“Guys, I don’t want to be an alarmist, but there’s trouble here on the station.” The reaction to Opal’s words was quite blasé.
“Gee Rarity goes onto a space station and something terrible happens… I never would have guessed.” They were already betting on what was going to happen while they were on break, so the sarcastic lilt was expected. At least Gilda hoped everyone survived at least because this crew would have to pretty weak to not survive the more cataclysmic things Rarity gets drawn towards, into and or is drawn to her. “So what’s going on Kitten? Apparently you’re giving us a live vocal only news feed for a reason, can anyone find this signal?”
“I doubt they’d find a signal written in braille and with a backwards transmission. So no interception isn’t possible unless they know I can do this kind of thing and I’m not telling anyone who doesn’t already know.” At least Opal knew what she was doing and her mental signal was mostly untraceable, what it wasn’t was impossible to detect and she was only going to use it in an emergency. Like right now was an emergency, because someone just tried to kill her mother and she was a little more than angry about it considering she didn’t have access to the computers around the station, it would have seriously helped if she could immediately get some sort of visual on the shooter or at least a scan of their body. “It’s kind of weird just thinking at the Shining Jewel and having my voice just pop up over there like this.”
“Can you please focus and tell us what happened?” There was an itch to put on a costume and bust some heads, which was something Saffron had a problem with keeping a hoof on.
“Well, we all know mom doesn’t have any enemy’s right?” Opal started off with what was assumed to be a placating tone.
“Do I need to break out the space tank?” If something was going south already then Gilda was prepared to fire the Bombing Peregrine straight into the hangar and would start wrecking stuff, she was pretty sure the Boss Lady didn’t mind going pirate even if she abhorred other space pirates she couldn’t hate herself for being one right? Well it would be more like privateer, but with tons of explosions and violence.
“Don’t do anything drastic like that Gilda… at least not yet anyway.” At least Opal had remembered how busy Gilda and Greta were, what had they gotten around to fixing? She knew Greta did maintenance on all the impulse saddles at least, wait did that mean Opal could get her own EVA suit? She really hadn’t talked about wanting one, but they were here to pick up supplies for making more anyway so it wouldn’t be too hard to bring up. “Is the Bombing Peregrine even okay after Lightning used it?”
“Well the main gun is a bit off center and needs to be recalibrated, the armor was easy to fix and its shields are good. I still need to fix the small turrets and I can easily do that in my spare time, but mostly it’s currently viable for a short term operation as it is.” After a short pause Greta added on to what she said, but seemed to be directing her words at Gilda. “It wouldn’t be very effective against those Jackknife’s the Dik-Diks use given they are a lot faster than our space tank, remember our space tank is meant to operate optimally in atmospheric conditions. We could get it inside the station, but those Jackknife fighters would be an issue. Gilda’s already gotten a few pictures of them flying around, I think she’s taking some ideas from them.”
“Can we not go off topic that you were calling us for from the start please?” It was a bit frustrating having everyone diverge from the task at hoof and Saffron got them back to the topic. “Some of us would like to know what’s happening over there, also I think the Caballeron Cabal would be Rarity’s enemies after what she did to Mind Field.”
“Don’t forget about those space pirate frigates Rarity had you devastate Opal. The space pirates might have connections in some places, though I seriously doubt that space pirates would be out to get Rarity.” Vera didn’t have any problem putting that out there. Her personal CAT drone was floating next to her acknowledging that, yes, she was in fact right there and existed. “We don’t personally know any of the pirate factions if there are any anyway and psychologically speaking they would technically be afraid of ever seeing Rarity again. As for other possible enemies, well Mass Offensive Meteors though they could count as everyone’s enemy. We know that MOMs are at the very least intelligent or cunning from the last known intrusion into space. They are not nearly far enough outside a bestial mindset at best to infiltrate a station just to attack Rarity, if anything the MOMs and their monsters would be after Gilda or Greta.”
