DISCLAIMER: I don't own any lore or character from any of the franchise of Girls Frontline, and Star Citizen. The Girls Frontline belong to MICA team, and the Star citizen belong to Cloud Imperium games. That's all,and enjoy reading~
Chapter 1: Rude Awakening.
(Stanton System, year 2948. UEE control system.)
In a vast open space, an Aegis Hammerhead heavy gunship is sailing across the thousand stars. This hammerhead shark-shaped gunship has a six quad linked turret; two on front, two on portsides, one on top and one on rear. While the missile's racks are underneath each portside. Then, the bridge is located below the nose of the hammerhead, and the 'AGILA' , the name of the ship, is printed on the right port side, together with a Philippine eagle paint job. As for the size, and firepower, the Hammerhead class might not be as big as the Polaris class or as powerful. However, its turrets can put up a flurry of firepower that will take down any fighter that tries to get close to it. Also, it can cripple other sub-capital ships with its missiles, it can even provide good fire support, and faster enough to out maneuver any capital ship. Plus, the design is a goddamn…
"Awesome!"
The young man who wears a TCS-4 space undersuit, rides on the pilot seat of the AGILA bridge. Then, he steered its yoke as he maneuvers side to side, following up by taking a sharp turn to the asteroid belt.
"Whoa, despite this big size. This ship can make fighter pilots blush."
After a couple of maneuvers through the asteroid belt, the independent merc keeps his ship steady, and slow. Abruptly, a calling chime echoes across the cockpit, along with his flight panels flashes its green light upon his round brown eyes, and his tan skin.
[/ RED TALOS]
The merc sighs in frustration while he rubs the bridge of his flat nose. Seeing the caller's name, it made him feel like witnessing a shit on a side road while he is in the middle of his breakfast. A one way to ruin a mood.
"Puta, they better have a good reason for calling…." the young man frustratingly, strokes his short black hair as he presses the green button to answer the call.
"Hey, whaddup Lastimosa! I heard you got a big, and a kickass ship today. Congrats!"
A man in red DustUp armor pops up from his holographic compass, in the form of a miniature hologram.
"O miss me with that bullshit…just straight to the point." Lastimosa scoffs at the small man while he crosses his arm in an intimidating pose.
"Come on buddy, you are still salty after all these years."
Lastimosa growls as he intensely glares at the hologram man. At the same time, he felt vexed within him because this man is the reason that he almost lost his career in his early days. They are the same people who ruined his credibility so badly that it pushed him to work as a solo mercenary. Now, they dare to call him, and have the audacity to mock him as if these two bitter years are nothing but a jo-...
The lone merc tighten up his fist to control his pent up anger. Then, he breathes out to release his stress as he slowly gains control over his emotion. "Is that all?..."
"Alright, I get it, I get it. I made a mistake, I made a bad call, bad judgement. I just never expect a guy like you will be able to come this far, and even manage to buy a hammerhead ship by yourself which is nice by the way….anyway my point is." The DustUp guy pauses his breath for seconds before he announces it. "I am here to make amends."
"Hinayupak…" Lastimosa blows his breath in disbelief. "Amends?"
"Yes! I want you to join the Red Talos again, ya know…be part of the cool kids again. So, what's your answer?"
"Here is my reply, …..shove it on your ass." Lastimosa shoves his middle finger in his nose.
"I see…that's a shame. It seems like your hatred toward us is blinding you from reality." the Red Talos man sighs in disappointment. "I get it you are angry, but you have to realize that you are flying a big ship. A ship with that size, needs a CREW to become fully operational as a gunship. Heck, I bet right now you can't even use all of its turret. So here is what I see, you need a crew. When I said crew, I mean US. Being with US will make be-"
"Here is what I see…I don't need a pest in my ship. Now fuck off!"
"Hey, don't you d-"
Lastimosa cut off his communication, and laid his back against the soft cushion of his pilot seat. "Diyos, miyo. Ginhawa rin."
