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Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

Casar had come downstairs, wearing possibly the baggiest jacket that he could find within his own room. Some of his clothes had been quite blatantly stolen from others, especially considering what little belongings he'd had had either been destroyed or left behind. In the bagginess of his jacket, he'd been able to quite easily hide the small animal. Through some quieted shushing, he had managed to get it to calm down enough to smuggle it down. Psy had been once again tucked underneath his arm, while his other had non-chalantly kept to his stomach.


Arc had also found himself quietly seated at the table. While it was technically heretical to partake in eating Renegade food, helping them on a mission was also heretical. His brethren had sat down in the brig, also partaking in the meal. And he'd had a different reason, now. So he waited patiently for everyone to get down to their impromptu dining area to start pecking at his meal, his appetite not particularly worked up after the mission, even after being launched into a volcano. His eyes tracked the mage as he had come down, brow knitting when he had realized that something was off. But he sat without comment.


Soon, everyone had been seated. Even Psy, who Casar had placed near him facing everyone else at the table, thinking perhaps that the android could help him introduce their new pet as soon as they had decided it was best. If interfacing didn't bring its own slew of problems, that might have been the alternative as well, but there was still a remaining sour taste from the last time that had happened.


"Alright, Lucy-Luce." Imille said, dancing around the table in order to make Lucy's plate. She loaded it up, figuring a good meal after a stressful mission would lift her spirits. Or, it would try. By the end of it, she had fish, rice, scallops, and fresh vegetables on her plate. Unlike Casar, she had tried to reach out to the young injured woman, knowing the pain of feeling useless to your team after traveling with the Interceptor crew. "Here you go. Enjoy, and eat everything. You need it if you want to heal. And I'm gonna be hella offended if you don't, 'cause this shit is delicious. We could have had Cas in the kitchen!"


Casar looked up from his lap at the mention of his name, distracted. "What?"


"Yeeesh. Kids these days. You better have a phone in your lap, Mister." Imille scolded. Soon, everyone had been given a plate, appetizing food being settled in front of every person. Then, she had given the gesture, allowing everyone to eat. "Wait!" she said, halting every fork and spoon. "We need to pray."


A second's silence had passed, before she cackled. "I'm fuckin' with you. Eat up and be fat." she said. "I want to see meat on our Exodlite's bones, and Ajax -" she pointed at him. "If I see you diddling around on that app over there I'm gonna smack your little smart watch off your hand." With that, she sat down at her own seat, and began digging in.
 
"Let us pray." Ajax mocked Imille, holding up his hands in a praying position only to hide a middle finger directed right towards the doctor with the hand facing her. He laughed however as his hands dropped and he began to dig in, his food piled higher than the others as he obviously had the bigger appetite out of everyone there. "Meals like this after a big mission don't count Doc. We spent who knows how much working like that and I'm talking about watching deserts and shit of that nature you need to watch. This is all good protein, carbs, fib-"


"This is delicious." Lucy said, interrupting Ajax's exhaustive health oriented spiel. "I haven't had this good of a meal on the Gaius in years." She confessed, smiling at the two who had worked hard to make this possible. "We haven't had this old table out in over 5 years. Last time it was used was right before the battle of Terram actually." Those words carried some heavy baggage, even some more recent baggage given the planet, but Lucy seemed to be at peace with it enough to talk about it briefly. "Vitor had cooked us up a big meal with Dayle. I remember it being a little over seasoned but just the fact that we were all there together was enough for me. It was... the last time we were together actually." She said, her eyes glazing over as she looked down at her food.


It was an awkward moment, one in which no one really had anything to say to her after she spoke. So, she continued. "I found this table underneath a bunch of rubble and broken glass. You see the crack down the middle? That's where it had split in half from a massive metal beam crushing it. Ajax and me fixed it up a few years ago but never got around to using it again." She smiled, "This table is reserved for people of the Gaius. That means all of you sitting here is apart of us now." Her eyes lingered over Arc, knowing that he would fundamentally disagree with what she was saying but she stood by it nonetheless. "We're a... family now." She said quietly as they ate, some even putting their utensils down to listen to her. "I don't know much about leading or giving speeches but... From what I've learned over the years is those that stick by you even when you're bleeding out or stuck in a wheelchair... Ones that would jump in a volcano for you..." Lucy suddenly smiled, "Thank you. Everyone. For the meal and... for being here for eachother."


"Most of the people out there don't have what we got." Ajax said, adding on to Lucy's speech to her relief. She had been running out of things to say and he caught on to it. "I spent years out on my own with nobody but my little sis to take care of... No one out there to take care of me. Honestly it was the opposite, people out there trying to profit off me getting hurt. Got into a lot of shit and had to dig my way out of it." He smiled, "But it was all worth it to be right here, right now."


Nyx was beaming at all of them, she hadn't imagined a dusty old table and them getting together to eat like this would cause such a reaction but she played off of what was going on and raised her glass.


"We use to be the Interceptor crew, now we're the Gaius. I love you guys. Cheers." Nyx grinned, "To family."


Ajax held up his glass as did Lucy even, followed one by one until nearly everyone was toasting to their newfound family. During the midst of it all Psy was shouting something unintelligible, "IWOULDBETOASTINGBUTIHAVENOARMS!"
 
"Cheers!" Imille said, holding up her own glass in light of the moment. "You guys have been great to us, so it's only appropriate that we do what we can. Let bygones be bygones, and all that." She said, smiling at the others. It had meant little to Casar, however, who raised his glass simply to reciprocate the gesture of the others, and then went back to quietly eating his meal. "It was ... difficult to accept y'all, knowing where we were, but in the long run, I think it's for the better. Who knew Frankenstein coils bring us together the way he did?" She added, her eyes shifting to both Casar and Arc in the process. Arc hadn't raised his glass, though when they had hit the table, he had taken a drink with the rest of them. Seeing that the Exodlites had felt discluded, she raised her glass once again.


"And to our friends upstairs and downstairs, who don't deserve a life of slavery. We missed the shit out of you, Cas. And Psy. While you were off doing your thing I couldn't even look at hats for a while." She said, smiling toward them. "And even to Arc, who helped us keep everyone alive when shit was getting real. You might be a traitor, bud, but you're our traitor." She said, met with a grunt from the scientist and another raise of the glass from the rest of them. Then, everyone had taken another sip from their respective drinks and dug in.


After a while of eating, the Ipt began to stir in Casar's jacket again. He was still unsure how to approach the subject with the others, so he had nonchalantly taken a sliver of his own food and fed the cub, his eyes turning back up to the food on the table afterwards. As if trying to solve the issue for him, the small Ipt had leapt from his jacket squarely onto the table, stopping all conversation as it sat down in front of his plate and began eating his meal, the poor thing looking quite like it had never had a proper feeding in its life. The silence that had followed was awkward, to say the least, but finally, Casar had broken it.


"This ... isn't what it looks like." He said, eyes shifting immediately to Lucy and Ajax, who Psy had warned would be the most combative for introducing a pet to the team.


"It looks like you stole a space lion!" Imille said, stunned, but with a stupified grin on get face. "CAS SMUGGLED A SPACE LION!" She said.


"Okay, well... we... killed its mother. That's why the Ipt was attacking us, because - she was near him. And - because Zap is dead, and Zap 2 - I thought it would be good to get a ... a pet. And it's not really fair to just leave it there to die." He argued, before the others could even say a word. "Psy, help." He asked the android.


The room turned to him.
 
"Cas..." Lucy said, glaring down at the little kitten eating from Casar's plate. She didn't know what to think at first, there had never been an animal on the Gaius before and she didn't know how to react. She couldn't deny that the creature was cute but she also couldn't deny the fact that it had been smuggled on board without her knowledge. "That thing could be dangerous, it might be eating your food now but what happens when it gets to full health and its hungry when you aren't around to feed it? That thing is no house pet, it's an alien. A dangerous one at that. It took all of you shooting down its mother to put down before it tore Ajax in half."


"Hey! I had it all under control. That creature wasn't attacking, it was about to give me a big ol' hug!" Ajax said, laughing at the revelation. He loved the fact that Casar had stolen a kitten off a strange alien world, nothing had made him laugh this hard in a long time. "Cas... This is the funniest thing I've seen anyone bring to the dinner table before. It just... hopped out of your jacket and fucking meo-" Ajax began to choke on his food, waving his hand at them while he started slamming down water trying his best not to laugh even whilst choking. When he finally simmered down he said, "You can't be serious about keeping that thing though. It grows taller than a human and has paws bigger than my fucking head. It might be cute now but... we don't know shit about animal taming."


"You don't know shit about animal taming." Nyx corrected, chuckling at their predicament. "If I recall correctly you were trying to hug its mother into submission. Great job, Champ. A shining example for all of us on what not to do in a situation." She smirked, "Makes me think we should keep it. I don't really care but... if you think we should get rid of it then chances are we should keep it."


"This isn't up to a vote it's-" A loud meow was heard, interrupting Lucy as she was speaking. As if saying its own piece the little Ipt stopped eating for a moment and looked to all of them with a curious look on its face. It starred right at Imille and it almost looked as if it was smiling at her before looking to Lucy, the tendrils on its head bouncing and waving around as it sensed its surroundings with them. It enjoyed hearing them talk and obviously it was having the best meal of its life so it was content with listening to them. "That thing is pretty cute." She stammered out, looking at the little lion. "But we can't keep it. Like I said, it's a dangerous alien creature. How are you even going to take care of it? Feed it table scraps when it's a few hundred pounds? Taking care of a pet like this is a big responsibility."


"WE CAN TRAIN IT TO KILL!" Psy shouted, his head rattling on the table as he spoke. "WE CAN ALSO GET A MASSIVE BOX FOR IT TO DO DUMPS IN! I'LL TAKE CARE OF THAT PART BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A NOSE AND I LOVE LITTLE BAMBI!" Psy exclaimed, gasping as he came up with a name for it. "Bambi... It makes perfect sense!"


