Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

[C.DEX]

"You tried to kill me, t-" before Casar could finish his sentence, Psy was pulling him out of the Interceptor and into the dark city of Nehope. His eyes locked with the dark-eyed, tentacle-haired attendant, to which he showed an instinctive flourish of disgust. It was an expression that had gone mostly unnoticed, thankfully, as the attendant skipped away to deal with other matters. He steeled his gaze, looking forward, brushing off Psy when he'd instructed him to look down.


Imille did, however. And what she saw, she loved. The sharkish creature elicited a small gasp from her, and she raised a frantic, waving hand up at it. "Oh oh oh oh." she said. "It's already so pretty! Aw man, I would've loved to catch and dissect that thing! We can definitely pick up some respirators, I think. Wait, hey, Cas. Don't you have some sort of ... breathing augment? I didn't get a chance to look at everything -" she said, pulling a familiar-looking pad from her pocket and thumbing at it.


"I drown." Casar said, in retort.


"Aww. They're ... kind of expensive. Aaand... I have a feeling that I won't be familiar with a lot of the species here enough to do any good doctoral work... Hm. There does come a dilemma. Although I think I'm a little prettier than Jagar, so maaaybe I could work here?" she said, with a twirl, looking back to the docking bay. The ship was becoming smaller and smaller as they continued their passage down the hall, and the lights in the distance slowly grew larger. It was some sort of hopeful alleviation for Casar, whose mind had a particular fondness for cityscapes. Finally, they had come across the 'entrance' to the city, where a pallid, milky-white aquatic local was waiting for them. He held out a tentacular hand. His other gripped a tablet. Eerily, one eye pointed at them, and the other down at his tablet. Then, his 'hand' made a jerking motion. Imille took the initiative, sticking her hand out in a guess at what he had wanted.


"Do you have any sort of identification from neutrally or non-Exodlite aligned factions?" He asked, to which Imille gave a curt shake of the head. Suddenly, she felt a pinch in her hand as the border guard reached forward, device in hand, and stamped a temporary identification tattoo - which was more of a burn - onto her palm. She flinched. "Female human. Enjoy your stay in Nehope."


"You too!" She replied cheerfully, eliciting a quirked brow from the guard.


"Next?" He asked, looking down toward Casar. Imille nudged him forward, and he begrudgingly accepted a stamp just as well. "Male human. Enjoy your stay in Nehope. Do you have an import scrip for your robot? Possessions above fifty standard pounds need to be checked. Who's the owner?"


Casar's eyes widened a bit. "Just give him a stamp." He belted out, before Psy had the chance to reply.

 

[Notorious]

"I'm an unshackled A.I.... meaning that I ain't just some possession. What you got fish for brains or something?" Psy started to laugh as the guard lazily stamped his hand clearly not the type to argue what entity was what especially with the amount of creatures they rolled through. "I actually do have identification though-" Psy held up his hand and a holo-license appeared, detailing his manufacture, build and when he was created. They all looked at his age and nearly gasped, "That's right... Turning the big 2-0-0 soon. Past fifty years or so have been a real drag but that's what happens when you get passed from bandit clan to bandit clan."


"Old robot." Jagar said, walking up behind them after getting everything sorted at the docking bay. The border guard looked at Jagar causing the Vekht to look down at him. After a very tense few seconds, Jagar held up a license he had acquired on a neutral outer rim planet. It had his picture on it very clearly, he was making the exact same expression as the picture too so the border guard was looking rather unnerved at the strange alien. He waved them off after trying to stamp Jagar on top of his ID, only for the mark to fade away almost immediately.


They walked away after that was sorted and found themselves in a commons area that all the docking bays connected to, the area was rather devoid of people but the few they seen intrigued them. Among the few visiting human and other air breathing species, strange aquatic creatures stood around them socializing. Many of them had massive dark eyes or some of the even stranger ones had luminescent eyes, glowing even in the well lit rooms they were now entering. To Casar's relief, the floor had become much more solid and the walls actually resembled walls now that they were in the actual city. The strange looking group stood out even among the even stranger looking patches of people all around them, all of them an eye sore in this town.


"Im-lee prettier than me, yes." Jagar said, breaking the silence of them discovery these new sights after a little while. "Work there?" He asked innocently, pointing to a building out in the depths with a rather large neon sign of an aquatic woman dancing. "You twirl back there, like sign yes? Be work for you."


Psy could barely contain his laughter.


"Alright Cas... I can see why this guy is growing on you. Here for five minutes and he's already asking the Doc to strip so we can get off this planet!" He started to cackle, holding his stomach as he was thrown into a fit of laughter. "I'LL JOIN YOU DOC WE'LL MAKE THIS TOWN BROKE BY THE TIME THE SHIP IS READY!" He couldn't contain himself whilst Jagar just starred on, confused as to why the strange robot before him was laughing so hard.


"Was... it something Jagar say?"

 

[C.DEX]

Casar looked between the stunned Imille, Psy, Jagar, and the strip club with a blank stare. For a moment, he had the same social ineptitude as Jagar. Then, after Psy's comments, it clicked. Maybe it was exhaustion and unease driving him insane, but for the slightest moment, the techno-mage laughed. "You ... I can't ..." he stammered, unsure of how to explain what Jagar had asked to Jagar after only understanding it himself just them. Seeing Casar react that way was a rarity in itself, and that combined with Jagar's own dumbfoundedness had sent Imille into a small giggle fit. She doubled over laughing, slapping a knee and using Jagar's massive forearm as a steady. When she finally drew a breath in and brought herself back up, she looked toward Cas and Jagar.


"You guys are so cute!" She exclaimed. "I mean, as cute as a small angry teenager and a gigantic murderous, hairless tigerman can be." The doctor pinched the techno-mage's cheek, resulting in her hand being promptly slapped away. "That's a strip club, Jags. It's where amorphous blobs, agendered xenids, and pretty ladies without doctorates go to take off their clothes to make men happy. Reproductively happy. Birds and bees. Or in your case, Vekhts and Vekhtesses."


The doctor looked to Psy, who seemed to be more than enthusiastic enough to go to the Aquatic club. She shook her head. "You don't have clothes to take off, Psy. That, and if you don't like organics, well... That's the WORST place to go. Fleshy bits everywhere. 'Nother plan." She said, the grin on her face actually beginning to hurt a bit. "Does a place like this have postings? Or need mercenaries? Prooobably not... I bet there's a weapon shop. Probably a lot of scaries out there that need to be hyper-harpooned, yeah? Other than friendly shark arm guy. Wait. How will we tell whether they're sentient friendlies or sea monsters?"


Seemingly tired of Imille's longwinded diatribes, Cas began walking toward the deeper shopping district. Aliens of all sorts - though mostly aquatic - sat boredly inside storefronts. The usual customers of the amphibious sort wandered in and out, going about their lives in a fashion that hit the doctor very close to home. Of the reappearing species were short mudskipper-esque fishpeople with brilliant scales, bioluminescent people with varying cloudiness to their skin, much like the border guard, and squiddish, tentacle-haired men and women with eerily similar, humanic anatomy otherwise.


"We should throw a party for your big two-oh-oh!" Imille said.


"Maybe we should." Casar agreed, to the surprise of the rest.


"By the way, how old are you, Buttercup?" Imille questioned.


"Don't know." He replied.

 

[Notorious]

"A... party... for me? And you both would like that?" Psy titled his head at them as they walked, he had never had a party before. Ever. He was simply an android and was built to serve organics, the idea of them throwing a party for him made him feel warm inside. He wiped a faux-tear from his eye and nodded enthusiastically. "You'd make me the happiest android around! No one has ever thrown me a party before, and I mean EVER. It's usually 'Psy kill this' or 'Psy please don't kill me' or 'Psy shut the fuck up!'. Never 'Let's have a party, Psy!'... You two are the best."


