Solebello

Shattered Memories Redux (Private)

With Edge gradually vanishing from view, becoming indistinguishable from the ruins of Midgar that dominated the landscape, Cloud continued driving Fenrir down the main road that traditionally led towards Kalm. Of course, in its place was that oddly designed city in the distance, with countless miles of wilderness having vanished, but a road was still a road. Not that the blond knew for certain that there even was monsters or wildlife to avoid, there had been a lack of them in the Dissidia conflict and without the citizens around it was safe to assume that only warriors were summoned to this war. Unless of course the deities wanted to have their fun and watch them struggle even against the fauna, but that wasn’t likely.

Slowly but surely, the form of a warrior appeared on the horizon and gradually drew closer. That was the assumption at least, given the situation. The only problem was there wasn’t any way for him to figure out which side the person was on, or even how he’d react to the whole situation at hand. It was best to be cautious, so with that in mind while he released the throttle with the press of a button Fenrir’s sides opened as it slowed to reveal the vast assortment of swords she held within her body. Veering from the road in an arc Cloud slowly brought the motorbike to a stop, grasping the largest of them and placed it within the custom sheath on his back. Rising from the bike, he turned it off as the sides closed and after pushing up the kickstand he made a few steps towards the strange man with one hand cautiously near the handle of his blade with the other resting loosely at his side. Cold Mako tainted eyes set upon the potential foe, though the blond hoped that his wouldn’t come to that.

“Who are you?” he asked, electing to keep things short and sweet. Unlike the city behind him the guy didn’t seem too out of place for his world, sure some of the choices were a bit odd but nothing that Cloud hadn’t seen before. Could he be some unknown fighter from his own world? Honestly the blond doubted that, chances were given the fact the man was on foot and the world’s change happened within the last ten hours he was from that city in the distance. Whether he was a spy send on surveillance or a warrior like himself looking for answers was uncertain, but he’d figure that out soon enough. Though Cloud was stern in his expression and tone, by keeping his hand off his sword he was showing that though he was capable of retaliation that he’d much rather avoid conflict. He wanted to protect his home sure, but it was better to find allies before the enemies really started to pour in.

@Rush
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Like old times this was, with the hulking behemoth short on pleasantries and moving straight to the point in his discussion. Chuckling as he was peeled off of the armor with a shrug, those few short sentences were worth a monologue’s worth of information. The Great Will that orchestrated the Dissidia Conflict was about once more, except this time he was changing things up. Garland was not the type to be troubled by trivial things, so the pauses in his voice and choice of words were actually quite telling about the situation they were in. While they were once again summoned to conflict, it appeared that the hierarchy was being shaken up. Whether that meant they were still meant to be pawns of Chaos or some other force was yet to be determined, since Garland still sensed his other half, but that uncertainty explained why the jester didn’t feel the power of the deity flowing throughout himself and why his mind was untainted by the whim of the demonic god. Either Chaos was weaker this go around, or he had competition over just which warriors he was allowed to command.

“Yes yes, that would prove to be most beneficial to us both. Not that I minded working with you lot, but a little more autonomy would certainly breathe some fresh air into the dull conflicts of the past. I’d SO love to have more choices of who I get to destroy,” a giddy laugh escaped the jester as he clapped his hands and danced on his toes, before methodically touching his fingertips together as he thought about what devious schemes he could get away with this time around.

“I wonder if it’ll be our motley crew of misfits from before, or if we’re being gifted with new toys to play with. Oooohohohohohoooo!! Probably the latter, especially if there’s more gods at play this time…” his eyes squinted and Kefka grinned with excitement, bouncing from one foot’s toes to the other back and forth for a moment before he firmly planted his feet against the floor. Flinging his arms forward his hands opened wide and the jester chuckled. “It’d be so much work for just little old me to go about scouting this wretched place, so why don’t we have a little fun and bring back our good old friends from before?”

Instead of his summon immediately working, only sparks dances around them as the spell came back as a dud. Clearing his throat, Kefka rubbed his hands together and thrust his arms forward.

