Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

[Notorious]

Psy stepped out first and looked around, making sure that they hadn’t been followed. He scanned the alleyway behind them and there had been no foot traffic coming this way nor ships, it looked like they were in the clear. He stretched his arms out and popped what had been twisted and out of place back into place with a satisfied sigh.


“Nothing like popping your limps back in after a battle with a crazed alien hunter and a group of RCN punks that your friend totally got with some sick snuff film. If you’d like Cas, you can forward that to me as well.” He said cheerfully, then turned to see Imille’s base of operations. It was a fairly wide building, an old abandoned factory of sorts that was tucked in the alleyway inbetween the base of a skyscraper and next to the Torei house which was a much smaller building. “Wow… I hope you don’t live here doc.” He turned to look at her, “Your house here is shit!”


He started to laugh at his comment, it was rather rude but even Imille herself wouldn’t exactly be able to dispute his claim. It was dirt cheap and as private as it got, perfect for anything the Doctor wanted to get up to without interruptions or nosey people.


“Say Doc… Tell me. Why does a person like you that spends her day in a hospital way up in the city stay down here in the slums? I ain’t one to complain, my home use to be a cave filled with rapists and thieves but that isn’t the point. This… Whole thing doesn’t match who you are. You hate Renegades… You hardly batted an eye when I inducted you into Mad Cas and Crazy Psy’s Tour of Pain and Fun. In fact… If my memory core isn’t too fractured, I’d say that you were actually enjoying yourself with us! You’re just as crazy as we are and you’re hiding behind a smile.”


Psy might have been onto something, she was pretty compliant and hadn’t really fought back on anything they did. Was she really that interested in the two or was there something deeper there?


“Don’t break our hearts and reveal you’re a Renegade spy, cause I’d totally have to kill you where you stand. That would be sad confetti, especially with my busted up gears that need fixing.”

 

[C.DEX]

"Oh, handsome... if you call me a 'Gade again, I'm going to make you into sad little metal chippings and repurpose your A.I. into a blender." Imille replied. Though her words carried jest, they also carried a certain coldness. She walked away from the struggling Casar and Psy, leaving the lot behind in the dust while returning to her own abode. Fishing a key from her pocket, she unlocked the padlocked factory and pulled open its doors. Then, just as quickly as her smile had faded away, it reared back in full force. With a grin that'd perturb anyone with decent sensibilities, Imille welcomed the two-man crew into her workshop. And, her home. "It might be in your best interest not to speculate who I am and just view me as the guardian angel that saved your friend's life. And possibly your life, sometime in the near future." she said, with a light shrug that betrayed the intensity of the entire situation.


"Like I said, I have a workshop. Sometimes, workshops have ... less than legal things. Not like, blackmarket organs or anything! Don't worry about that!" she said, raising a hand up and waving away the idea. "But maybe like ... fission devices."


"What?" Casar asked. "I couldn't hear that. Could you repeat that?"


Before he could question her further, Imille proceeded to slink deeper into her own personal cavetown. For what felt like a while, Psy and Casar walked through a dimly lit, dangerous factory space dotted with steel mechanical beasts that sat in eternal sleep. A thick layer of irritating dust coated each and any surface it could cling to, like a blanket of cold snow. Some machines sat clean, however, a sign of recent use. It would quickly come to the two's attention that she had not only bought the abandoned factory for its privacy and space, but also it's tools. The only sounds that reverberated through Imille's little plot of land were that of Casar's uncontrollable sneezing. It had begun to wear on the doctor, who drew a facemask from around her neck and launched it at the techno-mage. Begrudgingly, he put it on.


Then, they reached their destination. Organic shapes filled the three's vision, as a small section in the middle of the maze of a factory had given way to what looked like a small interior home. A laser from above reached its grasp down, scanning her form. Then, the door slid into the wall. While the outside was bare essentials, the inside gave way to what was a very lived in and worked in environment. Warm light filled the workshop, a sharp contrast to the cold blues on the outside. Weapons of every make and model hung on the walls. In the corner, several thick leaded barrels sat, their contents completely unknown. Tables, both surgical and standard, lined the walls and the floors. A side-room gave way to her own personal living quarters. Then, the cold conflict that had appeared on the doctor's face melted away. It was obvious that Psy's former comment had hit the nail on the head; Doctor Imille had lived, slept, and eaten there.


"Welcome to my home!" she said, grinning with no hint of malice. Then, she reached out and smacked Casar's hand, which had been slowly creeping toward one of her mounted pieces. "If it's on the wall, it's display only!"

 

[Notorious]

Although Psy heard Imille’s words, he couldn’t help but gawk at all of the incredible weapons on her wall. He was surprisingly impressed with the machinery outside in the dark, dusty main shop room but in here where it was warmly lit and obviously well lived in was what he liked the most. He seen assault rifles, pistols, even rocket launchers and laser weapons. Some of the weapons even looked to be Exodlite in nature but had the detonator disabled along with some black market modifications to make them even more lethal. Imille was sitting on a literal gold mine of weaponry and here she was hanging it on the walls.


Psy outstretched his hands towards a rifle that caught his eyes but felt Imille’s burning in the back of his head, to her surprise he pulled back of his own free will. It was actually a step of improvement, as much as the android wasn’t physically able to change too much without someone going in and tinkering with his A.I. core it was surprising to see him respecting her space like that, especially with many things all around him that he instantly fell in love with.


“Doc… I apologize.” Both Casar and Imille’s faces lit up, this was a first. “For thinking you were just some lame organic with a hard on for me and Casar. You’re still a lame organic but…” He twitched, sparks flying from his head as if he was fighting an internal battle to get these words out. “Does… No… You are not lame.” He said finally, “You are impressive. Any organic who can create mass amounts of machines built to kill other organics like this has surpassed your average meat bag. No meat bag has ever gotten this fine amount of details on such weaponry…. Casar, look at this.”


He pointed to a pistol that had 10 different modes of fire, ranging from turning the standard ballistic ammo into incendiary ammo to cryo ammo, followed by scatter shots and all sorts of other features. This advanced weaponry was reserved for the best of the best, the highest ranking members of any sort of faction that was worth it. Even the Exodlites struggled to produce weaponry of this caliber, reserving it for only their best completely skipping normal Enactors and even Crusaders.


“Most weapons are created by machines, for organics or the organic’s drone slaves. This… Is created by organics for people like us. Those who have been enslaved and pushed around to do things we don’t want to do.” He turned to face both Casar and Imille, “This is some of the best weaponry I’ve ever seen in my years of being sentient. In fact, I think… You don’t need a normal job for shit pay anymore Doc. I think… Together, the three of us could make a difference.”


The almost motivational speech caused Psy to twitch some more then break out into hysterical laughter.


“Gee… I almost started sounding like that old cowboy of yours Cas! This fucking hat might be his source of power.” He crossed his arms, holding in his joy. “We’re going to do a lot of bad things to a lot of good people to make sure bad people don’t get to us. We can take what we want, do whatever we want for the first time ever. Imille, I’m sure people have wanted you for just these weapons but I want you for that big sexy brain of yours. If you can create fucking ART like this… then I am sure you’ve wanted to do something society hasn’t let you before.” He turned to Casar, “You… You don’t want to be used by anyone. You want to be free. The best way to do that is to fight for it. The Exodlites want you dead and now the Renegades do too. I know you don’t trust her Cas… And I’m not sure exactly why I do. BUT!” He practically jumped at how abruptly he said the last word, trying to get his point across before he lost it. “Together, this group of fucked up individuals is going to kick some serious ass. Together.” He looked to the both of them now for approval, “Whaadaya say guys? Partners?”

