out and moves onto more important thoughts
Sweat. I sweat, it's normal, for humans. but what about Amy? Like, does she sweat? It's normal to sweat right? Is it? Wait is it weird to sweat? Omg it is weird. Either way time to get out before I use all the hot water.
As she chills out, she has a thought. If we are going to the bazaar again then maybe Amy might want to go on a little shopping thing before the sleepover. I should let her know before it gets too late. Iris started to make her way over to Amy. When she could finally see Amy, she spoke to her, "Hey Amy, since we are going back to the bazaar, how would you feel about going on a little shopping trip together before the sleepover?" She was trying to act a bit normal but it was probably obvious that she was excited about going shopping.
With everything on the Circle of Hell dealt with and everyone back into Xuanzang, Finbarr had nothing better to do, other than maybe sleep. Or eat, if he was famished.
As such, after hours of sleep, Finbarr walked back into the mess hall, wearing lain back clothes, though as usual, he was having black. Coughing, he took a ready made meal from one of the metal cabinets. After microwaving it for a minute, he proceeded to tear off the foil covering the top of the thing before stabbing the lone piece of bacon inside with his fork. It was breakfast, though day and night were meaningless in space.
Nevertheless, Finbarr dug on the food, occasionally sipping off from a glass of chocolate milk.
It didn't look like it, but he was waiting for company.
From the moment Alan was in the ship, he couldn't help but tilt his head at the...roommates aside from his fellow Star Marines that joined up with. He thought Joey was a freak and likely the odd man out, little did he know how well he would fit in and be normal with this crew, had he re-joined them during the retreat. We got a cyborg, a doctor somehow just as soulless as Maria by the look on his face, an Alien trickster who he could tell really like Iris, and the cherry on top: it's headed by a woman who so willingly decided to reward them....By fucking with the Stock Market with Flame and Ashton - Of COURSE it's that opportunistic duo that helped pull this off- and trashing enough trust funds to award 20 million credits to every single member of the crew, and still have more left over.
These fucking Madlads! ...Alan didn't know whether to love them, or take his chances outside... before they land. At the very least, there are worse crews he could be riding with.
Speaking of which, he walked to the mess hall, a new set of unmatching clothes - like he gives a shit about his looks - of a black T-shirt and brown pants, wondering that now that he had millions of Credits...what the hell is supposed to do with all of it? He never really had any money before, and now he's a millionaire, feels odd...and off, doesn't know where to begin with it.
It was around this point that he saw Finn in the Mess Hall. Oh yeah, There was something he had to go into more detail with him with, huh? Without much in the way of hesitation, He walked to Finnbar as he ate.
"Oi, Finn...Any idea of what to do with 20 fuckin mil? I need some ideas..." He said to him, sitting down next to him.
Finbarr chuckled, popping the yolk of the sunny side up egg into his mouth before chewing with an avid look of satisfaction on his house. "Might buy some land on one of the colonies." Finbarr shrugged, and took another sip. "Or, if everything goes south, I could get a plot of land and make a house elsewhere, maybe in one of the Kanarusian planets. Those have a lot of open spaces."
Smiling at himself, Fin continued. "But not before getting my family out of Titan. We lived dirt poor lives, and they probably still are, right now, thinking that I'm already dead or worse. Though meeting you guys is the silver lining through all that. You know, it keeps me sane. As for you, though..."
Finbarr looked at Alan, from head to chest, studying him closely. "You got no idea what to do with that amount of money no...? What, you got no one to go back to? I have. I hope..."
Alan gave a light smirk as he grabbed a drink, followed shortly by a small chuckle. While he looked amused, there was some deeper layer of sadness to his expression.
"Hehehe, Well, I'm sure you do. Hope everyone else has someone too. As for this guy... can't say one way or the other. Memory's still a bit fried, but some stuff did start coming around when I was training with Sensei back on that Rau've planet...Nothing particularly present though. An orphan I think, ...Without a home, without family, without friends, ...that's the most prominent thing I can get out of this head. ...So, yeah, Far as I'm concerned, you lot may as well be family, similar to how Sensei may as well be my mom." He explained to him. Looking down towards the table in contemplation as if trying to think on what memories were still hazy. He then shook off that thought to move on.
"Buying land, Suppose that's not a bad idea...Not exactly we should be doing with it now though right? Should at least wait for the Reform we make before we start thinking of living large." He said.
"In that case," Finbarr smirked, "I will be saving up this cash, so that it gets even bigger when those two wonder boys pull off another scam or whatever it is. That, on top of the one that we got while we in the Bazaar... we're going to end up as very rich people by the end of our mission of vengeance. Ah well."
Finbarr reclined back on his seat, his hands locking toegthe behind his head as he relaxed. "It's sad that they fried your memory. You could have been living a nice life before you got dragged into... this. Welp. I guess we are simultaneously the luckiest and unluckiest kids in this galaxy, eh?"
"I sincerely doubt that." Alan thought. What memories he could dig up from this head was anything but nice. But as Finn said about how lucky and unlucky they all were, he nodded, but then went into another silence in thought.
"Luck..." He grabbed his cup and took a big gulp, as if in preparation, before then taking deep breath.
