“Ludma and I should probably leave and go searching for a place to stay. Garrus, I’m trusting you to take care of everything here. I know you are trust-worthy…to a degree, but since it is a ship. Well, you’re the best I know.” Laughing, the captain would cusp Garrus’s hand, the latter of which looked with an eyebrow raised at the former. Grasping Nathan’s hand, the pilot merely shrugged for a moment and shook it before placing his own hand onto Nathan’s shoulder. Garrus would increase his grip there for a moment, a brotherly notion before he nodded to the man in front of him.
“Yeah, yeah. Just be careful out there alright? We’re not exactly safe anywhere we go now, so keep your head low and don’t make a scene. We’ve got Faulkner and his crew after us and now we’ve got to deal with that mining company that you pissed off. Look, things are rough, so I think it would be best if there were no hard feelings between anyone right now; err….with the exception of Ludma of course.” Garrus turned his head around to face the alien woman, who had snorted at the moment he had said no hard feelings; she was busily putting on a pair of shoes before walking over to Nathan.
“Come on you, let’s just get this over with, I don’t want to spend any more time with you than I absolutely have to.” Ludma’s voice snapped like the sound of so many switchblades opening up, while her eyes glared nothing more than the points of daggers at him. Nathan would only look upwards to the top of the ship before bumping his fist against Garrus’s shoulder.
“Well, I more have to worry about Ludma trying to kill me right now than anything else. So, if I don’t come back, start sleeping with one eye open.” Waving good-bye to the pilot, then looking back to Lily and Tesla, the last of which was still folding her arms over her breasts and rubbing them slightly. Tesla’s little action telling him that she was still in shock over what had happened earlier; granted, he wasn’t sorry for it in the slightest. Moving over to the pair of women that would be traveling with Garrus, he placed his hands on their shoulders. Tesla giving a slight spasm, but let it sit there, her immediate reaction to turn her face away from Nathan being resisted for a moment. Two sets of eyes watched him for a moment before they listened to what he had to say. “You two….get along alright. What has happened up to this point is over and done; we’re nothing more than a big….dysfunctional family right now. Take care of Garrus alright and watch each other’s backs; we can’t keep tearing away at ourselves. So, let’s all forgive and forget.”
Once he finished talking, Nathan walked out of the ship with Ludma, the ringing of his boots against the steel walk way. Immediately upon looking up, Nathan found himself marveling at the sight of hundreds of airships blazing through the sky above him; a myriad of buildings shaped into different geomorphic figures and other odd designs stretching up across the sky. It was only after staring straight up for a few moments, did Nathan look a little further and see the massive scar like gash that ran across the skyline; it seemed to break everything up. Until, he released that it wasn’t a gash in the skyline, it was where the sky was breaking through man-made layers of crust.
“Ain’t very pretty once you realize that you’re in the slums is it kid?” Ludma stated with a small quip, as Nathan began to wrap his hand into her own; the female not denying it, but the Captain could feel her shudder upon touching her. The newest alien into the crew merely prodding forward a little bit as she pointed towards a darker section of the plate that they were currently on. “I take it you’ve never been to Roshire, Nathan;” she said this smugly, taking the time to lean in closer against him the moment she noticed a few police cars in the area, “well, let me tell you something, an artificial planet still has all the problems of a real one. Only here, they are multiplied.”
Nodding slowly, the Captain’s head turned slowly, his hand coming up to cover his eyes with the new cap that he was wearing. Just a simple thing with a black bill and a white covering for the head, all around him he could see beggars lined up and down the streets. Every age, every species, it didn’t matter who or what they were, they stretched up and down the road; hope was devoid in their eyes. As they continued to walk along, a digital barrier swept over them and immediately Nathan had to cover his ears; the sounds of construction work, engines and the roar of something rotating beneath him was nearly deafening. Ludma had a pair of earplug in, which she carefully handed a spare-pair over to Nathan who placed them in; looking around as all the background noise was immediately tuned out.
