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

[h3][i][b]THE PAST![/b][/i][/h3]

[color=00a651]"[i]AAAH[/i] HAH HAH HAH HAAAH!  THE LOOK ON HIS [i]FACE!![/i]"[/color]

It was a rather quick fight for Nero, but ultimately satisfying, and when he straightened up, he saw that he didn't have anyone else to really deal with, as the others had managed to take down their own targets, some better than others.  Navi's was perhaps a bit high in the drama, but whatever.  She could handle her own thing the way she wanted to, long as it got done.  Abaddon had crushed one of their spines, and Tarak had liberally applied the chunky salsa rule to another.  All in good fun, which reminded him...it was time to get a trophy.

What?  No, it's not what you think.  Good [i]god[/i], no!

You see, what happened here was that the dead man, Tobias, had left behind a completely-intact plasma flamethrower, and Nero decided to relieve him of that device.  After all, [i]he[/i] wasn't using it anymore.  By the time the newcomers to the scene had arrived, the dagger-wielder was already trying it on, grinning as he inspected it with his mask flipped up.  He looked over at the men that just arrived, but saw that they weren't pointing guns.  In fact, they were saying that he and the other marines - plus Abaddon - were free to fuck off in the dropships they came in.

[color=00a651]"Alright, sure.  I'm keeping this."[/color]

Yyyup, and no one will ever know - 'till later, perhaps - that they were handing over that madman's weapon to...well...another crazy person.  Well...it's not THAT BAD.  Nero actually cared what he hit, didn't want to explode, and certainly dodged better.  This was more of a thing to mess with than actually keep for battle, anyway.  Not unless it was going to serve alot better than his assassin-y ways.  So, right along with the others, he'd take a dropship outta here, all a'grins with his new toy.

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

[h3][b][i]THE PRESENT![/i][/b][/h3]

During the time between their little battle and the Xuanzang's arrival at Plenty, Nero had indeed kept himself amused with Tobias' flamethrower.  Well, [i]now[/i] it was [i]Nero's[/i] flamethrower, but anyway...  Once he'd gotten his Omni-Tool to scan the machine - [color=00a651]"Hey, tell me how this thing fucking works."[/color] - the young daggermeister was furnished with an instruction manual downloaded online, which...he only read the operating parts and the warnings for so he didn't overload it before he got any enjoyment out of the machine.  As a result, he would be finding objects to hit with a gout of flame in the cargo hold, just for laughs.  Someone would've happened upon this eventually, and he'd muse [color=00a651]"I wonder if the Rau've ever feel bad about potatoes.  Ah well."[/color].  FWOOSH...

This was how he spent his free time, which actually wasn't much, considering they'd bullshitted the Ascendancy into believing the lot of them were still on commission.  Once he and the others were called in for a meeting, it appeared that they'd made it to Plenty, that they'd flown over a load of crop-laden countryside, and that they were hovering over a bigass prison ship that'd thrown itself at the ground...and didn't miss.  Nobody ever told them the Knack, it seems.  Ah well, no biggie.  Whether the ship was ever gonna fly again wasn't [i]his[/i] concern.  They just had to go extract an AI, or whatever harddrive he was on, or however that worked.  Tarak was in charge, overall, but they were going down in teams, and using Fin's portals to make it easier.  Nero was here in his usual gear, listening to how they expected it to go down, with Avelyn expecting to blackout all the comms in the place and move in with intimidation.  He liked that, but apparently Tarak did not.

[color=00a651]"Ehh, spoilsport..."[/color]

Tarak wanted to keep up the fib that they were all still cool with the Ascendancy.  Heh, that was gonna be a hard sell, especially with the fact that Nero has [i]never[/i] been cool with those idiots.  In any case, he started dividing them into teams, with Nero himself put alongside Sam and Iris.  Ah, so he was stickin' with the sibs, eh?  Well, as long as there wasn't any candy on board, Iris would have her head in the game, at least.  This was actually a good idea, making them - along with Ash, Flame, and Navi - the infiltration doing the no-thrills search-and-retrieve, because Nero did NOT want to be talking to any Ascendancy assholes in there.  He'd shoot his mouth off at the wrong time, and then probably tear their own off.  All this was well and good, but Nero turned to Samuel and Iris with an additional bit of info.

[color=00a651]"Once we get in there, expect me to be pretty much silent and out of sight.  I'll be getting the drop on anything in our way."[/color]

Because that was how Nero operated when he was being serious.  Was this the silent assassin that Elaine had been talking about?  Perhaps.  Or maybe she really thought that he was quiet all the time.  Truth is, though, it was about his stealth [i]power[/i] and training, which would keep an eye on those two throughout the mission.