"I will stand out like a sore hoof, always," Arcane remarks. He hears snarks and some chuckles over the communicator while he leans over the edge to look over the sizable rough shanty style city, yet still looking sharp and clean for an outside viewer. "But I will say, I will enjoy my pony form over my human side. So uncomfortable and wrong to me."
Arcane's communicator started going off him, having just said that. He sighs and taps his omnitool, answering the call. "Hello…Blazer?" he asks, confused, trying to figure our why Blazer wants to involve himself so soon.
"Hey, bro, I got some exciting news that you will want to hear. Don't worry; it shouldn't affect the contract you are in, but stay clear of an outfit called the black hooves. They crossed dad and are on the station," Blazer informs.
Arcane raises an eyebrow at the bird as his elder brother grins. "Black…Hooves? And telling me this…why? Because I have a feeling, you want me to meet them at one point."
"The opposite. I am steering my people and allies away from them right now. Dad has already sent in a hit squad. Aria and the big three have already been informed and know this is a personal score, so they are staying out of it. The squad is number four, so watch it. It's going to be loud and flashy. Four will try to limit collateral deaths as much as possible, but that mostly falls to Aria and the big three," Blazer informs.
"Right…I have the strangest feeling I will encounter them…" Arcane muses before sighing. "Okay. I will do what I can."
"Right and bro, I think after the contract, it will be time for you to seek work off Omega for a while," Blazer advises.
Arcane nods before looking towards the area he is supposed to be watching. "Yeah. We all know—hardly any jobs or contracts. I don't think anyone took this because they can't find it either. Maybe we will try somewhere in the outer rims. Those usually have something decent," Arcane thinks to himself.
"You think you can only handle the little stuff?" Blazer asks.
Arcane shrugs. "At this point, there is too much of an influx of bounty hunters and mercenaries. It will take at least a month before things settle down to a manageable level. Once all those who are in over their head are gone. But my team and I are working up the ladder. You wouldn't happen to have an idea of where to find a decent amount of jobs, do you?" he questions, wondering if Blazer's contacts can stretch that far. Blazer holds up his claw before rubbing two talons together for the symbol for more credits. Arcane sputters to the side at that sign. "Figures. Well, at least if we search around, we can get an idea of what each place has."
"I know of one area that is about to get hot and can set up an introduction. That is, if you are up for a war contract," Blazer informs.
Arcane cracks an eye at his older brother, eyeing him down as the big bird smiles. "Sounds like a lot. I doubt it would be that easy with just you and whatever we have…what do we need to do first?"
Blazer chuckles. "Come back home," he shrugs off, and Arcane still eyes him. "I'm serious. The R&D department back on Equestria wants to upgrade your ship to see how it performs while also getting whatever data you guys have on your ship logs. It is experimental, after all. They might even spruce things up for you guys."
Arcane sighs and leans over the edge again to see a group walking through the streets with their guns out. "Doubt it would be that easy to switch ships or upgrade."
"Dad also wants you to take part in an event the clans are having," Blazer informs.
"Mandalorian event?" Arcane wonders and sees the group looking around a lot more than usual.
"You know of any other clan we are a part of?" Blazer asks sarcastically.
"Why not? I just hope we get prize money out of it. We aren't running on sunshine and rainbows…actually; momma Pinkie might be able to do that," Arcane muses, thinking to himself of how a Pinkie Pie ship would be like. The image of a moon-sized orb-like ship with neon color and advertisements came to mind.
"If you are looking for that, then you will be disappointed. This will be about honor," Blazer informs.
Arcane lets out another horse sputter and watches the group enter an alley towards an empty and unlit building. "Isn't everything in our clan? I also doubt that dad will want to go with just me or my team even. No, he would have at least ten backup plans."
"He doesn't want your team. He wants you only," Blazer informs.
"Right. Listen, I have to call this time a mission done for the contract and move onto the next. Catch up with you later?" Arcane asks, turning and walking away from the sight.
Blazer clicks his beak. "Sure. By the way, I have seen that mare you have been eyeing," he notes slyly.
"Goodbye, Blazer," Arcane interrupts and goes to end the call.
"When are you going to bring her…"
Arcane groans and hangs his head as Blazer's call goes away. "Brothers."
"But that was a fun talking point," Mevea responds, and Arcane groans louder.
"Ship upgrade? Really? They just want to be lazy with us doing the hard work," Dadea bitterly calls out at how she spent a reasonable amount of time trying to find the gravity core.