"Is Jagar going party? Never party either." He asked quietly, unsure of how he fit in this group just yet. "Only hunting party. Those... Very fun." Jagar replied, the semblance of a smile could be heard in his voice.


"You know what big guy? If we have this thing you can come. I want you all to party! I never thought I'd invite any sort of organics to party before but you know what..." He paused, his memory core struggling to keep up with such a revelation. "I hate a lot of meaty things... All meaty things. I'm a bit of a racist if you haven't noticed. But... Although I find you chemically disgusting, I like you all for your big sexy brains. I said it. Most organics aren't like you crazy bastards but I like you. Even you Jagar. If Casar can put aside his differences for you almost killing all of us then anyone can. Especially since I did the same thing to him!" He laughed hard, filled with so many good feelings. "We can all learn a thing or two from you Mad Cas."


Jagar nodded firmly, "Jagar pleased. Jagar make us money now. To dancy club I go."


"No Jagar!" Psy stopped him. "It wouldn't work for you, the Doc was trying to say it is for more... feminine dancers." He couldn't stop laughing, "As much as I'd love to see that fucking funny sight we need to focus. FOCUS GOD DAMN IT!" He shouted, his AI going rampant causing him to shout at inappropriate times as usual. "WHAT WE NEED TO DO... IS FIND A WEAPON SHOP!" He said, blatantly stealing Imille's idea. "Great idea Psy, thank you Psy." The crazed android said to himself, giggling all the while. "Doc! Talk to one of these squid fish people and point us to the guns!"


"Jagar line of work, Jagar go where people are. Weapon shop good, ship docking also good. Bar just as good. We... options. Many." He looked to Casar and Imille. "What you two think?"

 

[C.DEX]

...


"GET OUT!"


"Why?!" Imille cried. "It's not my fault you chose to use BRASS! Who even uses brass anymore?! I wanted to help you, but noooo, you had to be all sensitive. Don't even get me started on the iron. You live in the ocean, you nimrod! What do you think happens to iron in the ocean?! If there's one thing I hate it's planned obsolescence. Just gotta have em keep coming back when your shitty iron latchets rust and your energy harpoons jam!" Imille yelled back at the ornery weapon-shop owner, who had crossed his milky-white tentacles over his chest. He wasn't budging. Imille saw this, and turned to look toward the street-walkers. "Attention everyone! Are you aware that your friendly local weapon shop owner is rigging your harpoons with iron alloys?! ARE YOU AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF OXIDIZATION?!"


"Okay. It's time to go. This didn't work." Casar said, hand clasped around Imille's wrist. He dragged her away, covering his face with his other hand. She fought against him, yelling and screaming, more than happy to make the shopkeeper's life a living hell. No one disliked her work. No one insulted it; not without paying dearly or making themselves a target of her ire. More than that, she took far too much pride in her work not to critique every little detail of the poor aquatic alien's work. To the techno-mage's horror, they had gotten in a violent screaming match, souring the mood for the time being. As soon as the shopkeeper had gotten out of screaming range, however, she seemed to calm down quite a ways.


Amongst the streets, they came across a decently large gathering of people lumbering outside a familiarly neoned building. While the text of the title of the bar was in a foreign, alien letters, there was the unmistakable motif of a foaming mug of beer also neoned in orange and white. Suddenly, Casar pulling Imille became Imille pulling Casar, the latter of which struggled against being pulled into what he saw as a greasy, incorrigible crowd of odd aquatic xenids. "Plan two!" Imille cried out, though in earnest, she really just wanted a drink.


At the front of the bar, a large tentacle-facer crossed his arms, looking down at the two humans. He stopped Imille and Casar in their tracks with an outstretched hand. "Identification stamps." he said, to which Imille held up her own and Casar's wrist. The bouncer scanned them in, allowing them to disappear into the moderately-packed crowd. Disappear being relative, of course, as their little crew had stood out well amongst the amphibious aquatics. Psy and Jagar, of course, being the most odd; there weren't many that could afford an android, there, and not many aquatics had spikes jutting from their faces, though some of them had rivalled him for height.


At the bartop, Imille slammed down her last bit of money. "Give me what you give the sharks!"

 

[Notorious]

The bartender took one hard look at her and sighed, she disappeared behind the counter and returned with a massive bucket of fish blood. She pushed it towards Imille who visibly winced at the stench, the bartender smirking at her reaction.


"Most people say that when they're pissed or wanting to get pissed, let me give you a word of advice lady. Avoid the shark talk, you're a little minnow in a big sea darlin'." The bartender then picked up the pale then waltzed over to a nearby shark-like man who picked up the pale with a finger and rolled it back, balancing the bucket on his forearm and downing the blood and gunk down his throat in one quick swoop. He dropped the bucket and grinned a toothy grin. The bartender returned with a wink at Imille, "I'll fix you up something that'll make gills over there look like a minnow, and would make him stop checking out my ass." She went over to one of the taps and then began mixing a concoction that confused everyone there, the tentacle-haired woman mixing liquors and throwing it into the air as if they had just bought a show ticket. She then slid the drink across the counter, the mug flowing off her finned finger tips with precision and landing in front of Imille. "That one's on the house, on account of that look on your face when I put that big ass jug of fish gunk in front of you." She said giggling, looking at the rest of the crew. "Who are you all supposed to be? Not everyday we get a woman wanting to get shit faced, a pouty looking teenager, a beast with horns on his head and a robot that... What on Nisela are you looking at?"


Psy was staring intently at the bar and seen a jellyfish in a jar, one that was sparking with electricity.


"I haven't uhh... Well it's just... I uhh..." He stammered over his words. "Usually when I charge I shut down for it as it's too intense but could you uhh... You know... Hit me?" The bartender followed his eyes and looked at the jellyfish and burst into laughter, never had she heard an android before act like that.


"You are some kind of crazy. That right there is our pet, Zap the Fifth. Other four got knocked out and got slurped down into the drain near my feet. We ain't gonna be serving no sting jellies tonight I'm afraid." Psy began to pout, crossing his arms as he continued to stare at the tantalizing jellyfish. "So what brings you all to Nisela? Most air breathers only come here because they're running away from something, or looking for riches on the ocean floor. Crazy bunch." She smirked, "Can I get you anything hun?" She asked Casar, "You are looking a bit green around the gills. Could give you something to buzz you up, how's that tasting sweetheart?" She then asked Imille, surprisingly entertained by the gang of people before her at first sight.

 

[C.DEX]

"Sure." Casar replied, with a light shrug. It was a bad idea all around, with the techno-mage being perhaps the most unsuitable candidate to drink, but also with no one who was willing to stop him. Also, human law didn't really apply in space bars - after all, if aliens tried to keep track of the ages throughout the species, they'd need personal encyclopedias. When the drink slid his way, he took it in hand, resting his chin on the lip while he attempted to talk to the bartender. "We're looking for work and figured we might find someone who needs something here." he said. "She works with augments and weapons," he said, thumbing to Imille. "The rest of us are... hired hand, I guess?" his eyes shifted toward Jagar. He'd adopted his last line of work almost automatically.


"Tastes like you tried to put raspberry on battery acid." Imille said, face contorted. "I love it! Also, don't ruin his liver, please. New installation ... What he said! If I could find anyone that was half-competant I might be able to work with them, but... I dunno. This isn't really the sort of crowd that needs augment work, is it? I'm tempted to plant down and start a rival store across the way from Samuel the Shit-Seller down the street. Could make a lot of money making half-decent weapons here."


"Anything will work. At this point, I just want to eat, and get off of a planet where fish blood and guts is considered a viable drink and sharks have arms." he replied, attempting to sip at his drink as if it were water and sorely regretting it by way of sputtering cough.


"Waiiit. Hold on." Imille said, raising a hand. "She said 'riches on the ocean floor'. Lets rewind back to that."

