Ahem.
Yep, Rat gets another go at things, six months past the end events of Carth and Cy's adventure 1. Sadly, said events have been lost in the Soulriders downtime, but I will summerize said events here.
A brief history on recent events;
Since escaping the Cave of Bor- Black Ice, Carthrat searched high and low for Diane, and couldn't find her. Unable to keep up in his present state (bruised, battered, and ill-equipped), he retreated to Hong Kong, in which he was an unknown. He travelled back to England to tell Rachel Diane was missing in action, and that he would do his best to find her.
Since then, he has travelled to Hong Kong in order to rebuild his arsenal, which he has managed to do after 6 months. During this time, he became something of a vigilante on the streets, single-handedly busting murders, drug and prostitution rings, rapes, and most other backalley gang crimes. He has found himself drawn to this sort of activity now. Thanks to his cloaking device, nobody has an idea of who he is (except possible people who know more than other people), and he poses during the day as a yuppie, working at a computer industry known as Asatec. It should be noted that Asatec share prices have risen dramatically since his employment in the area, and Carthrat took the opportunity to do some insider trading, creating a large sum of money for himself to do with as he pleases.
He also did some odd jobs for an old woman, mainly because she was a mage who offered a 'young, strapping lad' an apprenticeship. When Carthrat discovered it had taken all 5 months of study to barely be able to cast a spell, he quit. He paid her for the magical items he now possesses, but would much rather have nothing else to do with her, magic, or the ether. White Glow is still with Carthrat, as it seems to have stuck onto him.
Currently, there are no important events occuring in his life, and things have settled down to a reasonable level of peace..
It's a warm Hong Kong evening, and Carthrat has finished another day of work. Traveling home, he notices that a late model Japanese made car is following him discreetly. It makes no aggresive movement, but instead seems content to follow you.
Carthrat has had a good day. Asatec had apparently made a takeover of another rival company, he'd been promoted (finally! An actual office instead of a cubicle!), the cute chinese waitress at the bar hadn't shot him one of those dirty looks she'd been giving him ever since he insulted her boyfriend, and most importantly, he was going to get home in time for the news.
He noticed the car, of course. He was walking home tonight (his car had been taken into the mechanics; some bastard had left his collection of knives on the ground and he ended up with three flat tires), and took an opportunity to slide into a cafe, sitting down and looking at the car through the corner of his eye.
The car stops and manages to park as you sit down, with two black suited, sunglass'ed Asian gentleman coming out of said car. They look like either business men or typical government agents, and somehow you doubt that this is shop talk.
Two suits. Carthrat hated wearing suits; the collar was always too tight, and someone always expected him to wear a bloody tie.
Ordering some chinese tea, he relaxes back in his chair, confident his shielding system will protect him if these suits aren't going to start by speaking with him.
The men wade through the crowd and enter the cafe. They walk to your table, two average height men of Japanese decent. The one in front makes a open handed, non aggressive motion with his hands, as if to indicate he isn't armed at the moment.
"Mr...Tanewaki?" he asks in Japanese, confirming his race.
"That's me," replies Carthrat in the same language. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"
The one in front and the same man who addressed you, takes off his sunglasses.
"We would like to discuss certain matters pertaining to recent events in Japan, Mr. Tanewaki," he says in a pleasant monotone. Taking a look around, he says, "In a more..private place, of course."
"But what possible intrest could I have in Japan, gentlemen?" Carthrat replies. "My citizenship has been transferred and my assets liquidated."
"There are still some...lingering...issues," he replies, hesitating over the word slightly. "About the Sapporo incident, amoung other things," he says quietly. "We really do wish to do this the polite way, Mr Tanewaki. Please cooperate."
As if they could touch him, let alone subdue him.
"As you say. But wait. My tea isn't finished."
"Very well," the man says, showing no signs of moving.
Carthrat takes his sweet time drinking his tea, studying the suits in front of him, figuring they both have silenced pistols and brass knuckles or something equally useless.
He eventually finishes, pays his bill.. "So, where are we going?"
With a second's hesitation, he responds in the same controlled, polite monotone. "To somewhere more private."
"I see I'll get nothing useful out of you," mutters Carthrat. "How about I drive? You can give directions."
"I believe that is not an option, Mr. Tanewaki," he says blandly. "We shall provide you with transportation."
"Will you provide me with transportation back?" replies Carthrat, pondering several undiplomatic ways to extract information from these men.
"Certainly, Mr. Tanewaki," he replies again.
"Is your boss as anal as you?" asks Carthrat.
Without any change of expression or tone, he replies. "He may very well be. Shall we go now?"
"Fine," replies Carthrat, standing up. "Lead the way."
They escort you out of the cafe and into the car you saw earlier. They seat you in the back while they take the front seats, the man who stayed silent driving.
After about a half hour of fighting through traffic, you come to a large skyscraper. It is the Mazawaki building, owned by a Japanese corporation of the same name. The car pulls into a side parking garage, stops for a moment in where you see the driver exchange some sort of card with a guard. After that, the car goes in the garage, gets a parking space and stops.
"We are here, Mr. Tanewaki," the agent says.
"And so we are," replies Carthrat, getting out the car. "Are you going to just sit there or take me to your boss?"
"This way, Mr Taniwaki," he says, ignoring your comment. Leading you out of the car and to an elevator, you find yourself going up. It's a keycard activated life, you note, as one of the suits swipes a card to start the ride.
A short time and many floors later, you step out into a comfortable lobby. The men lead you straight through it, down a softly lit hallway and into a large, windowed office. You get a fairly nice view of early evening Hong Kong from up high as you are escorted to a fine leather seat.
A desk is the main feature in the office besides a potted plant, deep carpeting and a computer. At the desk sits a balding Japanese man, probably on the good side of fifty. In Japanese, he says, "Hello, Mr. Tanewaki. I trust your trip here was endurable?" His voice is polite and gracious, like a good host.
Carthrat shrugs. "Interesting choice of words, Mr..."
"Smith. Johnathan Smith," he says coolly. "Now, it has come to my attention you had an involvement in certain incidents in Japan recently?" he says, picking up a folder from his desk. Taking out a sheet of paper, he reads from it. "A destroyed skyscraper you owned via monster attack...Suspected murder....sending off enough demonic energy to send the local magic patterns into a fit. Oh yes, we know that was you, Mr. Tanewaki."
Also...The Sapporou incident," he says blandly. "Not to mention that the captured beast seems to have some damned fixation on a 'Carthrat chan'." Looking up from the sheet, he continues. "I believe you have been...busy."
"I trust you are about to start telling me important things?" replies Carthrat, wondering if these morons are going to blackmail him.
"We...merely wish to confirm matters with you," he says. "We have come to the conclusion that whatever demonic energy you had before is gone, correct?"
Carthrat's hand unconcious touches the necklace dangling around his neck.
"That would be correct, yes. An experiance I'd much rather not repeat."
He looks at you, his expression unreadable. "Very well."
"Next, we have a beast in custody. The common people would refer to such a creature as a Tarrasque, I believe. The funny thing is that even in captivity," he frowns for a moment before going on, "It is fixated with you. It goes on about some home plant, cuteness and...A...Sailor Ratty...chan," he says, slowly saying those last words like it's hard for him to speak without laughing. "We would wish for clarificiation on this matter."
Urgh. That was a barbed thrust, even if this man didn't know it.
"She thinks I'm the savior of her world," replies Carthrat, turning a little red. "As I don't particularly want to save a world which was obviously some gods experiment gone wrong, I'm not so thrilled to go do it."
"So...you have no interest in her or her world?" he questions back. "Do you have any plans regarding her?"
"Maybe," replies Carthrat.
He is silent for several seconds, not responding. Finally...
"Mr. Taniwaki, let me be frank. We wish to keep this creature in captivity for an indefinite amount of time. The research alone has already made the exoberant costs of containing the beast well, well justified. We wish only to ensure that our investment will not be disturbed. Should you promise us this, we will have no more business with you."
"You've been studying her, hmm? And what have been the fruits of this labour?" replies Carthrat, leaning back.
He chortles, although no humor is to be found in it. "Mr. Taniwaki, let us not going into that. Suffice to say that the advancements in certain fields have been most rewarding to us."
"If you don't go into it now, I'll find out myself, later," replies Carthrat. "As it stands, I have reservations about her, personally. For what it's worth, she's a good, uh, monster."
"I wish you luck in your endevour of finding out," he says simply. "But, I can verify her goodness is moot in this case. We care about other aspects of her."
"You're not going to try anything stupid like cloning her, are you?" asks Carthrat, somewhat worriedly.
To your surprise, he actually laughs. Fully, and with genuine humor. "Mr. Taniwaki," he says as he calms down, "I can assure you that is not going to occur. Her DNA structure is so far advanced that we cannot even comprehend it past a ultra basic level, yet alone clone her," he says, shaking his head.
Carthrat shrugs. "I don't care what you do, as long as you don't cause volcanoes to erupt all over the world or torture her or something equally stupid. If it dosn't involve me, I'll be all the happier."
"Superb."
He leans back, and addresses the guards. "Please escort Mr. Taniwaki to his residence, I believe that all matters have been covered to my satisfaction."
Carthrat turns before leaving. "One question. What are you going to do with this new technology you acquire?"
"Mr. Taniwaki, you know what people such as us do," he says gravely.
Carthrat snorts, and leaves.
The two black suited men are quiet as they lead you back down into the garage.
----
The trip back home is uneventful, and they drop you off without a word.
"Yare yare.. bet their watching my house. May'swell let them, I suppose.. no harm in it. Yet."
Carthrat walks back inside his house, and gives it a spot-scan..
Nothing seems to have been disturbed in your absence, and your security systems also report nothing out of the ordinary.
"Ah, well.."
Carthrat checks his mail, his answering machine, eats some food, plays some solitaire, and goes to bed, wondering if bad things are soon to happen.
Sleep...
----
The next few days go without incident, and things begin to settle down. Just as you begin to settle into your new office at work, you are disturbed by a telephone call.
Carthrat answers the phone.. "Tanewaki, here. Wassup?"
The line is a but fuzzy and distant, it's obviously a long distance call.
"Carthrat?" A familiar female voice asks. Rachel?
"The same. That you, Rachel? What's happening?" replies Carthrat, a tinge of worry on his voice.
"Yes, it's me," she says. "Carthrat...I recieved an..I'm not sure what it is, but it's for you."
"What's it look like?" replies Carthrat. "I can be there in a day to see it personally, if need be.."
"It's a smooth metal tube, with a tiny opening like a headphone jack on the top. It's maybe a foot long, and shiny." she says. "It came with a printed note that it was for you, it appeared in my backyard."
Carthrat racks his brain for any similar sort of item he's encountered through his travels.
Offhand, the only thing it sounds like is either an advanced power source or a holographic messaging cartridge. Both are above the general technology level of Earth.
"Right, I'll catch a plane today. I should be at your place tomorrow. Thanks for the call. Anything else?"
"No...Has there been any word from Diane?" she asks, hope clearly in her voice.
"If she's to be found, it won't be in Hong Kong," replies Carthrat. "I'm sorry. I honestly don't know where to look anymore.
I wish she was back, too."
"Thank you, Carthrat." she says as she hangs up.
Carthrat sighs, truly wishing he had a clue where to look.
He was also sighing about the fact that he was about to lose his office. Asking for leave right after being promoted.. bad career choice, Carthrat. Bad.
He quickly buys a plane ticket through the 'net, then goes to ask for some time off.
Your new supervisor, a brown haired Asian lady, looks at you like you've spourted a new nose.
"You want HOW MUCH time off?!" she sputters. She has a reputation of being something of a bitch, and you get the feeling it's well deserved. "Do you even have that much vacation time racked up yet?"
"Oh, please. I do at least three times as much work as anyone else in this joint," replies Carthrat.
THAT was a bald-faced lie. Carthrat never did any work, if he could help it. He just stuffed all the data through his wonderful, wonderful laptop, which shot out the right answers for him. In his opinion, writing the programs had been enough work.
"And, let's see, whose getting to be able to write 'Quadrupled Sales in 2002' on their future resumes, hmm? If nothing else, I should be able to retire by now!"
Your supervisor twitches.
She twitches again.
Finally....
"Mr. Taniwaki, I will give you the time, but I damn well hope you continue to work at this level," she finally says, sighing.
"Tan-EH-waki, thank you. Of course I can work at this level. I do it in my sleep. By your leave.."
Carthrat buggers off before she can say anymore. Honestly, the thanks he gets..
The plane trip and set up take a day, which go by swiftly. So does the long flight, thanks to a good supply of laptop diversions.
------
As you drive your rental car, a new British car of unfamiliar make, to Rachel's house, you can't help but remember what happened here...
Carthrat had been thinking about it all the way on the plane trip, too.
He reasoned he'd hit a sudden depressive streak by Thinking about Things that should not be Thoughts About, attempted to commit suicide, failed miserably, and ended up half-demon or something..
Disgusting, all of it, and it was no fun at all. He hadn't really learnt much, either, except if he took this necklace off, he'd probably die or something..
And now.. Jonathan Smith (Like THAT was his real name) inquiring about his demonic taint, and what was probably a message of some kind at Rachels house, of all places..
More mysterious all the time. It sucked being out of the loop.
Your thoughs brew as you park the car on the curb. As you step out, Rachel comes out and greets you. She looks a bit older, but in otherwise fine shape.
As you walk inside, "How has it been for you these past six months, Carthrat?"
"I've been busy," replies Carthrat. "You may be thrilled to know I have the first honest employment I've ever had in a long time," he chuckles. "Plenty of 'extra-curricular' activites going on the side, but I'm making an effort to keep them to a minimum.
How 'bout you, Rachel? You seem to be taking care of yourself."
"I'm doing alright," she begins as you walk inside. "I miss Diane, of course, but life goes on." Pausing, she gazes at the necklace you wear. "Has IT done anything unusual to you, by the way?"
Carthrat shrugs. "I'm happier than I've been in a long time, though I'm not sure if that's the amulet or my new lifestyle.
I should mention that I'm also, uh, on vacation. I have two weeks. Hopefully I won't need to quit entirely."
She nods as you speak. "Well, you went through a hellish, life changing ordeal. But now...you look different. You have an obvious vitality now that was lacking before." she says, closing the front door. "By amulet, lifestyle change or whatever, you look so much different."
"Yes. But let's not dwell on that," replies Carthrat. "No, I may as well get what I came for out of the way straight off. Then I can go sightseeing or something."
"Of course."
In the living room, she presents you with the item. It came with a sheet of white paper, typed with "To Carthrat Tanewaki". The tube is sleek, metallic and altogether something that probably didn't come from the common technology of this world. The jack on the top does look to be a slot for a imaging machine to read and project the message stored inside.
Carthrat picks up the item.
"Well. This, Rachel, is a holocartridge. It contains a holographic movie that would be a recorded message to me. However, whoever chose to send it was unfortunately, quite stupid, as they failed to send with it a holoprojector.
Unless there's something else? There should be a small black box with a kind of lens in it."
"I'm afraid not, I only found this," she says. "I can show you where I found it, if you wish."
"Sure, go ahead," replies Carthrat, unconciously going over how he can hack this thing into a speaker system to at least get the voice..
She leads you into her back yard. As you look around it, you notice the damage from you Tetsuobo training has largely faded, except for one small crater. Rachel walks to the crater and points at it. "I found it here, Carthrat."
"I assume it came with the crater? Someone's playing a sick joke, clearly. You don't need to throw these things into the ground like a bloody bomb."
Carthrat shakes his head. "Did you see anything else when you found it?"
She merely shakes her head. "It was by itself, and it was not hot or scuffed. It didn't look like it belonged in the crater."
"Well. Y'konw all those UFO tales about beams of light hitting the ground? They don't project heat, but they do leave a crater. No matter, I'm too tired to work out what this thing's for. I think I'll have dinner, and then go to bed."
Carthrat nods.
"Any good restraunts around? I'll shout you."
And thus, the rest of the night goes without incident.
Rachel insists that you stay in her house instead of a hotel or whatnot, and sets you up in a rather familiar guest room. It's nicer now that Circles of Warding aren't all around.
Morning, after breakfast...(Your action.)
Carthrat takes out the holoprojector. "Right, I'll tinker with this thing and jack it into my scanner.. we'll see what happens, eh? I'll probably be all day, so you don't need to hang around."
Carthrat then heads into the basement, tools in hand..
The day passes by as you tinker with the holocartridge...
By noon, you have determined that it's surprisingly low tech inside, about as dummied down and universally compatable as possible with the technology. It's as if someone made or chose it with ease of playing it in odd formats in mind. With some work, you could probably run the hologram on your laptop.
"It's.. exactly like a fucking Italian port. Bah.. I hate configuring transformers."
Carthrat lugs out his laptop and fiddles until the bloody thing works. "This had better be important.."
Several hours and a few cups of coffee later, you believe you have jerry-rigged it to run on your laptop. Only one way to find out, though...
Carthrat pushes the button, and looks expectantly.
After a few screen flickers, an image of Diane appears on the monitor. She is dressed differently, in a cut red tunic with long sleeves and gray, plain pants.
"Hello, Carthrat. I wonder how long it's been for you? Are you well now with White Glow?" she asks, smiling. "No matter. I'm sure you are familiar with what happened to the town that you finally snapped at, correct? You should be, because I chased you into there." she stops smiling, and assumes a more serious expression. "I meant to come and help you, but...I stumbled onto a portal of some type. The vile abnomations that polluted the town were coming from it, so I tried to use my magic to close it." she grimaces, as if reliving a bad memory.
"Suffice to say, that was a rather large mistake. I wasn't able to close the portal, but I was able to alter it. Instead of the infernal realm, it linked between this world and another. Unfortunely, it required my passing through it to complete the spell." she breaks off, and looks ahead, as if she's expecting to look right in your eyes.
"I'm sure you are aware of the Multiverse, Carthrat? I believe I am in another universe now, one that is alien to me. High technology reigns here, far beyond that of Earth. The entire galaxy I am in is connected via portals and warp drive spaceships, and many wonderous machines control both the mundane and the profound."
She sighs and looks down. "But despite all of their skill with machines, dimensional technology is beyond them. And I do not have the power myself to open a gate large enough to bring myself home. Only one big enough to send a small object through."
"Carthrat...I ask of you a favor. In the second part of this is data, dimensional data of both magical and technological types for the world I am in. If anyone can manage to open a portal home..." she shrugs. "I merely ask of you to try."
She composes herself and smiles. "Carthrat, the next part of this message is to Rachel and is personal. Could you allow her to see it privately? Certain matters I wish to address are her business and no other's." The hologram stays still for several seconds...
Carthrat pauses the message, and leans back in his chair with a low whistle.
So Diane was somewhere else. The multiverse.. the multiverse wasn't really the multiverse as people believed it was. But the distance between galaxies was so huge that it may as well have been. If Carthrat had it right, Diane would be in Andromeda.. he himself didn't know of any other galaxies where civillsation had advanced beyond apelike creatures.
Not to mention that wherever they were, they evidently spoke English.
Carthrat sighed. Opening a portal would take time. It wasn't the typical technological gizmo's he created.. those were childs play. That stuff was real technology, stuff that required specific factories, tools, resources which he didn't have access to. Nope, not a chance.
Well, he had plenty of time to think of it. Standing up, he went to look for Rachel..
You find Rachel in the kitchen, preparing a stew. She looks up as you enter, curious. "How has it gone, Cathrat?"
Carthrat shifts, uncomfortably. "There's a message for you, too. From Diane."
She looks up, dropping the ladle which she was stirring the stew with. "Diane? That was from Diane?" she asks breathlessly.
"Yes. She wanted to say something you in private," replies Carthrat.
"Alright," she says, nodding. "Where can I see her message?"
"On my laptop," replies Carthrat, jerking his thumb at the workshop. "Just hit play."
"Thank you, Carthrat," she murmurs, walking away. "Help yourself to dinner if you like."
---
Several minutes and a large bowl of stew later, she comes back. Her face is pale and there are tear marks on her face. She doesn't say anything, but instead gets herself a serving of stew and begins to eat.
Carthrat fingers his stew, not particularly hungry, and looks somewhat concerned about Rachel, but dosn't say anything..
He needed a way to get to Andromeda. It was the only place he could think of where Diane might be. If she wasn't there, he could sure as hell trace the transport signiature of the messagecorder, and work out where she actually was, then head on there, and pick her up.
His job would be easy to dispense with. He'd send them the complete theoretical physics thesis he'd written, and demand that his job be waiting for him when he came back.
If it wasn't, well, not much to do about it.
Right now, though.. how to get to Andromeda..
Carthrat recalls the memory of getting to Earth.. painfully. He hadn't wanted to come in the first place, but circumstances forced it, and he'd made an emergency N-Space jump..
Then he had been stranded on Earth. Yuki's birthplace.. somewhere she dearly missed.
He had looked into finding a way off-planet when he arrived, but he realised that almost no ships came to the cradle of human civilsation. Fair enough, considering that the only reason anyone ever left Andromeda was to find new planets to mine.
To get off Earth, he'd have to hitch a ride on a mining ship, or acquire his own N-Space drive, which he doubted was even possible.
He only stayed originally stayed on Earth after Yuki's death because of obligations he felt towards her memory, but now..
Shizue.
She had been made aware of intergalactic travel. She would have been looking into it. New things ever interested Ms. Kinomoto. Carthrat had no doubt that with her considerable network of agents, she'd worked something out.
Well. Looks like a trip to Japan may be in order.
"Are you allright, Rachel?" he asks, finally.[/i]
"... ... ...yeah, I think I am," she mutters, looking down into her bowl. "I just got some news that...that didn't sit well."
Carthrat looks on with symptahy. "I can't know what that might be, but I hope it's.. well."
He fidgets uncomfortably.
"It's alright," she says, looking up and smiling wanly. "I'll be fine, Carthrat."
After another pause, she asks, "So...Diane's lost in another world..."
"That's a dramatic way of putting it," replies Carthrat.
"Dramatic suits this, don't you think? It isn't everyday that you find out that someone you've known for so long is stuck in another DAMN WORLD!" her voice rises as she speaks, and ends with a shout and a banged fist on the table.
Immediately after, she takes a deep breath and calms down. "I'm sorry, Carthrat. You didn't need to see that, I'm just..." she trails off, looking down again.
Carthrat blinks.
"Let it out, Rachel. Don't worry about me.
I'll bring her back, don't worry. I owe her too much to let her stay lost."
"No...I'm okay now. Just tired and weighted down by all she told me. And thank you, Carthrat. That means alot to me."
Carthrat chuckles. "Don't mention it. But the question is, now.. are you going to come with me?"
She looks up. "Well...Diane wanted me to try and actually become a full priestess," she begins, "But I don't know. And quite frankly, if given the choice between coming with you and training for it, I hope you have an extra bed at your place," she says, trying to smile and almost succeeding.
Carthrat shrugs. "Think of it this way. When you come with me, you'll be getting life experiance. Life experiance that will be valuable to you when you're a full priestess, or whatever.
Not to mention this trip is all-expenses paid, with excellent outdoor and indoor activites.
We'll be going to Japan. There's.. someone I have to see who may be able to get me what I need. We don't need to leave right away, though."
A grin comes over his face. "Excuse me for saying this, Rachel, but this is the most fun I think I'm going to have had in a while."
"Carthrat Tanewaki, my own personal travel agent?" she jests, smiling for real this time.
"Your wish is my command, mistress," Carthrat replies, bowing.
"Hmm," she half laughs, smiling at your antics. "I'll need someone to housesit, there are some things here that are best not left unguarded. Also...Hmm...I think I need to do some, ah, packing," she says, getting up.
Cathrat chuckles to himself. "I'll be in the workshop."
He heads down there to check out what the other half of the datastick is..
The second half of the data is dimensional data, both arcane(Which makes little sense to you), and technological. The data is in order, and with it and the proper tools and machines you could maybe, just maybe open a gate to where Diane is.
But it's also getting late, you notice.
"Yeah, proper tools. Tools I do not have and are difficult to acquire," mutters Carthrat, aloud.
Well. He'd see Shizue in a few days. Maybe. And then either pay her off or strangle her until she got what he wanted. But now.. time for bed.
ZZzzzz...
---
In the morning, over several cups of coffee that you need since your mind was too wired to sleep well, Rachel broaches a matter. "Carthrat, as you know, there are a...few...items of magical use around here." she begins.
"What about them?" he replies.
"There are some that I believe could be of use to us," she says. "Care to have a look with me? I have selected a few that we could take."
Carthrat nods. "But I believe all of them would be useful. For cash value, if nothing else.
Remember, where we're going, depite what Diane said about high magic and high technology.. well, it's like modern firearms today. Yeah, you might be able to get one or two, but not easily, and the really advanced stuff is extremely difficult to obtain."
"Some of them...are of a religious nature, and it would not be acceptable for me to take or sell them. Those must stay," she says firmly. "But others are fair game. Shall we go?"
"Well, yeah. Let's see what they are," replies Carthrat, walking along.
You walk to the end of the hallway. Oddly, now that you think about it, you don't recall a door being here...or even walking down this far.
"Carthrat...as you may have heard, Diane has several mage friends as well as other clerics. Many of them worked with her on a pragmatic basis -they provided goods and services for her clerical magic. You see the door here? This is one of them, a folded space room is ahead with Diane's personal altar, her magical items and other sundry things," she says, staring ahead at the door. "It's protected by one of the strongest spells she could directly muster from Selena, and you can only enter if you can defeat that spell or you know the password."
"I see," replies Carthrat. "Folded space.. heh. Did she get wards to prevent people.. well, getting around it, so to speak?"
"I would imagine so," she says. "Diane..takes this space very seriously. Partially due to security and partially...well, nevermind that, it's here nor there. Are you ready?" she says, turning back to you.
"Ever ready, am I," replies Carthrat.
She nods and turns to the door. Laying a hand on it, she softly murmurs something that you cannot quite make out. With a *click*, the door swings open. Stepping inside, you find a large, spread out area easliy bigger than the lot the house is on. There is an area with bookshelves, with drawers brimming with odd items, a table stacked with various items, and an simple altar in the center. Without pausing, Rachel walks in and goes to the table, motioning for you to follow.
Carthrat wanders in. "Nice place she had here. Neat and tidy, I see."
She giggles as she walks. "Interesting thing to notice first. Anyway..." she says as you reach the table, "I already sorted the items of use to us."
She picks up a vial filled with soft blue liquid. "This is a healing potion. We all know what these do, right?" she says as she hands it to you.
"I'll wager that they heal things," replies Carthrat. "Useful to have around."
"Yep," she says as she goes back to the table. She picks up what looks to be a feather quill. "This is called a Writing Quill. It can scribe up to three words onto any surface short of adamantite clearly before vanishing." she says, handing it to you as well. "I don't know if it will be of any use except as a trinket to see, but..." she shrugs.
"Whoever made that should be shot," snorts Carthrat. "You can do exactly the same thing with whiteout."
She shrugs, picking up a thin ring of beaten gold. "Here we have a Ring of Renegeration. It greatly accelerates the bodies rate of healing, and even allows one to recover from wounds that would be fatal otherwise."
"When does it actually stop working?" asks Carthrat. "Like, say I got shot in the heart. Would I come back to life?"
"I'm not entirely sure," she admits. "I do know the ring has limits. Furthermore, it greatly increases the need for calories and food when the accelerated healing is in effect."
"I'd rather be fat than dead," replies Carthrat. "May I?"
"If you wish," she says, holding it out.
Carthrat nabs the ring. "So I only need to eat when I'm actually being healed?" he asks, sticking it on his finger. "I'd hate for it to be in effect all the time."
"Yeah," she says. "I don't think you get fat off it, though. The energy is burned for the healing."
"I have to watch my food carefully as it is, though. The fine specimen of man you see before you is- well, no, that's a lie. I havn't been to a gym in the past decade." Carthrat rubs the back of his head. "It's all natural."
"..." Under other circumstances, the glare Rachel gave you would be considered grounds for justifiable self defense. As is, she merely picks up the the next item, a small animal figurine. "This is a bound wolf statue, it can transform into a Golden Wulf to serve it's holder."
Carthrat's incredible ears hear the 'u' as opposed to 'o', but still he is curious; "What's the difference between it and a normal wolf, pray tell?"
"A Golden Wulf is a summoned and bound creature from another world," she says, shrugging. "That's what Diane said when I asked."
Carthrat internally wonders how useful the wolf could be as a distraction. "Righto. Next?"
Picking up the last item from the grouping she was drawing from, she holds aloft a fedora. "Um, this is a Hat of Shadows, capable of allowing the wearer to blend into shadows or something."
"Ah! I knew a guy who had one of these!" says Carthrat, taking it. "He was always snooping around and picking peoples pockets."
Carthrat puts on the hat, and tugs it forward over his bangs. "How'm I lookin'?"
With a straight face, she says, "Queer."
"Oh, thanks."
Carthrat hands back the hat. "I don't really need it, but you might."
"Well, I already selected some items for myself," she declares with a shrug of her shoulders.
Carthrat nods. "As well you should. Is there anything else you need before we leave? I'd like to get over my visit to Japan as soon as possible."
"I could use a few practical changes of clothes, I suppose, but those can be purchased in Japan," she says. "Other than that, I'm about packed."
Carthrat nods, and looks Rachel up and down to see what she's wearing at the moment.
She is wearing a red blouse and black long skirt. It looks nice enough on her, and she is wearing simple shoes.
"One thing I insist you get before we leave are a pair of boots," says Carthrat. "If nothing else, they'll stop your feet getting wet when you step in a puddle."
"Would hiking boots work?"
She asks that as she looks down to her shoe clad feet.
"Yeah, any boots, as long as they're thick and preferably heavy. And, lesse, something big and with lots of pockets. That'll do, I think."
Carthrat nods.
"Like that coat you wear?" she asks, still looking at her feet.
"Naw, more like an army jacket, unless you can find another cloak like this one floating around, which I doubt. The jacket, and the belt that comes with it can hold just about everything you need."
Carthrat continues nodding to himself.
"If it's so good, do you have a spare cloak?" she inquires.
"I have a spare cloak, yeah, but not like this one," replies Carthrat. "This thing is a spatial cloak. I could take years clearing it out."
He rummages around in it for a while and pulls out a dusty brown coat, which looks like it hasn't been used since World War 1.
"You could try this, I suppose, though I don't think it'd go with your blouse."
"No, never mind," she says, shaking her head. "Well, since we are done here, let's go." she leads you out of the room and back into the kitchen.
"Is there anything else we'll need?"
"Yeah, grab a knife," replies Carthrat. "Better yet, take one of mine," he goes on, pulling out one of his vibroknives. "This thing'll cut through anything. Keep it somewhere where people can't see it."
"Alright," she says as she takes the knife. "Excuse me a moment." is her next comment as she walks away.
Carthrat relaxes, pondering just what he's getting Rachel into.
Well, all things said, it should be kinda fun. Dangerous, maybe, but he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Nope, not a chance.
He wanders about the room, looking at this and that..
She soon comes back, and you discuss your travel plans, and then she goes and purchases the army jacket and belt like you requested. The next flight you can take is in the morning, so you spend another night here.
(OOC - Action chance, or go to bed. Whichever.)
Lying in bed, Carthrat thinks about exactly what he'll need to get a gateway happening with his Limited Resources..
A few things that you'll need that will be difficult or impossible to obtain on Earth -
An energy source powerful enough to power said gateway, preferabally a small energy crystal.
A suitable gate frame OR a gate projector. Both are hard to make and extrememly costly.
Several myraid mechanical parts that are fairly common off of Earth but too advanced to find on Earth generally.
Even with millions of dollars, the cost is absurdly out of reach as is.
Yup, no doubt about it, he had to get off planet.
Hoo boy, was that gonna be hard. An adventure in itself.
Carthrat sleeps..
You slumber...
When you wake up, sunlight is streaming through the windows and your necklace is glowing softly. Once you wake up enought to really register it, you notice that it is glowing white.
Carthrat holds the amulet to his eyes (which he's rubbing with his other hand; he's not a morning person) curiously.
It is pleasantly warm, like how another person feels when you sleep with them. The light is enough to be seen in the morning sunlight but not enough to be blinding in the least even to your sleepy eyes.
"Weird," thinks Carthrat, dropping the amulet inside his shirt where others cannot see it.
Hopping out of bed and swinging on his cloak, he heads into the kitchen..
As you walk to the kitchen, you feel the amulet get searingly hot for a moment then cool off. Looking at it, you see that it did not burn you, nor is it glowing now.
Carthrat figures that the amulet must be reacting to something, somewhere, and pulls his scannar to do a sweep of the local area.
The area has several amonalies of varying degree, from minor to fairly major. Due to this, it is difficult to weed out any unusual activity.
Including a few on yourself, but isn't that to be expected now?
"Bah. Figures. Useless piece of junk.." Carthrat mutteres. As there's nothing else to do, he starts cooking some waffles.
Rachel soon gets up and you eat breakfast. She is exicited about leaving today, you soon find out. Further, she is dressed in a simple long white T shirt(Tucked in), black cargo pants and the military jacket and belt. A shimmering pair of gold earring catch your eye as they dangle from her ear. They shimmer even when the light is away from her...odd, that. Also, you notice a new ring on each finger.
You leave shortly thereafter for the flight...
"Nice jewlery," quips Carthrat as the two are waiting for the plane. "Anyway, I havn't bothered to reserve rooms for us in Japan. It's not tourist season, so we should be fine.
Can you speak any Japanese?"
In flawless Japanese, she responds. "Yes, yes I can. I can speak Japanese very well," she says. "Or the earrings can, anyway." she smiles, moving her head slightly so that the earrings jangle.
Carthrat chuckles. "Handy. Anyway, time to go. I hope you packed some food, airline food generally sucks."
The long flight to Tokyo begins. At first, small talk idles away the first hour, but you soon find yourself absorbed working with your laptop, making designs and plans. The hours fall by...
----
"That's the last bloody time I ever take a plane for that long," Rachel mutters darkly as you step off the plane in Narita Internation Airport. "So...now what, Carthrat?"
"You're out of luck. Flights don't usually last that long, there's usually a stopover point," replies Carthrat, checking the time.
It is around 4 30 AM local time. Rachel yawns as you do this, you remember she couldn't dose off in the airline seats.
"We can sleep here," replies Carthrat. "I love this airport, they have rooms for jet lag for like 1000 yen for 8 hours. Come'on, let's go."
Rachel nods, yawning again. Once you pay for a room, she promptly falls onto the simple bed and goes straight to sleep, still clad in her normal clothes.
Carthrat, however, is fresh from waking up in the plane, and takes this opportunity to have some coffee and read the paper- particularly the business section, looking for 'Kinomoto Industries'..
You find it easily enough. The stock is up about twenty points over the past few months, and is getting attention for an unspecified 'advance in biotechnical fields'. That's all the information the paper has.
"Figures," mutteres Carthrat to himself, grumpily, flipping through the paper in general while waiting for Rachel to wake up..
Nothing else of note is in the paper, although you do catch up on the general stock situation in Tokyo. It's still rather poor, but it's showing signs of improving.
---
Several hours later, Rachel stirs. After a short snack, she's ready to go. "So, where to now?" she asks, glancing at her watch.
"To rent a car, then visit Shinjuku," replies Carthrat. "Hopefully they've rebuilt the main shopping district."
"Rebuilt? Did some..." she starts. "Oh Selene, you blew it up, didn't you?"
"Wasn't my fault," replies Carthrat. "The Mage-bitch did it."
"...I was joking, Carthrat," she says quietly, then giggles. "But it doesn't surprise me."
Carthrat shrugs. "It's where the whole mess started. Well.. um, at the time, I really did just set out to blow something up. I was kinda pissed off at the world.
But anyway! Look, there's our train."
When you are on the train and seated(You got lucky), Rachel brings the subject back up. "So...what exactly did occur?" she pries.
Carthrat coughs. "I, uh, used a fake ID as an excuse to impound some illegally importerd property that I wanted. The owner objected, but decided later that I would be a wonderful.. what, dimensional gateway? I forget. Sheer dumb luck I walked into *her* store."
Rachel nods, not commenting immediately.
"In effect, you tried to steal from her?" she asks.
"Yeah," replies Carthrat. "That's the honest way of putting it. I feel I got my just reward."
"I...yes, I suppose you did," she lets the matter drop after that.
---
You get a rental car quickly enough, a Japanese model Toyota. Once you're on the road, it's not a long trip to Shinjuku. Signs of rebuilding are in place as you approach where you were used as a fireball's landing point.
Carthrat miraculously finds a parking spot and jumps out the car. "Come'on, Rachel-chan," he says, clicking a button on his scanner. "We're gonna search for high technology. Hopefully I can find someone willing to sell a ship. Or something."
You scan the Shinjuku district...A rainbow of things, from the hyper anomaly producing magical to the advanced technical all flood your scanner. A focused search would probably be advised.
Carthrat wonders if Shinjuku's MeTaPhYsIcAl activity has quadrupled since he last got here.
"Come'on, Rachel, let's find us a travel agent." Carthrat starts hunting for one, figuring that it would be the best spot to start a search for a way off planet.
Still, there was something he thought he was forgetting. Something important..
After a bit of searching and scanning, you find a small travel agency that has enough high technology readings to it to indicate something a cut above normal travel.
(Side note - As you do said searching, you note the magical readings have increased somewhat versus last time. Perhaps a side effect of the mage incident?)
"Yoshimitsu's Travel Agency" is displayed in blue block lettering above the door, a small office squeezed between a computer store on one end and a electronics store on the other.
Carthrat nods to himself. "Right, we're here. Now I get to begin negotiations. Let's just hope they don't want payment in credits, 'cos I don't have any."
Carthrat enters the agency and looks around..
Rachel, who had been quiet during the entire Shinjuku trip, shows more interest in the travel agency. She looks around at the decor eagerly.
Inside is a small front end, leading into a 3 desk area. Posters of colorful locales are pinned to the wall, along with the occasional advertisement. At the front end desk sits a bored looking teenager, who is leafing through a video gaming magazine. The three desks behind him each have a person manning them. Each is working on the phone and computer, adding a quiet white noise to the office.
Carthrat wanders up to the teenager. "Oi, kid, who runs this place?"
The 'kid', a black haired, pimpled youth of no more than 16, looks up from his reading. "My parents do. Need somethin'?" he says.
"Yeah, a word with your dad, then," he replies. "I wanna book a special flight."
"Whatever." he says, bored. "HEY DAD!" he shouts. One of the desk workers in the back looks up. He looks much like the teenager, down to the black hair. Putting down his phone, he gets up and walks to the front desk.
"What -is- it? A customer?"
"That'd be me," replies Carthrat. "I need a.. let's see.."
Carthrat tries to remember what he knows of the Andromedian Trading Tounge, a useful dialect, mainly because everyone knows what swear words in consists of, if nothing else.
"A Roria saratsuka," continues Carthrat, hoping he's got the 'Off-planet flight' intonation as compared to the 'inter-bookcase kitchen' line that he still struggles with at times.
Both the teenager and the man look up sharply, and while the teen gawks, the man is a bit more composed. Rachel is giggling, trying to hold in laughter, you notice dimly.
"Excuse me, sir, but a kitchen?" the man asks. "Been on this planet awhile?"
"Eight years," grunts Carthrat. "Eight years too many. I *knew* I should've pronounced a long 'ahhh'."
"More likely you should take a long refresher in the tounge. Your accent was...well, nevermind," he says, brushing it away. "What are you looking for?"
"A ship. Or passage. All is good," replies Carthrat.
"Perhaps we should discuss this privately?" he asks. "I have a rather quiet, secluded apartment for these matters that we can visit." He frowns, as if recalling something. "I've had a few...incidents with loose lips around here before, I'm afraid."
"Right," replies Carthrat. "Is it nearby?"
"It's within walking distance," he says. He shifts, standing up straight. He's rather tall, over six feet. He looks to be all bones, though. "Watch over the store, Kenjiro." he says, glancing at this son(?).
"Let's go, then. Rachel, stick around here and grab these things for me," says Carthrat, pulling out a notepad and scribbling down a few items-
SCUBA gear
Fluroscent lightsticks
Solid Oxygen
Plasticine
A bottle of vodka
Anything packaged in styrofoam
A carton of petrol.
Bottle of Mace.
"Just stick in the car, and, uh, buy whatever else, I suppose," he finishes, giving his credit card to her. "It's really important," he calls as he walks out.
Her cry of, "Hey, I wanted to go with yo-" is cut off as you exit the store.
A few blocks later, you come to a dingy three story rise. It looks to be used for a mix of business and apartments, with tenants living above their stores. He leads you inisde the dirty gray building, and to the third floor. Inside it is nicer, with freshly painted whitewall and floors that look like they've been cleaned in the past month. Going to the door closest to the street wall, it opens into a nicely decorated apartment.
If said apartment was in, oh say, the Rigelian Empire or the Debonairian Cluster.
The room is one big, sleek metal design. Highly reflective and polished gray metal arches out of the floor to form chairs, tables and counters in the surprisingly large apartment. It's been a long time since you've seen something like this.
Too long?
"Where'dya get all this junk imported from?" asks Carthrat, looking around the room nonchalantly.
At least as nonchalantly as one would be after meeting, say, their long-lost sister of 20 years ago.
"Oh, from here and there," he says, sitting down on what looks to be a metal couch. "I have money and time, so forming a nice pocket of civilisation on this backwater isn't that difficult."
"Bah, you just have no appreciation," replies Carthrat, good-naturedly. "The cradle of humanity gets that little respect? For shame, for shame.
But business. What, uh, travel plans are you offering?"
He laughs good naturdly. "Yes, a cradle is perfect for this infant race," he says. That raises a mental alert. That particular phrase is used by the Rigelians in describing almost any other race besides their own.
And the Rigelians tend to be difficult people to deal with, in battle or otherwise.
"But yes, let's get down to business. You want off this rock, I assume?"
For fucks sake, the last thing I need is a bloody ancient no-hoper with no balls of his own to start getting on my case. Bah. I already wanna shoot him and take his ship.
"Yeah. If you can only give me passage, not an actual ship, I wanna go to a gambling hall," replies Carthrat.
"Well, you are in luck, my friend," he says warmly, in the way all salesmen do. "In their ever vigilant quest to provide lush facilities away from any prying eyes," which even to you easily is read as - any form of governmental authority, "A group has opened a new gambling hall relatively close to this planet. Are you familiar with Charon, the moon of the ninth planet of this system?"
You recall that many gambling halls prefer a distance from authority in many sectors, using out of the way locals to hide from anyone who may take a taxable or legal interest in their operations. Having one in this pissant system sounds like a good idea, from a non - Earth perspective.
"Yeah. Been there. It's fucking freezing," replies Carthrat. "Is that the one where some clown tried to start up a Kryhtalite mine?"
"Yeah, I think that was the one. The loon didn't last, but it looks like this group will." he says.
"So, watcha offering?" asks Carthrat. "I can't pay you in proper cash, but I'm sure there's things a worldly person such as yourself could want that I have."
"I would charge....500 credits or so for such a service under normal circumstances," he says, "But you do not have any credits. What do you have in mind for payment?"
"You're a trader on this planet, right? Are travel plans the only thing you trade in?" replies Carthrat. "If it beeps, shoots, explodes, or computes, I can get it or a substitute in a week."[/b]
He hmms and leans back, staring up at the ceiling.
"I want a Plasma Accelerator," he mutters. "Yes, a Plasma Accelerator with a full supply of energy packs and the works."
A Plasma Accelerator is an advanced weapon that fires off super heated plasma in concentrated bursts. It's generally strong enough to melt a human to his bones in one shot. It's not easy to make in prime conditions, let alone here.
Carthrat laments the forthcoming loss of his Plasma Pistol, but figures he can put it together in a week, though he won't have time to do much else.
He also knows that it's far more expensive than a short-range flight should be.
"You'll get yourself a custom job," replies Carthrat. "And a kinetic energy pack. Better than a standard one by far.
So what, exactly, does my flight consist of?"
His eyes light up ever so slightly when you say yes.
"A full round trip to Charon, of course, on a passenger ship I commission to do biweekly trips to and from Earth. The next trip is in a week and a half."
"Done," replies Carthrat. "I'll see you in your store in a week," he finishes, rising.
"Very well," he says. "I trust you can see yourself out? I have...business to take care of now."
"I'll bet," replies Carthrat. "I'll be seeing'ya."
A thought comes to him.
"And this includes the girl, right?"[/i]
"If you wish," he says, uncaring.
Carthrat walks out, figuring this punk isn't that bad a dealer. As long as he dosn't try killing him with his own gun..
He heads on back to the mall, and Rachel.
You find Rachel juggling a few bags, trying to carry a bit too much stuff for her frame.
"Could you," she juggles a full looking bag over slightly, "give me a hand with this?"
Carthrat takes away a couple of bags. "You get all the stuff? Great!" he says. "Get anything for yourself while you were at it?"
"I didn't have the space," she says. Changing the subject, she says, "How did it go with the trip?"
"Simple. I don't have any credits- that's the currency used out there- so I'm making him a gun to pay for the trip. We're heading out to a gambling hall on Charon, where I can make some real money and get myself a ship, or at least further transport."
Rachel nods. "How long will it take?"
"A week to make the gun, and a week and a half to the flight. Which puts us to leaving next Thursday," replies Carthrat. "It's all good. In the meantime, I'll take you out to town each night. Lotta things y'gotta learn.
Oh, and keep that card. Don't worry about overspending, I've got more money than I know what to do with."
"Out to town?" She twiches strangely. "You make it sound like..."
It's left hanging, but the meaning is there.
"Bah, do I look like a creep to you?" snorts Carthrat. "Besides, everyone will think you're my favourite niece. There are worse fates, I'm sure."
She twiches again, but makes no further comment immediately.
After a short pause, she says, "So...are we going to go to a hotel? I'd like to get a shower and a change of clothes."
"Yeah, a nice hotel. 5 stars. The Hilton," replies Carthrat. "I spare no expense. It's about 5:00, and I wanna go out for dinner at about 7:00, so we should be right," he continues. "Oh yeah, do you know how to drive?"
Rachel whistles quietly.
"Yes, I've had to drive a fair deal since Diane vanished." She says it matter of factly.
"Great, that means you won't have trouble learning how to fly when we get ourselves a ship," replies Carthrat, dumping all the junk in the rental car and climbing in. "Right, let's go."
The car ride to the hotel of your choice is relatively short, as is checking in. Once that's taken care of, you have things to do...and you are also getting a bit tired. Jet lag, perhaps.
