A day in the life

You wake up. The first thing you do is wonder if this is a good idea. You start to wonder why you should bother waking up in the first place. Sleep is blissful, in many ways. It was, before last night, the one time you didn't think, the one time the creeping sadness wasn't on the edge of your mind. Until last night.

This isn't the first time you've woken up. Last night you drifted in and out of sleep. You were having what to most guys your age would be a GOOD dream. Two hot chicks with ample everything. Your attracted to them. They even end up sleeping in the same bed as you. But not sexually. Not even really romantically. You realize that you've become their best friends while they date some asshole. Even in your own dreams, you can't get the girl. So the dream becomes a nightmare.

As you dredge your memories through the dream, which is remaining bright and vivid in your mind detail to detail, you slowly crawl out of bed. You get into the shower and let the water run over you as you scrub your head absently. You cry a bit. It's alright though, there's no one around to see it and no one will ever know.

It would be nice, you think, if this was new. But the dream last night was just a note in a lifetime of similar things. It's just before it never followed you into your dreams. But now it has. One of the last bastions of your sanity crumbles as you realize sleep will no longer be the sweet oblivion it used to be.

You don't look at yourself in the mirror as you go by it. You can't. Every time you do you see yourself looking back. You wander downstairs. You can't look your family in the face. When they talk to you your muscles tighten up, your jaw squares and you have to grind your teeth. You hear the disappointment in their voice and see it in their faces. You desperately want to be left alone so you don't have to look at them and see how far you've fallen. But at the same time you crave company, and being alone scares you, depresses you.

You settle into your chair. The computer, now truly what seems to be the last bastion, the last thing to help you not think. That's what it boils down to. When you think, your thoughts inevitably turn black. Smiling becomes hard. You've spent your whole life smiling, up until a few months ago, to hide from the world. But recently it's just become to much to keep up. Instead you settle for a sort of blank neutrality with just a hint of frown.

You wait patiently for the computer to boot up. You take the time to clean up a bit. Get a glass of your drink of choice for now.

In your torso, your heart is like a lead ball settled against the top of your stomach. Your throat feels constantly choked, like your about to break out crying at any moment, but you can't, because their are other people home today. The fact that you think you have to hide it just makes you want to cry more.

You check your email. A spark of hope, a thrill of energy. Something you wanted to see has arrived and you feel the briefest flicker of positive emotion, and you try to hold onto it but it fades away rapidly. Still, maybe you can go back and it will come back again.

Your trying to get work. Yesterday you got a call from another place you applied at that started out well. "Your resume looks good" says the voice, but you can hear it. The hint that "but" is going to pop up. "But" says the voice "We're just not able to hire on any new staff at this time, though we will keep your resume on hand for another six months, in case a position opens up.". Well. Thats nice. You wish them a happy thanksgiving and thank them for giving you a call (the followup on your part had been a bit of a hassle, and you wondered if complaining about the phone operator would get them fired). So you settle in. Oh well. It's time to distract yourself...so you sit down and boot up your games of choice, and then you start typing in your blog. It begins..."You wake up."

Upcoming comic preview

I'm not the one who drew this. Its a collaboration between me and a guy I met on WoW. He drew it, I wrote it.

Desert Bus

http://desertbus.org/

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Caught Up

Alright, there you have it, all my previous stories, more will be coming soon along with reviews and what not.

By the way, if anyone could tell me if there's a way to have the archives store things by type rather then date/month/order I'd be grateful if you informed me as to the secret.

Proving His Worth Part 3

Edthin awoke in a strange place. He could feel the wounds he had received from his own hand, but they seemed dull now, a memory of pain rather than the immediate sharpness of the bullet wounds was what remained. He moved a hand carefully to touch his stomach and felt the fresh scar tissue. Cellular regeneration had been used, it seemed, which hinted at Amarrians.

He spotted movement to his left and turned his head slightly, blinking away the fuzz seeming to cloud his visions. An Amarrian woman dressed in doctors’ robes. Good. And he wasn’t shackled, so apparently he wasn’t under arrest. He moved all his limbs carefully, getting a feel for his body, and smiled to himself as he slowly began to sit up, propping himself on his elbows. It wasn’t terrible, or blood spattered, as he would have suspected, just a well lit clinic rest area. He began to remove diodes from his body, and the Amarrian woman looked over in surprise, helping him

“Well, you’re finally awake Zachariah. Good to see. Though for how long…the commander is not happy about what happens and wants answers.” She said as she helped unhook him from the various pieces of equipment. She moved in and kissed him briefly “Good to have you back big boy…” She winked at him “Now stand up and walk around.”

Edthin looked at her, and then did so, gingerly at first. He had to walk with a slight hunch, since having a bullet pass through you can cause some serious back problems. He rubbed a shoulder “How long was I out?” he croaked.

“Another hunter picked you up a few minutes after the emergency signal got sent out…About ten hours.” The nurse said, handing him his pants. He changed swiftly, ignoring the hungry look “I’ll go report to the commander then…”

“There are guards waiting outside the door, of course.” The woman said, eying him “Try not to get killed.”

He smirked and nodded to her, before heading to the door. Outside were two guards, and he didn’t complain as the put him in shackles and prodded him none to gently. It saved him the problem of figuring out just where the place was.

He made a mental map as they walked through the station, noting a few points of interest. Occasionally they would pass a slave or a hub of people doing various things that would get them arrested in most empire space. He kept his face passive. They arrived before what he assumed was the commander’s door and he noted the inscription over the door. Cruor Vinculum. He almost smiled as he moved towards the doors and stepped through, stepping forward to the raised dais that held the commanders desk and control and command pad. He moved to his knees, prostrating himself. The commander was a cadaverous looking woman, eyes sunken, a crone by every definition. At her side was a younger, more fleshed out woman though still quite mature. She held a staff of office, and on top of that staff was a large, red crystal or gem. Edthin thanked whatever deity may or may not exist.

“Two crews worth of our people killed, with you as the only survivor, and what you have to say about it, pilot Zachariah.”

“It was a trap…I don’t know by whom…we lost contact with the ground teams and hunter one, and then whoever it was tried to board us ma’am…He managed to kill my communications officer before I killed him.” Edthin spoke, voice still a croak. It wasn’t entirely acting. They had apparently stuck something down his throat and it felt raw as all hell.

“His name was, and possibly still is, seeing as he was a capsuleer, Edthin Doe, a Gallentaen. We have no idea why he decided to set a trap for us…if it even was for us.” The commander pursed her lips as she moved around the desk, leaning against it “I suppose I can find no real fault on your part…you did your duty as best as your breeding allows for. I expect to see you at the next ceremony…” she picked up a crop from her desk and tapped her sharp chin with it.

“Yes your ladyship. I sing praises at your mercy.” Edthin said, best he could, as he began to crawl back towards the door.

“Do not be late, pilot” she said sternly, as Ed almost fled from the room.

- -

Edthin patched into the terminal of the pilot he had assumed the identity of. The system was laughable, even for him, and he quickly shot off a message before sitting back in his chair and smiling in the darkness. Soon he would be worthy, and he would be able to join with her.

- -

Edthin moved along the corridor with the other Raiders, towards the cathedral complex. He kept head down a bit as he moved along, watching his surroundings. Except for the blood motif the architecture was for all intents and purposes, Amarrian. As they filed into the main cathedral he had to snap his jaw shut suddenly, trying not to gape. He had never actually been in a cathedral before, so it was a shock. The walls were lined with carved metal that displayed stories sacred to the Blood Raiders. It was amazing, he wouldn’t kid himself. He sent his gaze over the cathedral as he moved to take a seat in what seemed to be the logical spot, next to the person who had been walking before and after him. One thing he was sure didn’t happen in the normal church was the river of blood flowing down the center aisle from a fountain covered in depictions of human figures enjoying each others bodies. Edthin had been trained in that sort of thing and he was almost positive some of those positions were physically impossible for human beings.