“I SAID… So why don’t we have a little fun and bring back our good old FRIENDS from BEFORE?!?!” Kefka screamed, agitated at the lack of obedience from their lovely manikins. He could sense that the summon was pulling at something, but either the jerks weren’t responding or… That’s right, when he pulled at them he could feel some sort of barrier blocking them. Were they all still stuck in the void? That was likely the case, the conflict had only just begun.

“We’re definitely going to need to make sure we find that sapling before long, or a suitable rift to break open and let them back in,” Kefka grumbled, clearing his throat again. Popping his neck to the left, then right, rolling back his shoulders to pop them, and finally wiggling his ankles to pop them, he resumed the position. This time his eyes were closed, face stern from concentration and a vein was even starting to swell on his forehead.

“Ooooohhhhhhnnnnnn….” He chanted, digging into his magical power. Kefka wasn’t going to be beaten by those manikins, no matter what! NO ONE made a fool of him!! This time it started to pay off, with tiny orbs starting to form with a few crystals around them. Just a bit longer…

@Garland

Shattered Memories Redux (Private)

As Fenrir kicked up the dust of the desert around Midgar as he drove away from Edge, Cloud tried to figure out just what was going on around them. Well, the night before had been pretty normal. There hadn't been a ruckus in the bar, business was good and the blond hadn't needed to kick anyone out for once. Tifa and Cloud had gone into their separate rooms after cleaning up the bar from the night before, making sure Denzel and Marlene had breakfast so they'd be ready to head out for the day while the two of them slept. When Cloud had woken up in the afternoon, he checked on Tifa and forehead before getting dressed and grabbing the list for the errands he needed to run in order for the bar to be stocked for the upcoming night.

When he'd gone outside to Fenrir however, the normalcy had vanished. There wasn't a sound coming from the city around them, not so much a child's cry or a motor's roar. Tucking the shopping list into his pocket the blond mounted his bike and quickly drove it around the city to look for any sign of life. Anxiety formed a ball in his stomach, his heart pounding as he tried to think of just where Denzel and Marlene were. Of course the people of the city mattered to, but those kids were his and Tifa's life. Taking a deep breath, he tried to relax and clear his head. Panicking wasn't going to get him anywhere, he needed to look up and think. There was an answer to this somewhere, he just needed to find it.

On the horizon outside the cities the entire landscape had changed, which puzzled the Imaginary SOLDIER as he straightened his back to get a better look. Edge was still in the shadow of Midgar sure, but beyond the desert was another city with architecture that didn't match any he'd seen on this world before. Surely a city couldn't just appear overnight, what was this? In another direction just before the horizon was the shape of a castle which he found vaguely familiar, but he hadn't seen anything like that since...

A sudden chill overtook the blond and his heart felt like it stopped. Was this another cycle of the Dissidia War? It couldn't be, there'd been portals to specific replicas of parts of their worlds but it'd taken part on its own planet. This... This almost seemed like parts of worlds were just smashed together. Maybe this was something different, but still the fact he and Tifa remained while the citizens hadn't troubled him. Whatever this was needed warriors, and they were being dragged into something or other. He was all sorts of not interested in that idea, but there was nothing he could do now. He pulled out his phone to text Tifa that he was leaving the city to figure out what was going on, but no good. The signal was dead, making the blond grunt. Terrific. Oh well, an extra few minutes here before he left wasn't going to hurt anything. After riding back home, and leaving a note on the bar for Tifa to know what he was doing he took off out of the city on Fenrir.

Even thinking back over the events, Cloud couldn't think of anything else besides gods that could've caused this. Of course this time he didn't feel any sort of tug from Cosmos, so maybe that explained the difference in tactic here. If this was some sort of war though, why hadn't anyone contacted him about it? Better yet, where were the other warriors? This really didn't make sense from that point of view either, so maybe a war hadn't broken out just yet. Was this just some sort of interim period before things got started? Just staying in one place wasn't going to answer his questions, that's why he was riding out. Somewhere, someone would be able to tell him what was going on.

Maybe they could even send him and Tifa back.

