I also want to give some credit to a few show's and all the people that have created them. Cowboy Bebop, Appleseed, and Firefly (Serenity). They are what got to start toying with the idea of space and it's inhabitants. There are probably a number of other shows that are similar but these are it for now. I'll gladly give credit if there are others later on or someone brings it to my attention. However, all characters, items, and locations are of my own (and my friend's) overactive imaginations. Anything out there that are the same or similar are coincidental.
Anyway,
enjoy out creation and let us know what you think at our email
address... this site apparently will not let me do that unless I want
to make everything Italicized and bold (it's "anonlinestory" at yahoo).
Purgatory:
Space, an incredible void of air and light, only the stars lined the everlasting walls of the universe. Forever man had looked up at them wondering whether or not there was life among the planets that lined our little Milky Way. Earth, the only planet that people once remembered to have blue skies and rich soils. A long time ago, people remembered peace, until they came along and sucked the life from Earth and left it for dead. Since then, human kind had been forced underground or out into space to find their way in the deep void. Three factions had formed and a never-ending war sprung from hate between them wages on.
Chapter Two:
The sun was bright like it always was, shining through the tinted window that hooded over the cockpit of an old racer. It was a small ship that carried two pilots and was used for land racing. Its hull was a deep black red, well worn from its many flights. Its fuselage was long and narrow; with a rounded top were the pilots' rode. The wings of the ship spread outward perpendicular to the fuselage. Its engines were standard in appearance, yet in this time of chaos and greed, standard just wasn't good enough. The ship rotated slightly, the sun glinting off the side, revealing an ancient text painted roughly along the nose. Kajitori.
The pilot stretched out her hands, reaching up and touching the glass that surrounded her. With a yawn, she tapped at the touch sensitive screen set directly before her. The sensory buttons she pressed blinked once then the rest of the ship began to roar to life. The engines whined as the turbines within them began to spin. The girl yawned again, rubbing her eyes, her hair falling into her them after doing so. After brushing it away, she reached out and grabbed her headset. Putting it on, the orange tinted goggles made the glare of the sun seem less menacing as it did before. Her hair was fairly short, rounding her small tanned face, with a short braid lining her left cheek; it was as dark as the void of space that she drifted in. She wore a loose fitting long sleeved shirt underneath a worn out collared shirt, its sleeves rolled to her elbows. Both were a similar deep red brown. Her pants were loose fitting as well, a modified 9mm pistol strapped to her left thigh. There were other weapons too, but the pistol was her favorite.
"Wakey wakey," she said quietly to the computer. The inside of the ship was made for racing. The pilot was able to sit back in the chair, yet when flying, they were forced to learn into the console in the center, as if riding a sports motorcycle from the 90s. Even the steering was similar to the ancient bikes. The second pilot seat was mainly a secondary set of eyes for the main pilot, maximizing the ship's speed and maneuverability. The console blinked as the engines reached their full charge. The ship drifted near a number of large asteroids that had no destination in mind themselves.
The pilot leaned forward and set a pair of gloved hands onto the angled steering bars of the ship. It whined impatiently, like an old racehorse wanting to get back on the track and relive its glory days. She yawned again, blinking drowsily. A small carrier ship passed by suddenly at high speed.
"There you are kiddo," she said, a smile broadening across her face. She twisted the right handle, revving the engine. Quickly taping a button on the console, a small timer flashed on by the window corner; thirty minutes. Every mission she took, she always tried to beat herself. Her crew always told her that she would get herself killed one of these days from rushing, but where was the fun in taking your time?
"Here we go!" And the racer jettisoned from its position by the asteroids and straight toward the small carrier. The carrier's engine flashed with power and forced the ship away from her position. The girl chuckled, "gonna have to do better then that."
The back of the carrier suddenly blew open, the cover blowing off to its sides, revealing a mass number of projectile missiles. Before the girl could even gasp, a forth of the missiles launched and headed straight for her. Left and right she leaned, the sharp turn sensors around her constantly sending messages to the secondary engines throughout the ship. Like the ancient motorcycles, the ship leaned in the directions in which she herself did. But unlike them, the ships steering was much more precise than leaning from one direction to the other. The window flashed with a number of bright red circles, signifying imminent danger. Three flew near enough to her position that she could almost read the logo across the smuggled missile.
