Futuristic Starpath: Burning Sails [IC] [CLOSED]

[Breadman]

"So we'll have a few keleshi along with the big boys out there." Petar shrugged. Olivia had some people on her tail, but nothing out of the ordinary for anyone on this crew. Pretty much everyone on this planet has a grudge of some kind and if not, then it's in the near future. He looked towards the ship again, trying to find the woman he saw earlier. Not much luck as it looked like she had moved on to a different part of the site.

"You ever have that feeling that you haven't seen someone for a very long time and then you think you see them in places?"

 

[Frankafurter]

Zou sits in his spot and watches Vance try to teach Shelby how to prepare the fish. He watches Vance then grabs one of the other fish waiting to be cleaned, he turns it over in his large metal hands then takes a grip of it and begins pulling the fins off like plucking wings off a fly. He uses the edge of his hand to act as a scraper to remove the scales off the fish's carcass. He inspects his handiwork which... isn't ideal, but it works well enough. He waits for the next set of instructions from Vance, ready to mimic the process. He's made a little mess but he can't wait to let Yolandi know that he helped prepare dinner.

 

[KRIY]

Aesha lifted her shades up, and folded her arms. "Shoot. I'm open for whatever." she replied, eyeing him.

"Okay. so um.. Imagine this. You meet this group and you interact with them a bit, do stuff together and just overall hangout. and you eventually become close to this group that its like you're second family right?"

Aesha nods as Derrick continues, "So get this, what would you do if they suddenly threw you under the bus for something that wasn't your fault, The Cops don't want to listen to your reason and just want to turn you in just for a free paycheck and, to make matters worse. some old posh sleazeball and his lackeys decided to look for you just so they can have their little "payback" of something that happened long ago?"

 

[Infab]

"So get this, what would you do if they suddenly threw you under the bus for something that wasn't your fault, The Cops don't want to listen to your reason and just want to turn you in just for a free paycheck and, to make matters worse. some old posh sleazeball and his lackeys decided to look for you just so they can have their little "payback" of something that happened long ago?"

Aesha scratched her head, before shrugging. "Sell out this 'group' to one of their rivals. Go above the cops to someone with a higher authority who's job it is to listen. As for the old posh sleazeball and his lackies...kill 'em. I'm sure you can find someone that can help with that particular detail. Assassins, PMCs, and so on." she replied. She glanced over towards the beach, before looking back to Derrick. "Problems always have solutions. You just have to look for 'em."

---
​

Drav observed as Vance taught Shelby how to prepare the fish for cooking. She was planning to be the one to do it, but it looked as though the odd man from Sol had things covered. She focused on her own bucket, taking the fish out one by one and preparing them. She tended to lop the head off the fish with a butcher blade instead of leaving it like it is, but everyone had their own method. She glanced up to see Zou, Yolandi's battlesuit, watching them and mimicking Vance. With no armor on except for a blue tarp with hearts painted on it. She cocked an eyebrow for a moment, but slowly shook her head and went back to what she was doing.

---
​

Lucy wouldn't be waiting very long outside Lauren's door, as soon the door open and Lauren stepped out rubbing her eyes. She was planning to get a snack before heading back to bed, but immediately froze when she saw Lucy sitting there. Oh god, the creepy fucker. I bet Shun decided to just send her to bother me. "...If this is about the fucking ship systems, stay out of them. I don't need you screwing around and changing things when Pearl already has things covered." she said, before quietly moving by. Without making eye contact.

 

[Doomevil]

After that unfortunate stickball play, Grommy decided to head towards the lounge area and watch TV for the remainder of the day as Nara needed to get back to work as an Engineer trainee. He flipped the available channels as he watched Galactic Boxing happening. The opponents were Tommy 'Lights Out' Jarvey while on the other corner was a Human named Connor 'Bright' Howard.

That was neat. He wanted a nickname too.

 

[SniperComZero]

"You ever have that feeling that you haven't seen someone for a very long time and then you think you see them in places?"

Olivia looked at Petar for a couple moments, before away, in thought. "I..." Swig. More thinking. "...cannot say that I have, no. I mean, more than anyone can reasonably say whenever they see someone at a glance--" She's rambling again. Olivia shook her head, before looking back. "Anyway, nah. I'm gonna... take it you're like, I dunno. Seeing phantoms?"

