[IC] Exoria: A Galaxy on the Verge of Corruption

[Kyelin]

Sitting in the back, Noki waited until the fire subsided. It took all her self control to not run out and join the fray, but being injured wasn't going to help anyone. So instead, they waited, and when it was all over, Noki put back on her top and gathered her personal belongings, kept in a small locker during the operation. Once that was sorted, she
re-entered the waiting room, helped by the nurse who supported her weight on her shoulder, and waved at the others, a smile wide and honest on her face as she noted none of them were injured. The new guy was a bit suspicious, but she sensed no hostile intent, and waved at him too. "Greetings, my friends. It's good to see you all well. Sorry I couldn't help you out, but I knew you could handle it. And many thanks for the quick rescue. Even to you, Ana" Noki joked, her smile beaming and warm.

Noki then stood away from the nurse, and approached Valentine. She took his hand in hers, and kissed them gingerly in gratitude. "And thank you so much, Doctor, for this second lease of life. I am indebted to you always, and will never forget this act of kindness you showed me. I sense you are a compassionate soul, and it is good to see that there is some good on Norrux. May the Gods smile upon you always." She reached into her pocket, and grabbed all the credits she had, placing them in his hand. "This is everything I own. Don't try and give it back, friend, for I will not accept it. This is the least I can do."

With all the formalities over with the Doc, Maarcuu ran in, and she smiled at his arrival. "Hello animal man. I trust everything is well?"

---

Oradis carried a large bag of what appeared to be some sort of alien fast food, a yellow paper bag that oozed purplish grease from the bottom ever so slightly. When everyone had left to the clinic, Oradis decided against going with them, instead opting to get something to eat. It buzzed and clicked in happiness, looking for somewhere to sit down and enjoy it's meal. Finding a bench of sorts, it sat down, and took off it's jacket, revealing it's droid body.

It undid several clasps on it's chest, and opened it up like a set of cupboard draws, revealing at first what seemed to be a writhing ball of many jointed legs and tentacles. However, the mass opened up, and extended many feelers and squirming claws towards the bag, and gently grabbed it. With it secured, the hive center placed the bag in it's center within the chest, and smaller creatures massed over the bag, to divide the spoils among the hive. Everything would be consumed: Food, paper and plastic. Oradis closed it's chest, and put it's jacket back on. One onlooker who witnessed the feeding puked, and called Oradis a monster. It simply waved back at her, and walked a little further, until he passed Vash in a local bar.

"Greetings, human. How goes it?"

[Sora1297]

Maarcuu hadn't hesitated to unsheathe his blaster when the wounded man threatened him. "Perhaps the fact that Maarcuu would let Wounded Man leave here without a head. Also, perhaps Wounded Man's eyes were damaged as well, because Maarcuu's friends will easily overpower Wounded Man if Wounded Man tried to attack." he exclaimed sternly. It was a shocker that such a small and semi-adorable guy like Maarcuu was able to be actually threatening and dangerous. Perhaps he used that to his advantage: the effect of shock when people saw him in action, but didn't expect him to be able to handle himself. As the man collapsed and was dragged away, Maarcuu let himself breathe again and lowered the gun. Norrux Mirugal was starting to get to his head. Nodding as Noki came out of the operation room, he said "In a sense. As it would seem, Maarcuu has successfully gathered information about Rectja and how we may escape Norrux Mirugal. Aside from being threatened by countless men and women here, Maarcuu feels that Maarcuu's mission was successful. Maarcuu also discovered the whereabouts of your ship!"

