With the RV-Wayfarer next to Bruchsal thus closer to the Sigmas I took my time to visit the Omicrons. I've got unresolved business here. The dirty kind, to be specific. Azurite is what I need - loads of it. And I can't rely on anyone to just get me this stuff without asking questions. What would I tell them, anyway...well, nothing. I'd tell them jack sh*t. Nada. So I'll get Azurite on my own. I outfitted my ship for the job before coming here...just some improv, really. Extremely inefficient, but better than nothing. It'll take days before I can get the amount that I need and then I have to consider the transit from the Omicrons to Frankfurt, staying off the radar, not pissing anyone off. I failed at the last part.
The Order. I still hate them. Used to shoot some of these pricks down in the Omegas. Liberty, too. I'm having a feeling of deja-vu, though. Was I working with some of them before? No, I've always been at odds with them. The pricks I met within the Houses and the Independent Worlds are child's play compared to the ones in the Omicrons. Not sure what I should've expected. This is a harsh environment. Worse than the Omegas. The Agents here are bound to be tough as nails and I found that out the hard way: nearly got shot down by one of them. I made it to Freeport 11 to patch up my ship eventually, but I need to keep my head down. That was a close call and I can't afford to mess up like this again, so either I toughen up and learn to take on the elites too...or I could just play nice for once. Avoid conflict.
I could turn to The Core. I heard they're all about profiteering off of alien technology, relics and whatnot. I should learn more about them first, though.
I knew something was wrong when I heard the BDM was looking for me. But in the Omicrons? They must've had intel on. Someone must've sold me out. I should've left the second that Order Agent told me the damn Direktor of the Buro was out to find me. Damn it all...f*ck. Sh*t. The Dunlin isn't ready for a long trip, so I'll have to make do. Sigmas are the closest, then Kusari, then Tau-29. I will be spending the rest of the day reworking the Valkyrie's transponder. It should earn me a bit more time. I lost my old ship to a mentally insane technocrat. Now my name, because of the Buro. F*ck it...what's one more mask to wear?
I've ordered all crew to wrap up and set course for Sigma-13. Newport seems like a decent place to hide. I'll be moving to the Taus after.
[15.07.2022 17:50:27] Rebecca.Edwards: Was going to give you like a drink or some food to say 'I'm sorry for earlier' but I guess I can't really do that.
[15.07.2022 17:50:48] Ego: ...solar panels.
[15.07.2022 17:50:53] Rebecca.Edwards: They give you energy!
[15.07.2022 17:50:57] Ego: Right.
[15.07.2022 17:51:22] Rebecca.Edwards: [ she looks at the red blinking light on her console ]
[15.07.2022 17:51:26] Ego: What about the individual that's watching us right now? Is he also getting energy?
[15.07.2022 17:51:34] Rebecca.Edwards: Maaaybe?
[15.07.2022 17:51:51] Rebecca.Edwards: If you show yourself, I'll give you a bottle of whiskey!
[15.07.2022 17:51:54] BDM|U-175: Minna: Do you wish to know more?
[15.07.2022 17:51:56] Rebecca.Edwards: or beer, rum...
[15.07.2022 17:52:16] Ego: I want to say that I'm surprised. But the Order already warned me of you.
[15.07.2022 17:52:24] Ego: As stupid as that sounds.
[15.07.2022 17:52:35] Rebecca.Edwards: hello MindNumbingDivision.
[15.07.2022 17:52:44] BDM|U-175: Minna: And what did the Order tell you of *us*. Pray tell me.
[15.07.2022 17:53:21] BDM|U-175: Minna: How courteous of you, Edwards.
[15.07.2022 17:53:23] Ego: Now why would I be the one to spoil the fun?
[15.07.2022 17:53:35] Rebecca.Edwards: Enjoy!
[15.07.2022 17:54:22] BDM|U-175: Minna: Because a woman made all the way out there to hear your story, perhaps. I know you worked with a certain other-
[15.07.2022 17:54:33] BDM|U-175: -individual from the Buro. Or suspect you did.
[15.07.2022 17:54:46] Ego: I didn't work with anyone in the Buro.
[15.07.2022 17:55:14] BDM|U-175: Minna: You're speaking to it's Direktor. To *me* you can tell.
[15.07.2022 17:55:26] Ego: Ranks mean nothing to me.
