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Infinities Edge

Kazanna

Kazanna

That Thorn In Your Side
Roleplay Availability
Roleplay Type(s)
~Disclaimer


To all concerned, to all reading or writing within, this is a tale set within a universe of my own devising, Any religious, political, or economic views displayed within are purely for the story, they may or may not reflect the authors within and are not to be used in any analyzing of the authors themselves for any reason. This disclaimer allows the characters within to be their own persons, to display their own opinions without the judgments of Living people. Any persons described within this play that are similar to any persons in real life are not related in any way and as such do not reflect the opinions, views, or thoughts of such persons.


That being said, the species within are my own creations, any use of them or the technology stated within is not to be used without my express permissions. It is potentially material I will be using at a later date for other projects that may or may not become copy written.


I herby give @Elle Joyner Permission to add to, and modify any materials within this play as she sees fit for the needs of the play.


  • War.


    War never changes.     Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage.


    -Ron Pearlman, The Opening Speech of Bethesda's Fallout 3


    War had raged for 200 long years, generations of soldiers who had been fighting for so long that few of them even remembered what the war had been started over. But in reality, it had been started over something simple, a territorial dispute over a small world with no name. The planet was a lush jungle world filled with natural resources. But without two years, it was a barren, destroyed wasteland, void of any life, and little more then a hunk of rock. Four years later, the destruction moved to another world, which was populated, it was ravaged within a month, it's natural resources stripped away, it's people butchered.


    A month later, the next world within the system was blown away, in a single devastating sweep, within another year, the entirety of the system formerly known as Cronos, was wiped from creation, it's species, The Kel and the Mast' Ka were driven to a point nearing extinction. The two races abandoned their colony systems and retreated to their home worlds as their defenders, the Valorian Vanguard held off the tide of war that threatened to devour them entirely.


    The Valorian race beseeched their allies, The Human Race and the Calonian Race for aid. Within a month, the Human and Calonian Armadas joined the fight. The Chellek empire made it's move into the fight as well, as a third party, not defending either side, simply joining into the fray for supremacy and honor.


    As the war raged over the decades, the human race was quickly pushed to the limitations of it's technological power, and an elite science team was dispatched to the allied worlds to an emergent technology summit. Within ten years, the collective races, with the aid of the Kel's telepathic link, were able to conceive, and perfect the Quantum Particle Cannon that could be used within all applications. A mere five years after the creation of the QPC, the human race, with their industrial superiority, were able to produce them en masse, distribute them to not only their own fleets, but also the fleets of their allies, and to enable the allied races to put a stop to the wars be the 200th year of the war.


    Five years after the end of the war, as the collective species were licking their wounds, and peace was being struck. Territories were marked out in clear interstellar maps, new intergalactic laws and trade communes were built, bounty hunters guilds were created and the Valorians found a new facet as the intergalactic administration of justice and became the leaders of The Wardens, the Galactic Military. Within five years of the construction of the Galactic Military, The Chellek Empire requested a permanent peace treaty under the condition that the entirety of the allied races fall under their empire and adopt their currency and trade systems.


    The Chellek proposal was quickly declined and a more viable treaty was enforced by The Wardens. Within fifteen years, the Tririnian empire reared it's head once more from the depths of it's ruined sector, under a pretense of peace. Since this point, the eight races of the universe have danced along the edge of a razor as peace was something the Tririnian empire had never proposed before.


    Five years later, Terrorist attacks upon multiple peaceful fronts took place in a single moment, each of the major empires capitals was targeted. The aggressors were unknown, but the weapons used were of Trinian origin. War was upon the minds of all leaders. The Diplomats from the Tririnian Empire refuted the claims quickly and asked the Valornians to engage in a formal investigation. After six months of investigations found a conspiracy that ran deep into the pockets of multiple companies that had primary contracts with the militaries of The Wardens.


    As the traitors of the Allied Races fled the civilized systems to escape persecution, bounties were placed upon each of their heads numbering in the multi millions, they were to be brought back, alive, to expose the mastermind of the plot.


 
Cold blackness was slowly replaced by the light of the astral dawn over the core sector of Earth's primary docking bay. Station number 957, Commonly known as Jericho 7, was rotating slowly in it's Geo-synchronous orbit over the Earth, it shimmered as solar winds blew over it's massive reactive sails, giving it a healthy boost of energy in the early hours of it's morning rotation. The docking cluster of the massive station was occupied by a great many ships, each held by the sensitive docking probes that regulated the space between ships by issuing tiny gravitational alterations at regular intervals. The technology to hold the ships in orbit with the station, also kept them apart, allowing workers to drift between them safely and the crew and owners of each ship to enter between the massive floating crafts.


Within the climate controlled station, the dock workers began their day, or ended their evening, depending on the shift order, with timely fashion. There was little turmoil in the change, each member knowing their designated job, each person knowing exactly what they had to do. Jericho 7 was their home, it was a thriving community, the station was a fully independent platform that needed no resupplying from any outside source and had surplus enough to continue to make the enterprises within it profitable for it's original sponsor. Jericho was home to more then just the farmers and bio-chemists that brought it the steady stream of income that grace it's platforms and bio-spheres on a daily basis. Jericho was the primary location of the Hunters Federation. It was a multi-species clan of elites that made their way by enforcing the law even when it was out of the jurisdiction of the normal enforcers.


Jericho's Hunters were some of the most deadly in the galaxy, they had started more then a hundred years ago under the direction of the Wind-Flame Industries CEO, a deadly, reclusive woman who still to this day, controlled the major assets of the clan. She was the direct descendant of the founder of WFI and was as frightening as her father had been. Her father had been the first of the legendary hunters, The Bearer of the Void he had been called, the technology he had at his disposal allowed him to generate masses of void energies in clusters to use as a bombarding attack, or so the legend went. His daughter was as every inch as ominous, she was the single pilot of the Earths legendary protectorate craft the Solar Angel, a massive battle suit that rivaled the combat strength of an entire Tririnian armada. According to reports, She had single-handedly defeated the Trinian army at the battle of Solus Straights before the collective fleets could even respond. Rumor had it, she had taken a single protégé, and trained them with her own skills and abilities, taught them her cunning and guile, her lethal nature and her viciousness.


Her protégé was a former member of the Hunters, One that had earned his place as a legend at an early age, taking down the hardest of assignments, the assignments that no one else would, or could. Humble though he was, he was a monster when it came to his combat assignments, he had failed only a few times, each of them being unavoidable moments where the target was doomed regardless of what happened at his hands. He was the legendary Kellian Grim, and despite his humility, he had earned every word of his legend, he was nearly a hundred years old, and despite having not a single augmentation within his body, he was considered within the top ten most lethal beings living.


