RESURRECTED AGAIN!!!! BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHa
...for the third time ^_^
[ Alright you guys... my goal for this rp is to make it as pro as possible... which means follow all grammar rules and such and to go into detail in your posts... and I mean like, 8 sentences of pure post. We can be as lazy as we want, but I still would like longer posts, have fun! ]
For characters, you can go to The Omega Weapon: Characters
Make sure you've read [kay-chan]'s How to RP before doing anything in here...
You touched my soul, my very being. You gave me a second chance and showed me how to live, you made me whole and life had new meaning... I had let the darkness consume me, yet, you came for me. Rika shuddered as the memory came forth yet again, the dreams of him haunted her and in the small room which she called her home Rika's nocturnal eyes leaked tears. Rocking back and forth, the Oa tried to calm herself to no avail. She could
feel him.
I can hear you breath...
The voice caused her to jerk upright, her eyes searching the darkness as if it was lit. There was no one there. There never was.
Rika flipped the switch next to her, "Alright Theta, lets go." Without a crew Rika and her battle bot and ship combination were trapped here and Rika, being the typical Oa, she did not liked to be trapped in the least bit, even if it was on a huge populated planet, that made it all the worse. Walking to the sink, Rika splashed cold water against her skin before quickly drying her face and the door hissed open, letting in a stream of light. "Theta, do you mind?" Rika wasn't wearing a shirt and the Oa turned with her arms crossed over her small breasts. "Mistress you know it doesn't matter to me." The battle bot stated casually, the wire mesh covering his eyes flickering, "I thought you said you were ready?"
"I am." Rika replied in a rough growl, throwing a tank top on specifically made for her, letting her silk like wings drap behind her, much like a transparent cloak. Not that many people even knew Oa's had wings for they didn't use them very often and were so fast that you wouldn't think it was a humanoid species. However, Oa's were a predator species and hid many surprises, Rika more then most.
She strapped on her saber and belt before grabbing her goggles as they left her chambers and made for the nearest exit onto the docks. Rika's eyes were hooded and Theta glanced at her before coughing, "He spoke to you again, didn't he?"
"It scares me." The Oa admitted slowly, her hand settled on the hilt of her feather-saber as if she expected the shadows to attack her.
With those three words said Theta's hopes plummeted. If Rika was afraid, then what they would be facing would be terrifying indeed.
They exited the ship and made their way through the docking stations, the crowd parting for them as the people spotted Rika's covered eyes and Theta, it was rare to see a battle bot but even more rare to see an Oa.
Above the crowd Rika could see the head of a very large person armored with a large axe slung over his back and a pistol holstered at his side carrying a very large gun.
Dante made his way through the crowd, no one stayed in front of him very long, and if they did he would show them the error of their ways. As the crowd parted before him he caught sight of a woman with her eyes covered accompanied by a battle bot.
What's with her? And why in heck would she have a battle bot with her? Dante made his way over to her, a bit curious as to the odd little pair. "What's with the eyes lass, too bright for ya," he asked his voice booming. He brought up the voice control and tuned it down a bit. "Sorry about that, usually in battle and its hard to say something with mortars dropping left and right around you," he said his voice hollow but not as loud. "Battle bots are pretty rare around these parts," he added eyeing the insectoid looking machine. He slung his bolter under his arm and strectched out an armored hand. "Name's Dante, but most folk call me Fenix because of the eagle on me armor," he said a bit more cheerful but still in that hollow machine-like voice.
The Oa nearly bristled at his friendly nature, not to mention the comment about her eyewear and his lack of knowledge of her species but it couldn't be helped. The Oas were fading into legend. "I wear these because I am not a weak day dweller for the most part. I am an Oa, I cannot see well in the day, it is my only weakness." Rika said harshly, her chin raising as she was undaunted by this... man who towered over her. Theta simply stood beside her, his manner cool before he interrupted, "Forgive my mistress, she is not known for her words... I am Theta," The battle bot held out his claw while the metal talons retracted into a stub suitable for shaking.
Rika nearly growled before muttering, "I'm Rika."
"Oa eh," he said with distain. He grabbed the battle bot's hand and gave it a firm shake. "Good to see someone has some manners. And I would watch who you call weak little dear," he said putting emphasis on 'little.' "I'll wager I could smash that small head of your with one hand. That is if I could land a blow, I'm a little slow you see, this armor doesn't give much in the way of mobility but sure has saved my hide more than a few times," he said in a conversational tone as if what he had said was not out of the ordinary. "Oa, you guys have wings don't you? And like to stab people in the back and that sort of thing eh? I prefer a straight fight to using deception and all that fancy sneaking around," he added. He wasn't completely out of the loop when it came to other species, but still Oa weren't at the top of his list for knowledge. "I'd bet you don't have a great stash of friends with an attitude like that either," he said. "But, just so happens that I can stand a firey little tongue like that, trust me I've put up with a pretty bad lot. Used to be a mercenary and we ain't exactly the nicest of types beside popular belief," he said adding sarcasm to the last little bit about mercenaries being nice.
"In my eyes merc," Rika snarled, "You are just a huge tree in my path." Her crests, which had laid flat against her neck until then rose till they were on end, giving her ears the look of sprouting feathers, "And... friends are for the weak," The Oa spat out, recieving a surprising look from Theta before the bot place his claw on the ground, gaining talons again. Her tail had previously been wrapped around her waist untied itself and whipped around as she paused her thoughts for a second. Zerities was a galaxy known for the most terrifying beasts and montrosities of the universe, perhaps this Dante would be of use. Rika lowered one side of her goggles to look up at the mercenary with a clouded silver eye, "You still for hire?"
Richard notice the odd scene from a distance. However, he wasn't surprised at the Oa's attitude. As he sipped a beer, he remembered many Oa's he'd met where some of the most ruthless beings he knew. "Oh well, not my problem." he said to himself as he finished his beer and got another one.
Dante drew his plasma pistol with lightning speed and pointed it at the battle bot's head when it crouched and talons grew yet again. "I'd hate to turn your head into a melted piece of slag friend seeing as we just met," he said still eyeing Rika. In his HUD display both Rika and Theta now showed up with red outlines around them marking them as enemies. He considered her words for a moment and then lowered the pistol slightly but not all the way, ready if the battle bot made a move. "And yes, at the moment I am for hire, though funds aren't exactly lacking at the moment. Sometimes it takes more than money to get me on a job. What exactly are we talking about," he asked. The crowd bussling around them had now created a large circle as to not get caught if anything happened.
Oa, this little girl seems interesting. But I wonder what exactly she has in plan? Dante was known for his anger to those that had dealt with him in the past, most didn't survive knowing him, but this girl also amused him. The plasma pistol in his hand when drawn created great heat as it charged, and it had a tendency to get a bit too hot to handle when fired. Though its power was great when discharged, sometimes he hated the thing, twice he had had to repair his armor because the energy had backfired and melted his own mighty armor. With that thought he holstered the pistol and held out a hand. "You tell me what you need and I'll do it, so long as it serves me interests. Now mind you I ain't no suicide soldier and I plan to live a very long time," he said eyeing her. "So, tell me if you would, how come I don't see many of your kind around these parts," he asked.
