EliteCommander

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Jess resisted the urge to step back as Light approached. She knew his tendencies well, so she was at least not surprised with how close he came. Still, QV could really make one feel claustrophobic, and she did her best to keep eye contact without it feeling weird. “You and Senjen know Ruk better than I do. I don’t...completely know how she would feel about this kind of work. If you think she would want to be involved, then feel free, but this is the sort of thing that you keep only to those who need to know. We’re going to be smuggling something, but instead of benefiting the hospital, it’s going to be for the benefit of our bank accounts. Which, frankly, is a perfectly good cause in my book.”

There was just a moment’s pause from Jess, as if she was listening for footsteps, only continuing when she heard none. “Okay, first things first, the what and the where. The ‘what’ is something you might be familiar with. I’m sure you might have had cause to use devices that can mask or spoof the identity of certain types of cargo on scans. Not a revolutionary thing for a smuggler, but the ones we are looking for are some of the best. They’re an ‘in-house’ product of the Centauri corporation. Their mining division has a presence out in the edges of settled space, but besides minerals, they’re also collecting some more restricted, or just overtaxed, substances and selling them in non-Human markets. Now the ‘where’ is in a, hopefully, unoccupied system around a pulsar. See, the company recently lost a freighter that was heading out to one of their frontier outposts, with a good number of these devices on-board. Now, the company thinks it was pirates, and they’re moving to search places where they might have been intercepted. However, I have some information suggesting it might have actually been an accident. The freighter’s route comes close to a pulsar, and being that these megacorps are always trying to squeeze out every bit of ‘efficiency’, they don’t like diverting to safer detours if it adds another day of fuel costs to the journey. Officially, their pilots have to keep a minimum safe distance so nothing bad happens, but they also ‘officially’ put harsher and harsher quotas on their underpaid employees so they have to cut corners off the books just to keep up. I have it on good authority that this one might have drifted too close to the star on their route and got their ship fried by the radiation. The cargo would have been shielded, though, which means it could still be up for grabs.”

“I won’t deny that there’s risk.” Jess added. “In a perfect world, we get in there, find it quickly, scavenge the wreck, and get out before anyone knows what happened. Big payday for just a little work. Places like that, though, are common haunts of pirates, and scavengers especially. We have to get in on this quick before someone else finds it, and we might have to protect our claim.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

For a moment, Senjen almost felt overwhelmed again thinking about the options, the numbers being given, and the programs on offer. On the surface, the work placements did not seem to be too bad of an option. He was a bit wary about working directly for a massive corporation like Myrmidon, but if they were odd jobs he could choose to take whenever he had time, it could be fine. For the moment, though, he stopped worrying about it. His friends could help him figure this out.

Senjen took the tickets with some hesitation. “Ah, well, if I only have a day to read through and figure all this out, I probably don’t have time to go to a club. Still, I will be back tomorrow, at least.”

---

For Jess, the mention of the castes had her looking annoyed for a moment, but in a place like this, she was holding her tongue. As she nodded long, listening to the explanation, she messaged Light privately. ”Exciting as it might be, I don’t think you want to be getting attached to this thing right now. You don’t have the savings right now, and there’s no way you get even a halfway decent rate without a deposit. Just...be patient. The offer I have might help you out.”

Meanwhile, hearing Symphony’s offer, Jess gave a non-committal shrug. “Maybe. We’ll have to see what our friends are wanting to do. Speaking of, we should probably get back to them.”

It did not take long for both groups to find each other, though both Senjen and Jess had reason to leave quickly. The idea of going to the club was up in the air, but no matter what they chose, they also had reason to stop back by the ship first. Fortunately for Jess, the gel from the room mostly stuck to itself rather than her clothing, so she mostly just had to deal with being slightly moist and mildly uncomfortable during the taxi ride back.

---

“You’re wanting me to read how much?” Jess snapped at Senjen as they climbed out of their automated taxi, outside of Light’s landing pad.