 

[C.DEX]

Imille stood, wide-eyed, listening to every heartfelt word that poured from Psy. Her expression was puzzling; a mix of red-faced embarrassment, pride, and happiness. It was evident that no one had ever given her such a compliment before, and from an organic hating android, no less. Wiping a very real tear from her eye, she took Psy's offered hand. Then, she forceably took Casar's unoffered hand. If she hadn't been convinced to join up with them before, the sheer weight of the android's words had moved her enough to emit a not-so-well-thought-out, "Yes!" She looked to Casar, grinning so deeply that the sides of her cheeks roared back at her in pain. "We can be like a family! Kicking ass, taking names ... You know, I make the weapons, but I never really get to see them in action. Just selling them, testing them, here and there, but real, actual use?! With people and slash or robots that I like? Casar, do you have a mom? I could be your-"


"No."


"Okay, okay. Too quick for that. I understand. But ... you know, not many people see this place. And the ones that do mostly run away! You both not only didn't run away, but you've said some of the nicest things about my babies that I've heard so far. It's always pricing, terminology, ammunition ... Yada yada yada! But, art? You're art!" she said, never having let go of Psy's hand. Casar's had long since been ripped away from the overexcited technician. "Okay! So, I think I'm going to make it my goal to soup you sweethearts up, but I think before that we should try getting you fixed. Psy! Sit your pretty little ass down on that bench so I can start fixing you up. A repair bot is nice, and I'm sure RU-RU glazed over the basics, but there's nothing quite like an augmentor's touch."


The doctor pulled her miniature tablet from her pocket, the same one that she'd used previously when Casar had first awoken from his coma. With a finger, she flicked through the projected information, until she landed on a record of a former patient. With a swipe, it had been sent to the open space above the worktable in front of the now-sitting Psy. On the screen, a sickly looking mugshot of a sharp-looking alien appeared. He was metallic-looking and gray, with vertical, glassy eyes. Mostly importantly, he was augmented from the jaw down. Projections displayed of his exact medical records to the side of his portrait, and Casar and Psy soon found just what Imille had been hinting at when she said she needed something taken care of.


Among everything, and with a price tagged onto it that far exceeded anything the techno-mage or android would be able to come up with, was the listing of the power core that resided in the alien's chest. She sat the tablet down, and began working behind Psy.


"Ookay! So this is one of my former proj- er, patients. His name is Greg, and he's... well, lets just say he's got more hyperweave than skin. I don't like doubling back on my former patients - and I'd NEVER do that to you - but he's not a nice fellow. That's all you really need to know about Greg. All of the other stuff is up there. Address, blood type, likes and dislikes, S.I.N... I figure we can just rip what he owes me right out of his chest and install it into yours, Casar."


Casar looked between Psy and Imille, face contorting into incredulousness. While it wasn't an impossible idea to track down one of Imille's former patients and kill them, it wasn't savory. Not only that, but it was a core that had already been installed in someone else. He wouldn't admit it, but the very thought had given him a shiver. Noticing the techno-mage's trepidation, Imille began to reassure him.


"It's gonna be easy. We could hit him with an EMP, shoot him with a rifle, whatever! Metal on the outside or not, he's just a fleshy piece of shit on the inside. One blast from a cryo-rifle would knock him out cold enough to do whatever we want. One shot. And then we're good. You can even just sleep in the van while me or Psy take care of it."

 

[Notorious]

“I will gladly take care of it Doc, it’s the least I can do.” Psy hated to admit it but he loved Imille’s reaction to the words he had said. Even the creepy ones. The thought of having a family, organic or not, pleased him and to see someone that talented light up like that had made his day. Not the fight with Jagar which had been epic, but the fact that she was willing to soup them up AND stick around? It was as if they were forming their own little crew together to go against everybody but themselves. Against the Exodlites, against the Renegades, anyone who crossed them. It’s all Psy had ever wanted. “Tin man there has some interesting mods on him too other than the core… All expensive. He won’t be going anywhere once I dome him so maybe you’ll see something else you like Casar.” He looked at the boy who visibly shivered at the thought. “It’s not like she’s going to stick the augments in you all gunked up with Greg! First I’m gonna blast his fucking face off then we can clean him up, take what we need, then ditch the body at his address. If Greg has a family they’ll know he fucked with the wrong family, ain’t nobody wronging you or the Doc here again if I have any say about it.”


Psy stretched, although he physically didn’t need to it felt like the proper thing to do after finding someplace as cozy as this. It felt like home to him rather quickly, it was probably the ridiculous amounts of guns on the wall.


“We all been through a lot today, I think I’m gonna go find a nice electrical outlet and jack in nice and deep. Make it my bitch while I get juiced up. Haven’t had a good charge in weeks.” He nodded at the two of them, “I suggest you both get some sleep… Less efficient than charging and grosser looking but you need your strength. You synthetics drooling while you charge disgusts me.” Even after uniting the three of them he wasn’t about to stop his organic racism anytime soon. Psy walked over to the charging station while Imille showed Casar to a spare bedroom for him. The charging station was at the front door to the living quarters so Psy made sure to stay alert even whilst charging, the poor android didn’t have a choice as once he shut down he began to convulse as he wasn’t ever able to fully shut down.

End Scene 1: A Core a Day (Keeps the Doctor Away) ​

A full week had passed since Casar made his escape with the murderous android Psy. A very long, very grating week that weighed down heavily on the injured Gaius crew. Not many came to visit them, partially due to being on lockdown on the Chancellor’s orders to give them proper rest. More importantly it was to preserve the mission details so he could be briefed when they were healthy, as well as giving them an impending sense of dread of his next appearance. They had accomplished their mission Vee, but at the cost of losing Casar. The one pet project of Div’s that was going along quite well until the psychopathic android had something to say about it. He undid months of work within a single day, showing how really unstable Casar had been since the beginning. Vitor and Lucy were eating their words, dealing with the harshest wake up call ever.


They had defended him to no end, only for him to betray them the first chance he had gotten.


Lucy was taking it especially hard as she was alone. With the crew on lock down in the hospital that meant Dayle couldn’t leave to go inspect the Gaius to her horror, giving her the biggest punishment in just that ironically. This left strangers to fix the Leech along with Lucy, luckily she hadn’t been taken in as she watched everything that was being done to the Gaius with a watchful eye while also providing a helping hand. Before too long she did her fair share of work and then some, leaving the grunts to clean up the loading bay but helping the professionals patch up the Gaius’ armor from the storm damage and recalibrating the systems and engine. She knew Dayle would go over everything with a fine tooth comb so she did everything as expected, taking no short cuts and treating it as if she was Dayle herself.


She was terribly lonely for the week, hours dragging on so unbearably slow. Lucy received the occasional update from the hospital, she learned that they all had been stabilized and that Axel was already being outfitted with state of the art augmentations due to his years of service. She couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like for him, to take such a massive blow for the team and not be able to finish Casar off when he had him on death’s door. A big pit formed in her stomach as she wondered how he would be like emerging from the hospital. She knew Vitor and Dayle would be fine, but her captain was a good man. She hoped and prayed that hadn’t changed.


“Okay boys… Wrap er up! Looks like you’re done here and I got my family to see.” Lucy exclaimed, talking to the remaining crew that was helping repairing the ship. “Finally got the all clear to go see them and that they’re all leaving today. Can you guys believe how long this week took?”


None of the workers responded to her, something that had annoyed her to no end. She could give them orders but that was it, anything else she was given a cold shoulder to. She figured that’s what she got for having a crew of nothing but repair droids.


“Alright, shoo! You’re finished here. Anything else that needs fixin’ send me a list and I’ll pass it on to Dayle who’ll want to do it herself. Now scram!” The worker droids promptly left, followed by Lucy who raced out of the Gaius after securing her and sealing the loading bay. It was eerie how professional the job had been, just days ago it had been covering in blood and bullet holes. Lucy hailed a transport ship, one that took her across the massive station to the hospital where the others were being nursed back to health.


