Chapter 7: Welcome to Nowhere
The Nemesis emerged from the Jump Gate with a loud bang. The massive dark purple warship slowed down as it got closer to the giant head that had become home to many aliens. Much smaller ships were all in the area. A team of middle-sized ships approached the Nemesis before taken positions on both the port and starboard sides of the ship. They then led the Nemesis closer to the massive head that was a planet to the likes of the Galactic Federation and the Nova Core. The Nemesis was then made to stop some distance away from the giant head that was home to many aliens. The reason as to why the massive warship was made to stop some distance away from Nowhere was because it was just too big It to fit into the empty eye socket that was allowing the much smaller ships to enter and leave.
"Nowhere is a giant head?" Izzy asked. He along with the other commanders of the Knights of Cybertron and Nightshade had gathered at the bridge of the Nemesis. He could only stare at the giant skeletal head that had appeared before them when they had come out of the Jump Points. He watched as ships of all sizes moved about the head, they were either going into the massive head through one eye socket while others came out of the head through the other eye socket.
He looked towards Nightshade who was given Scorponok a leather bag that he put into a compartment in one of his pincers. "I thought this place was a planet?" he asked her.
Nightshade looked out of the viewport and at the giant head that was a trading unit for many people around the galaxy. "Many people call this place home. And both the Nova Core and Galactic Federation both recognise it as a planet. Even though it is recognised by both those governmental bodies Nowhere is ran by its own government. And it is not safe at all." she explained to him as she looked between him and the viewport. She returned her attention back to him.
"Izzy, I want you and Tentomon to stay on the ship." she explained to him. She had turned her full attention towards the teenage human. "I don't trust the people that call Nowhere home, and I don't trust Tivan at all. If he sees Tentomon he will do anything he can to get him added into his collection." she continued to say to him. Her optics jumped between both Izzy and Tentomon.
"Wait!" Dreadwing shouted. Everyone looked towards the dark blue Seeker as he walked closer to the others. "This Collector collects living creatures to?" he asked Nightshade.
Nightshade nodded her head and closed her optics. "Yes. He has collected many life forms from across the universe. The rarer the race the better. That is why I don't want Izzy and Tentomon to come with me to see the Collector." she responded back to Dreadwing. She looked between Dreadwing and Izzy.
"This is making my trust him less and less now. This sounds like a trap!" Dreadwing growled as he looked back to the massive head that many aliens had called home. He then looked back towards Nightshade. "You said that he collects rare beings. What is to stop him from adding you to his collection?" he asked her.
Nightshade closed her optics before she turned her attention back to him. "Tivan knows better than to mess with me. The last time that I was here I destroyed a small portion of his collection and allowed a few living creatures to flee from there. He knows that if he does something against me the rest of his collection will be destroyed." she explained to him. She then looked towards Soundwave.
The faceless mech was as ever standing at Galvatron's side. He looked towards her when he felt she was watching him.
"Soundwave, I will have my communicator on at all times when I am there. As soon as it sounds like there is trouble, I want a Seeker squadron to be ready to destroy his collection. Just focus on that. Nowhere else on Nowhere." she told him.
Soundwave nodded his head in response to what she was telling him.
"I won't be long. I will go straight to see Tivan and get out of there as quickly as possible. Once I have the intell we head for the location of the Collectors client and see what he has to say." Nightshade told them all. She then started to walk towards the door with Scorponok following her towards the door. Her metal claws and his six legs tapped on the metal floor as they both walked out of the bridge. The doors of the bridge closed behind her tail.
"She didn't explain why it is a giant head." Izzy spoke up again. He was looking at the giant head that Nightshade was getting ready to leave for. He looked back towards Galvatron. The leader of the Decepticons from another dimension had been around Nightshade and the Guardians for some time. He should now more about the universe that he was in.
"I don't know much about Nowhere as Nightshade does. I just know this place was once mined for rare recourses. But that is all that I know." Galvatron told Izzy. He kept looking at the giant head that was Nowhere. He had first thought that Nowhere was a space station that had been built over a planet that then shipped the resources around the universe.