Once the merc stares at the stars, he comes to realize that there is some truth in the words of the snake. To fly this gunship to its full potential, he needs a crew. A crew that he can trust, a crew that will trust him, a crew that is willing to go to hell back and forth with him. The problem is, does such a crew exist in this galaxy?
[Distress Signal detected / Alert / Distress Signal detected]
Lastimosa snaps away from his thoughts, and focuses his attention on a flight panel that is flashing in blue. Without wasting any time, he plays the distress call while he is tracking the source of this signal.
"Mayday, Mayday.. …bzzt..This is CFV-667 Artemis. Requesting immediate evac. Eight survivors onboard. Location coordinates 14.599512, 120.984222."
"CFV? Artemis? Is that colony ship that has been missing for seven hundred years?" Lastimosa pauses, and drops his jaw in disbelief when he recognizes the ID of distress signal. According to what he remembers from history books, Artemis was the first interstellar ship that was made by humanity. Also, the only interstellar ship that's been run by smart A.I and androids who are caretakers of the thousand colonists in cryo. Ever since they were launched from 2232, they were never seen or heard, until now…Also, he remembers that this incident is the reason why humanity banned the development of smart A.I and androids….
[/Location found]
" What, this doesn't make any sense?..." Lastimosa furrows his brow in confusion when he finds the source of the signal. He found that the signal is coming from the uncharted planet that is passing by, beyond the border of the system. This distress call came from a rogue planet.
At first, he thinks that there is something amiss about this signal. After all, it's been nine hundred years, so why appear now? Also, eight survivors onboard? Is it really possible that there are still survivors after nine hundred years? Can't help but think that this is sketchy. However, his lust of adventure is kicking in…the temptation of uncovering secrets is making him excited. After all, if this really the Artemis. Then he will be famous among his peers for finding this lost ship, and uncovering its mysteries. Heck, his name will be in the history books if he did discover this ship. Also, if there are still survivors alive after all these centuries then that will be great too. So, he decides that this would be worth checking out.
No time to waste, he uploaded this coordinate on his navigation system, which led to a diamond shaped cursor pop up in his visor. Then, he steers the hammerhead bow towards that target cursor, and locks on it. Once he got his target location confirmed, he prepared his quantum drive for launch.
[Calibration Ready / Spooling Complete / Quantum drive activated ]
In a flash, a blue wavy light began to splash against his hull like a roaring wave in the sea. At the same time, his view on space, and stars began to twist into a different spectrum of light. Watching his gunship sailing across the twisted dimension at the speed of light.
[ Edge of the Stanton System]
AGILA pops out from deep space as it abruptly halts its speed. Then, this hammerhead shaped gunship found itself floating above the planet that was covered in ice, and darkness.
[Quantum Drive / Deactivated]
"Okay, that is faster than I expected, now…..entering the planet's atmosphere." Lastimosa steers his large gunship towards the planet's orbit. Once the hammerhead dives in the atmosphere, a wave of flame splashes against his windshield. At the same time he feels the vibration on his yoke, and his pilot seat from the turbulence. After a few minutes of turbulence, he was greeted by the rain of snow, and a strong gust of cold wind. "Planet entry complete, all system green. No abnormalities…ok, let's find this signal."
A flame burst from the engine thruster of the hammerhead gunship, and pushed itself through the snowy skies as it flew its way toward the target location. In only a matter of minutes, he finally arrives at his destination, and has a visual of the wrecked colony ship below his foot.
From what he observes, the ship crashed in the middle of an open area with its debris scattered all over the place. Luckily, the hangar bay is open, and free from destruction so he thinks that it's a good spot to get in. Now for the landing spot….
As much as he wants to land near the crash site, he feels uncomfortable to do so because leaving his ship exposed in an open area is just inviting free scraps for scavengers. After all, he heard a rumor among his peers that a Vanduul raiding party was spotted on the edge of the Stanton system this week. So, the last thing he wants is to give those xenos bastards an opportunity to strip his ship apart till nothing remains.