“Heya! I’m Lucretia Deckard, here to see Dayle Benskett and the Gaius crew. Can I see them? Please please please plea-”


“Now now, give us just a moment Miss Deckard.” The woman at the front desk said, trying to contain the girl’s excitement. After a few moments of typing at her holoterminal she smiled. “Please head up to floor 54 and wait in waiting room B. Your friends have been summoned, it looks like Miss Benskett is free currently, her condition improving within a few days. Vitor Frede will be a while longer, he is getting fresh wrappings for his hands. As for your Captain… He has declined to see you. He currently has company and doesn’t wish to be disturbed.”


“That’s… odd… Well, thank ya! I’ll rush up there now. How long should Dayle take?” Lucy asked, barely able to contain her excitement.


“She’ll be there before you if you don’t catch that elevator!” The assistant said, smiling at the girl as Lucy’s happiness was not only contagious but intoxicating. It was nice to see such a happy young girl in a place like this. Unfortunately for Lucy, that happiness would be short lived.


She raced down the hall and barely caught the elevator before heading up to floor 54. The other aliens in the elevator with her just HAD to stop at every other floor but it, causing the elevator to slow to a halt every few floors. When the doors finally opened at the correct floor she raced once more, finding the waiting room and just barely beating Dayle. She looked around frantically like a child, anxious to see her best friend for the first time in a week.

 

[C.DEX]

Lucy was only waiting a moment before the door had opened, and the effectively quarantined Dayle had been given the opportunity to see her own best friend again. So, when Dayle emerged, frocked in hospital white and looking comparatively rested to her normal form, she was more than happy to accept the practically running embrace that Lucy had given her. With a flourishing twirl, the augmented woman had set her adopted sister back down again. "Hey, girly!" she said, voice picking up. "How are you? Sitting in a bed all week has been my own personal hell without y'all. I've been poked, prodded, questioned, fuckin' everything and - you smell like the Gaius! How is she? You been foremanning it up over there? You didn't let 'em touch the kitchen, did you? I swear to god, if I get back and they replaced my microwave - AGAIN - with a multitonic caloric inhib-"


Dayle stopped herself. There obviously was much to go over, and as much as she wanted to believe everything was completely hunky-dory, the state of her two comrades had been sitting as an elephant in the room. Not only that, but the consequences of having lost Casar. The exact scene had replayed in her head more times than she could count. The gory, bloody battle that none of them had thought the techno-mage was capable of. Not physically, but mentally. All through it, she blamed herself. She blamed herself for not pulling the trigger as soon as the barrel lined up with his head. Because for a moment, she had thought that it wasn't going to be that bad.


And then it was.


And the worst, most insulting part, was that she'd gotten the least of it.


"Have you seen Vitor or Axel?" she asked, to Lucy, ripping herself away from her thoughts again. A deep sinking feeling had settled in her stomach, knowing well that once they had crossed the barrier into meeting with the other crewmembers that the happiness would fall away like their family had. "Vitor's hands were worse than I thought they were back on the Gaius. I feel pretty bad about makin'm stick himself, but I guess it's alright as long as Winger survived. From what I hear, he's been in intensive care. And he might not be as happy to see us as you are to him, so just ... prepare for it. And buckle up. Losing a part of yerself isn't easy, I know that myself." she said, waggling her augment-less arm. "Losing eighty-percent of yourself is torture."


She looked away, face falling.


"Keep your chin up for now, or try to. Okay? I'm not gonna spend this time I got with y'all - which might be the last time we get together - getting angry at what happened. Not that it isn't worth it, but I'm gonna save it for when we can actually put it forward. Even if the bastard of a sub tries to split us up. Sound like a plan?"

 

[Notorious]

“The… last time?” Lucy asked quietly, she hadn’t even entertained the idea that this could potentially be the last time they all were together. It hadn’t even crossed her mind. “We’ve done so much though, saved so many people but one mistake?...” She felt sick just thinking about the what if’s, never before had she felt so welcomed and loved by a crew before. They very much were family at this point so even the threat of them being taken away by an official who hadn’t seen even a little bit of action made her sick to her stomach. “That won’t happen.” Lucy said firmly, trying to reassure Dayle. “We need to enjoy this time together yes, but we also need to be prepared to defend ourselves. These Chancellors think that they have the ultimate say in what we do… Fuck that. We’re volunteers. If they try and split us up we’ll rebel.”


“Spoken like a true Renegade.” A deep, gruff voice said from the doorway. When both Lucy and Dayle turned to see who it was they simultaneously lit up.


“VITOR!” Lucy exclaimed, rushing up to him with just as much speed as she had done with Dayle. Vitor met her halfway and picked the girl up fairly easily, holding her up so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He was all smiles, beyond happy to see Lucy. He carried her over to Dayle and gave her a look, knowing she didn’t really have a choice in the matter as he hoisted her up as well and embraced them both all at once. “For someone with hamburger hands you sure don’t seem all that bothered lifting us up!” Lucy said giggling, surprised to see Vitor could apply that much pressure to his hands.


He sat both of them down after the heartfelt reunion and although his injury had been brought up his smile didn’t falter.


“Hamburger hands huh? Could have fooled me, they look more like they’ve been through a cheese grater now.” Lucy recoiled at the thought while Vitor laughed at her. “We have some great healing technology but… My body composition is different than most. The healing instruments they use take twice as long on me due to my size, usually nothing injuries me as bad as this. My back has already healed up except for some marks to add to the collection. The Doctor informed me that my hands however will probably never fully heal.” Even with news like that he was still smiling, that was until he thought of Axel. “Sure beats losing them though… I uhh… Have either of you seen him?”


Lucy shook her head, it was the elephant in the room that was very hard to address. They’d address him in due time, that was, after they had all gotten caught up properly.


“Do you have any pain, big guy? I hope not. I’m so sorry the turrets got you as bad as they did but-”


Vitor raised his bandaged hand to her, “It is not your fault. None of it was either of your fault and you must know that. The injuries we all endured were the cost of working on a highly experimental mission, one that would have blown up in anyone’s face. It was a miracle it worked for as long as it did but it was a matter of when it was going to happen over if.” Vitor had been the most optimistic one about Casar even more so over Lucy, to see his change of heart was grim. Accepting that Casar was doomed from the start didn’t settle well with any of them, but, it was easy to accept all things considered. “How are you doing Dayle? You are looking fantastic.” Vitor said with a smile, complimenting her to bring a much needed smile to her face. “I have wanted to see you for some time but they would not allow me to.”

 

[C.DEX]

"I'm okay, Vitor!" Dayle said, grinning to Vitor as her feet had touched ground. It was all a bittersweet reunion, as having the family back together again came at the cost of having to think about the consequences. Still, and absorbing Lucy and Vitor's positivity, she breathed out. "They've been keeping us on lockdown, yeah. Had a bit of a concussion myself, but it ain't... well, cheese grater hands. Been healed up for a little while now, itching to get back to y'all and Lucy Luce. And see how Winger is doing. Word from down the row's that he's been in intensive care for the lot of the week. Surprised they started even lettin' people in, to be completely honest. But he's alive, and that's what matters. Danger zone is gone."


She raised her hand from her side to her face, covering her mouth and looking longways. Inside, she was scared for him. Scared of how Axel would be. "I never had injuries as bad as him - just my arm - but if y'all met me when I'd just lost it we wouldn't be as good of friends as we are today. So... if he doesn't take it easy on us, take it easy on him. Alright? The amount of drugs they put me on for just a little concussion was pretty fuckin' amazing to me, so we're gonna have to get creative with imagining what personal hell he's been going through."


No feeling, no arms, and no legs. Although a fourth of it was his own fault, the pilot still couldn't imagine going through it. She also couldn't imagine the endlessly strong Winger, helpless and at the mercy of the Renegade medical staff. It ignited an anger in her to have one of her own teammate's dignity ripped away so thoroughly. Fist balling, breaking the happy moment and powering through to the next, she approached the waiting staff.


"Howdy. How is it looking for Axel Winger? He still busy, or can you show us down? We're family." She noted, with a nod.

