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ic:
Like the sound of thunder in the deep wastelands.
Like the feel of water rushing through your fingers.
The wind on your face.
Thunder rumbling deep in the darkness of ones senses, it broke through and washed away the nothingness that waited around him. Fingers clenched tight against his palms, the figure within the silent tube of green water writhed in his slumber, eyes closed and binded shut, mouth forced open with some sort of machine emplacement. With a snap of light one eye broke open, green stained red with blood as the sting of the water broke into his fresh wound. Bubbles were in place of a scream. The figure within the tube turned and shook, looking around with only flickering reds and blue's lining the thing that held his mouth shut. He could feel tubes and wires connected to his chest as he slipped hands down, his body slippery to touch, but there was no feeling on the opposite end... He could feel his body, but his body could not feel him.
The figure turned and shook his head, feeling the metallic air that fumed into his gaping mouth, as blood continued to fog the green water, blinding his sight a little more. He reached up, feeling a couple wires pop free from his arm and more blood filling the tank he reached across and gripped the large mechanical arm that held his mouth, pulling at it, and feeling something move within his chest.
If one could define pain as something that burned, something that sliced and cut, something that stung and brought agony... they could not define the feeling he felt as he pulled at this arm. Like three hands within his lungs, pulling out, slipping back from his flesh within, like pulling an insect of many legs from a deep wound. He winced as he pulled the thing free, feeling the arm shake and shudder moving against his hands. He had no more strength to hold it, no breath to fight against the arm as it snapped back and forth through the water uncontrollably as if it 'needed' to be inside him to exist.
The figure moved his hands back, running them across his body, pulling against wires, arms, clenches, claws, tearing them from himself in agony. Only one eye remained open, he had not the desire to lose more blood then he was by opening the other, knowing it too was binded as the other was. He spun within the red and green water, seeing lights of moving machines within the tank until it happened. The deepened thunder was filled with a lightning crack, the mechanical arm swinging back and snapping through the glass letting the water cascade out like a waterfall. He dropped down, feeling the glass and water mix with his blood, his body fumbling out violently. His shoulder snapped into the cold wet floor and rolled once as the thick liquid that he had thought was water pressed against his back...
With one hand he leant up, bending out and choking...
Breathe...
No, nonono I can't!
Breathe...
No. I- I don't know how!
Open your lungs and breath in the air around you...
He felt a growl within his stomach, leaning up and hunching his back slightly, facing the cold steel ground, seeing the glass and liquid filled with his blood. The being twitched and leant forward, a gush of black liquid dribbling from his lips, he spat out what that thing was coursing through his gut until he felt something enter him. It felt as if cold icy knives broken into his throat and tore into him, breathing in his first breath of air of this place. He choked a moment more before spitting out more blackness and taking another deep breath... As much as it hurt, as much as it stung, he kept breathing, leaning his cold forehead against his bleeding arm and breathing, letting the liquids and blood drip from his body...
For a time he remained, not a thought in his mind, nothing but a blank slate... all that he concentrated on was his breathing, letting the cold air fill his lungs with life rather then machinery. He could hear the twitches and glass movement behind him, knowing it was the machine that had him moving, still trying to cling to life as if he was its connection to the world.
The figure slowly leant across, lifting his head from his arm, spitting out more of the darkness that poisoned his insides and slowly opened his eyes. Strands of liquid kept him from opening his eye wide enough to make sense of anything, he could feel it still dripping down from his body. Slowly turning and pressing his other arm out so he could lean up and look around. For a moment he staggered and leaned as if he were about to be sick again, but he wasn't. The dark figure breathed heavily, letting his chest rise and fall, kneeling on both legs and looking down a long and distant corridor. The floor around him was a dark gray steel, gratings, the walls were covered in masses of wires and cables, connecters, panels, there were no buttons, no consoles for use... nothing for anyone on the outside to use.
He turned slowly, placing his hand into the ground so he could lean; he looked upon what had held him. The tube was broken now, but it looked to be some sort of experimental bubble, machines all around it... There were no others, just his own, held up against the wall. The arm that had been in his throat and chest twitched against the ground, it had the look of what he had felt when wrenching it out of himself, a spider, a bug... a creature of steel and metal. He looked across and back to the hallway that led to a large door… From what he could see, there was something in big white markings writing on the door itself, but he could not make it out, his sight was blurred, watered down with his own blood. For a moment he remained still, hearing the only sound, distant clicks from the machine and the odd few twitches of the insect he had pulled out of himself…
Reaching out he wrapped his hand around the sidewall railing, pulling his body along and dragging his legs. He could not feel them, not at all. His lower body was numb felt as if it had been ripped from him. The figure leant up against the wall and turned his head to one side to gaze down the corridor. There was nothing more then the door that waited for him, the sides of the hallway were steel armored, railings on the side to help one walk, or if there was a disturbance? There weren’t any sounds from above or below, telling him that this was not a large complex perhaps, or maybe it was sound proof…
As he clenched the railings he finally took notice to his hand, it too was like the thing he pulled out of himself, no skin, just metal, a cold almost faded gold metal. It was dripping with liquid and blood, a few odd pieces of glass sticking out of his knuckles… but he could not feel a thing. He tilted his head and brought his other hand up, it was close to the same, but the fingers were thicker and gray. His arms however, they were a faded red, skin, with holes and cuts all over. The wounds he had created for himself were all nearly closed and gone, the holes he had made from pulling the wires out were closing themselves, leaving blood in their place, thick and dark. His chest was riddled in the same with scars; a large and thick line was in the place of his heart area.
He reached across and pulled against the railing, dragging his legs... From looking back he did notice in the same as his hands, his legs too were covered in steel armor, his feet were nothing more then bulbs of steel and armor toes, all artificial.
This is a dream...
Thoughts now began to burn in his mind, thoughts of this place, why he was here, where was 'here'. How could this have happened? But the question that continued to hold him hard was 'who' he was? Had he always been like this, machines as arms and legs, feeling nothing but numb cold? How had he come to this place, was he taken? Who was his family? Were they here too?
No.
He clenched his teeth and closed his eye tight, feeling the sharp rips of flesh that had broken the binds on his eye sting. Thoughts, he couldn't let them get the better of him, he had to see for himself, to know with his own eyes, to 'know' what was done, and not think it, making up stories in the back of his head. He slowly slithered across, gripping the railings tight, opening his eyes again, he could not stand. The was no feeling in his toes, no scratch of life in them at all so there was no walking out of this place. He held the railings tight and pulled himself through the last of the glass and liquid, leaving a long trail behind him as he dragged himself along. He had noticed too now, dragging along with his feet was a slender tail, darker texture of red then his chest and skin, it had no metal on its shape... but it too was void of feeling.
He continued to breath hard and harsh, the cold air soon coming to his senses as stale and old, the new air that he thought had been fresh to him, was nothing more then dead as if there was not some sort of venting system. The door stood before him, sealed with bolts, top and bottom, to the center of the steel doorway was a lock, some sort of turning wheel. There was a panel on the right side, green lights flickering off and on, but some of the cords had been pulled from the bottom console, as if someone had torn into it from the inside. He reached out across and pulled himself once more towards the door. It was only a short pull until he could lean his shoulder gently against its shape, feeling the cold steel suddenly sting against one of his wounds... but it was numb in moments, another dead feeling to him. He slipped up and moved his right hand against the door, letting his fingers slide up till they pressed and wrapped around the cold steel and began to pull with what strength still held within him...
The door creaked easily, almost too easily, the metal ring he pulled against and turned with his motion, pulling and tuning it down towards him with one hand. Not a thought came to mind of what would lay beyond this door, not even his imagination could prepare him for what lay on the other side of the blast door...
An ice cold wind brushed in, followed by flakes of snow and ash. The air was fresh now, cold to breath in, but not as icy as it was to breath before. He leant back as the door shot out, bending and creaking as the wind caught it on the outside. It was pushed against the outer steel wall as the wind began to hammer against the side of the opening. At first he could not see a thing, only white, static in his eyes, the first light of the day outside burning his eye out. But he kept it open, leaning his back against the railing and raising one hand to shield the snow and air that pressed against him.
The light began to fade, the snow and ash continuing to fall against his mutated body. He looked out finally as the scene before him came to sight. Black smoke bellowed up from the ground, seeping into the pure white sky, there was ruin everywhere; a massive long line of destruction led a path down across the plain wasteland of snow and ice. It was as if the cell he was in had crash landed like a comet, an asteroid from the skies... but as he leant out and pulled himself from the railings to lay in the doorway he found that it was not his cell alone that had fallen from the skies... It was a spacecraft!
He breathed a little harder now, the icy wind freezing within his lungs. For a moment he covered his lips and curled up, leaning against the steel metal, he peeked out over the ruins, the smoldering ashes and ruins of a once massive spaceship showed no signs of life, no footprints in the snow, no signals to him that he was not the only one. It came to him now, within his thoughts that he was some sort of survivor? Slowly he pulled back, feeling the cold air burning at his skin, making his hands ache, the cold steel bringing actual feeling through the artificial veins. He leant in and slid back so he could pull the door closed behind himself... once more confining his body with the steel surroundings... his prison...
Slowly the figure looked up, looking across the steel doorway, only now reading the writing that was labeled in white against its shape. In bold mechanic writing there was the numbers three and six, but below was the name in different writing, "Reborn".
Was Reborn his name? Or was that the name they had given to him... What was this vessel? Some sort of experimental chamber carrier, a prison. Those questions moved within his thoughts, if it was labeled on his door, and he had no memory of anything otherwise... it was his name. Reborn slowly leant back, moving his hands forward and straightening his legs out, moving one from the other and looking to them with an exhausted look on his face.
He slowly leant his hand up, moving his fingers out and in, clenching his fist before opening it once more, looking to his blank palm, seeing the reflection of his wounded head upon its shape. His head was the same coloration as his body, a deep dark red. He had a short snout, but long enough to show he was no where close to a human or somewhat close creature, it was clear he was a dragon of the sorts. His one eye was colored a pale green, he couldn't see specifically within its shape, but there was something moving within the color of his eye he was that certain. His other was binded shut with small metal bands, the same as his opened one, but the bands themselves now hung loosely from his flesh, blood dried in their holes. He moved his hand up and slipped each small band from their hole before moving for the other eye... the one that was still binded closed...
He pulled against each bind, one after the other, this time curling them out of the holes they had made, it was much less painful then the others, but one could say he could feel it a lot more then how he had taken them out before. Reborn flicked away each steel bind and sighed, leaning still against the metal. The thing that hurt him most was that he couldn't think of anything, this seemed all too new to him, he knew not of the world he was on, but he knew how to move, to stand to walk... he was no kid, he knew the very basics on how to live and how to take care of himself... So that brought the conclusion that he was not born within that tube, but put in there. Though whether or not he was placed in there on his own accord, or against his will. He slowly looked across his hand before staring down blankly to his toes. Both eyes were opened now, bright and green... one side seemed too bright then the other, but that would soon change as he got used to the darkness once more, not long at all...
All that remained now was his legs and feet; steel bindings covered his kneecaps, long metal armor that reached up to his waist... For a moment it came to him that he might be missing some of his more personal parts, but he knew that his life was still intact, and that’s what mattered most. Reaching down he sighed, touching the metal plates that gauged into his flesh at his waist, there was no feeling... only the coldness that he could touch. The shape was to himself. There were no organics, no organs, no flesh, only cold hard steel, nothing more.
He moved his leg out slightly and looked down to his long tail, it reached down below his feet, curled to the end slightly. It was cold to touch, and he could feel something as he touched it, like another limb it twitched, but was all too numb to move just yet, too weak to control. He instead concentrated on his feet; looking down to his three spiked toes, long and hooked. They were artificial but looked to be built to suit his form. With his feet and legs able to move he could venture outside into the snow, perhaps to see if there are any survivors. Reborn sighed, there was a world outside and all he could do now was pull himself along, he had to repair himself, regain feeling... He couldn't even feel his feet!
This was going to take a while...
---
4 hours passed...
With a loud snap the metal door flung open, once more the cold air blasting into the deepness that was the corridor. Reborn leapt out of the darkness, his feet crunching into the shallow snow with a sudden creak of metal finding the tips of his steel toes. He turned his head, his eyes wide open, and the scars that were upon his eyes were only mere marks now, leaving an off brown coloration to his skin. He turned and looked down at the last of the smoldering piles or rubble, tilting his head. Down the trail were more and more parts of the spacecraft, from the looks of things it had dropped into the ground quite some distance away and slid all the way, losing parts and compartments until it stopped here. He turned back and made his way through the snow, feeling only soft snowfall touching his shoulders. The winds had died down quite a lot now, but in the distance there were more overturning clouds of darkness, there was indeed a storm heading in his direction.
He made his way along the edges of the compartment he had been held in, using his hands to grip the jagged openings in the sides to keep his balance. To the edges there was just snow, he wasn't just about to make a mistake of falling in, not knowing how deep it really would be.
Reborn turned and swung around the edge, moving his feet before leaping up, taking hold of a large steel pipe that was protruding out the side of the hold, he curled his arms up and pulled his body to the edge before scrambling to the very top of the compartment. He slowly leant forward on his hands and knees before moving and standing up to his height, he looked out across to find that his compartment had to be no where near the front of the spacecraft. The crash trail led both ways to the same length, though he could now see which end was perhaps the bulk of the ship. Looking out to the far distance, where the clouds were coming from, was smoke, thick blackened smoke that rose in the air like a tidal wave... The remainder of the ship must have stopped there.
He slowly slipped his arms up and wrapped them around his body, feeling the cold chill making his skin crawl. There were no clothes, no coat in his chambers, so he had nothing but to bare the cold winds of this icy land on his own. Reborn breathed in lightly and slowly looked up into the sky. He didn't know what drew his attention up there, but something told him he had to look up... and there he saw it, perhaps reason for why this ship had been thrown against the ground. The sky was white, no blues, no darks, it was white, but from what he could see there were other ships, high in the sky, perhaps on the very border of this planet and space. They moved with such aggressiveness, moving back and forth, two sides, pressing against one another. A battle! Reborn shook his head, looking back across the horizon towards the smoking heap of spacecraft.
It was then he saw something; a sharp metal craft broke through the smoke. The snow around it seemed to bounce off an outer wall, some sort of invisible barrier. It moved through quite slowly, as if it were searching for something. The craft itself was nothing much for looks; it was almost just the shape of dagger or blade, just without the hilt. It had strands and cables of some sort hanging from its lower sections, while sitting on each side of its smooth shape were an array of missile launchers and Gatling turrets. Reborn stood where he was, this was perhaps a survivor? Or something looking for survivors? He began to ponder two outcomes from revealing himself. From the looks of things, he had leapt from an experimental chamber and this thing was looking for him, if it got him, he would be returned to a chamber much like before... Or this craft was on the opposite side...
He tilted his head back and watched as the ship began to make its way along the trail. He would give himself in, what else was there to do... there was no kind of settlement for miles, no sort of life out here, only the cold icy environment, and what was left of his memory. He slowly began to lift his arms, but was met with a blast of hot air as the ship opened fire on the ground. It blasted about three missiles into the earth and into what was left of another couple compartments. The explosion ripped through the sky and snapped up with an odd few sparks and streams of flame. The ship turned and began to make its way towards his area.
Reborn shook his head and moved away, leaping from the side of the craft remains and into the snow as the ship snapped past him, the wind catching the ice he had fallen into and pushing it out in a great wind. He began to scramble within the snow, moving his arms out and pulling himself just to the top so he could breath... the ice was deep just like he had thought, he couldn't even feel a hard ground below his toes, just more and more snow. Reborn coughed with the coldness, watching as the ship sharply turned, the rubble and snow below it snapping out with a great wind as it stopped in its tracks and moved to face towards him. Three red lights seemed to flicker on and move over its sleek mirror silver color, looking onto him like a couple of eyes would.
He rolled and moved, trying his best to reach for the metal edges of the ship beside him, it was too hard to move through the snow; his metal legs were just too heavy to control! For a moment he regretted even coming out, he should have spent more time exercising his new legs rather then being jumpy and leaving. But then again, seeing what the ship had done to the other compartments, this was probably the safer path!
What was he thinking!
---
To Be Continued.
News: ~August 18th 2022~ - (Old News)
The move has been completed successfully! Everything appears to have survived the move just fine, but if anyone finds a broken link or anything else that doesn't work as it should, please make a post in Away from the Woods to let me know, thank you.
RP News: ~November 19th 2015~ (Old RP News)
There is no current plot. The forests welcome new travelers within these lands.
Event Status: Not Active (each accepted character allowed to RP in multiple RP threads)
RP Season: Summer
This means everything is green, flowers are everywhere, and the shining sun creates a need for shady shelter on the warmest days.
The move has been completed successfully! Everything appears to have survived the move just fine, but if anyone finds a broken link or anything else that doesn't work as it should, please make a post in Away from the Woods to let me know, thank you.
RP News: ~November 19th 2015~ (Old RP News)
There is no current plot. The forests welcome new travelers within these lands.
Event Status: Not Active (each accepted character allowed to RP in multiple RP threads)
RP Season: Summer
This means everything is green, flowers are everywhere, and the shining sun creates a need for shady shelter on the warmest days.
<~Reborn ((RP, Opened, invite))
Moderator: forgerofsouls
<~Reborn ((RP, Opened, invite))
Last edited by Barbannis on Wed May 14, 2008 9:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
~
7 Hours Prior.
"System lock, outlaying thrusters are falling to standby Captain" came a soft cracking voice over an open communication network. A gloved hand gently pressed down to a small node to the side of his thick metal chair, his finger activating the return link,
"Good work Pilot, Report all fleet status, and status of Chamber Vessel 391" the captain replied, his voice almost a whisper. He flicked his tongue, leaning his head back against the comforter. The creature slowly leant both arms up and rested his chin between his knuckles, looking down and into the main bridge area. He wore a simple suit, blue one side, black the other, armor panels up on the sides of his shoulder blades and reaching down with a shield insignia on the center of his right shoulder. His chest bore the same insignia, though it had at least three gold stripes under it, hanging cloth, medals. The creature himself leant in a hunch, the only part of his body showing was his black and white painted face, a long raptor snout. His sharp fangs glimmering as he sniffed in a cold breath of air. Long barbs ran down the back of his head and the back of his neck, one with a small red cloth hanging from it, a single white skull painted to its end. His sunken eyes were mere black and white, gleaming forward with no smile, no frown.
The reply of the female came across the link, this time the voice crackled less, a firmer location set for the communication beacon, "Reading the Alafhast, Operational, Dictorian, Operational and Malust, Operational. Science vessels, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are clear. All Fighters are at their stations, Communication hub is in orbit. Chamber Vessel 391 is reading in the clear... we have a successful warp flux Captain"
"Open a communication to the planets surface, attention to General Rykuu, Alliance coded, the package has arrived" the Captain exclaimed, his gloved hands still pressed under his chin, as if waiting for something. He peered outwards slightly, hearing the compliant agreement of the communications link before he shut it off and slowly stood up, leaning across and taking a step. He pressed his hands to the railing guard that moved around his high seat, looking down to the three cockpits below, three other raptor's fast at work, though each had ocular implants, metal rings and goggle nodes fastened to their eyes. He gripped the railing slightly,
"Activate frontal view" he spoke out, pointing towards the front of the main cockpit,
"Yes sir" one replied.
With a flicker of the walls, the battleship cockpit completely vanished, all but the shimmer of lines on the walls it seemed not their anymore. The computer systems and control nodes the three pilots remained at flickered as if transparent. They continued their work, as if floating in mid air... above the stars in orbit.
The captain held onto the railing slightly, looking down over the white planet before him, watching as the clouds shaped and moved, there was a constant cry of thunder storms and blizzards. The perfect place to set up an outlaying Alliance network base, between the vacant worlds, in the middle of where the most illegal smugglers moved along trade routes. The alliance indeed were holders of peace and prosperity in the known galaxy... but they were not here for that. The captain sniffed the air, closing his eyes, his bare talons on each foot tapped into the ground, his tail completely still,
"Is something the matter Sir?" Came a soft more digital voice, a flickering figure of a human appearing to his side, its form the color of bare red, no features, only streams of raw data.
The Captain closed his eyes, lowering his head lightly, tapping his fingers across the railing, a soft growl emitting from his throat, "Mm... There is something moving across the stars" he muttered, his eyes still closed,
"Our scanners are picking up no vial lifeforms, no energy readings in our sector. Reporting no slide spots of Nexus openings in our sector. Reporting no charging of weapons on this side of the planets surface" came the soft female voice, but it seemed more artificial then anything truly superior. But her voice did nothing, the captain looked away, glancing up as finally one of the battleships came into sight, Malust slowly thrusted forward, its main smooth hull coming into view. To their sights the ship was huger, a long sleek and white form, folded steel, build for speed and shield protection. All turret and mounted weaponry lay ready on the sides, one main vector cannon on the very front of the hull, like all the other Alliance battleships.
The smaller science vessels were merely oval shaped titanium cases, no weapons, simply shields and hull, one blinking communication node protruding out the back of it. The Chamber vessel however was double the size of one science ship, its shape much the same, but more stretched out, some parts coming out in small compartments. Their fleet was mostly stationary around the orbit, remaining quiet and still, their shade technology online so nothing would read them on their simple radar... more sophisticated however would cause a problem.
The captain huffed, turning his head and slowly stepping back towards his chair, "Communications?" he spoke up,
"Sir" came the communications link once more, "... We are reading General Rykuu Sync signals... but" the voice was somewhat distraught, as if unsure,
"What is it?" the Captain questioned,
"Well... I'll patch you through, see for yourself" the voice replied, a view screen suddenly appearing in large above the invisible front bridge. Another Raptor appeared, his head thicker, his eyes a dark and gloomy red, though there was metal, wires and links leading up the side of his mouth, one eye bleeding slightly,
"- you set foot in the path of the shadow, they will find you. Step too close to the power they seek and they will hunt you. Heed my warning Alliance, for they are already here..." the dark metallic flicker of his voice seemed more like a drone then anything else, as if something were speaking for him,
"Is this two way?" The Captain asked,
"It is now Sir"
"This is Captain Usarian Rykov of the Alliance battleship Longblade, Captain of the Second Fleet. We came here on orders by the Alliance Empress herself, are you hurt? Do you need assistance General Rykuu?" the Captain said without a pause.
The General slumped his head forward, his lips raising in a growl in detest. Something flickered over the screen quickly, a shadow almost. With a sudden burst of voice, the General yelled out to them as if they were at a distance, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" he screamed, his spines bearing upwards, "Warp out Captain! Take the Rebor-" the screen shut off, only static,
"Reply, rewind, twenty five seconds in, freeze and enhance" the Captain spoke out to the flickering AI, almost too coolly. The screen flickered once, rewinding the message back and stopping just as the General rose his head up, "Freeze" Captain Rykov spoke, the screen suddenly stopping just as the shadow appeared, freezing on the spot.
...
The shadow was a face, jagged mouth open, open eyes, nothing more then a shadow of a ghoul of the sort. The captain rose a hand to his chin once more, his spines flicking slightly as he stretched his neck, "AI fault?" he questioned... but there was no answer, "5?" he turned,
"It reads as something else" the AI replied, almost as if hesitantly,
"Identify it" Usarian asked, though his words were caught out as one of his own ships pilots called out,
"Sir, I'm picking up a Nexus warp opening not to far from the side of Alafhast... coming in fast" he called out, "I'm opening a link onto them now"
The captain sat back in his chair, pressing his hands to the side of his seat and pressing the communications node once more, "Alafhast are you reading the signal?"
"We are Captain Rykov, it should be appearing in a matter of moments, charge weapons?" the voice replied coolly, as if not expecting much,
"Charge side mounts, open links to the other ships in the fleet to form the turtle formation, hold fire for my orders" He spoke out, standing up and moving to the railing once more, not even waiting for a reply, "I want a full screen view of the opening nexus, no one's stupid enough to come all the way out here... Must be a smuggler coming in, ready outer communications"
"On it sir"
"Formation in progress"
The turtle formation was simple enough, the four battleships stand point around the smaller science vessels, the Chamber vessel in the middle of the formation. Alafhast was at the head, followed closely by Malust, Dictorian remained back, in the same as the Captains own battleship, Longblade. All went silent, the soft hum of the main engines, thrusting along, no words, no mere chatter. The captain remained leaning against the railing, watching the screen for updates, he had a full view of all the ships in formation besides the Dictorian, which was a little further from his eastern side.
"Nexus folding, target is coming in..." came one of his pilots voices, "what the..."