The decision is made, the lone merc steers his ship away from the crash site to search for a suitable landing spot. Not for long, he found a landing spot in the middle of the hills of snow and it seems like this spot is far away from the open area, but not too far from the crash site.
Once the Agila is steady in the air, the gunship releases its landing gear as it slowly descends towards the snow. As soon as the mercenary feels his ship touch the ground, he shut down his engine, and all the system. Then, he unbuckles his seatbelt while his pilot seat turns away from the cockpit. Then, he stands up, and marches his way towards the Captain's quarter.
Lastimosa holds on to the door panel as he slides his ID on it, which leads to the sliding door to open. He steps into the Captain's quarter, and finds himself standing before his office room. In this room, there is an office desk in the middle, and a door to the left that leads to the private bed, and bathroom. While on the right side, is an empty trophy case, a weapon rack, and an EVA locker where his black&orange 'ADP' combat suit is kept.
After admiring his office, the mercenary heads to his locker, and opens it. He takes the ADP, and presses the holo panel on its spine. Abruptly, a pressure smoke hissed from the suit as it split its back open. Inviting him to put his leg, and arms on its slots.
In his response, he let his arms, and legs slide through those respective slots, while he let the heavy armored chest latch on his torso. After that, the armor spine reseals itself, and adjusts itself to its owner size. After a couple of stretch on his hands, and shoulders. He takes the full face helmet from the locker, and wears it while his clear visor fades into a black opaque. At the same time, a hologram health bar boots up on his spine, and the touch screen panel on his arm begins to light up as a sign for booting up the system.
After he wears his gears, the merc opens his weapon locker that contains every variety of rifles, and gadgets. Among the collection of guns, he takes the P8-AR rifle with reflex attachment , multi-tool gravity handgun and Coda pistol. Then, he put his weapon on his magnetic holster, shoulder, and legs. After that, he takes the explosive spider bot called Seeker grenade, laser grid mine, and anti-gravity grenades. He nods in satisfaction when he gets what he needs, so he exits the captain's quarter, and marches toward the cargo bay.
In this cargo bay, Lastimosa stands before the Ursa Rover that parks in the middle of the deck. The Ursa Rover is an exploration transport vehicle with six-wheel drive, and retractable, remote control turret. A vehicle that is good for all terrain, can carry ten people and is durable enough to withstand any hostile environment.
After the soldier of fortune was done admiring this beautiful ride, he went to the side of the Ursa Rover, and accessed the panel which turns the door to open itself. Then, he steps in, and heads inside the cockpit. After that, he sits on the driver seat as he presses the button above him to lower the deck elevator, and buckle up his seatbelt.
[ ATTENTION/ CARGO DECK OPEN/ ATTENTION]
Lastimosa shakes from his chair as he watches himself slowly fall off from the belly of the ship. Once the deck touches the snow, the headlamps of the Ursa Rover lights up, and sounds of engine rumble like a waking tiger. Once his ride is online, he steps on the pedal which lets the wheels roll out through the snow as it shoves all the ice powder away from its path. Leaving the AGILA gunship behind, and drives the Ursa rover towards the crash site.
(Sometime Later…..)
The wheel squeals from its break till its stop still in front of the derelict ship. Then, the mercenary stares at the name of the ship with his jaw drop in disbelief that from all the people of the galaxy. He was the one who first found it…..
"Artemis…. Let me see what secrets that are worth to be found…"
The Ursa Rover rolls its wheels, and beeline its way through this graveyard of debris. Not for long, he finally arrives at the hangar bay, and drives through it as he shoves every debris away from his path. Then, the light within Ursa Rover dies out, and a pressure smoke hiss from the entrance before it opens.
Lastimosa jumps out from his ride, and lets his iron boots step on the icy sand. Then, flashlight gleams from the side of his helmet, casting the shadow away from his sights. Once he got a clear visual of his environment, the merc marches across the hangar with his P8-AR rifle raised in the air until he arrives at the door of the main deck.