A few meters off in the crowd a large Faun had been watching all this happen, listening intently to what the discussion was about. Her name only to be known by that of her clans, which did not exist anymore, but most just called her Firestar. the name only properly suited to her from her colors and her tremendous speed and strength. Her hair the color of fire and down past her calves, her tail and ears matching perfectly along side it. Her eyes burned an electric yellow color in the shape of almonds. Her height was of no mystery, she was around the same height as most of the male beings she was surrounded by. She gave a crack of her neck and unbent her legs to over view most of the men around her. She flicked her cat-like tail a few more times and began to walk through the small beings so she could get closer. "Why raise a weapon?" She asked sternly as her diamond spotted skin reflected in the glare of the sun, shimmering with each step she took. "You don't honestly need weapons to feel safe, do you? Most men I've ever known died when they raised a weapon to others." She pointed out clearly, knowing he had put the weapon away. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone killed you right now for ever pointing the damned thing at them." She had by now risen to her full length of nearly seven feet, her ears twitching from the sanctity of her hair.
Theta let out s slight giggle, an odd sound coming from a battle bot before he shook his head, "Dante I was merely setting my foot down... there was nothing dangerous in my action..." The lights of his eyes flickered in annoyance. Rika had simply replaced the side of her goggle, not even blinking as the weapon had been drawn and her next statment was aimed at the newcomer, "Just because he had drawn a weapon does not mean I was in danger..." then she returned to the mercenary, "Now to answer your question Dante, we wiped our own race out... and we also killed off the last of the Persinian..." Rika swallowed hard before her voice was in control again, "As for my destination... Zerities."
"I never said anything about you being in danger, did I?" An annoyed flick of the tail and ears came from Firestar as she pushed through the crowd and stared at Rika for a brief moment. She gave out a short lived snort as she walked past the three, laughing to herself mentally. Her tail flicked dangerously with the chains wrapped around it, almost slapping the three she walked past. "The world is very unkind to people like you," She stated to Rika and Dante mainly, but the advice could be taken in by all. "Just because you believe you are in no danger does not mean you shouldn't watch your back and your's only. Even your closest friend could turn around and kill you without warning for a price." with that she began to push her way through the other side of the crowd, forcively pushing them with her claws.
Rika followed her with her eyes for a moment, the woman's attitude matched what she would like in a crew but she snapped back to attention and completely ignored what the faun had told her, "Anyway I managed to escape my fellow brethren in their battle lust. I have my own reasons for heading to that that cursed universe."
Dante simply ignored the angered woman looking down at her as he was taller. Being eight feet tall had its advantage. He instinctively clenched his power gauntlets then unclenched them turning back to Rika. "Annoying woman I would say. Anyway, I think I would like to know those reasons little miss. If I'm risking my neck in that god aweful sector then you might as well tell me why. I've done illegal things before mind you so it won't come as a surprise if it is," he said cocking his head to the side. "Sorry about the pistol Theta, I'm always a bit jumpy. Used to the battlefield and all friend," he said shrugging.
Theta shrugged, "That is alright, we've met your type before. But if we are going to be discussing issues of our little trip we need to do it in a more... secure area." Rika stepped forward and in a lower voice, "Care for a drink?"
"I don't normally drink, but sure," he said holding his hand for her to lead the way. He looked around cautiously and marked the other woman with a red tag. "I'll see you later my dear," he said more to himself however his helmet augmented his voice so that it reverberated. "Not you Rika," he said.
"I... understand," The Oa replied, "I don't drink either, water is hard to find in most places, I'm sure we can find one to discuss... our interests." The Oa watched him for a second before making her way through the crowds to the less populated areas, looking for a small pub. Theta kept his eyes open for suspicous activity. An Oa always attracted violence.
Firestar's ears twitched as she heard the man's low murmur. "You couldn't handle me if you tried." She yowled out after him, pushing past the last person and heading out towards the nearby medical place.
Dante's acute hearing picked up on the taunt and he only snickered. "So, lets take a seat," he said grabbing the nearest chair and gingerly sat down as not to destroy the chair with his weight. Despite his careful actions the metal chair groaned under his weight. "Thats the only problem with this," he said pounding a fist to his chest indicating his armor. "Its heavy as a mountain. So, down to business. Why Zerities?" he asked leaning forward in the chair.
Theta stood a few feet away at the entrance while Rika sat down, her wings flat against her back and her tail idely twitching. "Zerities is where my homeworld is... I have a connection with my ancesters to that area of the universe and I can tell something is amiss. My ship Ateth cannot fly itself, and I am a poor pilot. I am simply looking for a crew brave enough... and capable of protecting themselves while we go in and take a look." Rika glanced over at a few men talking amongst themselves before she returned her gaze to Dante, her crests perking slightly.
"Sounds a field trip more than anything. Why would you need me," he asked noticing her crests. "Look, I'm not a very good bodyguard, if you want something killed ask and I can do it. Ask me to destroy a building and I can do it. Ask me to jump in front of a bullet and I'll tell you to bugger off," he added. "If you could convince me that this would be worthwhile then you've got yourself a man," he said leaning back now.
Richard smiled to himself. Listening intently to the conversation between this Dante and Rika, he couldn't help but laugh on the inside. Here was the typical, romanticized versions of mercenaries, and it was actually going down in real life. This would be a fine story to tell later, however, his friend, Seymour, had just sat down next to Richard. "So Rich, how did your last job go? Me and the boys weren't expecting to see you ever again." "Well Se, bugs are bugs, even if one can bite off your arm with a single snip. All ya need is a bug gallon of bug spray." he and Seymour both started chuckling.
Rika's crests fully rose in her anger as she slammed a fist on the counter, "Lately... someone I know who is dead, someone who is very dear to me died on the moon off the planet of my ancestors. He has been contacting me, speaking to me. Love is a soul contract with an Oa's partner, one that death cannot cut loose." She growled in frustration and clenched and unclenched her hands, "His voice haunts my thoughts, I need to see what the disturbance is in my birthplace. There are many dangerous and fatal creatures in Zerities, you might find it fun down there." Rika's eyes gleamed in her excitment, her grief forgotten for a moment.
Firestar came prodding slowly out of the medical shop a few minutes after she had gone in. Out with her she carried a bag with a couple containers of antibiotics, bandages, needles and thread, and a piece of metal groved especially for her type of mouth. She gave a low yawn as she headed away from this cursed hole she was in.
Now, all I have to do is stitch that damned gash up and I'll be on my marry little way. She thought to herself, humming a little tune her mother used to hum to her when she was a child. She sat down next to a female and looked her in the eyes, smiling a bit. "Alright, let me see your leg will you?" She rolled the leg of the female's pants up and stared at the gapping gash in her calve, surprised that she had not passed out from all the blood spill yet. She strained herself to stop breathing and avoid looking at the dripping blood till she was done with the female's leg. After moments of stitching the lady up she handed her the antibiotics and walked off with a slight sigh.
Now..Time to go look at another one...
Richard glanced at Seymour. "Say, Se, how was your job coming along?" "Well...captur
ing giant cats ain't easy..." Seymour grinned. "But I sure wish they were as easy to find as her." He chuckled, pointing over to where Firestar was. "Dude, she isn't a giant cat." "Maybe, but the guy I'm working for...well, he'd probably pay extra for her, if you know what I mean." "...Your employer is sick man...he does wild cats?" "I think so..." Richard blinked. "Man...where's the classic adventure heroes when you need them? I mean, when was the last time we had to rescue princesses?" Richard and Seymour both laughed.
Rika glanced at the two men laughing and carefully watched them for a moment before turning her attention back to Dante, "Its not about protection, I just need security for everyone."
