[IC] Intergalactic Space Adventures --- ISA

[Narukami228]

Celebrimbor watched as his surroundings melted in chaos. Everyone was running in all directions, meteors crashing into everything. One man pushed Cel out of his way as he ran into the crowd then almost instantly splattered all over the pavement from getting hit by one of the smaller rocks flying through the sky. This new girl that Cel had pushed out of the way earlier was leading the other two to her ship apparently so he decided to follow. Ursa had hit someone and fell down to the ground. Cel was going to help her up but, she had picked herself up before he was able to reach her. People were dropping like flies all around him. The screams filled the air. Cel tried to contact some of the Yakuza members but with no luck. After not being able to reach Garth, Cel sent out a mass message to all surviving members while he was running.

"This is a message to all surviving members of the Strarvis family. If there's anyone left out there, vacate the planet immediately. If you are able to get off then meet at my ship the Star Platinum. I wish all of you luck and help anyone you can." There was more that he wanted to say but the adrenaline was pumping to fast. It wasn't long before the four of them reached the ship yard. A large ship with the name HMS Eternal on the side, rested on the runway. From the look of it the ship was impressive but, seeing as the world was ending, he also wanted to get his ship out of orbit.

Once they all boarded the ship, Orion plugged his mech into the ships database. This didn't really intrest Cel right now and so he just ignored him until Orion started yelling about no Hyperdrive. This information did shock Cel a bit but, he figured that must have a been an error. It was almost impossible for there to not be one. The mech must have had a malfunction or something. The girls started to get angry at Orion at this point too. Celebrimbor didn't want to listen to the bickering so he started to look around until he found the washroom in the ship. He closed the door then looked in the mirror. His hair was all kinds of messed up now with kind of annoyed him. Though something did catch his eye while he was looking. A long black strand of hair ran down the front of his face.

"Not now please. I still haven't mastered this power yet. Now would not be a good time to finish this transformation." He spoke to himself as if he was giving himself a pep talk. After a few seconds his hair went back to normal and Cel pulled out a brush from his jacket pocket and started to fix his hair. Once done, he walked back to find Ursa walking to the cockpit. He followed then sat in the copilot seat. "Hey if we get out of this alive I think we should threaten Orion for more money. This is bullshit and those meteors didn't seem normal. I think he knows more then he's letting on." He got up as the other girl walked in and gave her the seat. Before she sat down he grabbed her hand and bowed slightly. "I would like to formally apologize to you for throwing you out of my way. There's no excuse for doing that andI hope that you can forgive me." He stood up straight then saw the blood on her head. "I can fix that up for you if you would like. Make it just like new." He winked then started to walk off to find Orion. Before exiting the cockpit though, he turned around again to speak to Ursa. "Oh by the way, we need to stop by my ship. Some of the Yakuza might have made it there with some civilians and I want them to follow us in case of an attack. If Orion has an issue with it then he can find a new ride." He Looked at the new girl and nodded then left the room.

[Camille Endora]

"Do you all actually think we have fucking time to stop by all of your ships!? The planet is fucking being destroyed you dickweeds!" Xael growled, the sound echoing through the cockpit as she sat down after Cel moved from the chair. She tried to ignore the other guy's comments. Obviously his little robot buddy didn't know shit because Xael's ship was one of the best live in ships from her planet. Sure, maybe it wasn't built for war, but that wasn't what she was about. Either way, it pissed her off, and her eyes flashed a bright blue before returning to the normal blue.

"I can fix that up for you if you would like. Make it just like new." Cel said, offering to heal the wound at the back of her head. She would need to shower to get the blood out of her hair, and figured if he could fix the problem, she might as well let him, despite being annoyed.

"Sure, I guess. In the meantime, you can explain to me about your mob boss conversation while we get to safety."

[Orion Steiner]

Orion brought up a picture of docking bay November. Well, what used to be it. The bay was completely obliterated and as to be expected, no interceptor. “Damn” cursed Orion slamming his fist on ACE. ACE jolted from the shock of his steel fist resetting to ensure his system would remain running without any bugs. The screen tripped and what must have been a firewall was bypassed on the ships screen.

Nice trick. Wonder what else is hidden behind here. He thought better as the last thing he needed was to tell that girl what she didn’t want to hear or see and I’m sure she wouldn’t want him snooping so he pulled ACE out and directed him to find a place and to enter standby mode.

“Relax blue eyes, it must have been this rust bucket over here, I’ll get him to fix that up when he can” proclaimed Orion. “Anyways my ships toast so there’s no need to be concerned however before we start making plans maybe we better figure out what the hell is going on out there cause I ain’t got a clue.”

[KiraVanhelsing]

Ursa turned to Cel after he came back from fixing his hair, her focus clearly on keeping the ship from getting blown to bits or hit. She listened to his thoughts and nodded, "Oh I don't doubt that. Someone wants him dead and on top of this evacuation, it all seems a bit coincidental."

She geared right, the ship shaking slightly as she moved her focus from Cel to the sky 'road.' She heard Cel's request and turned around quickly, "Oh right away your majesty. You just sit there looking pretty."

She smirked at the new girl's comment, pulling up as they narrowly missed a Raxer 900 superspeeder.

She grumbled turning back to hit a few buttons, "Thankyou..Let's just see if we get out of here with this ship intact then we can see about getting your vessel. Okay?"

She turned to Orion as he brought up an image of the newly destroyed bay. Ursa ignored Orion's rage at Ace her thoughts moving to the port beneath her. Beside the bay was an orphanage called Red Tides. She knew of it because the kids there she would use to help her catch intel for the Draconians. Phobos was a rough place to live, but the kids didn't know any better. And now they never will.. She let out a soft breath, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the sky, hearing Orion's wish to find out what's happening, "I think it's about time we find out. I'm done with this crowd."

She hit the gas and shot up, breaking out of the traffic to sore through the skies up towards the airlock. Ahead of them large cruisers and smaller personal space yachts were scattered, heading for the airlock as they tried to dodge large blasts. Ursa stayed calm, rolling back and forth as she twisted through spaces just big enough for her vehicle, to push through. Suddenly a blast came to the upper pocket and she was pushed to the left slamming into a deep grey spacecraft. It flew back hitting two more vehicles as they fell back to the blackened Phobos. Ursa pulled back grunting as she tried to regain control. She went against the current, barely hitting another speeder before pulling back. Moving again through the cracks before finally, she could see the entryway. She plowed through her eyes narrowing as she swore, "The blasts are aimed. They aren't random...They are trying to shoot civilians?!"