 

[Notorious]

“That’s… odd. It says here his family is already visiting.” The staffer said, looking at their holoterminal. He let those words sink in for a moment as he looked at the dumbfounded look on Dayle’s face. Lucy behind her had one of curiosity while Vitor stood stoic. “But, that doesn’t mean he can’t have more, right!” He said with a big grin, happy to see someone get so many visitors. “Right this way, I’m sure there’s just a mix up in the system.” The three followed the man as he led them through various halls on the floor they were on, they even went through a different ward of the hospital how far Axel had been placed in. His injuries were very severe, so severe that it required a team of specialists to make sure he stayed alive and that showed as they passed through the ward that had all of the returning combatants against the Exodlites.


It was easy to forget a war was going on when they were part of the team. Open fire zones were scattered across several planets while the specialist teams took on special missions, never really having to see the warzones that plagued several different fronts. The RCN was crafty, but the Exodlites had numbers. It showed as they passed by the screaming injured soldiers in the ward, the area was filled to the brim unfortunately so they squeezed their way past the critical care unit and found themselves in the outbound patients section of the ward. It was quiet, almost too quiet in contrast to what they just passed.


That meant not many came back from this section alive.


The medical staffer walked up to the door where Axel was assigned only to be stopped by a little girl at the door.


“Hey mister!” She said, her bright blue eyes staring up at him. “I askeded a nurse if she could find my horsey. Have you seen him? He is this big!” The little girl outstretched her hands at how big her toy was, causing the staff member to smile in response.


“I’m afraid not little girl, we’ll see to it that we find him though.” He turned to face the others. “I’ll leave you all to it.” And with that he was gone, leaving the three of them alone in the hall with this little girl. They could hear shouting inside the room, causing the little girl’s eyes to wander away.


Things were quiet as they pieced together what was going on, Vitor was the one to break the silence.


“Hello there little one, are you waiting for Axel?” He said, pointing to the door. The little girl smiled but although she was short in years she seemed very smart.


“Yes.” She said smiling, her smile more contagious than Lucy’s. “He’s my daddy.”


Those words froze everyone there in an instant.


“He’s been gone a long long time and I can’t see him yet. A nurse told me that he was sicky. I told them I could be his doctor but they just treat me like a dumb kid.” She huffed, her blonde hair tumbling down from her bowed head into her eyes. “My daddy always says to be strong though. I love him so much, I just wish he would stop getting hurt!” The poor thing started to tear up a bit until Vitor took a knee so she didn’t have to look so far up.


“Fear not little one, I am your daddy’s friend. Vitor. We are on the same team together. He’s our Captain!”


“Oh! You’re… VITOR!” The little one lit up at finding that out, excitement in her voice. “I hearded so much about you and how strong and brave you are! My daddy likes you a lot.” The little girl began to look around to Dayle and Lucy. “So that means you are Lucy, he said he hopes that I grow up to be like you one day.” Those words alone broke Lucy’s heart into two. “-that he’s very proud and thinks you’re funny. Oh! And you must be Dayle. My daddy likes you the most!” That couldn’t be right, could it? “He says you are always there when he needs you, and that if he ever gets in trouble for me and my brother to come to you. That you always know how to help.” She giggled, “And he says you gots a potty mouth like he does! If I say anything you say I’m gonna get in trouble!”


While the two girls took in the little girl’s compliments, and by default Axel’s words behind closed doors, Vitor spoke up seeing as how just a few small words meant so much to them.


“What is your name sweetheart? You are very well spoken for your age.”


“I’m Ayla! And I am this many.” She pointed at her fingers which she proudly held up a 4. “It’s very nice to meet you. Are you here to see my daddy? If you go in there can you ask him if I can come in? I really miss him… And I need to see if he has my horsey!”

 

[C.DEX]

"He's my daddy!"


The words, spoken from such a small girl, had dropped Dayle's heart further than it had gone before. Registering the girl, who looked more like an innocent doll than the daughter of a ragtag Renegade, the pilot began feeling an immense guilt that settled deep in her bones.


"It's nice to meet you, Ayla..." Dayle said, still reeling from surprise. Not many Renegade fighters had family. Infact, most had lost them and joined up with the RCN due to it. She had never been one to pry into the Captain's personal life, but knowing then that he had a girl and possibly a boy to return to made the blow all the harder. For a moment, she grew angry with the Captain. It wasn't as if he had lost his limbs on purpose, but something inside of the pilot had itched at her. Maybe if she had known, she would have domed Casar as soon as the bastard reached forward. Reeling back to the present, Dayle bent down to the girl's level. "Hey, kiddo. You don't worry about your horsey, alright? Chin up! Not to mention, the big guy up there makes a good horsey, too, if we can't find em. Uncle Vitor!" She said, voice lilting. She patted Vitor's arm for emphasis, then drew back up to her full height. Turning to the door, she gave a brief knock.


The yelling from inside the room didn't cease. Feeling the uncomfort welling back up in the small Ayla, the pilot knocked louder.


"Winger...?" She asked, hesitant but firm. "It's Dayle, Lucy, Vitor, and Ayla."

 

[Notorious]

“She included me!” Little Ayla whispered to Vitor who smiled widely in response. She held onto the giant’s hand and whispered, “Why do you got bandys on your fingers?”


“I burnt them cooking food! A big man like me needs a lot of food and I’m a little clumsy.” He said, patting his stomach and causing the little girl to laugh hysterically. He was a natural with the little one and luckily for them the shouting in the other room had went to a quiet rumble. The door opened and out walked someone who caused each of their hearts to sink, it was as if stepping into a time machine as a young man walked out of the room red in the face from shouting.


He stood a little bit taller than his father with a clean face and short hair. The boy had an athletic build and could be mistaken for much older than he actually was and his resemblance to Axel was uncanny, a more youthful and vibrant one with lighter brown hair than his father’s/


“We gotta go Ayla, we-” He seen the three of them standing before him and noticed how quiet and happy Ayla was to be with them. “You must be my father’s team huh? Now’s not really a good time he uhh…” He bent down and covered Ayla’s ears to her dismay. “Still doesn’t have his new augments in. He’s pretty banged up and while I brought Ayla to come visit him he just started screaming at me.”


“Why… Did he scream at you?” Lucy asked, confused as to why that would start a fight.


“He said he didn’t feel like himself anymore, that he’s hardly here anyways. That Ayla don’t need to see him right now while he’s like that. You must be Lucy, heard a lot about you and your friends here. My old man didn’t tell me you were that good looking though.” Lucy blushed but a frown formed on her face, finding it extremely inappropriate. “Can’t blame me, I didn’t fall too far from the tree” He said with a smirk, there was no denying this was Axel’s son. “I’m Ajax, and you’ve already met little Ayla.” He said, uncovering his sister’s ears.


“Hey dork! Quit covering my ears. I’m old enough to hear what you have to say to our new friends.”


“You don’t know these people Ayla, dad does. Let’s get out of their way while they go talk to him.” Ajax replied, trying to keep the girl calm. “We’ll go to the park and spend some time outside. How about it?”


“NO!” Ayla screamed, getting tired of being pushed around while wanting to see her father desperately. She squeezed passed Ajax and to his horror she was able to reach the door switch, causing the door to go sliding wide revealing the horrors within the hospital room. Ayla gasped as she finally seen him.


On the bed there was a grim looking man. He was pale, tired and the look on his face was that of pure hate. His eye opened wide as he seen the little girl stand in the doorway, his face covered in healing cuts and bruises along with his right eye covered by a dark and intimidating eye patch. His long hair flowed down to his shoulders, his hat no longer keeping the unkempt mess in place. Ayla walked up to the bed and gasped as she noticed her father’s legs were missing. What was even more to her horror was that his arm augmentations were gone as well. Laying completely still on the bed was a shell of a man, practically just a torso as the disfigured and grizzled person laid there with the inability to do anything about the little girls intrusion.