She weaved from side to side, twisting and turning through space. She tapped at the center console, quickly moving her hand back to the steering. Glancing down at the console, the image of a large gautling gun shined. She could hear the weaponry switching within the front hull of her ship. The missiles followed closely behind her now. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back, pulling the steering handles back with her. Kajitori groaned as it completely flipped upside down. Taking her foot off the gas and pushing down on the air brake, the ship stopped and completely flipped in place behind half the missiles. Running the digital cross hairs on the window, she pulled the triggers on both handles.
–ratatattatattatatata–
The gautling gun rattled as it sent a flurry of shells into a half dozen missiles, each blowing up by the sudden impact of its tiny assailants. The rest followed closely behind her as she continued to twist and turn toward the carrier. She tapped the console once more, finding a type of cannon. The whole front half of the ship split horizontally into two, the bottom half coming down and locking noisily into place. The console blinked as the cannon charged with a dull whirr. The carrier passed an enormous asteroid, flying completely out of her view.
"Damn," she hissed, letting her boot rest a bit heavier on the gas. Flying straight toward the edge of the asteroid, the red targets on her window blinked as they gained on her. Nearer and nearer she flew toward the asteroid, the missiles gaining even closer now–
–the console blinked with a soft blip; the cannon was charged. Closer and closer she flew toward the asteroid, sweat dripping off her brow. She pulled the trigger once and with a sudden flash of light, the cannon shot out a steady stream of blue light straight toward the asteroid. Dust and rock flared up from the impact of the cannon's blast. Soon after the small racer flew straight into the flare up of debris, the missiles following close behind. One by one they blew from the impact of flying rocks; each one blowing close enough to shake the entire ship as debris clattered across the windows.
The window was clear of any red targets that chased her, yet her main target was nowhere to be seen. She slowed her ship to a crawl, scanning the asteroid and the space around it. Her headset crackled suddenly, a young male voice fading in and out. Tapping the earpiece, the voice cleared out. Old piece of–
"Reilly! Reilly come in!"
"Takumi (Tah-kuu-me)? Takumi what's up?" She shouted into the receiver, straining to hear through the constant bursts of static. "The target–buzz–within–fwizz–you just shot–" With another burst of static, the voice was gone. Damn it, she thought to herself. Glancing around her surrounds, there was only space and asteroids. Her eyes drifted around until finally she saw the scar she had drawn across the face of the nearest one. A large hole was at the end of it. Revving up her engines, she shot toward the asteroid. Flying straight into the passage; it led deep into the center of it. Slowing down, Reilly shut off her main engines leaving the air pumps online. Pulses of air from certain locations on the outer shell of the ship forced it into different directions, yet it was precise around the tight corners. Around another bend and there was the coverless carrier, docked atop a larger ship with no logo. Reilly chuckled and puffed her racer over to the ship and landed it next to the small carrier on the deck. The console blinked with atmospheric information; Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and all the other things that made up the normal air that everyone breathed. The window around her popped open with a mechanical swish, letting fresh air into the cockpit. With a deep breath, she unhooked her buckle and leapt from Kajitori to the deck.
It was odd, in the very center of the asteroid, yet there was oxygen and gravity. Probably a grav generator she thought to herself; just another object that costs quite a pretty penny on the usual market. A half dozen men rushed out to greet her as she walked casually toward the open docking bay. The men surrounded her, nothing but steel pipes as weapons. She stopped, putting a hand on her hip and smiled. Poor sons-of-bitches.
"A welcome party huh?" Her dark brown eyes glittering from the ships floodlights. One raised a pipe over their head, about to lunge at her. "Woah woah woah wait!" She shouted raising her hands up toward the first attacker. He stopped in his tracks. The others shifted their grips and prepared to attack her, yet idiotically, they waited for her to continue.
"I just wanted to let you know, that I'm not armed-"
"Then what the hell do you call that strapped to your leg then?" One interrupted from her left, pointing at the pistol.
"Oh, you misunderstood me kiddo," she said glancing over, hands still raised. "You see, I'm not gonna be armed when I kick your sorry ass'," the men chuckled, glancing back and forth at one another.