She looked around at the cruisers that seemed big enough to take enough damage. She rolled past a Draconian styled yacht, and shot up towards the other side of a cruiser, leaving a very narrow space of escape. It would allow them to clear the air-lock and keep them out of range of the blasts, but it would be close. She knew that if they missed they would be dead, either crushed by the cruiser or smashed into the edge or another spacecraft. She smirked, letting anyone see the intention on her face. One of both wild abandon and delusion, before she sang out quickly an old earth song by Kansas, "CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON, THERE WILL BE PEACE WHEN YOU ARE DONE! LAY YOUR WEARY HEAD TO REST!!! DON'T YOU CRY NO MORE!! HOLD ON!"

She floored it, a cry of fearless abandon escaping her, as she lost herself in her own personal melody. She kicked the ship into high gear as the air in the craft pulled whatever wasn't nailed down across the room. She clenched the controls hard, her hat flying off of her head as she wrenched the craft a hard left as it rolled around facing Phobos. Moving backward, she swung it up into a vertical angle, her hair flying downwards as they slid just narrowly past the cruiser, and the airlock. She hit the controls to prep the vehicle for space travel and set her right side up, moving up the edge of the cruiser before she slowed, hoping to stay behind it as they came to see what was shooting them.

Ursa let out a breath and turned to look at her companions, whom to her seemed a bit disheveled with the ships drastic twists, "Made it."

She smiled wide as if she didn't just almost kill them before she turned back to the screen, pressing a button so that the windows were open to open space just as they began to slowly see what was shooting Phobos. Her eyes grew wide as she tried to understand what she was seeing, "What type of ship is that???"

[Narukami228]

Cel winked at the girl before leaving to find a seat. ”Once we’re out of this mess I’ll clean you up and make that better. I’ll do my best to explain any questions you may have for me.” He smiled at her then left. In the next room he found a spot to sit and buckle up. Knowing Ursa, she was going to fly like crazy. He held on tight as She flew them out of Phobos and into the atmosphere. Hell still raining down On the ground below. Cel has been in some shit before but nothing like this. Who would go this far to find one person? Right now that didn’t matter. All he could think about was if anyone was going to make it and how he was going to threaten Orion. That man knew something and Celebrimbor knew that he did, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a bullet shot at him.

The craft tossed around as Ursa was dodging out of the way and with this, Cel’s hair got all messed up again. ”Why do I even try?” He groaned to himself as his hair waved around like crazy. “Maybe I’ll just chop it all off.” He thought to himself then instantly laughed “Yeah fuck that.” He laughed some more as the ship started to slow down as it reached space. Cel could hear Ursa’s what was that and came running. He didn’t even have to ask when he saw the massive ship raining hell on the planet. This was it, he had to have answers and now. Cel Spun around to find Orion and drag him to the cockpit. It didn’t take long for Cel long to find him, for he was basically where he was before. “You. Come with me now. He spoke deeply, sounding very irritated and pissed. He lead Orion to where Ursa was. “If you want to go any farther, you will explain to me what that is and why the hell it is after you.

[Orion Steiner]

Dragged up to the cockpit Orion looked up through the perspex glass in astonishment. "It can't be, that's impossible!"

Eclipsed by Saturn and looming ominous like a demon backlit by flames was a space fortress of monstrous proportions. Gothic in architecture the fortress' midsection was slowly rotating clockwise while the upper and lower sections were rotating in the opposite direction to compensate for the loss of gravity in space. A ship of that size simply could not have enough gravimetric pods to safely create artificial gravity like capital ships could. Large bursts of flame erupted from 4 long apertures in the midsection which rained down upon the moon of Phobos' primary Colony station. Other bright flashes of light erupted as capital guns fired in addition with an engaged Phobos Fleet. Popping on the fortress' surface on what looked like a rippling bubble was the return fire from the fleet. Splashes of purple and green in what seemed an attack of such insignificance.

"I will crush you as if you were but an ant under my thumb" thought Orion. ACE cut through the silence in response to Celebrimbors accusatory remarks with a cold explanation. "A planetary station originally designed for protection and interstellar trade, Nimbus Point One or NP1 was once an experimental hub designed for the Valorians stationed off the Gates of Auriga. An attack by Rulons with the intent as a first and last strike measure decimated a large portion of the Valorian fleet who were charged with protecting the station. Caught off guard and outgunned the Valorians fought a defensive battle but attrition took its toll. Time was desperately needed to stave off combined attacks on the station. Unknown to most people the station had many experimental weapons and even were testing Dark Void technology."

Orion interrupted visibly shaken "In an effort to try to salvage lives and technology the Admiral of the station shifted orbit to shield what little was left of the fleet. Several of the larger ships who were transporting civilians used the stations experimental Dark Void and disappeared. I had a hand in designing some of the weapons and even drew up a rough sketch of a rotating payload delivery system to get dropships on planet surfaces faster and safer." He paused and whispered "Is evil something you are? or something you do?". Raising his voice "It cant be though. Those initial drawings were on the Sagittarius and that ship disappeared into the void and that station was destroyed!" Slamming his fist on the control panel, sadness giving rise to anger "and my sister gave her life to make sure of that!"

Eyes watering from a flashback of his sisters mayday message hanging in his head Orion looked away from the party and out onto the maelstrom in front of him. "I don't know what else to say." Composed he looked back towards Celebrimbor intently. "I don't believe it would be after me? It makes no sense. Nothing does. Did you see the round that sniper used? A flechette round. Whoever wanted me dead also wanted my body found and wanted me to be recognized, publicly displayed but perhaps by someone with motive not to show me disfigured. Not a simple blow the back of my head off dirty kill. This was meticulous and this was calculated. It just doesn't make sense someone would go to the trouble and then order an orbital bombardment. No, this must be something else. That ship shouldn't even exist. Those weapons seem designed for an assault on the colony station itself." He paused hoping Cel would let his statement sink in before reacting he mentioned to ACE "Can you identify the ships name or callsign?"

Orion stabilized himself as Ursa rocked the ship back towards Phobos in an effort to dodge a civilian Caravelle, its cockpit shattered and bodies floating into space; the moon appeared to be cracking from the continuous concussive force from the fortresses main guns. The colony station was in flames and few ships were coming out of the makeshift atmosphere anymore. In space, the ship was avoiding debris from all manner of destroyed imperial and private ships alike. Swarms of coordinated strikes seemed to be occurring on larger vessels, even ones that obviously had no defensive weapons and were purely civilian. The military channels were a cacophony of chatter, screams and calls for help went unanswered. Phobos was no more. The moon seemed to shudder before seemingly expunging a 1/3 of it's surface in opposite directions with light appearing from Saturn through the moons broken core.

In the quiet moments that followed while the members looked out in awe at such a destructive force , blue light rippled from the massive station outwards. It flowed like a phosphorescent wake creating darkness where once there was light. Ships in the distance their drives burning bright turned to black and appeared to lose control. Using the shipboard computers ACE quickly scanned the behemoth "Class unidentified...technology unidentified...weapons unidentified...name identified...origin identified...previous location unidentified...presence of a gravimetric well increasing...". The wave got closer as some ships initiated their hyperdrives and escaped to long distant places. Orion cut ACE off before he could finish "Shut it down! Shut it all down now or were all dead!"

