Saturday, March 15, 2014

Page 53

((I just wanted to put something out, but I'm thinking of writing something new at some point.))

Yeah, this isn't much but I didn't really think much of about what was going on.

Alexander ate slowly, the smile on his face growing as he looked down at his plate and occasionally back at the butt of his hostess.  She seemed to be swaying lightly to the sound of the music now, lost in her own little world.  Not wanting to interrupt that, he just continued eating eventually finishing his plate and leaving him only with the glass of water in front of him.  Barely paying attention to the final bites as he found himself lost in his surroundings.  Warm, green and above all else full of sound that wasn’t just the howl of wind and ice cracking, this place was paradise to him.

“Everything alright?  You look like you’re lost there bud,”  Reza’s voice was honey to him. 

“Yeah, everything is perfect.  I got a great meal, the atmosphere is amazing and I’m looking at the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”  As he said this, Alexander just smiled up at Reza who placed her hands on her hips with a smirk of her own, a smirk that screamed that she thought that little comment was cute.

"Really now, so you like the view do you?  A lot of people like the view, what makes your opinion any different?"  Reza had started to lean forward a little bit, showing off a little bit of her cleavage as she did, on the way down.  When she had taken to resting her arms on the counter so that her head was level with Alexander's, she just chuckled lightly.  "I'm waiting."

"Can't say anything makes me different,"  Alexander said as he took a small sip of the water that had been put in front of him.  His mind trying to run through reasons that would make him better suited than anyone else, but honestly that was a hard thing to say.  "I've seen a lot of beauty in my life, been to a lot of exotic locations thanks to my job, though I spent the last four years of my life stranded on a dead white rock.  Coming here and seeing all this life, all this joy and then seeing a beautiful woman whose willing to even have a conversation with me.  Well, it's more than this poor soot deserves by far."

Reza slowly pulled back up, blushing before moving one of her hands up to her neck line and subconsciously grasped at the air before responding.  "What were you doing on said, white rock that took you so long?"

"Mining operations, I was the head of security, " the response was quick and practiced, just enough information to be honest, too little to give anything away.  He wasn't supposed to talk about it, but hey there were hundreds of frost planets out there, who was going to guess that he was on Waquil?  Right now, he just wanted peace.  It was a new corporation, a new planet to work on and a place that offered him so much more than what he once had.  Allowing himself a little grin, he just shot Reza a small wink.

"When you sit on a planet where ninety-five percent of the population is male.  You end up thinking that you'll never find someone because there is too much competition.  It grinds you down and then when there is never any sunlight and all you get is that artificial stuff, you start to get a little crazy.  I glad to be off of it and I'm glad the first person I met here is not only beautiful, but so friendly."  Reza's blush brightened a little bit as she stroked her arm with the adjacent hand slowly.

"That's very sweet of you to say, but I'm not really looking right now."  Alexander nodded a bit after her words as he drank a bit more and laughed a bit.

"I figured you were just angling to put on a little show and nab a tip out of me after some leading on.  I haven't been gone so long that I really thought anything was going on.  Too fast after all,"  he paused and started to stand up a little bit before putting down what he owed along with a nice little tip.  "I'll see you around Reza, food here is too good for me not to come back again sometime."

"See you around Alex, sorry about that."

"It's not a big deal,"  he responded again with a smile as the sun radiated warmth through him.  He'd escaped the jaws of death and found himself in a beautiful place, too much was going right for him to be upset about that little thing.  Not to mention, he was sure he could win her over in time.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Update 52

