Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

"I don't think that any of us are arguing with you, there." Dayle said, solemnly. "The kid's existence is puttin' people in danger, and even if he wanted to retire to a hodunk planet in the middle of nowhere, it don't change what he did." She bowed her head, looking to the floor of the van that had been transporting them back, thinking. Her hand idly thumbed at the end of her augment, and for a moment, she briefly wished that she didn't have to deal with all of this. That the Universe was better. But that wasn't the case.


Billions of lives had just boiled to death in the ocean.

End Scene 7: Bad News Travels Fast​

"I'm working on it." Imille said, impatiently. A welder's helmet was affixed to the top of her head as she lounged lazily in the co-Captain's chair. The woman was frazzled beyond belief, having to take care of the newly injured Casar, fashion a new augment, and ensure (though it certainly wasn't in her field) that the ship wasn't going to spring a leak and suffocate them all to death, all while nursing a pretty heavy case of emotional turmoil. She hadn't seen Nyx, apart from when the Calivarian woman dragged herself up to drink or eat.


"I'm not rushing you, but also my arm doesn't work." Casar said, standing against the panel. "I just thought it would be done before we had to go to Vetka."


"Jesus, how easy do you think this is?!" Imille argued back, lifting up from her seat slightly. "I'm... burnt out." She said, pulling her hand from her lap to press it against her face. "Nyx is just ... shutting herself in her room and drinking. I... I don't know what to say to her. I'm scared, I'm burnt out, I have to deal with you, and you're just acting like... like everything is okay! Do you understand what happened, Cas?! Nisela is fucking GONE! We're running on half a ship, you have a limp arm, everything we did there - doesn't even matter!" She exclaimed, overwhelmed completely. Her hands pressed to her eyes, shielding the waterworks from starting again.


The mage slowly sat down to the floor, ungracefully as to his current condition. He looked down too, unsure of how exactly to express his own grief for the situation. In all actuality, he liked Nyx. He liked Nisela, even. But that particular emotion was one that he had no trouble hiding, after years upon years of loss, experimentation, and torture. "I'm... sorry. I figured getting back to it would make it easier. I ... don't know what to do about her, either... But, I know the feeling of - maybe, maybe I don't." He deliberated. "I can talk to her."


"Do what you want." Imille said, wiping frustrated, angry-tears from her eyes. "Jagar, can you raise the shutters? Aren't we supposed to be there already?" She asked the now-conscious Vekht.

"Close." Jagar replied as he starred at the control panel. He didn't blink, he simply starred down at the controls and reading what the ship was telling him. "Fuel almost gone. Wish we not go to Vetka. Only choice but... Jagar... Not welcome there." He said quietly as he began to raise the shutters. When they came up they were still in the midst of an FTL jump, the final one before the Interceptor would slowly rip itself apart from the speed they were going. "Chance Jagar not come back alive. Vekht will care for you, only for pay. Me being there not do any favor." He grunted, not exactly pleased to be returning home. Jagar had left for a reason, a reason that he was keeping close to his chest and not revealing to the others.


Psy was standing in the background, watching as the shutters went up. Soon the ship broke out of FTL and they were greeted by an astounding sight. They were outside a cluster of planets all rather close together, all orbiting a massive gas giant hanging in space. There were two stars in the distance, one much more massive than the other while the other was a bright blue star. The light from the two cast a strange dynamic into the solar system, especially near Vetka. It was a massive planet, at least three times the size of Nisela and the planet looked rampant and was like nothing they had ever seen before.


"What... In the actual fuck is going on?" Psy asked, walking up behind them. "I can see why this is your home planet. It's just as fucked up looking as you are!" Psy cackled as they got a closer look at the ridiculous Vekht homeworld of Vetka. Being stuck inbetween a gas giant and two suns the planet was tidal locked, meaning that it didn't rotate on its axis. Vetka was stuck floating in place, orbiting the massive gas giant for several standard years at a time. For as long as the planet existed one half of it was always caked in the light from the gas giant, causing it to be a vast desert that sprawled for hundreds of miles. On other parts of the planet the giant's light only hit part of it, causing massive jungles to grow in place. On the far reaches of that, the jungles continued but more effected by the two stars in the distance causing a perpetually dusk jungle to rise up on the apex of the planet. On the other side darkness reigned, an inhabitable wasteland that almost resembled a moon with the planet's core leaking through creating rivers of lava snaking along the surface. "I can see why your people had to develop horns, this place is fucking insane! And that's a lot coming from me."


"Home." Jagar stated. "Many plains for hunting. Even before space travel we strong, fighting beasts that live on Vetka surface. Untame wilds everywhere. Paradise for hunter." He sighed, it was bittersweet seeing his home again. "Main city in forest. Called Vetra." Jagar then chuckled, "We must get naming with same letter from Nisela." He suddenly stopped when he realized how insensitive that sounded, especially after what had just happened. "Hard to imagine it gone..." He said quietly, "Jagar like there. Cazzer should talk to Nyx. Or Em-lee. Jagar would but... bad with words. Make only sadder."

Casar looked out to the viewport, eyes widening. As much as they could under the black-and-red guise of his injuries. For a moment, he stayed, looking out to the amazing planet. Then, Imille's voice took him out of it.


"Go ahead, Cas. See if you can display some sympathy." Imille said, bitterly. In reality, she wasn't mad at Casar. After all, he didn't destroy her planet. Just one. Casar rose from the floor, silent to the anger that she'd displayed toward him. He was used to it, after all. Of course, this time was a fair bit different. The mage, dejected, slunk toward the remaining residential halls, where the other half had been breach-shielded down. In fact, his room was gone, and he'd recently taken up residence on the cockpit floor.


The mage staggered toward the door, still hurting from their encounter. He raised his hand and rapped against it, waiting several seconds before shouting out. "Nyx." He said. "It's ... Cas. I want to talk." Amazingly, he thought he'd never utter such words, but a lot had changed in the past few days. Weeks, even. "Can you open up? I'm coming in if you don't." He threatened, not knowing just what was waiting for him on the other side.


Several moments went by in silence, before the mage raised his working hand to the door and opened it with his powers.


Imille looked to Psy and Jagar, feeling particularly guilty herself. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she looked onto the amazing solar bodies in front of her. She felt as if she didn't have the right to feel relieved, or happy. After all, her friend was in absolute turmoil over the loss of her planet. She was, as well, but to absolute no degree that Nyx was. Her heart hurt. Seeing Casar disappear, she looked to Jagar.


"Jagar... why wouldn't you come back alive? You couldn't have done anything too bad. Aren't all your people basically merc hunters?" She asked, blissfully unaware of how stereotypical it had sounded. From underneath the control panel, she pulled a familiar item. Casar's holographic book. She opened it up, turning to the miniscule page on Vekhts. "Anyway, we wouldn't let anyone hurt you. I don't care if they're your size. I don't care if we gotta carve our own place out in the forests and advance our own technology until WE'RE producing fuel and THEN we can leave. Hakuna matata, or some shit like that." She said, grumpily despite the subject.

"My size?" Jagar asked, looking over at Imille confused. He then realized she thought that most Vekht were like him, causing him to laugh. Laugh harder than any of them had ever heard before as he slapped the control panel in disbelief. "You no idea what you getting into. Not all people mercenaries, most hunters but not all... Jagar..." He kept chuckling, "You see. Vekht not most welcome of visitors. Have to be strong. They not want me back for reasons. You see." He said, leaning back in the pilot's seat. "When you think of Jagar... Know, Jagar not like people. People not like Jagar for many reason, but... not come back for reason. Reason Jagar leave first place. Told never come back."


"You know... I don't really like the sound of that." Psy spoke out. "Usually I'm the one all about charging in head first and causing a ruckus... but Jagar being hesitant? Jagar you've killed me! Are your people really that tough? Are they going to dismantle me for parts? If they do I'm gonna activate that mini nuke I have shoved up my-"


"Tougher. May eat you." Jagar teased, smiling underneath his mask. "Be nice to not wear mask for once. Jaw hurts after wearing too long."


While Casar stood at the door waiting for Nyx to answer, the Calivarian woman on the inside of the room was in misery. She had just witnessed her entire planet go up before her very eyes. Billions of people's lives were snuffed out and all for what? An artifact? She had never felt this sick before, even after watching as that very same artifact had taken her father. It was somehow her luck she got to see her home one last time before it was razed by the Exodlites, the haunting images of a long forgotten city in ruins. A childish part of her had thought that maybe one day she could return there and help rebuild, that part was quickly extinguished as she watched the planet she loved, her very own homeworld, die.