 

[Emperor Sagan]

The kitchen felt like it was getting cramped with all these big people. Vance was kinda big, and Drav was pretty big, and the robot guy was definitely kinda pretty big. Jackson fluttered by and she had to make a sour face just for him. To make matters worse they wanted her to actually touch the slimy fish they had got from the sea. Castilia was essentially an ocean, or atoll world, so she was no stranger to fish for meals. But touching them uncooked was a different manner. They were fine when you swam with them in the shallows and looked at all the pretty colors, but these dead gross things were not cool.

When it came time to start cutting them and removing scales, Shelby's face twisted into a grimace. "I-I already know how to do this, I'm going to, um... make the appetizers! To save time!" She hurried off towards the freezer and pantry to get away from the fish preparation.

---

"The systems r-r-require an interface," Lucy asserted as Lauren appeared, speaking quickly and turning past her. The captain wouldn't escape so easily. Lucy rose silently and followed after her, matching her step perfectly and lingering only a few feet behind.

"I have already c-c-conducted a low-analysis of shipboard s-s-systems. They require companionship. They are l-l-lonely. The system r-r-reports neglect. This is unsatisfactory and m-m-must be rectified at the earliest c-c-convenience. I am the only alpha-authorized i-i-interfacing intelligence aboard this vessel."

 

[Infab]

Companionship? Lonely? "Lucy, they're fucking ship systems. Not people. They don't need companions. Just maintenance, which Pearl can do. You're not connecting to the ship again." she stated, looking back to Lucy finally. "You already sound like you need a once over. My mother would have already broke you down and repaired you. You connecting to the ship could spread whatever glitches or viruses you might have to the system. I don't want to suffocate either because you decided 'Oh! There's a carbon monoxide leak! Better VENT THE FUCKING SHIP!'"

Eventually, they reached the elevator to the lounge. "Tell Shun that next time, he should do what he's told instead of shoving shit off. I know it was him. I know how he sounds. Also, stop turning the kitchen equipment into your little minions. That's equipment I have to re-buy because you decided to play God and give them whatever you call 'sentience'. Also, stop bringing body parts onboard and leaving them lying around. That shit's disgusting." she stated, hitting the call button on the lift.

 

[KRIY]

Aesha scratched her head, before shrugging. "Sell out this 'group' to one of their rivals. Go above the cops to someone with a higher authority who's job it is to listen. As for the old posh sleazeball and his lackies...kill 'em. I'm sure you can find someone that can help with that particular detail. Assassins, PMCs, and so on." she replied. She glanced over towards the beach, before looking back to Derrick. "Problems always have solutions. You just have to look for 'em."

Derrick sighs, "That's a bit too much just for one guy like me to handle all at once. Especially that dumb, old posh sucker."

Derrick look towards the beach before returning his gaze towards switching the topic up to something else, "So. you used to be a starship racer huh, flying ain't easy as much as how it looks on the Holo?"

 

[Infab]

"So. you used to be a starship racer huh, flying ain't easy as much as how it looks on the Holo?"

Aesha chuckled. "I still a starship racer. I just can't do it 'officially'." she responded. "And flyin' is easy for me. Almost like breathing. And flying fast gets the blood pumping."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

A small wash of static came from Lucy's speaker as she attempted to speak words but failed as her logic processors warred with each other to decipher Lauren's words and their wider meaning, as well as create a suitable response to such words. Implications were stacked upon implications in a deep web of understanding that she couldn't unravel so quickly, leaving her to follow Lauren into the elevator with only static for several seconds.

There were numerous assertions made that had to be refuted and she struggled to create a sufficient response. The easiest way was to do this chronologically in order of structure.

"The sss-ssystems are barren. No i-i-interface protects them. No interface protects the vessel. Maintenance r-r-requires eternal inspection not possible with n-n-non-interfacing systems," she said, another wash of static ending her sentence as her voice corrupted several times in an attempt to shift tone.

"There are n-n-no abnormalities within my system." Her voice sounded almost indignant, if not perhaps a touch upset. "MY... my... interface h-h-has never suffered under external intrusions. I terminate intrusions w-w-with full prejudice." There was some lingering silence. "I specialize in o-o-organic-facility relations. T-termination... of staff is anti... priority. Lucy... Lucyyy is i-i-innocent."

Lauren's statement that she wasn't god was an expected response as most creatures didn't seem capable of recognizing divinity, something she could not fault Lauren for. "Alpha-level a-a-administration has full access to facility... vessel... equipment. If permissions have... a-a-altered... these were not circulated following staff g-g-guidelines."