"In fact, I'm not even gonna touch your weapons either," they raised their pipes in reply.
"So then by your responses, there ain't any hard feelings right?" She said smugly, before the first finally charged with a cry. He was about a foot taller than her, and was obviously much more masculine, like most of the men. He swung his pipe straight down for her head, missing horridly as she sidestepped out of the way. Still in the downward movement, Reilly grabbed his pipe gripping hand and quickly with her other, chopped the very center of his face, breaking his nose with a dull crack. Still gripping his pipe hand; she tugged at the limp body and held him up with her other. Takes two to tango, she thought, her smile broadening. Two more charged at her now, diagonally from the front. With a smirk, she quickly swung the man's pipe from side to side, hitting both directly in the head. Finally dropping the heavy unconscious body, Reilly threw her right foot straight back and into the gut of another attacker. One came at her from the left, swinging the pipe at her left shoulder. Catching the attackers arm in mid attack with a high block, she gave him a hard right hook in the gut, putting her entire weight into her fist. The man gagged then puked over her right shoulder, luckily missing her entire body, and finally crumpling to the ground. The last simply stared at her as she turned toward him, fists raised in a half moon stance. It was obvious she studied some type of martial arts–
–His hands started to shake–
–She smiled–
Dropping the pipe, the last conscious member broke in a gasping run toward the main portion of the ship. Relaxing, Reilly drew her pistol and took a moment to aim–
–BLAM! He fell grasping at his leg. Reilly jogged up to him, leaning over his wounded leg, sighing at the blood pooling around it. Kneeling down next to him, she tore off his sleeve and wrapped it tightly around the wound.
"Sorry I had to do that, but you broke the deal kiddo," she began, "But I'll be sure to have someone take a look at that and the bump on your head for you later," he stared up at her confused. With a quick punch straight down, the man was in the dark. Standing up, she glanced back at the men sprawled across the deck. Damn, she thought to herself glancing back down at the man she had shot. Maybe I should have asked them where their cap is. With a shrug, she ran straight for the docking bay.
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The men ran about the small metallic halls, searching frantically for their intruder. The interior was almost like an ancient submarine from WWII, yet it had its differences. A gruff voice shrieked behind a small door. A few came rushing out from behind it.
"We better find her soon, the commanders in one of his moods again," the men all shuttered and ran in different directions. The halls were calm for a moment, red lights flashing on and off reiterating that the situation was apparently dire. A pair of booted legs came down from the ceiling. Dropping down from an open airshaft, Reilly glanced around and headed toward the door. This is too easy, she smirked. Taking a deep breath, Reilly unholstered her pistol, pulling the top back and making sure a round was chambered. She pounded on the metal door twice then opened it soon after, stepping to one side of the doorway. Pointing the weapon into the room, all she found was a decorated office with a wide metallic desk and a large chair behind it. The back faced her as she quickly entered the room and shut the door. Swiftly making her way up to the desk, the chair turned to face her. The captain was looking down at a few reports as he did so.
"This better be goo–" he began, looking up to find a gun barrel directly pointed at his forehead. Reilly smiled. The captain seemed short in his large chair. Compared to the image she had seen of him, he had grown a beard that concealed a scar that supposedly ran across half his upper lip and down to his chin. He was fairly thin yet muscular, but Reilly doubted that he could do much harm to her in a fistfight. He wore a fairly dark and formal looking suit, which compared with the other crewmen, who simply wore ragged and mismatched clothing; it was obvious he was "the cap". She took a few more steps toward him.
"Captain Sharidin I presume?" He frowned in response. "Boy kiddo, your crew made this way too easy for me."
"Is that so?" He said raising a brow, obviously struggling to keep himself composed.