"Come in..." She called out, surprised to hear Casar of all people coming to check in on her. Imille had seen her a few times but from how Nyx looked it broke the poor doctor's heart eachtime. Nyx hadn't been taken in any fluids, her eyes were sunken in and her skin was flaking and incredibly dry. She was torturing herself by drying herself out, feeling so miserable that she didn't even want to feel physically okay. She was dehydrating herself by not taking in water but simply taking in alcohol. Several empty bottles littered the ground around her dusty old bed that she had acquired from Jagar. She was far worse off than Casar could ever imagine. "What... do you hwant... Cas?" She asked, slurring her words slightly as the zombie-like Nyx starred towards the former Exodlite.

"You look like shit." Casar said, in true fashion. He walked up to Nyx as she sat in the corner, and slid down next to her against the wall. He was still a formidable distance away, not wanting to bridge that particular gap just yet. His hand absentmindedly prodded at the cold fingers wrapped up in the arm brace, a slightly nervous tic. "You need to drink water. Punishing yourself like this is just going to kill you. Not a lot of people got out of Nisela, so... don't waste your body like this."


He fell into silence for a decent amount of time, not knowing exactly what to say. He wondered if he could do anything at all. What words he could say to make anything at all better. The Calivarian woman had a family she had lost on Nisela. Maybe he could start with that.


"I... was going through the Atlas logs, when I woke up. After they raided your city, they began taking identification of the deceased and the prisoners before they killed everyone, in order to keep tally on who could possibly have escaped and leaked what happened there." Casar said, grim. "Your mom's and brother's bodies weren't found. That's... good."


Imille looked to Jagar, frowning. "Then we can pay them. But there's no way that people on a planet this big are going to recognize you, anyways. Like... I imagine they don't have a scent network, and ... do you have fingerprints? No no, that can't be it. We'll just keep our heads low. If they're all as big as you, there isn't any reason we can't just hide. Me, Cas, and Nyx are practically small animals compared to you. That is, if she wants to go... if she doesn't, I'll stay on the ship with her."


Imille rose, intent on getting her equipment from its discontented place around the cockpit.

"Doesn't mean they didn't get vaporized when my entire homeworld was taken from me either." She replied dreadfully, not even entertaining the idea that her brother and mother were still alive. "Nisela was... a big, beautiful world. One that anyone could get lost in even in just a small part of it. Nehope became my home and while I never heard from them I knew that it was possible they were in any of the other hundreds of thousands of cities on that big blue world..." She said quietly, no tears falling out of her eyes as she was simply too dried out. The smell of alcohol filled the room but she didn't even seem drunk, if anything it just seemed to make her mood even worse if that was possible. "To me they're dead... There's no point in having hope. Bad people just take it away from you... and everything you love is dead."


She let out a long sigh, looking down at her flaky chest and hands that were in her lap with one wrapped around an empty bottle. "I'm surprised you of all people would come in here to comfort me. You started off strong with the 'You look like shit'. You look like a chew toy, your arm still hasn't been fixed..." She commented, "How is... Imille doing? She can barely stand being in here for a few moments. She cares too much and... Well, we both start crying too hard when I see her." Where a smile usually be was long absent, as expected even when she tried to make light of the situation. "The ship stopped the FTL jump too... Are we near that planet Psy was taking us to?" Clearly she wasn't wanting to face her problems, she was simply distracting herself by any means possible. If that meant making pointless small talk she already knew the answer to she was going to do it, not exactly wanting Casar to see her like this.


"The... markings on Jagar face and body... a brand. Not Jagar skin." The Vekht confessed. "Exile. They recognize exile. Can't enter planet without Jagar either. This... going be difficult. No Vekht has brought outsiders here. Nor have come back as Exile."


"So you're telling me... We aren't even fucking welcome here?" Psy asked, dumbfounded at the severity of their situation. "Looks like we'll be making our own fuel Imille. Chances are I'm gonna be the only one left by the time we get done with that so it's been nice knowing you ahead of time meat sacks, Papa Psy gonna go steal him a ship instead."


"Good luck. Ships rare on Vetka. Docking bays most defended place. Vekht... Fight stronger than Saur. We struggle to fight one." He said, trying to hammer down why this was so serious. "Stealing not option. Stealing mean death for all."

Casar looked down to his arm, surprised that she had mentioned it at all. Muscle had been torn out of it, leaving it limp, but also without pain as Imille had gone far enough to make sure that the nerves had been cut as well. "Imille took care of it, but I mean... The Saur ate half of it." He said, with a small shudder. The subject of Imille had been brought up, however, and that was more pertinent. "She's getting mad at me for everything, but... She's not drowning herself in alcohol, so that's good. She's worried about you. And she cries whether or not you're in the room, so you can take that as you will." He said, head lulling against the wall. "I don't think I'm responsible for what happened back there, but I'm sorry anyways."


He sighed. The mage had gone from being unapologetic in his entirety to using the god damn word every other second. There was always grief around him, but he never truly cared about it unless it concerned him ... until now. "I... know how it feels to have your home taken away from you." He said. "I don't even really remember because of the - ... what happened in the labs - but I know that there is a place somewhere where I belonged. It's gone now."


He breathed in again, frustrated. "It's not going to stop hurting or sucking. Don't let anyone tell you it's not going to fucking hurt in the future. Meditation, positive thinking... none of it is going to work. There's always going to be an emptiness and you're just going to have to learn how to deal with it." He said. What was supposed to be a pep talk had quickly turned into a loathing session. "But. You're going to get bored of being sad and angry and drinking. Or you're going to die. When you think about it, at a point, you're just going to feel numb. That's what you have to look forward to." He said, reaching over and taking Nyx's bottle from her hand. "Not this. This will just aggravate it."


Looking down at the bottle, he put it out of reach of the Calivarian. "Sorry if that doesn't make you feel better." He said. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring and letter he had found in Nyx's home. Neatly wrapped, in what may have looked like pink ribbon at one point.


"So outsiders aren't welcome, and you're an Exile... But the Vekht like money, and the hunt. We could use the money we got from the Kraken haul and pay our way through. Once we land on planet, we don't need lodgings. Just fuel. I don't know how long the ship is going to last without repairs, though." She said, huffing. "Faaack."


"I mean, we're not exiles. If they have docks, they're going to expect aliens of some sort, right? Do they search the ships once we land? 'Cause all I can think of is hiding Jagar and docking, or parking in the jungle. Or option three: makeup?" She suggested, uneasily.

"Wow... You maaay need to research what a pep-talk actually is, or how to cheer someone up. I think... Somehow... I feel even worse after hearing all that." She said, dumbfounded at the way Casar handled things. A few moments later and she couldn't believe how right he was once she had digested the information. "And somehow... You made more sense than any grief councilor could right now. I... needed to hear that. I don't want to hear people say they're sorry for what happened... It wasn't their fault. It wasn't your fault... Any decent person would feel sorrow for the lives lost but your sorries don't please me. They don't bring all those innocent people back. There will be a hollow hole left in my heart but you know... In reality... That happens to us all. If we're living... or hell, even synthetic, we all will run into heartbreak. Things that we can't fix or get over truly." She sighed, "But we perceive. No matter how shitt-"


Nyx spotted the ring and the ribbon tied letter in Casar's hand. Her heart sank when she recognized her mother's ring. It had been passed down from her side of the family for generations then gifted to the eldest daughter when they came of age. She weakly reached over to the letter as Casar held it out, grabbing the ring with it and starring at it for a moment. She couldn't believe that she was holding it, in complete disbelief.


"How did you?- Is... is this why you disappeared when we got there?" She asked, remembering distinctly when he had left the room. "I was so caught up in memories that I hardly even remember you disappearing but you definitely did and..." If she had any tears left they would be pouring, her eyes burning as she looked at the old letter. It was printed on Nisela paper, totally water proof and a rarity even among water worlds. She slowly pulled away the once pink ribbon and even held on to the fabric, wanting to savor this moment. She opened the envelop gently, careful not to cause any rips or tears in order to preserve the last thing she had from her old home. She looked to Casar who was clearly curious on what was inside, so she read outloud.