The head priestess, naked and bathed in blood, staff of office in one hand and cup in the other, lowered the chalice into the fountain and raised it up,

“Drink deep, brothers and sisters, and rejoice in our service to the true God!” and a number of chalices were passed around to the center aisle, who filled and sipped from the blood, passing them down the line. Edthin kept his face blank as he took the chalice in hand and raised it to his lips, teeth clicking as he drank from the blood. He closed his eyes at the sensation and felt his stomach try to lurch, passing the chalice onto the person next to him. He suddenly felt light headed, and things seemed to sharpen around him, the colors “popping”. He could hear moans from around the congregation as they began to fall into the ecstasy. He saw people being bought out through the haze descending on his mind, and saw the glint of knives.

Eventually his vision cleared, and he found himself in a room filled with weapons. He was covered in blood, and there was a dead man nearby, he too soaked in blood. Edthin dropped the knife and trembled as he moved over to corner, throwing up a bit and wiping his face. Everything felt so strange. Colors seemed to bleed together. There was a hollow roaring in his ears and the world began to spin. He was suddenly dreaming again. He knew he was dreaming because there he was lying on the floor, dead and bleeding. That was his self loathing. But he could hear more self loathing. He could hear their heart beats, thousands of them all around him. He gave a laugh as he picked up his datapad off the corpse and hit a few buttons, causing it to turn into chocolate. Chocolate gave him a headache. He dropped the chocolate and moved to the wall, running his hands over the glittering objects. There, a Vexor was in a rack, and there a Hyperion. He picked up a canister full of little hobgoblin drones and laughed as he set it into the Vexor, bringing the ship under his arm and squeezing around the bottom. Thousands of tiny drones flew out, attacking with vigor wherever they seemed to land, all over the glittering racks of ships. He paused as he saw a Amarrian titan.

“Wow!” he exclaimed, moving over. It was a suit! It took him a moment to open it up but he was soon inside, his head poking out just below the large umbrella top of the titan. A mask lowered over him and he made a noise as he moved “Wum wum wum, woosh” he said, giving a laugh. He moved to the doors, which melted before him, and picked up the Hyperion, cradling it under his arm. He picked up some of the candy crayon ammos strung in belts that seemed to go into it and clicked them into place, slinging the rest over his shoulder. Even the titan seemed to have realistic weapons. He laughed as he fired a mining laser at the wall, burning a hole through it and a person sitting on the other side. More self-loathing!

He heard them say, condescendingly, “Edthinnn!”, and he frowned, pouting a bit. He pulled the Vexor up and squeezed it a bit, sending waves of drones at them. They screamed his name as they fell, they drones burning away at their flesh. He stepped over them. He hated his self-loathing. It always tried to get him down! He turned the Hyperion on the fleeing self-loathing and gave it a squeeze. There were a lot of them. This looked like a barracks of self-loathing and bad thoughts. Best to clean it out!

Now why was he here, he thought to himself. Oh right! The big apple was here, and he had to get the big apple for his girlfriend, and then they could be married and live happily ever after, just like the books and the holoreels! He paused as he crushed a screaming self-loathing’s head with his titans bottom, frowning. But where was the big apple? Ohhh the witch had it. That was it. He had to find the witch and beat her somehow, and then he could take the big red apple and go home to Kathryn. And then everything would be ok.

He moved through the candy halls of his dreams, crushing, burning, breaking, and shooting the self-loathing’s and masters. The masters were mean, and had ships of their own, but he didn’t seem to be bothered by them. His suit of Titan armor protected him from their ships weapons. He really had to get him one of these Avatars sometime.

A whole group of masters were waiting in one hallway, and they had a Revelation! He wanted a Revelation. He frowned as they turned the revelation to point at him, shouting at each other. The master rarely shouted, but he did it a lot now, especially since there was so many of them. The revelation began to fire, and Ed doubled over as it struck his stomach. Oh no, his titan shields were down! And his armor was failing fast. He pulled a bantam from his belt and broke off the head piece before flinging it at the masters. There was a burst of sparkly bits and confetti and then the revelation stopped its firing.

He moved down the hall, avoiding stepping on any of the cake and presents and party favors, and looked at the door. “Apple Storage’ it said across the top. He smiled to himself as he moved in, then frowning as the door wouldn’t open. He rose up the titans mining laser and fired, a hole forming in the door. He pulled it open and saw the two witches; they were pointing at him and shouting. He knocked aside on the self-loathing’s who came at him from his right, shouting “Edthinnnn” at him, and then grabbed the other who came at him, picking him up and throwing him at the witch behind the desk. His body shredded before he got to her, the witch holding some sort of strange Matari ship in her hand. He brought up his Vexor and smiled, pulling the trigger and bathing the whole room in drones, delighted at the noise they made in atmosphere, like flames almost. Both witches screamed as they began to melt, and the stick holding up the apple began to buckle in on itself. He moved forward and plucked the apple from the stick, sticking his tongue out at the succubus witch as she writhed on the floor, her wings melting and her skin flaking off, and moved to go. He heard music begin to play over the speakers as he moved for the door, blasting aside another self loathing.

“All hands, incoming vessels, general quarters, pilots to ships.”

It wasn’t a tune he was familiar with, but he tried to whistle along.

- -

The Georgia began to slow, in a relative sense, as it approached the end of its warp tunnel. The sun became brighter and brighter until it was below them, and they were right on the edge of its corona, the temperature in the ship increasing noticeably. Jason sat up in his command chair and looked around, over at Chief Engineer Vic “Well..?”

“Yep, it’s there, one Amarrian Naval Issue Apocalypse, registered as Angel of Destiny…there is annuver, Sweet Delight, and they’re both lined up on the coordinates.” Vic looked at Jason “Communications is open.”

Jason cleared his throat a bit as he spoke up “This is Jason Wu of the Georgia, first mate of Captain Edthin. We’re on station and awaiting your signal ladyship…”

There was a brief pause and then an Amarrians woman’s voice “Right, we’re ready to go. My daughter is going to create a distraction. Bring your ship around and come near so we can spring the trap when ready.”

“Sweet Delight is warping sir.” Vic spoke up, and Jason nodded as the large Amarrian war vessel sped up and disappeared into the warp. The Georgia began to move, moving to five kilometers off the Naval Apocalypses port side. Jason could see the crew straining to get a view at it through the ports, and chuckled to himself “Be happy it’s not shooting at us boys….it’s a hell of a sight though”

“Is it true that she’s our captains girlfriend?” asked Vic, wandering over and peering at the ship from beside the command chair “Must be a woman of expensive tastes eh.”

“I suppose so…” the communications panel beeped and Vic hurried back to his console, tapping at it. The Amarrian woman spoke up “Hello? Hello are you there?”

“Ah, yes ladyship, we’re on standby.” Jason said quickly. It might be kowtowing but that was a navy apocalypse off the starboard side and she didn’t even have to aim to wipe them off the map.

“Ah, good, I’m warping in now; I suggest waiting just a minute before following. Good hunting.” And with that the Apocalypse warped into the darkness. The whole crew tensed up, and the ship became palpably more electrified, as they all waited. This was a big fight, one the Vexor wasn’t suited for, in all honesty, but this was the captain, and they would follow him through worse than this. Besides, having a pair of the biggest meanest battleships currently in service as backup was a good bolster for morale.

“Right. Bring us up to speed and prepare to warp.” He flicked on the inter system communications device and cleared his throat “all crew, standby for warp. Remember, this is for the captain, and we’re going in with some heavy backup. Do your jobs and we’ll come out of this fine. All marines report to the assault shuttle bay.”

Jason stood and moved towards the door “Commander Vic, you have the deck.”

“Where are you going?” Vic asked, scurrying over and looking nervous.