"Security, as in you want me to make sure they stay in line? You'll have to forgive my ignorance but I'm a simple soldier. And there is no need to get all excited. Love never saved anyone misses, only got them killed," he said standing tired of the chair creaking under his weight. "I only know two things in this life, kill or be killed. I prefer to be on the killing side, not the killed." He glanced around and took note of all the people in the bar and his HUD blimped in with the red outline of Firestar out in the street. "But, the prospect of killing some exotic creature may be enough. I do hunt on occasion," he said. He held his hand out. "I'll do it, if, and only if, I am not your lap dog. You're the pilot or captain on your ship but I won't being running around doing your bidding. Those are the terms and that is final. I'll be around as an extra gun, hammer, or battering ram. Doesn't really matter," he said his powered gauntlet held out waiting for Rika to grasp it.
"Lap dogs do not exist in my world," Rika leered at what could best become a smiled and grasped his hand with more stength then her small frame suggested, "I'll aid you in the hunt, there are quite a few beasts out in Zerities worth the trip." She stood from her chair and looked over her shoulder at the two men talking before said to Dante, "Give me a minute." Walking over to their table, "I noticed you were listening in on our conversation."
Rika's pressure on Dante's gauntlet barely registered through the ceremite, after all he could catch a bullet with the power glove. He strode over and stood off to the right of Rika with a hand on his pistol standing as uninterested as he could. The two men were registered with red outlines just in case with Rika now silhuetted in blue. Where did that woman run to? He thought as he stood there looking around. Some of the patrons looked over and immediately went back to studying their cups when Dante looked over to them.
Seymour glanced up at Rika. "Maybe we were sweet thing, what's it to ya?" Richard punch Seymour in the arm hard, silencing him. "We couldn't help but overhear. My apologies. We'll stay out of your business if you'd like." Richard finished the beer and looked at Rika, his face neutral, and his eyes were swinging back between Dante and Rika.
"Well I happened to be listening to your conversation as well." Her eyebrow twitched before she went on and her crests lowered halfway, revealing her inner emotions, "You said you hunted big cats, and you mentioned something about a giant insect. Have you ever hunted in Zerities before?" Her hand slipped to the hilt of her saber out of habit as she waited for him to respond while glaring at his friend.
Seymour looked between Rika and Richard then leaned over to Richard and whispered "This looks outta my league. I'll catch you later." With that, he left the bar. Richard nodded at his departing friend and faced Rika. "I've been on the outskirts before. However, I was in a war fleet, so I didn't get to see anything up close." He absently scratched his head. "But I saw those who had seen things up close...not the best memories." Richard leaned back against the bar.
Rika chuckled before sitting in the spot that the other man had left open, "They aren't as bad as people think, and if you have hunted what I think you have, then you shouldn't be that problematic. Dailiophen will be the only risk between this galaxy and Zerities." Dante wanted to go hunting, if this Richard wanted to as well she would have all the man power she would need. With how much she would pay them the extra booty of fur and such would help. "Do you have other skills besides hunting and drinking?"
Firestar slipped into the bar after she helped the lady out wit her calf. She prodded her way over to the bar and ordering a bottle of rum for herself. She sat down on the stool and placed her feet on the metal supporting the seat. She sighed conetently and praised herself mentally, proud that she had not gone crazy from looking at the blood from the woman's body. She gave a faint smile and began to drink her rum.
Richard shrugged. "I can do some piloting, programing, mechanical work, medical work, some basic survival skills, um...and probably a lot more things that will come to my mind later."
"Are you worth 6,000 credits?" Rika asked him curiously, wondering if he would want more then the generous offer she had given him, "Along with any beast you kill that will be a healthy amount. Dante here is for the hunting... but I will need assistance in concern with my ship, I do not have a pilot and I am... bad at it. Are you comfortable with flying a type 3A battle ship?"
"6,000 credits eh?" Richard ordered another beer and took a sip. "Sounds reasonable...type 3A eh?...I'll be able to get it from point A to point B reasonably smooth enough. Don't expect any high class dodging or Meteor cloud short cuts from me though."
Firestar's ears had been flicked over to the conversationg that was going on a few seats down from her. She gave a slight smirk as she heard him, sensing a bit of doubt in his tone. She shook her head lightly and shut her eyes as she took another drink.
"Ateth can handle herself reasonably well, it's the Dailophen I'm worried about... but Theta-" The bot waved from the bar's entrance, "can take on a few by himself and since he is not technically alive he would not be at risk. Ateth is not a regular battle ship mind you, she is almost an exact duplicate of Theta, with minor changes to hold passengers and such." Rika's tail snapped around before she stood, "do we have a deal?"
Richard cracked his neck absently. "Alright. You got yourself a pilot." He ordered another beer and handed it to Rika. "One thing though..." he added as he stood. "You better have enough whiskey for the entire trip." He laughed heartily.
She scowled at the whisky and set it down on the table, "Then you are going to have to buy it yourself." Rika handed a small chip to him before turning to leave, "We're at docking bay 12C make sure you are ready to go by seven tonight. Bring what you need, we have a fairly good amount of weapon, ammo, armor and such and you may take from there what you need also." Rika held out her hand.
Richard shook her hand. "Docking bay 12C. I'll see you there tonight." He turned back to the bar and called the bartender over. "Hey, James...I'm gonna need three 5-gallon kegs of whiskey..."
Rika shook her head before turning to go before spotting the same female that had an attitude that the Oa had liked... not to mention she had been listening.
Firestar turned her head to Rika when she heard her feet hit the ground as she turned. She looked up at her with golden eyes and took the last gulp of her rum, placing the botle onto the bar's top gently. She turned her head back to the bartender, who had walked off to see the man a few seats away from her, and pulled out a pouch form her short's pockets. "What are you staring at, never seen a medic-warrior drinking rum before?" She asked, reaching her hand into the pouch and sighing slightly. Great, spent the last of my money on that damned antibiotic crap... why can't others just learn to regenerate when they are hurt like me?
She snorted in reply, "Does it look like I care?" Rika was about to step out of the bar before she looked back, "Did you say medic-warrrior?" Rika's crests had perked up once more as her curiosity got the better of her. Her battle bot stood their silently, glancing from Dante, to Rika, then to the woman.
"What of it?" Firestar let her tail drift onto her lap as she sat there. She began to pry some of the chain from the firey fur, the pure metal seeming to be enoug for that one bottle of rum. Doesn't matter, I can make another one later on. She reassured herself as she lie the silver onto the bar top. "Does that perk your interests O' Small One?" She asked as she now looked back at Rika.
"Like you have room to talk kitty. Compared to me you're another short woman. You're like a cat that's got her tail cought in the door. All spit and venom," Dante said sourly as his heavy boots thumped on the floor as he walked over. "Warrior-medics aren't that rare sweetheart. So I doubt she's gawking at that," he said just a little angry at her attitude. Hand resting on his pistol again while the other hung at his side waiting to move at the slightest threatening gesture. Firestar in Dante's HUD was outlined in red and the distance to her and himself had been calculated as well as the distance of her and Rika. Dante wasn't loyal to Rika per say but he didn't want his expedition to end before it even began. "Rika, I doubt this woman is any better than a cut-rate medic. Me and that other fellow are fine enough with a scalpel. Unless she can do surgery I doubt we need her very much. And her attitude has something left to be desired," he said gesturing to Richard in reference. Dante turned half to Rika while his HUD pulled up a side screen view of Firestar in case she tried to make a move.
"Hm..I'd say you need a huge glass of whiskey, but that's only my opinion." Firestar flicked her tail about and growled at him, now going back to the "kitty" comment. "I ain't a damned cat, I hate cats! I'm a faun and you'd better damn well learn your place boy!" She exclaimed as she stood and took a few steps towards him. "I ain't the one to be pissing off 'round here, I'll kill you without a second's hesitation." She gave a low sigh and scuttled her claws on the ground gently, aking a step back and sitting down onto the stool once more.