[15.07.2022 17:55:52] BDM|U-175: Minna: I only know the essence of some things. But to do anything in your favor - I'd like to know details. Context.
[15.07.2022 17:56:38] Ego: And what can you do in my favor if I give you some information I have no hold of.
[15.07.2022 17:56:45] Ego: Come on. Tell me.
[15.07.2022 17:57:02] Rebecca.Edwards: You could offer him some drinks~
[15.07.2022 17:57:43] BDM|U-175: Minna: Offer you asylum. My knowledge implies you've got some enemies. And no, Edwards, I heard the part with his inability-
[15.07.2022 17:57:57] BDM|U-175: -to consume organics. To put it simply - eat, drink, et cetera.
[15.07.2022 17:58:17] Rebecca.Edwards: It's about the gesture, right?
[15.07.2022 17:58:39] BDM|U-175: Minna: Perhaps. But the gesture's pointless if it's not appreciated.
[15.07.2022 17:59:49] Rebecca.Edwards: Well... even if I don't know how to handle some gifts myself, I still appreciate a gift.
[15.07.2022 17:59:58] Ego: Right. And you'd just so happen to be able to fend off the Auxo. Or The Order. Or the Nomads that plague Liberty.
[15.07.2022 18:00:38] Ego: Offering asylum to a random individual roaming Sirius for his own reasons. Thinking he's someone you're looking for.
[15.07.2022 18:01:06] Rebecca.Edwards: Maaaaaybe she just wants your ship.
[15.07.2022 18:01:15] Ego: She can try.
[15.07.2022 18:01:22] BDM|U-175: Minna: We've got our ways. I, personally, even more so. Frankly, there are places far more secure that the most secure places-
[15.07.2022 18:01:25] BDM|U-175: -in the Omicrons.
[15.07.2022 18:01:38] Rebecca.Edwards: What if he likes being around?
[15.07.2022 18:01:40] Ego: I'm sure there are. But knowledge of those cost dearly.
[15.07.2022 18:02:10] BDM|U-175: Minna: This Valkyrie is likely of the old series. I'm not interested in it.
[15.07.2022 18:02:25] Rebecca.Edwards: hmmm~ you're intelligence right?
[15.07.2022 18:02:35] Rebecca.Edwards: I guess you want information, like from... databanks?
[15.07.2022 18:03:09] BDM|U-175: Minna: Don't care either.
[15.07.2022 18:03:33] Ego: So clarify if you don't mind. What exactly are you looking for?
[15.07.2022 18:03:58] BDM|U-175: Minna: You and your story, nothing else. My offer still stands, too.
[15.07.2022 18:04:18] BDM|U-175: Minna: I'll admit, you're wise to stay on the move, movement is life, as the saying goes.
[15.07.2022 18:04:43] BDM|U-175: Minna: But it's not going to play in your favor forever.
[15.07.2022 18:05:01] Rebecca.Edwards: he doesn't remember anything though~
[15.07.2022 18:05:37] Ego: You'd be hearing of a Freelancer that started his career from the Omegas.
[15.07.2022 18:06:09] Ego: You'd be hearing about how his friends slowly vanished one by one, because of some ***** relic.
[15.07.2022 18:06:19] BDM|U-175: Minna: And yet you're bearing an unregistered Military grade vessel, albeit old.
[15.07.2022 18:06:39] BDM|U-175: Minna: Yet, you acquired quite a few enemies, got backstabbed by those you'd trust.
[15.07.2022 18:07:03] BDM|U-175: Minna: And now you're on the run, like a hunted, wounded hound. Wounded, but miraculously still alive.
[15.07.2022 18:07:05] Ego: I flew two Valkyries. One belonged to a person I loved. The second one is this. Memorial to that person.
[15.07.2022 18:07:50] BDM|U-175: Minna: I see. A sentiment to the deceased. Guess I'd slip it into records past the usual bureaucracy.
[15.07.2022 18:08:04] BDM|U-175: Minna: A man wouldn't lie of such sensitive matters.
[15.07.2022 18:08:51] Rebecca.Edwards: I dreamt of owning a valkyrie...
[15.07.2022 18:08:56] Rebecca.Edwards: can I get one too?
[15.07.2022 18:09:07] Ego: Ask the Direktor over there.
[15.07.2022 18:09:11] BDM|U-175: Minna: Debatable.
[15.07.2022 18:09:21] BDM|U-175: Minna: What use you'd make of it?
