I just wanted to give a big shout out to my friend Cybertramon001 and Doctor dandy, they helped me get back into writing and helped me edit the last few chapters.
Alex Mercer was proud, a terrifying idea unto itself. Though this was a strange occasion for him. Instead of feeling pride for a horrific and masterful attack on his enemies, it was for removing the rust from his newly 'acquired' ship and tossing out the supplies that were useless to his needs.
He kept the credits though; he preferred to rip his threats apart or manipulate them from within, greed could be just an effective weapon in one's arsenal and a good way to make people look the other way when he needed to take something.
Altogether, it was actually an unimpressive feat and one that most people would have taken some meager pride in. But it wasn't the cleaning itself that he felt proud about; instead, his pride was from the way he had gone about cleaning the ship.
Crawling along the sides of the ship were small orange glowing slugs; his newest creations. By recombining the DNA of an average slug with that of a metal-eating bacteria; he had created a race of rust devouring slugs. The slugs had eaten away the remaining rust and chipping paint. They had revealed the ships name plate buried under a thick patch of rust; the ship had once been called the Ebon Hawk.
After the rust had been removed Alex had reabsorbed the slugs, building another creature in its place. This one was far larger and had a vaguely humanoid shape. But that was the only thing it had in common with a human. It stood on a base of four stubby legs, its stomach making up most of its bodies. It lacked arms and a head; standing at four feet tall.
Its skin was the same hue as a white human, but with random growths that formed spikes along its front. Its back was covered in two rows of four, clear sacks going from the creatures lower back all the way up to where its shoulders should have been. Its front also split open revealing large curved teeth and several long tentacles.
Alex had dubbed the creature the Devourer, it was specially designed to devour any form of biomass. He had created it to specifically deal with the large amounts of processed food on board the ship.
While he could consume processed food and long-dead corpses like any other organic thing he came across, he found the process of removing any unknown chemicals, drugs, or pieces of metal to be annoying and time-consuming. The devourer had a specially designed digestive system that allowed it to break down even the most stubborn biomass without risk of losing any. It could also devour non-organic matter and break it down into a liquid form that could then be integrated into his infected.
The sacks along its back filled with the biomass from the stores, and glowed orange when completely filled. From there he could simply pull one of the sacks off and devour it, absorbing the processed and purified biomass into himself. The Devourer would then use biomass to grow more sacks to replace them. It also had an excellent defense mechanism beyond its large jaw; it could spit its stomach acid at opponents. Overall it was a very useful creature; Mercer congratulated himself as he devoured it, the creatures were bound to come in handy later but at the moment they would only draw attention.
Overall the cleaning of the ship was an excellent trial run for the creatures,s. He had worried that the acid within his devourers would've been too powerful, and accidentally destroy them from the inside out. There had been some damage, true, but he had altered the design to include chitinous plates lining the stomach.
It was time to leave the planet but first, he had to get rid of all evidence that anything other than a natural disaster had happened. He slammed his hand into the ground, using his new biomass to form tendrils. The tendrils ripped the mine walls apart and destroyed the supports, leaving it barely holding together. He watched with a small amount of amusement as the plateau collapsed, dust billowing through the miner's makeshift camp.
He felt pleased with himself as he finally sat in the pilot's seat. He was free, full of biomass, and no one the wiser of his return. The thought occurred he would have to start hunting down the best pilots in the galaxy at some point in the future. With a small smirk, Mercer set his course to the nearest inhabited planet.
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It had taken nearly two hours to reach the planet, Mercer grimaced; he needed to repair the ship back to full working order. At the moment it was hard to believe it had been such a fast ship. From what he could gather off the ships corrupted star map, this planet was far enough away from the Empire that lawlessness was the norm; the planet was known as Destore.
This suited Alex just fine. While a more economically stable planet would provide higher quality parts and repairs for the ship, one such as this would allow him more freedom to remove members of the populace without being noticed by the Empire. Until he knew their full capabilities, he would err on the side of caution.
The planets geography was rather unimpressive, it had one moon and a set of two red dwarf stars that functioned as its sun and was a near constant one hundred and five degrees. It was also covered in a large desert of red sand, its main city (if that's what you wanted to call it) being a series of buildings made of old rusted scrap metal. It was surrounded by a large scrap wall, probably put into place to prevent the sand and any native beasts from getting in.