There he stands, and stares before the corridor that is covered in pitch black. This abyss is so dark that even his light cannot cut through this bleakness. Looking at it, one can tell that this darkness forebodes something lurking within a shadow. A sign that no men shall dare to delve in these hallowed halls or an evil could be the culprit of the terrible fate of this derelict. But, the merc doesn't believe such a thing..it's just a creepy pitch black, nothing more….so, he continues to trek his way deep within the abyss, and continue to search for something useful or survivor if possible.
How long has he been walking in this derelict? A minute? An hour? A day? He can't tell nor see because this dark, and cold corridor is affecting his sense of time. Truth to be told, the merc is tempting to walk away, and turn back from this blackness. However all the fuel, and time he spends to come here will be wasted if he gives up halfway…or even misses the chance to save those survivors…if there is one. So, he decides to search for the bridge, maybe in there it might find something useful. If not then he can call it a day.
However, his plan was changed when he noticed something in the dark. He sees a blue light glowing within the shadow of the hallway, like a star gleaming with hope in this dark abyss. No time to waste, the merc beeline his way through this graveyard of debris, and within a seconds, he found himself standing before the door that was blocked with debris. Underneath the door, he can see a blue light gleam through its gap.
"Okay let's pop up the cork shall we.." Lastimosa pulls out his Multi-tool gravity gun, and pulls the trigger. In response, a green energy blast from the muzzle as it leash upon the debris, and effortlessly, lifts up the debris away from the door. Once removed, he holsters his tool, and grabs in the small gap of the door. Then, servos of his suit start to hiss, and twist as he tries to pry this door open..
*BLAM*
Lastimosa managed to open the door without breaking any sweat, all thanks to his ADP suit. Now he finds himself staring at the source of the blue light. That blue light is coming from a human sized capsule.
Within it, he sees a caucasian girl in her teens, perfectly preserved in her ice box. The girl has long grayish hair with her hairbangs partly covering her forehead, and a braid tail hanging on the side of her cheek. Then, she wears a gray sleeveless leotard suit that tightly hugged her average bosom, and her slender body. From what he can describe she is like a pristine doll in her box.
"Is she still…alive?" Lastimosa mutters in wonder while he takes a step inside. Little did he know, he steps on the sensor that is waiting on the edge of the door. Which leads to the sound of the alarm, and alerting the red lights to flash across the room. "Whoa!?"
[/Intruder Alert! /Intruder Alert!]
" Putang-ina!" Lastimos curses under his breath as he waves his rifle left, and right in panic.
*PsssssHHHIAAAHHHH!*
The independent merc watches the capsule open itself in his shock, and awe until it completely raises its cover while the mist flows from it. Once the mist disperse, the ashen girl rises from her bed as she yawns from her long slumber. Then, she tries to stretch her stiff shoulder, and legs in the middle of this freezing air as if this is just like another morning for her. Not only that is the shocking part, this girl can even breathe in the atmosphere with no oxygen.
"W-wha-h-How!?"
The ashen girl twitched her ears when she heard someone mumbling. In response, she directs her blurry eyes at a shadow figure standing in the corner of the room. Still unclear, she tries to focus the lens of her eyes till she has a clear view at the fully armored creature standing before her. Which made her eyes shift from confusion, ponder until realization hits her.
"Waaaah! Alien!?"
"Alien!? Who, me?" Lastimosa tilts his head to the side, and he points at himself.
The ashen girl quickly takes out the M19 handgun from the side compartment of the capsule. Without hesitation, she aims her iron sight at the stranger, and pulls the trigger.
*Bam* *Bam*
"o-Oy!? Blue on Blue, Puta! PUTA! I am HUMAN!" Lastimosa ducks down as the bullet whistles above him. At the same time, his opaque visor fades into crystal clear which shows his Filipino face to her as vital proof that he is human.
