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a story about a wolf, treated as a lab rat, until his life may take a turn for the better.","count":"6"}],"description":"New chapter! not much to say, other than that i was distracted, but also inspired by a game i was overdue playing. anyway, i will try not to let the next chapter waiting.","description_bbcode_parsed":"New chapter! not much to say, other than that i was distracted, but also inspired by a game i was overdue playing. anyway, i will try not to let the next chapter waiting.","writing":"“Life” in beta testing.\n\nChapter 6\n\nThis time, there wasn't much to tell ya. We took a stop at the next station, Tarry went out and got me the parts I needed and with them, I repaired the engine properly. Of course, I also took care of dishes and storage like I was told to as a punishment for my little stunt. Really, I didn't care. It was easy enough work anyway. \n\nOn one of our stops on a space station, Tarry tried to hook me up with some girls, but that didn't really go anywhere. I actually tried to play along even! But I guess in the end, a bunch of them thought I'm his kid or something. … Or they just went with him instead. That fox is silly, but fun to be with. I gladly play along with his antics. The furthest I got with one of those convos, was a chat with some girl, one on one. She was kind, but had no interest in me sexually. She was lesbian in fact, which did put a smile on my face too since she revealed that to me just moments after Tarry left to give us some privacy. Never told him though. I take it he was trying to get me some “fun night” or whatever, as if I didn't have one before. To be fair, he and Jey didn't figure our my encounter with Rorik yet.\nAside from that, it was actually nice to chat with some people for oncem that weren't just those three. Some mechanics I talked to were fascinated by my modifications and such. Though aside from some tips, I couldn't help them. Not like I write down what I do. Its all stored in my head!\n\nWe stopped at a bunch of places. Stations, planets, even visiting a modern weapon, tech and equipment shop of sorts on the way. It was not just interesting for Jey and Tarry, but also me. Rorik cared more for explosives, so technology wasn't much his field. Either way, I got a gun of my own from it! It was a small thing, easy to handle, hardly any knock-back. It was more or less a simple self-defense weapon. We didn't use tasers anymore nowadays, but just those paralyzers I mentioned a few times. This one didn't require ammo. It had a automatic recharge and two charges at a time. If I had use for it, I could simply just whip it out and paralyze a attacker. Though I actually had other ideas than just keeping it the way it was. However, there was no need to tell you about it right now. Why? Well, once I got to work on it, Jey already called us together in the gathering-room again, so there was no time to care.\n\nSo we did, still with my high-tech screwdriver in hand, I stood there, waiting to see which of the two she was gonna take along this time. Of course, assuming it was another job. Well, I wasn't wrong about that to say the least...\n“Alright, listen guys. We got a job! Some unusual fancy source for once. Its some sort of science institute. They asked us to retrieve data from a nearby planet. There is a laboratory and I have the necessary info on where to look and so on. It is supposedly abandoned, but they didn't guarantee there to be no danger. Regardless, I will have to ask you to come with me this time, Percy.” Jey explained, looking at me.\nMy heart skipped a beat at that. Me? On a job like that? “Wait, why me though? What use am I out there?” I wondered, crossing my arms.\n“Easy: its a lab. Its broken down probably. We have to assume all the doors are dead and not even Rorik can carry that much TNT. Not to mention, laboratories have heavy doors and walls that may be protected against explosives. You know how to hack things and generally know your way around technology. … No worries, I gonna keep ya save!” She said with clear determination in her voice.\nI shuddered a little at the thought of having to fight anything potentially, rolling my eyes as I replied: “Ugh, I mean, I guess... Lemme get ready, alright?”\nThe cat gave a nod in return: “Sure, we haven't landed yet anyway. I will look for a good spot near our target and you get ready. Tarry? Rorik? Stay ready for potential calls in case either of us needs support.”\nAs I left the room to get ready, I could see the two agreeing to Jey's orders. Well, this was happening...\n\nIn my room, it was finally time. … I picked out my recently acquired full-body suit! In the shop I mentioned earlier, I got this thing. It was a skin-tight, black, synthetic suit with minor chest-, back- and limb-plating, to protect against the most basic injuries. Of course, I used the time since to adjust it to my left arm. But what I also did, was modify it. I always planed on making this my sort of “emergency suit”. In case I ever had to fight or go anywhere with these guys that wasn't safe. It was designed to be modified by nature. On the back of the right arm, I planned to integrate the gun I bought. But sadly, there wasn't the time for that yet. I had to rely on the ability to draw my gun. Though thanks to the suit's integrated belt, I had enough space for a few devices, including my screwdriver and gun. On the biological upper half of my left arm: the force-field generator. I also equipped my recently built headset with goggles that allow me to use heat vision. I used these guy's scopes as a base for that. Though that was it's only function so far.