 

[Notorious]

"Did I say that? Must have slipped. Usually us locals don't tell outsiders are secrets." She said with a playful smile on her face. "Buuut because you said you liked my drink I'll tell you a little. Most people around here just drink and either stare, leave or cause me problems. That and that weapon seller is a real bottom dweller. Can you believe he told me I couldn't return my harpoon because I voided the warranty? Taking it out of the store voids warranty according to his policy." She laughed, Imille laughed, Casar drank. She glanced over to Jagar who wouldn't stop staring at her. "You gonna take a picture big guy? What's with the spooky eyes?"


"Drink." Jagar replied, bluntly.


"Excuse me? You think starring at me is going to get my attention? Then asking like that? Nu-uh big guy." She asked, her cool green color skin growing red as she locked eyes with Jagar.


"Uhh... Jagar apologize. Did not want interrupt you and Em-lee. Mean not rude." He said, trying his best to communicate with the strange aquatic woman. When she deciphered what he said she let out a sigh and smiled at him.


"Sorry hun, kinda gotta be on my toes around these folk. They smell weakness and they'll eat you." She chuckled, "Figuratively. Well, some of them. You get cornered by a Aqui and they haven't eaten in a while and they'll probably take a nibble out of ya. That's what we call those big shark people, it's easier for outsiders to call them like they are though. Shark is a pretty common term around the stars." The woman faded back to her regular shade of green and began mixing something a little stronger for Jagar, then, provided him a straw. "See you got a respirator on. I know the drill, need one of these "Emergency Induction Ports". Listen, they're straws. Don't bullshit me guy." This woman was talking circles around Jagar so he simply just nodded, trying his best to keep up with what she was saying.


She then turned back to Imille and Casar who seemed to be more receptive to what she was saying. Psy couldn't take his eyes off the jelly fish while Jagar began fiddling with the straw on his drink, doing his best to line it up with his mask and guiding it into the port. For a moment she starred deeply at Imille, seemingly trying to read her but then got a surprised look on her face.


"Treasure! Sorry, I get distracted a little too easily sometimes. Well, Miss Human. Nisela is known for its many riches, or rather, unknown. We aren't on most star charts as we like it that way. Far off even the outer rim but close enough for passerby's to get swept into our net. Our planet has many minerals, from diamonds, gems, pearls, iron... Oil. It's an untapped treasure trove with many sunken ships and long abandoned homes. The planet is so large and the waters are uncharted that we find a new civilization every few months, different aquatic species living here in harmony." She smiled, she looked rather excited telling Imille something the bartender was personally interested in. "I've done my fair share of treasure hunting, it's a pretty bad idea for outsiders though. You'd need weapons, respirators, maybe even space suits that could work under the sea. In order to get a big or rare haul you need to travel to the more..." She licked her lips, her dark eyes glistening as she spoke. "Dangerous... depths of the planet. But, with a bigger risk comes a bigger reward."


For a moment she was called away to another patron who had a big order, leaving the others to silently nurse their drinks. When she returned she wiped her brow with a sigh.


"There's plenty of less dangerous, more boring opportunities here though. Probably preferable for you all, you don't look like you like the sea too much buddy." She said, looking towards Casar. "Like your drink? I can tell you're augmented to the gills and back so added a little shock to your's."

 

[C.DEX]

"Tastes like ass." Casar replied, particularly unaquainted with alcohol or niceties. Or not caring about them.


"Oooooh. Treasure. Hmmm. Jags. Jagar. Do we have wetsuits? Or spacesuits? Oh gosh, this could actually be really fun. I've never hunted for treasure before. I've scuba-dived! And I've been in a sinking spaceship. But... Hrm. We're gonna need respirators for me and Cas, and those can run pretty expensive." Imille said, already decided on the idea of treasure hunting. "We might need weapons that'll work in the sea. Our energy weapons will work, meaning your gun'll work, Cas, but the mechanical ones we have might not. Say, bartender. What was your name? Could you connect us with someone who'd fund an expedition? We're tried and true! Takin' down enemies left and right. Cas even beat the shit out of this big guy!" Imille said cheerfully, thumbing toward Jagar.


"Why do you think I'm going to come with you?" Casar asked. "I'll just stay inside of the ship."


"Whaat?" Imille said. Then, she leaned further onto the bar, as if attempting to whisper something to the tentacle-haired woman. "Get him something stronger. You wouldn't believe it, but he's actually a seasoned drinker. That's why he's so hard to impress."


"It sounds like a waste of time. Where does the treasure come from? Why is it there? Do people of your society just drop gold for others to find later? Or maybe the treasure comes from the people you send to the bottom of the ocean in an attempt to find treasure."


"Gosh, Cas. Have you ever done ANYTHING fun in your life?" Imille chided. "And being chased by Renegades is not my definition of fun."

 

[Notorious]

"With an attitude and manners like that mister we make sure to send you to the deepest depths, it's where most of the treasure comes from. Ungrateful little shits who don't know anything about respect." She replied, who voice deepening and her eyes narrowing in on the boy. The woman then smirked and pointed at a sign at the top of the bar, "No Bottom Feeders. Lighten up, jackass. Especially with Renegades on your tail, you don't wanna be attracting the wrong kind of attention." She said, commenting on their situation. "Nothing to do with that bunch is fun, especially when they're taken a shot or two at me too." She chuckled, wiping down the table in front of them. "The name is Nyx, strangers. As for connecting you to someone with expedition experience and who would fund you well, you're looking at her." That seemed convenient, almost too convenient.


"First lady we meet can help?" Jagar asked, raising his brow in confusion. "Seem... fishy."


"Ahem." Nyx said, pointing to the sign next to No Bottom Feeders. "No fish puns, big guy. I'll be honest with you all, I haven't been able to go diving for quite some time now. I know how to navigate the seas better than any of these other fools, they just have more money than me." She frowned, "I wouldn't be working at this bar getting gawked at by every Aqui and Qui'xer in town for little money and no tips if I had any other option. Lost it all on my last expedition."


"Well gee, you sure know how to inspire confidence in a potential crew." Psy murmured, still starring at that ridiculous looking jellyfish. He tore his eyes away and looked at her, "How did you lose your last expedition?"


"Pirates." Nyx blurted out, shrugging her shoulders. "It's a uhh... bit of an obsession of mine really. I read ship charts and ocean patterns all the time, when a ship disappears I mark it and investigate when I can. Usually it's a pirate taking one of those ships out but sometimes a sea creature drags them to the depths for a quick meal... Leaving all sorts of treasures behind! Not to mention all the ancient ships that use to navigate the depths of the sea inbetween old civilizations." The excitement on her face was obvious, her skin turning a lighter shade of green as she spoke. "So that answers both of your questions. I barely made it out of my last scrap with pirates as my crew was incompetent. Dead bastards got me stuck here!"


"Waitress, more. Get that big green ass over here." The big Aqui from earlier said, starring down Nyx and expecting quick service. She ignored him at first until he started pounding on the table. "NOW!" Nyx glanced over and reached under the counter and raised her arm up, a mechanical harpoon firing out of its hilt and extending right to the Aqui's neck, dangerously close to piercing it.


"My big green ass isn't going to serve you big guy. Get the fuck out." He held up his hands, not wanting any trouble as the intoxicated shark got up and quickly shuffled his way out. Nyx retracted the harpoon and put it back in place, the bar that had went completely silent at the scene resuming what they were doing as if it was nothing. "I don't fuck around." She said, a sly smirk appearing on her face. "What's your names? If you're really interested I could get some gear together. My shift ends soon and we could go for a test dive maybe, see if you all are the real deal."

