Redemption (Rated T) - A Pirate/Fleet RP

[Goosh]

Goosh was led, still sparkling, to the medical station at the end of the hall by Keng. The attendant, a small girl with dark skin and big eyes, stared at him as he reached the stool.

"So, ah, I got bit by a spider earlier today--well, no, not earlier--well, actually, depending on what time it is--anyway, I was bitten. And now I'm more sparkly than usual."

"..."

"And, um, if I could be cured of the aforementioned sparkling, I would be really appreciative."

"..."

"I'll give you my number."

The medic nodded feverishly and stumbled towards a cabinet, hands shaking. Goosh pondered this. Pirates often carried a bad aura around them, a presence that indicated trouble long before it happened. But this sparkle thing seemed to overpass that, giving people an impression that he could do no wrong. And an innocent face was a useful asset to have indeed.

The nurse returned with a syringe and a pill bottle. "I believe I've found the cure for this. The syringe contains a suppressant that will circulate in your bloodstream, but it needs to be boosted by the pills once daily. If you only have the injection, you still risk entering this..condition..under stress or even randomly. So. Yeah. Take the pills and you'll be fine."

He held out his arm. One injection later, he tucked the pills into his pocket, heading back towards his fellow pirates. The nurse, in between her mumblings of thanks, had said it would take a few hours for the sparkle to start to wear off.

He stopped short when he saw both Hunty and Bloody Mary scrutinizing him. Hunty had the usual intensely calculating look she reserved for when she was really trying to figure things out, but Bloody Mary had a look on his face that he had already seen twice today.

Goosh then had a rare moment of tactical forethought. He could take the pills, lose the sparkly thing after a while, and go back to his normal self. But Bloody Mary clearly liked the sparkly thing. And Bloody Mary had quite a lot of sway with the captain. Keeping semisparkly, with the option of going Sparkle Super Saiyan when it was useful, could work in his favour.

So he rejoined the group, sure to give Bloody Mary a warm smile. "Well, we got the book, Hunty got the space boy, and Cy is..Cy. All in all, I'd call it a win. Shall we go?"

[Fraze]

((All right. I'm hijacking this thing, because we need to get it finished NOW. Redemption has been a blast, but it's been barely hanging on to life for the last four months and only slogging along before that. It deserves a decent conclusion, the sooner the better. After that, we can take a well-deserved break from RPing to recharge the creative batteries. Tie up whatever loose ends you want and start writing up your conclusion posts. But please, for the love of all that is guildly, don't start up anything new and try not to get involved in too muchany back-and-forth that will require more than about three posts between two people. Looking back at how this has gone the past two months, doing that would just extend the RP for another two weeks or more. That's not going to work, because as of this moment we're heading full-tilt toward a denouement.

Also, anyone who catches the blatant reference wins my love.))

With much pushing and shoving, the entire pirate crew and any other interested observers were piled into Keng's ship. Except for Fraze and Speck. Speck was being detained until the higher-ups at Spacefleet decided what to do with her. However, one or more certain 'Fleet commandos with experience negotiating with the Pirates were able to pull some strings, and arranged for a way for Speck to keep in touch with her crew. Though of course, any and all such communications were monitored by Spacefleet security.

Nothing of interest happened during transit, with the possible exception of some witty banter. Everyone arrived at the spaceport intact, and went their separate ways.

Fraze, saying he wanted some time alone with his thoughts, held on to Keng's shuttle as it lifted off and picked up speed toward the planet. Once they reached cruising speed he let go, moved about three kilometers away, and traveled alongside the shuttle at this distance.

He had said he needed time with his thoughts. He even told himself that. But once he was traveling parallel with Keng's ship, slowly approaching the planet, he realized that he needed time with his emotions. First he had lost his temper--for the first time in years, he had been furious. Then only minutes later, the object of his rage had become...what? The object of his love? That was way too sappy. But "object of his confused interest" was just awkward. A few hours after that, he found himself divulging his life's greatest secrets and regrets to this same woman, who freely and openly admitted to being an opportunistic liar, thief, and traitor. And another few minutes after that...well...

