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[Lysander the Poet]

[Lysander the Poet]

Kessel Station
The Outer Rim
Sol System
January 18, 2326
10:34 Galactic Standard Time

Life. To the inhabitants of Kessel Station, the dull hum that permeated the air of every single room and corridor was an affirmation that they were still alive, still breathing, still awake. Each and every day that passed by, the engines and shields of the massive space station created this noise of life. The carbon dioxide scrubbers and life support systems, water purification, everything contributed to the hum that was lying beneath every waking moment. A mere moment of silence, even in the deepest sleep, could cause a panic. The failure of a single essential system could mean doom for the thousands of people upon the station. But, Kessel Station had not malfunctioned once since it was created, and there was no reason to believe it ever would. The inhabitants, however, were not of a mind to be lulled into a false sense of security. From the lowliest Coalition Soldier, to the most infamous pirates, even to the shadowy assassins of the Dominion, all were wary of the day that might never come. Kessel Station, on the edge of the solar system, far enough from the war, and the conflict, but at the same time, right in the middle of a system full of bloodshed and politics.

The only place in the Sol system that was truly neutral, Kessel Station was the only legacy left behind by those who ventured beyond known space, that stole away the experimental warp technology, and ventured out towards Alpha Centauri. No ship that has ever departed from Kessel Station out into that great unknown has ever been heard from again. The station itself thrived. Pirates united under one, albeit temporary and mostly meaningless, banner. Here, you could find bounty hunters, raiders, smugglers, privateers, scavengers, any kind of folk to do your dirty work. The corporate Dominion established a trading post upon the station, allowing some of the smaller corporations to be satisfied, selling their wares to doomed missions beyond the system, and to have eyes and influence out in the farthest reaches. The service men and women of the Coalition military often took leave to Kessel Station, to enjoy its many facilities, and to be as far from the war as possible, as it carved so many scars, physical and psychological. Civilians found work on the station in every career from craftsmen to teachers.

Running beneath the ‘honest’ markets for every object you could ever hope to acquire was the black market. Kessel Station was the one place where you could get anything, despite the object’s questionable legality. The black market specializes in such illegal objects. The overseers of the station are said to have turned a blind eye long ago to such things, but its probably the backroom deals filling their pockets more so than any other justification. The seedy underbelly of Kessel Station, unlike other cities, was all around you, hiding in plain sight. Believe or not, at least the pirates that made up the so called Independent Alliance of Humanity, were the least of your worries on the station. They were honest about their not so honest intentions, unlike the thieves, druggies, pickpockets, and other psychos.

Kessel Station...everything you could ever want, and more. You could live your entire life aboard the station, and have everything you could desire. Food, music, education, the comforts of life, colony-side, or otherwise. And the tenuous truce between the major factions of the system seemed to hold strong, creating one place where everyone could interact, without fear of having their eyes carved out, and their body defiled in various ways for their collective heresy. The Children of Olympus managed to be as tame as possible aboard the station, which benefited pretty much everyone. Well, they usually managed to do so.

Ships came and went as they pleased, the port of Kessel Station always abuzz with activity. Dockworkers pulled their long, hard shifts. Goods were loaded and off loaded with nary a care for what lay within. Each ship and its contents were quickly scanned, only the most obvious of dangers confiscated. If you weren't smart enough to get your illegal goods through the station security, then you were too much of an idiot to have them. The station ran, day and night, practically a world that never slept. All hours of the day, new people arrived and departed, from all over the system. It was easy to get lost in the crowds, especially if you didn't want to be found. The dull hum of life filled your ears wherever you want.

The entertainment district always had a show going on, a performance of the arts, a holo-vid of days gone by, a production of some famous director with an all star cast. Street performers did their best to awe and inspire passersby into giving up a few credits for the moments of entertainment they provided, so they could feed families with what meager means they had. Clubs played all sorts of music throughout every part of the day, giving the illusion of a night lasting forever. Alcoholic beverages were the order of the day, concocted in millions upon millions of ways, just to give each and every person their perfect buzz. Dancers of every colony, planet, moon, sex, race, and even some more interesting denominations catered to the interests of many. The red light district served as the ultimate way to explore a more...carnal taste in adventure. Bars served as a place for the world weary to rest, gossip to spread, and business to be conducted, whether it be over a drink or two, or over a game of cards or billiards.

For those who wished to relieve themselves of the industry and metal shackles of the station, the arboretum served as a refreshing change of pace, evocative of the lush jungles and dense forests of Earth long gone. Lakes and rivers and ponds filled with pure water, and innumerable forms of life spread across the sector, and outside the pathways, in what could be considered the wilds of Kessel Station, imported beasts lurked, from Earth, Mars, and beyond. Things the likes of which some colonists had never seen before in their entire lives. Station Security served as escorts on the wild, exploratory safaris, which could be staged through various ecosystems, the arboretum as a whole being constructed as a network of bio-domes of every sort of biome imaginable.

The living districts ranged from a poor slum community for beggars, thieves, and scum, to a skyscraper filled metropolis, with penthouses relegated to admirals, corporate executives, and those who fashioned themselves as the elite of humanity. Even so far removed from the rest of the system, the struggles of every day life and the class system was felt. The slums' poorer residents groveled and begged all across the station, while not being abused and contained by the more zealous members of stations security. Rumor had it that the thieves and smugglers of the station had organized into an impromptu guild, organizing themselves into a vast network, that also happened to run the black market. Sadly, the destitute slums didn't see a credit of that amassed wealth, even if it was probably being accounted for all around them, in shady back alleys, and creepy warehouses. For the middle class there were small, studio apartments for most, along with more spacious living quarters relegated to those of a slightly elevated status. The accommodations were pleasant enough, and your living quarters could be designed and arranged perfectly to your liking, with all sorts of goods, furniture, and services. The rich practically had gilded gates, guards patrolling the streets all day, every day, watching for scum or squatters. This was the pinnacle of living out in the deep cold of space.

It is upon Kessel Station, far removed from the war that raged for humanity, for Earth, that the story that would not only decide the fate of Terra, and of Sol, but one day, of the galaxy, and perhaps beyond, would begin. The characters in this story are some of the most unlikely sorts, and the odds of them coming together to accomplish the things that will happen would have been predicted beyond astronomically impossible. But the universe finds a way for such things to come to pass, even such things that were foretold, even in the vaguest of forms, so long ago. All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.

[Lysander the Poet]

”Docking permissions being processed. Please wait. Please wait. Please wait. Docking permissions accepted. Please proceed to docking point 47C. Welcome to Kessel Station. After undocking, please proceed to security lane Alpha if it is your first time aboard, lane Beta if you are returning, or Charlie if you are a preferred resident. A scanning crew will examine any cargo before it is released for transport. Today is January, the 18th. It is 10:34 AM, Galactic Standard Time. Weather systems aboard the station are set to...sunny, 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with a 12 percent chance of rain. Feel free to approach any visitor terminal for maps, information, and any other needs. Thank you, and have a good day.”

A little chime called an end to the boarding message as the crew of the Persephone made their way on to the dock, and began to unload their various cargo for delivery. This part of the spaceport was always so busy, always a hustle and bustle of ships, and people, and so very easy to get lost, buried in the traffic. Perhaps the proper word was unnoticeable. And that was how they liked it. Station security did a cursory scan of the ship, recognizing the carbon scoring patterns, a bit more pronounced than last time, with some new additions, with the worn paint job, and much of the ship seeming to function on its last legs. One of them had the audacity to chuckle, and nudge his buddy, pointing at the ship. ”Look who’s decided to show up again. Can hardly believe that old rust bucket hasn’t fallen apart yet.” The pair of them joined in a bit of a chuckle together, before finishing their scan, and indicating to the dock crew that it was all clear. One the signal was given, a man approached from the station access corridor, strolling out to the dock, the Persephone towering beside him. His grin spread wide as he regarded the familiar crew and their lovely ship, and his arms opened, as if looking for a hug, from the dark haired man who seemed to be giving the directions, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. The man turned to see the gesture, and rolled the cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other, before blowing a faceful of smoke towards man, who coughed lightly, still smiling, but surrendering without the greeting he was looking for. His accent was thick, very reminiscent of old Russia, as he grasped the dark haired man’s hand instead, and they shook, each secretly competing to have the stronger grip.

”I wondered if I would be seeing you and yours again. You hear such terrible things stuck aboard station all the time, waiting.”

”Any rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated, as usual, Anatoli. It’s almost good to see you. Will be better once you transfer the credits to my account, friend.”

”Of course, of course. Once I inspect the shipment, of course you will have your money. Been having trouble with Dominion recently. You may have to wait on station until I get things cleared up. If you need a place to stay, I can arrange it, no charge. Discount for a friend, if you will.”