@Rush
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To the surprise of the genocidal jester, he'd been pulled from the confines of hell and once again found himself among the living in the recovering World of Balance. He blinked a few times, even rubbing his eyes before he hovered and dusted himself off. Just what in the world was going on here? The last thing he remembered was battling that broken toy Terra in his now dissolved tower, that chocobo headed brat and the little knight had been there too. The nearly naked broad from the knight's world too if he recollected right. But the Dissidia War had ended, with the heroes succeeding in their disgusting peace right? His memories were intact so he wasn't summoned into another cycle of war, and he certainly didn't feel the influence of that meddling Chaos upon him. Perhaps this was something similar but not the same, another conflict of sorts with new gods and new rules to play by. Not that it mattered, Kefka wasn't going to waste this new lease on life.

"Hohohoho, this is BRILLIANT!!" Kefka cheered, leaping into the air before hovering on his side and scratching his butt. Resting his had on his left hand he grinned widely, a sparkle in his eye as he started to plot his next move. "Finally I have returned, and this time I'm going to set things right!" Spinning to an upright position, Kefka spread his arms. "I'm going to destroy EVERYTHING!! Everybody and everything will cease their pointless, meaningless existence and it will be all done by me!!" he winked, "And my cronies of course, hohoho... Hahahaha... WHOA-OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOO!!"

Now then, were to start? Looking around him, there was certainly something different about this world. While the ruined around him were certainly of his beloved tower, it almost seemed like the world beyond it was a patchwork of different colors and settings. From a castle in the distance surrounded by lush green that certainly didn't belong in a desert like this, to that damn temple that Garland liked to... Kefka's eyes widened, as did his grin.

"Ooooh, the Chaos Shrine, so it seems he's here as well, why don't I go pay him a little visit to see what he knows hm? Surely he has an idea as to what exactly is going on around here!" With that he giggled and vanished in a violet cloud of darkness, an ability they'd gained during the war to travel from place to place. Almost immediately he appeared behind the knight, who if he hadn't sensed his presence certainly heard it now since-

"WHOA-OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOO!!!" he laughed, the jester's voice echoing around the shrine as he skipped to Garland to fling an arm around his shoulders. "Why hello my dear stalwart friend, having fun knocking people down? Mind if I join in? For old time's sake!" wiggling his fingers, Kefka chuckled as he narrowed his eyes to try and peep inside that helmet. What was he thinking beneath that thing, what did he know? He'd find out soon~

@Garland

Shattered Memories Redux (Private)

Claimed Characters
Cloud Strife; Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Kefka Palazzo; Final Fantasy VI
Snow Villiers; Final Fantasy XIII trilogy

Shattered Memories Redux (Private)

Welcome back everyone! I know this is a little unorthodox, but with there being so few of us I don't see it really being much of an issue. Still going to list a couple of rules to try and keep things straight, feel free to let me know what to change if things are too confusing or aren't enough for what we need them to cover.

1. Of course be nice to everyone, this is a hobby and we shouldn't take it seriously. Relax and have fun!

2. We don't need multiple accounts, we can just post using one account. We know each other and can list who we're using in the post.

3. Since we're all going to be using one thread, make sure to tag who you're replying to so groups can stick together.

4. I don't mind others being invited, but please ask everyone else first.

5. This is primarily a Final Fantasy RP, but other Square properties can be used. If a character crosses properties, such as the Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts, they are separate characters. This means that while I'm FF Cloud, someone else could be KH Cloud if they wanted to. Just be clear which version of the character you are! Also remember, the main series characters appear in Dissidia and aren't separate characters.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Now as far as the plot goes...

This world was created by four deities by patching together parts of other worlds like a quilt. We were summoned along with the portions of our world in order to create a world in the image that the deities wish through combat. Cosmos wants Order, Chaos wants Chaos, Spiritus wants Destruction, and Materia wants Peace. Allegiances of the deities can change depending on what's going on, so be careful! They tend to work in the shadows for now though, letting the world settle before beginning any sort of true conflict...

Make sure to post the characters you want to be here, and let's all get started!

Have fun everyone, and thanks again for joining!