“I’m going in with the marines. Call it a sense of duty” Jason said as he moved into the elevator.

“I’d call it a sense of crazy, Jason” Vic murmured as the door closed, sitting down in the command chair.

They exited warp into the middle of a laser fight, the apocalypses tearing into the incoming waves of Blood Raider ships. Vic barked orders, deploying their drones and ordering the ship to burn at full speed towards the docking area of the blood raider citadel. Their drones flew forward, focusing on taking down the guns on board the station proper, rail guns on the ship focusing on any ships that tried to threaten them.

He saw a pair of engine housings begin to fade off into the docking area as the marine assault shuttles went to secure the landing pad. He sent a silent prayer with them.

- -

Jason adjusted his armor a bit again. He was a little nervous, and more than a bit peeved. His armor didn’t fit so well anymore. It was definitely a lot tighter about the waist then he felt it should be, all things considered, and he grumbled to himself in his head. The other marines were quiet, making final checks on their weapons and their own armor. Jason shifted his grip on his GAR-1 and looked at the ammo counter again to confirm it was in fact loaded. With a grim look he held on as the shuttle moved up and around into the docking area for smaller vessels, and heard the whirring of the hull mounted auto cannon. It would certainly clear out anybody waiting to get them as they disembarked. They clanged to the deck, and the marines formed up, getting ready to disembark, and sliding out as the doors slid open. They immediately moved out into cover, taking positions, very professionally, and picking off a few blood raiders who hadn’t had the smarts to run.

Jason was out last and moves behind cover with the marines commander, pulling out his data pad. He lifted it and looked at it, indicating the blinking dot “That’s the captain…he seems to be coming this way.” He frowned a bit “And…there’s a lot of blood raiders coming this way to…it’s almost like…”

The hangar doors slid open and a gaggle of blood raiders stumbled through. Some of them were on fire, or bleeding, and they were practically trampling over each other to get out of the way. The marines began to cut them down rather coolly “It’s like their fleeing” he finished, murmuring it to himself as he raised his rifles and fired a few half-assed shots down the range at the incoming raiders. They weren’t organized, they were panicking, and a few were on fire.

And then the captain came. He was a thing of blood and fire, and he seemed to be singing, in Amarrian, and the blood raiders couldn’t run from him fast enough. He cut them down wherever he saw them, using a flame thrower or a heavy machine gun, which he was holding one handed. Jason felt his jaw drop. All the marines had stopped firing. They didn’t need to.

The last of the raiders was cut down, and then the power armored figure stopped moving. The mid section had been rather badly damaged, but the captain didn’t seem to notice. He slumped forward a bit, and then tipped forward like some ancient tree on a planet that had finally given up. He hit the deck with a clang. There was a moment’s hesitation before Jason spoke up “Get him out of that armor and drag him up here!” he shouted.

The marines moved to do so, and a single large red crystal dropped from the power armor as they pulled the Gallentean from it. His face was covered by some sort of mask, part of it torn away. It looked like he was wearing a third of an Amarrians face. Jason shook his head and grabbed the crystal, figuring it was important, and ran back towards the assault shuttles. They boarded and sat down quickly, the captain down between their feet on the deck. Jason looked around as the ship shifted and they began to leave, clutching the ruby or whatever it was to his chest.

Outside, the last of the Blood Raider ships exploded as a beam from the Sweet Delight sliced through it. The assault shuttles moved to dock with the Vexor, which swung up and around the docking station to move in with the two apocalypses. All three bought themselves up to warp speed before disappearing into the darkness of space, the remnants of the Blood Raider citadel and it’s support fleet floating silently through space.

Proving His Worth Part 2

Posted by hopalong on August 11, 2009

The cargo ship drifted slowly through space. It was a Gallente miner, one of the smaller ones, a Navitas class hull. The rear end, where the engines were, was leaking plasma into space, the tail almost completely sheared from the front. A pair of slick frigates circled the ship like a pair of sharks, blood flecking their golden armor. Their scanners showed five life signatures aboard, one in a capsule. The frigate pilot turned and smiled at the passenger behind him “We’re lucky; A capsuleer!”

The passenger blinked and smiled, turning to a nearby council and adjusting a dial as he spoke into the receiver piece “Hunter Two, we have scans indicating a capsuleer on board. Check back and confirm?”

There was a pause. The speakers on both men's helmets beeped “We have the same scan, hunter one. Moving to establish a sealed connection at link station one. You take three.”

Both ships moved in towards the Navitas, from opposite sides. The Navitas, registered as the “Georgia” to a Jason Halls, slowed as the two Amarrian vessels activated their lower power docking beams to slow it down. A set of specially designed weapons on the frigates sides fired off, slamming into the armor plating of the Gallente ship. They both began to move in closer to a pair of ports lining up with their own, using the primitive winches and the docking beams together to pull themselves in. The hull clanged as the first ship attached, and it was followed by another clang that resounded through the Navitas to the other hunters’ hull. The pilot gave a thumb up and flicked a switch, letting the automatic systems attempt to overrun the ship security, his twin doing the same on the other side of the hapless ship. He flicked another key.

“Boarding teams, the cattle are all in the forward part of the ship, including the capsule. We bring back a prize tonight brothers and sisters! Standard deployment in ten.” Spoke the captain of the first hunter. He adjusted something on his control board and counted off in his head, before slapping the “open airlock” button. There was a hiss further down in the frigate as the sealed doors opened up into the Navitas and the team of three armed raiders moved in, guns at ready. They fanned out quietly, checking corners. The Navitas was large for a frigate but had a small crew, most of the internals being twisting and confusing corridors set around mining stations.

The pilot of the first hunter looked down with satisfaction, watching the life signs of the boarding team move through the stationary ship towards the life signs of the crew. They were still at their stations. He hrmmed a bit but dismissed it as a desperation tactic to send out a call for help and man the automated turrets, which the boarding teams were now running into. He didn’t look up as the communications officer behind him gave a sigh, instead plotting a course. He too sighed, before slumping back in his seat, a delicate looking poniard sticking out of the base of his skull. Edthin slid the weapon out of the man’s skull and leaned over him, touching a few keys before slipping back towards his ship, moving for a brief moment into the engine room before heading back into the Georgia. The boarding teams were tied up with the guns, and he could hear the distant weapons fire from both sides. As a rule blood raiders tended to prefer stun weapons over the killing variety. Something about the purity of the blood being effected by death if the victim was killed before being drained. In this case, it was hampering their ability to deal with the automated turrets, but he knew that wouldn’t last long. They were professional and had dealt with this all before, though the amount of firepower being put out by the turrets was far above normal fair. Just the sort of thing a capsuleer would be concerned with.

Edthin smiled to himself as he slipped through the ship towards the other ship, resisting the urge to whistle. He heard the pilot and the communications officer of the second hunter chatting idly, even from the Navitas side of the airlock, and frowned to himself. If one stopped talking the other would become suspicious and turn. He slipped his hand down his side as he moved through the airlock and pulled out a simple pistol with an attached silencer. He approached the door of the cabin, pulling back the loading mechanism and clicking off the safety. He paused, waited three seconds, then moved through the door. The ship was an exact copy of its twin, and the communications officer was sitting in his chair exactly where he should be. He fired a single round into the man’s head before rotating his aim and firing at the other pilot, putting a round through his throat. The pilot gurgled and moved to reach for his own weapon, the other hand grabbing at his own throat, trying to stem the blood flow. Edthin strode forward and slapped the pilots’ release, grabbing the man by the back of his flight suit and pulling him bodily over the rear of the seat. He threw him against the wall and set the pistol into the man’s belly, firing once. There was a ping as the bullet passed through the man and into the wall. He dropped the pistol suddenly and pulled out the poniard again, ignoring the man’s gurgling as he slid it up the blood raiders nose and pushed, hard. The man gave a ‘grrk” noise as it pierced up into his brain, and Edthin quickly withdrew the needle like weapon before releasing the man.