\nOnce done preparing however, I went back out.\n\nNot much longer and we had landed on the surface of the planet. It happened to be a very overgrown planet. Lots of flora. Lucky me I had no allergies... Though worth noting, was that the planet was smaller than average. It's gravity was slightly lower than normal. Though walking wasn't difficult regardless.\nTarry told me to be careful and then I headed out together with Jey. The first time I was out with her alone like that.\nTogether, we walked through the woods of the planet. Luckily it wasn't the hardest to traverse as we got on our way to the laboratory we were told about.\n“So, what do we need to get exactly?” I wondered, just walking next to the heavily armed and tall cat-woman. In truth, she just wore high tech hand-guns of many different kinds. All ID locked, so no one else could use em without permission.\n“According to the notes I was given, the data is kept in a general database. Very simple on that front. Apparently there were some risky studies going on in the place and after an accident, it was abandoned. With no one expecting to go back to it, the keys were lost.” Jey explained.\n“So it should be just in, out, done?”\n“Yes … but... Percy? If there are are dangers around: hide. … or just stay behind me. You aren't Tarry or Rorik, I don't want to put you in more danger than needed, since that's just not your job.”\n“I will try, Jey. But keep in mind, I'm not entirely helpless anymore. … But if something happens, give Tarry and Rorik a hug from me, ok?” I asked, looking at her.\nShe just didn't reply for a moment, though eventually chuckled at it, poking me with a elbow: “Shut up, nothing is gonna happen to you! I will make sure of that. Not gonna end up having to hug those fools on my watch!”\nI could tell from her enthusiasm that she was just teasing, but at the same time, determined and serious about protecting me.\nThough with that, I held back on the chat for now. Focus was needed after all. This was a unfamiliar planet. Even if there may not be actual people, there could still be wild creatures roaming about.\n\nJey and myself kept on going. It was a good way to walk, but eventually, we finally reached the Laboratory! It was a noteworthy building and primarily out of metal. Very modern sight for the middle of a forest. “Nice! Lets get this done. Seems like it is safe.” Jey said, heading for the door. She wasn't careless, but didn't expect any attackers. Just a few steps after her though, I stopped. … I noticed something. “Wait a moment.” I called out, stopping her while heading behind one of the metal boxes near the building. Peaking behind it, I was mildly … disgusted. “Ugh, Jey, be careful...” I said with clear disgust in my voice, taking my eyes off of the intact half of a half destroyed, seemingly predatory creature. It was still bleeding into the dirt and grass, so this had to have happened not long ago. I headed back over to the cat, shaking my head a bit, trying not to think of the sight too much. “Its a carcass of a local animal. … With clear signs of bullet wounds and still bleeding. Someone is here...” I explained.\nJey sighs, gripping one of her high, caliber weapons and went right for the door, checking for potential ambushes. “Damn, that complicated things... Stay behind me and keep your shield generator ready!” she ordered me, all the while slowly taking the first few steps, making no noise whatsoever.\n\nI nod and follow my friend and boss in a few steps distance, force-field activated, just in case. I had improved it enough to almost suit me like a skin tight suit, similar to the one I actually wore. Like that, it was hardly visible I even had a shield protecting me. Together, we went in further. But nothing showed up for quite a while. The lobby and most of the adherent corridors were empty, but the lights worked. … As in, they were on before we got there. It was almost certain there would be strangers around. Sure enough, Jey stopped me not too much later near a corner, just giving me a “shush” gesture.\nAround the corner, at the other end of the corridor, a armed guard was just standing there, keeping watch. My partner seemed to recognize them immediately, whispering: “Dammit, these guys are no random bandits... See that armor? They are part of a freelance military unit. Basically like us mercenaries, but with a leader and ranks and … much more people than a average group of mercenaries. But … why are they here?”\nJey was clearly wondering about that and confused, not sure what this was about, but suddenly, and without any moment for me to even react, she drew another gun, a paralyzer, and pin-point accurately shot the guy before he got a chance to react. It was a higher caliber than Tarry used that one time, so it fully knocked him out.\n\nShe rushed through the hallway, making no noise and checked every corner to make sure no one was there, with me just following a moment later. Once the area was secure, we checked the guy and disarmed him entirely. Luckily they only had one gun. Though nothing they had showed any sign of note or anything that could tell us why they were here.