Alister put a hand on Anatoli’s shoulder, and gave a vicious smile to the older Russian man. ”See to it that you solve these problems with the Dominion quickly, Anatoli. Unless you want more problems. I want to be off this station, soon...maybe with a few more jobs lined up. Sevik, I want you to head out into the markets and see if you can secure some parts for Persephone. Rhia, stay with Anatoli, ensure that he...does his work efficiently. The rest of you, do the rounds, see if we can’t find a few well paying jobs. And look for passengers to transport. That’s always a good bit of credits. I’m gonna go see if I can’t negotiate with another contact.” Alister gave a wave of dismissal to Anatoli by way of farewell, before exiting the docks, and finding the nearest taxi, to take him to the entertainment district. The bars lined the streets, along with night clubs, day clubs, several casinos, and of course the distinctive entrance to the Red Light district, women embracing the galaxy’s oldest profession strutting their stuff. The crowd seemed chaotic at first, and to a newcomer to Kessel Station, it would likely feel like swimming upstream. But to Alister, it was easy enough to navigate, somehow managing to weave in and out of the crowd without running in to anyone, until he reached his destination; The Event Horizon, a cozy little bar that had some nice billiards tables, a table for poker, and a cocktail the owner liked to call ‘The Black Hole’, because it created a hangover no one could escape.

His entrance was greeted mostly with a few nods, except for the bartender, who poured him a drink, and slid it down the bar, and a few guys at the poker table, who waved him over. They were expecting him. Moments later, Alister was enjoying a drink, and staring at a hand of cards, watching the others intently. He tossed a few chips towards the center of the table, and watched as the game progressed around the table once more. Words were exchanged between players, innocent words, asking about family, about work, and about various pieces of news. This was the infamous pirate code that no one could seem to decipher. An ever evolving secret language between the denizens of the criminal underworld. ”Another long day at the office,” one of the men said, looking across his cards, and looked up at Alister, who nodded in agreement. ”Managing a lot of accounts.” A few of the others tossed their chips in, but Alister’s eyes were now fixed on the man across from him. A few more vague sentences were exchanged, but it was understood; the Dominion had a convoy leaving from Kessel Station, delivering supplies and such to one of their space stations orbiting Jupiter. The cargo was worth quite a bit of money on the black market, and there were few as ballsy as Alister Blood who would pursue it. He was on the verge of accepting the job, when the man across from him slid a card out of his sleeve, replacing another. In an instant, Alister whipped one of his Raptors from its holster, and put a hole in the man’s head, the chair gently falling backwards under the weight of the corpse, combined with the impact of the shot.

The rest of the players looked down at the now dead man, and dropped their hands onto the table, folding instantly. Alister grinned, and dropped a hand of horrible cards on the table, collecting the pot. ”Nice doing business with you, gentlemen.” He said, rising up and going to the bar, placing a few chips down. ”Another drink please...and this one’s for the mess.” Behind him, his associates scrambled to remove the body from the area, waiting outside as a few officers from station security came onto the scene, and took the body from there. No point in seeking medical care, for he was as dead as dead could be, and station security wasn't going to enter a dispute between a few upstanding citizens who were entirely capable of dispensing their own punishments, however the saw fit. One of the beautiful things about Kessel Station...certain places, certain people, certain things were overlooked. The others from the poker game eventually settled in stools on either side of Alister, which he found uncomfortable, but he was in a light mood. "You know, Siira, if you could bring out some drinks for my compatriots as well...that would be mighty fine of you. They look a might thirsty." The woman on the other side of the bar smiled at Alister, as she usually did, and mixed up a few drinks, as instructed. A nice, heavy set of Black Holes for the brave lads who were about to make a potentially bad decision.

[Space Candy]

xxxx"Speech."xxxxx"Thoughts."xxxxx"Others."

XXXXXXXXWide grey eyes darted over the crowd as Dani made her way into Kessel Station. People were pushing and shoving, and Daniella Pearson wasn't exactly keeping up with the crowd. It seemed that the overwhelming streams of consciousness running through her mind were physically inhibiting her, putting her into somewhat of a daze. She'd never been around this many people before: it was crazy, and surprisingly hard to try and shut them out. Dani concentrated the best she could, but still was bombarded every now and then by a random passing thought that took her aback. The blonde tilted her head down and shut her eyes as she continued moving forward, letting herself be guided by the people around her for a little while.

"Concentrate Dani...Shut them out. You can do it. You didn't wait nine years to be brought down by your own ability." She tried to pep-talk herself, and did a mental countdown. Upon reaching one she opened her eyes and stuffed her delicate hands into the pocket of her jacket. There. Quiet. That was much better. It was taking some effort on her part to block out everyone though. Every step she took brought new people into her radius and pushed others out. And while she wanted to keep them blocked out, every odd glance she received from a passing stranger set her on high alert. Dani couldn't really win in this situation.

Despite her worry, Daniella couldn't help but find the whole place fascinating. She'd never been so...exposed before. It was as if anything she could ever think of was within reach. There were shops, and lots of them. People selling food among other things. Dani knew better than to spend her credits on such petty things. Christian had been kind enough to give her any credits at all and she was not about to waste them.
Her mind wandered briefly back to Christian and how he had helped her. It was a big move on his part. Such a high name and title made everything involving him extremely high risk. Daniella adjusted the pack that was hanging from her shoulders and sighed. Kessel Station was nice, but she knew that it was time to find someone who would be willing to help her disappear. The blonde walked cautiously, listening in on some people as she passed. There definitely were some...interesting things that happened here. That was for sure. She continued, going following tips and leads of passerby as to where to find someone to do your dirty work. Daniella stopped in front of a building, a bar really. She tilted her head to read the sign. The Event Horizon. Dani didn't have too much information on the place, but she had enough that lead her to believe this would be a good place to park her caboose and find someone to help her. Wide eyed, she glanced over her shoulders quickly before ducking inside. There were a good amount of patrons inside, and Dani looked around meekly. It was obvious just by the way she walked that she was new to this place. Naive, and unknowing...for the most part anyway. She fiddled with the bottom of her jacket, hoping that the leather would somehow make her feel more tough and secure.

A fee people lifted their heads as she walked to the back corner table and sat down. There was murmuring, real murmuring though---Dani hadn't opened her head up to anyone else's thoughts yet. She wasn't quite ready. A waitress sauntered up to the table, dressed quite provocatively. Dani almost gawked at her, but refrained and instead looked down at the table. "Hey sweetie. What can I get you to drink?"
Daniella finally managed to look up at the other female. She focused on the waitresses face, and before she knew it there was another voice present. "She better order something. Can't just sit here...I hope she tips well. Little thing probably doesn't have many credits to spare."
Ouch. Well someone was aggressive today...but Dani knew well enough that this wasn't really too uncommon. Plenty of people she had run into had been less than pleasant inside their own thoughts. The worst had to be the perverted men though. Dani had been able to deal with the occasional dirty thought from the guards at GenEx, but this was just...well...Dani was hardly prepared. The blonde smiled sweetly. "Um..." She looked down to the small menu and pointed at something that sounded good enough. "One Stargazer." The waitress stood there for a moment and stared Daniella down. It took her a moment to realize she was waiting for payment up front. Daniella dug through her pack until she found her card, and handed it to the waitress. She stomped off, obviously somewhat annoyed.
Dani sighed and sunk down in her seat. She really wasn't too enthused about trying alcohol for the first time. Sure, she'd read about what it did, and there were enough drunk people around to put some ideas in her head. But she needed to blend in. And going to a bar without ordering a drink was a definite red flag. Dani turned her head, catching a glimpse of the group playing cards. The blonde pressed her lips into a thin line as she observed them. They were definitely not the friendliest looking bunch---but in Dani's mind that was a good thing. After all, she was looking for someone who would help her run from one of the largest companies in the solar system, not turn her back into them...She looked away from them as the waitress returned. Daniella eyed the pink concoction that was set on the table before her and took her card back quietly. That was that---at least she didn't have to deal with Miss Cranky Pants anymore.

Dani took a sip of the drink. Surprisingly it didn't taste like anything but fruit. Wasn't there supposed to be alcohol? Maybe she forgot to add it? Daniella shrugged, but didn't bother trying to down her drink so quickly. She had to play it cool and act like she'd done this before instead of being a spazz about it. Daniella pushed the drink back a bit and tapped her nails at the base of the glass quietly. Again, she looked over at the group playing Poker. She listened in on them, particularly the male sitting furthest from her. She could see his face partially, as some of it was blocked by another player. Dani eyed him for a moment and shook her head, taking another drink of whatever the hell was in her glass. "Cheaters never prosper..." She cooed to herself mentally. The telepath turned her attention to the entrance of the bar and watched as more customers entered.

The poor girl nearly screamed when she heard the gunshot, and instead she flung her hands over her mouth and just stared wide-eyed at the card table. Her defenses went down, and all of the thoughts around her came pouring in at an alarming rate. Dani moved her hands from her mouth to the sides of her head and closed her eyes, trying to regain control over the words swimming through her mind. Dani opened her eyes and watched as the man who had fired the gun made his way to the bar and sat down. Eventually, some of the others joined him. Dani was still trying to shut everyone out, but a thought from one of the other patrons caught her attention.
[******** Blood...Always starting trouble..."
Dani's silvery eyes moved to another gruff looking man at the opposite end of the bar. "Alister Blood...Cocky son of a b***h. At least he's a man of his word...a*****e would do anything for money. Kill him if I had the chance..." He was eying the man who had shot the guy at the table---but soon he noticed Dani staring at him. Immediately she dropped her gaze.