He moved fast now, going to the pilots’ controls and sitting down.

- -

Lloyd poked the remains of the automated turret and sighed a bit, shaking his head “Capsuleers spend so much damn money on systems that probably won’t help them anyway…proof that greatness is bred, not made.”

Carlini gave a chuckle and nodded, then moved back into combat stance, moving forward. She made a motion with her hand, indicating the first life sign was in a small work room to their right, and slid to the far side of the door where they keypad was. Lloyd moved forward and crouched down next to the door, the third member of their party, a Gallentean named Jean, took position behind him. Carlini counted off quietly and then slapped the door panel, Lloyd sweeping the room as he moved in. The ship crewman was seated facing a console, and Lloyd fired a stunshot at him, the tiny device latching to the man and releasing enough current to bring down a normal sized person. He twitched a bit but gave no other movement.

“It’s clear” he called as he moved to rotate the chair around. Edthin was seated in the chair, eyes dead and dull, though his chest moved in and out as he breathed. Drool was running out of the corner of his mouth, and Lloyd blinked as the airlock door slammed shut, taking Jeans leg at the knee with it, the rest of him in the corridor. The Gallente fell down screaming, pulling the trigger of his weapon, sending a burst off at nothing. Carlini spun, having just gotten through the door, and slammed the butt of her weapon into it. There was no keypad on this side. A clicking noise sounded out, and panels at the top of the room opened up, ten balls falling down and dangling on strings. Lloyd looked at them in confusion before he noticed that they were covered in thousands of tiny needles. His eyes went wide.

There was a scream and a crumpling sound of low powered explosives, and then silence, except for the sound of Jean slowly pulling him-self down the corridor, sobbing in pain and leaving a widening trail of blood behind him.

- -

On the other side of the ship, moving up a parallel corridor, Horace paused and tilted his head. He held up a hand and then turned on the microphone on his hat with a flick of his tongue “Team two, report.” He said quietly.

His frown deepened and he waved the two other raiders to defensive positions in the corridor. They looked at him in concern and then moved, covering their angles professionally. These were veterans who had served together for some time (in the relative idea of “some” in a job that usually got you killed within a month). Horace felt a faint surge of pride even as he clicked the communications device over to a different channel.

“Hunter One, come in, no response from team two. Hunter one?” he said, heart dropping. He looked at the other two and motioned for them to begin to move back the way they had come, and the three began to fan back down the corridor, quite a bit more alert now. He switched channels again “Hunter one, come in…hunter one?”

His earpiece crackled to life “Help…Me…” he heard Jean say “Trap…leg gone…others dead…” the voice was weak.

He scowled. Normally such sloppiness and failure were dealt with badly but, he needed to know what happened. His sense of honor, such as he had, demanded that. He moved through the corridors with his team, covering the angles, by the book, moving swiftly and professionally. He held up his hand as he saw Jean in the corridor, still pulling himself along. He had gotten about thirty feet, though he seemed to be weakening swiftly.

Chartine moved forward after a moment, kneeling down and checking the bleeding mans wounds. She looked up at Horace and shook her head “He wont last long…”

Horace breathed out angrily and moved forward, grabbing the dying man and turning him over “What the hell happened here newbie!?” He demanded. He managed to shout a whisper, a skill very useful to squad leaders.

“Trap…Down the hall…Follow blood…the others…dunno what happened…” gasped the Gallente, and then fell back as Horace released him. Chartine looked at him carefully, raising her weapon. Horace shook his head and they moved down the hall, leaving the Gallente to sob quietly as he died to the rhythm of his heart beat.

Chartine paused in front of the door where the blood trail started, and looked at Horace. He took up position on the other side of the door, and Chartine pressed the open button. Horace brought his gun up and around, pointing it into the room as he moved to sweep into it, and slipped on the blood and other mess on the inside. He yelped as he felt fire run up his back and scrambled out. The inside of the room was a carnal house of blood and bone and other putrid fluids that come with death.

Robert opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his head exploding in a spray, and Cartine yelped in pain as a pellet from the scattergun hit her shoulder, causing her to spin. Horace bought up his rifle and opened fire down the hall past the falling body of his comrade as Cartine crawled for cover, ducking behind a service duct. Horace ducked in to the room where the remains of team two and one of the crewmen were, and listened to the silence. He heard the last of Roberts heart pumps from the blood squirt out of the neck of the man, and closed his eyes briefly. Whoever this was would pay, dearly. He would clone him and kill him again and again, he swore it. He ejected the clip from his rifle and inserted another, listening to the silence still. There was nothing but the hum of the ship and the distant warning alarms near the engine.

He turned his head as something moved in the room behind him, and had just enough time to curse as a bullet pierced his temple from a vent hidden beneath the desk.

- -

Chartine heard the shot and closed her eyes, praying. She was wounded and everyone else was dead. She picked up her rifle and peaked around the corner of the vent, blinking through the tears. They were being hunted. She was being hunted, since she was the only one left. She stood and sprinted as fast as she could down the hallway, moving from side to side and trying to keep sense of the hallways.

She was almost at the frigate when a simple piece of pipe swung from around a corner, smashing into her knee with a terrible crack. She screamed as she fell, trying to bring her gun upright. A boot smashed into her wrist, crushing it. She swooned from shock, gasping. She began to try and crawl away, sobbing, and then screamed again as whomever her attacker was fired the scattergun into the back of her good knee. She slumped forward, dull from shock. She felt the barrels of the weapon press against the back of her skull and then she felt nothing.

- -

Ed shoved the corpse of the pilot of the second hunter through the airlock, looking over the carefully arranged scene again. One of his clones, now dead with a double shot to the chest from the raider pilots pistol, was sprawled out on the ground, his own simple silenced weapon next to the body. He moved over to the communications officer, checking him over, and nodded a bit before looking at the wall where he had shot the pilot, and the chair. Two shots, then.

He sat with his back against the wall and picked up his discarded weapon, turning it on himself. He first placed it against his shoulder, and pulled the trigger, closing his eyes and gasping in pain. He dropped the weapon and swallowed, panting hard as he picked it up again and set it against his stomach. He carefully ran it over his stomach, and pulled the trigger again, yelling in pain. He tossed the gun off to the side, pale and shaking, and removed the metal plate from behind his back, now with two bullets lodged in it. He slowly pulled himself up, gasping with effort, and moved to the door, tossing it through into the other ship, holding his stomach with his free hand.

He crawled back over to the place he had shot himself and dragged himself, gasping in pain the whole time, to the pilots’ chair, where he sat down. He flicked on the emergency beacon and broke off from the Navitas, activating the explosives onboard it and the first hunter.

The Amarrian Blood Raider raised his microphone to his mouth, speaking weakly ‘Hunter Two…need…Help…” he gasped as he flicked on the emergency beacon, slumping back into unconsciousness.

Proving His Worth

Edthin woke up in the darkness, not daring to move for fear of waking Kathryn. He moved his eyes blearily for a moment, tilting his head slightly so he could see the time on the chronometer, and gave a frown. There was no more putting it off. He leaned in and kissed the Amarrian woman carefully, causing her to give a murmur. He gave a small smile and stood silently, padding across the room and collecting his clothing that had been discarded earlier. He moved into the hallway and fetched his travel bag up from the lounge, where he also collected a discarded sock. He slipped into the bathroom in the hall and set the bag down, opening it up and pulling out the contents, humming to himself softly. And then he took a shower.

One of the leftovers of his training was the ability to, with a little effort and perhaps a lot of time, assume any race his master or mistress wanted him to be. With a bit of makeup and some creative work, he could assume the racial features of almost any race, assuming they didn’t ask him to get naked and take a shower. He selected a bit of the paling makeup and pulled the stopper out, beginning to go to work. Over the course of half an hour he went from a somewhat plain looking not-quite-Gallente to a full blooded Udorian. Enough to fool anyone who didn’t know he had been born with enough mixed blood that they had to use wooden test tubes whenever they got a blood sample. He began to pack his things again, pausing at the door of the house and taking the time to scribble out a quick “I love you” message, setting it in the kitchen.