Turning his head back to Zuzen, Maarcuu nodded and began to speak. "Maarcuu learned that there is a race being held on Level 8: The Garbage District of Norrux Mirugal, in three days. The event is held every year and is known as "Boonta Lueiag", which is a term translates from Borregelian to Galactic Common Standard as "The Race of A Thousand Deaths". It is an extremely dangerous race that uses Tri-Engine Dual-Speeders. Every racer has a pit crew of at least 4 people, not including a Crew Captain and the pilot. Alongside the pit crew, any racer who enters the tournament will require his or her own Speeder and a Sponsor. Sponsors can range from local business' and Crime Lords, Gangs, etcetera. The winner of the tournament, which consists of Three Laps around what is considered to be the most dangerous racing track on Norrux Mirugal, will get three prizes. The first prize is a ship: "The Blaze Star", which previously belonged to Noki before Noki's crew was robbed and killed. Maarcuu has seen the ship, and it is an amazing piece of technology that Maarcuu can't wait to drive! (Ahem) Pardon Maarcuu, Maarcuu got off topic. The second prize, is the opportunity to spend three nights in Rectja's Palace. We could use this to our advantage and destroy the slug once and for all. If Zuzen will allow Maarcuu, Maarcuu wishes to be the one to kill the son of a bitch. After placing a bounty on Maarcuu's head, Rectja is in serious trouble with G.L.I.P. As an officer of the Royal Agerna Pilot's League, its Maarcuu's duty to stop any threats to Agerna or the Galaxy. Finally, the third prize is a surprise. There has been word it involves a new slave that Rectja has acquired through some extremely violent means, but Maarcuu doesn't know what or who the slave is..."

Taking a deep breath and sitting down on one of the chairs in the waiting room, Maarcuu sighed and said "That's all Maarcuu found out... But if we entered that race and won, we could have a sure fire way off of Norrux Mirugal!"

[TheSovereignGrave]

"Heh, I know that race pretty well," Doc Valentine said, chuckling as he looked at the group arrayed before him, "Every year I get a bunch a' charred corpses in here that people want me t' try an' save. And not even from just th' race, from people practicin' for it too."

Zuzen nodded at Maarcuu, he'd heard of the race and had thought of using it to get a shot at Rectja before but he'd always deemed it too dangerous. But he'd thought of charging in and taking the slug out as he watched, not actually entering into the competition. Zuzen wasn't skilled enough to win, and he knew that. But now, Maarcuu was a pilot and while the small man might only think he could win because he was new and not as familiar with the race as the natives, it was still a chance. And it was a chance that might not come around again. A chance to make it into Rectja's palace and kill him in the very den of sin that monster called home.

"I would have to agree, this race sounds like our best bet at getting to Rectja," Zuzen said, then he looked down at Maarcuu; if he had a face to show emotion it would have shown remorse and sadness, "And I am sorry Maarcuu, if it comes to us getting to choose who is the one to deal the final blow to Rectja I would prefer it be me. He represents everything I have dedicated my life to fighting, and he has taken more from me than you can possibly know."

Then Doc Valentine interjected, "Hey, don't y'all worry about gettin' a sponsor. I can't exactly do it myself, since me and Rectja ain't exactly on friendly terms, but I can call in some favours. Just gimme a few minutes to make some calls." Then Valentine walked away and up the stairs at the back of the clinic, leaving the group alone aside from Nina, who wasn't paying any attention, and the other two nurses who were working on Neil in one of the 'operating rooms'.

[Pyro V]

Ana and Sura leaned up against the wall as Maarcuu went on about the race. From what Ana could tell, it would be a useful diversion for when she went to talk to Rectja. A smile crept its way onto her face, obscured by the cigar that stuck out from the corner of her mouth. Oh, this was going to be quite the eventful week, indeed. Already, she'd been shot out of space, been in a gunfight with some cops, blown a few holes in some goons, and made a backdoor deal with a crimelord. And it had only been a few hours since the wedding, if even that.

Meanwhile, Sura was more sour than the cyborg next to her. She'd seen what went on in these races, what people went through to be in that race and to win that race. Sponsors would go to great lengths to get their racers into the top three. Saboteurs in pit crews, bombs beneath speeders, mines on the tracks, snipers on the rooftops. Sura has personal experience on the last one. Gotten one guy out of first so that Rectja could win his bets once more.

