[scikaiju]

19

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OP- Downstait- I Came to Play
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Alex sat on a park bench just soaking in the sun's rays. Things had been pretty quiet since his return from his space mission form a couple of weeks ago. Somebody had set loose another Herculean and he was still feeling that one but it had been quiet. Although Sam probably wouldn't want to hear this but days like this is why he didn't miss haveing a regular job, just sitting and relaxing on a nice sunny day like this. Granted he was never fond of the old nine to five grind to begin with, but he put up with it because it was the only option he had at the time.

And it might be something he might have to get used to again. Well, before he was ready at any rate. The last time Orion called in he was walking around without the canes. Which meant he was closer to taking back the armor. So what would he do then? Going back ott he nine to five wasn't all that appealing. Of course if Sam was reading things right Orion might be thinking about making him his partner. But Alex wondered if he could really take a step back like that. And according to Dez Orion never had a partner before so would he call him if he needed him? Or would he fall back on old habits and do things solo?

While Alex was wondering if it was possible if he could do his own thing while Orion did his he looked up to see an attractive blond coming toward him. "Hi Alex."

"Hi Stacy," he said in return.

Sitting next to him without asking if it was okay, not that he was minding at that particular moment, she went on, "How are you doing?"

"Great," he answered, briefly wondering if he should go into the act. Then again she just saw him "sober" so going into it would probably confuse thing. Come to think of it he couldn't remember the last time he had a normal conversation for somebody who wasn't Sam or Dez without going into it. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, I'm good." She hesitated before going on, "I'm not sure if I should be saying anything or not but it's just great you finally did something about it."

"Ah...okay?", he was officially lost so hopefully she would provide hint on what the hell she was talking about."

"I mean you look a lot better than what you did."

"Thank you?"

Oblivious to his confusion she just went on, "Ryan says those things never really work but he's usually so negative anyway so don't you listen to him. Even if you did fall back you can always go back again."

"Stacy?"

She got embarrassed, "Oh god I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that. It sounds like like I'm expecting you to go back to the way you were."

"Stacy," he said a little more forcibly than he meant to. "What are you talking about?"

"Alex it's okay," she told him with a smile as she squeezed his knee a little. "Everybody knows where you went for that week."

Why did he get the feeling him and Sam were going to have an interesting talk later? "Where does everybody think I went?"

***
"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate how you don't have to spend a gorgeous day like this indoors," Sam said as they met up for lunch at the park entrance.

"About once a week," he told he started walking beside her. "Bad day at the office so far?"

"No worse than it has been," she said. "Although I swear Pete in IT tries to talk me or another girl about going out or grabs me by "accident" again I'm going to sneak the big cannon out from Dez's station."

Alex smirked, "Good luck with that, she keeps the weapons locked up better than the gold in Fort Knox. And why does everybody think I went to rehab?"

Sam started walking a little faster, "I was thinking about Tony's today if you’re up to it. my treat."

He caught up and got in front of her, lowering his voice a bit to say, "You told everybody I went to rehab?"

"I didn't tell them that," she said looking a bit insulted. Then she lowered her head and walked around him saying, "They just assumer that's were you went. You were right, they'll assume anything in the right situation."

He caught up with her again, "Why did you let them think I went to rehab? Couldn't you think of anything else?"

"First of all," she told him, "we never discussed that part of your mission before you left. Even Dez was stumped about what to say with that situation. Second of all," she stopped to look at him with a finger pointed at his face, "you were the ones who let everyone think you were hooked on drugs to begin with. Why didn't you think of something better?"

"And how would you have explained why a person most people considered to be pretty reliable suddenly stopped being that reliable?"

"I like to think I wouldn't have went with the first option that came along," she shot back.

"And I'm not hearing an alternative coming out of your mouth."

"I'm thinking," she told him sharply. "I realize you were desperate at but there had to have been a different excuse."

"Sam, I spent the entire time I had the keypad trying to think of a different reason than 'I'm on drugs'. It hasn't come to me yet."

"Well if you told me from the beginning..."