"God damn…." the ashen girl sighs in relief while she lowers her handgun. "You scared me, ya know. I thought you are Alien or something"
"Me, an Alien!? I should be the one asking...I mean look at you!" Lastimosa replies with a tone of spite, and disbelief. " How the hell are you still standing in this freezing air?…do you even feel cold!? And don't even mention that you are breathing no oxygen here, yet here you are still alive!?"
"Don't you know, I am T-doll. My frame is designed to withstand this kind of environment." The ashen girl simply shrugs her shoulders while she reloads her handgun with a fresh clip before she holsters it.
"Wait, T-doll? You mean you are an android!?"
"Good guess, never expect you to be a fortune teller. Sheesh, really?" The ashen T-doll sarcastically laughs, and feels awkward about his reactions towards her. After all, they were the one who made her so why does he sound so surprised? Ignoring their awkward interaction, she went to her locker beside her to get her equipment. "I mean is it really surprising to see a girl in her synthetic flesh?"
"You have no idea how big a deal this is.." Lastimosa said, while he observes the self-proclaimed android trying to unlock her locker. "This is my first time seeing a living android, no…for 900 years you are the only android that exists in this galaxy."
" wait…what did you say?...900 years?!" the ashen girl turned back, and furrowed her brows.
"Yes, Ma'am. Artemis has been missing for nine centuries. History books declared you, and your folks lost in all hands."
The ashen T-doll blankly stares at the ground as she tries to comprehend the info that she is getting from him. Then, her expressive eye shifts from wonder, wide, and till realization hits her processor. "Oh Shit! My squad. I need to know what happen-"
" wh-whoa, take it easy." Lastimosa raises his hand to block her way. Stopping her going out there, recklessly. "I know you said your frame or whatever, can take the weather without any problem. But, are you sure that what you are wearing now is enough?"
The ashen girl looks at herself, and notices she is wearing only her undersuit. Which makes her realize that she needs better equipment if she wants to perform better out there "Get out."
"What?" Lastimosa lifts his brow in question.
"I said get out, so I can change." The ashen girl blush up in her rosy cheek while she lets her arms cover her bosom, and crotch as she stands in the cold nervously, like a meek cat. "Or unless if you are planning to watch me undress, which I swear I will beat you up real good you lech!"
"Oh, my bad, my bad. I head out. I swear I won't do anything." Lastimosa's visor fades to black as he steps out the room, and stays away from her sight. Then, he sticks his back against the wall as he patiently waits for her.
"Don't you dare peek, you hear me!"
"I hear you loud and clear, M'am. Heck, my Mama will beat my sorry ass if I ever dared to do that." Lastimosa chuckles as he remembers how his mother beat his ass for doing something bad when he was in a highschool…hmph, hang in there Ma, he thought.
"You done?" Lastimosa asks after waiting a couple of minutes in these dark halls.
"Yep, I am done."
The ashen girl replies as she steps out the room, and this time she wears quite an addition to her apparel. She still wears her sleeveless, and collared leotard suit, but this time she wears a baggy jacket with urban camo that is unbuttoned, and loosely exposing her bare shoulders. Then, she wears an black combat gloves, an ammo bandolier wrap around her torso, and her urban camo shorts. As for her legs, she wears urban boots, knee-pads, and her M19 handgun tightly hugs her bare leg. Lastly, she is armed with a XM8 assault rifle with a ACOG, and under barrel grenade launcher attachment.
"What's wrong?" The ashen girl gave him a sharp glance when she noticed that the merc is eyeing her with his judgeful eyes.
"Nothing.." Lastimosa shakes his head, but he still inquires about her questionable attire. "I am just wondering what you are wearing right now is really…enough?"
"What, you want me to wear armor like you, walking around like a robo-cop? No, this is sufficient. My frame can survive any firefight, or any hostile environment." The T-doll retorts as she scratches the irritation in her ears just from listening to this human yapping. "It is in my design, bucket man."