Looking around the suite you rented, the large bed looks temping.
"Sleepy.." murmers Carthrat. "We mayswell eat at the hotel, Rachel-chan. Have a shower or whatever, I'm taking a nap."
A muffled okay, shouted from the bathroom, is your answer. That bed looks good for the eight seconds you see it before passing out.
--------
"Mmmm...."
As you stretch and wake up from your slumber, you blearily look around. It's quiet, and the far window is letting in nighttime lights and reflections. Rachel isn't around, as far as you can see.
Carthrat checks his watch.
It says the time is 9:51 PM. Your stomach rumbles as you do this, and the thought of a meal sounds very good suddenly.
"Ah, fuck!" mumbles Carthrat. "Dammit, gotta adjust to the frigging timezone.."
He runs a quick scan as he gets out of bed..
Nothing unusual comes up on your scan, but Rachel isn't in the suite or the nearby environs. (Read as: The rest of the floor)
Carthrat checks around the room a bit before heading to the restraunt area..
On a chair, you find a handwritten note:
"Carthrat - Downstairs in the bar/lounge."
Short and to the point, you see.
Carthrat heads on down to the bar, wondering if Rachel drinks anything..
The bar is a low lit, modern sort of place. A piano player belts out pleasant, low key background noise that blends with the chatter of the suited men that dominate the bar.
In this atmosphere, it's easy to find Rachel. She's holding a glass with a bit of a golden liquid in it, which she is swishing around while staring out in to space.
Carthrat takes a seat next to his companion. "Oi. You right?"
"Oh, hello," she says, looking up. She speaks quietly, and doesn't sound or look drunk. "I'm fine, just thinking. Your snoring made it hard to think in the suite." she chuckles.
"Snore? Me? Never," replies Carthrat, waving over the waited. "Get me some coke."
The waiter leaves quickly and quietly with your order.
Rachel merely chuckles more, but doesn't outright comment back.
"So...going to get started on that weapon soon?" she asks.
"I'll make it tomorrow," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I can afford to take my time, I suppose.
Does it disturb you I'm making an instrument of violence to pay our way?" he asks, genuinely concerned.
Rachel takes a sip from her drink. "A bit, I guess. But...If that's how it has to be..." she shrugs.
"Well. It's how I know to do things, I suppose," continues Carthrat, shrugging, unconciously playing with his amulet.
"Say," she says, suddenly changing the subject, "Has _it_ done anything since you found it?" she asks, seeming to be honestly curious.
"Heh. There's a bit of a story behind that," Carthrat chuckles.
"As you know, I've been living in Hong Kong the last six months. Got myself a sweet job, decent house, fine clothes, and into no trouble with law enforcement agencies of any kind.
But, y'see, about a month into living there, this thing would wake me up at night occasionally. Oh, it wasn't glowing or anything, but I *knew* it was causing it.
And, y'see, Hong Kong ain't the most peaceful place to live. Muggings, murders, rapes, whatever, occur every week. And I'd hear stories about them, right after the thing reacted.
So once, when it woke me up, I got dressed and went out for a walk. Not anywhere in particular, but I found myself wandering backstreets of the city.
And y'know what I find? Some punk up to the eyeballs on happy-pills ripping this girls shirt off and groping her or something.
So I saved her, and after I did, well, the thing made this warm and fuzzy feeling. I knew it wasn't the normal type y'feel when y'do something good, but it was there.
And so I started going out more. But to do that, I needed hardware. To get hardware, I needed to talk to certain people.
And I discovered something. White Glow seems to react to evil deeds being done to good people. It's got nothing against me ripping off evil people, blackmailing them, whatever. It's really quite vindictive, in a way. For an artefact that's supposed to be based around redemption, it dosn't seem to care much about the redemption of others. Just the redemption of me."
Carthrat sips his drink.
"Anyway, I was something of a vigilante. Suppose I'll keep on living that way. Maybe it has something to do with the way I'll turn out when I take the thing off, I dunno."
Rachel finishes her drink in a quick gulp, and tells the waiter to bring her another when he comes back with your Coke.
"Well...You know all those people you stopped or blackmailed or whatever...Diane said something back when you first came. The path to redemption is often a twisty, confusing road." she laughs. "It sounds stupid, but maybe it's one of those things where the chain reaction of what you did will set them straight."
"Or something..." she giggles, and she sounds a bit tipsy now.
"Maybe," shurgs Carthrat. "I suppose punks can learn a lesson once in a while."
He shrugs. "I'm going to bed for real, now. You better come too, adjust to the time zone and all."
"I'll be up shortly," she says, sipping at her new drink. "I want to think awhile longer."
"Right. Don't mind me, then," replies Carthrat, walking out the bar. "Don't drink too much, it sucks to get hungover," he finishes, walking back to his room.
"Yeah, sure," she calls as you walk away.
---
As you enter your room, you feel your pendant buzzing lightly. A familiar feel, isn't it? You feel drawn below.
"Aww, not again," mumbles Carthart. "My feet are fucking tired.."
Flipping open his scanner, he activates his Cloaking Device and heads back downstairs..
You are soon outside, and feel strongly drawn away from the pleasant sector the hotel is in. You find yourself quickly going into a wretched slum, a ransacked multistory apartment complex drawing you like a magnet. Something about the very sight of it is repugnant to you, and you can feel the pendant almost throbbing as you get closer.
Now THAT's new.
Carthrat heads around the back of the apartment, looking for a door. He keeps his eyes on the windows of the building as he does so, and is careful not to step on anything that'll give away his position or bump into anyone. Cloaking is only so useful if the guy is sitting on you.
There is a backdoor, with two casual suited men nearby. Both look to be bouncers of some sort, with no lack of bulky muscle, at least by Asian standards.
The slightly baggy clothes they wear could easily hold a nasty surprise or two...
Carthrat walks out of visual sight of the bouncers, grabs a rock or bit of pipe or something, and heads back to the bouncers, before chucking it in such a fashion that it lands around the corner and makes a noise.
You throw a rock, and it makes a decent noise. The two guards look at each other for a moment before one of the carefully goes to check it out while the other takes out a walkie talkie and speaks into it.
"We have a small noise here. Confirming..." he says.
Oooh, trained goons.
Carthrat hangs around to see what happens, always ready to move out the way if one comes by.
With a military like throughness and caution, he does a check of the grounds. The light is poor, so he uses a flashlight. The other keeps guard of the door, his hand inside his shirt.
After not finding anything, the searcher returns.
"Nothing found. Repeat, nothing found," is said into the walkie talkie.
Carthrat decides to give up messing around, and just walks 'round behind the two and smashes their heads together.
To their credit, the one with the walkie talkie seems to realise what's happening a split second before his noggin meets his associate's.
Still, you get no trouble in sending them to dreamland.
Carthrat commandeers the walkie-talkie and earpiece (if applicable), then rifles through the bodies for keys and gear of any kind. [/img]
You find on them -
Walkie talkies and earpiece, one each.
The one on the left has a silenced .37 pistol and a sawed off shotgun underneath his clothing. Both are fully loaded. Also, a pocketknife is in his left pants pocket, along with a spare clip for the handgun.
A simple key is in his right pocket.
The one on the left has a Magnum and a long switchblade and nothing else.
Carthrat grabs it all (along with any cash they've got) and tries the key on the door.
The key works and the door, heavier than you would have expected, opens. A small room is here, with a stray, old box and a door on the other side. It's quiet inside.
Carthrat scans through the door, checking the box as he does so.
Inside the box is a heavy handgun, a wicked modified Uzi. Set up to spray loads of ammo, it looks like a good crowd control weapon.
The door is normal, although it is soundproofed. Beyond it, there is a hallway with several rooms. A normal apartment setup, in other words. Several of the rooms have life readings, usually 2 or 3.
Carthrat grabs the Uzi, and quietly opens the door and closes it behind him.
He then starts peeking through the keyholes of the apartment rooms..
You enter...Inside, it is plesantly decorated, with tasteful, deep carpeting and painted walls. A few scattered plants complete the look of a nice apartment hallway. No one is in the halls at the moment.
The doors to the rooms are keycard only.
Carthrat starts searching through the hallway for an entrance which isn't keycard guarded, or until someone comes out.
Every single door is keycarded. The system looks modern enough by Earth standards...
Carthrat hangs around, waiting for something to happen. While he does so, he does a more detailed scan on a random, occupied room.
The room you choose to scan has two people in it. It looks to be a bedroom of some sort, with a large bed and several electronic devices - a TV, a vibrating bed option, security cameras, ect.
Carthrat pulls out his stolen .37 and shoots the keycard lock a couple of times, then kicks open the door and looks inside to see..
As you do so, the amulet begins to pulse even stronger...
As the shots echo out, the door moves away. Inside is a man and a child. The man is about fourty five and distingushed looking. He is wearing a pair of formal pants and putting on a white dress shirt as you barge in. The face looks familiar, kinda.
On the bed, almost entirely under the blankets, is a girl no older than ten. Her head is the only thing visible, with large, dark, empty eyes. She looks at you in a way that is sad, and deeply depressing.
The man gapes, but is not able to say anything while the child looks on dully. She does not react beyond feebly looking in your direction.
Carthrat's lips twitch in disgust.
This sort of thing happened all too often, in his book. It was the same pathetic story in all occasions; some kids parents got mixed up with the wrong crowd and killed, then they basically got sold into this sort of slavery..
Carthrat walks straight up to the man and pistol-whips his face, regretting that he can't do anything for the girl just yet.
And he tries to place where he's seen this punk before..
He doesn't even manage to dodge before going down in a heap. Looking down on him, it hits you.
His name is Hiyuki Miashi, a famous stock trader. It's a name that pops up business circles fairly often.
The child is staring at you still with those empty eyes afterwards.
Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. I should kill him now..
Instead of such direct action, Carthrat heads back to the almost empty room at the front of the building, and pulls his cellphone.
Dialing a number, he speaks.. "Police?"
As you exit out, you see three men in the hallway. All are goonish, and are coming towards you as you exit out. They have guns in hand, rather large and big guns.
Knowing the goons can't hear him through the soundproof door, Carthrat slams it shut and hides in the side.
"Police! I'm getting shot at!" he cries into the phone, firing a couple of his own shots for emphasis. "11 Iwasaki street! Hurry!" He clicks off the phone, then bends down and runs forward and low for the other door which he left open.
Not that normal handguns could pierce his shielding system, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
As you run, you can see the goons react, but far too slowly. You dash into the access room and then outside...
Carthrat heads to the corner of the apartment building and the main street, ready to thump anyone who comes out until the police arrive.
There is no outward signs of noise outside, and things are quiet...time passes, but no siren or onrushing police car is to be seen.
Only White Glow still pulses....
"Need I do everything myself?" murmers Carthrat to himself. "Fucking police must've been bribed. Useless."
He looks for another entrance to the building..
You search the perimeter. There are only two entrances, the one in the back and the front entrance. The back one has four men outside not counting the two that are down. The two unconcious men are being tended to while three other goons guard the back door.
The front door is also guarded by one goon.
Carthrat decides a frontal approach is called for, stealthily walking up to the goon and breaking his head with his hand.
With a crushing blow, the goon falls to the ground. The front door is a two door affair, painted black to prevent the insides from being seen...
Carthrat kicks in the door- then takes cover just back around it..
You kick the door, the sound of foot meeting door echoing in the quiet night.
And despite your best effort, the door buckles and bends, but does not break. From the way it felt when you kicked it, it's likely reinforced.
Cursing, Carthrat quickly rifles through the goon for a key.
Checking his pockets, you find a keycard and a normal style turnkey. He has weapontry on him, but it would take a few moments to free and take...
You note the lock on the front door is a turn key.
Carthrat quickly tries the lock on the door.
With a turn and a click, the lock gives and the door opens...
And inside is a apartment lobby. Or something, but you're attention is more focesed on the ten or so goons formed in a semi circle around the door, perhas ten feet away. Each holds a piece of fairly heavy weaponry pointed towards the front door and by extension, you.
OOC - Your reaction.
Carthrat quickly hides back behind the door, pulling his Tachyon Disrupter and setting it to the cutting torch mode.
You hear a few confused cries at the seemingly empty opened door as you dart back around...It sounds like one of the men is commanding the others to hold their position carefully.
Carthrat, mildly interested in not actually leaving too many casualties, creeps as quitely as possible into the room, and starts trying to sneak past the barrier of people..
You creep carefully. The goons inside are lead by a large, swarthy man, with a Magnum pistol in hand. As you pass by,...
"And I want a search of the perimeter! Shoot to kill, and take no prisoners!" he says, waving his gun around for emphasis.
Wincing a little, Carthrat creeps past the guy into the corridor proper..
As you get around the men, you see that the corridor leads to another keycard door. Near it, another goon stands, idle.
The goons that you just worked around are pouring outside now.
Carthrat waits until no other goons are watching, then slits this guys throat and uses his keycard to open the door.
Shortly, all but two goons have filed out. The other two man the main door, turning their back to you...Looks like a good a chance as any.
Holding his silenced pistol in one hand, Carthrat quietly opens the locked door and peers inside, weapon at the ready..
Inside is a richly decorated sitting room. High quality leather chairs dot the deep, flush carpeting, and a few handcarved tables of the highest quality compliment them. There is a door on the opposite wall of you, keycarded by the looks of it.
Draped across one chair is the man you knocked out before. He looks no better than before, and his nose is looking like it's going to need to be reset. All the blood from his nose doesn't help matters, either. A bored looking goon sits nearby, idly fiddling with a handgun while watching the man.
He looks up in your direction as the door opens, raising his gun into a more accessible position...
Carthrat plugs the goon when he sees the gun, hoping that the silencer will make sure nobody else hears. He then moves as quickly as he can to the Important Person.
The goon takes two shots in the chest, falling face first to the ground. His gun is still in hand as he falls to the carpeting with nary a thunk.
The 'Important Person' still quite importantly unawake and unaware, that much is for certain. The blood stains on his dress shirt are going to send that piece of clothing to the trash bin, you note.
Closing the door behind him, Carthrat walks up to the important person and deactivates his cloaking device, slapping the guys face a bit to wake him up- and clamping a hand over his mouth.
After several slaps, he slowly rouses. Confusion and shock are in his eyes as he takes in your less than HAPPY HAPPY visage.
"Mompjsdoifl?" he finally manages in a distingushed, cultured voice. At least that's what it sounds like from under your hand. He feebly tries to move, but he's no match for your bulk.
"Bah. The usual routine," mumbles Carthrat. "Scream and I kill you. Got that?"
He nods weakly....And you feel two bullets thud against your energy shield!
Glancing over your shoulder, you see that the goon you capped is up, holding his handgun with both hands as he fires. No blood is seen where the bullets hit him.
Carthrat twirls around, chucking his unfortunate captive into the not-really-dead thug with the gun.
Well, heck, if the back door was soundproof, shouldn't the front one be, too?
Surprised, the shooter tries to move out of the way of the flying man, but is far too slow. They go down together in a tangle of limbs, landing in a heap.
Pulling out his Tachyon Disrupter, Carthrat flips a switch, changing it to the Focused Beam mode.
There is an onimous hum as he stalks towards his fallen prey like a Harbringer of Ultimate Doom... culminating in the hopeful execution of Goon A with a blast to the brain, and the hopeful capture of Important Person B with the help of a Strong Grip.
As you approach, they tangle of humanity twists as both try to get into some semblance of sitting up. The problem is, at least from your perspective, is that as it stands at the moment, both are moving too much to get a clear shot at the goon's head. Unless you want even odds of hitting the other guy.
Carthrat aids the pair with a few kicks, to general parts of the body.
*Crunch* *Snap* *Scream*
With a few kicks, the pile stops moving and blood starts flowing. The boot hit the business man right in the face. Looks like it's going to bleed like a motherfucker. The goon is down as well, having taken a kick in the abdomen.
Carthrat gives the goon another stamp on the face for good measure, then hauls up the business-type person and slaps him awake.
He slowly stirs, as if coming out of a deep fog. He mutters incoherently, dazed and quite bloody...
...and as he does, the opposite door opens, with a heavyset man coming through it. He's dressed in a rumpled suit and is smoking a rather fat cigar. He takes one look at you, blinks and reaches inside of his jacket.
Carthrat chucks the unfortunate businessman at *this* guy, too.
The man, moving with a speed surprising considering his heft, sidesteps and smoothly draws a pistol. Holding it with both hands, he squeezes off three shots at you, all harmlessly hitting your barrier.
Carthrat's incredible skill comes into play when he produces an honest-to-god fucking big sword and attacks the guys wrist.
As the man frantically fires another stray shot, you swing and remove his wrist and arm from the other. With a scream of pain, the main falls to his knees...
And as you get closer, you notice that this black haired, corpulent man is ringing a bell in the back of your mind.
"The pain hasn't really sunk in yet," intones Carthrat Dramatically, somehow managing to echo his voice throughout the small room. "So you should be capable of telling me who's in charge here."
The man doesn't look up, absorbed in his pain. That face...a memory come blinking in, of dealing with a high level Yakusa lord of Tokyo. With a start, you realise this is a _very_ high ranking member of the Japanese mafia known as "Mr. Kirosawa".
Holy shit! I just cut off Kirosawa's hand! The fuck didn't I cut off his head for? Shit, he might remember who I am- naw, we've never formally met..
Dammit, Tokyo wasn't supposed to be like downtown Hong Kong. All the crime was supposed to happen in Osaka or something. Fuck.
Another well-placed boot takes down Kirosawa, and Carthrat starts going through his belongings. [/i]
Quickly searching, you find his gun and a wallet. Inside the wallet are 19 100,000 yen banknotes and a black keycard.
Carthrat leaves all the worthless junk, kicks the guy's head in a bit, and thinks, heading into the door Kirosawa came in..
Right, right.. take out the guards in the back, get all the girls in the back room, blow something up in the middle, and get the fuck out.. woo, this was a shoddy job, Carthrat. Honestly, a couple of days spent with Rachel and all that professionalism vanishes..
Passing through the next door, you find yourself in the hallway from before. It's empty now, and quiet.
Carthrat decides to try the first door on his right with his keycard, flipping back on his cloaking device as he does so.
The door opens after the keycard swipe, and inside you find an empty bedroom. Glancing around, you see nothing of immediate note.
Carthrat hmms, and runs a scan to check each room with life signs in it.
You scan, and find a room on the other end of the hall has over two dozen life signals.
Carthrat heads on to the last room, and chucks his scouting cockroach underneath the door to have a peak inside..
Inside, you see several young children. They range from the ages of 6-10, a mix of boys and girls. They wear either pajamas or nothing at all. There are perhaps 12 of them, and watching over them are four goons. The sit on the bed while the children mostly stare off into space vacantly or quietly play by themselves. Even on the camera, you can see the pain in the children's eyes.
Bastards.
Carthrat couldn't spring the children while he had no escape route. Admittedly, he could blow one in the side of the wall, but he couldn't just blow everything up; unlike him, the children weren't virtually invulnerable.
So he uses the cockroach to scout out an escape route from the backdoor and to check for a better entrance to the alleyways. He could escape from them onto a main street and take the kids to an orphanage or a church or something..
Scanning outside, you see the back doorway is guarded by two fresh new goons, both almost openly armed. Further, goons are sweeping the parameter in a professional, through manner. Going out the back will require force or a miracle, likely.
Despite the morbid appeal of simply killing goons until they're all dead, Carthrat starts scanning the entire apartment proper, constructing a floorplan and looking for possible exits.
Scanning, you only find the entrances you know about are all clogged up with what are likely armed goons. Both doors have men by them.
Carthrat ponders for a moment, then locks himself in another room.
When the police don't work, there's an alternate source of help, which isn't supposed to be used except in the most dire circumstances.
This wasn't really it, Carthrat knew for a fact he could get the children out, albeit after killing alot of people and making a mess and probably getting himself incarcerated, but he was lazy, really.
Where nobody can hear him, he dials a number into his phone.. "Hello? Tokyo Times?"
"Hello, Ishino her...Oh, it's my favorite pychotic news source. Hey, Carthrat," Ishino Koto's voice comes through the phone. A late shift reported for the Tokyo Times, he has been a link for you whenever you've needed to expose something to the harsh light of the media.
In his speedy, interested voice, he continues. "Got something cooking?"
"Yar, there's an underage prostitution ring at.. um.. this address," says Carthrat, rattling off the specifics. "Lots of guys here. With guns. I can get the kids out but don't know where to take them. They've tipped off the police, so I've called in my last resort.
Listen, get as many reporters as you can near the place. Tip off other papers, networks, whatever. I'll reimburse your losses, but I want as much of a ruckus ready to go when I start making a mess. Got it?
I'm gonna bust out the kids and split the scene, if you have any buddies in the police department who *havn't* been bribed, get them down here, too."
"Kids? Shit, man, that is a big story," he breaths into the phone. "But...yeah, I think we can pull this off. Give me, say, a hour?" he asks. "And keep your name out of it as usual, I assume?"
"An hour? You've got half that. This place sickens me, dude, and I might need to spring them early, anyway. Get anything you can down here. Order pizza for the place or something, I don't care."
"I'll try," he says into the phone. "You'd better get all those kids out of there, or you'll catch hell if you're caught up in this," he warns.
"Fuck, there's only two people in all the world who'll guess it was me," replies Carthrat. "Cya, bud."
Carthrat decides to make good his escape plan. Heading into the room next to that of the kids, he lays a small blob of C4 plastique in the corner opposite the kids room. Very small, so he can blow a hole in the wall without blowing himself up if he's opposite corner.
Then he keeps his ear on the walkie-talkie earpiece and listens, waiting for about 30 minutes for something to happen..
For about ten minutes, all you hear is general information about sweeping the parameter. Then...
"Come in, boss. The kids are getting restless. Can you get the keeper back in here already?"
Carthrat heads out into the main corridor in order to get a better look at this 'keeper'.
As you walk out, you hear. "Yeah, we're about done. He'll be back in shortly. Damn bad luck for him to be out for a meal during all this. We could use you guys outside. Keep'em quiet until then, out."
The hallway is empty.
Carthrat decides to wait for this keeper-person, figuring that the cavalry won't be here for another 10 minutes at least.
So maybe 20 minutes tops was pushing it a bit thin, but once explosions started happening..
Ten minutes pass. The word from the goons is that they are about done and that the keeper is about to be escorted back inside. Sounds like things are going back to...normal here.
Hmm. Let's just wait a little longer.. the perfect moment will soon be here.
A minute or two later, you hear noise in the hallway...The sounds of a few sets of feet coming close to where you are.
Carthrat moves out the way, as to get a shot at the persons back when he walks past..
THe 'keeper', a oldish man dressed in jeans and a white shirt, walks along with a single goon. The goon towers over the shorter man.
Both walk to the door, turning their backs to you as the goon keycards the door.
Carthrat moves behind the goons and follows them into the room, being exceedingly careful not to bump into them by mistake.
Inside, you see the goons are still camped out on the bed. The kids perk up slightly at the sight of the keeper, but are still subdued.
"Okay, boys, you can come out now," the goon with the keeper says. With nods and smiles, the other goons get off the bed and begin to exit out.
Carthrat raises his eyebrows in consternation as the children perk up when they see the keeper. If he's brainwashed them or something.. fuck.
Carthrat is careful to not be stepped on by any goons or anything, and hangs around in the room to see what happens next.
The man, a oddly slim and short bald man, smiles.
"Go to sleep children, I have a visitor to talk to," he says softly. The children obey, laying down and sleeping almost instantly.
"So...playing the hero, are we?" he asks outloud. "I can feel your mind; you are quite strong." he says as he walks over and sits on the bed.
Carthrat lazily points his gun at the man. "I'm sure your next words will be reasons why I shouldn't kill you, do talk."
The man laughs. "Actually, I was merely going to offer you money to leave this alone, but I doubt you or the other will I feel with you would agree to that," he says, laying fully out on the comfortable bed. "So...what are you going to do?" he asks, lazily.
Rachel? But she's not with me.. if she's followed me here..
Carthrat answers by pulling the trigger.
The bullet strikes a barrier inches from the man's skin and stops cold. It then rockets back at you, stopping only when it impacts your own barrier.
"I see," he says. "Well, you may be able to bust up one set of goons, but can you deal with what the Yakuza will do?" he asks, undisturbed by the bullet. "But do save your bullets for them, and not waste them on me."
"And to think I came to Tokyo hoping for a vacation," replies Carthrat. "I trust you'll be leaving now, unless you'd enjoy a more penetrating experiance.
Unless someone of your abilities is truly relegated to such a menial job.."
"We all have our...setbacks, sir," he says, still not moving. "But yes, I do not think I could overcome both you and your other will." He sits up. "Would you kindly open the door for me?" he asks. "I would like to leave now that the...day is lost."
"But sir, I am a mere disembodied voice. How can one such as I open the door?" replies Carthrat.
He laughs softly, a odd sound from his mouth. "Sir, do you think to fool me? Well, no matter." With a motion of his hand, the door opens. "If you will excuse me, I should seek less incriminating surroundings." He walks past you and towards the door...
"And you'll do me the favour of waking up the children before you leave," continues Carthrat, levelling his newly-drawn Disrupter at the man.
He doesn't even stop, but he does speak. "As you wish." he says as he walks out. A moment later, a chorus of screams, cries and shouts of terror echo in your ears as the children wake up. To your horror, tears flow down their faces as they break into heartbreaking sobs, many curling up into fetal positions.
"Don't play games with me!" screams Carthrat, angry as fuck and not really caring who hears him.
As he walks out of the room and away, he merely chuckles to himself, not turning back.
A blast of compacted energy rockets from Carthrat's extended weapon towards the mans head, though his accuracy is shot from his present state of mind.
The shot zooms towards the target, but is too high and sails harmlessly up and right, hitting the hallway wall.
Looking out the door, you see that the man is gone now, save for a distant laugh that rings in your ears along with the cries of the children...and the sound of commotion and a door opening on the other side of the hallway.
"Fuckers!" bellows Carthrat, flipping the detswitch on his explosives and charging out into the hall, a pair of pistols blaring away..
The detonation echos in your ears as two goons come through a far door, and promptly eat bullets in the chest and stomach. They go down without even a chance to fire.
Where is the bitch?
Carthrat pulls his sword and starts loping through the corridor, blindly hacking through anything that gets in his way.
The amulet begins to glow a fiery red..
Another goon falls to your sword before you reach the other side of the corridor, his torso nearly cleaved from a terrible blow. The bald man seems to be gone..
Through your rage, a window of clarity comes through - the wail of a police siren. You feel a momentary cooling on your chest.
"Time to go," thinks Carthrat, managing to simmer down and put his sword away.
Fucking fuckers. It didn't seem like he'd be seeing the last of them..
At least his recklessness didn't really matter so much. Perhaps he was just getting complacent, but he knew nobody would realise who he was.. or at least realise and do something about it.
Maybe.
Carthrat heads back to the hotel, not uncloaking until he's in front of his room. [/i]
As you slip away from the building, you see that a few police cars, a fire truck, several TV news fans and other assorted personnel are now on the scene. A police officer is down with a gunshot wound, and a goon looks like he took a messy headshot.
----
When you finally reach your hotel room, you find that Rachel is fast asleep and that it's well into the night now - a bit past midnight.
Carthrat takes this golden opportunity to clean up all his gear and check it for tracking devices, as well as take a shower and freshen up before going to sleep.
You find nothing unusual on your gear.
Moments after laying down, you find yourself deeply asleep.
----
When you wake up, the sunlight in the windows tell you it is morning. A quick glance at your watch tells you it is 9:02 AM.
Yawning, Carthrat manages to roll out of bed at get changed into some regular gear. Not particularly feeling like being all commando today after yesterdays events, he nonetheless puts on his cloak and looks for Rachel..
You find her in a small, pleasant cafe near the lobby of the hotel. She is drinking tea and eating a danish to go with her newspaper. The 72 point headline reads - Child Brothel Shootout!, which you can see since she's reading the insides of the paper with it up enough to see the headline.
"Mornin', darling. Sleep well?" asks Carthrat sliding into a chair.
"Well enough," she says. "Busy last night, by any chance? The newspaper is going on and on about some 'mysterious incident' involving a ring of child prostitutes." Her mouth wrenches into a grimance as she says that, distaste fully shown.
"You know what the late-night shifts are like, I can get a call just as I'm going to sleep," replies Carthrat. "I think the project I'm working on now might take a few more days, though. Can't be sure."
She nods, not pushing the subject. Instead, she takes a bite from her pastry.
"Are there any other plans besides making the weapon?" she asks, still reading the paper.
"No plans, but I'm sure I'll think of something to waste our time," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "But there's something you might be able to help me with.
What can you tell my about psionics? I really have no idea on their utility in this world, I've never encountered them before last night."
She looks up. "Psionics? You mean things like telepathy and the like," she questions. "Well...I know there are a few. I don't know any personally, but they have powers that center on controlling minds and using the force of the mind to effect the world around them."
"Is there any way to disrupt them? Any countermeasures? Any magics you can weave that'll screw them up? Anything?
Those kids last night were entraped, Rachel, and I couldn't do anything for them but get them out. I'll bet anything that paper says they were having schizophrenic fits since they got out."
Carthrat's voice is thick with emotion.
Rachel puts down the newspaper, looking at you. "I wish there were...but psionics are extremely rare. Countermeasures do not commonly exist, because the need isn't there."
She takes a sip from her drink. "But...I know a few spells can interact and effect some psionic effects, or mimic them. There is a telepathy spell, for example, and a basic telekenisis enchantment. But as far as mass mind control..." she pauses. "that's in the realm of greater magic and psionics. It's simply out of my league."
Carthrat pauses, then shrugs. "I see. Look, um.. I don't know how your faith works or anything, but if there's any way you can find out more, or learn some new spell, or research it, or I don't know, please do it."
Leaning back in his chair, Carthrat sighs. "That aside.. did you do any athletics before I dragged you out here? Athletics, martial arts, gymnastics, anything like that."
She purses her lips. "I can...make requests, yes. How much fruit they will give is hard to say. And...well, I did a bit in High School," she says.
"High school? How old are you, anyway?" blinks Carthrat.
She hmmps hautily, her brown hair bouncing a bit, as well as other parts of her.
"I'm in my twenties, Carthrat. Shouldn't you have better manners?" she asks with a smile.
"Manners? Me? Surely you jest," replies Carthrat, smirking.
"You remind me once again of why you are fortuntate to be a one man wrecking machine," she jests back with a small laugh.
"I'm as gentle as an angel, honey," replies Carthrat. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want me any other way."
Rachel merely laughs and returns to her paper.
"So...how is work on that weapong going?" she asks.
"It isn't. I've been busy, remember?" replies Carthrat. "I'll start today, though. Meanwhile.. hmm.. you're on holiday, go have fun or something. I'm sure you can amuse yourself, it's a big city.
As paranoid as I am for your safety, I'm sure you won't need anything beyond what you already have to stay in one piece."
"Sure, I can find something to do around Tokyo," she says. "I waw thinking of trying the local food, any recommendations?"
"Um.. yeah, a few," replies Carthrat. "There's one place, forget what it's called, but it's right near the Shinjuku train station. Big place, bright yellow neon sign. Tell the manager you know me and he'll make you the special for free."
Carthrat hmms. "And then transfer ten grand from my account to his," he continues, tossing her a bankcard. "I owe him."
"Sure," she says, taking the card. "Any other places? I was planning on eating dinner out as well."
"Naw, I'll come with you for that," replies Carthrat. "Some stuff I wanna show you.
Listen, while you're in Shinjuku.. there's, well, a lot of stuff the average guy dosn't see. Weird stuff. But I figure you'll see more than the normal person.
Keep an eye out, it might get interesting."
"I hope so...say, wasn't Shinjuku where..." she starts. "I remember you saying something about Shinjuku. And I fully plan to keep my eyes open. Knowing you, at least 17 different groups want your head on a stick, I'd guess."
"Not anymore!" replies Carthrat, happily. "Only one- well, two. Or maybe one, and that one can't do anything about me, and the other won't do anything about me. It's really like a new start."
"Right," she says, suppresing a laugh and mostly succeeding. "So, shall I see you this afternoon...say around five PM?"
"Yeah, yeah. And phone me at twelve, and then again at three," replies Carthrat. "So if something happens to you, I can break the heads of those responsible in due course."
Carthrat surreptiously scans the ident pattern of those magic earrings, as to be able to trace Rachel if something does happen to her.
"Yes, Daddy," she laughs. "I'll not bring home the pubbers, either?"
"Daddy? I'm only 27, y'know. Just think of me as an overbearing brother," replies Carthrat, nodding.
"Just like the big brother I never had...heh," she says. "Anyway, I should be off if I'm going to make it through Tokyo. Good luck today," she declares as she gets up.
"Bai bai," replies Carthrat, finally realising he's hungry and ordering something to eat..
The day begins...
You spend most of the mornings working on the Plasma weapon, noting that Rachel called around 12 30, confirming that she gave him the money and that the food there really is rather good.
At 3, another call breaks your concentration. This time, she merely says she's coming back to the hotel room.
OOC- Reaction, if any.
Carthrat yawns, and decides he's done enough work for someone else for the day.
He spends the last couple of hours tinkering with his Tachyon Disrupter, trying to focus the beams for maximum penetration power.
Your efforts allow the last hour or so to go by peacefully.
When Rachel arrives, she looks a bit ill. She sits down on the bed quietly. "Carthrat..." she starts. "Have you ever seen a botched polymorph?" she asks.
"No, but I have seen a failed genetic experiment. Mutation based. They tried to give someone an extra eye and ended up replacing his face. What's more, he couldn't blink. I think they killed him out of pity," replies Carthrat, shrugging.
"Ugh," she says, nodding. "Well, I was looking around Shinjuku when I heard a ruckus in an alley. I went to look and two men were arguing. One started chanting magic, but just as he finished his spell, the other man punched him in the face," as she says this, she grimaces. "I know enough magic to know that he hit him at the absolute worst time. The final command word was mangled, and...it looks like it was a polymorph, because he came out as some half human, half cat freak."
"It would almost have been cute if his body hadn't fallen apart."
"Which one? The mage or the other guy?" replies Carthrat, pondering.
"The mage's," she replies. "The hybrid body didn't look like it could support itself, and it couldn't. It quite literally fell into pieces."
Carthrat nods. "Well.. can't do anything about it, so no point worrying," he replies. "Do you want some water or something?"
"No, I just want to lay down a bit before dinner and forget about what I say there," she says, shaking her head and then carefully laying down.
After a few more minutes, she asks, "Where did you have in mind for dinner?"
"We'll go downtown and eat when we get hungry," replies Carthrat, nodding. "It's a great plan."
"Anything in particular?" she presses. "I'd like to know if I should dress up at all."
"Dress up? In what?" replies Carthrat.
Oh, yeah, that's a REAL smooth move, Carthrat.
"....NEVERMIND, Carthrat," she says with a sigh of annoyance. "That pretty much answers the question anyway."
Carthrat blinks. "Er, right. Wear something that's.. good for walking in?"
"Not a problem," she says, picking at her white shirt. "Those boots aren't too bad for that, at least. And pants do go well with them, too..."
Carthrat promptly zones out to Rachels words, nodding his head at appropriate times and thinking of what he's going to eat..
And the afternoon fades to early evening...
----------------
You find yourself walking the streets of Tokyo, taking in the lights and sounds. "Any place you wanted to go, or to aimlessly wander?" Rachel asks as you jostle through the crowds. "I suppose it doesn't really matter a fig to me which."
"Oh, yeah, we're going somewhere," replies Carthrat. "A club, wherein I'm gonna tell you about things. Like extraplanar alcohol."
"Uh oh..." she murmurs, and says nothing more, letting you lead the way.
"Oh, please. It's not like I'll make you drink it," replies Carthrat. "You inhale or inject half the stuff, anyway. You can get drunk off a needle, I heard there's a boom in popularity."
He continues to head towards the club, known as the 'Sleeping Beauty'.
The club, a garish affair with neon lights, flashing strobes and other eyecatchers on the outside, has a short line with several large bouncers at the door. All are 7+ feet tall and look like they aren't of human origin on those grounds alone...
"Those," Carthrat states (quietly) "..are Barthens. Some race of super-strong aliens with a glaring weak point. Jab them in the back of the neck, there's a little groove. It's the extraterrestrial equivalent of slamming a man between the legs."
"Really?" She replies quietly as well and smiles. "It's not the easiest spot to get to, though, on someone like that..."
"Are we going to get in line?"
"Hmm? Naw, that's not a real line," replies Carthrat. "We're VIPs, we go in this way," he continues, walking straight up a reserve lane. "That line is just an elaborate front."
The reserve lane is only lightly lit, and a quiet old man keeps watch. He takes one look at you and breaks in to a big grin.
"Carthrat," he says, his voice strong and deep. "It's been awhile. Heard you got yourself in a mess'a trouble with something and ate it. Glad to see you didn't," Jearm of Weltivia greets you like the old friend you are.
"All in the past, my friend," replies Carthrat, before indicating Rachel. "This is Rachel. Rachel, this is Jearm. If something happens to me, he'll look after you."
Jearm casts a old, hairy eye towards Rachel. "Looking into the locals, Rat?" he asks, smirking. "Well, if CarthRAT(Emphasis his) does finally go to that big trap in the sky, I'll make you get out okay."
"You make it sound like you want me to. Is that any way to treat me?" replies Carthrat, doing a credible impression of someone who's just been dumped.
"Damn straight! If you finally die, I have dibs on anything that survives your means of demise." He laughs. "That cloak would look stylin' on me, man."
"Uh-uh, all this stuff goes into my pyramid. I'll need it in the next life, no doubt," replies Carthrat.
He laughs, this time very loudly. "Anyway, Pharoah Carthrat, are you going to go inside or scare away all the young, nubile Cherians that are bound to come tonight?"
"Can I do both?" replies Carthrat, starting to walk in.
"Only in your dreams," his laughter follows you into the club.
Inside, a bevy of creatures big, small, tall, short, colored and albino, all sorts of creatures mill about. The room is taken mostly up by a metallic bar, with a human(?) manning it, with plenty of chairs around it and tables on the outer limits.
"Right, if you're going to pass out from shock, do it now," replies Carthrat, making his way to his favourite corner table near a fire escape.
"I'm fine," she says. "I've seen my fair share of odd creatures."
Shortly after sitting, the bartender waves and comes over. "Hey, Carthrat! So you didn't eat someone's Railgun after all, eh?"
"Nope! But something ate mine. Literally," Carthrat yells back. "Didn't y'hear about the Tarrasque incident half a year back?"
"The one that wrecked your place and then showed up in Sapporou? The one that is now likely some research tech's bitch?" he says, questioning.
"Oh, she is," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "The owner of some company came to see me to make sure I didn't try to throw a wrench in the works or anything.
To be honest, I'm kind of jealous."
"That they went after the beauty and left the beast to roam Tokyo again?" he jests. "And will you be wanting anything with your Tarrasque envy?"
"Haw, haw, haw," replies Carthrat. "Yeah. Get me a bottle of Tequila. And a pack of cigarettes.
Geez, that reminds me. Rachel, the cigarette was *invented* on Earth. You don't get them anywhere else. If you must ever start trading, export cigarettes."
Rachel makes a very impolite sound and a nasty face. "No...no thanks to that. And I'll have a glass of water, I'd best lay off after last night."
"Water? Bring the lady the #3 Jingo as well," says Carthrat. "Its not alcoholic, don't worry."
As the barkeep walks off to get your drink, Rachel gives you a questioning look. "3 Jingo? That sounds like a British pop group, not a drink."
Carthrat chuckles.
"Jingo is a term in the Trading Tounge, of course. It's a kind of.. well, actually, I have absolutely no idea what it's made of, but it does taste rather.. um, intriguing. Also, it's one of those drinks which meshes well with the human metabolism. You can actually live off the stuff for a few weeks."
She perks up at that. "Really? Does it have any side effects?" she asks. "It sounds very, very useful."
"Not by itself," replies Carthrat. "Have you eaten any fish today?"
"Um...I think so, with lunch," she muses. "Yeah, with lunch. Would that be a problem?"
"Possibly. It has, on occasion, had this weird reaction with fish and made people feel like they're choking," replies Carthrat. "You're not, of course, but your nerves are somewhat overlapped by those of a fish, and your body starts to wonder where your gills are.
It's only a sensation, I suppose, and it shouldn't have an effect so long after lunch."
"Right," she says, shrugging.
A moment later, the barkeep comes with your drinks and items. The Jingo glows greenly through the tall beer glass it sits in...
"Ignore the colour, it's quite good," says Carthrat, taking a shot of Tequila. "And, as luck would have it, tests run on my metabolism give me an infinitely higher alcohol threshold than the average guy. Takes the fun out of drinking games, though.
Now, we'll go somewhere else to eat, this place only sells chips and live snails. But there are a couple things I should show you."
Carthrat points at another table, with a trio of catlike females and a doglike male sitting around it. "Those are known as Shirans. It might intrest you to know that they introduced cats and dogs onto this planet. They can hear everything I'm saying right now, because those ears are damned effective. Yeah, you. I'm talking to you.
They won't care, of course. Look at them, they're completely wasted. If you ever run into a Shiran, forcefeed it alcohol or something.
They have a pack society; one male and a bunch of females. The lucky git. If I wasn't human, I'd be a Shiran.
Oh, and despite what I said earlier, never kill or even hurt a Shiran, at least if you're off Earth. Here, nobody gives a damn, but the Shiran empire has extremely long arms and eyes.
And, and. We're sitting in a corner table near a fire escape. Which means we can see everything and leave if we have to. Whenever someone might be after you, and you end up inside, sit in the corner near an exit."
Rachel nods as you go on, taking in the animalistic Shirans as she sips her drink. "Selena!" she gasps after he first sip. Shaking her head and putting the drink down, she says, "So...does that mean evolution isn't accurate? If things were mixed up by random aliens dropping off creatures onto the planet..."
"Yes, but no. Let's just say Earth is a special case and leave it at that," replies Carthrat, shrugging.
"Alright," she says, picking up the strange drink for another go at it.
"This...I'd almost say it tastes like fish if it were dipped in apple sauce..." she mutters after another sip.
Carthrat chuckles. "It does, but it'll grow on you. By the time we leave this club, you'll want to take a bottle with you."
"I'll take your word for it," she murmurs, taking another sip. "So...where are we going for dinner? Some place that serves hamburgers from Venus, maybe?"
"Naw, they'll want credits, and all I have is yen," replies Carthrat. "We'll probably go to some Italian restraunt or something.
Hey, do you know what those things are?" says Carthrat, pointing over at a bunch of scaled humanoids with three arms and eyestalks.
"Italian...Does that mean pizzas with squid and spaghetti with bonito flakes?" she says as she takes those creatures in. "No, I can't say that I have. What are they?"
"Wouldn't have a clue," replies Carthrat. "There's all kinds of weird shit I've never seen before.
Ah, and you see those three walking in just now?" he continues, pointing over at three figures walking in the door. "Those are Cherians. Opinions are divided about them. Look, they're all fuzzy right now and you can't make out what they are?
They're psychic beings, and they happen to be the best traders and negotiators in the galaxy. Which is owed likely to the fact that they appear as the most sexually desirable form possible to the viewer."
Rachel stares for several seconds and the violently turns away, shaking her head. "Ugh, can we talk about another species, if you don't mind?"
"Heh. I'll teach you a trick later to block out the influence. I taught it to myself after seeing my late wife one too many times," replies Carthrat, chuckling darkly.
"Another species.. we should talk about the second-most-common race to humans, which are Pharions.
You'll see 'em everywhere, they're like.. hmm. elves with wings, yeah. Human/Pharion relationships are more common that some'd like, especially those goons in the Council of Racial Interaction.
You won't see any here, though. Strict guidelines. Humans aren't allowed on any Pharion-owned planets, and vice versa. It's, uh, quite complex."
Just as you finish that sentence, a cry echos through the bar. "CARTHRAT TANEWAKI? From across the bar, a large, tall, floating humanoid robot issues forth commands. His head is a dull yellow and human like, as is the rest of his metallic body.
With a start, you realise that creature is a CAR 24 - A bounty catching robot used by some types of guilds to capture dangerous bounties. Not known for subtley or skill, they often attempt to capture the target at first sight, ignoring all else.
Most serious hunters view them as a crass joke, but a well equipped one can wreck havoc.
"SURRENDER OR BE TAKEN." A gleaming hand cannon his pointed in your general direction as it speaks.
"Split, Rachel. Meet me back at the car," Carthrat says quietly.
Carthrat runs through his mental bank of information on the CAR 24, tensing himself for the imminent fire as he does so.
With a curt nod, Rachel makes haste away from you and the robot, following the rest of the crowd. None of them seem to want to get tangled in your business.
CAR - 24 are relatively normal, destroyable robots unmodified, but most are modded heavily these days. A typical one with reinforced armor plating and weaponry can be a serious threat to both the target and the surrounding area. Decapitation will stop them, as the CPU is in the head - a caveat to the human design used for it. Serious body damage will generally stop them as well.
It raises the cannon and fires, a yellow wave of energy hurtling towards you...
Decapitation! Wonderful! Maybe I'll just stick a hole in his head..
Carthrat rolls to the side, staying against the wall. He pulls his .60 from it's holster and fires off a shot at the things head..
The blast of energy narrowly misses you, and hits the wall. From the crashing sound, it did some *serious* damage to the walls. The fact that these walls are far from normal Earth walls also comes to mind.
Fuck.
Your shot races home...and dully bounces off the metal head unit. The small arms fire seems to have had no effect on him at all. Turning, it fires it's cannon again..
The fuck ever happened to 'No Disintergrations'? thinks Carthrat, stashing his gun and pulling his Disrupter.
Setting the mode to 'Cutting Torch', Carthrat starts hopping, cartwheeling, and rolling forward, preparing to fire a beam of laser-cutting death across the things neck-torso area.
You dodge two more property damaging blasts as you get close, but the last one nicks your shoulder, leaving a nasty cut on the top of your shoulder.
But it gets you into cutting range...
Carthrat pulls that trigger and swings the rifle like he would a really long spear, aiming in the things general direction. Decapitation or not, any sort of bisection should fuck the thing beyond use or repair.
The robot, to it's credit, manages to move partially out of the way so that it only loses it's cannon arm from the elbow down and a good part of it's midsection.
The creature sparks. "SU...rend...der...Cart...." it says as it stops moving and falls over.
Carthrat makes a special note to fry the things head, too.
