Galactic Investigation (CelticHero37 and Kitsunemage)

[CelticHero37]

Travel across the universe!

 

[CelticHero37]

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Michael O'Connor, otherwise known as the Flame Justicar (or Combusticar as a joke between his enemies), had just finished the last mission on his current contract. Now he flew his heavy fighter ship to a spaceport in the orbit of the planet Mars, in the Sol system. It didn't take him long to land and acquire lodging for the night because he was a Justicar. The Justicars were a private organization that served as an intergalactic police. Where other jurisdictions could not follow cases, they would go. As such, the Justicars were the most cultured of all travelers because their missions took them to numerous places. They would investigate a crime, seek out the culprit, and exact whatever justice they seemed necessary. Yet the public had mixed feelings about them, because the Justicars operated in secret. Were they just glorified executioners, or silent heroes? Michael O'Connor believed himself to be a hero.


Standing tall as he walked out of his ship, Michael looked around. Mars held a medium sized space port that was populated mostly by humans like himself. Just what he needed as a break.

 

[kitsunemage]

Althea Briggenshaw was, by no definition of the word, pleased with the file that had just come before her.


"Absolutely not." She glared at her assistant and sister, Alexis, and crossed her still armored arms over her chest in her irritation. Her sister merely gave her an impish grin, twirling one long strand of hair that had fallen over her shoulder coyly. They were like polar opposites, her and her sister. Althea kept her hair short- it only got in the way after all- while Alexis kept hers long. Althea wore a near permanent scowl, while Alexis could almost always be found with a smile. Something that had become the butt of many jokes, considering the two girls were twins.


"You need a vacation. So I'm making you take one." Althea scoffed- when was the last time she'd needed to take a break? She hadn't taken a vacation in over seven years. Since she had started her occupation as a Justicar under the intergalactic police.


"I don't need to take anything, Lexy. Just give me that other contract, the one for Brain Drain." Unoriginal name, she knew, but these psychopaths weren't always the most interesting lot.


"Can't." Althea raised one eyebrow in response to Alexis' sheepish grin. "Gave it away already."


"You-!" Althea turned away from the desk, running her gloved fingers through her short violet hair. Damn her sister. "Fine, then what about that other-"


"Nope. That's gone too. Face it sis, no one is going to come to you directly, you scared them all away. So you might as well take your vacation and enjoy it. I'll just keeping turning them away until you do." Alexis grinned brightly at her sisters dour glare, dropping her feet from their position propped on the desk. A habit that Althea had imparted to her, and one that their parents had lamented.


Did she really have a choice? Alexis had a nasty habit of getting her way- by any means necessary. That and what she'd said wasn't necessarily un-true. She must have seen the bleak expression on her face.


"Great! I've already got you reservations at the colony over by Mars. You know, back in Sol!" Rummaging through the desk, Alexis withdrew a small reservation pod, the numbers on the front blinking rather urgently.


"...These reservations are for tomorrow."


"Yea, I know. What took you so long on that last job? I was just about ready to cancel these." As if sensing her sisters murderous intentions, Alexis rather ungraciously shoved her out the door. "Well, you better get flying! See ya!" and then, with a sound of finality, slammed the door in her face.


And that was how Althea came to be here- her dark, sleek ship pulling into the farthest spot from the main in take she could find. Her perpetual scowl still present, scaring the poor boy who ran up to take her reservation number and lead her to the rooms her sister was literally forcing her to relax in.

 

[CelticHero37]

Michael checked into the habitation center to rid himself of the few belongings he had taken off the ship. Though Justicars were allowed unlimited resources, he only carried the bare necessities. He didn't care about his possessions much anyway. This break was his chance to catch up on the few personal matters that needed attending. Yet that could be left for the morning. Tonight he would just take to enjoy the night sky. He was always whizzing past the stars and never got a chance simply to enjoy them. Perhaps he would catch a movie later too. He didn't get much chance for those because he kept himself too busy.


He slowly strolled to a public terrace to enjoy the sky for a while. Every once in a while, a ship would shoot off or come in for a landing. it was nice to hear the peaceful sound of quietly whizzing engines and hushed speech. This was what he fought so hard to protect. It was good just to enjoy it for once.