- -

Less than an hour later, a minor functionary for the Amarrian Hedian Colleges historical department sat on-board a InterBus shuttle, hands tucked neatly in front of him and briefcase beneath him, stashed beneath the seat. He politely declined the drink, though he did accept the snack (Some sort of wheat based wafer with salt on them), and then sat back and closed his eyes. They wouldn’t be arriving for another few hours but he knew that he would feel every second, since he was going back to the place that had been burned so severely in his memory it had taken a neural remap to help him get over it.

He wondered briefly, what had happened since that fateful night what seemed a millennium ago, though was really not even a half dozen years. That night the Ministry of Internal Order agents had swarmed down on the house, blowing quite a hole in the wall of the room above his cell. His original body, tucked away in a secure place, still bore the scar from that day. A slight one below his eyes where he had taken a bit of flying rock to the face, and further ones on his body when he had stumbled into a firefight between the agents and a pair of guard drones. As he rested on the not quite comfortable seat, he heard the screaming and the yelling and the gunfire all over again. He gave a small smile as the captain announced a gate jump.

He was going home.

--

The atmospheric vehicle pulled into a gentle bank as it circled what seemed to be a rather busy Amarrian estate. Professor Vydrie of the Amarrian Hedion University Historical Department frowned a bit. The estate seemed far to busy for what it should be. He leaned in a bit and tapped the driver on the shoulder “What exactly is the Estate used for now?” he asked.

The driver looked at him and then down at the Estate “I believe it’s a convent now sir. They help feed the locals and give them work.” The professor frowned and sat back as they circled in and landed before the gates. Not actually necessary, but he had instructed the driver to land there. He was going to be as polite as possible. He tipped the man in the local currency as he slipped out of the car, taking up his briefcase.

He moved to the gates and inside, looking around at the grounds. They were carefully irrigated and rather nice, though at the same time they grew practical plants. Vegetables, roots, and a few fields of wheat dotted the ground, all tended by common Amarrian people. He saw women moving among them in uniform, offering water or helping with the work, and he approached one carefully “Excuse me sister…?”

She looked up from where she was adjusting a hose, blinking in the sun “Can I help you?”

“Ah, I’m looking for a certain item of historical value? I’m from the Hedion University and we found a trail that lead us here.” He said carefully, clutching his briefcase in front of him.

“A historical object? Ah…I believe you should speak to the mother superior.” The nun said quietly, standing up and wiping her hands on her apron. She began to walk towards the main building. The professor looked around, taking in the grounds. Much smaller then he thought they would be, but still quite large. They moved through the new doors into the main house, and he gave a pause in the hall. He closed his eyes as he looked around “I assume the mother superior is housed in the holders old business area?”

The sister looked at him in surprise and nodded as they waited for an elevator “Why yes, that’s correct. How did you know there was a holder here before?”

“Ah, I am from the historical society miss…it’s our job to know such things.” He gave a small smile. He didn’t want to be flirty.

The woman nodded and shuffled him into the elevator, where they chatted idly about the convent and the university. It was a little flirty but nothing to bad and he got a smile from her as he moved into the sister superiors’ room, waiting politely near the door as it closed behind him. The sister superior was an older woman, beautiful in a more mature way. He had a flash of his own love and shook his head lightly. The sister superior stood.

“Ah, welcome. You must be from the historical society.” He nodded, and she continued “Well, I was surprised…I didn’t think anything of any cultural value remained here”

He gave a brief smile “Well miss, we have some information that says there may be some rather archaic devices located in some of the lower levels, starting at sub level one…”

The sister seemed to pause in the process of picking up a stylus and nodded “Of course…where he kept the…property. Right. Yes I’ve ordered that area sealed off to spare some of the locals and sisters a terrible shock. Some of the devices down there are quite esoteric.”

She saw the professors left eye twitch a bit “Yes well…his position was unique in the trade. Do I have permission then mother superior?”

“Of course, of course. We are happy to help…ah, I believe I shall come with you, since the other sisters who are aware of the unique history of this place are all busy…” she stood and stepped to the door, work left on her desk. She was in the uniform and a practical pair of boots, which the professor approved of on many levels. He moved with her back to the elevator, and the mother superior slipped a key into the elevator panel, unlocking the bottom areas buttons. As they slid down, the professor leaned against the wall, clutching his briefcase. The woman looked at him with concern.

“Just a bit of motion sickness…elevators always seem to cause me to go a little funny. My apologies.” He murmured as he moved for the door. He paused on the threshold, legs frozen. The lights were off but he didn’t need them on, there were low windows on the walls that let in a small amount of dirty light. Even that light was unneeded; he could have followed this hall by memory. He looked around and ran a hand over some holes in the wall “A gun fight…”

He moved down the hall, the mother superior following along a little surprised. He peaked into a few rooms, which the mother superior very pointedly avoided looking into “We didn’t remove any of the pieces. Most are bolted down, after all…and I’d rather not order any of the sisters or locals down here to remove them in any case….”

“Yes, that may have been for the best…” he stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, the bolt and part of the lower door missing, looking like they been taken off by weapon fire. He pushed the door open and stared into the musty darkness at the small cell. Carved from the dry desert rock itself, it didn’t get much simpler then this. The window was barred and the glass had been smashed opened. The walls, the floor, were made of stone, and the ‘bed” was a carved out hole in the wall with a moth eaten blanket.

Eventually he heard the nun speaking ‘Professor? Professor!” she almost shouted into his ear. He shook his head slightly and looked at her. Her eyes were narrowed. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie “Sorry…just…this is an unholy feeling place…I’ll be glad to get out of her as swiftly as possible.” He moved into the cell and narrowed his eyes at the wall near the door. Yep, there they were “Here we are. These shackles, if our information is correct, date back almost all the way to the original founding of the colony. Do you mind…?” he set his briefcase down and pulled out a hammer and chisel. The woman shook her head.

“Right then…the funds should already have been transferred to your convent, consider it a donation from friends.” He concentrated on getting the shackles from the wall. The sister watched him curiously as he carefully removed them from the wall, stuck them in a large sterile package and slipped them into his briefcase, which now clinked when he moved it “Wonderful. Truly wonderful. You’ve helped me and the university very much today sister.”

She looked him up and down, eyebrow raised slightly. He felt a tug on his heart. She then nodded “Right. Certainly. Will you be needing transportation or…?” The professor shook his head.

“No, thank you, I’ve arranged for transport. They should be on the way right now.” He said, moving past her into the hallway and towards the elevator “This has been an excellent trip. Though I am eager to get above ground again.”

“Of course, Professor.” She said carefully, face rather blank. As he stepped from the elevator on the floor above and turned, she nodded at him “Good luck with whatever you shall do with those sir.”

He nodded at her, before moving to the outside. He gave a small wave to the sister who helped him, who waved back, and slipped into the back of the aircar. He let out a sigh and shut the door “To the capital, thank you…”

Dreams

Edthin opened his eyes in the darkness.

He could feel the ship humming around him, the main reactor on standby with one of the auxillaries running to keep the ship alight and afloat. He sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes blearily. His room had at one point been some sort of storage closet, and had just enough room for his bed, a locker, and a holo-TV set. He stood in his boxer shorts and headed to the door, peaking out before crossing the hall. The room he entered was dark, and he felt strange as all connectivity seemed to leave him, and distance became lost in the pitch black darkness. A light suddenly appeared infront of him, forming a circle. He stepped into it and looked around. There was still no real point where he could see the edges of the room.