"...We knew you guys were heading for Realist. That blonde freak Joey patched into the Communications and we heard the Briefing you guys had about the Plenty mission. We figured we'd go down there get it first, and then wait for you guys to come down. We'd be reunited, the mission accomplished easily. Wins all around. ...But despite there being a jail break from the shipwreck, there were still alot more guards on that ship than we expected. We thought they were gonna all be focused on rounding up the Escaped inmates, but a lot of them were on guard on that ship. Guess someone else was tasked with that. More importantly, they expected us to come to that ship to take Realist. Anti-Magic collars and everything. At first, I thought someone sold us out, but I know now that that's not the case, cause it didn't take very long for them to start loosening their lips when they got us inhibited. ...Someone got to Realist first, before any of us could. A 'magic pirate', they said. Apparently they thought we were in league with some group of Space Pirates, the Captain of which, they claim was one of us." He explained to him.
"Magic pirate?" Finbarr shook his head at those two words. "And their captain was one of us? So, a Star Marine that deserted and became a pirate? Sounds like something we should be concerned with."
Finbarr then shrugged. "Well then, one problem at a time, we should take. This pirate with magic... and then whoever was the guy with the crow mask that came in and fought with Nero and the Matthews twins. Whoever it was, they had magic too."
Coughing one last time, Finbarr continued, "At the very least, we found you right on time before those traitors in Squad Zero got us. Those, and Kherol." Smirking, Finbarr gently squeezed Alan's shoulder. "Maria is the same as ever, I assume?"
"Indeed, I don't have any real proof or evidence, but I do have a guess at who it could be. Mostly because he's the only one I can think of that isn't accounted for." Alan said. He then heard about the crow masked individual who also had...wait, what?
"I heard about that from Nero. An adult guy with a mask...He had magic too? ...Did those scientists lied to us then? Guess I can't be surprised if they did, but that raises its own questions..." He said, though at that point, he was more thinking aloud. As Finnbar tried to change the subject again, what he said to do so led to some more thoughts from Alan.
"Oh yeah, they were there too...Why were 'they' on Plenty? Were they hunting me and Maria down, Or...did they find out about that Pirate supposedly being there too? And their connection with that masked man...A lot of strange coincidences seemed to happen on that mission...too many to shrug off." He thought. Of course in comes Finbarr grabbing his shoulder to break his concentration with a ice-breaker question.
"Yeah. Though we were only together at the time we met Joey. Apparently Tarak sent her on some errand after you guys left for the Bazaar, though she was pretty tight-lipped on what it was. Didn't bother digging anymore than that; You know her, nothing opens that mouth if she doesn't want it to. " He said.
"I don't trust a single word the bloody scientists said.", Finbarr responded. "They're the ones that took us away from our old lives and pumped us with dust made from ground up Kaisokens, and they work for the Ascendancy. No reason for me, or anyone else, for that matter, to take them at their word."
Sighing, Finbarr took in the last piece of bacon. "Just want to settle down some time. With Na-, no, no, that's not right..."
Oops.
Now that was an interesting slip up. It was too late to take back what was said, the "Na" was enough to make Alan smirk a bit. Oh yeah, he knew exactly who he meant.
"Hehehe, You and her? That's a battle I'd rather forfeit from personally, but hey, don't let that stop you." He said with a sly smirk.
"Um..." Finbarr blushed, and look away, embarrassed. "I don't... I'm not sure if she feels the same. But... yeah. Not gonna stop now."
"Well, is there any more about that line of conversation we had about the magic pirate, or...?"
"Well I can't prove anything, but...There was one of us who deserted the Star Marines, well before the Battle of Proxima. Don't rightly remember his name, think it also started with an 'A'. He was probably one of the youngest of us, must have been around the same age Maria was...actually was back then. He had a very odd magic, still don't know what kind of Kaisoken combination was used to make it. But it was a passive magic, very support-oriented, far as I knew. He was also very...meek, shy, never really stood out, don't even think he was educated in the slightest, he was a scared little kid we took pity on even after the injection. No idea how someone like that would become a Pirate. He mentioned having an Uncle somewhere, so we just assumed he escaped and went into said uncle's care." Alan said, holding his hands together as he tried to dig up memories from back then.
"What we went through under the Ascendancy is traumatizing as hell.", Finbarr replied, nodding. "There were quite a few deserters too, so I can't remember who that could be as well... maybe he was in a different squad. Either way, the kind of treatment the government threw at us may have caused a meek little child to become something sinister. It happens to the best of humanity, after all. When terrible things happen to good people, they could become demons in their own right."
"True...what we were put through was a true case of hell on earth. ...Some of us never recovered from it." Alan said, taking another drink and sighing in exhaustion.
"To tell the truth, I don't know why it's bothering me... Even if there is a Star Marine playing Pirate somewhere, it shouldn't have much to do with us and our objective. Just...something about that situation just seemed off. Whoever these pirates were, they knew about Realist, and infiltrated the ship, well before either of us..."
"Let's just keep the thing in the back of our minds as we go on towards our next mission.", Finbarr smiled, pushing away the empty container of his meal. "If we have a run in with the crow masker, or the pirate, we'll be ready."
Standing up, Finbarr tapped Alan on both of his shoulders. "Ah, I think you've grown a bit. Bloody hell. I didn't realize that."
"I trained with the Hellfire Rose, back on that Rau've planet when you guys first left for your rebellion. That might have had something to do with it." Alan simply said, getting up when he did.
"In any case, I'm gonna go rest in my room for a bit. I have a bit to think about, and a bit to train with." He then said.
"Okay man." Finbarr nodded as he bowed slightly. "It's been nice talking to you again. And... I'm going to continue the thing I'm writing..."
Alan said nothing else, instead waving to Finn from behind as he walked out.