Emotions Fraze had little experience understanding were swirling around one another and combining in strange and sometimes scary ways. He had no idea how to sift through it all.
But some part of his nature did. He looked around him, to the familiar spacescape--stars scattered all around him, like brilliant light shone through innumerable diamonds forming sprays and swirls and patterns across a sky that was rarely truly black, and saw the diamonds seemed larger than usual.
He blinked, and the diamonds became still larger. He blinked again, and they broke into irregular pieces. He blinked a third time, squeezing his eyes tightly now. He had never been one for tears--even when they would have been understandable and acceptable, he rarely cried. And now, twice in one day--first in that private conference room, and again now.

"Whoo." The sound escaped his throat, leaving him startled and wondering where it had come from. "Haha, yeeaow." Two more. "Whoo!" He felt himself gathering momentum. "Yeeeeeow! Hahaaaaaaa! WHOOOOO! YEAAAAAAAH!"
He felt an irresistible urge to move--he wanted to run, to sprint, he could run around the whole planet and then up the highest mountain and jump off, soaring into space, run all the way across the galaxy and catapult around a black hole and go whipping off into the great unknown, speeding by so fast that nothing in the universe could catch him and nothing could stop him.
He did a flip--and of course in zero-g, this meant he kept rotating. He tried for a cartwheel with nothing to push off of, now spinning two ways at once. Twisting his shoulders around and throwing them, he started spinning in a third direction. The stars whipped by in all directions and all ways in a blur, he felt himself tossing and turning and twisting, inertial forces pulling his limbs every which way. He closed his eyes tightly shut, still yelling and laughing at the top of his lungs, and the stars disappeared. He felt. Somehow, despite turning erratically along all three axes, despite no light getting through his eyelids, he could tell exactly where the planet was, where the moon was, and where--a bit over there--a shuttle carrying the most fascinating woman he had ever met was.

"Y'know, can't chain a man's mind. Or unchain it." The words came to his mind. Maybe this is what she meant.

He opened his eyes. I still can't believe this is happening, he thought. But I have to do it. I have to take the road that's in front of me. I wanted to come here--to space.
"Get the hell out of my way! WAAAAA-HOOOOO!" he shouted gleefully to no one--to the universe--to everyone.

They were approaching the planet by now. He slowed his rotation, ending up facing down toward the planet--though since he was too far away to feel the gravitational pull of the planet, it could have been "up," "down" or "forward." Microthin wings of solid energy unfurled from his silver suit--reflective on the side facing the planet, they caught the light and slowed him down. He plotted an entry course that would bring him down a mile and a half outside of Tabloid town. He had slowed down enough that he wouldn't incinerate in the atmosphere. By now, the curve of the planet was just barely visible. He withdrew the wings and let himself go into freefall.
As he entered the upper atmosphere, he saw flashes of orange in the corners of his vision. Flames. He was heating up in reentry, though the suit would protect him. Faster, faster. It was night now, from the angle of the sun it looked like it was around 7 PM in Tabloid Town-the computer confirmed this. He could just make out landscape features in the dark--mountain ranges cutting across the continents like jagged scars, forests showing up as dark patches, deserts as strips of tan, oceans as great expanses of a deep, deep blue. He adjusted course slightly. He was coming in a bit too fast--but he always did. The adrenaline was still surging through him. He could now see dots of light--that must be Tabloid Town.

He waited until he was 2,000 meters above the surface, and extended the wings of his suit once again. He felt yanked upward by the sudden deceleration. He was gliding now, rather than falling outright, and the world suddenly seemed a bit more clear. He controlled his descent, finally landing a bit closer to the town than he had anticipated. He had brought a small backpack with him--a relic of his life before he came to Spacefleet, the old thing was meant specifically for use in vacuum. It wasn't vacuum-proof, but was nearly invulnerable to anything that space could throw at it, and in that sense protected whatever was in it.
This time, it held a change of clothes. Khaki shorts and a simple shirt, and he was ready to go. He retracted the skinsuit so that it stayed around his chest under the shirt, unseen. He jogged in the direction of Tabloid Town. With any luck, he would get there before Hunty finished her errand.

