[center][h1][color=00a651][b][u]NERO KAYAKOS[/u][/b][/color][/h1][/center]

So, his shopping experience had gone like this...  Nero had asked the Korta clerk for recommendations, since he wasn't a gunnery dude, and while the alien was going down the long list of melee toys, Ash and Flame were also looking into this and Flame had a few suggestions.  To which the dedicated slashy said "You heard the man.  I'm into handheld cutting power, so bring on the knives 'n stuff.  The selection was pretty good on that front.  There were monomoleculars like he had, there were the hybrid-metals with the plasma-heated edges, there were electro-daggers, there were what had to basically be miniature light sabers that were basically plasma cutters, and...

[color=00a651]"Eh?  What're these things?"[/color]

[b]"Ah, your friend just bought these.  Rau've poison blades, grown from thistle trees of their home planet.  They exude a deadly poison when they detect blood, causing most species to lapse into a feverish coma, and then death.  Most effective...but you have to take care of them.  They're alive.  I keep mine suspended in a nutrition fluid for longterm storage."[/b]

[color=00a651]"What?  I gotta [i]water[/i] these things?  I never had a pet or a plant or nothing at home, 'cause I never had a proper home.  That's a pass on that one.  So, here's what I want.  Gonna have two extra mono-knives, so I got extras an' disposables on me.  Gimme the hybrid-metals, two of 'em.  And gimme a pair of the electricals.  Let's see...don't want the plasma beam cutter things...  That garroting wire any good?"[/color]

[b]"It's monofilament."[/b]

[color=00a651]"Mmm...nah.  I'm getting enough shit, as is.  Gonna need a better belt to hold it all, though.  Ya got anything for that?"[/color]

[b]"I do, indeed."[/b]

He ended up getting a utility belt with alot of slots for his knives, which now numbered in eight.  It was fine, though, because he wasn't going to put anything else in there.  Nero had what he needed to be a light killing machine, to armor himself up and improve his fighting power.  These weapons would make him stronger in attack without the need to power his weapons up.  It would work out nicely.  [i]Very[/i] nicely...  But getting back to the present moment, the thing with the Omni-Tool Narvia was using was that she was decoding a secret mission from her...godfather?  He was pretty sure he heard her mention that this Dragon guy - Zahn - was decent stuff, and Nero was pretty sure someone mentioned that Dragon Fleet he was in command of.  Nero kinda' wondered what it was the guy wanted.  Maybe he was on their side for putting down the Ascendancy?  That'd be sweet.  Well, eight-and-a-half hours to go, now that Ariel offered her own OT to sync.  Nero was kinda' anxious to learn now, but he could wait the hours if they got plenty of shit to do, anyway.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

They arrived at the hangar of the Xuanzang and...well, that's a ship, alright.  It wasn't anything special to look at, but then again, maybe it wasn't suppose to be.  As someone who understood doing things on the sly and keeping out of view while pulling sneaky shit, Nero could see that a ship that didn't seem like it could do much would be ultimately perfect.  That Dragon Brigade that Narvia's godfather ran was so famous that it had its own entry in the Omni-Tool's database.  This?  Nobody knew that Moonstrike used this.  It was just another ship.  It was therefore perfect for their needs.  If nobody ever knew they were operating from it, nobody would ever give it a second look.  Just like how nobody outside of their little group really knew what he could do to your face.

They finally met Natasha and Abaddon the Limb-Seeker, though she was doing the talking for the moment.  She wanted to know about them, of course.  Ehh, this was that socializing thing that Nero didn't exactly like.  He didn't mind talking, but...he and other people weren't like best mates or anything.  He got along with the others here, but they were umm...whadyacallem?  Collagues?  Associates?  Partners in crime?  Even back at the Rau've place, he wasn't super-close to people.  These guys were alright, but Nero kept going off on his own.  It was hard to really feel like they were more to him than anyone in Moonstrike, with the [i]exception[/i] of the fact that they all were linked by one big eyesore: Earth.  They needed to get back to Earth, get [i]back[/i] at Earth.  And let's be honest here.  [i]That's[/i] what linked them here, or at least Nero to the rest of 'em.  Sam and Iris may be sibs while close to Tarak, Flame and Ash had a thing for each other, and all the rest may be friendly enough, given the chance, but...this was about them sticking it to the Man, the [i]Ascendancy[/i] pf Man.

A bunch of 'em introduced themselves, some kind of showing off or explaining what they do and where they come from.  Nero looked at Natasha and Abbadon with a shrug and said, [color=00a651]"Nero Kayakos.  I kill people."[/color], in just a blunt matter-of-fact sort of tone.  It's all the assholes back home ever wanted from him.  They didn't give a shit about anything else, and it's something he was good at.  He didn't want to kid them here.  It's what Moonstrike wanted from him too.  Sure, they had things where they talk it out, but you all know what Nero is about, and so did they.