 Rolling over for a moment, Nathan quickly became restless.  It had been about two hours since he laid down and his thoughts were beginning to wander around the various people under his protection now.   Trusting Zephyr to watch over everyone in the main lobby and knowing that Slacker Jack and his two ‘women of the night’ would be alright, Nathan stretched slightly.   Garrus wasn’t going to show up for another day or two, Nathan had already acknowledged that fact and Lily arrived an hour after he had.   She walked in without saying a word and shut herself into the bedroom portion of their little abode; the captain hadn’t bothered to try getting a word out of her.  What she needed right now was time, that had made that clear and it now served as doubly evident with their attacker now with them.  
                Lifting up his head and raising up bare-chested, Nathan would wrap his hand around his mouth to hide it while he thought.   He never understood it, but the position calmed him down and allowed him to think on a much deeper level than he usually would.    Realizing that he still didn’t know where Tesla and Ludma were, the captain would stand up would pull his shirt back on and begin to walk towards the lobby.   It seemed in the time he had napped and allowed himself a moment of solitude; the crowd had cleared out leaving only Zephyr and the old man in the shop.   Both of them were now situated around two cups of hot tea, some form of Russian Caravan from the smell of it. The old man was flicking through the newspaper and occasionally he would point to something about politics, which would prompt Zephyr to laugh.
“So what?  Your leaders are fat pig-dogs. Their power is little more than the might of the people too stupid to stand against them.   Generations upon generations of idiots too bound by the concept of monetary gain and lost to the ‘rules’ that those in charge put upon them. “As the Yor’zvin stated this, the owner of the hotel would chuckle for a moment and flip the paper again to continue reading before he responded.  It was clear that the pair were engaged in some kind of game; maybe to see which of them would crack first.
“They may be fat and lazy, but they are in power for a reason.  Generally because they happen to be intelligent enough to know how to manipulate the masses; your people play with brute force, we play with the power of the mind.”  He retorted before offering Zephyr a crumpet, which he took and dipped into his tea before chewing on it slowly.
“You’re over simplifying the Yor’zvin people, we know the purpose of mental acuity; however, we tend to favor the physical aspects over it.  This in turn keeps our leaders in check. Those that are intelligent know to chisel their bodies and hone themselves into weapons; you used to complain about an obesity problem in the past, yet your answer was to encourage more intelligence?”  Zephyr would pause for a moment pushing the rest of his crumpet into his mouth and chewing on it slowly.  “The problem here is that everything in your society is hypocritical; on one hand, you say that such and such trait is bad, but either make it impossible to fix the issue without great sacrifice or continue performing the action.”  Both of them laughed for a moment as the old man buttered up another crumpet before cutting it in half.
“I suppose your right, but at least we’re known as the region with our heads on our shoulders and continue to thrive in a prosperity rarely seen anywhere else.”  Chuckling again, he handed the half of the crumpet to Zephyr whom declined it respectfully.
“Ahh, you can keep your prosperity.  I’ve seen how corrupt and lazy it makes your people; it is a justification to kick the weak while they are down.   At least my people give them a place in society to eke out a living or place them as members of houses to expand themselves.   Your people, they just throw them out to die on the streets.”  At that point, the older man just looked up for a second almost startled, but smirked.
“My, my…”  Neither said a world after that as the owner folded up his newspaper and set it aside completely, leaving both of them to sip their tea in the late hours of the night.   Both looked toward Nathan as he moved closer, but then turned back to each other as if they were locked in some sort of mental duel.   After turning back around and wandering down the halls, he could hear that Lily was talking to someone in their room.   Pausing, Nathan moved his head around the corner to see that Arachne was sitting on their couch and Lily was sitting a nearby chair across from her.   From what he could hear, Arachne was talking to Lily about her past; which intrigued the captain.  Pausing and leaning up against the wall, he just listened for a few moments.
“I came from a moon around the planet Vos, home was actually a pretty place.  There were a lot of trees if I remember correctly, but there wasn’t actually a lot of water; my parents put me on a ship with my grandparents so I could study in one of the Universities here.   What I found though was that it was difficult to….”  Arachne paused for a moment and shyly looked up at Lily, the young woman fidgeting nervously as she had trouble finding the right word.  “Sorry….my….common is not so good.  At time, it ok, but others….you see.”  Blushing for a moment, Nathan tried to make out what Lily was doing; however, he did not hear her answer.  Rather, he just saw Arachne’s reassurance for a second before she continued to speak.
“Well….the university it was….kind at first.   Then, money issues.”  Arachne began to poke her fingers together slowly, and then looked down as she started to cry.  “No options, grand parents couldn’t pay, needed money.   My body became all good for, I do to stay alive.   Been doing for six years, Mr. Jack showed me how to survive.  I’m too ashamed to go home….not now…not after what happened.”  After that statement, Nathan knew not to intrude any further and walked back down the hall as quietly as he could.  Only to walk by moments later trying to make it sound as if he hadn’t overheard anything.  
                Passing through the spacious hall-ways, he eventually heard the sound of Ludma’s voice; it seemed to be addressing Tesla which meant that the two were at least on speaking terms.  When he rounded the corner, Nathan was surprised to see them leaned up against opposite walls and neither one trying to strangle the other.   Ludma was still in her turtle neck and Tesla had managed to at least find something that wasn’t too provocative or a trench coat.   Clad in a pair of bright pink short-shorts, she looked toward Nathan with some minor irritation but softened a second later to adjust the form-fitting top she was wearing.  The fabric reached all the way to her wrists in a honey-comb network of black hexagons, though Nathan’s thoughts were more on where Tesla got the outfit rather than why she was wearing it.   Realizing it was Tesla and she had her lap-dog with her on the way back, the answer was fairly obvious.
                Ludma on the other hand was glaring at Nathan as if she was going to kill him.  “What.”  Her statement was flat and shot directly at him; hiding most the heat that was present in her eyes.  Glancing back at her, the captain’s amber colored eyes met the seriousness of Ludma’s false green ones before he rose his shoulders slightly.
“I got worried about you two and came looking.   Just wanted to make sure everyone was safe and sound, after the fiascos we’ve been through, it would surprise me if a convey of soldiers suddenly kicked down the door to this place.”  Tesla snorted out a laugh before shaking her head back and forth; it seemed the statement struck a chord with her.   Ludma, merely let out a little sigh before leaning back against the wall and began to mull over what all had happened a bit more.  “So, what did I interrupt?”
“Nothing for the most part,”  tesla answered before Ludma got a chance to respond,  “Ludma and I decided it would be in the crews best interests to get whatever conflict was in the way out of it.   So, we were having a little conversation to get to know each other better.   If I’m not mistaken, Lily is doing that with one of the little harlots you brought along with us.”  Ludma sneezed shortly after that, but she rolled her eyes and looked back at the red-head.
“You’re hardly one to call anyone a harlot.” 
“Oh on the contrary, I don’t sell my body for sex nor do I seek gratification from partners that I do not know or do not see a valid gain to be made from my actions.  Fucking Nathan was beneficial in numerous ways, especially after my months inside of that box.  When you consider the lack of physical activity that occurred while inside of it, sex can be considered a way to rejuvenate the atrophied muscle tissue.   Not to mention the fact that on a political level, I am indebted to our captain and for a lack of a better way of putting it; he owns not only me, but everyone who happens to be subservient to me as well.”  Ludma only shook her head out for a second, throwing her arms up in frustration, while Nathan looked at Tesla raising an eyebrow for a second.
“Yor’zvin bylaws are a confusing mess of dominance and submission; it’s like every sado-masochist’s dream come true.   No wonder no feminist groups started out there; they’d like be forced to fuck under the system of law.”  As Ludma said this, she would cross her arms under her breasts and huff before staring back at Nathan whom was contemplating the issue for a moment.  Placing his hand on his chin and just letting the two women talk over him.  “Not going to tell your slave to bend over so you can fuck her, Mr. Rapist?”  Both Nathan and Tesla jolted upright at the statement, though Tesla did so more as a way of getting ready, while Nathan was more experiencing a cold chill going down his spine. 
“Eh,”  the captain stammered for a moment before relaxing again,  “Ludma I know that isn’t going to go away, but you bringing it up isn’t going to help our situation.  I don’t know what possessed me to do it and apologies have already been done; my actions earlier may have been in poor taste, but considering the fucking attitude after everything that had just happened I’m a little more than justified and pulling a low blow.”    Tesla by this point had leaned back against the wall and was doing nothing more than watching the two talk.  
“Right, right, I’m sorry your holiness.  I forgot that your evil side just happens to seep out of your ass from time to time; do you have any idea what you did to me?  Do you know the damage you’ve done?”  Ludma asked this, while poking Nathan in his chest forcing him to take a step back as she bared her teeth at him.  “No and you never will because you believe that you get a free pass because you ran off to save someone.  Sin is sin you idiot, it doesn’t wash clean because you did one thing.  It cakes on and it takes time to wash off, yet you keep coming around and rub mud over what is starting to wash away!”  Ludma shouted for a moment turning away to march off before Nathan caught her arm and looked down; his eyes hidden as he clutched around her wrist and held tightly.  “Let me go, Nathan.”  Ludma responded with ice in her voice and murder in her eyes.  
Just as Tesla was about to interject, Nathan pressed a small bottle in Ludma’s hand and let go.   After that, he turned away from the pair and began to speak.  “While I was a the hospital, I walked by another member of your race by the looks of it; apparently, she had taken a human lover and was worried about her libido getting out of control.   The doctor prescribed that drug to calm down the effects before and after intercourse, I stopped in a drug market on the way back and got you a fifty pack of the stuff.   So, yeah I found out what damage I did physically.  Whatever is fucking with you mentally, that’s your own problem and we’ve got someone here who can help you through that damage. “  Just as Ludma was about to speak again, Nathan turned his head towards her and smirked.  “You’re part of this crew and as captain, I can’t just ignore your needs now can I?”  Walking away, he disappeared down the hall, leaving Tesla and Ludma looking dumb-founded at each other.
“Well, he was wrong about everything till that last bit.”  Ludma finally said with a small sigh, popping one of the pills dry and swallowing it after reading the box’s instructions.  “There is more damage done that just some mental scars and an allergic reaction to sperm, but I’ll let fuck-face figure that out when something isn’t trying to kill us.   For now, this is….eh….not even a start really but it makes being around the asshole a little more tolerable.”  Tesla only snickered for a moment as she wagged her finger at Ludma teasingly.
“You enjoyed it didn’t you?”
“You’re a whore.”  She snapped back in response and drifted towards one of the darker corners of the hotel.
When Nathan returned back to the room, Arachne and Lily were still having a conversation; though they looked up at the captain when he approached.  Lily looked towards Arachne and gave her a sweet smile before patting her hands gently.  “We’ll talk later ok?  It’s been a rough day and everyone needs to get some rest.”  The younger woman only nodded and moved past Nathan, looking up at him timidly before retreating to another part of the building.   “Sweet girl, it’s sad that she is stuck in the prostitution business.”  Lily said calmly before looking at Nathan for a moment and shaking her head.  “Still, we can’t keep taking in strays, our survival is dependent on being able to make money.”
“I…uh…cut a deal with them.”  Nathan responded slowly before sighing and rubbing his wrist for a moment, then staring back out the window.
“What did you do this time?”  Her voice was disjointed, not entirely there and already assuming the worse.  “Did you agree to worse me, Tesla and Ludma out?”
“I’m not that cruel,”  he answered his eyes already drooping and his exhaustion starting to kick in,  “No, their kicking us the majority of their income so long as we provide food and shelter.   It isn’t what I imagined doing, but at this point any sort of chance to make money is appreciated.”  Lily would only nod in response before walking away and stopping in front of the door. 
“Good night Nathan.”  At those words, she closed the door behind her and the captain knew better than to intrude any further.  Wandering towards the fridge, he opened it and could see that there was some food inside of it.  Opening the container and sniffing at it, Nathan could tell the food was still good and it was nothing more than a half of a club sandwich.   Chewing through it and at least getting something on his stomach; he would stare out the window watching vehicles go by for some twenty minutes while sipping water before heading to sleep.  
Five hours later, he was brought slightly back to consciousness by a weight against his body actually two weights.  Murmuring for a second, he was curious what it could possibly be.  At the same time though, his body was numb and ached all of the soreness finally coming through.  Sleep seemed like the better option and would likely prepare him for the day ahead.

A:  Look and See who is lying on top of Nathan
B:  Ignore it and go back to sleep.

Current Credits: 1,256
Next deduction for consumption of party:  400 in 2 Updates
Totals:
Tesla – 50   Contentment: 4/5   Mood:  Mischievous   Wants:  More control/More information on Gilarose

Zephyr- 90  Contentment: 5/5  Mood:  Paranoid    Wants:  A more secure location/weapons

Lily – 50    Contentment:  2/5    Mood:  Confused and Shocked   Wants: Medical books and crew analysis

Ludma – 50  Contentment 2/5  Mood:  Angry, but less so   Wants:  Computers

Slacker Jack – 10  Contentment 4/5  Mood:  Unreadable   Wants:  More customers

Gilarose – 70  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Promiscuous    Wants:  Cleaner facilities/Respect

Arachne - ??  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Curious    Wants:  Tranquility

Garrus – 80  Contentment 1/5   Mood:  Irritated   Wants:  A ship

Friday, February 14, 2014

Update 51 and Repost of 34

A moment to actually think about something was rare in Nathan’s life today; yet, he found himself actually enjoying one.  At least, he was now that the hospital guard had managed to toss him head first back into the streets, leaving nothing but a smug looking orb; that immediately shot away into the darkest recesses of the hospital the moment Nathan looked its direction.   Having already dusted himself nonchalantly and walking away with his hands tucked into his pants pockets; the captain was busily pondering over the sorry state of affairs that he had managed to craft from nothing.   A broken crew, several new mouths to feed and all of it had occurred in a few moments; throwing his head back into the air, Nathan began to laugh uncontrollably.   Doing so, his entire body rocked back and forth, the lines of his mouth stretching wide as he finally felt himself snap a little bit. 