“Good news, it’s not a MOM or a possible world devastating form of sifter drifter this time. It was someone with a material sniper. Though now that you mention it, Tempest Technologies and the humans working for it might come after us for putting a lot of people out of their jobs.” Though Opal would like to see them try and get to Rarity, it’d be through her existential mystically formed body that she’d let anyone hurt her mother. If she could see the immediate threat that is and would be in a position to do something about it. “Whoever they were they fired a subsonic material round, which means the shot was silenced. It’s kind of scary how close mom came to dying and I’m rather surprised that I’m not having a panic attack right now. Shouldn’t I be panicking more?”
“Seriously how did the Boss Lady... Sassy stopped it didn’t she?” It didn’t take much for Gilda to put two and two together. “That frankly sounds impossible, she wouldn’t have been able to see it and her reaction time would have to be on point to even deflect it with her short blade. Not to mention she’d have to counteract the force of the round hitting the blade. Do you realize how ridiculously talented Sassy has to be to do that?”
“Surprisingly Sassy didn’t see it, but she still managed to deflect it. I think it was instinctual or at least I hope it is, because it would be exceptionally useful since Chrysalis can’t sense threats outside a certain range. It was quite an amazing sight given how fast Sassy was moving and she even caught the material round after deflection. The sniper likely fled after firing the shot and is likely trying to get out of the station or is being tracked down by Dik-Diks as we speak, the worst case scenario is that they are setting up for another shot.” That’s what Opal wanted to tell them from the start, however her mind was kind of in two places at once. It was a good thing she could multitask. “You can tell Sassy has been training her samurai skills hard when she starts deflecting things she can only feel, I think she’d still have some problems with material cannons. Though she’d likely be capable of deflecting more rounds than she previously did.”
“Well, what do you want us to do or are you just informing us about it Kitten?” Under her gruff nature Gilda was actually pretty worried, she wanted at least some time to build her personal fighter. Even if she didn’t necessarily have all the stuff to make it yet, she did have several ideas for a base design thanks to the Javelin’s main module she had enshrined in section four of the hangar.
“Just informing you so you can be ready for just about anything when things start going south around us, it seems safe at the moment.” By the very definition the merchant district of the station was filled with quite a bit of noise as many random species were doing business with one another, their voices melding together as one and Opal’s ears flicked as she listened in on multiple conversations at once around her. She could follow every single one of them, but none of them were saying anything worrying or anything about their group. “Also does anyone want anything like a souvenir or knickknack while I’m on the horn? We’re all trying to stay calm to keep from blurting it out to Rarity what happened, well at least me, Chrysalis and Sassy along with our Dik-Dik minder. Coco has her suspicions as to what happened and we’ll have to eventually tell mom how close it was if Sassy had been a second slower to react.”
“Well Rarity can make most of things I could possible want. If you can find something unique that we can’t produce ourselves, then it might actually be up my alley.” The universe was still a cruel place, but nothing would stop Greta from smiling. Though she was quite worried to hear someone took a shot at Rarity, she was glad things were okay at the moment. “Just remember to get something for everyone if you do, don’t play favorites with just your Aunt Greta now. Just as a precaution I’m going to prioritize the personal shields project, sorry Gilda but it’s become necessary that I focus on that as it’s becoming quite an immediate concern.”
“No problem, there’s not much I can’t do on my own already Greta and you know this. Though I’m going to need Mr. Welder for the foreseeable future.” Being competent at her job was one of Gilda’s best traits, she wouldn’t be a very competent at her job if the Boss Lady dies. Rarity had better not die, Gilda doesn’t like crying. “If I need your help Greta I’ll bother you for it, but yeah those personal shields are definitely a priority project after hearing about this. I’ll be working on building Saffron some new powered armor… maybe you can make a personal shield that can be installed into her suit directly if you can figure something out.”
“Okay while those two are working on that, keep your emotions in check Opal and try to come back with a smile on your face. You don’t want to worry Rarity unnecessarily if it was a one off thing.” At least Vera could hope it was a one-time thing, both the people who could actively see her were on that station and then there was Sassy. Sassy was always an odd one to talk to, at times she’s seemed perky and happy and others she was cool and collected. Vera hoped Sassy didn’t lose herself like she did back on Eweson, though it might be a good idea that she does so under the right circumstance. “Your one of the most emotionally stable, if a little overly energetic, people I know Opal. Coco of course being the most stable of the mental nuts this crew has.”