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

As Ruce ignored his silent warning and continued to drink, Sky watched on as at least so far things seemed to go going smoothly. There were signs that perhaps the brunet could hold his liquor better now than he used to, instead of loud boasts or idiotic ramblings he was being quiet and attentive to the situation before him. Did that mean that it'd all been an act at the bar behind them? What would be the purpose of that though, to make people lower their guard and underestimate him? If that was the case, why not continue the act now especially going into a game like this? Had they really been apart so long that he didn't have a great read on his friend anymore? Maybe he just let his annoyance over the antics get the best of him, and he hadn't been thinking clear enough up to now.

Regardless of why things were how they'd been so far, now was the time to really make sure he stayed on top of what was going on in front of him. Even if it'd all been an act, this was potentially too dangerous a situation to take lightly. The lockdown of the planet wasn't helping matters either, complicating how they could respond if things did go as the blond worried they would. No need to stress about it now, Sky knew he just needed to relax and take things one at a time as they came to fruition. Despite his flaws Ruce wasn't that big of an idiot, he knew how to get himself out of jams at least so Sky could count on him for that much.

While Ruce (unbeknownst to Sky) believed that the cards didn't belong to any of the players, the blond tucked away in the back of his mind the chance that they belonged to the Captain. That wasn't to accuse him of cheating of course, that could be just to show off how good he was at keeping things clean and organized like wearing that outfit here did. It could add to the intimidation factor, let people think he'd truly better at things than he was, but still to attract this kind of attention... Maybe it was some sort of trap, a ruse with someone else around here pulling the strings. Maybe it was the supposed farmer, Sky could see the anxiety from the sweat on his brow but then again unlike for them this was a lot of money for someone of his status. It honestly was too early to make any decisions as to what was going on here, making it best not to overthink things and just take them in as they happened.

There was nothing out of the ordinary for games like this with how the round went, the captain probably didn't want to lose but it wasn't a high stakes game for someone like him so that explained why he wasn't nearly as stressed about the turnout as others might be. That was when the situation got interesting, at least for the blond. From the corner of his eye he saw the young woman approaching, to collect her teeth no doubt, to which Sky merely stepped to the side so she could get a better view of what was going on. Friend or not, Sky wasn't about to protect Ruce from getting something that he deserved. Speaking of friends, the 'drunk' decided to enter the game. He wasn't going to give Ruce the satisfaction of a sigh, and closed his eyes for just a moment to keep himself from rolling them. Of course the brunet wasn't going to listen to his warning and enter the game. What annoyed the blond though was the pilot's ability to just dump that many credits into a game he very well might lose when he'd had a tab to pay and stolen the bag of chips earlier. Perhaps he had only himself to blame, if he hadn't paid those off for the man he may not have just jumped in and instead ask Sky for help to get into the game thus giving him some control over the pilot and the situation. That or he was just being an ass to the barkeep, which wasn't out of character either. No matter, what's done was done and Sky wasn't going to stew over something so trivial.

Let the bast man win indeed, tch. Not that the standards seemed that high anyway.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

The twitch in the woman’s hand is what Sky had expected, but instead of balling into a fist it stayed there as she snapped at Ruce instead of laying him out. Well, at least it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been… Even if the blond knew that he deserved the alternative. Under the collar of the armor Sky’s lips curled into a light smile, that sarcasm… He liked her. What came next though was even more surprising than the lack of an attack, was she… Flirting back to Ruce? The smile vanished as his mouth hung open a little, and more than ever the mercenary was glad they could’ve see beneath his eyes. What in the world was going on here? She even tried measuring the brunet up, which just baffled the blond. There had to be some alternative motive or something to her act, even if the hadn’t quite figured out what it was yet.

Surely when Ruce searched for the teeth and blood, he was merely jesting and playing along with her joke. He wasn’t that stupid, was he? Of course not, Sky needed to have a little faith and relax. Things were going to be alright, there wasn’t a fight breaking out over this and it wasn’t like he couldn’t step in if the woman tried to pull anything out from under their noses. In fact, the whole bar had settled down quite nicely despite the announcement, perhaps people just resigned to their fate for now. It wasn’t like this planet was all that bad, and the ban probably wouldn’t last very long anyway. Besides the food and drink in the establishment were good, able to help the common folk relax and forget about their troubles even if it was just for a little while. No need getting upset over things that you couldn’t control after all.