Naturally, Ayla began to weep uncontrollably. She didn’t understand what was going on as no one would tell her and now it was all coming to a vicious conclusion.


“DADDY…” She was huffing and puffing, barely able to hold herself together. “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?”


Axel didn’t reply at first, his expression barely changing with the girl arriving. His lone eye looked watery but not much had changed as he gathered his thoughts. He looked beyond exhausted, giving the only option to sleep but it looked like he couldn’t take that luxury.


“It’s…” His voice came out slowly, it hoarse and throaty. “Okay, Ayla. I’m fine.” He said, sorrow in his voice as he watched his daughter back away from him in fear. “Don’t be afraid now… I’m still Daddy, just… I’m hurt.” With those words she began to walk toward him again slowly.


“Is there… anything I can do daddy? Where did your arms and legs go?” Her question was blunt as a child only could do so with her limited vocabulary.


“I’m getting new ones dear… They’ll be better than the ones I had. I didn’t want you to come in here so you wouldn’t be afraid of me.” He said, forcing a smile. The others in the room that looked at him could see how fake it was but for little Ayla it meant the world.


“I would never be afraid of you!” She exclaimed, climbing up into bed with him and wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace. “You lost your eye too daddy! This thing makes you look scary.”


Axel let out a sigh, glancing at the group in the doorway.


“Boy, wait out there with them for a moment. Give Ayla and me a few minutes then send them in. We have a lot to discuss.” Ajax nodded in response and closed the door, giving Axel and his daughter a few moments of privacy. He let out a long sigh and looked at the other’s who had a similar look on their faces.


“He was a lot worse earlier… Luckily for y’all, he’s in a good mood. As good as it gets until they outfit him again I think. Old man is on a war path right now so I hope y’all are ready…” Ajax frowned, “I don’t think he’s gonna stop until you find that little bastard that did this. Never seen that fire in his eyes-” He cursed underneath his breath, “on his face before.”

 

[C.DEX]

"It's ... okay. Sorry for letting her in. I figured that Winger might have his augments in, but I guess he might not have been strong enough for that right now. I don't ... deal a lot with kids." Dayle said, eyes fixated on the younger version of Axel. She wondered if the boy was what the Captain would have looked like in his earlier years, or even in his current, if he hadn't looked so wretched at that moment in time. "That isn't to say if anything were to happen I wouldn't kick ass for you guys, 'course. Like Winger said, if anything ever happens, consider me Aunt Dayle. That isn't to say it will, but I think yer old enough to think about it. Any family of Winger's is family of mine, kiddo." she said, forcing a smile.


"And sweetheart, we might be calm on the outside, but that's just the drugs. Any war your father starts, we'll finish. The kid that caused all of this is a little imp. Finding him is the issue. The only reason he got past us is because of his androidic butt buddy and the fact that we thought he was improving enough to be around him without armor, and him... without chains. We won't make that mistake again. And we'll find him. And we'll make him pay. If we don't kill him outright. Because we're also not making that mistake again."


Thoughts drifting away, the pilot realized just how grim she had sounded. It wasn't a set of words that she'd normally say to a kid, let alone her Captain's kid. Still, despite jokes, she felt an air of maturity from the boy. One that lead her to believe that he might be okay, despite the nature of everything that was happening.


"Just be strong in the meantime. If you're Winger's kid - and lookin' at ya, I'm pretty sure the milkman had nothin' to do with it - you'll be okay. Know that what'cher dad's doing is important. He's saved men, women, aliens of indiscriminate genders, and kids just like y'all. Like the little one in there. So they could snuggle up to their dads and moms in their beds, just like she's doing now."


The hall fell silent at the weight of her words. Nurses and doctors alike bustled along, having been in the intensive care ward, but it almost felt as if they were all in their own personal bubble. Waiting. Weights on their shoulders. All of them wanted to be there for Axel, but no one wanted to see that he was in such a state.

 

[Notorious]

“I’m proud of him… He doesn’t let on all he has done but I can just see it on him. He carries it with him everywhere.” He paused, just looking at them all for a moment. “..And I’m glad he has a good group of people backing him up. He’s told me a lot about what y’all do out in space while I’m stuck watching Ayla or being trained.” Ajax replied, feeling an odd sense of comfort in the prescience of these people. It’s like he had already been introduced to them before or he had already made an imprint on them, most likely from his father paving the way. “Old man has had me training and shooting since I was 8. Been on a few missions with him even before y’all came along, but… once you arrived I got stationed here.” He said with a smirk, “Runs in the family unfortunately. Before too long we’ll probably have Ayla learning just to be safe.”


“How old are you?” Lucy asked, Ajax looked a little too old to be Axel’s kid and it was confusing her and the others in the group. “You look a little too old to be Axel’s kid.”


“17. Yeah I know, my dad got busy a little too young but it happens.” He laughed, seeing why they were curious a mile away. “I’m the same age he was when he and my mama had me, they had Ava way later when they were ready. Figure they get a built in baby sitter out of it, if dad loses any more limbs I’m replacing him as Captain.”


They all laughed quietly, the youthful energy of Ajax was refreshing in this grim hospital especially with what ward they were located in. Even after dealing with Axel directly he still had a spring in his step, something the others probably wouldn’t be able to say when Ayla was finished.


“I admire you.” Vitor said to the young man. “Even after facing your father who is in a very dark place you come out smiling. He is a man of great strength himself but he’s done and sacrificed more than enough.”


“It’s easier to stay happier when you’re around Ayla, y’all should visit she’d like that. And… I wouldn’t mind the company either. We live just a few streets away from the docking bay the Gaius is at. Hell, we can see the ship from our window. She’s a beaut.” And just like that he already earned brownie points with Dayle. “I’m more of a starfighter kind of man myself, can’t fly one of them Leeches just yet since they take so much precision. They-” Before they knew it the door opened and Ayla came trotting out, a bit teary eyed but she was there nonetheless.


“Daddy lost mama’s hat.” She said sadly. “But he getting new armies and leggies. That’s more important Ajax. Right?”


Ajax let out a sigh and smiled, nodding at the little girl.


“You can see daddy now, he says he wants to see you all.”

 

[C.DEX]

"Hell, kid. If your dad says it's alright, I wouldn't mind lettin' ya sit in the cockpit and learnin the ropes for a while. I mean, obviously our missions are a bit dangerous for you to do anything with us, and god knows what real hell Winger'd put us through if I even suggested it, but that old jackass has gotta retire at some point." Dayle said, with a slight chuckle. In earnest, she was trying to get the kid's hopes up. There weren't many people that she allowed to fly the Gaius, but a light was always welcome in such dark situations. Then, she covered her mouth and whispered to Ajax, much to the distress of the small child that had no doubt wanted to be involved in all of the affairs regarding her father. "Maybe we could even let the little one in the cockpit. Might cheer her up to see what'er daddy does."


The pilot uncovered her mouth and looked down to the small Ayla. She ruffled the girl's loose locks. "Daddy doesn't need a hat. He's got you. Now, his friends're gonna help him heal up. You don't worry about him, alright? If anyone tries to mess with him again, they're gonna have to go through all of us. Hear?"


With a sad smile, Dayle disembarked from conversating with Axel's children and moved into the room they had finally been invited into.


The air was filled with trepidation, and the pilot moved into it like a mourner. Her hand lightly grazed the end of her other arm, where an augment should have been. She waited for Lucy to enter, and Vitor to duck into the room, before approaching his bedside. A deep silence had filled the room as the three of them observed their injured Captain, who had suffered injuries so severe that he was still hooked up to heavy monitoring devices that lined the walls near his bedside. Not wanting to make him feel any worse than he had, she broke the silence herself.


"So, amongst everything that's been lost... I hear we're looking for a horsey, on top of all of it?"