“Right, you guys can go back to what you were doing. I’ll keep you informed if anything else happens and it will knowing mom.” After that Opal silently cut the connection to the Shining Jewel. The entire crew was wise to Rarity’s luck, it was excellent when it came to surviving just about anything, it was decent when it comes to business and it was completely horrible when it comes to being absolutely safe no matter where you were. They certainly lived in interesting times.
After the crew still on the Shining Jewel were finished being informed, they decided to send someone to check on Ember to see if the feeding tube was still in good condition and make sure Mr. Spew was fed something toxic. Their dragon friend really wasn’t doing that much better, but it was still somewhat marginally better that she was less critical than she had been. They were going to do several things to make sure Ember didn’t wither away on the medical bed she was occupying, feeding her mulched gems and jewels mixed with water was one of them.
Mr. Spew would always be in medical to keep Ember constant company and it was his job to be there for her when no one else could be, everyone else had jobs to do and or needed exercise. They really couldn’t be there for the dragon twenty four seven, but checking on her periodically didn’t hurt. Maybe someday her shredded scales would even start growing back.
-
Coco had been silent until they entered a shop to have a look around, it was owned and operated by large male Macropussian. He seemed to be a quiet fellow and his wares were somewhat interesting, given that they were all unique bits of electronics here or there like a wrist or hoof mounted data pad. They needed more wiring for producing EVA suits, which reminded Coco that they also needed to get chemicals for breach gel and maybe she could buy Opal a data pad as a late ‘don’t know when your birthday actually is’ present.
“So, what’s your deal? You’re the rather quiet and unassuming one of the group, unlike her or her. That bug pony thing is probably one of the most obnoxious beings I’ve ever met in my life.” The poor quiet mare jumped when So’Grahd approached her, then the Dik-Dik promptly pointed out Sassy and then Chrysalis who was of course testing her luck with Sassy once more. “How do you live with something like that?”
“Chrysalis really isn’t all that bad, you just need to get used to her being around. She’s not exactly as dumb as she acts either, in fact she’s good at planning circles around people.” Watching the scene Coco winced as Chrysalis met the floor face first and scrutinized the small smile Sassy had, did Sassy actually like Chrysalis? Her long time friend sure seemed to like knocking Chrysalis down a lot. “Though she has a bit of a history… like kidnapping ponies for instance.”
“Was it anyone important?” Of the things So’Grahd didn’t need to ask or wouldn’t be surprised about in the slightest, it was that Chrysalis had a criminal history.
“She’s done it to several important ponies, it’s kind of something like a really strange Changeling courtship ritual. I don’t know if it’s just for Changeling Queens or if it’s a Changeling thing in general.” There were a lot of things Coco didn’t ask Chrysalis about, there were plenty of things people didn’t want to know about her, her race or her biology. Like what the properties of Changeling goo was, the stuff they built cocoons out of and sometimes used as sealant in construction projects. “As to what my deal is, I’m a bit of an inventor or at least I like to tinker with accessories. My special talent is accessorizing as much as it is making clothing and it translates pretty well into advanced technology in the terms of add-on or utility, but it is all technology that you can wear. I’m the creator of most of the utilities an EVA suit can have, my impulse saddle is kind of a key feature to the EVA suits we sell. Spare oxygen tank, maneuverability in space and can run almost infinitely if you’re in a system thanks to a solar powered battery that’s made to tolerate as much heat as the suit itself can. We tend to wear our EVA suits as a light form of protection, the breach gel in the suits tends to keep the wearer medically stable if they get shot. Breach gel was something Rarity invented that has proved itself useful time and again.”
“Well that’s informative, what kind of price are selling them for?” It was a curiosity to be sure, but So’Grahd seemed to be focusing on her surroundings more than she was on Coco.
“I can handle that, do you have you’re data pad ma’am? Our site is up and running and I’m the mascot, it shouldn’t that hard to find.” Though she was listening in to surrounding conversations, talking to the crew and perusing the shop personally, she still had time to try and market her mom’s stuff.