"I call it unethical," Jaix adds.
Arcane shakes his head, amused before chuckling. "I would rather listen to you guys bicker than listen to him at times."
"So, what about this team f…" Mevea starts before they see an explosion in the distance.
"There they are," Arcane responds and proceeds to sit on his flank to watch the fireworks on the district in the distance. "They love explosives," he comments, measuring how big the first one is based on building size. "Yeah, stay away from that block."
"Wonder what they did to piss off your father to get him to send a hit squad?" Jaix asks.
"All I can say is it most likely was very bad. Dad doesn't send a hit squad for minor infractions or insults," Arcane says.
"Ain't that the truth," Dadea notes sadly before sighing. "Okay, guys. I am calling it on mine. I made the template to send in the mission requests too so that I will send them to you guys now," she informs, and soon all their omnitools beep a second later. "Let's see if we can squeeze as many credits out of these guys as we can. Cheaters never prosper."
Arcane grins as another explosion ring out and shake the station. "No. They just get cheated themselves."
"Let's just get to work," Jaix says.
"Already on mine. Let's see how they like being cheated," Arcane says, writing up his template and sends it off to the gang. Only a second or two later did an email come back saying, 'ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!' Arcane laughs as he looks at the rant. "Oh, man. They are pissed," he laughs while sending a message back for them to reread their contract.
"We need to set up some insurance?" Dadea asks.
"Yeah. Come up with a few so they can't get away from one," Arcane orders before opening his wings and flying off to another area to do his next mission.
"Please tell me they didn't cheat us out of credits," Arcane asks and looks over to Jaix as they look down over the marked target building. "Because if so, we might take what we have and run."
"They gave in. We got our credits. It's enough to pay for maintenance and docking fees. The rest of us are slowly building up for more upgrades and resupply. We are working on supplies first," Jaix explains, and Arcane nods approvingly.
Arcane then smiles, sitting and waiting by the alien lying down on the roof. "So how many skulls?" he asks humorously.
Jaix hums and keeps watching the street. "Five. A good catch. But they kept running. I instead prefer a fight."
Arcane chuckles. "Then we might get it one day. Just not on these missions or when we get back home. Maybe one of the dangerous animals back home," he thinks up before sighing. "And I could ask dad if you want to hunt somewhere."
Jaix shakes his head, taking out his scanner visor. "No. I rather hunt a good one on my own. Feels better that way."
Arcane grins. "Maybe there's a giant scary monster living in the bowels of the station," he suggests happily.
Jaix doesn't say anything and turns his head to look at the joking pony. "Like the dogs we met?"
Arcane's mood deflates. "Can I have one moment to make a joke like that?"
Jaix looks at him with an amused expression before turning back to the streets. Arcane groans before lying down near Jaix and watches the road as well. "Anything yet?"
Jaix hums as the scanner runs over the possible marks below. "No. But I do see a five hundred credit mark."
"Is the reason pissing off Aria?" Arcane asks dryly, and Jaix lets out a hissing chuckle.
"No," Jaix responds. "Pissed off a semi-rich guy, though. Maybe a bad customer."
Arcane smirks before lightning up his horn and lifts a piece of sheet metal. Jaix hums and eyes the metal carefully before it smacks the man on the head and knocks him out. "There. One five hundred bounty catch. Every credit counts," Arcane quips and looks at Jaix to see what he thinks of it.
Jaix hums and scans the target again before calling in the bounty. "Now, I wish I had your magic. I am still trying to use weapons and the force at the same time," he admits.
Arcane shakes his head as their omnitools beep, signaling the credits coming in. "It is still complicated. For one, you have to be very smart in mathematics."
Jaix shrugs. "Doesn't sound that bad."
Arcane rolls his eyes amused before sighing. "Two, you must know a college grade level of earning a mathematics degree which includes…"
"Enough," Jaix interrupts, holding up his hand to stop the pony. "I get it. It is challenging for an average user to wield."
"So how is Nesa doing? I hear she is healing up the gang members," Arcane inquires.
Jaix hums while scanning the rest of the crowd for more bounties. "She is. She is charging by the patient," he notes dryly, and Arcane is suddenly reminded of when he got the doctor bill, and Blitz dealt with it in just a second of him entering the doctor's office on Equestria.
"Is she better received than the licenseless doctors they usually go to?" Arcane asks smirking as he bets she is one of their chief earners in this contract.