He puts his weapon away and lights up a cigarette, then tosses a coin behind the bar. "I know you're there. Talk to me, Jimmy. Who put the bounty on me?"
The barkeep comes up from under the bar, looking at the damage the creature caused. One wall took two shots of the cannon and has serious damage, and another took a single shot.
"Well...Besides the old, out of date ones, I don't think you have anything on your head, Carthrat. You're persona non grata outside of Earth since you've been here so long."
Carthrat shakes his head. "It can't be an out of date one. Those 'bots can't fly ships, they're planetary hunters. Which means someone put it here. It can't have been looking all these years; I've spent most of them right here in Tokyo."
He takes a drag off his cigarette. "Find out for me."
"Sure...but you know he's probably gonna bill you for the repairs, you know." he mentions.
"If he wants credits, he can keep on dreaming," replies Carthrat. "I'll settle it next time I'm here."
With that, Carthrat heads back to the car, hoping nothing stupid happened to Rachel while he was busy.
Rachel is waiting by the car, as expected. "So...what was that about? Did you charm your way into trouble?" She laughs as she says it, odd considering what just happened.
Carthrat runs a surrepitous scan on Rachel. "I'll tell you later," he replies, checking the results.
The scan comes back normal. (For her, anyway.)
"Sure...Back to the hotel now? Maybe eating in would be preferable now?"
"I have my doubts," replies Carthrat. "Um.. the 'bot got my shoulder, and it's biting like crazy. If it's not too much trouble, could you heal it?"
She nods, and takes a careful look at your shoulder. "That's not that bad a wound, and it's a very clean cut." She murmurs, holding something under her shirt...You feel warmth as your shoulder heals.
"Is that better?"
"Yes, thanks," replies Carthrat, hopping in the car.
"That wonderful friend I just had the pleasure of meeting was a bounty-hunting robot," he says, driving towards Ukyo's joint. "There's only one present reason a bounty could be on me, and it makes me nervous they might try to strike at you.
I hope you know enough magic to defend yourself in my absence," he finishes.
"I hope so, too," she says. "But...who would be after you, if you're so sure on who it is?"
"Only the Yakuza," replies Carthrat. "The people whose little operation I busted last night."
"They would have something like THAT?" she asks, awed. "I thought robots weren't invented...at least here, yet, from what you said."
Carthrat snorts. "The Yakuza is run by extra-terrestrial humans. It's how they got their edge."
"Ah," she says, letting the matter drop for now.
Carthrat continues driving with expert control. "Aliens havn't actually started living on Earth until the last fourty years or so. Note that giant technological leaps made since then. But I should also point out that it was, actually, humans who made most of those leaps; they just happened to come across perculiar things, and took it on themselves to investigate them.
I can tell you with absolute certainty that Einstien was a human, and that atomic bombs are a human creation. It actually created something of a stir at the time; no other race had advanced that far."
Rachel nods as you speak. "Before, you said Earth was a 'special case'. Is that what you mean?"
Carthrat shakes his head. "No. This is just something interesting and generally a fact we humans use to make ourselves look big.
Earth is a 'Special Case' because the Interplantary Guild of Human Influence has declared it an untouchable. i.e. The general populance is supposed to remain blissfully unaware of the outside galaxy. Nobody knows why except the heads, and we know that they're extremley touchy about it.
What this translates to is that the other races governments and agencies don't investigate it, making it a perfect place to run away to."
After that, Rachel falls quiet, perhaps given too much to think about.
Shortly thereafter, you find yourself at Ukyo's restaurant.
"Wake up, we're here!" says Carthrat. "No doubt some okonomiyaki will clear your mind of all the silly things I've told you today," he says, parking and getting out.
"Small place," Rachel says as she gets out of the car. Looking around, you can see that it's a quiet night down here with no one readily about. Light spills outside from the restaurant, along with good smells.
Inside, you see a few customers and Ukyou, manning the grill. She is chatting away with one of them, smiling.
Carthrat breaths a sigh of relief as he sees *other people* inside the restraunt.
Though he wasn't really expecting her usual run of devilish traps. Damn girl was too smart for her own good, really.
Putting on his best 'I'm home, honey!' face, he walks boldly into the restraunt.
"...so, then I kicked him right there," Ukyo says. "But hold on." Ukyo turns to you. "Welcome to U...Carthrat." she says. "You aren't up to trouble, sugar, are you?"
"And when I have been, do I ever bring it to your store?" Carthrat replies, smirking. "I keep a full three metres away, at least."
He surveys the other occupants..
A business man in a rumpled suit, a tired looking grandfatherly type and a street construction worker are all eating here. Also, talking to Ukyo is a young lady of short height and bright red hair tied into a tail. She looks at you disinterestly.
"Right, honey. You've been away lately," she notes as she sets two more okonomiyaki on the grill.
"I was on a business trip to England and Hong Kong," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I've got photos, if you want! Such wonderful people there. Oh yeah. Rachel, this is Kunoji Ukyo. We're, um, friends. Ukyo, Rachel. Same diff.
Remind me to tell you how me and Ukyo met someday, it'll make you laugh."
Rachel merely says yes and stays quiet, looking around and taking in the restaurant.
"Hmm. So, that's your girlfriend?" she asks as she keeps an eye on the food.
"Naw, just a friend," replies Carthrat. "What about your front? Any progress with that Ramza guy you were yabbering about?"
"RanMA, Carthrat," she corrects you as she flips the okonomiyaki. "It's RanMA."
"Heh. Sorry," replies Carthrat, who, of course, knew what the guys name was perfectly well. "Order something, Rachel. Don't tell me you're not hungry, you must be."
"I'm making two 'yakis, in case you didn't notice," Ukyo says. "You didn't think I was going to give you two to feed your face, Carthrat?" Her voice is playful, even if her words are perhaps not.
The redhead chuckles to that.
"I dunno, I didn't get this beautiful body without eating right," replies Carthrat. "What was that quote.. eat as much as you can today, for tomorrow you may go hungry?"
Ukyo chuckles as well, as does the redhaired girl.
"Anyway, I think you'd get along well with the girl here," Ukyo says suddenly. "You remember the guy I mentioned who had a run in with a very...very...ah...evil spring of Jusenkyo, right?" she says to the redhead.
The redhead nods, idly glancing at Carthrat with minimal interest.
"It's a blessing!" says Carthrat. "A more useful disguise I couldn't have," he continues, cheerily.
With a plomp, the okonomiyaki, plate and all, lands on the bar.
"Eat up, 'Rat," she says, cheery. Disarmingly cheery.
Carthrat takes a bite. "Come'on, Rach, eat some. Delicious stuff," he says.
"Yeah, I mean, at first, y'think the curse is annoying and all, but when you think about it, you don't get drenched all *that* often," he continues.
Ukyo visibly twitches.
"So ya have a Jusenkyo curse," the redhead asks, finally perking up a bit. "Figures."
"Yeah, I crashlanded a plane into the springs," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Shit happens. What about you?"
"Bad training session," she mutters. "Me and my Pops both got the short end'a the stick on that one." A quiet snort follows her words.
"Training? What, martial arts training?" replies Carthrat.
"Yep."
She shrugs, her Chinese style shirt moving with her shoulders.
"And did you have any sudden insights of wisdom during your time there, apart from the fact that jumping off a cliff looked really good right now?" replies Carthrat, nodding.
"Nope," she says.
"Mmmm, this is good," Rachel comments. Ukyo smiles and nods to her as you go on with the redhead.
"So you're Carthrat?" she asks. "Ucchan mentioned you a coupla times."
"Carthrat, that's me!" says Carthrat. "Doubtless she said I was a jackass, repeatedly."
"Yeah. She also said you weren't a half bad fighter. Are you?" she asks, in a odd, almost professionally interested sort of way. "Because I should probably kick your ass at least once from what Ucchan said."
"Aww. Didn't she tell you about the time I saved her life?" replies Carthrat, smirking.
"She said alotta things about ya," she merely says.
"And here I was hoping the good outweighed the bad," sighs Carthrat melodramatically. "Such a false hope.
As a fighter? Well... I've been in a few scrapes here and there, but nothing *serious*."
"Really?" The redheaded martial artist says. "I can show ya serious, and alotta other things," she says, smirking arrogantly. "Up to it?"
"Do I have a choice?" replies Carthrat, figuring that a friendly fight might be fun. Maybe. Possiby.
"Nope," she says, outright grinning. "Ucchan, is the back lot still too messed up?" she asks.
"Yeah, the fill in team hasn't made it there yet," Ukyo replies. "Maybe outside of town?"
"Aww. But you're obvious an expert, whereas I am but a novice," replies Carthrat, reluctantly getting up.
"You'll live," she says, getting up herself and walking outside.
As the girl and Ukyo file out, Rachel grabs your arm. "Carthrat, she's strong. Really strong..." she says. "Be careful."
"Of course *he* is," replies Carthrat. "*He* is Ranma Saotome, if I'm not much mistaken. Ukyo, did I leave my 'ol club lying in here last year?" he continues, looking expectantly.
Ukyo is already outside and doesn not hear or respond to your question.
"Her fiancee?" Rachel asks. "Well, just don't get yourself killed...don't we have enough problems as is?"
"Actually, Rachel, it's part of my cunning strategem," Carthrat replies, moving behind the counter and rummaging around for either a spare spatula or his favourite old club. "You see, should I ever need support, they'll help me. Despite what she might say about me sometimes, Ukyo's a good friend."
Rachel nods. "And you need help fairly often, don't you? First that demon curse, then Alaska, now this and the Yakuza..." she says, shaking her head.
You find a spare small throwing spatula behind the counter.
Carthrat gives up. "Only when magic is involved, Ra-chan!" he replies, pulling out his sword and hanging it at his belt, then heading outside.
Outside, the redhead and Ukyo are waiting. "Your car?" Ukyo asks, pointing at your vehicle. "Better than walking or jumping, anyway," she finishes.
"Eh? Oh, sure," replies Carthrat, getting in. "Yeah, where're we going?"
"A nice abandoned field outside of town," Ukyo says. "I'll give you directions, it's where we have some of our more active challenges," she says.
"Oh, sure," replies Carthrat, starting the engine. "Lead the way.."
OOC - Time skip time!
The road you follow soon goes outside the bustle of Tokyo, to a relatively quiet and open field. It is overgrown weeds and grass, looking like a field that somehow escaped the concrete sprall.
Stepping outside, the red head leaps nimbly into the field. "Ready when you are," she says, slipping into a fighting position, both fists out. She grins, clearly enjoying herself already.
Jumping out the car and holding his sword by his side, Carthrat grins impishly. "But, m'lady, you are the challenger. It is only proper for you to begin the fight," he says, twirling his sword a little so only the blunt end is striking.
"If you wish," she says, grinning. "After all, I can't lose." A wide, cocky grin comes with this, and she cups his hands together.
"Mouko Takabisha!" she shouts. A large, yellow ball of energy erupts from her and races towards you at a disarming speed...
But, luckily, not *quite* as fast as a bullet, something Carthrat is used to doding.
Kinda.
A roll takes him out the way as he prepares to meet her onslaught, figuring that she would've immediatly rushed after him using the ball as cover..
Sure enough, she is rushing at you as you dodge the attack. Her first punch is deflected, as you are ready. Her next punch, however, comes at a blistering speed that you just can't match in melee. As what feels like dozens on dozens of blows rain into your side, you hear something about chestnuts...
Falling back, your left side burns in pain. It feels like someone took a large, heavy stick and pounded you in the ribs several times. She is already back into a defensive position, waiting for you to attack again. Her grin is huge, and you can almost feel the joy she gets from fighting.
Twirling his sword in front of him, Carthrat quickly creates a sort of shield of fire that serves the purpose of obscuring his opponents view.
Closing in as quickly as he can manage, he relies on his superior height to see what his opponent cannot. Anticipating a sweep in retalation, he nonetheless steels his legs and using his sword as a feint, lunges with his left to snatch up his comparatively light enemy from the ground.
As you set your chi to burning, her grin gets even bigger. As you rush, she starts to run to your left, almost as if she was going to go in a circle. Suddenly, her grin is gone entirely, her face stone serious.
Your sword feint is dodged seemingly automatically as she continue towards your left...but this takes her right into your hand.
Breaking his twirling sword, Carthrat goes to slam the girl with the hilt of his sword, then slam her into the ground and try pulling her into an armlock.
As the hilt goes towards her head, she grins again. "Mouko Takabisha revised, Mouko Burst!" A bright flash of golden chi blinds and scorches you, and when your eyes clear, Ranma is back away from you. Your face and chest tingle slightly from what you guess are weak first degree burns.
She smiles again. "Damn, I dunno if I was sloppy or if you were good, but...now it's on"
Holding his sword horizontally to his body, Carthrat snerks. "Don't encourage me," he replies, thrusting it into the ground and *igniting* it.
Now that he thought about it, he was probably just baiting the kid. He vaugely remembers something about tornado-based martial-arts manouevers, and while he dosn't know much about ki and chi and shit, he *does* know the theory behind a tornado, and he *does* know that Ranma can make one..
So the question was, how can a tornado be used to his advantage?
Fuck, when you asked yourself questions like that, you *knew* you were fucked.
"Alright, then," she says, eyeing the sword. With a deft motion and a sprint, she starts running in a wide circle around you, with a speed that is difficult for your trained eye to follow. Before you can really react, she is easily a quarter of the way done.
Carthrat rips the sword around him in a spiral, sending a circle of flame emmiting from a short distance from him.
Yeah! That'll work! Centering himself in the fire will create a tornado *around* him if the proper cold air pockets are found, which would mean-
-he'd be trapped in a tornado. An improvement on being caught *up* in a tornado, but problematic nonetheless.
Perhaps focusing on the tornado wasn't the way to go.
As you spin your fiery blade, she quickly finishes her spiral.
"Hiryuu...shoten...HA!" The words echo out, and then the world is consumed in a torrent of wind and screaming air. You feel hurricane level winds, and spinning, and...
----
When your vision finally clears and your head stops imitating a jackhammer, you notice that:
Tokyo has a nice skyline.
This lot has surprisingly soft grass.
You feel like you just got hit with a rocket launcher salvo.
"..and like, that's Orions Belt," says Carthrat, pointing up in the sky. "Astrologers believe that they're all stars, but the centre one is really a secret biolo-"
Sitting up, he looks around. "Where was I again?"
The world spins again as you sit up, and you resist the urge to introduce your stomach's contents to the lot. Rachel is nearby, looking down.
"Wow...you alright, Carthrat? That looked rather unpleasant," she says evenly.
"Aww, it was nothing a day of rest and your tender face won't fix, Yuki-chan," says Carthrat, dreamily.
Rachel sighs, a hint of sadness in her sigh. "Poor Carthrat," she murmurs.
"Could you guys give me a hand with him? I don't think he can make it back to the car." she yells out, turning to address some people that you can't see.
"So yeah! You beat me this time, Setsuna, but tomorrow, *I* shall be the victor! I've worked out that fire trick you do, and mark my words, thou shalt be feeling thine own sting!" Carthrat cries, abruptly standing up, apparently fresh as a daisy.
After standing, you feel strong hands on each side of you. Rachel has one arm and Ukyo has the other.
"This way, Sugar," Ukyo murmurs softly. "Let's go back to the car now..." she guides you back to the vehicle...
Carthrat continues to talk to himself, all the way throughout the trip..
<->
"You're going off-planet?" says Carthrat, in some surprise.
"Yes," replies Setsuna, dreamily. "Carthrat.. you know as well as I do how much is out there. What there is to do.. to see.."
"But I thought you were gonna get a job with an engineering firm," replies Carthrat, curious. "It's what you've been saying since I met you!"
"Things change," replies Setsuna, gloomily. "I don't.. think I could work very well with people anymore."
"What makes you think that?" Unfortunately, Carthrat already knew the answer..
"You've seen what I'm like, Carthrat. You remember last week? When we were sparring?" Setsuna says, a little sadly.
"It was a mistake anyone could've made," replies Carthrat, shaking his head. "You just got carried away in the heat of the-"
"It wasn't getting carried away! It's not just that I could've killed you, it's just that at the time, I.. wanted.. to.."
Carthrat reaches out and grips Setsuna's shoulders. "Listen to me! You're better than me at swordplay, always have been. But if what you say is true.. then you're certainly in no condition to go out by yourself, of all things.
Let me and Yuki come with you."
Setsuna replies, determination in his voice; "No. I can't risk you two."
"Don't be an idiot, Setsuna. You can't fly a ship by yourself. You only got your pilots license last week, and then-"
"But what about your ambitions?" replies Setsuna. "Didn't you have a job lined up? What about your marriage?"
"Yuki will understand. She's always wanted to get off-planet-"
"No! I'm sorry, but.. this energy.
Remember when we used to theorize? Remember than ancient principle we found? Yin and Yang? Duality? Remember how we used to think all the power came from within?
This isn't coming from me, Carthrat! It's coming from the outside. I need to be alone to work out how to control it."
"But-"
Setsuna turned. "Just.. let me go, Carthrat. If you ask me again, I'll fold. I know I will. I'll be back someday.. but just.."
He started to walk off, leaving Carthrat just standing there..
"..Setsuna.."
<->
Carthrat sits bolt upright, staring straight ahead. "What? Where are we? When did we get here? Who do I shoot?" he says, speaking too fast for anyone to understand.
"You're back at the hotel, Carthrat," Rachel reassures you. You find you are on your bed, and she is sitting on a chair perched nearby. "You got rather disorented after that tornado attack." she shakes her head.
"Ah.. yeah, I remember now. Dammit. I was off-centre.. ah well, martial arts was never my thing anyway," replies Carthrat, chuckling. "What time is it? Who drove?"
"Ukyo did," she replies. "And it's nearly midnight. You were out of it for quite awhile. Are you sure you didn't suffer any brain damage or serious imparement?" she asks. "You kept muttering about Setsuna and Yuki and Shizue and all sorts of other people."
Carthrat freezes up. "Please tell me Ukyo and Ranma didn't hear."
She frowns, thinking. "Well...we were in the backseat while they were up front. It's possible they didn't hear much, if any, because you weren't that loud. Is it..." she says, frowning deeper, "an issue?"
"Nothing that matters now," replies Carthrat. "It's all ancient history. That's all.
I don't *think* I'm brain damaged. Any more than usual, anyway."
"Well, that's good," she says, laughing lightly. She changes moods quickly, doesn't she. "I'm turning in. Do you need anything light before that?"
"Naw, I'm fine," replies Carthrat. "Don't worry about me too much, Rachel," he continues, jokingly. "I'll sleep and I promise you I'll be back to normal tomorrow."
Even he isn't sure if he's talking about his mood or his body.
Dammit, that tornado *hurt*.. but he'd crawled out of a collapsed building and kept on tankin', right?
Maybe it was the fight itself.. been a while since he'd been in a fight like that..
It's surprisingly easy to get to sleep sometimes..
And thus, another day passes.
The week goes by, surprisingly, without incident. You spend the days working on the Plasma weapon for your trip, and the nights taking Rachel to see the sights of Tokyo.
The media is fairly quiet this week, and after a few days even the child brothel story has faded away. If it wasn't for the fact that the Yazuka probably has a death warrant on you, things would be peachy.
With a satisfying *click*, the final section of the P. Acellerator's case is snapped on, leaving only the finished weapon, ready for use.
"Finally! I was scared I was gonna take another two days.." Carthrat says, happily. "I'd say it was a cause for celebration, Rach, if we hadn't been doing a bit of that every night."
"And just a day before it's due," she says, leaning back on her bed. "I was afraid we'd miss it and be sitting ducks for whatever the Yazuka is going to throw at us..." she says that, but frowns halfway through. "Wait. You said that they were from space?"
"They won't follow us out of space," says Carthrat, shaking his head. "The reason that they're running a crime syndicate on Earth is because it makes them untouchables. The only reason anyone comes here is to get away, or because they're from here and they have a desire to see their homeland."
"You know, I've been meaning to ask you that. Is Earth really that big a backwater?" she queues, still laying on her bed.
Carthrat blinks. "Good question.
If Earth was a complete backwater, like, say, during the 1400's, nobody would come here. But it's not. It'd be like us going back to the beginning of the 19th century. There'd be a fair bit that's the same, yes. You could probably survive there. But you'd also see a lot that's very dated by comparision.
Because your generation is smarter and more analytical than that generation, it'd be much easier for you to survive, if you could make a planned attack on it, say.
Understand? I'm not really sure I do myself, sometimes. Maybe a better way of putting it is that it's backwater enough to be noticable, but not so backwater to be a complete write-off."
"It's like a space ghetto, instead of a house or outright wilderness?" She asks this, trying to get a grasp on what you said. "It's servicable, but dingy and unpleasant by standards?"
"Something like that," replies Carthrat. "It's also quite a beautiful place compared to many places throughout the galaxy. But the analytical mind sees it that way, I suppose."
She perks up at that, really getting into the conversation. "Speaking of beauty, is the rest of the galaxy that ugly? Are things like a giant concrete and steel city out there?" she hmmms. "I remember some group protesting at a construction site I passed a few years back; they were worried that England was becoming a island without green."
Carthrat chuckles. "Some places are like that, yes. There are planets that are essentially giant cities. But most planets strike a balance between the two. You don't get to be a galactic power without knowing this about ecologyical preservation."
"Ah," she sighs. "That's a relief. So...once we get to Pluto or thereabouts and that casino, you're planning on getting work and transportation?"
"Work?" blinks Carthrat. "No, I was going to run a scam."
"Selena," she murmurs.
"Well, work, scam, what have you. It isn't the sort of thing that will have us in mortal danger, hoping we don't get caught, is it?" she asks, eyebrows raising.
"I'm in mortal danger every time I step outside, Rachel, it's nothing big" replies Carthrat, flippantly.
What Rachel mutters next is both colorful and something that you were probably not meant to hear.
"Well, then," she says, smiling and firming up as she looks at you, "How hard will it be to find and get to Diane, you think?"
"Not a clue," replies Carthrat, smiling brightly.
Rachel twitches. Twice.
"Okay..." she finally says, breathing deeply. "I'm going to take a quick shower." With that, she goes to the deluxe bathroom the suite room comes with.
Carthrat chuckles. "Aww, it won't be that hard, Rachel. I know exactly what I need to get to Diane. Or at least where Diane was where she sent that message.
But hey, any chance is better than none, and this is a great chance!"
She doesn't respond as she enters the bathroom, leaving you alone in the room.
For now, anyway.
Carthrat stretches, pondering what he has to do before he leaves.
He should probably say bye to Ukyo..
Flipping through his wallet, he pulls out a small identity card. It isn't like an Earth card; it's definately extraterrestrial.
"I wonder how many credits are left on this thing.." he ponders to himself.
As you idle, your cell phone rings. The one that's supposed to be more or less private...
Carthrat picks it up. "Yo."
"Hey, Carthrat," the barkeep from your favorite extraterrestrial bar says. "You were asking about who wanted your ass in a sling, right?" he says by way of introduction.
"Yeah, that's right," replies Carthrat. "Any soon-to-be-dead people you can tell me about?"
His voice turns serious. "Carth, you have one of the overbosses of the Yakuza *EXTREMELY* pissed at you. I'm talking honor bound, bloody revenge pissed here. You know Kirosawa, right?" he asks, a rhetorical question. "He wants you dead. He wants your balls on a plate, served to his dog. I haven't seen the Yazuka this stirred up in awhile."
Carthrat growls. "Fucker. He's gone. Anything else you can tell me?"
"That I'd vacate Earth and the environs for the next few decades, man. Even if you put Kirosawa in a space coffin, this won't end. He's been calling in favors and debts like a man possessed. He's planning something huge, and I pity you if you don't manage to get the hell out of the way."
"Right. Well, it looks like I'll be leaving with a bang," replies Carthrat. "Which means I'd be leaving right away. You better scram Tokyo, at least. I wouldn't wanna be here when he starts fucking around."
"I'll be fine, I think. I'm worried about you, stay safe," he says, hanging up.
Carthrat pockets his phone. "Oi! Rachel! We're leaving!"
Rachel comes out of the bathroom, dressed but with wet hair. "What's up? Ready to go already?"
"Uh-uh, we're going already. I just got word that someone is *pissed* at me, and have decided it would be a good idea to vacate the planet before he catches up," replies Carthrat.
Without a hint of surprise in her voice, "Right. I'm already packed. Thank Selena that I didn't put that off."
"Right you are. Let's split, no time to waste," replies Carthrat, striding outside the room and to his car, constantly scanning for anything resembling a threat.
Nothing until you reach the lobby of the hotel...
When you do, your scanner turns up three men with advanced weaponry in the lobby, all wearing casual clothes. They are trying to look normal and mostly succeeding, but they have a certain cold, hardbitten look that you catch right off. The eye you without even trying to avoid your notice when you come out, bags in hand.
"Did I mention cast defensive spells?" mutters Carthrat. "Cast 'em now."
Carthrat continues walking, as if nothings happening, hands tightening on a pair of pistols..
As you walk, you hear the murmur of Rachel's voice, and a warmth spreading over you.
The men merely watch, but do not attack. One talks into a cell phone, still looking at you.
Carthrat pushes a couple buttons on his own mobile, sending out a jamming signal to fuck up that mobile.
As you walk into the sunshine, you see that the man shakes his cell phone a couple of times...
Your car is relatively nearby, as is a car that is giving your scanner a field day. Most Earth cars don't use controlled fusion to power themselves, nor have enough techinal gizmos to shame the Pentagon.
It's a black, sleek car in the current popular model, and it's near the entrance of the hotel.
Carthrat decides it's much more fun to steal this car, and gives a scan of it's security systems and populance.
As you walk up to the black car, the engine starts up. You cannot see inside due to tinted windows, but you can swear that you saw the shadow of a man...
The scan is disrupted a bit due to a low grade scanner, but you are sure that there are 3 men inside.
Suddenly, and to your shock, an energy net comes from the front grille! White/blue energy threaded into a mesh is coming at you quickly.
Out comes the Tachyon Disrupter, Cutting Torch on.
The powerful beam slices across both the car and the energy net as Carthrat rolls to the side, taking Rachel with him..
You fire as you dive out of the way, the edge of the energy net brushing your feet. You grit your teeth as a low grade shock comes from the contact, but you avoid getting caught up in the netting.
The beam shattered the windshield, and inside are three men in casual clothes. They are up and alive, and you can see several flashes of drawn, sleek weaponry.
Carthrat flips out a handgun in his left hand, but dosn't use it to shoot inside the windscreen. He uses his Disrupter for that, pointing it inside and waving it around a bit to hopefully slaughter the inhabitants inside without damaging the car itself overmuch.
His keeps his other hand pointing in the direction of the hotel, expecting those other three goons to pop out any second..
Your beam cuts into the car's interior. A scream is heard and you see one goon fall, clutching his chest. The other two have ducked low, and a moment later pop out of the car fearlessly, one on each side. Both have what look to be protonic rifles in hand - enough to put a hole right through your energy shield and into your ass.
Carthrat swings his cutting-laser-of-horrible-doom across the closest guys chest, and the ducks and rolls behind the car so the other guy can't get him. At least not without shooting through the car.
Your laser glides across the goon's chest, sending him down as well in a bloody heap. As you get him, the other goon fires off a blast that bores deep into the car you are now using as cover.
And after the shot fires, a deep fog decends on the area, making sight impossible. You hear confused sounds, and then a solid THUMP from the direction in which the goon is.
"Rachel! Hold your nose," orders Carthrat, holding his breath himself and trying to bail out back into the hotel, weapons ready.
A back exit, there'd be a back exit. Duh.
"It's okay, Carthrat!" she calls back, from in the direction of the goon. "They're coming behind you!"
Carthrat flips his pistol behind him and fires a pair of shots, rolling forward and spinning around to get a better look..
You hear the shots go out, but you cannot see a thing in this damn fog. You hear people moving in your direction, but it's like fighting blind.
A energy blast flies past you from the direction from the direction of the hotel, narrowly missing you and going up and over your shoulder.
Carthrat drops a grenade and kicks it back towards the blast, diving down and lying flat.
You kick it forward and dive down, and wince as the blast echos in the fog...
Before you can get up, a searing pain laces your back as a white hot blast of something fries the skin from your mid back. A moment later, the car buckles as it absorbs a shot of energy, another hole in it's lower part.
Carthrat changes tactics. Using the high-tensile magnetic cord in his watch, he fires off a shot designed to make a connection between him and the high point of the hotel. When it hits, he uses his watch to take him up and out of the fog, pistol in the other hand to take down adversaries.
The watch cord zips out, and you soon feel it connect. You go up amid a small flurry of blasts, finally breaking out of the fogbank three stories out of ten up. Looking below, you see a wide swath of fog covers the street for a block at least, only the glow of energy dischares lights the dense fog at all.
Carthrat uses his position to swing into a hotel window. From there, he picks off the goons using his superior vision, judging their position by the location of their shots.
The shooting is difficult due to the almost nil visibility, but you are fairly sure you got at least one of them. As you hang and fire another few shots, the fog suddenly dissipates completely, as if it was never there.
Below, one goon is dead from what looks to be a head shot and another is down with massive energy burns. The two by the car are down as well, and Rachel is peeking out from near the sleek car. One of the protonic rifles is in her hands.
As the breeze blows on your injured back, you feel the flesh slowly mending in a palpable manner, as well as your stomach beginning to rumble emptily.
Carthrat starts easing back down the building, as quickly as possible, keeping an eye on the front of the hotel to see if another goon comes out..
No goons come out, only a few stunned onlookers on the fringes of the scene are worth noting. Rachel waves to you cautiously as you reach the ground. She looks unhurt.
Carthrat quickly checks that there's nobody left inside the building, then rushes over to Rachel. "You right, hon?"
"Yeah, I'm ok," she nods. "I should have warned you about the fog, but I didn't have a chance with what happened." she apologizes, fingering the weapon she now holds.
"No problem," replies Carthrat. "That thing your holding, it's a Protonic Rifle. It fires, then recharges. Cooldown is about a second and a half, don't point it at anything you don't need to," he continues, running to the supercar and checking to see if it will still go without blowing up or anything else untoward.
Looking into the "Supercar", you see that it's front seats are utterly sliced and diced from your laser, as well as having damaged the dash board some. Further, you took a chunk out of the upper rim of the steering wheel.
As you look, your stomach contracts in pain. Fuck, you're hungry. Your back does feel better already, though.
"Right," she says. "Like a camera?"
"Yar, like a camera," replies Carthrat. "This car is totalled. To the Ratmobile!"
Carthrat bolts over to his rental and practically leaps inside.
If a real world person could sweatdrop, you suddenly realise that Rachel would. That said, she merely follows you into the rental car and buckles in. The rifle sits on her lap, pointing at the door away from you.
"Right," says Carthrat, reving the engine and taking off to Shinjuku. "Eyes open, now."
You drive out, trying to ignore your stomach's protests. At this point, the car leather is starting to look tasty, and the carpet will soon.
As you are driving to Shinjuku, you notice a few tails come and go...all non descript, normal cars.
Carthrat gives a whistle. "We're being tailed, Rach. Which calls for taking a shortcut," he says, suddenly driving into a sidestreet, mostly devoid of cars..
She says nothing, instead eyeing behind you as you turn.
On the side street, you notice that it takes a bit for the tails to turn and catch up, giving you some leeway to escape or try another breakaway.
Carthrat opens the window, leans outside, and fires the equivalent to an Anti-Tank missile from his Disrupter at the tail, then quickly goes back to driving.
The shot hits the front tailing car, reducing it to a hunk of metal in short order. It stops in it's tracks, taking up a lane of the narrow road. One of the tails crashes into it, while the other narrowly skips by the mess by hugging the side of the road.
"Blast that car, Rach," says Carthrat, concentrating on the road. "Take your time, you've got until we reach the main road again."
Rachel rolls down the window and tries to aim...
The flash of her blast is seen out of the corner of your eye. A split second later a explosion is heard. "Damn," she mutters, "I hit a wall instead of the car."
Using the rearview mirror to aim, Carthrat points his Disrupter over his shoulder and fires at the car.
"A single degree alters the course of a shot, Rachel."
You fire, but the chase car violently turns, avoiding the shot as it flies over the street. With an act that shows a good level of driving skill, the car comes out of the turn and continues to follow.
Carthrat fires again, peppering the car with a constant stream of Laser Death.
The first two blasts are avoided in a virtuoso show of defensive driving, and before you can fire again the road turns back into a main road. This requires you to turn, so you can't get a shot for a few moments...
Carthrat chucks a grenade into the street and hopes he has the timing right, and then vanishes into the traffic and hopes to get to Shinjuku ASAP.
Later, you wouldn't be able to say if the grenade got the chase car entirely, but after the blast you didn't see hide nor hair of it as you zoomed away. After getting back into the main traffic stream, you are able to get to Shinjuku and your destination with no difficulty...
Carthrat pulls the car into a (miraculously free) parking space, and checks out the surrounding area for any goons.
You don't see anybody that could be mistaken for a goon. In fact, it looks relatively normal here.
Rachel does look rather uneasy and nonplussed, however, like she was shaken up. Her face shows worry,despite efforts to hide it.
"Let's go, Rach-chan," says Carthrat, getting out the car. There's no point running a scan, he's in Shinjuku, freak district of Japan..
"Huh? Oh, right," she says, shaking her head and following. "Yeah, let's go before they come after us again."
Carthrat walks in, all nonchanlant, stealing a couple bits of fruit off a grocer to sate his appetite, and heading towards that Yoshimitsu's Travel place, eyes open all the way.
The short walk goes without Yakuza activity. Perhaps you finally shook them?
Rachel is quiet the entire way, and keeps her gaze introverted. Her face is still someone disturbed, like she's pondering something she doesn't like.
The travel agency looms ahead, and your ticket to outer space and beyond.
Before enetering the agency, Carthrat runs a scan on it for People with Guns. Or robots with guns. Or the like.
You detect 7 guns in the surrounding area. Two are Earth handguns, three are basic energy blaster type weapons, one is a Justifier Hyper Shot(Capable of turning a city block into a slag pit) and the last is a Earth shotgun. None seem to be active. Considering the area, that isn't an unreasonable reading, despite the rarity of stumbling on a Justifier.
Only one of these is in the shop, and it's one of the basic energy blasters. The others are within a few block radius.
Carthrat enters the shop wairly, nonetheless. He looks around for the boss-dude.
The boss is dickering with his son, over what sounds to be him getting a car or somesuch. He breaks it off as you approach, smiling quickly.
"Hello there, friend. Do you have the goods?" He doesn't hide the interest in his voice.
"The whole package," replies Carthrat, showing the rifle from within his cloak to the agent. "Can we leave soon?"
"So that's it..." he murmurs as he glances at the rifle. "Sure, we can leave shortly. No hurry, right?" he smiles, still gazing at where the gun should be under your jacket.
"We're leaving *right now*," replies Carthrat, emphazing heavily on the 'now' bit.
"Yes, let's get out of here," Rachel echos, holding her sides like she's shivering. Seeing your haste, he replies.
"If you're in such a hurry, we shall go. It's a shuttle to the main craft, so we'll won't have to go far. But, first...the goods?" he asks, looking again at where it should be.
Carthrat tosses the man the package. "Right there," he said. "Come'on, let's go."
"Right you are, then," the says, fondling the package. Rachel snorts softly to herself before going back to her thoughts, still introverted. "The launch building is a few blocks down." Turning, "Watch over the store for me," he says to his son before walking out into the Tokyo day.
Carthrat follows the man, fingering the *real* clips inside his cloak.
"Let's hurry," he says, setting a quick pace and keeping his eyes open.
As you walk, you notice nothing unusa-wait.
As you near what he says is the building you're looking for(A large warehouse type building, not totally unlike Shizue's), you spot a single likely Yakuza man about a half block away, keeping an eye on you.
As he walks, Carthrat fires off a discreet cyanide dart at the man from his watch, appearing completely normal except for a slight flick of the wrist.
The dart fires. The man doesn't move, having not seemed to have registered that it was fired.
Luck and skill are with you today, as the man crumpled up a few seconds later and falls to the sidewalk. Rachel glances over and keeps walking, not responding to what happened.
Carthrat keeps on walking, getting increasingly edgy..
The front door of the warehouse has a simple keypad, and the man enters a long string of numbers with release the door.
Inside, it is sleek and metallic, with a retractable hole in the roof and a simple shuttle. Besides a small sitting area, the warehouse is dedicated to the launching and upkeep of transport spacecraft. A few aliens linger about, a Shiran here and a human there. It's about what you expected.
"Hey, you got your passengers," the human yells out, waving. He's wearing a blue jumpsuit of some techno material, likely flame, pressure, cold and several other proofs. "I was getting antsy, like you were going to dick around for awhile before bringing them."
The agent grunts, and motions to you and Rachel. "Zack, these are Carthrat and Rachel. They have a ticket to the new Plutonia casino, you know the drill."
"And we're splitting right now," puts in Carthrat, reaching into his cloak and pulling out the real clips to the Plasma Accelerator. "Oh, yeah. Can't be too careful, y'know," he adds, tossing the clips to his agent.
He fingers the clips while giving you a venomous stare. "Right. Good doing business with you," he walks away, seeingly unconcerned now that he has his goods.
"In a hurry to get off planetside, eh?" Zack inquires, running a hand through his black hair. "Off for a romantic getaway?" he says, entirely without tact.
"You might put it that way," drawls Carthrat. "How fast does this bucket of bolts fly, anyway?"
"Fast enough," he grins. "to get us off this hunk of rock in a minute and a half. You two can restrain yourself for that long, right?"
Rachel looks up long enough to send him a dagger filled glare, before going back to inspecting her shoes distractidly.
"Haw haw haw," replies Carthrat. "Let's move, then!"
The shuttle is a shiny, slightly singed white metal craft, made of sharp lines and smooth curves. The lettering of 'SC Illian' is on the hull, in bright red letters. A single drop down hatch door opens into the ship.
Inside are a few seats and the cockpit, with the rest of the ship devoted to storage and cargo. Sitting on the vaguely uncomfortable seat, you reflect. It's been a long, long time since you've been in a spaceship...
Carthrat breaths a sigh of relief now that he's finally on his way out. Time for introspection later.
"This place non-smoking?" he questions, producing a ciggarette and lighter..
"Yeah. It's better not to set off the fire alerts, yeah?" he says. "Last time that happens, I had to..." he starts, going on as he sets the craft up for prelaunch.
"Bah," replies Carthrat, pocketing them. "It's times like these I wish I'd never started. Disgusting habit, really."
He gives a bark of laughter. "Ah well. I'm sure something else will kill me before it does."
"Heh, just how I see it," the pilot says, as he works with the on screen computer. "If I live that long, I'll worry about my vices then."
----
ROAR! The sound of the engine kicking to life is a vital one, be it car, plane or spaceshuttle. So is the feeling of what should be crushing G-forces reduced to a slight pressure thanks to the on board G stabilizer.
After a moment of roller coaster like rising to the top, you're in space. Nearby, you can see a large spacecraft through the view screen, ready and waiting for you. Finally, you're leaving Earth beind. Will you ever see it again?
"Jesus fucking Christ, that felt good!" says Carthrat, exceedingly happy. "You holding your breakfast ok there, Rach?"
"Damn straight," Zack shouts back, clearly enjoying himself as well.
"Wow...that was almost anti climatic," Rachel says. "I expected leaving Earth would be more, more, MORE, you know? It wasn't much more than a bump in the road." she shakes her head, her voice awed.
"Yeah, you havn't caught up with your adredaline yet," replies Carthrat. "In an hour, you'll be like, 'Oh, fuck! Why the hell did I go with the strange man?!"
Rachel starts to respond, but falls into a small fit of laughter instead. "Oh, Rat," she gets out between spurts of laughing. "Next you'll be offering an 8 year old candy to step into the nice rocket ship?" she teases, obviously still amused.
"Maybe," replies Carthrat, looking out the window. "Maybe.."
The shutter proceeds to dock with the bigger transport ship. You are shown to a two person room, where you are told food will be brought to you and to please refrain from wandering during the day long trip.
Rachel stays rather quiet for the entire day, sleeping a good deal and keeping an introspective vigil when she's awake.
OOC - If you want to do anything during the trip, say so. Otherwise, we'll move along to the Plutonia Casino.
"Any regrets, Rachel?" asks Carthrat. "You've left behind everything on Earth, after all, and there's no telling if you'll ever actually get to come back.."
"Hm," she says, looking up at you from her perch at a space window. "Well, I did leave a fair bit behind, but I can't pass up the chance to help Diane. Besides, I have a few people I trust with me," she smiles. "I'm sure I'll be fine, and even if I don't go back...life goes on."
"Even if it could mean what happened today happening every day?"
Carthrat asks. "It's no way for anyone to live a life, the way I seem to manage."
"I'll live," is all she says, going back to her own thoughs. "As long as I have my faith, I will survive."
"Makes me wish I had something to believe in," replies Carthrat, chuckling. "Almost."
------
As you get out of the transport after it docks at Pluto's secret, new casino, you see that the glitz is in full effect. Even in the docking bay a fair amount of flash and glitter is to be seen, with colored light walls and other flashy attention grabbers. A mishmash of races and aliens jostle through the entryway, intent on reaching the promised destinations inside.
"Be careful, Rachel," whispers Carthrat. "There's no law here whatsoever, except whatever hired thugs the casino owners have, and they can probably be bought off.
Right now, first order of business is to find out just how much intrest my bank account earned over the past 8 years. I think I have enough for a few nights and food.."
Carthrat goes in search of the equivalent to an ATM to check his ident-cashcard on. Dammit, it's all dusty from lack of use.
Rachel nods, taking in the spectacle as you go to a nearby credit dispensing machine (CDM). It is below a banner that proclaims "An CDM at every table!", and looks to be in good shape.
Booting up your account, you find that you have C342.45 credits in your account. Spent frugally as possible, that's enough for maybe a week of basic food and board here.
"Hum.." ponders Carthrat. "Hungry, Rachel? We can get some food and then find a room, and I'll work out what to do after that."
"Sure," she says, glacing at the CDM. "What's that?"
"A bank machine," replies Carthrat. "I am officially poor, by the way."
Rachel raises an eyebrow. "How poor? You aren't totally broke, are you?" she asks.
"No. I've got the equivalent to $400 in my account right now," replies Carthrat. "That'll last us about a week."
"Well, then....we need to get some money to go further, correct?" she asks. "I did bring a few items that could be sold for money," she notes, "But I don't know if they'd be valuable here."
"We'll worry about that when we have to," replies Carthrat, looking around for the casino hotel area.
From the wall directory written in neon letters, the hotel is in the back, and to get to it you have to go through the gaming areas.
Bloody figures.
"Poorly designed plans. Bah," mutters Carthrat. "Come'on, Rach. Oh, resist the temptation to push buttons, and ignore anything anyone says. I hate these places," he says, pushing and shoving his way through the casino..
The two of you walk along, seeing games both familiar and foreign. A brewing pot of races bet on a multitude of games, from Earth Roulette to dozens of games that are from corners of the galaxy.
Finally, you make it to the hotel. A cheap room with one bed and a couch will drain most of your funds for the week, not counting food.
Carthrat sighs, but pays up for the room anyway. "Now I'm even poorer. Dammit, I'm missing Earth already."
The room is a white walled affair with a large deal of unpolished metal that screams 'space slum'. A single bed and couch promise that someone isn't going to sleep on a bed this week.
Once in the room, Rachel takes you up on your earlier comment. "It's easy for you to make money on Earth with your advanced knowledge, isn't it? That's no big deal out here?" she asks, making a small face on the side as she surveys the room.
"Well, before I came to Earth, I was a trader," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "It's a sight less complicated on Earth than it is out here."
"Mmmm," she says. "All the rooms aren't as barrenly metallic as this one, are they? It feels cold," she comments as she continues to inspect the room, down to the red couch. It's one of the few splashes of color here.
"No, this is just saving on luxury cash," replies Carthrat. "As I said, I'm poor and in desperate need of money."
As she sits down on the couch, shifting a few times on it, "Speaking of which...any plans yet?"
"There are three options," replies Carthrat.
"Firstly, I could try gambling. The odds are probably better than those in Vegas, I'm sure I would have a chance at fleecing a table in poker or Blackjack, as long as they're using real cards.
Or I could set up a scam. Hack into the mainframe and rig machines or just download money into my account.
And I suppose.. well.."
Carthrat looks edgy.
"There's always honest work."
Rachel leans back onto the couch, and closes her eyes. "Option 1 seems like a high risk at best, option 2 is probably illegal and not good for your life span if you get caught, not to mention morally shaky. That leaves..." she trails off, letting you fill in the blank.
"Option three is horribly slow and my psyche cannot stand it and I will go insane," finishes Carthrat. "Which makes choosing difficult."
"I still have a few things I can sell, I suppose. Further, I could get a job myself to help out," she muses, still leaning back.
"You don't want a job here," replies Carthrat, making a face.
She looks at you oddly. "You mean...?" she asks, making a suggestive motion with her hands.
"You don't look like the sort to be a prostitute," replies Carthrat. "Or a stripper. And the distinction is really lost if you want to become a waitress in this corner of the galaxy, because everyone will be feeling you up anyway, and if you slap them, you get fired."
"Well," she says quickly. "That's out. So, about those other options..." she says, changing the subject.
"Scam'n'gamble," says Carthrat. "Though.. hmm.
We could try for honest work on a freighter or something, I can make some decent money as an engineer, and the contract is never long for these journies because the owners don't know if their business is going to be insolvent.
Be a week or three of work. Hmm.."
"It sounds better than trying scam and cheat up some money," she comments. "And even if it's dangerous, it's better than getting on the wrong side of things from the get go."
"Though it dosn't really get us anywhere," continues Carthrat. "Besides, this is a gambling den. Scamming and cheating is what people do here. It's not like they'll call the cops on me or anything..
Oh well. We've got plenty of time to work out what to do, after all. Are you hungry?"
"Not really, that meal on the transport filled me up. I'm more interested in a nap," she says, laying down on the couch.
"Heh. I'll leave you here, then," replies Carthrat. "Gonna do me some wandering. Keep the door locked, I have the key," he finishes, moving towards the exit.
"Right," Rachel says, waving as you leave.
The gambling areas are spread out, as there is an extremely large selection of games. The games run the spectrum, and there is a combat arena for betting as well. That's what really cements this as an upper class, high powered deal, as an arena is costly and needs financial backing.
Thousands of creatures roam and gamble here, space fortunes won and lost every few minutes.
Carthrat hangs around the combat arena, taking an intrest in the proceedings.