 

[C.DEX]

Casar grumbled into his drink, though at the sight of the mechanical harpoon coming out, he chose to bite his tongue. Much to the pleasure of Imille, who leaned further and further onto the counter as Nyx regaled just what she had been talking about. Pirates? Treasure? It all seemed very exciting. Being the adrenaline-junkie that she was, she jumped up at the idea, throwing all caution to the wind. That, and the drink was beginning to give her a slight buzz, silencing her inhibitors. "I'm Imille. Sarai Imille. Augment doctor. Know a bit about weapons too." She said, underplaying her own merits. "Grumpybutt's name is Cas. He's mad 'cause he's sore and has a hangover. The popular theory right now is that he's afraid of water, buuut if we could get him to stop being a pussycat, then he can actually be useful."


Casar gripped his drink. Before he could protest, Imille moved on, taking it upon herself to introduce everyone. Her open palm pointed to Psy, whose eyes were fixated on Zap. "This is Psy. He's crazy, but like... in a good way. He's a free android, and we're gonna throw him a birthday party soon. Hey, maybe it could be here?" She pondered, pressing a finger to her lip.


"Oh oh, right. And this is Jagar! I'm still not sure about him, but he called me pretty and apologized for being a shitty boyfriend, so we're on okay terms right now. Oh, and he's really good at hunting. Really good. We don't want to make him strip for money if we can help it, so I figure let's give it a shot."


"That was terrible." Casar said. "You didn't tell her a single thing about us."


"You shut up. It's not like I know you all well either." Imille said. "Plus, I dunno what I can say and what I can't. You think you can do any better?"


A look crossed Casar's face. He was tired, but at the same time, the drink that he was nursing was giving him energy. Though Imille couldn't see it, her comment about his usefulness had hit close to home. He drew back from peering over the mug, and looked toward his teammates again. "PS1-K0 is a self-aware, free android unit designed to defend settlements in excess of 100. Or destroy them, it finds. Jagar is a Vekht; an Outrider from the Universe edges, where the planets are nearly uninhabitable. They're both capable of doing any task you need them to. Apart from stripping." He said, tone getting lighter. "I'm Casar. I'm ... an Augment." There was no need to disclose his full past; he wondered if it would get him attacked, even. "And Imille is a surgeon and weapons manufacturer from Curretch. The fact that I'm alive is a testament to her work. If you're looking for a team, they're more than capable of covering whatever you need them to. For the right price. We need a guarantee that something is going to come out of this. Pointing a sharp stick at someone doesn't mean you're competent."


Imille's mouth gaped. "Caaas. That was very sweet of you!" She said, a smile coming to her lips. Then, a burp. "What he said."

 

[Notorious]

"Cute. Talking a big game doesn't mean you're competent either, so I guess that means we're even." Nyx replied, taking in his words after listening to Imille. She smiled at him though, lightly teasing him. "Well Miss Sarai Imille, it looks like you have your boys on a pretty tight leash. Kinda interesting your boyfriend is that big guy over there, prefer the larger ones huh?" Nyx said while stifling a laugh while Jagar looked even more confused than usual but went to his usual stoic self and sat there quietly while drinking through a straw. "You all seem to be... happy. Lot of inside jokes I didn't exactly get there but you seem like a fun bunch. Even you grumpy butt." She said with a wink, seeing that he was halfway done with his drink and quickly making another. "This one is a little less ass-ey tasting, promise. Though I'm not sure what human ass tastes like so it could be worse, I dunno!" She leaned on the counter towards Imille, liking the way she talked more so than the others. She was more susceptible to conversation, while Casar was logical and grumpy and the other two were hard to talk with.


Nyx gave both Imille and Casar a good long look, leaving Psy and Jagar to quietly sit there as she did so. Her black eyes were almost as intoxicating as the drinks, they looked like they went on forever how round and deep they were. She pursued her lips as she looked at them for a moment, then decided they would do. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange looking device that she placed on the table, it was a holographic device but of Nisela native design. Water proof and of a simple make, a circular device that Nyx could attach to different surfaces. She clicked the on button and flipped through some files until she found the one she was looking for.


"There are no guarantees in the treasure hunting business Cas, sometimes you come home empty handed... Sometimes you don't come home at all." She noticed the look of hesitation on their faces, "Sometimes you come back with enough to buy your own space station..." That got their attention. "You need a full crew in order to haul all the loot you could possibly get and to defend yourself against the dangers of Nisela. I know this seems pretty damn close to paradise here, lot of women wearing skimpy clothing, buffed out sharks and cheap drinks with a kick ass view but listen... This is life, or death. When it comes to the hunt well, you have to be ready to give it your all." Jagar perked up at the word hunt, giving her his full attention now. She noticed out of the corner of her eye, "Got your attention big guy? Good."


He nodded firmly at her, "Any hunt is no match for Jagar, and... friends."


"Great! This is your best shot at not having to strip for money. Been there, done that. It seems luxurious but really Jagar, you don't wanna go there." She smirked, "Okay, so... Me being a little TOO obsessed with this sort of thing, I have three locations marked that have potential riches. They're all quite a ways away from where we are now and far from civilization but that's the risk you take. For you mouth breathers its probably the scariest sensation, surfacing only to see nothing but water in every direction." She flicked through her maps and showed them the closest location. "This is the closest one, a ship that got taken down by a big ass octopus. Like, Nisela Book of World Records big. People have tried to get to it but well... the octopus laid its eggs in the damn thing. So unless you want to fight a kraken, I'd suggest against this one." Jagar perked up, this seemed like the type of job he wanted but let her continue.


Nyx waved her hand through the charts until she came across one she hesitated on. "This one might be a good beginner hunt, dip your toes into the pool so to speak. I tracked transport ships for months and found that there's a certain spot where they go missing right here. Probably just your simple case of pirates mucking about." The way she casually said that gave more about her experience than what she had been letting on, clearly this wasn't her first hunt. "And... the other spot I have is private." She then closed her hologram, "It's ancient, dangerous and they'd make a movie about it if anyone knew. I just need the right crew for the job. So, you all wanting to go for a dip? I have some equipment and a sea voyaging ship, buuut you'll need to get your own weapons and suits. Don't think anyone other than Sarai could fit in my clothes. Sorry Jagar."


"Apology. Accepted."

 

[C.DEX]

"He's not- ah, well." Imille said, seemingly unphased by the mishap regarding her and Jagar. She threw the rest of her drink back with a grimace. Her eyes looked to the side toward Casar, who had drearily finished his own. He was swaying slightly in his seat, using the mug between his hands to stay himself. Then, his other drink had rolled up. Imille took it in her own hand and pulled it away from him. "Actually, I'll take that one. I probably shouldn't be encouraging you to ruin your liver." She said. Without the mug to balance him, the techno-mage threw his head into folded arms on the table. "Okay. Well... That all sounds great. And if you're helping fund our expedition, then ... That sounds great! I haven't gone through our stash on the 'Ceptor yet, but I imagine Jag's got some energy weapons we can use. Cas, your pistol should work underwater. We're sure as hell not shopping at Harpoons McGee's store over there, soo... Psy can go naked, I'll borrow your clothes, and Jagar and Cas can rent a suit. Maybe. Do Aquatics come in fun-size and gigantic? Because having a suit custom-made for these two could get expensive."


Casar mumbled something into his arms. Despite having stopped drinking, his head was swimming, getting worse by the second.


Imille was faring significantly better, though that wasn't to say she hadn't been getting buzzed. It showed in the hue of her cheeks, which had quickly become a rosy shade. "Alright, well, I know what Jags wants to do. Drunk tally! Who wants to fight a giant octopus?!" She asked of her team. Her hand wrapped around Casar's limp wrist, lifting it for him, while her other shot up.


Her eyes expectantly looked toward Jagar and Psy. "Come on. It's a no vote! We'll never get the chance to fight a giant squid ever again! You know what kind of rep that brings?! There're barely enough water planets to begin with - what with the zealot barricade - let alone ones that have giant squids. It's fascinating!"

 

[Notorious]

"Giant octopus... Jagar never kill one before." He followed Imille's social queue and lifted his hand as well. He kept his fist strongly in the air, amusing Nyx as she seen his unwavering sense of urgency when it came to fighting this giant beast. "Drink very good, Neeeyx. Feel need to hunt NOW! Robot man, what say you?"