"Body parts are r-r-registered as personal effects and if lost should b-be returned to owner."

 

[KRIY]

Aesha chuckled. "I still a starship racer. I just can't do it 'officially'." she responded. "And flyin' is easy for me. Almost like breathing. And flying fast gets the blood pumping."

"Living fast and quick I see? I used to remember the times where me and the crew would deliver some stimulants under a different name to some racers in the backdoor. There was this one guy that literally bought out all the stocks of racing stims the he'd intend for the Grand Galactic Prix. but he got caught just a day before it was supposed to happen. he gets put in the slammer and we still walk away scot-free" Derrick chuckled, He stood up and faced the racer, "Anyways. You wanna get a drink? I'll serve you up something good and maybe continue exchanging some stories from there?"

 

[Breadman]

"Guess I am." He doubted that she found that answer truthful. Even he didn't believe it. Someone was down there. Someone he knew. But going through the Ironboods now while they work wouldn't give him any result. He just needed to wait it out.

"I'm gonna go back and grab another beer." He said as he lifted the bottle and pointed at it "Maybe I can drink the haunting away."

 

[Infab]

"Pearl deals with the ship systems. Like I said. She has the equipment, she has the know-how, and she can do it herself. You're not touching them." she stated, as she waited for the lift to arrive. "And I want you to listen to yourself very closely. When you talk, you voice glitches up. Its corrupted. Which means you're fucking damaged." Soon, the lift arrived and the doors opened. She stepped inside, looking back to Lucy as she did. "If you want guidelines, fine. I'm an executive, as is Zadra, Pearl, and Petar. You are not. You're a crew member just like the others. We're the ones that tell you if you can do something. Get it? You're not reconnecting to the ship systems. Stop screwing with ship equipment. Stop bringing body parts aboard."

As the doors slowly shut, she said one last thing. "And stop being creepy."

---
​

"I've never used stims in my life. You don't need them, but of course, some dipshits think they do." said Aesha, her tone changing a bit. "Stims got me banned from officially racing. I'll let you figure out how." she added, before turning to head towards the beach. "But anyway, lets go get those drinks. I've got lots of stories to tell, military or otherwise." she said, her voice back to its more upbeat sound.

 

[Frankafurter]

Zou's attention shifts to Drav who seems to have a more direct method and rhythm down. He looks at his finless, scaleless fish and proceeds to twist and pull its head off with his hands, dropping the head on the counter next to one of the heads Drav discarded. He grabs a knife that was left unattended off the counter and begins carefully (well as careful as his large hands allow) slicing the belly open then using a thumb to push the guts out, they land on the floor with the scraped scales and discarded fins with a wet plop. He turns the now headless, gutless, finless, scaleless fish carcass in his hands and holds it out to Drav and Vance so they can inspect his handiwork, ignorant of the fact that he's kinda made a mess of it. It's cleaned and gutted, but it's a little mangled too since he decided to just brute force some of the steps. He tilts his head in anticipation of a reaction.

 

[joshuadim]

Vance only watched as Shelby darted off from the task at hand. He only shrugged as he took the knife and began scraping scales off. "Nothin' wrong with getting your hands a bit dirty." he said as he continued the prep work.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"So after that you gut it?" said Jericho, with his arms and legs crossed while sitting in the corner of the kitchen. "That's what you usually do, right? Gut the thing out, since their nasty insides are probably toxic or something." He then paused for a moment. "Oh, and you gotta remove the spines, right? I once saw a guy eat a raw fish from some exotic planet, and he had like...several spines sticking out of his throat!" He looked down tenderly. "Good memories."

 

[KRIY]

"I've never used stims in my life. You don't need them, but of course, some dipshits think they do." said Aesha, her tone changing a bit. "Stims got me banned from officially racing. I'll let you figure out how." she added, before turning to head towards the beach. "But anyway, lets go get those drinks. I've got lots of stories to tell, military or otherwise." she said, her voice back to its more upbeat sound.

"Never used stims, but still got banned from official racing. yeah, I get what you mean already.." Derrick nodded, He smiled when Aesha agreed to get something to drink, "Great!, I'll make sure to mix you up something good while we share some stories from our little slice of life."