"My Dearest Nyx... Your father and I can't believe how well you've grown. You've-" Her voice choked up as she read along, "-proven yourself to be quite the young woman. We couldn't be more proud. You're intelligent, witty, and your beauty must come from a different family as we have no idea how that happened!" She laughed as she read that, a few dormant tears surfacing as she read. "As you know, this ring is very special to me and my side of the family. We pass this on as a tribute to our first born daughters as a testament to their success, the rite that shows you are greater than you can possibly imagine and that you will accomplish great things. I couldn't say this to you outloud as the idea of my baby girl finally grown up breaks my heart but it's time that you know that we think you're ready to conquer anything you put your mind to. We love you sweetie, with all our hearts and more. Love - Mom and Dad." Nyx let out a long sigh and sat there quietly for a moment. She then looked to Casar and gave him the first smile that she had given anyone since they had left Nisela. "Thank you for this... It may not sound like much but this... This was incredible. If it wasn't for you being curious I'd have never got this back. It would all be ash right now... Thank you Cas. This means a lot to me."


"Only Vekht know of Vekht world. Visitors only come with Vekht. Jagar have to be there. Jagar explain situation... Probably fight to prove worthy of repair, of fuel... But Jagar do this for you." He said, stating that there would most likely be a fight upon landing regardless. "Hiding is not Vekht way. Exile Jagar be, but can't take Vekht out of Jagar." He grunted, "We... do you... as you do... improvise!"

"I intended on giving it to you there, but then the fight happened, and I forgot." he said. A part of him was glad he could help, doing something that even Imille couldn't do. Still, a part of him felt sour. Gripping the neck of what was undoubtedly one of the last bottles of alcohol on the Interceptor, he stood up with it, retreating to the bathroom of Nyx's residence. He emptied the bottle, then shoved it under her bathroom's sink spout and turned the water on. Clean water came out, with them having nothing to taint it except the vacuum of space. However, once it did, it stopped. The bottle got to about halfway before he took it back out from under the spout, with what was inside of it being all the ship had left to offer. With a sigh, he made it back to Nyx. "Drink this or I'm going to pour it on you." he threatened, handing it off to her.


The mage waited for her to do so, an outstretched hand being proffered for when she was done and needed to get back up.


"Come on. We're here. Imille is going to be happy to see you less ... flaky." he said. "Try to sober up as much as possible. Unless you want to stay on the ship, and then someone will stay with you, here. I imagine the doctor would be more than happy to do so. We're going to get supplies from Vetka. I'm not sure whether that actually means trawling through a jungle to get them or buying them, though."


He looked to Nyx, then the door of her room. Once he'd helped her to her feet, he walked off toward it, intent on joining the others. The eerie sight of breach shutters cut off the other half of the residences. He ignored it still, and went to join the rest of them inside of the cockpit. He ascended the stairs up to it, and looked out to the planet, which they had quickly been encroaching upon. Flecks of space disappeared as the massive planet came into full view, and the Interceptor headed straight for the city that Jagar had talked about beforehand.


Imille looked back to Casar, curious. "How is she feeling...?" she asked.


"She looks like a dry, flaky sponge. But ... I think I helped." he said. "What are we doing, again?"


"Jagar is an exile and he has to fight to stay on the planet, visitors aren't welcome, and if we try to steal anything we're going to be decimated and probably eaten." Imille summarized, causing a noticeable drop in the mage's shoulders. "I still don't think this is a good idea, Jags. You're still all messed up from fighting with Khal. When I went to check on you before you woke up, I had to roll you on your side so you didn't suffocate in your sleep like a baby."


They all scattered slowly to get the entirety of their equipment, hooking weapons onto their belts and backs and placing respirators over their faces. Imille looked back to Casar again. "Is Nyx coming?"

"You may want to leave Cas, I'm not exactly going to be drinking this and these clothes are coming off pretty quickly." She said as he helped her to her feet. "That is of course if there isn't actually a little pervert in there. You can peak around from the door." She teased as Casar simply walked out, not interested in the slightest apparently. Nyx quickly stripped down then re-hydrated herself, pouring the water on the most flaky bits of her skin and once the water was running low she took a swig of it and let out an in-content sigh. Unfortunately nothing was going to beat the waters of Nisela, and now, they were all gone.


"Fighting with great wounds is Vekht honor. Shows you not back down from fight." He replied stubbornly. "Soon as we arrive, we be surrounded by guard. Have veteran Outrider come to translate for others. Speak better standard than me most likely." He said, a silver lining to it all. "Most likely be... angrily questioned why Exile returning. Will tell them of Nisela... We trade with water planet Jagar think, bad news for Vekht. We tell situation, Jagar fight for rite, we get supply and fuel. Repairs too." Jagar grunted, "Suffocate in sleep not happen." He smiled underneath his respirator, "Have Em-lee fight for Jagar."


They all scattered slowly to get the entirety of their equipment, hooking weapons onto their belts and backs and placing respirators over their faces. Imille looked back to Casar again. "Is Nyx coming?"


"You bet your sweet ass I am." She said, walking out from the halls looking much better than she had before. Her mother's ring was around her finger, her skin was much less flaky and while still surprisingly drunk, she was able to function just fine. She was a pale green instead of the vibrant, beautiful color they seen when they had met her. "I need to go find me a shower... or a tub... maybe open water even. I'm still so dehydrated and we're out of water on the ship. And here I wanted to try out that bathtub in my room..." She grumbled. "This ship is suffocating though. Too much sadness in here all at once is smothering me and I'd just like to go out and do something other than drink and cry for once."


"Good. We be at Vetka in few minutes. Get ready. Humans wear masks, Neex should be fine." With that they broke through the atmosphere and were now on the massive planet, Jagar now having to navigate the planet to actually find the city. He then waited for them to place their masks on and took his off, no longer filtering out the gasses that he needed to breath normally out of the room. "Get use to Jagar ugly face, you see uglier here."


"JUST WHAT I WANTED TO SEE!" Psy said from the back, stretching his metal limbs and making sure both of his assault rifles were magnetized to his back firmly. "When I sit here, talking with my dearest friend Zap and getting a little tipsy with him, I think to myself... Wow... Zap... You know what I could really go for? More. Jagar." He let out a robotic sigh then cheerfully said, "If this ends up with us killing a whole bunch of Jagars I'm in." That wasn't the true reason he volunterred so easily, in reality he was simply starring at Casar's arm, filled with regret.

Casar engaged his respirator. In all actuality, he wasn't sure if his filter would be able to take care of the gases; it had worked on Vee, but the atmosphere there wasn't too far away from standard, with the difference being the sands. It was a risk that he wasn't particularly willing to take unless it was necessary. Just like back then. With a heavy sigh, the mage looked to Jagar, ready. His helmet was disengaged; after all, the visor was still incredibly cracked, threatening to send glass into his eyes if he wasn't careful.


He looked out to Jagar, giving the brief thumbs up signal that the Vekht had only learned in their company. The idea of having Jagar brutally fight for them didn't entertain the mage in the slightest, but he didn't see any other option than jumping in when the goings got rough. His hand then fell to his side, giving one last check for the weapons he'd carried on him. His pistol, a knife, and a small energy cell was all he could really carry with him at that moment. At least, without burdening his crewmates. The very little he could say was that he was at full charge once again; the ship's solar arrays having been blasted by a generous degree of power from the star system they had been in.


Imille, on the other hand, came overprepared. Having seen just how much damage her crew could take and still survive... well, she didn't want to get them to that point again. She, too, kept her helmet down and her respirator up, but for other reasons entirely. Her hands remained without weapons, but she could easily draw them from her sides if necessary. Mostly, she carried an old backpack emblazoned by a red cross, stuffed to the brim with the medicines - and poisons - that she had left.


"Ready." Imille said. As she had done so, the ship came to a stop in the city's docking bay. They couldn't see much, with most of the city being obfuscated by jungle. Whether she had mentioned it or not, the doctor was nervous. "So in this situation we would just let Jagar do the talking...?" She questioned, the thought a novel idea.


"Yes." Casar said. "This is his planet... exile or not. If all else fails, and they send us out, Jagar... Don't try to keep fighting. I can ... maybe keep the ship going until we find another planet, off of the solars alone." he said, briefly. What he didn't mention, of course, was that it might very well kill him, but the mage had a penchant for avoiding death anyways.


The team all readied themselves, walking to the disembarking area with a great deal of hesitance. Even Jagar, who was championing the cause. Outside, the ship had begun to become under a great deal of investigation; the heavily guarded docking bay was actually a fair stranger to ships, especially ones that had been missing their backends.