Psy looked around, his glowing pupils shifting around like he was up to something. He shrugged, "It's looking pretty unanimous. Even drunk Cas over there is voting for the giant creature so..." He paused, then practically shot up from his seat. "LET'S FUCKING KILL US SOME PUS!" The whole bar erupted into laughter at the ridiculous robot, clearly not meaning the double meaning in his words. "We're gonna slay that octopus so hard they'll name a fucking community after us err... me! Psyocolypus, the newest station founded on where we- I slain the beast!"


"You will try Robot man... Jagar kill beast alone. No suit, only harpoon. Do not test Jagar...." Jagar seemed to be an impatient, somewhat angry drunk. While he and Psy began to bicker back and forth, Nyx shifted back towards Imille and Cas who was still face down on the table. The smile on her face didn't disappear, this crew was absolutely crazy.


"I guess we're gonna kill us some puss then, lovely." She said, laughing. "Now... Originally I didn't plan on us actually you know, KILLING the octopus. It's massive and the size of one of these buildings but... If we played it smart we might be able to. My ship doesn't have any defenses so we'd all have to play it safe. We could try and utilize stealth first but-"


"We go loud. Strike first." Jagar said, slamming his mug on the table his straw flinging alcohol onto Nyx. She gave him a stern look but he wasn't having any of it. "Jagar rip out beast's heart, feast upon it.... Jagar love sea food."


"Do you now?" Nyx said, smiling while wiping off the alcohol that sprayed on her. "Well... I guess you're the crew that's finally gonna get me killed. Sounds like fun." She took Casar's empty glass and took it behind the counter then looked towards Imille getting progressively more drunk. "We'll head out tomorrow then. I have the day off and I can show you the engulfed sections of the city, you air breathers hardly come out to those parts but it'll be fun. I'll have your suit with me along with a few other provisions along with the ship. We'll get our supplies together and meet up near here tomorrow."


"You organics sicken me... Getting wasted when we could be wasting pus!"


"Now now... Enjoy tonight Psy, cause there might not be a tomorrow." Nyx replied, "I can plug you into a wall or something if you wanna get your rocks off too."


"Now there's an idea..."

 

[C.DEX]

The 'night' - though that was a misnomer, given the seemingly perpetual night that Nisela had been thrust into - had progressed eventfully. Inside of it, nestled in a small bar down the street from a weapons shop, four members of the same team that were different in every respect corralled together a fifth, talking either jovially or lashing out irritatedly toward each other. At the end of the night, however, all was well, no damages had been incurred (a stark change from their last 'mission'), and the four of them had put together a plan with the fifth to - what was essentially - kill themselves.


They had made their way back to the ship after waiting for Nyx's night end, and those who actually slept passed out peacefully in their beds.


...


The next day - a term in reference to the span of eight to ten hours, given the chronological looseness of Nisela - the human members of the party awoke, pulling themselves out of bed. The doctor arose happily in her living quarters - those of which she had already begun styling to the taste of her factory back home. Weapons from the ship that she had pilfered from searching the unearthed rooms hung by rusted prongs on the walls, asking the good Doctor to work on them. But also remaining neglected. Her side project sat on top of her dresser; a conical cleaning bot, devoid of life and function. On the front was a distorted metal plate, a smiley-face etched into it. It looked like child's work, but that didn't matter; she made a promise. The tired doctor pulled herself out of bed, mostly unaffected by the previous night's details. Her hand reached out, gripping an older model of energy assault rifle. She gave a quick, practiced examination of it, and then hooked it onto the holster she'd found in the metallic dressers. Looped over her back, the Doctor looked much like a vagrant. Her hair was tied back for lack of beauty supplies, she hadn't the chance to get anything other than a set of darkened scrubs and a 'leather' raider jacket, and the only thing she had to her name was her medical tablet and whatever she could pilfer from the different rooms lining the Interceptor.


The other human on board didn't look much better, though he had a significantly harder time drawing himself up from bed. Still dreary and fuzzy on the events that had happened the night previous - though surprisingly feeling a significant amount better for the tonic that he'd taken - the techno-mage sleepily traversed into the cockpit, meeting wordlessly with the others. He'd changed a fair amount since his term on the Gaius, adorned by shaggy grey and blonde hair and donning, again, old Derelict underarmor. The crew had desperately needed a cleanup.


"Alrighty! Well, looking on the events of last night," Imille began, as soon as the members had all joined up in the cockpit. It was strange seeing her talk up, as she'd almost taken on the role of impromptu leader. They were joined together by the diminutive techno-mage, but that didn't mean much when his only aspirations were to not die and not be captured. "We've gotta meet up with Nyx. Now, last night we all agreed to try to kill a giant squid. Last night we were all drinking, but that's completely irrelevant. And since we have a unanimous vote, there's no going back. Even Cas voted to fight the squid, which was very honorable and brave-"


"I didn't-"


"VERY HONORABLE AND BRAVE." Imille finished, talking over the mage, who seemed confused at best. He looked up and to the right, as if trying to remember if he actually had agreed to such a thing. "Lets go!" she finished, cheerfully, and began again to disembark from the docked Interceptor.

 

[Notorious]

While the human members of the Interceptor slept, the other two had a very different night. While Psy was plugged in to the ship, he sat across from a drunk Jagar who had told him hunting stories all night. His galactic standard was bad, even with a translator device, so it proved to be quite a night for the both of them. In a strange turn of events, when the other two had woken up he and Jagar were still talking, finding a new respect for one another.


"Yes... Very honorable, brave." Jagar mimed Imille, "So brave that Em-lee raise fucking hand for Cazzer." Before they disembarked they all stopped at hearing what Jagar just said. "Everyone was very fucking fucked up last fucking night. We agree to kill fucking puss with green lady. Fuck." He looked to Psy who just began to burst out into a huge laugh that he couldn't contain. The metal skeleton began slapping his knee over and over at how ridiculous Jagar sounded.


"I've been holding that in all night. I taught Jagar how to curse!" He was bent over and practically crying, if he could then tears would be pouring down from his eyes as he spoke. "He has gotten a little too attached to the word fuck but I think I can enhance his vocabulary some. Next we learn racial slurs!" When both Cas and Imille shook their heads at Jagar he let out a long sigh.


"Si... Teach Jagar fucking wrong? Fuck you mean?... racial slurs? Is... Jagar... doing something bad?" He asked Imille and Cas, actually catching on to what Psy was doing for once. "This some fucking joke bitch Si?" While Psy continued to laugh, Jagar's fists clenched. The whole night that psychotic robot had been manipulating how he spoke into something even more backwards and far more vulgar than anyone thought possible. Jagar was able to control the small burst of rage he felt towards the robot, for once, someone finally getting under his skin. "Jagar angry with Si, let you get eaten by beast today." And with that, Jagar passed by the dumbfounded Imille and Casar. Psy howled as Jagar left, his prank successful.


"Nyx say meet near bar." Jagar grumbled to Imille. He hoisted a bag over his shoulder, "Energy weapons, suit for Cazzer. One in cargo hold."

 

[C.DEX]

Casar looked between Jagar and Psy, for once sensing actual upset from the Vekht man. Still, that was the penance for traveling with the psychotic android. A part of the techno-mage felt bad, feeling something of a pang of empathy for the displaced outrider. Another part of him knew that Jagar's words were literal; if he'd had the opportunity, he'd let Psy be eaten by the beast. "He's serious." the mage stated to Psy. "He was going to use me as bait for the Warden before someone actually corrected that it was a joke. Don't get near the mouth."