To add to his legend, Kellian had sired a single child with the famed military commander Fate Grim. A brutal tactician and one of the most prominent nano-augmented humans in living memory, a former hunter herself, Fate's legend is long lived, she is rumored to be over two hundred years old and despite her age, thanks to her nano-augmentations, she is still a flawless specimen, appearing to be no older then her twenties. She is a prominent member in standing of the Wind-Flame Consortium, the companies within the the Wind-Flame Umbrella of companies and the leader of the Military Industrial Complexes.


The child sired between the two, named by his father as Elias, has taken his mothers coveted call sign of Reaper. He is every inch his mothers son, and even more lethal then his father. He has been rumored to control the same power as the Father of Wind-Flame's CEO, the Power of the Void. The technology is still unknown and there are no reported cases of him using the power, but it is rumored that he has used it in multiple jobs he has carried out. Despite declining to answer, Elias Grim is the number one hunter in the Hunter's Guild and is a master of his craft.


Understanding his own status, Elias has spent little time with politics, and even less showing favor to any parties. He is as reclusive as his fathers mentor, and as intelligent as his mother. He has never been known to show fear, or hesitation when completeing a mission, and has a Zero Loss ratio, only confirming his station as Elias Grim, The Reaper of the Hunters Guild.


Elias awoke as he did every morning, hanging from the ceiling, his bare feet magnetized to the bulkhead of his private quarters. Elias released the magnetic grip, manipulating the electrical current that ran through the self-replicating nanites in his skin, and modified them to react to the room around him, which was mostly metal. He altered the magnetic field within his body, allowing him to shift to an upright position, and slowly drift to the deck of the platform with the gentle grace of a cat. He felt the gravitational forces of the platform working against the magnetic manipulations of his nanites and a small smile tugged at his lips.


Stepping over to the table that held his armor, and weapons, Elias tapped the three inch cube that contained the armor he wore each day. The Delphi armor wrapped over his body reacting in a rippling pattern, like oil spreading across his form, the strange metallic plates shimmered as they bound to his nanites. The inter-meshing systems reacted to one another in a symphony of electrical signatures that he picked up rapidly. It was like standing in the perfect position to hear every sound in the middle of an orchestra, the feeling would overwhelm most new users of nanites, but then, most new users would never have access to the Delphi's systems.


He reached out with the same hand, as the system continued to wrap over his body, and took up each of the weapon cubes, pressing them against his hips to let them inter-mesh where he preferred them. He could shift them to different points at will, but for the most part, they did best right at his belt level. Elias took a moment to lift the cube containing his helm, it was the only part that was an individual system. Instinctively, he raised his feet off the floor one at a time as the Delphi's particle's wrapped over his feet and formed the heavy two toed boots that made up the systems feet. He tapped the helms cube to his chest, just above his collar and the cube spread over his skin rapidly, sliding up over his face, integrating with his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Within seconds, the Delphi was fully deployed across his entire body, leaving him a shimmering black figure made up of a shimmering metal plates that looked independent despite each plate re-sizing and shifting according to his movements, leaving no exposed areas without his direct will.


Mentally, Elias imagined his face exposed, a simple circlet of the Delphi's metal wrapped around the crown of his head. The helm corresponded to his will, shifting away, leaving only the tell tale sign of the circlet. Elias shifted the gauntlets away to his elbows, and took up the clothing he wore over the Delphi system. He had found, after a few simple experiments, that the appearance of his lethal armor was frightening to most people that saw it. So he wore clothing over it, the armor was easily masked, but he kept the circlet visible, and shifted the boots of the unit into to appearance of simple shoes. Even if he didn't expose the entire armor frame, he didn't want to disturb his peers, just let them know he was in his combat armor by keeping the circlet visible. It also kept him fully integrated, and gave him a 360 degree view of his environment. So now, in his buttoned up white shirt, blue jeans, and seemingly black shoes, Elias made his way out the door of his private quarters. Which, despite the urging of his peers, were still as bare as the day they had been installed.


Elias made his way down to the mess hall, his face calm, and relaxed as he strode into the noisy room. Even if he was a legend already, he was still human, and despite not really needing to eat that often, he still did regularly. He enjoyed the companionship of his fellow hunters, and they looked up to him. Here, he was at home, here, he felt kin-ship, even if every member of the guild was as rough as sand-paper, they were his family.


Elias went to the kitchens and picked up one of the trays, it was metal, like most everything else in the station, so he could feel every inch of it as he picked it up. It had been shocking at first, as a child, feeling everything that was made of metal as though it had suddenly become a part of his body. His nanites invaded everything, they integrated with everything he touched, and replicated from there, sending him data from that moment on, and because he was a second generation, he still received reports from his mothers nanites, and she from his.


Without hesitation, Elias gathered up whatever was on the menu, a bit of everything, Calonian cuisine was popular among the hunters, high in protein and calories, low in useless fat and rich in amino acids. The food here was healthy, and varied due to the various species that had chosen to dwell there. Elias made his way to his usual spot, halfway between the center of the hall and the door and took a seat, slowly eating. It was halfway through his second bite of the seared Calionian Devil Fish that he noticed the atmosphere. Nearly every hunter within the hall was silent, and all of them were staring at him like he had come in with his hair on fire.


Putting down his fork, Elias frowned. He knew this look. There was a mission that had to do with something within his skill set, within his interests, within his particular range of jobs that he had claimed as Personal. He shifted his gaze, physically, despite not needing to, to the board of bounties, and everyone in the room followed his gaze. There, On the board, the face of one of the infamous Betrayers was displayed. Elias looked away, and the image vanished, the job declared claimed. He had long ago integrated his nanites with the job board, and could accept missions from a miles away. As long as he was within signal range of the nanites, he could control them, see through them. It was like omnipresence, only limited.


Finishing his meal quickly, Elias waved silently to his peers, who all waved back silently. Not a single one of them wanted to waste his time when he had accepted a mission. Elias made his way towards the docking cluster, pulling up statistics on his target, information, her last known whereabouts, he began to send out signals using his nanites, he sent information gathering messages to each of his contacts that were familiar with the case. Within minutes, he had all he needed and the nanites within his brain went to work, plotting paths and courses the target would have taken to escape her fate. But now, The Reaper was after her, and there was one thing that was certain within the space the Hunters Guild had jurisdiction in, and that was that nothing could stop Death.
 
Someone once said, the trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool.


To that, Gemini Livingtree would respond: Lesson learned.


If there was one thing living on the run was good for, it was perspective. And as the engine of the construction belts whirred to life and the smoke filled the factory space above their heads, another day beginning on the assembly line, Gemma was chock full of perspective. It was an anniversary, of sorts. That morning marked exactly a year since the bitter betrayal by her board of directors, which slandered her good name and turned her into a fugitive overnight. It was hardly a cause for celebrating, but she was alive and thus far had managed to avoid undue attention, and that was as much an accomplishment as any.