Letting his eyes droop down into a tired display, he began to walk down the street, no longer caring about anything around him.  Battered, bruised, scratched up and now being looked down upon by nearly everyone and everything; the brown haired human had just found his new purpose for the moment, someone was going to have the same shitty day he just had.   Keeping his head down and his eyes strolling over the bodies that encompassed the crowd around him; he began to search around.  

Nathan was on the prowl, hunting for a prey that wasn’t of the fleshly design, but rather one that was bloated in a different manner.   Continuing to cut his eyes back and forth, he would recognize some small signs of wealth on people:  the glint of a personal network on their arms, others with cybernetic implants on their faces or possibly on their legs and still others had a walk that just signaled it to him.   It came naturally, he had seen the struts and signs on Earth; however, he had never acted upon it till now.  Soon, a small grin was encompassing his features causing him to slide into the darkness of an alley way just as man walking with enough swagger in his step to fill a rap video came striding by.  

Snatching the overly confident male into the shade, Nathan put an end to his confidence by slamming his head against the metallic substance of the building they were beside.  Slumping to the ground unconscious, Nathan got a slightly better look at his victim.   He was short with black hair in dreads and no signs of intelligence on his face.  Shaking his head, Nathan would begin to pat down on his blue pants legs and over his grey shirt before finding a small horde of credits in his front pocket.  Prying them away from him and tossing down a chip worth twenty onto his frame; he would pocket the rest of it and slip back into the crowd, his deed unnoticed.  

It was another twenty minutes before Nathan arrived back at the hotel, not really wanting to bother with any business transactions or possible bullshit that the manager might pull.   Much to his surprise though, as he walked in everything seemed to have already been settled away as Slacker Jack and Arachne were busily playing chess on a holographic projection.   Neither acknowledged Nathan’s presence as he came in, nor did Gilarose whom was passed out on the bar drooling slightly with an empty bottle of liquor in front of her.   Nathan examined her for a moment, watching how her rotund ass formed a heart shape on the barstool and looked to be one of the best pillows one could hope for, till they saw her breasts.    Across the room, the manager had lit up a stogie and was flipping through a few credits as he contemplated the same thing that Nathan did.

No one was saying a word to each other, meaning that Slacker Jack or someone else had managed to square away the deal without the need of help.   Merely pulling up a seat next to Gilarose, the Captain began to play with the contents of the only glass left by her.  It was about half full and smelled oddly pleasant for alcohol, making him inhale for a moment before he felt Gilarose’s head up against his arm.  “You’re cute, but not cute enough to take my alcohol from me.  Buy your own.”  She growled at him before shooting him a small wink and rolling her head back to a semi-upright position.   Afterwards, she would yawn and the stench of consumed alcohol hit Nathan hard; making him recoil a little bit and causing the darker skinned female to chortle for a moment.  “Never met a woman who could drink you under the table I assume?”  She teased playfully at which point Nathan merely shook his head and walked away, noticing that Zephyr was crotched in the corner beside the door.   

The Yor’zvin male had made himself as small as possible and was hard to notice due to the dark color of his clothing; even so, his face had to be turned completely away for someone not to know he was there.   Making eye contact, he waved slightly, then went back to looking through a peep hole by the door most likely keeping tabs on who was coming and going.  Being a good little lap dog it seemed, Tesla on the other hand was nowhere to be seen and that was actually what Nathan preferred at the moment. 
Stepping into the room he would be sharing with Garrus or someone else when the time came to decide, Nathan walked towards the couch and slammed himself down onto it.   Pulling the credits out of his back pocket and beginning to count them all slowly; watching the tickers on the side of the chips diminish as he inserted them into his transactor.   When it finished, he looked over his account and read the balance at 1,256 credits.    Huffing a small sigh, he rolled over and faced the side of the couch, pondering what to do next.

Current Credits: 1,256
Next deduction for consumption of party:  400 in 3 Updates
Totals:
Tesla – 50   Contentment: 3/5   Mood:  Mischievous   Wants:  More control

Zephyr- 90  Contentment: 5/5  Mood:  Paranoid    Wants:  A more secure location

Lily – 50    Contentment:  2/5    Mood:  Confused and Shocked   Wants: Medical books and explanations

Ludma – 50  Contentment 1/5  Mood:  Angry   Wants:  The fuck out of here.

Slacker Jack – 10  Contentment 4/5  Mood:  Unreadable   Wants:  More customers

Gilarose – 70  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Promiscuous    Wants:  Cleaner facilities/Respect

Arachne - ??  Contentment 4/5   Mood:  Unreadable    Wants:  Unreadable

Garrus – 80  Contentment 1/5   Mood:  Irritated   Wants:  A ship

Option A:  Get up and speak with the new comers.
Option B:  Get up and talk shop with the manager
Option C:  Get some food and a night of rest.  -10 credits
Option D:  Hunt down Ludma and Tesla.

Monday, February 3, 2014

50th Update!

Unimpressed with the orb-like creature’s statements and actions, Nathan would barely register the high-pitched squawking that it issued to him.   Taking it all as little more than lip-service, he would restrain a growl in the back of his throat; making sure to keep his cool in the situation, the last thing their group needed was more attention after the recent string of events.   Huffing out an irritated sigh, Nathan would carefully begin to pick and choose his words, while at the same time motioning with his hands to punctuate his sentences and give an extra bit of pungency to them.  “Don’t misunderstand me…,” unable to verify the gender of the alien by eye sight nor by any visible name-tag, the captain went through an awkward pause.  In turn the orb to turn its three eyes towards him in both surprise and mild disgust.  “I respect the station that you hold and the authority of the hospital at this time; however, I need to see my friends.   Lily just recently lost her only real family and has been under my care since, Garrus is under my supervision as well as he is a co-worker and has no means to contact his family right now.”  As Nathan said this, the orb spun around slightly; grey eyes dilating and realigning as it flipped through the clipboard for a moment.

“Mr. Blackholm,”  the alien announced much to Nathan’s confusion has he had not introduced himself, “but our patients health and safety are our utmost concern.  I can assure you that both of them are in the most capable hands Mr. Arkhum’s considerable budget has allowed him to purchase.”  At the final statement, his fists would clench tightly before he rose his hand up and squeezed the orb tightly.  Its body was no bigger than a softball and easily fit into Nathan’s outstretched hands.  Infuriated, he started to wind up to throw the alien; however, stopped and released it, watching it dip a little in the air before speaking.

“It has been a long day, I would very much like to just know my friends’ conditions and possibly see them before making my way back home.    Honestly, if that isn’t too much to ask, could you please see to it that the information I require is relinquished before I end up using a certain round object for a game of Freeway Hacky-sack? “  Saying this with a rather disarming smile, the alien would only shiver for a moment before letting its eyes expand in horror.

“I….understand Mr. Blackholm, please forgive the rudeness.   Mr. Arkhum is being outfitted with the latest cybernetics; his internal organs and bones were almost all completely destroyed.   More than half of his brain along with it upon impact; so the information that he held is being reconstructed using a team of specialists who are using the recorded information in his ‘black box’ to recreate his entire personality, memories and everything else about him.  It will completely restore him to how he was before the accident, along with the knowledge of what happened and how he was turned into what he is now.”   As the creature finished this statement, Nathan would carefully pick up its clipboards and pins, passing them over to it before raising an eyebrow slowly.   “Oh….your other friend was just released, she was in the room next to Mr. Arkhum’s, she should be completely recovered aside from a small scar on her stomach now.  If you’d like to see her, her room number is C-42.” 

“Thank you, have a nice day.”  Nathan responded after the end of the orb’s explanation, at which point he made his way down the hall to an intersection that read:  “C-block, in dedication to Dulok R. Catch, a Tresadorian of many ideas, inspirations and four hearts full of kindness for those in need.”  At the sight of the sign, Nathan would turn and start walking down the path; letting his eyes roam over the light blue and green tiles that somehow managed to make his eyes feel uncomfortable.  It was clear that the hospital was more designed for aliens that humans, as much of architecture and design was inspired in ways that made humans feel uncomfortable and often unsafe.   Abstract paintings hung from the walls, confusing the eye; meanwhile, overly bright lights constantly made Nathan hold his hand up to shade them.   All of it was disconcerting to him, making him feel as if he was in a psyche ward rather than a normal hospital.

