[scikaiju]

18


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OP - Downstait - I Came To Play
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In his apartment Alex studied a grid of the solar system that Dez was sending through computer hidden in his wall. What currently had his attention the most was a blip just outside of Jupiter. "I just picked up the signal an hour ago," she explained though her holo image. "It's transmitting an SOS signal but the communication frequency it's using hasn't been used in a couple of years by the Galactic Federation."

"So what are you thinking?", Alex asked. "Somebody been out of the loop a little too long?"

"That is a distinct possibility," she told him. "Even today planets are sending out long range ships to the unknown regions to map them out. I'm currently checking through the records but so far I'm not finding a ship with a planned route that would bring it this way."

"And that's if it was a planned route," Alex commented. "Something could have knocked it off course."

"Another distinct possibility,"she agreed, a bit impressed with his thinking this through, "It is also possible nobody was supposed to know about this particular route."

"I'm trying to think positive today," Alex quipped.

"It's also possible...," she trailed off thinking of the scope of this particular thought.

Alex looked at her image, "What?"

"It's possible the reason why this ship is currently not in our database is because it wasn't launched from our network of planets."

It took Alex a few moments to figure out what she was talking about. "You mean from the unknown regions?" She nodded and he whistled. "Even with the fact you understood what the signal was saying?'

"You would be surprised how common the language we speak actually is," Dez told him.

"So what do we do?", he asked. "I'm assuming that since this is in our neck of the woods I got to check it out?"

"That would be correct," she answered. "It's your duty to investigate this signal.

"How long is this going to take me on the Skyboard?"

"The Skyboard wasn't designed to fly that sort of distance," she informed him. "However one of the shuttlepods we have docked in the station will. At top speed you'll be back in little over a week."

"A week?"

"Granted that's a rough estimate."

"Can't the pod jump there or something?"

"No because the pod would need a gate to make that sort of distance quickly. And there is no gate there to come out of. And any ship would have to be the size of this station to have that sort of jump capability. And I can not move this station without permission of command," she added to cut off the question she knew was forming in Alex's head.

"Guess I better start getting packed." Alex started to find his bag before turning back around, "Which one of us is going to tell Sam?" Dez just looked at him. "Right."

***
"You sure he can pilot one of these?", Sam asked Dez as they watched Alex place his bag in the pod. It was a pale grey craft roughly larger than a 70s van. Maybe a little longer if you put one side to side.

"It's a rather simple operation, a normal person can pick it up rather quickly," she said. "You basically set a course and let the ship run itself."

Upon hearing this Alex poked his head out from the entry hatch, "You had me running the simulations for the past couple of hours non stop."

"She said a normal person Alex," Sam told him.

"Oh ha-ha," he said coming out. "I already ran the precheck before I stowed my bag. You sure that food dispenser thing will work?"

"As long as you don't over do it," Dez informed him.

"You may have to starve yourself a bit in order to preserve the supply," Sam teased. He didn't respond.

"That ship isn't going to rescue itself," Dez said. "You might want to get on your way."

"Yeah, I better," he agreed. Hesitating a bit he looked at his twin sister, "You watch yourself."

"I'll be fine," she assured him, "I took over for you before."

"Yeah but I wasn't out of range then," he said without really thinking. He looked at Dez then back at Sam then back at Dez. it looked like he wanted to say something. Instead he ended up saying, "I better get going."

"We'll see you in about a week," Sam told him.

Dez added, "Have a safe journey Alex." He gave them a quick wave as he entered the ship. They left the hanger and heard a hiss that Dez assured her was a normal occurrence when the hanger depressurizing itself before the exterior doors opened. Pulling up footage from the hanger on a nearby screen they watched the pod lift up then slowly leave the bay. Once out of the confines of the station the main engines came to life and the pod shot forward toward it's destination. "It's good to see the time in the simulator actually sunk in."

"He has his moments," Sam smirked. "Am I the only one of us who thought he was going to tell you to make sure I don't get sent after a zero?"

"He knows that isn't up to me," Dez said as they headed back toward the control room. "I'm sure it's why he didn't say anything."

"So what do we do if the guys we go after discover that the Sheriff's out of town?"

"They may see it as an opportunity to go wild," she admitted. "I know you can take care of yourself, but the number may be too much for even Alex or any Sheriff to handle by himself. As long as we're careful I doubt any of the criminal element will know he's gone. And if they do he should be back to help deal with things before they get out of hand. But I doubt we will get anything like that in the meantime."