"What is it?" The captain asked quickly, his grip tightening on screen,
"Bringing up visual sir!" Two view screens once more came up, showing two visuals of the craft folding in, a stream of blue light falling from its small thrusters all until it speared into existence... Its shape was like a bullet, long sharp and sleek, glowing a blue faded light. Shields flickered from the warp space matter still folding from its boosters, there were no view ports, no signs or signals, no visual of what it was. The Captain stood there, both hands to the railing, sniffing the cold air once and humming slightly in thought,
"This is the Galactic Alliance, you will cool your engines and hold your position, we want full details, written permits and official papers to show why you are in this sector. Identify yourself" he spoke out in the most calmest of voices, his hands on the railing remaining still.
There was no answer.
The raptor's tail waved once, his body hunching slightly, "Identify yourself, or you will be targeted"
"Sir! The ship is still moving at a second warp speed, it's moving straight for the Alafhast, but I have no readings of life-forms, no reading of charging weaponry... I have nothing sir... This ship-" The pilot turned his head back towards him, "-it's like nothing I've ever seen before"
"Alafhast... Get ready for my signal... Be ready to fire" Captain Rykov ordered, still keeping his most unnatural cool,
"Sir! It blinked!"
"What?!"
"I's jumped! Jumped mid-space! The target is running straight for Alafhast!"
"Alafhast! Open fire! Take down the target!" called out the Captain,
"Doing so-" there was a dark shudder across the communications. The target snapping into the side armor of the battleship. The captain looked up, his mouth shut tight as he watched a blast of blue light slip out of the side of the ship, Alafhast. The communications shut off for a moment as they worked on it,
"Alafhast, status. Damage report!" The captain growled...
"Minor damages to the secondary barracks, fighter ship bays are out of power, but we are weeding all power from secondary shields to keep the life support systems back online, minor damages, I repeat, minor damages!" the voice crackled however,
"I want a team to recover what remains of-"
"Wait a moment" the officer of the Alafhast spoke out in concern, "We are reading hostiles! I repeat! Hostiles in the hanger bays!"
"I want visual Captain!" Rykov growled,
"We're losing secondary hanger bays! Shit! Signal increase, they are spreading! How... they-" the link cut for a moment, the signal beginning to go bad, "-it! Blue team report! ... Green!... Signal Spreading! Get me Lead Scout Haku!" The communication flickered to an all out open, voices in the background opening into existence, "Sir! We are picking up a large amount of hostiles moving up the main ventilation ducts!" came another voice... but there was a pause, the Captain's grip was tight, watching as the ship moved slightly, thrusting forward, one side opening up in a massive explosion of blue flame and debris!
"Alafhast is taking damage Sir! Fighter pilots scramble, all Fighter Pilots scramble!" came the voice over the Longsword's main communication.
"- thousands! Oh god! Sir! They are coming out of the fucking walls! Open fire! OPEN FIRE!" screamed the captain of the Alafhast, plasma fire snapping out in the background, "Abandon ship! Open escape pods! Repeat-" his voice was cut off however, though the link remained open. Rykov growled darkly as the bridge was filled with the deep hollers of the other captain being attacked and torn apart, his last screams being silences as if his head were crushed.
"Reading escape pods ejecting, ejecting sir!"
"Track those pods dammit!" the captain roared, "Where the hell are my fighters! We need to contain this attack! NOW!"
"Fighter pilots are on rou... Sir! I have reports of a number of escape pods moving straight for the side armor of the Malust!"
"What!?"
"They are forwarding thrusters, moving in a dead line for the Malust!" Came his second pilot,
"Fuck!" He growled, pointing his hand out towards the burning ship, and pods escaping from it, "Open fire on all escape pods, Malust! Dictorian! Open fire on Alafhast!"
"Sir! There are still lifeforms aboard the Alafhast!"
"Charge the Vector Cannon! All fighters, take down all escape pods! TAKE them DOWN!" he growled,
"We're hit!" came an open link from the Malust, "Side port damaged! Wait..." there was a pause, "Dammit... how are they spreading so fast! Rykov! we have lost all engines!"
"Sir! Alafhast is charging main Vector Cannons! They are locking onto us!"
"Fire Cannon! Take them out now!" Rykov growled,
"But sir!" the pilot looked back up to the Captain, "They are still alive!"
Rykov folded his arms over his chest, "AI 5, override Vector operations to me, Target front assault and Bridge of the Alafhast, dismiss all friendly fire altercations, Override Authorization, 675325"
"Cannon Firing"
The front bay suddenly lit up like nothing else, the ship seemed to move backwards as if pushed through, a beam of pure white light snapped across open space, sweeping over the nestled science vessels and straight into the charging weapons of the Alafhast! Its frontal armor snapped open in one nasty explosion, blue light spreading out as the white faded, the ship seemed to explode from the inside, the armor being sucked in first before shuddering outward in one mighty explosion...
"AI... Target the Malust!"
---
To Be Continued.
"System lock, outlaying thrusters are falling to standby Captain" came a soft cracking voice over an open communication network. A gloved hand gently pressed down to a small node to the side of his thick metal chair, his finger activating the return link,
"Good work Pilot, Report all fleet status, and status of Chamber Vessel 391" the captain replied, his voice almost a whisper. He flicked his tongue, leaning his head back against the comforter. The creature slowly leant both arms up and rested his chin between his knuckles, looking down and into the main bridge area. He wore a simple suit, blue one side, black the other, armor panels up on the sides of his shoulder blades and reaching down with a shield insignia on the center of his right shoulder. His chest bore the same insignia, though it had at least three gold stripes under it, hanging cloth, medals. The creature himself leant in a hunch, the only part of his body showing was his black and white painted face, a long raptor snout. His sharp fangs glimmering as he sniffed in a cold breath of air. Long barbs ran down the back of his head and the back of his neck, one with a small red cloth hanging from it, a single white skull painted to its end. His sunken eyes were mere black and white, gleaming forward with no smile, no frown.
The reply of the female came across the link, this time the voice crackled less, a firmer location set for the communication beacon, "Reading the Alafhast, Operational, Dictorian, Operational and Malust, Operational. Science vessels, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are clear. All Fighters are at their stations, Communication hub is in orbit. Chamber Vessel 391 is reading in the clear... we have a successful warp flux Captain"
"Open a communication to the planets surface, attention to General Rykuu, Alliance coded, the package has arrived" the Captain exclaimed, his gloved hands still pressed under his chin, as if waiting for something. He peered outwards slightly, hearing the compliant agreement of the communications link before he shut it off and slowly stood up, leaning across and taking a step. He pressed his hands to the railing guard that moved around his high seat, looking down to the three cockpits below, three other raptor's fast at work, though each had ocular implants, metal rings and goggle nodes fastened to their eyes. He gripped the railing slightly,
"Activate frontal view" he spoke out, pointing towards the front of the main cockpit,
"Yes sir" one replied.
With a flicker of the walls, the battleship cockpit completely vanished, all but the shimmer of lines on the walls it seemed not their anymore. The computer systems and control nodes the three pilots remained at flickered as if transparent. They continued their work, as if floating in mid air... above the stars in orbit.
The captain held onto the railing slightly, looking down over the white planet before him, watching as the clouds shaped and moved, there was a constant cry of thunder storms and blizzards. The perfect place to set up an outlaying Alliance network base, between the vacant worlds, in the middle of where the most illegal smugglers moved along trade routes. The alliance indeed were holders of peace and prosperity in the known galaxy... but they were not here for that. The captain sniffed the air, closing his eyes, his bare talons on each foot tapped into the ground, his tail completely still,
"Is something the matter Sir?" Came a soft more digital voice, a flickering figure of a human appearing to his side, its form the color of bare red, no features, only streams of raw data.
The Captain closed his eyes, lowering his head lightly, tapping his fingers across the railing, a soft growl emitting from his throat, "Mm... There is something moving across the stars" he muttered, his eyes still closed,
"Our scanners are picking up no vial lifeforms, no energy readings in our sector. Reporting no slide spots of Nexus openings in our sector. Reporting no charging of weapons on this side of the planets surface" came the soft female voice, but it seemed more artificial then anything truly superior. But her voice did nothing, the captain looked away, glancing up as finally one of the battleships came into sight, Malust slowly thrusted forward, its main smooth hull coming into view. To their sights the ship was huger, a long sleek and white form, folded steel, build for speed and shield protection. All turret and mounted weaponry lay ready on the sides, one main vector cannon on the very front of the hull, like all the other Alliance battleships.
The smaller science vessels were merely oval shaped titanium cases, no weapons, simply shields and hull, one blinking communication node protruding out the back of it. The Chamber vessel however was double the size of one science ship, its shape much the same, but more stretched out, some parts coming out in small compartments. Their fleet was mostly stationary around the orbit, remaining quiet and still, their shade technology online so nothing would read them on their simple radar... more sophisticated however would cause a problem.
The captain huffed, turning his head and slowly stepping back towards his chair, "Communications?" he spoke up,
"Sir" came the communications link once more, "... We are reading General Rykuu Sync signals... but" the voice was somewhat distraught, as if unsure,
"What is it?" the Captain questioned,
"Well... I'll patch you through, see for yourself" the voice replied, a view screen suddenly appearing in large above the invisible front bridge. Another Raptor appeared, his head thicker, his eyes a dark and gloomy red, though there was metal, wires and links leading up the side of his mouth, one eye bleeding slightly,
"- you set foot in the path of the shadow, they will find you. Step too close to the power they seek and they will hunt you. Heed my warning Alliance, for they are already here..." the dark metallic flicker of his voice seemed more like a drone then anything else, as if something were speaking for him,
"Is this two way?" The Captain asked,
"It is now Sir"
"This is Captain Usarian Rykov of the Alliance battleship Longblade, Captain of the Second Fleet. We came here on orders by the Alliance Empress herself, are you hurt? Do you need assistance General Rykuu?" the Captain said without a pause.
The General slumped his head forward, his lips raising in a growl in detest. Something flickered over the screen quickly, a shadow almost. With a sudden burst of voice, the General yelled out to them as if they were at a distance, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" he screamed, his spines bearing upwards, "Warp out Captain! Take the Rebor-" the screen shut off, only static,
"Reply, rewind, twenty five seconds in, freeze and enhance" the Captain spoke out to the flickering AI, almost too coolly. The screen flickered once, rewinding the message back and stopping just as the General rose his head up, "Freeze" Captain Rykov spoke, the screen suddenly stopping just as the shadow appeared, freezing on the spot.
...
The shadow was a face, jagged mouth open, open eyes, nothing more then a shadow of a ghoul of the sort. The captain rose a hand to his chin once more, his spines flicking slightly as he stretched his neck, "AI fault?" he questioned... but there was no answer, "5?" he turned,
"It reads as something else" the AI replied, almost as if hesitantly,
"Identify it" Usarian asked, though his words were caught out as one of his own ships pilots called out,
"Sir, I'm picking up a Nexus warp opening not to far from the side of Alafhast... coming in fast" he called out, "I'm opening a link onto them now"
The captain sat back in his chair, pressing his hands to the side of his seat and pressing the communications node once more, "Alafhast are you reading the signal?"
"We are Captain Rykov, it should be appearing in a matter of moments, charge weapons?" the voice replied coolly, as if not expecting much,
"Charge side mounts, open links to the other ships in the fleet to form the turtle formation, hold fire for my orders" He spoke out, standing up and moving to the railing once more, not even waiting for a reply, "I want a full screen view of the opening nexus, no one's stupid enough to come all the way out here... Must be a smuggler coming in, ready outer communications"
"On it sir"
"Formation in progress"
The turtle formation was simple enough, the four battleships stand point around the smaller science vessels, the Chamber vessel in the middle of the formation. Alafhast was at the head, followed closely by Malust, Dictorian remained back, in the same as the Captains own battleship, Longblade. All went silent, the soft hum of the main engines, thrusting along, no words, no mere chatter. The captain remained leaning against the railing, watching the screen for updates, he had a full view of all the ships in formation besides the Dictorian, which was a little further from his eastern side.
"Nexus folding, target is coming in..." came one of his pilots voices, "what the..."
"What is it?" The captain asked quickly, his grip tightening on screen,
"Bringing up visual sir!" Two view screens once more came up, showing two visuals of the craft folding in, a stream of blue light falling from its small thrusters all until it speared into existence... Its shape was like a bullet, long sharp and sleek, glowing a blue faded light. Shields flickered from the warp space matter still folding from its boosters, there were no view ports, no signs or signals, no visual of what it was. The Captain stood there, both hands to the railing, sniffing the cold air once and humming slightly in thought,
"This is the Galactic Alliance, you will cool your engines and hold your position, we want full details, written permits and official papers to show why you are in this sector. Identify yourself" he spoke out in the most calmest of voices, his hands on the railing remaining still.
There was no answer.
The raptor's tail waved once, his body hunching slightly, "Identify yourself, or you will be targeted"
"Sir! The ship is still moving at a second warp speed, it's moving straight for the Alafhast, but I have no readings of life-forms, no reading of charging weaponry... I have nothing sir... This ship-" The pilot turned his head back towards him, "-it's like nothing I've ever seen before"
"Alafhast... Get ready for my signal... Be ready to fire" Captain Rykov ordered, still keeping his most unnatural cool,
"Sir! It blinked!"
"What?!"
"I's jumped! Jumped mid-space! The target is running straight for Alafhast!"
"Alafhast! Open fire! Take down the target!" called out the Captain,
"Doing so-" there was a dark shudder across the communications. The target snapping into the side armor of the battleship. The captain looked up, his mouth shut tight as he watched a blast of blue light slip out of the side of the ship, Alafhast. The communications shut off for a moment as they worked on it,
"Alafhast, status. Damage report!" The captain growled...
"Minor damages to the secondary barracks, fighter ship bays are out of power, but we are weeding all power from secondary shields to keep the life support systems back online, minor damages, I repeat, minor damages!" the voice crackled however,
"I want a team to recover what remains of-"
"Wait a moment" the officer of the Alafhast spoke out in concern, "We are reading hostiles! I repeat! Hostiles in the hanger bays!"
"I want visual Captain!" Rykov growled,
"We're losing secondary hanger bays! Shit! Signal increase, they are spreading! How... they-" the link cut for a moment, the signal beginning to go bad, "-it! Blue team report! ... Green!... Signal Spreading! Get me Lead Scout Haku!" The communication flickered to an all out open, voices in the background opening into existence, "Sir! We are picking up a large amount of hostiles moving up the main ventilation ducts!" came another voice... but there was a pause, the Captain's grip was tight, watching as the ship moved slightly, thrusting forward, one side opening up in a massive explosion of blue flame and debris!
"Alafhast is taking damage Sir! Fighter pilots scramble, all Fighter Pilots scramble!" came the voice over the Longsword's main communication.
"- thousands! Oh god! Sir! They are coming out of the fucking walls! Open fire! OPEN FIRE!" screamed the captain of the Alafhast, plasma fire snapping out in the background, "Abandon ship! Open escape pods! Repeat-" his voice was cut off however, though the link remained open. Rykov growled darkly as the bridge was filled with the deep hollers of the other captain being attacked and torn apart, his last screams being silences as if his head were crushed.
"Reading escape pods ejecting, ejecting sir!"
"Track those pods dammit!" the captain roared, "Where the hell are my fighters! We need to contain this attack! NOW!"
"Fighter pilots are on rou... Sir! I have reports of a number of escape pods moving straight for the side armor of the Malust!"
"What!?"
"They are forwarding thrusters, moving in a dead line for the Malust!" Came his second pilot,
"Fuck!" He growled, pointing his hand out towards the burning ship, and pods escaping from it, "Open fire on all escape pods, Malust! Dictorian! Open fire on Alafhast!"
"Sir! There are still lifeforms aboard the Alafhast!"
"Charge the Vector Cannon! All fighters, take down all escape pods! TAKE them DOWN!" he growled,
"We're hit!" came an open link from the Malust, "Side port damaged! Wait..." there was a pause, "Dammit... how are they spreading so fast! Rykov! we have lost all engines!"
"Sir! Alafhast is charging main Vector Cannons! They are locking onto us!"
"Fire Cannon! Take them out now!" Rykov growled,
"But sir!" the pilot looked back up to the Captain, "They are still alive!"
Rykov folded his arms over his chest, "AI 5, override Vector operations to me, Target front assault and Bridge of the Alafhast, dismiss all friendly fire altercations, Override Authorization, 675325"
"Cannon Firing"
The front bay suddenly lit up like nothing else, the ship seemed to move backwards as if pushed through, a beam of pure white light snapped across open space, sweeping over the nestled science vessels and straight into the charging weapons of the Alafhast! Its frontal armor snapped open in one nasty explosion, blue light spreading out as the white faded, the ship seemed to explode from the inside, the armor being sucked in first before shuddering outward in one mighty explosion...
"AI... Target the Malust!"
---
To Be Continued.
~
Present time.
Sirens filled the cold dead air of the wastes...
On and off they burned into his senses, his eyes flashing wide and open as a gust of wind blasted over head. The ship flew right over him, the heat from its engines forming down over his body and melting the snow ever so slightly. His hand opened slightly, reaching with all his might he could finally take a tight grip of the metal he was aiming for. His metal fingers clenched the side of the broken ship tightly, his fingers closing around it and pulling at the rest of his body. The weight of his legs and form could easily be felt, but there was a certain strength he could feel deep within him, something that aided him, giving him the ability to pull himself out of the snow without all too much trouble.
But the thoughts of his weight and strength easily passed as his sights caught a glimpse of the ship once more, its sirens increasing, all red orbs trained on his position.
He wasn't about to let his freedom, whatever it was worth to him, go to waste by letting this 'thing' end his life with a mere flicker of a missile. It was not going to happen! He threw his arms up, catching grip of the side of the ship and pulled himself up further, feeling the dead weight of his tail waving behind him, dangling slightly. An unknown sound formed from his lips, a hum? No. A growl! He could growl? The strain of pulling up so much metal matter was enough to make anyone growl, but small things like that seemed to pull his mind elsewhere... but he wasn't about to let his thoughts of this new world, this new life take him apart... there had to be some sort of purpose to him being here, a reason for his arrival and a reason why this ship seemed so interested in him.
The craft turned back now at full, its shape hovering above the snow behind the larger crashed ruin, its engines humming softly. Scanners picked up on his signal easily, its three red eyes watching as he gripped upwards, finally pulling himself onto a stationary flat panel.
Reborn slowly stood up, stumbling slightly and forced to kneel down. Metal met metal, a screech following as he ground his knee across the panel, his eyes glancing upwards to find himself staring dead on into the three red orbs. The craft hovered dangerously close to him, its eyes flickering slightly as if it were examining him, looking over his form. The ship moved up and down slightly, its engines burning away the ice and snow under it. He couldn't see a way in, no doors or even windows... its sleek near mirror-like armor was impossible to understand. Reborn huffed out a cold breath of air, smoke escaping his lips, snow falling around him gently. He finally dropped back out of fright, leaning back on his tail as the thing closed in slightly, its eyes opening a little larger, scanning him over...
---
[Alliance battleship Longblade]
[Planet Kokoj, Atmosphere]
"Reading Chamber Vessel 391---- Damage extensive----- require immediate assistance----- Local scavengers are being located on all sectors in proximity of Chamber Vessel 391----- repeating 'Require immediate assistance----- Subject 'Reborn'----- status unknown" the soft voice of the computer AI repeated over and over,
"Set location and lock it into Landing Mech 381-"
"Landing Mech 381 is being prepped for activation, User code-3585855, Docking Bay Engineer, Sneed Laywards. Launch in ten minutes and counting"
"What?!" growled the captain, his hand against the cold wall of the hallway he was passing through. His other gripped his side, blood leaking out between his hands slightly, there was a scorch across his chest, and two cuts along the brow of his right eye. The spines on the back of his head twitched lightly as he looked across to the floating orb to his side, "Cancel Activation... Captain has first priority-" his words were cut off by a sudden shudder filling the halls, something snapping off from the large battleship it felt like... accompanied by a rattling explosion thundering in the deep distance of space,
"Engineer Master pass has overridden all Cancellations of escaping persons... All priority has been equaled out in the quality of the Alliance laws... Equal-"
The sound of a fist hitting the wall came into the hall, echoing down... The captain didn't waste any time at all, speeding off down the hall, the floating metal orb following on without question. He turned the corner, jumping over a fallen body without any remorse, his claws clicking with each step he took. He had a purpose, and that was not to be left for dead in a fallen ship, not to be left for the slaughter, if any one was to escape in these last hours, it would be him! His eyes were filled with a nothingness, even with his huff of anger, there was nothing to show of his feelings but the pace he moved at down the hall.
Each part he ran down, each door he passed showed clear signs that battle had taken place, whether it be close combat or not. Scorch, laser and blood marks covered many corners, but the number of bodies that lay across the ground was more then enough to make anyone sick... but not Captain Rykov. At many points he stepped upon the bodies, his claws cracking through their back without a problem... he had no time to wade through the dead.
He reached the side panel doorway that led into the smaller docking bays, loading mechs, some escape pods and small transport crafts were usually packed into here. They usually needed time to prep for take off considering how deep the bay was planted within the battleship. It was closer to the center of the craft and one needed access through the main launching bays and through the secondary weapons to make any sort of escape... only the higher ranked pilots and so were admitted entry into the bay. But not considering the Alliance Equality escape code was active, anyone could get through this door, civilians and all. But this wasn't something the Captain was a great fan of... whoever made the equality law should be shot down, in his opinion that was.
His hand brushed the access panel, the door sliding across and revealing a mess of a bay... Docking mechs lay sprawled and broken, the odd few bodies laying across the ground. There were no larger transports left, leaving just one Mech in action.
The mech that stood in the distance, tied to the wall with loading arms, it was a sight to see. Standing tall to the size of three good sized men, its long arms built for holding and bending any sort of material, lifting and moving heavy items. They had a small weapon system attached to the right shoulder, known as a Phazer cannon, it could be tuned to melt and weld items but also into a weapon system that could break through many armored alloys. Its left shoulder was an armorment, a large shoulder guard. The pilot was seated into the chest cavity, their legs fitting into leg mounts and arms in the same. Its appearance was very alien like, legs backwards slightly with long gripping talons. Both hands were free, thick metal fingers. Its head was simply a dead black orb with a red focusing eye... The systems within were all controlled by viewing monitors, but if the eye would come under any damage, the front guard could be ejected off for full eye view of anything in front.
The captain pressed his hand on the door, looking out and eying the mech, its two shoulder lights flashing as if prepping for launch. That was the mech he was clearly after.
He took no time into getting to it, leaping up on the front eye and pressing a foot down. The top loading pod door turned, the lock sounding. He pressed his hand down and gripped the handle, pulling it open before the pilot inside could open it. He crouched slightly, the metal orb floating above his shoulder slightly. There within the pod was a creature all the similar to the captain himself, his black and white eyes flicking up, his hands to the side,
"C-Captain Rykov?" the engineer muttered, "Uh... I"
"I am ordering you under the act of Alliance Law 128, that you cease and desist. You will hand over this mech for the good of the Alliance" the Captains words were cold and quick, he had no patience for Sneed,
"But Sir, the ship is going down... I-" he gulped, "The message was that Equality is in place... I-"
"You got here first? Is that what you are saying?" there was a hint of anger in his voice this time, his tail waving slightly behind him, the spines on the back of his neck sticking up.
The engineer seated comfortably squirmed slightly at the words, looking to the side slightly and gulping once more, a sweat drop falling down his scales gently, "Y-yes Sir... There are other ships in the main docking bays... If you run you could..."
"Of course... My mistake" Rykov's voice drifted, his claws tightening around the entrance into the mech. He slowly stood up, looking down into the small tight cockpit, nodding his head, "Forgive me Engineer Laywards... go on with your business and good luck in the world beyond"
"huh?"
The flash came before the bang...
A splash of blood spattered across the chest of the captain, Sneed's head slumping forward, blood dribbling from the bullet hole in his skull. Rykov reached in, his claws pulling at the secure straps and unbuckling the raptor with ease. He pulled under his arms and slithered him out, letting his corpse drop from the mech and fall with a bone chattering noise... a pool of blood forming under him. The captain pulled his pistol back and holstered it back within its place on his side belt,
"That was in direct conflict with the Alliance-" the computer began to chime in automatically,
"Shut up" Rykov growled as he slowly slid into the cockpit himself, feeling the warm blood against his back. He cracked his neck, the flashing lights of the mech turning off with a clicking sound,
"Murder within the Alliance code is in direct conflict with the Alliance law, punishable by death" the floating orb slipped into the cockpit just as he pulled the door down, bathing himself in the darkness of the enclosed space. His legs slithered nice and snug within their place, his arms slipping across as he strapped himself in nice and tight, still feeling the warmth of the seat as if someone had been sitting in it moments before... but to him, 'no one' had been sitting there.