Taking a little walk around the area, he eventually came to the room that he was searching for.  Taking a hold of the handle and passing through the white door, he found Lily sitting alone inside.   The blonde girl’s head turned toward one of the barred windows and looking out of it longingly; while the yellow walls of the room seemed to cage her in that much more.   Pausing, Nathan would let himself lean against the door, realizing just how exhausted he was, not to mention beat up from his earlier encounter.    “Hey.”  He finally stated before stepping into the room, Lily turned her head and nodded to him slightly before bunching up the fabric on her legs.   At the moment, she sounded distant as if she was deep in thought and wanted no interruptions; even if they were coming from Nathan.

“Hey.”  She replied and let her emerald colored eyes twist over to Nathan’s face, outstretching one hand, she motioned for him to come closer.   As he did so, her gentle, feminine fingers began to curl against his cheek; before she leaned forward and kissed him softly.   Her brief peck soon became slightly more intimate, as Nathan let his now full beard of his scruff rub against her face.   God, I really need a shave, he thought to himself and it just became more abundantly clear how bad he needed one as he could feel her pressing against his face.   After a moment, she pulled back before looking out the window once more, letting her hands curl up into her lap once more.  “You weren’t there to protect me again….You keep getting hurt and all I can think is that….this time you won’t come back or this time I’m actually going to die.   That stupid dog, Faulkner and now this new one….Nathan….I can’t keep doing this; I’m going to have a heart attack if this keeps up.  Look at us…we’re in a hospital and Garrus….Garrus isn’t even alive anymore; oh sure, they say he is, but they’re in there basically completely reconstructing him.  That’s not Garrus…it is a shell programmed to act like him!” 

“Lily…I.”

Lily cut him off again, pressing one finger up to his lips before shaking her head slowly.  “Look…Nathan, you and Garrus and though I’m loathe to say it, Tesla.   Are the only family I have left, Ludma over time could become something, but right now….I only have a history with you three.   Every time we go anywhere now, I’m terrified…because I know something is probably going to try to kill us; because you’re going to do something stupid or Garrus is going to say something insulting.   Nathan….I can’t lose you two….I just can’t.   Knowing Garrus might as well be dead just made this all too real.   I need to be alone, Ludma sent me a message with where we’re staying; I’ll go there when I get released, but for now…..leave me alone.    It hurts just to look at you.”

At this, she abruptly turned her back on him, starting to weep a little.   Nathan paused at this point and just pulled back; giving Lily her space.   As he stepped out of the room, he walked towards the next one over; leaning his head against the door as he could hear the operation going on through it.   Just standing there, he knew the door would be locked and that there was no way in aside from waiting for one of the doctors to leave.  Pressing his hand up against the door next to his head, he took a step back and sat down on a nearby bench; just staring at the door until he eventually collapsed.   

After some three hours of sleeping against the walls of the hospital, Nathan would be roused from his slumber by one of the nurses shaking him awake slowly.  Yawning and looking back up at her, his eyes blinking constantly as they adjusted to the light; he could see that Garrus’s door was slightly ajar.  Standing up slowly, Nathan could see the nurse leaving, while he walked through the door to his friend’s current room; as he walked in, he could see the pilot laying there with his head turned to the window.   His body looked just like any other human’s; however, there were clear lines running across his arms, legs and chest where he had been pieces together.  Small flashes of LED’s would fire off in light blue as he exhaled, illustrating the flow of his ‘bodily fluids’.   Parts of him were still flesh and bone, used to be a support for the system that was he currently attached to.   His head being a glaring example of this where most of the back had been replaced with a storage unit and had been constructed to look just like the older parts.   Yet, his face was almost completely intact aside from some metallic sections running across his jaw and cheek bones. 

“I figured you would have barged in here during the operation.”  Garrus stated, being the first of them to speak as he awkwardly moved his new cybernetic appendage to examine the construct of his arm.  

“I thought about it, just wasn’t willing to screw up your operation.”  Nathan said with a short, but nervous laugh as he walked into the room and stood next to the window.   Garrus acknowledged him by nodding for a moment, then casually began to examine his chest; running his hand down the almost solid plate of metal. 
“Never thought this would happen to me; always figured I would just stay out of trouble and end up dying of old age in obscurity.   Now I look like a fucking lawyer.”  Saying this, Garrus would drop his hands down to the sheets of the bed and begin to squeeze at them slowly.   All of the motions he made, just as silent as they would have been if he had been completely human. 

“There is nothing we can do about it….we’re just lucky we had the money to pay for it.”  Nathan said almost coldly, not knowing what else to say in that moment.

“You know…there are times I wonder what luck really is anymore.”  As Garrus said this, he would turn his head back towards the window, both he and Nathan being silhouetted by the cascading beams of light.   Night was setting in and the small cracks of sunlight that they were getting were being drowned out completely, leaving almost absolute darkness out on the streets.   A few street lights whistled to life, but Nathan and Garrus hardly noticed; instead, they tried to meet each other’s eyes but were unable to.  “So, what happened to our attacker?”

Nathan bit his lip, not wanting to answer the question as he huffed out a brief sigh and finally shoved his hands down into his pockets.  His head leaning back against the wall, before he finally stated.  “It turns out that he is Tesla’s husband and….as a penitence, is going to be traveling with our crew and working his ass off to repay the now massive debt he has managed to build.

Not responding, Garrus blinked a few times then turned his head looking towards the door; shaking his head, the red-locks spun around for a moment.   Inhaling, then exhaling heavily, Garrus would look back at Nathan with his mouth set in anger.  “You let that fucking monster into our home…our lives….into everything without so much as asking us first?   What the fuck is wrong with you….?”  As Garrus said this, he clutched his sheets hard enough to drive his fingers through the fabric creating holes for each of his fingers. 

“I wish I knew at this point Garrus, I wish I knew.    I saw the begging in his eyes and in Tesla’s….I beat the man down, fought with him on a rooftop and battered him around.   We almost fell to our deaths and he ended up saving my life….yet, I still beat him to a bloody pulp, but in the end I couldn’t kill him.   I just…I couldn’t fault him for wanting to get his wife back.”  As Nathan said this, he looked away from the rage that was surging in Garrus’s eyes before he had to duck under the flower pot that the pilot flung at him.

“HE WENT ABOUT IT IN THE WRONG WAY AND PUT THE ONLY FAMILY YOU HAVE IN THE HOSPITAL, THEN YOU JUST LET IT SLIDE!?  GET OUT!”  Garrus screamed at Nathan as both of them could see his heart rate starting to accelerate rapidly on the screen; until, the red-head finally slammed his head back down in the pillows.  “God damn it, Nathan….at least tell me you at least made him bleed at least.”

“Enough that he was vomiting it for a while, not to mention he got a knife through his back.”   Sighing, the captain left the room, looking back at his friend whom was now rubbing his face slowly.  As he continued to walk, he could see Lily looking wide-eyed towards the wall as a nurse walked in to check up on her.   His conversation with Garrus obviously being overheard and now, she had gone into shock from the news; continuing to walk away, he knew that he wasn’t going to be welcome by either of them for a while.   

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Update 49 and Reposting 33


Garrus and Lily had been there for Nathan since the start of this venture and even before it; so he needed to repay that debt, not to mention they were really the only two friends that he had.  Tesla, he had only known her for all of a week and her motivation was questionable at best; at least, in his own mind.   Casually striding down the street in the patchy blanket that Gilarose had thrown over him; thankful for it, as he slowed down and the frightful chill of the area settled into him.   Devoid of much light and being an artificial planet, the only places on Roshire that really had heat were those that could afford to have machines do it for them.    

Looking around him, Nathan realized that the area was a perfect representation of his current situation; a decrypted region run down to the lowest possible pits and left with little but the scraps from the big dog’s table.   Feeling infinitely smaller than he had just a few days ago, the former janitor pulled the covering around his body, tightening it about himself as the chills of the region passed over him.  Bumps ran up and down his neck, which made him pause and realize that many people were looking at him, half with pity and half with disgust.    Some of the other citizens appeared to have gotten the wrong idea about his current living situation and were snubbing their noses up at him.

Great, now people think I’m a broke-ass beggar as well.  What a wonderful turn of events.  Freezing that thought, the captain shuffled around the corridor where he had bumped into the actual bottom of society.  They were still huddled around their flames, holding their hands outward and warming themselves; with the exception of the one he had passed his jacket to.   Tesla and Zephyr were no were in sight, meaning that either they took a different route or the poor aliens didn’t want to test their luck.   The alien wearing Nathan’s coat waved him over and thrust the man’s hands towards the fire; which sent cascades of warmth and comfort rippling across the back of his hands.