"Either way," Sam said, "girl's week."

***
"And enjoy your stay on Earth sir," the attendant told him as she handed his passport back to him. Thanking her with a simple nod he took his carry on and headed toward baggage claim. The air smelled dirtier than what he liked but he didn't complain. This was a new land to exploit that was all that mattered.

"Thank you my little friend," he said to the chip inside his passport as he tossed it in a nearby trash receptacle. It was worth every credit he spent on it to get him this far. But now Zyan Shroud's star was headed for the spotlight. And it was all the more appropriate that he studied up on a particular legend on this planet that fit his usual style to a T. Except for one aspect to it, he never gave his spoils to the poor.

After all why should they benefit from his hard work?

***
"Another one?", Sam asked as she answered Dez's call call on the keypad.

"I'm afraid so," she responded. For the past two days there had been a flurry of robberies of various residences and businesses. As in five on the first day and four the next. This was the first one for day three, that they were aware of. "Another home in one of the more well off residents of your city." She paused a moment to go over the rest of the information, then again to make sure she read it right the first time. "This is the second time this person had been hit by this particular crime wave."

"Must not have gotten all the stuff he wanted the first time," Sam commented. "Did he leave any clues this time around?"

"I already hacked into the report and this time he did, a Laser arrow was found in the wall."

"A laser arrow?"

"It's a solid object Samantha," she explained, "well the shaft is. The head itself is a light construct that the user can vary the size, density and length depending on the archer's choice of target."

Sam sighed, "Do you ever get use to some of the tech level we deal with?"

"I would be lying if I said I didn't have a similar reaction the first time I heard of it."

"Good to know," she said and started to think. "Seeing how many guns and rifles I've personally seen since agreeing to do this I can't imagine an arrow getting a lot of use as a long range weapon, laser or not."

"That assumption would be correct Samantha, while not common place a few lower tier criminals have been known to use it in their crimes."

"Any of them near here?"

"I'm checking now," she said while she turned her head to the side slightly out of habit when she interfaced with the computer through her implant to search for the information, it was generally much faster to search this way when you didn't have the specifics. "The database has the last known locations all but two of them. And none of the known ones are close enough to get to Earth given the time frame."

"And the two we don't know about?"

"One is Xbit G'udon, was surrounded by local law enforcement on Epster 7 and was able to get away. Epster 7 is one the other side of the known galaxy and the report was placed half a week ago."

"Could he make it here in that time?"

Doing some quick calculations before answering Dez eventually replied, "It's possible if he pushed his craft to the limit. But he would risk burning out his engines before he got here."

"And the other one?"

"Zyan Shroud, same situation on Polaris over a month ago and disappeared off the grid."

Sam thought that over, one was a outside chance and the other was a sure bet. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. "Who's Mo do these crimes fit?"

"Shroud's," Dez answered after another brief pause. "Multiple hits in a day but his target planning is rather chaotic. It's almost like he does it whenever something piques his interest."

"I'm guessing from the hits he has done he doesn't have a pattern to predict."

"I'm afraid not. It's almost like he doesn't have a plan. Which is something I often said about Alex when he first started. Still say on occasion actually."

"So we have to think like Alex," Sam said. "This one is going to hurt."

"The two of you are twins Samantha."

"You have met us right?"

***
Zyan watched the twelve screens showing the feed of the probes he launched hovered over the city he picked as his initial target.. Almost getting snatched on Polaris taught him not to stalk his targets in broad daylight. Shoving a plate of the local food aside, or what they called food it was borderline disgusting to his palate, he studied each one with intent. He had already visited four place burdened with a little too much of the local currency but there was still light in the day left.

He had spotted several targets outside of the area he had just hit. They would be on high alert given his recent activity and a challenge. But they would just be a job, a run of a the mill operation that could be done by anyone. No he wanted something with a little more flair, something with a little more excitement. Zyan had a legend to protect after all. It had to be something the locals would remember for cycles to come.

Just for fun he looked over some of the previous scans. "Oh that is just perfect."

***
Waiting for nightfall he jumped on top of the stone wall and scanned the area before him. There was a heavier security presence like he thought there would be but nothing he couldn't handle. Watching the guards movements for a bit to get the pattern down he jumped down and made his way forward toward the house. Cameras were probably everywhere but he didn't care, how else was he going to get an audience to see how magnificent he is?