“This is level 32 of 256, the lower the level you reside on, the worse living conditions get. Without these little earplugs, it would be completely unlivable for most people here; however, even with them, the amount of refuse and trash about the area, not to mention the disrepair of non-vital buildings and lack of sunlight make this a complete hell-hole. Welcome to our new home.” Ludma said this sarcastically, but Nathan knew that they couldn’t risk trying to go up to a nicer region to live in; this would have to do for now. Sighing, he followed Ludma, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might look even remotely suspicious.
Ludma took them through various hotels, inns and apartment complexes gradually sweeping Nathan through many low brow establishments. It didn’t take him long to realize that they were looking for a place that could actually hold all of them together, that and didn’t smell like a ship after a night of refried beans and spicy sausage. Eventually, after stretching through seventeen different regions, they came across a building that was shaped like in an oval in the middle of a slip-shod park. Only weeds and a few broken swing sets and titter-totters remained in discernible shape around it; most of the windows had been boarded up and those that weren’t were covered with steel-bars that made it impossible to break in without a minor explosion.
The walls of the place were scorched in some regions, bullet holes resided in others and the only thing that tipped Ludma and Nathan that it might even be open was the glowing sign in purple neon that read: “Precursor Jack’s Apartments, Open for business.” Looking at each other, they shrugged and entered, pushing through the heavily fortified doors and walking into the main lobby. A fireplace crackled at the opposite wall, where a few pictures of a handsomely built male with yellow hair and green tips was standing. A pair of goggles resting on his head as he leaned against some kind of go-cart looking vehicle; on his shoulder, a small furry rodent stood, mimicking the focus’s pose. In the background, it looked to be some sort of desert with several moons floating above it; an oasis not too far off in the distance. As Nathan examined it, Ludma walked over to the counter, ringing an antique bell, the shined silver of the sides twinkling in the fire light. Looking at her reflection in it for a moment, she rang it once more before pulling back and leaning against the hard wooden surface of the counter top.
Nathan had moved away from the painting and was now sitting in one of the plush chairs around the central lounge area; a small table with a few old magazines resting before him. As he cocked his head for a moment and flipped through one of him; he couldn’t understand the language it was written in and put it down, not bothering to waste his time. Both he and Ludma suddenly breathed in and then took in a larger breath, enjoying the smell of burning wood and the faint fragrance of some flower. “Well, if this place has enough vacancies, then it wins; it doesn’t smell like dog shit, wrapped in old fish bacon.” Ludma didn’t respond to the statement, rather she turned back around and was about to ring the bell again; when an elderly man brushed it aside before she could bring her hand down.
“I heard you the first time.” He said with a slight cough while leaning forward on a cane; he was thin, his fingers having lost some of the flesh around them as he pulled up a pair of goggles. It was clear that he was having trouble getting around and that his body wasn’t working like it should anymore. Slightly hunched over, his head was bald, though the sides and back of his head still had some hair that hung down, giving the male an awkward monk-haircut. The silvery strands hanging around his neck with darker patches at the tips. “Now, what can I do for you two?” He asked bitterly, leaning more on his cane as he shifted about his blue coat and light brown pants, hobbling over to the guest registry. “You want a room, two hundred credits a night. Typical room can fit four people comfortable, there’s a bed that can sleep two and a couch that pulls out, that can sleep two as well. The floors are carpeted, so someone can sleep on those relatively comfortably as well; each room comes with a kitchen and one bathroom. Galanet is extra, so is broadcast.” Every line fell out of his mouth in a rehearsed manner, flopping out as his eyes seemed to glaze over without a care in the world. Nathan stared at him for a moment, starting to move closer.
It was the same glazed look that he saw in his own eyes so many times when he had been aboard the Thespian cleaning the floors. Looking at the old man, he could see sorrow, sadness and heart-break from having lost a life full of friends, adventure and excitement. It was the look of a man who felt he had been cheated out of something much greater in life; the glazed look vanished and Nathan sniffed a little, smelling cleaning chemicals. “You’re cleaning the place yourself?” Upon the question both Ludma and the older male looked up to Nathan in surprise, while the old man nodded slowly a few times.