The night illuminated a path leading toward the town.

Grab what you want and rip through the dark as you run through the night.

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]((Well, about time someone hit the brakes on this girl.))

Solid ground. It took Rider a minute to get her bearings as space and time snapped back into place like pieces of a puzzle. Things are back to normal. Peace had returned to the NTWF. Leraye was gone for good, and his little black trinket would cause no more harm.

At least that's what theyall thought.

As far as Hunty was concerned, the battle was over. the pirates were redeemed for their actions in the past war.

To Rider, the pirates had dug themselves into an even deeper hole.

She didn't bother tellign the crew where she was going. As soon as the ship touched dock, she was out and wandering the familiar streets of Tabloid Town. This is where she had grown up. This is where she had been taught to lie, cheat and steal. This is where she had been betrayed over and over. This alley behind the blacksmith's was where she had first been beaten up. There were three of them. She was eight at the time. A blue blur had come from behind the stable - now abandoned - and... well, Rider had met her partner in crime, her best friend.

Schzain had a bitter heart, though, and she considered herself lucky to have her own piece of the city. She thought that there was nothing more in life than damp back alleys and stale bread crusts. But the tug of the horizon was strong on Rider, so one night, she just disappeared into the sea. Schzain woke up cold and alone. The ultimate betrayal.

That was years ago. Why did Rider still feel so guilty about it?

Sure, Schzain had stabbed the captain. But that was in another timeline, another world. It seemed like a dream now.

... Of course, it probably didn't seem like a dream to Hunty... she would be disappointed. There was no way she would understand.

"Excuse me, sir, how much for your most reliable horse? I need to get to Castle Kestrel in a hurry."

No horse-for-rent would be faster or more reliable than Shiva. After that... Rider didn't know where she would go. She would collect information. She would search the most remote corners of the world. She would even cross the border into other worlds if she had to.

Leraye would see justice. Schzain would be free.

(Alternate ending, featured in the Bonus Content of the DVD)

"Granted, it tends to list to port and has on occasion been known to frighten young women, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed."

Rider walked to the Spaceport with Giselle on one arm and Scarlett on the other. A few well-placed promises was all it had taken to get back in their good graces.

Giselle raised an eyebrow. "Is that it?"

A model rocket lay on the ground. "The White Weewoo?" Scarlett asked.

"It's not very big."

Rider's eye went wide. "That, love, is a model. My spaceship is magnificent, and fierce, and huge-ish, and....gone. Why is it gone?"

"You promised us a ride!"

"I was supposed to be first!"

"You?" Scarlett started shoving Giselle, who started shoving back. A very angry pirate shoved herslef between them.

"Ladies, will you please shut it! Listen to me!" She turned to Giselle. "Yes, I lied to you." To Scarlett, "No, I don't love you." To Giselle, "Of course it makes you look fat." To Scarlett, "I've never been to Shenkuu." To Giselle, "It is pronounced egregious." To Scarlett, "And by the way, no, I've never actually met Leoness, but I love her cookies. And all of this pales into utter insignificance in light of the fact that my spaceship is gone, savvy?"

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

... "I may have deserved that..."[/glow]

[Huntress]

The flight back to the planet was eventless, or at least as eventless as a journey through the vast expanse of star-dotted space can be. On Bloody Mary the view was somewhat wasted, as he spent the entire trip sprawled out in Hunty's lap, being as pale as rabid meepits get and saying 'gyergh' every once in a while. Hunty, at the same time, seemed to be deep in thought.

Meepits aren't generally content with seeming, so Bloody Mary spent a lot of his non-gyerking time watching her.