Sliding her gloves on, Gemma approached her position by the belt, nodding to the tall, sullen man beside her. His name was Jonathan, and beyond that he had spoken probably a total of ten words to in the time that she had known him, and this was perfectly fine with Gemma, who preferred the impersonal quiet of the stoic to the mindless chatter of the ignorant.


She never used to be cold. Now it was all she could do not to vanish into the deep nether of the universe and never look back. She had been utterly maligned, her reputation dashed to pieces, and there was no way to recover that entirely… But she was determined, difficult as it might be, not to lose every trace of humanity she still clung to. Hiding was hardly optimum – least of all on a backwards desert planet, hopelessly trapped in a veritable Stone Age, technologically. Her company would never be seen running organic assembly lines and utilizing material more suitable for dining stools than low-grade transportation vessels. It was embarrassing, really… how far she had fallen.


But at least she was alive.


Her shift passed with little worth noting, and as the bell rang signaling shut down she slipped off her gloves and face plate, hooking them to the side of the belt, using the computer panel to clock out.


It was a fifteen minute walk to the underground system, a ten minute ride and then another five minute walk to her small dome shaped apartment. Because of the overwhelming heat on the surface, the majority of life on the planet took place underground, where cooling systems, crude but effective, had been installed. Her apartment was laughable, considering what she had left behind, but it was private. In fact, it was one of the few structures in the underground that wasn’t overflowing with too many people asking too many questions.


Slipping inside, she dropped her bag by the door, flipped the switch and waited for the dim overheard lighting to stop flickering, then made her way to the kitchen, pulling a bottle of dark brown liquid. Grabbing a glass from beside the sink she poured the liquid halfway to the rim, plucked it up and threw it back, then refilled the glass a second time and took this one out into the living room.


On the couch, she curled her feet up beneath her legs and leaned her head back against the headrest, letting her eyes fall closed.


“Happy anniversary.” She muttered with a heavy edge of bitterness, before sucking down the second shot with a vengeance, and hurling the glass across the room, where it shattered against the thick, stucco walls.
 
Streams of electrical signals shot through Elias' body as he ran to the space dock. He heard the message sound off a moment later over the internal intercoms, "Dammit Grim, Where in the hell do you think your going?! Your not cleared for launch!" Elias waved at where he knew the cameras to be, snorting as he pushed off the decking, the electromagnetic locks in the Delphi's system reacting to the motion, releasing the mag locks to keep him in place allowing him to float freely as he drifted towards his ship. Elias was already at the hatch, which was open and waiting for him, when the port authorities security personnel spilled out of their quarters to apprehend him. He had enough nanites in the area he didn't even worry about them as he sent a pulse towards them, frying their equipment. He chuckled and watched through the millions of tiny nanites throughout the station as the entire station flicked out, then came back on a moment later. He released his own docking systems, and used his nanites to control the systems within his ship. It wasn't that he was lazy, it was more along the lines of using the tools he had to get the job done more efficiently. The nanites within the computers on his ship could control it, so he was basically piloting it with his mind. Even in a combat situation he could do so, though he preferred to stay in the cockpit and handle things himself.


Within moments, his ship cleared the docking lanes and the few security ships that had managed to scramble out were not making any real moves to slow him down. Elias had a bad reputation for destroying property, and none of them wanted to write the incident report that stated Ship lost in disciplinary action against Elias Grim. Elias knew it too, so as he drifted out of the station, and put in the coordinates towards where his contacts had directed him, he sighed quietly and turned on his comm.


"This is Elias Grim, I'm going out on a mission, I'll pay for damages upon returning, or you can levy them from my account. Out." Elias said with an almost lazy tone to his voice.


He hated politics, he had paid for a private dock, but been denied it, he had paid his way through, earned his place in action a thousand times, and was still treated like a criminal every time he blew something up. Elias let a sigh issue out from between his lips as he looked through the file, marking points that interested him, catching bits and pieces that seemed like they would be valuable later. It took him a moment before he caught on to a few things. For one thing, the bounty made little to no sense. This woman was the CEO of a cutting edge company, one of the few outside the Wind Flame Umbrella that actually mattered beyond the current standings of technology in the known universe. She as in a perfect position to profit off the end of the war, advancements in the field of her companies would net her a massive profit, but she had instead defected to some sect of betrayers that had betrayed all of the collected nations within the alliance.


Elias moved to the cockpit and sat back as his ship moved away from the station. Within a moment, the ship signaled needing his manual input, so he reached out, and took the controls in his hands, piloting the ship towards the destination point that would line him up. He'd activated the tesser engine quite some time ago, so as it spooled up, he felt that usual electrical tingling in his mind. Tesseracts, the human's edge that put them far beyond the rest of the species within the universe, A tesser engine combined with a cortium power cell equaled infinite power for any application. Elias shuddered as he felt the raw power envelop him as the ship tore space itself a new hole. A moment later, it stitched it back up, but with his ship on the other side of it, and on the other side of the universe. He gazed upon the world where his hunt would begin.


Within minutes, Elias had landed his ship, the vessel was considered within the small weight class, but it was a fast shadow striker, totally stealth, but with a weapons payload that made it illegal to bring onto most planets for fear of the loss of a city. Elias stood up from the cockpit's seat and moved into the rear compartment, his nanites already going to work, triggering various events within the ship. His contacts had tracked the woman to this planet, but he would have to hunt her down himself, there were laws against genetic tracing, and many outlying planets had placed blockers to prevent overzealous bounty hunters from finding people and blowing up an entire town to kill a dangerous mark. Elias moved to the cabinet that contained his stealth garb, a cloak that masked his gear, and allowed him to enter into civilized areas fully armored without being detected due to the fiber optic nano frame it contained. Elias donned it and felt it sync with his own nanites. He pulled up the hood and it closed a moment later, becoming clear inside and masking his presence outside. He felt it tighten around his frame, so he knew it was fully activated. A moment later, he stepped towards the exit of the ship, a small portal on the ships right hand side that led outside. His ship had already unloaded his terrestrial vehicle, so he was ready to go. He looked up at the ship as it sealed and cloaked itself, following his mental orders.


“Gotta thank mother again for making me what I am...” He muttered, a grin on his face as he mounted the vehicle.


Elias took the controls in his hands and the thing came to life. He turned it out into the open desert and headed towards civilization, the thing leaped forward like a shot from a gun and Elias continued to review the information. Within minutes, he was nearing the border of the town, so he slowed down to normal civilian limits. When he entered it, he found the entrance to the underground and drove on in.