Amy's connection with Iris lasted for a bit more after their brief exchange about spending some time together, getting cut short once the purple skinned girl's cheeks turned into a bright magenta hearing some of the thoughts the other girl had. I'm probably not meant to hear this... As flattering as it was to think that Iris would bring out her best clothes for their meeting, not to mention her underwear for reasons Amy couldn't quite comprehend, she knew very well that she should only listen to so much before her cheeks explode from her blush. She didn't imagine that Iris's mind would be such an emotionally charged place, at least for the purposes of her listening to her and "tagging along" in a sense. Now she just hoped the other girl didn't notice her leaving through the intense daydreaming she was clearly going through.
No, she decided to instead listen to the rest of the crew as they made their way back to the ship. It was a relief, really: she was just about getting mentally exhausted worrying herself sick about the others down on the planet. She didn't feel as useless as she felt before, though she really did wish she could've been there and help Iris and the others out. To prove to herself and the one who believed in her that she is far more useful than just being someone who wants to make sure everyone is in a happy mood. She also wanted to be someone that the others could rely on during a mission to get the job done. With a sigh she leaned back in her chair, her head falling back as she stared up at the ceiling of the room with an empty gaze in her iridescent eyes. "Next time..."
Some time later...
Once everyone was onboard, including some of the new crew members, Amy spent quite some time worriedly looking around and making sure from afar that everyone was alright. She also took the liberty of checking out these newcomers for herself both with her own two eyes and via her telepathic abilities. For the most part they seemed... okay, though for one of them she couldn't make heads or tails about how to approach them via any psychic powers. It seemed as if she was just completely sealed off from everyone else around her, and in a way that scared Amy. She was always so used to passively picking up everyone's mood and thoughts that it became a second nature she was barely even aware of anymore. But having a person onboard she couldn't read was like she had lost feeling in one of her fingers or something similar to that.
It was something she'd have to overcome, but for now she had things, or rather people, that she was far more interested in: namely Iris. She never thought she'd feel such a draw to someone as to give up on giving everyone a hug, but here she was, walking up to the room of the girl to see if she was alright. It was both really exciting and really bothersome: she had no idea what this feeling was and why it affected her the way it did, and so Iris became the center of her attention so that she could resolve this internal conflict and get back to her normal self. As she stopped in front of the door and lifted one hand up to knock, her long ear twitched for a moment and she leaned in closer to listen to a rumbling sound coming from inside: the sound of rushing water. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together, and she took a step back from the door with a small smile. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and walked back to her own room, leaving the door open as she closed her eyes and sat down on the bed the clear her mind a little.
She caught herself almost dozing off when Iris's voice snapped her out of her little daze. Opening her eyes with a small smile she looked up at the girl and listened, eventually making a small nod and smiling a little bit more at the request. "I would love to! I've never been shopping with someone else, but I'm sure we'll have a great time together!" She explained cheerfully, looking at Irish happily as her ears wiggled once more excitedly. She could see her own excited reactions and slightly flushed cheeks on Iris's face, just as if she was looking into a mirror. "It would be a great time for me to pick up some clothes for a sleepover... what do people usually wear for a sleepover? Or, sleep? I've always just worn my dress everywhere, but maybe I should use this chance to get myself something new..." Humming quietly she placed a finger against her lips, her eyes clearly reflecting that she was lost in thought for a few moments before she let out a small laugh and her gaze focused back on Iris. "Haha, I'm sorry, I know I sound like a little kid right now. I trust that I'm in the right hands when it comes to clothing, you always dress so pretty after all! Though I do fear how... compatible clothing will be for me. But I guess that's a bridge we cross when we get there." With a quiet hum her smile seemed to widen and Amy closed her eyes while she extended one hand towards Iris. "Would you like to stay and talk a bit while we are on the way? I know so little about you in the end, but I'd love to change that."
When Ashton mentioned that the Ascendancy maaay have fucking lied to them about them being the only ones who could really bond with their magic crystal meth, Nero only snorted with amusement. I mean, no shit. There wasn't any reason that he could think of that they needed kids to perform on, and there were plenty of expendable adults as much as kids without a future to try this on, so why not? Nero didn't believe for a second that these desperate fucking bastards could only perform this trick on people his age. That was a straight load, so no big surprise there. What WAS a surprise was Iris causing him to flinch with that slamming slab before telling him they'd be getting out of here soon. Geez, he just wanted a sitrep... They really were all freakin' crazy soldiers. No wonder Amy wanted to therapitize them.
You could definitely tell that things were off about all of them. The situation was frustrating for all of them - They got jumped by magic mercs, Squad 0 bailed the mercs out, and so consequently the assholes didn't get dead. - but now as they jumped into the hole...Iris had this weird smile on her face. Nero couldn't miss it, because he went stealthy, and when he did, he was more-so than he was before. It wasn't AS MUCH a surprise when he did it, not as much as the sudden weirdness with his last spell, but that was because his brain caught up with his body when it activated. He could shapeshift! I mean, he could shadow-shift! I mean, he was making all kinds of spooky and horrifying shapes behind Sam and Iris when they weren't looking.
Is this what it's like for Finn? Can I be a frigging CAT?
The shape of one, as long as he was made of shadow. He was still a physical wraith-like form, but now he was malleable AND he still went invisible in the shadows. He could... Holy shit, he merged with shadows! He poked at Iris' shadow, and suddenly he was just overlapped onto it perfectly. That's how he noticed that he mood whiplashed so quickly. She couldn't see him, of course. He slipped back before anybody noticed that something was off. The lot of them had all kinda' senses, after all. Wouldn't want her brother to think he was up to something. Of course, it was at that moment that Maria suddenly broadcast into his head and made Nero lose his concentration.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! When did you guys get here? Geez... Helluva shock, there. Ring a bell or something first, okay?"