The surveying eyes and thoughts of the mercenary snapped back to the situation at hand when he felt the tap upon his chest-piece. Sky took the glass in hand, though his eyes narrowed and the icy glare stared daggers through his friend. Honestly, he had half a mind to break the glass over Ruce’s head, but it wasn’t like he’d even feel it as thick headed as the bastard was. He was just trying to show off anyway, the blond was sure the moron still remembered Alexia with how long they’d been together now. With a snort as he closed his eyes, his free hand lowered the front of his collar so he could take a shot of the drink then rest it at his side.

“We both know Alexia’s more woman than I can handle already, besides I’m not insecure enough to have to keep adding notches to my belt to feel worth something,” Sky shot back coolly. Unfortunately, Ruce was intent on getting himself into trouble, even if it wasn’t in the first place he looked for it. With a sigh, Sky finished his drink and set it on the counter, pausing for a moment as the warmth slid over him. Then he opened his sapphire eyes to look at the woman and nodded, politely saying “Excuse me, let me see if I can keep him alive long enough for you to cash in on your threat.”

Grasping his sword once more, the blond slowly pulled from the bar and made his way through the crowd as he surveyed the situation Ruce was getting himself into. It looked like an ordinary game of poker, nothing special about that, but the man winning at the moment caught Sky’s eye and he stopped. What in the world was a captain doing here? Well, not so much what was he doing here since that wasn’t too unusual, but why was he wearing his dress uniform? This certainly wasn’t an occasion for that, especially if he was here by himself and no other of his ilk. Whatever it was they needed to be careful, something fishy was definitely going on here. A bump from a drunken man behind him made Sky take a step forward and grunt, but he ignored the man’s complaining over his standing still as he swiftly made his way to his friend’s side and nudged him with his arm. A glance towards his friend with that expression was all Sky needed to do to get the message across: something was wrong here and they needed to tread lightly. This had a chance to get really sour, really fast...

Maybe he was going to drag Ruce to the hospital after all.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

Honestly, Sky had forgotten how much of a lightweight with alcohol Ruce was compared to himself. He shouldn’t have, it was the reason the pilot usually got into fights and had to be rescued more often than not. It certainly hadn’t been an exaggeration when Mani said his friend was lucky for not being barred from the establishment, merely from the amount of times Sky had to dig him out of trouble much less the majority of the time when he wasn’t around to save him. That’s why he rolled his eyes at the man’s antics of forgetfulness then making a fool of himself to get the barkeep’s attention, probably a show he found humorous somewhere in that drunken head of his. The sigh came as the crowd grew quieter, with Sky shaking his head a little as he watched on. At least nothing came of it, this time at least/

He didn’t bother saying he wasn’t going to pay for a second drink, it wasn’t like he minded having one though more than likely the brunet would end up drinking it himself. He just made sure to nod at the assistant as he looked at the card then at the blond, and say “Ruce’s tab, the chips too,” before he took the bag and set it on the counter. The assistant took care of both the purchase and the debt, and Sky silently took back his card to return it and the wallet back to their safe haven in his armor.

Before he even had a chance to throw another snarky remark at his friend, the azure-headed woman arrived on the seat beside Ruce with a musing glance towards Diamond Wing as if she was contemplating his efficiency as a swordsman. Not that he cared what she thought, unless she was going to hire him it didn’t really matter. What bothered him was the fact he’d just tried to save her the grief of dealing with the advances of the drunken buffoon between them and she waltzed right up into his snare. Sure she was just looking for another drink, but still... Whatever, it wasn’t his problem to deal with. When she knocked sense into the brunet he’d get the pilot out of dodge before it evolved into a larger problem for the whole bar to deal with.

While Sky’s drink was slid to the woman and Ruce began in vain to woo her, starting off by alluding that she may be a prostitute no less, he pulled his datapad and flicked it on to see there was a follow-up alert to the one from a moment ago. A few taps of his thumb and the words came up boldly, making Sky sigh and feel glad he’d sent the message to Alexia when he did. Ignoring the wink of Ruce, he turned the screen off and returned the device back into his chest plate before crossing his arms over his chest. It was immediately followed by the holo screens sharing the announcement to the mixed reaction of the bar. Terrific, now the chances of a brawl breaking out were even higher than just his friend causing a ruckus with the woman. He’d have to ponder the reasoning for the lockdown in a moment, for now he needed to make sure he got Ruce out of here in one piece.