Imille, too, laughed. It was a guilty laugh, however, as the sunken demeanor of Jagar sunk her laugh to a small giggle. She considered giving a consoling pat to him, but a bit of her was still cautious about being ripped limb from limb. She chose instead to console him verbally, an attempt to make up for the stifled laughter she had at his expense. "It's okay! What I've learned from my short expedition with Psy is that he's an asshole. You're not the only one that gets teased! But in his cold, dead, inorganic interior... Somewhere deep down - DEEP down - lies a warm, mushy, bloody heart."


The affront to Casar's bravery seemed to put him in a reflective mood as they all prepared their equipment to go. He turned his eyes away from them all, even somewhat disappointed that he hadn't agreed to help them. He was in on it out, with or without his own decision, as they had already prepared a suit. Embarrassment and even protectiveness overcame him, as he'd opened his mouth. "For the record, if you all went... I think it's fucking stupid-" he stopped, enunciating the proper use of the word. "I would - and still am - going anyways. Believe it or not, I don't actually want you to die. If I can't convince you that this is a bad idea, then I'll try."


"Well I'm glad you're coming along for the ride, then! See, Jag. I knew he'd want to go, and I made an informed decision. Now, can we be nice to each other while we walk down? I really want to fight a squid, drunken or not, and if I can't fight a giant one then I'm gonna fight the first one I see. And squids are people, here."


Casar disappeared for a moment, returning with the equipment that Jagar had noted was there. With everything packed up, Imille with her scavenged assault rifle and bandolier, and Casar with his suit and core gun, they had descended the ramp of the Interceptor to meet the bartender from before.

 

[Notorious]

The dysfunctional crew began making their way from the docking bay back to the bar they had found. As they passed the weapon shop Jagar had to pull Imille away from saying hello to the weapon shop owner she had a vendetta with but other than that the trip was uneventful. The city seemed much less welcoming today, the initial wonder of seeing it was gone at least in this portion of the city. The people were still friendly but for whatever reason a lot of people around seemed to avoid the travelers. They seen Nyx waiting a ways away from the bar, they almost didn't recognize her at first as she wasn't in her uniform for work. She wore a tight black set of diving gear with noticeable but minimal armor, her webbed hands and feet lacking any gear as she didn't need any due to being naturally built for this environment. On her suit were several pockets along with a bag dangling at her waist, most likely for the treasures they'd recover.


"Well look who it is." She said, looking up from her holo-tool at the approaching group. "The drunk three have returned with their murder bot. You four made quite the scene last night heading back to your ship. I tried my best to help you stumble your way there but well... I started drinking too after my shift ended." She said, covering her mouth and giggling slightly. "Glad I remember you all though! That would have been embarrassing, forgetting this crazy suicide mission and my new drinking buddies."


"We fucking ready." Jagar said, his arms crossed looking at Nyx. "Apologies. We ready."


She raised a brow at him, then looked over to Psy who was still giggling. "You did mention you were going to pull a prank... Was this it?" His non-stop laughter since they had left the ship was unending, a sign enough that it was indeed the prank he had told Nyx about. "Funny. Jagar, don't worry about how you talk around me big guy. I think you're pretty funny and actually sweet in a... uhh... unconventional way. You got REAL talkative about yourself last night after I pumped a few drinks in you." The hunter grunted, losing the will power to even respond properly to everyone today but he gave her a respectful nod. "Okay! Imille, we're about to make you look less like a doctor and more like a man-slaying treasure hunter. Humans kinda... well, pop when they get too deep in the ocean due to the pressure. So, I got you a nice set of armor that'll protect that ass and give the boys something to look at!" She smirked, "Jagar, what do you plan on doing? That armor of yours doesn't look pressurized."


"Jagar remove armor, body adapt to pressure fast."


"Short, sweet and to the point. I like it. Kinda crazy going in armorless but you did tell me you once ripped a behemoth's head off with nothing but your claws and used its bone marrow as food... I trust your judgement." She smiled, "Okay! Enough talking, we'll get in my ship and talk there." Nyx led them down the hall and away from the bar and terminal area towards a deeper portion of the oxygenated section. They passed by less and less air breathers and found themselves surrounded by strange looking fish people who were all ogling them. Soon, they passed through a security checkpoint to another section of the docking bay on the opposite side of the station and that's when they seen it.


A small, submarine like ship laid dormant on the end of the docking bay next to a freighter ship. It was a fraction the size of the Interceptor, lacking any real space other than a docking bay, a cockpit and a small bathroom. "There she is! She should be able to fit all of us, only really needed to get us to and from where we're going. More cargo space than people space but... that's what I get for putting treasure before people." She said with a chuckle. They soon boarded, forcing Jagar to lean down as they passed through the doorway. Nyx turned the vehicle on and sent them flying out of the docking bay and into the sea itself, the first plunge they had in open waters since they had arrived. Water came crashing towards the viewing port before they were entirely engulfed, shaking the entire ship.


"This little baby is quick! Hope you don't mind me not wasting any time but hopefully our big octopus friend is asleep right now. Usually I give my guests time to sit down before punching it but we have quite a ways to go before we arrive. How is everyone? You all got enough room?"

 

[C.DEX]

When they had boarded and the ship tore off into the ocean, it seemed that everybody onboard - apart from Nyx, who had been seated - gripped for the walls and bars. They jettisoned off, the craft flying through water as if it hadn't been water at all - just empty space. Unlike empty space, the water around them barraged the craft. Buildings lied to the sides of them, all of which their deep ocean tour guide had skillfully dodged. It seemed as if she had been doing this for a while. Luminescent plants and algaes thrived against the underwater city, creating illuminated lights of their own without having to rely on the burden of electricity. Part of it fascinated the young Casar, whose opportunity to see the Universe had been cut slim. Doors dotted the vertical sides of those city behemoths, also allowing the denizens of the sea to not only take horizontal pathways, but ones that cut up through their own versions of the sky. It was a tangled, weaved web. Fascinating in its own right, and mystical to boot. A stark contrast to the land-dwelling domes that they had traversed beforehand.


Imille pressed her hand to the window, having taken the only other seat up front while the boys were forced to squeeze into the back of the cockpit. She was entranced with the view. While Curretch was an amazement in its own, there was something particularly ethereal about the world that passed by them. Strange and alien. Those were words that weren't often used by spacefarers; after all, they had seen it all, hadn't they? This little gem was locked behind mystery and starmaps, free for everyone to come to. But they didn't. Because they were afraid. The doctor wondered just how deep they'd go, and what they'd see.


"Oh man..." she said, breath taken out by awe. "This is beaaautiful! Talk about paradise. And yeah yeah, I know what you're about to say. Danger lurks. But it's ... the water is cold, but it just feels so cozy." she cooed. "I'd love to live here. Even if I had to wear a respirator, it'd be worth it."


The techno-mage didn't battle the thought. He, too, was entranced by the wonderful view. Fear had melted away, seeing the small underwater city nestled in its own little spot in the darkness. Then, the ship jerked. And they began to go faster. The crewmembers reacted in kind; Jagar, with his stoicness. Psy and Imille with giddy excitement. Then, Casar, with trepidation. The wonderful city lights suddenly melted away and the shaded tentacles of darkness began to grip the craft. Fear sparked up in the techno-mage, and even the doctor, as the light had been ripped from their hands just as their lives might be. And then the reality began to sink into them.


Well, Casar.


As the craft was bathed in a cloak darker than dark, like space itself, the mage suddenly retreated to the back. "Havetoputonmysuit." he managed, and slinked into the back. He caught his breath in the comparatively spacious cargo hold, which had been illuminated by a single blue light. Almost like a dark interrogation room. He wondered just why he was there. Then, visions began to flash in front of his eyes. Visions, of course, meaning recordings. He'd taken the time to attempt to chill himself, ironically by showing what he'd done for others previous. Grabbing the wire in the Icarus. Giving his respirator to Lucy. Attacking Psy, despite being terrified. Then freeing him. And fighting Jagar. He could be brave.