"You really are in love, eh?" he suddenly said.

Hunty froze in the seat. "Huzzawha?"

"S'just that you've been daydreaming for the last couple hours," said the meepit, shuffling around to find a position that'd be easier to bear for his complaining stomach.

"I was thinking about the ship."

"You were scratching me behind the ears."

All of a sudden the captain looked guilty. "I was?"

"Ahuh." Meepits, like all other creatures who are much smarter than they appear, loathe patronizing with a passion, but Bloody Mary didn't seem to care much. "And you were humming. And smiling to yourself."

The guilt turned into a disbelieving frown. "...I was?"

"Well, not exactly smiling," Bloody Mary admitted, "but, y'know, looking like you humans look like when you're smiling on the inside. Like, all glowing and caught up in your little inside world-"

"Sounds like I won't have to explain anything, then," Hunty said dryly.

"-and not paying attention to anything around you-"

"Yes, yes, okay..."

"-like mainsail booms..." The meepit didn't sound accusatory any more, but there was a question in his voice.

There was a pause, then Hunty leaned back with a sigh and wrapped her arms behind her head.

"See, that's what I'm worried about." Sometimes she envied people who could afford to have angsty nobody-understands-me bouts. Not being understood could look very tempting. "Whichever way I end up going, I might be making a mistake."

"Hah," did Bloody Mary, except his stomach heaved at that exact point so it ended up sounding as 'hlargh'. "Six hundred thousand on her head and she worries about making mistakes. Answer me this, girl. Do you actually have a choice?"

There was a pause again, this time a longer one. When Bloody Mary asked a question, the trick wasn't to answer, but to give the answer he already knew.

"No," she then said. "Can't walk away from this, can't forgo my duties either." The meepit was looking at her with an anticipating expression that suggested that there should be more to come. "So... I'll just have to learn to deal with all of it?"

"Righto," Bloody Mary said as cheerfully as his current spacesickness allowed. "This is like your first storm all over again. Still remember that? You've spent too much time being in control of things, that's your trouble. Then you run into something you're not all that familiar with, and don't instantly know what to do, and then you panic and feel like too much hangs off you, and panicking won't improve things anyway, so where's the point in worrying? Do what you can, take what comes, and you miiight want to listen to a little voice on your shoulder who'll tell you when he sees that a crucial rope is starting to come loose, and that's all there is to it."

Hunty grinned and scratched him behind the ears. "Thanks for that."

"...oh, you did not just go there."

***

And there's no time for daydreaming one way or another if you're busy running errands. Especially if they're urgent and very important.

Finding Merpo's house was easier than expected, for starters. She'd first tried asking a few people on the street, got nothing, then switched her brain on and grabbed the nearest street urchin who attempted to pickpocket her. Five minutes later, she walked off with a complete set of directions, the full address and info on how often he takes the trash out.

"Still not going to tell me?" she asked, trotting down the street. She'd sent the rest of the meepits off to check the ship and was confident that they'd deal with anything that might have happened in the meantime, but she was still anxious to get everything done as soon as possible.

"Who was complaining about her life being too complicated not so long ago?" Bloody Mary retorted. "Stop thinking like a woman, start thinking like a pirate. Avoid trouble whenever you can avoid it."

"Ouch," Hunty said.

"You asked for it."

Delivering the book was a bit awkward at best. They met at the gate of Merpo's house, she handed the book and the communicators over in Bloody Mary's scorching stare, there was a hesitant moment of 'well, um, okay then, thanks and bye' and that was it.

"From what you told me, I half expected cackling and clinging to the book and lightningstrikes," Hunty said as they headed off.

"Glad that's done," the meepit snarled. In his opinion Merpo was a perpetual cackler in either case. "What do you plan to do with the gem? Finding Rane on the high seas is like looking a needle from a haystack that's already been shipped off for cow food to three different countries."