"If I may explain I can explain what Nowhere is." the Moonray spoke up. The AI's system had been implanted into the Nemesis's system to better navigate a galaxy in a different dimension. The Moonray was still getting used to being in a ship that was far much bigger than a ship that it was used to. This meant that it was not always active as it was learning all the systems for the Nemesis.
"Go ahead Moonray." Galvatron said to the AI that helped the Guardians with a lot of their missions.
"Nowhere is the severed head of an ancient Celestial. The head of the Celestial in both its flesh and bones contains elements and minerals that are used in many industries across the universe. It has taken many years for a city to form in the head. It is now home to many people and is a dangerous place. Not only is the place home to the miners and their families it is also the base of many criminals such as the Ravagers. It is a place that is very dangerous." Moonray explained to them all.
"All the better that someone should go with Nightshade!" Dreadwing shouted as he looked from the viewport back to Galvatron.
Galvatron vented air through his vents. He closed his optics as he thought over what he was going to say to the Seeker Commander. "I have known Nightshade for some time. I know that she is not going to like someone shadowing her. And she has been to this place before. So, she knows better than any of us on how to react there." Galvatron responded back to him. He looked back towards the viewport and saw Nightshade's jet form racing towards the empty eye socket that was allowing ships to enter Nowhere.
He kept looking out of the viewport as he talked to Soundwave, "Keep monitoring Nightshade's communicator and wait for her to give a signal in case she needs back up." The faceless mech nodded his head before he connected with Nightshade's communicator.
Galvatron then turned back towards Dreadwing. "Have a squad of Seekers ready in case Nightshade needs back up." he told the Seeker commander.
"Thundercracker's team are ready to leave at a moment's notice, Sir!" Dreadwing responded back to Galvatron.
Galvatron looked back out of the viewport. There were always ships coming and going from Nowhere. "Be ready for anything. We are out in the open and an easy target for anyone who wants to attack us just for the sakes of it!" he told everyone on the bridge of the Nemesis. That got everyone to move back into positions as they prepared for anything the worst that could happen.
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Nightshade weaved in and out of the busy crowd of people and aliens that were in the busy streets of Nowhere. She watched everyone that she walked by as they either went home, the many market shops that lined the walls of Nowhere or to the pubs that were in every street and street corner. She saw many of them eyeing her up, but they kept walking on when they saw the two swords on her back and the Insecticon behind her. They may have seen her swords and Scorponok behind her, but they did not see the two pistols that she had on her belt and hidden under her belt.
Behind her Scorponok was scuttling close to the ground. His six legs made clanking noises with every time that they touched the ground. Rather than walking around people like Nightshade he made the people walk around him. A few people were unlucky to get out of the way in time and had their feet swiped from under them by his pincers. They caught themselves before they face planted on the ground. They glared at the Insecticon that was following Nightshade, but they did not say anything as the two of them were still walking with no intention of stopping.
Nightshade knew that if they stopped or showed signs of hesitation, they would be a target for pickpockets. The young and old would both take the advantage of someone who did not know what was happening around them. She kept watching everything that was happening around her. A loud bang that came from an alleyway only had a small reaction coming from her. It was another bar fight between two Ravager groups over a stupid issue or the crews were just too drunk to think clearly. Scorponok twitched but he kept following Nightshade.
The two of them kept walking until they came up to a casino. The casino was right at the back of Nowhere. It had been built into the very skull of the ancient Celestial. It was one of the largest buildings in all of Nowhere. It had been built over the years with materials coming from all over the universe. The casino was the busiest places in all of Nowhere. The gambling plus the alcohol that the bars served was what attracted many people to Nowhere. That along with the Collectors clients who came to see him.
Nightshade walked up the steps of the casino that Tivan owned. Some said that he owned all of Nowhere. He was one of the richest beings in the galaxy and one of the oldest. She heard the clicking of Scorponok's feet as he followed behind her.