The combat arena a large square, with raised seats above the walls and forcefields of the inner battle area. Inside this field, biological and mechanical beings battle while others place bets on them. The matches vary from simple subdual to the rarer kill match.
Right now, a muscluar Shirian is battling a robot with his bare hands in a close match. The crowd is quite into it while things go on...
Carthrat runs a surrepitous scan on the robot, pondering the outcome interestedly..
*Beeeeeeeeeep! The resident force fields are designed to prevent scanning and other intrusions. Analysis impossible currently.*
The battle goes on, with the robot striking a knock out with a vicious hand strike to the kidney. Men cheer and jeer as money as fortune comes and goes between the masses.
Carthrat ponders either entering or betting on these fights, he figures he has a good chance of coming out on top either way..
Leaving the combat bit, he starts inspecting the non-gambling areas of the place.
Of the non staff areas available, most of them are taken up by hotel rooms and suites, with the richest few having sublevels dedicated to them. As you get away from the glare and color of the gaudy gambling area, a more natural, metallic scheme emerges. That's fairly typical of places like this.
There are a smattering of restaurants, strip/sex clubs, shops and even a few churches of the more popular galactic religions in a 'Town Enclave', off in the West Wing of the complex. This seems to be where basic supplies can be purchased, albeit at inflated prices.
Stretching, Carthrat heads back to the gambling area, looking over a few games of poker and blackjack, using his trained eyes to try spotting out cheats and scam artists.. there's always a few.
The blackjack area is rather minimal, but the power area is large. A Earth version, Texas Hold'em, seems to be the rage, with several players going at it.
One human, with a long sleeved shirt, seems to be very discreetly doing the ol' swicheroo with his two down cards...
Carthrat idly wanders past, then trips over his own feet, bumping the human in such a way to make his wrists slip.
Maybe it was a stupid, attention-seeking act, but Carthrat was just the sort of guy who threw oil onto a fire to see what would happen.
You stumble to the ground, while the human has a small storm of cards fly out of his sleeves. By the time you're up, two big, black painted robots have the cheater and are escorting him away, ignoring his frantic pleas while his chips are being spread out to the other players by the dealer bot.
Carthrat gives a low whistle.
Getting caught wasn't a clever act, no sir.
His time done, he heads on back to his little room...
When you unlock the door and drag yourself in, Rachel is snoring softly on the couch, asleep. She stirs briefly... " 'at yo', rat?" she murmurs sleeply.
"Yeah, yeah.. you know, you could've taken the bed," says Carthrat, flopping down on it himself.
She mumbles something unintelliable, before sitting up and wiping her eyes. "So, how did things go," she asks around a yawn.
"It's a fairly typical place," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "One guy got busted cheating and got hauled away by a couple security 'bots. God knows where he'll end up."
Rachel shivers. "Not anywhere good. On another note, did you have any luck or ideas regarding income?"
"Yeah, there's a combat pit," replies Carthrat. "If I ain't a good judge of combat skill, who is?"
"Like gladiators? Well, I guess as long as you don't run into any more sex changing martial arts masters..." she says, smiling a bit.
"Who says I'm fighting? I was talking about betting," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I mean, sure, I could fight, but I'd rather not. I might get hurt, after all."
"Huh. I would have thought you'd have preferred to rely on your own might than that of others," she says, a bit surprised.
Carthrat shurgs. "On many fights, there's an obvious gap between who'll win and who won't. I mean, I could enter, but I might lose, and that wouldn't be fun, would it?"
"Considering how much money you have, no it wouldn't be." Rachel agrees, nodding.
"I'm sure it's free to enter," replies Carthrat, thinking. "And the prize money would be quite something. Hmm..
But I'm tired. I'll figure out what to do in the morning."
"Yeah," Rachel agrees. "Let's face this in the morning..."
A night passes with nothing but snores and harmless dreams.
After refreshing yourself in the small bathroom this place provides, it's time to begin what will hopefully be a moneymaking day.
"Let's go!" says Carthrat, heading to the combat pit. "I should be able to beat a couple of the early-morning contestants.."
"Can we get some breakfast first," Rachel asks as you head out the door, shifting in her blue shirt and pants.
"Er, well, yeah, I guess," replies Carthrat, abruptly changing direction and heading to a fooding area.
After a cheap, quick meal of bread and some sort of sweet spread and juice, you're off to the coliseum.
One of the entryways of it is cordoned off, and has a electronic sign flashing 'Entrants only.' A few bots are around it, keeping the curious from poking around.
"Go and watch, Rachel," says Carthrat. "Don't worry about me."
"Good luck, Rat. Don't get yourself mangled or worse, okay?" she says before going to one of the spectators entrances.
"Heh."
With that, Carthrat boldly marches into the entrants area..
As you pass, the bots look at you but say nothing.
Inside is a small reception area, with a busy looking lady behind a desk. REGISTRATION is the sign above her desk, and a small line snakes from it.
Carthrat stands in the queue, sizing up the other applicants..
Most of these people are muscular, but all sizes and shapes, not to mention races, abound. Most look comfortable and bored here, like it's something they have to do every day.
After about fifteen minutes, you make it to the head of the line. "How can I help you, sir," the wo...no, a humanoid robot, one meant to look mostly human, asks.
"I'm here to fight," replies Carthrat. "But tell me, what sort of income does this place make?"
"You are here to fight for the first time, sir," the robot presses, curious. "If so, you will need to fill a waver of responsibility, vengence by family/clan/race members, ill malice, and other events in the case of your death or dismemberment." she points to a small computer console off to the side. "It can be filled out there."
Carthrat ponders, then shrugs.
"In the event of my untimely death, all my possessions will be made out to one Rachel Lees," he fills out, figuring that's about it.
Along with a few check boxes and a place to certify it, the form is simple and you fill it out quickly. After another wait in line...
"Thank you. As a first time competitor, you are limited to matches in the D bracket." the robot says.
"Right. Can I just ask how the system works?" asks Carthrat, pondering.
"Certainly.
The competition system here is set into brackets. The higher the bracket, the higher the skill level of the competitors. The prize money increases as the bracket goes up.
D bracket is for beginners, once you win four matches here, you can go into the C bracket. From there, upgrades are based on performance and skill shown.
The pay for a D bracket match is C50 for the victor and none for the loser, minus any medical expenses you may occur after the match. All D bracket matches are non lethal." The robot spouts this out, obviously a prepared message.
"Right," replies Carthrat. "So how do the fights work? Any rules apart from not killing them or whatever?"
"The rules of the battle vary. Matches range from grappling, to shooting and all other forms of combat, to free matches with no parameters. The specific rules of a match are annouced in the sign up for the match."
Carthrat figured that. "Right.
So what now, then?"
"You may now register for a battle in the D bracket," the robot says. "Would you like to see a list for the day's open D bracket matches?"
"Why not?" replies Carthrat, peering interestedly..
She hands you a long sheet of computer print out. "Here you go. Please indicate which match you would like to sign up for."
There are four open slots in battles today, it seems.
1. Rangulus v Open Slot
Type - Free Battle, Non Lethal.
2. GXL 34 v Spiri v Open Slot
Bare handed, Non Lethal.
3. Doga v Open Slot
Guns - non energy based, Non Lethal.
4. Uzua v ABII and Open Slot
Free Handicap Match, Non Lethal.
"I'll take on this Doga guy," says Carthrat, hands already going through the motions for a slip-fast-draw.. ahh, back to the good 'ol days, when gunslinging was gunslinging and you didn't need to worry about tactics, grenades, politcal manipulation, tanks, and the like.
"Very well. Non lethal stun bullets will be provided, but a weapon will not. You may use any non energy gun model you wish. Please proceed to the D bracket locker room. You will be called when your match is ready." the robot says. "Next?" it says before you even get a chance to move.
Carthrat whistles as he walks off to find the 'D' block room. "Efficent! I start to remember why droids bug me so much," he mutters..
The D bracket locker room is smallish, with a few rows of small metal lockers and low benches. The smell of sweat and minimal cleaning assails your nostrils.
Various scruffy looking humanoids and beaten up robots lurk around, killing time until their match. None of them take and special interest in you when you enter.
Carthrat twirls a 9mm on his index finger, unloading the clip.
Suddenly, he has an epiphany!
I'm *so* glad I skipped all the high school classes for P.E.. stupid teachers.
An half hour passes. None of the other competitors make any effort to start a conversation with you, keeping amongst themselves.
Finally, to break the boredom, a service robot comes in. "Will Doga and Carthrat Tanewaki please report to the match ready room? Thank you." On that, an 50ish, washed up looking human stands, limping out of the locker room, the light flashing off his bald head.
Carthrat reports to the match ready room, keeping a level expression on his face and sizing up the other man..
The other mand is a bald human with a bad leg, his caramel colored skin sagging under the weight of his loose shirt and pants. He looks like nothing more than a washed up bum.
In the ready room...
"What arms will you be using for this match," the robot asks.
"9mm Glock 20," replies Carthrat, producing the spoke-of weapon.
The other man produces a .37 caliber gun.
"Very well." The mech scoots off, soon returning with two clips of stun bullets each. "In the event that this array of bullets is not enough, hand to hand combat is permissable in that event only. Should one's gun be disarmed, one must retreive it. Should it be unretrieable, you shall forfiet the match. Are there any last questions?"
Jamming a clip into his gun, Carthrat shakes his head, making a note to deactivate his personal shield. After all, that just wouldn't be fair.
The robot goes on. "Thank you, and good luck to the both of you."
A few minutes pass...Soon, a man comes in, sweaty and happy. A minute later, a red skinned alien is dragged in, it's nose broken and blue blood all over his face.
"The next competitors may enter the arena now."
Carthrat strides into the arena, looking to pick out Rachels face in the crowd..
Fron down in the battle pit, you find that it's hard to see the crowd, let alone one face...
The arena floor is covered with red sand, and is a bit soft to stand on. Metal walls form a rough square, while above force fields allow watchers to be protected.
Once in, you two face opposite each other while the annoucer rolls off the match details. The crowd seems mostly apathetic, you note.
"Ready," the annoucer says, "BEGIN!"
Carthrat cartwheels to the side, kicking up as much sand as he can as he does so and using his cloak to distract the man.
There's *always* time to show off in a gladiatorial bout. Besides, if the people like you, then they'll put more money on you, which in some convuluted way leads to more cash for *you*.
The man makes one shot, which is lost in the whirl of sand you propel upward. He looks around frantially, obviously not expecting something like this, and is further puzzled by your cloak gambit. He's more or less open for an easy shot now.
Carthrat's cloak goes flying into the air, as the man himself rushes behind the bum and points the barrel at his back.
"Sweet dreams."
A single bullets blasts towards the mans back..
The stun bullet impacts on the man's flesh, causing the electrical charge to knock the man out. Your cloak lands over him, covering him like a white sheet over a dead body.
"The winner by knockout is Carthrat Tanewaki! Let's give this rookie a cheer, folks!" The annoucer goes on as you retreive your cloak and are motioned to return to the ready room.
Carthrat twirls his cloak back on with a flourish and exits the arena, confident he put on a good show, if nothing else.
The robot greets you on your return. "Congratulations. Your prize money can be collected from the cashier's office." it says, turning afterwards to instruct a few other robots to go haul in the loser.
Carthrat heads on to the cashiers office, pondering how this sudden source of income will effect his living.
Lesse.. with any luck, I'll be able to clear up the other three fights today. If they're 50 creds each, that's a spare 200 credits I have.. I wonder how much the other fights are worth?
The cashier's office is a large room past the D, C, B, A and Special rank locker rooms, nicely lit and decorated with hopefully real greenry. Several relaxed and happy people are in line, each collecting the payment for a victory.
A sign on the wall is most informative. In big, red letters -
D rank winnings C50
C rank winnings C125
B rank winnings C500
B rank, loser's winnings C100
A rank winnings C2000
A rank, loser's winnings C300
Special rank winnings/loser's winnings C10000+
You can almost see the drool marks that those Special ranks must garner.
Carthrat whistles. Who would've thought prizefighting could earn so much? After just a few weeks, he might be able to get himself a ship.
Especially if he had Rachel bet the money on him. That'd increase his income by an exponential rate. Though, of course, he had to win. Good as he was, Carthrat wasn't entirely fond of straight fights.
Oh well.
Heading up to the cashiers office, he requests his pay..
The cashier bot blinks for a moment. "Contest Carthrat Tanewaki confirmed to have won match 34432, rank D. C50 will be paid. Would you like to deposit this into an account or get a credit card?" it asks, going through the motions.
"Yeah, account number 257015B," says Carthrat, checking his bankcard. Dammit, been too long.
"Yes. Deposit confirmed. Thank you, and have a good day," the robot says, the next person in line jostling you.
Carthrat wanders outside the arena office, hunting for Rachel..
After a few minutes of searching, you find Rachel. "Good show," she says. "He wasn't even close to you, was he? So, is this a viable source of income?"
"Yes," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "The top-tier gladiators make in excess of 10,000 credits, even if they lose. Of course, they have to survive..
I'm not sure I like it, but it's something I can do."
"Are there any other options, Carthrat?" she asks. "I mean, I was thinking...perhaps I could at least probably get a bit of work with my magical talents." she says, blushing. "A curing spell or blindness curing spell for a few credits would probably be cheaper than the technological alternative, right?"
"Most likely," says Carthrat. "Though plenty of people don't believe in magic. You might end up with a reputation."
"It's not all that different than mainstream Earth then, right?" she asks. shrugging and blushing.
Carthrat pauses, and chuckles. "I suppose not. But I don't know where you should start."
"Maybe with the gladiators?" she asks. "That one you fought looked both poor and lame," she comments.
Carthrat thinks..
"You know, you probably don't even need to charge them," he says. "They probably don't have any money, anyway. Who knows, they might idolise you in the end."
Rachel blinks a moment, and then frowns. "Eh....maybe, but I don't now if can handle that. I'm not a fully trained priestess, and..." she sighs. "No, perhaps I should save that idea for later."
"Nonsense!" exclaims Carthrat. "What's the point in having abilities if you don't use them? Training only goes so far, you know. Even if you use a few flashy spells and then resort to first aid, they'll have more faith in your abilities."
She shrugs, the wind obviously taken out of her sails. "Well, let's worry about it later, okay? Are you done with this for the day?"
Carthrat shrugs. "No, I think I'll fight three more times today. See, once I've won four fights, I can move up to the next bracket. If nothing else, it'll take care of our immeidate money problems."
"Alright, Carthrat. Good luck...oh, and hm." she pauses. "Hold still for a moment?" she asks, clutching something in her pocket.
"Yes?" asks Carthrat, smiling a little.
She takes out a small glass vial of water, and dabs your shoulders with a drop each, mumbling under her breath. "This is a minor enchantment, but it should aid you a bit." she smiles.
"What does it do?" asks Carthrat.
"It invokes the power of your spirit to focus your mind and body to a higher level. In other words, it makes you a bit stronger at combat," she says.
"Oh? Focuses my mind? Will it help me do my maths homework?" asks Carthrat, quizically.
"It might help a bit, but it's designed to be most effective in combat." she smiles, but her smile is a bit off. "It's funny on how many clerical spells are dedicated to combat or dealing with the effects of combat," she muses.
Carthrat shrugs. "Maybe you could design new ones. How hard can it be?"
"I saw Diane create a new low level clerical spell once," she says. "It takes time, money and research. Lots of all three."
"But wouldn't it be worth it?" asks Carthrat.
"It can be, yes. Of course, you still need to get your diety to agree to the spell or all your work is wasted," she notes.
"Wouldn't Selena respect a spell designed for passive use?" points out Carthrat.
"She may," she shrugs. "Even as it stands, I'd need money and resources before it even became viable."
"As you say," replies Carthrat, chuckling. "Well, I'm off to fight again. Wish me luck, eh?"
"Sure," she says. "Good luck." She waves and goes back into the auditorium.
When you get back to the robot, you notice that the three previous matches are still open.
Carthrat enters all of them, figuring they'll all be simple victories..
"Very well. Proceed to the locker room and await futher instruction. Thank you." The robots around here are polite, at least.
Carthrat heads on to the locker room, pondering how the three-person fights will go..
Just as you sit down, another robot enters the locker room.
"Will Carthrat Tanewaki and Rangulus enter the ready room?" it annouces. A young blue skinned alien, perhaps 20 years old in Earth terms, steps up. He looks like young and vital, and his eyes are free of anything resembling intellect. He bounds off to the ready room...
Carthrat turns his personal shield back on, then heads out into the arena..
The instructions for this match are for a free battle, non lethal. Anything goes as long as it isn't fatal.
These are the simple instructions you are given.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in his second apperance today, Carthrat Tanewaki hopes to make it two in a row!"
The blue skinned alien stands ready, a laser blade in his hand. He's holding it wrong, though, you note. All shoulders and no wrist work...
"Begin!"
Crouching, Carthrat pulls his still-loaded with stun-bullets pistol and aims to plug the guy in the chest.
The shot fires...and the alien runs and takes it right in the chest after a sloppy attempt to parry, going down and out in record time.
Well, you can see why he's in D bracket.
"The winner in a quick draw, Carthrat Tanewaki!"
Carthrat walks out, snorting. Too easy. Well, time to wait for the next match..
Again, the droid in the ready room congratulates you as you go back to the locker room, and again you spend some quiet time waiting for the next match.
An hour later....
"Will Carthrat Tanewaki, Uzua and ABII report to the ready room?" the robot that comes to the locker room crows. A Shirian wearing a loose robe gets up, but you see no sign of this ABII here or in the ready room.
"Has either competitor seen contestant ABII?" you are asked in the ready room.
"Nope," replies Carthrat.
The other contestant replies in the same way. A few minutes pass before the robot speaks again.
"Contestant ABII has forfeited. Would you like to continue this match as a one on one, Carthrat Tanewaki," the helping bot asks.
"Sure," replies Carthrat, cockily.
"Very well. Proceed momentarily."
The robot is silent for a minute or so, then comes back to life. "Proceed now, and good luck."
-----
"In another gripping match, today's new rising star Carthrat Tanewaki takes on an old mainstay of the D and C brakets, Uzua! Will Carthrat be able to trimuph in the face of Uzua's skills?
Begin!"
The match starts, with both of you opposite of each other as before.
Carthrat rushes Uzua, gauging his opponents reaction and ready to go into a slide if he pulls something..
As you rush, your opponent does a graceful backflip and falls into a defensive martial pose, ready to counter when you reach him.
Carthrat charges forward anyway, leading with a punch, expecting the guy to try something clever like using his own momentum against him. He readies himself to compensate for this..
The Shiran launches a counter punch as you approach, but it's rather slow, leaving her open.
Carthrat just runs straight into the punch, figuring it to be a feint, and tries to take down the Shiran with his sheer body weight and momentum alone.
And if the punch wasn't a feint, well, several years bodybuilding had to pay off sometime, didn't they?
The blow slams into your face with a crunch, but your body weight overpowers the Shiran. You fall on top of her, and she's a bit stunned by the tactic.
A bit of blood is coming from your nose, but nothing critical. You can already feel it mending thanks to your Regeneration ring.
Carthrat gives the Shiran a couple of blows to the face, then picks her up and chucks her across the arena, hard and fast, going long.
The blows turn her face into a mishmash of blood and flesh; the throw leaves her sprawled out in a heap across the arena. She makes a feeble attempt to get up...and fails.
"The winner of this match by knockout is Carthrat Tanewaki!"
Carthrat pounds his hands together.
"Victory is mine!" he says, in Japanese, well aware that it makes him sound really cool because nobody there except for Rachel has a clue what he's saying, except it sounds very dramatic and exciting. With that, he walks off the stage, chewing on a banana. Damned ring was more trouble than it's worth, at times like this.
The roar of the crowd lowers as you go back to the ready room. The banana was a good idea considering that you were beginning to feel hunger from the ring's side effect. After a quick congratulations from the droid, it's back to the locker room for a while.
-----
One hour later...
"Will GXL 34, Spiri and Carthrat Tanewaki report to the ready room?"
A old, beaten up humanoid mech and a scruffy alien of unknown, red skinned origin answer the call.
Carthrat cracks his knuckled and heads into the ready room..
"This is a bare fist only, 3 way match," the ready room robot announces. "The last one standing wins, disqualifications will be handed out for any non martial arts/chi based or weapon attacks. Any questions?"
"What about kicks?" asks Carthrat.
"Kicks are allowed," the robot notes.
"Oh. Right," says Carthrat. "I'm done."
"Good luck," it says, as you three go into the arena. You end up on one point of a three sided triangle, with the robot to your left and the alien to your right...
"Begin!"
"Start without me," says Carthrat, aloud, relaxing.
Both gladiators look at you funny, before both coming at you!
Carthrat expected that, and he rushes the alien, using it's momentum to help it along in a throw at the robot.
There is a meeting of flesh, and you grab onto the alien. His momentum does indeed work against him, and with a flip he goes flying. The collision with the robot sends both into a pile on the ground...
Carthrat follows up his little number with a series of axe kicks, slamming the bodies into each other again and again until they stopped moving..
The sound of bone and metal being broken is heard as your kicks hit home. They do not even manage a counter attack...no wonder they're in this division.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner is Carthrat Tanewaki!"
Carthrat walks off. Easiest 200 creds he's ever made, barnone.
After cashing in his cash, he heads off to find Rachel..
You look around outside, including where you met last time. Nothing. She isn't around here, that's what 10 minutes of searching tell you.
Carthrat runs a scan for the earrings, figuring he'll find Rachel that way.
She's inside of the arena somewhere, but she's coming outside from the looks of it. Sure enough, a minute later she comes out of one of the entrances, looking winded. She sees you and jogs over.
"I think I need to get away from here," she gets out between her deep, desperate breaths.
"Wha? What happened? If you don't want to see me fighting, that's no problem," says Carthrat, confused, anxiously checking around for danger.
"No, some spectators got a little...too friendly," she scowls. "I got in a spot of trouble when I told them I wasn't game."
"You should've just hit them," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "They're not gonna bother trying anything with a girl who might be able to fight back."
Rachel looks to the side, a part of the pavement suddenly of interest to her. "I did. It was my first reaction."
"What, an actual punch?" says Carthrat, getting interested. "Or more of a slap?"
She starts walking quickly, away from the arena. "Special option 3," is all she says.
Carthrat facepalms. "You didn't," he says, following her. "That's the most painful thing any man can go through!"
"Not that," she says in a clipped voice, continuing away from the arena with much haste.
"You broke his windpipe?" says Carthrat. "Well, we all make mistakes. Lucky nobody around here will really care."
"Bloody idiot," she hisses, upset in her voice. "Magic. Sorcery. Clercial might from above. Whatever name suits you," she grates out as she goes on. "A Flame Blade was more than suffient, I found."
Carthrat whistles. "Isn't that going a bit overboard for a pervert?"
"Not for a potential rapist," she grunts. "And he's going to be doing anything but raping now, Selena help me." she walks on, trying to put rapid distance between her and the arena.
"Oh, geez, I though someone was just trying to cop a cheap feel," says Carthrat. "But yeah, that's completely different."
"Yes," she replies as the arena fades to the distance. "I think I won't go to the arena tomorrow, if you go."
"No problem," says Carthrat. "Look, are you hungry? Anything you want to do?"
"I want to go lay down," she says. "Let's go back to the hotel, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," says Carthrat, heading on back.
The walk goes without further incident, as Rachel keeps to herself. When you arrive back, she lays down on the bed. She is lost in her own thoughs, and you are left to your own devices.
"I'll be back later, Rachel," says Carthrat, heading out for the gambling area and looking for games more based on skill than chance.
"Mmmm," she murmurs, in another galaxy of thought and being from you.
------
Besides the arena, there are no games based on might or power of arms, only gambling. Poker is about, as is a bit of Blackjack. Beyond that? Mostly games that are chance or that you don't know but look like they are based on chance.
Carthrat decides to head back to the battle arena and watch a few fights.
The arene is packed with people now, getting a decent takes some work and a bit of stiff arming. But luck is with you, as you get a seat only ten rows back.
It seems that the A rank is competeting now...
"Ladies and Gentlemen! This free style, anything goes, non lethal grudge match between to titans is about to begin!" As the annoucer goes on, two men walk out from the waiting room to the arena pit below. One is human, with a robotic arm, a white sleeveless shirt and black slacks. His short green hair is complemented by a massive forest green electroblade. Blue sparks of electricity jump from the blade, shining light onto his hair. The technoweapon is at least five feet long and wide, enough to cleave a steel wall in twain.
"You know our defending A rank champion! The master of the Electric Slice school, the ruler of lighting, Khris the ThunderBOLT!"
The other man is a tall, muscular humanoid, of brown skin and a narrow, pointy head. Only red shorts are worn, he has no weapon. "Our challenger is the man who killed Red Arriyo, the legend himself, on his way to this battle! The man who may finally end the rein of Khris, Siurra of the Ice!"
Carthrat wonders if he's heard of this Red Arriyo. After all, he does remember *some* things. [/code]
Carthrat whistles, and decides to find someone to bet 80 creds on this new guy.
Red Arriyo is the name of a gladiator/bounty hunter known fairly well for capturing a few high profile targets, you recall. He was considered highly skilled in ship, ground and mobile battles of all types. If somoene killed him, they are very good or very lucky.
A passing bet bot takes your bet of 80 credits on the challenger, beeping. "Thank you," it says, printing out a claim ticket for you.
"Now, for the honor and pride of their skills...BEGIN!" the announcer cries.
Without wasting time, Khris smirks and raises his metal arm straight out. The fingers retract slightly, holes now where the finger tips would be. Blue blasts of energy fly out, but Siurra is already moving to the side and forward, strafing past the shots. Khris runs to the side in a circular movement to him, firing off shots that kick of the red sand but do hit the larger man.
Both move with considerable speed, Khris slightly faster. Both look to be capable fighters.
This goes on for perhaps a minute, Khris firing off shot after shot that misses the dodging Siurra as the run in what is essentially a circle. Seeing that this isn't gettting anywhere, the brown man leaps forward in a lunge. To your surprise, Khris doesn't even try to dodge. The moment he reaches him, however, you are blinded by four flashes of light and ear spitting thunderclaps after ward. As he touched him, lighting came from the blue and struck the challenge down! The smell of ozone is strong in the arena as a charred and fried Siurra falls.
White Glow pulses softly for a moment, then falls silent again.
"Incredible! It seems that our champion has demonstrated another of his powerful hidden skills to overcome this foe! Once again, Khris the ThunderBOLT has defended his championship! He didn't even have to draw his sword, ladies and gentlemen! Can anyone stop him now?!"
Khris walks back into the waiting room as the annoucer extols his virtues. He doesn't even look back at his foe.
"Fsking figures," mutters Carthrat. "Bah." He hangs around, anyway, taking notes on the various fighters, knowing he'll probably have to fight them himself.
The battles go on, mostly of B rank. The A match championship was obviously the main match for the day, though. Things start to wind down as the lower rank goes to work and time slips away...
Carthrat figures there's still time to get in a couple C-class fights, and heads on down to the checkin booth to see.
After wading through the line to the checkin bot...
"I'm sorry, sir, but one cannot compete in more than one division a day. Since you have competed in D rank and there are no more D rank matches today, you may not fight again," the checkin robot goes on in it's spiel, likely recorded well beforehand.
Bah, there goes another quick-money option.
Carthrat starts smoking, walking around and wasting time until dinner, upon which he grabs Rachel and drags her out for something to eat.
Rachel is still rather subdued as you get a light meal of meat and what is hopefully potatoes in a small eatery. As you eat in the small, cramped eating area...
"Carthrat, do you kill people as your first instinct? Respond with lethal force," she asks, looking down at her plate of food, her voice quiet.
"Naw, my first instinct is to laugh at them and tell them how pathetic they are," replies Carthrat. "Then I kill them."
"Oh," she murmurs, picking at her food listlessly.
An uneasy silence decends on the table...Rachel seems content to move her food around on her plate while you eat.
Carthrat sighs. "How many people do you think I've killed, Rachel?"
"...Under your own free will? More than I care to honestly think about. Granted, you probably didn't have a choice or you had a good reason..." she sighs.
"You're wrong," replies Carthrat, leaning back, "but that's not important. It dosn't matter if you kill someone, Rachel. You don't need justification after you've done it, only when you've made up your mind to do so. There's no point dwelling on what you've done; you can only learn from mistakes, and the way I see it, you didn't make any."
Rachel looks down, her fork sending a bit of food across her plate. "But it does matter, Carthrat. No matter what the reason, killing someone DOES matter." She spears a bit of potato with her fork, a soft ploosh as the metal penetrates the spud. "It's funny...my first reaction today was to cast Flame Blade. That's quite capable of killing someone, you know. Stab'em just like this potato."
"Huh," replies Carthrat. "So what do you think you *should* have done?"
She puts down her fork, instead waving her hand lightly over the plate and murmuring a few words under her breath. The food on the plate glows and the potatoes and meat separate into two piles.
"Like this, maybe? Separation instead of resorting right out to violence?" she sighs. "No...I understand this is a rough universe by all indications. You don't have to remind me. It's just...oh, bloody hell," she murmurs, shaking her head. "I can live with killing, I think. Selena help me. But...
When I cast the spell, I remembered you as a demon." she whispers. "For a moment...."
Carthrat thinks carefully before answering.
"As a demon, Rachel... I never had a reason. I never had justification. It took every ounce of will I had to just stop myself from lashing out, randomly, killing people.."
He tugs White Glow.
"Why do I kill people now? I ask myself that question from time to time, and the same old answers come to me.. survival... profit. Protection. Maybe even a higher cause. The reasons aren't describable, I can't tell you if they're good or bad. Maybe because this thing is an artefact of vengeance and redemption, causing me to redeem myself by meteing out some kind of holy judgement.
Maybe because I'll do anything to get Diane back.
Maybe because I enjoy killing and could never let it go.
I don't know. A trace of the demon could be left within me.
Yin. Yang. Good. Bad. It stopped mattering to me when Yuki died, y'know? And I only started caring about it in the first place when I met her. Maybe even that was selfish.
And once again, I see a goal before me. I have to rescue Diane. I don't know why. She would survive if I didn't come to help, I'm sure of it. But nonetheless, the goal stands before me. And because I believe the ends justify the means.."
He trails off.
"Rachel. All I can tell you is that you have to make up your own mind. Today. If you follow me, you might never kill again. If you're lucky. On the other hand, we may end up cutting a bloody swathe throughout the galaxy. I've done it before, en route to my goal. It's a risk you'll have to take. You said the galaxy is rough? You havn't seen rough.
I don't believe in good and evil. There are no solid definitions. Right now, what I define as 'good' is getting to Diane, and protecting you. What I define as 'evil' is people trying to kill me, shortchange me, hurt you, hurt Diane.. because of the actions I'm willing to take on this course, some will think of me as an evil, cruel man.
So be it.
So it's time to choose, Rachel. If you come with me, you will almost certainly have to kill again. I can't tell you how I deal with it. I don't know how I deal with it, only that I do. But if you want, I'll put you on a ship back to Earth right now."
She responds quickly. "I'm coming with you...I already made up my mind about that, come hell or high water. Past that? I...don't know right now." she pushes her plate forward. "How about we go back? I'm not really hungry anymore, and I'd like to think awhile."
"Heh. I have some thinking to do, too," says Carthrat...
Yuki.. am I an evil man, now?
As you leave the small restaurant where you ate, you feel White Glow suddenly burn and pulse brightly. You feel pulled to the dark, metallic alley outside, between the eatery and a general goods shop.
Carthrat pauses. "Rachel, come with me," he says, heading towards the alley and peering around the corner..
Rachel follows wordlessly.
Squinting, you see a rough looking, shirt and jeans wearning human kicking a downed, short alien of black skin and pointed ears. The downed aliens white clothes are mottled with blood on the front from a broken nose, and he is barely moving to the vicious kicks.
Carthrat rushes the goon, kicking him in the face with a surprisingly fast and flexible leg.
The goon barely even gets a chance to register your prescense before your kick breaks his nose, jaw and maybe his skull. He falls into a fleshy lump on the floor, bleeding in place of moving.
"Rachel, check out that guy," says Carthrat, indicating the alien, while moving to the down punk and hoisting him up by the collar, shoving him against the wall.
"Talk to me," he says, shaking the man a bit. "Bit xenophobic, I presume?"
As you chat with the goon, the soft soothing of Rachel's curing magic echos in your ears.
"Fusc ou," he grunts from his ruined mouth. He flails in your grasp, but he's stuck tight. Blood pours from his nose quite freely, ruining his T-shirt.
"I wouldn't piss me off," says Carthrat. "Did you know I happen to be a master of the seven scrolls of Sygalthian Torture? You'll find out just how painful some salt and some beeswax can be after I'm done with you. Talk. No lies, now."
He weakly spits out a spurt of blood.
"Ae sit a DIE," he gets out. Yep, his jaw is rather badly broken, it seems, along with the majority of his face. His nose is showing no signs of stopping it's hearty flow of blood.
Carthrat applies pressure to the guys groin with his knee. "Rachel, is that guy allright yet? I need you to buy me some salt, some honey, and a box of rats," he says.
"He'll live," she reports. "Not without a limp for a few days, but he'll live. The thug you have did a rather though job on him, it's a bit much for my magic."
As you apply pressure, he gasps out, blood and spittle landing on your shirt. Mostly blood.
"Um...sure," she says, after a moment of confusion.
Carthrat snorts. "Forget it, Rachel, he just ruined my cloak. I've had this thing dry-cleaned too many times to count.
I think I'll just break both his arms and legs, then dislocate his spine. He shouldn't hurt anyone else after that," he says, cracking his knuckles.
The goon responds with a grunted and gasped mishmash of words that are impossible to understand, but quite clear in their meaning. He's not a happy camper.
"Rachel, take that guy back to our room," orders Carthrat, keeping a firm grip on the struggling man.
Rachel shakes her head. "He's still unconcious, and he's too heavy to move by myself."
"A pity," says Carthrat, fishing with one hand for the punks wallet.
The punk has no wallet, but he does have a C-card, which should be worth something. Along with a small knife, that's all he has on him.
Carthrat spins the guy around and drives a knee into the upper portion of his spine, snapping his vertebrae and reducing him to the state of a quadreplegic until he can afford a doctor.
Which is doubtful, as Carthrat now has his cash, and he ain't gonna be mugging anyone anytime soon.
With a cry of agony, the thug falls limp in your arms. He's not going anywhere, yeah.
"Allright," says Carthrat, pulling the other guy up and lighty touching his face a few times to try and wake him up.
Rachel stands aside, eyeing the man you downed a moment ago.
"Ugou..." the downed humanoid murmurs, moving a bit. "...ugh...fuck..."
"You right there, buddy?" says Carthrat. "Can you at least stand? We gotta get you outta here."
"Oh, fucking hell," he gasps. "Oh, shit, man...shitshitshit..." His face is screwed in pain, like he just got whacked in the groin.
Carthrat runs a med-scan on the guy, fearing the worst.. "Rachel, got any more of that healing stuff?"
He has numerous bruises and a few cuts. Many of the bruises run very deep, however, like he got beat on for a good while.
"Damn...oh, good damn..." he moans. "I got ran over by a cruiser or somethin'?"
"One more minor spell," she says. "But I'm about out of juice today."
"You just got the shit beaten out of you, that's all," replies Carthrat. "Rachel, if you would.."
"Sweet fucking hell, it feels like it," he manages as Rachel kneels next to him.
"Oh great Goddess....breath your healing breath over the injured...." Her words bring cords of light that wrap around the man, soothing and repairing his injuries. He lets out a deep sigh as they do so. "That's some good stuff there..."
"Yeah, tell me about it," says Carthrat. "Can you stand? I should get you back to my room, and then you can work out what to do."
"Yeah, I think so," he says, getting to his feet with minimal wobbliness. "Better than lying face up in this shithole."
"Right. Let's go," says Carthrat, starting to walk back to his room. "Whastsya name?"
"Diego," he tries to grin, but winces instead. "Yeah, just Diego. How about you and the lady? You two got names?" he asks as you go on back to the hotel.
"Hah. Call me 'Rat. This is Rach," says Carthrat, seeing no reason to hide their names.
"Good to meetcha," he says, getting out that smile on the second try. "Likewise," Rachel nods.
"Now that we're formally introduced, you can tell me if you know any particular reason you were attacked," says Carthrat.
"Heh, well...Ikindastolehisgirlfriend," he gets out at once, looking a bit guilty.
Carthrat pauses. "Oh. Well, I suppose he shouldn't have beaten you up like that," he says, shrugging. White Glow had never lead him astray before..
"Yeah...He said he'd gib me, but I didn't think he was for real," he shrugs. "He'd fucked me up pretty bad last thing I remember."
Carthrat shrugs. "Well, you're all good now," he replies.
"Yeah, thanks to the lady," he smiles gratefully at Rachel. "And thanks for savin' my ass, 'Rat."
"Naw, it's all good.
Say, you wouldn't conveniantly have a ship we could use?" says 'Rat, not ashamed in the slightest.
The man laughs freely, tilting his head back. "Man, that's crazy. If I had a ship, I sure as hell wouldn't be in this ass fuck of a colony."
You're just getting to the hotel now, by the way.
Carthrat shrugs. "If you have the right equipment and software, you can make a heckuvalot of money by fleecing these places," he replies, reaching his room and opening the door..
"Yeah, I guess. But the man in charge here has been stompin' his boots on cheaters ever since this place got goin'. You see those 'bots 'round the casino? You gotta fool them if ya gonna get anywhere, and they don't fool easy." he looks around the room, nodding to himself. "Not up on the money, eh?"
"Electronic-Neural scramblers," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "You need a high-frequency transmitting device, and something that makes a sound that's beyond the scope of human hearing. They fry the A.I. circuits within the 'bots while leaving humans completely uninjured. Then it's a piece of cake, I havn't seen any human guards. This must be a solo op."
Diego plops down on the couch, stretching his arms out gingerly. "Yeah, the dude who runs this is some high up who scammed enough out of his post to retire and go to work on his own. You know those Irreilis, right? He's oneuva 'em."
"Huh. He must be pretty hard up if he's working around here," replies Carthrat.
"Dunno. He seems to bleed credits if ya stab him, so..." he shrugs. "Speakin' of that, I'm late for work again. Fuck," he murmurs.
"Thanks for everythin', but I really need to haul my ass to my job if I don't want to end up in that alley again. Later, 'Rat and Rachel," he waves as he runs out as fast as his bruised body will manage.
"Ah, the calls of a regular job," says Carthrat, chuckling. "How I don't miss those times at all."
Rachel watches him go, and once he's gone: "Well. You heard him getting beaten up all the way from outside the alley," she asks. "I didn't hear a thing myself."
"Whenever evil threatens, the call of justice goes out to all who can hear," exclaims Carthrat, striking a pose.
*Snicker*
*Giggle*
"Heh...heh....Hahahahahahahaha!" Rachel falls apart laughing at your unexpected bravado and the following pose. "But...hehheh...did you really...snicker....manage to hear him? Good...hahah....ears."
"Of course not," replies Carthrat. "My eyes are my best natural sense, not my ears. It's the amulet, of course."
After spending a few moments to compose herself, "Oh, White Glow. Well, I guess that makes sense." she nods.
"Yeah, well, it's exceedingly good at getting me into trouble," replies Carthrat, shrugging.
"Heh. Ain't half as exotic as you though it'd be, eh? Space, I mean. Well, on the one hand, this ain't really representative of the better parts, but on the other hand, it's probably a good representative of the sorta place I'll end up going."
"As if you weren't go enough..." is her mumbled response. "Yes, though. It's surprisingly...human in many aspects. I suppose there are some moral and ethical ramifications to that, but I'm too drained to ponder them," she smiles wanly. "I think some sleep would be a good idea."
"Oh, and here I was all set to be nostalgic," complains Carthrat.
"Heh," she says, sitting down on the couch. "Sorry."
"Heh. Get some rest. Big day tomorrow," says Carthrat. "I'm gonna teach you how to shoot."
"Are you sure? Do we have enough credits to be worrying about that," she asks curiously.
"Probably not, but I'm gonna teach you anyway," says Carthrat. "I can always get more money, but I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you.
Spells aside, a gun is faster. Which is why I'm going to teach you."
She merely nods around a yawn. "Alright, then." she agrees.
OOC - Timeskip?
"Allright. Oh, yeah. My turn on the bed," says Carthrat, going to lie down..
OOC: Yar.
Another day begins after a restful night of sleep.
------
As you prepare to go out for the day, you remember the C card you took from the attacker from yesterday.
Carthrat gets up and goes outside to have a morning coffee, leaving a note for Rachel. He also checks the C-Card for cash..
*Beeeeeeep*
The credit computer lets out it's sound as it scans the C card. "Card value is C 219. Do you wish to despoit or extract funds from the card?"
Carthrat transfers the money from this card to his own card, bringing up his total credits to 419.
After getting that taken care of and your coffee, you return to the room, where Rachel is ready and waiting.
"Hungry?" asks Carthrat. "It's about 8 in the morning, Earth time.
Oh, yeah. While we're lucky enough to have Earth Time used on this place, Standard Galactic Time involves a 32 hour day. Remember flying to Japan and adjusting to the timezone? This is a heckuvalot worse."
"Yes, some breakfast would be nice," she nods. She looks nice in a tight black top and loose green cargo pants. Better than she should, to be honest. "Thirty two hour days..." she chuckles a moment, looking strangely old. "I'm sure I'll cope."
Carthrat waves a hand in front of Rachel. "You right, there? You looked a little odd for a second."
"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine," she says, shrugging. "Shall we go?"
"Certainly," says Carthrat. "There's a great place that sells bagels around here somewhere.."
After spending C 2 on a decent breakfast, you are fed for the morning. Around a bite of bagel on the go, Rachel asks: "Where can we try shooting? I don't see much free space. Is there a shooting range?"
"These places usually have some kind of natural reserve," replies Carthrat. "It's a necessity; there are types of alien that live off fresh grass and stuff.
Of course, there won't be anyone there; most of those aliens wouldn't trust the people running this establishment. It's usually in an isolated place, nobody will bother us."
She thinks a minute, taking a drink from her plastic cup. "Mmm, I see."
Carthrat chuckles.
"Y'know, there was a time, long long ago, where my profession did not consist of causing as much harm and chaos as possible," he says. "No, I was one step down. One step away, avoiding harm instead of seeking it. Hard to believe, eh?"
"Liar," she teases with a small smile. "But go on. What did you do way back when?"
"A trader, of course," replies Carthrat. "At the time, I was obsessed with three things; the Theory of Magnetic/Gravitic Rail Discharge, a girl named Tanewaki Yuki, and money.
As a trader, I worked between universities, you see. Universities traded technology and expertise; they gave me technology to trade, and then they taught me the theory behind it. So I could combine making money with working on my theory.
It helped that Yuki was the pilot of the ship, naturally. After a time, our ambitions grew. We started hiring other traders; making the great Tanewaki trading empire. We got married, naturally; we loved each other, even though we were almost complete opposites. I was an orphen living in the slums; she was a nice girl with rich, propserous parents. I played chess, she played chequers. I'm an expert at Offensive Driving- y'know, all that stunt stuff you see in movies; she was an expert pilot. I studied sword techniques and learnt to set things on FIRE, but she studied the use of a spear and learnt to set things on ICE. I was better with guns, but she was better with knives. She played music, but I learnt programming. She was a soccer champ, but I hated sport.
And we traded. And life was good.
And being a trader is dangerous business. Pirates plauged the spaceways; nobody was safe. You learn to take care of yourself pretty fast after a few shipments get stolen, especially when they're worth so much.
Of course, when you learn to fight, you start having an urge to use that ability. Me and Yuki started doing a little smuggling. A little bounty hunting. We started hiring more unsavoury types in our company. Ended up a mercenary company, didn't care if it was legal or illegal.
We were GOOD, Rachel. Damn, we were good. Our ship was called the 'Snowflake'. If you walked into a pub when we were at large and said that name, you'd clear it in moments.
Not these days, though. Time moves fast in space. Only a few people would remember me.
But back to the story. One of the members was a guy named Setsuna. I used to be friends with him when I was studying; we did everything together. Heck, he even wanted Yuki.
And that's how the whole bleeding mess started. Jealousy over a girl.
A long story short, he tried to take the mercenary company from us in a coup. Things spiralled down from there; most of the mercenaries died or scattered. After a while, I managed to kill Setsuna, but me and Yuki crashlanded on Earth.."
Carthrat goes silent, thinking..
Rachel nods at the right places, looking interested.
"I see...and Yuki didn't live to see your next trip into space," she murmurs. "But it's easy to see where things started to go downside, isn't it?"
"You must think it was when we started becoming mercenaries," replies Carthrat. "Maybe. I blame Setsuna, not myself."
"I see," is her response.
"Maybe. Maybe not," replies Carthrat, sniggering. "Sorry, I got sidetracked.
Anyway, let's go! Got a whole day to teach you."
Rachel nods, picking up her pace as you lead her onwards...
The field you are looking for is largely deserted, save for a smattering of small, green aliens who put a good amount of distance between you and theirselves.
This is about as alone as you're going to get on a space station.
"Ok, Rachel," says Carthrat, tossing her one of the .357's he's managed to pick up over the last few weeks. "Shoot me."
She hefts the heavy weapon, moving it about as she tests the weight of the firearm. She braces herself, points the weapon at you and fires. She is knocked back by the force of the .357, landing on her backside as the bullet is intercepted by your energy shield.
"Two hands," comments Carthrat, dryly. "You're lucky you're light enough to get knocked over; you might've dislocated your shoulder."
Rachel rubs her back. "Yeah, that was a blast," smiling at her joke. Getting back up, she gives Carthrat a once over. "No injuries..."
"If I'm injured by that thing, you'll see the results," promises Carthrat. "Try again. Or maybe you should meditate first? I dunno, I knew this really crazy goon, called Hwang Shen, after a period of daily meditation, he could shoot a bullet through the eye of a needle. And y'know what? The needle would be intact when he was done. I kid you not, I ran all sorts of tests on it, but they indicated the the bullet somehow passed through the nee- oh, sorry, yeah, off you go."
And thus, the day passes by as you instruct Rachel on gunplay. She shows no high level potential, but she does show signs of being competent with a gun with practice.
Much later in the day....
Handing you back the gun, Rachel rubs her shoulder. "Mmm, that kickback takes it out of you." she comments.