The lone merc raises his brow in surprise, and falters his chest bit from what he heard. He just never expects an android like her to be capable of talking like this. "For an Android, you have quite an attitude."
"Don't blame me. Blame it on whoever programs my digimind. Also, don't call me android..it is unpleasant to be called like that. I prefer T-dolls." The ashen girl replied while she rolled her eyes.
"I will, next time when you talk nice to me." Lastimosa dislikes her response which made him decide to leave her.
"Wait, where are you going?" The ashen T-doll asks in confusion, and helplessly watches him leaving her behind.
"Leaving."
"Wait, are you not going to help me!?"
"With that attitude, nah." the merc shakes his head.
"Wha-no…" the T-doll, hope falls off from her chest when the only person who can help her just decided to abandon her. "Please, I BEG YOU STOP, DON'T LEAVE ME!"
The lone merc stops, and looks surprised from what he heard. He never expects that a hardheaded, and impolite girl like her will cast her pride aside, and beg for him. Which made him feel guilty for making her feel like this. After all, he never meant to abandon her. He was just testing her.
"I am listening…"
"I d-didn't mean what I s-said, okay! As I told you, it's on my programming…No what I mean, I am sorry, okay. I am sorry, so please can you give me a chance. Please?" The ashen girl begs as she tries to hold her teary eyes, and truly speaks from her honest heart.
"If you are kind enough to say sorry, then I will be kind enough to listen." Lastimosa replies in a friendly manner. "So, tell me what it is that you want?"
The ashen girl breaks into a smile, and feels glad that he is willing to help her. "The other T-dolls have been stashed away somewhere in the repair bay. So, I need your help just in case we stumble into trouble along the way. After all, it's been nine hundred years, and I bet sure things have changed. So, it's good to have an extra hand to help me."
"Okay, then. Lead away, Ma'am" Lastimosa nods, and makes her lead the team first.
"The facility is on the lower deck, this way." the ashen girl waves her arm to come with her. While the armored merc follows her behind, down to this dark abyss.
(Sometime Later….)
It's been a half an hour since they've been wandering around the ship. No idea how long they've been walking in this dark hallway, but sure as hell it's been too quiet since the last conversation they have. It looks like two of them are too shy to speak up, even though both of them have a lot of questions to ask. However, the T-doll is brave enough to break the ice between the two of them. So, she asks…
"Oy, what's your name?"
"Excuse me?" Lastimosa paused, and gave her a sharp glance.
"I ask, what is your name? Bucket man." the ashen girl asks again, this time with an irritating vein popping up in her forehead.
Lastimosa laughs amusingly, and replies "Sorry, lady. I don't just tell my name to anyone who doesn't know the magic word."
The t-doll scoff in disbelief. "Okay, snowflake….'Please', can you tell me your name?"
"Hmm…you are capable of being nice, there is still hope for you. However, drop the attitude next time, ok?" Lastimosa deduces the t-doll who rolls her eyes, and crosses her arm in annoyance. Then, his black visor faded to crystal clear which shows his friendly smile to her. "Emilio B. Lastimosa, that's my name….now, back to search."
"Wait hold on!?" the ashen girl held on his arm to stop him from going which made them both look surprised, and blush together. So, the T-doll quickly lets go, and nervously twirls the tip of her hair while she asks. "Are you not…I-Interested to know my name..t-too?"
"Do you want me to know?" Lastimosa asks back with a mischievous grin on his lips.
"D-Damn you…grrrr." The Ashen girl hid her blushing cheeks behind the sleeve of her jacket while her knees trembling nervously like a shy dog. "P-Please may I tell y-you my name…g-god dammit!"
Lastimosa skips his heart beat when he realizes that this rude girl is capable of acting this cute. Which makes him feel bad for taunting her this much. "Yo, my bad. I didn't mean to tease you this much. I never thought that you would be this cute when you get embarrassed."