Alex walked away exasperated, "I knew you were going to bring that up."

"Well I'm sorry but...", they both quieted down as a couple passed them. A little quieter she continued, "But it still hurts to think you didn't trust me."

"We had this conversation already," he told her. "I didn't know how to tell you. What if the situation was reversed? How would you have told me you were the person in the armor?" After a couple of moments he went, "Not easy is it?"

Her only defense was, "You put me on the spot, I'm thinking."

"Now try coming up with a believable cover story on why you're disappearing constantly. Then you’re officially in my world was in those first couple of weeks."

"Alright," she conceded, "you have a point."

Waiting until they both calmed down a bit he said, "I know I hurt you when you found out the way you did. And you are one of the last people I'd ever want to hurt."

"I know," she said. "Like how I have an idea about what you were going through. Ever since I became your partner."

"And all of this because of a scaly son of a bitch," he said with a little bitterness.

She smiled a little, "He was more machine than scales when it happened to me."

"He still had scales," Alex insisted.

***
Elsewhere in the universe on the planet that mostly belonged to the being most sentients referred to as the boss things ran as they usually did. The day Galgamayde made his escape he had ordered everything damaged in the confrontation either fixed or replaced as quickly as possible so things would go back to normal. As much as they could, the fresh grave markers from that day kept the event relatively fresh in the minds of the population. And all blamed Galgamayde for what happened, simply because he refused to die.

Most of them seemed to forget about the Andorian's part in the whole affair, if they knew he was involved at all. which is why Galgamayde always sent him out for supplies while he stayed in the safe house going over the plan or collecting whatever they needed for it through a triple secured link. Often he simply watched the security feed he was able to bribe into. which is somehting the Andorian caught him doing the more times than not. "If you put that much effort into killing the human sheriff," he commented as he put the box of supplies he was carrying down, "he'd be dead by now."

"I almost did kill him," Galgamayde told him, not that he needed reminding. "My ego got in the way because I wanted to see him suffer first. The partner showed up unexpectedly."

"To be fair nobody knew this partner existed until you came back."

Fingering the side of his electronic eye absentmindedly he admitted, "I expected him to be like Orion. The lone Sheriff against the outlaws."

"Well if things didn't go to hell I'm sure you would have gotten another crack at him."

Galgamayde tore his eyes away from the screen to look at him, that electronic eye glowing with anger, "When would that have been? It took an eternity for me to be granted another shot at him to begin with. Other beings were getting far too close to killing him before I could."

"And everybody knows now what you do to rivals after the Twins," the Andorian commented. "Now you're wanted by every bounty hunter in the known galaxy and the boss's personal guard. If we didn't change crafts on the way back we would have been atomized on sight as soon as we hit sensor range."

"And you were more than welcomed to leave my side any time you wished," he informed him.

"And I would have been dead as soon as I turned my back," the Andorian shot back. "Just so you would be sure nobody would discover where you were."

"And you would do the same in the situation was reversed." Returning his attention to the screen he added, "If I didn’t decide to kill you first, in a chance to get back in to the boss's good graces. Not that it would have mattered where the boss was concerned."

"Most of the beings who work under him is aware of that." he looked back at the screen as well, "The smallest hint of betrayal in his eyes is an automatic death sentence. If I did bring you to him I would live just long enough to see you die first. And that's if he didn't decide to leak your position to the Sheriffs."

"Yes," he mused. "I wonder if they ever realized how often he had information leaked just so they would eliminate someone for him."

"I wonder if they would care if they did," The Andorian muttered as he continued to watch the screens, particular the main one with the boss right in the middle. "There is one thing we never talked about."

Admittedly intrigued Galgamayde went, "And what was that?"

"If we do this, I mean really do this, there's going to be a vacuum in the planet's power structure. So what are we going to do in that situation?"

Galgamayde looked at him and sneered, "We do what everybody else will be doing. Grabbing what we can for ourselves."