Dante laughed aloud and looked down at her with distain though she could not see his face. "Little girls like you need to learn 'their' place. By the looks of you I'd say I've got a few years on you girl. And I don't think I am very scared of you at all. You don't look like the dangerous types. I've seen the dangerous types and you certainly can't hurt me," he said letting out another sarcastic laugh. "You could always 'TRY' to kill me, and you'll find were it puts you. Six feet under in an unmarked grave. And if I feel generous I may only choose to break your puny little spine like a twig so you're paralyzed," he said movin his hand from his pistol and began advancing on her steadily clenching his massive fists. "In fact I think I may teach you a lesson right now little kitty."
Firestar gave a yowl of laughter at his hollow threats. "You could kill me if you tried, and you'd know why, too, if you only knew that much about me. Go ahead and attack me, just don't draw blood or you really will what this "kitty" can do." She pushed out through laughter, turning on her stool once more and lieing her head into her clawed hands. She let out a low yawn and looked up to the assortments of liquir and alcohol behind the bar. She suddenly perked up and looked at the bottles more closely, examining them and grinning to herself. "Oh, I wasted my money on those damn meds for nothing." She turned her head to the door of the building and sighed. "Whatever."
Dante growled with anger and grabbed Firestar by the throat his powergauntlet squeezing with his augmented strength and the servos in the armor and he lifted her from her stool. "I kill for sport and for money. But I won't let you get me all riled up to kill out of anger," he growled pulling her close to his helmet. With a fling of his wrist he threw her back into the bar. And turned for the door. "I'll wait for you at the docking station Rika. If I stay too long I may decide to go back on what I said," he growled, his voice distorted by the vocal output of the helmet.
Firestar used the silver chain to reflect the image of her neck so she could see it, bruises he left on her neck almost instantly disappearing. She dropped the chain and stood up, throwing the empty bottle, which once held her rum, at the man walking away from her. "Hey, Ogre! Get your ass back here so I can give it a good kicking!"
Richard walked up to the yowling cat-girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, miss, why don't we all just calm down, and enjoy some drinks, eh? I'll buy your drinks for the rest of the night. Hows that sound?"
Firestar stopped her loud-mouthing and looked at the male before her, tilting her head a bit. She refused to let into the nice talk of the man, but decided it couldn't hurt none. "I'll pay you back." She said quietly, looking away from the door.
Rika had been watching the whole scene with 'mild' interest. Not that many species could heal themselves and know how to heal others... but the bloodlust issue interested her more because the Oa, though thoroughly extinct except for herself and her two students, were also affected by a bloodlust in battle. Speaking to Richard, "Just make sure you make it by seven... and bring your friend if she's interested..." With that said Rika stalked off with Theta trailing behind her small form.
The bottle had hit Dante's armor and smashed. He didn't care, he was about to turn on her but instead threw the door open and walked out. Outside he waited for Rika and fell in beside her. "What do you think of her," he asked as they walked. "I don't like her, but that regeneration ability could be useful," he said.
Richard shook his head and smiled. "No need there miss. My tab here has so much credit, i could drink this place dry fifty times over." He motioned to jerry for two drinks, then turned back to Firestar. "So why were you even wasting time with a guy like that?"
"A good faun doesn't accept money and not pay it back." Firestar said gently as she sat down with a small sigh. "Hmph.." She decided not to answer his question but instead went on with what she was saying. "It is simple enough to pay you back, pure liquid diamond, but it's not so simple of the matter of me getting it." She gestured to her wrist, which is nomrally supposed to have a blue vein in it, but from the first glance there were no veins. "I can get it to you as soon as possible, but not right now." She set her hand on the bar top and began to claw a shape into the material with her nails slowly.
"Eh, money is nothing to me." Richard chuckled. "It won't be good manners for me to have you pay for a gift." He handed her a drink. "If you're really serious about paying me back...you can help me out if i ever get too drunk." Richard grinned and click his bottle with Firestar's. "Cheers"
Firestar gave a small grin at the man, nodding a bit. "Alright, you got yourself a deal." Her claws unconsciencely finished the small shape. She took a quick glance down at it and sighed. "Hey, what did that female and her ogre want anyways? What were you speaking about with them?" She asked almost hesitantly.
Richard shook his head, chuckling. "The only thing people come here to do is get drunk, and find mercenaries...I've been hired to pilot a ship." Richard took a sip of his drink. "And by the way they were testing you, i'd guess they were interested in hiring you too."
Firestar snorted and chuckled towards her drink. She lowered her head and sniffed the alcohol, sneezing and pulling her head back quickly with clenched eyes. She pushed the drink away from her and looked at the bartender. "Can I have some rum instead, please?"
Richard nodded at Jerry, and had a glass of rum given to Firestar. "You know, you're the first person i've known to be allergic to a type of alcohol." Richard smiled. "By the way, i never got your name Miss."
"Kide, you might be an idiot, but you're one helluva sexy one," Kide muttered to herself, as if reassuring herself she'd make it through this. It was dark in the docking station, and she had just found a ship she could kind of remember. 'Kind of remember' was good enough; she found it had a bit of wiggling room right where she suspected, and after a bit of unscrewing, she disappeared into the ship itself.
Once inside, Kide coughed. "Ugh," she said, sharp eyes picking out places that weren't to her usual comfort level. She thought she heard a noise and jumped. "Oh by Jarule I hope there aren't any rats aboard this lug," Kide muttered, cursing. She appeared to have entered into the armory room... I suppose you could call it that. She found a comfortable place next to a possible hiding place and waited, scowling at her surroundings but ultimately just a touch pleased.
"I'm not allergic to anything, I just don't find a taste for anything but rum." Firestar said. She looked at Richard and held her claws out in a friendly gesture. "It is Firestar." Her tail curled up onto her lap as she sat there.
"I'm Richard. Call me whatever the hell you like though." He nodded. "Well Firestar, i have to be heading out. I must gather my things, seeing how it's getting close to seven." He stood up. "Jerry, have those five kegs of rum delivered to docking bay 12c by 6:30." He looked back at Firestar. "Well, I must be off. Remember, if you're wanting to come on the job. Docking bay 12c by seven. Hope to see you there." With that, Richard left the bar.
Firestar pulled her hand back and watched him leave. She stood up herself and exited the bar slowly, now attempting to find the female she had given the meds to. "Damn, where did she go?" She asked and she jumped up onto the roof of a building, searching around slowly.
Dante waved to Rika, "well, I have to go get my things. I'll be at the docking station shortly, I don't have much because I'm always on the move." With that Dante departed and began making his way down the alley. He liked the darker side of civilization and prefered to house himself in the worst parts. When he finally arrived at the banged up hotel with metal railing guarding the windows he entered and tossed the manager a few credits. "I'm leaving, go fetch my things and hurry," he yelled. The manager gave a jump and immediately went to go fetch Dante's things with a sour look at his back. Dante waited patiently eyeing a man that was sitting in a chair. "Anyone come in here looking for me," he asked. The man just nodded his head. "I see, thank you, and here, buy yourself a drink," he said tossing the man a few credits as well. Wealth really didn't concern Dante, and he wasn't kidding when he said that his funds weren't lacking at the moment. The man gave Dante a toothless grin and scrambled off no doubt to the nearest bar. Then Dante saw something that grabbed his interest and heart at the same time. In the corner of the room sat a small bowl of milk with a orange and white kitten lapping from it lazily. He walked over and bent down gingerly rubbing the cat. When the man came back with Dante's large duffel bag he sat it down next to him. "Its a stray, damn thing won't leave so I set out a bowl of milk for it," he exclaimed. Dante picked the purring kitten and looked at the manager. "I'll be taking this," he said holding the cat. "Fine with me, I don't want it," the man said. With that Dante grabbed his bag and headed out. "I think I'll call you Firestar," he said with a wide grin.
