Commonwealth [Inactive]

Vex had his back turned, but that didn't mean he didn't notice Alexei. "If it isn't the Splicer. What can I help you with today?" he asked, opening up a panel on the side of his ship. He would still try to be cordial, even if the Splicer didn't want anything to do with him.
 
"Just trying to escape the drama," he replied, his clenched fists slowly loosening. "What are you doing back here in the hangar anyway? I thought you were working on repairs."
 
"Smart move. I came back here for the same reason, I'm not about to sit and babysit the Captain through a mental break." he said, shrugging. "I am working on repairs, just to my own ship. The auto-repair system is doing a great job on the Rogue, it doesn't need my help anymore." he said, pulling out what looked like a fried capacitor out of the panel. He headed back into his ship for a moment, grabbing a replacement. "So, you were with the Captain before all this went down, right? What roped you into this mess? I mean, you only have a tiny bounty for illegal splicing, nothing like the bounty on Fuller's head."
 
"Heh, the only reason my bounty's so small is because I pinned most of my crimes on crime lords in the outer systems, and I figured it was only a matter of time before they'd come after me or that the Commonwealth would wise up. I guess I shouldn't have expected either of them to be clever enough," he said, "But anyway, don't be too hard on the Captain, he's gotten me out of plenty of scraps with most of my skin in tact. He's just one of those 'can't save them all' do-gooders, which I can appreciate."
 
"Clever... The only reason I even considered turning you in for the bounty is because you were there. Nicely done." he said, a light chuckle in his voice.


"Yeah, not very many people like that anymore. However, he needs to realize that people come and go. Nobody lives forever, with very little exception, it's the memories that we need to hold onto and cherish. Beating yourself up over the loss of a loved one doesn't get you anywhere." he said, his voice holding a sad edge to it. "Nobody knows that better than me."
 
"Looks like I agree with you about at least one thing: Life's too short to cry about every sob story," he replied, shifting his hands in and out of his pockets, "But that doesn't seem much a validation for killing people."
 
Vex glanced over at him. "You know, I normally don't kill. Most bounties aren't worth anything if there's no pulse." he said, turning his attention back to the panel. "I mean, I've killed people. Hundreds. But there's always been a good reason behind each one." he sighed. "I've only killed for pleasure once. It's something I've been regretting for ten years."
 
"It's something I never really let interfere with my daily life. I guess just seeing Mark like that triggered unpleasant memories." He shrugged, tinkering with the calibrations on his ship. "Revenge does that to a person. Once the revenge has been exacted, all you're left with is the memory of what you've done. Forever. At the time it seems like it's worth it, but it really, really isn't."
 
"Right, right," he murmured in response, "I guess I'll just let you be then. It looks like you've got a lot on your mind." And with that, he made is way to the door.
 
He shrugged. "Wouldn't mind the company, honestly. It's been a while since I had someone other than my ship's AI to atlk to." he said, glancing over at him. "Plus, the bonding's a good thing. Neither one of us has made a death threat to the other yet." he joked, chuckling.
 
He felt a grin forming in the corners of his lips, "I suppose that is an improvement. Ya got something in particular on your mind you wanted to ask me or are you genuinely feeling lonely?"
 
Vex shrugged. "I was just wondering what made you take up Slicing." he said, finishing up the work he needed to do. He closed the panel, turning to face him.
 
"Honestly? I started off when I was practically a kid. I thought I was some vigilante freedom fighter back then, I guess," he said, chuckling a little at the thought. "I don't know what it -- what I've -- really become since then, ya know? I try to do some good here and there, but most of the time it feels like I'm just trying to save my own skin from half a century in the slammers."
 
"That's the inherent risk of Slicing. It starts off easy, hacking without any real risk. But once you make a name for yourself, everyone wants you gone." he said, shrugging. "I mean, there's a way I know of to take care of any problems you're having right now. Not sure if you'd like it, though." he said, taking a few steps towards him. "I mean, I've done a ton of Slicing myself, I still do, but I get away with it legally."
 
Looking back at him, entranced by the prospect, he whisper, "Do tell." He felt his lips part slightly, breathing slightly more deeply at the prospect of his freedom, his salvation.
 
Vex chuckled a bit. "Well... The unofficial Bounty Hunter's creed is 'The end justifies the means'." he said. "If we were to register you as a Hunter, so long as your Slicing was done 'in pursuit of a payday' it would all be legal. Of course, we'd have to actually get you a few bounties to pull in, so the brotherhood knows you're not just trying to cheat the system."
 
"There's the problem," he said, "This isn't about the money. Cheating the system is exactly what I'm aiming for." He sighed in disappointment, tapping his fingers against his pant legs. "I should have known you would have tried to just take advantage of anything I would tell you for your own gain," he finished, muttering the final bitter note before walking out of the hangar.
 
Lilly was walking down the hallway when she saw Alexei storm out of the hanger, "What's wrong?" she asked, with a note of genuine concern in her voice.
 
Mark went back to his room and took a short nap as Rogue tended to a few minor glitches in her system. He needed to pull himself together. Finally, he started drafting something up on his desk. He grabbed a galactic map and a box. Then he headed to the mess hall. On his way there, he found Rogue again. He said, "Rogue, open coms ship wide, I'd like to speak to the crew."


"Opening coms now. You're on Fuller."





"Attention passengers and crew of the Rogue Prudence, this is your captain speaking. Report to the mess hall as soon as you can. Thank you."





((OOC: Should I just make a character profile for Rogue now?))
 
Vex let out a growl of frustration. All he was trying to do was help. At this point, he had already taken more than enough in the way of equipment and weapons, so he didn't even really care about the bounties anymore. He shook his head and glanced up, hearing the announcement. With a shrug he locked up his ship, heading towards the mess hall. It didn't take him long to get there, and he took a spot leaning against the wall as he waited for the others.
 
Lilly stomped into the mess hall wearing an angry expression, "That guy snubbed me again, I can't believe him! I was only trying to help."
 
"Join the club. I offered to help him out and he threw it back in my face." he said, sighing. He folded his arms over his chest, shaking his head. "I just don't get it."
 
Mark looked at her, "Take a seat Miss... Lilly. I'll be starting my presentation in a few minutes." He was standing next to a large display board that Rogue had dropped down from the ceiling. Rogue, the android, stood on the opposite side, arms crossed behind her back.
 
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