Schematic

[Camille Endora]

Xael glanced at Ursa, who was expertly controlling her vessel. She was weaving in and out of spaces between other ships, rubble and people. She felt safe and despite not knowing this person from any universe, she was going to put her trust in her. They needed to get into hyperdrive as quickly as possible, but unfortunately that came with risks since there were new people around. Usually Xael never flew with others so it never mattered until this moment. But, it was her identity or their lives. She furrowed her brow slightly and moved to stand in front of Ursa. Xael was short enough that if she bent her knees, Ursa would be able to see over her.

Xael breathed in deeply and stared at the dashboard. She reached out, pressing some tiny buttons that were almost invisible to anyone else. After inputting the sequence, a little thin piece of metal popped up from a hidden compartment. It was in the shape of a T and along the top held two small black holes. It held two tiny eye scanners. Xaels appearance shifted then. But if you blinked you wouldn’t have noticed. The mechanism scanned her eyes and retreated back to it hiding place. Within a few seconds the hyperdrive was activated, and Xael shifted out of the way again, watching Cel drag Orion toward the cockpit, asking him to explain.

While Xael was listening, her mouth dropped open slightly in shock and she for a moment couldn’t believe what type of people she had gotten herself involved in. Shaking her head, she turned to Orion.

“Well, if you created the blueprint for this ship, you must know it’s weak spots? What can we do besides escape? Is there anything we can do? We have to do something!”

[KiraVanhelsing]

The ship in front of them was something she had never witnessed before. It was a beast, with a functionality that both entranced and disturbed her. She jumped slightly, creating some space when Xael came to stand in front of her, touching the dash to bring out a hidden compartment that she assumed was part of the security feature. She watched the girl quietly, her eyebrows raising in question. She opened her mouth, about to ask the girl what she just saw when she noted the Hyperdrive was loaded and ready to go. She dodged a large piece of a broken cruiser, when her thoughts were interrupted by Cel and Orion’s discussion. She eyed Xael giving her a, “I saw that…” look before she returned back to the massive ship in front of her, wondering who would design this terror. Her answer came from Orion and she turned to look up at him, only briefly before she eyed the small futile battle in front of her. ACE explained further about the station, and her eyes widened. Valorians, Dark Void technology! Who the hell was this guy??

She turned back to her job, the ship veering to the right, as she tried to focus on what Orion was saying. Despite the way she treated him early, she could tell his memories were painful, and his sadness touched her. She looked up at him quietly as he gazed at the maelstrom, not knowing what to say to comfort him. She pondered as to why she would want to when he explained that the man sent to kill him probably wasn’t in coalition with this behemoth.

She was about to comment on all this information when suddenly another ship swung towards them, She narrowly swung out of the way, gripping the handles tightly as she headed back towards Phobos. She charged through the carnage of space, expertly dodging heavy debris and strike shots. She could hear the harrowing calls for help and the screams of innocent civilians who just hours before were just laughing in the market place. A ship to the left of them blew up, bodies floating into space, those that weren’t killed by the blast gasped for oxygen that they could not find. Ursa reared to the right, not willing to let herself be overcome by the carnage, as she had passengers with her. She was waiting for just the right moment to use the hyperdrive when suddenly a loud eruption exploded beneath her and the ship swung out. She grit her teeth, digging in her feet as she tried to retain control, “COME ON!!”

She gained some leverage and swung back, noting something was wrong. It took her a minute to realize what it was. It was the silence. No more calls for help or orders to the fleet, because Phobos was gone. She stared forward, their ship surrounded by the remains of destroyed ships. She looked at it all with a torn expression not even realizing a tear had fallen down her cheek, as the chaos erupted around her. Suddenly a deep blue light erupted from the behemoth, and Ursa watched in horror as this wave hit many of the remaining ship's Drives cutting them off before her. This wasn't an act of war. This was a complete genocide. Annihilation to completion. Innocents destroyed so quickly and efficiently. She stared at the behemoth as if it had a new face. One showing an evil that she had never seen firsthand, and she had seen some dark hells in her own past. Her shock was broken by ACE in the background when suddenly Orion’s voice hit her like a hammer.

She followed his command, reacting quickly as she slammed back the control lever powering off the vessel instantly as all the lights and energy in the ship turned off. The wave only feet from the ship now. They were far enough from Phobos’ atmosphere that they wouldn’t fall but the gravity in the room was also canceled. Ursa rose slightly off her seat but was held down by her seatbelts. She glared at the ship in front of her, as she responded to Xael, “We can’t do anything to it in this, and I don’t think we have much time, before they realize that we are still alive. They clearly don't want any survivors and I don't plan on dying today. So.. Handso..I mean Orion, tell me when I can hyperdrive out of here...”

She wiped her cheek, her emotions locked down as she turned down the ship's thermostat the air inside the ship turning colder by the minute. Just in case they were scanning for bodies, the cold would help to block their heat signatures. It wasn't a fast method but with that machine as big as it was, she figured its range was split into different quadrants which would make readings a smaller percentage, "That might help if they are tracking for life forms. Try to keep your breaths short and soft."

[Narukami228]

As much as Cel knew the kind of pain Orion was feeling, he had a bit of a hard time feeling bad for him in this moment. The Behemoth in front of them was destroying everything in its path. It still shocked him that anyone could build something like this and he had seen some pretty scary shit in the past. In that moment though, Cel felt a cool brush of air behind him. He spun around to see if someone else was on the ship with them but nothing was there. He then felt pressure on his right arm but, same as before, no one was touching him. Cel shook his head. "Get a grip Cel. You've seen death before." He thought to himself thinking it was just nerves, but the feeling of someone being around him wouldn't go away. As he turned around to look back at the death machine, Phobos exploded into nothing. Ships where blowing up from the force and rubble of the now destroyed moon. Everything he had known and loved was gone.

Ursa had shut down the ship as Orion yelled. They were suspended in space, watching the carnage unfold around them. Cel had to look away. There was no hope for anyone else out there unless they got lucky like the four of them did. "Seeing as we're going to be stuck here for a while, we might as well get better acquainted." He mostly said that to get everyone's attention away from the horror outside. He looked at the new girl and shook her hand properly. "I'm Celebrimbor, but you can cal me Cel for short. Makes it easier." He smiled then kissed her hand. He already knew who Ursa was, given probably not aswell as he'd liked. She worked for him before and had a relatively good relationship with her, but there was probably a lot that he didn't know about her. As for Orion.... He didn't want to know him.

[Orion Steiner]

“That’s a good question” stated Orion “Ursa, is it?”. Ursa nodded an affirmative while maintaining her facial expression. Orion could see the breath begin to form from the loss in temperature and as a kind gesture offered his coat to Ursa. “It’s going to get colder and you might want this For the time being.“. He paused “Now we would have to ask the missus over here about the hyperdrive.”