"What the fuck is a Bambi?" Ajax asked, looking down at the kitten who upon seeing Ajax seemed to get feisty. Its tail began to shake as it looked at him but continued to eat, keeping an eye on the mutant. "Is that what you're calling it?"


"YES! Because we killed its mother!" Psy cackled, the irony falling on deaf ears as they had no clue what he was talking about. "You motherfuckers don't know what a Bambi is? Well shit... Guess I'm showing my age for once. IT'S A LITTLE FOUR LEGGED CREATURE WHO'S MAMA GETS MERKED BY A HUNTER! IT'S ALL SAD AND ANIMATED AND HILARIOUS!" The android said, his head being sniffed by the Ipt as it finished eating. "HI FRIEND!" He exclaimed as the Ipt began licking his face. "I LOVE YOU TOO OH MY GOD THIS IS SO CUTE!" He said as the creature began to lick Psy's face. "GUYS HOW CAN YOU HATE THIS THING HEY GUYS!"


Lucy sighed, placing her hand on her face as she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What the fuck is going on?" She groaned, her voice muffled by her hand.
 
"If I can make Psy a body I'm pretty sure I could make him a space suit! And Psy is right - we can train him to kill! Take it on missions with us, that way he's pulling his own weight. All 500-700 pounds of him. Or her. I'm not sure. You saw what that one back on the moon could do! Now imagine him with rocket boosters and armor! We'd have to start training it to be okay with being dressed up now ... Quick, Cas, wrap him up in a dinner napkin!" Imille said, cackling when Casar had confusedly picked up the napkin off of the table. "Really, though. This kind of ship is meant for a few more people than just us." She said, looking to Lucy. They had all already decided they had wanted to keep it, much to the woman's detestment. Imille stood, rounding the table to get over to the small creature, whose abrasive tongue was beginning to mar Psy's metallic finish.


She took the napkin from Cas and wrapped it around the small creature, making a makeshift swaddle for it. It had allowed her to do so, its temperament not quite as extreme as its parent. She then gave it a cursory checkup, looking into the eyes and skin of the creature, who had been crooning its neck back to look at all of the faces surrounding the dinner table. "Looks malnutritioned. It might need certain chemicals in its food and drink, but we can always ask for the info on the local species from our Epoch friends." She said, before handing the baby lion back off to Casar.


As soon as it had been in his hands, it wriggled out once again, finding a newfound rejuvenation after having eaten. It pounced across the table, landing in front of Lucy. Then, it began batting playfully at her red hair, the color obviously being a strange thing to see for the cat from a mutantly blue world. Then, as it had overextended its arm, it fell off of the table, landing squarely in her lap, particularly confused.


"Maybe we can do a better job with him than you guys did with me." Casar said, flattening the optimism of the room with one fell swoop. "He ... deserves a chance, at least. At least he's trying." He said. "And ... if we raise him now, he'll just remember us as his family, and he won't try to hurt us."


Arc shared Lucy's look of dejection, a hand placed firmly to his temple. "Why are you even considering this?" He asked her, seeing her hesitance to outright shoot down the idea. The Ipt wiggled in her lap, struggling to reorient itself into its feet. "It's a wild animal. The days of domestication have long since passed. And C-2, you aren't a primitive life form. That thing probably doesn't understand the concept of family." He said.


"If Arc thinks it's a bad idea that means we have to keep it." Imille said, looking to Lucy.
 
Lucy was silent as the Ipt began to wiggle playfully in her lap until it finally got itself upright and looked her right in the face. She silently reached towards it and patted its head which it gratefully returned the gesture, purring in her hand as the red tendrils sticking out of its head wiggled in her hands. It felt like a normal kitten even with how strange and alien it looked, it even behaved like one if not a bit more aggressive. It seemed to like Lucy a lot, perhaps seeing her red hair and thinking she was one of its own kind. The adorable little Ipt began to swat at her hair again, only for it to curl up in her lap once it realized how comfortable it was there. Lucy couldn't help herself, reaching down and petting the kitten which continued to purr in the most adorable way it possibly could.


"You can domesticate little ones like that." Ajax said, nodding over to the kitten. "The fact that it's playing friendly with us is a good sign. Now when it gets bigger we might have a problem but hell... I like little Bambi. We can train it, not sure what Cas means by doing a better job on it than him but..." He paused, his mouth curled up as something was bugging him. "Flip it over and check what its packing, I'm tired of calling it an it."


"No need my love, I seen a mighty blue donger on that thing when it was in my face!" Psy said, almost too proud of himself for phrasing it that way and causing Nyx to erupt into laughter, the obscene way Psy saying that too much for her. "Laugh it up Nyx, you aren't the only weird colored thing around here anymore. Yeah that's right, stick to being the token green alien lady. When Bambi is around I forbid you to turn blue anymore! He is our special little guy and he deserves respect."


"It... doesn't exactly work like that but okay." Nyx said, shaking her head smiling as she returned to her food not in the least bit worried about the animal and more focused on what was in front of her.


"He seems pretty smart to me." Lucy said, watching as the Ipt fooled around on her lap. It began to swat at its own tail only to quickly go back to paying attention to Lucy who continued to pet it. He seemed happy, something that perhaps his species didn't get to enjoy on their moon due to the close quarters and constant close calls. "Bambi." She said, looking down at it to which it looked toward her. "Your name is Bambi... Understood?" Obviously it didn't as it went back to rolling around but soon it was sitting up in her lap and began climbing towards her face. "Don't you bite my face off you little shit, I'm already crippled." Then, to all of their amazement, Bambi rested his head underneath Lucy's chin and started purring all over her. "Did you... train it to do this?" She asked, frantically looking to Cas and Psy. It was working on her and the Ipt had been smart enough (or lucky enough) to stumble over to the woman who held its life in her hands.


"Please don't kill me." Ajax said, mimicking the animal and talking in a high pitched baby voice as the Ipt cuddled up with Lucy. "I'll be veweyy veweey good. I might get as bwig as a house but we can be the bestest of fweinds!"


"LOOK AT HOW CUTE IT IS!" Psy yelled obnoxiously, "IT IS THE BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO US! HE CAN BE A PART OF THE FAMILY! YOU WERE JUST TOASTING TO FAMILY LUCY LUCE! HOW ABOUT IT?" He said, rattling on the table as he beamed at the little creature. "ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US!" He chanted until he spoke so loudly his head spun around on the table. "TURN ME BACK AROUND!" He ordered Casar who did so, when Psy could see again he said. "CAN YOU SAY NO TO A FACE LIKE THAT AND KNOW THAT IT'LL DIE WITHOUT A FAMILY?! EVEN I'M NOT THAT CRUEL AND I KILL ORGANICS THAT LOOK AT ME WRONG!... Or just look wrong in general... SO?!"


"Shut up both of you I-" Lucy frowned, seeing the kitten look up at her made her heart melt. For the first time since Axel had crippled her she starred down at the creature and what at first was a small smile grew into a big one. "We're... keeping it."


End Scene 6: Companionship​
 
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A neck, chest, arms, legs, hands, and feet. Amongst all of the other intricacies, such as a slotted magnetic area inside of his chest for his trinkets, thrusters, flamethrowers, and other special combative additions, all of those things had gone into Psy's body. In reality, rebuilding him time after time had taken a considerable toll on the doctor, whose compatriots had gotten injured so often that her hands were beginning to wear. But it was a task she took upon proudly and happily, as anyone coming into the room she had made into her workshop, the doctor always worked with a smile upon her lips, even if her eyes were tired.


They had gotten supplies from the Epoch; enough to set themselves right, and enough for Imille to finally finish working on the android's body. In fact, the amount they had was actually in excess of what they needed; the Exodlite ship they had requisitioned had been partly used as their payment, the valuable metals and electronics stripped to fulfill the Epoch's end of the bargain. Now, the android not only had a slick new body, it had also been adorned with the same hardened terrasteel that the Exodlites had used to fashion their ships. Black and chrome coalesced to create his new form, and it was an intimidating one indeed.


Finally, after hours of work, Imille had finished. And so she stood, leaving her makeshift workshop to find Psy. It was the night cycle for the Gaius; all of the lights had been dimmed, and for the most part, everyone had been slumbering in their beds. She passed the lighted room of Cas and the darkened one of Ajax's to get to Psy's, where she had rapped on the door and then let herself in.


She had found the android in low-power mode with Bambi slumbering around him, Axel's stolen picture frame sitting near him on the desk once again. Casar had been complicit in the theft, no doubt hearing that it had helped the android stop shaking during the night and finding that it had a better owner in Psy. Sweet gesture aside, she lightly grabbed the android's head, taking the jittering thing back to her workshop and finally settling it onto his neck. Psy would feel a jolt of power pulling him from low power mode and instantly waking him. Imille, with her hands on her hips, grinned at him, though the dark circles under her eyes had indicated that she in particular had needed a rest.


Keeping her voice low, she spoke to him. "Well, what do you think? I was gonna wait until morning to put you on, but ... I think you waited long enough." She said. "Be honest. Do you think the silver is too much? Should we just spray paint the whole thing black? Or you could go with something crazy, like ... Orange. Probably not, though, you're already a big enough target."


Her eyes narrowed in anticipation.
 
Psy was surprisingly silent for a moment, checking his new body out by wiggling his fingers and noticed he even had toes in this version of himself. He wiggled those too, letting out a glee filled giggle as he looked down at his silver body. He still felt a few jitters from being in low power mode but being in this new body made him feel fantastic, the feeling of being a disembodied head was far too disorienting. He reached to the back of his neck and realized Imille had went above and beyond, his head now firmly sealed to an almost spine like piece of metal that would mean decapitating him would be not nearly as easy this go around and the fact that he was made out of ship materials meant only bad things for their enemies.