He didn't hate telepathy, but it DID spoil the concentration, and he DID want to test out some of what the good doctor plugged into him.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
All of that was neither here nor there, just the last vestiges of what happened as they were pulling Realist out of his cage, then pulling themselves out thanks to Maria's warning and some of that clever portal magic, courtesy of Finn. Back on the ship, Nero took off his mask and chilled, although actually BEING chill was at a bit of a premium. You see, apart from being pumped up, Nero remembered all the faces and names and remarks of every single son of a bitch that brought him into this mess. He had...a list. He had a list, a means of tracking them, and a special method of execution. However, to test it out, he focused The Black Spot on "Fucking Crowley..." to test it out. He wouldn't sustain it, but he DID want to send sort of a message and get a bearing on just how close the boy had been to their location, back there.
The other reason he wasn't so chill is that he was thinking on the way back 'I want a chainsaw.', and so he started checking prices and...oh good fucking god, what? His account had jumped up even more! Where the hell was he going to spent it all? He could buy his own Ascendancy Bomber! No, he could buy the fucking Xuanzang! He wasn't going to, but he could! What the hell?! Well, one thing was for sure. He was going to get...a really good chainsaw. Something self-cleaning and self-sharpening, guaranteed to cut well for ten fucking years! And that was just the first thing that came to mind. I mean, he didn't usually need much, but there was going to be some cutlery. Maybe something hands-free that he could wear, or something that he could build. He wasn't a super tool guy, but with that kind of credit, he could learn to make weapons. Nero didn't know what Ash and Flame did to make this money, but it was going well into his 'Kill The Bastards' fund, no question.
He didn't even need to arrive on Plenty to know their work was already done. Behind a successful man is always a group of other successful men and women. What concerned Alexander a lot more were those involved.
"So what you're saying right now is that thanks to Laguna, this rebellion has gone under our noses for months on end?"
"...Yeah." The blond haired woman settled on the blunt response. "I don't know how she kept the situation so well-shut. When we sent Kotaro, I thought it's just a recent thing."
"He said the same thing to me as well. It takes way longer wrestling over responsibilities than actually dealing with the rebels."
Alexander thought it would be simple. The rebellion occurred, Laguna was right there and she got involved. When specialized teams under his command comes to take over, she'd just simply hand over the keys and the rebels would be just a footnote in history. But nooo. Apparently someone just had to have it all for themselves and drag an already bad situation into a mess. Of course, there are chances of her doing it out of some other reasons, but who is he kidding? It's Laguna. She's a cowardly fascistic dictator. Of course she is going to do this for personal glory. Nothing is more important to one of those kind than showing power.
"I'll deal with this myself. Thanks for your hard work." Alexander said, preparing to end the holographic call. "Oh and one last thing. I'm pretty sure you're aware of the current situation?"
"Oh that?" Annette immediately replied. "Ay, I'm already on it. Way before it became trending."
"Really?" Alexander sneered. "Don't tell me you have some stakes involved in this?"
"...No..."
That was the guiltiest reply he had ever seen.
"...ok, I made some profit out of it. Don't blame me." She quickly admitted. It wasn't something of a particular concern for the Grand Admiral anyway, since he doesn't do stocks. "But thanks to it, I have some interesting information you may wanna know."
"Oh?" He liked the sound of this.
"Obvious info out first. It started from an internet forum called RealAscendancyStockBets. Instigated by a member on the forum, these group of disorganized random strangers held the stock price to the point where several hedge funds of the Ascendancy went poof in a single day." Even though both had heard the story before, they couldn't help but gave a laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Hearing the seething contempt of these rich oligarchs brought joy to their ears. "So that's that. What people probably don't bother with is the identity of the instigator. The name changes often, but other forum users have connected this member to this elusive figure known as the 'Wolf Cub of Wall Street'. Apparently a prodigy at stock trading, this is not the first time he has done this. Companies and regulators were finding ways to regulate this guy but to no avail."
Prodigy eh?...
"We already have our suspicions, so you can expect some more info on them soon." Annette gave a sly smile. "What's more interesting is the amount of coordination this is happening. Our AI ran a searching algorithm and mapped out a series of connection between these random internet users. I don't trust this map 100 percent, since users can lie or just create some throwaway accounts for the fun of it. But..." Alexander could see her eyes lit up as she read the next line. "The key word with the most user association is: Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet"
Whooooo.
That's not a pretty image now.
It's not a smoking gun of course, but given the rapid expansion of that organization's space fleet, their strange demand for resources, Windsor's very shady behavior when meeting with Alexander on Nevivsky, and now this, it didn't take a lot of thought to recognize the potential threat they're facing. But it took a lot of effort, so he didn't expect any of the higher-ups to go into this. Looks like Alexander had to do this himself.
Perhaps it is time.
After a whole minute of silence, the Grand Admiral said with a stern and decisive countenance.
"Can you arrange a meeting between all of us? All us admirals. The sooner the better."
It might be the most important decision he had to make.
Location: Xuanxang, Her Room → The Kitchen/Mess Hall Interaction: Finbarr @The Man Emperor Mention: Laurey @jdh97
Narvia tried to sleep peacefully after Laurey's conversation with her seal plushie in her arms. It was a bit odd, but this is the first time she didn't cry herself to sleep, and it does make some sense. The Crew of the Xuanxang completed the first mission as successfully as the Xuanxang's crew can deal with, even though there were some snags along the way. Narvia's emotions were in the state of being in a deep sleep, but it hasn't been this way for a long time. She had trouble getting to sleep without tossing, turning, and other types of methods of sleeping. It felt amazing for the first time in a long time to get asleep and was peaceful.