A figure materialized from the darkness. It was him, but he wore a constant sneer on his face and his eyes were filled with disgust “Will you look at you, you piece of shit. First, you leave Georgia to die as you get sent off to the academy by some benefactor, and now your shacking up with the very people who helped drive her to death. Disgusting. All for what, a warm body to cuddle up to on the occasion?” the figure spat, circling Edthin as he spoke.

“Thats not true. I love Kathryn, and Georgia..I..there wasn’t anything I could do to help her,” Edthin stated firmly, keeping his eyes downcast at the floor.

“Ohhhh yes of course, you LOVE Kathryn, like she gives a shit about you. How many lovers has she had, and how many more after and during your little tenure as her flavor of the month. Your disgusting for shacking up with her, and even worse, she’s far to good for your sorry ass. Which is even worse since she’s just stringing you along till the next man comes along.”

“Thats not true…” said another voice, a second figure emerging from the darkness. A child emerged, dressed in rags. The first figure rolled his eyes “LIke you ever had any innocence…”

The child gave the man a glare and looked back at Edthin “We all see how she looks at you, and the way she sounds when she talks to you. She loves you Edthin! Don’t let loathing tell you otherwise. He just hates everything.”

Edthin smiled gratefully and nodded to the child, who beamed at the elder version of himself. Self-loathing rolled his eyes again, throwing a hand up “Oh sure, and now your listening to a child who thinks people are actually good, deep down…wonderful…”

“She does love you Edthin!” Spoke up a female voice. Ed closed his eyes, biting back the urge to sob suddenly. He turned, and saw Georgia running towards him, blood streaming down her arms. She gave him a hug “And you so good at treating her well! Your the best Edthin, just keep it up!”

She had the paleness of the dead but her eyes sparkled brilliantly, and she smiled happily “Your a great lover, Edthin, and a wonderful man! You show that woman how much you care about her, every day!”

“But, do not lose control” said a deep voice. Georgia cringed back and faded into the blackness as a large, black robed figure seemed to float from the darkness, hood pulled up over his head. Edthin fell to his knees automatically, head bowed, and the child gasped and skittered away. Self-loathing sneered at him ‘Craven dog” he grunted.

“Control was always your issue, Edthin. You try to hold onto it but you just keep losing it eventually…and what will happen when you lose control around Kathryn? How badly will you hurt her?” said the hooded figure, quietly. There was a gibbering, and Edthin winced, reaching for a weapon that hadn’t been there before. A hunched over figure launched himself out of the darkness and landed on the Master, beginning to slash at him wildly “Bleed bleed bleed bleeeeeed!” it cried happily.

Edthin set his face and pointed the ceremonial halberd at his own rage, and fired, causing the figure to crumple up into nothing. The master gasped and gurgled as he bled out on the floor, before he faded away, the blood following. Self loathing sneered “You just can’t save anyone, can you?”

Self loathing opened his mouth and then stopped, gasping and backing away as another figured entered the ring of light. A older Amarrian woman, perhaps in her late thirties or early forties, a full foot shorter then Edthin, though somehow she seemed to match his height exactly. She stepped forward silent, a glow extending from her body and embracing Edthin even as she moved to do so, smiling at him happily. He smiled back at her and kissed her gently, while Georgia reappeared and cheered alongside the child.

Edthin opened his eyes in the darkness.

The Consequences of Our Actions part 6

Jason stood huddled again with the crew beneath the shadow of the Vexor, waiting for the captain to send the pad down. He rubbed at the sleep from his eyes and rocked on his heels a bit, wondering idly what Wu was up to today. They had spent the night together again. Ever since the week before, when he had asked her to dig up information on the captain, they’d seen more of eachother then normal. it was actually kind of pleasent, even if the information he had gleaned was disturbing at the least. The captain had given them the entire weekend off, for some reason that he couldn’t discern, and he had spent it digging in deeper, trying to find out more. it occured to him that it might be easier to just ask the captain, but that thought was interrupted by a voice behind them.

“Ahem. Gentlemen.” said the captain, giving his throat a small clear before speaking. He was at the head of what looked another crew, with some extras. Jason recognized faces in the crowd as people he had known during his navy days, and he immediatly recognized that their were marines standing amongst them.

“I hope the day finds you well?” he asked, moving through the crowd of original crew. He had a tan, a nataural looking one, and he was smiling to himself. Jason blinked a bit, shocked into wakefulness by the events, and nodded “Morning captain.”

“Ah, good morning Jason…lets see,” the captain scrutinized the edge of the deck and stepped up carefully one one of the large lights “Can everyone here me?” he said loudly. There was a positive response and he nodded.

“As you know, our ship runs with what some may consider a bare minimum crew. or to put it more bluntly, an insanely small crew” there was a small titter of laughter “However, today that changes. Today we are joined by fifty crewmen, with officers, who will help maintain and run our ship in it’s combat duties. These men are now your brothers, and we can all hope for many voyages together. Along with this crew, I want to welcome twenty marines and their commanding officer, lieutenant Adraille” A tall Intaki man gave a slight bow.

“Rather then our normal contractual duties today, we will be running a shakedown operation as the crews merge, and we learn to work with eachother.” He raised a small device and pointed it at the vexor, hitting a button. It gave off a loud “beep beep” and the loading platform began to descend from the ship.

The Consequences of Our Actions part 5

Wu closed her eyes for a moment, plunging into darkness as the glow from the data screen in the room was cut off. When she opened them again, she was in the sparkling, glittering super highway as her mind perceived it. She checked over her security and ICE programs, represented on her digital form by armor and weapons, and smiled to herself. CONCORD was hardly a hard database to crack, because of their silly bureaucracy. Slow to react and slower to change. She began to skim along the data streams, ignoring the pornographic sites, the advertisements, the various forums. She approaches the shining fortress that was the CONCORD database and grinned to herself, activating her disguise program. Her avatar transformed into a man wearing the uniform of a low level CONCORD operative. Moving to the “Gates”, she waited calmly for her identity to be confirmed, and then headed inside. CONCORD was such a vast organization, creating a fake identity hadn’t been very hard, and she enjoyed sneaking in just to sneak in. But she was on business. She headed for the capsuleer registry area, moving into the low security area first.

She bought up representations of the two capsuleers, searching for the woman first. Kathryn Dougans, Amarrian….She quickly downloaded the data and searched out the male. His file was locked up much tighter then the woman's, with only the most basic data available. She raised an artificial eyebrow slightly. “Edthin Doe”. She looked around carefully and moved deeper into the CONCORD database, attempting to pry away the levels of security. As long as she avoided to many red flags, she would be alright. She calmly began to peal away the layers, activating one of her ICE programs grimly as she triggered a small defense. She began to work quicker. She paused as she finally breached the last layer, and began to absorb the data. Her eyes widened in surprise and she gave a low whistle as she downloaded the data as well. She looked around and began the log-out procedure, making sure to maintain her disguise.

—

Back in the real world, Jason sat on the bed, stripped down to his bare chest as he fiddled idly with his pistol. He cast a glance over at Wu on occasion. She was good, but maybe this had been to much…

The screen of the data terminal flickered, and Wu began to move. He stood quickly and moved over, helping to take her jacks out and placing the goggles off to the side. The Jin-Mei woman smiled up at him, unhooking his datapad and holding it out “Here you go, all the information you wanted.” Jason took it gratefully as she stood, giving a stretch. She gave him a wicked grin “Now, I believe we have payment to discuss…”

Jason looked around and spotted a clock. He ticked off the time till he had to be on board his ship and nodded “Right…I think we’ve got enough time for a round or two” He grinned back at the woman as he set the datapad onto the terminal and put his arms around her.