Richard reached his apartment. Unlocking the door, he went inside and gathered his things. Every blade he own was sheathed, and he strapped his pistol to his belt. He undid the safe in his closet, and took out the old military bag, filled with items that could be useful in certain situations. Slinging that, along with a bag with a couple of spare changes of clothing, he locked up his apartment and headed to the docking bay.
After a few moments of searching for the old lady, Firestar just shrugged and decided to move on with her life. "Eh, not much I can do to get the meds back anyways. She probally used them already." She gave a low yawn and took a step to the edge of the building's roof and bounded off of the edge. She landed to the gound with a thud of her claws and a scrape of her nails against the ground. Her hind claws retrachted into her paws as she began to walk, her fronter claws still unsheathed. She stopped as she rounded a corner and looked around slowly. Now, where the bloody hell did he say to meet with the ogre and it's master? Docking bay 12C? Hm..I'll figure it out once my mind clears. she thought to herslef with mild interest, walking her way through the people and heading towards the docking bay.
As Richard walked through the crowd, he could see three members of the green eye walk towards him. The green eye had been trying to get loyalty and service out of Richard for years, but never succeeded. However, Richard notice the crowd slowly disappearing into shopping, clearing the area. Richard sighed, dropped his two bags, and waited for the green eye members to get to him with arms crossed. By the time they got to him, there was a big clearing in the plaza. "It's a nice set up, i'll give you that." Richard smirked at the leader of the three.
"Can it Richard" The leader scowled. "We're here to finally get a point across to you..." As he spoke, more members of the Green eye seemed to emerge from the shadows and surround Richard, each holding some form of knife or pistol. The leader walked up and looked Richard right in the eye. "You see, the boss is finally fed up on waiting for you to join our group see...and so, he's decided that if you aren't willing to join, we're just gonna make what makes you useful...obsolete. For instance..." The leader jabbed Richards arms with a lead pipe. "...We're gonna break both of these. And these..." He pointed at Richard's legs. "...are gonna be as blue and black as blueberries." He smiled. "At least you'll still have a head on your shoulders, eh?"
At this, Richard Swung his head back and head-butted the leader, breaking his nose and knocking him to the floor. "I only need my head to wipe away scum like you." Richard scowled.
The leader stumbled to his feet. "Boys, teach him the meaning of pain."
Dante crossed into the clearing and saw the members of some gang of a sort had surrounded Richard and one on the gound at Richard's feet with a broken nose. He gave a small smile then looked down at the kitten in his hand and sat down his bag with the kitten atop it. With that he strolled over and grabbed one of the men by his neck and smashed his throat with his grip and then turned to Richard. "Need some help," he asked pulling his double-headed axe from his back. Immediately lightning began to dance around the axe's large curved blades. "Well, if you need it or not you're going to get it," he said. "Can't have you getting killed before we take off," he said. Warning klaxons began to illuminate his HUD as the enemies were registered into the system, all now highlighted in red and Richard in blue.
Richard reached into one of his two bags, and pulled forth a Scottish claymore, which he unsheathed and placed the sheath inside the bag. "Me getting killed by these guys? Pish, yes right." He laughed. The gang members who had pistols aimed them at Dante, while the other moved in closer to Richard. "Shoot the armor freak, but leave Richard alive...but make sure you cut him up real nice..." The leader growled, as he pushed through the gang to get on the outer rings of the the circle surrounding Dante and Richard.
Dante gave a roar as he charged the circle swinging his axe in a wide arch making three of the men jump back while and unlucky man was caought in the chest cleaving open his chest with a slight explosion as the lightning met the air rushing out of the man's chest blood spewing everywhere. Bullets were being fired and bounced harmlessly off of Dante's armor. Then he spun yelling at Richard, "get down," as he hurled his axe in his direction at a gang member and with a fluid motion drew his plasma pistol discharging the energy into a man holding a gun dissolving his upper chest cavity.
Richard ducked, just in time to avoid the axe Dante threw. Yelling something in old celtic, Richard swung his claymore at the gang members surrounding him, hewing off limbs and heads as gang members tried unsuccessfully to dodge his blade, or try to block it with their own melee weapon. After 20 seconds of swinging, about two thirds of the gang members were either dead, or hurting really bad. Seeing their memeber dropping like flys, the rest of the gang slowly started backing away from Dante and Richard.
Dante holstered his pistol and threw himself bodily at the fleeing men grabbing two by their arms and slung them around and threw them into a nearby building. He then unslung his bolter and began opening fire at the backs of those that could not see his chasing after them. "No mercy," he bellowed as he ran after the retreating enemy. Bloodlust had gripped him and all he could think about was killing every last one of those that had dared to attack him. His HUD display pulled up and he adjusted the power levels to his leg stabilizers to push him forward faster as the men were pulling away. After a few moments and blocks passed he knew he would not catch up with them so decided to end the chase and went back to were Richard was. "That was pathetic," he said hefting his huge axe from the body of the dead gang member. "Who were they anyway," he asked placing the axe back on his back and slinging his bolter reclaiming his bag and kitten.
Richard busied himself with cleaning the blood off his claymore. "Members from a gang called the "Green eye" They've been trying to get me to join for a while now, and i guess they got fed up on waiting for me to say yes." Richard sheathed his claymore and put it away. "Even though it wasn't required, thanks for your help. Saved me the time and energy if I had to do it myself. I'll buy you a drink the next time ya want one...oh, and I never got formally introduced to ya. The name's Richard." He slung his bags over his shoulder with one hand and offered the other to Dante.
"It only takes one bullet to put down someone that doesn't have armor on friend," he said touching Richard's chest with two fingers. "Fancy sword play doesn't save a man from a bullet," he added. Dante looked down at the man's hand and put the kitten he was holding in the little space between his helmet and pauldron. "Nice to meet you Richard, I'm Dante," he said gripping the man's hand gently as to not break it. "No doubt you could have held your own, but they did outnumber you a great deal. And what was that that you yelled at me earlier," he asked wondering at the strange language that Richard had used. "I'm not exactly a scholar. And no worries about the drink, I don't drink except alone."
Firestar had been watching the small scuffle from a few roof tops off, tilting her head and sighing gently. "Men just can't say out of fights, now can they?" She jumped down from the roof top and headed over to Richard and the other man from earlier. "What all happened?"
Richard pulled down his shirt just enough to reveal some flesh on his chest. "This ain't my chest by the way." He explained as he pulled back some of the flesh colored body armor. "Looks and feels like skin, but it's strong enough to stop a bullet from a pistol at close range. Oh, and that was ancient celtic...they were some of the greatest warriors ever, so i was just calling upon their strength." He nodded as Firestar approached. "Ah, Firestar. Well, you see, I got into a little scuffle with a gang, and Dante decided to add some assistance to my side."
"You boys can never leave a fight to fizzle out, can you?" Firestar said with a flick of her tail. She quickly noticed the scent of the cat causing her to jerk her head around to peer at Dante. She let out a low snort and scraped her hind right, unsheathed claws against the dirt beneat her in agitation. "What the bloody hell is that thing doing here?"