“Yes, I’m the only person who works here, so I pick up the trash and clean everything.” Nathan looked him over for a moment, then began to stroke his chin for a moment before smirking.
“How about I make a deal with you, sir? You let me and my friends stay here for free and I’ll clean the place for you. I was a janitor for a while, so I know my way around a mop and cleaning chemicals.” The old man rose an eyebrow slowly before grabbing Nathan’s arm and turning his hand over; looking over the callouses on his fingers and palm along with some of the scars on his knuckles and the what not.
“Looks like you were a farm hand before that. Tell you what, I’ll let you stay tonight for free, since I really don’t have more than two or three customers and this place has at least twenty spare rooms right now. In the morning, we’ll see how good you are at cleaning, after that I’ll make a decision to see if I’ll let you stay here for free for an extended period of time.” As the old man said this, he started walking away, moving obviously a struggle for him. Nathan looked back towards him with some slight pity before rubbing the back of his head slowly and noticed Ludma looking at him confused.
“Why did you make that deal? It isn’t like we couldn’t have paid for the room or rooms.” Nathan tilted his head back slowly, sighing as he did so.
“Garrus can, I can’t. I’m broke aside from maybe a thousand credits that I have to my name. Garrus has all the money that we have to our name right now; most of which are stolen. Sorry, I’m just a poor man trying to keep us all alive for right now.” Saying this, he started to walk away from the inn, grabbing the key as he did so, pushing it down into his pocket while Ludma did the same. As they wandered back through the various streets back towards the ship; both of them remained silent; Ludma had wrapped herself around his arm again, pretending to be in some sort of relationship with Nathan in order to avoid suspicion from police whom were now scouring the streets. Nathan held his head lower and kept pressing forward, making his way to the docks in relative silence.
Meanwhile
Garrus stood outside of a small coffee shop, seeing as it was the only thing that didn’t smell like the inside of a sewer on the other-side of the docks. Having wrapped one hand about a cup of coffee and letting the steam rise up towards his face; he allowed it to warm his hand, not sipping as he was pretty sure it was going to taste horrible. Tesla and Lily were standing nearby, the latter munching on a petite scone while Tesla stared off into the distance, looking at some construction work that was going on. Garrus had pulled a hood up over his head, hiding his face as he had already see one of his former crewmates walking by; he wasn’t worried about Lily being identified, after all, none of them were after her. At least, from what he could discern, Lily had been hiding in the cargo hold before they had even arrived; which meant that she had witnessed the death and fled as quickly as possible. It was unlikely that the crew would automatically place her with him and Nathan, especially when the Thespian had multiple escape crafts and at least four were missing before they took the fifth.
Bringing the cup up to his lips, Garrus would tentatively taste the liquid and was surprised by the flavor. It was the best cup of coffee that he had, had in quite a while. As he began to sip it, he saw someone coming from the corner of his eye; the guy was relatively relaxed in his demeanor, yet what set him off was the fact that he couldn’t see his face. It wasn’t shaded over or simply being hidden by a bad angle, no the guy was wearing a full helmet. Blinking a few times, he realized something as the guy got closer, there were markings on his helmet, Yor’zvin markings. From the twist of his neck, Garrus could tell that the guy was looking directly at Tesla, which told him one thing and that one thing was more than enough to terrify him. Tesla’s people were hunting her down.
Garrus got a good look at the guy, he was at least six foot seven, well over a head taller than he was. Looking him over, it was clear that he was very well built, almost impossibly so by human standards; it was abundantly clear that whoever it was, was a fighter and would likely tear through the pilot like he was toilet paper. Moving closer, more of the intruder came into view, dressed in a pair of slate-grey pants, three black straps riding over the thighs were holding some sort of weapons; though all Garrus could see were the tips of some sort of black handles. The straps rode upward, forming into a sort of chaps around the belt where another holster could be seen; that one was obviously holding a gun. Granted, Garrus had no idea what type of gun.
