"Thank you again, Cormorant." Commander Igneous said, "We owe you our lives."
"It's our pleasure, Igneous." I replied, "But what are you going to do now?"
"There is a Federation station at the next jump beacon." the Rockman said, "They can clear the station, or at least call someone to do it. Then we can go back and get back to work."
"Got it." I said, then calling to Victor, "Tell Dash to head to the next jump point and find that station."
"On it." The happy A.I. replied, "I'd estimate about a half an hour until arrival."
"There isn't anything we can offer you as a reward, Captain," Igneous said, "But there is something I can tell you: a secret among the Rock."
"You really don't have to do that." I assured him
"I insist Captain. You saved our lives, it's a Rockman thing."
I just shrugged. Part of me REALLY wanted to know this secret. The Rockman stood up and motioned for me to follow him. After we were out of earshot, he recounted his tale.
"There is a story among my people that tells of an ancient race," He began, "A race known only as 'the Precursors'."
"Precursors?"
"Yes, we Rock are direct descendants of these Precursors, but none remember them directly: they disappeared over five-thousand years ago. They had reached a level of perfect development: so perfect that legends say they could survive with no air."
I call bullshit I thought, but I actually said, "That's amazing."
"There are hundreds of stories like that, telling of there amazing abilities and skill, but the one you need to know is this: some say they are still around."
Now I'm really interested. A creature that impresses the mighty Rockmen would make an amazing addition to the team.
"Among their many technological marvels were highly advanced stasis systems that could, if the legends are true, preserve them almost indefinitely. If you could find one of these pods, you would have a powerful ally."
"But how would I find this creature?" I asked, "I doubt I'll see a sign that says 'Precursor this way'."
"They aren't, but I do remember one thing." he said, "A little rhyme we were all taught as children: 'Follow the crystals/ and you will find/ a powerful creature/ unlike any kind."
"Do you believe this?" I asked. This sounded like one of the tales old mercenaries or freighter workers told after one too many glasses of Mantis Bug Juice.
"There are a lot of bizarre things in this universe." He replied with what I thought was an introspective look, "I'd like to believe that not ALL of them want us dead."
"Thank you for telling me this."
"Just promise me you won't repeat this to anyone you don't trust."
"I wouldn't even tell my name to someone I don't trust." I replied, "This secret is safe with me."
"Jumping to FTL speeds. Everyone brace yourselves." Victor said as Dash primed the engines.
"Is your ship always so..."
"Yes. Yes he is." I interrupted. The ship shifted as it began to distort the space around it. I had asked Dash and Twilight to try and explain how the FTL system works, but I just got really confused. A few seconds later, the ship lurched again as we accelerated.
"I need to get back to my station, but we'll be arriving soon." I said
"Thank you again, Captain." Igneous said as I walked to the lift. A few minutes later i was sitting in my weapons bay, with a partially disassembled Carnivore shotgun on a workbench. Not only to I operate the starship's weapons and mechs, but I also maintain the small arms and armor we use, as well as requisitioning whatever we need. I'm also a bit of a tinkerer: I always had ideas and plans for grand devices and tools that I'd probably never find the parts to build.
That reminds me, we need more capacitors.
"There we go." I said as I finished cleaning the plasma remnants from my shotgun's barrel. It was always a bitch to clean this thing, since it had a different feed system than the others. That and its supercharged plasma slugs tended to leave a larger buildup of slag in the chamber, but I digress.
"We're almost there." Dash said through Victor's speakers.
I heard the familiar rattle of tracks as Grimlock came into the room.
"Hey Grimlock, what's up?" I asked the drone as I fitted the firing mechanism back together.
Grimlock didn't answer for a second. Then he looked up at the ceiling.
"The living quarters?" He replied confused.
"Grim, 'what's up' means 'what are you doing'." I clarified. I keep forgetting: Grimlock's A.I. needed to be exposed to different expressions to understand them, much like a human would.
"This unit's power cell is depleted." He droned, now understanding what I meant. He trundled to the power socket on the wall and spun in place before backing into it. His V shaped 'eye' dimmed and his arms went limp as he went offline.
"Victor, I'm going to order some ammo." I said as I fitted the barrel back on.
"You bet. I'll keep everyone else out." He chirped.
"Good." I replied as I stood up and replaced the weapon in the armory. I grabbed my sword and sheathed it on my back, then headed for the starboard airlock where my friends were.
"So, what are you guys going to do while we're here?" I heard Dash ask as I joined them.
"Spike and I are going to the Data Core." Twilight said, "Maybe we can find something interesting."
"And I'm gonna go see what kind of yummy ingredients I can find." Pinkie said, bouncing in place.
"Pinkie, please make sure those ingredients are safe for everyone to eat." I reminded her, "You almost gave me a heart attack when you said I was eating Jump fuel."
"What about you?" Dash asked me, "What are you going to do?"
"We need more capacitors for weapons, so I'm heading to the Arms Dealer." I said, "You just try to stay out of trouble."
"Me? Get in trouble?" Dash said feigning insult, "What would make you think that?"
The airlock opened to the main deck of the station. The cargo bay was also linked into the station, letting Igneous and his crew enter as well.
"You tried to fight a Mantis one on one." Spike reminded her, "That's insane on it's own."
"It's only insanity if you're not enjoying it." Dash said with a sly smile. I just laughed.