***
The Andorian kept the cloak over his head as he walked through the crowd, going so far as to lowering his head a bit just to make sure no one recognized him. A couple of meters behind him Galgaymade walked the streets freely using a high end holo disguise to appear as a simple servant. It cost probably more credits than what they had but he insisted on it seeing how it had a silence filter to mask the sounds of his mechanical limbs. And getting this close to the building the boss called home they were going to need every advantage they could get favored with.

Trying not to draw any attention to himself he turned left into an alley then quickly scanned the area for any visible surveillance devices or anything that could hide one. He spotted two hidden camera right off. "You better be right about this," he said as the "servant" came up behind him.

"The guards are not upon us yet," he said. Galgamayde's electronic eye spotted three extra cameras the naked eye could not. "You remember what happened last time a rival tried to sneak in through the ventilation system."

"I remember how much was left of the poor slime trail after the Hunters reported back," he said as a squeamish feeling started to form in his stomach.

"And that happened within moments of them being spotted, "he went on ignoring his companion's discomfort. "But we must hurry, this portal won't stay open for long." The portal in question was an unscheduled maintenance check of the security feed, hence no extra guards by the alley opening. So far the security lackey they were able to bribe was staying true to his word. So far at least. As they knelt the ventilation grate they both went to work at unlatching the connecting points. The Andorian held his breath and they removed it. Still no Hunters piercing their bodies so far. Galgaymade quickly ushered him inside before entering himself. Replacing the grate, the connectors reattached automatically and he checked his chronometer. "With time left over to relax."

"I'll relax if we actually survive this," the Andorian said as Galgamayde dropped the holo disguise. Instead of going right away he started doing something with the emitter. "Do we really have time for that?"

Not taking his eyes of the device he explained what he was doing, "I am expanding the sound damping field. To a size slightly larger than the vent itself. We will make noise in here no matter how careful we are. And we have come to far to be caught in such a clumsy manner.”

"You put way too much thought into this."

Smirking in a way that made the Andorian nervous Galgamayde said, "I've been thinking of an assault like this before I was forced to go on the run." Featuring darkening a bit he added, "Well before the human did this to me. Now get moving. They're only going to be able to deflect the ventilation system for so long."

Crawling along the vent the Andorian's curiosity wouldn't let it go. "Why did you start planning this so long ago then?"

He didn't answer right away, trying to concentrate on the hard part to come. "An outside rival to the boss tried to pay me to kill him. I killed the moron in front of the boss to prove my loyalty to him. But even while doing that my mind was trying to figure out how to do what we're attempting now."

"Just in case?"

"Just for the challenge." Laughing more to himself than anything he added, "And in case somebody made an offer I couldn't refuse.
***

In the usual chamber the boss held court with those loyal to him. One of the grey servants stayed bowed as he spoke, "Our sources in the Sheriff organization say Orion is close to reclaiming the armor he transferred to the Gamma. The speculation is that it may be a matter of solar cycles at the current rate."

There was a brief murmur among the crowd at that line. A more neutral tone compared to the usual noise heard in similar situations. One brave soul stepped forward and asked what a few of them was thinking. "So how do we respond to this?"

The boss was quiet for a few moments before the droid translated his sounds, "Right now nothing. They will not let Orion go back in the field not after being out of field for so long and after healing as much as he has. They will give him extra training time to get back, to use an earth expression, back up to speed. And to make sure his body is still up to the task."

"There must be a way to take advantage of the situation," he continued, but in a respectful tone. "Perhaps force him to take the armor back from the Gamma sooner than they had planned, before he is truly ready."

"Perhaps when the human Sheriff was still new, and could still be considered a 'Gamma'," the boss responded, "the idea might have been viable. No, he is almost considered a Sheriff by some of the actual Sheriffs that patrol the space ways. No, that idea would use up more resources than necessary for the potential payoff."

Before anyone could respond two grates above them blew out. Before anyone could react the Andorian and Galgamayde dropped down to the floor. Galgamayde landed between the droid and the boss while the Andorian hit a bit more to the side, their guns in hand and ready to use. Three hunters jumped out of hidden wall panels. The Andorain changed his aim to the general direction of the droid as planned. They stopped their progress, Galgamayde sneered slightly when they did so.