“You know…I don’t really feel right just taking your coat.  So here, let me give you a little something as thanks for what you done for me.  It ain’t much, but I figure you got more use for it than I do.”  Reaching down into a pile of trash bags, that looked to be the same place that he slept; the destitute simply handed a book to Nathan.  Looking it over, the captain saw the title:  Nineteen Eighty-Four   pausing, the captain looked back up to the poor man, blowing off some of the dust and seeing that the print and most of the book was largely undamaged.   Some cracks here and there remained, but aside from dust and maybe a cobweb or two, it was in perfect condition. 

“I don’t think you realize what you’re giving me.  This is a piece of human history, this book was written by one of the most respected human authors ever; not to mention the fact that you have a physical manuscript at all is…stupefying.   Books stopped being circulated when the inter-linking of human internet with the inter-galatic net emerged;  companies privatized the internet, creating censorship of it, combined with clear and draconian regulations that forbid any sort of hacking or pirating of information.  When the Earth government was linked up, there were numerous jailings, executions and several riots regarding the issue.   Yet, ultimately humans were forced to concede to the regulations put on by other governments.   This….this shouldn’t even exist….how did you get it?”  The alien just scratched its nose for a moment, rolling his shoulders before starring back up for a moment. 

“It’s the last thing I got to my family name and I know that I’m going to die soon.  I don’t have any kids and these streets are bad enough; I don’t know how my family came in possession of it, I just want you to have it.   Kindness is a rare thing around these parts and it shouldn’t go unpaid.  So thank you, now get outta here, you don’t need to be hanging around a bunch of tramps like us.”  Shooing Nathan away, the alien went back to his fire; leaving the Captain to trot through the darkness alone and come back to the scene where he had found Lily and Garrus wounded.  Ludma was sitting at the café, quietly drinking a cup of tea as she shivered lightly; obviously rattled from all the events that had just occurred.    It seemed that everything that had happened, had just really hit her.  Completely in shock, her jitters wouldn’t stop leaving Nathan to rest his hand upon her shoulder.  She nearly flung her tea into his face.

“Dear God, don’t sneak up on me like that!”  She cried at him, before the Captain rose his eyebrow slowly.  

“I walked right in front of you for at least five minutes.” 

“Oh…Christ….Nathan just….”  She rubbed her face, quietly looking at him, then to the book in his hand then back towards the repair crews that were trying to fix the damage that had been caused by Zephyr’s little rampage.    “Did, you get the red-headed slut back?  I’m assuming no, since she’s not wrapped around your dick.”

“No, she’s coming back….we’re….going to have more guests as well.”

Ludma’s eyes would turn to slits the moments that he said more guests; her hand coming up to her face as she began to rub at it slowly.  “What did you do?”

“Long story short, I helped a pimp set up shop at the inn….or at least gave him a pointer to it.   Yeah, it ain’t glorious and don’t give me that look; we’re bankrupt right now.  The cover I’m wearing actually came from one of his two girls, as a thanks for beating off that bastard.   Sadly, that bastard is Tesla’s husband and….he’s coming too.”   Ludma just stared at Nathan in further shock before standing up and inhaling deeply, then turning back around and slapping him. 

“Are you FUCKING INSANE?  You go to get her back and come back with four extra mouths to feed, three of them being street filth and the last one being a murdering psychopath!?”   Shaking profusely, she threw up her hands, covering her eyes and then just grabbing him by the collar.  “I swear to everything that is holy, if I wasn’t dependent upon you for survival, I would slit your throat where you stand.”

“Let go of me now, or I swear I will make you relive Waquil in the back-alley.  I can promise you, no one here would give a shit either.”  Ludma flinched for a moment, looking at Nathan like a wounded puppy as he dusted off his shirt from where she had gripped it.  “Good girl, now…can you tell me where they took Garrus and Lily?”

“Th….they took them to the nearest hospital, it’s about three city blocks down from here and five floors up.   The paramedics administered gauss and various healing chemical’s to Lily right away; said she would be fine after a day of rest, Garrus they weren’t so sure about.   Granted, when they checked his credit account, they had this….flash in their eyes; like they were going to make a fortune.”

“Fucking greedy bastards.”  Nathan commented at the end of, looking down at Ludma who flinched when he leaned forward.  Getting his body closer against hers, she wanted to shrink away, but was about as low into her seat as she could go without making a major scene.   That being the last thing either of them wanted.  “Good work Ludma, head back to the inn; I’m sure you’ll recognize the people when they arrive.  You’ll probably beat everyone, but Tesla and Zephyr, Zephyr being the crazy one that attacked us.   Well…regardless, inform the inn-keeper that more guests are coming and see if we can’t get a referral deal at the least.”

“Ok….”  She responded, shaking a bit before Nathan pecked her softly on the forehead, then teased her hair a little bit. 

“Don’t be such a chicken, I wouldn’t actually do it.”  Ludma immediately hauled out and punched Nathan in his jaw before storming off in a huff. 

“You’re a fucking asshole!”  Merely smiling as she wandered away, he would right his hat and begin to bundle up the shawl that Gilarose had given him.  It was much warmer in the central area and he could feel the heat coming off of his body.   Slipping into small pipe that was resting near the shop, Nathan fished in his pockets for some spare credits and slipped five into the machine.   Once that had been done, he quietly punched in the location nearest to the hospital and felt a small throb in his head, probably a concussion. Gradually, the pod began to fill with a gel like substance; it was comprised of the same components in the atmosphere that he needed to breathed, so it wasn't a problem.   What was though, was the fact that it was in a liquid state, which made it awkward to inhale.  Holding still, he could feel the pod drop from beneath him, sending him hurtling through a network of transit tubes for short distance travel.  It only took about ten seconds to reach the hospital; which would have snapped his neck if the fluid he was encased in hadn't been a special non-Newtonian substance that was just about to immune to intense kinetic energies.  When it stopped, the fluid simply drained out, leaving Nathan slightly damp before a short wave of light passed over him, removing all traces of the fluid and dampness.

Stepping out of the pod and nearly tripping in his disorientation following this; Nathan wobbled for a moment, then managed to get his bearings and head into the hospital.   Getting stopped, he was sat down in the lobby.  “How can we help you today?”  A floating ball of an alien asked as it wandered closer to him; it had three eyes on the top part which were swiveling around looking four clipboards that it was holding, two hands holding pencils, while the other two flipped through the lists of names.  Blinking a few times at the outfitted ball of steels and yellow flesh, Nathan would say the name of his two companions; at which point, the alien said found them.  “I’m sorry sir, we can’t let you see them at this time, Mr. Arkham is still in critical condition and is being operated on; Mrs. Lily meanwhile is being held for examination of her wounds.  She should be out momentarily, if you would like to wait.”

A.       Wait and read Nineteen Eighty-Four
B.      Leave
C.      Question the help further.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Wheres the update!?

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay on the next update.  College and my school duties have been a bit more demanding, so I've had to scale back a little bit.  You can expect the next update up within the next four days.  Hopefully I will find the time to do it tomorrow, if not expect it on the weekend.  Thanks for understanding.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Update 48 and reposting 31

There was an over-flow in Nathan’s head, all the pain that had been caused to him up to that point; the multitude of life or death situations, all of them rolled back through them.  Gnashing his teeth together, he had taken everything that had hit him; however, now there was a different kind of rage passing through them.   Both of his pupils dilated, nostrils flaring as he had seen what the bastard had done to Lily, the fucker had stabbed her, then left her for dead in a huddled heap atop broken glass.   He had knocked out Tesla and dragged her in some wild goose chase through this filthy city, what came next was what forced Nathan’s heart to pound that much faster in his chest.  Adrenaline pumping through his veins, through his heart and brain as his muscles tightened up along with his fists. 

“Garrus….”  Nathan whispered under his breath, just as Zephyr turned from tossing the kid off of himself and across the building.  Neither of them bothered to watch as the grey skinned teenager caught himself in the air and landed casually on his feet, falling from the wall to the ground.  Zephyr was busy looking over at Nathan, whom at this point was trembling. 

“Go home, you coward.   No proper warrior would ever show fear like you do.”  Those words were enough to send Nathan over the edge, he imagined Zephyr taunting Garrus.  He knew the red-head would have been terrified facing down someone who was clearly his better; yet, the pilot had done it.   Both of his fists tightened up, then finally, he just snapped.    Images of his friend splattered across the hood of a car, the spray of blood….that image kept coming to him.   Soon, his entire world was nothing more than a red mist, as he started to run forward at his opponent.

“FUCK YOU!”  The captain bellowed, his body moving harder than it ever had before, Zephyr didn’t bother moving, smirking as he tightened up his stance.  Solidifying his grasp on the ground, his thought process already predicting exactly what Nathan was going to do.  