The internal city that lay beneath the sand was immense, a network of tunnels and caverns, Elias sighed, realizing how hard this was going to be... He needed more eyes, more ears. So when he came to a stop at one of the cities intersections, he reached down, took up a handful of sand, and let a few thousand of his own nanites interact with the sand, then, dropped it on the ground, becoming more aware of his surroundings every second. He smiled as the tiny machines went to work, replicating themselves rapidly, devouring the silicone, carbon, and other minerals that made up the sand, fusing together to form new bonds, create new nanites. These nanites would only last a short time without the light of day, but they would form a network between themselves and the light, they would survive, and they would grow and expand until they filled the city. Elias rolled his vehicle down the left street, up into a small parking structure, and then shut it down.


Elias took a moment to activate a few saftey protocols on the machine before he accessed his inner communication system, He spoke a message to record, “My name is Elias Grim, Those of you within Law Enforcement know me as Reaper. I am on the hunt for a fugitive woman named Gemma Livingtree, She is a member of the War-Complex Conspiracy. I have come to collect her bounty and I am offering the citizens of this city a choice. You can make this easy, and stay out of my way. Or you can deal with my legacy.” Elias finished the words bitterly, knowing that the threat was far from empty. He had destroyed many cities trying to catch dangerous criminals, and shown no outward remorse. He was a legal destroyer, and was protected by the Hunters, who without, there would be no justice in civilized space.


Elias sent the message as a broad spectrum message to the local authorities. They would know what to do with it, and if they didn't, his nanites would simply display it within the local telecast systems within the day. So, That business done, Elias simply had to wait for his nanites to expand their search pattern, eventually, they would find this woman, and then Elias would hunt her down, capture her, and take her back to Earth for sentencing. But first, He had some questions for her, and he would get his answers. Elias stood off the bike, and made his way out of the parking structure, and down the street until he passed by a bar. He raised a brow and shrugged, muttering, “Why not..” Before he slipped inside, his cloak's shrouding capabilities turning off as he came through the door.
 
Two hours she sat there on the couch, alternating between staring at the broken glass on the floor and the small dark stain on the stucco where it had collided with the wall. It had been an irrational move... bitter, really, and she was glad she was alone, and her little fit had gone without witness. Ultimately, though, it was not the first and would hardly be the last. The fact of the matter was, she had been stabbed in the back by people she cared for... some whom she had been friends with, outside of work. These were people she had gone to lunch with, spent Christmas with. People with whom she had shared triumphs and tragedies... whose own lives she had celebrated and brought comfort.


To look her in the face and lie... flat out lie about who she was and what she had done. To pin something on her as a scapegoat, so they could go about their lives, pretending everything was okay...


A tear trailed down her cheek and Gemma brushed it aside, rising from the couch. It would do no good to sit around feeling sorry for herself. She was hardly suicidal... if she had been, she wouldn't have run halfway across the galaxy to escape her fate. But grief, festering grief could do funny things to people's minds and she had to keep her wits about her if she was going to stay safe another year...


Heading for the door she grabbed her purse and slipped out into the simulated evening. It was funny that a world kept underground still made the attempt to keep night and day schedules. There was even moon phases... Ridiculous, considering there was nothing overhead but a giant spotlight and small pin prick lights to give the appearance of stars. They had attempted, for a time, to also simulate the weather. That hadn't fared nearly as well. Now there was only the cool air from the conditioning units over heard... comfortable, if not occasionally chilly.


Wrapping her arms across her chest she made her way along an all too familiar path until she spotted the dive bar, sighing softly at her own nagging sense of guilt... She needed to get better at coping, or she was going to fall apart. That said, it was a hell of an occasion, and she was off the following day...


Stepping inside the bar, she looked around, then found an empty stool near the end, tabbing her order into the small computer screen in front of the seat, ordering a sizable snifter of brandy.
 
Elias had sat down only moments before Gemma had entered the bar, and now, he was staring at the line of bottles, he'd taken a spot midway through the bar, to get the best distribution of airborne nanites into the surrounding area to listen to conversations and see if he couldn't find any information on his mark when the nanites themselves picked up on her, in a moment like a light going off in his head, he knew she was in the room, his nanites had already taken genetic samples from the saliva that issued out on her breath, they even trace to exactly where she was and stuck themselves on her clothing. Elias was inwardly disappointed at his luck, he always enjoyed the long, straining hunts, but in less then a day, he had found the woman.


He didn't need to glance down the bar to where she was to know where she was, he still had his cloak up, so he had his armor slide away quietly, until it was below his collar, and off of his arms, and only revealed at his boots. He pulled the cowl of his cloak back, letting his hair flow down the sides of his face as he regarded the barkeeper, a Calonian oddly enough, considering they hated heat. He nodded to the man, beckoning him over.


"Tell me something Big-Cat, Is the woman that just came in a regular? Do me a favor and get me what she's having..." Elias asked plainly, he kept his voice low enough that the Calonian's keen ears would pick up on it, but not many others. The Calonian male shrugged, his large shoulders rolled as his muscles expanded and retracted, "She's a local if that's what you mean. Bout a year or so I'd say. Maybe longer." The Calonian replied, his voice deep, his manner curt and to the point. He held none of the accent that Calonians normally held. Elias nodded to him, knowing a second gen by mannerisms, he didn't press the questions at all. He nodded to the Calonian, and said, "Thanks Big-Cat, that'll be the whole bottle thanks. Two glasses if ye can." He said, adopting a false mannerism.


The Calonian nodded and took down an unopened bottle, and two glasses, as Elias took a table towards the back of the bar, near enough to Gemma to keep an eye on her, but not close enough for her to notice him beyond the small outburst he had already displayed, though, he was no directly in the main line of traffic through the bar. Elias sat down, pulled out the money needed, enough for the damage he expected to happen to the bar, as well as enough to keep the Calonian quiet, in Earth Alliance credits, and set them out on the table. He was quiet as the bar an came over and raised a brow at the money, then set the drinks down and left with it all. He sighed and poured some of the brandy into each of the glasses, muttering to himself, "Here's to failed endeavors." Before taking a drink off of one of the glasses as he stared at the other in silence.
 
The bar was hardly the popular place to be that evening, but it was full enough to make Gemma wish she'd stayed home. When the drink arrived in front of her, she wasted little time throwing back the first sip. The liquid burned on its way down, and she savored the sensation for a moment before releasing a soft sigh.


There had been twelve of them, in total... Twelve trusted friends... comrades... She knew their spouses... their children... their birthdays. She knew their likes, their dislikes... their fears and ambitions. Tears burned her eyes as she considered the last time they had all been together, before their betrayal. It had been at the annual company picnic. They had laughed and played games, they had shared food and stories and overall, it had been more like a family gathering than anything work related.


Less than a month later she had stood before them and watched them turn their faces away as the detectives arrived...


Brushing her eyes, Gemma threw back another sip and shuddered, before lowering her head into her hands, rubbing her forehead where a headache was already beginning to form.
 