In the front, the Interceptor door slid open. What stood before them took the entire crew by surprise, and what stood before him made the massive, taller-than-Jagar Vekht deploy fearsome claws almost immediately.


He was massive, easily dwarfing the crew, and making Jagar look quite like how Cas looked to Jagar. Jagar's crown of thorns look like a bramblebrush. He was dull green-skinned, the horns jutting out of his head arcing backwards. Piercing, insane eyes looking down on them all.


"Exiled... what are you doing here?" He asked in the Vekht native language, then in standard. Insanely sharp, jagged teeth appeared from behind a grimace. "Tell, before I kill you."

"We no choice... Either come here or die." Jagar stated, not exactly helping their case. "On planet Nisela. Exodlite... they destroyed the world." The Vekht looked back towards Nyx who was obviously a native of Nisela, one of their few neighbors. The Vekht grunted, wanting Jagar to continue. "Team and Jagar go to Vetka to escape destruction. Exodlite wreck ship, nearly destroy us all. Jagar know he exile, pledged to never return but Jagar proud. Sacrifice self for new clan. Need repairs, fuel... Water. For them."


The Vekht charged towards Jagar and picked him up by the neck before he could say anymore. The green skinned beast growled at Jagar, looking over the Exile with his sharp piercing eyes. He starred at Jagar for an uncomfortable amount of time, so much so that it put everyone on guard what this behemoth was about to do.


"Exiled by clan... Bring outsiders to secret lands... What clan you hail from, Exile? Before you marked as Vekht traitor.... Speak!" He said, shoving Jagar back to the ground as if he was some sort of runt. It terrified everyone standing there that someone actually was much bigger and stronger than Jagar, hopefully this wasn't going to always be the case as this meant bad things for the Vekht and the Interceptor crew. Even Psy was feeling remorse, in reality he had seen a much closer planet nearby but wanted to see what sort of trouble they could get to on Jagar's homeworld. "Maybe you exiled because you too small, too weak. Look at you... Pathetic."


"Jagar hail from Clan Jacht. Exile many years ago for reason I can not defend. Thought Jagar never see home again, accepted that. Jagar proud Vekht, exile or not." He snarled back at the guard, their two disgusting looking faces causing quite the sight for the crew. "Not here to cause trouble or to violate Exile. Only of utmost importance. Bring word of Nisela... Clean water source gone. Clans need to adjust." He stated, offering a word of warning too to soften the blow of returning.


It didn't work.


"Outsider taint Vetka and city Vetra with your filth. Return to ship and leave. Or, face Clan Leader and be killed." The green looking Vekht actually smiled at Jagar, answering the age long question how it looked like if a Vekht smiled. It was terrifying, his mess of teeth curling around his fanged mouth as he spoke.


"Face Clan Leader." Jagar said stubbornly, even though everyone there was thinking this was a worse idea by the minute. "Prove worth. Exiles return before for great importance and only that. Jagar and Jagar clan come here only as last resort. We money, strength, we can work. Jagar prove."


"Strength?" The Vekht laughed at Jagar, almost hysterically so. "See bigger women than you. Better hunters than you ever be puny Vekht. You small, weak... And exiled? You worst kind of Vekht. Bring you to clan leader... I volunteer as your executioner now... Follow." He instructed suddenly turning his back to them. This caused some concern from the others, he wasn't even searching them or anything.


"Usually... when taken to a leader like this we're asked to be relieved of our weapons." Nyx said, curious to what this Vekht was planning. "We come in peace but-"


"You are fool if any of you think you stand might against a single Vekht. Keep children weapons, you only hurt yourselves here." The green guard said, turning back around sharply. "Follow." And with that, he walked out the door with everyone following behind him silently. When they walked out they were greeted by the most bizarre sight of their trip so far. They were stationed in a city high up among the jungle leaves, the city literally built into the top portions of impossibly large trees. Looking off the railing to the ground was impossible as they were so high that the jungle floor was completely invisible, only darkness below. Their technology wasn't high here, their homes made out of mud and wood but there was a certain sophistication to them. They had electricity and modern tech, but they opted to use it to enhance their tribal roots, something most species had little to no connection to now. "Take it in exile... Last breaths of Vetka air you will ever take again."

Casar and Imille both jumped as the green Vekht shot forward to throttle Jagar, the former's hand shooting to his pistol in reflex. A large part of him had wanted to lurch forward and try to defend Jagar in some way, any way, but the small part of him knew that he was injured and causing a larger fight at that point wouldn't work out well for anyone. Still, his knuckles turned white around his gun until the veteran Outrider released Jagar, in which he was able to control himself and relax a little bit. 'Relax', of course, being a relative term. Both of them were still on complete edge, especially as the city and the others Vekht came into view.


One would think they were part of a circus. Yellow to red eyes from the streets fell onto the Interceptor crew as they had followed the veteran Vekht out of the docking bay and further into the city. Jutted, sideways teeth in every mouth marled to grimaces as they had all instantly recognized what was happening; there was an exiled Vekht amongst them, followed by a crew of complete outsiders. Unwelcome. Unwelcome in every corner, as they were snarled at, stared at, and chided in native Vekht language. Imille practically stuck to Nyx's side, a formidable amount of trepidation masked by a hard guise of bravery in her features. Casar, however, took the opportunity to make a brief, obscene gesture to the observing Vekht. Imille ushered him forward, unwanting to cause any disturbance amongst them.


"Can we not taunt the gigantic spiky-headed alien creatures with more teeth than fucking stars in the sky, Cas?" Imille whispered, harshly. "Jagar leads. Let him lead. And don't challenge these people. One huff of oxygen and they turn into werewolves." she hissed. "Now breath in, and breath out. And put your finger down, before I make your other arm floppy."


"It's not fair." Casar said. "He shouldn't have to do this. And we should be able to help him. If Jagar gets hurt ... we don't let him die. I don't care about 'honor'."


"Well, I might have a plan, if that's the case." Imille said. "But hopefully it won't come to that."


Casar looked back to Psy, a hint of curiosity on his face. The android hadn't been quite as verbal as he was previously - apart from his excitement for 'killing Jagars'. The mage narrowed his eyes. In fact, they hadn't really connected at all since the rest of the party had left to help Nyx.


Soon, they had come to a massive, well-supported building spanning the massive trunk of a barbed jungle tree. Outside of it, weary Vekht guards looked upon the crew, gnarled mouths contorting into grimaces as the sight. Silence almost took the area as they approached, even the insects seeming to quiet for a moment. The green Vekht looked back to them, a smile still plastered on his sickening face. "Jacht leader here. You lucky. Not going to have to wait to be torn apart. Make it quick. For you, and pets." he said, flashing menacing eyes toward those who streamed behind Jagar. Then, he approached the door, pushing it open for them to make passage into the massive, hollowed-out tree.


Before them, a gigantic circular area laid. It was a familiar type of building to Jagar, but to the others, it was confusing. At the far back, several carved wooden, spiky thrones housed three Vekhts in a slick fusion of modern and trophy-covered armor. The man in the middle - whose skin tone bore the same dark gray shade as Jagar's and whose head was covered in cracked and jaunted spikes that looked as menacing as his teeth - slowly stood from his place upon seeing the Exile ... again. Then, he let out a roar that shook the Interceptor crew and settled deep in their chests. A spear shot straight through the air, grazing Jagar's neck slightly and embedding itself in the wall directly above Imille's head.


"What... Is the MEANING OF THIS?!" he roared, enraged to see the scorned man he had exiled himself many years ago.

Jagar looked particularly bashful in front of the Elder, shame appearing on his face as he stood before the familiar face. The other Vekhts sneered at him, the mark of the Exile meant exiling not only from Vetka but from their race as a whole. To them, Jagar was nothing but a race betrayer, a criminal that deserved no respect or mercy for returning. Those markings on his face that many had questioned before if all his race bore them was no a sign of disrespect, a sign that Jagar had committed something so horrible his people didn't want him anymore.


"Jagar honor rules of Exile, only return to homeland from great need. Make up for returning Jagar will... Jagar bring news." He said, trying to ease his way into the conversation but obviously he hadn't spoken to anyone as a full blown exile before. Their blind hatred of him was evident, Psy was even kicking himself for even thinking of bringing them here. All he could think about was his own termination as Jagar stood forward for all of them. "Water world Nisela destroyed by Exodlites." The Vekht in the room seemed to listen finally, their snarls lightening as Jagar spoke. "Was on planet with new clan, fighting bad company known as Atlas. Exodlites come, barricade the planet. Fry it, billions died."