Orion turned towards Xael. “Forgive my intrusions but I am most appreciative of you risking to travel with us particularly without knowing who or what we were. Formal introductions would be prudent concerning the state we are in.” Orion thought for a moment and looked back towards Ursa who had that old familiar look and Drifted his gaze to the black monstrosity outside the cockpit. “Officially I am Star Colonel Orion Cassius Steiner of the 21st Centauri Lancers. Prince to the Valorian Hedgemony. I was a student under Anastasius Focht of the Maskirovka before our world Valera erupted into full scale war with the Rulons again. I feel compelled to be honest with you all. I have been trying to secure the funds and back channel support for Valora. We are at a stalemate and have been fighting a losing war. I sequestered Celebrimbors services for transport to my dropship. We all seem to have come together by pure coincidence. Gladly I thank you all for putting any differences aside to emerge from this horror unscathed.” He extended the olive branch “This is your ship. I am at your mercy. I would prefer and I would pay you in kind if you would take me to my dropship, however if you want to go to another system, I can find an alternate way to get back”. Celebrimbor Looked up in dismay most likely perturbed by Orion’s choice to offer an alternative that did not coincide with him getting his deal so Orion mentioned “Don’t worry Cel, our deal still stands and in light of the circumstances I’m sure we can come to another arrangement that works for both of us.”

Orion turned back to the control panel pushing himself off of a stagnate ACE, his magnetics keeping him attached to the deck in near zero g. “Just curious”. He motioned to Xael “How long would it take for your systemS to be back. Without a doubt whomever they are will be sending out scout fighters to finish the job”. He turned back to Ursa draping his jacket over her and the chair. “That was some nifty flying, you didn’t learn that all from simple shoot an scoots. You’ve been places and by the look on your face Wherever it was left a scar. The eyes don’t lie.” He stared at her for a moment looking past the emotional barricade she was putting up. He’d seen that look every time he looked in a mirror. “Now once we get this up and running is there anything I can do to assist?”

............autonomous computerized entity boot sequence initiated.
............Diagnostic recovery in progress.
............Sensors Initiating.
...............................
............uplink to Master override complete.
............Fission startup initiated.
........................3...2...1.
Autonomous systems activated.
Weapon Systems Nominal.
Life Support Systems Nominal.
All Systems Nominal.
Searching....................
Status Operation Nova Redoubt .... pending
Status Operation Vigilance ... pending
Status Operation Nimbus Point 1 ... Complete. Files Secured.
Status Sagittarius ... unknown
Status Valora ... unknown ...unable to update

Unable to locate Signal 224.
Unable to locate Signal 418.

Commencing secondary startup and tertiary systems.
Memory purge, systems incomplete.
Beginning tertiary diagnostics and memory defrag...

[KiraVanhelsing]

As the temperature dropped, Ursa brought her hands up to her mouth, trying to warm them slightly as she shivered. Orion walked over and she turned to look at him, giving him a nod when he mentioned her name. She was about to reject the offer of his coat in protest of her pride when he paused turning to Xael.

Ursa listened in to Orion’s introduction, taking in the information with a newfound interest. She knew about the war on Valera through her boss Jerry. That sector was run by Yuri’s crew, and he was probably providing the Rulon’s with ex-grade munitions to fight the Valorian’s, or aiding the Valorians in the same manner. Hell, the bastard was probably doing runs for both. She didn’t know and she was glad that she could honestly say she knew nothing about it. Would be messy if Orion found out her compatriot was batting for the other team. She turned away looking out at the carnage before her as she tried to deduce a pathway out of here. The loss of both Phobos and the innocent lives that settled there would haunt her. She was lucky to be alive. They all were.

She turned to look at Xael with a tough reassuring smile, “Don’t worry about the fighters, Dollface. I’ve never lost a client or a vessel in my entire career and I don’t intend to anytime soon. Just in case we die though, I also want to thank you for letting us use your vessel. I’m Ursa Cooper by the way!”

She shivered again her hands shaking slightly on the handles when a jacket was draped over her and the chair. She looked up at Orion, wishing her hat didn’t fly off earlier as she felt slightly exposed. She gave him a cool look, one she used to keep most men at arms length when he spoke. She felt the urge to look away, not liking that he seemed to be able to look right through her. Her yellow eyes didn’t waver though, and even though she seemed to keep her control, she was slightly rattled. She felt the sudden urge to be honest, and to let him see the pain she carried. Perhaps it was because she could see he had it to as he said visible in his own eyes. She didn’t trust him though, she could already tell by her attitude with him that she was playing with fire. Secrets were her livelihood and the less anyone knew about her the better. So she closed up and the brief moment of truth was replaced with a mischievous smirk, her thick titanium walls closing to him as she responded lightly in a teasing drawl, “Thanks, cowboy. I bet you say that to all the pretty girls. And uh..thanks for the coat.”

She gave him a too-wide smile as she put it on the right way, her hands shaky as she pulled it tight around her. Humor was a defense mechanism she used often, and even with the sadness just below the surface, she felt it necessary to use it now. She was already feeling warmer as she turned to watch the big behemoth, move slowly away from the destroyed remains of Phobos. She could see from a distance the release of scouting ships, with four to five heading in their direction. She swore, "Shit..."

She then looked up at Orion at his request to help and turned to Xael, “That depends on the weapon system this ship is equipped with. Dollface, we have got five bogies coming this way, and the temperature drop will only hide us for so long. I’m assuming the big boy needs time to recharge that wave before it hits again so if we want to hyperdrive we need to do it soon. It will take too long to give me full access so you will have to man the drive.”

She turned to Ace who seemed to be spewing out commands/system checks too fast for her to comprehend, “Is uh..he okay? Seems like he has a few wires loose?”

[Camille Endora]

Xael didn't seem to be bothered by the drop in temperature and simply watched Ursa's face as she navigated the ship. It would probably take 3-7 minutes to reboot the ship depending, though most times it never got to the 7 minute mark.

"I'm Xael. It's too bad this circumstance was how we'd meet. And it should take under 7 minutes to reboot. My ship is equipped with shield barricades and a small laser, which is mostly used for getting rid of small space rocks in my way. I've never had to use it for battle before. I will say though, I'm not the fighting type. So if escaping is the best option, I vote for that. I can control the drive if that's what's needed."

Xael looked at the spot on her hand in which Cel had kissed and a soft, pinkish hue shifted across her cheeks momentarily. She tried to ignore the look Ursa gave her though.

"We can go any place you all want or need to. I don't have anywhere to be."