\n“Fuck, nothing... And this seems to be a dead end.” the tall woman said, though eventually spotting a blast door. Quite a thing that wouldn't open without a code. Not even explosives would scratch this door. She headed over to it and inspected it quickly, before waving me over: “Hey, Percy. Think you can get this open?”\nHeading over, I checked the terminal for a sec and gave Jey a nod: “Give me a bit of time and its done.”\n“Good, do your thing, I will make sure no one interrupts.”\n\nSure enough, I went right to work. Using one of the screwdriver's functions and connecting it to my prosthetic, that by now had a integrated computer access, I began to try and hack the thing. Though my hacking skills weren't the best, I got very far. … With “far” being the key-word here. Upon breaching the code, the system suddenly blocked me out and the screen turned red. Just moments later, the lights turned red as well and a alarm went off! Apparently I fucked that up somehow. Knowing this was gonna go bad soon, there was only one other option.\n“What is that, did you do something wrong?” Jay asked hastily, growing tense as she knew very well what this meant too.\n“Just give me a sec...” I said, breaking the terminal open and went on with a more physical form of hacking! Short-circuiting it, I stopped the alarm and with some fiddling, I made the computer believe the code was imputed correctly. Just moments later, the door opened as I rushed through. “Done! Come!” I called out for Jay, but just when she caught up to the door, it suddenly crashed shut and the alarm went off again! I was shut off from her and could barely hear her talk. Though there was no helping it, I couldn't open it again. Also, I heard a lot of gun-shots from the other side not much later! Sure hope Jey was ok...\n\nNo helping it, I knew staying at the door wasn't safe. It wasn't gonna open, but maybe there were enemies on this side too? No one could be sure and I was not gonna get cornered for being careless. As my little stunt caused the whole facility to glitch out, eventually the lights also went out in some areas. In many cases, the bulbs simply got busted, but in others, they stayed in tact or flickered. Damn, I should have been more careful... \nRushing through the halls, peaking around the corners and avoiding potential attackers, I got a good idea of the layout of the place. Though at one point, I was ending up in another dead end. To make it worse, one of the guard patrolling the place, made it right towards me! Thanks to the heat-vision goggles, I could see anyone, no matter lighting or items that may be in the way. My only option? Hide! There was a box in the hallway with who knows what content. That didn't matter though. Hiding behind it, I waited for the guard to pass. Just when they did and their back was turned to me, I pulled my gun out! There was no choice, I had to knock this guy out or I was gonna be seen or alerted more of them.\nI took aim, my paw somewhat shaky as I was nervous, but I took the shot! The paralyzer bolt hitting them right in the back and with a … somewhat feminine grunt, they fell to the ground. But not without turning! They had reactions and nerves of steal... With their gun drawn, I rushed to hold my own to their head, though … I wasn't fast enough. They shot first, right between my eyes... Which would have been bad, if it wasn't for my force-field generator. Though just when I was about to pull the trigger again to paralyze them completely, the gun suddenly lowered.\n“P-Percival?!”\n\nMy first reaction: was it Jey? … Well, of course not. The light in this place was bright enough for me to see … and for them to see me. This wasn't a cat, but a Panda. Quite buff by the looks of it, but female regardless. Though … why do they know my name?\n“W-what? Why do you know my name?!” I asked, growling a little, right on edge to pull the trigger. Though the stranger then proceeded to throw her gun away and outright lift her arms up, surrendering entirely: “Don't shoot! Percival, its me! We were on the same school! Even had classes together. Name is Talina, remember?” I thought for a bit, but … yes. There was someone like that back in school...\n\nBack then … Talina … yes. She was a sporty girl in our school. … I don't remember her too well, but … it was a panda. So this was her? A random encounter like this in space is … ungodly unlikely. … There had to be some explanation for this. She was just about a year older than me, but the looks made her look like she could be my mother! Though just when I lowered my weapon, the girl got a call through her com-device.\n“Coming, I can see you are not moving. Are you there?” the voice on the other end said. Talina then put her finger in front of her lips, gesturing me to be quiet: “Yes, I am here sir! Excuse me, there is a room here we have not checked and I took the liberty to unlock the door and fix that.”\n“Of course, report to me if you find anything and don't waste time with it too much. Over.” they said, before the device shut up again and Tal let out a sigh. Clearly I could trust her at least a little, but I would stay on guard for sure.