"Talk about fish fry..." One of the spectators said, only to have a spear thrown at him as he said so. The Vekht bowed his head to the clan leaders before them and then retreated into darkness out of shame.


"Escape from destruction. Pledge to destroy Exodlites for needless killing. For crimes against universe." His words caused some Vekhts to growl while others laughed, taunting Jagar. Many called him small, weak, pathetic. All jeering at him as he spoke of what he intended to do, as if he wasn't strong enough to do so. "Destroy our ship, only option was go here. Engine leaking, back half ripped apart. No fuel. Either return here or die. Know you care not for Exile life, but good life that support Vekht and Vetka here." He said, waving to his friends. "Outsiders that mean good... If Exodlite nearby, could target Vetka one day. No longer far out from threat, threat just next door." He grunted, "Exile Jagar be, but truth Jagar speak."


"EXILE!" One Vekht shouted, "No right to speak! Silenced, words tainted by outside. Lies!"


"Even if Nisela destroyed... Exile not right to return. Kill him, and his people!"


"TRAITOR!"


One by one the spectators in the room called out, the clan leaders silent as they listened to Jagar's word. Jagar bowed his head and let out a long sigh.


"Please... Do not kill companions, if sacrifice needed Jagar will step forward. For them so no harm come to them."

"Oh come the fuck on." Casar hissed, only loud enough for those in his immediate vicinity to hear. Unfortunately, this also included the Vekht that had escorted them there. As the mage's anger got the better of him, the escort pushed him forward harshly, causing him to stumble and elicit a rancorous laugh from the spectators.


"You have something to say, pest?" The Vekht hissed, causing all of the attention to fall on Casar. He looked back, a defensive glare in his eyes. Then, when he remained silent - mostly out of fear - the escort gave a deep chuckle, smiling and tilting his head at the boy once again. "Exile come with crew full of women, news we going to hear anyways, then expect to fight like woman to save his honor." He spat at the ground, between Casar and Jagar. "Come back, shame us, shame your clan, then tell US what to do?!"


Suddenly, the massive man thrusted out his claws from his knuckles, stopping them an inch away from Imille's neck. "One more chance why we shouldn't kill these outsiders in front of Exile, then kill you."


As Imille stood deathly still, and Jagar came to be at a loss for words, Casar spoke out amongst them. In fact, he practically yelled. "STOP!" He screamed, as the seconds ticked down and they found themselves in seriously grave danger. "I don't know that Jagar did and honestly, you're all as fucking peanut-brained as the Saurs if you do!" He shouted, commanding the attention away from Jagar. For better or worse. In fact, his rage-fueled comment caused the insulted Vekht to step forward, directing his claws away from Imille and toward Cas.


"I don't care how tough you honestly think you are. Killing us isn't going to change the fact that one side of your planet is a fucking desert. You need to take action NOW, unless you want half your stunted population to dry up and die. Not only that, but if the Exodlites come here," the Vekht was encroaching on him, forcing him to step backwards and think fast. "-You can't survive a nuke. I know exactly who's leading the charge, so go ahead and kill me and see how much you enjoy being wiped off of the face of this Universe. I'll be dead, anyways, so I won't really care."


"COMPARE US TO SAUR? KILL THEM!" The volatile crowd screamed out.


"Stop, Sekt." The chief commanded, stopping the descent of the angry Vekht. "You find it wise to insult us?"


"It's not about-" Casar was exasperated. "It's not about fucking honor right now." He said, frustrated that his point wasn't getting across. "Every single life on this planet will be gone. No more hunts. No more honor. All of you, DEAD. NO chance to fight, the Exodlites do everything the cowardly way." He hissed.


Imille looked on with fear, unsure if Casar's actions would get them killed, saved, or just get Jagar killed.


"We're trying to stop them. And if we COULD HAVE and DIDN'T because we got killed on some asswater planet, then you can rest in peace knowing that your planet's destruction is your own fucking fault." He said, looking into the elder in an attempt to read him.

"ENOUGH!" The gray chieftain roared, his roar louder than all in the room immediately silencing the Vekht in the room. For looking much older than the others he had the loudest bark and most likely the strongest bite, looking at his gnarled teeth and horns that twisted together going down the back of his head. "Little boy... Have..." The Chieftain tilted his head, waiting for his translator to assist him. "Balls." He said, his toothy mouth betraying him showing a smile for a moment. "You fools not wise enough to listen. Chieftain old as we are because of strength and wisdom. Do you see us threatening to kill outsiders and exile? No... We. Listen." He instructed. "Otherwise we no better than Saurs. They have no honor. No code. They act like animals. We are not animals. Are we?" The Vekhts in the room began to apologize, calming down almost immediately as the chieftain spoke. "Good... Now, Jacht Chieftain hear words. From Exile traitor... And from Ballsy Little Man."


"Will you help us then, Elder-kin?" Jagar asked, speaking up after Casar's outburst.


"You may have been my blood..." The Elder spoke quietly, hinting at how close Jagar had been to him at one point. The others took a moment to piece it together, realizing the elder before them looking a lot like Jagar for a reason. He was his grandfather. "But... when you struck your brother Jajin down you stopped being family. Stopped being clan. I exiled you because you drew family blood and could not prove innocence. I lost my son and a grandson the same day... And all that returned was the runt of the family, covered in their blood."


"Jagar... innocent..." He said defiantly, "You speak of being wise Elder-Kin... but you exile own grandson for being too small. Not strong... Yet... Who killed Jajin? Me!" He shouted back, slamming his fist on his chest getting riled up. Seeing Casar's ferocity working he decided to stand up for himself, something he should have done a long time ago when he was much younger. "Jajin kill Father. Want next spot at Elder... Knew no Vekht would allow Jagar to be Elder for being 'weak' so he kill Father and was going to kill you. Jajin should be exile... But Jagar kill him instead."


"You never proved it." The Elder replied, bitterly. "With how badly Jajin body was you could stab him in the back dishonorably. He stronger... bigger... a better man, than Jagar could ever hope to be."


"You are still blind!" Jagar shouted once more, gaining the attention of the room like he wasn't able to before. "Jagar best him! Jagar always talk down to, bullied, insulted, hated. All because Jagar different. Jajin made Jagar stronger... You all made me stronger." He grunted, "I could kill all of you here right now if I wanted..." This caused the Vekht to laugh at him. "Laugh... I want you to." Jagar said, no longer stating his name in-place of I as he grew more and more angry. "Just make me stronger. Did not come here to challenge my Exile, I become better person since left here. You close minded animals..." He was getting more daring, Imille watched in confusion as his remaining wounds disappeared the longer he was there. With him being back home for the first time he breathed actual air meant for him, rejuvenating him faster than any medicine could.


"You could kill all of us?" The Elder replied, laughing at him. "You may have been my blood, boy, but you still the weakling I banished and marked. You cried as we branded you... The pain too much for 'Jagar'? Clan of None."


"Jagar cried as family forsake me for avenging own father! Against brother who was traitor and selfish!" Jagar shot back. "Pain not problem for me... Never has been. As for Clan... New clan I have. Behind me. Filled with women stronger than most of you." He said with a smirk, Nyx grabbing Imille's hand as she stood triumphantly at the crowd. Although some laughed, some felt challenged. "Filled with android who hunts like Vekht. Killed Kraken size of legends with this one."


"LIES!" A Vekht called out, not believing it.


"Jagar have proof... But not what this about. Jagar want ship repairs, fuel and... water. Bring news of Nisela, now no ships go and get caught by Exodlites. Save Vetka."


Everyone was silent as the Jacht Elder and Jagar starred eachother down. There was an intense battle of wills between the two of them while the spectators couldn't believe what they were seeing. Never before had an Exile returned and challenged not only the reason they were exiled, but demanding something from the Elders. There was only one answer to this problem.


"We... will... let the Hunt decide." The Elder snarled. "Long time since Exile Jagar be on Vetka." He turned to the other elders who agreed with what he was thinking. "You show strength in trials. WITH... Your new clan." What Jagar thought had been a simple test for himself turned out to include everyone from the Interceptor crew. "Hunt Vetka's biggest beasts... fight the best Vekht warriors... Prove, that the Hunt favors you. Elders will speak, provide challenges for Jagar and new clan. Prove that hunt favors you... And you will be given what you ask. You will not be atoned for past crimes... But we will allow this. For our entertainment." The Elder spoke, turning the crowd in their favor as he made it entertaining for them. "What say you?"