Elias took a few moments to finish the first drink, he watched Gemma's progress through her first drink, watching, he opened subroutine within the matrix of his brain, pulling up a fine nanite control program, the nanites that had spread around the room clustered beneath Gemma's glass, with two operations in mind. The first, was to wait until she had moved her hand away from the glass, then to slowly begin nudging it towards the floor so it would break. The second, was to drill a hole up through the glass, to drain it slowly and the nanite, would fuse the alcohol with the bar top in a crystalized form to keep the visibility that anything was going on down. He smiled quietly as he considered taking things further and simply shattering the glass, but to be subtle would be far more entertaining in the long run.


So He waited, and watched, and considered his next move. He kept himself visible, kept her within sight, he was to her right side, within full view, and if she glanced his way, she'd see the bottle of the drink she was downing, and a spare glass. So as he sat there, watching her, he began to make sure enough nanites found their way into her hair and her clothes. He hummed quietly, waiting for everything to take effect.


If the glass were to make it to the floor and shatter, he would stand up, acting concerned, he would wait for her to make the first move, before asking if she was alright, before saying a word, or moving towards her at all. If the latter happened, where the glass drained itself, he'd call out to her instead, remarking that her drink seemed a bit low, offering her a seat with him to share his bottle. But until anything happened, He would wait, humming a long lost tune that his mother had taught him, slowly, and otherwise silently nursing the glass he had on the table.
 
There was a feeling that always came with being watched, a heat on the back on the neck... and uncomfortable awareness, hyper-driven by her intuition... impossible to ignore. Twisting her head to the side, only far enough to see out of her peripherals, she spotted him sitting at the table. There was nothing particularly interesting or alarming about him... but she couldn't ignore him, either. She made it a point to be inconspicuous... cautious... careful, and if she had done something to catch anyone's interest, she would need to correct that, quickly as she could, even if that meant leaving the bar entirely.


Or at least that was her intention... and then she set her glass down, and in a split second her plan was ruined.


She wasn't a clumsy person... given her current circumstances, she was especially careful not to draw attention to herself, but even before everything that happened, she had always possessed a decent level of coordination. So when the glass toppled, almost of it's own accord, from the bar top, shattering on the ground with a spectacular crash it was with no small sense of confusion and concern that she watched it fall, staring at the broken shards in shock.


All at once, paranoia was overwhelmed by unconscious embarrassment and she sat, frozen...
 
Elias was up almost as fast as the bar-man reacted. His features taking a startled, concerned look, even though he knew it was going to happen the second it did. When the barkeeper came to clean up the mess, he instead bypassed the glass on the floor and regarded Gemma, his features calm and relaxed, though carrying the façade of concern. He took a moment to consider his words before he spoke.


"You alright miss? Seems your in need of a new glass." He said simply, making it almost too obvious that he had a spare at his table, "My business partner never showed up, so I've got a spare if you'd like to join me for a few drinks." He said as smoothly as he could.


While Elias didn't mind making a scene, he tried his hardest not to, so if he could carefully lure her out of the bar without causing one, he would do his best. But first, he wanted to see if he couldn't gain some semblance of calmness out of the situation before he had to subdue the woman. He had enough nanites in the air he could create a linked chain to her and stun her with an electrical shock.


With an inward sigh, Elias waited for her reaction, One never knew, he could have already been made. Then he'd have to make a mess, as seemed to be his reputation.
 
It was too coincidental. Too quick. Like a plan, executed perfectly. The glass fell and in no less than a minute the very same man who had been watching her was there, like the proverbial knight in shining armor, to see if she was in need of rescue. And he just happened to be drinking the same exact brandy…


Frowning, Gemma opened her mouth to turn down the offer, certain nothing good could come from it, regardless of the man’s motives. Something, however, forced those words back down her throat and with a brow quirked, she looked him over, carefully. Had she really fallen so far down into her own depressing mire that she was letting something so simple as a drink offer… something she never would have thought twice about in the old days… make her paranoid?


If that was going to become her life, she might as well turn herself in… That was no way to live. That wasn't even a way to exist.


“Sure…” She said, quietly, rising from her seat. The apprehension wasn’t gone and her guard was up, but maybe it was what she needed. A drink with a stranger… a means of forgetting, even just for a few minutes.


“Lead the way…”
 
Elias smiled at her warmly, and pulled the seat that was free out for her, sitting down in his own, he took a moment to wait for her to be seated. He would keep his gentlemanly approach going for quite some time if need be. So he poured her a drink, filling the glass to half, before he set the bottle down within her reach. He took a light sip of his own and raised it towards her in recognition.


"Bar top must be slanted." He said flatly, almost like an joke that wasn't meant to be laughed at.


His expression was calm, without any real emotion, his cheeks were starting to react to the alcohol in his system, even if the nanites in his blood were filtering every drop that came through. He had noted the apprehension when she had shown it, and was almost ready to pounce, but he'd stayed calm, and smooth as he could through the whole interaction, realizing if he spooked her now, the ruse would be up, and he'd have to resort to a physical takedown, which, even though he didn't mind, he hated to do so to a woman, regardless of her volatility towards him.


Elias glanced at the door, as though he was expecting someone to come through it at any moment, as though he himself was actually paranoid of something, He took another sip of his drink, holding his glass with both hands when it was on the table top. He let his eyes glance nervously to one side, then back.


"What brings a lady like you to a dive like this?" He asked casually, his voice showing a slight crack of nervousness as he spoke. Inwardly, he was kicking himself, "Should have started with the nervous mouse game rather then starting so cool... I eased into it slowly enough though, hope she doesn't catch on..." He thought to himself.
 
It felt like a mistake, the minute she’d sat down. Nevermind he was probably a perfectly nice man, and in any other situation she might have appreciated the attention, she’d made it a point to stay away from any and all distractions… to keep herself alert. Ready at all times, for anything that might come her way. But the drink was already poured and it seemed a terrible waste, and there was no denying she was lonely. The fact of the matter was, it sucked to be alone all the time, and if she had to risk attention and exposure, even for a moment, at least she had the sense to do it with a handsome stranger. If she stayed detached... if she was careful and kept everything close to the chest there would be no harm done, at the end of the night. She might even, by some stroke of miracle, have a decent time...


Frowning softly, she looked back at the bar, her face etched in confusion for a moment, before she shook her head, deciding to let the incident pass for now. Regardless of how unusual it seemed, she couldn’t make a mountain out of every molehill. Taking the glass from the table she took a long, thoughtful pause before drawing a sip, savoring once again the subtle honeyed undertones beneath the paint-thinner burn…


“Dive as it may be,” She started softly, “It’s never too crowded, and it’s not too far from my place. Besides, I kind of like the old atmosphere… Everything else around here is too new… too shiny. There’s no character in it. That, and it’s been a hell of a day, and to be frank, I didn’t really care where I wound up, so long as they had alcohol…”


Shifting in her seat, she turned halfway to the door. It was a habit, but it was one that, in previous cities had kept her alive. If she needed, for any reason, to make a run for it, the least amount of obstacles in her way would mean the quickest exit… It was a hassle, the need for such outrageous paranoia, but it had also saved her life on more than one occasion. Still, it didn't escape her attention how nervous he seemed, himself. It wasn't necessarily a red flag. A Lot of people were guarded in the underground, b ut she hadn't expected it from someone who, on first inspection had seemed so confident. People were funny...