Hunty pondered that. "I know where Kienne lives, at least. She'll see him eventually. Meaning that we need to send it off to Dunburrow... hm, we'll just find someone reliable to travel there..."

The meepit raised an eyebrow at her.

"...and give them a gem of ultimate power to hand over in person. Mrmyes. Or I could just use the gem to teleport there." There was another eyebrow. "And then be stuck in Dunburrow without a ship and probably get arrested. Oooor you could go and come back using the Rea- nevermind me. Um. We could... no, that won't do. Let me think. This is Tabloid Town, there's a way to do anything here..."

***

"That'll be 0.7 pounds, the total is eleven shinies, please." The chubby girl behind the counter paused and looked at Hunty curiously, waiting to hear whether or not there'd be any other requests. The captain looked thoughtful.

"Okay, so, you got personal delivery down, right?" The girl nodded. "Fragile..." Nod. "This side up..." Nod. It wasn't strictly necessary, but she'd figured it wouldn't hurt. "Express... very urgent..." Nod. "Got some sort of armed security option?"

The girl nodded and scribbled something down. "Sounds like very important business," she mentioned conversationally.

"Yeah, well, state affairs," Hunty said without a blink. The address on the box read 'Queen Kienne, Chateau du Lis Blanc, Dunburrow' so it was more than logical. She knew for a fact that most people in Dunburrow called the place the Blank Castle but she was hoping that the box would find its way there anyway.

"For seventeen shinies this had better be some good service," she grumbled as they left the post office.

"We'll find out eventually," Bloody Mary said with a grin. "If the world goes boom a couple days from now, it probably means that someone got their hands on the gem. Are we done now?"

"Yeah," Hunty said, "I rather think we're done for now. But I still have a few things to do."

Which, of course, meant that when she eventually tracked Fraze down, Bloody Mary was still clinging to her shoulder like glue, looking determined and vaguely expectant of something entertaining. But Hunty didn't particularly care any more.

"Come on," she said cheerfully. "I've a world to show you."

[Fraze]

Fraze had been looking up at the sky. The first stars were just beginning to show. They were far more brilliant in space, but there was some additional beauty to them down here. It seemed less desolate.
He caught sight of a familiar silhouette in front of him, and realized then that "having your heart race" is more than just an expression.
"Come on, I've a world to show you."
He smiled back. "Nothing more I could ask for."

--------

((Epilogue))

The metalsmith stood at his forge. He was sweating profusely from the heat. He had an order of joints for a ship that he needed to fill, and he was behind schedule. It was going to be another very late night.
Someone called from the outer room. He instantly recognized the tone and speech patterns. "M--mister Parson! I would...like to tal, uh, speak with you."

The smith was on a deadline and running late, but this man was his best customer. He was some sort of rich, eccentric nut and asked for the most bizarre things--for some reason, he seemed to need lots of rubber-coated copper wire, and that was just the beginning of it. But he was rich, and it was because of Merpo that Parson had been able to get two more forges, a dozen new workers and a nice house overlooking the harbor.
The smith looked down for a moment and cringed for a moment. He knew that whatever project Merpo would ask of him, it would pay far more than what he was working on now, but it would also take much longer. He might have to accept the loss and tell the shipyard to find someone else to take this job. He shook off the cringe and put a smile in its place. It was a good smile--jovial, hardworking, blue-collar.
"Mr. Merpo! It's a pleasure to see you again, sir. What can I do for you?" he asked, wiping his hands clean on a rag.

Merpo, always direct to the point of being abrupt, tossed down a small stack of papers. "I need you t-to make me...these. As soon as--as possible."
Parson picked up the papers and looked through them. With each new page, his eyes grew wider. "Mr. Merpo, this is quite a heavy order. It will take at least two months for the whole order."
"I need th-them in...two weeks," the multicolored man responded.
The metalsmith looked up. "Sir, that would be nearly impossi--"
"Do it, or I-I'll find someone who can. This is what I'm abl--willing to pay." He wrote a figure in the margin of one of the pages.
Parson nearly began salivating. He could open a second shop in Dunbarrow with that kind of money. Of course, it would be nearly impossible. He and all of his workers would barely have time to eat or sleep for those two weeks.
"I see, sir," he answered, the smile returning. "I'll do it."