"Yeah, I should probably have given you something smaller," replies Carthrat, rummaging around. "I mean, I've got enough.. ah, well, dosn't matter. As long as you didn't dislocate your shoulder more than once.
Maybe I should teach you karate.. but can your stomach handle the conditioning, that is the question.."
Still massaging her shoulder, she laughs a bit. "I think I'll be inclined to practice my magic more instead," she comments. "Anyhow, are you hungry yet? I'm famished."
"Ugh, magic practice," mutters Carthrat. "How does one practice divine magic, anyway? I mean, dosn't it just happen or something?
Not that arcane magic is much better, it's full of weird symbols and words and hand-puppet-movements that don't make any sense yet somehow coalcise into a puddle of grease or something.."
She smiles. "Faith magic is about prayer, meditation and drawing on the will of a higher power. Think of it like siphoning electricy for a house off of a main station, Carthrat." she suggests.
"I see," replies Carthrat. "But it's not like you build all the devices you use, you just can't afford them. Yeah. I see. Or maybe not.
Either way, yeah, let's eat.."
OOC - Congratulations on post 3000, Rat. Or something.
Rachel nods. "Yes, let's go," she agrees, beginning to walk away from the psudeo grassy range...
OOC - Time skip?
<Carthrat> Time skip!
----
After eating another cheap meal of food paste and water, you have a free afternoon now.
Polishing off the last of her water, Rachel throws away the cup in a nearby trash can. "Now what? Are you going back to the arena?"
"Yeah, need some money. But there's something I want you to do for me," replies Carthrat. "Y'see, I havn't got a chance yet, but can you search our room? There should be a network port there; they tend to be labelled, so you'll know it when you see it.
I needya to find it and plug my computer into it. I've got about a million different kinds of transformers and converters there, just keep plugging stuff in until it fits.
Once you do, you should be able to use it to access the casino network. I want you to look up bounties," he finishes. "I figure, if we find a bounty who happens to own a ship, we might be able to take care of our money problems and our transportation problems in one go."
Rachel nods as you go on. "Bounties...any in particular I should look for? Anything I should avoid or watch out for?" she asks.
"Well, if someone breaks down the door and tries to kill you, you know what to avoid next time," replies Carthrat. "Offhand, no, nothing."
"Right.
Be careful, okay? Don't get yourself hurt, Carthrat."
"I ain't the one getting hurt, y'know," replies Carthrat, sauntering off..
Rachel chuckles. "Famous last words," she murmurs to no one in particular...
-----
The arena is busy again today, with another line at the registry office. It's a good ten minutes before you get to the 'bot that handles your request...
"Tell me, beautiful, who do I get to beat on today?" says Carthrat, picking his nails.
"Competitor Carthrat Tanewaki is set to battle in C division. What type of match are you looking for?" the robot asks, going on it's generally preprogrammed path.
"Fights.. with staves," says Carthrat, throwing the robot a curveball. Maybe. "You have staves for general use, right?"
"Staves...please wait," it bleeps, "While I consult the database." Several seconds pass while the robot processes the information. "No match is available today under that condition. Would you like to create said match?"
"Yes," replies Carthrat. "And I'll enter any gunfights you happen to have avaliable."
"The maximum number of fights a C rank competitor can enter in one day is two," the robot notes. "That means one gunfight is available if you create the staves match. Is this acceptable?"
"Sure," replies Carthrat, inwardly thinking LAMENESS!
"There are seven gunfight combats today. Would you like to narrow the field down?"
"Surprise me," replies Carthrat.
"Very well, contestant Carthrat Tanewaki has selected randomly. You will battle The Blaze of Disaster, Hrast of Languborg in a free gun battle, non lethal. Please proceed to the locker room for C class, and you will be informed if you get a opponent for your stave match."
Carthrat walks to the ready room, thinking that someone is a total prick for using such an extravagant name. Honestly..
The C rank locker room is minimally better than the D class one. The lockers are a bit better, there are decent shower facilities and benchs, and so on. Races of all sort loiter around, in clusters and alone, along the sprawlingly large area. There are probably 75-100 souls around, yet there is still space enough for you and a score more.
Carthrat stretches, and wonders if anyone will actually take up the staff offer..
"Will the Blaze of Disaster, Hrast and Carthrat Tanewaki please report to the ready room?" An hour later, you are called into action.
---
Fifteen more minutes later, you have taken the 'Blaze of Disaster' down to his own cataclysm. He didn't even last ten seconds...
"Eaaaaasy money," mumbles Carthrat. With any luck, he'll have enough to start buying weird chemicals and tools to start working with..
As you walk back to the locker room, going down the metallic hallways lit by florecent lights...
"Carthrat? Carthrat Tanewaki?!" a strong, dignified male voice addresses you from behind, and a familiar one. "You're still alive, Rat?"
"Why does everyone think I'm dead?" says Carthrat, aloud, turning to face the voice..
"Because with your crazy ass, you should be meteor dust twenty five times over," Tir of Toran laughs. A tall human with rackish black hair tied into a ponytail and dressed in Earth jeans and a black button shirt, his youthful face is framed in a large grin. "Damn, we all thought you bought it when the apartments went to hell."
"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a legend," replies Carthrat, smirking.
"A legendary bullshitter, sure," he grins that cocky grin of his, hands in his jeans pockets. "Anyway, damn. This calls for a drink, doesn't it?"
"There's nobody I can't cheat. Women, gangsters, Death, it's all the same to me," replies Carthrat, smirking. "You're buying."
"Sure. Money ain't a problem here once you get used to beating down scrubs who think they can fight." Tir falls in stride with you. "Tell me, what exactly was that Tarrasque about?"
"Oh, nothing, I was just apparently the legendary savior of the Tarrasque race," replies Carthrat, idly. "I had more important things to do, like piss off Shizue and try attempted suicide, you know, the usual."
"Carthrat, I think we're going to have an interesting chat over our drinks," he smiles, a hand brushing his unruly hair back a bit. "I'm in the mood for Earth booze. Sound good?"
"Straight vodka for me," chuckles Carthrat. "And what have you been up to? I've been out of the loop ever since I took that job at the software firm.."
Walking out of the arena, he takes his right hand out of his pocket for a moment. He adjuts the BendTitan glove he always wears on that hand before putting it back in his pocket. "Yeah, well...everyone pretty much went off wherever after you folded up. I think most of them took it as a sign that it was time to leave Earth for better horizons. I did, honestly."
"You might be right," replies Carthrat, dryly. "Between that stupid U.S. war, Shizue's aspirations of world domination and whatever, and the company that managed to capture the Tarrasque, not to mention all the weirdos and freaks that hang around, it was much like a powder keg waiting to explode. I figure the nuke'sll start flying within a few years, if the council dosn't take action."
"Yeah...It's been awhile in coming. That Cold War should have done it if outside interference hadn't fucked things all up," he nods as you walk along. "Even now...without a full scale intervention..." he trails off, shrugging. "It tears me up, but what are you going to do?"
"Nothing," replies Carthrat. "Or at least that's what I'd like to say. Truth is, I'm looking for someone. A woman from the planet. See, I owe her, but she's vanished off the planet, and I have to find her.
I might do something, just for her. But Earth.. ever since I got there.. well, I don't have that many fond memories of the place, I'll say that."
"Fuck," he sighs, shuffling along. "If Earth wasn't a meeting ground for every alien, mage, god and interdimensional being, maybe it wouldn't be the clusterfuck it is now," he mutters, kicking the sidewalk for no real reason. "That drink sounds good now."
"I'll say," replies Carthrat.
"Oh yeah, I meant to ask; have you seen Shisoa recently? He should get off the planet, too, but he's a native, he dosn't know much."
"He did, actually. He was on the same transport I was on, he had some credits and wanted to 'see the galaxy' or something. Knowing him..." he trails off, "...well, nevermind. Let's just go get that drink first."
"Oh, lord," mutters Carthrat. "He's gonna seduce every woman from here to Jonkai."
"Heh. Or maybe some girl will finally wise up and castrate him," he laughs. "Well," he stops in front of a small little dive, the neon sign proclaiming it the Roaring Void. "This is it."
"I have my doubts," replies Carthrat, dryly. "He can run pretty fast, y'know," he says as he walks in..
The decor inside is of space and stars, with tiny lights as 'stars' set into the black painted metal walls. A few 'sun' shaped lights are on the ceiling, giving enough light without ruining the dark and shadowy interior. A few people are at the back tables, but the bar is empty save for the barkeep, a human. "This is a human place, purely the best of Earth. You can get Guinness without selling a spacecraft, let alone your virtue."
"What, have prices risen that much?" asks Carthrat, snorting. "The intergalactic community used to think Earth booze was swill, if I remember correctly."
"Well, it's the 'in' thing, and has been for the past few years. Blame rich space barons for jacking up the price." Tir nods at the bartender. "One Guinness tap for me, and straight vodka for the rodent." He sits on one of the black barstools. "Yeah, anyhow, all things mind altering from Earth are on a boom right now. It shouldn't last more than another five years or so, I hope, or I'm going to have start hijacking credit ships."
"Export cigarettes," replies Carthrat.
"I could, if I had the endurance to fuck around with exporting in the first place," he says as the barkeep brings your drinks. Conversation is stopped as he takes a deep draught from his mug of beer. "Aaaah...that's good stuff."
"Yeah, you're not a paperwork sort of guy, are you?" snorts Carthrat. "Next to being a go-pher, exporting is the easiest business for space-scum."
"Mmmmm," he says around another deep gulp of his drink. "Yeah, well, I get by beating up morons who think they can fight," he laughs. With another drink, he polishes off his beer.
"But anyway...Things really fell apart after that Tarrasque incident. Did you manage to catch up to anyone else yet?"
"I didn't realise I was so popular," replies Carthrat. "Well, as far as I can remember, the only person who might fit that classification is that Yakuza guy.. whazizname.. Kirosawa? I dunno. I think I removed his hand, but it's all old news now.
And Shizue, off course. I never did check on her after that shouting match we had.."
"You live dangerously, Tanewaki," he snorts as you mention the Kirosawa incident. I certainly hope you don't go back to Earth for a very long time now," He pauses a few moments, letting you finish.
"Rat, well...I ran into Shizue a few weeks ago out here," he says. "I thought you said she was Earthbound? Did something give?"
"Of course. I dropped a few hints about space travel, along with a few blatant lies. She probably really thinks that N-Space theory is true," snorts Carthrat.
"What, she managed to sleep her way up to a ship?"
"Maybe, but I think those service men called her captain for a reason," he shrugs.
Bringing his cup up to his lips, he notes it is empty. "Damn. Play it again, Sam," he says to the barkeep, getting a refill.
"I didn't talk to her but for a moment, but she said she was doing very well for herself out here now."
Carthrat shrugs. "Good for her. Right now, I'm not really mixed up with her. It's much more entertaining to insult her behind her back than actually *do* something.
Heck, I'm not mixed up with anything out here. That's the great advantage, it's like the internet, if things are pissing you off, you can just.. vanish."
Carthrat chuckles for a moment.
"That said, meeting you here was a bit of a coincidence.
Or was it? Are you, in fact, an assassin? Sent to kill me by some random punk I angered when I disembowled his son?"
Tir nods along with the first part, blinking in surprise at the second.
"Dumbass," he mutters, then laughs. "I know you, Rat. I've seen you fight a time or two. Do you really think I'd do it any other way than a shot out of the blue that you wouldn't even feel?"
"Besides," he says, "It's bad form to kill your friends out here, not to mention really fucking stupid."
"True, that.
It's tempting, though, isn't it? God knows how many enemies I've made. If someone killed me, they'd probably find a truckload of gifts at their door tomorrow.
I'm just so glad they're all on Earth right now."
"Cheers to that," he says, raising his half filled glass to the air. "Say, did you hear about Ri-diana?" Tir's grin slips just a bit. "She got herself into some trouble, the crazy bitch, once that dust settled from the incident."
Carthrat snorts. "I havn't heard anything. As you so eloquently showed me, everyone thinks I'm dead, so nobody seems to be coming after me for any reason.
Do tell."
"She got herself mixed up with some low men. Now, I don't have all the details, but it seems she took a proverbial piss on one of the Yakuza's upper leaders," he says. "The upshot of that is that an assassin paid a visit to her."
Tir finishes off his second glass quickly. "You know Ri-Diana...never leaves home without a bit of protection, right? Whatever her protection was, it caused a respectable boom when she used it.
I can't verify this one hundred percent, but it looks like her and the assassin shuffled off this coil."
Carthrat winces. "Well, I'll drink to her memory, then. One of the only tenants who kept the explosions away from the building."
He sculls another shot..
"Yeah," he says. "She's been the only fatality that I know of. The others managed to survive and get on with life....Oh YEAH!" he suddenly grins, fishing in his jeans pocket. "While on the subject of the past, didn't I owe you a month's rent just before things went south?" he slaps a C card down on the bar and pushes it towards you. "1,000 credits sound good for such a prime apartment?
Consider it my last payment in the memory of your place. It died way too young to a really fucking big load of bullshit. Cheers."
"Hah," replies Carthrat, taking the card. "I appreciate that."
"You look like you could use a favor," he nods. "One more, I think," he says, waving over the barkeep. "I think I'd like to avoid a serous hangover tonight." Getting his third glass of Gunniess, he smiles.
"So...You mentioned some crazy shit. Care to go into it? Tarrasque Savior? Suicide?"
"Not really," replies Carthrat. "I'm trying to forget."
"Heh," he murmurs. "Well, I can understand that," he nods.
"That's a relief," replies Carthrat. "Hmm.. dammit, I need a private ship," he continues. "Beating on punks in the arena is all well and good, but it's not pulling in the sort of money I need.. I've got Rachel looking for bounties, but I'm not sure I want to drag her into all that stuff.."
Tir polishes off his last drink with a gulp as you go on about your money woes.
"Aaaaaa. A ship? Yeah, you'd have to be in A or S rank to pull in the credits for that," he notes. "Anyway, who's Rachel?"
"Fuck, man, A class is what, 2000 a pop or something? It'd take years of fighting to get that sorta cash.
As for Rachel, well, she's a native cleric. Her guardian was whisked off somewhere, and she's coming along with me to find her."
"It's not too hard to have four or five matches in a week, though," he says. "That's 10,000 credits a week, which is fairly fine money," he sighs, leaning his head on his hand. "Her guardian...is she that Diane you mentioned?"
Carthrat eyes Tir. "Do the math, man. That's about two years of being stuck in this dump.
You're right on Diane.. still.
Hey, we could run a scam together. You know I'll win any fight out there; and I know you'll win.. well, most of the time," he says, smirking. "If we keep placing bets on ourselves, we should be able to put together a fair bit in a week or two.
We'd be making money exponentially, which can't be a bad thing."
"In that big a hurry," Tir asks, but he doesn't wait for an answer. "I'm willing to give it a a go..." he murmurs, glancing at his watch. "Ah, damn. I had a match about a half hour ago," he grunts, annoyed.
"Heh. I wonder if anyone took up that fight with staves," says Carthrat. "I mean, nobody uses them out in space.."
"If they did, you'll be paying the piper tomorrow. There's a fine for missing a match, one that you have to pay before you can compete again."
Carthrat shrugs. "I better go back and check, then," he says. "How much?"
"One hundred credits. It's not terrible, but it's a pain in the ass." he shrugs.
"Eww," replies Carthrat. "Figures. Well, come'on, let's go."
He starts walking towards the arena checkin..
Tir follows along, after laying a C card down on the bar.
---
*Beep* "Contestant Carthrat Tanewaki did indeed miss his match. Contestant Virendi Alstair was awarded a victory credit. Contestant Carthrat Tanewaki was assessed a C 100 fine for failing to appear," the checkin robot announces when you inquire about your match.
"Heck, I could so rap that," says Carthrat. "Contestant Carthrat Tanewaki.. bleh."
He tosses out a C-card of his own..
"Thank you for paying your fine. Contestant Carthrat Tanewaki is now cleared to compete again." the roboto confirms.
Carthrat walks out. "I need.. let's see.
Tir, I'm staying in room #23221. The sleazy area, you can't miss it. Come see me tomorrow morning, dude, and we'll talk some more."
"Sure, man. Oh...11 sound good?" he asks, glancing at a metallic wristwatch.
"Yeah," replies Carthrat. "Catchya."
---
As you arrive back at the room, you find Rachel still hacking away at your laptop. She doesn't even notice you coming in, absorbed in her work.
Carthrat goes into the bathroom, grabs a glass of water, and dumps it over his (her) head.
Thus changed, Carthrat is now ready to face the world oh so pretty.
Carthrat-chan rummages around in her cloak for slightly smaller clothing. "Dammit, I keep forgetting I'm like half a foot shorter like this," she mutters. "Oh, yeah, any luck with those bounties?"
No response. Whatever Rachel is doing, it has her attention wholeheartily.
Carthrat taps Rachel on the shoulder.
"GAH!" she jumps at least three feet straight up, her alarmed cry loud enough to wake the comabound. Turning around frantically, she eases a bit when she sees you. "Oh, CARTHRAT. You startled me."
"And here I was thinking you were dead," replies Carthrat. "Honestly, even I don't get that far in the zone."
Glancing back to the computer screen, she sighs. A large 'Game Over' image is plastered on the laptop. "Darn," she sighs. "I rather got caught up in this game, and I guess I lost track of everything around me."
"I see you're having fun," says Carthrat, dryly. "I didn't think I had games on that thing, anyway."
"I downloa....wait." she blinks, suddenly inspecting your face and chest. She reaches a finger out and pokes your ample chest. "Um..."
"Never mind that," replies Carthrat. "More importantly, did you find any bounties?"
Rachel pokes your chest again, observing the bouncy action. "Um...yeah I did," she says absently. "If you have something you want to tell me, Carthrat..."
Carthrat eyes Rachel. "Didn't I tell you back on Earth? When we first met? Heck, I change into a girl when cold water is applied, and back into a guy when hot water is applied.
It's all the rave, it's like the most common 'curse' on Earth these days."
"Oh...that's right...It's just odd seeing it in person with someone you know," she blushes.
"Right. And please don't *jab-my-chest*," continues Carthrat, irritated.
"Um, sure," she blushes deeper. "It's just so...well endowed..." she stammers. "For someone who is normally a man..."
Carthrat eyes Rachel. "I expect that from guys, not you," she replies.
Rachel blushes even deeper, her face a study in scarlet. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she blurts out. "It's just...strange. Really strange. I just need a bit to get adjusted."
"What? After being shot at, almost killed by laser guns, driven around downtown Tokyo by someone who may or may not be from an action movie, flow into space, being able to cast honest-to-god magic, currently living in a Plutonian casino, and you can't get used to my devilishly beautiful body? In either gender?"
Carthrat tsks. "Dear me, and I thought we had you adjusted already."
She tries to reply, but her response is cut off by laughter overcoming her.
"Oh, Carthrat. It is rather funny, isn't it? A mere sexchange throws me off more than space travel...." she giggles.
"Well, moving on. It's quite useful, in it's way.
But what have you got for me?"
"Well, from what I read, the buzz is that the casino does a reasonably good job at keeping things under control here. Therefore, bounties are small, generally. I'll show you the best ones," she says, pulling up a saved document.
Aya of the Tenth Planet - C 3,500
Wanted for - Grand Larceny
Height 5'7
Weight 120
Race Human
Hair - Purple
Eyes - Blue
Capacities - Is armed with an energy weapon, has wounded several guards and police officers.
A small time thief that has been trying her hand at bigger things. She knocked over a few merchant ships. The Merchant's Guild in the area has put up this bounty, inquireis should go to them.
She owns her own ship, so having transportation is advised. She was last seen around Earth. Current whereabouts unknown.
Carthrat looks to pull up data on her ship. "This could be good, if she's here," she says..
Warning - This data is not verified.
Ship - The Starscreamer
Data Class B small capacity ship, has no crew requirements. It has a small subether drive, along with basic lasers and missile weaponry.
"Ok. Now watch the magic fingers," says Carthrat, pulling up a few windows based on the casino hangar and looking up the 'Starscreamer'..
No registry under the name of Starscreamer was found.
Carthrat shrugs. "Oh well. Next!"
Miggy Uyyla C 250
Wanted for - Unpaid fines
Height 4'8
Weight 90 pounds
Race Robotic
Hair n/a
Eyes n/a
Capacites - Robotic strength and normal capacities.
Is wanted for several trading violations. Is not dangerous, but has refused to pay his fines.
"Skip through anything lower than 3000 credits, unless they have a starship," orders Carthrat. "Stuff lower than that isn't worth my time."
"That was about it for local bounties with a ship," she tells you. "As I said, the casino keeps things surprisingly orderly. Earth has many more bounties, but..." she spreads her hands.
"Yeah, and I'm one of them," chimes in Carthrat, running a search on his own name.
Carthrat Tanewaki has expired bounties on him. They have been purged from the system.
"I *was* one of them," corrects Carthrat. "Hum.. well, I'm too lazy to do anything but.. this."
She sets up an alarm bell that'll go off if the 'Starscreamer' comes into port..
"Right now, I'm out to make more cash."
"Okay, good luck," she nods, going back to the laptop.
Carthrat-chan sets out to the arena again, signing in her name as... one Kiriko Yumi.
There are the requisite four matches in D class available today, you note.
'Kiriko' signs up for all of them..
"Thank you," the robot beeps. "Good luck, Contestant Kiriko Yumi."
'Kiriko' heads into the ready room, already bored.
She makes a note to be slightly more 'graceful' in these fights; after all, there's probably someone out there who knows about these curse things..
Quiet apart from that, she makes sure she's wearing lots of red, instead of black.
A few hours later, Carthrat is C 200 richer. All four fights were nothing but scrubs, easy to dispose of.
Walking out from the payment area, Carthrat is hungry again.
Carthrat heads back to her apartment, for a change of clothes and a change of gender. "Oi, Rachel! You hungry?"
"Sure," she calls. "Oh, you're a guy again," she notes.
"Was it the lack of chest or the extra height that told you that?" asks Carthrat, dryly.
"The five o clock shadow," she says. "You need to shave."
"I do? Well, that can wait," replies Carthrat. "Come'on, let's get some food and then go to bed."
"Right," she gets up, ready to go...
----
The next day dawns, another in this bleak outpost of money and gambling.
Carthrat yawns, and turns over in bed, getting some more sleep before Tir shows up..
Zzzz...
The sound of someone banging on the door wakes Carthrat from his slumber. "Hey, 'Rat! You in there?" Tir calls out. "Rat...RAT!"
Carthrat yawns. "I'm awake, I'm awake!" he says, pulling open the door..
Tir is there, his hair untied today. It spills down to his upper back like a wave of black oil, smooth and shimmery. He wears Earth clothes again, today black slacks and a loose white dress shirt. He looks rumpled but stylish, the effect of such an outfit.
"Just get up, bed head?" he teases, smiling.
"I got up at 8," replies Carthrat, yawning. "Oversleeping is fun, mind.. hey, Rachel!" he says, glancing back into the room.
Rachel is not to be seen, but the laptop computer is out. A message is typed on the screen: "Out for breakfast, be back in a half hour."
"Oh, right," mutters Carthrat. "Ready to make some money, Tir?"
"I hope you are," he grins. "You don't look so hot, though," he comments as he steps inside and sits down on the couch. "Bad night?"
Carthrat levels a flat look at Tir. "And just how good do you look when you get out of bed?"
"Dapper, suave and ready to sweep a lady off her feet," he jousts back. "It isn't fair to compare you to me, though."
"Yeah, harsh reality imposed on fantasy isn't fair at all," shoots back Carthrat, producing a comb and running it through his hair.
"Such words," he laughs. "I'd think you were a grouch in the morning. Imagine that."
Carthrat chucks a pillow at Tir. "And it looks like someone is a prick. All the time."
Tir laughs, unable to avoid the pillow in his humor. "Damn, man. Touc-HY."
"Don't remind me," groans Carthrat, thinking back to Rachel last night.
Typing out a quick note on the computer (Out to work. Found a partner. Be back later), he manges to clean up his entire demenaour and posture in a few seconds.
"Lets'a go!"
"Leaving a note for your girlfriend," he asks as you close the door behind you. "Don't let me interfere with your groove. I can wait a few hours." Tir chuckles.
Carthrat chucks Tir a look. "Moving right on.. how much money do you have?"
"On me? C 5,000, not counting lunch and pocket money. Maybe C 5300 with it." Tir takes out his gloved hand and rubs it for a moment before putting it back in his pocket. "Yeah, about that much."
"Roighto. I've got C 1380.. I'll bet 1300 on you. If I get decent odds, I should be making a fair bit.. and, naturally, I'll be fighting myself.. yeah, this should all work out."
Carthrat nods, and heads to the arena to check out the avaliable matchups..
"Let me go first, then," he says. "I'd rather do my thing first."
"Oh, sure, whatever," replies Carthrat. "You better not lose me my money."[/quote]
"Like I'll lose here," he chortles. Going through the motions with the robot, Tir gets a match in a half hour, a non lethal barehanded brawl.
"Well, I'm off to kick ass. Have yourself some snack food and sit back while I bring on the whippings'."
"'Barehanded' my ass," mutters Carthrat, placing a C1000 bet on Tir...
Fortune is with you, as you get a decent seat and your bet is taken quickly.
The betting robot that does the rounds for this section gives you your transaction slip with a beep. "Good luck, sir."
Carthrat leans back for the fight..
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Today's early matchup features a rising star of B rank versus an old veteran! Let me first introduce Tir McDohl, undefeated here in the arena!"
Tir walks out into the pit, waving to the crowd with his free hand.
"And his opponent is one that has claimed more than his share of victories! Iga the Cyclone has won 94 matches and lost only 5, a true bastion of power!"
A muscle bound, shirtless man strides out, intent on Tir.
"Who will win today and bring home glory?"
Tir drops into a casual fighting stance, only his ungloved hand out.
"Who will conquer?"
Iga smiles, flexing and going into his own stance?
"Who will WIN?...FIGHT!"
"Come on, McDohl!" bawls Carthrat above the crowd. "MCDOHL! MCDOHL!"
The two rush towards each other, meeting in the center of the ring. Iga lets loose a flurry of punches and kicks...and Tir evades them all, throwing an occasional blow with his free hand. This goes on for perhaps a minute, until a shot of Tir's sends Iga to the ground.
Grunting, the musclebound warrior leaps up and back, furious. He comes at Tir again...and falls in a heap as he passes Tir by. The smaller man puts both his hands in his pocket and walks away.
"Tir continues his unbeaten streak, turning Iga the Cyclone into a mere breeze!"
Having watched him, you can tell his style is based around speed and evasion. If he didn't punch at all, it could be a purely defensive type of martial art.
Carthrat goes to cash in his slip..
"Congratulations, sir! The odds on Tir of Toran were 1.8, so you have won...C 1800. Thank you and play again." The line to the payout cashier is surprisingly short. Although, perhaps that isn't so surprising...
Carthrat then goes to check out whatever gunfights are avaliable for him to take up..
"Welcome, Competitor Carthrat Tanewaki. There are two gunbattles available in C rank at the current time. One is open, energy weapons to knockout. Would you be interested in this match?"
"Yeah," replies Carthrat. Once again; eaaaaasy money.
Having registered, you run into Tir on the way to the C rank locker room. His grin is in place, and he's rather cocky.
"How much did you win off me," he asks in way of greeting.
"Profit of 800," replies Carthrat, tossing Tir a C-Card. "Here. Bet 2000 on me when I come up," he says.
"Sure, just don't choke..heh," he catches the C card. "Good luck."
"Yar," replies Carthrat, heading to the ready room..
45 minutes later...
"Once again, Carthrat Tanewaki has defeated his foe in a blistering fast draw gun battle!"
Your opponent this time was laughably easy. The alien moron tried to overwhelm you with a mere standard, low end power blaster.
Sucks for him that you had him outgunned several times over.
Whistling a jaunty tune, Carthrat walks out to look for Tir..
You find Tir waiting for you just outside the C rank locker room, whistling. "Not bad," he comments. "Not a bad way to squash someone with a pea shooter."
"I was sorely tempted to throw some stones at him," replies Carthrat. "I mean, did you see his draw? The poor bastard was using his shoulder. Who the hell uses their shoulder? These people have no appreciation for the subtle finesse of gunplay.."
"Most of the people here are just goons looking for a buck until you get to A rank," Tir notes. "A rank has some respectable fighters milking the system for cash."
"Yeah, yeah. How many of *them* can take on a Class-B Battlemonger with only a knife?" replies Carthrat, snorting. "Pay up, you. What were the odds on me?"
"The champion of the division probably could," he notes, stretching out his arms behind and above him. "He's some lighting mage or chi warrior or something. Really nasty customer...and you had 1.7 odds," he says, tossing you a C card when his hands come down. "That's C 3,400."
"I saw him," replies Carthrat. "Apparently he's got a few tricks up his sleeve.
Curses. I hate fair fights, y'know? Otherwise he'd be a piece of cake, too."
"Poor devil," Tir says, with only a minimal amount of mocking in his voice. "So, now what?"
"Well, C-class, two fights a day," replies Carthrat. "I fight again, win again, make more money, y'know, it's not like I'm doing anything else important."
"Right," he says. "How much do you want to bet on your scranwy ass this time?"
"Three thousand," replies Carthrat. "And I'm buffer than you."
He nods, trying not to crack up. "Riiiiiight. If you say so, 'Rat," he chuckles.
"Yeah, I do, bitch," replies Carthrat, striding off to the arena, intent on setting up a hand-to-hand brawl..
Talking with the checkin robot, you are able to set up a hand to hand, non lethal match with minimal effort.
---
"Will contestants Carthrat Tanewaki and Guinock Aimes please report to the ready room," comes from the retrevial bot perhaps an hour later. Your opponent rises, a musclar, blonde man in white, baggy pants. You are escorted out into the ready room and to the arena...
"Ladies and Gentlemen! In his second bout of the day, Carthrat Tanewaki has put down his golden gun to get into a vicious melee with none other than Guinock!"
This echos out as you two take your positions, ready to fight. Guinock's face is calm and focused, betraying no emotion.
"And...Go!"
Guinock immediately springs into action, leaping high and diving at you with a pointed kick.
Carthrat ducks and raises his arm in a cross-block, aiming to trap the mans foot, promptly end his flight, and cause him to drop unceremoniously to the ground.
As he gets close, his leg glows white with chi energy, slamming right into you and blowing past your guard. The hit, while somewhat parried by your attempted block/counter, still got through to leave a bruise on your chest and send you backwards.
Leaping forward, he comes at you with a 1-2 punch combonation, trying to press his advantage.
Carthrat lets the first punch through and tries to simply catch the other offending hand in his own, using his other hand to slug the guys face.
As his fist comes in, it starts shining with the same white chi as before. The blow hits you in the chest, sending a web of pain through you. Despite that, you manage to catch his second attack, the chi painfully hot as you land your shot on his face. A cut is opened on his cheek, a small blood dribbler.
From this, the force of both blows and his subsequent push off gets a bit of distance betwen you and him. Your chest is hurting, you'd probably have a painful injury for the next few days if it wasn't for your regeneration ring.
Carthrat cracks his knuckles, dearly wishing he could get that fire thing working right with his bare hands..
Being defensive wouldn't work, so Carthrat goes for the offence, complete with several cloak flourishes and a fist to the stomach.
You two dance, him throwing a few missed punches while you look for your opening to the gut.
Oh, look. He overextended ever so slightly on a missed shot. Your fist slams into his abdoment, scoring a flare of pain in his eyes. He jumps back, flowing with the force of the attack. This puts him about ten feet away from you, which is when he punches the floor straight down, causing a wave of red sand to come right at Carthrat!
Carthrat twirls his cloak and flings it off, scooting around the sand and hopefully in a position to grab the guy and smack him *down*.
As you get out of the way of the sand and parry it, you can see that Guinock is already moving again, coming at you from the side you dodged on. He is surprised by this action and cannot change his course, running straight into you!
The collision sends stars of light over your field of vision as you stagger up. Guinock is in the same position, and it looks like he picked up a nasty forehead cut in the hit. It bleeds freely, sending rivulets of blood over his eyes and down his face. It's a nasty injury, far worse than the jarring bruises you got from your end of it. You can tell he's disoriented from it as he tries to wipe the blood from his eyes.[/code]
Carthrat rushes Guinock, aiming to plant a final flaming punch in his face.
Well, maybe not the flaming bit.
He raises his arms in a guard, not really ready for your rush. Bits of red chi form around your fist as it slams home. The crunch of his nose and forearms breaking is heard in your shot, and he flies back a few feet and does not rise.
"After a vicious, beautiful match, Carthrat Tanewaki has emerged the victor!"
As those words echo in your ears, your body registers several complains. Ouch.
"Beautiful?" mutters Carthrat, walking back out the arena and letting the Ring do its work..
Back in the ready room...
"Does contestant Carthrat Tanewaki require medical treatment?" This is the question asked by the robot there.
"No," replies Carthrat, beginning to feel hungry.
"Very well. Congratulations, and your prize may be collected from the cashier's office," it says, dismissing you.
Carthrat goes to collect his prize, then goes Tir-hunting..
After getting your money, finding Tir isn't too hard. He waves as you walk down the exit hallway. "Man, you drew a ki user," he asks. "Tough break."
"Yeah," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "He wasn't so tough."
"His fist says otherwise," he chuckles. "Anyway, you okay? A couple of those shots looked like they hurt."
"You're telling this to a guy who got hit by a speeding bus, man," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I tell ya, it was nothing."
"Now what," Tir asks as you walk. "We made a decent heap of credits today, at least."
"Yeah, hand them over," replies Carthrat. "We are going to find a way to make more money."
Tir shrugs, handing over a C card.
Carthrat checks the cash on the C-Card.
"Remember how much I was making selling those explosive bullets back in '99?"
"Nope," he says. "That was the year I was away for a few months, wasn't it?" he replies. "Same idea?"
"No. Better," replies Carthrat. "Liquid Nitrogen suffused with Mercury. The results tend to be rather interesting when they impact on flesh."
The C-card has 3000 credits on it. "That's the profits," he says. "Minus a bit." Handing over another C card, "This is the base money you bet."
"Anyway, going to go into weapon sales again?"
Carthrat nods, pocketing the cards. "Yeah, weapons sales.
Wanna be my agent? You've been here longer than me, after all. I'll give you a 15% cut."
Tir digs his hand deeper into his pockets. "Maybe, let me think about it. Are you planning on sticking around long?"
"Not sure," replies Carthrat. "If I go into this business, perhaps some time. I have to teach Rachel a fair bit, anyway.
However, if I see an opportunity, I might hitch a ride on a transport to Alpha Centauri."
'Myself, I'm in no hurry, so as long as you're around I should be," he notes. "Can't say I have a long term goal right now, unlike you."
"Set up a retirement plan," replies Carthrat. "Invest in cigarettes."
"Heh, retirement isn't an issue. I'm not middle aged and ready to sit listening to a radio all day, am I?" he laughs. "Not even close."
"I'm younger than you and I'm thinking of mine," replies Carthrat, rolling his eyes. "This career takes a great deal of dedication and I've yet to see any results."
"That's because you suck," Tir replies, a fountain of wisdom coming forth. "I, on the other hand, am a grand master of life. Therefore, I can put it off and deal with it when I want to." The black haired man laughs, enjoying the verbal sparring.
"You sound like a yuppie abusing his credit cards," replies Carthrat. "You're gonna get laden with debt over the years, whereas I try to pay mine off as soon as I get them."
"Yeah, right," he says, shaking his head. "Hungry? I'm getting there."
"Why the heck should I eat with you when I can eat with a girl?" snorts Carthrat.
"Hell, I can't argue with that," he says, as you exit out of the arena area. "I'll catch you later," he says, walking away and waving.
"Seeya," replies Carthrat, heading back to his apartment and taking note of expensive restraunts along the way.
"Carthrat!" Rachel greets you as you come in. "We just got a lucky break." She has the bounty page pulled up again, as well as the docking reports for the casino.
"We did? Do tell," replies Carthrat, eagerly.
"I went back to check the docking reports again and the Starscreamer came in today," she says.
"Great," replies Carthrat. "Could you trace her to find out where if she's staying in a motel?"
"That's a bit out of my range, I'm afraid," she admits. Sitting up, she smooths out her gray T-shirt. "It means she's around, though."
"Not mine, though," replies Carthrat, pulling up various screens on the computer and hacking into the casino security network..
"I'm hacking into the casino security network," states Carthrat. "I'm gonna trace her movements via the videos they've saved.
I'm not directly acessing the cameras themselves; that's stupid, I'd almost certainly get caught; I'm accessing the underguarded databases. I can track her movements from.. oh, a hour ago or so and back?"
Much like the casino sercurity, the computer security here is good. In fact, it looks like a fair deal of credits were invested in it, making it more troublesome than you were hoping to crack.
But not impossible.
As you run through the data you collect, you find she registered a half hour ago at this very hotel area, albiet on a fairly decent block. It's a sight better than yours.
The cameras show her going into the room and she hasn't come out yet. If you read things right...she's within a ten minute walk...
Carthrat nods. "Claiming her bounty shouldn't be so hard. I'm entitled to take her ship as a result.. good, good.
The trick is the actual capture, of course. In this sort of place, it's wise to make sure it stays secret. The hard part is incapacitating her, people like their bounties alive.."
He glances at Rachel. "You wouldn't have an spells that could help with that, eh?"
"I think I have one that could," she nods. "Hold Person."
"Good, very good," replies Carthrat, nodding. "How silently can you cast it?"
"Some chanting is involved, but it's not that loud," she shrugs.
"That's good," replies Carthrat, taking a look at the area just outside his targets room.
Watching the camera, you see no one coming to or from the room at this time.
It's a corner room, stuck at a turn. The area around it is non descript and rather dull, normal for here.
"Ok," says Carthrat. "Here's how we do it.
I knock on her door, see? And you hide around the corner. I'll play a continuous run of absolutely nothing happening over the security camera, so nobody at the security desk will see it coming. At least, that's the idea.
Anyway, she'll come out, and you start casting the spell, quietly. I hope you can direct it so it dosn't effect me..
And she'll either hear you, and go for you, allowing me to smack her on the head, or she won't hear you, and I'll yak into her face until your spell hits, and then cart her outta there."
"Mmm," she nods. "What if she just says enter or doesn't answer altogether?" Rachel asks, poking at your idea.
"If she just tells us to come in, you move closer," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "She won't see you behind me.
Besides, I could just drop a flashbang and take her.
If she dosn't answer, I make sure she's in the room, then pick the lock on the door and let you do your thing," he finishes.
Rachel nods along. "I guess so. I'll need to be able to see her when I finish the magic. Otherwise, it will fizzle more likely than not."
Carthrat nods. "I'll see you do," he replies. "Come'on, let's go. A ship and money are waiting.
No op is ever perfect, so remember to adapt if something unexpected happens."
"Yeah. If things always went to plan," she muses, looking inward, "I'd still be on Earth and you'd be running that apartment tower in Tokyo." She smiles a tiny bit. "I cannot complain about boredom, Carthrat.
Even if I do worry about the price that comes with this."
Carthrat chuckles. "It can't happen. Every fortune is somebody elses misfortune, as bounty hunting shows," he replies.
Rachel shrugs, letting the matter drop. "Did you want to go now?"
"Yeah, lets," replies Carthrat, establishing a link between his computer and his scanner.
The link is routine and easy, taking no more than a few moments.
---
Walking down, you notice Rachel is a bit nervous - glancing around, playing with her skirt nervous. A bit of the butterflies as you walk to the target?
Carthrat prods Rachel's back.
"Huh," she says, turning. "What is it?"
"You're all edgy," notes Carthrat. "That's good, but to a point. Try not to fidget too much."
"Yeah...I guess so," she agrees. "Say," she asks, changing the subject, "who do you turn the bounty over to when you capture her? What happens to her then?"
"The person who placed the bounty on her," replies Carthrat. "It could be anyone from a politician to a farmer, but as long as they have the money, and she's already a wanted suspect.."
Rachel tosses that around mentally for a shake, pondering. "So, if I had the money, I could put a contract out on you, for example?"
"Yes, but you wouldn't want to," replies Carthrat.
"Of course not," she smiles a touch, amused at a thought, "but I could. So this let's pretty much anyone put a bounty up for any reason?"
"No," replies Carthrat. "Not legally. You have to be criminalized for some reason.
See, the galaxy is big, and the law enforcement agencies don't have time to track down every criminal. Bounty hunters do half the job by tracking down bounties placed on criminals.
Thing is, the police don't put the bounties on criminals. The victims do."
"Ah," she nods.
Carthrat shrugs. "Though what constitutes a criminal can be varied. You think reading through the American constitution is tough? They have supercomputers filled with all the space-laws nobody knows," he says. "Heck, I think if you interpret it a certain way, you can get arrested for breathing."
"Ew," she mutters, a splatter of eloquence. "What laws are practially enforced, though?"
"The Laws of Common Sense," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Don't steal. Don't murder. Don't break things you can't pay for.
There are so many incidents the police can't take them all, but the ones they do take.. well, unless you're as good as me, you're probably stuffed."
"Are the general police really that good," Rachel asks of you. "Just undermanned?"
"Oh, yes," replies Carthrat. "It dosn't pay to piss off the police. I mean, that's why half the people on Earth are on Earth."
"Why is that," she asks, biting into that line. You're getting close to her room, though.
"'cos Earth is declared Untouchable," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "You need special permits and stuff to get there, and the police generally don't qualify. Weird, innit?"
Rachel thinks that over a minute before replying, cocking her head a bit to the left. "It sounds strange. Does someone have an interest in Earth being off limits to the police?"
"It could be that moron, Oblorka- wait, no, he's dead."
Carthrat shrugs.
"Could be. Don't know. Rumor has it something is going to happen on Earth, apprently, though I think that's mostly because everyone thought I was dead."
As you speak, you turn the corner to the hotel room in question. It's go time.
"Let's go," whispers Carthrat, moving to the door..
She nods quietly, falling in behind you.
Once Rachel is in position, Carthrat knocks on the door.
"Yes," a voice calls out in response, "who is it?" The voice is female.
"I'm from the dockyard," replies Carthrat. "Our standard procedure consists of a perliminary scan of the ship specifications for safety purposes, as you know. We've discovered a potential flaw in your engines; I'm here to inform you both of that flaw and our engineering services."
"Come," she calls.
Carthrat blinks, then signals Rachel to move over a bit to get a better position.
Producing a clipboard and some officious-looking documents, he opens the door and strides inside..
OOC: OMGLOLPOSTROXORSHAHAHA
Like, apocalypse, dude!
Inside is a fairly plain hotel room, if somewhat nicer than yours. A couch, table and chairs take up this room. The target is sitting on the couch, wearing pants and a shirt. Her description matches her profile, and you do not see any weapons visible.
"Yes," she asks, motioning for you to get on with it.
"It's a fairly simple procedure," says Carthrat, shrugging. "If you'll just give me the name and details of your insurance provider, and sign this document, we'll take care of the rest."
"I don think that's nessesary, I can do tha myself," she says, shaking her head.
As she speaks, you hear Rachel begin to chant.
"Excuse me?" the woman asks, "Did you say something?"
"Extrulos veigh! Let the golden chains of light bind those with wicked hearts! Hold Person!"
Four shining chains snake out from Rachel and around you, soaring towards the criminal. "Gah!" she manages as the chains touch her and vanish. She falls to her kneels, completely immobile and stunned.
"Geezus, Rachel, by some definitions, *I* have a wicked heart," notes Carthrat, putting away his clipboard and patting the woman down.
"It's just the spell incantation. It's just words in this case, the spell works on anyone." Rachel notes this as she glances around the room.
Carthrat shrugs. "Odd, that," he notes, searching the room. "Keep an eye on her. How long does the spell last?"
"Ten minutes, give or take a minute," she notes. "It's not a very powerful magic."
Nothing of interest is in the room beyond the complimentary soap.
Carthrat nabs the womans wallet and spaceship keys. "Figures," he says, searching the wallet.
The wallet has a single C card and not much else of note. She traveled light, it looks like. The spacekey is found as well, and it looks legitimate.
Carthrat gives her a once-over for any firearms, then knocks her out with a well-placed punch.
Her expression is one of terror and anger as you send her to oblivion with a well placed blow. She falls flat, still bound by Rachel's spell.
She has a small energy weapon on her, real low class. Not very powerful, you'd estimate, unless it's modified.
"Geez. I feel sorry for her," says Carthrat. "She musn'tve been doing this very long."
Shrugging, he sticks his cloaking device on her, then activates it, before hefting her over his shoulder and walking back to his room.
Rachel follows, and asks you something halfway back. "What will likely happen to her when she's turned in?"
"Depends on her crime," replies Carthrat, shrugging.
"Oh...she doesn't really look that bad," Rachel says. "She isn't some murderer."
"She's probably a small-time thief or something," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Maybe a smuggler."
Rachel nods, letting things drop back to quiet.
Back in your room, the captured woman is still unconcious.
Carthrat snatches back his cloaking device, and pulls up the bounty information again.. "Really, I could let her go and just take her ship," says Carthrat. "I hardly need the money."
"Would you, though," Rachel asks, getting to the point.
"If I'm in a suitably relaxed mood," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Either way, let's find out her crime, and what she'll get for it."
"Yeah," Rachel says, sitting down on the bed. "Are you going to ask her directly?" she asks, but bites her tongue a moment later when she sees you working on the computer.
Her profile is pulled back up without a problem.
Aya of the Tenth Planet - C 3,500
Wanted for - Grand Larceny
Height 5'7
Weight 120
Race Human
Hair - Purple
Eyes - Blue
Capacities - Is armed with an energy weapon, has wounded several guards and police officers.
A small time thief that has been trying her hand at bigger things. She knocked over a few merchant ships. The Merchant's Guild in the area has put up this bounty, inquireis should go to them.
She owns her own ship, so having transportation is advised. She was last seen around Earth. Current whereabouts unknown.
"Not just normal Larceny. Grand Larceny," says Carthrat. "You don't generally do that sort of thing by accident.
Aww, heck. I'm generous. We may as well ask her what she did. Either she's extremely unprofessional, or she's had some very bad luck.
Either way, free ship for me!"
Rachel nods, smiling slightly and showing approval. "Going to wake her, then?" she asks.
"No, I'll let her sleep it off. It's better for her," replies Carthrat. "Meanwhile, I think I'll cook up some food. Do you want spaghetti, noodles, or ramen?"
"Noodles," she sighs. "I'd kill for a good stew or salad about now," she notes, complaining a bit. "I feel like a college studen on this diet."