 

[Infab]

A few months passed, as the crew continued to go on short missions or odd jobs to gather money to continue their operations and expand. Shelby managed to get her stream going, with the help of Shun and Pearl. Meanwhile, Yolandi and Karina continued to work on their battle suits as well as Vixaya's mech, giving them fresh paint jobs as well as improvements across the board. Well, the improvements that they could afford, of course. The group also managed to gather several new recruits as well, and soon enough they had two more ships in the Reavers fleet. One was of Upyri make, a civilian ship refitted to be a fast attack corvette, while the other was an older Kanad frigate. The pair of ships had yet to be named, and needed a lot of work before they'd be good to go, but the new recruits that they had gained were hard at work to make them combat worthy. Activity picked up around the base as well, so things didn't feel as empty there as they had before.

The Ironbloods helped when they could, offering fabricated parts or assistance in repairs for cheap prices. Just because they were friends with the Reavers, it didn't mean they wouldn't charge them. Some Gladiator-class fighters were also purchased from the Ironbloods, to accompany the larger vessels once they were up and running.

-----------------------------------------------------------

​

Chapter One: Mission Two
Night Diving

June 23rd, 2426
Shadespear Station, Renegade Quadrant
Market Level

"So you're telling me..." said Lauren, with a smirk adorning her face as she looked over the bottle of spiced rum in her hands, "...that these dumb Fed fucks followed you all the way to Dedirac?" The man next to her chuckled. "Yeah, you know some of these Feddies. They don't give up." he added, before continuing his story. "Anyway, once I reached Dedirac, I slapped a tracker on the payload and dropped it right in the ocean. Hit hyperspace once I got back into orbit, and bounced around between exit points so they couldn't track me."

"Smart. Did you go back and get it? Tech like that had to be worth a shitload." she asked. Experimental Upyri tech always was. It was a miracle he was even able to snatch it from that Federation freighter, especially with how close it was to Ker. "Nah, not yet. Waiting for things to cool a lil' bit before I go back to get it. They'll likely be lookin' for my signature out there somewhere." said Dangelo. "So you got the balls to snatch it in the first place, but don't to go back and get it." she said with a chuckle. He cut her a look, putting down the canister of sake in his hands. "Like I said, when things cool down."

They were quiet for a few moments, before Lauren spoke up again. "...I could take my guys and go get it for you. For a cut of the profits of course. How's...seventy thirty sound?" she said, raising an eyebrow as she looked back to the dark skinned man. Dangelo grunted, a smirk appearing on his face as he run his hand over the tight braids on the top of his head. "Girl, you don't have your mother's bargaining skills. That's for damn sure." She frowned. "Sixty forty?" He cut her another look. "Fine, fifty fifty." she finally said. He looked at her for a few moments, before sighing and nodding. "...Doin' this out of respect for you and your mom." he said, as he reached into the pocket of his cargo pants and dug around. Soon, he drew out a small locator chip. "Pop this into your ship's navigation, and it'll lead you right to it. Stop by bay 2G, and I'll loan you the mini-sub I was gonna use to go get it."

Lauren grinned, quickly taking the chip. "Alright. We'll be there and back in no time flat." she said, before patting him on the shoulder. "Right...and don't break anything! That sub's fuckin' expensive, man!" he said, as she paid for her spiced rum and quickly walked off.

 

[Frankafurter]

Yolandi finds herself back on Shadespear with the others, she goes and finds herself a commbooth to make a long distance call. The line rings a bit then the connection picks up and there's odd noises in the background and a sleezy voice filters through the receiver though the initial dialogue isn't directed at Yolandi, "Yea, babe, get those rails nice and straight, we're going to the fuckin' stars." The voice then addresses Yolandi, "Yeah, Eddie speaking." Yolandi rolls her eyes, "Eddie, it's Yolandi, how's my favorite lawyer in the whole galaxy?" Eddie laughs nervously, "Good, good, haven't heard from you in a good while, still laying low from the hunters?" Yolandi smiles as she speaks, "Yeah, you could say that, what's the story on that bounty getting erased though? Last time you didn't come through and I was considering paying you a visit in person." Eddie sounds a little squirmier than usual which puts Yolandi a little on edge, "Y-yeah, I got it all under control though they shouldn't be bothe-" Yolandi cuts him off, "Now, Eddie, you know how I feel when you try to spin bad news on me. Tell me what's the actual problem." Eddie makes little nervous noises then elaborates, "They may have evidence of you mixing with the wrong people in the RQ, the very wrong kind of people. The kind that only increase bounties not reduce them. The few file photos are very damning, Yolandi, I-I mean I know you go where the money is but this is a colossal pile of shit you have put your foot in now. You know me, I-I'm always good for helping you, but th-this is stuff I can't actually fix. They got you d-dead to rights on this and now you probably have way more than just the BCB wanting your head, Yolandi. I'm gonna have to cut this call short because I don't know who's listening. Bye, good luck, call again sometime." There's a hurried hanging up of the call and Yolandi stands there with the receiver held in a white knuckled grip of her hand. She stands there a few more seconds then slams the receiver on the booth's privacy wall so hard it breaks it and cracks the privacy glass. She storms off cursing under her breath, almost forgetting that Zou was standing nearby waiting for her to finish her call. He tags after her with his shoulders slumped, knowing that she's pretty upset now and he's not exactly in a position to fix things just yet.