So’Grahd reached into the left pocket of her uniform and pulled out her data pad, after turning it on she gave it over to Opal who quickly brought up the site and then gave it back to Officer Grahd. Looking over the site she snorted at the cutesy images of the mascot form of Opal as she went through the EVA suit menu and costs for various things that could be installed in with her.
“So everything here is made by you and those two?” So’Grahd received a simple nod and a noise of affirmation from Coco. “Can some of these things be purchased separately from the suits?”
“The Pinpoint Pullers can be part of the suit or separate from it, impulse saddles are not necessary to use an EVA suit. If something happens to the oxygen tank in the saddle, the EVA suits helmet will supply its own breathable atmosphere.” If Opal could help the Officer become a customer then she was all for helping sell something to So’Grahd. “We can probably give you a portable recharge station, but you’d have to wear the saddle to make use of it.”
While Opal was busy with Officer So’Grahd, who every once in a while glanced at her surroundings in an alert fashion before going back to paying attention to Rarity’s Rarities mascot, Coco started to look at the electronics the store offered as Rarity bought a large spool of wire and several electronic components.
“Um… h-hello… c-could you maybe help me with something?” Coco tried to work up the nerve to speak out loud and clearly it wasn’t going too well.
“Sure, what’ll it be for the little sheila?” This wasn’t said with an Australian accent and the voice was quite even and calm for an Irish accented kangaroo alien, though the shop owner’s size was still quite intimidating alongside his dark brown fur.
“Offram, you’re scaring the wee one, she’s clearly afraid of your girth you lazy sod.” This Macropussian was smaller and had a long green Mohawk falling to one side of her head, but her voice was distinctly British and rather angelic. She was giving the other Macropussian a glare. “I was scared too when I first met him. Thought he was a sifter drifter that somehow got onto the station at first, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly. What do you need of old Auntie Aulor Ortallia?”
“This is my wife and she wears the pouch in this family quite well, she’s a real peach too. A bit fuzzy on the outside, but she’s sweet throughout and has the voice of a most beautiful Valkyrie. Now if only she’d choose a different hairstyle that didn’t made her look like a punk.” As far as Offram was concerned his wife couldn’t insult him in any given way. “She’s quite right about me, she even made me take on the Ortallia name when I joined with her and what a joining that was. She’s stronger than a Velonian Tiger she is and it took hours for me to escape her when we were jumping the bed we were, but it was a good day overall. Well… for as long as I could outrun her anyway.”
“She doesn’t need our life story you pillock. Especially not about how rowdy I am in bed!” The smaller lither roo smacked the larger one in the back of the head with a fist before turning to Coco with a clearly red face that showed through her tan colored fur. “Sorry about him love, he’s just a mighty silly roo who knows what he likes and he better like it or else he’s sleeping on the floor for a week straight if he knows what’s good for him. So what do you need? I hope you haven’t been scared off by my favorite bum, I’m the owner of this here outfit and if you need something I’m sure I can find it if it’s electronics your looking for.”
“To clarify, I am kind of a bum, she just pulled me off the street and married me. She’s quite a firecracker, has me doing stock and forcing me to work for her.” A snickering Offram followed up. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“It’s not that I’m scared of you specifically sir. Though you are quite big and intimidating. I kind of had a bad run in one time… it was scary and they were Macropussian bounty hunters. What did Ember call them… bounty humpers?” As soon as she said those Coco’s face turned bright red and she bowed her head in embarrassment only to have it be brought back up by the right hand of the female Macropussian.
Chrysalis stalked her way over her ears flicking as she heard a notably attracting word, but apparently it was nothing and soon grew bored with the conversation Coco was having and left shaking her head in exasperation. All without Coco noticing that Chrysalis had been there and had heard the now awfully shy mare say it. Sassy was making sure Chrysalis didn’t touch anything in the store on the chance that something would explode violently once the Changeling Queen did. At least Sassy remembered what Opal said about Chrysalis being technologically destructive.