"Well, first off, it was in pure self-defense, and they would've broken my arms and legs if we hadn't defended ourselves..." Richard moved in between Dante and Firestar, not wanting to have another brawl break out, since the public was starting to come out of the shops and mull about again. "and secondly, is there a problem with Dante having a cat?" Richard asked.
"Cats are dispicable creatures that don't even deserve to have oxygen flow through their noses and fill their lungs." Firestar looked at Richard with a slight squint of her eyes. "Don't worry, I would waste anymore time then what I already have on killing a pathetic feline creature." She commented as her claws sheathed once more
Richard nodded slowly, then looked at his watch. "Well, it's six o'clock. I don't know about you two, but i'm heading off to the docking bay...plus, I don't wanna deal with this..."he nodded at the dead gang members, "...when the authorities arrive." With this, he started walking off towards the docking bay.
Dante gave Firestar a quick glance then began to follow Richard scratching the the little kitten's ear. "And it's not called cat, her name is Firestar," he said walking away. "And don't try anything with her. I find her dead and you'll end up the same way shortly after. You can't regenerate death, remember that," he added as he made distance from her. He then took the small kitten in his hands and began to pet the kitten more, her low purr bringing him much joy as he gave a mirthful laugh.
Firestar twitched at hearing the cat's name, giving a low growl. "Pfft...I think he likes me." She muttered under her breath as she unconsciencely bound away from the bloodied gang member that Danter had killed with the axe. She was already so used to moving away from any blood that she just kind of drifted away by instinct. She followed after the two, mainly following Richard, rolling her eyes when she saw the little mongrle feline look back at her. Ugly little beast...Although I do have to say it's colors look like my mother's colors..
"Decided to join our little group did you," Dante asked as she passed him. He unconsciously checked his holster real quick then gave a sigh and did something very uncommon for him. His HUD pulled up and Firestar became outlined in blue and with that he reached up hesitently. The black hardened ceremite around his neck gave a click and slowly slid down into the chest. With a grunt Dante removed the decorated helmet from his head. Green eyes haloed by a metallic blue circle that moved from time to time twisting around his pupils. His black hair was close cropped and his features were somewhat attractive despite the long scar that ran from right below his eye to his jawline on the left side. A tattoo of a sword with a wing was on his right cheek. "My name's Dante, not ogre. And yours is Firestar I know that much. But what I really want to know is why you're going with us," he asked scowling slightly. "And you'll also learn that I can hear most anything," he said somewhat in comment to what she said earlier.
Firestar peered at Dante closely, his eyes the main thing tugging at her attention. "Your...Hmph." She cut off what she was ready to say when she realized who she was ready to say it to then went back to his previous question. "I'm going because Richard is going and that's that. I made him a small deal that I won't go back on due to a slight distance gap between us." She felt her tail fur ruffle at his smugness. "You're not the only one, Dante." She crossed her arms loosely.
Dante replaced his helmet and the black gorget lifted back into place with a click sealing the suit off from the outside again. "What were you about to say before you answered my question," he asked his voice now mechanical sounding as it was filtered through the helmet instead of the deep bass it had been without his helmet. "You look very... annoyed about something," he stated cocking his head slightly to the side. Dante replaced the small kitten to her perch in his armor and gave a quick check on the ammo still remaining in his bolter clip.
"Nothing...it wouldn't matter." Firestar said in a rather soft tone, as if she were thinking it over. "I'm fine, the stench of blood jjust got to me for a minute." She let her arms drop and reached back at her tail, pulling it forward and sighing at it's plain look. "How much further is the docking bay?"
"Over here," Came a mechanical voice belonging to the familiar battle bot Theta, "There has been a commotion, besides the one that you three were a part of that is making our time shorter then we wanted... the presence of mistress Rika's blood has the local police on edge. They want to arrest her." Theta had said this all rather casually before sighing, "It happens fairly often, but we need to leave as soon as possible." With that said Theta slipped down an alleyway to the right of them.
Dante quickened his pace to catch up with Theta and gave the battle bot a nudge and leaned in. "Are the police still there," he asked somewhat hushed. "Some of my weapons aren't exactly legal and I do have a price on my head. Don't really want to rack up the balance if you know what I mean. I've killed a few too many of their kind," he added. He gave a quick glance at Firestar and Richard then began searching Theta for a communication port. "Hey, you got a comm port or a secure line," he asked looking back once more at the others.
Firestar felt her ears droop somewhat heavily. She gave a slight sigh and looked at Richard to say, "Am I the only one here who can control their fighting? Pretty sad if it's true."
Dante heard Firestar's comment and turned to face her, "I was bred for combat if you haven't noticed and all that has been done to me was for the purpose of killing." He became silent after that picking his pace up yet again to take the lead. All he had ever known was combat. He couldn't even remember his childhood because of what was done to him. Sometimes he could remember a time when killing wasn't the only way to survive but that had long past. Now all that he knew was WAR.
"Must've been a sad life then. There is more things than just fighting, you know?" Firestar's ear perked and her nostrils began to flare as she sniffed the air. She gave out a low purr of pleasure as she smelled a faint waft of cream in the distance. Her tail flicked about slowly and her sterned and stiff face softened. "Ooo, cream..." She mewed out softly.
"Here Dante, if you need a secure port... And the police are just patrolling the area more heavily because of her presence," Theta paused in his step before opening a compartment near his eyes which had a female port, then in a reply to the faun, "You know Lady Firestar, the Oa were all fighters by nature and that is why there are only a few left and they could not stop themselves from killing... Though Rika is different, she has a good amount of control... as do her two pupils who survived the massacre." He did not mention the fact of where they were of who they were... those secrets were not meant to be talked about, "And also, Rika will pay you the same she paid Richard for your help in her... expedition."
Firestar almost completely missed all of what the bot had said, only catching the pay part of it. "I don't accept pay in credits or money." She said as she continued to sniff the air in great inhales. "Where's that smell coming from, it's so heavinly."
"Well then what do you accept?" Theta asked her curiously.
"I accept one thing...Cream." Firestar said briefly as she stared at Theta. "She does have cream, doesn't she?"
"..." Theta sort of stared at her for a moment before shrugging, "Probably... in our kitchen... For an Oa Rika has a tendancy to like just about everything, and she does have a sweet tooth."
Kide's ears prickled and she decided to at least check out her hiding place. Make sure it was big enough. Or something. What if the people who fly this ship docked for a three-day weekend? Kide asked herself as she climbed into a box and pulled the lid over her with no difficulty. I'll never get out of here.
With a slight hiss the door to the compartment opened and a glowing figure strode through, looking around for a moment before a soft whispering voiced, "Anyone there?" Though it had been softly spoken the speakers projected it through the whole armor and weapons room. The glowing woman was beautiful and wore a long and elegant silver dress with no shoes on her feet. The holographic image was of the A.I. that was the personna of the battle ship; the lady Ateth.
Kide's eyes widened and then abruptly closed. The Beas-Indo held her breath. She felt her beating heart could be heard by anyone.
No sound was heard but the glow encompassed the entire length of the room and mechanical hands gently removed the lid to the girl's hiding place. The lady Ateth smiled down at her and her lips did not move as she laughed then spoke, "What are you doing in there? A stowaway? I thought someone had entered me without Rika's permission..."
Richard walked up to Firestar, Dante and Theta carrying five kegs of whiskey over his shoulder. "Lead me to the ship quickly mr. Robot...I need to settle in and put these in a fridge."
"Yes yes... you need a fridge... and the name is Theta by the way, and I am not some stupid robot used for cleaning... I am a battle bot." Theta seemed fairly ruffled and scoffed before turning and resuming their walk to the docking bay.