"C-Cute me!?" the ashen girl's cheeks blush madly when the merc compliments her. However, her embarrassment was suddenly replaced by anger when she realized that he said that he was teasing her. "W-wait, you've been teasing me!? Y-You bastard!"
Without any warning, the t-doll kicks him in the knee which sends the armored man rolling on the floor. Which made them both surprised that despite his armor he wears, she still managed to inflict some pain on him.
"Array! Puta, array!"
"Oh fuck!" the guilty t-doll grabs on his shoulders, and aids him to stand up. "I am sorry, I am sorry! I didn't mean it."
"Hehehehe, don't worry. It's my fault anyway." Lastimosa tries to laugh off the pain, while he hangs his back against the wall. "Damn, you are quite strong despite your size."
"I told you before..I am a T-doll. Our frames were designed to be beyond human." the ashen girl shakes her worried head while the lens of her eye is scanning his leg for any injuries. So far so good, he is okay. So, she extends her hand to introduce herself to him. Properly, this time. "Anyway, nice to meet you Lastimosa. I am Leah…Leah XM8"
"You got a strange last name, Leah." Lastimosa said as he briefly shakes her hand, and let go. Then, he start stretching's his legs to cool off the pain in his knee.
"It's company policy, we T-dolls can choose any name we want to be called, except our last name. Our last name should be named after our weapon imprint. So, they can distinguish our model, and the difference between us, and humans." Leah replies as she shrugs off the oddness of their last name. "Anyway, shall we walk while we talk?"
"Yeah, why not?" Lastimosa nods in agreement, and he joins her. Then, they walk together in this dark corridor with their friendly atmosphere warming the cold air around them.
"Strange…900 years has passed, yet I am the first T-doll that you met. Why is that, bucket man?" Leah asks curiously.
"You really into that name calling eh..you know what never mind." Lastimosa sighs, and submits himself to her behavior for now. "As for your question…..Ever since, Artemis went missing. They blame the smart AI, and the androids for the failure of your expedition, that is the reason why humanity stops the development of smart AI, and androids."
"I see…well, can't blame humanity for that decision. I think the T-dolls deserve that fate, after all we are a bunch of useless tools.." Leah bitterly laughs while the armored merc feels disturbed from her response. Mostly, the part when she considers herself tools. Yes, she may be an Android, but for him she is more like a human than a tool. According to his opinion.
"What happened, Leah? What happened to those thousand colonists?"
" T-The e-expedition was a success. There were no mutiny nor any problem with all of us….but when those 'things' came…W-We…..we failed them." Leah blankly stares at the merc as she is lost in her own thoughts. She looks at him with a thousand yard stare with her body trembling in fear. Like she was reliving some nightmare from her memories.
"You okay, Leah?" Lastimosa asks with a worried tone.
"I-I am okay, sorry. I am fine." Leah snaps away from her thoughts, and turns away from his sight as she wipe her teary eyes with her sleeves. "We will talk about this later or next time….for now, lets find my team, okay?"
"Y-yeah, take your time. We have all day…the stories can wait, but your squad is a priority. After all, we don't know how they are doing right now." Lastimosa nods in agreement.
However, her reaction made him suspicious of her. Mostly, the part when she says that they met something that caused the terrible fate of this ship. Unfortunately, as much as he wants to uncover their secrets. He is uncomfortable with forcing someone to tell him those terrible events, mostly when the person is clearly suffering from trauma. So, he decides to patiently wait for her until she is ready to open up for him. After all, they just met.
"Thank you, now let's go find this facility."
Together, they jog their way down to the lower deck until they reach the gate with a 'repair bay' sign above it. Then, the ashen T-doll checks over the panel while the soldier of fortune takes an over watch on the corridor with his P8-AR raised in the air.
"Shit, the door is not working…"Leah complains.
"What's the plan?"