Mercer landed on a metal platform connected to the scrap wall. It was one of many makeshift landing pads attached to the outside. Mercer walked through a metal door that appeared to have once been a ship's bulkhead.
Inside was a system of hazardous looking paths, constructed from old ship parts and suspended from the ceiling by a series of metallic cables. The paths connected to doors most likely leading to more landing pads; most of the paths leading down to ground level. Said ground level consisted of a main 'street' of packed dirt lined with different stores. The street had branching paths leading into back alleys and smaller stores. There were three main stores, and one large building which most likely functioned as housing of some kind.
The odd vendor littered the streets selling whatever scrap they had come across, but what stood out most was the number of spice salesmen and the addicts littering the streets. The Empire had supposedly stopped a vast majority of the spice trade, yet it looked as if the empire had the same problem all human governments had; sentient life was by nature greedy.
A couple of credits here and there and suddenly there was a mine set up to gather "Iron". Mercer couldn't help but roll his eyes as he approached one of the larger stores with a sign reading Argo's ship and robot repairs, hopefully, it would be worth his time.
Upon entering the shop two things stood out to him. First was the tall dark haired Wookie with a metal collar around its throat. It had a scar across its face going from one eye to the other, the scar tissue has stopped hair from regrowing. The scar was made by some three clawed beasts. In another corner stood a creature that was a bit harder to recognize. It was an Abyssin, standing at about six and a half feet tall with skin a withered green color, the most striking thing about it was its single cycloptic eye that took up most of its head.
The walls were also covered in random parts and tools, the front desk was made from a ships star map that had been cut in half. Hovering behind the desk was an old wrinkled Toydarian, no doubt this was Argo. Around the room stood random aliens awaiting their turn to barter with him. Some had droids or broken pieces taken from their ships.
Argo was currently engaged in conversation with what looked like a regular human. "...For the last time, no credits, no repairs! Now get out of my shop!" The man smashed his fist into the counter growling in rage. "Rhagnar escort this trash out of my store." Argo called out unimpressed
The Wookie began walking towards the man, who began pulling out his pistol. Alex quickly calculated even as the Wookie was lifting his bowcaster to retaliate. The Wookie wouldn't be fast enough to stop the man from killing Argo, and maybe one other. His skills were useless in interrogating the dead. If he wanted information and repairs, he was going to have to step in himself.
For those that had actually noticed his entry and had been watching him, all they could perceive was a blur of motion. Before they could truly understand what had happened, the fight was over. The blaster fell from the man's hand as he stared down in shock. Through the center of his chest was a fist, blood pooled onto the floor as his vision was consumed by darkness.
Mercer watched as the man went limp while resisting the urge to devour the man on the spot. He had already made a spectacle, no need to draw more attention to himself. He scowled as he shoved the man off his fist, the man's head slamming into the desk with a thud as the body slid to the floor. Mercer stepped over the corpse and crushed the blaster pistol under his foot. He turned and kicked the corpse towards the doorway, though he used a bit too much of his strength as the corpse flew out the door.
The entire store had gone silent; stares glued upon Mercer's unmoving form. The Wookie shifted its bowcaster in his direction while the Abyssin reached for its own weapon. "Alright boys, settle down. Weapons away." Argo said, waving a hand. He gave Alex a once over. "I suppose you did alright killing off that idiot. Welcome to Argo's Ship and Robot Repairs. Here's the rules: no starting fights, no stealing, and no wasting my time. You have a problem with the rules, and we have a problem with you." He looked down at the counter, rubbing it where the idiot had banged his head. "Now, what business do you have?"
"My ship is need of repairs; the Hyperdrive got screwed up pretty badly," Alex said in a bored tone, flicking the gore from his hand.
"Heh. You and everyone else on this rock. You got credits?"
"Of course. What do I look like, an idiot?"
"Well I'll need to take a look at it but first we must discuss payment. Of course, you will receive a small discount for saving my life." Argo chuckled hoping for some reaction from his customer. While Argo was used to working with criminals, he had never had as much trouble reading someone as he was having with Mercer. The Human looking creature sent chills down his spine just looking at him.