"That's right, now if you could please stand up and turn around–"
"Is that an antique pistol?" He interrupted, staring straight at the barrel. "Yeah, but you see, back in the day, this little bugger could blow straight through your head at this range. Now today? I pull the trigger, your head wouldn't even exist anymore." Sharidin shifted in his seat sweat beading on his forehead. "Interesting what a modified slug with a little gunpowder can do no?" With a quick tilt of her head and a wave of her pistol, the captain slowly stood up with his hands raised. Soon the captain's hands were tied behind his back and the two made their way through his ship. The crew was nowhere to be seen strangely enough and those that had appeared didn't dare fire at the intruder. Quickly knocking them out and continuing on their way, the two had eventually made it out to the docking bay where Kajitori awaited. It was completely surrounded by a number of the captain's faithful crewmen. Persistent little buggers aren't they? Reilly thought to herself as she reached out and grabbed Sharidin's collar. She pressed her pistol to his head as they walked over toward Kajitori. The crewmen quickly stepped aside, unwilling to take any heroic action to save their beloved captain.
Quickly tossing Sharidin into the back seat of Kajitori, Reilly hopped into the front and revved up the engines. "Don't try anything stupid," Reilly began, "the panels in back are all shut down. If you start punchin' away at buttons, you'll probably end up pressing the emergency eject while we're out in space."
Putting on her headset, she glanced out the closing hatch and gave the frustrated crew a quick wave and a wink. Many of them ran back into the docking bay, perhaps hoping to catch them in space. The rest simply watched in horror, unable to shake themselves from their position. With a blast from the engines, the racer jerked forward and off the ship.
"Well kiddo, sorry your crew didn't do much to keep me from swiping you," the captain began to laugh in response, slowly at first than it grew much more maniacal and over done. Reilly glanced at her rear view mirror, wondering if there were any other reasons to why the Scytherian Empire wanted him.
"You think they're that stupid? With the technology on that ship alone, we'd be hunted down and killed for it," he cackled.
"That so?"
"Of course. We smuggle the weapons. Without us, those fuckers would have microchips coming out of their asses."
Reilly smirked at the thought, cheap mass-produced weapons that are later reprogrammed to be the best-damned weapons one could buy on the market. "Not bad," she said in response.
"I would assume that we have only a few more minutes to get clear of the ship," Reilly raised a brow. As she opened her mouth to question him further, it had suddenly dawned on her what the captain had meant. Holy fuck! That bastard's crew is gonna–
–Reilly pressed her boot down on the accelerator, pushing the racer as fast as she possibly could within the asteroid. Weaving side to side through the narrow passageway, Reilly tapped at the main console, opening up all channels to the main ship, Draken.
"Takumi! Takumi pick up! Anyone pick up damn it!" she shouted into the headset. Only static echoed back. "Fuck," she said to herself. Tapping at the console a few more times, a distant voice struggled to break free from the static.
"Rei–fwizz–what's–buzz–oi!"
"Takumi? Takumi, get the ship away from here! Hello? Hello!" The headset continued to burst with static. I've got to warn them, she thought to herself looking back at her captive. He only stared blankly back at his ship, almost as if lost within his own thoughts. Sweat trickled down from her brow as the concentrated on getting out of the asteroid.
"I can't believe your own men are gonna–"
"They understood the risks for signing up on my crew," he interrupted. "Our mission is always to finish or to die trying."
"Are you telling me your crew is still on that death trap?" Reilly shrieked, almost losing control of Kajitori. Sharidin stared out the window, a melancholy expression spreading across his face. "It's a shame really."
A wave of air suddenly passed the ship silently; the carrier had blown. Leaning back down, Reilly revved up her engine and shot through the rest of the tight corridor, clipping a corner here and a stalactite there. Flying out into the darkness of space, the radio softly burst with static.
"Reilly, what's–"
"No time! Get out of here now!" She shrieked, zooming past Draken. Glancing back, she saw the ancient ship turn to follow her, its engines flashing as it lurched in her direction. In slow motion, the asteroid seemed to swell up before the crevice she had drawn across it cracked and burst outward. Much of the debris flew outward, yet much more seemed to sink into it, crushing the large carrier that sat within it. With a final burst, the weaponry within the heart of the asteroid thrust outward, sending a shockwave in all directions. It quickly caught Draken and rapidly made its way to Kajitori. Reilly angled the small ship just as it reached them. The shockwave pushed the small ship forward like a toy boat in a bathtub that was relentlessly being splashed by the hands of a toddler.