"You stand there, and pretend to be useful. While I try to rewire this hundred-year- old panel." Leah replies with a sarcastic tone while she unscrews the panel, using her available tools. Then, she takes the panel out, and tinkers with the wire until an electric spark pops out in front of her. "Gah! Fuck!?"
"You alright?'
"Yeah, I am fine…..damn it as much as I hate to admit it, but I wished that 'Gremlin' was here." Leah said while she continued tinkering with the wires.
"Gremlin? friend of yours, I guess?"
"Heh...the up to no good gal of the team. You will meet her soon." Leah chuckles as she remembers her odd relationship with that crazy doll. After reliving with her good times, she successfully restored the power of the door, and managed to open itself. "Voila! Not bad, eh."
"Good job, Leah." Lastimosa praises her as he stacks up on that door.
"Yep, good job to you too…for standing around." Leah chuckles while she steps in the room first.
"O, shut up" Lastimosa retorts while he follows her behind.
After their short conversation, they found themselves standing before the hundreds of capsules that scattered across the room. Among those hundred, only seven of them are gleaming with blue light. Those occupied capsules have a name on each of them, those names are 'Zoe MDR, Sabrina Franchi 'SPAS-12', Ribeyrolles, Negev, Petra Executioner, Adeline, and Francesca Scarecrow.'
"How are they doing?" Lastimosa asks the ashen girl who is tinkering with the computer of this facility.
" They are fine…thank goodness they are fine." Leah sighs in relief. "Now, this gonna take time to wake them up"
*SWWWOOOSSSH*
The T-doll, and the armored mercenary freeze when they hear the sonic boom of the aircraft flyby near their position. They dart their eyes outside of the windows of this room, and witness a two alien dropship hovering above them with lights scanning the derelict ship.
"Who's that?" Leah asks while she turns off the safety of her XM8.
"Vanduul" Lastimosa answers with a grim tone, and his glaring eyes stare at the bulky alien ship that has wings, and a bow made of sharp blades.
"So, are these aliens good or bad?"
"Bad ones"
"Crap, say goodbye to my friendly E.T, I guess." Leah clicks his tongue. "What's the plan?"
"How long will it take you to wake them up?"
"Ten to fifteen minutes or less."
"Okay…." Lastimosa sighs as he comes up with the plan. "Judging by the number of dropships, we will be facing a platoon of Vanduul. So, we need more numbers on our side if we want to get out of here alive. In other words, I have to hold em off while you stay here to wake up your team."
"Wait, you're going to face them alone." Leah said, and realized where his plan was heading to. The plan that she never fond of…suicide plan.
"There is no choice, someone has to fight, and it's going to be me. So, I will hold 'em as long as I can to buy you guys to prep, and ready…" Lastimosa said with a bitter tone, and sticks his rifle closer to his chest.
"Fuck….Okay, I will wake them up as fast as I can. Then, we will be there to support you." Leah answer while she grit her teeth in anger, because she never like this suicide plan however truth to be told, they have no choice. So, she helplessly agreed with him no matter how she hate this plan.
"Don't worry I will be fine. This ain't my first rodeo, Leah. We'll be fine as long as you do your part." Lastimosa said with a confident grin, and a good ol 'thumbs up.
Leah sighs while she rubs the bridge of her nose. Then, she complies, and this time she is more confident with their plan. "Just remember, You might be wearing a full bucket, but doesn't mean you are invincible. So….don't die on me, you got that Lastimosa!"
Lastimosa chuckles, and teases her. "You know you can just say that you need me, so don't die or something"
"In your dreams!" Leah pouts her rosy cheeks, and sticks out her mischievous tongue.
"Hahaha, okay, okay." Lastimosa said as he marched his way out the room. Before he left, he looked back to her, and he gave her a salute, while his clear visor faded into a black opaque. "Good luck, Ma'am. See you on the top!"
After the soldier of fortune leaves the scene. Leah can finally focus on her part. So, she casts her worries to the side, and focuses her mind working on this computer because his life depends on her, and her team.
"Don't die, you idiot…"