Alister Blood. Dani thought about the name for a moment before turning her attention to another one of the waitresses. "Another ******** body. I hope no one in here throws up or some s**t..."
Well that wasn't helpful...Dani took a breath before opening her mind up, letting the thoughts just flow.
"b*****d."
"Another one down."
"Man of his word at least."
"His ship is a piece of crap...rust bucket..."
"Should know better than to cross him..."
"Where the hell is my drink?"
"Contract ******** greedy a**..."

Daniella blocked them out again as she took a big drink from her glass. Her face was feeling a little flushed now, and she assumed it was from the alcohol that was somewhere within her drink. She eyed the man at the bar. He was scary looking. Gruff, scarred, and he'd just shot a guy out of the blue---well, not really. The guy had been cheating in the game. "He's perfect." Dani thought, hoping that the thoughts she'd gathered from surrounding patrons had painted a somewhat accurate picture. She could have peeked into Alister's mind as well, but honestly Dani was kind of scared about what she would find there. After another drink, Dani stood and made her way over to the bar.
The blonde came to a halt near Alister, standing somewhat to the side. She looked from Alister to the others sitting near him and then cleared her throat quietly. What the hell was she supposed to say? She hadn't thought this far ahead...Why had she walked over here? What if Blood turned around and shot her just like that? What if he killed her and her escape efforts were for nothing? "Mister...Blood? Hi. I...need to hire you. For a job. For me. I have credits. Can...can we talk?"
"What the heck was that Dani? You really messed this up..."

xxxxLocation :: The Event Horizon
xxxxCompany :: Alister
xxxxHealth :: 100% - a bit buzzed
xxxxTunes ::Every Planet We Reach Is Dead - Gorillaz

[Lysander the Poet]

Alister glanced over at the girl, taking a swig of his own drink, a few initial, surface level thoughts gliding through his mind if Daniella was being 'perceptive'. Surprisingly for what seemed to be a shallow scumbag with borderline psychotic tendencies, his thoughts didn't seem to descend into dark, or inappropriate places. 'Girl has some balls coming in here. More than most of these fools. Wonder what she could need done...looks innocent...so lost...kinda like a little kitten. But, credits are credits." Giving her a small grin, he downed the rest of his drink, and motioned at the bartender to pour him another. He warily glanced around the bar, catching some wicked glances...and something about the others sitting at the bar didn't quite feel right. The way they held themselves, it was too staunch, too rigid and proud. Definitely not how the scum of the galaxy held themselves. Refocusing his attention on Dani, he took another drink.

"What could you possibly need from me, little miss? Not every day has a girl walking in here ready to hire a wanted outlaw. But, if the price is right, my crew can get it done. Asset relocation...personnel management...travel arrangements. Whatever you need. But you'd better be sure you're prepared for...the unexpected." His words attracted the attention of his new friends, who tried to hide their curiosity. One of them seemed more interested in the girl than him, which obviously did not bode well. Reaching out, he gently grabbed Dani's drink, and slid it aside. "And you really shouldn't be drinking that. It's obvious you're not enjoying it, and it might just make you sick." A slight beep came from Alister’s pocket, and he reached down, sliding out a small datapad, a blinking light at the top, and gave a casual glance across the bar, his smile turning into a frown of slight disappointment.

Hopping off his stool, and downing the remainder of his drink, he sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets, and made it look as if he were about to exit. Taking one final look at Dani, he chuckled, and said, ”Meet me at dock 47C. Should be a blonde woman who looks like she’s seen one too many knives, and has a directory of tattoo artists. She goes by Rhia...she’ll take your payment. As soon as he finished his sentence, one of the goons jumped forward, pulling a knife from his belt. Alister made a swift kick, steel toed boot breaking a few bones and sending the knife flying. He gave the attacker a quick headbutt, sending him stumbling backwards into the bar. The next one pulled a gun out from his holster, and Alister seemed to preemptively shift to the side, the shot grazing his sleeve. He tried to fire again, but Alister brought his foot down on the shin, breaking it with a crunch, and turning the gun to face the shooter’s head, forcing him to pull the trigger, his brains splattering the bar. The last one lunged at Dani, pistol in his hand, as if to try and take her hostage. Under his jacket, Alister just barely spotted a badge signifying him as Dominion, with the GenEx logo beneath it. He looked up at Dani, realizing that this man was here for her. He jumped forward, pushing her to the side, and grabbed the man’s arms, struggling against him. The struggle lasted for a few moments, the GenEx soldier standing with his back to Daniella. Alister reached down, pulled a knife out his sleeve, and shoved it into the man’s throat, with almost too much force. A shower of blood splattered in every direction, most of it on Daniella. Alister looked mostly calm as he took the knife out, and the body dropped to the floor, but his eyes widened as he looked at Dani. ”The hell did you do?”

[Space Candy]

xxxx"Speech."xxxxx"Thoughts."xxxxx"Others."

XXXXXXXXDaniella took a breath and clasped her hands behind her back. She watched Alister Blood through wide eyes, and after a moment she convinced herself to peer into his mind for a moment. Dani pursed her lips and turned her head, averting her gaze from Alister. At least he wasn't a pervert...but a kitten? How was she a kitten? Daniella didn't understand, but she wasn't about to voice her questions. Keeping something up her sleeve would do good for her in the long run. Speaking of up her sleeve...Dani shifted and gripped her bicep for a few seconds. The bandages that she'd wrapped around her wound were itching a bit. Really, she wanted to take them off, but keeping her wound covered seemed more important than her own comfort. The last thing she needed was that getting infected.
When Blood spoke, and she couldn't help but smile a little when he mentioned he was a wanted outlaw. Of course, Daniella had already picked up that much just from listening around. But it was good to know that he would be running from some of the same people that she was. Dani glanced to the side, eying the other people at the bar. Her stomach twisted in knots . "I hope you're prepared for a challenge..." The blonde muttered quietly in response to the gruff male. She really wasn't sure if he heard her or not, but it didn't matter. He seemed prepared for just about anything, and as long as he accepted her payment there wouldn't be a problem. Daniella protested only for a moment when he took her weird drink away from her. "Hey that was mine..."

The silver eyed girl flinched when his datapad beeped. It had caught her off guard, and while Dani knew that such technology existed, she wasn't very experienced with it. Daniella may not have been tech savvy, or good in social situations, but if she was anything it was observant. So of course Dani noticed when Alister's expression changed. He frowned---and immediately Dani was on high alert. But he was playing it cool, so Dani tried to do the same. She took a step back as Alister got off of the bar stool and looked to her. "47C...Rhia...alright..." She spoke more to herself than anything, too distracted by what was floating through her head.
"Oh no---" Daniella jumped back and put her arms up defensively as the fight broke out. It was hard for her to concentrate in the chaos. The real noises of the fight paired with the frantic thoughts of everyone within a forty foot radius. She wanted to leave, but the exit wasn't exactly an easy thing to get to at the moment. The female winced as the gunshots rang through the air. She found herself stepping further and further back, her head aching. What was extra disturbing was how abruptly the thoughts stopped once Alister had killed the people. But one thought stuck out in particular.

"You're not supposed to be here..."

Dani snapped her head up, hands still pressed over her ears as if that would somehow block out all of the thoughts swimming around. "No, no...no. This can't happen..." There wasn't much room for Daniella to run, but if there was any silver lining to the situation it was that Dani knew GenEx wouldn't want her dead. Couldn't waste all their research. She moved and put her hands out. "Just let me go..." Dani's voice was pretty much a whisper. What had she been thinking? Did she really think she could make it out here? She was weak, and didn't know anything practical. She didn't know how to fight, or how to even defend herself. She shut her eyes, waiting for an impact. Dani stumbled to the side as Alister pushed her, nearly knocking her down completely. Cautiously, she peeked at the scene just in time to see Alister struggling with the GenEx employee. Daniella lowered her hands and went to move again, but by that time Alister was plunging a knife into the other man's throat.
The blood was everywhere---and it was disgusting. Dani didn't do so well around blood, or medical devices, needles and the like. So to have the red all over her really kind of freaked her out, especially since it wasn't her own. Dani stared down at her hands as the body landed with a thud.

Her breathing sped up as she stared at her hands. She could feel the liquid on her neck and face---also on her chest. Her shirt was ruined, but hopefully the leather jacket could be cleaned up. The thoughts of others pounded in her skull, almost attacking her. Some of them were even aimed at her, which didn't help her situation, but there were so many it was hard to tell which thought belonged to who. It was overwhelming. Her eyes were stinging.

"The hell did you do?"

Dani looked to him, his voice snapping her back to reality. Daniella wiped her hands on her jeans, attempting to get the blood off of her hands. Using the backs of her hands she wiped at her cheeks, while attempting to hold her tears back. She did the best she could to block everyone out. She closed her eyes for a moment, wincing. Dani wanted to put a hand to her head, but didn't want to risk getting any extra blood in her hair. "What did I do?" Daniella bit her bottom lip and looked back to Alister through shining grey eyes.