“None of that now, no need to get so embarrassed! One bad experience does not a whole race make, also I believe you were looking for the words ‘Bounty Jumpers’.” The smiling face of Aulor almost had Coco feeling safe enough to talk openly to… when Aulor eventually let go of Coco’s face and managed to stop rubbing the cute pony’s cheeks affectionately. She was very nice for what looked like an intelligent version of an Equestrian Kangaroo or Kangaroo’s like what you would see on Earth, it was weird how genetically dissimilar all three of them were despite appearances. “A sweet little thing like you doesn’t seem like the type to cause trouble. Now if we can get down to business and ignore my worst half please?”
“I’m the worst half? That makes you the crazy one then, since it was love at first sight for you when you realized I wasn’t a lazy monster and was just a lazy roo.” Offram couldn’t avoid Aulor’s tail swiftly slapping him across the side of his head, it even made the sound of a cracking whip when it made contact. The poor beleaguered male Macropussian was knocked out of his seat behind the counter, he raised a hand pointing to the ceiling that was barely visible to Coco. “You still wear the pouch in this family a little bit too tightly my dear. She does this to me all the time… I’m just going to stay here on the floor for a while. Also, I’m okay.”
Chrysalis wandered back over and took a bite out of the ambient love in the air and smiled a little, it was her kind of love and nobody would notice if it went missing anyway. Though Sassy was giving her a flat look, what did she do that was so wrong? Absolutely nobody was using that ambient love, it wasn’t like she was taking the love from the two directly and they technically didn’t have a claim on the ambient love in the room.
“Well, I was wondering if you had something in the vein of wrist, leg or hoof mounted computers like a bracer or an arm guard. Something adjustable that can maybe fit a Cacceran?” Coco knew Opal wanted a personal data pad that wasn’t one of Chrysalis’s spares, but a wrist or arm mounted computer would be just as nice. “Well if you have anything that’s not a normal data pad and something really unique, it would be nice. You see we have these two griffon engineers on our ship and they are really good at building things. They could make almost anything if they put their minds to it.”
“Wrist mounted or unique eh?” Aulor rubbed her chin looking at Opal and So’Grahd, before smiling at Coco. “Getting something for your little friend there? I think I might have something for you, what’s she like? What does she go for, what are her interests? Give me something to work with here.”
“That’s my best friend’s daughter and she’s quite the energetic Cacceran, I just wanted to get something nice for her. Also my friend runs her own business, if you need a dress or something to wear we’re really good at making clothes and we’re quite fair with our prices.” Little by little, the weariness Coco was feeling was slowly ebbing away in the face of this comical pair. Macropussians were clothing optional like ponies, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to offer the two some services while acquiring goods. “Her name is Opal and she loves a lot of things and she really good with computers and communication systems too.”
“Okay that’s enough, I have a few things you can look at. I’ll be right back, don’t do anything to scare off the poor dear Offram.” The only response Aulor got form Offram was a slight whine coming from behind the counter.
Eventually Aulor returned with three devices for Coco to look over, they were certainly unique at the very least. One looked to be like Foggre technology given it had a maddening smiling face of a Foggre etched on it, one seemed to be a good fit for a Cacceran and the last thing was just outright bizarre.
“Okay what’s wrong with this one, I’ve seen Foggre technology before and whatever they make works perfectly as intended.” It would certainly be unique if Coco bought something of Foggre make, but she didn’t think she’d give it to Opal. Maybe Greta or Gilda could do something with it. “Except for the one or more large flaws depending on how well that something works that is.”
“So you know about a Foggre’s love for unique technological features then, well this thing was made with a huge memory capacity. The problem is, the huge memory capacity itself. You try to download something onto this thing and it’ll take years to find unless you’re really good with coding a search directory for the search directory that needs another search directory.” Aulor saw the look on Coco’s face as she fiddled with the device flip it open to show the screen to the Pony. “Yes it’s exactly that bad, anything put on this thing gets lost in the vast memory capacity and as for finding it? It would take a while for the average coder to do anything with it. To be a bit more upfront with you, any data put into this thing is immediately scattered into millions of bits. Bits you have to find and cobble back together to get what you wanted to be there in the first place, plays a mean game of Ghost Eating Pizza Monster at least.”
“I might actually take that… what about this one” The one of Cacceran make was what Coco figured would be fitting for Opal, it was like arm mounted data pad in the form of a bracer and would fit Opal’s forearm well enough.