The ship twisted and turned on the wave, shaking the passengers within it violently. Reilly hugged the central seat of the cockpit while Sharidin struggled to keep upright in the back; she had neglected to help him with his belt. The wave quickly passed them, continuing to spread on through endless space. The radio crackled suddenly, yet there were no clear voices. Reilly sat up a bit straighter, scanning all around them for Draken. It drifted along nearly on its side to the left of them. Turning the racer toward the ship, she glided over toward it, getting close enough for a steady radio stream. She saw Takumi in the huge cockpit window of the ship, frantically punching away at the computer.
"Reilly? Reilly come in," a gruff voice shouted.
"Jake? Holy crap, are you guys alright?"
"We're okay, a bit shaken up. Looks like the engines are out and the main computer is offline too, we're pretty much a sittin' duck here."
"Well hell, can you fix it?"
"Not with what we've got,"
Reilly sighed, ears perking to the sound of weight shifting behind her. She had completely forgotten about the cap. The Scytherian Empire had put a rather small bounty on one of their own members, but money was money and at the moment, they needed it badly.
"I'll take the prize to the manny and get the creds. Should be enough to fix that clunker, or at least get it to a planet."
"Alright, but hurry it up, we've already been runnin' low on food in the first place. Takum'll send you the location of the closest Scythe." Jake said, waving at her from the cockpit window. With a quick wave back, the console blinked with the coordinates of an Imperial ship, one of authority anyway. For as long as they had been in the trade, they had found tricks to finding the people who were able to pay off their bill. Turning Kajitori toward the direction of the ship, Reilly put the small racer into auto. She sat up and leaned back onto the seat she had installed herself years ago.
"Sorry bout your shipmates kiddo," she said taking her headset off with a sigh.
"Why do you care?" Reilly glanced at the rear mirror.
"Because kiddo, I know what its like to lose a crew." She replied closing her eyes. "And it sucks… no matter what your cause is, it just fucking sucks."
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Chit Chat was kept to a minimum as the racer flew steadily toward its target. It was visible now in the distance. It was huge and definitely Scytherian. Approximately six times larger than the Kajitori, it was obviously made by a wealthy Empire like the Scytherian. The empire's emblem stretched across its massive wings. In almost everyway possible the Scytherian had attempted to make the ship appear more dangerous than it could have possibly been. Battleship, was written all over it. Cannons of an unknown number of weapons lined its dull colored hull. Reilly sighed, she hated the larger ships. She never understood why some captains loved having a huge ship. Then again, you know what they say about a man with a huge ship. Putting her headset back on, Reilly tapped at the central console with a smirk.
"This is Reilly of the Kajitori, requesting an audience with the captain of the Scytherian ship." Silence responded. She tried again to no avail. Fuck, is it that hard to answer a goddamn hail? "This is Kajitori to the Scytherian ship, please respond." A small message window blinked on her console. Pressing at it, a running image of a Scytherian crewmember appeared on her window, he didn't seem too pleased. He was at least in his late twenties, early thirties. His hair was jet black, gray barely sprinkling it. It was trimmed and slicked back, completely out of his face; unlike her own. His face seemed rather young for a commanding officer of a Scytherian battleship. He wore an expression of extreme annoyance, obviously by her sudden interruption of something rather important. His eyes stared back at her like ice. The right was a deep brown, almost as black as his hair. The other was a light gray-blue, nearly white even. A gnarled scar ran diagonally over it, making the icy stare seem much more threatening.
"What do you want?" He responded coldly.
"Well mornin' sunshine," she replied with a smile. The commander's expression didn't change. "I've got a present for yuh, mister…"
"Xaelth, Grand Marshall of the sixth Scytherian Acquisition Fleet, now what exactly is it that you wanted to present to me?"
"Let me aboard and you'll see," she said with a wink.
"Really? Well the twelve laser turrets all pointed at your ship beg to differ. If you wish to keep your ship intact you'd best explain yourself immediately." He said motioning to someone off screen. Reilly smiled.
"Well mister Grand Marshall, I've got some business with your empire. I'm uploadin' the file for you now." Reaching down at the center console, she pulled up the bounty file that had been placed on Sharidin. An image popped up alongside the icy stare of the commander. Another window popped up underneath the image, full of information about the carrier and its crew.