“What about you? Don’t think I’ve seen you around here, before?”
 
Elias nodded lightly to her, the place did have it's own charm, he would give it that. But it was missing the holocaster that would have tipped her off to who he really was. The message he had sent out would have displayed at every other bar in the city by now, and sent other bounties within the area into a fleeing frenzy to get off planet as soon as they could.


"That's probably because I've never been here before, Not this bar, not this planet... Though..." He leaned back in his chair, allowing his confidence to return hastily, an arrogant grin on his face, "My business partner... Or rather, My business here, seems to already be finished... considering they never showed up..." He was half lying, but the other half was remarking to the fact the local authorities hadn't even sent a detachment to locate him.


His gaze shifted back to her face, the look on it would show, very obviously, that she was far beyond snared, that running, while it would give him a good sport, was no longer an option, She'd allowed herself to get too physically close. So as he raised his drink to her, and knocked it back, a moment later, refilling it, the look on his face was one of subtle victory, the arrogance was there, but it was something that had a look of having gained it, having earned the right to be an elitist.


"I have a few questions for you Miss Livingtree, Before you decide to, or try to run. Before I drag you back to the law enforcement specialists that's waiting in High Orbit over the Valorian Prime World." He took a light drink, and set his glass down, his gaze had turned to ice instantly, "What did a multi-billionaire, who was running a leading edge company, in a highly needed field, have to gain from a war that had just ended... One that cost the civilized races billions of good men and women across the star-lanes? What in the named of the nine hell!!" He slammed his fist into the table, his nanites compensated the act by extending the Delphi armor over his fist, "Did you plan to gain from it..? And who was the mastermind? Answer me those things, and I'll let you stay conscious for the trip to Valorian space."


There was exceptionally clear, and painfully obvious anger in Elias' eyes, he was clearly sober, but now that he had her within his reach, he wanted answers to his questions, and refusal, would be very painful for her. If Gemma was at all rational still, she would be able to detect that he was someone who would listen to her, hear her out, and decide for himself what had occurred, rather then listening to the lies that had ben perpetrated, but, then again, that would require her resisting the fight or flight instinct that was probably already bursting through her veins.
 
She was stupid. Completely and utterly stupid. One moment, one brief moment of ignorance... a few seconds of slacking and she was royally screwed. She heard her name issued from his lips and her blood froze like ice in her veins, her back tensed, her jaw clenched. She barely heard what he had to say after that, but she didn't really have to, to guess what she'd missed. It was the same thing the last one had asked, and it meant just as much... a great wad of nothing. It didn't matter what you said, when you had a price tag on your head... all anyone ever saw were the dollar signs.


The way she saw it, she had three options. One, she could loop her feet in the rung of his chair legs, hurl her glass of brandy at his face and flip him onto his back, then run like the wind... but that relied far too heavily on too many variables that were far too improbable. Two, she could scream her head off and hope to God there was someone around who could lend her some kind of assistance. But that would only last as long as it took him to produce a copy of her WANTED poster, which in the average case was about ten seconds or less. Three, she could sit there and pour her heart out to him, and hope he was different than the other money hungry thugs that came her way... and that was the least favorable plan of all.


Naturally, it was also the only plan that didn't have an obvious downside. At least, not a painful one.


Shifting back in her seat, she pressed her tongue between her teeth, shaking her head, "It's funny. This isn't the first time one of your kind has bought me a drink before trying to arrest me. Do you guys go to a school for this sort of thing, or is it just a big coincidence?" Crossing her arms over her chest, one leg over the other, she frowned, "As for your question, well... maybe you should ask yourself the same thing, hmm? Why would a perfectly successful, completely satisfied corporate executive, without so much as a ticket on her record throw everything away, to aid terrorism and warmongering? No, on second thought, ask yourself this... What would those who did fund something so vile and detestable profit... from having a perfectly oblivious scapegoat to throw at the authorities? To leave that person no other choice but to run... making them an even bigger target... and distraction. Ask yourself that."
 
Elias raised his right hand, and the nanomachine's in his armor produced the Delphi's heavy bore rifle, he unlinked it from his armor and it became a standing model of a firearm. He dropped it onto the table, the reaction throughout the room was a hushed, lull and the barkeeper moving to close and lock the doors, to prevent anyone else from coming in. Several patrons of the bar made for the back door quickly, though Elias ignored all of them. He nodded to her, his face serious.


"Actually, There is schooling for it, It's one of my mothers techniques, She invented it hundreds of years ago, before space travel even existed the way we know it." Elias said flatly, He continued though, sitting back the rifle on the table, it's energy cores humming, he crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to her, again, "The only reason your still standing, and not already shot full of holes, on your way out the door is because I did ask myself those questions. I asked them repeatedly, for hours, while I made my way here. I claimed your bounty, from the guild on Jericho station, So there won't be any but the stupidest coming after you until I'm done with you." He uncrossed his arms, and tapped the table, "If you tell me exactly what you know about the Betrayal, I'll make my Own judgment. I'm a fair man Miss Livingtree, the money for your bounty means absolutely nothing to me." He leaned forward, his face showing cold anger, "It's the fact that your company, one of those who was set to benefit more then anyone else for the end of the war, is one of the ones labeled in the Betrayal. It's the fact that You, are implicated in one of the greatest crimes of human history, and it's the fact that rather then facing justice the day it came for you, You Ran."


By this point, the Delphi armor platform had wrapped across his entire body except for his face, it had begun to integrate with the nanites that were across his face however, and, being as she was within the field of nano-technology, she would spot him for the unique specimen that he was. Second Gen nanite children were unheard of, living to adulthood was even rarer, and to be able to integrate fully with a weapon platform such as the one he wore, was even more obscenely unheard of. In any other circumstances, Elias Grim would be the holy grail of nano-technology to a woman like her, the potential applications for his specific nanites were endless, and she would easily put the dot's together of how useful his particular nanites were.
 
When the rifle appeared, Gemma had the common sense to look momentarily wary. It wasn't against the law for a bounty hunter to take someone out, but he seemed to have the decency... or at least a mask of decency not to shoot her in the middle of a bar. Still, you never knew, these days. But as he went on, she sat back in her seat, her shoulders falling, the lull in tension leaving her suddenly quite tired...


"All I know? All I know is that apparently, I made a pretty spectacular scapegoat...Anything else, well... your guess is as good as mine." She frowned and reached forward, draining her glass of brandy before setting it back down.