\nShe gestured me towards said door and with a bump of a shoulder, she broke it right open as I followed her inside, never not ready to strike if needed. I had somewhat paralyzed her, so she could only hardly keep herself upright and once inside, the panda just slumped to the ground against the wall. As she sighed and panted a little from exhaustion, I kept a safe distance, eventually replying to her. “... I do remember. … You were learning for a security carrier back then, if I remember right... It is hard to remember someone who changed so much visually. But why didn't you just give away I'm here? I cant take on a bunch of you guys...” I said, crossing my arms with notably skepticism.\n“There is no time to tell you all of it, that's just too much right now. I could ask you the same after all. But for now: We are here for a piece of tech. We were promised a good amount of pay and scientific support in return for it.” she explained, still exhausted. So they had the same idea as we did, eh?\n“Well, and apparently you did not find it, huh? … I don't know why I should trust you, Tal...”\nJust when Talina wanted to answer, her radio went off again: “Talina! I can see you are not moving! Exploring the room looks different. What is going on? You know what? Never mind. I send someone over. Stay there.” her commander said.\n“Oh fuck... P-Percy, I know I give you no reason to trust me so far, but please do right now. Its either you run and rush into someone randomly and get caught, you fight and it goes even worse or you trust me and let me help you! … I do not want to help these people... never did!”\nI grumbled a little, thinking through my ideas. But she was right. It was too dangerous to just run. And with someone rushing here right now, I may even just walk into his arms. So instead, I let out a defeated sigh and nodded to the panda woman: “Ok, I will give it a shot...”\nAnd with that, Tal gave me a agreeing nod.\n\nWe waited and just a few minutes passed, until suddenly someone opened the door. Though Talina called out right away, pointing to me on the other side of the room: “Over there, watch out!”\nThe stranger was as well trained as her, following her demand as I held up my gun in reflex, but before I could even accuse her of backstabbing me, she already attacked the guy from behind! After the quick take-down, she threw me a wink and showed me that the paralyzer had lost most its effect on her by now. “Told you, you can trust me! I dunno why you are here, but I will get you out. Even if I end up hunted by these people. … In fact, maybe that's just the escape I gonna get.” She explained, the tone in her voice sounded awfully sad. … And the escape part reminded me of myself. Its been just about three months since I got away from that lab.\n“Ok, what now?” I asked, her having gained my trust for now. Though moments later, the radio went off again. This time in a general emergency transmission: “To everyone! Be on high alert! The intruder who activated the alarm is a heavily armed feline. She killed everyone she came across with incredible anger and aggression! Even when we shut a mechanical metal door on her, she literally kicked it open with a few attempts! We need to team up for this one!”\nThe panda woman just went wide eyed, looking at me in shock. She could tell that the cat they spoke of was with me. \nI couldn't contain a minor smirk as I raised a brow at her: “Guess you guys pissed her off. She promised she wont let me get hurt, that's what she is doing.” Though I was somewhat smug and proud about it, … it also moved me. Seeing just how much they care, is much more effective than hearing it.\n“Fuck, I gonna die, eh?” Tal asked, chuckling a little after, before she took her radio and broke it, as well as the head-piece that was transmitting her location. “Fuck it, I'm with you. Even if that girl shoots me on first sight. I'm sick of being a slave to these people! Lets get going!” she added with determination!\nThough just when I agreed, my own communicator went off and I held up a finger to gesture her to wait.\n\nAnswering the call, a holo-screen came up from the device around my wrist. It was Tarry: “Percy! Oh thank god, I got through to ya! Took a bunch of time, I tell ya. Are you ok?”\nI nodded to him, rather relieved to hear from him: “I am, but I just heard Jey is going wild around the place.”\n“Yes, I noticed. She isn't picking up my calls anymore. She called us once you two got separated and riled herself up as she told me everything. She is convinced we couldn't contact you, because something happened to you and is now going berserk. I sent out Rorik to catch up to you guys and make sure she wont get overwhelmed. Its dangerous when she does this, even though she becomes a one-woman army. What happened to you though?”\nI looked at Tal for a sec, who waited patiently. I wasn't sure if I should mention her right now. “I went deeper into the facility upon the blast door shutting down. I got stuck in a room, hiding from some soldiers. I can move on, but will probably run into a fight sooner or later. What should I do?” I asked, not quite sure what my next step should be.\n“Well, we are here for the tech... try to find it if you can, but don't risk anything!” tarry said, about to hang up.\nThough I just thought about something. The whole situation was fishy, wasn't it? They got hired to do the same thing we did... “Tarry, gimme a sec.” I said, hanging up and turning my attention to the panda: “What were you told about intruders and encounters?”