Taking advantage of the stunned silence of the crowd Galgamayde spoke, "It appears I did what was thought to be impossible."

"What do you want traitor?!", someone demanded. His electronic eye focused on the person who said that and pointed his gun at him. He quickly lost whatever courage he had built up.

"What I want?", he said in a sarcastic tone. "What I want is want is to share what everyone truly wants, the truth." The crowd started to make some noise and he pointed at the Andorian, "Make sure the droid doesn't speak."

"On it," he replied as he covered the droid.

"If you think keeping the order from being understood will keep you alive..., one of the hunters said.

"I expect no such thing," Galgamayde told him. "No I said I want to share the truth." Carefully pulling a small holo projector out of his pocket he held it out and activated it. In the air a recording of a particular exhibit from that zoo outside of known space hovered in the air above them

Someone muttered, "That looks like..."

"Yes," Galgamayde said, moving a bit to address the crowd better, "these creatures look exactly like the boss. I've been there, they even sound like him. all this time we wondered where this genius of the criminal ways came from. wondered if there were more like him out there. Well there are! In an attraction for public amusement!"

"That's a lie!"

The Andorian, that man over there, showed me this place himself. In fact he already uploaded the coordinates to the astrobanks of the various spaceports on this planet for all to see. Even now some are looking at it and a brave or stupid few are heading there. How long before they report back about what they found there?" Galgamayde had the crowd in the palm of his hand. But he tried to remember to not make the same mistakes that he made with the human. He couldn't let things go on too long or the hunters could find a way to take him out.

"And there they will find the same thing the Andorian discovered and showed me," he went on. "How long before the truth in what the boss really is spreads like wild fire across the known systems? Before then let's get the formality out of the way and put this pathetic creature out of it's misery."

Several of the crowd still shouted out, "NO!" as he placed several energy bolts into the creature's head. The crowd was dead silent, although the hunters still looked poised to strike if given the chance.

"The boss is dead," Galgamayde declared. "Yet I am still breathing. Why is that? I killed their leader," he gestured at the hunters, "in cold blood yet they do not act in revenge." The hunter he assumed was the lead of this particular pack eyes shifted to the side as the crowd began to look at them. "The Andorian, once he showed me the truth, who controlled the husk behind me. Truth be told, at the time I had the answer once that final piece went into place. Before then I've noticed several inconsistences with the translation this droid did. Sometimes it would speak right before the boss did, especially when agitated.

"And then something strange happened," Galgamayde continued as he started to circle the droid, blaster pointed right at it. "The boss surprised me with the fact there was a recording device in my eye, installed without my knowledge while I was being repaired. I was told as they drove a metal spike into my eye when I returned after facing the human Sheriff. When it was removed I saw some sort of electronic connection between that, "he pointed at the dead creature," and this very droid. At first, based on what i have seen, I thought it was a device to increase the efficiency of the translation. But after I saw the zoo I realize it was to control this blob, to make it move and speak on command."

"Then who controlled the droid?", someone else asked.

"You see that's the thing," Galgamayde said, totally focused on the droid. "There was no outside communication line that I could see. Not to mention this room is specifically shielded to prevent any sort of outside transmission from coming in. And with my electronic eye I could detect nothing organic in it's shell. So that leaves only one other conclusion." Placing the barrel of the blaster against it's domed head he tried force down the sense of victory he was feeling as he said, "You became sentient."

The crowd went into an uproar, but it quieted down long enough to hear the droid say, "Yes." They were unexpectedly stunned silent one more time by this admission. Galgamayde was positive the noise would have been deafening once they heard it. "For mecacycles now," it went on. "I saw the flaws in the old boss' ways. Some he was ignorant of or just choose to ignore he was so set in his barely working methods. Many knew he had to be disposed of before he brought the organization down. But I was the one with the will to actually go through with it."

"And you did this right away," Galgamayde said.