[Narukami228]

Cel watched out the window as the scouting ships left the behemoth. If they found them, there would be some trouble seeing as the ship didn't have any defenses. "Whatever we do we need to figure it out quick. Those ships aren't going to just sit there and wait for us to make up our minds. As soon as possible we need to get those shields up for protection while we wait for the rest of the ship to boot up. Once we are capable of it too we need to get someone on the laser. It won't do anything to those ships, but it will scare them a bit to give us more time. Right now we have the element of surprise on our side. I know we're all a little shaken up from what we just saw, but we need to get our asses out of here. Orion, I need to you tell me everything you can about that monster out there..."

Right as Cel was about to say more, he started to feel an excruciating pain stab his head. The cold grip on his arm started to flow throughout his body which caused him to start shaking violently. The ship was already cold from the shut down, but this was like something he had never felt before. He could see the others looking at him in a concerned way. There was already to much going on for him to be getting sick now. Before any of them could say anything he turned around and left for the bathroom again. "If you'll excuse me. I need to deal with something." He said as he quickly fled the cockpit.

The chill in his body got worse as Cel was making his way to the bathroom. It was almost as if he was incased in ice then shoved into the depths of space. Once in the bathroom, Cel leaned over the toilet and vometed everywhere. This occurred three more times before he felt fine enough to stand up and clen himself off. He looked in the mirror and laughed a bit. "At least it didn't get in my hair." He ran his hands through the blond locks and noticed there were more black strands popping up. As he looked through more of his hair, he could see some of it change color. "What the fuck is going on with you?" He spoke quietly to himself. This was strange since this only ever happened when he felt stressed and even then it wasn't to this extent. As he looked closer, Cel could see a slight shimmer behind him in the mirror as if some one was using an invisibility mod. Cel spun around quickly and punched where the shimmer appeared, but nothing was there. Just air. He then turned back around to look in the mirror and the shimmer was still there.

Something slowly started to materialize into a gold like color behind him. It almost looked humanoid. This freaked out Cel and he quickly splashed hot water on his face. Instantly the freezing feeling stopped and the shimmer was gone. "Stupid nerves. Pull yourself together Cel." He slapped himself, flushed the toilet, then walked back to the cockpit. His hair still slowly turning black, but this was the least of his worries. If he was seeing things then there could be something major wrong with him. Either that or he was overly scared, which would just piss him off.

As Cel walked back into the cockpit, the others looked at him again. Ignoring their stares, Cel looked back outside to see what was happening. "So what's the plan then? Are we going to do what I said or do we have a better plan?"

[Orion Steiner]

“That’s really the only option we have” exclaimed Orion. The interceptors at that moment did a fly by searching and scanning for any signs of life or electrical surges, they let loose a concussion missile that obliterated a nearby dilithium hauler, they were not taking prisoners. Their Blue photon trails Staying in unison assured Orion that they had stayed in formation and had not yet detected the ship he was on but it would only be a matter of time.

He looked down at his bomber jacket Draped around Ursa cursing himself For not removing the contents in his inner pocket before offering his coat. “Your slipping Orion” he thought to himself figuring out how to get those back in case Ursa rifled through his pockets. He turned toward Cel Who seemed visibly uneasy and his hair had mysteriously changed colour. “You got a little something in your hair Cel, probably some drive grease you may want to address”. It definitely wasn’t drive grease but he figured he’d save him the embarrassment and throw him a bone.

“Xael”. If you wanted to set the coordinates for The Briar Patch outside of the Mephiston system We can get to my dropship. “I presume this ship has a lot more hidden that can handle that area of space?”

The briar patch was a spacers worst dream. Remnants of explosive gas clouds in space, the odd gravimetric well from old nebulas, meteorite belts and radiation storms that scrambled most crafts fly by wire systems which forced the pilots to manually travel through. The perfect place to hide as not many dared to get close.

Suddenly ACE boomed to life reciting backup procedures and blurting out operational and system errors. “ACE, you good?” Queried Orion. ACE replied “systems operating at 40% efficiency. EMP surge detected. Movement and protectorate functions at bare minimum. Diagnostics re routed for optimum usage. Sorrry boss.” The last few words glitchy and stammered. “Xael, if I can plug him in to your hyperdrive I can get us a lot closer to my dropship and minimize the risk of the first part of the briar patch, however In his state he could also put us in into that bloody ship over there too.” Ace stammered out loud “Mortem Obire”. Caught off guard Orion asked “What?”. “The target ships name. Mortem Obire. In Old Terran Latin, Mortem Obire can be broken down a few ways. It could mean to face death. The Latin phrase about death could be translated as leave this life to remember someone you’ve lost. I also was able to procure schematics at the expense of some of my stems being damaged doooo doooo doooo to the emp.”

Leave this life? Face death? Orion had faced death many times, he’d never been lucky enough to embrace it. Only to be left with the scars of his friends and family who had. Orion secretly wished for death but he felt something was holding him back as punishment for not being able to interfere with deaths grasp, not being the one to take the plasma blast, nor the knife, to not be the hero mourned. It was easier to be dead than alive. Orion questioned his morals. Was this ship truly his creation? A machination of his thoughts and ideas. “ACE, compile and store all data in operational folder titled personalem inferni (personal hell), I’ll need everything you got for when we get back to the dropship!” Orion ordered.

Orion looked at Cel and stated “In response to your question, you will know when I know. This is not mine”. Pointing at the Mortem “However I feel I have had a hand in the creation of this. I don’t expect any of you to understand but I ask that you trust me. Once we get to my dropship we will be safe and we can sort any discrepancies there.”

His hard wired military instincts forcing through Orion looked to Ursa adding “If your as good as I think you are we will be in safe hands but in our best interests I feel it would be best if Xael helped with the navigating. This being her ship and all and it normally takes two to get through the patch intact.” He motioned. “Xael, once we get your drive online one of us can man the laser and shift the shield if needs be to deflect any blasts if we’re detected. Then it’s up to you, and ACE if you wish to get that hyperdrive dialed in and get us out of here. Once were in hyperspace if there was a spot where I could collect my thoughts and go over some of the data from ACE I’ll get you to point in the right direction. Just let me know before we exit hyperspace be prepared for evasive maneuvers immediately. The briar patch is no cakewalk.

[Camille Endora]

Ursa wasn’t surprised when the young woman, or Xael as she now knew, told her the ship had adequate fighting capabilities. She kept quiet as Cel began to speak, nodding in agreement that they needed to get the shields up. She held off though, powering on the ship would allow the scavengers to know they were alive. She noted Cel’s tone change and his quick departure for the bathroom. It was very unlike the Yakuza leader to show weakness such as that in front of strangers, so he must be in serious pain. When he came back his hair seemed to begin to change and with what she saw with Xael, Ursa was beginning to think that she was losing her mind.