"I..." Dani wiped her cheeks again. "I flew the coop." The blonde smiled, as if that statement explained everything. She almost laughed, but found herself too distraught. Dani took a breath and quickly moved towards the exit. She passed Alister breezily and glanced to him. "I'll see you at the dock. Please don't leave without me..." Daniella didn't bother giving him her name. All she wanted right now was to get cleaned up and find someway to message Christian. She needed to let him know that she'd found someone to help her disappear---and that he was qualified to do so.
Dani exited the bar and merged into the crowds of Kessel Station. The people around her didn't seem too disturbed by the blood on her, which Dani found peculiar.

It took a little while, but Daniella finally managed to find her way to a restroom. Alone, she cleaned up her leather jacket and stripped out of her shirt. Dani threw it away and pulled on another one from her backpack, thankful that Christian had provided her with more than one change of clothes. The female tugged the fabric down, and without her jacket she was able to see the bandages covering her wound. Gently, she traced the edge of the bandaging and sighed. She changed her jeans before pulling her jacket back on. Her face was clean now, thankfully, but her heart was still pounding out of her chest. She was happy she hadn't been caught, but she couldn't help but take the scene as a precursor as things to come...Daniella ran her fingers through her hair, braiding it calmly in an attempt to relax. Once she was satisfied, and as clean as she could get, Dani exited the restroom and again disappeared into the crowd. She ran the dock number through her head over and over, trying to burn it into her mind. That was her ticket out----but she needed to talk to Christian first.

The female ducked into a small cyber-cafe. There were public computers, much to high tech than Dani was comfortable with. But it would work: and she was smart...so hopefully she could figure it out. Dani plopped down in a chair and brought up a screen, and then another, and another, before finally starting to type a message. It would be sent to one of Christian's various aliases. Dani couldn't remember all of them, but at least she could contact him safely.

I'm alright. I found someone to get me out of Kessel Station.
I don't know where I'm going.

Thanks for everything.

-D

Dani hit send and sank down in her chair with a sigh. All she could hope for now was that she could find the dock without too much trouble. Hopefully this Rhia person wouldn't give her too much hell either.

xxxxLocation :: The Event Horizon --& Some Cyber Cafe
xxxxCompany :: Alister ---& None
xxxxHealth :: 85% - frazzled, headache, overall distraught.
xxxxTunes ::Every Planet We Reach Is Dead - Gorillaz

[Sir Dietary Supplement]

Ｃｈｒｉｓｔｉａｎ Ａｄａｍ Ｂｅｒｎｅｔxxxxxxthe heir to GenEx


xxxxxxxweep » for yourself, my man,
xxxxxxxxx☎ You'll never be what is in your heart
xx■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
♔ x x WEEP LITTLE LION MAN
xxxxxxxxxxxxYou're not as brave as you were at the start
xx↷ *)Rate yourself and rake yourself
xxxx ● ● Tak ⊹ e all the courage you have left
xxxxxxxxxxxxxWasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head


████████████████████████████████████████████████████████



➤ the officexx➤ no onexx➤ concerned


"It appears the last shipment arrived untouched Mr. Bernet, everything was accounted for and there was no signs of anything being tampered with. The new guards you hired appear to be doing their jobs," the blonde secretary said as she set down a fresh cup of coffee on the desk along with the report file. "The next shipment isn't expected for several days, but we are already prepping the ship the way you are asking, its an ingenious way to go about it. Add more technical security and less men, its cheaper."

"More like I'm taking out the human factor."

"Human factor?" the blonde asked with a tilt of her head as she opened the blinds to let the light of the day into the lavish office. "What do you mean?"

"Humans are easily corrupted, offer enough money people will do just about anything. I make it mostly technical with a system only I can control, it makes it much more stable and the chances of anything going miss are very slim with the new system in place," he explained as he looked over the file. It was a shipment report, just numbers. Numbers that most would see as nothing more then just numbers. Christian saw profit, he saw weak points and strong points, areas to change, supply and demand. It would help make the next shipment have everything they needed. "After all, we can hardly trust anyone we pay, the pirates seem to offer something better and the person will do their bidding. Steal our product and sell it on the black market. Its that simple."

"There are still good people Mr. Bernet. You have hired several good people."

"Good or not, everyone can be bought. Its just a matter of price," he glanced at the secretary and smiled. "Of course I'm not saying that you would go and steal from me. Don't look so offended by my honesty Ms. Holbrook, just stating the fact of the world."

"Of course, I would never go against your family Mr. Bernet. You are paying for my brother's treatment...all of it. I mean its not much out of your pocket, but its still a lot of money for one person, on top of that my salary is more then I could of even imagined," she was grateful, Christian could understand that much. He could trust her to a point, she knew more about him then other members of the staff. At least she knew that he could even get fed up and snap. One of the few people to ever see a side that wasn't calm and collected.

"You are good at your job. Anyone that can deal with me deserves the pay..." a beep announcing he had a private message popped up on the screen of his computer. It was his Silas alias, few had connections to that one. "Anyways, if you can send the report to my father that would be very helpful, and order us something for lunch. Your choice this time around, I picked last time."

"Right away," she picked up the report and left the office. Shutting the door upon her exit. Once the secretary was away, Christian pulled up the message.

It was from Dani, it was good to hear from her. He was a bit worried, he hadn't heard from her, but he hadn't heard anything of her being caught either. The top of GenEx were in an uproar after her escape, everyone was searching for her. It was part of the reason Christian was sent off, his own protection, as his father put it. Couldn't risk the experiment of his company coming after its only heir. The man would never even think that Christian aided her after she got out. A new identity, clothes, and a ticket to the Kessel Station, which he happened to be on as well.

Glad to hear its working out for you.
If you need any aid, I'm on the station. Perhaps we can meet up.
Before, you leave. Make sure everything goes smoothly for you.
Leaving can be expensive, if you need extra credits. I can wire some over.

~Silas

It was easy to use an alias. He was smart enough to where it would be tracked to a different computer. One in the slums, he gave one of his old devices away and that alias was wired to that one. If he did get suspected, well if Silas did, it wouldn't even lead back to him. Rather an old employee of GenEx that had done his own share of crimes and never paid the price for it.

He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of the coffee. Hopefully whoever Dani was leaving with would be a good choice. Not someone who overcharged for a job that would be half-assed. However, the more credits, the better the service. At least that is how the pirates seemed to work.

None the less he had a feeling he would be leaving later, and he would need to lose the bodyguards that followed him. That was always a tough thing to do. But if he went to the shopping district and used the crowd to his advantage. He could easily change his clothes and hide his appearance, losing the bodyguards for a short period of time. He did it before, and it was a couple of new bodyguards that didn't know his tricks yet. The odds were in his favor.

{[ not the best intro I've done, but its something ]}

[Resounding Memory]

William Howard Braxton

Kessel Station. One of the most diverse places William had been to in the system, and he had been to many. One could find nearly anything here. If one was looking for goods or people, he or she could probably find them here. The high class living to the poor slums only furthered the broad spectrum covered in this one corner of humanity's control. As William walked down one of the streets of the station, he noted how this could be scene, even in a seedier part of the station. The underlings could be distinguished from their bosses by the type, and state, of their clothing. While Will's attire, his typical casual attire, fell comfortably in the middle ground, he could not help but notice there were some who's clothing could hardly pass as appropriate for business, even if that business was illegitimate. Will did not like dealing with these people enough as is, too many egos for his liking, so seeing them present their groups so poorly did not earn them any more points in Will's book.

Fortunately, it did not take long for Will reached his destination, a club that constantly blasted music throughout the day. The bouncer, recognizing the regular, let him bypass the line and enter the establishment. Immediately, the music, lights, and smell of people and alcohol assaulted his senses. The soundproofing on the club was excellent; no one on the outside could hear the deafening noise inside. Working his way through the writhing mass of people on the club floor, William ascended the stairs to the upper levels of the club. The booths overlooking the second floor lacked the same level of lighting the first floor was provided by the lights in the floor as well as the swirling lights above. As he passed by the booths, most people were casually chatting at a yell, still barely able to hear each other over the music, while some decided to take advantage of the relative privacy to swap saliva. William reached a door at the end of the floor and went through.

As it closed behind him, the music faded to a low thumping. Before him was a corridor of doors that turned about twenty feet down. Every door was closed, allowing no sound to escape. The same material which kept the noise in the club kept the activity in the rooms concealed. It was all speculation as to what was happening behind the doors: secret meetings, drunk officials taking bribes, sales being negotiated. William had only been privy to what he had experienced in the rooms he had been in, and his conversations revolved around working out smuggling deals with the owner of the club. Illegal booze was still popular, especially the stuff that could knock a normal man flat on his back after one shot. The man had Will smuggle other things, too, such as "Aroma," an aerosolized narcotic the club filtered through the main areas vents. The amount Will would be exposed to in his walk in and out would have no affect on a normal person, but spending more than fifteen minutes in the room would increase one's heart rate, lower inhibitions, and heighten the senses. This lead people to get closer to one another, buy more drinks, and have a more positive experience at the club. Most of the time, people did not notice this high, being too busy with the happenings in the club, but some who spent too much time in it had a wicked hangover and trouble focusing for the next day or two. It was not something he was proud to provide, but this man had his hands in enough other businesses to make him someone one would want to be good friends with.