"This is.... AWESOME!" He exclaimed, not caring that it was the Gaius' night cycle in the slightest as he had no concept of what true sleep did for an organic. "YOU GAVE ME LITTLE TOES! I GOT TOES IMILLE! YOU HAVE GIVEN ME SOMETHING I NEVER THOUGHT I WANTED BUT LOOK AT THESE MOTHERFUCKERS!" He raised his foot up and wiggled them in Imille's face, only to find something he hadn't before. Imille's name was laser cut into the bottom of his foot, a signature for such a sophisticated piece of work one in which she had put in more effort than ever before in as evident by her lack of sleep. "AND I GOT MY FAVORITE DOCTOR'S NAME ON MY FOOT! FUCK YES! NOW WHEN I KICK ORGANICS IN THE FACE THE LAST THING THEY'LL SEE IS YOUR NAME!"


Her anticipation was worth the wait as Psy enthusiastically checked himself over everywhere, being connected to the body already getting a run down how everything works the instant his head was connected. He opened up his chest compartment and loved the new space and found where his trinkets would go so they wouldn't spill out. He giggled in excitement as he messed around in the compartment until finally ripping his hand out and the door sliding shut. He raised his head up in the air and opened his mouth, a small burst of flames coming out of his mouth along with testing his thrusters on his hands and feet.


"YOU REMEMBERED I CAN BREATHE FIRE!" He said with an uncontrollable happiness in his voice. Suddenly Imille was greeted with a hug from Psy, something he had only done perhaps twice before of his own will. Whilst he was hugging her he kept drumming his new toes on the ground, causing a rhythmic thumping as he embraced her for almost an uncomfortably long time. "I love you Doc. I've been a super big asshole to you for years and yet you always take care of me... I would kill anything and everything for you. Even little Bambi. I'd snap that fucker's neck if you wanted me to... after I cried like a little bitch of course." He finally let go of Imille and placed his hands on her face, "And... you don't have to paint me Doc. I can see how tired you are. You have done more than enough for me, I GOT TOES! Go enter low power mode, you are too good to me."


Instead of walking out however Psy began to run around the workshop, looking at everything with a child-like enthusiasm as he wiggled his toes and waved his limbs wildly about testing out his new body in the most hilarious way possible. He looked at everything in the workshop and was determined to go do everything he wanted to do the past few weeks after not having a body. It had been well over a month since he had any control of himself at all so he was excited to get out there finally.


"I haven't had a body for that long before... THIS IS AWESOME!"
 
"Well... I'm sure Cas was getting tired of toting you around and wearing you like a bandolier. Plus, you deserve a little more than that." Imille said, beaming back at him tiredly. She had, of course, reciprocated the hug, more than a little proud of the once-inert body that she had crafted for Psy. Her hand slapped his shoulder, the sound of metal clanging throughout the workshop. After Psy had screamed, there was little use in keeping her voice down, though by this point the crew had gotten used to the boisterous nature of Psy. Still, even though she had been particularly happy, she would be lying if she had said she wasn't tired.


She withdrew slightly, wanting to prolong the experience but the doctor had been completely exhausted. "Well, you know. You weren't actively being an asshole to me, you were just ... on a mission. With a lawset. I was pretty mad at you once you took off with the old body, but ... I can't be mad at you anymore. You were just trying to find Cas." she said. Then, she smiled, sweetly. "And you did. We wouldn't all be a family again without you, so this is a gift for that. Just don't get it broken again, please."


With a laugh, she turned around. Then, her hands slipped underneath the workbench desk, pulling something out from underneath. Her fingers slipped out from the rim of the sombrero she held, placing it deftly onto Psy's head and then spinning it on his head. "Now if I could make a RU-RU without it being destroyed or forgotten before completion..." she mused. "But that's for another day. No offence, but if I don't see metal for a month, I'll be a happy doctor. Hey, maybe you could actually beat Ajax with this one! Maybe."


With a sigh, she slumped against the wall, but still remained on her feet. "There's also a few secrets. Don't ask me, because I won't tell you!" she said. "I would say 'explore yourself', but that sounds dirty and I'm afraid you're gonna stick your finger in the ship outlets again."


There was a period of tired silence - broken by a yawn - in which Imille had finally decided that she needed to withdraw. "Okay, okay. My body isn't metal and flawless. I need to sleep. You should go play with Bambi." she said. "This'll be the first time, and ... well, good luck if you want Cas to clean up after him." she said, grinning. "He might love you, but I can't even get him to wash his own dishes, let alone clean up lion shit."


With that, Imille turned from Psy, clasping a hand over her mouth and going to leave the workshop. She shedded her protective jacket and eyepiece at the door, hanging them up on the stand to the side of it, and then withdrew to her room.
 
"Goodnight, Doc..." Psy said quietly as Imille left the room, the lights shutting off once the ship picked up that there were no life forms in the room. "Fuck you Gaius." He said, smacking the wall as he headed out behind Imille. He managed to catch her sneaking off into one of the rooms near the back to sleep so he turned his attention away from his own room and instead did a quick check of everything on the ship and to 'stretch' his legs. They were headed back to Echora after a long detour to a rendezvous location with the Epoch giving Imille just enough time to finish Psy's body up and for the others to rest after their previous mission. Whilst Psy was walking down the hall he managed to see light coming from the cockpit, attracting the android, he proceeded forward to find that Lucy was sleeplessly at the controls.


"Hello Psy." She said without turning around, recognizing the loud metallic footsteps anywhere. "Imille fix you up? I heard you screaming down the hall."


"Yup, Red! Better than ever!" He said gleefully, walking over and standing a bit in-front of her so she didn't have to rotate her chair to face him. He gestured to himself enthusiastically, "It's been 5 years since I got a new body... That Doc has improved more than I'm willing to say to her face. Look at how polished my ass is!" He said, laughing as he turned around only to show a metal plate that didn't resemble one at all.


"How... sweet of her." Lucy said drearily, though she offered the android a smirk. "Did you call me Red?" She asked, puzzled by what he had said and latching to that for whatever reason. "I haven't been called that before. Lucy, Luce, Lucifer by some of my exes and my father. Red huh?..." Lucy flipped the ship onto auto pilot and reclined back in the chair, "That's cute Silas."


"What the fuck did you just say to me?" The Android blurted out, not having control over his own words. "Why did you call me that? Why did you call me that name?!"


"Call you what? What name?" Lucy asked, puzzled as she tilted her head at him. "All I said was that's cute, Psy. Are you okay? Is that body making you glitch any?" She frowned, "Are you okay, Silas?"


"I..." The android stuttered, having no clue on how to properly reply to her after his outburst. The words she was saying caused his core to heat up, his head 'hurting' as he continued to look at her. "I'm sorry. That damn kitten keeps rubbing up against me and taking me out of low power mode so I haven't had a chance to refresh my cache and all that techno mumbo jumbo. I thought you uhh... called me a racial slur. Like tin man or asshole." He said, a big grin would be on his face if he had one. This caused Lucy to laugh which calmed Psy down, the android slouching as he looked down at her. "Are you okay Red?" He asked, echoing her words now. "You... why are you still sitting here? The autopilot takes care of everything."


"I'm... just flying. That's all." She said, nervously. That's when he had noticed her wheelchair had gotten too far from her grasp, she had forgotten to put the brake on and when she tried to get up again she had pushed it away. When she seen his gaze wander over to it she let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't... I can hardly do anything on my own anymore. Ajax keeps offering to help but I don't want to bug him too much even though I know he just wants to make me happy. Nyx and Imille keep me company and Cas and Arc seem to not notice that I'm handicapped at all now but..." A lone tear drifted down her face, "I'm so lonely Psy... And helpless... I've never felt any of this before... I've always been strong, I was trained to be strong by the best and now I'm..." She gripped the leather of the seat tightly, "...Stuck in this fucking chair and I can't do anything about it."


"I'm here. You aren't alone now." Psy said to her as Lucy was getting worked up. "Would you like for me to remove my head and place yours on this new body? We can share. It would be really selfish of me to hog it all to myself." Miraculously this caused Lucy to laugh, teary eyed and all she laughed at Psy's joke. She wiped her eyes and just shook her head at him in disbelief, only he and Ajax could turn such a serious moment into something that funny. "Do you want me to bring you your chair?" She nodded silently, the android quietly walking to the side and wheeling her chair up within her grasp. He put on the brake and as she was trying to climb over her arms had given out, she was quickly losing her strength from not having any exercise. Before she could complain however Psy swooped down and picked her up, "I'll come back for that in a second. Let's get you to sleep Red!"


Lucy had a few words of complaint but she was so tired she didn't argue with him much as Psy carried her down the hall and into her room. For whatever reason this act caused a great deal of emotion in Psy, for whatever reason he felt a huge weight in his stomach that couldn't possibly be there as he carried her through the threshold of her door and laid her down in her bed gently. He was puzzled, confused, what felt like sweat was dripping down his forehead, a lump in his throat.


"I love you Silas... thanks for taking such good care of me. I couldn't have made it back without you..."


"What-... no..." Psy said, placing his hands on his head causing Lucy to look at him with confusion yet again. "What did you say... Red?"


"I said Thanks for picking me up, couldn't have made it back without you." Lucy replied, concern in her voice. "Is everything okay Silas? I can call Imille, if there is something wrong we can have her take a look at you."

"No I..." Psy's heart was thundering in his chest. "Let me go grab your chair! Then I have to go into low power mode I think I'm running out of a charge. That explains it! I AM TRIPPING BALLS RED I TELL YOU HWHAAT!" He said, laughing nervously to himself. He raced back outside, his heart pounding faster the more he moved until he made it to the cockpit. "What... is... going on?" He asked, looking down at his hands as he reached and grabbed the chair. The pit in his stomach grew bigger as he pushed the chair back into Lucy's room to find that he wasn't even looking at Lucy at all in her bed, her face quite literally different looking as he starred at the strange woman.