Especially, Narvia was dreaming a dream to reach one of her goals of reuniting with her family. It had always been her goal to reunite with her biological mother, Lana, and her two older siblings. There was an oddity in the dream that made her slightly scared because she repressed it for so long. It was a bit nonsensical and had something to do with the problems her emotions are so out of control for all this time. She feels like whatever this is, she'll need someone to help her after the dream is done.
Narvia was in a deep trance staring at a mysterious male figure covered in darkness. She could only see Man's orange-colored glowing eyes from the dark and see shiny, sparkling tears going down his face. He was saddened by the circumstances or the reasons for what would happen to Narvia in the future. When the mysterious male figure's arm came from the shadows, he had a tattoo. The Tattoo was of a Silverlight spear with its name underneath it, the Folspear. He starts to speak to Narvia with a cold yet genuine feeling of sadness in his voice. " Ah, I have been expecting your arrival in our family, Narvia. All because of what you hold in your heart and what you are left with a choice." He said.
" W-What do you mean you've been expecting me, and how do you know my name?" Narvia asked with a lack of understanding of what is going on. She entered her father's study as if she was drawn to it specifically to the book that sits in it. It took her a long time to think of what this man means, but he seems pretty nice compared to what's happening at her home. All of the problems in her family must deal with a set thing or whatnot. " A-Also, what do you mean by that precisely by choice? I don't understand." Narvia said with not understanding the situation.
The man laughs slightly at Narvia's young mind of not understanding and asking many questions like what she is. " I created this holographic imagining software to respond only to you, Narvia. It's because of the birthmark on your left arm." He said. The man moves his left arm that he moved out of the darkness to ruffle Narvia's hair a bit. He releases his hand from her head and will respond to her other question and lack of understanding. " It is easy to understand, Narvia. Who do you love, and who do you hate? And there's a choice to figure out what you need to do after you figure that out." He said with despair in his heart.
Narvia had little to no understanding of what Holographic Imagining Software means. It is not like she would understand that, but he mentioned her birthmark and gasps somewhat. She has been noticing the staff that works at the Estate tries to stay away from her. It didn't help that her favorite maid, Jennifer disappeared without a trace. " I love my mother Lana and my two older siblings, Freya and Ashley. I don't hate anyone, mister." Narvia said with the truth about the latter part.
The man sees her reaction to the birthmark and hears her honest response. It was sweet to hear that only if he hadn't made that birthmark in his family, a terrible omen, then none of this would have happened. However, his fault for Narvia's existence is part of the Hadley Family for being in the sense of the most challenging part of her history. " It is sweet how you answered that question so innocently and cutely. I do have someone you can hate with all your passion, and that's me. I've made the worst mistake during the making of my prophecies by causing you to be harmed. Innocence like yours should be protected, grown, and not thrown to the curb." He said, sincerely regretful in his decision. And wonders how Narvia will react to his words.
Narvia has no idea what this guy is talking about as she listens and blinks in ignorance. She wouldn't want to hate anyone, not even someone who made a mistake. There were words that he had spoke that causes her to push them deep into her subconscious. It specifically was what he said about thrown to the curb. All because she's too innocent and naive to believe what this man was saying. " W-What do you mean thrown to the curb? I don't like what you are saying, mister. What is your name, sir?" Narvia asked sincerely cutely and trying to stop herself from crying.
The man works out how he's going to answer her questions without causing her fear. He noticed that she was trying to stop herself from crying uncontrollably by what he had said to her. His family had their hearts closed by his rampant prophecies and how he conducted business all those years ago. Narvia might be the only one that would never realize the whole thing about what has been said here. " Scott Noreen Hadley, I am the founder of the Golden Age of our family. Promise me that you won't tell anyone of this conversation, Narvia. No matter how much it hurts or makes you toss and turn in your sleep or cry, keeping it a secret will save you much trouble in the long run. It is to protect you and who you love the most. In terms, I am the long-dead founder of the Hadley Family. Also, I am sorry for what is going to happen to you and your family." Scott said. He had a charisma about him with how he spoke and always kept many secrets from people he cared about or kept secrets.
Narvia listened to what Scott had to say, and it scares her much more than expected. Weird vibes were coming from Scott, how he was able to reply with such a perfect response to what questions she would ask. The moment causes her to cry, but she decides to run out of her father's study. Lana notices her daughter running out of her husband's study room and stops her from wondering why she looked like she saw a ghost and stops her. " M-Mommy, I saw the ghost of Scott Noreen Hadley in Daddy's study. H-He scared me." Narvia said. Lana was deep in shock and not understanding what her daughter was speaking about and told her she probably heard things or saw them. Lana told her daughter to go to bed and never talk about a word of it to Conner.
Conner saw his daughter about to enter her room and decides to stop her right there. " DAUGHTER, STOP RIGHT THERE! THIS INSTANT." Conner yelled at Narvia right before she enters her bedroom. He was utterly furious seeing another one of his children breaking the rules in his home. It caused him to shake his hands badly, and he was about to punch his daughter but calms down.
Narvia stops directly in front of her room and is terrified to the deep of her core. Her father has never shown his anger to her before now. " F-Father, you are scaring me a lot." Narvia said, scared. She remembers what her mother and Scott told her not to tell her father about the conversation.