"I probably should do that too!" Imille cheerfully replied, standing up from her seat to join Casar in the back. They were still in voice's reach, and as she pulled her own lender from the miniscule scraps of cargo that Nyx had, she shouted out. "How long do you think it's gonna take? This thing is pretty speedy. Gotta have some time to prep up and then slip into something seeexier." she said, with a particularly unladylike chortle.

 

[Notorious]

"It'll be about an hour, we're gonna have to go deep. You air breathers haven't seen anything yet, Nisela is full of surprises. Full of wonders. You could say the same about its people." She said with a mischievous smirk. "Slip into something sexier, I can put this on autopilot if you need some hands on help." Psy let out a huge 'Oooooooh' sound at Nyx's flirtatious words but she began to laugh heartily. "Just teasing of course. You all are fun. I'm hoping you all just aren't comedians because this job is gonna be a tough one. Taking on a giant creature like this without a ship... Well, it's suicide."


"You can't kill what's already dead, sugar tits." Psy said, leaning in next to her while holding out an energy assault rifle in his hands. "I'll rip open that beast and pull you all out of it when its eaten you. This right here is an Atlas Annihilator, same people who made your's truly. It's loud, rambunctious and just plain sexy. Like your's truly." He said, his voice filled with glee. "Got one more on my back, I can keep the asshole's attention while you all shoot at its funny bits. WE'LL RIP THAT FUCKER OPEN, FRY HIM UP AND FEED HIM TO IMILLE! I wanna see that metal tooth in action..." He said, his head rattling about as he began to convulse. He was excited, and when Psy got excited he could barely contain himself. With a shove, Nyx pushed the android's head back to give her some space.


"You sure do have a way with words Psy." Nyx replied sarcastically. "But I'm serious. My original plan was to sneak around the creature but since you all seem hell bent on getting yourselves killed well, I'll leave the ship running just in case one of us makes it out alive." As she said that a school of fish swept by engulfing their entire view in glowing eyed fish. "Beautiful, huh?" She said smiling softly, "Those are Lumi, they aren't particularly smart but they're pretty to look at. And delicious! They travel in packs, in your language it's called... schools? Strange. You-"


They heard a loud clanking as Jagar's armor began falling to the ground. While Imille had the luxury of a bathroom to get changed in, Jagar opted for the less modest approach. One by one, pieces of his armor began to fall into a rather neat pile on the ground. Soon his chest was exposed, the same markings on his face continuing down to his muscular scarred body. Burn marks and other signs of battle littered the man's chest. All that was left after he was done was his arm guards where his blade was located and his pants which he opted to keep on.


"Swim faster, light armor." He said, pushing the bits of armor he wasn't going to wear aside. "Have weapons, want.. spear? Harp... On... Harpon?" He thought to himself for a moment. "Poon. Harpoon. Neex have?"


"Sure do big guy, got a few in the back there. Take what you need, also..." She paused, pursing her lips. "Let me know what your exercise regiment is. Your abs have abs on them, or whatever those weird alien looking muscles are." Jagar simply starred at her as she continued to pilot the ship, not knowing what she meant by exercise regiment. "How you doing back there Cas? You've been quiet this whole ride." She said after some silence took over the cabin for a while.

 

[C.DEX]

"Aw man! My ass looks fabulous in this. Why do I gotta be stuck with someone who only loves me for my metal parts and a giant without a grasp on the concept of good butt?" A loud smack was heard from the bathroom. "Badabang. Oh well. Gonna, just..." A shutter sound came from the bathroom. "Preemo booty. Snappin' that to the grave, biiiitch. This is what yer missin', Greg." she said, with a cackle. Then, when she'd found herself modest, Imille left the bathroom. She was zipped up in what amounted to a femme fatale diving suit, looking quite a ways less raggedy than she had before. She struck a pose in the small confines of the cockpit.


"You were right, Nyx! Lookitme. I'm beaaautiful. I forgot what well-fitted armor looked like!" she cried out, a thousand times more eager to get on with the mission than before. "Jagar. Tell me I'm pretty. I know your concept of pretty is probably like, nosehorns and bloodbaths and shit, but do it anyways. 'Cause I am. Oh shit! You took off your clothes!" she said, with a minor gasp. "Oooh. Wow. I thought when you said that it was just a drunk thing, but nope. You're all ... half-naked. You know what? Maybe that strip job would have worked. Can't judge a book by it's cover."


"Shut up." Casar said, from the back.


"He's fine!" Imille said, cheerfully. "You need help gettin' into your underroos back there, kiddo? Got stuck on something?" she chided.


"Shut. Up." Casar snapped back, a fair amount more of hostility in his voice than beforehand, overtaking the contemptuous drone that he'd normally had.


"Okeydoke. Someone's got the jitterbugs. Sheeesh." Imille said, reeling back with a deflated chuckle. "Back to us. Sexy us."


In the cargo bay, the techno-mage had found himself perched up on a box, face propped up by his fists. He had slipped into his own outfit, conveniently enough with the raider armor he'd found in his 'room' having been underarmor. He'd quickly tied his hair back, though choosing not to don his helmet until they had needed to. It already felt claustrophobic as is, and that was the last thing he'd needed.

 

[Notorious]

"Em-lee pretty." Jagar replied, feeling a bit out of place with the way Imille had starred him down. His response was rather forced and blunt in typical Jagar fashion but it was endearing in his own little way. Psy let out a gagging noise looking over at her.


"Your fat ass is getting squeezed by that... thing you're wearing. Nyx, is all your armor slutty or am I just noticing a pattern with you? You organics... trying to mate with everything and everyone you see. I'm surprised you haven't tried to jump me yet, being the obvious choice for coitus. Alpha male, attractive, 15 settings for vibration." Psy added, asking the rather blunt insulting questions early in the trip. "I'm so happy I wasn't created to please you mortals... I'd rather be decommissioned serving you organic whores. Got any more whore clothing on this ship Nyx? I'm sure you both want to accessorize or whatever you meatbag sluts do to attract mates." Nyx smirked, angling her head back and blatantly checking out Imille.


"I like. Maybe a little too much. You aliens... fascinate me. More so than the people of my planet anyways, been there, done that." She commented, going above and beyond to compliment the doctor. "Similar body chemistry but different features. You're hot, Imille. Avoid the Aqui, most of them are ass men. Park that thing up here please... And you know what Jagar, you got a way about you too! Damn. It's a shame when this octopus eats all of us up. Wasted potential!"


"STOP FLIRTING!" Psy shouted. "YOU HAVE BEEN FLIRTING WITH BOTH OF THEM EVER SINCE WE MET YOU!" Psy noticed, picking up on Nyx's subtle hints. It was the way she talked to just about everyone, using her looks and confidence as an edge among customers and maybe even so around colleagues. "IT IS DISGUSTING! WHY DO YOU DO THAT?! THEY AREN'T FISH!"


"You jealous?" Nyx asked, smiling to herself as she kept her eyes forward after looking back at Imille and Jagar. "When the three-way happens I'll make sure to send pictures. Maybe even video." She added, disgusting Psy even further.


"Three? Way? Are we doing battle?" Jagar asked, quickly interrupted by Psy screaming at maximum volume.


"YOU WILL NOT SEND ME SUCH VILE AND DISGUSTING PICTURES! I CAN'T- NO ORGANIC ORGIES I- WHAT I- CASAR!" Psy pushed his way past Imille and Jagar then sat down next to his friend shielding him from their view. "They... don't... understand us Casar... You're freaking out, now I'm freaking out... I will sit here silently and give you company my friend..." He gagged, "Those fleshy bodies... Disgusting..." He sighed, "If the octopus eats them when I'm done I won't fish them out. We'll just get back on this ship and get the hell out of here." He whispered, feeling violated. As everyone could hear what he was saying Nyx could barely contain her laughter at Psy's expense.


"You all are fucking crazy, you know that?"