Come on, come on.  I’ll put you down like the dog you are, He thought to himself as Nathan burst into his range, Go ahead and throw your right hook so I can dodge and smash you across the jaw.  As his thought process ended, Nathan did exactly as he predicted, throwing his fist outwards in an arc which Zephyr started to move around.   Just as he was about to claim victory, Nathan’s arm bent into a ninety-degree angle; his elbow now perfectly in-line with the material of mask.  They collided and the Yor’zvin male was forced to take two back-steps in order to regain his balance.   Maybe, this will be more fun than I thought it would be. 

As the kid watched for a moment, he looked over towards Tesla; wondering just how special to Nathan she must be in order for him to fight this enemy.   Shrugging his shoulders, the teen gripped both of his daggers and started to catch his breath; the fight with Zephyr had been at a stand-still, but it was obvious that the Yor’zvin had much more endurance than he did.   Inhaling, he just prayed that the stranger could hold the assailant off until he refreshed him. 

As the teen regained his bearings, Nathan and Zephyr were brawling, the alien having just barely regained his footing enough to block the next blow that Nathan threw at him.   Stepping backwards again, he felt the snap of former janitor’s fist against his arm; pain laced through Zephyr’s wrist as he felt the forward jab pound at him again and again.   Left, right, left, right….the guy is so fucking predictable, but he’s got a nasty punch.  Still, I can use that to my advantage.  Zephyr had been trained in all manner of martial arts from various different cultures and races; seeing Nathan’s raw street fighting and boxing, just made him all that much surer he could win.  Waiting for a moment, he watched Nathan throw a hard left straight again.  At that point, the Yor’zvin only smirked and stepped around the gap, throwing a cross counter; just as the cross was beginning to form and Nathan’s jaw about to be struck, Zephyr felt an odd sensation in his arm.

Nathan had changed the trajectory of his punch, pushing his elbow outwards and sending Zephyr’s arm off-course, brushing past his head harmlessly.  A vicious smirk grew across the Captain’s face as he suddenly swung upward, nearly jumping off the ground as his fist connected in a savage manner against Zephyr’s chin.   Bells rang in the warrior’s ears as he took a step back, rattled from the blow to his exposed point; just then, his opponent lunged forward swinging out again in a heavy haymaker.   “Not that easy.”  Zephyr stated as he ducked it before pounced forward into Nathan’s chest in a bull-rush.  Colliding with him, the pair fell backwards to the ground, Nathan grunting as his spine connected with the cold steel roof.    Zephyr at this point had managed to straddle the captain and began to swing, aiming all of his blows directly for his enemy’s face.

“I would be disappointed if it was.”  Nathan responded calmly, his voice like ice as he held his arms tightly together against his face, blocking the blows as they rained down upon him.  Gritting his teeth, he began to pull up his legs, getting them into a position where both of his knees were up.    Another heavy grunt escaped him as he felt another three blows connect against him; his arms now blacked and bruised from the constant hits, both of them with next to no feeling in them.    That didn’t matter to him, instead of dwelling on that, he shot up doing a sit-up between the punches and bashing both of his fists into Zephyr’s throat.  As soon as the blow connected, Zephyr toppled backwards over Nathan’s knees, coughing and hacking as he struggled for air.  As he began to kneel and stand up, he was greeted to the sight of Nathan running at him.  Both of the captain’s hands wrapped around Zephyr’s skull as he leapt forward with his full momentum; one knee coming up as he sailed through the air.   Feeling his head being pulled down, the trained fighter closed his eyes; as the impact occurred.  

Black shards shot outward through the air, each refracting light like glass as blood splayed through the air with it.  Rolling across the ground and standing up hurriedly, the Yor’zvin hunter rose up plucking two shards of glass that had buried themselves into the sides of his head out.   Blood was dripping out of his slashed lips, cut cheeks and from his forehead, standing there without breathing heavily; he wiped the blood from his eyes and stared directly at Nathan.   Eyes that were as black as night itself greeted him; however, the rest of his face wasn’t what he expected.   Zephyr’s face was human in construction; however, his mouth was covered by four interlocking plates, two to either side and each one atop the other.  Curling over the nose, the first pair had formed like mandibles from the cheeks that thickened out until they covered the space from the bridge of his nose to the tip of his upper lip.   Meanwhile, the other two plates had formed from the tip of the chin and crawled upwards with proliferations slightly thicker than a pen running in a row of three past the other two.   As Zephyr breathed, they rippled slightly, his black eyes locking onto Nathan as the warrior drew out the pair of shock-sticks that he had used earlier.

Nathan didn’t move, rather, he let his seething anger be the only thing that was fueling him right now; Zephyr extended one hand outward, holding the staff back behind him.   Every few moments, he would motion for Nathan to come to him as they circled around one another.   Tension began to fill the air between the two as they sized one another up; Zephyr with some respect for his opponent, while Nathan was just waiting for the smallest of openings.  Which came in the form of Zephyr howling in pain as a knife was submerged into his back; more blood trickled down to the ground as he hissed in agony.   Spinning around to attempt back handing the teen who had refreshed himself; as he swung, the kid had already ducked and slid between Zephyr’s legs.   He didn’t need a cue to know what was going to happen next; Nathan was already running forward and as he passed by, they had an exchange.   The teen’s hand shot forward exposing the handle of his other dagger, which Nathan took hold of in his charge. 

Just as Nathan was about to stab into Zephyr’s throat, the Yor’zvin ducked down despite the pain it caused him; pushing his staff backwards and hammering it into Nathan’s gut.   An immediate jolt went through the Captain’s body as all the kinetic energy that had been built up from each swing was released into him.   In a split second, Nathan went from simply being pushed back to being thrown clear across the rooftop; hurtling through the air, he crashed onto the adjacent rooftop, rolling for a moment before smashing into a dirty pile of mattresses.  Groaning, the captain sat up, nearly buried in the dirty pile, blood ran out from his lips before he managed to pull himself up.  Dizzy and almost completely incapacitated, Nathan paused before stumbling back down and vomiting onto the roof top.  Wiping his mouth, he got back up and breathed for a moment to recuperate from what had just happened.  

The kid on the other hand, now weaponless was doing his best to dodge the flurry of staff swings that were continually being hurled his way.  Again and again, he would duck, sway, then bob and weave to get past the numerous attacks that were sent sailing at him; yet, the knowledge that with each passing strike, the stronger the hit that would come when it did started to weigh heavily upon him.  Stepping backwards, the kid watched as Zephyr started to swing faster, obviously wanting to end this quickly.   A hard swipe came long ways towards him, yet the Warrior was holding the staff with his hands separated by a good distance.    As he dodged the one end, the other end came backward in a snapping motion; dodging became much harder and his swings much less predictable.   Jumping over a low sweep that came his way, the kid caught hold of Zephyr’s shoulders and tossed himself over them.  In the next second though, he regretted it.   The Yor’zvin’s arm darted backwards and without looking, the warrior had caught hold of the teenager’s neck; yanking him back down, Zephyr flung him back overhead slamming him into the roof and paralyzing him.   Shaking violently for a moment, the kid grimaced and coughed before Zephyr rose up his staff like a bat, getting ready to swing into the kid’s skull for the kill. 

Tesla’s eyes began to open slowly; the light hurt her head and made her close them back hurried.   Continually trying to get her eyes to dilate as the feeling in her body seemed to be completely gone; she could see something in the distance.  A figure running and taking a leap across the rooftops, it flew through the air, being upheld only by its own force.   Nearly coming short, the fuzzy outline stumbled and forced itself back up into a sprint; as it grew closer, it became clearer.  Much like a magic picture, when held at a certain distance the image became clearer and clear; suddenly, she could see the contours of Nathan’s face.   Joy danced in her heart for a brief moment, but she didn’t know why that was so, then it all flooded back to her; Zephyr had kidnapped her.   Still feeling the effects of the drug, she tried to move, but found herself unable to.   Nathan vanished out of her line of sight, only for a loud no to resound through the area.

Nathan screamed, his voice a roar above the vehicles that zoomed by them.   “NOOOOOOOO, YOU WON’T TAKE ANYMORE LIVES YOU ASSHOLE!”  No sooner had he said this, did Zephyr start his swing down and did Nathan slam his shoulder into the side of Zephyr’s body.   The pair both toppled as their bodies were carried along by the momentum that the Captain had built up; looking down, the two combatants could both see that there would be nothing to catch them if they fell from the roof.  Beneath them was nothing more than the black void that eventually ended in the vacuum of space; while there were the fields that would scan them as they fell, there would be nothing to save them.  Falling here meant certain death and they were both about to go plummeting over the edge; the kid whom was still recovering from the blow scrambled.  Crawling rapidly and grabbing Nathan’s ankles as he went sliding downward; meanwhile, Zephyr caught a hold of upper arms, clinging to the fabric for dear life.  As the additional weight took hold, the kid began to slide forward being pulled down with both Nathan and Zephyr.   “LET GO OF ME!”  Nathan roared back at the Yor’zvin, but found he couldn’t swing because of the grip.