He gave no answer to the orb's words, but instead spoke orders,
"Lock in the Chamber Vessel 391. Location lock and connect with the Autopilot docking... prep for Atmosphere burn and landing, Prep for displacement locking and shield. I want a lock on Reborn's location chip as soon as we get in range..." The view screen flickered across his features, revealing the docking bay, "Got it?"
"Complied"
To be Continued.
Sirens filled the cold dead air of the wastes...
On and off they burned into his senses, his eyes flashing wide and open as a gust of wind blasted over head. The ship flew right over him, the heat from its engines forming down over his body and melting the snow ever so slightly. His hand opened slightly, reaching with all his might he could finally take a tight grip of the metal he was aiming for. His metal fingers clenched the side of the broken ship tightly, his fingers closing around it and pulling at the rest of his body. The weight of his legs and form could easily be felt, but there was a certain strength he could feel deep within him, something that aided him, giving him the ability to pull himself out of the snow without all too much trouble.
But the thoughts of his weight and strength easily passed as his sights caught a glimpse of the ship once more, its sirens increasing, all red orbs trained on his position.
He wasn't about to let his freedom, whatever it was worth to him, go to waste by letting this 'thing' end his life with a mere flicker of a missile. It was not going to happen! He threw his arms up, catching grip of the side of the ship and pulled himself up further, feeling the dead weight of his tail waving behind him, dangling slightly. An unknown sound formed from his lips, a hum? No. A growl! He could growl? The strain of pulling up so much metal matter was enough to make anyone growl, but small things like that seemed to pull his mind elsewhere... but he wasn't about to let his thoughts of this new world, this new life take him apart... there had to be some sort of purpose to him being here, a reason for his arrival and a reason why this ship seemed so interested in him.
The craft turned back now at full, its shape hovering above the snow behind the larger crashed ruin, its engines humming softly. Scanners picked up on his signal easily, its three red eyes watching as he gripped upwards, finally pulling himself onto a stationary flat panel.
Reborn slowly stood up, stumbling slightly and forced to kneel down. Metal met metal, a screech following as he ground his knee across the panel, his eyes glancing upwards to find himself staring dead on into the three red orbs. The craft hovered dangerously close to him, its eyes flickering slightly as if it were examining him, looking over his form. The ship moved up and down slightly, its engines burning away the ice and snow under it. He couldn't see a way in, no doors or even windows... its sleek near mirror-like armor was impossible to understand. Reborn huffed out a cold breath of air, smoke escaping his lips, snow falling around him gently. He finally dropped back out of fright, leaning back on his tail as the thing closed in slightly, its eyes opening a little larger, scanning him over...
---
[Alliance battleship Longblade]
[Planet Kokoj, Atmosphere]
"Reading Chamber Vessel 391---- Damage extensive----- require immediate assistance----- Local scavengers are being located on all sectors in proximity of Chamber Vessel 391----- repeating 'Require immediate assistance----- Subject 'Reborn'----- status unknown" the soft voice of the computer AI repeated over and over,
"Set location and lock it into Landing Mech 381-"
"Landing Mech 381 is being prepped for activation, User code-3585855, Docking Bay Engineer, Sneed Laywards. Launch in ten minutes and counting"
"What?!" growled the captain, his hand against the cold wall of the hallway he was passing through. His other gripped his side, blood leaking out between his hands slightly, there was a scorch across his chest, and two cuts along the brow of his right eye. The spines on the back of his head twitched lightly as he looked across to the floating orb to his side, "Cancel Activation... Captain has first priority-" his words were cut off by a sudden shudder filling the halls, something snapping off from the large battleship it felt like... accompanied by a rattling explosion thundering in the deep distance of space,
"Engineer Master pass has overridden all Cancellations of escaping persons... All priority has been equaled out in the quality of the Alliance laws... Equal-"
The sound of a fist hitting the wall came into the hall, echoing down... The captain didn't waste any time at all, speeding off down the hall, the floating metal orb following on without question. He turned the corner, jumping over a fallen body without any remorse, his claws clicking with each step he took. He had a purpose, and that was not to be left for dead in a fallen ship, not to be left for the slaughter, if any one was to escape in these last hours, it would be him! His eyes were filled with a nothingness, even with his huff of anger, there was nothing to show of his feelings but the pace he moved at down the hall.
Each part he ran down, each door he passed showed clear signs that battle had taken place, whether it be close combat or not. Scorch, laser and blood marks covered many corners, but the number of bodies that lay across the ground was more then enough to make anyone sick... but not Captain Rykov. At many points he stepped upon the bodies, his claws cracking through their back without a problem... he had no time to wade through the dead.
He reached the side panel doorway that led into the smaller docking bays, loading mechs, some escape pods and small transport crafts were usually packed into here. They usually needed time to prep for take off considering how deep the bay was planted within the battleship. It was closer to the center of the craft and one needed access through the main launching bays and through the secondary weapons to make any sort of escape... only the higher ranked pilots and so were admitted entry into the bay. But not considering the Alliance Equality escape code was active, anyone could get through this door, civilians and all. But this wasn't something the Captain was a great fan of... whoever made the equality law should be shot down, in his opinion that was.
His hand brushed the access panel, the door sliding across and revealing a mess of a bay... Docking mechs lay sprawled and broken, the odd few bodies laying across the ground. There were no larger transports left, leaving just one Mech in action.
The mech that stood in the distance, tied to the wall with loading arms, it was a sight to see. Standing tall to the size of three good sized men, its long arms built for holding and bending any sort of material, lifting and moving heavy items. They had a small weapon system attached to the right shoulder, known as a Phazer cannon, it could be tuned to melt and weld items but also into a weapon system that could break through many armored alloys. Its left shoulder was an armorment, a large shoulder guard. The pilot was seated into the chest cavity, their legs fitting into leg mounts and arms in the same. Its appearance was very alien like, legs backwards slightly with long gripping talons. Both hands were free, thick metal fingers. Its head was simply a dead black orb with a red focusing eye... The systems within were all controlled by viewing monitors, but if the eye would come under any damage, the front guard could be ejected off for full eye view of anything in front.
The captain pressed his hand on the door, looking out and eying the mech, its two shoulder lights flashing as if prepping for launch. That was the mech he was clearly after.
He took no time into getting to it, leaping up on the front eye and pressing a foot down. The top loading pod door turned, the lock sounding. He pressed his hand down and gripped the handle, pulling it open before the pilot inside could open it. He crouched slightly, the metal orb floating above his shoulder slightly. There within the pod was a creature all the similar to the captain himself, his black and white eyes flicking up, his hands to the side,
"C-Captain Rykov?" the engineer muttered, "Uh... I"
"I am ordering you under the act of Alliance Law 128, that you cease and desist. You will hand over this mech for the good of the Alliance" the Captains words were cold and quick, he had no patience for Sneed,
"But Sir, the ship is going down... I-" he gulped, "The message was that Equality is in place... I-"
"You got here first? Is that what you are saying?" there was a hint of anger in his voice this time, his tail waving slightly behind him, the spines on the back of his neck sticking up.
The engineer seated comfortably squirmed slightly at the words, looking to the side slightly and gulping once more, a sweat drop falling down his scales gently, "Y-yes Sir... There are other ships in the main docking bays... If you run you could..."
"Of course... My mistake" Rykov's voice drifted, his claws tightening around the entrance into the mech. He slowly stood up, looking down into the small tight cockpit, nodding his head, "Forgive me Engineer Laywards... go on with your business and good luck in the world beyond"
"huh?"
The flash came before the bang...
A splash of blood spattered across the chest of the captain, Sneed's head slumping forward, blood dribbling from the bullet hole in his skull. Rykov reached in, his claws pulling at the secure straps and unbuckling the raptor with ease. He pulled under his arms and slithered him out, letting his corpse drop from the mech and fall with a bone chattering noise... a pool of blood forming under him. The captain pulled his pistol back and holstered it back within its place on his side belt,
"That was in direct conflict with the Alliance-" the computer began to chime in automatically,
"Shut up" Rykov growled as he slowly slid into the cockpit himself, feeling the warm blood against his back. He cracked his neck, the flashing lights of the mech turning off with a clicking sound,
"Murder within the Alliance code is in direct conflict with the Alliance law, punishable by death" the floating orb slipped into the cockpit just as he pulled the door down, bathing himself in the darkness of the enclosed space. His legs slithered nice and snug within their place, his arms slipping across as he strapped himself in nice and tight, still feeling the warmth of the seat as if someone had been sitting in it moments before... but to him, 'no one' had been sitting there.
He gave no answer to the orb's words, but instead spoke orders,
"Lock in the Chamber Vessel 391. Location lock and connect with the Autopilot docking... prep for Atmosphere burn and landing, Prep for displacement locking and shield. I want a lock on Reborn's location chip as soon as we get in range..." The view screen flickered across his features, revealing the docking bay, "Got it?"
"Complied"
To be Continued.
"Target lock"
"Shrouding relay of destruction zone, radar feed altered"
The voice was that of a females, slipping into the cold snow without the trouble of even wind altering its sound. The silver sleek form of the craft hovered dangerously close to the edge of the broken rubble that remained. Reborn still lay, vacant of any such thought of a plan... perhaps this was what was supposed to happen? what if the ones that had held him within that cell, within the ship sprawled like a mess across the landscape, what if they were the bad guys? And the craft before him were the people wishing his safety? What if this was some sort of accident, they were rescuing him!
The thoughts of rescue were soon cut from his mind, something extruding from the side of the craft came into sight, a mechanical arm a mix with wires, cables and other such mechanics to hold it out in place. Its shape was covered with an assortment of armored plates, the same silver shield color the craft itself had upon its hull.
The mechanical arm snapped forward violently, cutting through the cold air and wind and wrapping its shape around his throat. Its grip tightening. His reaction was just as swift, with his back against the cold metal ground, his tail curled behind him... all he could do was throw his arms up, wrapping both metal hands around the things shape, holding tight and attempting to pull its grip from him. The metal nodes on the side of the arm spun, its grip tightening all the more with the spinning of its cogs. There was no voice now, only the blinking red light on the front of the smooth ship. He coughed slightly, sputtering words that felt so cold to speak,
"Let... go... of me!" he growled almost... his voice finally being able to slip into the freezing winter's snow. It was the first time... the first time he could remember, hearing his own voice. It was odd, hearing such a thing for the moment, sounding as if it were another one speaking, unfamiliar with ones own voice, "Please!" he clawed at the metal, but nothing was said in return.
Instead of letting him go, two more arms came free, revealing themselves, no slithers on the ships hull could be seen, no sign of where another arm might come from... they were just there. Reborn flinched as one slipped forward, curling behind and prodding at the back of his neck, where one of the longer cords had been pulled from him. His skin suddenly flushed a freezing cold touch as it prodded, squirming in its grip. He threw one of his legs up, kicking only but armor to no avail. Finally after its prodding, the first and thicker arm pulled him up, trying to lift him up from the metal ground. Its grip moving around his throat, not preventing him from breathing in, but giving him a hard time to at that. Reborn scratched his metal claws along its shape, his feet lifting up from the chilled metal, his tail following close. He choked out once more, "Let go!" his words were a little more forced this time... a flicker of white flashed within one of his eyes, something moving inside.
His gold tinted hand tightened further, the winding sound of cogs moving. He pushed upwards, bending the wrist of the arm holding onto his neck, a groan of metal bending metal suddenly coming from the arm. He rose his lips slightly, emitting a short and unknown growl, something he himself knew not of... Something had changed.
Wires popped as he pulled the arm down, feeling its metal claws scraping across his flesh, cutting against him slightly, but he didn't stop. With a short growl once more he pulled tighter, his thicker and larger metal hand reaching across, taking hold of the upper part of the arm. His large and bulky fingers pushing against the metal, bending its shape, watching as sparks spewed up from its shape and across the side of his features. One eye closed slightly, blinking as sparks brushed across him...
But before he could pull the hand from his neck, something intervened...
A blast of pure yellow light speared down from the sky and straight into the top hull of the craft. It spewed out from the underside and blasted into the pure snow below, wires and sparks bellowing out from the ships under body. Its engines faltered in their hum, fire flickering across the top of the hull... the red orb eye even moved, slipping up its shape and staring up into the sky. The claws that came close to Reborn pulled back, slipping across and folding against its hull... leaving the bent and broken arm around his neck, its grip still tight and binding.
Reborn's eyes flicked upwards, his nose reaching for the air as something else burst through the clouds... a Figure in the sky appeared, blocking out the faded light. Its metallic form shining as it dropped through the smoke and clouds, cold air brushing across its body. A thick blast of red light snapped out from its frontal boosters, its legs dropping before landing sharply upon the hull of the hovering ship. It turned its arms across, the large shoulder mounted cannon flicking back, smoke pouring up from its nozzle as if it was the thing that had just fired into the ship. The mech leant in close, reaching both thick arms down to the hole it had made, stretching the metal and glass like surface. A crack of metal followed, its hands pulling and tearing at the hole in the machine.
The arm holding Reborn moved slightly, jerking as if something was messing with it. Suddenly the craft moved upwards, lifting from the melting snow and moving across the ground slightly.
Three more arms slipped up, unfolding from the ships shape, turning and moving into its form once more, bending and changing. The mech seated atop its body lifted up slightly, smoke and burning fumes appearing around every inch of the mechanoid's body. It stretched across, leaping from the crafts hull, its metal talons crashing into the metal surface that Reborn had been standing upon only moments before... The craft moved and churned, sparks leaking out of its wound like blood, its claw and arm still holding Reborn with a deathly grip... the strength he had just used seemed to slip away from him, his attention drawn more so now to the new arrival. Were they enemies?
Without much more of a thought, the craft began to move upwards, its lower engines churning harder as the rubble below him slowly began to take much distance. The claw around his throat still held a tight grip, his eyes wide with fear as it blasted through a number of clouds and wind walls. What was it doing? Or more importantly, where was it going?
Those thoughts made him panic, his eyes wide now with fear, his arms flailing against the arm that held him tightly... Smoke poured from the open wound on the ships hull and lower section, but it didn't seem to matter it much as it pushed further and further up. Reborn shook his head, taking large gulps of air, thinking perhaps this was it. Awoken for a manner of hours, only to be sucked out into vacuumed space, to freeze, explode and die with not a sound. But the sound that came was that of the craft exiting the atmosphere, the dead cold reaching his body. But nothing followed on with that feeling, frost skittered up his limps like it would if one was wet in a freezing ice wind... but nothing more... He breathed in a frightened breath, but with his mouth closed, his nostrils couldn't take in the air... but it was there.
His lungs moved, breathing in the warm air within his own body...
Reborn coughed out at the cold, his body convulsing over the freezing cold, the feel of the dead space around him, the feel of nothingness, a lightened feeling around his limbs and body, the craft pulling him out further and further with only a matter of seconds... his body reacting nothing to normal properties... how could he have stood such a movement, such a speed.
The dragon-like creature curled up slightly, breathing in another warm breath of unknown air. But his silent peace did not last long however, once more his eyes caught sight of the mech, fire blasting from its back engines pouring across as it snapped across the cold space, reaching out and taking a hold of the hole he had made within the lower part of the ship, the metal grip tightening and pulling at something within. The head mount turned slightly, a flickering red orb taking sight of Reborn. The engines of the mech shuddered to a stop. The shoulder mount turned and pointed directly towards the arm holding Reborn at its will... within seconds a charged yellow blast snapped into sight, melting through the metal and wires, popping it open with a suction of air following, the arm falling free...
Reborn faltered at first at the weightlessness, his hands flailing forward before grabbing a hold of the severed part of the machine, what was left of the arm. He clenched tightly, wrapping his metal fingers around its shape, his eyes tight, breathing in short breaths, unsure how this breathing in space actually was working, how his body was able to withstand such impossible feats. His sight however flicked onto the mech, opening a mere slither of his eye, watching as its arm held onto the oblivious moving craft. The mech rose up his other hand, clenching its fingers and pointing up into the hole with one finger... He moved his arms out, widening the hole, debris from the broken ship falling into space with ease. Before Reborn could react, the mech pulled itself up and into the widened hole, its metal clawed feet dangling for a moment before pulling up and in, leaving him once more, alone, in space.
It wasn't his curiosity that got the better of him this time, it was plain and simple fear of being left out here... He reached across, taking hold of a long shard of metal protruding out from the damaged silver craft. He pulled himself across, reaching in and finally letting go of the arm that had been holding him for so long now.
The sight of the ship within was something else, cords, cables and more and more cords... there were no solid walls, no metal planks, no ceiling or floor. Reborn took a hold of a bunch of cables pulling his body up into the space, seeing only a short tunnel made from the weapon the mech had used on the thing. With a sudden whip of wind, finally sound reached his ears...
The openings of space were covered, wires pouring out from the side and closing in on the openings, wrapping over the damaged areas and closing in on the space. Reborn fell back, his tail pressing down before all the cords around him flattened and began to shape open an oval shaped compartment. The walls themselves were made of silver and black cables, wires and all sorts of the same. A single light orb floated leisurely a few feet above his head. With a sudden gasp of air, he breathed in a cool blast of air into his lungs, his mouth wide open, "Damn it!" he coughed, leaning across on his side and coughing over and over. He breathed heavily, his eyes closed tight from the pain, the thump of his heart in his throat was hard and harsh,
"Gotta love the Mirronians... Cables, wires, arms and all the technologies of a third race" came a voice, "But no brains, no weapons or emergency systems" a heavy footstep followed the voice, pressing down into the wires as it pushed through the wall and appeared... The mech was small enough to stand within the large room, the top of its shoulder guard just barely brushing the wires above it. There was no sign of who was piloting it, just a glowing light coming from its body, a spotlight placed upon Reborn. His metal hands rose up to block out the blazing light that came upon him,
"Who are you?" Reborn spoke out in a shaky voice, his body trembling now with both fear and coldness,
"Lock in position... where is the closest trade station? How much fuel do we have?" came the voice from within the machine, its body dropping down to its knees, pressing and leaning back slightly. The way he had said it was as if he were talking to someone else, that was clear to him even more as another voice spoke out, female and almost robotic in a sense,
"I have gained complete control over all ships sensors and directional pads... but no Trade stations have been detected within the sector... However, Locking Station Trillion has been detected two warp jumps from this position. This Mirronian craft has the capability of making both jumps, but landing mechanisms have been disabled, landing 'manually' is the only option..." Reborn perked up, his ears moving as he looked across the mech, its body seated to directly face him... the cannon on its shoulder dangerously pointing at him, "Would you like me to book a landing pad in advance?"
"Yes... But keep it low profile, cargo vessel loading mining supplies, maybe we can set up a message with the Alliance from there" the mech pilot spoke back before a hiss of cold air slipped from the edges of the opening door atop its body. The lid slipped open slowly, turning cogs and wires following as two hands pulled up and pressed against the metal edges... The figure that appeared had no smile across his reptilian lips, his eyes quickly flashing upon Reborn as the other voice replied,
"And of the Alliance battleships that remain in orbit?" it spoke, the orb that carried the machine voice hovering up from the opened mech cockpit and looming over the raptor's shoulder,
"Out of commission" he nodded his head, "Mission Objective is loose, planet is not secure, make sure to write that in the log, Cerebra" his eyes took in Reborn, narrowing one before pressing his hands down across the top hull of the machine, "My name is Captain Usarian Rykov, you are the Reborn... that is all you need to know"
There was a sudden lurch, the ships innards moving as the craft suddenly shot into warp space...
To be Continued.
"Shrouding relay of destruction zone, radar feed altered"
The voice was that of a females, slipping into the cold snow without the trouble of even wind altering its sound. The silver sleek form of the craft hovered dangerously close to the edge of the broken rubble that remained. Reborn still lay, vacant of any such thought of a plan... perhaps this was what was supposed to happen? what if the ones that had held him within that cell, within the ship sprawled like a mess across the landscape, what if they were the bad guys? And the craft before him were the people wishing his safety? What if this was some sort of accident, they were rescuing him!
The thoughts of rescue were soon cut from his mind, something extruding from the side of the craft came into sight, a mechanical arm a mix with wires, cables and other such mechanics to hold it out in place. Its shape was covered with an assortment of armored plates, the same silver shield color the craft itself had upon its hull.
The mechanical arm snapped forward violently, cutting through the cold air and wind and wrapping its shape around his throat. Its grip tightening. His reaction was just as swift, with his back against the cold metal ground, his tail curled behind him... all he could do was throw his arms up, wrapping both metal hands around the things shape, holding tight and attempting to pull its grip from him. The metal nodes on the side of the arm spun, its grip tightening all the more with the spinning of its cogs. There was no voice now, only the blinking red light on the front of the smooth ship. He coughed slightly, sputtering words that felt so cold to speak,
"Let... go... of me!" he growled almost... his voice finally being able to slip into the freezing winter's snow. It was the first time... the first time he could remember, hearing his own voice. It was odd, hearing such a thing for the moment, sounding as if it were another one speaking, unfamiliar with ones own voice, "Please!" he clawed at the metal, but nothing was said in return.
Instead of letting him go, two more arms came free, revealing themselves, no slithers on the ships hull could be seen, no sign of where another arm might come from... they were just there. Reborn flinched as one slipped forward, curling behind and prodding at the back of his neck, where one of the longer cords had been pulled from him. His skin suddenly flushed a freezing cold touch as it prodded, squirming in its grip. He threw one of his legs up, kicking only but armor to no avail. Finally after its prodding, the first and thicker arm pulled him up, trying to lift him up from the metal ground. Its grip moving around his throat, not preventing him from breathing in, but giving him a hard time to at that. Reborn scratched his metal claws along its shape, his feet lifting up from the chilled metal, his tail following close. He choked out once more, "Let go!" his words were a little more forced this time... a flicker of white flashed within one of his eyes, something moving inside.
His gold tinted hand tightened further, the winding sound of cogs moving. He pushed upwards, bending the wrist of the arm holding onto his neck, a groan of metal bending metal suddenly coming from the arm. He rose his lips slightly, emitting a short and unknown growl, something he himself knew not of... Something had changed.
Wires popped as he pulled the arm down, feeling its metal claws scraping across his flesh, cutting against him slightly, but he didn't stop. With a short growl once more he pulled tighter, his thicker and larger metal hand reaching across, taking hold of the upper part of the arm. His large and bulky fingers pushing against the metal, bending its shape, watching as sparks spewed up from its shape and across the side of his features. One eye closed slightly, blinking as sparks brushed across him...
But before he could pull the hand from his neck, something intervened...
A blast of pure yellow light speared down from the sky and straight into the top hull of the craft. It spewed out from the underside and blasted into the pure snow below, wires and sparks bellowing out from the ships under body. Its engines faltered in their hum, fire flickering across the top of the hull... the red orb eye even moved, slipping up its shape and staring up into the sky. The claws that came close to Reborn pulled back, slipping across and folding against its hull... leaving the bent and broken arm around his neck, its grip still tight and binding.
Reborn's eyes flicked upwards, his nose reaching for the air as something else burst through the clouds... a Figure in the sky appeared, blocking out the faded light. Its metallic form shining as it dropped through the smoke and clouds, cold air brushing across its body. A thick blast of red light snapped out from its frontal boosters, its legs dropping before landing sharply upon the hull of the hovering ship. It turned its arms across, the large shoulder mounted cannon flicking back, smoke pouring up from its nozzle as if it was the thing that had just fired into the ship. The mech leant in close, reaching both thick arms down to the hole it had made, stretching the metal and glass like surface. A crack of metal followed, its hands pulling and tearing at the hole in the machine.
The arm holding Reborn moved slightly, jerking as if something was messing with it. Suddenly the craft moved upwards, lifting from the melting snow and moving across the ground slightly.
Three more arms slipped up, unfolding from the ships shape, turning and moving into its form once more, bending and changing. The mech seated atop its body lifted up slightly, smoke and burning fumes appearing around every inch of the mechanoid's body. It stretched across, leaping from the crafts hull, its metal talons crashing into the metal surface that Reborn had been standing upon only moments before... The craft moved and churned, sparks leaking out of its wound like blood, its claw and arm still holding Reborn with a deathly grip... the strength he had just used seemed to slip away from him, his attention drawn more so now to the new arrival. Were they enemies?
Without much more of a thought, the craft began to move upwards, its lower engines churning harder as the rubble below him slowly began to take much distance. The claw around his throat still held a tight grip, his eyes wide with fear as it blasted through a number of clouds and wind walls. What was it doing? Or more importantly, where was it going?
Those thoughts made him panic, his eyes wide now with fear, his arms flailing against the arm that held him tightly... Smoke poured from the open wound on the ships hull and lower section, but it didn't seem to matter it much as it pushed further and further up. Reborn shook his head, taking large gulps of air, thinking perhaps this was it. Awoken for a manner of hours, only to be sucked out into vacuumed space, to freeze, explode and die with not a sound. But the sound that came was that of the craft exiting the atmosphere, the dead cold reaching his body. But nothing followed on with that feeling, frost skittered up his limps like it would if one was wet in a freezing ice wind... but nothing more... He breathed in a frightened breath, but with his mouth closed, his nostrils couldn't take in the air... but it was there.