 

[C.DEX]

Imille looked between Psy and Nyx, wide-eyed. Had she caused all of this? At least partially. The doctor took slight offense to Psy's tirade, and a small frown had hit her lips. Not only that, but the poor dejected robot had actually made her feel the slightest bit guilty. That, and Jagar's fun hadn't even started. They were making jokes at everyone else's expense, and while they were objectively hilarious, their crew was ... special. In more ways than one. Imille, suddenly wanting to make things right, turned to Jagar. "Nyx was making a joke about, er, reproduction, Jagar. She was saying that you and I looked good! It was a compliment. Understand?" She said in earnest, a smile playing to her lips. "People probably call you ugly a lot, what with the... spikes and all, and all the scarring. But we were saying you're not. Jagar pretty." She said, explaining in depth what they had both meant when they were poking at the others. For perhaps the first time, and perhaps to the gigantic Vekht's embarrassment, he could understand what was going on. She was the anti-Psy, choosing to undo the damage instead of cause it.


Imille turned to look toward the back. "Psssyyy! I'm sorry! If anyone has a three way we won't send you videos, k? I'll even wear a fannypack over my 'fat ass'! It's not aquadynamic, or sexy, but if it makes you feel better I'll do it! I can even put sexy wrenches and ... uh ... metallic things in there! Wanna look at my tooth?!" She said, with a frown. In her own way, she did care about the others, unwanting of the conflict she'd directly or indirectly caused.


Casar looked up, then cut his feed. It was a minor annoyance to the techno-mage, but he could tell in some way or another that the psychotic android was actually bothered. He frowned, glancing up to the cockpit. "Sorry, we can't leave them behind, as much as I'd like to right now. They're disgusting organics, but they're our disgusting organics. We destroyed the Doctor's life and decided to take on Jagar's, so..." he gave a small shrug. "The other one is just temporary. We won't have to deal with her after this mission; after we get some money. Imille and Jagar are coming with us, and then you won't have to think about it anymore."


The techno-mage looked to Psy again. Despite the android having no discernible emotion, there was something so expressive about him that he could tell he wasn't helping. Suddenly, the mage had an idea. He reached his hand up. Then, he interfaced with Psy. It was sudden and jarring; they hadn't done so since he was lying on the operating table. Before the android could protest or ask why, the mage brought a memory to the forefront of Psy's mind. One that had bothered the mage, but that didn't matter in the moment.


Suddenly, Psy was back inside of the cave on Vee. Only, he wasn't replaying his cycles. He was tearing apart the raider colony that had enslaved him. Every bullet shot through every cranium was like it had happened for the first time. Casar was playing the android a movie; one that came with revulsion for him, but also joyful, liberating abandon for the android. He started it where they had first made their pact, knowing well that from that point on, it was smooth sailing.


"Does this help?" He asked, through their link. "It's better than the camcorder, I think."


The outside view of the two was eerie, with Casar's eyes glowing an emblazoned orange reminiscent of his power core.


"Psssyyyyyyyyyyy?" Imille called out, again. "Ohh, well. He'll get over it. We cool, Jags?" Imille asked, holding out a fistbump.

 

[Notorious]

Jagar looked at her, confused. "Jagar, pretty?" He was genuinely confused but as soon as it all clicked he actually laughed. Although muffled by the mask, the scary Vekht had actually broke away from his usual stoic nature and showed joy. He looked down at her fist bump and placed his hand over it, unknowing of the gesture but touched her all the same. His touch was gentle to her surprise, his calloused hands rough and somewhat irritating but there was a gentleness in his ways that hadn't been seen before. "We... Cool, Emells." He said nodding at her firmly. Psy's words had not bothered him in the slightest as he didn't understand many of them but to see someone stand up for him for the first time maybe ever meant a lot to the hunter. "So... Neex and Emells want reproduction?" He laughed again, "Vekht only, apologizes. Neex and Emells not... Handle it."


"What was that, Jag?" Nyx immediately replied. "I can't handle it? Imille too? You got some nerve boy. You couldn't handle it!" She began to laugh so much the ship began to veer off course. "No, we don't want reproduction buddy. Gotta buy a girl dinner first." She hesitated, not wanting to lead him on when he showed up with dinner later. "We're joking, Jagar pretty though."


"Jagar joke too." He grunted. "Not about handling, that part true."


After all that Jagar was still a man, causing Nyx to roll her eyes. "Hold on to that fanny pack idea though Imille..." She commented before the conversation changed. "If we make it out alive I might want video of that. As a keep sake before you all leave my homeworld. I have a pack back there somewhere... Or you can borrow mine!" She teased, knowing that she was trying to make Jagar feel good after the damage Psy had caused. Imille was very light hearted so having Nyx go that extra mile to make sure she had a smile on her face too was showing of her character. "We should be arriving in about 15, so let's try and not start a fight in here. We got one coming for us out there."


Back in the cargo bay Psy heard what Imille was saying but quickly tuned her out not caring in the slightest. As he watched his own rampage he was delighted to see that Casar saved such a memory. He sat there like a child, being consoled by his favorite show. Even though he sensed Casar's distress about halfway through, he continued to watch until finally he was calm and paused it.


'You are a good friend. You don't have to watch anymore.' He spoke through their mental link. 'I have a bad feeling... Not about the octopus, we have a Jagar. But... Nyx. She is trying too hard for them to like her. It's working.' When calmed and in a mental link it was as if almost Psy could get a grip on himself, truly think outloud without saying or doing something ridiculous. 'Whether she is trying to scam treasure or what, we can't trust her. She's practically humping Imille's leg while dragging Jagar with them. He has better resolve than Imille luckily, but we must be cautious.'

 

[C.DEX]

Casar thought on Nyx. He hadn't particularly liked her, and he didn't care for her comments towards the other two. He had thought the whole mission in general was stupid and reckless, but then again, he thought most of what they had done to save him was stupid and reckless. So, he was at a crossroads. But he trusted Psy; it was a thing he couldn't particularly speak on for the others. While he hadn't fought against working with Imille and actively worked to help Jagar, neither of them had the same connection with him that Psy had. They couldn't. He continued the recording, getting close to where Psy had begun to deal with Sandman. As much as watching it had sickened him - as he wasn't as big of a fan of gore and fighting as the others, and he'd spent the majority of the time cramped inside of a tiny box - he knew that it was the android's favorite part. There wasn't a justice to showing him the memory unless he'd gotten to it.


"The doctor would like a rabid animal, as long as it didn't call her ugly and didn't make crappy weapons." Casar replied, through their link. "It doesn't mean anything." he said. "I don't trust her either, but ... if we can actually do this, we could get off this planet and make our way to someplace that we're not being chased. We just have to be careful. Look out for Jagar and Imille if they're not going to look out for themselves." he said, knowing well that his answer wouldn't please Psy in the moment. "They're our friends, as distasteful as they are."


He sighed.


"I just don't want to drown. If I can accomplish that, I'll be fine." he finished. Their movie was coming to a close. Sandman's screams filled their minds. The mage waited for a fair amount longer, letting Psy make his art project and set down the recorder. Then, when the android had joined up again with the Gaius team, the feed cut out. Having heard about the ETA, the mage deinterfaced from Psy and stood up from the box he'd perched on. He was quite a ways calmer than before, despite everything.


Imille scoffed. "Well, I'll take dinner. As long as it's made of squid!" she giggled. "No offense, Nyx. Kraken. There we go. Never tasted Kraken before. I imagine it's a delicacy, yeah? We could kill enough Kraken to maintain a restaurant for years! Then, when we've got a little nest egg, we'll leave again to the stars." Imille said, grinning again. Her mind had long since passed from Casar and Psy, instead focusing on Nyx and Jagar. The doctor took a seat once again in the pilot's seat, apparently having accomplished her goal of tauting off her outfit. Her elbows propped up on empty spaces on the control panel, and she rested her head in her hands.


"Sooo... how do we know when we're in octopus land?" Imille asked.