And that was if she was merciful to him.

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

You could always count on Ruce to be a clown, that was for sure. On the surface you'd never think they could get along, with just how different they were in how they went about things. Sky was suave, delicately handling situations with his wit and planning things out to remain ahead of the opposition. Ruce meanwhile was rough and headstrong, rushing into a situation and sorting things out as he went along. Sure he was a lot smarter than he seemed, he was a genius when it came to flying and had a knack for getting himself out of seemingly impossible situations, but his hot headed temper was a far cry from the cool and collected mercenary. While some might get annoyed with the man, Sky found him quite charming and the carefree lifestyle of the pilot really could help you unwind if you gave it a chance. The goof was still up to his old ways, as getting caught by Mani showed. Sighing and shaking his head, the blond reached into his cloak to pull out his wallet and pull out the stolen bag, flicking through it before he lightly tossed a card on the counter connected to his credits.

"Please, the last thing I need is to haul you into a hospital again because your body can only pay up half of the checks your mouth makes for it. Thankfully for you and your wallet I'm a bit more responsible," he continued before opening an eye at the barkeep, "Looks like I found the luck for him, pay off his tab."

Before more banter could arise between the two, their conversation was interrupted when a young woman caught his friend's attention. All it took was a short skirt and a pretty face to get the man surveying you, especially after he had a couple drinks in him. Still, the blond couldn't help but notice her temper. At least she was respectable enough to know there was a time and place for it, whatever mess she'd gotten into was finished and now she was disappearing into the crowd to relax instead of taking it out on everyone around her. His thoughts were cut short when the brunet bumped into him, sapphire eyes falling upon the pilot as he grumbled at the barkeep. Crossing his arms back over his chest, Sky turned to press his back against the bar so he could look over the establishment while keeping Ruce in his peripheral vision.

"I wouldn't go digging into her mess," Sky said quietly, "She's a bit more woman than you can handle."

-=Fate of the Valkyrie=- A Sci-Fi Adventure. (Accepting/Open)

The life of an honorable mercenary was a lot tougher than it needed to be. Sky had lost count of how many jobs he'd passed up because the one trying to hire him had less than admirable motives in mind. This fact sat at the back of the blond's mind as his eyes skimmed down the screen of his small datapad, looking over the history and research he'd gathered about an oppressive tyrant in another system. It was important to gather as much information as possible to separate propaganda from fact, anyone could warp things to support their own point of view and the last thing Sky wanted to do was take an innocent person's life because of his negligence. His train of thought derailed as a notification flashed atop the pad, and with a swipe of his finger he saw the same breaking news article. Sighing, he shook his head and his fingers danced across the screen as he chose to send a message to his girlfriend back home to warn her about it. No need for her to worry about his whereabouts when he could help it. Especially with what his plans were for his return.

The whole reason he'd come back to this world was to get the custom engagement ring finished by the best jeweler he knew in the galaxy. The center diamond had wings sprouting from the sides much like his family crest, however it was flanked by a small snake decorated in miniature rubies and black opal to represent her own symbol. A merger of the two, Sky thought the symbolic and personal nature of it would mean more to her than the run of the mill rings most people got. It was also difficult to put so much detail into something without it becoming gaudy, another reason he trusted this jeweler in particular. The ring was tucked away in its little box within the chest piece of his armor, safe from both prying hands and any attack he might find himself coming under for one reason or another.

With the chatter throughout the bar, and his focus downward Sky'd missed Ruce's entrance into the bar. It wasn't until his exclamation that the mercenary's eyes left the datapad, his sapphire orbs locking on the drunken pilot before they rolled. It seemed that no matter how much time went by, and how much things changed, some things adamantly remained the same. Flicking the device off and returning it to its pocket alongside the ring, he grasped his sword by the handle and swiftly made his way towards the bar with his cape fluttering behind him to stand behind his long time friend. There'd be plenty of opportunity to finish his research later, between the news and Ruce's arrival it was best to put it off before he ran out of time to get off the planet and make his way back home.