"I see, very well then. Prepare your ship for docking procedures and allow our tractor beam to pull you into docking bay one. You will be granted food and lodging for the night. However, if you do not follow docking procedures, your ship will be shot and you will be jettisoned into space, if you go anywhere where you are not supposed to be, you will be shot. If you cross me, you will be shot. If I am bored, you will be shot. Any questions?"
Reilly laughed, "If you're bored? Now that seems a bit rash. How bout I follow docking procedures, and not be shot for your boredom? And the tractor beam ain't really necessary."
"Well, I suppose I won't shoot you for my own boredom and however the tractor is non-negotiable. You're lucky I'm feeling generous enough to give you food and lodging anyway."
"Don't need the lodging, but food is always nice. How about swappin' the bed for some fuel?"
Xaelth stared back at her for a moment, as if trying to assess whether or not she could be trusted, "Very well, once I get the cargo, I couldn't care less what you do. Shut off your engines and prepare to be tractored."
The screen shut off suddenly, leaving Reilly and her passenger to themselves. Shutting off Kajitori's engines, she sat back with a sigh, a smirk across her face. Feisty son of a bitch isn't he? The ship suddenly jerked, the entire cockpit brightening up by a deep blue light. Slowly the large ship pulled them into its docking bay.
"What will you do when you've turned me in?" Sharidin asked, growing more nervous as the wings of the ship loomed over Kajitori.
"Worry about my own crew," she replied quickly, unbuckling her belt. The small racer landed roughly inside the dark gray ship. The docking bay itself was a dull and gloomy shade of gray as well. Its florescent flood lights did nothing to 'brighten' the place up. "Please wait…" flashed across her windows as the small ship finally touched down. The large gates slowly creaked closed and finally the message flashed a green "welcome" at them. Opening the cockpit, Reilly pulled Sharidin out of the ship, helping him down the side and to the cold metallic floor.
Approximately six armed men and the Grand Marshall came up to greet them. He seemed much more menacing in person than on screen. Xaelth was at least a half-foot taller than her five foot six inches. His uniform was a dark black, covered with bits of armor. A breastplate, thigh plates, and shin guards were made of some type of metal. Yet much else was unable to be seen because of a type of cape that ran down his left side, completely covering his left arm.
Reilly raised a brow, "Nice cape… thing mister Grand Mar–" he held up a hand, silencing her.
"I despise that title, so please refrain or else I will be forced to shoot you,"
"Boy kiddo, you sure like shootin' people," she replied. Xaelth nodded his head toward the prisoner. The other crewmen ran up toward him, yet Reilly stood in their path. "Woah woah woah, not so fast. I'd like to get my creds before–"
–BLAM! Smoke fizzled up from next to her right foot. Reilly took a step back, glancing up at the shooter. Xaelth stood holding his pistol out at her, "Bored?"
"Hand over the prisoner and you will see your credits," He replied coldly. Reilly glanced back at Sharidin, then back at Xaelth.
"Sorry kiddo," she said turning toward Sharidin. Picking him up, she gently pushed him toward the awaiting crewmen.
"I know you'd make the right decision," Xaelth said turning toward the door, "The guard at the door will guide you to the mess hall."
"Hold it kiddo," Xaelth paused for moment, "I want my creds,"
"And you get will them soon enough," he replied coolly, walking off. "Take the prisoner to the brig."
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After stuffing her face and pockets with as much food as possible, Reilly had spent most of her time in the docking bay. Finally she had been cleared to refuel her ship. With a loud thunk, the fuel hose had locked into place and slowly pumped food into Kajitori. "Take a nice long drink," she whispered to her racer, giving it a pat. Climbing up to the front tip of the old racer, Reilly laid back along the fuselage, a leg swinging down off the tip. She yawned, pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from one of her puffed pockets. Lighting one up, she took a long needed puff. She didn't smoke often, but she usually did it while Kajitori was taking a long awaited drink. I wonder when I'll get my creds? She thought to herself.
Finishing up her cigarette, Reilly flicked it aside, and leapt off the nose of her racer. Heading toward the docking bay door, the guard stopped her.
"May I ask were you're headed ma'am?" Reilly raised a brow in response.