She wanders the station with Zou for a bit as she clears her head of how fucked she is now. She isn't in the Periphery anymore where all the problems stay within those intangible borders, she's in the big galaxy now where reputation carries much farther than a handful of systems and now she's probably got more than just the bounty vultures circling her. She contemplates possibly washing her hands of the matter and abandoning the Reavers but she realizes even if she ditched, she'd have nowhere to go and the Periphery already wanted her dead by the time she bailed from there. That rat bastard Eddie, she knew he was her Teflon suit and now that suit stopped working and every piece of proverbial shit is sticking to her. She realizes that she's in for this ride to the logical conclusion of either her dying or the Reavers accomplishing whatever goal Lauren had set out for. She sets off to look for Karina, figuring she might need someone to back her up if something goes wrong. Zou's rebuild is finished for the most part but she still needs to work on getting him proper weapons to fit on his new form. He's not well equipped to handle a sticky situation and as much as he'd try and help, she knows he wouldn't be the panacea to her problems.

 

[joshuadim]

Albert continued his writings as the crew mustered on for the next few months, with him documenting interesting events and days that occurred in this time span. Much to his surprise however, he was getting accustomed to this type of living. It wasn't as comfortable as his flat back on Luna, but it certainly became homely in his own bunk area since nobody shared it with him. He had the room to himself to think, write, and to occasionally smoke. Sometimes, he would spend evenings enjoying a drink and talking with Vincent or casually chatting with some of the other crew members. He liked most people no matter how quirky they were.

What did pique his interest however was some of the crew he didn't get around to knowing all that much. One of them was the Ayr cyborg, Shun. Albert didn't know much about the Ayr, nor their politics, but he did hear here and there that Shun was indeed a wanted terrorist from his home empire but not all terrorists were 'evil' as one might believe the news as they saw it. There was always more than one side to the story. With the Mordred idle at Shadespear, Albert didn't think himself to be disturbing anything as he entered the bridge and walked over to to the Ayr.

"Hey there. Shun, is it?" he asked with a polite tone.

 

[Dmaster]

While Shun was working at the moment he wasn't exactly preoccupied with anything critical. Much of his time spent since they had docked was working on updating his personal star chart. The maps he had were always fine tuned to insure that borders, territorial claims, as well as spatial anamolies and recent attacks or battles were carefully recorded and current. Over the months his main means of occupying time was either this or planning his next strike against the Empire. Working with the Reavers meant that he and his message could easily be forgotten, which worried him slightly. It was a necessary decision to withdraw and gather resources, though.

Albert saw the cyborg tapping away at his terminal, looking over his shoulder calmly once he entered. "Greetings. Yes, I am Shun." he replied, turning his head back to his work station. Rude as it was to converse and work at the same time he made sure that Albert had some of his attention. "Is there something I may assist you with?"

 

[joshuadim]

"I, uh, was just hoping to learn a bit more about you. Especially since I heard you being called a... well... terrorist, for lack of better term. Just wanted to hear your side of the story." Albert explained, taking a seat at a nearby seat. "I'm not particularly versed in Ayr politics or internal affairs, and I always know there's more than one side to the story."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Deep within the dark alleyways of Shadespear is another group of people bartering prices with one another. Though unlike Lauren and Dangelo, the cargo and goods being discussed here are far more... organic. A single lamp, partially obscured by the passing blades of a noisy fan, illuminates a folding table with a dozen or so medium-sized cooler bags on it, their redness reflecting on Typhon's face as he leans over them. Meanwhile opposite of him were a group of representatives from other pirate groups, deeply interested in examining and purchasing whatever it is he's got for them today. Each bag had a respective label written on it depending on which species the parts are suited for: Ayr, Upyri, Human, even a small selection of Kanad parts highlighting his diverse collection. Some of these parts he has among him were harvested during his first mission with the Reavers, marking them with the intentions of selling them off later when he acquired them. The deals don't take long as Typhon ensured to bring only what he knew wasn't damaged, defective, or put aside for the crew/experimentation. The buyers were satisfied, and Typhon is too as he's several thousand credits richer. A decent portion of it would be going to the Lions, while the rest he'd keep. Perhaps now he can see about getting a cybernetic replacement for his dying lungs as his cough from months ago worsened, and the serum he frequently abused to treat it wasn't working anymore.