"Everything else is expensive," notes Carthrat, starting to work his magic fingers on the kitchen. "Besides, I'm a lousy cook."
"Amen," she agrees, althought it is said with a smile. Glancing back over at the prone woman, Rachel goes on. "I could cast a simple healing spell on her if that will speed affairs up."
"Knock yourself out," replies Carthrat. "There's no rush, really."
"I'll wait until after we eat," she decides. "If we do get this ship, where do we go from here?" Rachel asks, curious. "It gives us mobility, but what do we do with it?"
"Away from here," notes Carthrat. "I've a number of options, however.
I could go back to my old university. Being recieved with a friendly face is another matter.
Or I could sell myself to some kind of industry, then get them to build what I need from within. Even out here, people with my kind of skills are in demand.
Or I could blow enough shit up to earn enough money to outright buy what I want. There's no problem money can't solve."
Latching onto the first comment, Rachel responds. "Things went sour at your old university?" she inquires as you prepare the meal.
"A combination of jealousy and bad luck," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I was, of course, the most brilliant student they had, so of course, when one of my experiments went *slightly* wrong, they decided to advise me to take a 'long journey'.
I wonder if, oh, 9 years was enough?"
"Of course," she replies dryly before going on to the meat of it. "How much is slightly wrong, Carthrat?"
"I swear, this one *was* only slightly wrong. I made a mistake and managed to produce some smoke," replies Carthrat. "Nothing life-threatning.
Except, of course, for the deans favourite rabbit.
He valued his *pet* over *me*, the most brilliant and probably the only willing student the university ever had."
"Heh," she says. "So you got the boot for just that?"
"Essentially. There was a whole lot of bullshit, too. All sorts of 'Potentially Dangerous Experiments- well, what the fuck do you expect when I'm working for a military firm?"
Carthrat rolls his eyes. "These people have -no- appreciation."
Rachel giggles, amused at how you've worked yourself up. "Anyway, is dinner done yet?"
"Oh, yeah, have some," replies Carthrat, producing a bowl of noodles. "Dammit. It's just not fair. It *never* works out for me, I swear."
She takes the bowl, digging into the noodles. "What doesn't?" she inquires neutrally, waiting for Carthrat to show his hand more.
"Everything," grumbles Carthrat. "A life of crime, my girlfriend, a mercenary service, my education.."
He kicks the wall (leaving a sizable dent). "Bah. I'm just bitching about stuff that can't be changed."
She blinks. "Don't you mean your wife," replying a bit off guard by that.
"Oh. Her too," says Carthrat, blushing. "I'm talking about when I was younger."
She lets out a breath, then goes on. "Ah, I see. I thought you meant someone else."
"I do," replies Carthrat, blinking. "Before Yuki, there was Sarah."
Carthrat shudders. "That was a messy breakup which I may relate to you when you're older."
"I not that young, Carthrat," Rachel comments. "My ears won't burn off."
"Your age isn't the issue here," notes Carthrat. "It's how long you've known me for."
"Huh," she says, frowning a bit. "If you say so," she shrugs, letting the matter rest. Taking another bite from her meal, she glances back over at the captive...
"Oh, I do," replies Carthrat, waiting for the woman to wake up..
The both of you wolf down the rest of the noodles. While you do so, the captive stirs and finally rises. "Ugh....oh...." she murmurs, disoreinted.
"You talk to her, Rachel," quoth Carthrat. "You're better at talking than me."
Rachel blinks a moment, mentally prepared to take a more passive role in this. "Sure, if you want," she replies after a moment.
"Hi there," she says as the captive woman moans. "Can you talk yet?"
The woman continues to groan, still barely concious. "Where...who...ugh..." she mutters, slowly raising her head as best she can to look around.
"You're in our room," Rachel says, answering the question. "Did you know you have a bounty on your person?"
Carthrat sips some coffee, interested to see how Rachel handles this.
"Bounty," Aya murmurs, still trying to get her wits about her. Taking another quick glance at both Rachel and Carthrat, her eyes widen. "Bounty hunters," she hisses.
"That's right," Rachel nods. "You're worth a few thousand credits, if memory serves. That's not counting your ship, which Car...my friend here," she stops herself, using a term besides your name, "has his eyes on."
Carthrat rolls his eyes, but lets Rachel keep talking.
"Fuck you," she snaps, quite irate at the news about her ship, not to mention that she's about to be traded for credits. "Fucking police shit dogs," she accuses.
Rachel sends you a quick glance, mouthing 'should I press harder or just let her sit?' or thatabouts.
Carthrat yawns, drinking a little more of that coffee.
Rachel represses a sigh, turning her attention over to the woman.
"Now, Aya," she starts. "When we get down to it, we are interested mainly in your ship. Your bounty is small change to us; the ship is the prize."
Aya looks at Rachel with undisguised hatred, throughly angry. "If you're coopertive with us on this, perhaps my friend can be persuaded," Rachel motions to Carthrat with a hand, "to be more leinent with your deposition?"
Rachel pauses, for Aya to respond and for Carthrat as well.
"Actually, I'm more interested in how someone clever enough to pull off Grand Larceny is stupid enough to fall for my idiotic trick," replies Carthrat, curiously. "I mean, in all honesty, I expected to have to beat you around a bit, but, like, *man*, you sucked!"
In a voice that almost freezes the air due to being so icy, "You got...lucky," she growls. "Nothing but a pair of lucky shitheap bounty hunters. And you're crazy if you think I'm going to help you with my ship."
"Geez, someones friendly," replies Carthrat. "I might just shoot you. I certainly don't need the money, and it wouldn't be worth my time for you to get out of prison and have you come after me."
She just stares at you coldly, anger raging beneath her frozen exterior. "Fuck. You.
Do it, then. You're nothing but a bunch of thieves working in the loopholes of the law, anyway. Make it kidnapping and theft with a side of cold blooded murder."
"My, my. Taking the moral high ground, eh?" replies Carthrat, curiously.
"Said the criminal," she mocks. Her anger is rising, and her forced coldness is giving way to real emotion. "Go ahead, use your force to make right and ruin my life."
"So what *was* your Grand Larceny, anyway?" replies Carthrat. "And, like, yeah. You could beat me. Any day of the week. I just got LUCKY. Yeah, that *must* be it."
"None of your fucking business," she says with a fair bit of volume and force. "What, you want trade secrets, thief?"
As you talk, you notice Rachel has begun to murmur alien words and tonguetwisters, crushing something in her curled up fist.
"I might make it my business," replies Carthrat, yawning. "Oh, heck. Rachel, imagine what they'd say.
"Criminal takes Moral High Ground against Tanewaki Carthrat! Nobody Cares!"
"...Yyariy Baraiwx....Selena, let your...." Rachel says softly, only fragments of her words audible.
"I would imagine it would be a comedy piece just before the end of the local news," she says, smiling a bit. "Instead of a story about a dog who narrowly avoided dying in the kennel."
Aya stares ahead at you still, furious. She shows no unusual reaction to your name.
"Well, whatever," replies Carthrat, waiting for Rachels awesome magic to take form.
Rachel stands, still smiling. "Now, Aya.
I see your fear now. You are so afraid, so terrified. Losing your ship after all you did to get it is intolerable."
As Rachel speaks, the color drains from Aya's face, giving her the visage of a ghost.
"What was it? Your grandfather died for that ship, and you took it back from that rich merchant? I see," she smiles slightly. "It's alright, we'll take good care of it for you."
Her face, which was pale before, is bone white now. "Y...you....bitch...."
"Aww, look at that. The bitch has a soft spot, after all," says Carthrat, rolling his eyes. "Now, if she'd just *told* us all that, instead of having to pry it out of her..
Now, Rachel. It's not nice to take things from other people if they deserve them. I can always get a ship from somewhere else, it'll just take longer. Maybe alot longer. So I'll leave this up to you. I don't feel like making decisions today."
Rachel closes her eyes as you speak, thinking.
"We won't take her ship," she says after several seconds. "What about the bounty, Carthrat," she asks, her voice now strong and firm after a mental choice.
"She's worth less than my boots," replies Carthrat, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Go on. Get out. Here's all your crap," he says, chucking it at her.
Aya takes her equipment quietly, still shaken up. She sets up, gets up and glances at the both of you one last time before bolting from the room without a final comment.
Once gone, Rachel sits down on the couch with a plop. "One question, Carthrat," she asks quietly, "Which option did you think I'd choose?"
"I'd say you would've let her go," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Why?"
"Say, I was curious," she replies. "Now what?" Rachel asks, staring up at the ceiling.
Carthrat shrugs. "Don't know.
I havn't introduced you to Tir, yet, have I?"
"No," Rachel continues to stare at the ceiling. "Someone you met at the arena?"
"I knew him on Earth," replies Carthrat. "He and a bunch of others took my dissaperance as a sign that it was time to scarper.
Didn't know I had so much influence.
We met yesterday. Gonna work out a way to get a ship off this dump. Right now, we're placing bets on ourselves at the arena. We're so much better than most of the losers there that it's a forgone conclusion that we'll double our stakes."
Rachel nods. "When do you want to meet him?" she asks, still a touch abstracted.
"I'll have dinner with him tonight," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Wanna come?"
"Will it be more noodles," she asks automatically. "Sure."
"Actually, I was thinking of Mongolian barbeque," replies Carthrat. "Y'know, it's where you get these huge slabs of meat which you cook yourself.. or is it Korean.. heck, I don't know, but I guess I'll find out!
Anyway, Rachel, you're doing fine. Anything you want me to buy you?"
Rachel looks up, licking her lips. "Mmmm, I'm sold," she laughs. "Besides dinner? Nothing at the moment," she replies, smoothing out her shirt. "Maybe I'll think of something after then."
Carthrat chuckles. "What do you plan to do for the rest of the day?"
She shrugs. "At the moment, I don't have any plans," she admits. "I lost track of the day when we went to go capture Aya."
"Well, we've got six hours before I'll even think of eating again," replies Carthrat. "Six hours, no commitments. Geez. I'm not used to this much free time."
"Maybe I should take a nap, though," Rachel says, glancing down at the couch. "If there isn't anything left to do. I spent a fair bit of mystical energy in the last hour."
"If you say so," replies Carthrat, dubiously. "I think.. I'll watch that Aya woman," he continues. "She obviously has no clue what she's doing. I wonder how long it'll be before someone else tries for her.."
"Heh, like a guardian angel," she teases, as she stretches out on the couch. "Make sure she doesn't get run over, then."
"With the earful she gave me, I'm tempted to just let someone," replies Carthrat, flatly. "Well, have a good one. I'll bring back some wine."
He excuses himself, activates his oh-so-useful cloaking device, and heads out to hang around outside the apartment of one Aya..
The now cloaked Carthrat bounds through the hallwasy of the space casino, going to and fro as he finds his way to Aya's apartment. When he arrives, you can hear the sounds of somone loudly and quickly packing inside. There seems to be no concern that the sound of her cases slamming shut will attract attention.
Carthrat finds it difficult to repress his jealousy that *she* can leave and *he* can't. It's just not fair!
As there's nothing to be done about it (unless he suddenly discoveres a mean streak) he leans against a nearby wall, amusing himself by thinking about all the cool stuff he'll have on his dream ship when he finally gets it..
Mmm. Third-Level FFT Fusion Core. Yummy.
A short while later the door flies open. Aya carries two hand cases as she makes haste away, her face quite worked up.
Carthrat drifts after Aya, lamenting that the usual effective of his measured pace- that is, with his cloak so long, and his step so light, it makes him look like he's gliding- is lost when he's using his cloaking device..
Like a scared child, she makes haste to the space port. She's heading to her ship in quite a hurry.
"I don't care about that," she snaps when an offical mentions that she won't get refunded for already paid port fees. "I need to leave NOW."
Carthrat glances around for any kind of detection device that will reveal his cloaked status.
The security check point just ahead probably would, you note. That's the only overwhelming danger, unless they have incredibly expensive and advanced cameras.
Carthrat decides to trail the walking cashcow until she reaches the checkpoint, from whereon she'll be relatively safe.
Aya reaches the checkpoint in a rushed haste, dragging her bags through it as quickly as possible. Once past, you see her almost sprinting towards where her ship is.
Carthrat shrugs, and decides to go Tir-hunting. Gotta get his fricking commlink number..
With Aya now bound for parts unknown, Carthrat heads out and back towards the arena. A basic poking around shows that he's not there, nor is he on the roster of matches.
Carthrat wanders around the casino a bit, then, assuming he finds nothing, goes to the restraunt area.
While the casino area is indeed quiet today as far as Tir goes, there is a small disturbance of note. At a blackjack table, a seedy looking, three eyes and purple skinned alien plays when three robots zoom in and nab him.
Despite his protests, they haul him off.
"Hey, who's that?" asks Carthrat of some random casino-goer.
The casino goer is watching the apprehension with interest. "I dunno," he shrugs. "But I saw him playing the last few days and winning."
Carthrat shrugs. "High-stakes?"
"Don't know," he says, as the poor man is carried off to a very likely bad fate. "He did win a fair deal, though. If you ask me, he probably had his hands hooked up with some sort of cheatin'."
"I don't doubt," replies Carthrat, eyeing the robots. And deciding to follow them and see where they go..
Following at a discrete distance, they take him into the back through a ID door, the metal barrier closing swiftly behind them, drowning the cheater's protests.
Carthrat eyes the door, then shrugs.
He heads on to the restraunt area..
The restaurant area is slow right now, as the lunch rush has passed. You don't spy Tir around, although some of the smells make your noodle fed stomach rumble.
Carthrat grabs some rice and pork, and sits down to go over the mechanics for Nitrogen-Fused bullets..
Time goes by as Carthrat munches on his snack food. It's a quiet afternoon by and large, and your studies aren't interrupted.
It's now 3 30 PM, relative time.
Carthrat heads back to his room..
Once there, you find Rachel is sitting calmly on the bed, eyes closed and cross legged. She looks to be lost in her own world.
Carthrat eyes Rachel, but chooses not to disturb her, instead producing a 'Big Book 'o Science' and waiting for her to wake up..
OOC - By agreement, it's limited timeskip time!
----
The next few days go without incident, Rachel often watching as Carthrat continues to beat up on C field. He wins 14 matches this way, collecting the proper amount of credits for his wins.
Tir is absent for these few days as well. You get a message the next day that he got a call from Earth and had to deal with a personal matter - he'll be back soon.
It's nearly a week later when he comes back.
---
Carthrat snores, resting peacefully on the couch while Rachel naps on the bed. Ah, early mornings.
*BANG BANG BANG*
"Hey, Carthrat!" Tir calls from outside. "You up?"
"NO! GO AWAY! I'M NOT PAYING ANY BLOODY TAX ON MY WINNINGS!" yells Carthrat. "I'm not even a bloody CITIZEN!"
"Ugh...the hell...?" Rachel moans, stirring.
"Funny, Rat," he replies, sarcastic. "If I wanted your money, I'd take it from your beaten body," he snorts. "Open up already, I even brought breakfast."
Carthrat falls off the couch.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?" he asks, dumbly. "Oh.. wait.. Tir! Tir! You bastard! You wake me up like this again and I'll shove a pole down your throat!
And the doorcode is.. uh.. 3146."
"Hah," he notes as he punches the keycode in. Light from the hallway spills in as Tir enters, a few bags of food in hand. He puts them down by the door, looking around. "Wow, you still look like a refugee in the morning," he smiles.
"I *was* taking refuge from life. By sleeping," he says. "What gives you the *right* to wake people up like that, anyway?"
"My innate charm does," he laughs. "My stunning charm, good looks and all around awesomeness!"
Carthrat punches Tir in the gut. "That's for waking me up, punk."
"Ugh..." Tir takes a step back, breathing heavily. "And a good morning to you, too," he notes. "The Tanewaki charm is in full effect today."
Meanwhile, Rachel is staring bleary eyed at this scene, hair a mess and clothed in a jogging suit she used for pajamas last night.
"Anyway. How was Earth?" asks Carthrat. "Anyone up in arms about my departure? I think there were one or two people who might have been upset.."
"I don't know," he admits. "Things are reaching disaster levels there. You know North Korea, right? They fired a prototype nuke off, but it malfunctioned and hit Chinese territory." he winces, sighing. "The response was to turn North Korea into a glassy crater."
Carthrat blinks. "You're *kidding*, right?"
Tir shrugs. "I wish I was. North Korea and it's ever so lovely government only rules in Hell now." Tir sighs again. "Now the US and China are making nasty faces at each other over it. Funny, since their President wanted a regime change there anyhow."
He takes a moment to smooth his rumpled white dress shirt before going on. "I don't think it'll go any farther, but it feels like a powder keg right now. Most of the visitors there are making temporary getaway plans, just in case."
Carthrat leans in close. "You know what'll happen, though, don't you?"
"I have a few guesses," he says, a bit guarded. "My question is how much are they going to interfere."
"Who cares about *how*," says Carthrat, shaking his head. "You know how many treaties will be broken when somebody openly lands on Earth."
"More than I care to count," Tir replies. "But if we're going to hash this over, let's at least do it over breakfast." He goes and picks up the bags again, taking them over to the table. Fresh bread, milk and butter is inside. As he's unpacking these, he finally notices Rachel, who took in the news about Earth with wide, worried eyes, yet was too stunned to reply.
"Oh, hello there," he smiles a bit. "You're Rachel, that friend Carthrat mentioned?"
"She's a native!" whispers Carthrat.
Tir nods back, an tiny motion not meant to be seen by anyone else.
"Hello," she manages, then glances down at herself. "Is Earth in that much turmoil?"
"'Fraid so," Tir nods, sitting down. "As our friend was saying, if it reaches the point where someone openly lands, it's going to be a mess of huge proportions."
Carthrat nods. "North Korea first.
It *might* end there. I don't think anybody liked them, anyway.
But China and the US.. I don't want to think about what might happen there if they're left unchecked.
And I don't want to think about what will happen out *here* if somebodies goes in to do something about it."
"No one really did, not even South Korea," Tir agrees. "To be honest, it's not an entirely bad thing that North Korea is off the board now." He takes a moment to take out a small knife from the bag and cut a slice of bread off, then butter it. "With that ruling clique, it was a matter of time before there was some massive ballsup.
Now, the US and China...heh." Tir sighs. "The problem is that I'd bet both of them not only have nukes, but that the US has gotten enough alien tech to stop China's nukes. You remember that Star Wars cover thing they did?" Tir pauses to bite into his bread. "Not bad. Anyway, the US will probably win, and win big. China is still too behind in Earth and stolen technology to win if it comes to that.
So where does that leave us if we don't interfere?"
Carthrat shakes his head. "China will lose, but that's because Japan *hates their guts*," he replies.
"Heh. Yazuka space tech or not, the US has them beat already, I think." Tir shrugs, working away on his breakfast. "Let's say the US does turn China into a matching North Korean crater and everyone mostly survives the fallout elseware.
You'll have a totally dominate US over the rest of the world. If they can keep that long enough..." he shrugs helplessly. "I don't have anything against the US, but I rather like a non unified planet for a change of pace, ya know?" Tir takes a drink of milk, wiping his lip with his forearm. "That'll probably speed Earth up even more.
And that assumes, of course, no one from outside stirrs the pot much, so take that how you will."
"Too many outside int- hey, Rachel," says Carthrat, glancing over at the girl.
Rachel looks a touch pale, and is quietly taking Tir's ramblings in.
"Yes," she replies, but her voice betrays her with a bit of shakiness.
Carthrat sighs. "Look, we'll talk about all this crap later. Why don't you have a shower and freshen up a bit."
Rachel nods. "Yeah, that's a good idea..." she says, getting up and shuffling off to the shower with haste. She looks even paler by the time she's gone off.
Once she's gone. "Bah, sorry. I got a touch carried away in my discourse," he says by way of apology. "Stupid of me."
Carthrat shakes his head. "My fault, too, really," he says.
"If someone does interfere.. hoo.. this is not a place I want to be," he continues.
"A-fuckin'-men," he agrees. "If TWO sides get into it, I wouldn't want to be here or anywhere in the solar system," Tir observes, cutting himself another slice of bread. "Oh, and help yourself, by all means," he notes. "Anyway, let's say our favorite dog people take one side and an interstellar interest takes the other. Fuck that. Fuck Earth, fuck Mars, fuck the solar system." he swears quietly. "I'm not sticking around to see that planet get turned to kibble."
"And let's just hope the universe can remember us as old men when we die," continues Carthrat, sagely.
"I'm not going to die, idiot," he says, trying to smile a bit. "Mr. Immortal right here."
"Yeah, bullshit," replies Carthrat. "If there's a way to be immortal, I'dve discovered it by now."
"Bah," Tir grins. "I'm still amazed you find the door each morning, let alone the secret of the cosmos."
"I *majored* in Secrets of the Cosmos," replies Carthrat. "And what did *you* study, punk? Wait, that's right.. nothing! You were a bum!"
"I was tutored by the best in my home city," he grins. "A high class education..." he trails off a minute. "Yean, a good education."
"Anyway," continues Carthrat, uncomfortably, "I ain't hanging around this rock any longer. What systems are the place to be this year?"
"Hm," he pauses a moment. "The Lesser Cyrillian system is in the middle of a civil war," he starts. "That's a big fat avoid. Beyond that? Things are pretty peaceful right now except for there and maybe here now."
"You have any plans?"
"I was going to relax awhile here, but I think I'm going out of the solar system now.
Just in case," he nods. "If you're going, I wouldn't mind tagging along with you," Tir grins. "After all, someone needs to ground you in reality or at least a reasonable mockery thereof."
"That's Rachels job," notes Carthrat. "You can sweep the floors."
"Ha," he laughs, standing up and pushing your head down with his hand. "She's not going that great a job, you're still head in the clouds.
But yeah," he sits back down. "I'll take that as a yes," he smiles.
"Sure. You can start by telling me if you're packing anything but that glove," says Carthrat.
OOC - Tir has joined the group!
*Plays fanfare music*
----
IC -
"I have a staff," he shrugs. "Don't worry, I'm overarmed if anything." as he says that, his free hand rubs his gloved hand for a moment, like it pains him.
OOC: What class is he?
--
IC: "Hah. If you say so," replies Carthrat. "Look, go buy me some tickets to somewhere, preferably somewhere cheap," he says, flipping Tir his card. "I'll hang around and talk to Rachel."
OOC - Specialized. You'll probably find out sooner or later.
---
IC -
"Heh, I'll cover it," he says, flipping you the card back. "My finances here are better than I first hinted at," Tir grins, chuckling. "Call it a small present for the POOR, if you will."
"That's good, you can get first-class seats," shoots back Carthrat.
He glares a moment. "Fine, fine. I suppose you want in flight service, too?"
"Yeah, sure," replies Carthrat. "Some wine would be nice. And buy Rachel a new dress.
And I think I need a hat. What sort would suit me?"
Tir sighs again. "Good lord, Rat. I'm a human, not a credit machine."
"You sound like a parent, talking like that," says Carthrat. "I remember it used to be 'On the double, Carthrat! Sorry for paying my rent two months late!"
"Bitch," he bites back, but nods. "Fine, fine. I'll get you a dress and a hat. Hell, I'll get you new underwear, too."
"Geez, man, I was kidding," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "But hey, whatever."
"Bah," he smiles. "Well, I'll be off then."
"Be seeing you," replies Carthrat, stretching.
And finding a clean shirt. Dammit, he had to have *one*.
Carthrat does have at least one, you find. Just one. Laundry time soon, but no matter...
--
Rachel gets back a short while later, dressed normally and clean. Her face is still troubled, however. After waving, "Carthrat...is what Tir said that true?"
Carthrat shrugs. "If he's not lying to me, and I don't think he would."
"I see," she sighs. "What do you think will happen, then?"
"Anything could happen," replies Carthrat. "I don't know the specifics, so I can't really guess."
"Nuclear war is the one thing everyone feared, from the magical to the mundane," Rachel starts suddenly. "Oh, sure, the greatest archmagi might be able to cook up a survival plan and a God wouldn't be injured even by the biggest nuclear weapon, but for everyone else, it's the nightmare.
Now...it could be starting?" Rachel looks down. "I don't know if I want to praise Selena for being away from there or cry for Earth."
"The folly of men is beyond the gods," replies Carthrat, quietly.
Rachel nods, agreeing. "Yes. Life will go on elseware, I'm sure, but...even if I found another life on another world, home would still be a crater."
"I could quote more platitudes," replies Carthrat, "But.. I don't really have anything to say. It's more terrifying before the war, but afterwards.. it leaves a hole in the heart, I know.
We can hope.. and I suppose some of us can pray."
"That's all I can do right now," Rachel sighs. "I'm not worried about the souls of the slain should it happen, but it's a small relief. To see an entire world ruined..."
Carthrat bows his head. "The entire world won't be wasted. But enough of it will that unless somebody does something about it, people won't survive there."
"Would someone," she asks simply. "You say there are many groups watching Earth....?"
"Someone will," replies Carthrat. "Then someone else will make an accusation. Then something will try and kill someone, and people will start up a way here."
He spits on the ground. "I wonder why individuals say they hate way, yet people get caught up in it so much. They should at least be honest with themselves."
Rachel sits on the couch. "That's a small relief, despite it all."
"Well. I've got another surprise for you," says Carthrat. "We're leaving here. Today."
"What? Really?" Rachel asks, perking up a bit. "Where to? Why?"
"Don't know where, because I don't wanna be here when someone decides something should be done about Earth, and decides to use this conveniantly located joint as a base," replies Carthrat.
"Yeah," Rachel nods. "I guess so. When are you going to get the tickets, then, and how much will they set us back?"
"Tir is getting them. And paying for them," replies Carthrat. "Not that we're strapped for cash, anyway."
Rachel looks up a bit more brightly at that. "Are we going with him," she asks next.
"*He* is coming with *us*," replies Carthrat, nodding.
"I see," she says again. "Carthrat...he's your friend, right?" she starts, a bit hesitant.
"Sure," replies Carthrat. "He's a friend."
"Why does he wear that glove?" she asks suddenly. "Do you know?"
"Tir has a history with that glove," replies Carthrat. "I'm not the only one whose had a colourful career. He has his own reasons.
What they are, I don't know."
Rachel thinks a few moments, frowning. "I don't really understand what or why, but that hand sends shivers down my spine," she finally says. "There's...something about it. I don't know what, but it chills me."
"It's a sensitive subject with Tir," replies Carthrat, sighing. "I don't know exactly what he does, but he's still alive today, and he's been in more than a few scraped, I hear."
"Indeed.
But...Could you try to find out what, Carthrat? I'd like to know, even if it turns out to be harmless," Rachel asks of you. "And if it's something that...."
Carthrat shrugs. "I could find out, easily," he notes, producing his scanner.
"But Rachel.. I'd feel bad about it if I did, no matter what it turned out to be," he says.
She ponders this, staring eye to eye with you. Her eyes are surprisingly firm now. "I...I want to insist," she says. "I won't force you, but I hope you do."
Carthrat shrugs. "If you must know.."
"I think I must," she affirms, sighing again. "I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, Carthrat."
"Well, if I don't find out for you, you might try yourself," replies Carthrat, brazenly.
"I could try, but I don't think my magic is powerful enough," she admits freely. "I'm still not that skilled, Carthrat...not nearly as powerful as Diane is."
Carthrat waves her off. "Raw power isn't an issue, Rachel," he replies. "Tact and cleverness are."
"Perhaps, but I still think you're more suited to this." Rachel nods.
"Rachel, if you ever think you're suited to this sort of life than me," replies Carthrat, rolling his eyes, "it'll be the last time I talk to anyone younger than me."
"Heh," she smiles a bit. "I'm not at all, but I have a reason to live this life right now," she shrugs.
"And you must never forget that," replies Carthrat, sagely.
"Yea-"
Rachel is cut off by the door opening. Tir returns, waving three tickets. "How does the Angelmoa system sound?" he asks, glancing around.
"Never heard of it," replies Carthrat.
Tir snorts. "It's a small system a few million light years past here," he explains. "Small, peaceful and a stop on the trade routes. Perfect for a getaway or at least a bit of a difference."
"Do they have nice beaches?" asks Carthrat.
"I thought you knew everything, Carthrat," Tir replies, mock surprise in his voice. "The great Carthrat doesn't have the star systems memorized?"
"I made a note to forget the shitholes you hang out in," replies Carthrat. "They're so *dirty*."
"No better than whatever gin joint you spent most of your time at on Earth," he fires back lightly. "'Course, I guess you don't remember that too much, either."
"I was in debt and had an addiction to smoking," replies Carthrat. "I don't know how I'm going to survive without a pack a day, y'know."
"Huh," Tir says. "Where the hell did that come from?" You can almost see a question mark hovering over his head.
"Why do you think I was hanging in a place like that?" replies Carthrat, rolling his eyes. "What, you think I stayed for the company?"
"Right," he shrugs. "Anyway, the shuttle leaves tomorrow, early," Tir comments. "I needed a bit of time to get my shit together," he says afterwords, as if explaining the delay.
Carthrat eyes Tir. "Sure. Hey, hey, I've gotta go fight in the arena again today. Gonna come?"
"I have some things to do. That delay wasn't for giggles," he says, shaking his head.
Carthrat nods. "Sure. Be safe, right? Or at least as safe as one can get."
"Sure thing," he smiles a bit, leaving after that.
Carthrat stretches. "Well, while he's off doing his own thing, we may as well start packing up," says Carthrat. "If you want to buy something, now's the time; everything here is cheap. Black market goods and all that."
Rachel merely shakes her head. "I'm fine to go," Rachel says. "I have a bit of packing myself."
"You are not," replies Carthrat, firmly. "All women like to shop. It's a natural urge. Even I feel it, when, uh, you know."
Rachel looks up, and then giggles a bit. "Point..." she admits. "Did you have something in mind for me to buy?"
"Well, no," admits Carthrat, "But I feel you deserve something. After all, you've been locked up in this dump for a couple of weeks and had nothing to do."
Her eyes flicker a moment as she blinks. "Well...yeah, that would be nice," she agrees, smiling.
"So I'm giving you a couple thousand credits," he says, nodding, producing a card and tossing it to Rachel. "Get a dress. Or something.
Say, you'd like nice in a kimono.."
"Are you sure," she asks. "I know that's a fair bit of money, and we aren't rich." Rachel looks at the card a bit hestiantly.
Carthrat shrugs. "Money is too transient to bother holding on to. It's how much you're making that matters, not how much you have."
Rachel shrugs, but takes the card. "Well, then...I guess I'll go shopping," she smiles a bit. "Want me to pick up something cute for your girl side," she asks, teasingily.
"If you really want," replies Carthrat. "Nothing can embarass me, though. At least, nothing like that."
She nods, already thinking...
---
OOC - timeskip to whenever?
OOC: I'll let you.. surprise me!
A few hours later, Rachel returns with two packages. She waves as she puts them down on the couch. "Hi, Carthrat," she smiles.
Carthrat continues to sleep, catching up on those extra hours that that evil bastard Tir stole from him.
"...t....at....rat...Rat, wake up," Rachel's voice stirs you from your slumber. As you open your sleep crusted eyes, you notice Rachel is wearing a light blue kimono, decorated with flower designs. It looks nice on her.
At least you think so, the ol' brain is still waking up.
"Aww, Yuki, you shouldn't have," mumbles Carthrat, dreamily. "I'm still tired from last night.."
"CARTHRAT!" she tries a shout and a shake to wake the wandering scientist.
Carthrat picks himself up off the dusty floor, supressing a grunt. "You rang, mistress?"
"Yes," she says, ignoring your barb for a moment. "I did buy you something, don't you want to see it," she asks sweetly.
"Is it pie?" asks Carthrat, hopefully.
"No," she replies, keeping her sweet and gentle voice. She thrusts forward a package, like one that holds clothing. "Here," she says, "open it."
Carthrat pauses before opening the box. "If it's a sailor suit," he says, warningly..
*Giggle*
.....
*Giggle*
....
*Snicker*
...
"Heheheheh," she laughs, amused. "It's not a sailor suit, although I'm sure you could pull if off," she jests.
Carthrat winces, before opening the box, and taking out what's inside..
A black kimono is inside, decorated with white lillies. It's of decent quality, and quite pleasant looking. It matches more or less with Rachel's.
"I thought your advice could apply to you as well," she says, smiling.
Carthrat eyes the kimono, and chuckles. "I even know how to tie the obi," he says, shaking his head. "Thanks."
She smiles nicely. "You're welcome, Carthrat," she says, carefully sitting down on the single run down couch that is in your apartment here.
"Speaking of which, I think we'll stay in a flash hotel next time," he says, eyeing cobwebs in the corner of the room. "We can afford it, now, thank god.
And Tir will be covering part of the bill," he continues, his eyes flashing into dollarsigns. "I wonder how much else I can get him to pay for.."
"I won't miss this hovel," she agrees. "Just try not to run him out of house and home." she says, almost automatically, but then frowns when she thinks of Tir again.
"Feh. Tir will never go broke," says Carthrat.
"Annnyway. Big day today. My first B-class fight. I'm apparently quite popular, y'know," he continues. "There's even a couple of signs out for me now."
She frowns a bit more at your first statement, but lets it pass.
"You're last duel, too, isn't it?" she asks. "Something of a shame that when you finally make it to this rank that you have to leave."
"Not really," replies Carthrat. "I might, y'know, become famous and all that."
She nods, then shrugs. "I should change out of this now, though, since we'll be leaving tomorrow..."
---
OOC- Cut to the arena?
"Wear it," says Carthrat, shrugging. "It's not like we're going to any fancy dress parties in the next month, so the only use for that is to wear it as casual wear."
OOC: Sure.
Rachel does so, and goes with you to watch from the stands.
----
The B class locker room is decent, more like a well maintained club's locker room than the cesspool that was the C rank one. You haven't caught the name or face of your opponent, but it shouldn't be too hard, right?
"Will Carthrat Tanewaki and Sha'kira of Alys please report to the ready room?"
Carthrat strolls out, keeping focused- this person could be, like, a *contender*, not just some scrub he wastes with his eyes shut.
Once in the still boring waiting room, you catch first sight of your opponent. She is a normal looking human, black skinned and with dread locked hair. Her face is open and friendly, smiling at you, while her eye-
Wait. Her eyes are milky white, clearly blind. Yet she moves with grace and skill, her handicap showing no signs of slowing her.
To finish, she wears a loose white robe, like what a mage would wear.
Carthrat stretches out his arms, pondering the most useful tool to use against such a woman..
The robot blathers on about the rules of the battle. It's anything goes, non lethal. Nothing special there.
As you are positioned in the arena, the woman looks unconcerned and tranquil.
Carthrat palms a knife in one hand, waiting for the match to begin..
"BEGIN!" the annoucer shouts, his voice echoing. On the heels of it, the woman raises her hand. "Tranquility of the air," she says clearly, the crowd and everything but the beating of your own heart silent.
Smiling at you, she speaks. Her voice is achingly clear and vibrant in the imposed peaceful silence, like a clarion call in the night. "Shall we begin?" She smiles almost playfully, her face only ruined by the sightless, white eyes she has.
Carthrat exhales, openly holding his knife in a fist. "You first," he comments, wryly.
"Thank you, Carthrat," she says, her good humor evident. Raising her left hand again, she speaks in the silence.
"Stillness of the world," she says, and like runny paint, the world around you melts away, leaving only a black backdrop. Only the red sand is left as flooring, stretching far beyond it's bounds like a newly created desert of blood.
"A penchant for the dramatic, I see," witticizes Carthrat, starting to advance on the woman.
"Yes," she agrees cheerily. As she says this, she floats up perhaps a foot off the ground.
"Can you defeat an entire world?" she asks, waving a hand at the blackness. Humming, low key waves of energy begin to spin around her - blue orbs of concentrated energy, perhaps the size of a basketball, spinning in a wide circle around her. "This is my reality," the woman nods and smiles almost cutely, her hair bouncing a bit.
"A Genius Loci," says Carthrat, shaking his head. "How excessive.."
Hoo. Boy, did Carthrat hate magic.
"But there's nothing I can't defeat," he replies, smirking.
"Well then," she says, stretching. "Let us begin!" With that...
"Echoing nightshades all around me, strike!"
From the darkness, a orb whizzes out. It's simple enough to sidestep, though, like it was a warning shot.
Carthrat takes the opportunity to dodge around the missile and close some of the distance between himself and the woman.
She probably had some kind of magical protection up, he reasoned, flinging the knife at her to find out just what.
The knife flies truly, right at her. One of the orbs spinning around her, however, alters it's path slightly to parry the knife.
The knife and the orb hang into the air, the both fall to the ground, the energy dissipating as the knife falls.
"Nightshades that live in this eternal gloom, come unto this land!" Her second invocation causes a sword modeled block of energy to zoom right at you!
Carthrat yanks his own blade out it's sheath and tries to parry the black blade, trying to advance towards the woman as he does so.
The shadow blade and the material blade meet a moment, both clashing before the black blade is knocked aside.
Still smiling, she raises her hand again. "Garb of the night," she calmly declares, the shadows springing out to cover her! They wrap around her body, rendering her invisible to your well trained eyes.
Carthrat doesn't pause at all, continuning to walk towards the womans last position, while activating his scanner in one hand and using it to approximate her location.
"Anomaly detected."
This is the expected result, although it's showing one large anomaly versus several smaller ones. However, it instantly shows where the woman is, several feet back from where she was standing.
However, you can see a shadowy shape moving towards you, in the image of the woman, from where she vanished. From your sight alone, that should be her.
Carthrat flinges his Zippo lighter, waiting until the woman gets close enough to catch the full brunt of the blast.
She's a mage! She'll live!
The roaring flame bursts forth from it's tiny cage, passing through the shadowy woman like nothing, causing it to flicker and fade away. It then plows through towards where the scanner said the woman was!
With a flash of light, it hits a barrier just in from of her, the magess's black arms now reaching out and visible in a protective light barrier. From the way it's glowing on her arms, it's a technological personnel shield, much like your own.
While they meet, the darkness all around you flickers, and the silence blinks, crowd noise coming through for a moment of pandemonium. Then, having stopped the fire, her arms vanish, the absolute darkness and silence reigning again.
"Sword of the night, club of the inky darkness, assault!"
Noticably, her calm voice has given way to a note of annoyance now.
Several swords and clubs made of pure black darkness appear, at least seven by your hasty count. They surround you, like a vanguard of hateful beasts wanting nothing more than to rip you apart.
Carthrat eyes the clubs surrounding him, reaching into his jacket and producing a hypodermic needle, which he jabs- hard- into his sword-arm.
His vision turns slightly red on the edges, and, broadsword blazing, he charges the magess, batting away any of the swords directly in front of him, but ignoring the blows that others may rain upon him.
Carthrat rushed forward, batting away two swords. Distantly, already affected by the hypo, he feels something tear into his side and his left arm recieve a jarring blow, but it doesn't stop him.
Reaching forward, you swing your burning blade at where the ebony mage should be. Her arms raise again, the flicking darkness and trickling noise of, at best, minimal note in your state. A wave of light blinds you for a second as sword and shield meet, the circular barrier shining and pulsing under the pressure you're inflicting.
FLASH!
With a final strobe, the shield shatters! The burstlet of energy causes the magess to be knocked back at least ten feet, almost to the arena wall! This causes both the darkness and silence to fade completely away, and the wounds you recieved suddenly feel fine. Looking up, her now clear brown eyes are throughly pissed.
Even in your state, the explosion of crowd noise is stunning. The dam is broken.
With a wave of her hand, a purple, small rod materializes. Pointing it at you, a bolt of blue lighting hurtles right at Carthrat!
Carthrat sidesteps the blast and gives his sword the old heave-ho, aiming in the womans general stomach area.
The lightning bolt clips the edge of your personnel shield, the damage stopped cold by your protection. Sidestepping, you throw your blade hard! It soars through the air, crashing into the woman's stomach! In fact, she makes no move to dodge...
There is a sound, like metal hitting stone. The sword bounced off, leaving a hole in her robes but no damage to her skin. She doesn't even pause at it, instead waving her rod in a cirlce thrie, causing a huge cone like funnel of ice and cold to come right at you!
Carthrat dives to the side of the cone, muttering a never-used-before incantation under his breath and gesturing at the woman from his soon-to-be-prone position..
Carthrat slings forth his spell just as the cold reaches him, mainly hitting his legs. Icy hot pain registers, your lower body screaming as it comes close to being flash frozen!
However, your spell triggers successfully, the grease appearing under her. She starts to wave her rod again as you fall in pain, but steps a bit to reposition. This causes her to slip, and with wide eyes, fall, her rod dropped as she meets the ground fast and hard.
Her rod clatters down, cracking a moment with red magical energy before going quiet...
Carthrat pulls his Disrupter and fires a stun blast at the womans head, hopefully putting her out for the next few days. [/list]
Biting back the agony that comes through even past the drugs, Carthrat fires! The shot rips through the air, impacting on her head! With a groan, she falls and doesn't move. Did it work?
And dammit, you're getting hungry already.
Carthrat blasts the woman again, for good measure, and then starts eating an apple, hobbling over towards the woman to make sure she's down- and to take her funky stick.
The second shot hits home easily enough, causing her to shudder and then go still again.
Getting up slowly and painfully, Carthrat then pulls out an apple from one of his pockets, eating to satisfy the demands of the regenerative ring. She looks to indeed be out, her hair scorched badly by the second shot and her rod lying on the ground.
"...The winner....Carthrat Tanewaki!..." is also heard as you stumble over.
Pulling on his Shock Glove to minimize any nasty enchantments the woman might have place on the rod, Carthrat reaches out to pick it up.
OOC - Good call, Rat.
Picking up the purple rod, it crackles with red lighting, which your Shock Glove nullifies nicely. After about ten seconds of this, it stops, having done no damage to your protected hand.
Meanwhile, the crowd cheers while your legs ache and your stomach rumbles. Even though you can walk and standing is already becoming a touch easier, this wasn't a clean victory.
Carthrat turns and strides out the arena, cashing in and looking for Rachel.
Damn, he needed a massage.
By tthe time you've cashed out, you're extremely ravenous. A quick side trip and about fifty credits later, your legs and stomach are both feeling considerably better. That's the most you've eaten in a long time. Hell, that was enough to feed a hungry litter of Shirans twice over.
Rachel, who met up with your right after, watches with curiousity as she sips her own drink and meal. "That Cone of Cold must have gotten you good," she comments. "If the ring is causing you to eat that much."
"Yeah, well, I can take it," replies Carthrat, handing the Rod to Rachel. "I got you a present, by the way."
"I'm sure," she agrees, her expression going neutral as she recalls how Carthrat proved his endurance over a year ago...
Shaking her head, she eyes the rod. "Are you sure it's safe? I saw it trying to electrocute you when you picked it up," she says, giving it a wary glance. "I would rather make preparations before trying to bear it."
Carthrat shrugs. "Well, you're the spell-slinger," he says, cheerfully. "Whenever you're ready."
She nods, taking another gulp from her drink. "Perhaps I'll have time on the trip," she muses. "Does anything eventful happen on these?"
"It's a plane flight in space," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Something could happen, but it's unlikely. For instance, pirates could board the ship. They'd probably steal all the cargo, but let the ship go. If they're being ruthless, they might kill everyone on board, or take hostages for ransom, or take slaves.
Given that I'm on the ship, that ain't gonna happen.
We could crash into something.
Do you know how big space is? Nobody crashes into anyone. Ever. All the planet flight routes have been charted out, so we won't run into a black hole or supernova.
Nope, not much is likely to happen. Something could, but you could fall down the stairs and break your neck after getting out of bed, too."
She takes that in thoughtfully, nodding. "That's good to know," she notes, "minus the part about pirates." Finishing off her food, she then goes on, musing aloud. "So if it's really like a flight, I should have at least free time to think if not act on that rod."
Carthrat shrugs. "Time, yes.
Dunno if you'll have much room. Those cabins can be pretty small."
Rachel nods again. "How long a flight will this be, roughly?" she asks, pondering. "If it's a goodly while, I can probably work with the rod quite a bit."
Taking a moment, she stretches, then takes her plate and puts it in a trash can nearby.
"I don't know, come to think of it," replies Carthrat. "I'm not sure exactly where the system we're going to is. I assume it's nearby, though..
Maybe a couple of days? Or a week? It takes about two months to fly from one end of the galaxy to the other, and I don't think we're going that far..."
She nods again. "Speaking of that, we should talk to Tir about that," she notes. "Are you about done?"
"I'm done, yes," replies Carthrat, producing his fearsome mobile phone. "Let's see if he's about," he says, phoning Tir.
Rachel leans back and waits for the results of the call, frowning at the mention of Tir without realizing it.
"Yes," Tir picks up on the third ring.
"Tir! You busy?" says Carthrat.
"Yeah," he says. "What is it, Rat, I'm in the middle of something." He does sound hurried, you notice.
"It's not important," replies Carthrat, sighing. "Phone me when you're done."
"Right, Rat," Tir hands up after his comment, quickly killing the call. Rachel looks at you, neutral again. "He was busy?"
"He was," replies Carthrat, "And now is a good time to find out why."
Plugging his phone into his scanner, he gets it to trace the last known call and find it's location..
Rachel raises an eyebrow, but says nothing. Quietly, she watches as Carthrat does his work.
The call is shown to have come from near the docking area of the station. The exact location isn't clear, but it's in the ballpark of there.
Carthrat turns off his phone. "Rachel, go back to the apartment and wait. If he gets there before me, tell him I forgot to cash in my prize money."
She nods. "You don't trust him after all?" she asks, getting up. She doesn't seem to disapprove, mind you, just curious.
"Yes. And no," replies Carthrat. "It's complicated. But I'm interested to find out what bugs you so much about him.
Oh well. Bye."
Flipping on his cloaking device, Carthrat makes his way to the docks..
Once Carthrat leaves, Rachel smiles before leaving. She seems to be cheered by Carthrat's actions.
---
It's not an overly long walk to the docking area. The normal mess of people, cargo, ships, tourists and a thousand other things is in full swing, with the flashy signs of promised wealth and excitment luring people in by the dozen.
Tir doesn't look to be out front, however.
Carthrat starts poking around, using his scanner as a reference for where Tir might be..
Poking around doesn't yield much at first, but your scanner is right on.
Tir is in a docked ship deep inside the port, you think. Where inside isn't possible to tell due to various intereference, but he's there.
It'll probably take a few minutes and some fancy footwork to make it there undetected, but it's not impossible. Hopefully.