"Ma'am?" she laughed, "Boy kiddo, you're too soft." The guard cracked a smile in return. She patted his shoulder, "Sorry I gotta do this–" with a swift punch to the gut the guard fell to the ground coughing and sputtering, "but I got some business with your cap," and with another punch to the cheek and he was out cold.
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With maps all over the ship, finding the captain was easy, or at least finding his quarters was. Walking up to the door, she glanced at its frame, unsure exactly how to open up the knob-less door. Finding a keypad next to it, there was a number pad and a large green key. Hmm, if I were the captain of a huge ship, what would my password be? She pressed the green key and the door quickly slid open to one side. Heh, I'm just too good. While most intruders hacked in to find a passcode, there were many who would be stumped by the lack of one. Over the years, too many people had become far to accustom to high tech codes. Walking in, she found the Grand Marshall sitting at a rather large desk with a monitor sitting to one side of him. Glancing up from the screen, Xaelth stared blankly at her.
"May I help you?" He questioned coldly. Reilly took out a card and tossed it on the desk.
"My creds please," she said, quickly walking over to a nearby chair and plopping down in it. Xaelth pressed a button on the console,
"Commander, have we confirmed him as the wanted traitor?"
"Yes Grand–,"
"What was that commander?"
"Um, nothing sir," Reilly smirked. Catching Xaelth's eye, she simply couldn't help but mouth, ooo feisty, at him.
"Very well then," he said, shutting off the intercom. Picking up the card, he plugged it into his computer.
"You know, for a huge empire, you guys really need to put bigger bounties on people. I mean, 200,000 is small fry."
"Here is your thousand credits," he replied callously, tossing the card back at her. Reilly caught it while standing up. "Excuse me? I believe the total should be–"
"You see miss, there are a number of expenses and paper work to deal with," Reilly stared angrily, "there are processing fees, your fuel and that food you packed up."
"Holy shit, you've got to be fucking me kiddo,"
"I'm afraid not." The two glared at one another for a moment, Reilly needed the money bad and Xaelth couldn't help but enjoy the grief he put people through. There was obviously a conflict between the two. Reilly took a step forward,
"Look kiddo, I'm not leaving here without–"
"And what exactly makes you think I would be willing to give 200,000 credits to someone of your… species?" He interrupted interlacing his fingers and resting his elbows on his broad desk, an expression of complete control across his face. Reilly raised a brow.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't try lying to me," he began, moving a hand over the sensory keyboard installed into the desktop. A window opened with Reilly's image, which quickly turned into a bright outline. Biological information listed and pointed at the outline, but under race, it furiously blinked "unknown." He turned the monitor toward Reilly, a smirk across his face.
"If you're curious, there are scanners installed all over the Harvester. Do you think I wouldn't scan someone as… blunt as yourself?"
Reilly headed toward the door, her entire body shaking with anger. All she could do from digging herself a deep hole was to leave, and leave fast.
"Oh? Leaving so soon?" Xaelth said a hint of laughter and triumph in his voice. Reilly turned and smiled. The captain raised a brow in surprise.
"You owe me 199,000 creds right?" She drew her pistol and shot the monitor. It popped and fizzled like fireworks in the 19th century. With a last bit of energy surging through it, it finally seized and simply sat filling the small room with smoke. Xaelth sat back in his chair, resting his interlaced hands across his abdomen.
"There, that should make us even," she finished with a smirk. Just as she reached the door, she glanced back at the furious commander, "by the way, it's impolite to scan people without permission kiddo, see ya' around,"
Leaving in a hurry, Reilly was still unsatisfied. What the fuck am I supposed to do about Draken? Damnit, Jake's gonna lecture me again. It took a bit of work getting off that hell hole called a ship. After trashing his computer, she was surprised he hadn't shot her in the back as she left. As she sped off in Kajitori, weaving and dodging the cannon fire, the ship and its captain burned into her memory. Grand Marshall Xaelth of the sixth Scytherian Acquisition Fleet, captain of the Harvester. But it was his eyes that burned the brightest. Son of a bitch, she thought to herself. As soon as she was out of shooting range, Reilly glanced back at the ship.
"Remember me kiddo," she whispered with a smirk, "cause I know I'll be seein' you again real soon."