As he tried to shrug it off she raised an eyebrow wondering if he really was okay when Orion spoke up. Ursa turned back to the window wincing slightly as the Dilithium Hauler was obliterated in front of them. She was watching intently the field before her, noting each large piece of ship debris and the interceptors nearing ever closer. She unbuckled herself floating slightly as she watched Orion instruct Xael to set the coordinates for the Briar Patch. She scooted out of the way slightly giving her room as she smirked. Little did Orion know she was quite familiar with the area. It was a smugglers paradise, and had got her out of quite the jam when she needed it.

She mouthed the ship's name to herself as Ace spit out this new knowledge. She eyed the behemoth and felt the name was fitting. A monster in space such as that deserved a sinister name. Death was the only thing that it gave. In buckets. She focused partially on Orion, but mostly on the field, as she winked at him clicking her tongue in agreement before she turned back to her seat and turned over to the young woman with a fist pump ready, “You think right Kimosabe. Now let’s show these fuckers what we got!”

She buckled back in then, tapped her ear-piece, “Track 578….”

She cracked her neck and knuckles before she began to sing in a very off key, “GIVE IT TO ME BABY UH UH UH! UHUHUH! AND ALL THE GIRLIES SAY I’M PRETTY FLY FOR A WHITE GUY!”

She looked at the group bobbing her head as she lifted her finger, waiting for the first of the ships to get just close enough. She hit the power on after a second before she swerved to the left, rolling the ship upside down as she shot right below it at a quickening speed. She jammed to the music, increasing her speed through the debris as the other ships began to give chase before she turned to Xael, “Alright. Babydoll, where we going?”

Xael watched as Cel disappeared rather quickly after giving a little speech about what he thinks might be the best idea. Everyone’s minds were in overdrive. Full fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode. If it were just one person, the reaction would be immediate. But since it was four, and ACE, there had to be discussions, though quick ones.

All of the information that Xael was receiving was being computed quickly. She reached over in front of Ursa and put in the coordinates to The Briar Patch. She had heard of it before, but had never been close to it. She wouldn’t ever go there on purpose, normally.

Finally Cel arrived back and Xael glanced up at him almost immediately, her eyes narrowing and her brows furrowing together in confusion.

“What happened to you? What’s going on with your used to be white blonde locks?” she said blatantly. She was unsure if he would answer, but gave him a brief moment to do so before she responded to Orion’s question about hooking ACE up to the hyperdrive to input the exact coordinates that would reach them closest to his ship. Either way would work for Xael, but the risk of ACE screwing up was also apparent. They could always unhook him abruptly and get him fixed or reboot him if something went wrong.

She shrugged and then nodded to Orion. “Hook ACE up then. It will probably be faster. The ship should be good to go in about two more minutes I’d say.”

Ursa gave her a nod dodging around debris as shots fired around them, trying to hit the ship. She dodged a few, rolling around a floating hanger when the wing got a slight clip. She swore eyeing the nearest of them as the ship shook slightly. She turned to the boys, “Shields and get on that lazer!”

She looked forward, moving the ship through the chaos when she got an idea. She rolled to the left towards one of the ships, playing chicken for a bit as she missed a few shots, heading right towards the vehicle confidently. The other pilot chose to swipe right out of the way which is what she anticipated. She watched as it nicked part of a hanger piece rolling through space as it crashed into another broken speedster, fire filling the void. She couldn’t help the smirk on her face as she turned to see the behemoth. She could see it’s power humming, prepping to cut out their hyperdrive soon. She turned to Xael, “We have to move fast or we are gonna lose the drive and probably the big robotman if we don’t jet out of here..BUT IN HIS OWN MIND...HE’S THE DOPEST TRIP. Sorry good part.”

While ACE was being hooked up, the screens all lit up, a gentle but commanding female voice speaking around them. “All entities powered up.”

Xael glanced at the screens and watched as coordinates to The Briar Patch flashed up in front of Ursa, though not blocking her view. Xael pulled a second chair over as close to Ursa as she could without getting in her way and sat in front of the second dashboard. She reached out after clipping herself into the chair and a blue light flashed over the palm of her hand, reading her signature. Another beep sounded, followed by the voice again.

“Initiating Hyperdrive in 5.... 4… 3... 2... 1... “

The ship headed towards the outer-reaches of space the other ships hot on their heels as they shot forward at top level speed. The stars began to stretch around them as they were propelled through deep space, moving faster than light before suddenly they were gone, Phobos a forgotten image behind them.

Ursa gripped the handles tightly, veering out of the way as two of the interceptors came right behind them. She yelled at the boys, “Get on that lazer. This is gonna get bumpy!”

After a split second they were surrounded by deep space, large boulder like meteors and a gaseous miasma that made long distance navigation difficult. Ursa just narrowly missed a meteor, jetting a wing up so that it wouldn’t get smashed by the impact. She felt a shot on their left bumper and groaned, digging in her heels as she tried to attain her speed. She looked around, lifting out of her seat so she could see better when she saw what she was looking for. She hit the throttle, pushing the engine hard as she shot forward towards a large cavernous meteor. She turned to the camera’s displaying the other two fighters behind them and yelled at the crew, “Hold onto something. This may hurt!”

She kept going, her eyes narrowed when she slammed the brake hard, slowing down to a full stop as everything not tied down propelled forward to hit the dash. Ursa’s own body almost flew out of the seat, only stopped by her seatbelts. The tip of the ship scraped hoarsely against the meteor whilst the other two pilots attempted to copy her maneuver only too late, slamming into the boulder with a resounding crash. Ursa gasped, pulling the seat belt away from her throat as she slowly backed up, turning to the group, “Everyone okay.”

She smiled as if she almost didn’t just kill everyone in the ship.

Xael watched closely as Ursa began to intricately navigate her ship into deep space. She couldn’t help but stare half the time. It was an impressive skill, and the woman seemed fairly young to know how to fly so well. It made her curious, as well as slightly envious. She only looked away briefly to see the ships in the camera following behind them quickly, landing a shot on the back of the ship. “Dang.” Xael cringed a bit, hoping Orion and Cel could handle the shields.

The stars passed them at an insane speed, looking light little snowflakes or rain, or something similar shooting around them. Before she knew it, Ursa shouted for everyone to hold onto something, and immediately Xael clipped the rest of her 5 point harness in around her. It held her slim frame snugly against her seat, and she braced herself. Seconds later, the ship slammed to a halt and she watched the two enemy ships smash to pieces before them. Her eyes widened slightly before returning to the camera to show behind them. So far everything was clear. Xael looked then at the little GPS to see how close to The Briar Patch they were, and breathed out a slow and grounding breath.

“Alright Orion, we’re here. Where exactly is your ship? Once we can get to it, it should give us a second to breathe and let us focus. And if that fails, we can always go to my home planet. No one ever goes there…”

[Orion Steiner]

“The ship is on the other side of that” Orion pointing to the giant plasma cloud that flickered and shot out bursts of gaseous balls. “We don’t have to go through, but it will take a days travel to get around it. We still have to watch for asteroids and the occasional pirate lurking but I’m sure we will be fine”. Orion began to unhook ACE who definitely had seen better days and inputted a new set of coordinates into the ships . “If you all would excuse me, this will get us where we need, your autopilot can handle it but someone should keep watch in case we get jumped. If you need me I’ll be going through ACEs data and figuring out what just happened in your cargo bay.”