Carthrat takes the time to do it right, even folding up his cloak so he's not taking up as much space.
It goes wthout incident. PErhaps because of all the security inside of the casino, the security here is a bit more loose. Gettng to the ships isn't too difficult for one of your means.
It turns out to be a smallish cargo ship, outfitted for what looks to be speed. Makes sense for a lightly armored ship in pirate territory - if you can't outgun'em, outrun'em. It even has the name pained on the side, the Lucky omen.
Tir is inside, your scan shows.
Carthrat quietly sneaks into the ship, if the door is open, stopping if he hears voices inside.
The door is locked magnetically, as is par for spaceships. There isn't any point that you can see for easy access.
Getting in would probably entail at least some force.
Carthrat uses his scanner to check if anyone is nearby the door.)
There isn't anyone by the door. Tir and two others are inside, in what looks to be the control area. One is human, and the other is a non immediately identiable alien race.
Carthrat looks for the control dock to open the door, fishing out his multitool from his cloak..
After a few moments of looking, you find it, behind a swinging metal protective plate. Fiddling with it takes about two minutes, as it's a decent system.
The door opens with a soft magnetic swoosh, a bit of cool air greeting you as the way opens.
Carthrat slips inside the door, and shuts it from the inside, then slinks towards the voices..
"...Right. Thanks, Greck," Tir's voice comes out from the next room, the metal door not entirely muffling his voice.
"That's what I owe you," he nods. "Most of it, you'll have to take a check on the last 400 credits. But why the rush," another voice, gruff and demanding, asks.
"I'm off for another star system, and it looks like I'll be needing all the funds I can get," Tir replies, laughing a bit. "My friends aren't overly endowed with credits, yet I suspect at least one of them will go through them quickly enough."
"Yeah...Earth looks to be going to Hell," Greck notes. "Beating the frantic rush out, eh?"
Looks to be about collecting an old debt of some sort.
Carthrat hangs around, deciding to leave when Tir does.
"Yeah," Tir says, a touch of regret in his voice. "I've always been fond of Earth's crazy one hundred nations approach to things. Reminds me of my homelands."
"Bah, give me a central government that's only partly hung up in it's own sea of bullshit anyday," Greck growls, amusement shaking in his deep voice. "At least you only have to deal with one main group of pests."
There's a short pause before Tir speaks again. "Regardless, if things continue to fall apart, where are you headed?" he asks, his voice back to normal.
"Back home, likely. I have enough favor with the Command to get a nice inside job if I want it," Greck replies, pride in his voice. "If you're ever in the neighborhood...you know to look me up, Tir."
"Thank you, Greck," Tir sounds genuinly grateful. "It's always good to be able to skirt the Piolian customs and checks."
Carthrat becomes acutely aware of the need for contacts within various institutions.
Figuring he'll learn nothing more here, he gives Tir's hand a quick scan, figuring he won't work out much...
Scanning...
"Amen to THAT. I'm an agent and I still have to spend a week in customs each time I go back home," Greck grouses.
Scanning...
"Maybe they're trying to tell you something," Tir says, a bit of amusement in his voice.
Scan complete. Unknown anomaly/life force detected. Unable to scan.
Carthrat ponders bashing the scanner against the wall. Maybe it'd work properly after some percussive maintenance.
Stupid lousy non-detecting $5 piece of magic-fearing junk..
Greck snorts, explosive air passing through his nose(?). "Bah, homeworld LOVES me, or I'd still be on meteor duty,"
Carthrat hears this as he grumbles about his scanner.
Figuring there's not much left to be heard, Carthrat starts getting ready to leave.
"Riiiight," Tir laughs as you leave...
Once out of the spaceport, the neon signs of the casino again entice you, as well as your stomach grumbling AGAIN. That Cone of Cold must've really taken a chunk out of you to require this much food.
Or the Ring is just an overly consuming piece of shit. Whichever.
Carthrat sighs, and goes to play a couple rounds of blackjack, preferably sitting at a table with a smaller number of players.
Finding a quiet table is a simple enough task, with only one youngish looking, green scaled and black eyed alien playing. He glances up at you as you sit down, the dealerbot asking how much you wish to bet.
Carthrat throws a cocky glare at the alien, slapping down 500 credits.
The alien bets 100 credits, and the game begins.
Dealer shows a 10 up.
Carthrat has a 9 and a Jack. (19)
The Alien has a Jack and a 10. (20)
Carthrat holds, figuring the odds of the dealer getting another face card after both he and the alien get one is low.
The alien holds as well.
Dealer shows a 6, for 16. Dealer must hit.
Dealer draws a 7 for 23. Dealer busts, both players win.
Carthrat gets 1000 credits.
Carthrat bets all of it again.
The alien bets another 100, and the next game begins.
Dealer shows a 5 up.
Carthrat gets an Ace and a Jack. 21, Blackjack. Carthrat wins.
The alien gets a Queen and a Deuce. (12)
While they haggle out the rest of the hand(The dealer wins), Carthrat gets 2500 credits.
Carthrat leaves the game of blackjack, thoroughly satisfied with himself. He goes in search of Rachel..
Rachel is back in the hotel room, in silent meditation. She doesn't even react to you coming in, her mind far elseware.
You recall that clerics are known to meditate in session with their deity...
Carthrat flops on the bed, getting some sleep as well to get that stupid clear-headedness needed for spell memorization.
It didn't make sense to him. He was *never* clear-headed when he woke up (unless someone was shooting at him). But that's what the Big Book of Archmagery said..
You sleep soundly, and surprisingly deeply.
----
Finally stirring, Carthrat rubs away the sleep sand from his eyes. The room is dark now, Rachel sleeping quietly on the couch. You feel like you just woke from a very long slumber, and the evidence in front of you supports that.
Carthrat wipes his eyes, making a feeble effort to check his watch for the time.
By Earth time it's, 3:58 AM. Fuck, that was a helluva long sleep.
Your sleep fogged mind is still in third gear, too, trying to shake off the embers of napping.
Carthrat staggers to the bathroom, intent on splashing some water into his face and just waking up the damned brain, already.
Not to mention turning on the lights. Dammit, sleep, yes, but he didn't think he was *that* tired.. someone tamper with him during his sleep, perhaps?
*SPLASH!*
Splashing a bit more water than your rational mind intended, your sleepy body is now Jusenkyo altered. It does manage to clear your brain, however. You don't feel any different, although you're rather hungry.
It doesn't register in Carthrat's mind that she's changed gender. Instead, she goes as her base instincts tell her; namely, to eat.
Since this place lacks, amid many other things, a kitchen, that requires Carthrat to go out for food.
Stumbling out, the quiet of the night is noticable, few indeed out at this hour. Getting to the shopping district is simple enough, and there are a few places open where you could get a late dinner or an early breakfast.
Carthrat goes to grab an early breakfast (preferably something involving chocolate.)
Getting into the restaurant is simple enough, themed for a vaguely Earthian outlook. The best you can do for chocolate is hot chocolate, which goes down nice and smooth with a large breakfast.
Carthrat stretches, then goes to find Tir, armed with a cup of water.
Exiting, you see that your luck is still holding strong. Entering the only grocer here is Tir, still looking a touch sleepy himself. Going shopping before the big trip, eh?
"When are we leaving?" questions Carthrat, not bothering with a greeting.
Walking up to Tir, he starts just a bit, turning to see you. "You're up early," he says, a bit taken off guard to run into you this early. "Further, you're in cute form."
Tir suddenly grins. "Just coming back from a hot date," he smirks, firing back.
"I blame you," replies Carthrat. "You've thrown my biological clock out of whack."
She shakes her head. "But still. I kinda need to know, I've really gotta start working out a way to get some money together."
Going into the shop, Tir shrugs. "Mercenary work? Borderline trading/smuggling? Bounties? I hear the Colz bounty is up to a few million credits now," he notes, getting a loaf of bread from the stocked shelves.
Pausing as he goes towards the refrigerators with milk, he turns to you. "What's with all the money grabbing, though? I'm noting a serious trend here."
"I need some expensive parts," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Parts only avaliable in space, and which are terribly expensive."
Getting to the counter and paying for his food, Tir nods. "Figures it would be something like that. What parts are you in the market for?" Getting his back, he starts walking out while waiting for an answer.
"This and that," replies Carthrat, shrugging.
"You have to have something working in your mind to be looking for specific parts," he challenges, not quite buying the brush off. "What's your next big invention, Rat?"
"I dunno, Tir," replies Carthrat, tsking. "What's with that hand of yours?"
Smoothly, "Don't try and change the subject, Rat," he scowls ever so slightly. "If you ARE looking for parts, maybe I might be able to help find a few of them," he offers.
"I know where to *find* them," replies Carthrat, shaking his head. "Of course, nobody can actually use them in the way I'm going to. Apart from some really high-tech firms," he says, pondering.
Tir chews that over. "So you're in something fairly heavy," he concludes, "whatever it is."
Idly, his right hand twitches a bit.
"Hm. How many credits are you looking at needing, ballpark?"
"Not just credits," replies Carthrat, shaking her head. "I need a territorial grant, but priorities first, eh?
I'm looking at 8-9 million, minimum. I need more; I need a crew of workers, among other things. Right now, I'm having troubly just making ends meet."
"Shit," Tir observes colorfully.
Still walking, he shakes his head. "At that rate, your best bet may be to marry and kill off a merchant lord," he remarks. "Or knock off a nice, large treasury of minerals."
Carthrat shrugs. "Opportunity tends to present itself when needed," shes walking, walking after Tir. "People follow money like slaves. Governments follow promises like ants to honey. The only resource that really matters is time."
Tir stops dead in his tracks, a mental 'click' taking place. "A time machine," he mutters, staring at you. "You aren't serious, are you?"
"Your stupidity baffles me at every turn, young one," replies Carthrat, shaking her head.
"Bah," he says, catching up with you. He lets it drop for now, getting back to your apartment.
---
Once there and once Rachel is stirred...
"The craft leaves in 2 hours," he says, over breakfast. Glancing at your watch, it's 6 AM Earth time now. "Do you all have your stuff together?"
"Yeah," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "You ready, Rachel?"
She nods. "I'm ready...and honestly, any place besides this space station casino would be a step up."
"Good," Tir says, "I'm ready when you two are."
"I'm always ready," points out Carthrat, starting to walk towards the docks.
Rachel nods. "Let's go...another step..." she murmurs, smiling a bit as she picks up her carry bag.
---
The ship is the Star Vessel Videllos, a typical passenger ship. The tickets Tir got you lead to a two room cabin, with two beds, a couch, table, and even a small mini bar. It's quite swank, with sleek metal accented with wood and plastice.
Far better than your previous accomodations.
The help crew is even good in getting you to your cabin. Once there...
"Welcome to the Starship Videllos. This is your pilot speaking, Captain Morley. Our estimated travel time is one week and four days, roughly. Any questions can be directed to your nearest personnel. We will be taking off in 30 minutes."
The overhead speaker annouces. 11 days...
Carthrat stretches. "Well, these ships usually have some interesting anemities to play with, so we shouldn't get bored," she comments to Rachel. "Just try not to let any of the crew grope you."
She nods, placing her carry bag near the couch. "At least the accomodations are pleasant," she agrees, "And I'm not planning on it."
"Besides, I was planning on working with that rod," she says. "Speaking of which...." she frowns a bit. "You just took that from her, didn't you?"
"She deserved it," replies Carthrat, flatly. "That illusionary world hurt like a bitch, and showed me a few things I'd rather not see."
A blatant lie, but it's one of those lies God doesn't mind. Or something.
"Wrong is wrong is wrong," she shrugs, but she doesn't pursue the matter right now. Instead, "Any plans for the next week and a half," she asks, sitting on the couch and signing in contentment at it's softness.
"I need to buy more bullets," observes Carthrat. "That's about it."
"Can you do that onboard," she asks curiously. "Nevermind," she says a moment later, "It's not important...." already, she's curling up in the couch, content with it.
OOC - Timeskip?
"Yeah," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Standard bullets aren't hard to come by, and plenty of people want them."
OOC: Sure.
And thus, your great trip to the Algol system begins.
The liftoff and first day go without incident, as expected. Rachel spends this time beginning her work on the staff while Tir lays low. You have plenty of free time...
Carthrat wanders around the ship, taking note of things like security, layout, number of passangers, number of crew members, number of vagabonds like himself who use public transport..
The layout is a simple main hallway, at least as far as the passenger sections go. Doors and small hallways branch off from it, all leading to rooms. You'd have to guess, but there are at least 40 other passengers.
You also see a few scattered crew members, checking up on things and making sure everything is alright.
Most of the people look reasonably respectable, at least by standard. You don't see anyone who sets off your radar.
Overall, it looks like a normal enough operation.
Carthrat heads back to her room, running through her inventory and making sure everything is in order and tuning her weaponary and the million other things a traveller has to do if she wants to stay safe.
The rest of the day passes without incident. Carthrat sleeps well that night, the food quite filling.
---
However, Carthrat is woken by the craft shaking violently, the lights flickering before emergency power restores a minimal, yellowish light to the area. Blinking around quickly, the ship shakes again, as if in the grip of a giant shaking it.
"Wha?" says Carthrat, pulling himself out of bed and rushing to a window in his room, looking through it..
Rachl herself is stirring as you do so, "What in the world?" she asks, stumbling out of her bed as another tremor grips the ship.
Staring out the window, you see two nasty, heavily armored ships outside...they don't look to be here for punch and cookies.
"The hell?" says Carthrat, angry. "Pirates?"
She wipes her brow. "Come'on, Rachel. We're going to the bridge."
With that, she stands up and starts walking..
Taking a moment to grab a robe to go over her pajamas, she follows, still shaking away her sleepiness. Once in the hall, a frantic crewmember is trying to assauge a few passengers who want to know what the hell is going down.
"We assure you that nothing is wrong, please return to your rooms!"
Carthrat, shoves the crewmember out the way and keeps walking to the bridge.
The crewmember is tossed aside with a yelp, Carthrat striding past him.
The way to the bridge is unfettered now, but another rumble shortly after nearly sends you to your knees.
"This is the captain," comes over the loudspeaker a moment later. "We are under attack by pirates and badly damaged! All crew members to statio..." Another rumble that does send you to your knees shakes the ship, the loudspeaker going dead.
Carthrat staggers to her feet, and glances back at Rachel.
"It's standard pirate practice to incapacitate a ship before boarding it," she says, shaking her head. "Here, take this," he continues, tossing his cloaking device to Rachel. "Stay close to me, and try not to get in anyones way and stay un-noticed."
Carthrat continues heading to the bridge, reasoning that's where the pirate leader will end up.
Rachel takes it, soon vanishing from sight with a final nod at Carthrat.
Going into the bridge, you find it a four man team of chaos. One of these men is lying on the ground of the small, compact room full of instruments, bleeding quite a bit from his head.
The captain, signified by his blue doublet and grey hair, looks up at Carthrat, a energy pistol rising until he reconizes you. "Sir, please go back to you cabin and..." A final shake hits the ship, the emergency lights flickering. The glowing buttons and dials in the room go dead...
"We've lost everything but basic life support, sir," The crewman at the helm says, a young, elvish looking human shouts. "We're being boarded by all three vessels!"
"Go back to my cabin and get raped?" replies Carthrat, flatly. "No, thank you, captain. I'll take my chances here.
You're clearly in need of an advisor for this sort of situation, anyway."
He scowls at you, his endurance at an end. "Sir, what I need for you is TO GO BACK TO YOUR CABIN," he says loudly, over the rumble of the ship. A moment later, the door just behind you shudders, as if being hit.
Fuck, they're moving faster than hell. These are pirates?
"That is not an option," replies Carthrat, flatly. "Don't worry, I'll leave once they're done with you."
She takes a defensive position alongside a wall..
The door flies open at the end pound, right after Carthrat gets to the wall. It flies to the other side of the door. A second later, three canisters are fired in, faintly visible, yellowish gas pouring from each of them!
"Gas!" the captain yells, one of the canisters landing close to him...
Carthrat takes a deep breath, and sidles her way to the door, holding a knife in one hand and the sleeve of his cloak to his nose in the other.
As you do so, you hear a few more thumps behind you. People passing out, likely.
As you get closer to the door, four large, burly, armed with plasma rifles and enough body armor and fields to stop a tank dart in, one in each direction.
You have a split second amid the gas to act...
Carthrat hits herself up with her 'Feign Death' hypo, hoping it'll slow her metabolism down and cause the gas to be diluted, as well as leaving her 'unconcious', yet able to act if something happens.
Carthrat falls, the pain of the hypo minimal as she tumbles to the floor. Your body slowly stops breathing, the mixture of chemicals and gas leaving you in a bemused, paralyzed state. You see the four soldiers quickly secure the area....
Then they see you, and come to you carefully, but like flies to honey. Speaking from behind his resperator mask into a built in radio relay, one of the soldiers says, "We have found the target. Repeat, we have found the primary target. Begin withdrawl. Repeat, we have found the primary target. Begin withdrawl."
From behind his mask, his voice is oddly muffled and mechanical. Two of the men grab you, one reaching for your legs and the other for your arms.
Carthrat realises that she's in a pretty shitty situation, but hopefully, an opportunity will arise if she waits long enough.
With this in mind, she remains inert..
The two drag you, while another two soldiers enter, masks and heavy goggles equipped. Just as you exit..."Secondary target found..."
Carthrat does a good job keeping her eyebrows from shooting up, but she realises that logically, the only two people associated with her in this age are Tir and Rachel...
God, please let it be Tir.
You are carried out silently, a few fallen and zapped passengers and crew members littering the floor.
Taken to a access point in the cargo bay(which is trashed, and the access point is a inserted vacuum tube), you are transported onboard the other craft....
Carthrat continues to wait, preferably until he's tossed into a recovery room or some such.
You pass through bleak, metallic halls, the sign of not a transport - but a warship. Further, the only people you pass are a few soldiers, humans by and large and all heavily armed.
After an interminable time of steel walkways, you are taken into a well furnished(by standards) room, and dumped on the floor.
"Good work," a sickening, vaguely familiar voice gloats. "Now go." As the soldiers shuffle off, you can look up...and the bald pate of someone who you only saw a short time, yet who sickened you with his actions, gazes down at you.
'You made quite a ruckus, Mr. Tanewaki.' The voice, like a intruder in your house, echos in your mind.
Carthrat finds it hard to keep an incredulous look off her face.
"You expended all this energy and effort to find me?" she says, clearly shocked. "That's so.. petty."
"Sir," he smiles, "you annoyed not only a humble old man, but his boss!" He takes a step forward, kneeling down gingerly to you.
'My boss, replacement surgery or no, was QUITE emphatic that I find you.' To accent his mental words, he places a chilly finger on your chin. 'I'm sure he'll appreciate your curse, as well.'
"He'll have to kill me first," replies Carthrat, testily.
Not replying with words, his eyes widen and you feel a momentary pressure subconciously, like a mental probe. "Ah! I see that your other will is strong and with you!"
He stands, knees creaking as he does so, his casual slacks wrinkling. 'Mr. Tanewaki, even with your other will, you cannot resist my ways forever. You shall be....just another child.'
"Do your worst," replies Carthrat, biting back a snarl. "But these crimes will come back to haunt you some day.
Sooner, rather than later."
"Justice, sir? Simple and mighty justice from a single Paladin?" he chuckles darkly."Nonsense! Only the justice of steel and power reign, and they have convicted you, sir."
Raising his voice, "Guards, please enter now!"
'Mr. Tanewaki, before any grandiose notions of escaping play through your mind, let me remind you that your friend was captured as well. I can just as easily do unto her as I would do unto you.' his voice grates in your mind as the two who carried you enter again.
"And when I rip your heart out, we'll see who won," replies Carthrat, injecting herself with a Mind-Blanking hypo and preparing herself to take out the guards..
With a calm smile, he just laughs. "Take him to the Dark Room, and keep him there until further notice."
Carthrat glances over her shoulders at the guards, hand straying to a vib-knife..
The guards come forward, ready to grab you. If you're gonna act this would be the time.
Carthrat's hands lash out, her right holding a vibroknife, which emnates a low hum as it slashes towards one of the guards throats.
Her other hand snakes towards the other guards gun, in an attempt to wrench it so it's not going to be pointing at her.
Lunging forward, the vibknife rips out the first guard's throat, causing him to go down with a bloody gurgle. Your second motion grazes the guard's gun, deflecting it ever so slightly.
"Guards to 13A now, sirs," your captor shouts, then his eyes widen hugely, while the other guard takes a shot that just misses and hits the wall due to your defensive manuvoer.
Carthrat slashes back with her knife at the second guards throat, hoping to take him out before he can fire his gun again.
Your second slash is fast and true, gutting out the man's throat before his energy rifle can bust a cap in Carthrat's tender hide. As he does so, you feel pain race up your arm, causing you to drop the vibknife just as you finish the second guard.
With a shimmering barrier of the mind around his body, your captor holds an energy pistol. "Sir, that is quite enough." His eyes are almost completely dilated and big as plates now, giving his face a distorted apperance.
Carthrat takes this opportunity to drop a flashbang on the ground and dive for cover (whatever little it might be), figuring that the psychic, with those huge eyes, might be more adversly affected than the normal person would be.
Carthrat tosses the flashbang and then dives behind a chair, using what scant cover it offers. The pyschic does stumble a moment, but as he does so, three guards burst in, weapons ready!
Carthrat bounces a pair of Plasma grenades in opposite directions; one towards the guards, and one towards the psion. He crouches and huddles on the ground, hoping to weather off the aftershock the grenades produce (not to mention not get shot).
The grenades are thrown, amid a storm of shots from t he guards. Carthrat sees a flash, then blissful unconciousness as his world is rocked, along with everyone else's in the room.
---
And of course, by that meaning, Carthrat wakes up in a fair bit of pain. Your arm where you know you were shot, mainly, but your entire body is sore....slowly your eyes open, in almost total darkness, your bare skin on cold metal.
Blink.
Blink.
Breathe.
Blink.
Carthrat forced herself to blink. It was so dark that it didn't really matter.
But it did give her a sense of being, a sense of actually being alive. She could acutely feel the eyelid dropping, then putting the seemingly monumental effort into forcing it open again.
Which meant.. she was still alive. If barely.
She clenches her fists, feeling for the cold metal of the Ring of Regeneration.
Nothing...only the chilly metal of the floor where you lay. A quick inspection leaves you with the idea that you are totally stripped and naked, not an article on you.
It's rather dank in here, chilly and unpleasant.
"Sensory deprivation.." says Carthrat, aloud. A torture technique perhaps cruller than any phyiscal pain.
She felt her body for any particularly nasty wounds that she may have accured..
You don't feel anything too terrible, at least, although your arm is deeply bruised and you probably have several other bruises and bumps all over.
Carthrat tries standing up.
While sore, your body is quite capable of standing....if it wasn't for the fact that the ceiling is just low enough where your head bangs into the very edge of it.
Ouch.
You can walk around with a bit of a slouch, though, just fine.
Carthrat starts feeling her way around the room, trying to get a sense of it's dimensions.
It's perhaps five body length across and wide, not very big at all. The walls are smooth, cold metal, with no features to grab on.
It's pretty depressing - not a thing popped up to help.
Carthrat takes stock of her situation.
1) She is completely unarmed (and undressed, which is embarassing, but not quite so serious).
2) Somebody really, really hates her.
3) That somebody currently has her sealed in an impentrable box only slightly bigger than herself.
4) That person also has Rachel.
The first three, Carthrat felt sure she could work around. That last one was creating a major depressive streak to form within her mind, as she unwillingly kept turning over the things that could happen to the unfortunate girl.
While she's going through this self-imposed torture, Carthrat keeps her body moving, and the blood flowing. It would do no good for her to somehow get out and then fall on her recently unused feet.
Carthrat paces, trying to keep his wits in this darkness. Hours crawl by............
....
......
..
...........
.......
Searing in the darkness, the roof above you cracks, a stream of light pouring through! It's blindingly bright!
Carthrat shields her eyes, staggering as she makes feeble attempts to regain her composure.
As you squint in the light, it suddenly expands, the roof being pulled away, blinding you entirely!
"Hey, nice rack," Tir calls out. "I'm in love!"
"Are you all right, Carthrat," Rachel calls out seconds later.
Carthrat flops over, moaning in pain and unable to form coherent sentences.
Rachel hops down, putting down a Plasma Rifle she was carrying over her now dirty clothes.
"Hold on, Carthrat." she says, gently touching your side. "Oh Selena..."
Light washes over you, your arm and body soothed...
Carthrat mumbles something, then starts speaking up.
"Tir.. what are *you* doing here?"
"I couldn't let you go completely to waste with that body," he jokes. "Rachel, can he get out of there?"
Rachel nods up, all business now. "I think he can. Any injuries he had looked to be minor."
"Of course I can get out of here," replies Carthrat. "I'm more worried about how you got in."
Nope, no problems here. Apart from the whole clothing thing.
"Tir, give me your shirt."
His shirt, a now sweat and dirt stained white dressy shirt, comes off with surprisingly little argument. He's in good shape, notably.
"I got in during the invasion by mistake," he grunts as he tosses it down. "I heard about you from a guard I had a special chat with, and figured I should liberate you and Rachel before busting out."
Carthrat quickly buttons up the shirt.
"Great. Let's go. What's the plan?"
"Get the hell out of here," Tir says as he bends down to give you a metal glove clad hand up and out. "And hopefully blow shit up on the way."
"I'm not going to be blowing anything up," observes Carthrat. "The bastards took my cloak."
He pulls you up, then points to the side. You're in a cargo bay, with a few crates and boxes scattered about, as well as a few downed soldiers. "Take a weapon or two from them, at least." Tir comments as he bends down to get Rachel out. "Just hurry. Round 2 is coming, I'm sure."
"Aye," replies Carthrat. "I'm tempted to take some pants, too."
Carthrat goes to scavange what he can..
One of the guards took a messy neck shot, leaving his pants and body armor mostly intact, if a bit stained. He also has a Plasma Rifle, a fairly decent weapop, and it's fully charged.
Black, loose pants in particular, but beggers can't be choosers.
Carthrat grabs the gear and puts on some freaking clothes.
"Y'know, I miss that cloak. All the junk in it was handy, but I really liked that cloak."
Rachel comes up besides you, nodding. "Maybe we can find it on the way out," she suggests, but Tir shakes his head. "Let's just haul out of here. The longer we stay, the more likely we never leave."
"Yeah, that's right," replies Carthrat, shaking his head. "I don't know the layout of this vessel. You'll have to lead, Tir."
"It's a fairly short way to the shuttle bay - this place is loaded to bear," he comments, getting his weapon ready as you head over to the double metal doors that lead outward. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I'm fairly certain that this is someone's military being used."
"Yeah," replies Carthrat, glancing around. "Not just a two-bit planet, either. This is some serious hardware."
"Which means that you're in deep," he concludes, opening the door. The hallway ahead is empty and steely, strangely enough. Only a fallen soldier to the side is of note, facedown. "If a government is going after you, you pissed off SOMEONE big."
"I pissed off a crimelord on Earth before I came," replies Carthrat, shaking his head. "I had no idea he was this well connected, though."
"Which type?" he says quietly, glancing down. "This way," he says, leading you down the eastern passage...
"Yakuza," replies Carthrat. "Child prostitution. I thought he was Earthbound; most crimelords don't operate there if they have outside contacts."
He grunts. "Just your luck, eh?" he says, as you proceed down, to another door. "This is it..." he says, shaking his head. "And not a drop of anything. Damn."
Carthrat glances back at Rachel. "Did they do anything to you?"
"No," she says, sighing a bit of relief. "Just held me in a room until Tir found me...except for this old man who came to see me," Rachel shivers visibly. "He was terrible - he turned my stomach on sight."
Carthrat nods. "Yeah. I know the feeling."
She cautiously makes her way through the ship.. then realises something.
"Tir! I need the ships I.D. signiature!" she says. "I wanna know who this thing belongs to."
He turns from staring at the door, scowling. "Sure, if you feel like a trip to a compture access point AND feel like wasting more time," he says. "If they're unawares, I'd like to take advantage of that before it runs out."
"There's no point getting out now to get captured again later," replies Carthrat. "We shouldn't need to take a detour, there's always a control room at the docking bay.
And we'll need to raid that anyway to get out, won't we?"
Tir scowls further, realizing he was just outgunned. "Fine," he says briskly. "You open the door, though."
Tir steps aside, the door ready to be opened ahead, another double door...
Carthrat rushes to the door access panel, and opens the door, ready to blast anything on the other side..
It opens, revealing a four shuttle bay, and one person inside, a techie at a control panel on the side wall. He looks up, unarmed or armored, and reaches quickly for a button..
OOC - Action, if you're quick.
Carthrat blasts the unfortunate tech; he can't risk an alarm getting set off...
Carthrat's quick reflexes and aim are true, popping the tech's head like a bloody zit with a single Plasma pulse. Ouch.
Tir rushes in a moment later, glancing around. To the side is a little door, leading to what must be the control bay. "Over here, Rat!."
Carthrat rushes over to the docking bay. "I'm on it. You go and prep one of the shuttles for takeoff. You can fly, right?"
"Decently enough," he shouts back, motioning for Rachel to follow him to a shuttle. The door is unlocked, and ready to open.
Carthrat rushes into the control panel and looks for the access point.
The door opens...A energy pistol is pointed at you, a very wide eyed and amused old man staring back at you. "I'd say that was enough, sir," he smiles mockingly. "More than enough."
"You're not dead," observes Carthrat. "Shouldn't you be calling your guards?"
"Look behind you," he says with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I'm sure your friends are enjoying the view of ten soldiers with guns waiting for them inside the shuttle, sir!"
He chuckles coldly. "In fact, I'd say that they are stunned to death over it!"
"I'll have to satisfy myself with your corpse, then," replies Carthrat, cooly, glancing behind the man at the airlock controls.
The only thing behind him are the controls to the airlock. However, your look is diverted by Tir screaming in pain, gurgling...
Carthrat curses, and punches the door control panel, then blasts it, hopefully sealing it shut.
That done, he turns around and dives to the ground, looking over the situation.
The shot sears the panel, causing a fleet of sparks to fly forth as you dive down, evaluating the situ..shit.
At least 15 soldiers have filed in behind you, all armed and pointing at you.
"TIR!" Rachel screams out, tears in her voice.
From his position on the floor, Carthrat makes one more last-ditch effort to hit a plasma rifle, pressing himself up against the door in an effort not to get hit from the fallout.
"Rachel, do something!" she yells to accompany the blast.
You fire, putting all your aim in one shot.
The ball of pulsing, super hot plasma flies forth, soaring to one target!
And just misses, hitting the guard in the arm instead. They aim to fire, to turn you into a cushion!
But.
Instead, as one, they drop their guns, clutching at their chests frantincally, screaming in sudden, soul wailing agony! As they do this, you feel a warm, protective glow encase you, a white light of purity and sanctity. White Glow? A thread ot darkness rams against this barrier, but dissipates after contact, leaving you sound.
Carthrat almost chokes. The hell was that?
Well.
It didn't matter.
Carthrat remains concious of the psions presence back in the room, deciding that before he could get out, the psion had to go.
This in mind, he rushes over to some of the fallen guards plasma rifles, discharging plasma packs right and left and tossing them over to the door.
As you get up, another gristly scene stops you in your tracts. As they fall, the bodies of the guards simply fall to dust, leaving only small orbs of white. Those hover a moment, beautiful phantoms, before streaking towards the third shuttlecraft, passing through the walls like air.
Carthrat gapes at the undeniable beauty of the scene, fighting off an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Is this the unsettling feeling Rachel spoke of? This.. despair?
Carthrat shakes off the feeling, getting back to the task at hand. But he can't fight off the knowledge that he's in deep on several fronts.. on a physical, mental, and spiritual basis.
Gathering the cores is simple enough, as the guards aren't here to argue possession. Tossing a goodly mess of them takes a few minutes, which is eerily silent...
Carthrat pauses. The Psion might not even be there.. it doesn't matter.
Carthrat pockets another couple of cores, stands a good distance away from the control room, and blasts the makeshit bomb..
The walls shake as superhot plasma bursts obliterate the wall and doorway, leaving a gaping, huge hole of jagged metal.
Inside, you can see the clothing of the old man, but nothing else. Just like the guards.
Carthrat glances at the remnants of the psion, shaking his head.
Shaken and even scared (a rare occurence), Carthrat makes his way back to where Tir and Rachel are..
As you head over to the third shuttle, the door opens, Rachel backing out and falling backwards out. Her face is a mask of stark shock and fear, at something inside..
"CARTHRAT," she screams when she sees you, scrambling up and over to you. "He's a monster! A demon!"
"Calm down, Rachel!" says Carthrat, quickly, putting her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "What do you mean, he's a demon?"
"He took their souls!" she rambles, shaken to her very core. "Just like that, taken and eaten!" Her eyes are wide and watery....she's on the verge of shocked histeria.
Carthrat struggles to get to grips with this startling revelation.
"Their souls?" he mouths, shocked.
She shudders. "Right into his hand," she nods. "Those were souls, alright, and he took them. His hand, Carthrat...."
Carthrat shudders, clenching White Glow.
There was another time it had saved his soul.
"Well.. I suppose.. I'll have to speak to him, won't I?" says Carthrat, unsure of what to do with him.
Rachel hesitates. "Please.....stop him, if you go. He can't be human. No huma n could or would do that on that scale." Concern battles for attention on her face, clearly shown.
"Rachel.. he saved our lives," says Carthrat. "Doesn't that rationalize his actions somewhat?"
She shakes her head quickly. "Carthrat, our deaths pale in front of what he just did," she insists. "That's buchery on the most fundamental level! It's something you would have done if you had failed to find White Glow, done with passion!"
"Maybe I should give the amulet to him," replies Carthrat, clenching it. "The last owner did say that the time would come to pass it on.."
That causes Rachel to pause, that contingency never crossing her fear addled mind. "Well....if it could help him, you'd be bound to," she agrees. "If he can be helped."
"Of course he can be helped!" says Carthrat, vehemently. "Even I could be helped! Before I was a demon, I was much worse than he is now!"
Carthrat turns and walks off, looking for Tir.
Rachel nods to you, admittely too emotional to think clearly.
Going into the shuttle craft, Tir stands in the main control room, his back to you. Two bloody spots where holes should be are on his back, fresh flesh there.
"Finally worked up the nerve, eh Rat?" he says, not turning. "Hope it was a good show for you."
"Tir, I.." replies Carthrat, trying to find the words.
"Don't say anything, Rat," he says. "But...I'm surprised. Soul Eater didn't take your soul. Why? If anything, because your a friend of mine, it would take it first."
HE shifts a bit, holding his hand, at least you think so, from the way his back arm is. On the ground is his metal glove.
"Why? I've outlived generations of friends and seen several more come into Soul Eater, but you're the first to resist it."
"Because I have something," replies Carthrat, playing with White Glow. "Something very special. Something that saved me in a time of greatest need, and has done so again."
"Heh....you didn't somehow go by my land in your travels and find a Rune, did you?" he laughs a bit. "That would be the ultimate irony, eh Rat?"
He shakes with laugher, although it's not a sound that's very good to hear.
"Hardly," replies Carthrat, shaking his head. "Say, Tir. Look at me."
He stops laughing, a mercy to your ears. "I'd rather not," he says simply. "It would be better for both of us if it I didn't.
Tell me...are yoiu going to try and kill me? I rather upset Rachel, screaming that I was a demon." He sounds amused again, but something is fundamentally WRONG with how he says it.
"It's considered rude where I come from to kill someone who saves your life," replies Carthrat. "No matter the fashion they do so in."
Clenching White Glow fiercely, he slowly starts to remove the pendant from his neck.
Tir shakes his head.
"Funny...most people I met past my world run in terror from me when they find out.
You're unusually stout."
"I've seen some pretty heavy stuff," replies Carthrat, thinking back to days a long time ago..
"Yeah, I guess you have. Soul in peril, perhaps? Dealt with a demon, a deal with the devil?" Tir sighs. "If it wasn't like this, I'd love to hear the tale over a good meal. I'm sure it's a corker."
"A little," replies Carthrat. "Hey. Hold out your hand. I've got something for you."
Tir chuckles, finally turning. His right hand is now bare, a image shining brighly on it. It's light causes White Glow to shine itself, and you feel pushed away - and you are, at least two feet as the two auras clash momentarily.
"Ah," he nods, seeing the glow around you. "Whatever that is, it's powerful enough to block Soul Eater. The only other thing I've seen do that is another True Rune."
"It's called White Glow," replies Carthrat, turning it over in his hands. "I was told that a time would come where I would have to give it to someone else in need.
I suppose that someone would be you. Never imagined this time would come so soon."
Tir closes his eyes. "It's a fine offer, Carthrat. Try, then."
He holds out his runed hand, as if to receive it. The rune stops glowing, as does White Glow a moment later.
"If it's really so powerful, give it to me." His voice is hopeful, and tired.
Carthrat pulls the amulet off his neck and hands it to Tir, bracing himself for sudden affliction of old age, death, illness, anything.
It didn't matter, really. His only regret was that Rachel may have to go on to find Diane alone.
Tir opens his eyes as you approach. "It's gorgeous..."
Carthrat puts it in Tir's hand...
---
One flash of light later, a roaring in your ears, and a rather unpleasant impact with the far wall, Carthrat finds himself sitting against the wall, White Glow again around his neck. Tir is draped over the controls of the ship, moaning.
"Fucking hell....what was THAT, Rat?" he says, a trace of Tir's more habitual sparring in his voice. "Shit, that hurt!" You can see the Rune is still on his hand, as well.
"I don't know!" yells back Carthrat, looking at the amulet. "It had some kind of reaction with.. that.. rune!
Dammit. Opposites are supposed to attract, not repel!"
"No shit, Rat," he draws back, getting up and rubbing his head. A bump is already rising there.
"I don't think the two mix, either, Einstein."
Carthrat glares at the amulet, as if it's all it's fault.
"Then there's nothing to be done," replies Carthrat, picking herself up. "We may as well get the fuck out of here. Hey, Rachel!"
Tir nods, slowly going over to the controls for the ship.
"Are you alright, Rat," she calls back, a bit outside the ship. "I heard an explosion!"
"We're fine," replies Carthrat, glancing around the ship to make sure *it's* fine, too.
White glow appears normal, although still a bit warm from the encounter.
"Did it work," she asks, calling out. "Is Tir...safe?"
"Not by your definition," replies Carthrat, glancing over at Tir.
Silence. A moment later, Rachel cautiously enters, staring at Tir with both fear and thinly veiled worry.
"Carthrat?" she asks, darting in to your side.
"I'm fine," replies Carthrat, picking herself up. "Tir, did that.. thing.. get everyone on the ship?"
"Just everyone in the area," he grunts, working with the controls. "I felt about 300 others through IT. We'd best get going."
"Yeah," replies Carthrat, finding the copilots seat. "You'll fly."
Carthrat starts working his own controls, finding out about nearby systems, the specifications of the shuttle, who this fleet belongs to, and most importantly, what happens to be nearby.
The control systems are straightforward enough, nothing of note.
It's a near warp shuttle, armor reinforced with four Tx1 Fusion arrays. That'll leave a mark in something.
The fleet name is the Slicing Gale. *Blink*
Now that name you know. One of the higher up mercenary groups, and allied with a few countries, giving them quite a bit of pull and power they'd have otherwise. In return, they do some wet ops for them and even serve as a backup military force when needed.
They also cost a boatload to use.
Carthrat glances back at the docking bay. "Tir, we're only gonna get one shot at this," he says. "How close is the docking bay to the engines?"
"Not too far," he says, checking this monitor. "Thinking about a going away present?"
"That's the plan," replies Carthrat, glancing at the docking bay.
"Rachel! Get yourself strapped in. There's gonna be a bit of a ride."
Rachal does so.
"Ready, Carthrat?" Tir asks, getting his stuff together.
Carthrat pauses.
"As ready as I ever am,"she confesses. "Let's take off with a 21-gun salute!"
Carthrat configures the Fusion Arrays to fire a swathe of energy across the docking bay, leaving behind a mess, a gaping hole in the wall, and hopefully cause a few crew members to get sucked out into the black void.
Slowly, the shuttle bay opens and the craft begins to move out. As it does so, Carthrat fires off the arrays, indeed doing quite a bit of damage as you escape out into space.
Carthrat glances through his viewscreens to assess the damage done to the docking bay. Just how hard did those Fusion Array's hit again?
The back wall of the shuttle bay is nearly totalled, the main chunk of it shredded into space dust. The other three shuttles were hit as well, each taking considerable damage. Further, by the way shuttle 1 is emitting brilliant blue sparks, it's leaking plasma from it's engine.
That means a really nasty boom is coming up, since that means the engine will breach.
"Hey. Tir. Get us out of here," says Carthrat, glancing over his controls. "I'm dumping all nonessential systems into the engines!"
"Right," he says back quickly. "We're gettting pursuit already?"
Tir asks this as he maneouvers the shuttle away from the ships, ready to hit it up to near warp speed.
"No, but in case it escaped your notice, these ships have some pretty damn big guns all by themselves," replies Carthrat, dryly.
"Let's see what the navcomp says about nearby systems.."
Tir chuckles, gunning the shuttle to speed! Moments later, you've left them behind, this shuttle bookin'.
The nearest system is the Halycanos Cluster, a pair of stars close enough to each other to share a solar system. 7 of the 8 planets in said system support life, the largest being equivalent to 13th century Earth. All are protected and left alone due to a treaty, as they were fought over a few hundred years ago. It would be about a day and a half away.
Carthrat blinks. "We're way out here?" he groans, glancing over the screen and checking how much fuel the ship is packing.
Now that you've made some distance, Tir puts the ship on auto for a moment, heading over to where you are. "Halycanos? We're not even in the semi civilised boondocks now," he grumps. "Where the hell were they taking us, anyway?"
The ship uses a tiny cold fusion array, which will power the main systems pretty much forever barring malfunction. Actual fuel to move is energy crystal, enough for about four months of near warp speed.
"Don't know," replies Carthrat, glancing over at the comm panel. "This thing might have a copy of the capital ships logs on it. You could try checking, but I... don't feel so good.
I think I'm gonna get some sleep. And find some clothes. You're too damn small, Tir. This shirt doesn't fit me."
Tir smirks, already falling back into his old patterns. "It's because you're so gifted in this form, 'Rat." He shakes his head lightly, then goes on. "Anyway, I'll do some work...and take Rachel back there with you. " The last part is merely a whisper.
"Yeah.." replies Carthrat, shaking her head.
"Come'on, Rachel," she continues, deciding to wander around the ship to get a grip on it. After all, it was *her* ship now.
She'd have to get around to changing the markings and signiatures.. and replacing the black box. But that could wait.
Rachel follows, rather numb looking.
The rest of the ship besides the surprisingly big bridge area is a single rest area with four cots built into the wall, a small galley with about a few month's worth of flash frozen rations, and engines access. There reallly isn't much space, but it's enough to work.
The storage areas for the bedroom and kitchen are ladders beneath obviously movable floor panels, reasonably sized, walk down cubbys to store things in.
Carthrat starts going through the motions of taking an inventory in silence, all mixed up in her thoughts..
Mercenaries.. Tir.. Diane.. what have I caught myself up in again?
There are four generic, rankless uniforms here, black and tight fitting, but sans armor. One of them fits you well enough, better than Tir's shirt. There are no weapons of note, but there are a few (3) plasma cells stored in a box. Those could be used to power the guns you do have.
Along with that, there are a few old hand held computers with small data storages and basic games programmed in, they look like time killers. And finally...
In a corner, hidden by an empty, dusty box, is a full sized medical kit. Inside are hypos, anti biotics, bandages, anti toxins, all sorts of good things.
Carthrat glances at the medkit.
Heh.. who needs a medkit when you have Selene? Still.. it can't hurt to have it somewhere more accessible.
Quickly getting changed into a uniform, Carthrat grabs the medkit and the plasma cells, putting them closer to the cockpit.
Exhausted from the days events, and just sick of having to be fighting all the time, Carthrat makes her way back to the sleeping area and sits on a bed, thinking about what to do next..
During all this, Rachel ended up on a bed as well, staring a goodly hole in the ceiling. She isn't making any conversation, any thoughts she has right now are going inside or to someone else.
As you lay there, your body is letting you know it wants sleep badly. Even for a military bed, this isn't that uncomfortable...
"Hey, Rachel," says Carthrat, tracing a finger across the wall and gazing out the starport.
A long pause, as Carthrat stares out at the stars. "Yeah?" she asks finally, her voice tired and weary.
"The stars are pretty, aren't they?" she replies, her voice slurred from tiredness.
"...yeah."
Her response is a good while in coming, her voice distant. "It's...never boring in your life, is it?"
"..never a dull moment.." replies Carthrat, turning away.
"No..." she whispers, and then is quiet. Moments later, her breathing becomes soft and regular.
Carthrat's eyes close, and she too drifts off into the realm of sleep..
<->
Hey, Carthrat. You'll never get a break. Been like this since day one, hasn't it? A fight every day. A death every week. Never changed, no matter who you thought you were.
Mercenary.. slave.. and now a hunter. Guess Setsuna was right, wasn't he? Death isn't a nightmare. It's a dream..
<->
And while she sleeps, she almost starts to cry. But that would never do, would it? Can't have Carthrat, big tough guy, crying. Ruin the whole image.
<->
Image of what, huh?
<->
The rest of the sleep is a dreamless one..
"......t........at......ra.t.........RAT!"
As if emerging from a deep fog, your mind is thrust towards the waking world once again, Tir shaking your shoulder. "Man, wake up. It's been nearly twelve hours," he grunts, yawning himself.
"Are we there yet?" asks Carthrat, dragging herself out of bed.
Tir ignores that, going to lay on a bed himself once you're getting going. "It's going to be awhile, Rat. The nearest system that's even worth looking at is Paxis 4, and that's a good two weeks.
Oh, and more good news," Tir grunts, annoyed. "Guess what? We're phoning back to the mothership as we speak. They built a tracker into the shuttle - probably just in this case, if someone had the balls to steal their ship."
"Joy," replies Carthrat, flatly. "Where's the nearest sun?"
"There's a red giant about three days away, but it's a day off course," he answers, shifting to get comfortable. "Oh, and Rat. Go take a shower, you need one," he comments idly. "The bathroom has personal hygience supplies, at least. Thank God for THAT one."
"You can't get the tracker off? finishes Carthrat, not responding to Tir's jibe.