His lungs moved, breathing in the warm air within his own body...
Reborn coughed out at the cold, his body convulsing over the freezing cold, the feel of the dead space around him, the feel of nothingness, a lightened feeling around his limbs and body, the craft pulling him out further and further with only a matter of seconds... his body reacting nothing to normal properties... how could he have stood such a movement, such a speed.
The dragon-like creature curled up slightly, breathing in another warm breath of unknown air. But his silent peace did not last long however, once more his eyes caught sight of the mech, fire blasting from its back engines pouring across as it snapped across the cold space, reaching out and taking a hold of the hole he had made within the lower part of the ship, the metal grip tightening and pulling at something within. The head mount turned slightly, a flickering red orb taking sight of Reborn. The engines of the mech shuddered to a stop. The shoulder mount turned and pointed directly towards the arm holding Reborn at its will... within seconds a charged yellow blast snapped into sight, melting through the metal and wires, popping it open with a suction of air following, the arm falling free...
Reborn faltered at first at the weightlessness, his hands flailing forward before grabbing a hold of the severed part of the machine, what was left of the arm. He clenched tightly, wrapping his metal fingers around its shape, his eyes tight, breathing in short breaths, unsure how this breathing in space actually was working, how his body was able to withstand such impossible feats. His sight however flicked onto the mech, opening a mere slither of his eye, watching as its arm held onto the oblivious moving craft. The mech rose up his other hand, clenching its fingers and pointing up into the hole with one finger... He moved his arms out, widening the hole, debris from the broken ship falling into space with ease. Before Reborn could react, the mech pulled itself up and into the widened hole, its metal clawed feet dangling for a moment before pulling up and in, leaving him once more, alone, in space.
It wasn't his curiosity that got the better of him this time, it was plain and simple fear of being left out here... He reached across, taking hold of a long shard of metal protruding out from the damaged silver craft. He pulled himself across, reaching in and finally letting go of the arm that had been holding him for so long now.
The sight of the ship within was something else, cords, cables and more and more cords... there were no solid walls, no metal planks, no ceiling or floor. Reborn took a hold of a bunch of cables pulling his body up into the space, seeing only a short tunnel made from the weapon the mech had used on the thing. With a sudden whip of wind, finally sound reached his ears...
The openings of space were covered, wires pouring out from the side and closing in on the openings, wrapping over the damaged areas and closing in on the space. Reborn fell back, his tail pressing down before all the cords around him flattened and began to shape open an oval shaped compartment. The walls themselves were made of silver and black cables, wires and all sorts of the same. A single light orb floated leisurely a few feet above his head. With a sudden gasp of air, he breathed in a cool blast of air into his lungs, his mouth wide open, "Damn it!" he coughed, leaning across on his side and coughing over and over. He breathed heavily, his eyes closed tight from the pain, the thump of his heart in his throat was hard and harsh,
"Gotta love the Mirronians... Cables, wires, arms and all the technologies of a third race" came a voice, "But no brains, no weapons or emergency systems" a heavy footstep followed the voice, pressing down into the wires as it pushed through the wall and appeared... The mech was small enough to stand within the large room, the top of its shoulder guard just barely brushing the wires above it. There was no sign of who was piloting it, just a glowing light coming from its body, a spotlight placed upon Reborn. His metal hands rose up to block out the blazing light that came upon him,
"Who are you?" Reborn spoke out in a shaky voice, his body trembling now with both fear and coldness,
"Lock in position... where is the closest trade station? How much fuel do we have?" came the voice from within the machine, its body dropping down to its knees, pressing and leaning back slightly. The way he had said it was as if he were talking to someone else, that was clear to him even more as another voice spoke out, female and almost robotic in a sense,
"I have gained complete control over all ships sensors and directional pads... but no Trade stations have been detected within the sector... However, Locking Station Trillion has been detected two warp jumps from this position. This Mirronian craft has the capability of making both jumps, but landing mechanisms have been disabled, landing 'manually' is the only option..." Reborn perked up, his ears moving as he looked across the mech, its body seated to directly face him... the cannon on its shoulder dangerously pointing at him, "Would you like me to book a landing pad in advance?"
"Yes... But keep it low profile, cargo vessel loading mining supplies, maybe we can set up a message with the Alliance from there" the mech pilot spoke back before a hiss of cold air slipped from the edges of the opening door atop its body. The lid slipped open slowly, turning cogs and wires following as two hands pulled up and pressed against the metal edges... The figure that appeared had no smile across his reptilian lips, his eyes quickly flashing upon Reborn as the other voice replied,
"And of the Alliance battleships that remain in orbit?" it spoke, the orb that carried the machine voice hovering up from the opened mech cockpit and looming over the raptor's shoulder,
"Out of commission" he nodded his head, "Mission Objective is loose, planet is not secure, make sure to write that in the log, Cerebra" his eyes took in Reborn, narrowing one before pressing his hands down across the top hull of the machine, "My name is Captain Usarian Rykov, you are the Reborn... that is all you need to know"
There was a sudden lurch, the ships innards moving as the craft suddenly shot into warp space...
To be Continued.
~
Like the sound of thunder in the deep wastelands.
Like the feel of water rushing through your fingers.
The wind on your face.
Those feelings were all but gone now, replaced and touched now with the chill of frost and cold, the reality of life and the living world, the painful truth that one can hold such a position in the universe so large, so infinite. Why had he come to this place? Why were these things happening to him? What was his purpose? Questions filtered through his mind continuously, ones that he felt he knew the answer, some that had no answers, and others that needed to be answered for him. He was part machine, part flesh and bone, to have a body as such would mean he was created wasn't it? Or was he stolen, his memory wiped and changed to fit a nothingness that swallowed him whole.
Was he even supposed to escape the cold depths of that planet, the green liquids that burned still on his breath. The place he was before... was that where he was meant to remain? Unsung and unremembered without question...
You are more then what you believe to be, and what you believe yourself to be is nothing more then a dream.
Came that voice within his own mind, the same instinct that had told him to breathe, to awaken from his slumber of liquid and arms of steel cable bone. The voice was of his own, but there was an edge to it, a shadow falling behind its presence... something about it was un-trusting, but more then something was that it was his own being that told him. How could he not trust himself? Was he something more? Was the purpose of this creature who had saved him for good purposes, was he the one that would give the answers?
Trust.
You cannot hand it out so willingly to any passerby.
Why not?
You are you... There is nothing more you need to know. Only you hold the key to your own answers. It is they who hold the questions.
The voices, the sounds in his mind caused his eyes to flicker open, finding the once more reality become real before him. The sights of cables once more put a coldness in his throat, a dryness following closely. He clenched his teeth slightly, reaching across to his arm, feeling the tightened pain of his metal attached armor. The reaction he got was rubbing it with his other steel hand, to no avail did it help, but it was a reaction put in his mind that told him one thing... there were nerves. Connections from his brain that led into not only his arms, but within every inch of his metal and non-metal body. Perhaps he was born this way?
Reborn stirred from his slumber, pulling back from the solid cold ground, seeing the machine that had spoken to him some while ago. He hadn't gotten any answers from the Captain, Captain Rykov, but he knew that this creature was the closest lead on who and what he was.
The raptor's head suddenly popped up from the cockpit of the mech, his eyes flicking slightly, tilting his head in question to Reborn's wakening,
"We still have a distance to travel... If I were you, sleep would be well advised" he paused, leaning his arms over the outer hull of the mech and pressing forward, "We won't be stopping much on the way"
"Where are you taking me?" Reborn finally spoke up, "And why do you call me 'the' Reborn... Is my name not just 'Reborn'?" his voice was quite calm, collect and simplistic. His tail slid across the cold ground as he leant up slightly,
"We are going to a locking station. A floating pile of collected junk formed into the most vile and the most diligent riffraff you will find on this side of the galaxy" Rykov was telling the truth, there wasn't any use to lying about where they were going, "They didn't give you any other name then the Reborn, if you want just Reborn, I'll adapt"
"They?" Reborn's ears twitched lightly to the thought,
"Classified information"
Reborn narrowed his eyes and looked to the side as if disappointed, "Am I some sort of experiment?"
Rykov slipped back down into the cockpit, sparks spraying out as if he was working on something inside, "You could say that" he called out over the noise,
"What is my purpose? Why was that ship crashed down there? Who were you fighting?" There were so many questions to be asked, to many things to be known now. If one had woken up in such a state, such a place, there would be the same amount of questions for any kind of creature. But the answer he got was not so fitting as he was expecting,
"Classified information"
To that Reborn growled slightly, dropping to his side and laying his head down. He knew very well he wasn't about to get very far with this Rykov character, but if they were heading for some sort of station, perhaps there would be someone there that knew of what he was, why he was and all such other manner of questions. Maybe they held the answers. But for now he would remain with this creature, this Captain of whatever.
---
"Last known recording of Subject Reborn, reported at 12:32PM. Subject cell door was closed at 12:46PM. Subject Reborn tracker is out of range and/or possibly damaged from trauma and/or death"
"He's not dead" Came a stern voice. Two pale white hands moved across the metal table, revealing the reptilian behind it, his eyes flickering a deep orange, two spines sticking out from the back of his neck twitching. His long arms leaned in as eyes peered towards the floating orb just before him, "It would take more then that to push through his armor, weakened or not. His systems may be inactive... or perhaps out of order. But rule death out of the report" He pressed his hands back up, scratching across his cheek with a talon before resting his hands against his palms,
"Dead has been struck from the record, at all costs... Subject Reborn is active. Tracking signal will be increased due to stress of current beacon in subject area. Communications with any Alliance Battle Fleet has been cut off and no signals have been retrieved from the MIA Captain Usarian Rykov" The orb turned slightly, glowing a soft red across the metal table, "Shall I forward these notes to Command"
"Strike the report entirely" There stood a shadowed being in the corner of the small office, his hooded head turning slightly as he slipped towards one side of the desk, arms pressing across, a hand brushing away the chair that waited on the other side, "The records of Subject Reborn are now in control of Central... Any other operating systems, any other security networks that gain contact of such notes and reports will suffer the penalty of arrest without trial"
The pale raptor glanced up, only to see a metal hand holding up a clear and shining badge that indicated only that the hooded being was part of Central, "May I ask why? Sir. With all due respect, but Subject Reborn was under full control of the Alliance Command... I don't understand why Central would be able to gain such control over-"
"You forget your place Commander" came the cold voice of the unkown one, his hands lifting away, his badge already safely placed back within his vest. Shining metal fingers pulled back the hood, revealing a plain metal head, the same size of any humanoid of the sort, there was no hair or features, only a large glowing red orb in the upper middle of its head. Thick cords and cables ran down its neck. There was no breathing area, no mouth opening, just the orb that moved and spun as if it were adjusting its sights on the Commander accordingly, "Central has jurisdiction in all Alliance happenings, and it is the good will of Central that all those who oppose our rule get what is coming to them"
The commander narrowed his orange eyes, his spines moving as he slowly began to stand, his hands against the edges of the table. For a moment he paused, his claws touching against the cold metal floor, the chatter of talons touching steel being the only noise within the room all besides the distant hum that came from the orb hovering still over the desktop, "What I want to know-"
"I believe you have misguided my very words good Commander" the unknown one spoke, his hands slipping behind his back as he stood there, no expression, only the glimmering of the orb, "There is no question, there is no other orders. Strike the record, and Central shall be satisfied. You will gain new orders. I assure you, even with these records taken out, you will hear from this matter again"
"Strike record: Reborn" the commander spoke out, his eyes still narrowed as he turned to the view screen behind him, looking out across the open starlit space... the empty void before him,
"Subject: Reborn has been officially struck from the Alliance Command Record. will there be anything else Commander Seruka?" the soft machine void hummed across the table.
The commander turned slightly, looking across, the unkown figure already gone, his door not even opened,
"That will be all"
---
"Put this on"
Those were the first three words directed at him from the last moment he knew. He pulled up the torn and ripped vest that had been only recently stitched up by the Captain. Reborn snorted slightly, turning his head and looking towards the Raptor,
"But it smells like something dipped in a fueling station" the words came so easily to his dry lips, he had no idea exactly what a fueling station was, or why he remembered it. But it was on his mind, the smell reminding him of something, something from his past. Reborn turned and shook his head again as the Captain folded his arms, an orb hovering over his shoulder. Rykov had stripped his metals from his vest, the Alliance insignia now too... There were no sleeves to his outfit now, his pants ragged and torn slightly, His spines twitched back as he eyed up Reborn, an unimpressed look smothered all over his reptilian features,
"This is obviously because it was dipped in a fueling station" he spoke out, no jest in his words, only the seriousness of his own personality, "It was the only thing I could find, and you cannot go strolling about this place with nothing but bolts and armor, the locals may get suspicious"
Reborn huffed, his cold metal hands pulling back the rag and throwing its over his head, the material pushing back his ears as he threaded his larger arm through with great difficulty. It wasn't long however until the vest was in place over his scarred and torn up chest. He pulled at the leather belt around his waist, his metal legs completely revealed, as the same as his arms. His now fully green eyes turned slightly, looking across the long corridor that led into other sections... The large opening door lock just behind him now. The corridor itself was empty, but he knew from what the Captain had told him, was that it was going to be security security and more security from here on in .
Entering into a station such as this wasn't a true problem, as he had been told now, since Rykov was part of the military, he could easily pass up any full inspections for the both of them, claiming himself as a high ranked superior, and that Reborn was his body guard.
The red dragon folded his arms as they made their way down the long metal hall, no windows, only basic steel and metal folded against one another. The station, from what he had seen, was nothing more then a floating pile of rubble. A docking station for lone crafts that were out this far. The small sector they were within was away from the Alliance controlled zone, but still on the very edge where their hold on the security was still only slight... but not enough to strangle the black markets and smuggling that was bound to be happening. The station itself was a festering zone for markets, shopping complexes and dens, it was more a gathering point between warping zones where all manner of creatures stopped to refuel and replenish.
From what the Captain explained to him as they passed down through the long corridor, this station was dangerous in certain area's, there were always dark corners throughout the open market zones and residential areas. As small as the whole station was built to be, it was like any normal planet bound town, it had its criminal records.
Reborn passed up and stopped as the Captain came to a halt a few feet from him. A tall being standing in his path, armored to the teeth. The thing was of the same build as the captain, from his long reptile snout, to his long wavering tail. But this one's body was encased in hard steel armor, a simple blue glowing visor opening where his eyes would be. A small puff of cold air escaped two vents on each side of the armored guards head piece,
"Usarian Ryko?" he spoke up,
"Thats right. We are here on official business, I am to be escorted by my personal guard here to the Trillion Station Den, where I will be having a meeting with those already here" Rykov kept his cool, the small orb simply hovering over his shoulder as the guard looked over the small flickering card he had been given.
For a moment there was silence. The guard looked up and across, eying Reborn, no expression being shown in his visor, only the short shake of his head as if he was slightly confused, "No boarding craft has been recorded in this Loading zone, I have Cargo Vessel holding mining supplies and a Junker Craft that docked three hours ago-"
"Then your records must be wrong" Rykov interrupted, waving his hand slightly as he leaned in to look at the card being held from him. There was a flicker across its surface, the same flicker in the back of the orb appeared. Reborn perked his ears up slightly as the guard once more shook his head,
"Ah I see... The system has been jumpy most of the day, Boarding Craft Zeeto landed just five minutes prior in this Landing bay" the guard spoke up, handing back the card and stepping away from the entrance, "Sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Ryko, but you are free to go about your business. I have struck your boarding record with a three day pass, Welcome to Trillion sir" The guard looked across and gave a reassuring but curious nod towards Reborn direction.
Reborn couldn't help but nod back, his eyes not moving from the guard as Rykov moved onwards... He turned and hurried along after the Captain... but was once more, taken in by the most curious of surroundings.
Above them lay the inner shielding of the station, a massive invisible field opened, showing the very happenings of the station loading zones and docking bays ahead. From as far as his eyes could see there were ships, of all sizes and shapes, landing and moving out from the bays, glowing greens and blues, flickering lights and streams of energy flows from every plasma engine. His tail swayed as he walked, his mouth opened in awe. Reborn gazed up into the endless space above him, taken away by the sheer size of the station itself. Around them were metal corridors, openings and buildings, everything was tight packed and close together, there was barely any room to move, and people had to walk behind and in front, there was not enough space in the walkways to walk side by side.
As they moved on into the opened area, there became a lot more room, and a lot more population then there was within the docking and arrival bays. The station within was a very busy place, from all manner of creatures roaming about, each carrying something, or moving in a way that showed they needed to get there on time. There was not one being he could see doing the same as he, Reborn was the only one taken back by his surroundings, even the most gruff and old looking creation of science and technology within the complex station was more then he could handle. His eyes took in every passing being, looming his neck forward and staring at them. He found himself getting odd little glances every now and then, looking over his metallic body, his large legs as they made a certain loud noise with each step.
It was then he began to notice how different he was to everyone, from all he could see, from reptiles, machines, beings with more then two eyes, more then two arms or legs, some with tails and some with fur... he was the only one that looked like himself... The only dragon-like creature. His armor was unique, it didn't shape like armor, but shaped more like muscles and a truly formed body. It was odd to look over his shape in incomparable to the ones around him, was he supposed to be different?
With a tight tug against the back of his neck, Reborn was brought back into reality,
"You keep staring every passer-by like that and you are going to get us both in a whole world of hurt, you understand?" Rykov snapped, his fangs glinting with each word,
"Ok ok I'm sorry" Reborn spoke up, pushing the Captains hand away from his neck, "I just, I haven't seen this kind of thing before... Well, I think I have, but it feels new"
"Save your story for another day and another set of ears. Come on, or we are going to gather attention" Rykov turned back, moving towards a set of doors, a single being standing quite solo out front, his armor not as fancy as the docking guard, but still enough to protect him from any unwanted guests,
"Where are we going?" Reborn spoke up as they moved up towards the guard. His eyes turned however to the glimmering green sign above their heads, flicking with the words, 'Trillions Finest' there were three symbols beside it, each one blinking, a bed, a fork and a cup, "An inn?" he replied to himself,
"A Den, used in most arid locations. A meeting zone for any official business, a resting and replenishing zone for the tired and also a zone for drinking and feeding" the orb that hovered over the Captain finally spoke up,
"Shh" Rykov growled.
"Welcome! Welcome to Trillions Finest! We have everything our most honored guests to our honored regulars. Five credit entry fee" the guard spoke up in a masked happy tone.
The captain flicked his finger, two coins snapping into the waiting clasps of the guard, his eyes turning towards Reborn for a quick glance before flicking one of the coins back without much warning. Rykov turned with his head tilted,
"Oh don't worry my good sir, slaves are allowed within the confines of our Den free of charge!" he spoke up cheerfully, still masked however, "Just go right on in my good sir"
"Whatever" Reborn sighed as they entered the 'Den' as it was called. His eyes flickered slightly, a small throb forming within his mind as he took in the new sights, the mix of creatures and beings all around him. The place was huge, larger then the outside appearance would give it in a thousand years. The hybrid dragon turned, his tail wavering across the ground as Rykov waved his hand across in front of his snout,
"Keep your eyes to me, don't go causing any unwanted attention. Cerebra, locate a display outlet... All Den's should have them" Rykov automatically turned away, looking for one of the seated area's close by.
The Den itself was quite different then the outside, the ceiling was high up, showing no sights of the outside space like before. Light blue crystals lit up the entirety of the area, showing different sections from a complete restaurant, tables and metal chairs pinned down against the ground. Long bars that stretched across the walls, mixed creatures and machines behind each of the bars, serving all those that clung to the stools waiting by. There was a good number of flickering display screens coming down from supports in the ceiling, each one showing a different moving picture... news, shows and all sorts of entertainment. There were staircases winding up and down into separate parts of the Den... But where they were now seemed to be the center part of the station, the center of attention that is.
Reborn scratched his neck nervously, gathering a few odd looks from creatures passing by, one small reptilian youngling laughing at his appearance. He swiped his claws across his mattered and messy vest,
"Couldn't we have at least stopped by a market to pick up a better atire, I am quite displeased with his vest" within his mind he was confused and unsure, but his words told him different things. The words that continued to come from his lips every time he spoke was as if he had been doing this all the time, like nothing had changed... only his perception on the current events, that they were new, but at the same time, they were old. It was odd to think on, his mind telling him all different things, that following Rykov was a bad idea... but the more and more he thought about it, the more he knew this was right. The Captain had not done him wrong, other then a few wrong words and keeping things from him... but no harm had come from him,
"We can do that after I link up with my Command" Rykov gruffly said as he slid into one of the corner booths, chosen specifically to be away from the main populace of the Den,
"Can't I just have a look around... I'm sure theres-"
"Fine whatever..." Rykov pointed to the other side of the booth, "But I expect you to be sitting down in that very booth here in one hours time" His voice was rushed, still serious, but there was more to him then that. The way Rykov was now, to when he was within the ship... it was different, he seemed to be trying to gain at least some sort of friendship out of Reborn.
He slowly stepped away, looking pretty directly for the exit out of the Den clearly... It wasn't long before Reborn disappeared out of it, as quick as he had come in, a desire to explore taking over him.
"Captain Rykov. Letting the Reborn out into the public may not be in the best interests of the Alliance-"
"Don't worry... I slipped a tracker on his vest, as long as he is wearing it, we will be able to find him" Rykov spoke up towards Cerebra's response, his claws pressing a small cord from his wrist into the side of the wall, closest to the booth.
A flickering transparent screen suddenly appeared over the tabletop, displaying the Alliance insignia across its front... Before long a simple glowing orb appeared on the other side of the screen, showing an empty office around it, its voice was not far from Cerebra's, "You have reached the Alliance call center on Cerooda Prime, If you could enter your- Welcome to the Alliance log in zone, please enter your identification number followed by the three letters of your Alliance insignia code"
Rykov slipped his hand across, pressing his claws down against the transparent keypad before him, flicking in all manner of numbers and letters,
"I'm sorry, but your identification number incorrect, please try again later" the voice called back, causing Rykov to shake his head slightly, starting to enter the code once more, a little slower this time, just in case he had mistyped something. His eyes flickered as the same message was relayed over him,
"Cerebra, enter the code manually, see if that makes any difference" he spoke up with a gruff sound to his voice, his hand slipping up to his cold lips and rubbing impatiently as the orb worked on the screen,
"I'm sorry, but it appears this specific Identification number has been deleted from the Alliance record. If you would like to log in a complain, please re-register personally at any Alliance Military sub-station... Have a great day" the voice flicked back as another screen came online, numbers and words streaming down the screen,
"Target bug detected, tracking signal detected" Cerebra repeated as Rykov stopped his pondering. He turned across and pulled the small cable from the wall, the screen going dead,
"Bastards cut me off!" he snapped, his claws scratching across the table angrily. The spines across his neck and head flared up in annoyance, "Cerebra, can you get a fix on who cut-"
"Central" Cerebra quickly spoke up, "... Captain, I have received-"
"I'm here with Commander Seruka of the Alliance Command here on Cerooda Prime's capital station Toak. Please commander, if I could have but a few moments of your time to relay any new information on the current events?" The voice of a female reported flickered loudly from the bars to the right of them. The screens seemed to brighten as figures rushed past where they were standing to go see the screen itself. Many gathered up near the bar, some passing by not helping but turn their heads to see the report on the viewing monitor. Rykov turned to view the screen from a distance. The reported held the micro crystal up close to the pale commander, her furred hands bristling in what looked to be wind, "Please Commander, what is the official word on Subject: Reborn"
The Commander nodded his head, his orange eyes glowing slightly from the glaring camera light, "It is official, no two ways. In three hours from now, the Alliance combined command with Central will be legalizing all Bounty Hunter contracts from this side, and both Alliance and non-Alliance controlled zones. An Alliance fugitive under the name Reborn is to be put on the top priority Bounty list as the highest priced hunt in all known records, the price for Reborn, Alive, is more then four hundred Trillion Credits. The list will also include such names as Perard Nolan, Heran Mostar and Usarian Rykov... The bounty list will be integrated in all known link ups and so on. If you come across one of these known fugitives, it is in your right to contact your closest Alliance officer or local guard. Reborn is to be brought within Alliance hands alive if this reward is to be given"
"How is it possible to give such a bounty with little notice of who and what Reborn is? Is there any relation between Reborn and the disappearances of thousands of Alliance battleships in three separate zones, all within Alliance controlled space?" the reporter quickly asked,
"The disappearances and rumors of such things are simply hoaxes, the Alliance command is doing its very best to sum up with current events."