“Are you insane?  Do you think I want to die!?”

“You’re just going to get us all killed, if you don’t let go!  Aren’t you supposed to be some noble breed of warrior or some shit like that?  Do the noble thing; sacrifice yourself, so that we can live!”

“What kind of backward fucking notion do you think I follow, we fight to better ourselves and to improve our status in life.   This isn’t some knight in shining armor bullshit; I’m doing my job so I can get my WIFE back.”

“WHAT!?”

“TESLA IS MY WIFE, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, YOU TOOK HER FROM ME AND I’M GOING TO KILL FOR IT!  WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, I’M GOING TO TAKE HER BACK HOME, BE TREATED AS A GOD DAMN KING AND FUCK HER TILL SHE CAN’T FUNCTION.”

“YOU THINK I KIDNAPPED HER!?  JACK-ASS, I WAS THE ONE WHO GOT HER OUT OF HER CRATE ABOARD THE SHIP I WAS SERVING UPON; IF IT WASN’T FOR ME, SHE’D PROBABLY BE DEAD RIGHT ABOUT NOW.”

“WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU!?”  Zephyr shouted back at him, the revelation causing most of the rage inside of Nathan to shrivel for the moment.   Empathy was in his eyes now; however, he was still pissed off about the whole stabbing and beating his two closest friends to death or near death.   Groaning as the weight stretched him out, the kid tried his hardest to tug Zephyr and Nathan back up; yet, no matter how he might try, the combined weight of two relatively large adult males was too much for him. 

“WOULD YOU TWO JUST MAKE UP YOUR GOD DAMN MINDS ABOUT WHAT TO DO, BEFORE WE ALL END UP DEAD!?”  He shouted, now almost hanging for the edge and getting dangerous close to dropping the pair; both of his arms burned with the build-up of lactic acid.  A constant dull thump was resounding through them as he attempted to use his body weight to drag them back a bit.   A few centimeters worth of progress was made before slipped and the three were sent flying forward.   Zephyr, whom had dropped his staff on the roof when he had been tackled, rolled forward shouting as he managed to spot a ledge and latch onto it after falling three meters.  Getting his body about half-way pulled up, both Nathan and the kid grabbed onto his legs; which in turn made him lose some progress.   

“Come on, big guy….pull us up.  You can do it!”  The kid shouted, until he noticed that his knife was still plunged into Zephyr’s back; searing pain was clear across the warrior’s face as the additional weight stretched out the skin, causing him to lose more blood and for the wound to widen.   Nathan saw this and looked at the ledge, which happened to be a replica of a cast-iron fence.  Gulping, he figured that it was his best shot and flung himself off of Zephyr grabbing one of the rungs; one of his hands slipped leaving him dangling by one before fixing himself and pulling himself up and over.   Once finished, he saw that the teen had done it as well; which allowed Zephyr to pull himself up and over as well.  As the Yor’zvin pulled himself back over, he looked at both Nathan and the teen for a second; his eyes becoming narrowed in frustration before he spoke.   Each little hole in the plate growing wider and shrinking depending on what syllable needed to be made.  

“Safe to assume the fight is over?”  He asked, only for Nathan and the kid to turn to each other; the kid just shrugged and started to make his way over to a lift that he knew about.   The captain on the other hand, smashed his fist directly into Zephyr’s face, watching him recoil backwards before punching him in his stomach; as the alien started to bend over from the pain, Nathan finished by grasping his head and slamming it down into his knee.   Blood gushed from a new open wound between the warrior’s eyes as he leaned backwards against the rail for a moment, his brain rattling from the force of the impact before Nathan wrapped his hand around Zephyr’s throat.  Squeezing around it tightly and cutting off his air supply, Zephyr’s own hands wrapped tightly around Nathan’s wrist nearly crushing them which managed to ease the Captain’s grip on him slightly.   Yet, the human willed himself to keep going, reclosing his grasp as Zephyr stared at him, nearly stunned.  

“Yeah, I know if this had been a fair fight, you would have mopped the floor with me.  I had help and all that shit; so it wasn’t a ‘real’ victory; you know what though, I don’t give a fuck.  You left my two best friends for dead, dropped one over the side of a space-station and walked away when he smashed into a vehicle and became red paste.  You stabbed a woman in the stomach, whom just happened to be trying to protect a friend; yet, you know what the fucking worst part of this shit is?”  Zephyr was sending knees at Nathan’s stomach at this point, causing him to grunt every now and then from the pain; yet, Zephyr was losing strength as his face started turning blue.  “The worst part of this is that I can’t kill you.   Those little words, the fact that you told me that Tesla is your wife and you were trying to get her back; it saps away all of my desire to watch you rot in the ground like the dog you are.”  Releasing Zephyr’s throat and dropping him to the ground, the alien panted and gasped for air; however, Nathan’s boot punished the open wound between his eyes yet again.   Kicking him up and causing Zephyr to actually yelp, the Captain stomped at his chest and stomach until he was gasping for air due to lack of energy.  

Both of them were panting and covered in blood at that point.   Nathan’s knuckles and hands covered in both his and Zephyr’s, while his boot was coated in a layer from the warrior’s face.   Looking up, the alien groaned in pain, the knife in his back sliding out of the widened wound and toppling into the recesses of space.   Laying through, battered, bloodied and bruised, he looked up at the man who had defeated him before a deep oomph escaped his lips; a sharp pain in his side erupting from the fact that Nathan had just kicked him in his ribs.   “Get up….we’re going to get Tesla.   Don’t get me wrong, I hate you and I hate everything you did; yet the simple fact that are trying to get back something precious to you….would make me a hypocrite for saying I probably wouldn’t have done the same thing in your shoes.” 

Reaching down, Nathan offered his hand to Zephyr, who batted it away and pressed himself up; wavering weakly from side to side before Nathan caught him.  Too woozy to deny the aid, the Yor’zvin swallowed his pride and allowed himself to be propped up; both walking along, until they came upon the kid, whom ushered them up through a grav-lift that lifted them back up towards the level they had fallen from.   Continuing to move, the pair made it back to the house that they had descended from, where upon they saw the three women that had been left behind waiting for them.   Nathan eyed the two that had been there before Zephyr had arrived; one of them was wearing a yellow sun-dress that was a little too small for her, her significant bust was threatening to burst the fabric wide open.   Her eyes were sweet and she seemed to have a disposition like that of a mother figure; her skin was a dark-chocolate color, while her eyes sparkled in clear pools of amethyst.  A pair of plush lips were currently kissing across the kid’s head as she embraced him, squeezing his head between the titanic mounds of her breasts. 

When she did so, Nathan noticed her bending over slight, exposing her large heart shaped ass and the fact that she was not wearing any panties.   Her feet were covered in a pair of ramshackle sandals, while her hair was hanging down from her head in a French braid that moved from her temples and rolled back around thick braided tail that hung past her shoulders; while the rest of her hair hung in waves around it.  Looking her over again, Nathan could see that her forehead had a series of three red dots arranged in a circle on her forehead and that her ears were fringed in six different places; that was, when he could take his eyes off of her intoxicating ass.   Blushing a bright red, he realized that she had noticed him staring and was now shaking her head at him and poking one of her fingers into his chests.

“You don’t have enough money to play with all of this, honey.”  She stated bluntly, while her companion, a small mousy girl with a mess of short blue hair and dull grey eyes looked at them.   Roughly a b-cup and mostly legs, it was clear that she was timid as her knees were shaking slightly at the number of people around her; the kid merely touched one of her arms, which seemed to calm her down a bit.  Keeping her mouth, tightly closed, she continued to say nothing; when suddenly a series of small bead like eyes opened around the ring of her skull, her face developed a few spider-web lines across it as well across the back of her hands.    Pausing, she nodded to the kid, who looked back towards Nathan. 
“Gil, stop harassing him, it’s not his fault that you were shoving our merchandise right into his face.”  As he said this, the woman in the yellow dress, whom was apparently named Gil stopped and pulled back; then bowed to Nathan. 

“I’m sorry, Jack, I promise to be more thoughtful next time.”  As the kid walked up, he slapped her ass hard enough that the other four could hear it audibly; to which they were all surprised when Gil let out a delighted moan of approval.  