The Consequences of Our Actions part 4

Jason slid his credit stick through the buying port of the vending machine, and selected one of the stimulant packs for himself. He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes as he used his free hand to grab the little patches, ripping the box open and pealing the protector off the one he selected and slapping it against the back of his neck. He felt a chill rush go down his spine and blinked his eyes as he was woken up almost immediately, brain ticking away. He didn’t like using stimulant patches but they did keep you going, and he was going to use them to get through today. It was something like three AM station time, and he should’ve been in bed, but Vic and Gerard's questions, combined with what he had seen, made it so he couldn’t. He needed answers, so he was going to go to Wu and get them.

Jason moved out of the stations entertainment zone, heading for the manufacturing and refining center. As with all space saving stations, both areas held habitation units, none of them in wonderful condition. As he walked he reflected on that. He had certainly seen places similar that were better maintained. Perhaps the people in these particular habs simply held no pride anymore? Dreary thoughts on top of dreary thoughts, he thought, as he drew his service pistol. He checked the ammo counter readout on the back and nodded before tucking it away again. It was registered so he would rather have not shot anyone with it, but still, good to have when walking through the slums.

As the noise level increased, the quality of the station around him seemed to decrease. Graffiti became far more rampant, and he could hear the sounds of those down on their luck. Babies crying, the occasionally spout of domestic abuse from either sex, and somewhere, someone was making the noises that indicated they were climbing the ladder to heaven. Jason had grown up in a place like this, and he could live with it. He slipped into one of the many run down hab apartments and took one look at the lift before deciding to take the stairs. He stepped over man and a woman with the wild look of booster addicts in their eyes in a compromising position, and entered the third level hall. He walked down, looking at the doors. Most of the apartments were empty, actually, but he could hear sounds from a few. He stopped before one door and sighed, raising a hand and pounding on it.

“Wu, open up, it’s Jason.” he said. There seemed to be a pregnant pause, before a female voice piped up “Jason Who?”

“Jason Hou. Very funny. Now open up, I need to talk to you.” he said sternly. The girl drove him crazy sometime.

The door slid open and the Gallente man stepped in swiftly, the door shutting behind him. The inside of the apartment wasn’t squalid, but it wasn’t exactly clean either. The floor was littered at the moment with diagrams and charts, and one wall of the tiny apartment (the only wall not occupied by a seldom used bed and an even less used kitchen) was taken up by quite a bit of computer equipment.

A slip of a Jin-Mei gave a laugh like a bells tinkle and wrapped her arms around the Gallente “Oh, hey there sailor! Where have you been?” She was thin, with long dark hair that looked frayed, probably because she’d been up all night and hadn’t yet showered. The jacks in her neck were barely visible because of it, and Jason gave her a swift embrace “Sorry Wu, you know how it is, work and all that.” Jason grinned.

“Bah. You always say that and yet I always have to wake you up and send you back to your ship before you get in trouble. You really should stop by more often, I've been missing you.” She paused and looked up at him. Despite her thinness, her almost underfed body, her eyes sparkled mischievously with both playfulness and intelligence. She raised an eyebrow “Your not just here for a good time are you sailor boy?”

“I’m afraid not, Wu. Maybe after I get some question answered. You know I love you.” He gave her a little grin “Now, seriously, I need some information.”

“Information eh? You know I have to charge you standard rate. Three snuggles.” She gave another silvery laugh and moved over to the data terminal, pressing the power button “So what is it?”

“I need to know about a capsuleer…two capsuleers, really. Here,” he pulled his datapad from his pocket, flicking it on and going to the picture storage. He selected the one of the captain and the Amarrian woman and handed it over. The Jin-Mei looked them over and nodded “I need to know more about them, Wu.”

“Wu-Hou can do” She said, grinning, as she hooked up the datapad and pulled on a pair of special goggles “Help me with my jacks” She said firmly, and Jason moved to comply. Why was it everyone in his life seemed to hook up to something like an appliance?

The screen flashed for a moment, and Wu smiled dreamily as she plunged into the net.

The Consequences of Our Actions part 3

Jason threw his cards down, scooping up the earnings. He gave the two crewman. Vic and Charlie, a grin, before popping one of the round fried dough balls from the basket in the center of the table into his mouth. He loved paying poker with the two. Between the heavy beat of the music and the girls gyrating on stage, they couldn’t keep their heads together enough to make decent players. He scooped up the deck and began to deal again.

“Damn it Jason….but you know, I fink I’m right in asking whats up wiff the captain. I mean, he’s not right in the head and you know it…” Crewman Vic said “Is he just leading us all out to die in some insane quest for revenge or somfin? You’ve all seen how he acts when we go up against Amarrians.”

Gunnery Officer Gerard nodded slightly “It’s true…you have heard the rumors that he killed an Amarrian man here on station? The security forces say it was an accident but I’m not so sure” all three man scooped up their cards, Jason scowling slightly.

“Listen, both of you need to just shut your mouth. The captain pays good and he always pulls us through, right? So whats your problem?” he demanded, popping another dough ball into his mouth.

“It’s nuffin, I guess, I just don't want to end up ramming into Amarr Prime because the captains a loony is all.” Vic muttered

“Alright, that's enough. Come on, we need to leave anyway.” Jason said firmly, grabbing the cards up and slipping them into the deck pack. He tucked it away, leaving a chit on the table and tossing one up onto the stage, as he led the two men out. They stepped into the glaring lights of the stations red district, and began to walk down the slightly curved hall towards the center spire, the “docking pillar” as it was known.

Vic gave a sound of surprise “Oi, isn’t that the captain over there?” he said, pointing. Jason squinted a bit, looking at the figure. It looked like the captain, in a way. Same build, same height, but he was in the clothing of an Amarrian commoner. That wouldn’t make much sense. They all sort of scooted to the opposite side of the avenue as he walked by, hands in his pockets and head down. It was the captain, there was no doubt about it. Jason considered giving a shout, but instead kept his mouth shut, watching the bigger man go by. Huh. He’d never seen the captain off the ship before, and he’d expect this particular district to be the last place the man would go. He had a private thought about the captains “No Women” policy, but he kept it to himself.

He realized that Vic was tapping on his arm “Come on Jason, let’s hit another bar before we call it in, eh? We aint even got in a fight yet tonight.” Jason laughed and nodded, putting an arm around either mans shoulders “Can’t let you boys go a night without fighting, you might get soft on me.”

—-

A few hours later, Jason was wandering back through the red light district. The station ran on EST, so it was mostly empty now, and the night walkers were out. He knew he would be nursing a headache in the morning, both from the fight and the drink. It had been a fun fight, it least, and Vic had only broken a nose and lose a few teeth this time. Gerard had hauled him off to the medical bay while Jason had made a break to avoid the inevitable round of questions the authorities tended to start asking at such things. He was lurching along through a nicer part of the entertainment district when he noticed the captain emerging from a capsuleer tea house. Jason looked around blearily and snuck into the shadows of a nearby door, not wanting to risk his job on a drunken night out.

The captain paused and looked around, turning and speaking to someone in the doorway. An Amarrian woman, who must’ve been in her early forties, stepped out, and quietly took the captains hand, smiling up at him. From her bearing and the implants carefully concealed behind her hair, he knew she was a capsuleer, and probably a holder. She leaned up and gave the captain a light kiss on the cheek, and he saw the captain smile, which sobered him up tremendously, and the two walked hand in hand towards the central pillar. Before they got out of view he fumbled into his pocket, pulling out his pad and snapping off a quick picture of the twos faces.

Jason rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was just the drink. No, that had been to real, he thought in surprise. He stepped out of the doorway, suddenly feeling more alert “I think it’s time to really dig into the captains background…” He murmured to himself, heading in the direction of a friend.