"It's pretty good and intergrated," he shrugs helplessly. "If I were at a starport and had the right people doing it, we could get rid of it. But by ourselves? It ain't happening, unless you have a miracle handy."
"Huh. That's me. The miracle man," replies Carthrat, faintly. "Always coming out on top, against all the odds. A miracle every day.
Hey. Tir. Wanna do something suicidal?"
Tir laughs a bit. "Sure, Rat. What's up?"
"We're at warp speed right now," says Carthrat, sounding depressed. "Their tracker can't have limitless range. They'll have to stay on our tail to really keep a lock on it, won't they?
So they must have something permenantly following our course, huh. Probably at least one of those capital ships, or maybe another bunch of shuttles.
Am I right so far? I can't remember anything about ships. Yuki was the one who did all the flying. I just fixed the things and shouted at crewmembers."
Tir is quiet a moment. "Yeah, more or less," he says, the humor gone from his voice now.
"We can change our course to take us to the red dwarf," continues Carthrat, dreamily. "We'll drop out of warp, fly within metres of the heat-kill-zone of the star, then go back into warp.
Anyone chasing us won't be able to compensate. They'll all die."
This gets Tir to sit up, sighing. "Rat, are you out of your mind? Sure, we could do it, and maybe even succeed. But, on the other hand, we'll more likely get burned into cinders."
"I lost my mind on Earth. There's no use for it out here," replies Carthrat, glancing out the window to the endless expanse of stars.
*Snort*
"Don't bullshit me, Carthrat," he says, unamused. "Take it from me - this never helps. In the end, it just gets you into deeper shit."
"It's not that, Tir," replies Carthrat, glancing at the stars. "We're in a desperate situation. Sooner or later, the time will come again to risk our lives on a slim hope.
Why not set the terms for once?"
"Because the 'terms' youj're talking about are fuckin' stupid," he growls. "We can do better than dancing with a star and praying we don't get fried."
Tir rises from his bed.
"Why don't you go talk to Rachel instead, right now? I think the two of you could use each other."
"Yeah? Like what?" replies Carthrat, flatly. "Fly through space and hope they all catch the Prometheus Virus?"
"Or consider our options and lead them into a better trap," he shoots back. "Something that doesn't involve us getting turned into space dust."
Carthrat pauses. "Hey. I just had an idea.
Paxis II, right? Then we must be near the Paxian Nebula?"
"Yeah," he says. "We're in the neighborhood."
Carthrat nods. "Set a course there," she says.
"Now what crazy idea do you have in mind," he says, dodging your request for the moment, not to mention leaning against the steel wall.
"The gases in the Paxian nebula distort electronic communication," replies Carthrat, standing up fully. "The Slicing Gale fleet will have to realign it's sensors to properly recieve the transmission from the tracker.
We'll have a short window of opportunity to do something without their forewarning. We can fly to Paxia and abandon this ship. That's assuming we don't get intercepted. They may anticipate such a move.."
Carthrat rests her chin on her hand, deep in thought... "That's assuming they don't catch up to us before then, anyway."
"If they find us before that, we're pretty screwed anyway," he notes. "I'd rather keep this ship after dealing with the tracker...
But I can't think up a better plan offhand."
"We could always turn around and fight," replies Carthrat. "How good a pilot are you?"
"Not bad," he deferrs, "But against at least two battleships?
I'm not that eager to spend the next thousands years as space debris." Tir shakes his head firmly.
"Right," replies Carthrat. "To the Paxian nebula.
Once we get there, we'll need to estimate how long it'll take them to take apart their sensors and put them back together. The place is too big to simply do a visual sweep of, so we won't get caught that way. After that, we need to run.
Perhaps to one of the other planets in the Paxis system.. there's a space station or something around that area, isn't there? I can't remember. It might not still be there."
Tir pauses a moment, racking his brain. "There are...four planets with life on that system, a few space stations; including a new one.
You're really out of the loop," he notes, lazily leaning against the wall. "Anyway, one of the stations is a neutral merchant ran place - that'll probably be our best chance, unless you want to try alysum with a government."
Carthrat ponders. "Asylum sounds good," he says. "What's the military strength of Paxis? And how well aligned are they with the galactic council?"
"Am I the Galactic Encyclopedia," Tir grumbles. "The ship's database should have that, why don't you get out of bed and go find out for yourself?" He again sits down on his wallcot. "As much as discussing our survival for the next few weeks interests me, I'm about to pass out."
"What a database says and what a government means can be two different things," notes Carthrat. "But I'll have a look. Anyway. Have a good one, and I'll see you in eight hours."
Carthrat heads off to look for Rachel..
Tir's response is rather colorful and amusing. In other words, nothing of note from him.
You find Rachel in the small galley, idly stirring a cup of something soupish with her spoon. "Hi, Carthrat," she says when you enter, not looking up from her hand's stirring and swirling motions. She sounds distracted, which is understandable considering yesterday.
"Hey," replies Carthrat, grabbing a pack of rations and starting to eat.
"How're you holding out?" she asks, simply.
To be fair, the rations here are far better than rations an Earth army would eat.
To be even more fair, they still aren't much past mediore. Ah, the joys of the army.
"I'm alright," Rachel says to the swishing of her soup. "I think we all just had a...really bad day yesterday."
"Ah, well. You get used to it," notes Carthrat, dryly. "We're alive, we're fit, and we're not dead. Can't ask for more than that in this age."
"I'd rather that had a clause about not being traveling with a soul eating....thing." Rachel says quietly.
"As long as you're referring to the thing on Tir's hand and not the man himself, I completely agree," replies Carthrat.
"About that," Rachel comments, putting aside her cup. "I cast an Aura Reading spell yesterday after you slept...the first time Selena ever granted me the incantation for it," she says, adding weight to her words.
"You're right. Tir...is aura, it's..." Rachel struggles for a word. "OLD. There is something unspeakably ancient about it...but it's also not evil.
That Rune, though..."
Carthrat shrugs, flashing back to an offhand comment of Tir's.
Something about a thousand years..
"He's more upset than you over it, I think," replies Carthrat. "I doubt he wants it for it's power."
"He'd have chosen well if he was lusting for power," Rachel notes, closing her eyes to visualize again what she saw. "It's extremely powerful, and he's entirely intuned to it."
Rachel doesn't immediately follow that up, instead being silent, only the gentle hum of the engines breaking the quiet.
"Have you ever seen a natural disaster kill and ruin? Could you call an earthquake or flood evil?"
"Evil.." replies Carthrat, gazing out a starport. "I don't know what the word means anymore.."
Rachel is silent again at that, letting Carthrat stare at the stars a goodly while in the echoing calm.
"The Rune is like a disaster - powerful and elemental, but it's not wicked."
"But Tir seems to have some control over it.." replies Carthrat. "And so it becomes a weapon.."
"Yeah." Rachel's voice is troubled at that. "A terrible weapon, a nuclear bomb to be used over and over. Carthrat...I think he wasn't using much of it's power yesterday."
"And hopefully he'll never have to," replies Carthrat. "If everything goes to plan, we'll be getting into as few fights as possible. I can't risk dying until I find Diane."
She nods agreement. "On that note, now what do we do?"
"Good question," replies Carthrat, looking for the ships database. "Let's find out, eh?"
He runs a search on the Paxis system, along with his own profile.
The date of note on the Paxian nebula:
Planets Telstar 1, Telstar 2, Rigella, and Nafoi are all capable of supporting life. The Telstars also host a few space stations, two with the varying alliances and a third one that is neutral; funded by the Merchant's Guild as a safe point for commerce.
The planets themselves are more or less independant, although are often influenced by others. Middling military, enough to defend itself and not much more.
---
Carthrat Tanewaki - CURRENT OBJECTIVE. SEE DATASTREAM FOR DETAILS.
"Ara.. let's see what they have to say about me.." mutters Carthrat, tapping another few buttons to access the Datastream..
Datastream file unable to be refreshed. Loaded data is...2 days old.
Carthrat Tanewaki
Besides a basic description that's more or less in the ballpark,
High danger target - be wary of:
Guns, energy based weapons, explosives, shapeshifting. Reports of anomalies around him. Wanted alive.
Carthrat blanches, estimating that since he lost his cloak, his 'danger' factor dropped sharply.
"We're going to the Paxian Nebula," he says, blandly. "I'll sell this ship at the Merchant outpost there and try and buy something fast. If I'm lucky, we'll get away from the goons long enough to come up with some kind of counter."
She nods, admittely over her head. "Then what, if we get rid of our pursuit? Back to the plan?"
"We'll never lose all our pursuit," says Carthrat, punching the wall.
"Dammit! This isn't Earth. How could I be so *stupid*?" he says, angrily.
Rachel sighs. "Our pursuers are that persistant?"
"Persistant? Only because of their reputation," replies Carthrat, sullenly. "They don't usually need to chase people as far as they're going to have to chase me, but they will, just to preserve their image.
Bastards."
Carthrat tries to remember what he can about Slicing Gale..
Carthrat - You recall a savage and effective mercenary group that gained an alliance with a government, slowly merging into a part of that government. Copetent leadership and access to free, high grade military technology makes them a force to be considered.
Rachel frowns. "Then we'll jus thave to cope with them."
"I can't do what I want to do with a force of drugged-up mercenaries at my back," growls Carthrat. "I need some allies of my own. I'm pretty sure that I'm out of favors to call in, too.."
She sighs. "There's no point worrying about it when we're still on the run. We'll see what we can do once we get to Paxis. I need to rearm myself, anyway.."
"How long will that take," she asks, more or less resigned to things now. "And do you have any idea for allies?"
"Who knows?" replies Carthrat, sighing. "A week? A month? A year?
I'm sorry, Rachel. Not three weeks out in space and I'm already running from somebody. And as for allies.. bah. All the old mercenaries who served under me eight years ago have no doubt gone their seperate ways.. they could be anywhere across the galaxy. Some have no doubt signed up with the group chasing us now.
I should be able to find some people willing to aid me at Paxis.. money, ideals, pity, the motives are many."
"It's alright," she nods. "You're doing your best...and we'll get past this, I'm sure." Rachel gets up then, taking her soup and tossing it away. "Have you gone to the control room yet?"
"No," replies Carthrat. "I'd better, hadn't I? Wouldn't do for us to get taken by surprise.."
Carthrat drifts across to the control room, wishing that she could go somewhere far away where there were no troubles..
The ship's auto pilot is doing a fine course of steering you, and resetting it to go to Paxis is a simple matter. It will take two weeks to get there...
Carthrat stretches, and leans back in the chair.
Nothing to do now but wait.. keeping her body in top physical condition with the occasional bout with Tir. That sounded good.
The first few days pass by well as can be expected, really. But by about the fourth day, a bit of boredom and cabin fever have hit all three of you. Sitting on your cots, Tir stares out into space and his own thoughts, while Rachel rests, leaving you by your lonesome.
"Hey. Tir. Got any money?" asks Carthrat, quizically.
Blinking away from his mental daydreams, "Yeah, some. I collected a few old debts before we left, so I'm pretty well off. At least for right now."
He peers at you intently. "What's going on in that mind of yours, Rat?"
"Docking fees," replies Carthrat, blandly. "It'd be real embarrasing to go all this way and then not be allowed to dock.
Since we're selling the ship after that, anyway. it doesn't really matter how much you have. This is a good model. We should be able to get a couple million on this, easily. Maybe more, if I remember anything about trading."
"Yeah, I can manage docking fees," he nods. "Though, we'll have to sell the ship borderline black market since it's still registered and set up to the Slicing Gale."
Carthrat nods. "That's where we'll be buying our ship, too. I don't want to leave a paper trail, and I should be able to buy something decent.
Hopefully I'll be able to get something of a crew together, too. Only two people on board a ship able to really control it isn't enough if we're on the run like this."
He nods, then sighs. "You know, I'm probably on the Gale's shitlist now, too. THANKS, Carthrat," he complains loudly, annoyed.
"You could run, y'know," notes Carthrat, dryly. "They won't bother chasing you if you're too difficult to find, and they won't look you up in their backlogs again unless you antagonize them once more."
After another moment of grumbling, "Yeah, I could. Or hell, I could get captured and just let Soul Eater wipe the bastards from the face of this existance," Idly, he raises his metallic gloved hand, inspecting it.
"But...I don't have the heart to abandon a drowning rodent," he snorts, annoying playing on your name.
"If you do that, Rachel will eat your balls," notes Carthrat, blandly.
Now that gets a ribald laugh from Tir. "Bah...she got spooked by the Rune. It's not that uncommon, Rat."
Carthrat shrugs. "I wouldn't pass her as just 'spooked', Tir," he says, shrugging.
"That's neither here nor now, though. I need to work out a way to deal with Slicing Gale so they- or anyone else, won't come after me again."
He nods, settling into his bed. "Any ideas on that?"
Carthrat pauses. "I could assassinate the leader of the group. If I can get information from an insider, no defenses will be able to stop me. At least, once I have the equipment I need.
I could ally myself with another planet. I'm sure many would pay dearly for the technology I could sell them. They'd be able to support me and fend off Slicing Gale.
I could fly into a black hole.
So many options.."
Tir nods to the first two, but groans at the last. "Don't tell me you're one of those loony Black Hole Portal nuts," he grumbles. "Go with the technology, man."
"Naw, it's just that I've always wanted to see an event horizon firsthand," explains Carthrat, shrugging. "I'll work out what to do when we get to Paxis."
He nods, thinking. "Tell you what," he says a few minutes later, quietly. "You have a hell of a story behind you, right?"
"Not half as long as yours, I'll wager," replies Carthrat, chuckling.
"Not even a fifth as long," he agrees, nodding, a crooked grin appearing on his face. "Want to trade? I'd love to know how you got your hands on that," he gestures at your pendant, "and are still the bastard you are today."
Carthrat whistles. "I dunno. I don't like saying bad things about people, and there's alotta bad people to say things about in this story," he replies, smirking.
"And I'm sure you'll relish explaining exactly how you screwed each and every one of them over in return," Tir smiles.
"Absolutely," replies Carthrat, nodding emphatically. "This story'll take.. oh, a week to tell?"
With that, he launches into a detailed description of everything that happened since he got blown up by a certain Magess in Shinjuku..
The tale doesn't take a week, but it takes two days to really get through, Tir asking questions left and right. Of note, he takes interest in your possession - he scowls at what exactly was the cause, and who did it - and White Glow.
"You're luckier than hell that you managed to escape a possession like that instead of becoming a terror," he notes as you eat down dinner. "If you'd already lost your body...it's a miracle you kept your mind."
"I'm stubborn that way," drawls Carthrat. "If I'm gonna change, it'll be on my own terms, and not some two-bit demon prince."
He nods. "You'd look cool with scales and wings, though," he laughs, shaking his head. "Most people aren't stubborn enough to outlast and survive that..."
"Well, I havn't told you about the actual years I spent on Earth," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Only the last couple. When I look back, being a demon just doesn't seem so bad compared to what I was before."
"Really...?" Tir muses a few moments. "Was it that terrible? You mentioned that 'Shizue' kept you employed...?"
"It wasn't just her," replies Carthrat, sighing. "But those years aren't something I want to remember.
Or tell. Storytime is over, I'm afraid. What about you? How did you wind up on Earth, anyway? You seem to have plenty of contacts and whatnot around the galaxy.."
Tir shrugs, letting Rat off the hook. "Well...you're familiar with alternate dimensions and planes of existance, of course? Soul Eater and myself aren't from this universe at all..." Tir's eyes take on a faraway look. "I've only been here about 500 years or so..."
"Yeah, alternate planes are part of my everyday life," replies Carthrat. "Know anything about getting to and from them? I've gotta find Diane, remember. If you know a way, maybe I won't need to bother with Slicing Gale."
"'Fraid not," Tir shrugs. "I got a one way ticket here via the Gate Rune. Anyway...I should start at the beginning, as this is a really long story. Anything else before I start?"
"Naw, talk away," replies Carthrat, settling back into his chair.
He nods, beginning...
"I was born in the Scarlet Moon Empire's capital city, Gregminster, to General Teo McDohl. In other words, I was a nobleman from the day I was conceived.
As such, I grew up in luxury, surrounded by my retainers and dearest friends..." Tir pauses here, clearly remembering things far and long ago. "Pahn, my bodyguard and strong enough to plow through a mountain - and eat as much as one, too. Cleo, my magic tutor and one fine woman. Ted....my best friend," Tir skips a bit at Ted, idly clenching his gloved hand. "And...Gremio, my personal attendant and like a brother to me."
Tir sighs, but goes on. His face shows a longing, a lost life that he'd love to have back. "Until my sixthteenth birthday, this went on. On that day, I had to join the Imperial Army with my retainers as a captain. Oh, my path to the top was already charted out. I was the son of the great general Teo McDohl, after all.
On our first mission, we were sent to see why a nearby province wasn't paying it's taxes...the long and short of it was that we ended up having to go into a nearby bandit filled mountain and clear that out, but...
It was also a monsters nest. We fought like dogs, but were about to be overcome.
Until Ted obliterated every monster with a single spell." Tir looks at you plainly. "Sound familiar?"
Carthrat glances at Tir, his face showing no emotion. "Yeah. Go on.."
"So...we went back and were assigned all over the Empire for a little while. During this...We saw that it was a rotting, corrupt government ready to collaspe on itself.
Further..." Tir stops. "Before I go any farther, I should explain the 27 True Runes to you. In my world, there are 27 fragments of reality in the form of 'Runes'. Soul Eater is the fragment of life and death, controlling the fate of all souls here and everafter. In a way, they are like dummy Gods. There are others as well, such as the True Water Rune, the Vengence Rune, the Beast Rune, the Circle Rune, the Gate Rune, and others.
Anyway, all the True Runes give two things to their bearers - great power over it's sphere of influcence, and immortality. Anyone who bears a True Rune in his or her body will never age a day. Between this, many seek True Runes that are free at the time - Taking a True Rune from someone who has full control over their Rune is suicide."
Tir chuckles dryly. "It came to the attention of the court magician, Windy, that Ted had Soul Eater. Between this and a leak that we were becoming disloyal to that corrupt Empire, she sent soldiers after us..." Tir closes his eyes tightly. "To escape, Ted forced me to take Soul Eater and gave himself to the guards while we escaped..."
Carthrat just nods his head, absorbing all this information..
"Windy wanted the power and immortality of the Rune, as did many others. Fleeing from Gregminster, we ended up falling in with a group of revolutionaries. With my True Rune and the death of Odessa, the leader of the group, at the hands of the Empire...I lead a growing army against the very nation I was formerly loyal to.
A terrible war gripped the Empire, a civil war of spells and magic, of Fire Spears and Calvary. During this..." Tir takes a deep breath. "I lost Gremio and Pahn. Gremio died at the hands of one of the Empire's generals, Millich." Though, a savage grin takes over Tir's face now. "I at least avenged him thereafter on the battlefield, wiping Millich's army out to the man and personally duelling that bastard to the death.
And...the war raged on, until the leader of the Empire, Barbarossa, called on his greatest general to put down the rebellion - Teo McDohl."
Tir stops for a little bit. "We met on the field of battle, until with the help of a new ally, we cornered his army. Again, I met the leader of the army in single combat...
And I won."
Carthrat winces slightly, though he can't really comprehend Tir's feelings at that moment, having never had a father himself to look up to..
"From there, the Empire fell into our hands - the only opposition left was the Floating Fortress and Lady Sonya, but even she fell. Within a year, we had taken Gregminster and established the Republic of Toran." Tir sighs again.
"After a short vacation of four years, I came back and led Toran for around a hundred years. My nation grew, yet I never aged a day with Soul Eater. The great grandchildren of the people I fought with were now in the ranks
Tir changes gears here, going into a different narrative. "I'd been having some problems for a while now - not aging while your best friends and dearest surviviing familly members died does that to you. After a long time, I just couldn't take it any more. I left Gregminster one night and never went back, instead wandering the world.
I spent 300 years on the road, almost mindlessly battling the monsters and bandits I came across, as well as almost anything else I found. After a while, I was branded a madman."
Tir chuckles at this point, hollow amusement. "I even had a few other True Rune bearers come after me - Geddoe, Hugo of Karaya, that boy with the Rune of Beginning - they thought I had gone mad from Soul Eater.
Randomly wiping out towns with it gets you that reputation, yeah? My crowning acheivement was wiping every soul from Harmonia to feed this damn Rune.
And...they were right. I had gone mad, completely mad. I don't remember all that much past when I left Gregminster, but I know all I cared about was Soul Eater. It was all I had left." Tir's narrative goes on, his rambling reaching a strange, almost feverish timbre right now.
Could that have been me?
Carthrat furrows his brow, not saying anything just yet..
"Finally...I ran into another True Rune bearer, the Sage Leknaat. I'd known her since the rebellion, and seeing her..." Tir stops, thinking. "Seeing someone else from my past, it got through to me a bit.
She took pity on me, whisking me away to her island observatory instead of battling me. Over time, there, I was finally able to heal. She spent a long time with me there as I gained my right mind again.
Hell, then again, what's a long time to someone who lives forever?" Tir sighs. "I think it was about ten years, but it could have been ten weeks for all it matters.
Once I came to grips with what I had done...I couldn't have stayed in my world. My very name brought terrors on the strongest knight, the name a curse viler than any other. Leknaat, though...she had a way out for me. As the bearer of the Gate Rune, she controls the portals between worlds. It was a simple matter for her to send me here.
That was more or less 500 years ago. Since then? I've learned a new world and started fresh, moving amid races and cultures. Earth...I found it a few hundred years ago, and it reminds me of my homeworld in many ways. That's why I'm so fond of it, and why I've stayed around it so much."
"But progress caught up with you, eh?" says Carthrat, moodily.
He snorts. "Humanity's general suicidal tendencies caught up with the planet. For all we know, it's a radioactive crater now. Or, you know, a battlefield for whatever galatic empire or interests fancies that stretch of space."
"Or it's still struggling to stay alive," notes Carthrat. "Never underestimate the power of human stubborness in large groups."
Tir just shrugs, letting the issue go by now. "Talking that much made me thirsty," he comments. "Let's pick this up after we get some drinks."
"Eh. I really should get to work on the Datacores," says Carthrat, shrugging. "Depending on the security programs, I might need a week or so to crack them."
Tir shrugs. "If you want, but I'm going to get drink." With that, he leaves you, off so that you can do your thing.
"Try and save some for me, will'ya?" replies Carthrat, feeling a little hungry himself. Supplies weren't low, but he had already demanded a stead routine of rationing. It just didn't do to waste supplies when they weren't easily replenished.
It was always that way in space. You had to be frugal to survive. Engine malfunctions, pirate attacks, space phenomena, all could extend your trip by several weeks, or remove large portions of your hold. It didn't pay to be wasteful, especially in such a drab environment..
One thing Carthrat wasn't skimpy with were the lights. He almost insisted every light in the ship was on at all times. It wasn't as silly as it sounds; most of space was simply black. The light from distant stars was obviously not sufficent to light up the entire ship, and walking through the bleak ship, silent except for the muted humming of the engines was not always a comforting experiance.
Dragging himself from his chair, the man walks slowly from his position, savoring the little free time he has left.
Guess life never changes..
Maybe not, but he still had a job to do. It just wouldn't do to give up now. His thoughts cross into earlier times.. times when he was famous, known throughout half the galaxy. Now it would be a wonder if anyone recognized his name.
Perhaps the only thing they might remember would be the eyes. Eight years ago, they were as blue and fierce as they were now... tempered by eight years of solitude and death, but still as piercing as before, never dulled by the horrors that battle inevitably brought..
That was one thing, at least, that Setsuna was wrong about. Carthrat's thoughts went back to a time that somehow, didn't seem to have happened to him anymore..
"What is a man, Carthrat? A pile of thinking meat. This ability of thought gives us the power of 'reason'. This ability of reason gives us the veneer of 'civilisation'.
But all men are savages. Primal instincts of fear and hatred are what drive us all. And the more of either that is savored, the more that one is prone to.. watch anyone, Carthrat. Watch yourself through the years. I can see your path in your eyes.. you'll kill more men than even I.
We were friends once. If you kill yourself now, I can promise you that you'll die at the happiest moment of your life..
What a thought to have now, of all times. But maybe Setsuna was right. Sure. His life had improved over the last two years. He felt like a living, breathing man again, not the puppet he percieved himself to be.
But he didn't have Yuki.. didn't have any friends except those on the ship with him.. and already had more implacable enemies.
Maybe it was true that the only happy people were the ones who were completely self-serving. Like he was, once; there was nothing he did not do that was for either him or Yuki.. but she died, and now.. now why did he live?
Who knew. Who knew, indeed..
Oh. No time to think about such trivial things. The datacore awaited.
Carthrat moved over to a sleek viewscreen, tapping a few buttons, ready to give his mind the mental challenge of breaking a security program.
He'd probably need to write some programs of his own to break the code.. calculation programs, information-gathering programs.. so much work, so little time.
Thusly, a week passes as Carthrat works away on this project.
Tir, for his part, is oddly silent after his long story, spending many long hours staring at his gloved hand. Rachel avoids Tir mainly, cooking for everyone and keeping busy as best she can. There is a sense of unease about, however, a sense of waiting and stalling while the ship goes through the ether of dead space.
Even when you sleep, your dreams have a sense of being on hold, a feeling that even as you rest that you are just waiting for IT.
On the seventh day, with four more days until Paxis...Carthrat has succeeded in his task.
The blank identification tables started dumbly at Carthrat, who breathed a sigh of relief. Another job, done. The implications of failure were no less dangerous than the implications of getting shot at; problems and injury were bound to result.
Of course, there was still the matter of the tracker, and that he was sure the mercenaries would catch up with whoever bought the ship, and find a way to trace it back to whereever he was at the time.. but he had *time*, and time was what he needed.
It was strange; he didn't feel tired and weary as he so often did in these times, but rejuvenated; ready to face the universe, and win, as it were.
Rising from his sweat-damped chair, Carthrat runs a hand through his hair, and starts to smirk that smirk that was ever-present before he left Earth..
That night, both Tir and Rachel make note of your change in attitude, the latter going as far as to ask a gentle question after dinner.
"You look like you're feeling better," Rachel comments, laying in her bunk, a few of the time killing computer game modules scattered about. Idly picking one up, she begins another game of a random Solitare variant. "I almost want to wipe that smirk off your face."
Carthrat shrugs, smiling gently. "Have I wronged you so?" he asks, chuckling. "I've just had some time to think about things, and I'm feeling more confident now.
Don't you worry, Rachel. You'll see Diane again. Maybe not this week. Maybe not this year. But I promise I'll take you to her."
Rachel smiles back. "It shows. You're not so gloomy as you were after the attack." However, between making a dumb move in her game and Carthrat's next comment, that smile takes a bus far away.
"Well...I know I will and that you will," she says quietly. "Selena doesn't guarantee that things will be easy, but I admit I wonder if we got a particulary rough draw."
"I've always got an ace up my sleeve," replies Carthrat, marvelling at Rachel's ability to smile in their situation. "As long as we proceed with a good degree of caution, we'll be fine."
He trails a finger across the cabin wall.. "You've grown up over the last few weeks, Rachel," he observes. "Where would you be now if I hadn't staggered to your house in London one moonless evening?"
"Eating dinner with Diane, or watching television, or practicing my prayers..." Rachel murmurs back, putting aside the game unit absently, her thoughts taking her away. "I'd still be innocent and pure," there is a small smile with this, and no accusation, "and you'd somewhere in the depths of Gehenna."
Turning over to face you, she smiles. "I guess this is the best path out of the two, then. If we were able to save you..." Rachel pauses, not sure if thse wants to go on. "Maybe...we can help Tir, too."
"Maybe we could.." replies Carthrat, sighing. "But not through any normal means.. it's not so clear-cut.
It doesn't matter, anyway," he continues, thinking about the forthcoming trip in the nebula. "Where there's a will, there's a way. As has been proven before."
Rachel nods. "First, we have to deal with the Slicing Gale, before we can hope to do anything else." Flipping back over onto her back, Rachel closes her eyes. "But...We have a few days yet to discuss that.
Goodnight, Carthrat."
Carthrat sighs, retreating to his own cot to ponder his next moves.
The immediate priority was, really, to run away. Slicing Gale was far stronger than he was at the moment; they had the advantage of numbers and firepower, and heaven be damned, they probably had a couple more elite soldiers to throw at him.
As it stood, he estimated he could lose them in the Paxis nebula. But they weren't stupid. They would probably guess where he was heading, and send scouts to the various stations. Thankfully, they only had three capital ships, if he remembered correctly. If they wanted to guard each landing point, they could only do so with a couple ships at each at most.
If there was a firefight over the dock, Carthrat reflected that he may get into some trouble.
Then again, there was a chance that the enemy ships wouldn't recognize him after doctoring all the ident signiatures. He may be able to sneak through any blockade; assuming there was one.
Given that, Carthrat estimated he had maybe up to four or five days before Slicing Gale caught up with him. He'd have to secure the purchase of a ship and new equipment pronto; the large purchases he intended to make would draw attention.
He could presumably escape Paxis, which left him enough time to plan his next move.
Carthrat returns to the database screen and starts searching far and wide around the Paxis nebula for nearby planetary systems, looking for something promising.
An anarchistic or feudal-based society would be best, he reflected. Perhaps he should begin his search by looking for systems with no established government.
Tucked away nearby the Paxian nebula, you find something that makes you smile. The star Lesser Paxis 2 has four planets in orbit, the middle two supporting of life. The second planet is uninhabited, only lush and extremely toxic plant there.
The third planet, Atwight, is a temperate planets, with decent living near the Equator and arctic conditions on the extreme thirds of the planet. There are natives, but they're only at the level of about 1850s industrial England, or thereabouts.
The people of Atwight are largely human-like - a colony of humans integrated 200 years ago into an already human like race, furthering the simliarities -and quite compatabile with you.
Carthrat runs a search slightly farther afield; Atwight might be a good place to hide out for a few weeks, however; it's not good form for a prestigious mercenary group to barge in on undeveloped natives in search of a single target.
Besides, he can't actually accomplish anything on Atwight; he searches slightly farther afield for something more suitable; feudal or anarchistic, technological worlds.
After a bit of work, you find one. It's at the edge of the cluster, at least a week away. Heil 3, a small planet with space capable technology, but with a savage, brutal government split by civil war after civil war. Technology does abound there, though. and it's considered a 'hazard zone'.
In short, Heli 3 sounded like Carthrat's kind of place. In his mind, there was nothing wrong with taking things from people who try to do the same to you, and he felt sure such attempts would occur rather frequently there.
However, it was no place for just three people. The beginnings of a plan began to form in his mind.. but he would have to wait until tomorrow to explain it to everyone.
With his research done, Carthrat turns in for the night..
Sleeping deeply this night, Carthrat has faint, fleeting dreams warmth against his chest...
Stirring in the morning and after going through his absolutions and breakfast, Carthrat can find Rachel in bunk room and Tir at the front. Both are still rather avoiding each other, it seems.
"You two! Get over here!" barks Carthrat, making his way to the Command Bridge. "I've put together a plan of action, and I'll need both of you to carry it out properly.
Needless to say, it's hideously dangerous, life-threatening, and if you weren't with me, it would be impossible."
Already there, Tir snorts as you enter, but stays quiet as Rachel comes in. He then peers at Carthrat, amused. "So? Planning on some great mission, oh Fearless one?"
Rachel scowls at Tir for that, a bit darkly. "Hush. Carthrat, what do you have in mind?"
"Absolutely," replies Carthrat to Tir. "The first step of our dangerous mission is, of course, to safely get lost in the Paxian nebula. With your excellent navigational skills, Tir, we shouldn't have much trouble doing that."
Not a hint of sarcasm finds it's way over Carthrat's voice; he's obviously taking what he has to say very seriously.
"First, we're going to go to the Merchant space station and restock ourselves," he begins, simply. "Tir, you'll be shopping for a new ship. I'll be shopping for equipment. Rachel will be shopping for idealistic young men and women who can be suitably convinced to come along.
Remember, Tir, we need something with a *Cloaking Device* and with *Powerful Engines*. With regard to firepower, I'm looking at missiles; the sort doesn't really matter. Swarm, dumbfire, homing, nuclear, it's all the same to me.
Rachel.. we'll be spending three or four days on the station. I don't want mercenaries who'll fight for money. I don't have any money. I need people with ideals; remember, we're aiming to build a freaking interdimensional gateway. It'll be, without a doubt, the biggest technological masterpiece this galaxy has seen since someone came up with the bloody warp drive. You're better with people than I am. You should find a couple of people.
After we're done shopping, we're going to Heli 3, presuming we can evade the clutches of the Slicing Gale. The exact specifics of that are situational based. We may hide out on Atwight for a time. Maybe not.
When we're on Heli 3, I'm going to be doing something ambitious. So ambitious, in fact, that I'm not going to tell you what it is until we get there."
Carthrat glances at Tir and Rachel. "I'll explain further as we go on. Any questions so far?"
"Yes, I do, actually," Tir raises his hand up, one non obscene finger raised, no sign of sarcasm, or at least not any more than usual. "I'm going to assume that this ship will be our source of capital? If you expect me to buy another ship from scratch, I'm going to drag you back down to sanity right here and now."
Rachel nods as well. "You mean...like preaching," she asks, suddenly a touch uncomfortable.
"Preaching? That's not how I would put it," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "But why not? If you can help people while convincing them to follow us, more good is done."
He turns to Tir, waggling a finger. "Yes, we'll be selling this ship, certainly. But I intend to do some linear trading at the guild, which should ramp up our credit limit considerably."
Rachel nods, but looks slightly uncertain. "Alright, Carthrat, I should be able to do that....Selena help me..." that last part is a on the embers of a breath, barely audible.
Tir twitches just a bit at that, then chuckles, shaking his head. "Fine. Missles and speed, gotcha. What do you have in mind after we plop funds down on the next SS Galactia?"
"We get out," replies Carthrat, simply. "The Merchant Guild isn't going to make our location a secret if Slicing Gale decides to ask them. Didn't I already say we'd head for either Atwight or Heli, depending on what the 'Gale is doing?"
He nods, letting it drop for now. "It's...three more days to the station," he notes, glancing at a control panel. "Anything else you have in mind until then, Rat?"
"Yeah," says Carthrat, glancing at both Tir and Rachel.
"It's not going to get any less dangerous," he continues, vehemently. "The Merchant Guild tends to police itself rather efficently, but there are always cracks and loopholes in any station. You two had better be able to take care of yourselves.
Even more so when we arrive on Heli. It's no place for anyone, but we have to go there. It's the only way I can see that will allow me to combat Slicing Gale and attain the resources I need to build a gateway.
I hope you're both prepared. This is probably going to be one of my biggest undertakings, and that's saying something.
So enjoy the rest of the trip. It's the last rest you'll get for some time, I can assure you."
Tir shrugs. "I've had a slow decade anyway. Sounds good, Rat." His voice shows a certain amusement now that he's made up his mind.
Rachel nods as well, after glancing at Tir. "I'm along, until the end," she confirms, smiling. "I couldn't do any less for Diane."
"Yeah, well, just hope this isn't your last decade," notes Carthrat, blandly.
"Do me a favour, Tir, and teach Rachel how to pick a lock. There's a couple of storage boxes in the cargo hold you can practice on.
As for me.. it's my turn to watch the sensor panel, isn't it?"
Carthrat heads off to the cockpit, lounging around in the pilots seat with the occasional glance at the screens to make sure nothing weird is approaching the craft..
An hour passes in peace, until your vigil is disturbed - Rachel enters, looking a bit more annoyed than when she left.
"Anything going on," she asks, grabbing the other control seat to rest her body. "Oh, and the lock picking went well enough...I suppose."
"Did Tir run out of usable paper clips?" asks Carthrat, smirking.
"Close enough," Rachel replies, sighing. "Regardless...Carthrat. Do you really trust Tir," she asks, getting to the point, fidgeting in her seat a touch.
"Why wouldn't I?" replies Carthrat, simply. "I trust Tir completely. If he wanted to betray us, or lead us on, or anything, he'd have had his chance long ago.
The rune on his hand, now that, I have my suspicions of. But the man himself.. he's a reliable person, and I can't imagine he's driven by money or glory, which would be the two main commodities he could get out of me.
That said.. a certain degree of wariness is a necessity in my profession. But I trust him as much as I trust anyone," he finishes.
"Why?"
Rachel takes in what you have to say, silent until the end.
"I don't really know," she finally says. "But...I can't trust him. Even with all I've seen, I can't bring myself to put any faith into him." Rachel is frowning deeply, looking a bit sad.
"Intuition is one of the great traits people can have," notes Carthrat. "Conversly, it can lead people to make some truly stupid moves.
I don't know, Rachel. Tir hasn't shown any signs of being untrustworthy, but perhaps I'm not the best judge. I'll keep an eye on him, but honestly, he's an asset, not a liability."
"I hope you're right," is her honest reply, serious and solemn. "I pray that you are right, Carthrat. Selena help us if you're not."
Another sigh.
Rachel leans back in her chair, closing her eyes against the bright world.
Carthrat pauses.
"Aren't there spells used to determine if the truth is being spoken?" he asks, slowly, thinking back to the few occasions he has been forced to deal diplomatically with certain spellslingers.
Not a pleasant experiance.
"There are such spells," she nods. "Detect Falsehood being the most common variant. Using strips of light cloth, a strip will blacken each time a lie is told.
As you can guess," Rachel goes on, thinking it over herself. "The basic spell isn't stealthy, nor is it overly practical. The more powerful incarnations of the enchantment are better, but harder to use.
Are you suggesting that I cast that before talking to Tir?"
"Why not?" replies Carthrat, shrugging. "If you feel so uncertain about him..."
Like you did about Setsuna, huh? He was your friend, wasn't he? You were sure he wouldn't turn on you..
But did he? Did he really?
"...I can't send him away at this point. You understand we need all the help we can get."
Rachel is silent again, finally answering mainly your second point with a sigh. "Yes, I suppose so. We can't turn down help right now, certainly not competent help."
Carthrat shrugs, not saying anything more.
Dammit. Why should I have to be so suspicious of my allies? I hated it then, and I hate it now..
Must just be the way of things, really. Watching his back because he couldn't trust anyone to do it for him... well, perhaps that wasn't true. He had Rachel.. who wasn't the naive girl he used to think of her as, it seemed.
But she still just didn't know enough.. without him, what would happen to her?
He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he just took off by himself. He figured that without his obligation to Diane, he could easily go far and wide across the galaxy. Slicing Gale would never find him; they'd eventually give up when he killed the few agents who managed to get close to him.
Yeah. And he'd feel like shit for the rest of his life. Not something he wanted to go through again, no-sir..
Lost in his own ruminations, Carthrat only half noticed when Rachel gets up and leave a few moments later. Thus, two more days pass in the relative peace of space.
---
Over breakfast that day, "We should be to the station in less than 24 hours," Tir comments. "I'm just about ready to stretch my legs and get a good drink." He sends a picky grimace at the food rations, again your meal here. "This isn't that bad, but it can't compete with real cooking."
"Huh. What I want to do is get wasted," says Carthrat, lounging about. "I havn't been wasted in years, I swear. Maybe I should get high, too. Though not at the same time. Drugs and liquor are a shitty combination.
I wouldn't mind some sex, either, but I'd rather have the liquor."
Carthrat pauses, and glances at Tir. "Huh. Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes," Tir says, not bothering to hide his amusement with a cocky smile. "The first and the third should be simple enough - hell, I was planning on a bit of drink myself.
Oh, and you're a loon." He says it offhandely, casually. "Going from all serious about your mission to wanted to get bombed and laid. A real man would intertwine these," A grin there, a big one. "Most merchants should like to drink, yeah?"
"Dude, when I was a merchant, half the cargo in my ship was liquor," notes Carthrat, playing with a plasma core. "Didn't sell a fucking bottle. Yuki drank like a fish, y'know. Not to mention the slobs I had as crew. Hooboy. We had some *wild* parties.
You ever seen what happens to a Shiran when he gets drunk? All the fur just *FALLS OFF*, man, and there's the most *beautiful* human body underneath."
"No wonder that dog eared girl was looking for you," Tir muses, shrugging. "And you must have been bombed like it was going out of style, Carthrat.
I mean, a shedding Shiran?" He again tries to resist laughing, but mostly fails. "You must've been on some good booze."
"Oh, damn straight. I knew all the major beer contractors," explains Carthrat. "Y'know the really great thing, though? Getting drunk in zero gravity. You tried it? You really should. It's, like.. woah. I mean, you're *already* floatin' on air in zero-G, so when you get drunk, it's, like, a whole new level of drunk. Superdrunk. Ultradrunk.
And the hangover is tamer.
Though it still hurts."
Tir shakes his head. "Anyway, tales of motion sickness aside, we'll have to find a good old place here," he nods, thinking.
"Yeah, maybe," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Doubtful we'll have time. I want to be in and out as quickly as I can."
Tir shrugs. "Regardless of any party plans...we'll be busy," he muses. "It's funny, Rat. The last few times I've gotten caught up in big events, it's been like this - abrupt and innocent seeming."
"Huh. Really? You're lucky," notes Carthrat. "I sense these things happening like a black cloud of foreboding. I'd kill for those extra moments of innocence."
He bites back a sudden snort of laughter. "Which would serve nothing but for me to lose it again! It's a very twisted world."
"It's not twisted at all, just consistant in it's nastiness," Tir chuckles. "Though, with Soul Eater, it's easy not to notice a 'big' thing coming up. What's a couple of years here and there, right?" Colored by a bit of sad irony, Tir smiles. "A decade there, a century here, it all just flows on by."
"I suppose," replies Carthrat, dryly.
"Y'know, I bet you were the kid in school who never handed anything in on time. Tell me. I'm right, aren't I?"
A smile from Tir, twisted just a bit. "I always turned things in first in my class - the son of Teo McDohl only had the best of the best for private tutors, remember."
"Hah! I never had to suffer through the torments of primary and secondary education," smirks Carthrat. "One of the many joys of living alone at a young age."
Tir chuckles again, but doesn't run with it. "Anyhow, we should be there in now..." A glance at a nearby computer panel, "21 hours. Just enough time for a full sleep cycle."
"I need some new clothes," notes Carthrat, picking at his uniform. "The collar on this thing is tight, and it doesn't have a tenth the amount of pockets I need.
Not to mention I'll stand out to any informants who happen to be looking out for me.
And I'll need to start carrying around a bag again.
Y'know, Tir, I'm missing my cloak already."
Carthrat wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. "No doubt it's in the hands of some merc as we speak..."
"Whomever has it is probably getting several surprises," Tir smirks. "How much shit did you keep in there, anyway?"
"Um.. let's see.. at least sixteen firearms," starts Carthrat, ticking things off on his fingers. "Submachine guns, pistols, rifles, you name it, er, about thirty F-1 grenades, a few plasma grenades, about twenty flashbangs, a wardrobe of clothing, my wallet, about seven cases of ammuntion, an efreeti bottle, a spellbook, um.. a checklist of all the stuff in my cloak, a self-destruct mechanism, the N-Space compressor itself, the keys to my car, a locket, a gold nugget, a portable TV, an oven, my laptop, about seventy knives, three vibroknives.."
Carthrat pauses. "Yeah, there was a fair bit more, but I can't remember it just now."
"Packrat," Tir snickers at his own humor. "Anyway, I'm going to get a bite and take a nap now, before the rush. What do you have in mind for our last day on this heap of junk?"
"Interior design," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I'll clean the walls or something. Might nab us another thousand credits or so.
You get to sleep, and all. I need you to go out and buy some essentials. No way am I being seen in this uniform."
"Sure," he says, heading out. "Oh, and clean my boots while you're at it," he leaves as a final jab, going off.
---
OOC - Skip to the arrival?
"At least you *have* boots," groans Carthrat. "These uniform boots are for someone with incredibly small feet, I swear."
OOC: Yeah, just before we dock.
OOC - Right, and skipping a head a bit to make up fo rlost posts.
Giving the docking code information, the relay system confirms it. "You are cleared into the Sorting Dock. Thank you."
Carthrat quickly closes the connection.
"Ok. Before we get off, Rachel, Tir.
Slicing Gale aren't stupid. We lost them for now, and they're probably trying to guess where we'd go. There's a few choices, and none of them are definite. Not to mention we have a head start on them as it is.
However, it's likely they have informants here and there, as well as some hidden bounties, operatives, agents, maybe even someone as well trained as me or Tir.
If they see us, they'll report it. Then they'll likely try and kidnap you, Rachel. I hope you're up to dealing with whatever they throw at you, because I'm counting on it. They can't have many operatives, and the plan is that you can deal with them.
Any questions yet, or can I keep going?"
Rachel nods grimly, but smiles at you with confidence. "Okay, Carthrat." Tir just nods, having already put this through his mental paces and instead settling for leaning comfortably against a chair.
"Right. I estimate that Slicing Gale have a response time of maybe two, three days. I want to be in and out of here, y'see?
Once we get to Heli 3, anyway, we'll be *relatively* safe. The planet is in a state of virtual anarchy. We'll just blend in.. vanish.. and have whole new worries, like where our next meal is coming from, and some such.
Hope you're prepared to give up the life of luxury we're living now," he adds, grimly.
"It'll at least be interesting," Tir smiles at that, glancing over at Rachel.
Rachel nods again at that. "I can at least provide food most nights," she comments on that point. "It's bland and tasteless, but it fills you up - and it's a simple spell, too, so I could cast it a few times a day."
"That's a relief," notes Carthrat. "For how many people a day?
Which reminds me. I've gotta get you to write down like all your spells and stuff.. for tactical reserve, and all."
"Three to four," she replies after a moment of thought. "And my spell list is variable, but kind of preset, and I can't guarantee that the Goddess will grant the spells I ask for, but I can give you a list as the best I can."
Carthrat waves Rachel off. "It's all good. If she doesn't give you a spell, she must have a good reason, eh?
We should be able to sell the ship relatively quickly.. get any stuff together you want to keep before we vacate it. Lots of trading and stuff to do.
Besides that, stay alert. No telling what we might run into here."
"That's the theory," Rachel smiles a bit. At that, both depart as you begin to dock, gathering this and that as they ready themselves for the beginning of another leg of your quest...
Thus...
Having gone from the pits of Hell, Hong Kong, England, and the entire Earth Solar system to a tiny outreach of space, Carthrat journies on to retrieve a lost friend.
Will he succeed in time? Will he only find ruin?
Tune into the new topic and find out!
Rat! Henshin yo!