Twilight and Spike left and headed toward the Data Core, Pinkie bolted off in another direction and Dash and I went a third way.
"So, what kind of reward do you think were getting for saving those miners?" Dash asked.
"Probably some credits." I said, "Maybe a few parts for robots or maybe some missiles."
"Booooring." She droned, "Why can't we ever get something cool?"
"Hey, we got a Zoltan the last time." I reminded her, "How is that not cool?"
"Touché." She replied after a minute of thinking. Then, she saw what she was looking for: a bar.
"Well, here's my stop." She said, "Have fun...doing whatever it is you do."
"Dash, please try to stay at least a little sober." I pleaded, "Victor doesn't like to clean vomit from his instrument panel."
"Don't worry. I'll only hit, like, three asteroids on the way out." She said as she disappeared inside.
"Thank the stars for autopilot." I mumbled to myself. A little further was the arms dealer I was looking for. I walked through the door and saw the clerk, a female Engi. She actually was an attractive woman, except for the metal plating on her chest and back, and the slivery sheen of her skin. She turned around from stocking one of the shelves with Predator pistols.
"Hello, Sir." she said politely with a tinny voice, "Is there anything I can help you find?"
"I'm looking for ammunition." I said. She seemed to fall into a trance for a moment, then regained her senses. I'd seen Spike do that before too, usually when he was checking something on his computers.
"We have ammunition for most known small arms, but I regret to inform you that we are fresh out of ship-to-ship missiles."
I remembered we had just salvaged a bunch of STS missiles from that freighter.
Time make a deal
I left the store about half an hour later, having secured more than enough ammunition in exchange for the missiles we'd salvaged, but now I had a problem: what now?
I should probably go check on Dash I thought. We didn't need her drunk off her ass and flying the ship. That's when something else made up my mind.
"Security personnel to the Data Core." An automated voice said from the station's address system.
Dammit, what now?
I started running toward the Data Core. On the way, I saw a few defense drones rolling their way there, but I arrived first.
"Put me down, you damn space witch!" An angry voice said. I rounded the corner to see Twilight staring at something on the ceiling.
"You know, your lack of respect for others is just...disturbing." she said. I followed her gaze to see a man floating about 15 feet off the ground, wrapped in Sparks' trademark purple aura.
"I see you're having fun." I said as I approached her. She turned toward me.
"I was until this moron showed up."
"Twilight, please put the nice man down." I said.
"He isn't a nice man." Spike said, "He was making fun of us."
"Twilight..." I said again, a little more firmly
She sighed and snapped her finger, sending the man falling to the ground. That's when security decided to show up: comprised of two humans, a mantis and two battle drones.
"What's going on here?" One of the humans asked. The man peeled himself off the floor, his eyes burning with anger.
"That bitch attacked me." the angry man shouted.
"Really? How did she do that?" I asked, "She didn't touch you, and she isn't armed."
"She used some weird powers." He said, "She's like a witch or something."
I heard one of the human guards stifle a laugh.
"Seriously? A witch?" I said, hoping I was making him look like an idiot. I think it was working.
"Zeta 1-4, do we have a protocol for 'Space Witch'?" The human guard asked, trying to suppress a smile.
"Checking protocols." The drone...well...droned. He then made a pinging noise and replied, "Negative."
"That's what I thought." he said before turning back to us, "Look, I don't know what happened, but we can't PROVE you did anything."
"So, can we go?" I asked.
"Yes, but if you're in any other trouble, we will run you in for both of these offenses."
"Understood." Twilight said.
"Wait, your just going to let this bitch go?!" The man raged.
I turned back toward him.
"Go ahead, call her that again." I growled, "I dare you."
I watched his hand go for his belt. He then whipped out a pistol, aimed at Twilight. I pushed her out of the way as the man fired, letting the slug fly by harmlessly. I reacted from instinct: I reached to my hip and drew my own gun and fired a shot that blasted the pistol from his hand. I looked to the security units.
"He shot first. You saw." I said.
"I think it would be best if the three of you left." the Mantis hissed.
Twilight, Spike and I all left without a word. After we got out of earshot of the security, I couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"What are you smiling about?" Twilight asked.
"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" I said, still smiling like an idiot I love giving her a hard time.
"Oh shut up." She replied.
"So, did you give him the 'Flay you alive with my mind' shtick again?" I asked, "I really like that one"
She just stared at me.
smack
"Ow! Hey, no fair." I whined as I rubbed the sore spot on my head, "You can't hit me with MY sword."
"Oh, you mean like this?" she asked as the sword handle much more gently smacked me in the side of the head.
"Stop it."
"You didn't say plee-eease." she replied with a playful smile.
"Please?"
"Hmmm, smack, no." She said with a giggle.
Why are you so cute when you do this stuff?
"Sir, I hate to disturb you, but there's a little situation here." Victor said, interrupting Twilight and I.
"What's going on?" I asked, "Someone trying to steal you again?"
"That's possible." he replied, "Someone's trying to get in without permission."
I just sighed.
"On our way." I said, "Try to get Dash and Pinkie's attention."
I looked back at Twilight.
"Hey, I didn't do this one." she said defensively.
"How about we go with this, " I said as we all started back toward the Requiem's docking bay, "Spike did it."
"HEY!"