A guard stood outside the normal meeting room and opened it as Will approached. Inside was the club owner, a thin, bald man. He was not what one would expect to be running such a club, but Intelligence's file on this guy proved his unassuming appearance masked a clever individual who knew how to manipulate people. He was like Will in that regard, but that was about where the similarities ended. As Will entered, he took in the set up. It was just like last time. The table sat in the middle of the wrap around couch, the owner was flanked by his girlfriends, and an assortment of alcohol and appetizers sat on the table. The owner did not get up as he smiled and greeted the smuggler as he was too busy with his arms around his girlfriends. "Ben! It's good to see you arrived. Thank you for your timeliness with the shipment. I was afraid I'd have to start rationing the supply. Our other man hasn't checked in yet, and I'm concerned about my product," the owner said. Will slid onto the couch and stopped a couple of feet from the closest girlfriend.

"Well, I wouldn't be a very good delivery man if I couldn't make the stops when I'm needed," he said with a grin. One of the girlfriends chuckled. The bald man continued his own grin.

"Please, help yourself," the owner said with a gesture to the food on the table. Will shook his head and held up a hand. While he doubted the food had anything in it, and it was probably not nearly enough to affect him if it did, he did not want to take chances. "Suit yourself. Though I always feel hurt you don't take my food." With that, the two got down to business. It was a standard negotiation that took only a few minutes. Will wanted money, and the owner wanted booze and Aroma. With their business concluded, Will stood up and headed for the door. As he opened the door, the owner called, "It's always a pleasure, Ben!" He paused for a moment before letting out a happy sigh. "Speaking of, would you tell the guard to keep anyone from coming in for the next little while?" Ben simply held up a hand, not daring to turn around. As the guard closed the door, Will glanced at the man. He simply nodded he had heard, and Will headed out of the club. As he exited the club, he retrieved his data pad and checked a message he had received while in the meeting.

A friend has gotten lost on Kessel Station. GenEx is looking for her. Check near the bar Event Horizon. She's a mind reader, so watch your thoughts. Her name is Daniella. Bring her home please. I'm very worried about her.

-Thomas Ingrid

Attached to the message was a picture of blonde woman with grey eyes. Deleting the message, he replaced the data pad and made his way down to the area near the Event Horizon bar. This was a rough area, and the people who frequented the place would definitely be the wrong kind of people for someone like her to be talking to. Will needed to find her fast before she disappeared, either by her will or by someone else's. It was doubtful anyone would know the true value of the girl if they snatched her up to sell her, and he was not going to let some idiot take such a valuable asset. As he walked around the area, he scanned for the street and inside of businesses for the woman. He made no effort to hide his thoughts about the search for her. If she could hear what was in his mind, she would definitely know he was looking for her. Unbeknownst to him, he passed the cyber-cafe she was in, just in range of her telepathy.

Current Name: Ben Hughes

Status: Healthy
Location: Streets of Kessel Station
Current Objective: Find the Telepath

[-sPiCeD- a pp l e s]

"Jamie I swear to God... I gave you this job in the hopes that you would be able to do it right. So far, I think the only successful thing you've done is to successfully cost me more than you're worth!"

Lorelei put her hand up to her head and closed her eyes, resting them for a moment as her head pounded and throbbed. Jamie, the newest mechanic on her ship, had been hired to keep general maintenance so that the old clunker wouldn't fall apart while making a few deliveries. While on their way to make a delivery to Kessel Station, Jamie managed to blow several main circuits in the life support system. This lead to the malfunctioning of the temperature systems of the ship, which unfortunately caused temperatures to greatly rise. Lorelei has had to pilot the ship while basking in a balmy 97 degrees. Lorelei had dealt with worse temperatures, but it was the cargo that she was worried about.

She had been enlisted by her father to take care of a few extra deliveries for his business - V-Tech. Although not one of the big corporate divisions for Dominion, he had high hopes that his technology will one day be a supplier, or even partner, for Cyberteknik Industries. Until this happens, V-Tech continues to deliver fair-grade technologies and robotics to various places around the solar system.

Being an only child, Lorelei ended up inheriting part of the responsibility of V-Tech since she turned eighteen. It was not only her blood that got her these new responsibilities, but also her knack for working in robotic and artificial intelligence systems. In addition, she has learned how to pilot her father's ships in order to make deliveries for him. Lorelei wasn't the most skilled pilot, but she had a basic understanding that stemmed from her knowledge in the technology of the ship.

Today, the delivery of V-Tech technology has been put to a halt. To Lorelei, it was certainly Jamie's fault, despite that it could just as easily be the ship falling apart due to wear and tear, but it was much easier to blame some ignorant kid for something like this instead. The immense heat in the ship made her sweat bullets and eventually a puddle of sweat was created underneath her. She wiped the sweat from her brow and opened the cargo-bay doors so that they could get the shipment out as quickly as possible. The last thing her family needed was to pay for all of the cargo that the ship was carrying due to damages. Maybe while I'm here I'll be able to make some deals with the locals to make a quick buck. Attempting to turn this situation into a profit, Lorelei rose up from her pilot's chair and descended from the upper deck and to the cargo-bay, breathing in the cooler air from Kessel Station. Well, let's get started.

"Hey! Tic-Tac! Get your rusty a** over here!"

From behind one of the many large cargo containers on the bay, a small robot made its way toward Lorelei. Clanking noises were emitted from the small robot as it hopped down next to her. She looked down at him and put her wrist down beside him. "Hop on. I may need your help little guy."

Tic-Tac spoke in a very old school computer-generated voice, "Yes my lady."

His original robot body quickly transformed into a clunky bracelet that wrapped itself around Lorelei's wrist. It certainly wasn't very aesthetically pleasing, but it would serve its purpose. Tic-Tac was a little robot that served as Lorelei's little helper, if not little slave, in order to for her to work on robotics more efficiently. He was a prototype of V-Tech, and a gift from her father to take with her on her journeys. She always kept him nearby as both an assistant, and a reminder of home.

Once off of the ship and moving onto the dock, Lorelei gazed around the area with her bright blue eyes. She had been to Kessel Station a few times before, and it never ceased to amaze her how busy it always seemed to be. Sure, back home it wasn't necessarily a deserted colony, but this place looked as though there was never a "down time". But, then again, what could one expect? There was much going on in the world they lived in. There were wars being fought on every corner of the solar system. Civilians against the military, the military against business, and business against civilians, and so on. Lorelei tried to not get herself involved with these sorts of issues. She had her goal and was set on doing what she needed to do and that's all. Playing politics was something she wasn't used to, but it became clearer and clearer as to how much she would have to play "the game" in order to get where she needed to be. This annoyed her to no end. Why can't things just be simple? Why can't the world work like a well-oiled machine?

The first thing Lorelei needed to do was to find a place to talk business about getting her ship fixed. Of course, since she blamed her shipmate Jamie on the whole ordeal, she had originally planned on him having to take care of all of the arrangements. But, over further inspection, she decided that it was best not to keep something so important in the hands of someone so... incapable. Before she could voice the commands to the taxi to take her to the commerce district, she decided that the extreme heat she was exposed to earlier had made her quite thirsty. She smacked her tongue around her mouth and felt the uncomfortable, dry sticky feeling of a dry mouth. Well... It wouldn't hurt to grab a drink or two first. Passing out due to dehydration while trying to make some deals doesn't sound like a good way to start this visit. A few shots of tequila should quench my thirst... Lorelei gave the command to have the taxi take her to the entertainment district.

[Lysander the Poet]

Alister found the blonde’s response to his question amusing, and the fact that she had already managed to find some composure while being covered in blood was astonishing. He nodded at her as she departed, and watched her go, until she disappeared out of sight in the crowds. Reaching down, he pulled his sleeve back, revealing a wrist apparatus. After hitting a few buttons on the screen, the image of a platinum blonde woman, who didn’t seem at all overjoyed to be gazing at his smug, blood covered visage, appeared. Several scars decorated her face, and the beginnings of a large tapestry of tattoos could be seen at the bottom of her neckline. ”Yes, captain?” She asked, her Scottish accent flaring up with irritation, as if his call was disturbing some sort of important business. Alister returned her dose of attitude with a smile, and wiped some of the blood from his face. ”There’s a girl coming your way. Paying for passage. You charge her the low rate when you see her, and make sure she stays safe. I got your message about the Dommies. They’re looking for her...at least some of them. Attacked me in Event Horizon. Gent with a GenEx badge tried to grab the girl. Keep monitoring their radio chatter as best you can. Frequency is hard as s**t to hack, I know. If you can, see if there are any of our contacts on station with GenEx connections. See if anyone knows who this mystery girl is. I’ll upload you an image I managed to snap without her looking.” Rhia nodded, maintaining her perpetual scowl, her image disappearing from the screen. With a few extra taps, Alister uploaded the image from his device to Persephone, and was satisfied that Rhia would set to work identifying the girl, or at least why GenEx wanted her. One thing Alister liked was knowing what he was getting into. With this girl...he was in the uncomfortable position of being unprepared for whatever lie ahead.