Personally, Argo thought that he looked like a scoundrel. But his actions were far too brutal to be a mere scoundrel. They preferred to talk their way out of a problem. He acted much more like a bounty hunter; one of those who never brought a target in alive. While he was glad for the save, he wanted this man out of his store. People like that tend to start shooting for no reason.
"So, what exactly are you in the market for? We have several options, ranging from legal to... otherwise." He was torn between wanting this man gone as fast as possible, and getting as many credits out of him as he could. If he was a Bounty Hunter, he had to be loaded. " I just want a three-point system." Alex replied cooly. "I'm planning on entering Empire space."
"I see. Well, those are rather expensive out here. The Imperials aren't just handing them out. Usually, I sell one for about eight thousand credits, plus two thousand for installation. Considering you saved me the trouble of dealing with that idiot, I'm willing to put it down." Argo explained.
Alex stabbed a finger into the counter, sinking it down to the first knuckle. He then scraped it along, leaving a groove in the metal surface. "...one thousand credits. Nice try, But the average market price for a brand new class three hyperdrive is only seven thousand in total. Plus I'm not interested in a brand new one; I just want my old one repaired to match their specifications."
"Maybe you missed the part where they're pretty rare out here. They may be seven thousand on Coruscant where everyone and their grannies can get them, but out here we've only got a few hundred in total. Six thousand. Any lower and I'm losing money." Argo growled
If a place like this gets a new hyperdrive, it's probably close to trash with about a couple million light years on the clock. Even if it started off at ten thousand, it's definitely not worth it now. Four thousand." Alex fought the urge to just consume him and be done with it. He'd have to kill everyone else, and odds were that a few would slip away. They'd tell their friends, their friends would tell their friends, and then there'd be a witch hunt for him. It was better in the long term to play it careful, at least for now.
""FOUR?!" Argo nearly exploded. "Is your head screwed on straight?! I couldn't keep my debtors at bay with that kind of money. Hell, my slaves cost more than that!" Argo's Wookie got into Alex's personal space, growling deeply and holding his bowcaster. Sighing in frustration, Alex reached out with one arm. He wrenched the weapon out of the creatures hands, bending it in his grip. He than grabbed the Wookie by the arm and snapped it like a wishbone. The Wookie roared in pain, only falling silent when Alex backhanded him into the wall.
"...Five thousand. Either pay up or hurry up and kill me." Argo bluffed hoping the creature across from him wouldn't kill him over a thousand credits.
Alex tossed some credit chits onto the counter. "You get three thousand now, and two more when I'm done with my job and I know you haven't sabotaged my engine. The ship's called the Ebon Hawk. Have it done within the hour." He turned away, walking back out and leaving Argo to grumble about 'cheap bounty hunters'. Well, he was stuck in the closest thing to 'civilization' in these parts. Might as well gather some more 'intel'.
Argo had felt true relief when Mercer dropped the money on his desk. It occurred to him as Mercer left, what had bothered him so much about his presence. He was too still; he did not breathe, did not blink and did not twitch. All living things made small movements even when trying their hardest to remain still. Even droids occasionally moved and vibrated from the motors and gears within their bodies, yet Mercer had lacked even that.
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Daka Gavalun was an Arkanian following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, Arca Jeth. He had joined the Jedi order later than most recruits, but despite this handicap had quickly completed his padawan training. Becoming a Jedi Knight was obvious to him, with his skills and training he had served the lesser beings of the council...The council of Jedi faithfully. His genetic superiority had made it an easy task, as expected of his race.
Though he would admit, the last mission he had been given by the council before their destruction at the hands of the Empire had been his greatest challenge. They had entrusted him to show a young Twi'lek around for her first few missions, reducing his position to that of a babysitter. The council fell before they could return to the temple for 'betraying the Republic and attempting to assassinate Chancellor Palpatine. However, as a Knight, he was privy to a secret broadcast from Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, telling how the Sith had taken control of the Republic and any surviving Jedi must go into hiding. Thus, he had been stuck taking care of the padawan for the past five years. They had drifted from planet to planet, wandering as they avoided the Empire's steely gaze and their Inquisitors.
He had even memorized the inferior creature's name; it was Lezbiso.