Firestar's sniffing had caused her to inhale the scent of Richard's whiskey. She shook her head and sneezed once more like before in the bar. "Richard, you need any help with that?"
Richard grinned at Firestar. "No thank's Firestar. This is nothing compared to other thing's i've had to haul around." he chuckled.
"Don't overexert yourself then." Firestar said simply, slowly decresing her pace so she could walk near Richard incase he were to drop one of the kegs. Her ears and nose stopped moving about as she stopped sniffing, fearing she would inhale more of the toxic smell.
"Thanks for your concern Firestar." Richard smiled at her as he shifted on of the kegs on his shoulders.
"I look out for people, thats what I do." Firestar said with a slight yawn. "Hey, Theta! How much further are the docks? I kind of have something I must do when we get there."
"We're almost there!" The bot yelled back, shuffling his large metal wings in boredom. The alleyway branched off and Theta took the right one without hesitation before the docking station opened up to them. It was fairly empty, only a few ships sat powered down and just within eyesight at the very end was a large ship that looked very much like a huge version of the battle bot.
Richard shuffled over to the door on the ship. He dropped the five kegs carefully and knocked on the hatch. "Hey, it's the big bad wolf. Let me in, will ya?" He dragged the kegs away from the door and waited for it to open.
Theta shook his head before retracting his metal claws into his fist and he then placed it into a female port. The door opened with a hiss and a holographic woman awaited them, "Hello, welcome and make yourselves at home." The woman had been smiling the whole time however her lips had yet to move.
"That is the lady Ateth, she is the ship. Now if you will follow me... we'll make a stop at the kitchen first before I show you your rooms." Theta walked in and the woman disappeared.
Firestar grabbed two of the kegs before Richard grabbed them all and sighed slightly. "Theta, do you happen to have any spare metal that I could make a chain out of?" She asked as she caught up with him, tilting her head a bit. "If not, it's fine, I can use diamond for the chain."
Richard sighed and shook his head outside the ship. "Women..." he muttered, picked up the remaining three kegs, and went into the ship, following Theta and Firestar.
"There is always spare metal and bits around for whenever we get in a jam... I'm sure lady Ateth will be happy to show you where it is at as soon as we get you three situated..." Theta said before showing them the kitchen, "The walk in fridge is over there," He pointed with a claw, "-and anything else you need is all here."
"I heard that...." Firestar mentioned back to Richard as she placed both of the kegs on the ground in the kitchen. "Go ahead, handle them all." She shrugged lightly and looked back to Theta. "Are you sure it's no problem?"
Although it was impossible for Theta to smile, seeing as he had no specific mouth, his eyes brightened and his tone was light, "We don't mind at all... just don't tell Rika."
"Don't tell me what?" Rika stood leaning against the doorway, her crests fully relaxed and her posture emotionless. There was surprisingly no anger in her eyes as she looked over each one of them slowly, her face blank.
Richard picked up the other two kegs, walked into the freezer, and set them down. He left the freezer, closing the door and leaning on it as he waited for the scene to play out.
Firestar merely bowed her head slightly to Theta and looked at Rika. She shrugged and looked into the kitchen. "So..uh..Rika, have any cream?" She asked curiously, poking her head into the doorway slowly and shifting her eyes restlessly.
"...Yes there is cream. Wipped cream anyway." Rika stood from leaning against the door after glaring at Theta for a moment then left.
"She usually sticks to her room or the main deck. I am actually surprised she came to... welcome you guys here in the first place." Theta commented before looking in the fridge also, "-and don't eat all the strawberries, they are her favorite."
Firestar's ears and tail drooped solumly as she pushed herself gently away from the door frame. She let her claws drag gently against the floor as she walked towards a nearby chair to sit down. She stopped a few feet before it and said, "Where are the rooms located?"
"Yea, I'm also interested in wondering where the rooms are... and the armory... and the cockpit... I'm gonna need a few minutes to remember all the controls..." Richard remarked.
"Well follow me and we can get you all settled in," Theta moved out of the kitchen. Several minutes later had them in a long corridor with several rooms branching off, "Try not to wander off, doing that you might find Rika's room. There are several maps along the walls that glow... so you can find everything, though Ateth sometimes turns them off so you get lost, she has an odd humor for people wandering through her." Theta pushed open a door idily.
Firestar walked slowly into an unoccpied room and laid down on the bed gently. She placed her hands on her stomach and stared up at the ceiling. Why is it that there is never any cream? Every single time.. She thought to herself, crossing her legs as she laid there.
Richard went into a open room and placed his bag down on the bed. He took out his claymore and walked out of his room. "Hey Theta, point me in the direction of the armory, would ya? I need to drop off my claymore."
Meanwhile, in the armory, Kide was waving a frantic arm at the hologram. "I-I... I'm a figment of your imagination!" she squeaked. She was trying to be quiet, because she could hear some noises echoing through the metal halls of the ship. "Maybe you're malfunctioning or something. You could have that checked after we take off. Not before, don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing big." She reached to pull the lid back onto her box.
Richard looked up on the wall. A map was glowing, and he saw how to get to the armory. "Never mind Theta. I found the way." With that, he started walking towards the armory, his combat boots making hollowing clunking sound on the metal floor.
Dante quickly tossed his bag into his room and followed Richard catching up to him. "Maybe we should take off, like right now. I don't feel like having to fight the police again. I get to do that enough as it is," he commented quickly. "Not that I ever get tired of fighting its just that it makes my social life a real drag at ports you know, always trying to run, i.e. running the cops down to kill them and all," he said grimacing slightly in his helmet. He gave Firestar a quick pat on her head and had a thought to go find some milk but dismissed it to get Richard to take off.
Richard looked between Dante, and the path down to the armory. "Alright, i'll get to flying this hunk of..." he remember the ship had a mind of its own "...nice, shiny, steel...just do me a favor and drop this off at the armory." He tossed Dante his claymore and made his way to the cockpit.
Ateth continued smiling at Kide, the claw continued to hold the lid open, "No no, I like stowaways... the mistress Rika always has the most mean people aboard and it would be nice to have someone here that was nice!" Ateth giggled.
Richard made his way to the cockpit and sat at the main control-booth. "Well, you're sure in nice condition." he remarked. "Lets do me a favor and do a system check..." he pushed a few buttons to get a system check going.
"I am fully functional and do not need a... check." Ateth's voice said from the speaker system.
Rika growled from the shadows, "You obviously haven't flown with a battle ship with A.I. have you? She can tell you whats wrong with her, all she can't do is fly herself..."
"Better safe then sorry." Richard remark. "Alright Atheth, would you mind getting engines up to 20%? I'm just gonna ride easy until we get far enough from the spaceport." Richard took the control and was ready to steer. "Also Atheth, would you mind contacting the control tower and find out what ships are leaving and coming in so we don't crash on our way out?"
"Already done, engines at 20% and the tower has given us the right of way, ready for takeoff." Ateth replied, almost as if rehearsed.
Dante gave a sigh at the speedy way that Richard consented to his request and headed toward the armory each of his steps ringing out down the corridor as he marched to the armory. The door gave a hiss and he stepped in surveying the area finding Ateth in her holographic form. "If I could comment real quick I would say you're pretty good looking for an AI," he said with a laugh. He gently laid the claymore down and began to head out but stopped. "Is someone there," he asked scanning the area. His HUD began filtering out the area as he scanned. He thought he had heard something, the scrape of metal. "Probably just my damn boots," he said removing his helmet setting it down on a table and began removing his armor revealing a skintight black webbing suit below for breathing purposes. "Awww, damn thing can get so stuffy I swear," he commented to Ateth not really minding her that much. He felt the ship lurch slightly as it began its ascent. "Good, I want off this damn planet anyway," he said to himself.