Jaix chuckles and laughs. "Yeah," he hisses. "She is remarked as the sith healer now. And as for the doctors here, they have been nicknamed bleeders, except a few of them."
"Hey," Dadea says, surprising both of them.
Arcane neighs in shock and jumps in place before freezing. 'Shit…she heard me like that. Curse my cute pony side.'
"Found a stockpile of weapons of our target. Want to raid it with me or see if we can't get a bonus from our employer?" Dadea asks.
Arcane clears his throat and recomposes himself. "Sure. As for the payment, write up the initial stuff on paper, and we can head out to see what we got," he orders, turning to her but sees her smirking at the alicorn. "Uh…what are you smiling about?"
"Doubt we will grab anything that we would keep," Jaix comments, starting to follow Dadea.
Dadea grins and bumps her shoulder against Arcane. "I am smiling because I get to have good blackmail for later," she informs and shows a video on her omnitool. Arcane's eyes stare in fear at the clip of him jumping in shock with a neigh. "I might send this to Equestria and see what they think," she teases.
"And hack," a voice from her omnitool says.
Dadea hums and sees Eve's face on the screen while she grabs the video out of the folder and holds it. "What the heck is going on?"
"That's my little brother's wife. Eve, what are you doing?" Arcane demands before seeing Eve bring up the extranet. "What are you doing?" Arcane squeaks out and fears the worst.
"Going back," Eve says before disappearing.
Dedea slowly turns to Arcane. "This is your family? You deal with this every day?"
Arcane let his head fall, and his neck slouches. "Yes."
"Which…?"
"Yes."
"As I thought, nothing we would keep," Jaix says, looking over the stuff as he tosses the corpse of a gang member out of the way.
"We got drugs here," Dedea informs, finding a stockpile.
Arcane cranes his head over the short wall of boxes and crates to peer at the drugs as well. "Dedea…do me a favor, scan it all, see what is good, and make some hidden stashes to get later," he whispers while Dedea leans against her head against his. Both of their gazes looking into the crate of drugs. "And try the entrance around the district first."
"I would rather destroy them," Dedea informs.
"There are credits involved in this. And we will see who we can sell too. And no, not gangs," Arcane explains when she rolls her eyes towards him. "Charity for respect out here. And credits if we give to medical places."
"We should just send it to Aria and let her sort it out," Jaix comments.
"There should be no drug route through this section of Omega," Dedea remembers.
"That means Aria would like to know about this," Jaix adds.
Arcane raises an eyebrow at them both before sighing. "Okay. Dedea, Aria. Jaix, grab this stuff and don't tell the gangs," he orders, looking at the boxes and bags of drugs.
"Right," Nesa says, heading out and seemingly disappears.
Arcane blinks and picks his head up to look behind him. "When did she get here?"
"Aria is looking into it and says she owes us a favor," Nesa informs after returning.
Arcane hums while lying on a crate. The metal box creaks under his weight and breathing. "Good. File that under things on a certain level of favors. I don't want to overplay my hoof for it. She might not be happy…might add that she can pet me."
"She says you aren't as cute as your dad," Nesa teases.
Arcane freezes for a few seconds before breathing out a puff of air. "Well, one piece of good news out of all of this. Okay, how's our pay going and account?"
"It's going good enough, but we got a call. Your father wants you to wrap up what we are doing soon. He says he wants you back for clan business," Nesa informs.
Arcane cracks open an eye at her. "How much time until this clan stuff happens?"
"He didn't say. Also, your friend from the blood pack says he has something for you and is coming down to give it to you," Nesa adds.
Arcane taps his hoof lightly against the crate before humming. "Okay. Nesa, I got the answer to the favor. But I need to check something first after we finish up. Can you tell Jaix to track down that leader and see when we can take him out? Day to day routine is all," he orders, eyeing Nesa.
"We tagged him early before we figured out the pay for job clause," Nesa informs.
"Good. Have Jaix be at the ready. I will see to something and maybe hopefully some upgrades we can order and give to the R&D on our planet," Arcane explains before shaking his head "Why don't they have a bigger budget for test models?" he asks himself. Nesa even spies his tail, flicking around in annoyance.
"Your R&D or your dad's?" Nesa teases.
"Nesa," Arcane sighs. "Just get things done and have the others get as many credits as they can."
"Right," Nesa says, walking away.
Arcane lets his head fall back onto the crate before yawning. "For once, I need a harder job. Maybe this will be it."