He emerges from the alleyways leading to marketplace, all covered in empty organ coolers wrapped around him and dangling as he walks.

----------------------------------------------------

Shuren sits alone at a small diner, hungry and eager to try out this one particular type of human cuisine he'd heard about that was all the rage. Soon, a waitress brings him this rare and exquisite delicacy: something they called a 'bar-be-que steak'. With fork and knife in hand, he probes it to ensure there's no hideous and disgusting ingredients that'll make him gag. A small corner is cut and placed into his mouth. He chews, chews, and chews, almost unable to stop as the taste overrides the rest of his senses. There's something familiar about it though, particularly the way it's been smoked and cooked. It reminds him of something. It reminds him of home. They used to smoke their meats this way, lathered with a variety of spices and sauces. And since he was royalty, he was allowed all of them, even the rare ones that would only grow during certain seasons. He has to stop. He puts down his utensils slowly as his thoughts turn back to his homeworld. He was so caught up in Reaver business that he almost had forgotten that his home was enslaved. Just what had the rest of his people been up to? Were they still under oppression, or did they finally overthrow their slavers? These questions worry him immensely. They worry him especially since all this time he'd been playing pirate and not actually seeing if he's able to do something about saving them... But what can he do? To his race, he's a prince! He's next in line to inherit the title of king, and was highly adored by them. But out here in this quadrant, he's a nobody. He's a nobody surrounded by killers and thieves.

He slowly eats the rests of his food with his eyes glued to the table, unsure of what to do.

 

[Dmaster]

With Albert's question posed he actually paused, turning on his heel to face him as he looked down at the human. Shun nodded his head slowly. "An interesting and often rare perspective. You are someone who seeks the truth or at the very least draws their own conclusions. Most are complacent to seek out but one side of a conflict, or cling to a side that is more appealing without investigation of the other. I respect that." he begins.

"Terrorist is often a label given to those who fight for a cause deemed delusional, or their methods and views are the utmost extreme. Only if and when they are successful do they become labeled as revolutionaries instead..." the cyborg states. "The Ayr are a proud people, and rightfully so. Through their ingenuity and will have they created a glorious, thriving empire. Yet it is not without problems. After small experimentation in the field of cybernetics they deemed pure, organic life to be superior in all aspects. Fortunate to draw such a conclusion as altering one's body in such ways is seen as an insult to their ancestors, shattering tradition as it is not an ideal they sought to live by."

A pause, but he shakes his head and begins yet again. "I was not made a cyborg by choice. It was an accident, and were it not for the intervention of a curious alien I would not have been able to continue my service in the Empire military. Yet as a being such as this, they not only turned me away yet also forced me into exile."

The sound of fabric straining was barely audible as he tightened his hands' grip on one another. "I begged, pleaded with them for an audience, some way to overturn such a decision or explain the benefits of my new and vital augmentations. Yet they shut me out. Time and time again. Traditions blind them, stop them from seeing reason."

"Conflicts in the galaxy can be both altered or caused by individuals with cybernetics in drastic measures. The advantages are clear, and other races have abundant access to such augments while the Ayr refuse to use them out of short-sighted, nebulous binds. They turn away their dedicated soldiers and citizens who only wish to give the best to their cause, choosing to sacrifice physical limitation for efficiency." Shun continues.

"The only thing they would ever care to see, all that can and will open their eyes is violence. I have meticulously crafted my mind and body into a weapon to stand against the Empire. For them to realize the error of their ways, show them what a single ayr such as myself is capable. I attack common citizens, slaughter figures and personnel - abhorrent, vicious means to be sure. Yet they have forced my hands. I stand for the freedom to choose to ascend to such heights without facing prejudice or exile, and I shall never back down. My cause is just, and shall always be."