 

[Notorious]

“It’s the most important thing we lost.” Axel replied dryly, watching as the others approached him with some hesitation. It was rough seeing him like this, usually a great and proud warrior who was ready for almost anything reduced to a torso in a bed was devastating. “She’s a sweet kid… I hope she finds it.”


No one really wanted to talk about the massive elephant in the room so they lingered on Ayla and Ajax for a moment.


“Ajax… Is… Forward.” Lucy said, smiling slightly. “Reminds me a lot of you.”


“He’s better than me.” Axel said in return, almost in an instant. “The boy has a good heart, he learned from my mistakes. Bit of an asshole but… Hell that runs in the family too. He hit on you?” He seen the look on her face and the first legitimate smile slowly crept up on his, “That’s my boy…”


“You have a great family Axel, little Ayla warms my heart.” Vitor said, smiling at his bedridden captain. “None of us realized you had a family.”


“Kept them private til I could trust you.” Axel replied bluntly, “I’ve went through a lot of crews, seen a lot of people. You never know which one is gonna bite you in the ass… Or take your legs.” Usually that would have been him phrasing a joke, this time, it was much different. The seriousness in his voice had been long absent since they had met him, he was able to get his job done without being like a typical Captain. Now, his whole demeanor was far more menacing. “Yeller crew has found Casar and Psy, they’re on the planet of Curretch. Slipped out of their grasp though.” Axel said, already moving on to what was really on his mind. “By the time I’m ready to go and we’re cleared to go on missions again, the Chancellor will no doubt dick us around, slow us down because that’s what he does best. By then they’ll be off planet and we’ll have to hunt them down…”


“Captain, isn’t it a little early to-”


“NO!” Axel roared, his eye focusing on Lucy now. The mad man staring directly at her the way he was made her feel like a small child, defenseless and helpless as Axel exploded. “WE GAVE HIM EVERYTHING!” He spat, his true feelings coming to the surface. “That little… fucking… monster. He had more leniency as a planet killing prisoner than anyone in history. He was given chance after chance, luxury after luxury. Knowing Div she was probably close to giving him a pardon… He did a lot for the RCN, against his will sure but he did it. Whether that be to survive or if the little I'm uncultured wanted to do some good I don’t know. I don’t care. All I know…”


He paused, his eye drifting off away from them for a moment. He tried to keep himself calm but something about losing the majority of his body might have something to do with it.


“All I know… is that once I’m out of here, I am going to rip that boy’s skin from his flesh. I ain’t gonna kill him quick… No… That’s too good for someone as evil as that little Exodlite monster. I’m gonna show him how it feels to lose what I’ve lost. Limb, after limb… Injury after injury.” Axel looked a little too into what he was saying but no one could really blame him, in his position it’d be hard to see anything but revenge. “And then, he’ll die. After him… Damaris. Then after… We’ll have peace.”


Axel turned to Dayle and the others now, calming down slightly.


“I need you all to be ready to speak with Nephilim. He’s been no doubt planning on what to say to us, to punish us for our ‘failure’. We aren’t going to lay down…” He said, his words chilling. “He will not put you in that position again Vitor, and he will certainly not break us away. If he tries, he doesn’t know who he’s fucking with.”

 

[C.DEX]

Dayle looked to Lucy, unmeeting of the scornful eye of Axel. It wasn't that she was scared; quite the opposite. Much like the motivational speeches he had given before, the room took on the Captain's emotions. Anger and regret bubbled up in all of them, to some degree, but if anyone had matched Axel's energy, it was Dayle. Still, despite wanting to kill the imp who had caused it all just as violently as Axel, there was something wrong. Something wrong in the little face of Ayla, and the similar face of Ajax. As she looked down at the sickly, pale form of her Captain, she thought that maybe encouraging him was a bad idea. Prepared to deal with the worst, she mimicked Lucy's words.


"Winger, Lucy's right. If we worked you pay what you are now, we wouldn't be doing your girl and boy a service. Now, you can scream all you want, but that doesn't change a fact. Vitor's hands are still fucked and you look like a corpse. Not saying you're not strong, 'cause I might not'a survived what you went and gone through, but... well, I'd be doing a disservice to you if I let you put them through any more than you already have. You need to get strong again before we do this. Now, Yeller's team is on it. You said it yourself. They found'em. Now, let em do their work. If you try chasing after that boy in the state you're in you're just gonna make things worse."


She took a breath, but didn't let Axel cut in just yet. "We'll get him, though. You'll get him. And you'll have the last word. You'll be able to show him a million lives worth of pain. If not for you, then for your girl." She finished, hoping her agreeance might cut the flow of anger in half rather than spark it up again.

 

[Notorious]

Luckily Dayle was right and even more lucky that Ayla’s words that Axel had said about Dayle were true. He held her higher than the others on the team as he knew she had been around like he had, that she knew how these things worked and ultimately if something were to happen to him then she’d handle what needed to be done. She also appealed to the little girl that he cared about above all else, his one true weakness.


He didn’t quite accept defeat, however.


“Fetch is a good captain but he’s lost a lot of folks these past few years. One of the RCN’s more reckless special forces teams. If he ain’t careful they’ll get dissolved, spread out to other places in hopes of finding them a new home. He ain’t gonna catch em.” Axel replied bluntly, much to the dismay of the team. “That little prick is crafty. You give him an inch and he takes a mile. With the way he escaped that first time I’ve no doubts him and that fucking robot have already found a shelter, maybe working with someone they met on planet…. Probably planning to patch themselves up from Yeller’s attack and avoid Jagar. If Jagar gets ahold of them then we’re fine, but… I don’t trust them outriders. They don’t know how our galaxy works, weird bastards.”


If he had known in that moment how right he was he’d have done something more useful with his premonition. He had a lot of time to think, to calculate what a man like Casar would do to avoid capture. It was what Axel was good at, placing himself in someone else’s shoes and trying to live like them to be the best agent he could be.


“We’ll take it easy in that case. I’m pretty fucked up if you couldn’t tell, can’t even… Get up and go to the fucking bathroom on my own. They got tubes and wires all up in me and my augments we're supposed to be here fucking yesterday.” His mouth was a lot more vulgar now that Ayla and Ajax were gone, luckily for them they didn’t have to see their father like this. “Gonna be the best they got though… It’s why I had them rip my arms off too, other than the fact that the little I'm uncultured fried em. Having some tailored to fight Exodlites, but also to ward against EMP attacks and electricity. Costed nearly every dime I have and even then Div paid for half of them. She says hi, by the way.” Luckily for them Div was still around to talk with one of her lead agents, without her, Axel would be far more gone than he was.


He sighed, “How are your hands, big guy?”


“They… work. I have lost a lot of feeling in them. You probably understand that better than most.” Axel chuckled in response but let Vitor continue to talk. “They said the damage may be permanent. We were too far away from medical attention unfortunately and our med kits didn’t have anything for that kind of injury. Maybe one day it’ll be fine, may have to hijack an Exodlite healing tank to heal myself properly. Those things kept us bigger projects healed around the clock, no matter the injury.”


“Wish I had one of them, I’d have a lot less scars and a lot more limbs.” Although it was the more light hearted thing he had said no one laughed, the all too real situation being too much to find any real humor in. “Dayle… How are you holding up? Bet they cut you off the Gaius past week, probably going crazy. Plus you did get hit in the head pretty fucking hard.”

 

[C.DEX]

"If we ain't careful, Winger, we'll get dissolved." Dayle said. "You just remember that. And what with Terram loomin' around the corner, we have to be on top of our game. If the Chancellor doesn't find an issue with our actions then our enemies might. C-23 isn't the only threat that's out there. If we go puttin' ourself out there while we're weak we might as well broadcast to the entirety of the rest of the Universe that our crew is ripe for the killing. Might not like it for now - and god knows I don't trust that yellow-eyed monstrosity either - but it's all we can do."


Giving a huff of frustration, Dayle leaned against the wall next to the backboard of the bed. They weren't exactly back to normal - far from it - but the tight-laced tension had at least been dissolved a bit as they returned to caring for each other.