His next stop was to examine the bodies that he left behind, and then leave the scene. The conversation with Rhia had taken about a minute and a half. In the entertainment district, station security took about four minutes, maybe five, to close in on an incident, and take care of it. That was from the point of alert, and knowing the bartender, she hadn’t alerted them immediately, and he still had a few extra seconds. Rifling through the bodies, all he found were weapons, ammo, Dominion insignias, and various personal effects. It was on the GenEx man that he found something interesting. A datapad, and from a glance, heavily encrypted. It would take even an expert hacker possibly hours or days to hack this, and Alister’s skill at hacking was perhaps only a bit above average. Stowing it into his pocket, he rose from the bodies, and nodded at the bartender, counting down the time in his head. He had maybe a minute and a half left. Crossing the street, he turned back, gazing through the crowd, watching as station security descended on the bar. The thing about station security was simple; everything is legal, unless you get caught. That’s when you got into problems. Station security wouldn’t investigate too far for a couple of dead Dommies laying in a bar, disguised as scumbags. Not a tear would be shed...but if Rhia’s message was of any indication, something bigger was happening here...something related to the Dominion and their little war effort. Alister watched as station security mopped up the scene and moved on, and he blended in with everyone else, walking down the streets of Kessel.

Moving fluidly through the crowd, passing by nightclubs, bars, internet cafes, and every other sort of establishment you could imagine. One moment, Alister was moving at a steady pace, the next, he felt his shoulder collide with that of another person. He only caught a quick look at them, and he swore he had seen the face around the station before. The victim of said impact was a certain smuggler, going by the name of Ben Hughes, the reality of the man known to pretty much no one...and unknown to either of these two men, they currently had a common denominator; Daniella Pearson. Alister managed to mutter a sort of apology, with a scowl, and continue back on his way, adjusting his jacket as he flowed back into the crowd, the taxi station in sight. The transport system was a bit backed up this time of day, and so it took a little while before a taxi finally arrived. Alister stood by, waiting for the passenger to emerge, enabling him to move on with his day. The woman who would exit would get only a little more than a passing glance from Alister, as the pirate was in a bit of a hurry, too much so to give much attention to the strawberry haired female. He went as far as to hold the door of the taxi open for her as she exited, before entering it himself, and allowing the door to close. ”Market District.” He said, simply, the taxi programming in the destination before taking flight. It glided through the busy station traffic for a short while, and it gave Alister time to examine the datapad more closely, though he didn’t attempt to crack into it just yet. He had one more stop to make, before he returned to Persephone on got this show on the road. Hopefully they had managed to acquire a few replacement parts for the ol’ girl, so she could keep flying, and with Daniella, and perhaps another passenger, or at least a few, they would have enough money to continue on...plus, this Dominion convoy hit seemed as good of an opportunity as any, for money, and for a bit of stress release and vengeance. A few of the simple things in life that Alister Blood loved.

The Market District made how busy the Entertainment District was look like nothing. Lines of shops and malls and such extended further than the eye could see, and in front of them were lined stalls of all sorts, selling every kind of good imaginable. It was futuristic shopping district clashes with old time bazaar. And all beneath it flowed the black market, a web of contacts, buyers and sellers, everything the heart desired. There was only one place that Alister needed to go before reporting back to the Persephone. Another message beeped over his communicator, indicating that Anatoli was waiting to confirm the transaction for the delivered goods, which Alister was happy for. Anatoli always managed to come through, no matter how shady he seemed. He was as close to trustworthy as you could get...honor among thieves, and all that. The building he was looking for stood in the distance, the neon sign flickering above the doorway. Entering the establishment, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he focused on the other end of the room, on a man sitting behind a desk, a computer terminal in front of him. He looked up from his work, and smiled at the sight of Alister. ”Ah, Captain Blood. I wondered when you would be coming by. We have your supplies, as usual. And I hope the boss’ daughter is doing well in your care.” Alister nodded, reaching the desk, and placing his hands on it, waiting for the man to return with his package. ”Merhia is fine, if he really wants to know. Having her as first mate has been a pleasure. Though, if he intends on watching my every move, I would ask that he be careful how much loyalty he puts in his daughter for such a task.”

The man returned, being trailed by a service-bot, carrying a pretty large crate. ”Haha. Alister Blood, always the charismatic one, eh? There has to be something lying just beneath the layer of psychotic murderer. Something that not even you can see, even in the mirror. Well, here is your shipment...is that going to be all?” Alister nodded, and was handed a datapad to sign, and program the coordinates in for the service-bot to transfer the goods to the Persephone. Handing the datapad back across the desk, the man adjusted his glasses, and smiled once more. ”A pleasure doing business with you, Captain. Until the next time you visit us…” Alister spun on his heel, moving out of the building, the service-bot gliding along, and moving ahead of him after he made his way out, on its way to deliver his shipment to the docks. As Alister walked along, putting one foot in front of the other, something sudden occurred, a foreign happening to the people of Kessel Station...the enormous structure shook ever so slightly, as if a large impact had happened somewhere on the station. Alister halted immediately, waiting for more, but nothing else happened. He increased his pace, moving back to the taxi, and riding to the dock where the Persephone awaited. The entire trip had taken him a little while, and he hoped that the girl was waiting with Rhia, so they could depart, immediately.

[Space Candy]

xxxx"Speech."xxxxx"Thoughts."xxxxx"Others."

XXXXXXXXDani stared at the screen before her and pursed her lips. There was no guarantee that Christian would even respond. He could have been anywhere doing just about anything. She lifted a hand and rubbed the back of her head, looking around as she skimmed through various thoughts. Everyone in the cyber cafe seemed to be more or less distracted: in their own world or the like. Dani sighed, and looked back to the screen before her. Still nothing. Daniella moved to grab her backpack, ready to head out. She didn't really want to stick around for much longer and risk being found by another GenEx agent. It was better if she just vanished. But she stopped as she noticed a small bit of movement out of the corner of her eye. A new message had popped up from Christian, or 'Silas', as his fake name suggested. Daniella breathed a sigh of relief and opened the message. Her wide eyes scanned the words, and she smiled a bit up on reading it. She started typing a response, but stopped after a few words upon hearing a certain blip in the dull radar of thoughts she was listening in on.

The blonde cautiously looked out the window of the cafe, but was unable to determine who the thought had come from. And soon they would move out of her radius, leaving her clueless. All that was important was that Daniella knew someone new was hunting her. Dead or alive, she wasn't sure what the request was. Either way, Dani wasn't too keen on being found by anyone. She could feel her heart race again, and she scanned the thoughts of the others in the cafe. It seemed that none of them noticed her or the minor panic that she was in, which was for the better. She needed to calm down, and get out of there. Daniella's grey eyes drifted back to the screen, and she continued typing her message.

I may need more credits, but I'm not sure.
I don't want to take more of your credits though, you've already done so much.
I would like to meet up though, thank you in person. I could always use an extra lookout also.

I have to go now. Just caught wind of someone else on my trail...
Meet me at Docking Bay C. I will wait there for you.

-D

She hit the send button. As casually as she could manage, Daniella logged off of the computer and stood. Dani ran her hands over the long braid resting over her shoulder before taking a breath and heading out the door. She walked quickly through the streets, headed to the taxi station. She kept her mind open, and while it was somewhat difficult to sort through the various words coming from the people she was passing. Mainly she was trying to avoid whomever it was who had passed by the cyber cafe moments ago. But she was having trouble...Daniella may have been well versed in her powers, but the most people she'd been exposed to at a time while at GenEx was six. This crowd was almost unbearable to be in, and put a strain on her mentally whether she decided to block everyone out or not. She looked around at the faces in the crowd, but the only thing that really stuck out to her was a girl with bright pinkish hair. It was an odd color that Dani had never seen before---it was pretty though. She pulled her eyes away from her and continued on to the taxi station. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she found herself waiting in line. But sitting in line only made her feel like she was stuck. It would be odd for her to try and cut, and she'd probably get stabbed or something in this area...
Daniella took a few deep breaths, trying to keep calm by running through everyone's thoughts.

When it came to be her turn, Dani entered the taxi quickly and quietly. She requested her destination, and then she was gone. Dani sighed in the seat and shut her eyes, thankful that she was getting closer to leaving this place.
It didn't take too long for the taxi to reach its destination. Dani exited and stared up at the main gate for the bay. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked towards the shuttle that ran to the various docks in the bay. There were a good amount of people at the bay, but it wasn't quite as crowded as the district she had just arrived from. It was a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Keeping her eyes on the shuttle that was running, Dani shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had a brief moment of relaxation as she waited for Christian. She felt somewhat safe knowing she was so close to her escape---but that was before the station shook.
Daniella stumbled and pressed her hands against the nearest wall in order to keep standing. There were murmurs among the people in the bay, and some looked panicked. It was obvious that this wasn't a usual occurrence, and Dani could figure that out without her telepathy.