[15.07.2022 18:09:31] Rebecca.Edwards: I'd fly it around~
[15.07.2022 18:09:33] Rebecca.Edwards: see the stars.
[15.07.2022 18:09:35] BDM|U-175: Minna: We're not just casually giving off military-grade hardware left and right.
[15.07.2022 18:09:48] BDM|U-175: Minna: And this man, by far, has much more solid reasoning.
[15.07.2022 18:09:49] Rebecca.Edwards: Well, in my dream it was a gift from the military!
[15.07.2022 18:09:53] Rebecca.Edwards: [ she giggles ]
[15.07.2022 18:10:09] BDM|U-175: Minna: ...dreams don't always come true.
[15.07.2022 18:10:15] Rebecca.Edwards: 'wrapped in ribbons'? I think the transponder said yes.
[15.07.2022 18:11:19] BDM|U-175: Minna: Say, Ego... that, I suppose, what you're called nowadays.
[15.07.2022 18:11:34] BDM|U-175: Minna: You mentioned a relic. What was it? Do you not remember, too?
[15.07.2022 18:11:44] Ego: That's something I'm not going to share.
[15.07.2022 18:12:15] BDM|U-175: Minna: You're in your right. Again, I'm not here to scrutinise you for information.
[15.07.2022 18:12:31] BDM|U-175: Minna: Or forcefully take you with me, in that case I'd not waste my breath for chatter.
[15.07.2022 18:12:39] BDM|U-175: Minna: I'm quite a straightforward person, you see.
[15.07.2022 18:13:01] Ego: A conflicted one, too.
[15.07.2022 18:14:04] Ego: And that offer. I will respectfully decline it. I do well on my own.
[15.07.2022 18:14:19] BDM|U-175: Minna: Perhaps. Let's say... I've got some hints of who you could be. Which societies you were observed in before.
[15.07.2022 18:15:03] BDM|U-175: Minna: Xeno Alliance. Technocracy of Auxo. Quite the curious amount.
[15.07.2022 18:15:58] Ego: I don't see why the Xeno Alliance would care about me. The Technocracy is a different story. I nailed their leader to one of-
[15.07.2022 18:16:02] Ego: -Bering's asteroids.
[15.07.2022 18:16:09] Rebecca.Edwards: ew...
[15.07.2022 18:16:27] Ego: Deserved.
[15.07.2022 18:16:51] Rebecca.Edwards: uh.. okay.
[15.07.2022 18:17:03] BDM|U-175: Minna: That's the bits I've collected from my sources. Regardless... I'll leave you to your own devices. For now.
[15.07.2022 18:17:20] BDM|U-175: Minna: But probability we'll speak again is high. Don't die until then.
[15.07.2022 18:17:32] Ego: Yeah. Right.
[15.07.2022 18:17:38] BDM|U-175: Minna: I'd be very upset if you did.
[15.07.2022 18:17:47] Rebecca.Edwards: ow she likes you.
[15.07.2022 18:17:55] BDM|U-175: Minna: Nonsense.
[15.07.2022 18:18:46] Ego: She probably went for the Omicron Rho Jump Hole.
[15.07.2022 18:18:53] Ego: I'm leaving.
[15.07.2022 18:19:00] Rebecca.Edwards: where to?
[15.07.2022 18:19:12] Ego: It doesn't matter. I'm leaving.
[15.07.2022 18:19:22] Rebecca.Edwards: do you know space around here well?
[15.07.2022 18:19:32] Ego: Well enough to find another way back to Rheinland.
[15.07.2022 18:20:21] Rebecca.Edwards: hm can I fly along?
[15.07.2022 18:20:28] Ego: I'd appreciate if you didn't.
[15.07.2022 18:20:51] Rebecca.Edwards: I did say sorry~
[15.07.2022 18:21:09] Ego: You will realize eventually that I trust no one.
[15.07.2022 18:21:22] Ego: Not you. Not that Direktor. No one.
[15.07.2022 18:21:29] Rebecca.Edwards: you;ve trusted people before~
[15.07.2022 18:21:35] Ego: I was a fool.
[15.07.2022 18:21:58] Rebecca.Edwards: You're reminding yourself of it though.
[15.07.2022 18:22:34] Ego: I'm going to give you a stern warning to leave. Go back to Omicron Theta, Delta. Anywhere else.