"If I can ask Commander, how is it-"
"No further questions... no further comment"
The screen flickered across to the normal news network, showing flickering pictures of all the names mentioned except for Reborn himself, though there was a description relaying very close to his appearance. The sounds and laughter over the bar seemed to give off the feeling that it was all just a joke, it didn't really happen. But from the movements around them, the sounds of some passing by claiming that they were out to find out whats going on. It was clearly not a joke.
"Cerebra... we need to find Reborn... activate the tracker"
---
Reborn stumbled slightly as he felt a hard shove across his shoulder, two tall beings rushing past him with no words of sorry as they nearly toppled him over. His arm moved across as he watched their backs as they moved out and disappeared into the foam of moving people and creatures. He had made it into markets, the one place he was most curious of checking out. It was more gruff then the Den and that was certain. There were small stalls filled with such exotic items to the most mundane, and behind the stalls were larger openings, doorways into market area's, food places, more Dens of much poorer quality. The market itself was in a rush of people, all manner of beast and being wandered through, all touching shoulders, brushing clothes, and moving one way or the other. To stop at one of the stalls was almost a death wish to get trampled under the sea of movement. But some brave stopped to look, but only few... most stopped when they 'knew' what they were buying.
He knew very well that the things that hung from the ceilings, from the edges of each stall would cost something, but he was not stupid. Not that he had any pockets, they were indeed empty, he wasn't about to make a fool of himself.
The hybrid passed on through the markets, glancing at weapons to food items, clothing items and the more. He was sure he would have to gain such paying credits, to at least get rid of the foul smelling vest he wore over himself. It was only then that he began to notice the looks he was getting, side glances, people stopping in the crowds only to be pushed on... even those commanding the small stalls, looked up from their paying customers to shoot him a glance. Reborn sniffed the cold dead air, looking across and noticing a youngling staring up at him from the top of a stall, his crystal blue eyes wide, his ears flat against his skull,
"Whats that mommy?"
Reborn's ears perked up slightly, his eyes somewhat fixating on the young wolf-like being that sat up on the counter-top. The shopkeeper pulled at the young one as soon as Reborn had turned, there was no reply to the comment, no words said to 'what' he was exactly.
Reborn passed through, finally coming to a side opening from the market... he took the moment to slide out into the open hall, watching as more and more creatures passed by. Above him railings waited, long glowing signs indicating what street it was and where each shop and stall lay. He stood there for a moment, his arms to his side, one of his smaller fingers twitching slightly. His mind wandered again, the fact of what he was, what was he? Was he so different then the ones passing through. Well yes he had armored legs and arms, but so did others. He had not seen any other being however, with robotics such as his, no coloration to their skin and surely not the scars that had all but closed up on him.
The hybrid moved on, his arms to his side still as he moved into a much larger area, potted vines and plants reaching up into the walls and such. It was a more relaxed area with only the few scattered beings that wandered around. He made his way across the open, still getting the glances that came to him from every passerby... from now, he knew he was different, and knew very well that he was more then lost...
---
"Is this truly the right course of action Commander?" Came a dark voice within the shadows of his now un-lit office. The pale commander held up a small glass of blue liquid, swirling it around in his hand for a moment before taking a swift drink, taking it all in. He coughed slightly, his voice slightly wheezy,
"Both the Central and Alliance military are too small to cover every planet and every station... The reports of 'where' Reborn was last seen are all but gone... It is now up to the general public to make what use they have... for the good of the Universe" the commander placed the glass back down against his steel table,
"The known Universe is about to lower itself into a deepened state of pillaging and war mongering, all for a creature built with the hands of Central" the voice came again, two green orbs glowing in the corner of the room, "The last time such time changing news reached the ears of all those around, was the cataclysmic destruction of Earth... and the disappearance of the Dragoon... Do you really think Subject: Reborn is worth so much? Will this not cause a state of war? Panic?"
"Central has its hand in everything now my good friend, and I will see it done that they have Reborn back within their hands, no matter the cost" the commander filled his glass once more,
"And what if it costs the very security of Alliance space?" the figure stood up slowly, his eyes glowing slightly in the shadows,
"Then may the gods have mercy on us all"
"There are no gods out here in deep space good Commander, only metal and dreams" the figure pressed one hand down against the table, reaching across and pulling the glass of drink from the commander,
"Will you be joining the others to find Reborn? Senturo?"
The figure loomed into the faded light of the desk, his metal mask glimmering slightly from the light as he placed away the glass, his glowing eyes shining across the commander's features, "I will find our subject: Reborn"
To be Continued.
Like the feel of water rushing through your fingers.
The wind on your face.
Those feelings were all but gone now, replaced and touched now with the chill of frost and cold, the reality of life and the living world, the painful truth that one can hold such a position in the universe so large, so infinite. Why had he come to this place? Why were these things happening to him? What was his purpose? Questions filtered through his mind continuously, ones that he felt he knew the answer, some that had no answers, and others that needed to be answered for him. He was part machine, part flesh and bone, to have a body as such would mean he was created wasn't it? Or was he stolen, his memory wiped and changed to fit a nothingness that swallowed him whole.
Was he even supposed to escape the cold depths of that planet, the green liquids that burned still on his breath. The place he was before... was that where he was meant to remain? Unsung and unremembered without question...
You are more then what you believe to be, and what you believe yourself to be is nothing more then a dream.
Came that voice within his own mind, the same instinct that had told him to breathe, to awaken from his slumber of liquid and arms of steel cable bone. The voice was of his own, but there was an edge to it, a shadow falling behind its presence... something about it was un-trusting, but more then something was that it was his own being that told him. How could he not trust himself? Was he something more? Was the purpose of this creature who had saved him for good purposes, was he the one that would give the answers?
Trust.
You cannot hand it out so willingly to any passerby.
Why not?
You are you... There is nothing more you need to know. Only you hold the key to your own answers. It is they who hold the questions.
The voices, the sounds in his mind caused his eyes to flicker open, finding the once more reality become real before him. The sights of cables once more put a coldness in his throat, a dryness following closely. He clenched his teeth slightly, reaching across to his arm, feeling the tightened pain of his metal attached armor. The reaction he got was rubbing it with his other steel hand, to no avail did it help, but it was a reaction put in his mind that told him one thing... there were nerves. Connections from his brain that led into not only his arms, but within every inch of his metal and non-metal body. Perhaps he was born this way?
Reborn stirred from his slumber, pulling back from the solid cold ground, seeing the machine that had spoken to him some while ago. He hadn't gotten any answers from the Captain, Captain Rykov, but he knew that this creature was the closest lead on who and what he was.
The raptor's head suddenly popped up from the cockpit of the mech, his eyes flicking slightly, tilting his head in question to Reborn's wakening,
"We still have a distance to travel... If I were you, sleep would be well advised" he paused, leaning his arms over the outer hull of the mech and pressing forward, "We won't be stopping much on the way"
"Where are you taking me?" Reborn finally spoke up, "And why do you call me 'the' Reborn... Is my name not just 'Reborn'?" his voice was quite calm, collect and simplistic. His tail slid across the cold ground as he leant up slightly,
"We are going to a locking station. A floating pile of collected junk formed into the most vile and the most diligent riffraff you will find on this side of the galaxy" Rykov was telling the truth, there wasn't any use to lying about where they were going, "They didn't give you any other name then the Reborn, if you want just Reborn, I'll adapt"
"They?" Reborn's ears twitched lightly to the thought,
"Classified information"
Reborn narrowed his eyes and looked to the side as if disappointed, "Am I some sort of experiment?"
Rykov slipped back down into the cockpit, sparks spraying out as if he was working on something inside, "You could say that" he called out over the noise,
"What is my purpose? Why was that ship crashed down there? Who were you fighting?" There were so many questions to be asked, to many things to be known now. If one had woken up in such a state, such a place, there would be the same amount of questions for any kind of creature. But the answer he got was not so fitting as he was expecting,
"Classified information"
To that Reborn growled slightly, dropping to his side and laying his head down. He knew very well he wasn't about to get very far with this Rykov character, but if they were heading for some sort of station, perhaps there would be someone there that knew of what he was, why he was and all such other manner of questions. Maybe they held the answers. But for now he would remain with this creature, this Captain of whatever.
---
"Last known recording of Subject Reborn, reported at 12:32PM. Subject cell door was closed at 12:46PM. Subject Reborn tracker is out of range and/or possibly damaged from trauma and/or death"
"He's not dead" Came a stern voice. Two pale white hands moved across the metal table, revealing the reptilian behind it, his eyes flickering a deep orange, two spines sticking out from the back of his neck twitching. His long arms leaned in as eyes peered towards the floating orb just before him, "It would take more then that to push through his armor, weakened or not. His systems may be inactive... or perhaps out of order. But rule death out of the report" He pressed his hands back up, scratching across his cheek with a talon before resting his hands against his palms,
"Dead has been struck from the record, at all costs... Subject Reborn is active. Tracking signal will be increased due to stress of current beacon in subject area. Communications with any Alliance Battle Fleet has been cut off and no signals have been retrieved from the MIA Captain Usarian Rykov" The orb turned slightly, glowing a soft red across the metal table, "Shall I forward these notes to Command"
"Strike the report entirely" There stood a shadowed being in the corner of the small office, his hooded head turning slightly as he slipped towards one side of the desk, arms pressing across, a hand brushing away the chair that waited on the other side, "The records of Subject Reborn are now in control of Central... Any other operating systems, any other security networks that gain contact of such notes and reports will suffer the penalty of arrest without trial"
The pale raptor glanced up, only to see a metal hand holding up a clear and shining badge that indicated only that the hooded being was part of Central, "May I ask why? Sir. With all due respect, but Subject Reborn was under full control of the Alliance Command... I don't understand why Central would be able to gain such control over-"
"You forget your place Commander" came the cold voice of the unkown one, his hands lifting away, his badge already safely placed back within his vest. Shining metal fingers pulled back the hood, revealing a plain metal head, the same size of any humanoid of the sort, there was no hair or features, only a large glowing red orb in the upper middle of its head. Thick cords and cables ran down its neck. There was no breathing area, no mouth opening, just the orb that moved and spun as if it were adjusting its sights on the Commander accordingly, "Central has jurisdiction in all Alliance happenings, and it is the good will of Central that all those who oppose our rule get what is coming to them"
The commander narrowed his orange eyes, his spines moving as he slowly began to stand, his hands against the edges of the table. For a moment he paused, his claws touching against the cold metal floor, the chatter of talons touching steel being the only noise within the room all besides the distant hum that came from the orb hovering still over the desktop, "What I want to know-"
"I believe you have misguided my very words good Commander" the unknown one spoke, his hands slipping behind his back as he stood there, no expression, only the glimmering of the orb, "There is no question, there is no other orders. Strike the record, and Central shall be satisfied. You will gain new orders. I assure you, even with these records taken out, you will hear from this matter again"
"Strike record: Reborn" the commander spoke out, his eyes still narrowed as he turned to the view screen behind him, looking out across the open starlit space... the empty void before him,
"Subject: Reborn has been officially struck from the Alliance Command Record. will there be anything else Commander Seruka?" the soft machine void hummed across the table.
The commander turned slightly, looking across, the unkown figure already gone, his door not even opened,
"That will be all"
---
"Put this on"
Those were the first three words directed at him from the last moment he knew. He pulled up the torn and ripped vest that had been only recently stitched up by the Captain. Reborn snorted slightly, turning his head and looking towards the Raptor,
"But it smells like something dipped in a fueling station" the words came so easily to his dry lips, he had no idea exactly what a fueling station was, or why he remembered it. But it was on his mind, the smell reminding him of something, something from his past. Reborn turned and shook his head again as the Captain folded his arms, an orb hovering over his shoulder. Rykov had stripped his metals from his vest, the Alliance insignia now too... There were no sleeves to his outfit now, his pants ragged and torn slightly, His spines twitched back as he eyed up Reborn, an unimpressed look smothered all over his reptilian features,
"This is obviously because it was dipped in a fueling station" he spoke out, no jest in his words, only the seriousness of his own personality, "It was the only thing I could find, and you cannot go strolling about this place with nothing but bolts and armor, the locals may get suspicious"
Reborn huffed, his cold metal hands pulling back the rag and throwing its over his head, the material pushing back his ears as he threaded his larger arm through with great difficulty. It wasn't long however until the vest was in place over his scarred and torn up chest. He pulled at the leather belt around his waist, his metal legs completely revealed, as the same as his arms. His now fully green eyes turned slightly, looking across the long corridor that led into other sections... The large opening door lock just behind him now. The corridor itself was empty, but he knew from what the Captain had told him, was that it was going to be security security and more security from here on in .
Entering into a station such as this wasn't a true problem, as he had been told now, since Rykov was part of the military, he could easily pass up any full inspections for the both of them, claiming himself as a high ranked superior, and that Reborn was his body guard.
The red dragon folded his arms as they made their way down the long metal hall, no windows, only basic steel and metal folded against one another. The station, from what he had seen, was nothing more then a floating pile of rubble. A docking station for lone crafts that were out this far. The small sector they were within was away from the Alliance controlled zone, but still on the very edge where their hold on the security was still only slight... but not enough to strangle the black markets and smuggling that was bound to be happening. The station itself was a festering zone for markets, shopping complexes and dens, it was more a gathering point between warping zones where all manner of creatures stopped to refuel and replenish.
From what the Captain explained to him as they passed down through the long corridor, this station was dangerous in certain area's, there were always dark corners throughout the open market zones and residential areas. As small as the whole station was built to be, it was like any normal planet bound town, it had its criminal records.
Reborn passed up and stopped as the Captain came to a halt a few feet from him. A tall being standing in his path, armored to the teeth. The thing was of the same build as the captain, from his long reptile snout, to his long wavering tail. But this one's body was encased in hard steel armor, a simple blue glowing visor opening where his eyes would be. A small puff of cold air escaped two vents on each side of the armored guards head piece,
"Usarian Ryko?" he spoke up,
"Thats right. We are here on official business, I am to be escorted by my personal guard here to the Trillion Station Den, where I will be having a meeting with those already here" Rykov kept his cool, the small orb simply hovering over his shoulder as the guard looked over the small flickering card he had been given.
For a moment there was silence. The guard looked up and across, eying Reborn, no expression being shown in his visor, only the short shake of his head as if he was slightly confused, "No boarding craft has been recorded in this Loading zone, I have Cargo Vessel holding mining supplies and a Junker Craft that docked three hours ago-"
"Then your records must be wrong" Rykov interrupted, waving his hand slightly as he leaned in to look at the card being held from him. There was a flicker across its surface, the same flicker in the back of the orb appeared. Reborn perked his ears up slightly as the guard once more shook his head,
"Ah I see... The system has been jumpy most of the day, Boarding Craft Zeeto landed just five minutes prior in this Landing bay" the guard spoke up, handing back the card and stepping away from the entrance, "Sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Ryko, but you are free to go about your business. I have struck your boarding record with a three day pass, Welcome to Trillion sir" The guard looked across and gave a reassuring but curious nod towards Reborn direction.
Reborn couldn't help but nod back, his eyes not moving from the guard as Rykov moved onwards... He turned and hurried along after the Captain... but was once more, taken in by the most curious of surroundings.
Above them lay the inner shielding of the station, a massive invisible field opened, showing the very happenings of the station loading zones and docking bays ahead. From as far as his eyes could see there were ships, of all sizes and shapes, landing and moving out from the bays, glowing greens and blues, flickering lights and streams of energy flows from every plasma engine. His tail swayed as he walked, his mouth opened in awe. Reborn gazed up into the endless space above him, taken away by the sheer size of the station itself. Around them were metal corridors, openings and buildings, everything was tight packed and close together, there was barely any room to move, and people had to walk behind and in front, there was not enough space in the walkways to walk side by side.
As they moved on into the opened area, there became a lot more room, and a lot more population then there was within the docking and arrival bays. The station within was a very busy place, from all manner of creatures roaming about, each carrying something, or moving in a way that showed they needed to get there on time. There was not one being he could see doing the same as he, Reborn was the only one taken back by his surroundings, even the most gruff and old looking creation of science and technology within the complex station was more then he could handle. His eyes took in every passing being, looming his neck forward and staring at them. He found himself getting odd little glances every now and then, looking over his metallic body, his large legs as they made a certain loud noise with each step.
It was then he began to notice how different he was to everyone, from all he could see, from reptiles, machines, beings with more then two eyes, more then two arms or legs, some with tails and some with fur... he was the only one that looked like himself... The only dragon-like creature. His armor was unique, it didn't shape like armor, but shaped more like muscles and a truly formed body. It was odd to look over his shape in incomparable to the ones around him, was he supposed to be different?
With a tight tug against the back of his neck, Reborn was brought back into reality,
"You keep staring every passer-by like that and you are going to get us both in a whole world of hurt, you understand?" Rykov snapped, his fangs glinting with each word,
"Ok ok I'm sorry" Reborn spoke up, pushing the Captains hand away from his neck, "I just, I haven't seen this kind of thing before... Well, I think I have, but it feels new"
"Save your story for another day and another set of ears. Come on, or we are going to gather attention" Rykov turned back, moving towards a set of doors, a single being standing quite solo out front, his armor not as fancy as the docking guard, but still enough to protect him from any unwanted guests,
"Where are we going?" Reborn spoke up as they moved up towards the guard. His eyes turned however to the glimmering green sign above their heads, flicking with the words, 'Trillions Finest' there were three symbols beside it, each one blinking, a bed, a fork and a cup, "An inn?" he replied to himself,
"A Den, used in most arid locations. A meeting zone for any official business, a resting and replenishing zone for the tired and also a zone for drinking and feeding" the orb that hovered over the Captain finally spoke up,
"Shh" Rykov growled.
"Welcome! Welcome to Trillions Finest! We have everything our most honored guests to our honored regulars. Five credit entry fee" the guard spoke up in a masked happy tone.
The captain flicked his finger, two coins snapping into the waiting clasps of the guard, his eyes turning towards Reborn for a quick glance before flicking one of the coins back without much warning. Rykov turned with his head tilted,
"Oh don't worry my good sir, slaves are allowed within the confines of our Den free of charge!" he spoke up cheerfully, still masked however, "Just go right on in my good sir"
"Whatever" Reborn sighed as they entered the 'Den' as it was called. His eyes flickered slightly, a small throb forming within his mind as he took in the new sights, the mix of creatures and beings all around him. The place was huge, larger then the outside appearance would give it in a thousand years. The hybrid dragon turned, his tail wavering across the ground as Rykov waved his hand across in front of his snout,
"Keep your eyes to me, don't go causing any unwanted attention. Cerebra, locate a display outlet... All Den's should have them" Rykov automatically turned away, looking for one of the seated area's close by.
The Den itself was quite different then the outside, the ceiling was high up, showing no sights of the outside space like before. Light blue crystals lit up the entirety of the area, showing different sections from a complete restaurant, tables and metal chairs pinned down against the ground. Long bars that stretched across the walls, mixed creatures and machines behind each of the bars, serving all those that clung to the stools waiting by. There was a good number of flickering display screens coming down from supports in the ceiling, each one showing a different moving picture... news, shows and all sorts of entertainment. There were staircases winding up and down into separate parts of the Den... But where they were now seemed to be the center part of the station, the center of attention that is.
Reborn scratched his neck nervously, gathering a few odd looks from creatures passing by, one small reptilian youngling laughing at his appearance. He swiped his claws across his mattered and messy vest,
"Couldn't we have at least stopped by a market to pick up a better atire, I am quite displeased with his vest" within his mind he was confused and unsure, but his words told him different things. The words that continued to come from his lips every time he spoke was as if he had been doing this all the time, like nothing had changed... only his perception on the current events, that they were new, but at the same time, they were old. It was odd to think on, his mind telling him all different things, that following Rykov was a bad idea... but the more and more he thought about it, the more he knew this was right. The Captain had not done him wrong, other then a few wrong words and keeping things from him... but no harm had come from him,
"We can do that after I link up with my Command" Rykov gruffly said as he slid into one of the corner booths, chosen specifically to be away from the main populace of the Den,
"Can't I just have a look around... I'm sure theres-"
"Fine whatever..." Rykov pointed to the other side of the booth, "But I expect you to be sitting down in that very booth here in one hours time" His voice was rushed, still serious, but there was more to him then that. The way Rykov was now, to when he was within the ship... it was different, he seemed to be trying to gain at least some sort of friendship out of Reborn.
He slowly stepped away, looking pretty directly for the exit out of the Den clearly... It wasn't long before Reborn disappeared out of it, as quick as he had come in, a desire to explore taking over him.
"Captain Rykov. Letting the Reborn out into the public may not be in the best interests of the Alliance-"
"Don't worry... I slipped a tracker on his vest, as long as he is wearing it, we will be able to find him" Rykov spoke up towards Cerebra's response, his claws pressing a small cord from his wrist into the side of the wall, closest to the booth.
A flickering transparent screen suddenly appeared over the tabletop, displaying the Alliance insignia across its front... Before long a simple glowing orb appeared on the other side of the screen, showing an empty office around it, its voice was not far from Cerebra's, "You have reached the Alliance call center on Cerooda Prime, If you could enter your- Welcome to the Alliance log in zone, please enter your identification number followed by the three letters of your Alliance insignia code"
Rykov slipped his hand across, pressing his claws down against the transparent keypad before him, flicking in all manner of numbers and letters,
"I'm sorry, but your identification number incorrect, please try again later" the voice called back, causing Rykov to shake his head slightly, starting to enter the code once more, a little slower this time, just in case he had mistyped something. His eyes flickered as the same message was relayed over him,
"Cerebra, enter the code manually, see if that makes any difference" he spoke up with a gruff sound to his voice, his hand slipping up to his cold lips and rubbing impatiently as the orb worked on the screen,
"I'm sorry, but it appears this specific Identification number has been deleted from the Alliance record. If you would like to log in a complain, please re-register personally at any Alliance Military sub-station... Have a great day" the voice flicked back as another screen came online, numbers and words streaming down the screen,
"Target bug detected, tracking signal detected" Cerebra repeated as Rykov stopped his pondering. He turned across and pulled the small cable from the wall, the screen going dead,
"Bastards cut me off!" he snapped, his claws scratching across the table angrily. The spines across his neck and head flared up in annoyance, "Cerebra, can you get a fix on who cut-"
"Central" Cerebra quickly spoke up, "... Captain, I have received-"
"I'm here with Commander Seruka of the Alliance Command here on Cerooda Prime's capital station Toak. Please commander, if I could have but a few moments of your time to relay any new information on the current events?" The voice of a female reported flickered loudly from the bars to the right of them. The screens seemed to brighten as figures rushed past where they were standing to go see the screen itself. Many gathered up near the bar, some passing by not helping but turn their heads to see the report on the viewing monitor. Rykov turned to view the screen from a distance. The reported held the micro crystal up close to the pale commander, her furred hands bristling in what looked to be wind, "Please Commander, what is the official word on Subject: Reborn"
The Commander nodded his head, his orange eyes glowing slightly from the glaring camera light, "It is official, no two ways. In three hours from now, the Alliance combined command with Central will be legalizing all Bounty Hunter contracts from this side, and both Alliance and non-Alliance controlled zones. An Alliance fugitive under the name Reborn is to be put on the top priority Bounty list as the highest priced hunt in all known records, the price for Reborn, Alive, is more then four hundred Trillion Credits. The list will also include such names as Perard Nolan, Heran Mostar and Usarian Rykov... The bounty list will be integrated in all known link ups and so on. If you come across one of these known fugitives, it is in your right to contact your closest Alliance officer or local guard. Reborn is to be brought within Alliance hands alive if this reward is to be given"
"How is it possible to give such a bounty with little notice of who and what Reborn is? Is there any relation between Reborn and the disappearances of thousands of Alliance battleships in three separate zones, all within Alliance controlled space?" the reporter quickly asked,
"The disappearances and rumors of such things are simply hoaxes, the Alliance command is doing its very best to sum up with current events."
"If I can ask Commander, how is it-"
"No further questions... no further comment"
The screen flickered across to the normal news network, showing flickering pictures of all the names mentioned except for Reborn himself, though there was a description relaying very close to his appearance. The sounds and laughter over the bar seemed to give off the feeling that it was all just a joke, it didn't really happen. But from the movements around them, the sounds of some passing by claiming that they were out to find out whats going on. It was clearly not a joke.
"Cerebra... we need to find Reborn... activate the tracker"
---
Reborn stumbled slightly as he felt a hard shove across his shoulder, two tall beings rushing past him with no words of sorry as they nearly toppled him over. His arm moved across as he watched their backs as they moved out and disappeared into the foam of moving people and creatures. He had made it into markets, the one place he was most curious of checking out. It was more gruff then the Den and that was certain. There were small stalls filled with such exotic items to the most mundane, and behind the stalls were larger openings, doorways into market area's, food places, more Dens of much poorer quality. The market itself was in a rush of people, all manner of beast and being wandered through, all touching shoulders, brushing clothes, and moving one way or the other. To stop at one of the stalls was almost a death wish to get trampled under the sea of movement. But some brave stopped to look, but only few... most stopped when they 'knew' what they were buying.