"You'll be back to new in no time, Winger. You'll get your new stompin' boots on and be right fuckin' better than you were before. I'll use my lot to get the Gaius fixed up and upgraded, and our armory better. I got strings to pull, here and there, and now is about the time we start playin' our song."


Dayle's eyes flitted upward, to VItor. His hands were still bandaged, and no doubt at least in a formidable amount of pain. Or lack thereof, which was a scarier thought in itself.


"I'm sorry, Vitor. I didn't know how bad y'were when you went down. I... was lamentin' about it a bit. I gotta wonder if you were able to be treated faster, or if ... hell, I don't know. Maybe if I got up sooner I coulda got that that robotic cocksleeve off of you, or if I pulled the trigger as soon as the stick grabbed Winger, you might've been okay. Both of you."


There obviously was an apology on the surface, but Dayle's face only showed thinly concealed anger. Whether it was at herself, or the situation, wasn't evident.


"I'm fine, Axel. It was a cheap shot. Spent the first few days dizzier than a top with a great fuckin' pain in my jaw and head, but a little headache ain't nothing compared to what you boys went through." she said. "Like I said, I'm just ... sorry I couldn't do more."

 

[Notorious]

“That’s our Dayle…” Axel mumbled, although he was the one messed up in the bed he couldn’t help but feel like Dayle was the worst of mentally. “You always blame yourself for everything, even when you couldn’t have done anything about it. Yeah, Vitor got his hands and back lit up and I am… Well, real fucked up. But it ain’t your fault Dayle. I don’t want to hear ‘I’m the co-commander and so the blame is mine’ bullshit either. If anything, we’re all to blame.” It was the most sensible thing he had said all afternoon. “We were easy on him cause we’re good people. Too much leniency from all our parts and first chance he truly got he took, can’t say I blame him.”


“There was nothing we could have done.” Vitor added. “In order for the project to work he needed to be treated somewhat fairly and that’s what we did. Dayle it should not be you blaming yourself, but I feel a lot of the blame goes to me. I… put a lot of ideas in his head. About how the Exodlites were the real enemy here but in the end, he only seen the worst parts of the RCN too from behind bars and torture. In his mind both of our sides are evil and should be avoided and… I hate to say it, but I can not blame him for wanting to escape. He only knows being captive, as did the robot… It was a recipe for disaster.”


Although he spoke seldomly, when he did Vitor carried a massive message that they all needed to take in. Axel and Dayle carried a similar expression of anger, although they weren’t shouting at the others in the group didn’t mean they couldn’t be somewhat calm among family. Lucy had been the odd one out in this conversation for the most part, barely getting a few words in before Axel interrupted her.


“I’m just glad we’re all okay.” She said, a smile forming on her face. “And Axel… I know we all want to plan and plot about kicking ass and getting revenge but… Am I the only one who noticed how fucking cute your daughter is? Like… How the hell did that happen?!”


“All her mama’s genes.” He replied. “She passed right after she was born so all she had to remember her by was that damn hat I wore. Few pictures, some videos. Let’s uhh… Not get into that now if you don’t mind.” It was obviously one of his few weak spots along with his children, it was clear now why he kept them hidden. If revealed that he had a family it would have put them in danger and the others would have tried to protect him more so when that’s not what he wanted. “If y’all find her horsey though that’d be greatly appreciated. I’d look but I don’t got any arms.”

 

[C.DEX]

Dayle looked to Vitor, sending him the first off glance that she had in quite a while. There was something different about her anger; she kept it close to her chest, but it was there. Waiting for the right time to come out. Sympathizing wwith Casar, understandable or not, was a notion that she wouldn't let go of so soon. "He hasn't seen the worst of the RCN, Vitor. But he will." She said, leaving behind Casar's fate up in the air as Lucy attempted to lighten the mood with bringing up Axel's family.


Then, she nodded.


"As far as I'm concerned, that girl is either the milkman's or she ain't got a single strand of your DNA in her body, 'cause she's cuter than a button. You don't worry about remembering your gal by a hat, Winger, 'cause that'll run by the face of'er." Dayle said, with a small forced smirk coming to the side of her lip. "That aside, we'll keep an eye out for it. Can't thwart a girl's dreams of being like her cowboy daddy, can we? You don't worry. If we gotta scour the ends of the RCN for that god damned horse, we will."


A petite knock came at the door, before a nurse peeked her head into the room. Slitted eyes laid down on the unusual lot, before she disappeared again and retrieved something from the hall. The low rumble of a table on wheels filled the outside, and in just a moment, the small space inside of the recovery room had become even smaller. Underneath a cool synthflex tarp rested the form of human limbs, promising to the Captain a respite wherein he might actually feel like a full person again, at least in weight. The nurse glanced to the Gaius crew, boring holes into them.


"Okay. It's about time for Mr. Winger to get some rest and put his augments in. It's up to him if you can visit later, but he's not going to be up and walking around in them immediately anyways."


Dayle, both relieved and irritated that Winger was going to be getting his augments, but also that they were being shoved out, shot a roll of the eyes toward the impatient nurse.


"Alright, alright. We're going. Hope you like your new legs, Captain."

 

[Notorious]

“Alright Dayle, everyone… I’ll see you soon.” Axel said, taking some comfort in finally seeing his new augmentations just a few feet from them. “When I’m fitted up I’ll meet y’all down in the lobby I’ll-”


“No, Captain Winger. With the upgrades you requested it’ll take some time for your body to adjust to the new technology. You’ll be walking around with more weight as a result of the new upgrades and weaponry we installed. You’ll be stuck here at least another day.”


“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ANOTHER FUCKING DAY WE-” Axel began to trail off as Vitor swooped in and began leading Dayle and Lucy out. Not that they needed guided, just that he could see the unstoppable anger of the captain and they would just get in the way. “-HAVE A JOB TO DO AND Y’ALL KEEP FUCKING ME AROUND! I’M A GOD DAMN TORSO! WHAT DO YOU MEAN ANOTHER FUCKING DAY?!”


“Captain we-”


“NO! I’VE DONE MY WAITING!”


By the time they were out the door and it sealed behind them the volume had escalated so much that it could be heard through the walls still. They all wordlessly left the ward, both Vitor and Dayle heading back to their respective rooms to get a change of clothing out of their hospital garb. They met up with Lucy in the lobby of the hospital and she smiled at the both of them. For better or worse they were all still together minus their captain who was no doubt raising hell in the upper floors of the hospital.


“Well Dayle… Axel is gonna be out for at least a day. How about you come and inspect my handy work on the ol’ girl? I bet seeing her after being stuck in here will be a breath of fresh air. Also! Been learning how to cook something other than potatoes big guy, I got… wait for it…” She smirked, “A roast going! Big pot of it just waiting for a certain Crusader to eat it!” She giggled, “GET EXCITED YOU TWO WE’RE BACK BITCHES!”


Vitor looked at Dayle and let out a hearty laugh, “I haven’t had a good meal since before Vee. Let’s go!”

 

[C.DEX]

The crew finally had a respite.


On the Gaius, Dayle had inspected the fine work of both Lucy and the repair droids. In true fashion, there was, of course, something wrong in every nook and cranny. It still didn't wipe the telltale look of astonishment she'd given her ship when they had finally arrived back at the docking bay. It was a strange sight to see; a pilot, ascending the ramp of what was a long lost friend to her, criticizing every missed detail, with a large grin on her face that hinted that despite everything she'd picked at, she was happy to be home. Home, on the Gaius. The Leech-class RCN ship who had dragged them through the worst of it and out the other end.


When she'd seen that Lucy and Vitor were both safely nestled back into the arms of the ship, she practically ran toward the kitchen. The smell of roast and potatoes filled the air, enticing both the pilot and Crusader, who hadn't been given the opportunity to eat anything other than stock food and pills in quite a long while.