Orion followed slowly by ACE found the cargo bay and was able to find a spot in the rear secluded and dimly lit. He had ACE begin running through his diagnostics and spitting out problem after problem to him. He would need some techs to work on him once he got to his dropship. “I don’t have time for this” he whispered to himself. “ACE, I need something to take my mind off of all this data. Play me something She would like.” ACEs voice changed from a robotic and guttural sound to a seemingly prerecorded Feminine voice. “How about my favourite? I know you secretely like it”. Orion replied “That would be fine honey”. The aria began to play lightly in the background for a minute before the feminine recording chimed in “Do you want me to leave you alone to think Orion? It’s been awhile since we talked But I understand what your going through.” Orion speaking words as if he said them a million times already “Yes Kristi, I will make time for us when I get back. I promise we will get there soon!”. The feminine voice suddenly Stopped and changed back to the guttural form of ACE. “Do you want me to Continue playIn the selection or would you prefer something else, sir?”. Orion layer down on his back on the deck, “No continue, once it’s finished que up the data on the NP1 and the Mortem Obire. I need everything we got.” I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit.

The aria had finished as Orion slowly opened up his eyes to ACEs pop down monitor opening and loading the data metrics for the two behemoths. “Thanks ACE”. Orion began to rifle through the screen on the monitor and after a few more minutes of comparing he piped up in a stern voice. “Play Entry of the gods to Valhalla”

[Narukami228]

Cel sat down behind Xael and ran his hand through his hair. It seemed like it was still turning black. He sighed then buckled in. "Don't worry about it. When I find out what's going on you'll be the first to know." He winked at her then tightened the belt, knowing how crazy Ursa would be driving. The cold embraced his arm again, slowly moving up his arm again, but stopping at his shoulder. "Just fuck off." He muttered to himself. Ursa started up the ship and started playing her music as they flew through the void, dodging everything that came at them. Seeing what Orion and Xael where doing, Cel got up when he had a moment to breath and took off for the lasers and shield. He heard Ursa call for him and Orion to hop on the laser. "I'm way ahead of you!" He hollered back.

Once he found the controls, Cel felt more comfortable. "Now this is what I like!" He pulled up the focus and started to aim. Blasting everything that came their way. One after another, ship by ship, he was hitting. The laser wasn't strong enough to destroy any of the ships, but it was enough to disable. Normally at this speed he would miss a few times, but each shot was hitting its mark. Almost as if something was guiding his hand. The cold creeped up his other arm again stopping at his shoulders.

Out of nowhere though, the stars started to shoot buy faster and faster. "They must have gotten the hyperdrive going. I should go check on the others again and make sure everyone's okay." Cel stood up and started to make his way back to the cockpit, but his legs started to give out on him. The shiver returned and the cold started to engulf his whole body again. "What.... is happening to me." he studdered then fell to his knees. He looked at his hands then at the glass in front of him. Though it wasn't much, he could see the reflection of himself and the gold figure behind him. It was taking more of a form. It looked humanoid but also Alien. Cel only caught a glimpse of the figure before the rest of his body gave out and fell to the floor. His vision blurred but before he passed out, he could see the faint figure of someone. Maybe someone real. "Damn it." Cel grunted before passing out.

[KiraVanhelsing]

The large plasma cloud that Orion pointed to made Ursa squirm, her voice slightly scratchy, "Probably could get through it, but the ship doesn't need the extra damage."

With Orion putting in some coordinates and setting the ship to autopilot Ursa changed the temperature back to normal before she stood up, stretching slightly. She rubbed her neck, "I suppose I can take first watch..I am still burning off some energy from the chase."

She watched as Orion took off with Ace and walked over to her hat turning it around so that she could push her bangs out of her face before she looked over at Xael, "Thanks for the directions, and the ship. I know having us bums join you probably wasn't what you were planning today."

She gave the girl a once over, wanting to mention what happened earlier with her eyes when she figured she should go check on Cel. He was her friend after all and he seemed to be struggling with something physically. She pointed to the door, "I'm just gonna go check on long locks. Want to keep an eye out for a few minutes."

At Xael's response she smiled walking towards the hallway connecting the cockpit to the weapons station, "Cel? You all..CEL?"

She looked over to see Cel with thick black hair and a gold alien-like shimmering just near him. She pulled out one of her guns and narrowed her eyes, "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM JACKASS! You don't know me but I can promise you I am one hell of a good shot. So unless you want one between the eyes. I suggest to you. STEP. BACK."

She was deadly serious, and the creature seemed to take her warning honestly before it leaned down slowly towards Cel. She prepared to shoot it as it prepared to strike her but instead it began to fuse into Cels form. She watched in silence before it disappeared inside her friend, "What the f.."

As soon as it was gone she re-sheathed her weapon and ran to Cel falling to her knees as she rolled him onto his back pushing his hair out of his face, and leaning his head back so she could feel for a breath, "You better not be dead...you little. Oh, thank Cthulu."

She put her ear to his chest, sighing when she heard a heartbeat. She sat up resting a hand on her knee as she looked over him, leaning down to tap his cheek, "Cel?? Handsome?? If you wake up now I'll show ya my jugs??"

Cel would probably be over the moon for that or at least disturbed by her use of the word jugs, but he didn't seem to hear her, meaning he was completely out of it. She pulled off Orion's jacket and placed it under his head as she stood up moving back towards the cockpit. She called out to Xael, "Hey Xael? Uh.. Cel is passed out in the hallway, and I think, mind you not being dead sober, that a gold alien being just was vacuumed into his body. Do you have a med bay or can you help him? I'm worried.."

She motioned the girl over, looking down at Cel as she placed her head on his forehead to feel his temperature, "He feels cold, but that may be because of the temperature."

She didn't lie to Xael she was worried. She didn't love Cel like a brother, but as criminal relationships go, they had a solid one. She didn't want to see him hurt.

She looked over at Xael, "I'm gonna go let Orion know what's happened. Just in case we have another stowaway hiding on here. Can you stay with him? Okay..I'll be right back."

She headed down the hallway, unsure where to go when she heard some music. She followed it, pausing as the voice of a woman could be heard inside. She was about to interrupt when she realized it was a recording. She waited until the second song played before she came in, walking over to find Orion about to fall asleep, "Yo...Sexy pants. Sorry to ruin your sleep but Cel just fell unconscious and an alien-looking motherfucker just leeched into him. I don't know if there are more of them on this ship, but I figured I should tell you. Xael's with him now but I don't know if she has any med skills?"