Getting close to a window he pulled out a sensor out of a pouch and checked it. he smirked at the results he saw, he was sure the alarm system he was seeing was advanced for this planet. But naturally child's play for him. Bypassing the security on the window he looked at it again and saw another lock, an antiquated latch these people seemed to favor. It would be simple to use a basic magnetic device to to open it but where would be the fun in that. Drawing a small blaster he lowered the setting just enough to disintegrate a small pane of glass. Reaching through he flipped the latch and hurried inside finding himself in a hallway. At least it wasn't another bedroom like what happened on day two, and occupied at that. that was embarrassing to say the least.

Doing a silent scan of the rooms he encountered he finally found one that looked like it could hold a safe of some sort, an instinct he learned over his career. Another quick search and he found his target, behind some wall paneling, slightly more clever than what he had seen so far. It looked to be the standard keypad lock for this planet. What would he do if they ever discovered bio-metric locks and blood sensors. Still it would be simple to pull out a device and open the safe. Again that was boring. Taking a few steps back he adjusted the length and thickness of one of his laser arrows as he set it in his handheld crossbow he usually carried at his hip. Taking careful aim he pulled the trigger and the laser arrow was embedded in the safe. After a few sparks he walked over and tried o opening it. It did so on the first pull, "Just like skimming a comet."

Then he saw inside the safe. Outside of a couple of necklaces that bore some jewels that might be of some value all he found were stacks of bundle paper this planet called currency and some other papers and envelopes. They were probably important to residence but they were nothing to him. With a limited selection he took the necklaces and a couple of bundles of the currency. It seemed to be a smaller domination than the others he previously taken so hopefully he'll have an easier time trading these in for local goods than the others did. And with that he took his leave.

Finding the window he used for his entrance he jumped out, made his way to the wall and congratulated himself for another perfect escape.

"Stop right there!", an electronically distorted voice ordered. He already had an arrow in his crossbow by the time he turned around. A human clad in red and silver armor and pointing a regulation Galactic Sheriff handgun at him greeted him. The form said this one was female and word had it that the Sheriff on this world was male. It had to be the partner. Zyan was personally insulted, who did this sheriff think he was to send his underling after him? Did he think he was too good for Zyan Shroud?

"I don't believe I had the pleasure," he said hiding his annoyance and disgust.

"You are in violation," Sam went on instead, "of galactic code 37, robbery on a unaffiliated world."

"Oh please, I'm sure we can put off...", he shut up for a second as she kept the gun on him and took a few steps forward. "All business," he sighed, "you must be popular at the local celebrations."

"Just drop your weapon."

"No," he quickly pulled the trigger on his crossbow. Sam recoiled as the arrow bounced off her armored shoulder with a splash of sparks as it knocked her to the ground. He leaped the wall as Sam got up. Checking her armor to make sure the arrowhead didn't pierce it she gave chase, ignoring the security force telling her to freeze.

-SHIELD-

The disc appeared on her right forearm as she jumped on top of the wall. she got it up in time as she just saw Zyan take aim at her and fire.These stuck in her shield, he must have adjusted the settings on the laser arrowhead. Taking the gun in her left hand she fired back but Shroud was already on the move. "Stop!", she ordered as she chased after him. Although she did have to stop and get the shield back up fast as he open fired again. In the brief instant she had before the volley came at her Sam noticed some sort of clip attached to the top of the crossbow. That would probably account for the speed she was getting shot at. Of course she was also wondering why he didn't just do that to begin with if it had rapid fire capability? Well two could play at this game.

-RAPID FIRE-

At this range the energized shots hit the non-leathal target points her HUD selected rather hard. In no time Shroud lost his grip on the crossbow. Releasing the trigger just enough to quiet the gun she kept it pointed at the thief, "Now step away from the weapon."

"Of course officer," he said smoothly. Sam almost him flick his wrist and a small metal rod popped into his hand from his sleeve that quickly extended as he swung at her. Getting the shield in time she tried to fire a shot but couldn't get a opening for one as he kept her on the defensive. backing up just a bit faster than he was attacking she was able to create enough space to replace the gun in the pack on her back and hit the three key.