"Come to bed, Si. I have a doctor's appointment early and we both need our sleep!" The red headed woman spoke to him, flashing a smile towards him as she beckoned him to bed. "Don't check on the kids again they're fine, come... lay down baby."


"GOODNIGHT LUCY!" Psy shouted as he literally shoved the wheelchair deep into the room and raced out of there. The pilot thought nothing of it, watching as the android looked like he had seen a ghost and simply went to sleep. Psy on the other hand went right back to his room and took a seat on the floor, distressed beyond belief. He darted his eyes around the room, trying to figure out what was happening to him. Bambi jumped off the desk and came bounding over to him and jumped in his lap giving the android a look of concern. The Ipt admired Psy's body for a moment before brandishing his claws and scratching into the android slightly as he stretched causing Psy to yelp and look down at his legs.


Blood.


With a meow from the Ipt, Psy immediately forced himself into low power mode, no longer able to handle his hallucinations. Especially after he seen a small stream of crimson blood pour down his leg. His dreams were nothing but more of the same hallucinations on a loop, causing the android to shake uncontrollably all night. A constant torture to the android who simply wanted a new body. One that didn't bleed human blood.
 
The morning had come quickly for everyone but Psy, who had been particularly exhausted from a long mission and a heavy meal. They had received a transmission from the Epoch, a blip in the night that had requested them to come back to Echora. It was a request, of course, and not a demand, and it had been made lightly - perhaps they had wanted something? But with their bellies full, floating heedlessly in space, there was no reason for the Gaius crew not to stir and head in that direction. They had their repairs, and they were doing little to nothing, after all. So when the day cycle of the Gaius had come around, the lights began to get just a bit more intense, they all began to wake from their beds and meander downstairs, shaking tiredness from their forms.


All but one, who had been left in a series of nightmares throughout the night. Psy's room stayed shut, even as everyone had begun to come downstairs, which had been a rare occasion. Casar had been aware that he'd gotten his body the night before; Imille had come to him excitedly about the news before he had retired for the night. So what was taking him? Perhaps it was a malfunction. The mage lingered in the hallway, debating on whether or not to check on him, and then finally decided for it. He placed his hand on the android's doorpanel, opening it up, and then peered inside.


Psy was shaking violently - far worse than he'd ever seen him before. In fact, it was reminiscent of a seizure. While there had been a plethora of things wrong with Psy, it was obvious from the getgo that something was really wrong. Panic filled Casar's mind. Computers corrupted themselves all the time. Androids fizzled out with no explanation all the time, just as humans had. So he approached Psy, shaking him by the arm, and when that hadn't work he had given him a zap, intending on stirring the android from his violent sleep. "Psy? Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.


Downstairs, people meandered from place to place depending on exactly what they had been doing. Imille came out of her room yawning, though as always, she had work to do. Whether it had been on weapons, augments - she had promised Casar that she would fix the barebones work that Arc had done on his arm, for instance - or armor - she had also promised to make a suit for the cat - she always had work to do. So that was where she had intended to go, but not before rapping on Nyx's door. Between her work, it had felt like the women barely got a chance to talk to each other, a far cry from the normality of being in one another's company for quite literally years at a time.


Arc, on the other hand, had often found himself in the medbay simply due to its peacefulness. It had been a way to get out of talking with the others. Though, if he had been particularly true to himself, he didn't really despise talking with all of them. The doctor woman had been - admittedly - someone to learn from for the more intricate parts of engineering, even if she was completely unfavorable to talk to at all other points. Ajax he had been avoiding, knowing well the information he had revealed to him. Lucy didn't seem to want to talk to him whatsoever, which was fine with him as well. He had avoided the android for obvious reasons, and to Cas' own confusion, he had also avoided talking to the mage ever since the recent incident on Terram. This had left him in relative solitude, though he couldn't exactly say he was unhappy.


But the message had come through on Lucy's screen as she found herself in the cockpit, requesting them back to Echora for an as of yet unidentified reason, so they would all soon find themselves together, whether they had intended it or not.
 
Luckily for the Epoch the Captain of the Gaius had already intended on returned to Echora, having set the course after they had rendezvoused with them. She had taken their time getting back, taking a round about way so all of them could sleep peacefully through the night and not have to deal with breaking through the atmosphere or the whole landing sequence opting for a peaceful cruise through space for a few hours. Their summons however made the captain curious as she plotted a direct course now, entering a different FTL path and plotting a course to arrive within the hour to the planet.


"Rise and shine, people." Lucy said, her voice not as enthusiastic as her words sounded. She had barely gotten any sleep and was even more tired when she hauled herself into her own chair as soon as she had awakened. "Epoch wants us to meet up with them for whatever reason. Probably a little too impressed with us." She said with a chuckle, "Well, I'm feeling lobster tonight so let's see if they'll already give us a raise. We'll arrive within an hour so whatever y'all are doing I suggest you make it quick."


Imille was greeted to an empty room to her surprise after standing at the door for far too long and letting herself in. With Nyx long absent she traveled around looking for her until she finally found her in the middle of the loading bay sparring with Ajax. The Calivarian had took what the doctor had said to heart about getting into better shape, whilst keeping all her assets. Sweat was pouring off both of the combatants bodies as they fought, Nyx's quick and flowey style sneaking around Ajax's guard and showing that she was not as weak as he had made her look like when they had first met. The woman was ruthless, throwing knees and punches whenever she could which Ajax absorbed only to knock her down a peg or two just when she thought she was gaining ground. A break in the action occurred while Imille spectated, Ajax noticing her but not bringing Nyx's attention to her. Instead he intended on giving the doctor a show, a chance for Nyx to show off a little.


"I'm going to rip your fucking face off!" Nyx shouted at him, the Calivarian having trained for hours only to get no where against Ajax. She was ruthlessly competitive when it was something she was interested in and fighting only seemed to spur her on. "HOW ABOUT YOU FIGHT BACK YOU LITTLE BITCH?!" She taunted, only to get tapped in the chest by his foot causing her to stumble back. "YEAH THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT, TOO AFRAID TO HIT-" Ajax backhanded her, causing Nyx to recoil backwards only to have a dumbfounded look on her face. "Did you... just backhand me?"


"Yup." He replied, smirking at her. "I'm the little bitch? You're the one that just got bitch slapped."


Nyx went into a frenzy that surprised even Ajax, the Calivarian ducking and weaving around him only to deliver some devastating hits. So many infact that Ajax had to actually put forth his full effort not to get hit too hard, that was until Nyx got through his guard and headbutted him. Blood shot out of Ajax's nose, although it looked serious he began to laugh whilst Nyx went to a pale shade of green when she seen what she did.


"AJAX! Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-" She seen him laugh and was immediately relieved, "You asshole!" He began laughing harder, "You were letting me land more shots than usual, why were you doing that?"


"Putting on a show." Ajax said, wiping his nose as he looked up to Imille and gave her a wink. When Nyx turned around she gave Imille a great big smile. "Hey Doc! Look at this badass I've been training. While you've been working all night me and Nyx have been getting up early, weight training, cardio then ending with sparring. She said something about defending herself but getting hotter for you? I dunno, whatever it was I couldn't pass up on that." He said, laughing. "Good work today Squid. Get something to eat and shower up, don't want you to bother the Epoch folk by smelling like a fish market."


"Bite me. You won't be smelling shit since I knocked your nose off your face." Nyx said, only to immediately rush up the stairs and wrap her arms around Imille in a sweaty embrace. "Good morning Fishbait! How did you sleep beautiful?" She brought up her hands and played with Imille's hair for a moment, "Not my usual kind of show for you this early but what'd you think? Ajax has been training me on how to kick ass and I think it's working!" She smirked, "Been missing you, seems like you spend more time with Psy's body than mine!"


Elsewhere Psy was having a much worse time with his new body than what Nyx could have thought. Even the jolt to his system didn't wake him up as it usually would, the android shaking so violently that the kitten in the room had been terrified all night. Bambi had taken to hiding underneath a pile of trinkets only skirting out to Casar after he had seen someone else had finally entered the room. After what felt like too long watching the android seize he broke free from the low power mode after he felt Casar shaking him. The android awoke with a blood curdling scream, one reminiscent of a man being tortured as he jumped away from Casar. He looked around the room frantically, only to see Casar there and not his hallucinations.


"WHERE AM I?!" He roared, "CAS? AM I IN HELL?! CAUSE IF SO I'M GOING TO KILL ALL YOU DEMON MOTHERFUCKERS FOR PUTTING ME THROUGH THAT!" His eyes darted around wildly, slowly recognizing his room. When he seen Bambi cowering behind Cas he softened however, not realizing what fear he struck in the kitten from his odd behavior. "Not hell... there's no cute kitties in hell.... or organics... I think." With a long sigh, Psy looked to Casar. "Thank you for waking me up Cas, I was having a nightmare or I was tripping balls or some shit." He paused, "If I am in hell you can't lie to me, you're my best friend. Even in hell you wouldn't lie. What's going on?"
 
"...I don't know, you were just shaking really badly. I didn't know you had nightmares, I just figured that you turned off for a while." Casar replied, looking with concern to Psy. "There ... could be something wrong with your AI core. You're pretty old." he said, meaning no offence whatsoever by the term. "Lucy says we're going out now to meet the Epoch, but afterwards maybe ..." he hesitated at the thought, even. "We could interface, and I can look around. We could also ask Imille, but I don't think she's done anything more complicated than RU-RU. Do you think the body could be causing it?"