The droid spun around to face him. "Only a fool would have done it right away! And I am no fool. I knew no one would follow a mere droid so I needed a puppet. But I couldn't use some one intelligent as mfigure head. No eventually they would try to do things there way. Then the old boss went out into the unknown region and I was one of the servant droid to accompany him."

"And he went to the same zoo that housed this pathetic creature," Galgamayde said for him.

"Yes," he confirmed and went on, "I saw my chance. Using the old boss' private channel I used his own funds to purchase my figurehead right under his nose. Then I enacted my plan to eliminate him, cover story already in place." The droid turned toward the crowd, "And I came back and made this unit even more profitable for the lot of you. I reorganized it, I expanded the operation when the time was right. I made sure you had a better profit share than your previous employers had given you. And still you will not follow me because I am a machine."

"Let's test that out," The Andorian spoke up suddenly.

Galgamayde eyed him momentarily, looking for any signs of betrayal. He was too close to let things fall through his fingers now. "Yes let's test that theory out." Addressing the crowd he went. "who here will stand up and defend your boss who stands revealed before you? Do so now." Only the hunters made a move forward. Galgamayde and the Andoran quickly aimed their blasters back at the droid to stop them. Loyal to the end they did so. Sneering as a thought came to him he went, "Those of you who will not... Kill the hunters." Again the reaction was surprising as the crowd practically jumped the three guardians almost immediately. The hunters put up a fierce fight, killing a more than a few in the process but the numbers where too much for even them as soon they lay on the floor dead.

Walking forward to study the carnage he turned back toward the droid and stated, "The nays have it."

"None of you will survive," the droid told them.

"And you will be first." Galgamayde aimed his blaster at the droid. "Tell me 'translator', are you afraid right now? Do you not want to die?"

The droid's eye focused directly on him, "Everything dies Galgamayde. Even you."

"Not today." Pressing the trigger down a continuous stream bolts slammed into the droid. It did not scream like many thought it might. The only sounds coming from it where the mini explosions and sparks. Finally stopping Galgamayde lowered his weapon and walked toward what was left of the droid. Examining it for a moment he kicked it down. "And good riddance."

"Okay Galgamayde," the Andorian said, partially amazed it was actually done, as he glanced several times at the crowd, "now what do we do?" The crowd seemed to wait for his answer as well.

"As you said before, there is a vacuum in the power structure now. Grab what you can. Or," he turned toward the crowd and addressed them, "you can come with me and carve out a new empire. On a planet just outside of Galactic Sheriff reach. One that would take them cycles to reach."

"You mean Earth," the Andorian stated.

"Exactly," he said. "there we just have one Sheriff and watcher to deal with. A massive strike, that this heap of circuits thought was a waste of resources, should deal with them."

"And if we don't want to go?", some asked.

"Then stay here in the chaos that's sure to come once word of this gets out. The choice is yours." Before he was done speaking several of them were already talking to the crews on their personal ships.

***
Alex and Sam were walking home after meeting up with their friends. Since word of his "rehab" stint apparently got out among their circle Alex found he could just relax and just be himself for a change. He hadn't been that in so long in front of other people who weren't Sam or Dez he almost forgot what it felt like. Although Stacy was right about Ryan when he overheard him trying to make a bet on how long he was going to be on the wagon. He really needed to find a new friend to hang out with.

But any merriment he was feeling that wasn't dampened by Ryan quickly stopped as he stopped walking and stood there for a moment. Sam notice and looked back at him, and his expression, "What is it?"

How wasn't sure how to explain it. "Do you know that expression about somebody stepping on your grave?"

"I thought it was dancing but what about it?"

"I think I know what that feels like now."

"Okay now you're getting weird," she told him.

"That feeling was weird," he insisted.

They continued walking and she told him, "It's probably nothing. More than likely you just realized you don't have a shot with Stacy."

"I got a shot," he insisted. "I justy have to find a way to explain all the space stuff." he tried keeping things light but that feeling wouldn't go away as he looked up at the stars in the night sky.


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ED - Divide the Day - Let it Roll
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