Jagar turned to the others, "Will... you join me?" He asked quietly, not wanting to answer for them.

Casar gestured to his arm with his remaining one, as if to say 'are you fucking kidding me?' After all, he was injured, tired, swollen, and sore, and the others didn't look much better. Nyx was still relatively flaky for the lack of water, and quite beaten from wrassling with Khal. Imille didn't look horrible, but the tired bags under her eyes betrayed a different story. And Psy was relatively untouched. After a long moment of deliberation, and a very teenager-esque groan of malcontent, the mage begrudgingly nodded. "I'm... in. But... give me some time to be fixed." He said.


"Preparation time will be given." The Ash-skinned elder said. "Full potential."


"Fine, then. We'll ... succeed." He replied, still stressed. "But say for a split second, theoretically, that we fail. Not going to happen, because we killed a fucking acid-spitting, gigantic kraken, but-"


"You die." The green-skinned elder growled, wanting to put a cap on the mage's questions. "You stay outside of ship. In Vekht gladiator homes, where disgraced Vekht who fight for entertainment live before trials. You try to run ... you die. You try to cheat in trials, you get Exile brand too, and kill you in front of Exile. You do dishonor ... you get Exile brand, then die painfully." He threatened, causing the crowd to send themselves into a further roar of excitement. The mage gave a deep sigh, hinting that he wasn't quite so happy that this arrangement was taking place.


Then, Imille spoke up. Slowly and carefully. "I... I'll do it." She said, unsure - especially with how useless she'd felt in their past trials - if she'd make it out alive. She wasn't sure that she had another Kraken left in her, after all. "I'll make sure that you're all healed up, Cas... Jagar." She said, looking to them both, but not saying Nyx's name with how quiet she had been. "For the record, Jags... I've seen you fight. And I believe you." She finished, placing a hand on his arm, briefly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. We're gonna kick some spindly, testosterone-addicted Vekht ass. Make'm our bitches. Do you get to brand the people you fuck up? Because I've been working on this cool idea for a tramp stamp..."


"Enough." The escorting Vekht growled. "Elder kind enough to not just kill you here. But Sekht volunteer to be the one to kill you... and your 'clan'." He said, looking down at the three of them, and Psy. "Be fun. Hear human taste good."


Another obscene finger rose from Casar, who was quickly smacked on the back of the knee by a spear. "KNEEL!" The Vekht roared, signaling the end of a judgement from the elders. Imille followed suit, along with Jagar, traditionally, but the doctor looked back to Nyx.


"Are you...?"

"Wouldn't miss it. I'm right behind you." She said with a wink, pushing how she felt in general deep down and focusing on the moment. In reality Nyx was in agony so doing something reckless like this would at least make her feel a rush of anything other than despair. "Our boys wouldn't last long without us. Right Psy?" Psy looked down at Nyx and just shook his head, biting his 'tongue' around the Vekht to their surprise. "Are you coming too?"


"I'm going to destroy anything they put in our way..." He replied darkly, feeling a massive amount of hate for the threat they did against Casar in particular. The thought of anyone branding Casar or torturing him in a way that rang reminiscent to the Exodlites gave him a feeling of hate and malice that he hadn't felt in ages. "And if they get in our way, I'll destroy them." A Vekht near him shook her head, actually admiring the droid for speaking in such a way. "Get the fuck out of my way horns or I'll rip them off and wear your head on top of my hat. Or I might go to a taxidermist and stuff you, freak. Keep you right next to my rocking chair."


"Like shiny robot. Big guns... Good for hunt? I like." The Vekht spectator asked, a feminine voice escaping her scary frame. The females of the race were treated equal to the males, while the males were strong and burly the women were much more slender and quick. They both possessed traits that would cause other races to run away at the very least. "Very shiny... You belong to Exile? I will buy. We hunt together." Psy laughed in her face.


"Sweetheart, it's not me, it's you. You're fucking horrifying. I'm going to go with my 'clan' and kick some major ass when they're all ready to go. Appreciate the offer but I am unshackled, meaning no one fucking owns me." The Vekht female didn't understand everything he said but bowed her head and retreated back as the Vekht from before shoved his way past Psy and began to lead the others to the gladiator ward. Psy let out a chuckle as the others starred dumbfounded at him having such an exchange with the Vekht. "Bitches love me." He said, his eyes flickering brighter. "It's hard being me sometimes. You all walk a day in my bolts one day and you'd see."


As the Interceptor crew followed the Vekht guard from before, the Elders all took a seat and watched as Jagar turned his backs on them and began to be escorted to the gladiator ward. The Jacht Elder looked visibly bothered by his grandson's return but there was a hint of hope, hope that the hunt favored his exiled blood in hopes that he could be redeemed. It was a barbaric trial and Jagar would most likely die, but perhaps he could show that not all exiles were forever tainted.


"Thank you... for standing with Jagar." Jagar spoke to the others as they were being lead through the city like they were a roadside attraction. "Will remember this for rest of my days.."

Imille walked forward, dragging Nyx along behind her with a still-interlaced hand. Her eyes fell onto the large Vekht woman who had offered to buy Psy, curiosity slightly peeking up above her fear. "So that's what Jagar calls beautiful." She mused, forcing her mind away from the situation. "Hey, big guy-" she said, attempting to get the attention of the escort leading them to the front. "Sekt?" She asked, guessing his name from context.


"Sekt is clan." He corrected. "Sarkter... name."


"Okay, well. That's apt. I like how we all have naming schemes here. It's a nice theme. Weeellll, I need to get my supplies from the ship later on. Think you can show me to it, Sark? I don't want anyone to think I'm trying to escape and kill me, you know." She replied. "Plus, I got my beauty supplies, and if I don't wear em, I start looking like... well, you guys."


Sark growled, then gave a brief nod. "It is fine. Attempt to escape on ship, you make it inches." He said. "No funny games. Not now, though."


"Aalrighty! No funny." She said. "And then maaaybe you can show us around this place?"


"Not tour guide. Stop asking questions." He threatened, once again. Then, they had finally gotten to their destination. In front of the massive building, they all stopped. It was gigantic, but not because they were being offered plenty of room. Instead, the actual interior housed a massive arena suspended between the thick, formidable branches of the blackened tree trunks around them, essentially making an arena. Then would be the time that they realized just how big of a problem they had been in, as the Vekht prison guards stared them down as they entered.


Inside, it was simplistic, not mirroring the small intricacies of the outside arena. Instead, the mud and tree-crafted structure was housed to mounted beds that lined the walls upwards, and looked much like massive slabs. There was no comfort to be found by any means, with the only small exception being that each bed was large enough to fit a small giant. Outside of their small residence hall, there was an elongated table, where the gladiators had been elected to eat.


Imille's eyes looked widely over it all. Casar nearly instantly collapsed onto the tough bed. The doctor cried out, as Sark went to leave. "WAITWAIT! I'm... um. Food? Water?" She asked, looking nervously to Nyx.


"Running water in bathroom. Food..." He grinned. "You see." He said, before leaving, knowing well that the 'food' the Vekht ate wouldn't sit well with their stomachs. "Be back later for ship."


Imille, stressed, sat down onto her own claimed bed. "What... do we do now?" She asked, looking to the others.

"Training montage?" Psy proposed. "Training. Montage." He stated, walking over to the tired crew and began playing music out of his mouth. A catchy synth tune began playing from Psy's mouth with muffled lyrics due to his teeth. "What we're gonna do is simple... We're gonna lift weights. We're gonna shoot guns. We're gonna train with the other gladiators. Once you meat bags get all muscled out and lose all that fat then we'll take on the challenges at full potential and show these toothy slack jawed pussies what a real clan can do!" He said, pounding on his chest. "Until then... Cas, you're gonna get your arm fixed. Once Imille gets back to the ship you need to grab supplies to heal him up. I'm gonna overcharge myself, make sure my capacitors are full and ready for a fight. Jagar, you recover, fight your fellow exiles over there and show who the real fucking champ is. Nyx..." He looked over to her, "You look like dehydrated shit. Your fun bags are saggy and your tentacles look like limp pasta noodles. And your skin... God damn did I not think your skin could look like beef jerky. Disgusting!" He said, not hesitating at all when it came to whipping any of them into shape.