He reached down, picking up Bambi and settling him against his chest as he spoke and stroking the terrified kitten. Bambi dug into his sweater with his claws, the ordeal of watching his owner violently shake all night surely a traumatizing one. "We could keep you as a head for a while if you think it'll help. What did you see?" he asked, preferring not to jump to interfacing if it wasn't really necessary. He began to walk out of the room with Psy, with Lucy summoning everyone awake.


Imille playfully groaned when Nyx had touched her, wiping the Calivarian's sweat from her face back onto her. "You know I find every part of you beautiful, but you don't have to sweat all over me. I slept ... shortly." she said, the tiredness from working late into the night still evident on her face and hair. The latter was short, but it still stuck up here and there, betraying the woman's tiredness. "Don't hurt Ajax too bad. Though, maybe do. I think I'm done working on metal for like ... a month. If I only had noses to stitch up I'd be more than happy with that." she said.


"But no worries. Psy's body is done. So I'll have all the time in the world to spend with yours." she said, with a wink. Then, she looked over to Ajax. "Maybe I'll join you two sometime. Kick some ass, take some names. We can rejoin those fighting rings you talked about, as Trio Luchadores. What do you think?" she asked, grinning toward them both. "Psy would freak."


Her expression softened slightly as her mind switched gears. "Uh ... how's Lucy doing, by the way? Probably hard on her - us not really earning any money to get her surgery done." she said. "I'm not even sure who we would go to. But she hasn't complained about it so far. I'd be." she said, moving up the stairs with the others. They had come up in time to catch Casar and Psy descending from the residence halls. Imille grinned toward Psy, looking him up and down.


"I don't mean to objectify you, Psy, but ... What do you guys think?" she said, presenting the android.
 
"It... wasn't my body. It's... something different." Psy said, his voice exhausted as he was hesitant to walk out of the room with Cas. "It happened around the time I got my body but I've been noticing things aren't... computing." It was as if he was afraid to leave the room, never before had Casar seen Psy actually be truly frightened by something. He took his first few steps out of the cold and dark room, feeling the bones in his feet click as he crossed over the threshold. He shook his head at the thought, chalking it up to getting use to his new metal toes. "Let's see what happens. I don't want to interface with you and spread a virus... Just act like everything is normal with everyone, it's what I'm gonna do!" He said, slapping Cas on the back although weakly. With a fake spring in his step he and Cas walked out onto the loading bay upper catwalk where the others were around.


"Uhh... becoming luchadores isn't what I had in mind when I said spend more time with each other but..." Nyx laughed, reaching back and undoing the hair band around her tentacles letting her 'hair' fall down after the intense workout. "You're so weird Fishbait. Wouldn't want you any other way." She then rubbed her face against her's again, mushing Imille's face with her sweat once more with a laugh. "You'd have to start getting up early with us, plus you'd have to stop hitting like such a girl!" She teased, giving Imille a playful push to contrast the affection she was giving her.


"Luchadores?" Ajax asked, wiping his face with a towel simply listening to Imille. "We're going full gladiator. No armor, no clothing, all three of us ripped. We'll need to get you two some ink. I know a few people, can get you the look real quick. Cheap too." He said chuckling, walking up the stairs to meet with Imille. They were just out of earshot of the cockpit so he whispered, "She's not doing great but... she's a fighter. She'd rather sit there stubborn all night than to ask for help if she really needed it." Ajax said, not having the slightest clue how right he had been. "We'll find a way to help her... I was thinking about flying out to a city planet, get in one of those high stakes fights for a lot of money. My name still probably carries a little weight I think... Not like I haven't fought for the ones I love before, plus I'm getting the itch for it again."


"Well if you keep getting beat up like I just did to you then we won't be making any money that way either!" Nyx replied, a spring in her step after taking on Ajax the way she did. That was when Psy and Casar walked up, followed by Imille commenting about Psy's body. The android nodded at them, raising both of his arms up in a flexing position as he wiggled his toes and spun around in a circle. He was fighting every urge to make a helicopter noise as he continued to pose for them, Nyx whistling at him while Ajax just smirked at the show boating android. "Looking good big guy! Now I can see why I don't see Fishbait anymore! This is your best work yet, wow."


"BOW BEFORE PSY!" The android ordered, "I HAVE RETURNED IN A SHINY NEW BODY, WITH BUILT IN ROBO TOES AND FLAMETHROWERS!" He opened up his mouth and shot out a tiny burst of flame to add to his point, just enough to get by without Lucy shouting at him for being a hazard. "I have a body now, Bambi and my family of nasty looking organics. I'm happy." He claimed, lying to their faces surprisingly well. The entire time he felt weird sensations that he wasn't supposed to be feeling, sensations that an android shouldn't understand or experience. "Objectify me all you want Doc, Squid and Juice!" Psy cackled, "I've never looked better."


"You got that right!" Nyx replied. "We're headed to Echora soon, how about we test your water proofing and you come take a swim with me! We can go fight krakens and find underwater treasures and all sorts of things." She suggested, to which Psy immediately backed out of before she was even finished.


"I got a little kitty cat to take care of, last I heard kitties don't like water. Plus this new body is nice and all but... I don't want it to smell like the ocean." He paused, "Might not have a nose but I can imagine what it smells like!" Confusing him further, he could actually smell water when describing it. "Thanks again, Doc." Psy groaned, "I haven't used manners this much before... someone... open me up I think something is wrong with me!" He blurted out, miraculously hiding how he truly felt even after saying that.
 
"Not that I recommend taking an air-breathing animal in your chest compartment, but it should be airtight. Anyway, I'm gonna try to make a suit for Bambi. Not sure how it's gonna work with him growing up so fast, but ... you have to deal with that with babies, too! He'll be like our baby, except he'll be able to maul all of our faces off when he's older. But you could also argue that your kids can do that too. Look at Ajax." Imille said, nudging him. Then, she looked to Casar. "Hey, where would your dad be, Cas?" She asked, looking to the mage, who offered a shrug.


"I don't know. Somewhere on the Exodus." He said, not thinking too much on the question. Instead, he turned it back on the doctor, though out of genuine curiosity. "Where are your parents?" He asked. The question seemed to shock her slightly. She looked down to him for a moment with wide open eyes, not considering the question just as much as she hadn't.


"I'll tell you later." She said. "To be honest, I don't really know. It's ... easy to lose track of your people in this universe." She bided her words, unsure if they would sound insensitive in light of the situation with Ayla. Casar seemed to catch onto this fact, and his expression grimmed as he was sent into thought again. His eyes shifted back to Psy, who he could tell - even after so many years of being apart - was distressed.


Bambi had been purring against his chest, kneading his jacket with extended claws. He considered profferring him to the android, but the closer the animal had gotten to him, the more distressed he had gotten. He was unsure why, but for now, he simply kept the animal to himself. Bambi had calmed considerably, though he didn't seem to hold it against Psy that he had been shaking all night.


"Hey, Cas, Psy. Ajax, Nyx, and I are gonna fight for money. You in?" Imille asked, mind turning back to the previous subject. "Luchadores. Get this. You ride in in Psy's chest compartment. And then when he has to tap out, he can just open up and you can pop out and whoop some ass! How does that sound?" She asked, laughing toward them both. Psy's facade had fooled her completely.


"I would rather fight Axel again." Casar said.


"Was that sarcasm?!" Imille exclaimed. "I haven't heard sarcasm from you in forever. That's refreshing."


"It wasn't sarcasm." He replied, his expression particularly deadpan.


"Well, that could be arranged." Imille said. "In reality, if we want Ayla back, it'll probably happen. Next time you'll have a weapon, instead of him taking cheap shots like a little bitch. Oooh, I want to beat the crap out of that crazy bald-headed psycho globe-looking motherfucker. I might join you guys in training, after all."
 
"Good, y'all should." Ajax said, his expression dimming at the mention of Casar's dad and even more so about his own. "We got caught with our pants down and got fucked up cause of it. I got cocky placing Luce on Terram but we had to evade the RCN for so long it made sense hiding there." He frowned, "Guess it makes sense still though, we lasted a long time and then we got careless. Usually we don't bring the Gaius into a port or give people the real name but..." Ajax had clearly gone over this thousands of times in his own head, however he still uncharacteristically stumbled over his words and even stopped talking entirely once he ran out of things to say.


"You really should." Nyx said, joining in after seeing how quickly Ajax mood changed from his baseline to the nameless feeling of not only losing Ayla but nearly losing Lucy in the process as well. Not one word could describe how the young man felt, it was partially why he was burying himself in simply improving not only himself but the others as well. Luckily he had Nyx to bring some life into the training, "It'll be a lot more fun with you around Fishbait. I seem to fight better when you're watching."


"It's cause you organics want to impress those you want to fornicate with." Psy said, giggling as he said the word 'fornicate'. "What better way to impress someone than taking Ajax's head off? Imille LOVES blood." The android paused, that hitting a little too close to home. "I'd take your's off in our next fight if you wouldn't die because of it."


"And who says you droids don't have feelings." Ajax said, burying his feelings about Ayla and Lucy and replacing them with a smile to Psy. "I'd offer to go and take your head off but it seems a little too soon. Gotta break in the new body after all. How's it treating you Psy?" He crossed his arms, "Forgot how you had looked like with a body, was getting use to you being the portable shouting head that Lucy keeps on the dashboard."


"It's... the best body I've ever had." Psy said, the droid not shouting as usual so it was a strange thing to hear. He was experiencing some of the most intense hallucinations yet, Ajax was morphing into Axel then back and forth. For whatever reason Psy had the strong urge to rip off his legs but didn't. The hallucinations grew stronger as all of them there morphed into different beings entirely. Humans, aliens, other droids. All standing in a circle like they were now just talking with Psy standing in place. "I need to find a way to repair you Doc..." Psy said, snapping out of it as he silently suffered. "Repay you! Repair you? You're not a droid... Are you? LET ME SEE-" Psy clamped his fingers forward until he noticed no one was laughing. "I'm glitching a little bit getting use to it to be honest though." He said, half admitting to what was bothering him. "It happens when I've been disconnected for too long."