He knew very well that the things that hung from the ceilings, from the edges of each stall would cost something, but he was not stupid. Not that he had any pockets, they were indeed empty, he wasn't about to make a fool of himself.
The hybrid passed on through the markets, glancing at weapons to food items, clothing items and the more. He was sure he would have to gain such paying credits, to at least get rid of the foul smelling vest he wore over himself. It was only then that he began to notice the looks he was getting, side glances, people stopping in the crowds only to be pushed on... even those commanding the small stalls, looked up from their paying customers to shoot him a glance. Reborn sniffed the cold dead air, looking across and noticing a youngling staring up at him from the top of a stall, his crystal blue eyes wide, his ears flat against his skull,
"Whats that mommy?"
Reborn's ears perked up slightly, his eyes somewhat fixating on the young wolf-like being that sat up on the counter-top. The shopkeeper pulled at the young one as soon as Reborn had turned, there was no reply to the comment, no words said to 'what' he was exactly.
Reborn passed through, finally coming to a side opening from the market... he took the moment to slide out into the open hall, watching as more and more creatures passed by. Above him railings waited, long glowing signs indicating what street it was and where each shop and stall lay. He stood there for a moment, his arms to his side, one of his smaller fingers twitching slightly. His mind wandered again, the fact of what he was, what was he? Was he so different then the ones passing through. Well yes he had armored legs and arms, but so did others. He had not seen any other being however, with robotics such as his, no coloration to their skin and surely not the scars that had all but closed up on him.
The hybrid moved on, his arms to his side still as he moved into a much larger area, potted vines and plants reaching up into the walls and such. It was a more relaxed area with only the few scattered beings that wandered around. He made his way across the open, still getting the glances that came to him from every passerby... from now, he knew he was different, and knew very well that he was more then lost...
---
"Is this truly the right course of action Commander?" Came a dark voice within the shadows of his now un-lit office. The pale commander held up a small glass of blue liquid, swirling it around in his hand for a moment before taking a swift drink, taking it all in. He coughed slightly, his voice slightly wheezy,
"Both the Central and Alliance military are too small to cover every planet and every station... The reports of 'where' Reborn was last seen are all but gone... It is now up to the general public to make what use they have... for the good of the Universe" the commander placed the glass back down against his steel table,
"The known Universe is about to lower itself into a deepened state of pillaging and war mongering, all for a creature built with the hands of Central" the voice came again, two green orbs glowing in the corner of the room, "The last time such time changing news reached the ears of all those around, was the cataclysmic destruction of Earth... and the disappearance of the Dragoon... Do you really think Subject: Reborn is worth so much? Will this not cause a state of war? Panic?"
"Central has its hand in everything now my good friend, and I will see it done that they have Reborn back within their hands, no matter the cost" the commander filled his glass once more,
"And what if it costs the very security of Alliance space?" the figure stood up slowly, his eyes glowing slightly in the shadows,
"Then may the gods have mercy on us all"
"There are no gods out here in deep space good Commander, only metal and dreams" the figure pressed one hand down against the table, reaching across and pulling the glass of drink from the commander,
"Will you be joining the others to find Reborn? Senturo?"
The figure loomed into the faded light of the desk, his metal mask glimmering slightly from the light as he placed away the glass, his glowing eyes shining across the commander's features, "I will find our subject: Reborn"
To be Continued.
((ooc: Aeryn doesn't use 'human' swearing terms, all the things she 'swears' will be in italics))
A clawed hand scratched at the back of a furry neck as a female Rodian... wolf, fox? Hybrid looked around slightly at the crowded station. Not really her kind of place, but hey. If you need a crew you need a crew right? Either way she probably wouldn't find one here, no one worked cheap anymore. The josun morons always wanted more and more until she was left without a crew again. Couldn't an Outlaw get anymore respect then that? Probably not. Blue dyed 'hair' fell into her eyes slightly and she pushed it away; she really needed a trim, but she could handle that back on her ship the Trickster's Card. She'd named it after her fathers favorite saying: Never consider a 'game' over, a trickster's card could yet be played. Aeryn had learned that 'game' he was referring to was life, and she was more then willing to fill in the role of the trickster.
Aeryn sighed. She needed to find a crew soon, she could man her ship on her own, but for salvaging wrecks it was always easier to actually have a crew to help her out. When she'd docked she'd slipped the guard a hefty amount of creds for a four day pass, today was the third day; she had to leave tomorrow or bribe more people and she already had tight pockets. Sure she could steal what she needed, but as it was, Aeryn had just made a big deal, but she needed to head out to the crash in order to get the part she needed, but in order to do that she had to look through the whole wreck. She rolled her golden eyes as she thought about how much work it'd be on her own. She could do it sure, but why do all the work herself? If she could find a good crew it'd be a lot more enjoyable.
Now, Aeryn had seen quite a few things, but the sight that next met her eyes was one that she wasn't entirely sure of what it was... but it aroused her curiosity. It walked through with a tall lizard like creature. Aeryn never did pay attention to species. If it had fur it had fur if it had scales then it was a lizard and she didn't give a rou if it was or wasn't. However, this creature looked part mechanical... and in all honesty the clothing was more distracting then his actual body. Whoever dressed him knew nothing about subtlety. The smell alone made her nose wrinkle and it made the creature look like a slave. Slavery wasn't uncommon, but even personal slaves normally at least didn't stink like fuel. Though there were some, maybe she was over analyzing the situation. Either way, he seemed interesting to her. It wasn't often she couldn't quite identify the species with one of it's own kind.
The hybrid fox followed the two at a distance, sauntering along seemingly unarmed, when in reality her twin pistols. Aeryn jokingly called them her 'wild card' because no one expected her to have such fine-tuned weapons. Aeryn spent several cycles every day cleaning them and repairing them so that they'd always be in shape when she needed them. She couldn't exactly get caught with her guns malfunctioning could she? She didn't have the credits to replace them either. Only the Alliance could afford the top of the line gear. Aeryn was just stuck with whatever she could work on.
Following the two proved to be mildly entertaining. There were times she could have sworn the mechanical one looked at her as if he were confused. She was just as confused by him as he might be her. Well, maybe not so much confused, but interested. Aeryn had a liking for technology and how it worked, even if she wasn't the best mechanic in the universe. She knew enough to tinker around and sometimes have breakthroughs. Her pride and joy was her pistols. Otherwise as well-kept as everything was, she was lucky if it was up to date five years behind the current tech.
When the weird lizard thing and the part machine went into the Den she remained outside. She wasn't about to pay to go into that place. Leaning against the side Aeryn waited for a bit to see if they would come out; her patience was rewarded when the mechanical thing did. She continued to follow him, her long bushy fox-tail swishing behind her some-what. Aeryn wasn't too horribly tall, but she also wasn't overly short. Her ears topped her off at 5'8", the top of her head measured in the 5'6"-5'7" range. Her fur was a range of brown to cream white with a black tail tip. The top of her head, her 'hair' and the longer hair on the back of her neck were dyed a deep blue off-setting her mischievous gold eyes. Those eyes watched on as this creature moved through the people of this area. One snotty little brat had the gall to ask what he was. Obviously he was a living thing and on another day she might have attempted to trip the little brat. Not hurt it, but at least scare the little thing senseless for a bit. Either way, she walked past the kid, following the part-robot.
It was when he moved to a more relaxed area that she finally stepped up the pace, walking closer to him as her sharp eyes looked him over. Well he didn't look overly threatening, if having arms and legs made out of armor that could possibly crush her bones, break her neck, and cause a range of damage could be considered 'harmless'. Either way, he seemed lost and if nothing else, alone. Without that big lizard she didn't think it would cause harm to walk up and talk to him.
Stepping up to him, she walked next to him, looking over to him. "Yuri, you look lost." She smiled slightly, walking next to the guy. She wasn't entirely sure it was such a smart idea since the stink of fuel was even more obvious this close up. Her eyes glared at anyone who stared before turning back to him. "My name is Aeryn. If you'd like I can help show you around this place? I promise I don't bite... unless you want me to." She swished her bushy tail slightly and grinned. She didn't mean it of course, but sometimes throwing in a little bit of a tease with a person who didn't look like he had a clue where he was didn't hurt. She hoped she came off friendly rather then troublesome.
"But I mean really. You look lost, or confused. Maybe both. I could give you a tour if you wanted? I've been here a couple of times on business ventures..." Her eyes narrowed at a feathered and scaled creature that was staring at this new guy before rolling her eyes. "Don't mind them. One of these days their faces will be stuck like that and we'll be the ones staring at them." She realized she was babbling, a curse she inherited from her mother. She smiled almost 'sheepishly' and said. "I'm sorry... I forgot to ask you for your name."
A clawed hand scratched at the back of a furry neck as a female Rodian... wolf, fox? Hybrid looked around slightly at the crowded station. Not really her kind of place, but hey. If you need a crew you need a crew right? Either way she probably wouldn't find one here, no one worked cheap anymore. The josun morons always wanted more and more until she was left without a crew again. Couldn't an Outlaw get anymore respect then that? Probably not. Blue dyed 'hair' fell into her eyes slightly and she pushed it away; she really needed a trim, but she could handle that back on her ship the Trickster's Card. She'd named it after her fathers favorite saying: Never consider a 'game' over, a trickster's card could yet be played. Aeryn had learned that 'game' he was referring to was life, and she was more then willing to fill in the role of the trickster.
Aeryn sighed. She needed to find a crew soon, she could man her ship on her own, but for salvaging wrecks it was always easier to actually have a crew to help her out. When she'd docked she'd slipped the guard a hefty amount of creds for a four day pass, today was the third day; she had to leave tomorrow or bribe more people and she already had tight pockets. Sure she could steal what she needed, but as it was, Aeryn had just made a big deal, but she needed to head out to the crash in order to get the part she needed, but in order to do that she had to look through the whole wreck. She rolled her golden eyes as she thought about how much work it'd be on her own. She could do it sure, but why do all the work herself? If she could find a good crew it'd be a lot more enjoyable.
Now, Aeryn had seen quite a few things, but the sight that next met her eyes was one that she wasn't entirely sure of what it was... but it aroused her curiosity. It walked through with a tall lizard like creature. Aeryn never did pay attention to species. If it had fur it had fur if it had scales then it was a lizard and she didn't give a rou if it was or wasn't. However, this creature looked part mechanical... and in all honesty the clothing was more distracting then his actual body. Whoever dressed him knew nothing about subtlety. The smell alone made her nose wrinkle and it made the creature look like a slave. Slavery wasn't uncommon, but even personal slaves normally at least didn't stink like fuel. Though there were some, maybe she was over analyzing the situation. Either way, he seemed interesting to her. It wasn't often she couldn't quite identify the species with one of it's own kind.
The hybrid fox followed the two at a distance, sauntering along seemingly unarmed, when in reality her twin pistols. Aeryn jokingly called them her 'wild card' because no one expected her to have such fine-tuned weapons. Aeryn spent several cycles every day cleaning them and repairing them so that they'd always be in shape when she needed them. She couldn't exactly get caught with her guns malfunctioning could she? She didn't have the credits to replace them either. Only the Alliance could afford the top of the line gear. Aeryn was just stuck with whatever she could work on.
Following the two proved to be mildly entertaining. There were times she could have sworn the mechanical one looked at her as if he were confused. She was just as confused by him as he might be her. Well, maybe not so much confused, but interested. Aeryn had a liking for technology and how it worked, even if she wasn't the best mechanic in the universe. She knew enough to tinker around and sometimes have breakthroughs. Her pride and joy was her pistols. Otherwise as well-kept as everything was, she was lucky if it was up to date five years behind the current tech.
When the weird lizard thing and the part machine went into the Den she remained outside. She wasn't about to pay to go into that place. Leaning against the side Aeryn waited for a bit to see if they would come out; her patience was rewarded when the mechanical thing did. She continued to follow him, her long bushy fox-tail swishing behind her some-what. Aeryn wasn't too horribly tall, but she also wasn't overly short. Her ears topped her off at 5'8", the top of her head measured in the 5'6"-5'7" range. Her fur was a range of brown to cream white with a black tail tip. The top of her head, her 'hair' and the longer hair on the back of her neck were dyed a deep blue off-setting her mischievous gold eyes. Those eyes watched on as this creature moved through the people of this area. One snotty little brat had the gall to ask what he was. Obviously he was a living thing and on another day she might have attempted to trip the little brat. Not hurt it, but at least scare the little thing senseless for a bit. Either way, she walked past the kid, following the part-robot.
It was when he moved to a more relaxed area that she finally stepped up the pace, walking closer to him as her sharp eyes looked him over. Well he didn't look overly threatening, if having arms and legs made out of armor that could possibly crush her bones, break her neck, and cause a range of damage could be considered 'harmless'. Either way, he seemed lost and if nothing else, alone. Without that big lizard she didn't think it would cause harm to walk up and talk to him.
Stepping up to him, she walked next to him, looking over to him. "Yuri, you look lost." She smiled slightly, walking next to the guy. She wasn't entirely sure it was such a smart idea since the stink of fuel was even more obvious this close up. Her eyes glared at anyone who stared before turning back to him. "My name is Aeryn. If you'd like I can help show you around this place? I promise I don't bite... unless you want me to." She swished her bushy tail slightly and grinned. She didn't mean it of course, but sometimes throwing in a little bit of a tease with a person who didn't look like he had a clue where he was didn't hurt. She hoped she came off friendly rather then troublesome.
"But I mean really. You look lost, or confused. Maybe both. I could give you a tour if you wanted? I've been here a couple of times on business ventures..." Her eyes narrowed at a feathered and scaled creature that was staring at this new guy before rolling her eyes. "Don't mind them. One of these days their faces will be stuck like that and we'll be the ones staring at them." She realized she was babbling, a curse she inherited from her mother. She smiled almost 'sheepishly' and said. "I'm sorry... I forgot to ask you for your name."
<center>
"No further questions ... no further comments."
And then suddenly the big special announcement was gone. The normal news flickered back into place, only now there were flashing names of those who were wanted for questioning ... for capture ... for reward. And the Reborn. That thing was an eye-catcher. Built like a dragon but with parts from a robot - bits of metal here and there that made Clover swoon in remembrance of the Underground Cornerstone. Black Market scumbags would pay a hefty price for gold-sheened armor like that. And she would be capable of producing alloy copies by reffing the original. They could be used for something. A thought: How tough was that steel?
"Beaut, ain't she?" chirruped the woman, pressing her palm against a wet dish and rubbing it dry with a towel.
This was a strange creature to be had, that was for certain. Skin slick and decorated in green with a light blue underbelly, spikes taking the facade of hair sprouted from the top of her skull to below the shoulder blades, each fading from green to blue. Orange freckles were deposited on each cheek. Violent violet irises, slitted pupil - they stared all about, checking out each customer, sizing them up. Hands were tipped with small climbing claws, useless for fighting though they could land a couple scratches here and there. A tail, fanned with webbing, sprouted from her backside. There was a scar alongt he right side of her face - haggard and straight. And she was decked out in a waitress uniform - long dress and blouse.
Coincidentally, Clover was standing right in front of Rykov at the time. She took little notice of the raptor - as far as he could tell, at least - but learned forward, speaking with her eyes trained on the Vid and nowhere else. "Thats some clean-cut steel." A grin. She shook her head. "Fuckin' neat."
"Clover!" screamed a deep, feminine voice from the kitchen. The reptilian fae grimaced. She'd grown to hate that snobby little - "Yer shift's over, git the hell outta here!"
"Yes Mom!" groveled the woman with a bitter acid taste in her mouth. That lady kept actin' like her boss. Well, technically, she was ...
"Didn't ya hear me, git OUT!" came the howl again. Many of the other employees winced, covering their ears. Clover scowled and slammed the plate on the counter, not shattering it but making a resounding BOOM!
"Christ, lady," she snarled under her breath. "If you don't like me, why the fuck did ya hire me?" She pulled her dress up over her head, earning wolf whistles from the crowd who thought she was stripping. The reality was that she had her mech clothes on underneath - ruffled navy blue blouse, baggy brown jeans. Nonetheless, Clover made a show of wriggling out of her dress - enticingly to screw with the whistlers. She shoved the dress under the counter and removed a tool belt, which she wrapped about her wait. Then she pulled out thick worker glovers, covering the claws with pride. In one second, she pressed a glove against the counter and vaulted over it, clearing Rykov's head in the process (her tail just brushing his spines). "Screw this. I got a better job."
Hitching up her pants slightly, she stepped forward and looked about. She would need to get to the Garage soon. McKenzie was lurking there, waiting for her arrival - he guarded the place like it was his own personal Den when she was away ... and when she was there. With the right mechanics and the proper technology ... perhaps she could start looking into this 'Reborn' ...
"No further questions ... no further comments."
And then suddenly the big special announcement was gone. The normal news flickered back into place, only now there were flashing names of those who were wanted for questioning ... for capture ... for reward. And the Reborn. That thing was an eye-catcher. Built like a dragon but with parts from a robot - bits of metal here and there that made Clover swoon in remembrance of the Underground Cornerstone. Black Market scumbags would pay a hefty price for gold-sheened armor like that. And she would be capable of producing alloy copies by reffing the original. They could be used for something. A thought: How tough was that steel?
"Beaut, ain't she?" chirruped the woman, pressing her palm against a wet dish and rubbing it dry with a towel.
This was a strange creature to be had, that was for certain. Skin slick and decorated in green with a light blue underbelly, spikes taking the facade of hair sprouted from the top of her skull to below the shoulder blades, each fading from green to blue. Orange freckles were deposited on each cheek. Violent violet irises, slitted pupil - they stared all about, checking out each customer, sizing them up. Hands were tipped with small climbing claws, useless for fighting though they could land a couple scratches here and there. A tail, fanned with webbing, sprouted from her backside. There was a scar alongt he right side of her face - haggard and straight. And she was decked out in a waitress uniform - long dress and blouse.
Coincidentally, Clover was standing right in front of Rykov at the time. She took little notice of the raptor - as far as he could tell, at least - but learned forward, speaking with her eyes trained on the Vid and nowhere else. "Thats some clean-cut steel." A grin. She shook her head. "Fuckin' neat."
"Clover!" screamed a deep, feminine voice from the kitchen. The reptilian fae grimaced. She'd grown to hate that snobby little - "Yer shift's over, git the hell outta here!"
"Yes Mom!" groveled the woman with a bitter acid taste in her mouth. That lady kept actin' like her boss. Well, technically, she was ...
"Didn't ya hear me, git OUT!" came the howl again. Many of the other employees winced, covering their ears. Clover scowled and slammed the plate on the counter, not shattering it but making a resounding BOOM!
"Christ, lady," she snarled under her breath. "If you don't like me, why the fuck did ya hire me?" She pulled her dress up over her head, earning wolf whistles from the crowd who thought she was stripping. The reality was that she had her mech clothes on underneath - ruffled navy blue blouse, baggy brown jeans. Nonetheless, Clover made a show of wriggling out of her dress - enticingly to screw with the whistlers. She shoved the dress under the counter and removed a tool belt, which she wrapped about her wait. Then she pulled out thick worker glovers, covering the claws with pride. In one second, she pressed a glove against the counter and vaulted over it, clearing Rykov's head in the process (her tail just brushing his spines). "Screw this. I got a better job."
Hitching up her pants slightly, she stepped forward and looked about. She would need to get to the Garage soon. McKenzie was lurking there, waiting for her arrival - he guarded the place like it was his own personal Den when she was away ... and when she was there. With the right mechanics and the proper technology ... perhaps she could start looking into this 'Reborn' ...
Last edited by Windra on Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"We all change, when you think about it, we're all different people; all through our lives, and that's okay, that's good, you've gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be."
Sector: 3.243F6A8885A308D31319...
Date: 11.00100100001111110110....
Activating...
Metal gears clanked away inside the old ship as metal welders moved away from their finished product. The metal man's singular three lens focused into the flat surface of what should have been a face, but was just the sillouete of one, composed completely out of sheets of metal and two villanous red lenses placed symmetrically to give it the look of sure disgust and horror.
"Glad to see you're up, SIN. It's been a while."
If the robot could have, he would have blinked a bit, but the constant focusing and refocusing of his eye gave that appearance as he swiveled around, confirming that he had been freshly forged and possibly had new doodads to play with.
"Ohhh my processors.... what happened?"
"Negotiations went south in that last deal with the Luminesen, you were terminated, again. And no it wasn't by me even though I'd VERY much like to do so. I was too busy blasting away at etherals."
“Glad to see you're as chipper as ever 1-1.”
“Chipper has nothing to do with it SIN, while you were out for the past few hours, you were integrated with your back up, the information you collected and the new navigations map we secured from the... recently deceased's ship.”
“'deceased's' isn't a word 1-1.”
“I'm a pirate, not a dictionary. But you're getting tangential SIN, Focus.”
There was a whirling noise as sparks flew from a welder as it made the finishing touches upon the metal robot, a plug here, a slide of a chip there.. a French braid and a clamp of a fiber-optic cable there..
“Affirmative.” Responded SIN as his hard drive was fragmented on the spot. “So what's the new objective?”
“About five minutes ago a bounty was posted for the securing of something known as 'Reborn' first bounty in a long time to rival us in our glory days. This is what caught our eye SIN.”
“What about it?”
“Well It was posted by the Alliance. And with the urgency, promptness, and reward for this character they make it sound like it's Priority one.”
“Ohhhh... but you know we don't care much about money 1-1.”
“I was getting to that SIN. Neverwas Wants to find more about the Origin about this Reborn. Why is he so valuable? And what happened to make the Alliance so desperate. If we succeeded we could very well benefit from what ever threatened the Alliance. And quite possibly receive a reward far greater than this, Reborn.”
“That sounds mad, even for her.”
There was a slam as 1-1 pressed SIN against a welder bay.
“I will not tolerate lose words about us on ourselves SIN. Do you know what the chain of command is a board here?”
“No.”
“It's the chain I go and beat you with till you understand that we are in control here. Now go back to your navigations board. We need to move to find the where that signal was directed, and where it came from. If we can figure out where the incident of where the Reborn took place... then we might actually hold some power greater than being a pirate ship.”
“Yeah yeah yeah...” Murmured SIN as he clanked away to the navigations bay and began his analysis upon the receivers and circuits of the NeverWas, plugging in and using it's vast arrays and systems to locate the origin of the signal (Alliance broadcast...) and where it was headed...
“Location confirmed: Trillion Station”
Date: 11.00100100001111110110....
Activating...
Metal gears clanked away inside the old ship as metal welders moved away from their finished product. The metal man's singular three lens focused into the flat surface of what should have been a face, but was just the sillouete of one, composed completely out of sheets of metal and two villanous red lenses placed symmetrically to give it the look of sure disgust and horror.
"Glad to see you're up, SIN. It's been a while."
If the robot could have, he would have blinked a bit, but the constant focusing and refocusing of his eye gave that appearance as he swiveled around, confirming that he had been freshly forged and possibly had new doodads to play with.
"Ohhh my processors.... what happened?"
"Negotiations went south in that last deal with the Luminesen, you were terminated, again. And no it wasn't by me even though I'd VERY much like to do so. I was too busy blasting away at etherals."
“Glad to see you're as chipper as ever 1-1.”
“Chipper has nothing to do with it SIN, while you were out for the past few hours, you were integrated with your back up, the information you collected and the new navigations map we secured from the... recently deceased's ship.”
“'deceased's' isn't a word 1-1.”
“I'm a pirate, not a dictionary. But you're getting tangential SIN, Focus.”
There was a whirling noise as sparks flew from a welder as it made the finishing touches upon the metal robot, a plug here, a slide of a chip there.. a French braid and a clamp of a fiber-optic cable there..
“Affirmative.” Responded SIN as his hard drive was fragmented on the spot. “So what's the new objective?”
“About five minutes ago a bounty was posted for the securing of something known as 'Reborn' first bounty in a long time to rival us in our glory days. This is what caught our eye SIN.”
“What about it?”
“Well It was posted by the Alliance. And with the urgency, promptness, and reward for this character they make it sound like it's Priority one.”
“Ohhhh... but you know we don't care much about money 1-1.”
“I was getting to that SIN. Neverwas Wants to find more about the Origin about this Reborn. Why is he so valuable? And what happened to make the Alliance so desperate. If we succeeded we could very well benefit from what ever threatened the Alliance. And quite possibly receive a reward far greater than this, Reborn.”
“That sounds mad, even for her.”
There was a slam as 1-1 pressed SIN against a welder bay.