Lily had turned her head in boredom back towards Garrus, noticing that he wasn’t moving. Turning her head further around, she had just enough time to the advancing person’s chest. It was covered in grey fabric that had been tucked beneath the hem of his pants; showing off the contours of his build, before the being concealed by a by a chocolate brown jacket. Whoever it was, they were dressed in urban camouflage, they blended in with the dirty bricks and concrete around them, making it awkward to suddenly see the person. Lily got up and walked a few steps back as the Yor’zvin grabbed her chair nearly throwing it aside before twisting it around and sitting in it backwards. Lily got a better look, the guys jacket was padded, clear signs of armor reinforcement; not sure what it was, but right now his chest was exposed; meaning that whoever it was confident enough to believe they wouldn’t be attacked, or could deal with whatever problem arose without being harmed or threatened.
It was Tesla’s turn to see the person, her eyes turning to slits as fear and anger filled them; she slammed her fists down on the table. Growling at the Yor’zvin across from her, the princess shook out her head as she stared directly into the helmeted stranger’s face. Not that it could really be called a helmet, as from the back Garrus could see that it was more connected to the person’s face with a bit on the top protecting the temples from any major damage. The back of the head exposed two rear facing horns, each of them growing from where the mask ended and jutting back about an inch from the cranium; from there tufts of black hair run across the line of the skull in a short manner. Tesla on the other hand could only see the technologically advanced mask over the Yor’zvin’s face. It appeared to be made of some sort of black glossy material, while red lines ran from the center of the construct and off to the sides, riding over where the eye sockets should be. Each of these lines formed a tribal network half way down the face before ending. “Zephyr, I didn’t call for you. Why are you here and what do you want?”
At the mention of the person’s name, Lily looked over at Tesla in slight shock. “You know this person?” The nurse quietly pulling back a little in shock when Zephyr’s large hand darted forward and wrapped around Tesla’s wrist; gulping she began to reach over to attempt to calm the visibly bigger one down.
“Don’t touch him!” Tesla immediately called out; however, it was a little late as Lily’s hand brushed against Zephyr’s own. The now confirmed male Yor’zvin shot one of his hands up jabbing Lily directly into the solar plexus; the young woman collapsing onto the ground and beginning to cough profusely as she couldn’t believe how much the small motion had hurt her. “ZEPHYR! I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!” Tesla shouted at him in response; only to find a rag pressed against her face, struggling for a moment, Tesla’s eyes would flutter, her head falling down and slamming against the table in a heap. Garrus came charging up from behind Zephyr; his hand reaching into the coat he was wearing and yanking out the vibro-knife from earlier. The buzzing roar of the knife making a rancor as Garrus found himself lunging towards Zephyr with all the force he could muster.
Swaying backwards, Zephyr avoided the stab easily, carefully stepping aside as Garrus started to back-up. As soon as Garrus noticed that Zephyr had dodged, the male quickly pushed the blade to his other hand holding it in a downward position; swallowing, he could tell that this situation was not going to be pleasant in the slightest. Meanwhile, his opponent was busy kicking the chair out of the way in front of himself. Pushing it aside, Zephyr began to walk forward, a pair of digitigrade feet pressing forward; a black pair of shoes that wrapped around the three-toes of each of his feet. Dropping down low, the assailant charged towards Garrus, reaching down and drawing out what looked to be little more than a black stick.