"Shit, I bet." Ajax replied, not noticing anything suspicious in the androids' behavior. "You were just a head for over a month so having a body again is gonna take some adjustments. Y'all get cleaned up, I'm gonna go check on Luce. We should be arriving any minute now. Put some clothes on Nyx, as much as we all like seeing you like that we don't want another team stealing you. Just imagine how heartbroken Imille would be."


"You would be, Imille wouldn't be." Nyx said with a wink, "Partly because I'll never leave my fishbait. She's mine." She said with a curious grin, one that hid the fact that she was more than serious about that. "So you and Lucy just try and keep us around, we're the team's real MVP's. Other than Psy's new metal ass." She leaned over to Imille, "Should have really gave him cheeks, a flat panel isn't as fun to spank!" She swatted Psy's ass, the droid barely registering it as he was busy lost in his mind.
 
"I would have, but then he might insist on collecting pants and hats, and it's difficult enough as is to keep his head covered." Imille said, with a giggle. Then, she looked over to Psy. He had mentioned his glitching, though he seemed relatively composed. She hoped for a moment that she hadn't caused it, though it wasn't really possible for simply attaching him to a body to cause glitching, was it? She pushed the thought aside for now; it wasn't worth it to ruminate on a few glitches so soon after a massive change for him, anyways.


The frazzled-looking doctor had other things to worry about, anyways. For one, she and Nyx had to make themselves look halfway presentable. When one was contracting with a faction, that usually meant putting on armor and weapons, even if it had only been just for show. Before she left to do so, however, she turned to the mage, licking the palm of her hand, and flattening his hair down. He nearly flailed at her, the gesture a completely unknown one to him. "What are you doing?!"


"You have to not look like a hobo every time we go to meet with someone." Imille said. "Since you don't have a mom or dad to tell you you look like shit, you're just gonna have to take it from me." she said, grinning down toward him. "Oh, calm down. I'm just fixing your hair. You don't have to get ready, but I'm not going to be embarrassed walking with you, either." With that, she walked away, leaving the mage befuddled as to what putting her own saliva on him had actually accomplished.


While the others had gotten ready, Casar stayed with Psy, his concern for the android evident by his actions. They had quietly resolved to sit in the loading bench while the others had gotten ready. Casar looked toward his glitching androidic friend, keen to his actions a little more than the rest of them had been. "What are you seeing?" he asked. "If you want, you could stay here. You don't have to go with us. I would stay here as well, if you needed me to. They don't need me to talk to some faction people, and Lucy might even feel better if we stayed. But it's up to you. Maybe you need to rest ... not in low power mode."


Arc had finally come up from the medbay as Casar and Psy talked, though he kept to the opposite side of the bay, allowing the two to talk. There, he waited, arms crossed against his chest and averting his gaze away from Casar and Psy.


After some time, Imille had come out from her room once again. She had slipped on her armor - the one that she had dubbed her 'sex suit', and put on her holsters. She had brushed her hair, making herself look presentable, though she lingered at the top of the balcony overlooking the loading bay, waiting for Nyx and the others.


The Gaius itself had quickly found its way toward the planet of Echora, though the interesting view below them had been missed by the crewmembers, who had all yet to get ready. They had broken atmosphere soon enough, the view of the massive ocean below them and the city - that looked like a speck in the distance - floating readily on top of it. The temporary shift in gravity had indicated to them all that they had been close.
 
"Pulling her in a little hot, ain't ya?" Ajax said to Lucy, taking a seat in the copilot chair next to her. "Need to give everyone a minute to get dressed and all that. Plus I still need to hop in the shower real quick." He noticed she had brushed her hair and had put on a change of clothes which no doubt had taken a ton of effort on her part. "You smell good." He said, trying to get her to lash back with the weird comment. "Let's say we just skip the meeting with the Epoch and let the others take care of the meeting."


"Oh yeah? You'd like that wouldn't you... Taking advantage of a crippled girl you're sniffing? That's weak Jax." Lucy said, though a smile was present on her face from his comment. "Couldn't feel anything down there anyways probably so that's off the table even if I wanted to. Though... nothings changed there." She said with a wink, causing Ajax to wince at her joke. "I got some burn ointment over here if you need it, I know that's still a sore subject to talk about."


"You're acting like I cared if you got your's or not." He snapped back, causing them both to laugh at their banter. Ajax then stood up and although she didn't exactly want it he walked over and embraced her. "Jokes aside you do look good Luce. Let's go outside together, meet the Epoch folk then lets just go for a walk. Err-" To his surprise she laughed at him, "Too soon?" He asked, smiling after seeing her laugh at his slip up. "I'll push you around, maybe even sit in your lap while you wheel us. Take in some fresh air, see the sights. Hell, might buy you a new set of legs. I like your current ones but they're a little-"


"Floppy? If I recall Nyx was saying they'd be easier to bend back now. Bet you'd like that, perv." Lucy said, navigating their way into the docking bay of the city. They were sent to a different location this time, the area having a lot of traffic obviously but luckily for them they were closer to the front. "Listen Ajax... I know what you're trying to do and I appreciate it... I would be lying if I said I didn't miss spending time with you but..." She frowned, "We have business to attend to and we have a group to travel with. On the off chance we get some time we can go for a walk... you asshole... if everyone is okay. Psy is worrying me."


"Why?" Ajax asked, "Seems fine to me. Well, fine for Psy."


"He was glitching out really badly last night, calling me Red and saying some weird shit. He kept acting like I was saying things I wasn't saying to him either... Was some real bizarre shit. Keep an eye on him for me... Doubt he'll tell you anything but Casar can't be the only one looking out for him. Keep this between us for now. If things get worse we'll tell Nyx and Imille too." Ajax nodded then began to walk away to go take a quick shower and get dressed only for Lucy to call him back over. "Hey, come here real quick." He obeyed and walked over only for the pilot to pull him down to her level and plant a kiss on his lips. "That's for offering to buy me a new set of legs. Now beat it, your face is grossing me out."


"Yes ma'am!" Ajax said with a grin, elated to see Lucy in better spirits and not only that but getting a kiss out of the deal put a spring in the cowboy's step. Lucy however slumped back in her chair, turning off the Gaius' engines after they had landed and prepping to leave the ship unattended.


While the others were getting ready, Psy was quietly listening to what Casar had to say. For whatever reason he was the one constant that didn't change. He didn't hallucinate around him, everything other than Cas was transforming before the android's eyes as well as feeling such strange foreign sensations course through his veins.


"I need to get out of this ship..." Was all he managed to say, "A walk would do me good, Cas. I'm seeing... and feeling such weird things I can't describe it to you. There's no words I feel..." He cringed just saying it, "Feel like blood is rushing through my bones. Everyone but you is transforming into different people before my eyes. I'm remembering things that haven't happened... I can't tell where I am or... when I am?" He asked, not entirely sure what he was saying to Cas. "I feel like my memory core is damaged or going through a REALLY FUCKING PAINFUL glitch right now. Maybe if we get outside and I can catch my bearings it'll be different."


Luckily Psy would soon get what he wished for as Nyx got finished getting dressed and Ajax was just about finished as he walked out of his room with half of his armor on, looking at Imille for help once again. Lucy wheeled herself towards the lift to go downstairs, passing by the others giving them a curt nod. "Let's get this over with." She said as she was lowered down, looking at the others to disembark.
 
Imille looked to Ajax, with an expression that said she might actually enjoy torturing him a bit further. But she didn't; that saga had already been completed. So, with some brute force, she pulled the halves of his armor back together, making a mental note to herself to make some alterations to it once she had gotten over her rampant fear of metal that creating an entire androidic body had made. "There you go. But if you keep practicing like you are and making me retailor this shit I'm gonna lock you in your room." she said.


The crew looked halfway decent as they gathered in the loading bay; at the very least, they had both Ajax and Psy looking particularly intimidating for the rest of them. Imille and Nyx had their own intimidation factor, with obviously high-tech weaponry and armor adorning themselves. Casar and Arc looked a little dressed down for the occasion, the Scientist often not even attempting to take a weapon or armor with him, while the mage had looked more like a marred version of a teenager than a trained killer, not to mention the fact that he'd been carrying a small animal.


Imille looked to Casar, who seemed more preoccupied with Bambi and Psy than his own appearence. "You know, you and Scientist over here could try to dress up for the occasion. I find you tend to get better pay and respect that way. Well, for you guys. For Nyx and I, the sex suits help." she said, with a giggle. "We're technically mercenaries, so..."


"Why? We already completed the mission." Casar replied.


"It's part of the image. Kind of like how the Exodlites make you wear uniforms?" she replied, furrowing her brow. "All that red and black shit - man, how do they not know that they're the bad guys? Colors, symbols - everything screams 'universal domination'." the doctor said, her train of thought suddenly shifting. For once, the Scientist had spoken out.


"It's not a matter of 'bad' and 'good', it's a matter of 'right'." he said, explaining the concept to her as much as she had been explaining concepts to Casar. "The colors mean little, anyway. The military uses red, in the farming sectors, they use green. You just happen to see red because most detachments from the Exodus are militaristic. In fact, almost all of them are." he said. "The only group that is permitted outside of the Exodus apart from the military is Scientific detachments, for obvious reasons."


"I see. So you don't realize you're villains because not all of you wear red." Imille replied. "Got it."


"...Not quite." Arc replied, though he realized that she had simply been taunting him. It wasn't something she had even gotten close to getting him to give into. He simply resolved back into silence, as he was contented to do. They had all landed and assembled, moving to leave the loading bay as the ramp from the Gaius deployed and allowed them out. There was a tenseness there; last time they had left the ship unattended, they had been compromised, but ... this wasn't Terram. It was Epochora, and once again, they had been assaulted by the smell of the ocean and an amazing view. Vast blue surrounded them all as they disembarked, as well as the view of hundreds of other space ships from every faction they could possibly know.