-STAFF-

The shield faded from from existence as she reached behind her head and grabbed a small metal rod of her own that quickly expanded to a full length staff. They stood there in the middle of the street like a modern day Robin Hood and Little John as their staffs clashed between them. Unfortunately for Zyan had years more practical expertise than the staff than she did and quickly got into position behind her suing both their staffs to hold her in place.

"Relax my lady," he said in her ear as she fought to get free, "there's no shame in realizing that your outmatch." That's when he let go of one end of his staff and grabbed her chest plate, emphasis on chest. Granted there was a good layer of electronic armor between him and his hand and her breast. However it was just the idea. Sam swung a fist back and below the belt. Zyan physiology was similar enough to humans that she received the desired effect, "Ooof."

"Creep," she muttered as she flipped him over her shoulder.

-SINGLE GUN--CAPTURE-

Not waiting for him to get up she fired the bands that quickly wrapped around his body. "You're lucky I'm the good twin," she informed him right before slapping a transport chip on his forehead. She might have slapped it on just a tad too hard, she'll claim it was the adrenaline if anybody asked. Calling down the Galactic Cycle she quickly hopped on and rode out of there. "I'm going to need a safe route out of here Dez," she said hearing some sirens in the background.

"I'm calculating one now based on the location of the local authorities in the area," she said. "And good work on calculating where Shroud would show up next."

"I can't take all of the credit for it," Sam replied. "I guessed that he'd hit that house for a third time. I was lucky it was still in the same area."

***
"It was a long range freighter that got lost getting away from a wing of pirate fighters," Alex told Dez and Sam over a comm line once he was close enough to Earth to do so."The stardrive was damaged pretty bad, they had to piecemeal the repairs along the way."

"It was fortunate they were able to make it this far," Dez commented.

"They said the same thing," Alex told her. "I got in contact with Galactic Sheriff Control and gave them their position and stayed with them until they showed up with a repair ship."

"I hope they were grateful that you hung around," Sam spoke up. "Who know if those pirates would have been able to pick up their trail."

"I'm sure they were," Dez said.

"I'm not going to lie though," Alex said, "part of me was hoping that would have been a first contact with a new species."

"Yeah that would have been cool," Sam agreed.

"Well it is a big universe," Dez told them. "There's still the possibility."

"Oh course if Alex was their first human they seen than we'd probably be in an intergalactic war by now."

"Oh ha-ha," Alex said dryly. "Okay enough about my time on the job how are things back home?"

"Don't you mean 'how were things'?", Sam asked.

"And give you the opening to say 'Great while you were gone'? I don't think so."

"There was a bit of an annoyance that popped up right after you left," Sam told him, ignoring the look Dez was giving her. "I was able to to take care of it."

Alex caught Dez's look, Wwhy do I get the feeling that's going to be an interesting report. I'll see you two in a few hours, shuttlepod out.

"Acknowledge," Dez said. Looking at Sam she waited for the screen to go black, "A bit of a annoyance?"

"Well he was."

***
One of the thin, grey colored servants came through the crowd and bowed to the boss before announcing, "Zyan shroud was captured on earth."

There was a mild buzz throughout the crowd. At least one person commented out loud, "I'm surprised it took so long for somebody to nab that idiot."

After a few grunts the droid "translated" for the crowd benefit, "A loss of no great significance. He is fortunate the human Sheriff encountered him before my agents discovered his presence. I will not tolerate freelancers working in my territory without my knowledge or permission."

Elsewhere the Andorian the screen showing that exact moment in the boss's chambers in total amazement. "How did you sneak a camera in there?"

In front of him Galgamayde didn't take his eyes off the screen, "I didn't. I jacked this terminal into a security feed. These are his own cameras that are allowing us to view this."

"Still a risky gambit," the Andorian said. "He has an entire team to keep any one from doing this that."

"A team made up of individuals," he corrected him. "It's just a matter of finding the right price."

The Andorian snorted, "That's always the way isn't it?" When Galgamayde didn't respond he went on, "So when do we do it then? And how for that matter? Those damn felines can't be bought. People have tried and died when they have."

"Soon," Galgamayde told him, turning his head to another screen. This one showing a schematic of the building the boss occupied. The bribe and these plans, even being slightly out of date, practically bankrupted him. But it would be worth it. "Just as soon as I'm sure the entry way is clear."


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ED - Divide the Day - Let It Roll
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