She saw many of the patrons of the casino looking towards her. Many of them looked over their card decks and poker chips as they watched her walking towards the bar. The bar staff got out of her way as she walked towards the bar. They watched her through wide eyes as she approached bar. Many of them knew who she was and remembered the last time she had walked towards the bar. She even looked behind her waiting for a team of Daleks to follow after her but all they saw was the mechanical scorpion following her.
Nightshade took a seat on one of the bar stools and leaned onto the counter. She waved her hand to get one of the bar tender's attention. The Odd bar tender placed the glass that was in his hand back into the worktable behind him before returning his attention to Nightshade. He then picked up the translator globe that was attached to his suit jacket. The globe glowed bright as he spoke to her, "How might I help you?"
"I am here to speak with The Collector. He knows that I am coming." she responded back to the Odd bar tender.
The Odd nodded his bald head. "Of course. Wait one moment." he told her. He put the translator globe back into its pocket before he walked away.
Nightshade leaned her elbow onto the counter as she waited and listened to what was happening around her. People had gone back to drinking and gambling. They ignored the fact that she was in the bar with them with a Cybertronian Insecticon Symbotie with her. They had more important things to contend with rather than picking a fight that would see them banned from Nowhere. They had easy credits to win and she was keeping her head down as she waited to see the Collector. Everyone who came into the casino knew that people who entered had business with Tivan, in one way or another. They knew that it was bad business to make the Collector mad.
Nightshade did not have to wait long for Tivan's servant to approach her. The young, pinked skin Krylorian woman walked towards Nightshade. She wore a white dress that went to be just above her knees. She wore white ankle boots that had a three-inch skinny heel. Her dark purple hair was tied up into a bun. She walked with a sophisticated step as she came to a stop before Nightshade. She clasped her hands in front of her and gave Nightshade a bow. "Master Taneleer Tivan is ready to see you." she told Nightshade.
"Thank you." Nightshade said as she dropped down from the bar stool. Her heels tapped the metal floor of the casino when they stepped onto the ground. She gave the young Krylorian a smile. "Led the way." she said to Tivan's servant.
The young Krylorian bowed to her again before she started to walk away from Nightshade.
Nightshade followed the Krylorian. No one was looking towards her as she walked into the back of the casino and where Tivan kept his collection. They were all focusing on their games in hopes that they were going to win bets and money.
Scorponok was quick to fall into step with her. His six legs kept tapping against the floor as he walked beside her. "Can we really trust this Taneleer Tivan? He sounds like he will betray the first time he gets." he asked her through their bond. He clicked his pincers as he kept up with Nightshade as they walked through the corridor that had guards every ten feet.
The guards were mercenaries who the Collector had hired to protect his collection and himself. He had beefed up security the last time that she had been to Nowhere with both the Doctor and Dalek Sec. There was also the new group that called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy who were known for causing large explosions everywhere they went.
"Tivan knows better than to betray us. Plus, he will no doubt know that the Nemesis is right outside of Nowhere. So hopefully he does not play any games of his games. If he does then he will have an armada of Seekers coming down on top of his precious collection." Nightshade responded back to him through the bond. She followed Tivan's servant through the correct. She watched the guards in the corner of her optics as she walked past them. They returned the side glances to her as she walked past them. "And then there is the both of us. If he shows signs that he is going to turn on us. Destroy his collection and retrieve the information that he has. But keep him alive. I want him to learn from this experience." she continued to explain to him.
"I understand!" he responded back to her.
The room that they were led to by the Krylorianwas by far the largest room in the casino building. In the room there was many glass cases that were stacked on top of each other. Many of them were filled with living beings that the Collector had collected over the years. Many of the aliens pressed their appendages against the glass that prevented them from getting out into the world. They watched as the three of them walked past their cages to the centre of the room.
At the centre of the massive room was a desk. The desk was covered in small objects that Tivan had collected over the years. Standing at the desk with his back to them was none other than Taneleer Tivan. The Collector wore an extravagant red robe that had sparkles and diamonds worked into the fabric. He spun around and smiled when he saw his visitors.
"Welcome back to Nowhere, Nightshade!"