“Oh…shit.” Garrus said aloud as he began to desperately back-peddle away from him. Zephyr began to swing using the rod that he had drawn out like a club. Every time he swung there was a crackle in the air before an immediate discharge of electricity followed; creating more and more every time he did so. Garrus was already avoiding to the best of his ability; however, he knew that he was just delaying the inevitable at this point. Gulping, he swayed beneath the stick as he was swung at; driving the knife blade forward in a stabbing motion at Zephyr’s chest. As he moved in, he would see the Yor’zvin’s fist launching directly at his skull. It collided, smashing directly into his nose before the male began to roll across the ground. “Fuck…”
As he laid there for a moment, he got up quickly and stood his ground. Huffing slowly as Zephyr stared at him, the Yor’zvin starting to walk towards Garrus. Zephyr suddenly darted forward, leaving Garrus to simply roll out of the way to avoid nearly getting his head torn off by the attack. Standing back up, he could see that several civilians were fleeing and that the coffee soup was almost empty now. It took only that moment of distraction for Garrus to feel himself being lifted up by Zephyr. Stunned, he attempted to stab at the Yor’zvin; however, the sentiment was in vain as he was already airborne by the time he had swung. Flailing in the air, Garrus smashed through the window of the shop; his ands being torn apart by flying shards of glass as the knife in his hand fell to the floor. Both of his hands now covered in blood, Garrus coughed after the impact seeing that Zephyr was standing just outside of the window. Putting away the rod, the attacker opened the door to the establishment rather than simply going through the window. His feet smashing stray strands of glass as Garrus could see Lily coming over to support him; trying to shake his head now, pain laced up his back, paralyzing him as looked at her.
“Don’t do it, don’t do it!” He tried to scream again and again, only to fail as he gasped for breath; staring up at her, he tried to plea with his eyes before feeling the press of Zephyr’s foot against his throat. Struggling against it, he coughed again and again, grasping at the heel and pushing up but getting nowhere; panic filling him as he could see the corners of his vision going black.
Lily meanwhile snuck in as quietly as she could grabbing the knife that had fallen to the floor. Watching Garrus about to be killed, she rushed forward and sunk the oscillating blade into Zephyr’s back; immediately, Garrus would feel the foot come off the back of his neck. Pressing down into the glass around his skull, panting, he would look up and notice that Zephyr was reaching behind him. Lily desperately trying to free the knife in order to stab again; however, the armor in his jacket was more than enough to stop it. Irritated now, Zephyr turned, backhanding Lily as he did so and sending her backwards a few steps; the yor’zvin reached back now and withdrew the blade from his back, a small trickle of blood hitting the floor as the blade had managed to hit him just slightly.
Garrus began to push himself up, everything moving in slow motion as he saw Zephyr moving toward Lily, the knife in hand. The nurse still feeling the sting to her face as she started to pull up; her brief cry of pain turning into a horrified scream as Garrus started to rise up. Time started to accelerate again, Zephyr’s hand pressing against Lily’s stomach as the blade of the knife disappeared into her. The roar of the blade had stopped, either the battery ran out or Zephyr had disengaged it in some small token of mercy; Lily’s eyes dilated down until there was next to nothing of her pupils visible. Both of her hands clutching around the knife in her body; Zephyr released it, watching her crumple to the floor like a rag doll as she held onto the blade.
“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” Garrus screamed as rage and adrenaline pumped through his body; running forward, he dropped low and tackled Zephyr. The Yor’zvin making an audible grunt for the first time since he had been encountered; flopping down, Zephyr’s head slammed into the wall. Where upon Garrus began to punch at the other man’s head. “YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, SHE WAS INNOCENT AND BEAUTIFUL. SHE NEVER HURT ANYONE AND YOU FUCKING DID THAT TO HER!?” Shouting in his fury, he swung again, finding Zephyr’s hand coming up and blocking the blow as he started to rise. Both of their hands shaking in their power struggle as Zephyr suddenly tossed him to the side; letting him roll on the ground for the third time since they started fighting.
Garrus stood up immediately, no longer exhausted as he looked over at the unconscious Tesla. Zephyr was a behemoth compared to him, a monster of superior talent, strength and speed; however, he wasn’t thinking about that. Garrus only thought about protecting his crew mates, keeping the dreams that he and they held alive; smirking as he ran his thumb under his nose and flipped the blood away from his nose; he would goad Zephyr on. “Come and get me you rat-bastard.” Zephyr would look at the pilot for a moment, rolling his shoulders as he began to crack his knuckles.