"Tell me..." She continued, softly, "Do you think I stood half a chance, if I'd chosen to stay? Do you honestly think I would have made it through a trial? Even if the people who betrayed me let me live, all of those people who lost loved ones... all of those people who suffered... I would never have survived. I had to run... I had no other choice." Lowering her gaze, she felt suddenly drained, "They turned me into a monster... I lost everything, over night. Every shred of a decent reputation, gone, in the blink of an eye. And that's all they needed. They needed the attention on someone else... They made it impossible for me to do anything but run, and now I'm a fugitive... and that's all anyone needs to focus on. I didn't do it... but that doesn't matter. There will never be a place safe enough for me, and that's exactly what they wanted... because I can never clear my name, when everyone has a reason to want me dead."


Looking up again, she met his gaze, "But please, by all means... offer me an alternative solution? Not all of us are possessed of your level of... mechanics. I must admit, I'm a bit embarrassed I didn't spot it, when I first spoke to you... The nanites. Something of a miracle, you are... a Second Gen adult... That is, if I'm interpreting your earlier comments about your mother correctly? Weaponized, too, if I'm not mistaken?"
 
With a light shrug, Elias raised his right hand, and presented it to her, outstretched, the technical end of it would be that she would be able to see the very light data structures within his skin, see the fractal patterns that made up every inch of his nearly indestructible body, and, based on her background, she would see that he was indeed very unique, that his patterns were evolving constantly.


"Check for yourself. I'm second gen, but the weaponization is all a Delphi armor platform, So... That should tell you what level of chance you stand now." Elias spoke with an air of knowledge, that he knew how much power he had, and it was something that even he was reverent of.


Elias stared at his own hand as the weapon platform slid back like oil melting up his skin, the tiny fractal plates that made up the Delphi system were interlinked with an internal AI that had interfaced with his brain the moment he'd first touched them as a young man. Now, the Delphi was part of him, even when unequipped, he could feel it, always nearby, always able to come to him at a moments notice. To most researchers, the Delphi was an amazing achievement that was created within the last few decades, to the elite few that knew it's true origins, they knew that it was actually thousands of years old, and had been perfect the day it was made, and just like a shark, it had no need to change. When the nano tech had been released, it was had integrated seamlessly with the Delphi.


The reality of things were, there were only around a hundred fully functional Delphi suits in existence, and even fewer pilots that could run them. Elias was one such pilot, his mother another, so not only were they both infamous, they were also famous within the scientific community for being able to seamlessly integrate with the Delphi suit, and Elias, was a prodigy because of his heritage.


"My name, Is Elias Grim, On Jericho Seven, and throughout the Alliance territories, I am known as Reaper. But I'm sure you already know from your background who I am... and what I'm capable of, and that I do not need that rifle to kill, maim, or even slow you down." Elias said with a flat, dangerous tone.


He was well known within the scientific community, he was one of the very few second gen nanite carriers and the only one that had integrated perfectly. He was frowning suddenly as his attention shifted slightly.


"So tell me what exactly happened a year ago, on that summer day. Who first told you to run?" Elias was filtering his nanites into her slowly, they were already in her internal systems, so he would be able to read her chemical reactions to every word he said. Though, a woman like this, who had once been rich and powerful, might still have a nano-screen of her own. First Gen's weren't kept on record anymore, and almost everyone had some sort of nano-screen.


Elias paused internally, and began checking for one. If she did have a screen, she'd sense his probe, if she didn't, he would know soon. IF she did have a screen, he would be able to extract the information he needed easily.
 
"All due respect...Elias," She started, with a dry smirk, "I know who you are, but even if I didn't, it's sort of my field of expertise... modification and enhancement of the human genetic structure. You really don't need to remind me how screwed I am... I'm quite aware, as it is. Besides... I don't plan on running. If I thought I had a prayer, I would've taken off the second you said my name. Fact of the matter is, this place... it was sort of my last resort. The only place without facial recognition scanners built right into the damn system... If the law here is aware of who I am, and I imagine you've informed them, already, then I've got no where else to go. I'm tired, and frankly, I just don't feel like running anymore. So please, stop threatening me... Frankly, it's just a little insulting..."


Taking the brandy bottle form the table, she poured herself another glass and sat back, savoring a long, slow draw before looking up at him, again, "One year ago, today, I walked into my office to find a note from the board of directors at my company, instructing me they needed to see me in the board room. I went up there, and upon entering was detained by a small gang of security guards, who less than pleasantly informed me information had been found on my computer system, linking me, financially, to the terrorist attacks... Hell of a morning wake up call, I'll tell you. Funny enough, the only people, apart from me, with access to my system were the people in that room with me, which was pretty telling... I don't know who all was involved, but I know they're on the board..."


Frowning, she ran a fingertip around the rim of the snifter, "Instinct, and only instinct, nothing else, told me to run. I'm not exactly designed for martial war or anything, but I took some lessons, and know a thing or two about self defense, so I managed to get free of the guards. I took off... and I never looked back. I don't expect that to impress you, or anything, and I don't exactly know what you're looking for... or why you're asking me these questions, but that's it. That's all the information I have."
 
Elias found no mesh, he was shocked, to the point he actually raised his brows at her, "You have no mesh, no mods, nothing?" He frowned, and reached out with his right hand, forcefully taking her free hand in his grasp, his skin based nanites took blood, and tissue samples. He scowled at the results and muttered, "Well damn, that's something you don't see every day... A corporate CEO without a mesh..." He shook his head and released her. He was impressed by her skill to run an entire multi-million dollar company without one. He paused suddenly, as it struck him.


Elias stood up, slowly, nodding, "I believe you actually. There's no way you could have been part of the assassination plot. You'd have needed a mesh to pull it off." He grinned lightly as he spoke. He knew as well as the authorities did that without a nano-mesh, a very intricate one, there was no way the corporate leaders that had been part of the conspiracy could have done it.


"Your a leader of nanite technology innovation miss Livingtree. You have no Nano-mesh, yet somehow, according to public knowledge, your part of a conspiracy that requires Nano-mesh technology to pull off. There's no way you could hide a mesh from me. I can see traces of one, from when you were young, one that was extracted. That's the birthing mesh they use at hospitals. But you have no active mesh sites." He was grinning at her, his face looked vicious, as though he was ready to kill something, and enjoy it. "My mentor will be so amused by this."


Elias offered her his hand, he had taken the bounty, but he knew others would be after her, and he had more reason to believe she had been set up then that she was one of the conspirators. "Take my hand Gemma Livingtree, and I will prove your innocence. You said it yourself..." His voice suddenly shifted to hers, using the nanites within his body to manipulate his vocal inflections to match hers, "I'm tired, and frankly, I just don't feel like running anymore." Elias grinned as his voice shifted back, "One last run Livingtree, One last run, right into the throat of the wolf, to tear out it's heart."