“I will not tolerate lose words about us on ourselves SIN. Do you know what the chain of command is a board here?”
“No.”
“It's the chain I go and beat you with till you understand that we are in control here. Now go back to your navigations board. We need to move to find the where that signal was directed, and where it came from. If we can figure out where the incident of where the Reborn took place... then we might actually hold some power greater than being a pirate ship.”
“Yeah yeah yeah...” Murmured SIN as he clanked away to the navigations bay and began his analysis upon the receivers and circuits of the NeverWas, plugging in and using it's vast arrays and systems to locate the origin of the signal (Alliance broadcast...) and where it was headed...
“Location confirmed: Trillion Station”
"Yuri, you look lost."
"Huh?" Reborn spoke up, coming to a stop, his metal feet grinding against the cool ground, his eyes turning to face the owner of the voice. It was odd, another creature new to him, but within his mind he could very well picture knowing something like this, a being with the same features and looks, but could not place a name to the species. He turned his body, his arms slipping across from his sides and placing on his sides slightly. Part of him believed there was a voice in his head... scarily enough he could picture Captain Rykov shaking his finger at him and telling him something like, 'Don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone, don't even breathe on anyone' But that vivid picture of his 'friend' soon disappeared with his voice slipping out, quiet and definantly unsure of himself, "Well you are right about that, heh heh" he pressed his cold fingers against the back of his head, scratching it slightly, the cold steel sending shivers down his back slightly, "But I don't know... I think my 'friend' is waiting for me... buut" he turned his glance, watching people as they passed on, moving out in a hurry, not even bothering to glance at him.
Well it was only a small place, as he could see anyway, and it wasn't like the Captain was missing him or anything. The look in his eyes was a clear indication that he didn't care if Reborn had gotten lost. The half dragon was half lost in thought, breaking out of it with a shake of his head, "Oh, I', sorry, Aeryn? My name is Re-" his eyes glimmered slightly pausing only for a second as other passed him, his voice quietening slightly, "It's Reborn, heh, I think"
His first meeting with a creature and he was already messing it up, he smelled like he had just stepped out of a robot shower, the metal that showed across his body was more then the beings that had seen him to handle, enough to gather many stares... and now he was muddling up his words, even his so-called name! Reborn scratched his head nervously again, his tail moving behind him. It was only then that he noticed his eyes were staring as if dazed at her tail, "Sorry" he said, looking across and shaking his head, "I'm sorta new around here... and you have to be the nicest creatu... person I've met" he said with a cautious chuckle, hoping that would be enough to get him out of the mess he had fallen into.
---
"Grid: 3.25, located"
A figure dressed in cold blue armor turned from his seat, looking across to the computer he was stationed on. The screen flickered up transparently, displaying the incoming ship on the scanners. The man in armor nodded his head, pulling up the paperwork in his hands, he gave a short shoulder shove to the guy next to him,
"Link up has found something, trajectory is off the regular trading route... its moving towards us" the armored one spoke up, leaning forward in his chair slightly,
"It's probably just a trader, taken too many shots of gizo juice, give him a break, the computer will change the directory to his safest port, etcetera etcetera" the other replied, leaning back against his chair, his arms folding behind his head as if he were preparing to take another nap,
"Signature unkown, reading Alliance code 00000043. Bringing up records of code unknown" the computer voice made the man lean up slightly, his visor folding back to reveal a rather pale looking being inside, his green eyes flickering a soft glow,
"You spilled your drink on the keyboard again genius?" he grumbled, placing his hand over the most unconventional and old keyboard there had to be. His eyes flickered again as the computer continued its readouts, scanning over the single incoming object,
"No" the other replied, leaning back and waving his hand, "Hey Garah, you picking up any communications from Grid: 3.25?" he spoke up, the sound of movement across the other side of the metal room a flickering screen turning on, spines rising,
"Nothing, Grid 3.25 is quiet as a ghost"
"Sergent Malister Kane, age unkown, record indicating Sgt Kane was classed KIA two hundred years ago" the computer flickered slightly a picture of the outside space slipping up in front of them, revealing a sleek blue pod, speeding out from the middle of nowhere, directly moving for the station,
"That can't be right, Garah, open up a comm link!" Came the voice of the armored one, his hand flickering on the keyboard, his partner standing up and looking over the pod on screen, "This is Trillion Security, Identify yourself, immediately. If no communication is sent in the set amount of time, you will receive a warning shot... after such shot takes place, you will be fired on, please reply"
"Wow, you don't have to take it so serious you know" came Garah,
"Military law comes fir-"
"Surrender the Reborn. Surrender the Reborn. Surrender the Reborn. Surrender the Reborn." the message continued to repeat, over and over, the voice was heavy, mechanic and sounded like the regular computer system that even they had been using. The armored one pulled his hand back, pulling up the commlink, "Patch me through the outer gun numbers"
"Got it" spoke up Garah once more,
"This is Security, load up, target is an unkown pod moving in from Grid: 3:25, it will be in Grid: 3:26 any moment, use all side cannons and gun it down before it becomes in range"
"Roger that, Grid: 3:26 is coming into view"
---
"Get me the read-" his head turned with a jerk of his neck, his eyes glancing towards the creature who had leapt over him, his spines moving slightly. Being the creature he was, he would of simply snapped at her, being jumped over was not one of his most enjoyable moments, least by one that worked within the confines of such a dark station in the middle of no where. Rykov growled under his breath, snorting towards her. The movement of the area around them, the crowds and random creatures that disappeared around the corners was clear indication that Reborn was no longer safe on this station, he would be followed if found and seen... It was somewhat good that the pictures they had revealed on the screen were not of clear indication of what Reborn was like in complete.
The raptor's glance slipped from Clover, his claws digging against the ground as he stepped away from the bench, walking out just behind the girl, his voice perked up, speaking to the hovering orb above his shoulder, "Give me a clear scanning of the market area and also the long walk, he could not have gotten far" and that was the truth, Reborn was more or less around the corner, unseen to either of them of course, a number of walls and turns in the market cutting them off from the Den.
Rykov was ready to do anything, he would pillage a ship if need be, but finding Reborn and getting off the station was his first plan, and that was vital to everything, if the Alliance wanted to drop him a hard ball, then he would make it worth their time to find him and Reborn.
The ground suddenly shuddered around them, Rykov taking a simple step back as he heard the mutterings and call outs of the people around them. His eyes flickered slightly, turning and looking across, his sights passing over Clover and then into the distance... Silence suddenly slipping through the loud noise and, usually, voice filled areas of the station. All seemed to silence at the shudder, as if the station had been shot upon, or something had run deep into its armored outer hull. The sounds of metal bending, something crackling and the decompression of air seeped into the sounds that echoed in the far distance. The sounds came from under them, deep into the engineering and some of the Station staff and Security docking bays, off limits to civilians.
The raptor turned his back on the others that looked around blinding trying to figure out what had just happened, waiting for any sort of communication,
"Give me an update... Cerebra?"
"I'm reading movement in the under decks sir... Reports of a collision... Scanning's are indicating the same readouts of the pod that collided with Alafhast" the orb slightly glimmered, spinning as it did its readouts through the stations security,
"The same pod? That cannot be true" Rykov turned his head,
"Alarms will be in motion within the minute"
---
"Shoot the walls! Shoot the damned walls!" came the growl of a thickly armored Raptor, his tongue flicked across as he pulled both rifles nestled in his hands, firing pulse after pulse into the metal walls around him, the shots rippling and spreading snapping through the smoke of the hallway. Marines in the same Trillion Security armor fired down into the hallway, snapping shots across the walls as the sounds of metal feet met the ground, something moving with haste up through the smoke, "Keep Firing! Don't let up!"
"Major Halik, I'm getting more readings from all repairing sectors, security office has been overrun, docking bays three to nine have lost all power" came the static voice over the link in the hall way,
"Upload the code red Alarm, lock down all upper civilian quarters, we have to lock it down! I repeat lock it down!" the Major snarled back into the link. His eyes flashed across, watching as something snapped forward in the distance, a single figure, thin and metal, cords dangling and skittering across the ground. There was no features but a single red orb glowing in the middle of its head, the thing was shaped like that of any humanoid being, its legs long and thin. It's body looked cracked and shot up however, sparks running across its form as it shot forward through the smoke and dust.
The Major brought both rifles up and away from the walls, "Target acquired, we have you now!" he laughed out, fire licking the edges of his two pulse rifles, blasts of energy seeping out. Blast after blast snapped into the think, cracking out the back of its body with a burst of blood and wires, spattering against the ground. His arm flung up, reaching forward as it ran towards the group of five marines,
"Shit! He's not going down! Zama, grenades!" the Major roared. As soon as his voice came out, a single blast snapped across, bouncing off the wall and cracking open a burst of flame and blue light. Debris flung across the wall, snapping out and chattering across the metal ground. Flaming smoke particles fell across as the figure faltered a few steps, its head bent to one side, the fingers on its other arm melting slightly.
The group faltered, the first marine dropping back as the figure rushed right into him, snapping into the marine and dropping him to the ground. With a sharp scream the marine flailed around, his vitals going red, failing as his armor seemed to stretch and snap, crackling around his body, wires broke and slithered into his body as if it were alive. The Major brought his gun up, the other pointing down at the marine... the wall to the side of the other hall collapsing across as three more metallic figures fumbled forward, their arms out and moving as they rushed towards the remaining group,
"Zama! Talk to me!" Major Halik turned his gun on the marine, the figure falling from his body, the new armored being, what used to be Zama standing up, a flickering red orb in the center of his skull, flickering. His gun snapped across, a long metal claw slashing through the ground and snapping through the legs of two of the other marines. The Major pulled his guns across, firing relentlessly into the machines around him, from the corner of his eye he watched as countless more machines pushed through the walls, snapping through the computers, metal bending and shaping into their very beings...
---
The lights around the entire station suddenly flickered red, a loud alarm system signaling all around them, the lights flashing on and off, "This is a Code Red Alarm signal, repeat... this is a Code Red Alarm signal, all Trillion guests and civilians are to report to their closest quarters and safe zones, please remain ccaaalzzt..." the computer voice slipped off as the lights slowly came to a stand still, bathing the entire station in just the dark red light. The loud sirens still roaring around them.
Reborn looked around, his eyes narrowing slightly, but seemingly now out of cautiousness, "Uhh... Is this what happens all the time?"
---
"Lower docking bays compromised... Contaminant is moving upwards, security have lost signals" came the voice of the orb hovering over his shoulder. Rykov leant his hand across, pulling his fingers around the holster to his side and pulling his pistol out of place,
"Cerebra, find Reborn, I'm going to find myself a ship, run into any problems... Tell me" He took that moment to walk up towards Clover, the orb snapping across and disappearing around the corner with a hurry,
"You there" he spoke up, his weapon to his side slightly, "Where are the closest docking bays? And I'm not talking cargo ships"
---
A single figure pressed his knee against the cold metal ground, his hood moving across a single red orb glowing from under the simple black and red hood. A light glimmered before the being, shimmering with the same red light... A single glowing orb floated simply there before him,
"So it is done?" came a deep voice,
"Yes my lord, the bounty has been put in place, the Brood are spreading and searching... We will have results in a matter of minutes. Your plans are going well." came the voice of the kneeling figure, his sights still looking down, not daring to look up on the orb that hovered before him,
"Then it has begun."
"Huh?" Reborn spoke up, coming to a stop, his metal feet grinding against the cool ground, his eyes turning to face the owner of the voice. It was odd, another creature new to him, but within his mind he could very well picture knowing something like this, a being with the same features and looks, but could not place a name to the species. He turned his body, his arms slipping across from his sides and placing on his sides slightly. Part of him believed there was a voice in his head... scarily enough he could picture Captain Rykov shaking his finger at him and telling him something like, 'Don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone, don't even breathe on anyone' But that vivid picture of his 'friend' soon disappeared with his voice slipping out, quiet and definantly unsure of himself, "Well you are right about that, heh heh" he pressed his cold fingers against the back of his head, scratching it slightly, the cold steel sending shivers down his back slightly, "But I don't know... I think my 'friend' is waiting for me... buut" he turned his glance, watching people as they passed on, moving out in a hurry, not even bothering to glance at him.
Well it was only a small place, as he could see anyway, and it wasn't like the Captain was missing him or anything. The look in his eyes was a clear indication that he didn't care if Reborn had gotten lost. The half dragon was half lost in thought, breaking out of it with a shake of his head, "Oh, I', sorry, Aeryn? My name is Re-" his eyes glimmered slightly pausing only for a second as other passed him, his voice quietening slightly, "It's Reborn, heh, I think"
His first meeting with a creature and he was already messing it up, he smelled like he had just stepped out of a robot shower, the metal that showed across his body was more then the beings that had seen him to handle, enough to gather many stares... and now he was muddling up his words, even his so-called name! Reborn scratched his head nervously again, his tail moving behind him. It was only then that he noticed his eyes were staring as if dazed at her tail, "Sorry" he said, looking across and shaking his head, "I'm sorta new around here... and you have to be the nicest creatu... person I've met" he said with a cautious chuckle, hoping that would be enough to get him out of the mess he had fallen into.
---
"Grid: 3.25, located"
A figure dressed in cold blue armor turned from his seat, looking across to the computer he was stationed on. The screen flickered up transparently, displaying the incoming ship on the scanners. The man in armor nodded his head, pulling up the paperwork in his hands, he gave a short shoulder shove to the guy next to him,
"Link up has found something, trajectory is off the regular trading route... its moving towards us" the armored one spoke up, leaning forward in his chair slightly,
"It's probably just a trader, taken too many shots of gizo juice, give him a break, the computer will change the directory to his safest port, etcetera etcetera" the other replied, leaning back against his chair, his arms folding behind his head as if he were preparing to take another nap,
"Signature unkown, reading Alliance code 00000043. Bringing up records of code unknown" the computer voice made the man lean up slightly, his visor folding back to reveal a rather pale looking being inside, his green eyes flickering a soft glow,
"You spilled your drink on the keyboard again genius?" he grumbled, placing his hand over the most unconventional and old keyboard there had to be. His eyes flickered again as the computer continued its readouts, scanning over the single incoming object,
"No" the other replied, leaning back and waving his hand, "Hey Garah, you picking up any communications from Grid: 3.25?" he spoke up, the sound of movement across the other side of the metal room a flickering screen turning on, spines rising,
"Nothing, Grid 3.25 is quiet as a ghost"
"Sergent Malister Kane, age unkown, record indicating Sgt Kane was classed KIA two hundred years ago" the computer flickered slightly a picture of the outside space slipping up in front of them, revealing a sleek blue pod, speeding out from the middle of nowhere, directly moving for the station,
"That can't be right, Garah, open up a comm link!" Came the voice of the armored one, his hand flickering on the keyboard, his partner standing up and looking over the pod on screen, "This is Trillion Security, Identify yourself, immediately. If no communication is sent in the set amount of time, you will receive a warning shot... after such shot takes place, you will be fired on, please reply"
"Wow, you don't have to take it so serious you know" came Garah,
"Military law comes fir-"
"Surrender the Reborn. Surrender the Reborn. Surrender the Reborn. Surrender the Reborn." the message continued to repeat, over and over, the voice was heavy, mechanic and sounded like the regular computer system that even they had been using. The armored one pulled his hand back, pulling up the commlink, "Patch me through the outer gun numbers"
"Got it" spoke up Garah once more,
"This is Security, load up, target is an unkown pod moving in from Grid: 3:25, it will be in Grid: 3:26 any moment, use all side cannons and gun it down before it becomes in range"
"Roger that, Grid: 3:26 is coming into view"
---
"Get me the read-" his head turned with a jerk of his neck, his eyes glancing towards the creature who had leapt over him, his spines moving slightly. Being the creature he was, he would of simply snapped at her, being jumped over was not one of his most enjoyable moments, least by one that worked within the confines of such a dark station in the middle of no where. Rykov growled under his breath, snorting towards her. The movement of the area around them, the crowds and random creatures that disappeared around the corners was clear indication that Reborn was no longer safe on this station, he would be followed if found and seen... It was somewhat good that the pictures they had revealed on the screen were not of clear indication of what Reborn was like in complete.
The raptor's glance slipped from Clover, his claws digging against the ground as he stepped away from the bench, walking out just behind the girl, his voice perked up, speaking to the hovering orb above his shoulder, "Give me a clear scanning of the market area and also the long walk, he could not have gotten far" and that was the truth, Reborn was more or less around the corner, unseen to either of them of course, a number of walls and turns in the market cutting them off from the Den.
Rykov was ready to do anything, he would pillage a ship if need be, but finding Reborn and getting off the station was his first plan, and that was vital to everything, if the Alliance wanted to drop him a hard ball, then he would make it worth their time to find him and Reborn.
The ground suddenly shuddered around them, Rykov taking a simple step back as he heard the mutterings and call outs of the people around them. His eyes flickered slightly, turning and looking across, his sights passing over Clover and then into the distance... Silence suddenly slipping through the loud noise and, usually, voice filled areas of the station. All seemed to silence at the shudder, as if the station had been shot upon, or something had run deep into its armored outer hull. The sounds of metal bending, something crackling and the decompression of air seeped into the sounds that echoed in the far distance. The sounds came from under them, deep into the engineering and some of the Station staff and Security docking bays, off limits to civilians.
The raptor turned his back on the others that looked around blinding trying to figure out what had just happened, waiting for any sort of communication,
"Give me an update... Cerebra?"
"I'm reading movement in the under decks sir... Reports of a collision... Scanning's are indicating the same readouts of the pod that collided with Alafhast" the orb slightly glimmered, spinning as it did its readouts through the stations security,
"The same pod? That cannot be true" Rykov turned his head,
"Alarms will be in motion within the minute"
---
"Shoot the walls! Shoot the damned walls!" came the growl of a thickly armored Raptor, his tongue flicked across as he pulled both rifles nestled in his hands, firing pulse after pulse into the metal walls around him, the shots rippling and spreading snapping through the smoke of the hallway. Marines in the same Trillion Security armor fired down into the hallway, snapping shots across the walls as the sounds of metal feet met the ground, something moving with haste up through the smoke, "Keep Firing! Don't let up!"
"Major Halik, I'm getting more readings from all repairing sectors, security office has been overrun, docking bays three to nine have lost all power" came the static voice over the link in the hall way,
"Upload the code red Alarm, lock down all upper civilian quarters, we have to lock it down! I repeat lock it down!" the Major snarled back into the link. His eyes flashed across, watching as something snapped forward in the distance, a single figure, thin and metal, cords dangling and skittering across the ground. There was no features but a single red orb glowing in the middle of its head, the thing was shaped like that of any humanoid being, its legs long and thin. It's body looked cracked and shot up however, sparks running across its form as it shot forward through the smoke and dust.
The Major brought both rifles up and away from the walls, "Target acquired, we have you now!" he laughed out, fire licking the edges of his two pulse rifles, blasts of energy seeping out. Blast after blast snapped into the think, cracking out the back of its body with a burst of blood and wires, spattering against the ground. His arm flung up, reaching forward as it ran towards the group of five marines,
"Shit! He's not going down! Zama, grenades!" the Major roared. As soon as his voice came out, a single blast snapped across, bouncing off the wall and cracking open a burst of flame and blue light. Debris flung across the wall, snapping out and chattering across the metal ground. Flaming smoke particles fell across as the figure faltered a few steps, its head bent to one side, the fingers on its other arm melting slightly.
The group faltered, the first marine dropping back as the figure rushed right into him, snapping into the marine and dropping him to the ground. With a sharp scream the marine flailed around, his vitals going red, failing as his armor seemed to stretch and snap, crackling around his body, wires broke and slithered into his body as if it were alive. The Major brought his gun up, the other pointing down at the marine... the wall to the side of the other hall collapsing across as three more metallic figures fumbled forward, their arms out and moving as they rushed towards the remaining group,
"Zama! Talk to me!" Major Halik turned his gun on the marine, the figure falling from his body, the new armored being, what used to be Zama standing up, a flickering red orb in the center of his skull, flickering. His gun snapped across, a long metal claw slashing through the ground and snapping through the legs of two of the other marines. The Major pulled his guns across, firing relentlessly into the machines around him, from the corner of his eye he watched as countless more machines pushed through the walls, snapping through the computers, metal bending and shaping into their very beings...
---
The lights around the entire station suddenly flickered red, a loud alarm system signaling all around them, the lights flashing on and off, "This is a Code Red Alarm signal, repeat... this is a Code Red Alarm signal, all Trillion guests and civilians are to report to their closest quarters and safe zones, please remain ccaaalzzt..." the computer voice slipped off as the lights slowly came to a stand still, bathing the entire station in just the dark red light. The loud sirens still roaring around them.
Reborn looked around, his eyes narrowing slightly, but seemingly now out of cautiousness, "Uhh... Is this what happens all the time?"
---
"Lower docking bays compromised... Contaminant is moving upwards, security have lost signals" came the voice of the orb hovering over his shoulder. Rykov leant his hand across, pulling his fingers around the holster to his side and pulling his pistol out of place,
"Cerebra, find Reborn, I'm going to find myself a ship, run into any problems... Tell me" He took that moment to walk up towards Clover, the orb snapping across and disappearing around the corner with a hurry,
"You there" he spoke up, his weapon to his side slightly, "Where are the closest docking bays? And I'm not talking cargo ships"
---
A single figure pressed his knee against the cold metal ground, his hood moving across a single red orb glowing from under the simple black and red hood. A light glimmered before the being, shimmering with the same red light... A single glowing orb floated simply there before him,
"So it is done?" came a deep voice,
"Yes my lord, the bounty has been put in place, the Brood are spreading and searching... We will have results in a matter of minutes. Your plans are going well." came the voice of the kneeling figure, his sights still looking down, not daring to look up on the orb that hovered before him,
"Then it has begun."
~
Well, all in all a space station could be overwhelming, and it might have been his first time here. Aeryn's tail gently swayed back and forth, long and bushy as she watched him, her golden eyes soft and welcoming. Though she was looking for a crew, finding someone interesting to talk to could prove to be a great deal more valuable because you never know if they are indeed looking for work.
"Well thank you Reborn. You seem like a the good-sort yourself." Aeryn glanced around slightly, wondering where lizard guy went anyway. "Well does your friend expect you back any time soon? Maybe I could show you around-" She was about to offer to go and get some drinks even, but the only problem was at that moment explosions and the station itself started to shake. The female wolf hybrid fox grabbed hold of Reborn's shoulder to steady herself. Her face flicked around to the people around them, they were shocked and slightly alarmed. Well evidently this kind of thing didn't happen here very often at all. Her eyes flickered around as the blaring alarm system suddenly went off, flashing lights and the whole she-bang. Her ears flattened on her head as she glanced over to Reborn. She reached forward and too his arm, pulling for him to follow on after her.
"We need to get off this station, if your 'friend' is smart he'll jump on the first vessel he finds." Aeryn looked at Reborn's clothing once more, a slight look of distaste crossing her furred features. "If he is your friend that is. I'm not sure I'd be willing to dress you in a piece of scrap like that, but no offense meant, but we need to get out of here." She pulled hard on his arm, leaning back, for some reason she didn't feel she should leave Reborn here on his own. He seemed too lost, almost too afraid and amazed by everything to know who was good company and who was bad. Aeryn's ear flickered back as her eyes narrowed. "You can trust me. I promise, I'm a friend."
((Small post, but Aeryn has to wait for Reborn to say ok XD ))
"Well thank you Reborn. You seem like a the good-sort yourself." Aeryn glanced around slightly, wondering where lizard guy went anyway. "Well does your friend expect you back any time soon? Maybe I could show you around-" She was about to offer to go and get some drinks even, but the only problem was at that moment explosions and the station itself started to shake. The female wolf hybrid fox grabbed hold of Reborn's shoulder to steady herself. Her face flicked around to the people around them, they were shocked and slightly alarmed. Well evidently this kind of thing didn't happen here very often at all. Her eyes flickered around as the blaring alarm system suddenly went off, flashing lights and the whole she-bang. Her ears flattened on her head as she glanced over to Reborn. She reached forward and too his arm, pulling for him to follow on after her.
"We need to get off this station, if your 'friend' is smart he'll jump on the first vessel he finds." Aeryn looked at Reborn's clothing once more, a slight look of distaste crossing her furred features. "If he is your friend that is. I'm not sure I'd be willing to dress you in a piece of scrap like that, but no offense meant, but we need to get out of here." She pulled hard on his arm, leaning back, for some reason she didn't feel she should leave Reborn here on his own. He seemed too lost, almost too afraid and amazed by everything to know who was good company and who was bad. Aeryn's ear flickered back as her eyes narrowed. "You can trust me. I promise, I'm a friend."