"Wow Psy... You're right, bitches do love you." She replied dryly. "If you were organic I'd ask that you'd take me now, you have such a way with words. Hell, if you weren't afraid of organics I'd say to hell with it and go all robosexual with you. You're just so charming and smart... I'm not sure how that Vekht woman just didn't throw herself at you." Psy began to laugh as did Nyx to their surprise, a funny banter between the two of them developing even after everything that had happened. "Wish she did though, maybe her spikes would rip out your voice box."


"Not a chance sweetheart, Imille would just fix me!" He replied mischievously. "Now then... Nyx, go take a bath please. Cas, let's talk while we wait for that green fuck face to come back and escort Imille to the ship. And Imille." Psy looked over to the doctor. "If you could feed Zap that would be fantastic. I spent nearly all my cut on jellyfish food and bullets. Kaaaay thanks! X-O-X-O." He said, prancing over to Casar as Nyx looked over to Imille.


"Come with me. I don't trust these gladiators and I need someone I trust with me." While Psy walked over to Casar, Nyx led Imille over to the bathroom which was wide open. The Vekht didn't lie when he said there was running water but the privacy of it all was humiliating. There was showers and a few tubs in the far corner with no curtains, the gladiators not usually caring for privacy. Nyx and Imille walked over to the furthest bath and Nyx's eyes darted around for any people watching or potentially even cameras.


"Call me overly paranoid but an encampment full of imprisoned men and two hot aliens show up to use their bathroom? This is just like those holonet movies and I don't plan on becoming the girl in the middle of it all. Turn your back please, I look gross right now otherwise I'd keep you looking." She teased as she unceremoniously got undressed after filling up the tub with water. Nyx jumped in and let out a groan of satisfaction, her body immediately feeling incredibly better after entering some water again. "This is sooo good... I'll stop flaking if I soak for a little while. All that booze will come out of my system too, for better or worse. You can look now, the girls are covered." She said with a smirk, crossing her arms and sinking down deep into the water. "Didn't imagine Jagar would be the small Vekht around here." Nyx said, making small talk. "How crazy is that?"

"I never thought I'd hear 'runt' and 'Jagar' in the same sentence, and that's terrifying in itself." Imille said. She walked over to Nyx's bath, turning around and sitting against it. "I'm not sure we can do this. What if they try to make us fight them one on one? What if the monsters here are bigger than the Kraken? What if we're being tracked down here, and being held here is like a big flashing sign that says 'Rebels in prison! Come kill us!'? We could be doing fine and then bam! Nuke to the planet. And we can't do anything about it." she said, overwhelmed and helpless. "And on top of that this mask is fucking uncomfortable, the beds are uncomfortable, the tubs don't have curtains and the water smells like Vekht sweat."


The doctor lifted an arm up, giving herself a quick sniff. "GACK." she said, realizing just how ripe she was. She scrambled behind Nyx where she couldn't see her, prepping to do the very same thing. "I like Jagar, and I like the boys. Don't get me wrong, I do. But holy shit, are they trouble." she sighed. "I never thought I'd be fighting desperately against giant fucking black pointed arm things and Exodlites and Renegades and artifacts and having my friends kidnapped in spaceships and becoming a gladiator on some back-ass-water deep planet. I'm... well, relatively normal. As far as humans go. I mean, yeah, black-market weapons and everything isn't kosher, but I don't think I've been in this many life-and-death situations since I got involved with the Curretch mob."


"What." Casar said, bluntly. He rolled over onto his back, the giant bed looking much like a patio. Of course, his rudeness toward Psy wasn't for malicious reasons, but that wasn't completely evident off the start. In fact, the mage didn't particularly blame Psy at all for what had happened on Nisela; he knew the android fairly well, he thought, and while it certainly might have been easier with him there, he did come through in the end. What Casar didn't know was that he might have very well been in Exodlite company once again if he hadn't; or, dead. That didn't mean that he wasn't exhausted and frustrated that they had to go through another round of difficulties. Knox was ebbing at his mind, affecting the mage more than he would have liked.


"Arc ... is still alive." Casar said. "Knox is the Crusader that ran the Harvester ship the Renegades took me from. I was supposed to die there." he said, revealing what was itching at him. "I shouldn't have spoken up. Maybe they would have thought I had died if I didn't, but I needed to know. I'm not sure why ... why Nisela mattered so fucking much, but ..." Casar sat up, slamming his fist into the side of his own temple. He yelled out in frustration, grabbing his hair and curling forward. "I'm so fucking stupid that I believed for a while that I wouldn't have to go back there! And now they're looking for me. So fucking stupid. Stupid. Stupid. If I even make it off this planet." he cursed, hitting himself. "They're going to kill me, Psy. They have enough people on that fucking planet to send off fleets to investigate space dust. Let alone someone who killed a Warden, and sieged a research station. They don't take splinter groups kindly." He buried his head in his knees to the point where his voice was muffled.


It was unusual, at the very least, for the former Exodlite to confide so much in his androidic friend. It went to show how much everything had been bothering him. From the belated guilt of having destroyed Oeutune, to Arc actively looking for him, to the RCN undoubtedly trying to find and kill him, and then further onto how absolutely fucked they were to be branded as traitors on a planet full of people that could absolutely rip them apart.

"Sweetheart, you're anything but normal." Nyx said, slumping down into the bath and getting her face and tentacles soaked. She emerged shortly and chuckled, "And that's why I like you. Out of all of us you're the most normal but in the end I don't think you'd fit as well anywhere else either. Does that make sense? I feel... Even though things are terrible right now, we're exactly where we need to be. I am so devastated and hollow feeling Sarai but... as I was drinking myself into oblivion in my room and drying up into a husk of a woman I thought damn... At least I got you. I have Cas, I have Jagar... Hell, even Psy likes me now I bet. I carried Cas out of that Atlas ship and though that robot can't show emotion he seemed so relieved I had a hold of Cas." She smiled, "We have eachother. And life and death situations make for a more bountiful life, although this may be a low point... And I wish what happened on my planet didn't happen... At least we're all alive."


Her optimism was partially due to being rejuvenated by the water, her body thanking her the longer she soaked as she was on death's door not long ago whether she realized it or not. Nyx was trying to cheer up Imille while feeling completely awful herself and although she didn't truly feel the optimism she was speaking, she knew her friend could use it right about now.


"Curretch mob huh? Sounds like we're both a little naughty then. I have past dealings with pirates, you the mob... We make quite the pair you and I." She said, a soft smile on her face. "I'm in a lot of pain and I know I will be for a while yet but... I'm glad we both made it out of there Imille. I know I didn't show it on the ship but every little action you did for me meant the world. Even if it was when we were a blubbering mess in hyperspace and crying on eachother." She let out a long sigh, "You're my best friend. I hope you know that."


Psy was uncharacteristically silent for a moment, taking in Casar's words and just staring at him for a moment. It was almost uncomfortable the way the android just starred at him, not moving or saying a word. Then, to Casar's surprise, Psy's voice came out low and gentle.


"Do you remember what I told you? When we were walking back from my birthday party on Nisela? We were arguing about fighting and hiding." Casar thought for a moment while Psy simply replayed a recording of what they said to him. "Fighting is the nature of our business Cas. We're all wanted for different reasons, hunted for even more. This... what we're doing here... may feel nice... But... It won't be over until we kill them all... One day we'll be free from our pursuers, from our masters. Until then, we fight." He paused, then added, "It won't be over until we kill them all." He let his words sink in as he had let Casar's do for him. "We escaped them from destroying an entire planet, Mad Cas. Out of billions of people we're the ones who got away. Why? Because we're smarter than them... They're blinded by their religious journey. Exodlites have always been closed off in their ways like that..." he commented, then he started to glitch out. "We have to link or I'm gonna go off on a tangent about nothing like I do. Help." He said, a genuine call for help as they both interfaced, wanting to avoid Psy from going off on his normal crazy tangents and wanting to stay on subject.


As they linked it was as if meeting an old friend properly again, being able to communicate much easier as they could actually feel what the other was feeling and miscommunication was nearly impossible as all the information was right there. Casar felt the pain and worry from Psy as he rushed onboard the Atlas ship, worried about his friend. To his surprise, he had even begun to worry about Nyx when he went in to find them. It seemed to be that Psy was growing a heart, or at the very least, getting very comfortable with his companions. There was a deep remorse for not joining them on their last mission that he hadn't been able to communicate until now.