Senjen held up his hands. “I know, I know, but you’re good at this sort of thing. Best out of any of us, for sure. This thing could follow me around for a decade, and you know...you could really do a lot to help me. And with a frame like that, maybe I could help you too? Or at least I could pay you, or maybe…”

Jess sighed, interrupting him. “Just…” She began, holding up one hand and looking away from him. “Fine, I can help. Just give me a few minutes. Light, could you come here a minute? I need to check something with your astronav system real quick.”

Senjen tilted his head, surprised for a few reasons. He had expected to have to persuade her more to actually convince her to donate that much of her time and effort, and on top of that, he was not sure what she wanted with the ship. “Is there something wrong with the ship?”

“No, or at least you better not have broken anything since last time. My usual courier’s been dragging their feet on something, so I might have a courier job or two soon, if they don’t get their asses in gear. Just need to make sure the ship is set to navigate to that sector. We’ll just be a few minutes.” Jess answered.

Jess seemed a bit insistent that Light join her, and once they headed up through the ship, out of sight of the others, she spoke up in a casual voice. "Could you change into your old suit real quick? It could take some advanced flying, and I need to check some things in the suit you're actually going to be using."

Light was willing to comply, so after taking a few moments to change, the pair headed up towards the cockpit. Once they got out of potential earshot of the Myrmidon suit, though, Jess got to her real business. “Not completely sure how Ruk would feel about this one. I’ll make it quick. I’ve spent the last few years trying to make inroads with a certain organization that shall remain nameless for now, and I think I finally have something. I won’t sugarcoat it; I’m looking to get into the trade of black market goods. Tech, specifically. Nothing dangerous, just the kinds of things that corporations would rather keep in-house than to sell on the open market. I’ve tracked down a lead on a particular piece of gear, and if I can recover it, then that’s my in. There are risks, and it could be dangerous, but there’s a lot of money in this trade. Could be a lot for you too, if you work for me.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Ruknar’s reminder was helpful, if nothing else to keep Senjen from rushing into any decisions. This purchase was something for which he had been planning and saving for over two years now. He had been patient for all that time; he could stand to be patient for one more day. This was a commitment that could eat up quite a few years for him, so it was worth it to get the best deal he could.

“Let’s see, and that’s after the discount…” Senjen muttered . “Okay, I can afford that deposit, and...this is my monthly income.” He had made over 1.7 billion GC during the last two years at FGC. Of course he had some expenses, but he had been able to save a significant percentage of it. This was something he could manage, he knew it, but he had to stay calm and keep in mind the advice of his friends. He looked up more directly at the Utaysi. “I just need to take this home, like I said. All the terms and conditions are here in this contract, right? Are there any other documents I need, or are we done for now? If you want to add on the work placement or advertising options you mentioned, I can look at those too.”

---

In the time it took for Jess to saunter her way through the gel into the other room, it seemed Light had managed to overcome the initial awkwardness at the new suit. He wasn’t crashing into the walls, at least. She supposed it was probably safe enough to start swimming her way over closer to him with just a small degree of caution.

Jess glanced over her shoulder at Symphony. “I’m just curious, is all. Buying a gel suit definitely ain’t in the cards for me today.”

Jess’ gaze settled onto the more fine details of the suit, at least as far as she was able to discern. The physical mechanics of a gel suit were still quite alien to her, but it still was mechanics. Still physics. It still needed to send and receive signals, still have something to do the job of muscles. Surely the fact that it was transparent would make it all that much easier to see its inner workings? Ruknar had mentioned how it was literally easier to perform surgery on a QV due to their transparency, so it could be the same here.

“Have you ever given a test drive of a top-of-the-line QV-made suit, Light? How does it compare to one of them?” Jess asked.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by the offers coming his way, and ironically, that may have been helpful for him to avoid signing up for more than he bargained for. He was worried about the time limit on the discount offer, and a sixty page contract was already more than enough to deal with without having to start thinking about signing up for other programs. It made him stop thinking about other additions and just focus on getting started with reading it. This assistance program might have been tempting on its face, especially if it could get help to keep his friends safe, but the thought of being called upon himself at a moment’s notice caused him to spiral with thoughts that proved to be just too much to deal with in the moment.

“Oh, no I...think I have enough reading to do as it is. Just, um, I just want to focus on this frame, and maybe the content creator program. I will read over the contract this evening, and come back tomorrow with my answer.” Senjen answered.