They both spoke up at the same time, but Ana gave the alien a look that said "Shut the fuck up" and continued. "You shouldn't worry anything about finding a sponsor, Doc!" she called after him, the turned back to Maarcuu. "On behalf of Cassius Industries, I would be happy to represent you as your sponsor for the race," she said, giving a little bow to him. "It will get you into the race, and allow me to get close to Rectja, even if you don't win."

Arus then stepped up, and gave a little cough to try and get everyone's attention. When she had it, she fidgeted around for a moment before finally speaking up. "You're gonna want to have protection, too. Traps will probably be all over the track, snipers to take out first and second place on command." She fell silent, staring down at the floor. "Just thought to warn you, s'all," she muttered, backing away towards the wall to get out of the others' attention.

Ana shrugged, then turned to the rest. "So, anything else we should know before I head off to grab some more booze, or is this all the groundbreaking news we've got for one day?"

[Sora1297]

Maarcuu nodded at Zuzen. He obviously had good reasons to want to kill Rectja, but there was too much at risk. If what he had heard was true about Rectja committing serious crimes of theft, drug smuggling, and even terrorism outside of Norrux Mirugal, then it had escalated to the point where the G.L.I.P. would have to intervene. The G.L.I.P. never tried to interfere with planetary issues if they could help it, with exceptions of course being Inter and Extra-Planetary War, Galactic Manhunts, and the destruction of anything that could devastate the entire Galaxy. What was worse was that unless given specific orders from the Supreme Council that reigned supreme in the Ureena Galaxy (the title, "Exoria", will come into play later on), they couldn't intervene on a Non-G.L.I.P. designated planet; something that Norrux Mirugal was not. If Zuzen was allowed to kill Rectja, then he himself would be hunted by G.L.I.P. under penalty of murdering a source of vital information. Just as he was about to address this issue, Ana spoke up. She was offering to sponsor him in the race? Then the doctor added onto her offer. He knew people who could hook him up with a Speeder? Noki even added onto the conversation, offering him advice on the types of sabotage and challenges he would be facing while competing. All these things and more made Maarcuu feel confident that the people around him were the right group to have in this scenario. Maarcuu nodded and have a confident smile to everyone before speaking. "Maarcuu is grateful to everyone. Noki shouldn't worry about Maarcuu if sabotage is in the question. After all, Maarcuu is a royal pilot and to top it off, a well trained mechanic before that. If something happened, Maarcuu could (hopefully) take care of it."

The issue of Zuzen killing Rectja before he could become a prisoner of G.L.I.P. was still present in his mind, but Maarcuu knew Zuzen was capable of changing. After all, the Anamantia had been the one to talk Zuzen out of killing Rectja's spy when they discovered her spying on the group. Maarcuu knew that some people just got mixed up in the wrong crowd and didn't deserve to be criminally punished, but people like Rectja needed to suffer. However, he couldn't dwell too much on that. He had more pressing matters to deal with, such as getting everybody in on this race. "So, does Doctor Valentine have a way to acquire a Speeder for Maarcuu today? Maarcuu would like to start practising as soon as he can, then Ana could get Maarcuu signed up for the race under Ana's sponsorship."

[TheSovereignGrave]

"Yeah, I called in a favour a guy owed me. You'll get your speeder in an hour or two," Doc Valentine said as he returned to the group, "It's not top-of-th'-line or anythin' like that. But it's not a piece o' crap either, it's just pretty basic. Sorry, was th' best I could get; I prefer t' get paid in money, not favours."

Then Doc Valentine took a deep breath, "And I wanna go with y'all when yah go to Rectja's Palace. Don't argue, I got plenty o' reasons t' want Rectja dead too and if yah plan on startin' shit there, a doctor could come in handy, y'know? My nurses can deal with everythin' here anyway."