“A little bit more average, but its top of the line. Surprisingly it’s not actually of Cacceran make, it was actually created by a Parascine. I know, quite mystifying as you don’t see the jellies with anything like this on their tentacles, one of a kind make and I’ve used it quite a bit personally. Sorry for the mileage on it.” Aulor smiled as she now had Coco’s interest when she showed the device to her, it was in really good condition and looked like it would clamp around Opal’s arm easily. “Good data storage and works like a regular data pad, sturdy, easy to operate one handed, hoofed or pawed and has a very large broadcast and receiver range. There is the added bonus that it has a built in defense mechanism that can fire electrical energy for up to ten feet, completely nonlethal and incapacitating unless you push the limits of what the feature can do by firing multiple bursts. That feature is not great for the battery life though, which is probably why it didn’t sell too well. Any batteries made by Parascines tend to not last very long or at least that’s what the Parascine who gave it to me said, I personally think it’s because batteries are hard for them to make when you live underwater for the most of your life. You might want to watch out for that or find a more workable battery solution if you want it.”
“I’m definitely going to take this one.” The last one looked like one of the diamonds on Rarity’s flanks, only it was three dimensional and green with a metal ring wrapping around the widest part of it. It still caught Coco’s interest. “Still though, care to explain the last one, it’s a bit weird.”
“Of course it’s weird, this one was designed by a Plurt. It’s a hands free unit, it has a slight problem with telling everyone what your mood is though and it tends to make people paranoid because it constantly floats above your head while active. It starts out green, but it can change white, red or yellow depending on your mood. I believe I have what it is written here… ah yes this is it.” After flipping through several sheets of paper, Aulor pulled one out and went over it. She eventually read it out to Coco. “It’s a Parallel Levitation Utilizing Machine Based Operations Bit or Plu-M’Bob for short. In simple terms a mobile computer drone and it can respond to voice commands, it even has a holographic projector that is interactive and it’s basically a fully working data pad that you don’t have to hold onto.”
“So the mood thing and the floating above your head were the reasons why it didn’t take I guess?” The smile Coco received was a sad one, one that shouldn’t on the face of a pretty kangaroo-esque being like her.
“Got it in one. I enjoy some of the weirder stuff that can still be useful, but doesn’t quite get the time to show its stuff to investors. It’s practically of no use just sitting around here and it is admittedly a bit creepy to have floating above you.” Moving behind the counter, Aulor was already bagging the one Coco wanted to give Opal and stopped to look at her. Aulor didn’t seem to react to the grunting coming from below her or even seem to care that she was standing on her mate’s chest at all. “So are you taking just the Parascine one then?”
“I think I have an idea or two as to who can use the other two as well, I’ll take them too.” Both random bits of tossed out technology were tossed into the bag as well and Coco looked at the price. “Shouldn’t the price be more than that? I mean given what each of them can do?”
“Yeah, but a one for three sell wouldn’t go amiss as I’m not exactly bad off for dosh, besides technology was meant to be used and I can’t let things like this sit around and collect dust.” Then Aulor leaned forward crossing her arms and on the counter while giving coco a bright smile and motioning the pony forward. Having moved closer to her, Aulor quickly darted her head forward and pecked a surprised Coco on the cheek. “Besides you’re too sweet to charge an arm and a leg for three pieces of unwanted tech I just had laying around in the back. I hope your ideas for them work out, I’ll look up your business and maybe you can help me with a dress or maybe something a little more revealing to get my mate up and running. Both literally and figuratively if you catch my drift.”
“Kinky!” Chrysalis stated before Sassy rolled her eyes and started to drag her away from Coco’s business and towards Officer So’Grahd.
“That was a bit too forward of you...” Commented Coco who stowed her purchased gadgets away in her saddle bags with her cutie mark emblazoned on them.
“Sorry if that was too much, you smell like an obviously gay griffon and I couldn’t help myself because you’re really quite adorable.” After Aulor bade Coco farewell, the group left the shop and nothing would happen to them for the next hour or so aside from making various small purchases in the merchant district.