Even after the fall of the Jedi order and the loss of her fellow Padawans, she remained far too upbeat. He hated to admit it even to himself, but he had grown rather fond of the creature and it's overly annoying voice. They had run into a bit of bad luck some time ago. Their ship's engine had failed on them, and they had unfortunately been stranded on a desolate desert world that was within range. Despite his superior nature, the inhabitants had been less than helpful, with one particularly irate and inconsiderate shop keeper throwing them out of his store.
Their ship had also been robbed of many parts while they had been out, leaving them worse off than when they arrived. At this point, they were simply looking for someone who would provide them safe passage off the planet without costing them everything they owned. He hoped to find someone who could help him return to his home world; he could claim the Twi'lek was his new pet project. They hadn't had much luck though; no matter what he said to appease the lower life forms of the planet, they always grew angry and unreasonable with him.
Every attempt to point out the truth of his superiority ended with them shouting at him like the savages they were. Luckily, Lezbiso had been very useful in calming them down, her Padawan training put to good use. Yet she was as unable as he was to gain passage on a ship. Though she didn't say anything, he caught the looks people gave her out on the streets. No doubt there had been takers; they simply wanted too much from her.
He had been passing by that horrible store they had been thrown out of when a strange looking human walked down a back alley, quickly followed by four Rodian thugs waiting for the man who was obviously new here, and that meant he had to have a ship.
When the two of them dropped in and saved him from those thugs like the heroes they were, the man would obviously be grateful and thus have no choice but to help them get off the blasted planet. Assured of his own brilliance, he informed Lezbiso of what he had seen and led her in after the criminals.
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Alex smirked inwardly as he left the store. Despite some potential setbacks, his ship was going to be repaired. Then, once they were in the relative quiet of his ship, he could feast on Argos and his workers. The shopkeeper's wings were far too small to keep his mass afloat; if he could adapt that to his own DNA, he could possibly obtain flight able to lift his own dense mass. Additionally, there could be something just as useful in the others. He had a buffet of species to feast on out here; some of them were bound to have something he could use.
Just as he expected, the moment he turned into a dark alley, the criminal element swarmed like flies on a carcass. He was tempted to just keep walking and see how long and how visibly they'd follow him before breaking off or grabbing him outright, but he was feeling a little peckish after seeing the spread in the store and felt he deserved an early meal. Thus, instead of walking out the other end, he simply stopped and faced his pursuers. A quartet of Rodians, bug-faced aliens with massive eyes and small proposes mouths. They all started; clearly, they never had someone face them so brazenly before.
A turquoise colored Rodian stood at the front, clearly armed. "Human. Your credits and your ship, or your life." The Rodian spoke, obviously the leader of the small group. Alex smirked as he slowly tilted his head to the right.
"Hmm... I don't see that happening, but I must thank you; your stupidity has driven off my boredom for at least another minute." Alex grinned as they growled, speaking some gibberish that was no doubt their language.
"Human, last chance before we shoot!" The turquoise Rodian grimaced.
"I really must stop playing with my food." He shifted his arms into claws; the Rodians stepping back in shock as his skin and clothes turned black and spiky, his fingers turning into meter-long claws. His eyes flared a chilling blue as he chuckled. Keeping their heads, the crooks immediately opened fire, but the plasma rounds were far slower than the bullets Alex was used to. He easily jumped over them, bouncing off the walls and landing before the leader.
His body fell into two pieces, cleanly bisected down the middle. Tendrils reached out and grabbed the two bits, pulling them into himself. The surviving three fired several shots at Alex, the range too close for him to dodge. A hole was blasted through one arm and his chest gained scorch marks. They were expecting him to keel over dead when the wounds simply healed over and he ripped the next one into shreds, gobbling the slices. He held the other aloft about to devour him when his terrified friend dropped his weapon and ran for it.
Mercer grabbed the second green thug as the light green Rodian fled. He smirked as he stuck his hand into the Rodians chest, injecting the tendril strain of virus into its body. Throwing the infected Rodian towards the other and smashing them into a wall, the light green one cried in shock as his friend exploded into a mass of tentacles atop him, impaling and killing him.
Mercer smirked as he walked towards the mass of infected tissue and absorbed it. He processed the alien DNA and memories, body twitching slightly. He quickly sniffed the air as his eyes went into thermal vision glowing a bright orange. "Come out! I know you're there, I can smell your fear..." Mercer smirked as two figures garbed in brown cloaks fell from the roof above him.