---

Overall, Jess had only some knowledge of Quelun-Vosh gel suits. In a way, they could still be considered a form of robotics, but it was “soft” robotics, and the technology involved was quite different to what she worked with day-to-day. She could see what was going on, and she could see that Symphony was certainly trying to make a sale that Light definitely could not afford. Jess would probably have to stop him from making a mistake...eventually. However, she was also curious to hear his perspective on what he was experiencing with this suit.

Light’s first comment was on the suit’s senses, and Jess supposed that should not have been too much of a surprise. The tech behind most of the sensors that Myrmidon used in robots and other devices would not require too much adjust to use in a gel suit. The QV’s sonar was unique compared to other intelligent species, but it was not like the idea of sonar or echolocation was anything new or revolutionary to Humans. Other Earth animals had it, and Humans had studied and used it long before they even encountered the QV. Still, she did notice how it seemed to be able to connect with QV physiology pretty readily, even without the “mind-meld” Symphony mentioned.

Symphony snapped Jess out of her thoughts and she, once again, tried an awkward mix of swimming and walking along the floor into the adjacent room. She was at least acclimated to the liquid breathing at this point, but she was like a toddler compared to them when it came to mobility. Honestly, given how fast Light had managed to accidentally shoot himself into the other room, she became mildly worried for her own safety. She certainly would not be dodging out of his way if need be, so she seemed to be keeping her distance a bit. “How does it compare to your suit? I mean, it’s coming from a Human company. Does anything feel weird about it?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen shrugged, giving a quick glance towards Ruk. “I suppose. I guess I just think a lot about keeping my friends safe, especially if I can’t always be there.”

In general, Senjen did care more about defense than offense. It did not terribly matter how much firepower he had if someone could end him before he even knew he was in a fight. Not to mention, his whole job was protecting others. If he was not the one standing strong, then a situation could turn sour very quickly. He had to admit, it was exciting to feel as strong as he had. Even just moving around felt so fluid, especially in a body as capable as that one. Not only was it better armored, it was faster and stronger. Partially because it was simply new and had not experienced the wear and tear of his current frame, but even if his body was factory new, it still would not compare. He had to keep reminding himself of what the had told himself going in. He was not buying today, just gathering information.

Jess’ warnings had been plenty for Senjen to expect a sales pitch, but what he received was more than he imagined. Upselling with discounted bundles, maybe, or mildly favorable interest rates on financing, but this was a discount on the base model. And a significant one, at that. All he had to do was make a few videos promoting a frame he already knew he liked? It seemed like a steal, but he did not know too much about contracts with big corporations. Could there be a trick here? What would they even do? He would feel less nervous if he was sure he understand the contract. Maybe he could let Jess look over it?

“I...okay, that’s really not a bad offer. Do you mind if I take a copy of the contract home? Read it over?” Senjen asked.

---

It felt tempting for Jess to want to take a deep breath first, but she was reminded that it was really best to breathe out before heading inside. A breathable liquid was...bizarre, more psychologically than physically. In truth, Jess did not know all too much about it. She vaguely remembered Ruknar talking about it at one point, and she knew there were some chemicals of some sort that inhibited the natural drowning response in all known intelligent species. It worked for some animals too, apparently, but was more hit-or-miss.

Jess move forward awkwardly, uncertain if it was better to try and walk or swim. It was not cold, at least, so she did not get too much of a full body shock, but she was still already wanting it to be over quickly. The saleswoman had a suit to show, of course. Why else would she be talking with them? Though, she admittedly had some curiosity here. Gel suits were a recent addition to Myrmidon’s repertoire, all things considered, and they were very different from the company’s usual product lines. As advanced as they were, she had to imagine it was one area where the QV were still ahead, but would it be apparent just from first impressions? How would it compare? She wanted to make sure Light did not do anything irresponsible, but...there were some things she wanted to know too.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Even though he never really left his own body, Senjen still took a moment to collect himself after returning to conscious control over it. After having control over a brand new, top-of-the-line Myrmidon model, he felt like he was becoming immediately aware of the extra resistance his worn joints were putting up just to move. “Well I...guess I just have more experience taking advantage of this sort of body than the AI programs.”