" Narvia, do you remember the rules of never going into my study? You broke them for what reason? Can you tell me about that?" Conner asked in a demanding her to answer him. His demeanor was furious, but he tries not to want to hit Narvia or hurt her in any way.
" I-I did nothing in your study, Daddy. I-I'm so sorry for breaking the rules, and I won't do that again. I promise, Daddy." Narvia said, shivering in fear at her father's rage. The first time Narvia saw her father this way like he has been hiding this at all times around them.
" Narvia, dear sweet little daughter of mine. If you do break your promise, I will make you wish you weren't born. Hopefully, you don't disappoint me again." Conner said. He did notice his wife standing in the hallway, a bit dumbfounded. Therefore, he puts his left hand on Narvia's shoulder, walks her into her room, and smiles cruelly at his daughter. After that, Conner walks out of her room, slams the door on her, and locks it from the outside. He stares at his wife and sighs a bit. " Lana, you can unlock her door after two hours have passed. I will be in my study. Don't bother me while I am in there, do you get me?" Conner asked his wife if she gets it.
" Y-Yes Husband. Did you have to slam the door on her? She did nothing wrong to get on your bad side." Lana said. She was a bit worried about her children and how her husband treats her.
Conner didn't answer Lana's question at all and sighs in a slightly frustrated tone. He dislikes having to act like he loves these unpure lessers, but it's better to string them along until he can dispose of them. Therefore, Conner returns to his study room and shuts it, but Conner told Narvia what might or might not happen to her. However, he could tell something was up with Narvia was acting slightly different and hiding something from him. It was a bit odd.
Narvia wakes up in a panic as if she had a nightmare with her sweating and tears going down her cheeks even more. She looks at the time on her omnitool to see how long she had slept for, and it wasn't even that long. The nightmare shook her out of her peaceful sleep as much as she was trying to sleep. She holds her seal plushie even tighter than she usually does because the nightmare was terrifying. It helps her understand the thing Scott was trying to say to her all those years ago, and it scares her to be a wreck.
Lana and her older siblings are who she loves the most in her life, but there were thoughts in her head. These thoughts were about the others that helped her throughout her life, including the Star Marine Family she gained. ' H-How could I be so blind? It was right in front of me all this time. Why did this have to happen to me? I-I don't want to choose between anyone. S-Scott, I still don't hate you for what you put into motion.' Narvia thought with her tears flowing much more freely. It hurts having to choose between the people you love with all your heart, and she never once thought of it.
There is a searing pain in her heart that feels like it is tearing her up inside. It causes her to have her tears flow freely, and most of her tears hit her seal plushie that she is holding tightly in her arms. Narvia felt even more vulnerable than she had previously. It causes her to realize she should get something to eat and get some chocolate milk. She gets up from her bed and only for a few seconds so she can take a shower and put on her casual clothes after it.
These emotions and feelings made her want to chat with someone in her group of friends to make her feel better. ' I wonder if someone is in the kitchen, mess hall to talk to them. Hopefully, I can get these things off my chest." Narvia thought with the look on her face right now. The look on her face had a frown, and she looked depressed. Usually, she smiles and keeps everyone's morale up, but her morale has hit rock bottom.
She feels much better after the shower and wearing casual clothes that are super cute on her. Her entire body language shows many things that she was terrified of and had to make even more complex choices. In Narvia's mind feels like she shouldn't hate her father for what he has done, but she's scared of what he's planning. She gets out of her room, shuts the door to it, and slowly goes to the kitchen, mess hall. It didn't take long for her to enter the kitchen, mess hall to notice Finbarr in the room working on writing.
Narvia decides to walk over to him, sighing deeply with hints on her breaking points. One small thing would cause her to break down entirely, and not even a plushie could help her. Her curiosity in what he was writing was something to do. " F-Finny, what are you writing? I-I'm sorry for interrupting your creative process, but I need someone to talk to because I can't stop crying." Narvia said without showing her usual smile with some tears going down her cheek. Whatever was wrong with her, but it is obvious she had a nightmare or dream since it's pronounced as day in her body language. She's not acting her usual self, even more so than usual.
Narvia slowly sits down across from Finbarr and lays her head on the table while keeping her tears in check. She rubs her eyes frequently to keep the tears from flowing. " I-I dislike my options. I-I didn't want to grow up without my mommy and older sisters." Narvia said with not a single idea what to do anymore. She's at the tipping point of being a wreck for the rest of her life or having to deal with it slowly.
However, Narvia would probably always had been on the edge of breaking down completely. She has been discovering herself ever since she hit the age she is. It hurts so much about everything that has happened to her. She lifts her head off the table and sighs and crosses her arms because she feels slightly cold. " H-How am I suppose to feel happiness? D-Do you know Finny." Narvia said. It has been an arduous journey to realize she's soon going to become an adult. There has to be a choice to find happiness or to be forever in tears. ” O-Oh yeah, what are you going to do with the 20 million galactic credits that Ashton and Flame gave us? I-I have no idea how to deal with or develop an idea that doesn’t feel like a waste. T-They were sweet in doing that.” Narvia said cutely, sad with tears going down her cheek.
I apologised to Narvia today. I think I hurt her. That might have been intentional. I'm not sure... sometimes I think I understand my motives, my actions, other times there are black spots. It can't just be the drugs. Is there a hole burning itself in my brain? Now that Laurey's mind was free - no, not free, merely unfettered, on its ways out of the maze - she realised how harsh she'd been to Narvia. It had mostly been in her head, but Harbouring such outdated beliefs would only hinder her... whatever she was on. It had to be made right.