((Small post, but Aeryn has to wait for Reborn to say ok XD ))
Last edited by Blue on Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
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First thing's first, rolled the mind of Clover. Her step were heavy despite the litheness of her form. Head over to the Garage ... Get to work on that new Gear Pod Roxy started yesterday ... And we gotta get rid of the Jubilee scrap before somebody with connections comes by and happens to take notice of it. Wouldn't wanna get arrested by the feds for larceny and grand theft auto, now would we? She was faintly aware of the lizard-man behind her. Clover hadn't seen a Raptor in a really long time, and she often wondered why. It was no big deal ... But this guy captured her curiosity. For the moment he was off doing his own thing, following her to merely get out of the crowded Inn. No doubt the guy would break off in a few seconds and be on his merry way to wherever Raptors go to congregate.
Clover turned a sharp right at the first 'block' behind the Inn/Resturaunt mix she worked at. There was wide alley up ahead. Now typically one woudl suspect that it had to be filled with druggies and hookers of all sorts, but not this one. A couple of years ago, some nut went psycho and dragged a dozen or so people with him into that spot. He gutted them like pigs, and didn't stop there. Anybody who happened to walk by was plucked from the street and torn asunder. Once word got out, the fuzz blasted to the spot. There was a brief negotiation and that didn't do jack shit, because Psycho-Man promptly shoved the blunt end of his crooked dagger through the soft of his chin ... up into his brain.
People avoided that alley like the plague now, afraid that by some miracle the Psycho Man was still roaming about. Or maybe his ghost was there, haunting and waiting for the opportunity to ravage an innocent. It was a fear that Clover took advantage of. Her vehicle was parked down there - having learned from her own activities that expensive vehicles like that were prone to getting jacked, she needed to keep her baby hidden.
Raptor-Man's speech was a whisper to her ears, but she heard everything that was being said. He appeared to be looking for somebody ... But who? Had she any ears, they would be perking right now. Perhaps it w -
Brooooooouummmrrr
The hell? The ground began to rattle something vicious. Clover lost her balance and crumbled to her knees. All around people were running - running from the docks, running from the outer edge of the space island and to the center. Was something bombing the Station? More explosions rocked the world. They felt like they were coming from the north ... and Clover's suspicions were confirmed.
"Shit!" howled she, scrabbling back to her bare feet. The alarm lights were flashing red and sirens were sounding all over the place. Clover couldn't just stand here - she had to get to the Garage, get everybody to load up their gear and set the Deportee in motion! That thing was huge - it would carry them all out safely, and the armored hull was a plus -
But a third, a fourth, and a fifth explosion was telling her something she did not want nor need to hear. There was no time to get to the others. Not unless she wanted to get fried. There was no telling what would happen in a few minutes. Would the Space Island go kablooey? Or would it ebb away? Nimble fingers reached for the cellular phone pinned to her waist. If she could get ahold of Mikey or Ramshot -
"We're sorry. The number you are dialing has been disconnected. Please check the number and - " Cursing like a trucker, Clover flung the phone to the ground. Systems were down. There was no way she could get through to them by phone.
"You there," called somebody from behind. Hands balled into fists, she wheeled about ready to punch for some reason or another. But her eyes focused on the Raptor she'd spotted earlier, and faltered. "Where are the closest docking bays? And I'm not talking cargo ships."
Bland eyes stared at him in bewilderment. Was this guy serious? That place was apparently being blown to smithereens right now!
"Yer bein' a fuckin' nut, aren't ya?" she snapped, hardly finding the situation funny. After staring at the beast for what seemed like forever, she realized there wasn't a hint of a practical joke smeared across his very serious face. Screw it. Why not? She grabbed the man's right fore claws, no matter if he protested, and dragged him off to the alley. People were running by in torrents - it was difficult to get two steps forward without somebody knocking her back. "There ain't gonna be any way for us to get there with all these idiots screamin' and yellin' till they're blue in the face," she growled loud enough for him to hear. Once they were within distance, Clover dove into the alley and forced the Raptor to follow. "Ya gotta get over them. And fast."
Se stopped about halfway down the alley and stared straight at a wall with a wicked grin in her eyes. There was nothing there! ... Was there? Hands reached out, wrapping around something unseen and yet totally tangible, for Clover pulled back on something and whatever it was fell away. An invisibility shroud? If there was, you couldn't see it ... but you could see what it was hiding.
Something like a jet ski was under the cloth. It was colored in blue and green and silver - a mockery of the sea's hues. Lithe and built for speed, a turbo thruster packed the back end and two downward-facing fans extended from either side of the ski. The seat was long and softly cushioned in black. A side cockpit was attached to the right, just in front of the hover fan.
"Hop on," she ordered, taking her place on the seat. Before the Raptor could go anywhere, however, she added, "Not in the side-cockpit. That's for somebody else that we're gonna see on the way to Docking Station. Get behind me." Patting the spot behind her, Clover gave him a coy grin. "Now don't be shy."
First thing's first, rolled the mind of Clover. Her step were heavy despite the litheness of her form. Head over to the Garage ... Get to work on that new Gear Pod Roxy started yesterday ... And we gotta get rid of the Jubilee scrap before somebody with connections comes by and happens to take notice of it. Wouldn't wanna get arrested by the feds for larceny and grand theft auto, now would we? She was faintly aware of the lizard-man behind her. Clover hadn't seen a Raptor in a really long time, and she often wondered why. It was no big deal ... But this guy captured her curiosity. For the moment he was off doing his own thing, following her to merely get out of the crowded Inn. No doubt the guy would break off in a few seconds and be on his merry way to wherever Raptors go to congregate.
Clover turned a sharp right at the first 'block' behind the Inn/Resturaunt mix she worked at. There was wide alley up ahead. Now typically one woudl suspect that it had to be filled with druggies and hookers of all sorts, but not this one. A couple of years ago, some nut went psycho and dragged a dozen or so people with him into that spot. He gutted them like pigs, and didn't stop there. Anybody who happened to walk by was plucked from the street and torn asunder. Once word got out, the fuzz blasted to the spot. There was a brief negotiation and that didn't do jack shit, because Psycho-Man promptly shoved the blunt end of his crooked dagger through the soft of his chin ... up into his brain.
People avoided that alley like the plague now, afraid that by some miracle the Psycho Man was still roaming about. Or maybe his ghost was there, haunting and waiting for the opportunity to ravage an innocent. It was a fear that Clover took advantage of. Her vehicle was parked down there - having learned from her own activities that expensive vehicles like that were prone to getting jacked, she needed to keep her baby hidden.
Raptor-Man's speech was a whisper to her ears, but she heard everything that was being said. He appeared to be looking for somebody ... But who? Had she any ears, they would be perking right now. Perhaps it w -
Brooooooouummmrrr
The hell? The ground began to rattle something vicious. Clover lost her balance and crumbled to her knees. All around people were running - running from the docks, running from the outer edge of the space island and to the center. Was something bombing the Station? More explosions rocked the world. They felt like they were coming from the north ... and Clover's suspicions were confirmed.
"Shit!" howled she, scrabbling back to her bare feet. The alarm lights were flashing red and sirens were sounding all over the place. Clover couldn't just stand here - she had to get to the Garage, get everybody to load up their gear and set the Deportee in motion! That thing was huge - it would carry them all out safely, and the armored hull was a plus -
But a third, a fourth, and a fifth explosion was telling her something she did not want nor need to hear. There was no time to get to the others. Not unless she wanted to get fried. There was no telling what would happen in a few minutes. Would the Space Island go kablooey? Or would it ebb away? Nimble fingers reached for the cellular phone pinned to her waist. If she could get ahold of Mikey or Ramshot -
"We're sorry. The number you are dialing has been disconnected. Please check the number and - " Cursing like a trucker, Clover flung the phone to the ground. Systems were down. There was no way she could get through to them by phone.
"You there," called somebody from behind. Hands balled into fists, she wheeled about ready to punch for some reason or another. But her eyes focused on the Raptor she'd spotted earlier, and faltered. "Where are the closest docking bays? And I'm not talking cargo ships."
Bland eyes stared at him in bewilderment. Was this guy serious? That place was apparently being blown to smithereens right now!
"Yer bein' a fuckin' nut, aren't ya?" she snapped, hardly finding the situation funny. After staring at the beast for what seemed like forever, she realized there wasn't a hint of a practical joke smeared across his very serious face. Screw it. Why not? She grabbed the man's right fore claws, no matter if he protested, and dragged him off to the alley. People were running by in torrents - it was difficult to get two steps forward without somebody knocking her back. "There ain't gonna be any way for us to get there with all these idiots screamin' and yellin' till they're blue in the face," she growled loud enough for him to hear. Once they were within distance, Clover dove into the alley and forced the Raptor to follow. "Ya gotta get over them. And fast."
Se stopped about halfway down the alley and stared straight at a wall with a wicked grin in her eyes. There was nothing there! ... Was there? Hands reached out, wrapping around something unseen and yet totally tangible, for Clover pulled back on something and whatever it was fell away. An invisibility shroud? If there was, you couldn't see it ... but you could see what it was hiding.
Something like a jet ski was under the cloth. It was colored in blue and green and silver - a mockery of the sea's hues. Lithe and built for speed, a turbo thruster packed the back end and two downward-facing fans extended from either side of the ski. The seat was long and softly cushioned in black. A side cockpit was attached to the right, just in front of the hover fan.
"Hop on," she ordered, taking her place on the seat. Before the Raptor could go anywhere, however, she added, "Not in the side-cockpit. That's for somebody else that we're gonna see on the way to Docking Station. Get behind me." Patting the spot behind her, Clover gave him a coy grin. "Now don't be shy."
"We all change, when you think about it, we're all different people; all through our lives, and that's okay, that's good, you've gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be."
-
The_Vizir
- Moderator
- Posts: 2250
- Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:01 am
- Location: Cowtown, Canuckistan
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"No, you listen here, you damn furless monkey! You plug that into your nexus inductors, they'll be finding pieces of you in the Andromeda Galaxy! And unless you have some burning desire for yours to be the first to boldly go where no large intestine has gone before, I'd suggest running at least one basic quantum scan of the detritus you're trying to trade off here before handing it over to someone whose cranial functions are obviously not imparied!"
Ardo T17-P8Q groaned and rubbed his forehead, thanking not for the first time his ancestors who had the common sense to divide up the kalfa race by personality-types. As was being keenly demonstrated by his circle-mate, Zahn T17-PO6, some were definitely less suited for the delicate business of interracial negotiations than others. "Alright." he sighed, pushing himself off of the wall he had been leaning against. With a few lagid steps, he placed himself directly between his blue-hided engineer and the rather obese human she was verbally assaulting, whose colouration was rapidly deteriorating to match T17-P8Q's own crimson colouration "You know, as much as I'd enjoy seeing you two duke it out, it wouldn't really be productive, or very profitable for either of us." he glared sidelong at T17-PO6 before pivoting around to face the human smuggler strait on, and stared the small man strait in the eyes. It was unusual that he was actually taller than a member of another race, and it gave the red kalfa a comforting feeling of physical superiority. No wonder most races had a distinct arrogance problem then, he smirked. "I also know how much you loath this station here, Tremblay...and for some reason I just can't quite put my finger on, I don't think a visit to the local clinic for broken bones is high on your to do list, am I right?" The human smuggler clenched his jaw tight, causing the veins on the side of his neck to bulge out in a sign of aggravation he hadn't noticed in humans before, but on this one they were rather prominent. T17-P8Q smiled at that... learn something new every day. The kalfa leaned back, and pushed the small case of antimatter flow regulators back to the human smuggler with his foot. "Besides, I don't think it was your intent to give the Remnant Fleet faulty Alliance tech, was it? Because last time I checked, you humans tend to be rather creative in retribution."
Tremblay knelt down and closed up the case "And you kalfa would be the first to sell me out to them if anything went wrong. Trust me, Andras, I know your species better than you know mine. All thirty of you."
T17-PO6 took a step forward, but Andras waved her off "He's allowed to keep thinking that, Zona. Just makes dealing with him that much easier for the rest of us."
Tremblay snorted "I've dealt with five 'different'-" the smuggler laid special emphasis on that word "-kalfa who looked, sounded, and acted just like you do, Andras. It's not me who's deluding themselves, it's the whole lot of you"
Andras shrugged his shoulders "Well, I think this about wraps it up for us then, Trembley" he raised his hands apologetically "Guess you're gonna have to find some other customer for your intergalactic regulators. Good luck"
The short human shot a venomous glare at the two kalfa, before turning his back on them and heading back out the alleyway, soon dissipating into the crowd of Trillian station.
"Well..." Zona clapped her hands and stepped next to her circle-mate "This was an astronomical waste of time. What're we gonna tell the humans now? 'Sorry, but your inside man's a complete idiot who can't even tell the real thing from a crate full of duds?'"
Andras stretched and leaned against one of the alley's rickety walls "You know, this is Trillian station. Chances are, there's someone here selling some Alliance tech we can hand off to the humans. Rendezvous is in seven cycles. It's five to get to the Clock nebula... we should be able to find something useful in the next two cycles... or at least, line up a new deal. We'll let the Remnant's agents deal with Trembley... no need for us to get involved in intraracial politics, is there?"
Zona glared out into the crowds "I think we'd have more luck in Syndicate territory. Too many raptors here for my liking"
Andras shrugged "You don't have to be a raptor to work for the Alliance you know, Zona. Besides, I'll bet you ten-to-one, all of the enforcers here are paid off by one group or another. We could probably find one who's claws are firmly in another mothership's pockets. We might not have a stable presence here, but that doesn't mean Wrath or Legion doesn't" he straitened himself up again and started back down towards the main thoroughfare
"Still doesn't mean I have to like raptors..." Zona grumbled to no one in particular, before closing in behind her circle mate.
Andras smirked at her quip, but his attention was mostly elsewhere at the moment. He rerouted his vocal processor to align with kalfa audio receiver, before speaking again, though this time no sound could be heard emerging from his mouth... by those without the proper implants. However, any kalfa within a kilometre heard the message, loud and clear :: Emrys. Change of plans ::
This was followed almost immediately by the startled but still lethargic voice of someone who had just been woken up from a pleasant nap :: Eh? ::
:: The agent brought us faulty goods. Zona said something about their alloys not being refined enough or something... ::
:: Not refined enough? Dammit, I'd be surprised if they but any of that detritus through any refiners at all! It wasn't even fit to be strapped to the end of a big stick and used to beat the idiot over the head with! ::
A groan was heard over their audial receivers as the final member of the circle came into view through the crowd, sitting on a collapsed support beam, a rather put off look on his muzzle. Though he had only been a little under a hundred metres away the entire time, Andras couldn't help but feel a pang of relief when he finally caught sight of his cynical circle mate. But, that relief was quickly dispelled as Edra T17-PM9 did that thing that served as a constant annoyance to Andras: talking. :: You couldn't just fix 'em youself, Zona? ::
Zona's eyes flashed dangerously:: They were already molded! Trying to fix them would've only made them more useless than they are now. ::
Emrys sighed and shook his head :: I'm certain there was something you could've done to prevent this waste of time from becoming even more- ::
:: Keep this up, and you're both gonna have - ::
SCREEEEETCH!!!
:: What in the name of- ::
Zona whipped out her Personal Assistance and Diagnostic Device, eyes flashing across the data readouts :: Station reports impact of some sort ::
:: Thanks for that... :: Andras grunted as he picked himself back up to his feet, dusting himself off :: Anything you can add to that? An asteroid? A drunken ocelot? What? ::
:: Whatever it was... :: Emrys groaned as he too got to his feet :: it's already dampening the psionic matrix ::
Andras looked down at Zona, the shock evident in her eyes as well. Not good. Without a green's matrix, a kalfa's organic and technological neural aspects would cease to function as a cohesive whole. Not only that, but if Emrys' matix started failing, then so to would Andras' and Zona's... leaving them all without the stabilizing effects the other brought to their dual biology. Already, Andras' could feel his though processes slowing, his divergent halves starting to have problems interfacing with each other, while without Zona's support, his technological aspects were left without any form of regulation or maintenance. "Dammit" he hissed, switching back to good ol'vocalization . "Well, this'll be interesting...". There were already signs of panic from the crowed as they were bathed in red emergency lighting. Obviously, this was not the most calming thing in the world for most of the species here, judging by their reactions. What fun. Their ship was about a four minute's walk through that crowed, and that was assuming relative calm and sanity. Now... well...
"Boot up the warp drives, Zona. We're leaving the moment we get through the locks"
"Aye. Err..." Zona looked around at the rapidly deteriorating crowd
"Anyone who asks gets transport off the station" Andras added with a sigh. His own damn morals would have prevented him from leaving anyone who asked here... particularly if they were under attack, as the flashing red lights and blaring klaxons were wont to indicate.
"What?" Emrys snapped, his snout wrinkling is disgust as he looked between his companions "Oh come on! You can't be serious..."
"We need some way of making this trip profitable." Andras shrugged dismissively. That was a lie, and they all knew it. Emrys was stuck with two big hearted suckers who could always be goaded into doing the right thing. Frankly, it made him sick. Still, it hadn't come to bite the three of them in the asses yet, despite all of the green's warnings. He hoped to whatever god was messing with their lives right now that it would stay that way..."Now, unless you're enjoying the feeling of your organic components shutting down, smartass, I think it's high time we started running for our lives"
Emrys couldn't argue with the logic behind that one, and with no further prodding, took off through the milling crowed, back to the docking ports, his circle-mates weaving closely behind him.
Ardo T17-P8Q groaned and rubbed his forehead, thanking not for the first time his ancestors who had the common sense to divide up the kalfa race by personality-types. As was being keenly demonstrated by his circle-mate, Zahn T17-PO6, some were definitely less suited for the delicate business of interracial negotiations than others. "Alright." he sighed, pushing himself off of the wall he had been leaning against. With a few lagid steps, he placed himself directly between his blue-hided engineer and the rather obese human she was verbally assaulting, whose colouration was rapidly deteriorating to match T17-P8Q's own crimson colouration "You know, as much as I'd enjoy seeing you two duke it out, it wouldn't really be productive, or very profitable for either of us." he glared sidelong at T17-PO6 before pivoting around to face the human smuggler strait on, and stared the small man strait in the eyes. It was unusual that he was actually taller than a member of another race, and it gave the red kalfa a comforting feeling of physical superiority. No wonder most races had a distinct arrogance problem then, he smirked. "I also know how much you loath this station here, Tremblay...and for some reason I just can't quite put my finger on, I don't think a visit to the local clinic for broken bones is high on your to do list, am I right?" The human smuggler clenched his jaw tight, causing the veins on the side of his neck to bulge out in a sign of aggravation he hadn't noticed in humans before, but on this one they were rather prominent. T17-P8Q smiled at that... learn something new every day. The kalfa leaned back, and pushed the small case of antimatter flow regulators back to the human smuggler with his foot. "Besides, I don't think it was your intent to give the Remnant Fleet faulty Alliance tech, was it? Because last time I checked, you humans tend to be rather creative in retribution."
Tremblay knelt down and closed up the case "And you kalfa would be the first to sell me out to them if anything went wrong. Trust me, Andras, I know your species better than you know mine. All thirty of you."
T17-PO6 took a step forward, but Andras waved her off "He's allowed to keep thinking that, Zona. Just makes dealing with him that much easier for the rest of us."
Tremblay snorted "I've dealt with five 'different'-" the smuggler laid special emphasis on that word "-kalfa who looked, sounded, and acted just like you do, Andras. It's not me who's deluding themselves, it's the whole lot of you"
Andras shrugged his shoulders "Well, I think this about wraps it up for us then, Trembley" he raised his hands apologetically "Guess you're gonna have to find some other customer for your intergalactic regulators. Good luck"
The short human shot a venomous glare at the two kalfa, before turning his back on them and heading back out the alleyway, soon dissipating into the crowd of Trillian station.
"Well..." Zona clapped her hands and stepped next to her circle-mate "This was an astronomical waste of time. What're we gonna tell the humans now? 'Sorry, but your inside man's a complete idiot who can't even tell the real thing from a crate full of duds?'"
Andras stretched and leaned against one of the alley's rickety walls "You know, this is Trillian station. Chances are, there's someone here selling some Alliance tech we can hand off to the humans. Rendezvous is in seven cycles. It's five to get to the Clock nebula... we should be able to find something useful in the next two cycles... or at least, line up a new deal. We'll let the Remnant's agents deal with Trembley... no need for us to get involved in intraracial politics, is there?"
Zona glared out into the crowds "I think we'd have more luck in Syndicate territory. Too many raptors here for my liking"
Andras shrugged "You don't have to be a raptor to work for the Alliance you know, Zona. Besides, I'll bet you ten-to-one, all of the enforcers here are paid off by one group or another. We could probably find one who's claws are firmly in another mothership's pockets. We might not have a stable presence here, but that doesn't mean Wrath or Legion doesn't" he straitened himself up again and started back down towards the main thoroughfare
"Still doesn't mean I have to like raptors..." Zona grumbled to no one in particular, before closing in behind her circle mate.
Andras smirked at her quip, but his attention was mostly elsewhere at the moment. He rerouted his vocal processor to align with kalfa audio receiver, before speaking again, though this time no sound could be heard emerging from his mouth... by those without the proper implants. However, any kalfa within a kilometre heard the message, loud and clear :: Emrys. Change of plans ::
This was followed almost immediately by the startled but still lethargic voice of someone who had just been woken up from a pleasant nap :: Eh? ::
:: The agent brought us faulty goods. Zona said something about their alloys not being refined enough or something... ::
:: Not refined enough? Dammit, I'd be surprised if they but any of that detritus through any refiners at all! It wasn't even fit to be strapped to the end of a big stick and used to beat the idiot over the head with! ::
A groan was heard over their audial receivers as the final member of the circle came into view through the crowd, sitting on a collapsed support beam, a rather put off look on his muzzle. Though he had only been a little under a hundred metres away the entire time, Andras couldn't help but feel a pang of relief when he finally caught sight of his cynical circle mate. But, that relief was quickly dispelled as Edra T17-PM9 did that thing that served as a constant annoyance to Andras: talking. :: You couldn't just fix 'em youself, Zona? ::
Zona's eyes flashed dangerously:: They were already molded! Trying to fix them would've only made them more useless than they are now. ::
Emrys sighed and shook his head :: I'm certain there was something you could've done to prevent this waste of time from becoming even more- ::
:: Keep this up, and you're both gonna have - ::
SCREEEEETCH!!!
:: What in the name of- ::
Zona whipped out her Personal Assistance and Diagnostic Device, eyes flashing across the data readouts :: Station reports impact of some sort ::
:: Thanks for that... :: Andras grunted as he picked himself back up to his feet, dusting himself off :: Anything you can add to that? An asteroid? A drunken ocelot? What? ::
:: Whatever it was... :: Emrys groaned as he too got to his feet :: it's already dampening the psionic matrix ::
Andras looked down at Zona, the shock evident in her eyes as well. Not good. Without a green's matrix, a kalfa's organic and technological neural aspects would cease to function as a cohesive whole. Not only that, but if Emrys' matix started failing, then so to would Andras' and Zona's... leaving them all without the stabilizing effects the other brought to their dual biology. Already, Andras' could feel his though processes slowing, his divergent halves starting to have problems interfacing with each other, while without Zona's support, his technological aspects were left without any form of regulation or maintenance. "Dammit" he hissed, switching back to good ol'vocalization . "Well, this'll be interesting...". There were already signs of panic from the crowed as they were bathed in red emergency lighting. Obviously, this was not the most calming thing in the world for most of the species here, judging by their reactions. What fun. Their ship was about a four minute's walk through that crowed, and that was assuming relative calm and sanity. Now... well...
"Boot up the warp drives, Zona. We're leaving the moment we get through the locks"
"Aye. Err..." Zona looked around at the rapidly deteriorating crowd
"Anyone who asks gets transport off the station" Andras added with a sigh. His own damn morals would have prevented him from leaving anyone who asked here... particularly if they were under attack, as the flashing red lights and blaring klaxons were wont to indicate.
"What?" Emrys snapped, his snout wrinkling is disgust as he looked between his companions "Oh come on! You can't be serious..."
"We need some way of making this trip profitable." Andras shrugged dismissively. That was a lie, and they all knew it. Emrys was stuck with two big hearted suckers who could always be goaded into doing the right thing. Frankly, it made him sick. Still, it hadn't come to bite the three of them in the asses yet, despite all of the green's warnings. He hoped to whatever god was messing with their lives right now that it would stay that way..."Now, unless you're enjoying the feeling of your organic components shutting down, smartass, I think it's high time we started running for our lives"
Emrys couldn't argue with the logic behind that one, and with no further prodding, took off through the milling crowed, back to the docking ports, his circle-mates weaving closely behind him.
He asked us: "Be you angels?"
And we said, "Nay. We are but men."
Rock!
And we said, "Nay. We are but men."
Rock!