[15.07.2022 18:22:54] Rebecca.Edwards: do I frighten you?
[15.07.2022 18:22:56] Ego: I don't normally shoot civilians. Don't tempt me to turn you into the first victim.
[15.07.2022 18:24:30] Rebecca.Edwards: You miss her?
[15.07.2022 18:24:37] Ego: Leave.
[15.07.2022 18:24:43] Ego: This is your last warning.
[15.07.2022 18:25:01] Rebecca.Edwards: [ she clicks her tongue ]
[15.07.2022 18:25:13] Rebecca.Edwards: please?
[15.07.2022 18:25:37] Ego: Leave.
[15.07.2022 18:25:46] Rebecca.Edwards: why so aggresive?
[15.07.2022 18:26:11] Ego: Just...get out. ***** off. Evacuate.
[15.07.2022 18:26:22] Ego: Don't follow.
[15.07.2022 18:26:37] Rebecca.Edwards: We're eh...
[15.07.2022 18:27:23] Rebecca.Edwards: we're not that different... in a way.
[15.07.2022 18:28:24] Rebecca.Edwards: I know what it's like to ... well wake up and not know who you are.
[15.07.2022 18:29:28] Ego: We're much more different than you'd think.
A sudden heartbeat. It has been exactly 4 hours since the incident. Since he shot her down out of the orbit of that morbid place. His mind raced in the complete darkness as the hum of the nearby machines flooded the room Ego was in. "Afraid?" a rash voice echoed in his head like nails across a chalkboard. "Yes." he says, holding his palms tightly.
His eyes opened, looking through the slightly cracked visor at the one person he longed to kill for a long time. End the cycle which has been going for a long time. Because if she died, then He would, too. The one who doomed both Ego and the woman caught in the cage like the rat she always was. The mercenary stood between two other Stasis Chambers, each holding a Nomad Power Cell within, yet one was leaking energy through the cracks spreading across the thick glass walls. Revenant's circumstances were the same. A chamber like the other two, holding her up in the middle of the enclosure.
"I should just put you out of your misery."
He muttered to himself. The thick orange fumes hissing loudly as they escaped to the several new holes that could be found on his trenchcoat. The fumes went upwards, dissolving into the air as they did."You have GUN. Break cycle. Break HER!" the voice whispered in his left ear, echoing once more as it did.
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A sudden eruption of a maniacal laughter ensued beyond their mask, emotions of rage, terror, humor flooding in to her mind, having failed to beat him up. Her mental limits were reaching a breaking point of no return. The remindance of failure kept flooding back, tormenting themselves with their loss. They were no longer a soldier, a fighter. They were now merely reduced to a pawn piece on the set. But like every chess game, the pawn makes the first move.
"Nehahahahahahah... Go on. Kill me. Relieve yourself of joy from my suffering. Killing me won't stop /Him/. And it certainly won't be any easier to keep track of him. "
A pause. She idly swayed her head around, analyzing the scenario. The Powercells came to note, remembering a certain incident in the Barrier. Cackling on, she mocked him for his state, very well knowing that his mind has succumbed to atrophy, the gradually decaying state crumbling away in time.
"Neheheheh... It seems like you've been busy. Still chasing those Sentinels? Too bad your mind is too - neheh - cracked - nehehe... to do anything proper with these substances. "
Rushing sensations were vividly antagonizing her mental state, her panicked state did no good for their overall condition. Certain traumatic memories relived, specific circumstances triggered a memory that involved the Order in similar settings. Pain and hatred, had resurfaced.
The latches holding Ego's helmet in place opened one by one. Blood dripped on the floor and on his outfit in the shape of small droplets falling off of the edges. He threw away the battered helmet after all of the latches unlocked, revealing the person behind it. A Vincent with several scars across the top-left side of his head, where hair had long stopped growing due to trauma. He nodded his head dismissively while looking at Raven dead in the eyes. No smile, but a blank stare hiding sheer disgust towards the person.
"Is that all you've got?" he stretched his arms outwards, shrugging. You're so sure you'll survive this. Well you probably won't. You've lost your marbles much faster than I could ever. And look where it got you.
He presented her the enclosure she would be spending her days in. Maybe weeks, months. It all depended on who would've paid more for her.
"You've become someone else's expendable plaything. That Nomad will dump you the second it doesn't need you anymore. Or maybe it'll find a better individual to blackmail before you even realize it. You're just a temporary addition to It. Well, you're still an asset..." he paused "A pawn, part of a bigger game."