Senjen seemed eager to talk to Ruk about the fight. He mimed the motion of toasting with her, his gaze fixated forward, and his tail moved excitedly. “I felt fast, sharp, even with the delay. I really need to show you Pertiktin’s studio sometime. He’s a great teacher, and he really emphasizes how to keep yourself safe.”

There was not time to talk for long before Senjen found himself being handed a potted plant. He looked shocked, for a moment. It was a gift that seemed random, but weirdly relevant to him in particular, and he briefly did not know what to think about it. “Oh, um, thank you.” He took it from the droid. “The frame was tough. Durable. I do like that about it. I do think protection is the priority if you’re in danger. Like I said, I’m not ready to buy anything today, but...I’ll keep it in mind.”

---

Jess was hesitant to follow, and only grew more reluctant the farther she went. Yet, she did not stop, and she kept all of her grumbling internal. She only ceased for a moment when they came right up to the edge of the gel room. ”Seriously...” She said under her breath. ”End up getting soaked...why do I do these things...could just walk away...”

Nevertheless, with a long sigh, Jess stepped forward and took the plunge.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen did not have time to stop and think. His last remaining ally, even after having been shot up from the start and damaged near to the point of destruction, had managed a surprising last stand, but he still doubted it would last long. It had bought time and kept him from being outflanked, but he needed to capitalize on that immediately. If he played this too patient, they would just use their numbers against him.

It was not a second after the grenade detonated that Senjen ran up next to the wall towards the doorway. The enemy team leader had used the grenade as cover to push up, but evidently it had not expected Senjen’s aggression. They met, a bit to Senjen’s surprise, right on the other side of the doorway. Even more of a surprise to him was how natural his reaction ended up being. His training had his body moving almost without thought. The moment the robot started raising its rifle, Senjen used his shoulder and left arm to push the weapon back up against its chest while driving his claws into its shoulder joint and slamming it back up against the wall behind it.

Senjen heard a metal footstep behind him and ducked his head as a shot from a sidearm flew high over him. The other robot was back in the fight. Meanwhile, the blue team’s leader headbutted him and pushed him back, then started to slash at him in retaliation. However, as deadly accurate as it had been at range, these robots did not quite seem programmed for hand-to-hand combat. It did not know how to make full use of its body as Senjen did, and did not react in time when he whipped his tail around the robot’s wrist to hold back its arm, then jammed his claws down through the gap in the plating at the neck joint. Being a Utaysi model, he knew just where to find some important parts.

Though it did had not closed the gap in time to save its team leader, the last robot had rushed in much closer in those few moments. Senjen had only an instant to react, and even all his practice has not made him that fast. He turned to face it, but could not block the incoming swipe. His shields had been stressed considerably by the grenade and the claws went straight through, but he was able to at least angle his body so they just scraped across his armored chestplate. Senjen’s reprisal was immediate. He jabbed his claws into the neck of the robot so he could control its head and hold it still, then pressed the barrel of his own rifle against its head and pulled the trigger.

The simulation arrested Senjen’s movement quickly, and a bit jarringly. It had declared his victory.

---

Jess was not particularly impressed with Symphony’s rather “corporate” answer, but she did not let on to that for the moment, instead just humming and giving a nod. She had a feeling that what Symphony wanted and what Light wanted were two very different things.

“Gel-rooms...you’re going to have to remind me what those are again. Is that somewhere I could go, or is drowning going to be something of an issue here?” Jess asked.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen only caught glimpses of what was happening outside after finishing off the downed droid. He knew it was not going well for his allies, and as soon as he rushed up to the door and peered outside, two shots flew past, one of which glanced against the energy shielding just in front of his face. He had expected both of the remaining enemies to be bearing down on him, though surprisingly, he was not out of allies yet.

The first robot that had been shot down twice now still had some life left in it. The other robot had moved around to finish it off, but found it laying on its back with a shot lined up. Despite some damage to its shoulder joint, it managed to fire off a shot that hit the opponent’s forearm, causing the opponent’s shot to go wide as it stumbled down on the other side of the very same barrier the robot was laying behind.