As the others went forward, Arc, Psy, and Casar lagged behind. The mage had suddenly spoken to Arc, not loud enough to make a scene, but certainly enough to stun him. "You know you don't have to go with us, right, Arc? You're free now. You can even go back to the Exodus if you want. There's no reason for you to continue traveling with us. You're not being held hostage. You can go." he said, mouth contorting into a frown. They had traveled in awkward silence to the rendezvous point, the Scientist not replying for a long while. Finally, he had spoken up.


"I know."
 
Psy would have normally said something about Arc still being a hostage, that Casar was mistaken and if the scientist had tried anything Psy would have blown his head off. Normally Psy wasn't hallucinating so much that it felt like he had blood running through his veins. Every sensation he was feeling made him feel more like an organic, the thing he hated the most. Ironically so as the thing he hated the most was what he couldn't get away from, every sense sharpened and experiencing strange new sensations that a droid never had to deal with. It was too disorienting that it prevented him from one of his favorite past times: bullying Arc.


Soon they all passed through security, being streamlined as they had tracking devices already implanted and they were most certainly going to be given the cards Ford had spoken of when they had last been there. The security guard eyed Casar's kitten for a moment but thought nothing of it other than the blue color the creature was had been rather odd. They made their way up the elevator, everyone occupying a single elevator with Lucy closest to the door with everyone gathered behind her.


"Listen up." Lucy said, not looking back to the others but talking to them. "Ford should be meeting us up ahead. Could be getting those cards and officially part of this Epoch. Want you all on your best behavior, that means you Ajax and Psy." Psy straightened up while Ajax simply grinned.


"No promises." The cowboy replied.


"I doubt he'd throw us on a mission right away but we need to leave a good first impression with any others we meet. We look like an odd bunch, like something out of a cartoon or something. We have a tattoo'd wise ass, an overly cheerful doctor, a token alien squid, a man missing half his face, a scrawny scientist and a tall ass android wearing a sombrero. Did I forget to mention the alien kitten we're carrying, or how your Captain is leading you from a fucking wheelchair?" After she had said it all out loud it did make them sound pretty ridiculous. "Good first impressions go a long way."


As the elevator doors opened they weren't greeted only by Ford, in fact someone was standing in front of him at their meeting place. Lucy could barely press the button to make her wheelchair move forward as she gazed at the familiar man. He was tall, gruff and badly injured. He stood wielding a cane, a bionic leg not even being enough to support his massive weight. His body seemed fragile, especially for his race. He stood hunched over out of necessity, the man missing one of his horns jutting out of his head. As soon as Ajax seen him he pushed aside everyone.


"Brok!" Ajax said, rushing up to the happy Terremian as he hurried over to him. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought I'd never see you again."


"I don't die that easy, Ajax. Glad to see one of you Wingers has some common sense, some good left in em." The Terremian said, smirking at him. Although the former RCN chancellor looked strong his body was broken, the toils of war and combat finally catching up to him. "When Scouter Ford here had told me he had managed to recruit someone with the ship named Gaius I just had to see it to believe it... I had heard you had put that beautiful ship back together Lucy." Brok said, turning to Lucy who had wheeled herself up. "Brought along this knuckle head huh? Watch out for him, I heard all about the infamous Ajax 'Cowboy' Winger." He teased, causing Ajax to fidget a bit. "This your crew Lucretia? I see some... familiar faces." He said, his eyes narrowing down to Casar and Psy in particular. He then noticed Nyx and Imille and couldn't help but laugh. "You go rogue so you decide to grab the rest of them, didja?"


"They are and perhaps." She said with a smile, "I figure with the RCN gone bad perhaps the people we were fighting before weren't really all that bad. Everyone this is former RCN Chancellor Brok. He was a good friend of mine and... close to Ajax."


"Was? We aren't friends anymore? You hurt this old man's heart." Brok said with a smile, "Hello everyone. I much prefer not to be referred to as former RCN chancellor, just Brok will do. Ford... I believe you have something for the Gaius crew?"
 
"I do." Ford said, with a grin. He pulled out a small suitcase, placing it on the palm of his hand. Then, when he had opened it up, it had been just as Lucy had expected. Of course, it wasn't entirely unexpected, but the concept of summoning them all for an 'unknown reason' was too good to pass up. They had done their mission, they had potentially saved a small moon, and they had saved thousands of innocent lives in the process. Though, for a moment, his eyes tracked down to the blue kitten in Casar's hands. "...Did you-"


"Yes we did, sir." Imille replied, before he could finish. "We had to kill its mother, and ... the ship needed a pet. Yes, we are aware it's wild." she said, grinning toward the man. Her eyes flitted down to the small case, her eyes glued to the slick cards with the Epoch logo emblazoned onto them. They were visible, of course, due to the close proximity they had to each other.


"Well... If you'll take it, all of you are welcome to join Epoch. There's a card here for every one of you. It doesn't have your identification in it at all; we wouldn't want to compromise our peoples identities. Instead, all of that is handled through our servers here." he said in reply. Surely enough, there had been a card for each of them, each identical in size and color. "They'll turn into normal, plain white cards when not in the presence of one another. But now, you're amongst friends. If you're in a pinch, look at your card, there's always a chance one of us will be around. One of you." he said.


Then, he took the cards out, handing them to each of them. Casar had taken it, looking at it for a moment. A twinge of emotion had shot through his face. Truly, he hadn't been a part of a faction willingly before, and so to be offered it had meant something to him. It wasn't anything he'd mention, however, and he had remained silent.


Imille had taken it with pride, matching the same eagerness that Ford had to accept them in. "Of course I'll take it." she said. "We don't have to turn these in when we use 'em for a favor, right? You're not some sort of spaceship biker gang?" she asked, teasingly, before slipping it into a skintight pocket on the side of her thigh. "If the answer is yes, can I collect other people's cards for favors?"


Ford laughed, the doctor's spirit surprisingly contagious. "No, you keep it. Favors or not, you're a part of us now. Of course, we won't take it away if you choose to go off on your own, as long as we have your secrecy for its purpose." he said. "I should say 'we', now. But take it as a token of our trust in you. So, you've all met Brok, then?" he asked, shifting his eyes toward the massive, crippled Terremian. Casar had averted his gaze, instead looking out of the window, his dealings with former Renegades uncomfortable, at best.


"Well ... Lucy and Ajax were RCN. Psy, Cas, Nyx, Arc and I aren't." Imille corrected. Ford moved to Arc to give him his card, which he took unceremoniously. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Brok. Better we meet now than then." she said, offering a wink to him. "No cage can hold us, sweetheart. And my only crime is passion."
 
"Spaceship biker gang?" Ajax asked as he received his card. "If so I'm in. I already look the part, let's do this." Lucy took her card unceremoniously whilst rolling her eyes, Nyx graciously accepted alongside Imille while Psy simply grabbed his and shoved it in his chest compartment without saying a word.


"Passion I like. If I was younger I'd explore that subject with you more Miss Imille." Brok teased, the old man still had it. "Jail breaking I like even more. I had heard of you... what did you call yourselves?" Brok said, trying to recall the information but it just out of his grasp. "The Intimidators? The something or others... I'm getting old. Well, I looked into your case after you had escaped from RCN custody, none of you truly did not nearly enough for the treatment we gave you. I'm glad you made it out... You're good people. The Renegades concerned themselves with things that they shouldn't have unfortunately. With your escape Cas we should have let it go. Axel was too stubborn though and wanted revenge, I couldn't say no to such an old friend but..." He bowed his head, "Now I wish I hadn't." With a sigh he looked up to them all, "We have come a long way, haven't we? I am very pleased to see that you all are here now. These are good people, like what the Renegades were before politics and bad people corrupted it."


"That's good to hear." Lucy said with a smile, "Are... there by any chance good doctors here as well? You see... I ran into some trouble on Terram and-"


"I'm afraid not Lucretia. If we did have good enough doctors I would but walking normally and not terribly addicted to pain medicine." He said it with a smile but unfortunately it was probably drug induced. "As one cripple to another... we will find you help my dear... But it is not here. What happened to you on Terram?" He asked, curious. "My role here with the Epoch is to slowly liberate Terram. Many cities are no longer RCN aligned but it is hard... when it is one of the core worlds for the company. They are calling it Brok's Rebellion, has a nice ring to it huh? When I was... forced out of office I took a few too many injuries on top of the ones I endured during the Gaius crash back during the war... If something happened on Terram to you I should have known about it. What happened?"


"Axel happened." She said with a frown. "Tore my spine apart and kidnapped Ayla. We're working now to get her back and..."


"Kill my old man." Ajax said, his fists clenching as he said so. "He's part of the reason the Renegades went dark. Barely even human anymore. He's a monster."


"Who do you think crippled me so badly?" Brok said, a massive frown on his face. "Like I said, this was all not just from a ship crash or battle... But Axel." He revealed, "Let's... Let's not spoil your initiation into Epoch with stories like this. The city is now open to you all and you have countless others to meet. We could offer you housing in Epochora but we are running out of room, a good problem to have. Another city is being built as we speak actually along with several other bunkers littering the planet. We're growing, and now we have the Gaius crew."
 
"Interceptor." Imille said, obviously still attached to the old name. It had been a peak point in her life, one that she wouldn't give away quite so easily. One that had started her adventure with Nyx and the others, even if one of them had been missing. "Uh... one question. You said you were with the RCN a little while after Terram? Did you hear about Jagar at all?" She asked, the old name of their ship bringing up some feelings once again. It wasn't often that they had gotten the chance to talk to someone who had known him, and she had been perfectly aware that Yeller was Brok's own team. "He went to do his own thing after Terram, but... just hoping your people or Axel didn't catch up with him."