The Bliss muffled the world like the legs of a lover and her tongue was sherbet. Oh yeah, that monkey was back on her shoulder, and it was holding on. Tight. It pointed the way through the corridors (through the maze), through an atmosphere thick with blueberries and lightning. Conversations (heavenly choirs) babbled down through open spaces (wide...). She knew where she was (she did not know where she was).
She half hung from the doorway of Navi's room, the metal a glass of water to her fingertips (she remembered when it was locked away on the bed of an icy river).
"Narvia?
Narvia was hugging a seal plushie on her bed while being slightly distracted in her head. All of the money she was given to her by Ashton and Flame was a bit too much for her to handle. She had slight tears rolling down her eyes. It took her a few seconds to hear a voice in her room and recognized it as the nice lady or Laurey's voice asking her a question. She looks to where the voice is coming from and Laurey opened the door to her room.
"Yes, what is it nice lady?"
"Nice lady..." A moniker, and accusation. "No Navi, that's why I'm here. Why we're all here. I'm not a nice lady."
Tears meant sadness, emotions overflowing (leaking out). Not a good time to pile on more. Yet Laurey was selfish, she needed to apologise.
"Yes, that's it, I'm selfish! You are too. The way you use your vulnerability as a machete, to hack to what you want. But not just us," Laurey sunk to her knees at this point so that Navi was eye-level. Eye-level with crazy, "All of humanity. We have to burn it down." Too extreme. "No, augment. Ascend. Flesh falters, machines are divine."
"I'm moving past it. On a journey. A metaphysical pilgrimage. Maybe. That's why I'm saying sorry. For hating you in secret for making us fight and nearly die. No. For catalysing those events. It wasn't a fair thought. We're all flawed meat sacks."
Blinking those wide eyes, Laurey's pupils narrowed, coming back into focus on Navi's face. She smiled.
Narvia listens to what Laurey had to say and it doesn't quite make any sense to her, but then why did she like the moniker in the first place, if she wasn't a nice lady. It causes Narvia to continue crying since it makes little to no sense in her understanding of everything, her innocence. When Laurey said that everyone is selfish including herself but not them just them.
Narvia stared directly into the eyes of Laurey and saw a hint of something different than her innocence allowed to see previously. It was the words what Laurey said after and it was a bit harsh to hear and causes her to cry more. She couldn't stop crying, all because Laurey hates her but she does suppose that Laurey telling her this to move on with what Laurey wants instead of what everyone else wants. Narvia was unnerved by Laurey's smile and it causes her to speak up after only listening.
"I-It isn't like I wanted to be ex-experimented on by the Ascendancy's Scientists. Or have my father hate me or anyone trying to dissuade me from being happy, it's just hard to keep my emotions bottled up. You may hate me but that won't stop me from b-being who I am."
Narvia stares back at the unnerving smile of Laruey's but holds her seal plushie tighter. All because she is scared much by the admittance of Laurey that everyone's flawed, no one is perfect. If they were there wouldn't be wars or secret deals or anything like that.
"Exactly! That's good." Change is inevitable before the machine. "Or a start. It's... something. Nobody wants the shit life shovels us, but it's there on our plate, and we have to eat it or starve. More power to you girl. Shouldn't bottle them up anyhow, they tether you to mortality. Like my hate. Hate is so selfish. I'm leaving it behind. Moving on up. What I'm saying Navi is that I did hate you, but now that hate is gone. Washed away in my baptism. It's against the..." Doctrine. The Word of God. No, The Thought. Zapped straight into her mind. "It's gone. I think that was my point."
Narvia listens to Laurey while holding her seal plushie tighter. It was a bit strange for what she said about the hate being selfish, or having emotions tethered to mortality. She had a look on her face of a bit confusion and a bit understanding but she knows her mother and siblings aren't religious. It made her think that her father is or something that drives him to be a disgusting person to his children and ex-wife. However, Laurey's point was that the hate that Laurey had for her is gone and that allowed Narvia a sigh of relief grateful about that.
"I-It's nice you are moving ahead with your life, Laurey. I should try to do that but I'm too attached to my mother, and older siblings to try. But, I do have others that care for me as much as my biological mother and siblings. I-I don't know what to do about that about this ache in my heart."
It was hinting at something that was clear as day for people to see right through her as how innocence she is, but she has been growing. Her heart hurts for something more than friendship but she has no idea how to get that or what it is on the tip of her heart and mind. It is scary feeling that way but it is something to think about.
"Cut it out, replace it with a tin one from the Emerald City, I hear they have spares, it's what I'm going to do. Or..." she pointed a single finger upwards, then spread her hands on either side of her face, waggling her fingers like a bad street magician, "use the amazing powers of introspection. Figure out what's causing it. Then figure out a solution. But something will always replace it. Meat mortals are made to suffer."
The world thrummed, a bass string. The comedown. "Anyway, I need to go get something to eat. I've... I'm overdone. Ciao bella." A mock salute.
Narvia felt like that reference that Laurey made was to a old child's story or something like that. She watches what Laurey was doing with her fingers and hears use introspection to figure out the cause and find a solution but it will continue to hurt.
"T-Thank you, Laurey I will try to find a solution to the problem I am having."
Laurey than spoke about getting something to eat, though Narvia wasn't that hungry right now and wanted to sleep after all the tears. It is exhausting crying all the time. She yawns slightly and smiles to Laurey.
"Okay, bye, Laurey. I need some sleep."