"That's... better." He said, able to speak clearly. "They may search for us... so, let's use this time to get stronger. Learn from these animals. If Jagar is the runt around here you've seen how he turned out. We learn from them, become better than them... Then, when we do face Arc and Knox we'll be ready for them. You aren't that young escapee anymore, you're becoming a warrior." Psy's voice had a layer of sadness to it that it usually wasn't there, "I told you they would never stop looking for you. It's coincidence they found us last time but now... They're back on the trail. The Renegades may know too at this point. We can't just hide Cas, we have to improve."

"We cover every genre." Imille said, smiling slightly. While the water didn't smell particularly good - probably because it was undoubtedly a different chemical composition than what she was used to - it was certainly rejuvenating. She sunk down into it, black hair rising up above the water making her look like a sea monster. Nothing like the Vekht, however. She popped up above the waters soon after, eyes still closed.


"I hate that ... Nisela is gone. I'm... well, I can't make that better. But... you're right. We did survive. And I think, if we hadn't met you... you'd be gone, too. So, I'm happy about that. Despite everything." she said, almost defiantly. "We're going to make new adventures. Shit, we can be space treasure hunters. Explore the galaxy... Maybe fuck up Atlas on the way. That'd be fun. Hey, the bright side is; there's no way that the info got out on our raid, there, so at least they ain't gonna be following us. Last thing we need is all our enemies forming a 'Kill-The-Interceptor-Coalition'." she said, with a light, exhausted chuckle.


"The only way I can improve... is through modifications." Casar said, through their link. Talking through the respirator was uncomfortable at best, but he still did not want to tempt fate, so the easier solution had presented itself. He unwrapped his arm from his chest, and it went slack in his lap. Then, he began removing the bandages. A sharp pang of guilt crossed him as he had done so, stopping him in his tracks at the feeling. Then, he realized it wasn't his own. Hesitating, he unwrapped the rest, furthering his point. A massive chunk of the boy's arm was missing, the point at which it contacted the air from the inside cauterized at the nerves and covered in hyperweave; fake skin that showed through. "You can say what you want. I'm not strong. When someone closes the gap, I die. Or lose a part of myself." he said, his hand prodding at his mouth, which had been lined by implants.


"You're already metal, Psy. I mean ... I know I can't argue with what you're saying. I realize that I'm being chased. That we're being chased. All of us. Whether it be by the my people or the RCN. But ... it doesn't lead to a good end. Not for me." he said, grimly. On one hand, he was right. With every fight they had gone through, the mage's body grew weaker and weaker. If it wasn't from being hurt, it was from the stress itself. He was pale; what normally had been a set of decently bright blue eyes had grown dimmer, and the scraggly hair on top of his head had long since started sprouting into grays. Surprisingly, a discontented laugh left his mouth. "If someone doesn't kill me I'm going to have a heart attack." he said. "That'd be ironic."


Then, he looked seriously to Psy. Using his voice, he spoke out. "If the Exodlites get to me, kill me before it happens." he said, their link only heightening the seriousness of his request. "It doesn't matter how. It won't be worse than what will happen."

"I welcome all the enemies..." Nyx replied darkly. "Cause we're gonna kill them all, Sarai. We're gonna make a list. Everyone who has ever wronged us: dead. This treasure hunter is going to become a bounty hunter. I'm going to check off each person off my list, one by one. Starting with that General Knox at the top. Then... I'll work my way down, slowly~" She said, sounding oddly sensual as she did so. Nyx clearly had been thinking about this idea ever since Nisela was destroyed, speaking from the heart especially with how easy the words came to her. As if they had been rehearsed. "and... kill them. One by one. One of the last Niselians avenging my planet Exodlite by Exodlite. Atlas goon by goon. There will be nothing left by the time I am done with them."


Darker words had not escaped Nyx's mouth before and it gave Imille chills, even in the warm water. The Calivarian woman sank back in the water and put her hands behind her head and floated, modesty be damned.


"They took almost everything from me. All I have left is myself, you and the boys. With what little I have left I plan to dismantle them slowly. Even if it takes me years I don't care. All I care about is finishing what they started." She smirked, enjoying the sound of that. "And I'd like to have some awesome adventures with you too while we're at it. Revenge is all fine and good but if we don't find a nice beach planet on our journey I'm going to die. Literally. Like, this bath is great and all but a nice swim in a fascinating world is just what I need. A nice little vacation after we finish up here in Jagarland." She smirked, "How's that sound, Fishbait?"


Psy hesitated after hearing what Casar had to say, he really wanted to be killed if he was captured again? Psy questioned if he was able to do such a thing to his only true friend, killing Casar meant not having anyone to ever interface with like this again. The only person who truly understood him was right in front of him and if he were to kill him that would mean that he would be alone once again.


"I will." He said after a long period of silence. Part of him was lying, not entirely sure if he could do such a thing but he hid that whilst under the interface with a resounding yes. "If that is what you wish I can do that for you... But trust me, I will not allow them to take you. I would rather be decommissioned if that were to happen. I will gladly give my life for yours... and hope that my memory banks are still intact to be put into a bigger, sexier robot." He said laughing, trying to make light of a very grim conversation. "You may be becoming more artificial but it isn't so bad. Some weaker people deny their new synthetic parts, they carry it as a badge of shame and always question what would have happened if I kept that organic piece. I know you don't like those surgeries but... The more you have the less you've been getting hurt. You're getting stronger, faster, smarter... None of us will have a good ending here, but we can make it to where they don't either."


Suddenly flashes of Casar past was brought to the forefront by Psy. The torture, the mental and physical agony he endured. The taunting. The ridicule. The pain.


"Regardless if you have a good end or not... Let's live fast and loose. Exodlites and Atlas be damned. We're gonna destroy each and everyone of them and if we all die painful deaths well..." Psy began to laugh, "At least they didn't get away with it completely. I'd rather die holding my middle fingers to the sky at our enemies than die with unfinished business."

"I understand... I'll follow you. It sounds good. We'll make the history books as badass femme fatale bounty hunters. Getting treasure and funding our expeditions to kill those Exodlite and Atlas motherfuckers. It's gonna be sweet. Gonna have like eight different sex suits in all sorts of colors." Imille said, smiling tiredly. As Nyx floated, she sank further in, the tub built for Vekhts more than sufficient to do so.


"I guess that's where we're different." Casar said. Then, he went silent in contemplation. Suddenly, within their link, radio silence. All of the feelings, emotions, everything disappeared with it. Psy was left alone with his thoughts, despite the fact that they were still linked. An emptiness took over, one that Psy was familiar with. "I don't want you to get yourself killed because of me, Psy. That's not ... what this is." He said, still grim. "I don't own you. And I didn't free you so you could be subservient to me. That said..." he tried to distance himself further in the link, so Psy couldn't feel what he was feeling. "I think... I'm not sure, but I think I would die for you too. I think you're all better people than I am. Jagar, Imille, Nyx, you... you're all better."


From his place on the bed, he looked up from his knees. Psy, interfaced, was looming over him. Anyone else might have been intimidated by the frozen, glowing-eyed android, but there was a degree of understanding. Briefly, the mage looked around. There wasn't any place for the android to charge, or ... sleep. All in all, without technology, there wasn't much the team could do. And there wasn't much to pass the time. All they had was each other and their thoughts.


Then, suddenly, as Casar laid back to finally relax and the women had finally begun to settle into their baths, the massive Vekht from beforehand burst through the doorway. Behind him, he carried the still-bloody carcass of a fresh kill. He walked down to the dining table and slammed it bodily down there, leaving the gore of the thing to drip to the floor. He looked back to Casar, Jagar, and Psy, whom of which had all been alarmed to his presence, and grinned. For Jagar, it was normal, but to the rest... it was a disgusting organic mess. "Dinner." He growled. "Next time, you hunt for you. If can't small hunt - even when injured - might as well kill self now."


After a long period of silence, Casar withdrew back onto the bed, resolving not to eat despite his hunger. The Vekht looked around for a moment, until he found that the person he was looking for wasn't present. Then, with no modesty or empathy, he barged into the gladiator bathrooms. His intrusion was met with a loud shriek.


"GETTHEFUCKOUT!" Imille screamed, ducking under the water.


"Human say need supplies from ship. Can wait, but if ballsy little man no have arm fixed by trial time..." He shrugged. "Ballsy little man die."


The doctor launched the nearest rock at the Vekht, and it bounced harmlessly off of his spiked dome. With what could only be described as an eyeroll, he went to wait outside the communal baths exit.