He spoke, “If that’s what you want,” it was cold and deep a gruff voice for a veteran warrior; someone who was at least in his thirties. Garrus already knew the fight was hopeless; however, he was just buying time and that was what he was good at. Zephyr and Garrus charged at each other, the pair meeting in the middle of the street where Garrus managed to swing first colliding with the side of Zephyr’s head before a counter-attack slammed into his liver. Spittle flew from the pilot’s lips and throat as he felt himself being lifted; however, he planted his feet and threw his shoulder down. Using the top of his head to slam against Zephyr’s chin, Garrus could feel the yor’zvin cocking his head backwards from the blow.
“Come on you, ugly bastard. Give me all you got.” Garrus taunted again, receiving a heavy chopping blow to the back of his head for his trouble; which made him stumble back. Still, he stood his ground and kept on his feet; fire burning in his eyes as he gaze a predatory gaze to his opponent. Half-unconscious, he stood his ground with his hands up near his face; all of the hate and power that he could muster. Zephyr paused almost stunned by the gaze; he had seen it before and he knew for a fact what it was, it was the result of being backed up into a corner. A cat with a mouse in its jaws, but that mouse was going to make him work for the meal. It was everything he lived for.
Zephyr ran forward again, beginning to throw a series of powerful blows towards Garrus, whom started moving his arms up and down blocking the strikes. Each one rattling his bones, making them shake and quake from the strength and speed of his swings; yet, not a single groan of pain came from him. Zephyr began to pull back for a larger swing; which was immediately responded to with Garrus forcing his way into the gap made by the man’s arms. Swinging his body against his chest past the armor before rapidly laying into his stomach and liver, Garrus made sure that each blow counted, making his fists ring from the force of impact. Both of his now damaged arms ached as he continued to swing, at least seven hits against his stomach and liver before Zephyr pushed his head back with one hand; however, it didn’t end there as the Yor’zvin followed up with a one handed smash against Garrus’s chin.
The pilot’s eyes lost light for a moment as he stumbled backwards, having been lifted into the air an inch or two. His feet felt heavy beneath him, as he could feel his gums bleeding, blood filling his mouth which he spit out. Both of his hands had turned red from where he had hit Zephyr; the hardened abdominals of the opponent tough to the point that it felt like he had been hitting a tire. Garrus stood there on his shaky knees, his body growing weak beneath him, “Dear God, what the hell is this guy,” He thought to himself attempting to stand up right; however, one of his legs was starting to give way beneath him. A sudden hard right against his temple from Zephyr sent Garrus sprawling across the ground; groaning in pain, he began to push himself up. His arms wavering as his legs felt like lead connected to him; getting up to his knees, he was sent back down when Zephyr kicked him directly in his chest.
Collapsing back down, Garrus whimpered and cried in pain, crying in the knowledge of his failure. Refusing to just give up, he began to push himself up again, when a sharp kick to his side sent him rolling over. Barely able to move after the beating, he stared up at Zephyr watching the Yor’zvin lift him up by his collar. Garrus’s arms hanging limply at his sides as he felt himself being carried; his eyes dilating as he suddenly found nothing under his feet. Swinging them wildly; he could see beneath him, a variety of traffic flying down below, the fall no matter what happened was going to be at least fifty feet and was going to be a collision with hard steel or glass. A new struggle emerged as Garrus flailed before Zephyr. “No, stop…what are you doing!” Garrus shouted at him, only to find the wind starting to rush around him as he began to fall; Zephyr had thrown him over the ledge of platform they were on.
Garrus watched as the world sped by him; his body becoming a living rag doll before the sound of bending steel and crunching metal hit him. Zephyr watched, looking at the man that had attempted to stop him fall; he watched him descend about fifty feet before slamming through the wind shield a moving airship; his body skewered by various pieces of glass and arms bending the metal of sides. The driver of the vehicle perished upon impact as Garrus’s back slammed into his head as it passed through the glass. As the sleek red vehicle registered that it had just been in an accident and that the driver was no longer in control, it went into auto-pilot; immediately pulling back and parking on the platform that Zephyr had thrown Garrus off of. Zephyr by this point, had already walked away, Tesla in tow; leaving Lily laying on the floor of the restaurant and Garrus for dead in the vehicle.