"Come on Christian...." Daniella thought worriedly. Her delicate fingers pushed a few strands of blonde away from her face. She needed to get out of here as quickly as she could....Dani looked up to the clock above the shuttle station, deciding that she would give Christian another ten minutes to show up before she left. If she missed him then that was too bad, even if she did need his credits. Dani bit the inside of her cheek in thought...Maybe if she didn't have enough credits she could work off her debt? It was a good thought until Daniella realized she didn't have any life skills. Sure, she was smart and could read minds. But she didn't know anything practical. This was a mess...maybe this was a bad idea.

xxxxLocation :: Docking Bay C
xxxxCompany :: None
xxxxHealth :: 85% - frazzled, headache, overall distraught.
xxxxTunes ::Every Planet We Reach Is Dead - Gorillaz

[chibichick27]

Ʌℓεxεɪ Ϩαηʈɵɢɵℓ∂

"I need a FIX 'cuz I'm going down."

outfit // Kessel Station
stamina // 95% - observant, but bored
addiction status // satisfied



Without making too much noise, Alexei Santogold slipped out from underneath the thin sheet and threw her legs over the side of the bed. She sat for a few minutes in the silence, the only noise permeating the room being the breathing of the man sleeping next to her. Looking at the window curtains nearby, she couldn't guess what time it was without drawing them, and the last thing she wanted to do was wake the man up. She turned toward him, taking note of how attractive he was, then leaned over him to grab a mirrored tray with a baggie of white powder and a silver card sitting on it. Getting off the bed, she bent down and recovered her lingerie before walking into the bathroom and sitting on the rug by the sink. She switched on the light and pulled her undergarments back on.

Carefully, she opened the baggie and poured the cocaine down onto the surface and used the silver card to cut two sizable lines. She whipped her head up, remembering something suddenly, and tiptoed back out into the bedroom to grab her purse. Sitting back down, she pulled out a slip of paper, rolled it up, and bent over to snort one of the lines. It went up her nostril easily, with only a slight, chalky tickle in the back of her throat. Rubbing her nose, she waited a few minutes, once again drinking in the silence, before she went back for the other line. Then she stood up and placed the tray on the bathroom counter, placed the baggie and card in her purse, and walked back to the bedroom.

Alexei searched for her clothes in the dark, not wanting to wake up her companion. The cocaine slowly took effect as she struggled into her leather pants, and she sat down as the energy came flowing back into her. Despite the two hours of sleep she had gotten, she was wide awake. Her left nostril burned a little, and she wiped it to check for blood. All clear. Zipping her boots up, she wandered back into the bathroom to adjust her makeup, which had gotten smudged from sleeping in it. With a pop of her lips, she applied the last bit of dark wine lipstick and stuck her makeup bag into her purse before ducking out of the bathroom. She gave one last glance to the sleeping man before leaving the apartment.

Outside, she checked her cellphone. There was only one notification--a missed call from her fellow bodyguard, Moraz. She sighed, walking through the residential district, and placed the phone to her ear.

"I know Maiachev said that we could take the day off, but that doesn't mean you should be unreachable," a gruff voice spoke. "Anyway, the meeting location's been changed. There was a big commotion at The Event Horizon, so that's a no-go now. I'll meet you outside. And I swear to Hades you'd better get this voicemail before eleven or Maiachev is going to be really ******** pissed."

Alexei hung up and headed to The Event Horizon. She noticed that she had been lightly grinding her teeth for the past five minutes; the cocaine had really taken root, now. She sniffed and pulled out a stick of gum to chew on, arriving at the bar a few minutes before eleven. Moraz, a muscular and threatening man, stood outside. "Good, you're here. Well, aren't you looking all dolled up?" he noticed with a slight sneer.

"The point was to be inconspicuous, informal even," Alexei replied with flat affect, pointing out his blazer-and-jeans combination. She peered around him and into the entrance of the bar, only to see police tape and a lot of blood, with customers sitting around, still drinking and carrying on with their lives. She wrinkled her nose at the sight, not because it was disturbing to her, but because she had hoped to get a drink before she had to follow Maiachev to his business.

"I was having a drink in the corner, and all of a sudden this crazy ******** shoots this guy in the face for cheating at cards. Then, five minutes later, a bunch of undercover GenEx, or Dommies, or whoever the ******** they was, lunge at him and he just kills them all like, no problem. I kinda thought it was ********' hilarious," Moraz recounted, chuckling. Alexei nodded, scratching her nose.

Maiachev came down the hall, wearing a well-tailored business suit and carrying a briefcase. Alexei eyed it with some envy. Inside was over a pound of lotos, and she had been fixing for some for a while. She knew she was running low. Maiachev noticed her stare, and grinned as her eyes darted away. He had been the one to introduce her to the drug, and he knew just how much she liked it. Rather than say anything about it, however, he merely signaled them to start walking. A car pulled up, and they piled in, both Moraz and Alexei checking to make sure they could access their weapons easily.

As they were driven, Maiachev explained the change. "Obviously, Mr. Vasily was not pleased that our original meeting spot was shot up by a crazed mercenary. So, he is extra cautious right now. While we have assured him that none of our men were a part of the shooting, nor was this a premeditated attack set up to threaten or hurt him, and while we are assured by him that he believes us, he is nonetheless...worried. So, we're meeting him at his private shuttle in the docking bay--dock 46C. Donovan, you're going to be my main guard. Santogold, you'll be casing the area outside."

Moraz and Alexei nodded. Soon, they were at the docking bay. It didn't seem to be a particularly busy day at the docks, as the crowds were much thinner than usual. Normally, Alexei would welcome the lack of people, but this made it more difficult to get lost in a crowd for stealth attacks.

She nodded at the two men, and left their company somewhere near dock 39C, walking up the stairs to the observation platform, where tourists would look through telescopes and take pictures of all of the ships taking off and arriving. She took a spot above 47C, pretending to stare at the ship docked there while she was really watching Moraz and Maiachev meet Mr. Vasily, who looked just as jumpy as his description had entailed. They entered the ship, and Alexei watched through the ship's plating, seeing the heat signatures of their bodies slowly turn back into shapes of people as her vision adjusted to the distance and physical shifting.

With nothing strange happening in the ship, she focused her attention on the docks below, checking for any suspicious people or congregations of police. As she leaned against the deck, a strange rumbling, almost like the crater shakes on Mars, ripped through the bay. She gripped the safety bars and kept herself up while the people around her fell or stumbled in surprise. Switching back to Maiachev, they seemed to be just as surprised at the occurrence, but the deal resumed just as quickly as it had paused.

Alexei pulled an electronic cigarette out of her purse, injected it with a tube of raspberry tobacco, and began smoking, her eyes fixating on a pretty blonde girl below, who seemed to be waiting for something. She made up a story that the girl was awaiting the arrival of her lover, coming back from some bloody battle on Earth, and they would kiss passionately and head off to their little house at the other end of the station. "A subject for a short story," she muttered under her breath before continuing her observations.

_____________________________________

I, too, saw God through mud —
The mud that cracked on cheeks when wretches smiled.
War brought more glory to their eyes than blood,
And gave their laughs more glee than shakes a child.
Merry it was to laugh there —
Where death becomes absurd and life absurder.
For power was on us as we slashed bones bare
Not to feel sickness or remorse of murder.


- "Apologia Pro Poemate Meo", Wilfred Owen

_____________________________________

[-sPiCeD- a pp l e s]

Lorelei stood there at the taxi station glancing around to see exactly where that bar was that she had gone to last time. During this time she glanced over at several people that had walked by her and turned their gazes towards her. She was used to this sort of reaction around a lot of people. Her hair color wasn't necessarily the most natural. She did in fact have natural red hair, but she lightens it to make it the pretty color that it is. She doesn't have many "girly" traits, but coloring and upkeeping her hair in that manner is one of them.

It took just a little bit for her to remember the place that she went to before. For some reason she was suffering form the tip-of-the-tongue-phenomenon. It was something like the Special Event... Horrible Event... No, no, maybe the other way around. The Event... H...Ho... Her eyes darted to either side of where she was standing and looked up to see a sign in bright lights. Ah! The Event Horizon. Yes! A small spark of excitement rushed through her as she took a few steps toward her destination. But, only after a few moments, she stopped as she noticed the police tape, bodies, and blood. And... no. It didn't take long for her to change her mind. There were still people in there talking and mingling on, but she really didn't feel like having to deal with that sight more than she needed to. Even though she had recovered (somewhat) from her mother's death, when she saw scenes like this, a flash of the image that she saw when she was a child would overwhelm her mind. She quickly shook it off and suddenly felt even more like she would enjoy a drink. Unfortunately, it didn't look like that was going to happen. On second thought, maybe it would just be best to get what I need and get the hell out of this place.

Lorelei turned right back around and walked over to the taxi station again and requested to be sent to the Commerce District. She still needed to get the part that needed to be replaced on her ship. During the taxi ride she grumbled to herself and let out a big sigh of annoyance for how the whole day was going. When the taxi arrived at her destination, she got out and tried to push her way through the crowds of people. Unlike The Event Horizon, she knew exactly where she needed to go in this particular area. She went down to the left and went to the shop that was at the very end. At the top of the shop, the sign, which read "Leo's" was half-lit and looked as though it had seen better days. Lorelei walked up to the store and waited in line while a couple of other customers were doing business with the man at the front. Just as usual whenever she visited this store, almost none of the customers walked away happy. Unlike them, Lorelei knew her way around this individual and would certainly leave the store with what she wanted. As soon as everyone else had left it was her turn to talk to the man in front of her. He was a dirty, somewhat greasy individual that looked as though he hadn't showered in a few weeks. Unfortunately, the smell nearly mirrored the same as well. He had a short, but wide stature and pretty much had the aura of one of the old-time mob bosses. Too bad he would never be able to live up to that.