“You’re full of shit, Gil, we both know you’re going to keep that cocky attitude so that one of the customers will eventually lose their cool and really abuse you, freaking masochist.”  As he finished talking, the woman blushed but didn’t deny it leaving the kid with his hand extended outwards towards Nathan.   “My name is Slacker Jack, don’t know my real last name, never have and likely never will; people have always just called me Jack because it was an easy name.   As for the slacker part, well, I used to avoid work a lot.”  Laughing for a moment, he pushed his hand towards Nathan again, whom took it slowly and shook it while Zephyr and Tesla argued in a nearby corner.   Both Jack and Nathan could see that Zephyr was in pain and was being treated to some degree by Tesla; whom at the same time was laying into him for his actions.   It devolved into a shouting match between the couple, though Tesla eventually did turn a bright shade of pink from something Zephyr said and kissed him afterwards.   Yet, as soon as she had finished doing so, she slapped her partner in agitation. 

“Umm, anyway….nice to meet you Jack, my name is Nathan Blackholm.  The red-head back there is Tesla and you met our….acquaintance, I actually don’t know his name; though I’m sure he’ll introduce himself to us soon enough. “ 

“I see, well….the loud-mouthed one that nearly suffocated me with her useless tits, is Gilarose and the shy one is Arachne.  She never talks, so we don’t know her real name; we just call her that, since she can see in all directions and can sense the vibrations in the air. So, she knows where everyone is….all the time.”  Shivering at that last statement, Slacker Jack only chuckled for a bit before Nathan rose an eyebrow at him, he could see both of the girls and Jack were dirty and were putting on a rather….elegant shoe.

“Look, you guys seem nice and Gilarose is very nice to look at it, but I don’t have any money and I’m rather loathe to pay for sex.”  At that point, Slack Jack erupted into laughter, though immediately started coughing due to the injuries that he had suffered from earlier.   Still, he continued until he had to sit down and catch his breath, the sound of his laughter still resounding a little bit.  It was light hearted and pleasant to the ear; which when he finally stopped, it made Nathan a little sad. 

“So you, figured out what we are huh?  Well, it isn’t like it is exactly a secret around here; though, business is shit.”

“I can imagine. I landed in a pile of what I’m guessing were the mattresses where your girls did business, not exactly comfortable or discrete.   Not to mention, you’re what…seventeen and Arachne can’t be more than fifteen or sixteen.”  Another round of laughter erupted from Slacker Jack, while Arachne seemed to fume for a moment, folding her arms across her small breasts and blushing profusely across her rounded face.

“Oh….dear lord….you’re a riot.   My race metabolizes food very slowly, everything we do happens slowly, our aging process takes hundreds if not thousands of years.   It would take me at least a full two years without eating to finally starve to death; which, considering my frame right now, should tell you that it has been a LONG time since I’ve had any subsistence.   My girls need to eat in order to bring me in money, so I live with a bottle of water and a single slice of bread every week.   As for my age, I’m fifty-eight and Arachne over there is twenty-eight; her race takes twice as long as yours to fully mature.  Granted, her body is ready for sex and she can produce children, likewise her mind is ready for it as well; she just hasn’t adapted what humans expect yet.   She’ll get some curves and fill out more in the next three years.”  As that final statement, Slacker Jack leaned backwards against the crate he was sitting on and let out a soft sigh.  

“Maybe I can help you?”  Nathan asked before stretching his hand towards Slacker Jack.  “I just started staying at a hotel, where I’m working to put up my crew, which just gained a member; if their conversation was any indication.”  As he said this, he looked over to Zephyr and Tesla whom were speaking in a much more civil manner at this point; though it was clear that Zephyr was uncomfortable.   Nathan could only guess that Tesla was informing him of everything that had transpired…..to the dot from the looks of things, as the red-head had a rather….dreamy look in her eyes about something.  “Anyway, the owner of the place isn’t getting many customers and seems desperate for more income; maybe if we split the profit that your girl’s make three ways, we can all come out on top?  You guys get to eat and have a place to stay for free, I can work in fixing up and cleaning the inn to make sure everything is functioning, the owner can bring in more people to his place and expand and eventually….we can all get off this rock.”

Slacker Jack’s eyes lit up in both disbelief and utter amazement before he took a hold of Nathan’s hand and shook it profusely.  “You sir, have a deal!”  Both of them at this point, before Gilarose wrapped Nathan up in a bear hug and shoved his head between her breasts; the sweet scent of Tesperian roses nearly intoxicated Nathan before he was released, head spinning before the woman grasped his crotch. 

“You’re getting one on the house tonight darlin’.”  Giggling, she walked away, swaying her ass seductively as she wrapped one arm around Arachne’s shoulder; the pair both going to get their things to leave.

“You just made her life, I hope you know.”  Jack stated with gratitude in his voice, as Nathan gathered his wits and wrote down the name of the inn for Jack.   As Jack looked at it, his nose wrinkled lightly.  “I thought you meant somewhere a bit nicer; I know this old run down place, well….it ain’t much, but it sure as hell is better than this dump.   We’ll meet you over there.”  At that, Jack left to go talk to the girls, while Zephyr and Tesla walked up to him.  Zephyr seemed to have something on the tip of his tongue and only a sharp stomp against his toe from Tesla brought it about.

“I wanted to apologize to you for everything that has happened; I deserved the beat down that you brought upon me, I should have been more rational in my thoughts when I saw Tesla arrive here.   While my intentions were to return her home safely to her father and to continue my life with her; I can see now that I was out of line.   I am beyond forgiveness, so I humble myself to you and beg that you would take me as a servant, if that does not please you, then a slave.  If that is still not enough, then I ask that you allow me to commit suicide to atone for my actions.”  Nathan raised an eyebrow at Tesla, whom was looking at her husband as he got down upon his knees and bowed his head in shame; the female of their group had rested her fingers against the military cut of Zephyr’s hair.   Stroking it slowly, showing signs of affection if somewhat diluted.

“I figured that Tesla would make you do this; though I also figured some code of honor would make you do it as well.   Pull your weight and protect everyone in the crew, beyond that….don’t overstep your bounds; you’ve gotten off to a bad start with everyone, so you’re on thin ice.”  Looking back at Tesla, Nathan paused before huffing out a brief sigh and putting his hands into his pockets, letting his thumbs stick out from the top.  “You mind telling me what this….husband business is?”

Telsa only giggled a little bit in response, playing with the top of Zephyr’s head as he stood up before slapping his ass.   The taller male almost whimpered before, Tesla looked back towards Nathan with a coy smile.  “Oh, Zephyr was one of my many, many, many suitors on Yor’zvin; of course, only someone who I choose to become my husband or could actually defeat me in combat could take me.   Zephyr challenged me and ending up putting up enough of a fight that I decided to make him my own; granted, he was subservient to me.  Oh, I can still remember how he screamed those first two nights…..it brings back such good feelings.”  Both Nathan and Zephyr shivered at what she said, though Nathan more so at the fact that Zephyr showed a great deal of both ire and shame in his body language as those words passed. 

“I really….don’t want to know anything more about your sex life aside from what you created with me and my crew Tesla.”  Nathan commented quickly, which to his surprise didn’t cause any reaction from her husband.  “Umm…aren’t you upset that over people have had sex with your wife?”

“No, why would I be?”

“I dunno, shouldn’t a husband usually be protective of who or what sleeps with his woman?”

“On Yor’zvin, monogamy doesn’t exist; in fact, it is a mark of status for someone to have multiple wives or husbands.  It is reflected favorably upon the person who happens to be that person’s husband or wife, as it means that though they could have many partners, they choose that specific person to share in their life.” Zephyr explained and Tesla nodded in affirmation, before Nathan just shrugged for a moment, and then looked at Tesla as he uploaded a map to their new safe house onto her data-pad. 

As they started to walk away, hand in hand, Tesla paused for a second and looked up at Zephyr slightly confused.  “What a second, if you were coming to rescue me, why did you knock me out when I started to question your actions.”  Zephyr paused for a moment as Tesla glared him angrily, but he finally squeamishly replied.

“I wanted to be the dominant one for once.”  At which point Tesla punched him in his ribs and huffed walking along without him as he doubled over in pain, mainly because she had just jabbed a rib that Nathan had broken.  Exasperated by the events of the day and the various twists and turns that it had just taken; the Captain rubbed his temples slowly and then rubbed his arms to produce some heat.  Suddenly, Gilarose kissed his cheek and wrapped a very patchwork, but incredibly warm, cover around his shoulders. 

“Bundle up darlin’, you humes ain’t used to the cold like the rest of us are.   You can borrow that for now.”  As she said this, she gave him a brief tap of the ass before vanishing back into a nearby alleyway.   Nodding back at her, Nathan started to walk away, pondering where he should go next.

A.       Return to the scene of the abduction and find out where Garrus and Lily are.

B.      Go back to the hotel and rest.

C.      Find Zephyr and question him about Yor’zvin and Tesla.

D.      Find Tesla and question her about Zephyr.

E.       Help Gilarose, Slack Jack and Arachne move.

F.       Try to find another job.
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