--------

((More epilogue?))

"All right, that's the last of it. The customer should be by soon to examine the finished products. It should meet with his expectations. If it does, I'm taking you all out for a night at the Surly Wench."
The atmosphere in the sweltering shop became much more cheery with the last statement. It had been at least two weeks since any of them had had a proper night's sleep, let alone a good night out.
Sure enough, a call came from the other room. It was Merpo, who stood out in the metalworker's shop like a macaw pasted into a black-and-white film.
"Mr. Merpo! We just finished," Parson the metalsmith told their patron. "We have all the parts you asked for here," he gestured to several crates spread out at the front of the shop. "Would you like to take a look at them?"
He did, and took a good fifteen minutes examining each part individually. Despite Merpo's appearance, the smith had learned that he was very exacting in his requirements.
"Everything m-meets with my...approval," he said. With this, he placed a small cloth sack in Parson's hands. The metalsmith opened it and examined the contents--coins. While he didn't work with precious metals, he was still familiar with them, and could tell at a glance that the coins were solid gold.
"Thank you very much, sir. It was a pleasure as always." It was a pleasure getting paid, anyway. The rest was lying through his teeth.
Merpo had a coach waiting. He loaded the parts onto it and rode away.

--------

((Even more epilogue? This is madness!
Madness? THIS! IS! REDEMPTIOOOOOOON!))

Merpo had the coach driver help him move the crates into his house. He noted the driver's awestruck looks around the lavish entrance and living rooms, but did not particularly care. He paid and tipped, and the coach left.

He was trembling visibly. If this all worked, he would be back home within a month. Twenty years of waiting had finally paid off. The data in the notebook that pirate captain had retrieved had given him all the information he needed for...
For it. The armor. No, armor was too barbaric a term. It shielded, yes, but not from brute force. Against raw physical attacks, it was just so many plates of metal. But it was more than that. It created an impenetrable barrier around the wearer's mind and soul. Telepathy, clairvoyant suggestion, all magics attacking the wearer's mind were rendered null.

He could enter the Underdeep in complete safety.

He worked all night assembling the pieces, hooking them up to monitors and power cells, testing and retesting the armor's effectiveness. Finally, he decided it was ready. He put on the newly constructed armor and prepared a pack with food, water, spare power cells and several pieces of equipment.

There was a reason he had chosen this house. The same reason it had been uninhabited for two years before his forced exile. It was directly above the Underdeep. Merpo descended the stairs to his lab. It was cooler down here than upstairs. He moved several large boxes away from the wall. They were there intentionally, to hide the small corridor.

He entered the corridor to the Underdeep.

[Kengplant]

After months of debate a jury had finally decided to proclaim the activation of sub-protocol #352.17 under section Z.A.-35. This, essentially suspended all sub-commanders until they could be fully investigated and confirmed to not be influenced by the evil corruption that currently left the station without a commander. So, much to Keng's chagrin at having to deal with all the paper work, she was left in charge. Technically it was supposed to be a joint effort with special OPs but seeing as how their only Spc. OPs had left for some time on the open seas she didn't have much backup.

The bike had already been handed over to the ambassador. As far as Keng was concerned an item that unpredictable wasn't worth keeping around.

In the meantime she sat glaring at a particularly despised pile of papers that was all accounting. Why the hell was she doing the accounting? Didn't SF have... I unno... accountants for that? Most of them were marked "urgent" or "overdue". After a valiant effort to convince herself that she wanted to do these ones first she picked up the top page... paused.... then put it back and pushed the whole pile aside. "Screw that. I'm hiring someone else to do that. Ok, let's do something a bit less ominous."