 

[kitsunemage]

She settled in very quickly. She never carried very many items with her; what was the point when she never really had any time to relax on most of the jobs she was assigned? So when she had maneuvered her meager belongings into the room her sister had reserved for her- a very nice room, with a brilliant view of the space port- she had absolutely nothing to do. So she decided on the only thing she could think of that might be a little bit fun.


She'd work on the upgrades she'd been planning for the Esper- the Esper being the name of the ship she'd flown in on. It was her baby.


At least that had been the plan, until she saw a familiar face standing the in center of the public terrace- close enough to see his upturned face. Damn. And here she had been hoping she could just get this over with painlessly. Turning away she tried to sneak back towards her ship without being spotted.

 

[CelticHero37]

Michael leaned on a railing of the terrace when something triggered his attention. Immediately he followed his sense to a strange woman walking through the terrace. She caught his eye because of what she wore. It was the sort of garb worn by someone who wanted to be inconspicuous, yet ready for heavy situations. It was so easy for him to spot because he took a similar approach.


Despite this, he forced his eyes back to the sky. Now wasn't the time to go chasing down all his little whims. It was his vacation. However, he was soon hit by a sudden realization. He had seen the woman before. But where? Dressed like that she was most likely a bounty hunter… or a Justicar. That was it, she must be a Justicar. But why was she here?


Suddenly, Michael's eyes shot open. When one Justicar was seeming to be unjust and unfit for duty, another Justicar would be sent to take them down, for only a Justicar could defeat a Justicar. What had he done? Whatever it was, he wasn't about to let somebody take him out.


Turning toward the terrace exit, Michael fell into the shadow of an overhang and followed the woman for a short while. Then he walked up a flight of stairs to a higher gangway. He continued to follow her until he was right beside her. Then he flipped off the passageway, landing silently next to the woman holding an electrified knife to her throat.


"Why are you following me?"

 

[kitsunemage]

Her mind caught up long after she had started moving. She reacted purely on instinct- the light tingle of hairs raising on the back of her neck, combined with the cold burn of the steel at her throat throwing her entire body into overdrive. She caught her armored hand in between the soft skin of her throat and the dagger- luckily protected against the electricity that made the skin of her palm tingle. In a move that she had mastered over many surprise ambushes, Althea twisted out of range- dropping into her signature fighting stance. She was one of the few Justicars left her preferred hand to hand combat.


All of this, in the span of two seconds. Approximately how long it took for her mind to register the familiar voice. It might have had a little bit to do with the sight of his familiar bright hair as well.


"Gods damn it Michael." Althea scowled at her fellow Justicar, warily backing away. If it hadn't been for his words 'why are you following me?' she might have thought she'd pissed off one of her former contractees. It wasn't the first time false allegations had been raised against her, and really, ambushing her on what was supposed to be her vacation? Not that she had wanted one to begin with... but it was the principle of the matter!


"Don't go sticking that thing in peoples faces. One of these days I really will hurt you." She crossed her arms over her chest, hoping that the action would placate him enough to talk. The last thing she wanted was another brawl.


"No one is following you. What the hell are you doing here anyways?"

 

[CelticHero37]

As the woman reacted, Michael spun back into his own fighting stance. It was almost like a dance, two highly trained fighters jumping into position. He froze as the woman spoke. She hadn't been sent to snuff him?


"I came here for a break. If you're not following me, then what are you doing here, and why didn't you contact me for potential backup?"

 

[kitsunemage]

Althea gave him a deadpan stare, finally lowering her arms to her side in a relaxed position. She would still be ready for action if the situation called for it, but she was pretty confident that he wasn't going to be attacking her any time soon.


"I thought it would be obvious. I'm not here on a job- not by my choice of course," She hastily tacked on. She hated seeming like a slacker. "I'm on a... forced vacation." When she said it like that, it sounded incredibly lame.

 

[CelticHero37]

Michael laughed at Althea's response. "You really are full of it aren't you? If your bodies' tired, you can't help people as effectively. I some cases you could make things worse. Taking strategic rests is an effective way to maximize your abilities. You of all people should know that."

 

[kitsunemage]

Althea gritted her teeth against michaels words. There was the reason she had been trying to avoid him. So what if she found work more relaxing then trying to relax? She couldn't sit still like this- she would go mad.


"And I thought you knew better then to make judgements on others capabilities. You know- forget it. Go back to your vacation." The words were practically snarled, and Althes turned on her heel to stalk away. Before she did something stupid.


Like punch him. That might be a little stupid.