"It smells great, Luce! We'll pack some up for Winger, too. If we don't eat it all. And if we do, we just pretend that it never existed." Dayle said, grinning toward the girl and reaching to ruffle her hair. She took a glance downward, suddenly ralizing that she'd gotten far too used to the sensation of being augment-less. Surely enough, a package sat in the loading bay where the parcel had been retrieved while Lucy was overseeing repairs. Eagerly, Dayle left from her station at the kitchen to begin unwrapping it like a present.


"I missed this 'ol girl." she said, looking up to the ceiling of the Gaius. "And I missed this one too." she said, pulling the metal arm from the parcel and lining it up with where it would attach and lock into her arm. Four small ports, no bigger than a quarter each, dotted across the organic part of her arm like a band. Then, she was back to normal. Still, an odd expression hit her face. "You know, it might not be bad for me to get an upgrade as well. What with Winger becoming metalman, I might have a problem keeping up with you - Vitor - and him. I'd hate to hold y'all back if I have the choice not to. Won't be able to get a full arm like he's got; still need the jack."


Her face crossed in remembrance. It'd been obvious then that despite it having happened long ago, the pilot still missed her arm.


"Amazes me that that bastard was crazy enough to cut his other one off."

 

[Notorious]

“Well, with the way he’s reacting to losing both his legs makes me think that he was joking about voluntarily losing the other. I bet having one augmented arm is bad enough but two?” Lucy shook her head as she began serving the roast and potatoes, making bowls for everyone there. The aroma was intoxicating, a thick fog of delicious smelling food was always a nice touch to coming home. “That anger on his face was nothing I ain’t ever seen on a man’s before honestly, it was pretty scary. No way in hell he took that other one off of his own free will. I do know from here on out he’s gonna be taking a lot more than giving from people, for better or worse.”


Vitor was growing impatient as the women were talking so he snuck around, as best as the giant could, and took one of the bowls Lucy had laid out. Before she could protest he was already eating, letting out a groan of relief as the meat melted in his mouth. The Crusader almost looked like he was on the verge of tears, savoring the food as Lucy grinned ear to ear watching her handy work be appreciated.


“Luce… That might be the best meat I’ve ever had.” He wiped his eyes, “Poor Axel… It looks like this meal didn’t exist after all.” Vitor said with a sly smirk as they all began to dig in. It was a peaceful moment for a crew that had been wrecked by misfortune, a small, brief moment where the three of them could eat like an adopted family together. They laughed, they chatted, from there on out they avoided talking about their Captain who was having a much worse night than the three of them and surprisingly they were able to avoid talking about Casar. For the first time in a long time they simply enjoyed eachother’s company and basked in the afterglow of an excellent meal. Before too long they had fallen asleep, in their own rooms for once, satisfied and happy.


The next day rapidly came in, far too soon for the crew but not soon enough for Dayle who had gotten up in the middle of the night and had already began the process of tuning the Gaius to her exact specifications. Lucy assisted her once she awoke a few hours later, though not taking as much enjoyment out of it as Dayle was. Vitor was the late riser but awoke just in time to see a man walking towards them with a happy little girl sitting on his shoulders.


“Captain!” Vitor called out, surprised to see Axel approaching the Gaius so soon. Usually when he was out he was out until absolutely necessary, seeing that he had Ayla with him only could mean that he would be able to come around more often as long as she was in his care. “You’re looking taller! And wider!” He exclaimed as Dayle and Lucy looked down at them. They were hanging from the ceiling of the loading bay, patching up holes in the walls that had ricocheted that far up. “You must have asked them to model you after me.”


“Sure did.” Axel replied, his smirk on his face appearing a lot weaker than it usually was even with the little girl just behind him grinning wildly at Vitor. “They patched me up good, just got out a few hours ago actually. Can’t wait to test them out, they ran down a list of features and it’d blow your mind. I’ll let y’all know later… Came here because the lil ‘un wouldn’t stop talking about her new friends she met yesterday.”


“HI VITOR! Where is Aunt Dayley and Lucy?” When Vitor pointed up Ayla gasped at what the two of them were doing. “YOU TWO GET DOWN RIGHT NOW! YOU’RE GONNA GET HURT!”


She was too adorable.

 

[C.DEX]

Dayle looked down, which was really the equivalent of twisting back. Shee had been strapped to the ceiling via a magnetic brace, just as Lucy had. It had made their jobs a lot easier, and with the technology that they had, repairing the holes in the layer of Gaius' inner armor wasn't too bad. All while talking to Ayla and Axel, Dayle held out a device that shot out light and metal, patching up the holes as if loading what material had to be replaced. "Hey, sweetheart!" she said, from the ceiling. "It's okay! Auntie Dayle's done this a million times. A mean person poked a few holes in the ship and I gotta make sure the space outside doesn't leak through when we take'r out!"


She waited and gauged the girl's reaction, but found that her words didn't do much to console her. She gave a small laugh. "Okay, okay! We're coming down! Don't want to get hurt." she said, and moved the tool in her hand to the utility belt on her side. Soon enough, Dayle and Lucy were submitted to the commands of the four-year-old girl, and descending quickly from the ceiling to meet their recovering Captain. They landed safely, much to Ayla's pleasure, and Dayle approached the two of them. She reached out and gave a quick pinch to the loose-locked girl's cheek, before shooting a grin at Axel.


"Miss Ayla is always welcome here." she said. "As are you, as long as yer feelin' a ways better. Don't get too excited about features, they might'a spent all their horsepower figuring out a way to get em to carry that massive head of yours." she teased. Despite the fact that she wasn't given much of a response in the ways of laughter, that was to be expected. After all, while Ayla could figuratively brighten up anyone's day, losing a majority of yourself was still a loss. Even if it had gotten replaced.


"How would this one like to see the cockpit? I can put up some cartoons on the viewport and she can sit in the pilot's seat. Does that sound like a plan, or are y'all making this a brief visit?"

 

[Notorious]

“Yay!” Ayla exclaimed, reaching behind her father’s head and covering his mouth. Even he couldn’t help but smile at her reaction, she instinctively shushed him in order to spend more time with Dayle, Lucy and Vitor. “The pilot seat? This is the best. Day. EVER!” The little girl exclaimed, trying to scramble off her father’s book who in turn grabbed her with one hand and hoisted her in the air. She giggled as he put her down, an odd display of strength from the new limbs but it was impressive nonetheless. “Daddy said you’d have cartoons, that you and Lucy watch one when the ship is flying itself!”


“Hey! Space Captain Sal is not a cartoon!” Lucy said to Axel after hearing what Ayla said, defensively. “It just happens to be a show that we watch on our downtime about a captain who flies from planet to planet while flying an awesome ship! It’s pretty similar to what we do and Dayle likes how accurate the ships in it are. I just like how he kicks major as-butt!” Lucy sighed, “And… it happens to be animated.”


“Cartoon.” Axel said with a smirk as Ayla walked up and grabbed on to Dayle’s augmented arm. She grabbed the induction port like it was a hand and wasn’t phased at all by it, with her father being the poster boy for augmentations she was quite use to them by now. “Listen, y’all can watch what you want on your own time. Ayla is too young for that show unfortunately so put something friendly on ‘Auntie’ Dayle.” He seemed to be in much better spirits, not quite as friendly or as alive as he usually was but luckily with Ayla around the smile never really disappeared from his face.


Lucy stuck her tongue out at Axel as the two girls led Ayla up the stairs and towards the cockpit of the ship. The little girl stared at everything with wonder in her eyes, never before being allowed up in a ship like this. She held on to Dayle’s ‘hand’ whilst she looked around with an intense curiosity, asking a number of questions that had to go unanswered due to how fast she was asking them.


“Is this where you guys kick bad guy butt?” She asked, arriving at the cockpit. Ayla was beyond impressed with how cool everything was, if Axel wasn’t careful Dayle would turn his daughter into a little pilot like her brother. “This is so cool!”