Zuzen thought for a moment, glad that Maarcuu hadn't argued with him about getting to kill Rectja. Though he did sense that Maarcuu had been planning on saying something before Ana had spoken. But it didn't matter, even if Maarcuu had told him 'no' it wouldn't be that difficult to knock the tiny man unconscious and kill Rectja himself. But Doc Valentine joining them wasn't something he'd expected at all. But he had to admit that the man seemed to be good at heart, and he was Rectja's enemy. Or so it seemed; Rectja's thugs happening to barge in while the group was there was quite the coincidence. But the Doctor did have a point, bringing along someone with medical knowledge would definitely help.

"I do not see an issue with it," Zuzen said, then looked to the rest of the group, "Do any of you?"

[Kyelin]

Noki heard of the plan, and she scowled at the mention of the ship crew's fate. So, there were no survivors... It was a shame. She had known a couple of the crew mates from the Blaze Trail, and could only hope that their deaths had been quick. Regaining her composure, she spoke to Maarcuu. "As agreed, the ship is yours. You have all saved my life twice now, and a friend of mine is a friend of the Merchant Fleet. That is, if you can actually win it. This race will most likely, like all things on this wretched planet, be corrupt and dangerous. You will need to practice, and we will need mechanics in the crew. Perhaps the many voiced creature you know can help in that department." Noki turned and began to walk out the door. "I need to get some air. Safe travels, to you all." Silently, she left, and proceeded to make her way somewhere to think for a while.

[Fabricant451]

TheSovereignGrave said
At the Princess's response Aethel looked up at Shalizar, saying "Excuse me" in a sing-song voice as she made her way past him towards the Princess's cell. her mood dampened somewhat when she actually saw the Princess sitting there on her bed, wearing what could barely be called an outfit. It was a reminder of just what Rectja did, and what fate might await Aethel herself if she didn't escape. Despite the severity of what Rectja did to his slaves, it was easy for Aethel to 'forget' and just not think about it when she wasn't directly confronted by it.So her wasn't smiling anymore when she walked straight up to the cell door, getting as close as possible. Not that it'd be easy for the Princess to tell her expression underneath the rebreather that covered the lower half of her face. "Oh, that's fine," she said to the Princess, taking one of the cell bars in each hand. However, as she did so she flicked something towards the Princess.It was several slips of papers folded together and written on. She hadn't seen any cameras down here, but she wasn't sure if Rectja had the room bugged or not. So she'd written all the relevant information on slips of paper, folded them together, and brought them down here. They read as follows: "I'm here to help you. :D", "I'm here against my will too; I don't want to work for Rectja any more than you do", "Trust me, have you seen any other women that want to be here?", "But we can't do anything now; we need to wait for the right opportunity", and finally, "All I want in return is amnesty/pardon. :D".

Audra waited for the visitor to speak, but nothing came, apart from three simple words. Turning her head to the cell door, her eyes wide with confusion and slight annoyance, Audra was prepared to reply to show just how annoyed she was at the waste of time. And then her eyes picked up the paper. Her hands then actually picked the paper up in order to read. It was clear the visitor wasn't mute. Perhaps then..overly cautious. The only ones who use such methods of communication under the circumstances were people who had something to hide. Something secret. And as Audra read the note, her eyes at the use of faces, she understood that this was definitely something secretive.

But that begged the bigger question. How could she reply? If paper was used, the woman was worried about listening devices. Audra was at least privy to some of the shadier aspects of the galaxy. It helped being exposed to it whole hog for the past...how long had it been? Months? Probably. Too long. Far, far too long.

"Shalizar," Audra spoke up, though her eyes were locked onto the note-writing visitor. This message was meant for her. If, that is, she too was privy to secret messages. "Does your job pay well? I was always of the mind that if you...do your job well," this she emphasized towards the woman, even throwing in a small nod, "That you should be rewarded in kind. Tell the visitor that her visit was appreciated and that she can visit again. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

Audra wasn't sure exactly what it was she would be pardoning, but as far as she was concerned it was chump change in the grand scheme of things. And anyone who was against Rectja was her ally. Even if that meant dealing with criminals.