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Silence ensued. Witnessing his face reminded him of the man he once was. The scrawny nerd. In a way, her heart dropped from the nostalgia, missing Vincent, staring at his hollow self in silence through her mask. The silence was lifted though a broken tone,
"... We're all pawns in the game. Even you - the apathetic 'bystander'. I knew the risks, "Ego" - I knew them. He gave me a chance when everyone else would not. "
She knew that no one was truly on her side, that no one was going to come after me. Years and years of betrayal and abandonment added up to the overall damage of the psyche. A brief unstable cackle was had, shaking her head, undetermined if engulfed by sorrow or mania.
"Oh, and Humanity wouldn't exploit another? Like they did you? Neheheheheheh. He has helped me, and I am grateful for that. He has earned my respect for not becoming the snake that every other Human aspires to be. You have yet to give me any aspirations or purposes to resist him."
Her arms began to resist, trying to pull on the binds that held her in the cell, trying to tire out the energy. But like the machine's power cells, even her stamina drained from the injuries was limited in capacity too.
"Waheheheh, ohhh... You've made many mistakes - so many. " Slowly, she glanced over to the faulty containment cell. "But I will not be the one to pass judgement onto you... "
He gave a long glance at the faulty Stasis Chamber. The Nomad Power Cell within was radiating with so much energy that the ship itself was slowly suffering. Unstable - rabid. Ego knew she wasn't wrong. One of the many mistakes he had done was keeping that thing under such poor containment, which would spell his doom eventually if not held in check. Te voice flooded his mind once more with the same rabid energy that only nightmares could spew."She DECEIVES you! She is PA-A-AWN to HIM!"
"You're right."
He nodded slowly, holding a Revolver in his right hand. It was adorned with faded markings of names he remembered from a past life, but no longer bear any meaning now. A gun he took from the people on Andorra all those months ago after losing his sidearm.
"I've made mistakes. I could have prevented things to happen the way they did. But who will remember them? I certainly won't. And you? You've made way more mistakes. But you don't have anything left to lose, do you? You've got nothing left." he leaves out a long sigh. "I won't kill you because of that. Because killing you won't solve my problems. I've got other plans, though."
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She glared at him with intention. She knew that her only hope of getting out was to force her way out, even if it meant destroying herself.
"Are you done talking about compensating for your own losses? I have accomplished far more than you have - discreetly made Human history, and I never felt the need to brag about it. But you? Oh... You still aren't whole, are you? That constant need to validate yourself? To prove that you are not a useless, spineless, fool?"
Chuckled, she shook her head, refusing to speak further as she let her head go loose, waiting for him to leave or to act upon her taunting words to build up her anger. Discreetly, she had took the time to analyse her surroundings for potential exploits. Her breathing increased, intent on trying to build up strength through irritation to inevitably persue a future attempt at escaping.
His head bobbed to the side, smacking his lip as his eyes stared blankly through Raven. He turned to leave the room before picking up the helmet he threw on the ground minutes ago. The latches locked once more to hide Ego's face. Vincent's face. Their face.
"No. I...don't need to validate my abilities to anyone anymore. I've proven you I can be more than what destiny you pulled me into. The Order will take you away soon. Game's over, Revenant."
He gestured two droids to walk into the room. ED-1 and ED-8 were two of Ego's elite droids which he assigned to keep watch on the captured Auxo. As they took positions, the man had left the room. Silhouette fading into the darkness laying beyond the closing door.
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Muttering out quietly as he walked out.
"...Be thankful that I still dear fondness for the man that barely resides within you."
To much of their futile attempt, they began to force the gravity clamps that forcefully held them in place. Again and again. They pulled. Pulled. Resisted. Struggled. A hopeless scenario of no escape as they desperately tried to fight against the artifical forces of nature, almost snapping their own arms off in great force, ferociously growling in agony.
There was a time where they wondered, if they could reach out to others, but alas - the majority of their augments were modified, disabled or that it was simply out of reach from the clamps. Or, the alternative addition to their body, the creature within that gave no response. No matter how much they pleaded and bargained within their mind for its help - truly in fear of going to the Order, not adamant on reliving nightmares. There was no acknowledgement from it. Not even a peep. She simply did not know how to commune with it, or if it could respond, or if it could ever truly wake up.