The Consequences of Our Actions part 2

First Mate Jason gave a yawn as he stood huddled with the other crewman of the Georgia, at pickup zone for transport up to the cruiser. It was early morning, standard time, and the whole station seemed to be waking up as the night people got ready to go to sleep. Two docks down, a massive Dominix sat, and he could hear, even from hear, the sound of it’s armor plates being replaced. Well, he thought, it least we aren’t the only ones getting shot at out their. The ship above them was shut down, suspended above the platform by the stations own tractors, and the began to pile onto the grav sled that slipped down from the ships side. They went up, ten at a time, and proceeded inside. Jason was of course one of the first into the ship, and he saw the sign on the wall first.

“All Crew – Report to the Bridge on Arrival.”

Uh oh. What is it now? Jasons mind raced as he moved with the crew towards the bridge, hearing the muttering behind him. He stepped through the bridge door, and paused, looking around. The consoles were covered in sheets, and their were more chairs then normal near them. The men behind him crowded in and he stepped aside, surveying it all. Their were tables, and off to one side, in front of the scanning officers station, a long table with food warmers. The captain stood at the front of the bridge, his arms crossed, looking out at the vast Gallente station, watching frigates and destroyers channel through, and below that, air cars skim about. Jason moved forward to the captains elbow “Er, sir?”

The Captain blinked slightly, and turned his head, nodding ‘Jason. Are all the men here?” he asked, voice quiet. Jason turned his head and peered at the crowd, squinting slightly as he did some quick mental counting “I’d say so sir. Starting to get a bit squeezed.”

The captain nodded, giving a short smile “Good. Let’s quiet them down” he said, turning to face the assembled crew. The bridge was capable of holding them all, but it was a squeeze, and Jason had to give a sharp whistle before everyone quieted down “The captain has something to say. So hush up.” he said, in his stern commanders voice.

The captain stepped forward, nodding at his crew “Ahem. Gentlemen. Yesterday, we faced two great challenges, and came through, not only alive, but richer for the experience. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, we managed to hold our own against a swarm of raiders who tried to take our ship, and a swarm of Serpentis who wanted to blow it up.” he said, loudly, voice steady. Jason blinked in surprise and looked at the captain. There was something different about the way the young capsuleer was holding himself, and his voice had changed slightly. Jason gave his head a little shake to clear it, and then went back to listening in “…and as such, I have decided to reward you with three things. First, food and drink here in the bridge. There is breakfast fare on the table over there for you all. Second, the full day off, with regular pay. And third, a bonus of one thousand ISK to each of you, already payed to your accounts.”

There was a stunned silence, and then a cheer which was quickly picked up by all the men, along with clapping. Jason found his hands coming together almost of his own volition. This was a surprise, a big one, but a pleasant one. Already the crew was moving for the food, all concerns of rank and propriety banished by the smell of the food coming off the long table. Not long after, the crew sat wherever there was room, eating up the delicious food and drinking whatever had touched their fancy. The captain stood where had before, a glass of water in one hand, the other brought around behind his back in a fist. It was a strange day.

“Care to join us, captain?” Jason asked, indicating an open chair.

The captain turned slightly and shook his head, raising the glass “Thank you though. I actually have some work to attend to. Please, tell the men to go…do whatever they will. But to get here ready for work tomorrow.” he gave a little nod, drinking the rest of his water before setting the glass down as he walked by one of the consoles. Jason gave a nod “Aye sir.”

He turned back to the other crewman at the table “But like I was saying, I know this place called Flex…”

The consequences of our actions.

The captain was not a happy man. Not that First Mate Jason had ever seen the captain happy, but he seemed especially unhappy today, as the two of them moved through the inside of the Vexor. Jason, he thought to himself, today is not going to be a good day. They passed through the insides of the Cruiser, through halls. Where crewman were working, they would pause and move aside for the two ranking officers, though they didn’t bother saluting. It wasn’t the navy, and the captain wasn’t enforcing that sort of thing.

“Well, you see captain, the entire problem, when you boil down to it, is numbers. The raiders just had more people then us. It’s that skeleton crew policy you enacted to keep down potential fatalities.” he murmured, trying not to ire up the larger man any more. It wasn’t that Jason was small, and having lived on space stations near the docks his whole life had taught him to scrap. But something about the young captain just made him nervous, and he didn’t mind admitting that.

“And they are there for just that, First Mate Jason, to keep down fatalities. We can either be ready for borders with a full complement, or we can have as few as possible to keep down the death rate if the worst comes” the captain spat. He spoke slowly, not out of stupidity, but because he had a very hard time speaking Gallente. He had a heavy accent, though what it was, Jason couldn’t say, but it just seemed to add to the aura that made Jason consider quitting. They passed through another door, and Jason looked to either side at the dents and holes caused by small arms fire. Itleast they had cleaned up the bodies and the blood. And already the Captain had accepted another contract.

“Well sir, we were talking about a marine complement..maybe ten or so people, real marines, on contract”

“I’m looking into it” the captain replied flatly, stopping infront of a heavy blast door. He bought his hand up and placed it against a small scanner off to the side, as Jason brung his own hand up and did the same. The blast doors slid open slowly, revealing, snugged into the vexor, the bottom end of a capsule, the hatch open and waiting, along with a small shower and a locker. And seperating all that from them was a decontamation room. They stepped into the small room, and Jason resisted laughing a bit. The decom lasers always tickled him. After a moment, a chime sounded and the door to the pods area opened, allowing them both to step through. The captain began stripping as he moved to the locker.

“Well, we all appreciate it sir…So, what’s the mission then” He politely turned his back as the captain finished stripping down and began to get into the podsuit. After a few moments he turn back around as the captain adjusting the suit a bit, grunting.

“Apparently, the Serpentis are taking competitive business to a new level by blockading their rivals private stargate and trading hub. We’ve been contracted to remove that blockade…” the captain growled, moving to the pod and climbing up. Jason moved over and helped him get hooked up, frowning “Aye sir. Anything else?”

“Watch the starboard engine. After that run in with those Caldari Navy ships it seems to want to shift in it’s fitting. Have the drone problems been fixed?”

The Captain put his face mask and Jason handed up the hose that connected to it as he spoke “Aye sir. As for the drones, we think so. Something was jamming the auto launch bay on shute four, preventing a proper lockdown, so the system clamped it in order to prevent a vacuum breach. We think we’ve cleared it up, anyway…err…your jacks sir.”

The captain gave a final nod, turning his back slightly. The first mate reached up and hooked the captain in carefully, before stepping back “Right, that automateds will take over now. I’ll go sound the horn for undocking captain.”

The pod hatch slowly folded up, and Jason turned his back on it, going through decom again. He walked through the halls towards the bridge, frowning. He’d served in the Gallente navy for a good chunk of his life, but there was something different about serving with a podder. It was like being inside someones body, working as the red bloodcells. He could hear the ship coming alive as the captain booted it up with his mind. He reached the main bridge and sat down in the captains chair, keying the internal communcations system “All crew, all crew, prepare to undock.” he announced, voice echoing around the ship. Two alarms blasted wails of warning, and the various crewman throughout the ship prepared for the undock.

Less then half an hour later, Jason remained in the samechair, swearing vehemently. A plasma conduit had ruptured on the starboard engine and they were currently venting the hot matter into space. What’s worse, something had gone wrong with the warp core, and they were certainly roling back and forth, and he could feel he inertial compensators straining to keep them all from being flung about. He tabbed the comm key to speak to the captains, and caught the end of a conversation

“..I will kill you. no matter what it takes.” the captain growled, voice on the edge of madness.

“I’m sure you’ll try, captain” answered cool female voice. Jasons blood ran cold. He recognized that voice. He quickly flicked off the comm, going quiet and ignoring the shouting around him as he thought back. This was going to be a problem.

Moving In

Hey folks, it's moving in time. I'll be using this blog to throw up stories, reviews, thoughts, whatever I can think of or need to or whatever.

For those of you who follow my podlogs blog, I will be updating that one still as well concurrently with this one, but that website will only hold my EVE related stuff. This one holds everything.

I will be re uploading all my past stories onto here sometime later today.