Narvia gives a mock salute back and then she gets into her bed and falls asleep, hopefully Laurey will shut her door when she leaves.
Nero accepted my possibly foolish request. My flesh suit needs it; every measure must be taken to ensure I can ascend, even if it means suffering. And suffer I suspect I shall, for long have I neglected physical activity for the Dream Space. Yet all things serve the Great Machine.The refectory was empty, so Laurey thought, as she grooved to the ceaseless pulsing beat playing inside her skull.
“No food,” she muttered, looking into a fridge that was stocked with constituents, nothing ready to be consumed. The cupboards and lockers then? That’s a negative. Just ration packs and canned goods. Where were the fried doughy delights, the Zin Zabaar cloying with yoghurt and spices?
Well, it’s a good job that someone around here had the good sense to keep their snacks on hand. Actually, it seemed to be the habit of any and all of the Star Marines to keep their own stash in their own rooms. Years of military action and a footlocker will lead to that. Or maybe, they just didn’t want...well...anyone raiding their stuff, like in the fridge. Regardless of the fact, in walks Nero with one of his prior purchased munchies from before they even met, looking for a drink to wash it down. He was at least out of his mask and whistling, looking relaxed. She probably didn’t hear ‘im before he walked in, which means he went to stealth for...some reason.
Laurey tried to remain nonchalant, even threw a lazy salute to him, but her eyes kept falling down to what he was eating. He seemed less like a predator when his mask was off.
“Yo Nero, what ya got there?”
”Kurata Cakes.”, he said, indicating the small strangely-squat muffin-like snacks that - if memory served - were like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with a hot streak of something in the middle. Nero headed to the fridge to find some milk - good for candy and hot stuff - once Laurey was out of the way.
”Startin’ to run out, actually. Hitting the bazaar’s a good idea, since I don’t buy shit by the boatload like Iris.”
He gave the augmented girl a look.
”Still getting the headaches, eh?”
“Not a bad idea, not a bad idea,” Then she shook her head firmly, “Not much actually,” a white lie: not at all, “not since the rescue mission. Maybe the stress was making them worse, maybe I’ve accepted this lifestyle now,” she made a gesture with her hand that said, “beats me”. Except, she thought she knew quite well what had caused the pain to stop. Realist. Just a theory, for now, but…
“It’s a strange life. You know, I was looking through the vent systems earlier. Apparently someone has been passing through them. Pretty dangerous; this ship has a circuit switcher to shunt stored toxins, helps reduce emissions for stealth or something. I hope whoever’s doing it knows, or they could wind up, you know, dead. I don’t want to have to drag a corpse out of there.”
There was a blink as he pulled out the milk he was looking for, looking back at her with an ounce of surprise and a fair bit of confusion.
”Wait, that’s a thing? They never did that on the bigger vessels…”
He looked irritated, suddenly, inwardly thinking ’Now, I have to keep track of that shit or haul my mask around every time? Fucking bullshit…’ as he poured himself a drink and pulled on it in a large gulp. Nero didn’t think about everything he was doing while angry. He didn’t stay that way right now, but he wasn’t happy about...you know...almost getting himself killed.
Laurey smirked.
“It’s every six hours, starting midnight, midday, or any interval in between. Whatever floats your boat. And, you know, it might not kill you, could just leave part of your body paralysed, or cause brain damage. I’m not a doctor, I just know that shit’s bad.”
Laurey paused, as if deliberating whether to say the next bit, but she did, “You’re a good fighter, right, I mean, you dealt with that gnarly crow geezer. Well, do you think you could teach me,” she pointed a finger at her face, in case it wasn’t obvious who ‘me’ was, “just the basics. I don’t have magic or anything, but I’m going to be living this life, at least for the moment, in my duty as Vassal, Envoy, and Prophet. May as well be prepared, y’know?”
He properly got her attention with this, aaand he wasn’t going to say that the computer expert wasn’t going to do that great, but..ah, why the hell not? She looked physical. It’s just that she spent alot of time sitting around in front of a screen, connected to computers. Anyway, Nero shrugged.
”I did better on the ship, where I got the flamethrower, but yeah. I went to war. I know what to do. Actually, fighting and killing is one of the few things I’m good at.”
It helped that he didn’t feel any remorse over that kind of thing.
”Probably better to start out in cargo, not here. Uhh...what do ya wanna know? What do you know?”
He didn’t have any problem with this. Just...people coming up to him to ask for his help on things is… Mostly, it doesn’t happen. It was unexpected.
Her face scrunched up in a parody of thought, “I guess we could start with how to throw a punch?”
This caused him to stare for a moment, genuinely shocked.
"Wait...nothing? You never had to really fight someone...ever? But you’re in with Moonstrike...”
She shook her head, “There are other ways to contribute, but that being said, this little cohort does seem to rather put me in the firing line. I was… against violence for a long while.”
At this, he crossed his arms, saying "You know, a little violence really does solve things. Hell, a little more of it, and I could’ve stayed out of the fucking army.”. He sighed, finishing his milk, then.
”But yeah, you need to punch shit. It takes care of things, especially if people are assholes. You walk into a place, someone’s bein’ a hardass, but you don’t have to worry ‘cause you know you can drop ‘im.”
“Sometimes, sure, violence could have saved me too. But here we are,” though she smiled, her face had that far away look. The life flushed back in, “Let’s learn how to crack some skulls!”
He got up, then, saying “Yeah, let’s fucking do it!”, before they’d head off. Anyone in earshot who heard this shouting wouldn’t have a clue about what was going on, but they at least were pumped.
1x Laugh