"Lore! Sweetheart! My number one customer! How ya' doin' there sweet tits? He gave a little wink just before he looked over to the side and hocked a big spit ball and sent it flying to a small can off to the side. Lorelei stood there with an unamused look on her face. Dealing with this individual was always a... joy. But, she knew she would be able to get the best value her compared to some of the other higher quality, and also legal (presumably), shops.She completely ignored the "sweet tits" comment and continued on with business, trying to avoid small talk as much as possible. "Leo, I need to replace my cooling filter model #HJ39CDelta. Do you have what I need?" Leo crossed his arms and looked her up and down. "Yeah I might have whatchya need. In fact, I just got a new shipment of Delta-series installations sittin' right o'er there." He glanced over his shoulder to a pile of boxes. There wasn't much organization in this place, but apparently to him there was. Lorelei could never understand how he keeps everything together. In fact, she wasn't particularly sure how he even stayed in business. But, she had her suspicions. Leo turned around and opened up the box to pull out the part that she needed. He tossed it onto the counter in front of her and pointed at it. "Der ya go, doll"

Lorelei looked down at it and grasped it in her hands. She looked it over and still wasn't fully convinced that it was a fully functional part, although it appeared to be legitimate. She placed it back down on the counter and looked over at Leo. He was smirking to himself, which didn't make her feel any better about this particular item in front of her. "Scan it." From the oversized bracelet on her wrist, a small antennae poked out of the top. A green Light began to emerge from the tip and it moved back forth over the part. This was a procedure that she knew would come in handy while she was out today. It was just one of the many uses of her little robot buddy, Tic-Tac. After it was done scanning the part, there was a little "ding" sound that was emitted from her device. It signaled that the part was functional and appeared to be sound. Lorelei rose her eyebrows and surprise and glanced over at Leo.

She picked up the part in her hand and gave him a suspecting look. "It appears you've been having some good luck as far as getting actual good parts in. For once it looks like I'm not going to have to punch you in the face."

Leo suddenly had a disapproving look on his face. "'Ey, the last time you broke my nose ya' know. I should charge ya' extra fo that. But... since I got a chance to see yo pretty little face, I won't charge ya' extra!"

The man let out a loud, booming laugh and then began to cough heavily. After a few moments of him sounding almost near death, he hocked up another spit ball and landed it into the can beside him. Lorelei couldn't help but grimace and she reached into one of her many pockets in her cargo pants, and drew out her card which contained her available credits. Leo saw her card and looked down on the counter at the purchasing device. He inputted a number of credits that he was charging. Lorelei looked down at the number and then looked back up at him. She slowly cracked her knuckles and lifted an eyebrow. It didn't take long for Leo to give a cheeky smile and to input a new number into the device, one more to her liking. She scanned her card and completed the purchase.

"Yo welcome darlin'. Don't be a stranger now ya' hear? I can always use some company from a classy girl like yer'self." He let out another laugh and she rolled her eyes and grabbed the part off of the counter. She turned to the side to leave and she spoke once more to him. "By the way, I caught word that a shipment from the Vizhadi Corporation had been mysteriously misplaced. Why don't you keep your eyes open for it?" She didn't look behind her, but Leo glanced her way and had a smirk on his face. He shook his head and continued on to his next customer. In the background of the now almost overwhelming sound of people around her, she heard: "Jameson! My number-one customer!

Lorelei pushed her way through and found herself back to the taxi station. Unfortunately this time there was a little bit of a line and she stood there waiting for a few moments, until something strange occurred. There was a sudden shaking of, what felt like, the entire station. People around her looked shocked and a few people had screamed out of sheer bewilderment of the event. It only lasted for a short period of time, but it was enough to be noticed. The people around her began whispering to each other and things seemed to carry on as normal. Most just shook it off, while others still gazed around confused and concerned. Lorelei glanced around her immediate area to see if anything was wrong, but she didn't notice anything different. What the hell was that? Everyone seems to be as confused as I am... I better get back to the ship quickly. Maybe Jamie managed to destroy Kessel Station too." Finally it was her turn to use the taxi and she requested to be sent to the docking bay where her ship was located, at Docking Bay C. Once she arrived, she rose out of the taxi grabbed the part she just purchased from the seat. She stepped away and glanced around to see the ship with the words "V-Tech Evee" on it, to see her ship. Her blue eyes met the words and she waved over to Jamie who was sitting near it, apparently finished getting all of the deliveries off of the ship. Lorelei let out a sigh of relief. Well, at least one thing was done right.

[Sir Dietary Supplement]

Ｃｈｒｉｓｔｉａｎ Ａｄａｍ Ｂｅｒｎｅｔxxxxxxthe heir to GenEx


xxxxxxxweep » for yourself, my man,
xxxxxxxxx☎ You'll never be what is in your heart
xx■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
♔ x x WEEP LITTLE LION MAN
xxxxxxxxxxxxYou're not as brave as you were at the start
xx↷ *)Rate yourself and rake yourself
xxxx ● ● Tak ⊹ e all the courage you have left
xxxxxxxxxxxxxWasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head


████████████████████████████████████████████████████████



➤ docking bay cxx➤ danixx➤ concerned


Christian tapped is fingers against the desk, his eyes not leaving the screen as he waited for Dani's reply. It didn't take long, and the end of it made him worry. Plenty of people were after Dani, there was quite the bounty on her head. It would be worth even more if she was brought back alive. It wasn't something he liked to think about, and it seemed they knew she was on the Kessel Station. Another thing that did not make him feel very comfortable about her making it to safety. Hard to say who she could trust when so many were taking up the bounty when they came across it.

Alright, just keep your head down.
I'll be there as soon as I can.

She didn't need to worry about the credits either. He would just have them transferred over from one of his other accounts. Be made to look like a business transaction. It couldn't be a lot, he didn't need any questions raised by spending habits. However, he could give enough to her if the credits went to some shopping center. He could spend a fair amount there and not have questions raised, he just had to make it look like that. Which wasn't hard for someone like him. He knew plenty about computers and how to use them, even hack them if he had the mind to. If he weren't heir to GenEx, he would of made a career hacking for someone else. After all, a talented hacker was sought in this world. People would pay a lot to use skills like that.

He signed off the computer and turned it off, finishing off his coffee as he stood from his seat. Sliding on the jacket to his suit he stepped out of his office. "Looks like we'll have to catch lunch another time, I have to go meet up with an associate, but treat yourself to what you like and you can leave once you get all your work done. I will be out for the rest of the day," he told his secretary as he headed towards the door. His two guards, who had been sitting in the lobby stood to follow him out. Always had to have guards. They would be a pain to loose. But, he would use crowds to his advantage.

First stop was the shopping distract, then get a cab to the docking bay. It took him a few moments to loose the guards in the crowds. Once he did, he was quick to toss on a hoodie and at to make him harder to see in the crowd. His jacket was left in a store and he snagged himself a taxi as quickly as he could. Leaning back in the seat as he headed towards his destination. At least he managed to get away.

He felt out of place at the docks. The place was filled with people who worked hard for a living. Transferring goods, transporting people, and some had to be pirates. They seemed to give him dirty looks, even with street clothes he still stuck out like a sore thumb. Then again, many would know the next face of GenEx. He kept to himself and made his way towards docking bay C. Ignoring anyone that tried to stop him to sell some sort of stolen goods. He didn't need anything like that. But, he made it there soon enough. Dani was still there as well. He sighed to himself and walked over to the blonde.

"Hey, sorry to make you wait. Had to loose the big guys with guns," he looked over Dani and offered a smile. "So, who are you meeting?" it wouldn't be a good idea for him to meet anyone. It would go bad, thinking that he would only sell them out. Even more so if anyone knew she was being hunted by GenEx, and the heir to the corporation was with her. If that didn't raise questions he wouldn't know what would.

"Oh, and this has plenty of credits on it. Should be enough to pay for safe passage and give you money for when you make it to where you will end up," he passed her a card marked with another alias. It wouldn't raise any questions to either of them, it had gone through enough to just be marked as a one time use card. Often given to kids for their birthdays.

"But, glad to see you out of that place. And look no guards to pull me away after five minutes, nice change of pace," he personally enjoyed the freedom it gave him. At the moment he didn't really have to worry about making a good impression on everyone he met. As long as he kept his head down, no one would know who he was.

Leaning against an old box, Christian crossed his arms over his chest. "You need anything else? I can try to get my hands on it, be hard to get it here. Few I could trust enough not to turn you in," perhaps Ms. Holbrook would be a good choice. She didn't seem the type to run to his father for the mistakes that he would make. He made plenty of them and they had similiar views to the whole human experimentation once she found out about it. She might of been a good choice to help Dani if she wasn't leaving the Kessel Station. She didn't have guards follow her around once she finished working. She had her own life outside of the office. However, it was too late to think of things like that.

"Anyways, don't worry yourself too much. You'll soon be off this place and heading somewhere better. Hopefully where my father's company doesn't have a strong grasp in."

{[ stupid writers block. making my posts bad. i'm forcing myself through it, and also this was rushed at the end cause I gotta go to work! BOOO! ]}