Elias was always far ahead of everyone else, so he already had a plan, he already knew how to get her cleared. If she lived through this, her company could rise again, and she could further advance the industry that was so important to him. Besides, there was no justice in the execution of an innocent woman, especially when her very accusers were those that were running the dark show around her.
 
It was her business. It was a multi-million dollar business, one that had an avenue in every market in existence. Rich, poor, young, old... men, women, children... lining up, daily, desperate for any and all means of changing, evolving, growing themselves into something bigger, better, stronger. Some modifications were small, simple... like plastic surgery of the old days, and some were much more complex, like the nano-tech and cybernetics, but it was rare... almost unheard of, finding someone fresh, clean... Mod-free. She'd chosen to remain so herself strictly for that reason, alone.


And apparently, it had been a wise decision. A decision, she was sure, that would keep her alive... at least for the time being. But what good would it do, if he was the only one who believed her?


When he released her, she pulled her hand close to her, looking down at it with a curiously sad expression. All it had taken... less than a few seconds and he was convinced. Somehow, though, she had doubts it would be so easy, back home. But if that weren't the case... if all she needed to prove her innocence was a quick blood test and a scan...? There was certainly no hope for her surviving long enough to clear her name. They would never let her get that far. She was skeptical, but she needed to be... she had no other choice.


"You gonna keep me alive, Elias? Cause I can pretty much guarantee that wolf will be ready for me, and I don't imagine I'll last long, with those teeth..."
 
Elias nodded slowly at her, his face straight. He looked at her seriously as he said, "Yes Gemma Livingtree, I intend to keep you alive, and protected. I intend to clear your name, and find out exactly who set you up. I have lived a very long time Miss Livingtree, I knew many of the men that died in that plot's wake, and when I saw your company in the list, It was one of many that I was furious to discover was within the conspiracy."


His arms crossed over his chest, his armor folding over his skin, forming a helm as well slowly, "I will keep you alive Gemma Livingtree." He repeated, "Even if I have to tear the entire Alliance apart to find out who tried to start that war." He stood up, as his helm finished forming, the sealed helmet resembled an elongated human skull with fangs in place. The eyes were glowing a deep, bloody red as he scanned the outside. His nanites had alearted him to several beings approaching, tracking her genetic traces slowly, they clearly had found her apartment, as they were using sniffing hounds, cybernetic hybridized dogs used to track prey.


Elias hated them.


He spoke through the helmet, his voice distorted, "It seems though, that the jaws are nearing us. We have five minutes before the first of them get here. I expect they are Polaris Hunters."


With a nod towards her, Elias offered her his left hand, his right taking the rifle off the table, "Your choice Gemma Livingtree, The hand of The Reaper, or the jaws of the wolves." Elias stared at her through the helm of his armor, the dark metal shimmered in the low lighting of the bar, his face was shrouded as the rifle melded back into the armor and he reached back to pull up his hood again. He would look to her, to be ever bit his call sign, He would look to her, to be Death Itself.
 
She started at him for a long time... stared at the proffered hand, as one might watch a snake. It was her life, on the line, but more than that, it was the potential of salvaging her reputation... or saving her name and regaining any semblance of a legacy. He was no gentle hero, come in on a white horse... he was no sage guardian, swore to protect her with his life and limb. He was a killer, a threat and to many people, as much a villain as she had been painted...


But he was there. He was there, and he was offering to help her, and it was more than anyone else had done. And there wasn't an entirely long amount of time to make her decision, however important it might be.


It was Elias, or whoever else had come for her, and somehow she doubted the other team was going to buy her a drink, first.


Frowning softly, she reached out and took his hand, pulling herself to her feet. She was close to him, close enough to glimpse her own reflection in the sheen of his armor, and as she met his gaze her own hardened in determination as she slowly bowed her head in a nod, "Let's go skin us a wolf, Reaper..."
 
Elias let a light layer of the Delphi armor slide over onto Gemma's skin, "It's going to tingle at first, you won't be able to control it, but it's bullet-proof up to thirty-five hundred metric newtons. Just don't get hit by anything bigger. It'll hurt." He said as the armor slid across her body and up over her form. "It'll let me track you, It'll also let us communicate. Its part of my suit, it's part of me. Don't try to remove it, or it'll take a good amount of your skin with it. Follow, Were leaving, Anything you have here, Your leaving." He released her hand when the thin layer of the Delphi's armor was across her skin in a see-through mesh of cybernetic armor.


Extending his other hand, a sidearm type weapon appearing in it. "Let the armor control your shots. Just aim, and shoot, You want it lethal, you switch it to red." He tapped the control switch as he spoke, and the weapons limiter light switched from red to blue, "Right now it'll fire Limiter Pulse Rounds, that will incapacitate almost every standing subject. Just not Delphi wearers." He said quickly as he raised his free hand, a heavy bore rifle sliding out and forming rapidly, "I'll take point. Stay within five steps of me. Don't speak unless It's absolutely necessary." Elias finished as a long weapon slid out of the back of his cloak, it flashed a dark blade at his knees, and extended a handle across his back, over his right shoulder.


He raised the rifle up, and looked at her, for a long, hard moment, "When the killing starts, when they start attacking me. You run, and you do as I say, when I say it, You show no mercy if you have to pull that trigger. Because they will kill you. Your bounty is only reduced by a stunning thousand credits if your dead. Because they can still pick your brain, one cell at a time." He turned towards the door, and looked to the Barman, who was still behind his bar, watching the whole situation, "You know who I am?" He asked dangerously. The barman simply nodded, "Just a ghost, passing through." Elias nodded, then glanced back to Gemma, "You ready?" He asked simply.
 
No time wasted... just like that, they were off. And it was probably for the best. Really, they had no time -to- waste. He wasn't the only one after her, and with this new development they couldn't exactly sit around getting to know each other's favorite colors and lifelong ambitions. Still, it was jarring. She'd had a horrendous day, but she'd never imagined it would wind up where it had.


The armor slid up over her form and she frowned softly. It was uncomfortable, even just the concept of it, but she wouldn't complain. If it saved her life, it would be well worth it, even if the idea felt alien in the worst sense...


The weapon, however, was received considerably less graciously. The entire reason for being on the run was because she was falsely accused of an unspeakable horror... The idea of killing, even in self defense, was horrifying. Taking the gun, she looked up at him, a nearly vacant expression in her gaze as she lowered the muzzle to the floor.


She would run... she would run like hell, and she wouldn't look back... but pulling the trigger? Well... he never had to know she wouldn't do it. She would only pray she wouldn't have to, that he would take out the threats and she wouldn't even need to see it happen. Strangely enough, she wanted to cry... to break down, but it would do... not now, not with everything they still had to do. And so, taking a deep breath, she nodded her head.


"Ready..."
 
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