Ateth giggled again, "Actually I found a stowaway! I want to keep her..."
Kide gritted her teeth, eyes wide open in panic and a little anger. Kide's ears bristled as she considered her options. They were still only a few feet above the ground; it would be too easy to land again and dump her off. Or even to not even bother landing. Who knew what sort of atrocities commoners came up with these days. She decided to get a peek at whoever else was in the room, and poked the top of her head out of the box, just enough to see through Ateth at Dante.
Dante casually walked over with his pistol drawn and lifted the top pointing his plasma pistol at Kide motioning for her to get out then tossed it seeing her size. "Oh, for a minute there I though I would find a pirate or something," he said. "A bit small in size," he said giving her a wide grin completely oblivious to the fact he was almost naked in front of her. "Nice to meet ya lass," he said eyeing her up and down. He walked back over to his armor appraising the damage that had been incurred during his scuffle with the brigands. "You can keep her if you want, doesn't matter to me. I won't say a thing until we're well out of the system."
"At least we should not tell Rika... she will... well, flip out." The A.I. smiled and tossed her hair.
"You're rutting HUGE," Kide said in a flippant manner, looking up--and up--at him in what could almost be considered awe if she wasn't being so snarky about it. "Doesn't mean I'm small." She stood there, hands on her hips, her posture showing her familiar with the male body, at least enough to not show embarrassment at the half-naked one in front of her. "Name's Kide. Why are you letting me stay?" She was just a bit blunt. Her gaze flicked to his cat and stayed for a few seconds, then back to him.
Firestar had decided to go to the armory, where she knew Dante would be, to see if she could find any spare metal in there. As she scrapped along she heard a bit of talking in the direction of the armory, her ears flicking and her interest peeked slightly. "Hm? Dante and Ateth? No, I heard a third voice, whose?" She finished the walk to the armory and peeked her head in to see Dante, Ateth's hologram, and a third, much smaller figure. "That your girlfriend Dante, or is that your little pet?" She mewed into him, chuckling to herself.
Kide raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, unimpressed. "I never thought commoners would have such bad manners," she sniffed. She was getting just a bit peeved at the whole situation and might even prefer being thrown out of the spaceship at this point. "Oh well, I suppose I should forgive you. It's really not your fault you were so poorly bred."
"You're right, I was poorly bred but at least I can admit it you short imp looking creature." Firestar came the rest of the way into the armory and began to go through whatever she thought would have spare metal in them. "Plus, I only say I was bred poorly because I have a damned feline blood line, but you can't make the same excuse I have because you're just a little spoiled brat who never learned any manners I presume."
"I'm hoping she doesn't talk this much all the time," Kide said to Dante, dismissing Firestar with her uninterested tone. "So, your name's Dante, huh? You know where this ship is going, right?" She turned to the hologram. "Or you, hologram... Er, Ateth?"
Firestar ignored Kide's comment and looked to Ateth as well. "Would you happen to have any spare scrap metal around here? I would really apreciate it, making a new chain is top priority for me." She gave a small smile to the hologram, flicking her tail a bit.
Richard eased the ship out of he docked position and slowly steered his way to the exit. "Alright, this'll be a piece of cake." he chuckled.
"There is some over there miss Firestar... and we're going to Zerities galaxy!" Ateth giggled again... she seemed to like to giggle, "I was born there you know!"
"Zerities, huh?" Kide said, frowning a little. "Does that have a public docking station?" The name rang a bell, but she couldn't quite place it. She had hoped to hop on a ship that was going somewhere in the major galaxies, so she could change ships. She was also hoping to be a legit passenger on the second ship, although she was willing to pay for this trip, at least. With any change of ships, however, she would become virtually unfindable--and that would be nice.
Ateth frowned, "No... Zerities is an abandoned galaxy, there is a 10% survival rate for anyone that dares to enter..."
Kide swallows. "Well, that sucks," she huffed. "Ten percent? How am I supposed to switch ships if I'm dead?" Good thing I'm much too sexy to die, Kide thought to herself.
"Stop being stupid...You don't have to stay on the ship you know, you can just hop off and never get back on." Firestar said, scurrying over to where Ateth said the spare scrap was. She grabbed a bit of it and grabbed a pair of pliers, small torch, and a sharp knife. "Hey, Ateth..do you happen to have a sense distorter by any chance?"
"No time," Kide mutters, suddenly growing a little distracted as she mulled things over. "No, that wouldn't do at all. I'd probably rather go to Zerities." She walks behind Dante and reaches out a hand to the kitten. "Besides," she adds with a mischevious grin, knowing this would be the best way to annoy the sparkly one for now, "The ship's growing on me. I'd hate to leave it now. It has a certain... character."
"Eh.." Firestar shrugged and looked back to the short being. "Suite yourself, just don't bug me and I won't bug you..." She wrinkled her nose at the cat and turned back to Ateth. "So, sense distorter, Ateth...Have one?"
The hologram looked confused before finally admitting, "No... It isn't even in my database..."
"Wonder why..." Firestar shrugged slightly and turned, walking to the door. She shot one last glance down to the female and walked out, tail flicking and paws thudding on the floor. She entered her room and set the supplies down on her bed and sat next to them. She gave a slight sigh before getting up again and locking the door and pushing her bed infront of it. "No way will I be able to get out of here..I hope.." She muttered to herself quietly sitting down on the bed once more. She began to mold the scrap metal into small links, links that would suite her tail best in size.
Richard switched on the intercom and he got the ship out of the docking bay. "Your attention please. This is your pilot speaking. Welcome to Ateth cruise lines. Our main destination is the Zerities galaxy. We suggest you hold on to something, this may get a little rough." He switched off the intercom. "Hey Ateth, would you mind telling me if those are police cruisers coming towards us?" He asked, as little flashing lights, still at a distance, were zooming towards them.
Her giggle echoed through the whole ship, "Yes, they are... Theta please come to the command room ASAP."
"Roger." Theta's voice responded instantly and Rika turned her head to the door as it hissed open, revealing the battle bot, "Police?"
The Oa nodded, "The damned hooligans... Ateth go defensive."
The battle ship shuddered as the ship, what had looked like to begin with a pod shaped version of the smaller bot was extending it's limbs in flight to accomodate the threat.
Richard scratched at his head, thinking a bit. "Say, Ateth, how many seconds do you think it would take to boost engines from nil to 100%" he asked.
"We're already at 20%... it would take about 3 seconds. Just in time to burn their helms..." She answered back happily.
"Hmm... they're gonna expect us to come to a complete stop..." Richard chuckled. "Alright, I think being at 20% is convincable enough... though, I'm gonna need people to cover our back as we're zooming off..."
Rika growled, "You underestimate a battle ship, 100% for Ateth is like having a police cruiser going at 250%... We're a lot faster then them, just fly her out of here."
"Oh, you're no fun Rika." Richard grinned. "Alright. Lets have these guys eat our space dust!" Richard braced for the acceleration as he increased the engines to 100% and sped off, dodging slightly left and right to avoid other spaceships. IN a few moments, they were in the clear and speeding off.
Kide was not so braced, falling to the ground. She was a little glad that she had not actually picked up the kitten before doing so. "This is stupid," Kide said, pouting at her sore bum. "I'm going back in my box."
Stumble!