Since Senjen had no angle to help, he fired a burst at the opposing leader, though it ducked behind its barrier.

---

Jess raised her brow at Symphony. The fact that she used a Human expression was not lost on her; many people did the same, or at least attempted to, when talking to members of other species. It could help them relate to one another, or cause drastic misunderstandings, depending on how knowledgeable they were. “That’s quite a change. What caused you to go from that, to a relatively normal corporate job?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Senjen, it seemed, had the same idea as his opponents. The covered rooms on the sides offered flanking opportunities. The opposing team directed one of its members to the left, and Senjen followed suit. He kept low, dashing under cover from shots flying above him until he managed to make it through one of the doors.

Meanwhile, both of the remaining two enemy robots moved up towards cover positions closer to the middle of the arena, keeping low the whole time. Senjen instructed both of his allies to keep their positions and establish a base of fire, especially since one was damaged. Both sides exchanged bursts of fire that lit up the room, striking cover and the walls behind, though there were no solid hits for the moment.

Senjen, though, got into the side room just ahead of his opponent, and did not stop his momentum for a moment. It was time to put some of his training to use. From where they were, he could close the gap quickly, firing while moving to keep the pressure on the robot. Getting up close and personal, he managed to push its barrel aside just before it fired with his own weapon, then swept its feet out from under it while getting his claws around the arm that was trying to guard its neck and jabbing them down into its torso from the gap in the plating. Amid all of it, he was impressed with how realistic the simulation felt. None of the hits were landing, nor causing real damage, but they certainly felt like they were.

---

Jess was not terribly enthused about getting her shirt wet, but she was used to Light by this point. Every species had their own ideas of boundaries, and QV were maybe the...closest. At least this time, she put more focus on their new acquaintance. “Ain’t so sure about that. Definitely not with bikes; I do robots. Ships too, but...robots are the interesting ones.” Jess shrugged.

While she might have been paranoid, it might have also been the case that there could be a lot to be paranoid about in a place like this. “I’m curious, what was that about rescuing people?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

It was a very sudden shift to being in the arena, from Senjen’s perspective. Not a surprise, but jarring nonetheless. Remote control did not feel the same as a personality transfer, though it was hard to express exactly why that was the case. He could see through its eyes, feel through all its senses, while his own were suppressed from his perspective. On paper, it should have been indistinguishable from the real thing, but there was something at the back of his mind always letting him know it wasn’t quite right. Regardless, that did not matter for now. He could still get a good sense of what he wanted to know.

Senjen rushed forward and crouched down behind a piece of cover in the arena. Being that his movement initiated the fight, he got to it first and fired a shot at the middle robot. It tried to move, but the shot struck right on the chestplate. Unfortunately, it seemed like the armor took the full hit, absorbing and dispersing the energy. It rushed to cover and shot at Senjen’s ally to his left. That shot hit closer to the droid’s leg joint, which was enough to cause it to fall to the ground right behind the wall. It was still active, but it looked like the shot had done some damage, as it was taking a moment to get up. Not the greatest start, honestly, but at least he was in cover.

---

Jess had been so occupied with how they might try to sell to her that she did not realize until it was too late how they had actually ended up using her. It was not really about her at all, but rather how she could demonstrate their product. They knew what she could do, at least roughly, and that she could put up good enough of a performance to make the competition engaging. She showed herself as a professional, which meant the robot was being compared, in the minds of the audience, to a professional. If only she had been disassembling a robot, then she might have given them more than they bargained for.

With a sigh, Jess shrugged to the Human. “No sense in blaming luck. I just need to keep my head in the game and pay attention. Less chance of making...mistakes, that way.”

Jess had at least been focused enough that she could not pay too much attention to the crowd during the contest, so it was her first chance to look around for Light again, and...of course that other QV was here. Jess had to imagine she knew why she was here, though she supposed she had already been tricked once. It was probably best not to fixate too much on seemingly obvious conclusions.

“Excuse me.” She said to the Human, thanking him for the “prize” before heading out into the dispersing crowd.

“Was the contest what you hoped, Light?” Jess asked once she was close enough.