Keng's eyes scanned over one pile after another. Weapon orders, "Hmm... toys." , Damage control reports, promotions.. "Ooh.. speaking of hiring..." Keng pulled the pile of forms towards her. They were mostly recommendations but what she wanted were the blank forms. After a while of digging through folders and files she managed to find some. She put down names onto a few, then filled them out, and signed. Hmm.. maybe being in charge wasn't so bad after all. Sure beat swabbing decks. Keng smirked at the thought. Technically if she were to return to the Weewoo she would still be a swabby. Funny that she should hold the highest power in one guild and the lowest in another at the same time. She would have to find time to visit. Despite it all she didn't like the idea that the Weewoo might be falling behind in maintenance. Sure Huntress would certainly keep people on their toes about it... but everyone always missed the barnacles near the rudder, and the grime under the stairs and so many other little nooks and crannies.

She fingered another piece of paper. Uncertain about what to do with it. She felt like she was abusing her powers like this... but then again Spacefleet was a second chance employer (it had hired her after all hadn't it?). She bit her lip. There was nothing else for it. It was her call to make. She would just have to send him through all the crazy military stuff. He wasn't as disciplined as he sometimes deluded himself to be, and he certainly wasn't going to be any use if he didn't follow orders. She trusted him but... he was a loose cannon despite that trust and he would have to report to all sorts of superior officers. She wasn't sure how he'd do with that. Was SF really the right place for him?

She stared at the paper for another moment, then signed.


An hour later she found herself in the mess hall. She'd had a message sent to Cyborg to meet her there. This time she actually showed up when she said she would and Cyborg was there waiting for her.

"Congratulations Merc. You're in. You have half an hour to find your quarters and settle in then you are to report to the training officer. Instructions and directions will be in your quarters. Don't slump like that. Chin up, salute. Better, now at ease. You have a lot to learn and this will be no walk in the park. Now get going. You should be done by 18 hundred hours so long as you've managed to avoid landing yourself with cleaning duties. May all the deities of the Universe help you with that. But if a miracle occurs I'll see you back here for dinner. Dismissed.

Keng didn't wait for a reply before she walked off, grinning only once her back was to the Kougra. She knew for a fact he wouldn't meet her back here. She hadn't intended to give him any special treatment, but had changed her mind on that once she had redefined her definition of "special." Cyborg was in for one hell of a first month. But that was ok. It would make the rest seem like a cake walk so as far as she was concerned, she was doing him a favour.

----

Instead of being in the mess hall at 18 hundred hours Keng was in a conference room meeting with architects, security and geographers. They were all pouring over maps and blue prints.

"Ladies, gentlemen and extra terrestrial propers, I think we've found the location of our second home." Keng smiled at she placed a pin into the middle of the desert near the mountains. "I hope you all have plenty of sunscreen."

[Cyborg]

Cyborg had waited for a while, until he finally received a message, to meet with Keng. He had walked into the mess hall, and was told he was accepted. He listened carefully to Keng, did as he was told, which would be odd, if it wasn't for Keng. He had found his quarters in ten minutes, and had unpacked his stuff, including a few barrels, which seemed quite odd because they were moving and making noise. He'd have to ask Keng where to put those.

When he reported to the training officer, and had been told to do various things, like saluting, he had almost mouthed off, but remembered, Keng would kill him if he did. It was tough, but he'd been through worse, thanks to that stupid vampire assassin. He did get cleaning duties as Keng had stated, which were absolutely dreadful. And when he got to the mess hall, Keng wasn't there, probably because he took to long with the stupid cleaning. He returned to his quarters, and sat on his bed. He thought about all of the recent events. He had died, repeatedly, it was not fun, but he had managed to get his necklace back. And now he was in the Spacefleet. It would be tough for him to trust anyone other than Keng, but who knows it could happen. All he knew, what things were definitely going to be interesting. He then remembered his 'tattoo', it was that of an albatross. He needed to find the significance of it eventually, and how it got there.

And he would, but that's another story for another time.