[Camille Endora]

"Sure I'll keep an eye. He's probably just being dramatic about that his hair is turning black or something..."

Xael smiled to herself slightly, relaxing once the ship seemed to shift to autopilot and also began to warm up. The warmth was comforting despite she didn't really need it for survival. She reached down, her long slender fingers unbuckling the harness which was holding her into her seat. Her eyes flashed across the dash, ensuring the artificial gravity was activated as well. Once she felt everything was fine, she leaned back slightly, watching the galaxies around them as the ship made it's way to Orion's ship likewise.

It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before Ursa was called for Xael to come see Cel, stating he was passed out in the hall. Xael's brow furrowed and she got up, and continued toward Ursa as she kept speaking. She had said she thought a weird golden alien had been vacuumed into Cel's body. Xael's eyes shifted to a slight sideways glance, feeling confused and unsure about what Ursa was really talking about.

"I'm not sure what you mean by a golden alien? Like... someone else was here? Or was it just... like... a fuzzy image? Could you have imagined it?"

She waited for Ursa to respond, and when she did, Xael chewed her lower lip. After a few moments of Xael looking at Cel passed out, Ursa said she was going to tell Orion, and got up to leave. This left Xael and Cel alone, despite his unconscious state. She knelt down next to him and leaned in, listening to breathing. She assumed though by how Ursa was reacting, that he was alive. Warm breath caressed her cheek so she leaned back up again to look him over. Nothing seemed to be wrong on his body. No injured she could see flat out, he looked a bit pale, but was regardless of trauma or not. Again, her brow furrowed together. She figured she would try to wake him up again while she waited for Ursa to come back.

"Cel...?" She said gently, reaching out to grip both of his arms just below to the shoulder, and shook him carefully. "There's something we need to talk to you about. You should probably open your eyes..."

While waiting for him to give any type of response, Xael stood up and shifted toward a wall of cabinets a few feet away. She opened up a tall skinny one, pulling out a heating blanket and some cleansed water. She shut the cabinet door and returned to kneel next to him. First, she propped him up carefully against the wall into a seated position, put the blanket over top of him, and then opened up the water.

With the water cylinder open, she poured some into the palm of her hand and wet Cel's face slightly. She then leaned back on her heels and watched him again.

[Narukami228]

As his vision went black, a new picture started to appear. It almost looked like it was back home on Phobos. His house full of people. Everyone he had once known, alive again. "What is going on here? I though this place was destroyed?" Cel walked around and checked every room. His bedroom was clean with the bed made and ready for himself and maybe a lucky lady. Cel laughed to himself then sat on the bed. "It's been awhile since I've brought anyone back to this room. To busy nowadays. Thought Ursa would end up in here last time we finished a mission together." He looked around again then sat in his blue reading chair. "That would have made things weird between us. Plus I hate sleeping around now anyways. If I'm with someone I'm going to make it special."

Cel closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. The air was salty and the sounds around him changed. He was now sitting on a lawn chair on the beaches of earth. "How did I get here? What is happening?" Cel stood up, and watched as his feet sank into the sand a bit. The feeling was warm and grainy, but it still felt nice. He walked down to the water and waded around for a bit. The water was cold but refreshing. The air around wisped through his hair. Birds flew all over trying to dive and catch a fish or crabs. Out of the corner of his eye, Cel could see Ursa, Xael, and Orion playing in the water. They waved and beckoned him to come closer and play. "This is very strange. Am I dead?" He though to himself then started to make his way closer to the others. "Whatever it is, I think I like it here. No stress, no blown up world, no strange golden... think standing behind me."

Right as he was about to reach him, Cel could faintly hear someone's voice. "Cel?? Handsome?? If you wake up now I'll show ya my jugs??" Only someone like Ursa would say that to him, but it wasn't the Ursa that was standing in front of him. This voice came from the sky. "Ursa don't be so vulgar. I don't need to see your breasts." He thought for a bit about the voice. It was strange that it came from the sky. Was he asleep? He couldn't remember much that happened before waking up at his house.

In a quick flash though, the setting changed from the lovely beach to a desolated field. The grass and trees around him were on fire except fot one large one standing in the middle of the field. Standing right in front of it was the golden alien like creature he saw before. Cel took a fighting stance, ready to attack at any moment. "Who are you and what do you want!?" He yelled at the creature. It turned around and just looked at him blankly. In the fire light, Cel could see most of what this thing looked like. From head to toe the creature was covered in gold with the exception for a few spots that looked to have purple. On the shoulder, the creature had what looked to be metal wings coming from it.

The creature didn't move at all and just stared at Cel. He couldn't see any threat in it and started to walk closer. Still no movement as Cel approached slowly. As he got closer though, he could see a small engraving on the tree. The fire around them roared as he inched closer and closer to the tree. The golden creature turned as Cel passed it to look at the markings. "Golden Experience." Cel spoke the words slowly, hearing both words trying to understand them. "What the hell is Golden Experience?" He looked back up at the creature. "Is that what your name is? Golden Experience?" The creature shimmered as Cel spoke the words then disappeared quickly, only to reappear behind him. "What the..?" Cel was very confused but there was no time to think. An explosion went off right in front of them, and three even stranger creatures started running right at Cel.

In no time, Cel and taken stance, ready to fight to the death. The creature behind him took the same exact stance. This surprised him, but it didn't matter right now. The attackers were right ontop of them. Cel was ready to strike as the first monster lunged at him, but instead of Cel making the punch, Golden Experience struck first. "Muda!" It said as it landed the first punch, skyrocketing the monster 20ft in the air. There was a splat as it landed and the other two monsters cowered a bit. It wasn't long though before they started to charge. Golden experience took one of them and started to punch relentlessly. "Muda! Muda! Muda! Muda!" It said over and over again as it decimated the creature. The other came straight for Cel which he in turn punched as hard as he could. He landed a couple good hits before creature hightailed it out of there. The fire started to die down as the time passed by. Cel looked at his hands and they were covered in blood from the few hits he landed. He the looked up at Golden Experience and smiled. "So you're on my side then?" no response. "Well I can't keep calling you Golden Experience because that's uuuhhh, that's a mouth full. So I guess I can call you my stand? Since you know, you stand behind me? Fuck it I don't know we'll figure it out." As Cel was talking, another voice came from the sky. "Cel...? There's something we need to talk to you about. You should probably open your eyes..."

It sounded like Xael. The stand then disappeared into Cel and a flash of light happened.

Cel shot straight up with a gasp. Xael was standing next to him. He seemed to be in some sort of medical bay. "What the hell happened. My head is pounding." He looked around for Ursa, but she wasn't there. "I just had the strangest dream. You guys were there and then there was this golden creature.. I think I called it Golden Experience? I don't know it was strange." He looked at Xael who seemed to be confused. "Where's Ursa? I need to tell her something. Plus she owes me something as well."