She looked between Casar and Brok, the former of which had still kept his gaze averted from the former Chancellor. "Cas said your old team had ... gotten killed on the Harbinger. I figure since Lucy and Ajax didn't know, it hadn't gotten RCN-side, either." She said, seemingly bartering information for the location of an old friend. In reality, she hadn't thought about him in a long time, but having Casar and Psy back felt incomplete without their Jagar. "It's fine if you don't know, but I figure I'd ask."


"What is there to do ... in the city?" Casar asked both Brok and Ford, his interest in exploring normal Xenid life still there even after being hurt on Terram and Curretch. "Do all cities have ice cream?" He asked, the innocuous question causing the others to laugh even though it had been a valid enough query to someone that hadn't been exposed to normal alien life. "I thought it might just be a Terremian thing." He said, in defense of himself, seemingly getting flustered at the laughter of the others.


"On the contrary, humans started it." Imille said. "Terremians just do a good job at it. Brok, I'd be willing to take a look at your injuries if it means bartering for more stuff for my people, and more information. There's a lot of stuff we're still unclear on. And my team needs more than the peashooters we have now. No offence, Lucy, but the only true guns on that ship are Ajax's arms." She said, grinning with a wink toward the cowboy. "And if we're going to be a part of this place, we need leaders who aren't hobbling on canes, right? How do your people take augmentation? Arc here is a pretty good doc, as well."


"I've only ever worked on humans." Arc replied. "Apart from dissection."
 
"First things first... Terremians never take well to augmentations. Not sure why, I was told it's cause of how big we are. Could be our blood, could be because our race is far different than most bipedal aliens. We get bigger than a lot of Saurs even so no augment doctors have been... talented enough to help." He smirked, "Not that I'm challenging either of you two... I'm just saying the Renegades never had anyone talented enough to augment my people well. We've made... some advances but a lot of us veterans end up crippled permanently. Perhaps you two will help save Terram this time around."


"Kind of like how Cas did the first time around!" Psy shouted, internally panicking as he realized just how quiet he had been. For a moment things were actually okay, speaking with the Terremian and listening to all of them chat had actually done wonders for him. He was no longer hallucinating as hard, although each time he looked at Lucy she had a different face than he remembered her having so he chose to look away. "Oh? Did you not hear? Remember that massive fucking laser that shot out of the Harbinger's mouth? WELL THAT WAS CAS AND HE SAVED THE DAY! I DON'T KNOW WHY WE DON'T CELEBRATE THAT MORE! IT'S NOT EVERY DAY YOU FUCKING SAVE A GOD DAMN PLANET! MILLIONS GUYS! MILLIONS!"


"Is this... true?" Brok asked, a dumbfounded look on his face as he looked to the technomage who he just assumed had a problem with keeping eye contact. "My... so maybe Chancellor Div's plan did succeed." Brok said, a smile appearing on his face. "She always spoke of how breaking through to Exodlite prisoners, to turn them against the Exodus. Not to force them to work for the Renegades... But to show them the evils that were being committed by their own people. Her theory worked and now we have people continuing her work here. Countless former Exodlites walk this planet, ones that wish to spread the newfound knowledge. Some took longer to adapt than to others, but many feel the same once they have been freed for so long... Div started a great thing, forever living on through her legacy. We owe a lot to her even now." Lucy seemed to smile upon hearing that, Div being a sore wound that never quite healed much like Dayle. "Though that is not to discredit you from helping us. You saved a lot of innocent people Casar... I am eternally grateful. I honestly can't put into words how much your actions mean to me I... Perhaps in another life I would have you awarded the highest honors you can receive on Terram for such a deed. If I had known you were stuck up there with Yeller I'd... I'd have done anything to get you off that damn ship before they retreated. You're a hero." Brok smiled, "I'm no tour guide for the city but I'll be sure to buy you some ice cream if that's what you wish."


With a long heartfelt sigh, Brok continued. "I had heard my team had fallen up there. Fetch... was one of my most trusted men. Knew him since he was but a boy. We had no idea they had breached the Harbinger however. We simply knew that they were gone. Unfortunately in space battles many ships are simply vaporized... countless people vanished that way, Imille. Thank you for letting me know they died as heroes though and not just died from bad luck. That..." He wiped his eyes, the rickety old Terremian moved by her words. "I knew coming down here would be the best thing for me. Now... I have a gift of information for you Miss Imille. I know what happened to Jagar after Terram."


"What?!" Nyx blurted out, "We tried for months to find him. Although he went his own way we at least wanted to check in from time to time, to make sure he was okay. Eventually we ran into a uhh... a rough patch. One where me and Imille were lost for a long time together. We sort of forgot about him after that but..." She frowned, "We would do anything to learn of his whereabouts. We miss him."


"Jagar was a criminal after Terram, and as such... Axel found him." Everyone's hearts sank when they heard Brok say those words. "It's a good thing too. If he hadn't, I'd have died at Axel's hands." Brok chuckled, "I must sit, hope you don't mind." He brought them over to some benches and lowered himself slowly onto the seat, letting out a sigh of relief once he was seated. "Axel was on a war path after Terram. More specifically after you had took Ayla, Ajax... He opted for more augmentations and came out the other side a bigger monster than we could have thought. He was given free reign of what he wish to do with his own group of highly trained commandos. And so... he began to track down those who wronged him. He found his way back to Vetka after two long years of searching... For all of you."


"Thought me and Ayla we're the ones in danger." Ajax said, looking to the others. "Looks like my old man's shit list is bigger than I thought."


"It is..." Brok replied softly, his eyes filled with sadness as he spoke of Axel. "To make a long story short Axel captured Jagar yet again, or rather... Jagar went freely. The cost of his freedom meant that Vetka was safe from the Renegades. He had became a leader of some sort... I don't know the full details. He brought Jagar back and well... About a year later Nephilim made a move on the council. I fought him every step of the way until one night he warped Axel's mind so much my old friend came to kill me. He almost succeeded..." Brok frowned, "That was until Jagar saved my life. I had grown close to the Vekht with his work with Yeller so I had given him special treatment, fought for him to be freed multiple times..." He chuckled, "I asked him how he knew how to escape and he said it was what he had learned from you Casar of the RCN holding cells. An uprising occurred on the RCN-1 and knew I would be one of the first in trouble so he broke out, saved me and then we escaped together. I may have been crippled but I owe that man my life."


"That's our Jagar..." Nyx said, completely entranced by Brok's story. "Do you know where he is now?"


"No... But I have my ways of contacting him. You are Epoch now and many of you I hold dear to my heart already. I will find Jagar for you but it will take some time. I promise you... I will reunite you all one way or another."
 
"Oooh." Imille said, entranced, too, by Brok. The story of Jagar had made her smile, especially as Brok had told them that he was still source. "That is our Jagar, and that's why we love him. That sucks that you guys went through that, but ... if you made it out alive, that makes me happy." She said.


Casar, too, had been enveloped in Brok's story, especially as it had meant that Jagar was okay. He had broken his spell of not meeting the Chancellor's eye, and even Arc had found a certain interest in Brok's tale. He had little experience in how things worked with the RCN, let alone outside of it. Imille continued the conversation, finding that Casar had been too stunned to reply. "If it takes time it takes time. If you do that, and bring my family back together, I'll owe you a hell of a lot. I don't care if it takes research and years, I'll be the frontier aug doc on breaking through for Terremian research."


She sighed. "We ... had a thing. From the start. All of us. There was something that had brought us all together and when it got taken apart it broke my heart when we were all taken apart." The doctor said, revealing that her concern for the others had far surpassed the flirtatious and playful tone she had tried to put off. "I ... hope he misses us too. Did he mention anything about us?" She asked, more than a little intrigued by what Brok had to say. "Not a big deal if he hadn't, but, you know. If he said something about two ladies with fantastic asses, or a midget, or ... a really annoying robot. That's probably us. Psy and him never really got on that well." She said, with a giggle.


"Jagar ... he said he learned it from me? I ... assumed he wasn't really listening when I told him about that. He was just quiet." Casar said, dumbfounded. "I ... talked with Div a few times, at first I was just confused as to what she was. And then ... I guess she was nice. But threatening. Magnus killed her, didn't he?" he said. At the mention, Arc's eyes flitted open in panic. If it had gotten out that he had been responsible for the mage that had murdered the Chancellor in cold blood, he probably wouldn't survive the encounter. Still, Casar had kept talking. "I remember Knox telling me about it. And Magnus himself. I ... didn't know that she was trying to help."


He looked guilty for a split second, before looking back up to Brok. "Sorry ... that we killed her. I would much rather have had Nephilim in his place. If we do ever go back to the RCN-1 again, I'd be happy to kill him." he said, his offer so brash and contrasting to how he had looked. The reality was that Casar was a trained killer, and possessed a lot of the same qualities that Magnus had, though the mere mention of his name had been a shock to Lucy, Ajax, and Brok, who had as of yet not gotten a name for the person that had murdered Div in cold blood. It had shocked them into silence for a moment, before he continued. "When we get Ayla back, we'll make a stop in his direction." he said. "I don't know if we'll be able to kill Axel, but Nephilim just uses other people to protect him."


The mage said the Chancellor's name with a bitterness to his voice, obviously not letting go of how he had been treated back on the RCN-1 quite so easily. The image of the man being killed at his hand was one that he had wanted to fulfill, evident by how his fists had clenched together at the mention of his name. He had not only isolated the poor mage in a time of great turbulence, he had also made one of the few people he didn't realize was his friend hurt him. Now, Vitor was gone, with V-1 in his place.


"We'll get to that when we find the RCN-1 again." Imille replied.
 
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