"Heh, you kidding? That's going to be the least of his worries when his liver gives out," Sky said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Chuckling a little as he closed his eyes,he bowed his face within the large clothed collar of his armor to hide everything beneath his cheekbones. It wasn't because he didn't trust the pilot, he always carried himself like that in public to add to the sense of allure he commanded with his profession. Ruce knew this of course, but it probably wouldn't save him from the ridicule or teasing that was likely to come as a rebuttal to his comment. "He'll be glued to a machine by the time he's thirty."

The latter comment made the barkeep laugh, causing Sky to smirk from behind the collar. It was going to be fun to see how the brunet reacted to him this time, he just hoped if he caused trouble he could end it before either of them got kicked out for it.

Valkyrie ~ Science Fiction Adventure ~ (Accepting Applications)

While the captain continued to fondle his 'sweetheart', Sky's eyes were unable to keep from spotting the breach in the Valkyrie's hull. His first though was that maybe it was from some sort of fire, but wouldn't the breach have been cleaner in that case? Maybe something just impacted him, it happens, or because of being in a rush due to his illegal cargo Ruce accidentally bumped into something. Whatever it was the ship needed some work regardless as far as the blond could tell, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Another glance towards the doorway... Nothing, so sign of the bug. Several other people were coming up now, why hadn't it yet? Was it waiting, hoping that in time they'd let down their guard? Or was he being paranoid? It didn't matter, he wasn't going to become lax regardless. Keep an eye out, just in case. Better safe than sorry.

"Whatever you say," Sky answered to the comparison of the ship to Alexia. It was an inanimate object, able to be completely replaced. A living being however could not, even clones or twins had small differences in personality that could never be perfectly duplicated again. Valkyrie could always be stolen by somebody else, would that be considered cheating? Or maybe she was just being raped, but then again there really was no consent here other than that of Tes or Ruce so he didn't know. Not that it really mattered, it was all just philosophical anyway. It didn't take long for the mercenary to be forgotten either, after the captain's retort to his first mate he went straight to work without so much as a word to Sky. Typical of Ruce, so the blond didn't really mind. What else was he going to do anyway, just keep an eye out for the emperor? Regardless of whether he was here in the bar he would know just as quickly, so it didn't matter where he was. So there he stood, eyes carefully scanning their surroundings until his friend returned and questioned about the bug.

"Galvantian, hetero chromatic eyes one blue one violet. Extremely rare in their race, especially violet. Easy to spot if it shows up, so there's that at least. Just have to wait and see if it's daring enough to continue the hunt."

After finishing his report, he nodded at Ruce's suggestion of dealing with it on his own. Probably better that way, since under these circumstances Sky could make sure everything was fine for the Valkyrie and its crew while also looking out for his prey. Not that he didn't think the captain couldn't handle his own, it was just nice to have an extra pair of eyes. Turning his back to Ruce now as he worked, his eyes returned to their scanning. Families and smugglers were going about their normal business, with the occassional scavenger or mercenary making their way past. None of them seemed to care about the mercenary or the ship, so at least there was that. The relative peace though only made Sky worry even more, just what was that bug up to? Was he really just being paranoid, it really wasn't like him to let something get to him like this. Maybe it was because Ruce was there, he was used to being alone and knew he could handle his own. Add someone else to the mix though, and things could get complicated fast. He was probably just worried about his friend, speaking of which he finally seemed to finish his work. Turning his side towards the captain once more, Sky chuckled as he glanced over to the new hull piece.

"So at least that'll be left floating in space when the rest of her disintegrates, right?"

Where they'd been before however, the bug was relaxing against the wall waiting for Sky's return. Chances were he'd come back this way, since his ship wasn't with the other man's and after how obvious he'd made it that he wanted to see the mercenary he'd undoubtedly return to investigate. That made his job easy, just needed to wait it out. The only problem would be avoiding suspicion, since next to the lift was a security station. That along with the presence of the nursing station on the other side should make the blond more at ease though, only a novice or a fool would try to attack someone under those circumstances. Hopefully it wouldn't take long, the emperor wasn't a patient man and if kept waiting for too long... Well, neither he nor Sky would appreciate the consequences...