\nTalina thought for a second to get the details right: “We were ordered to find a piece of technology that this facility worked on before the forced abandonment. There was apparently talk about pirates or bandits who wanted the tech for themselves, so we were told to just shoot, or preferably, capture anything that shows up. I dunno why capturing now that I think about it...”\nUpon hearing her info, my suspicions were confirmed and I called Tarry again: “Hey, I think there is no tech... The whole thing was a set up!” Tarry was shocked went in closer to the screen: “What?! Why do you think so?”\n“These guys are here for the same reason and were ordered to capture anyone else who shows up. Specifically capture, not shoot.”\n“How do you know that, Percy? Did you listen in on them?”\n“Well … kinda.” I started, turning the holo-screen towards Talina: “This one is trying to help me.”\n“Tarry was visibly unhappy about my trust, growling at the panda: “Oi! Touch the wolfo and you wont be recognizable by whoever finds your remains! … Percy, I don't know about her... But I know you are stubborn, just watch out, promise me.” the fox said, concerned about me.\n“Gonna tell you the details later. I guess I will try to get out of here?” I asked.\n“Yes, but send us a quick emergency signal if something does happen. I will personally fly this ship into the building if I have to!”\n\nMoments later, my partner hung up again and I let out a chuckle at his aggressive side. Talina was arguably amused too: “Gosh, those guys really care about ya! … Not something I can say about these people...” Getting up in front of the door, I just cocked a brow at her: “All the more reason to make a run for it, isn't it? Lets not waste time.”\nWith that, we got ready and left the room. The facility had mostly calmed down, but many lights were broken. Once outside, I briefly checked the hallways and kept my pistol in hand. It was gonna be a dangerous task to get out of here. Though I thought Talina was trustworthy enough. Once having secured the hallway, I turned to check on how she was doing. To my surprise, I spotted her rushing to her gun in a hurry that suggests she had desperate need for it. Being understandably paranoid, I readied my gun, but it took no time before the muzzle of her machine-gun was already pointed towards me. Growling and clenching my teeth, I was ready to fire, but then she whispered: “Don't move, trust me.”\nThe good in me made me hesitate enough for the panda to pull the trigger! Though … my shield didn't take any hits. Tal shot a salve right past me! Just moments later, I could hear the groans of another soldier as he fell to the floor a moment later. \n“Heh, thought I was gonna fool ya there for a moment, eh?~ Even if I wanted to, I doubt I had the ability to be that kind of person. But you do well not trusting me! Its not reasonable to do. I take the lead! So you always have me in view, those guards may hesitate and if things go south … well, at least I gonna be your shield! Not gonna have your bud come back just to turn me into mush.”\nHer jokes were awfully comforting. Though … things seemed to look … very familiar. She was forced into this, just like I was forced into slavery. What was this all about?\n\nMe and Talina made our way along the hallways. I couldn't handle a machine-gun myself, or I would have picked one up. But I found a good old magnum on the soldier Tal just shot. I may not like killing, but perhaps I wont have a choice at some point. Though with her by my side, I felt a bit more safe. Still... finding a old schoolmate out here... I guess this is still the same sector of the galaxy, so its not as much of a miracle. Though what is she gonna do if we make it out of here? There is no way she could join us. Not only is there no chance any of the others would ever trust her, but to mention, the lack of a room for her. I guess, this is a bad place to think of such things, but it came to mind. … Well, we will have to see! Not like there is a guarantee we will make it to begin with. This is a dangerous situations and even Jey is having trouble with soldiers like these. … Nothing to do, we got to try! I have to try … for my friends if not for myself!\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"“Life” in beta testing.
Chapter 6
This time, there wasn't much to tell ya. We took a stop at the next station, Tarry went out and got me the parts I needed and with them, I repaired the engine properly. Of course, I also took care of dishes and storage like I was told to as a punishment for my little stunt. Really, I didn't care. It was easy enough work anyway.
On one of our stops on a space station, Tarry tried to hook me up with some girls, but that didn't really go anywhere. I actually tried to play along even! But I guess in the end, a bunch of them thought I'm his kid or something. … Or they just went with him instead. That fox is silly, but fun to be with. I gladly play along with his antics. The furthest I got with one of those convos, was a chat with some girl, one on one. She was kind, but had no interest in me sexually. She was lesbian in fact, which did put a smile on my face too since she revealed that to me just moments after Tarry left to give us some privacy. Never told him though. I take it he was trying to get me some “fun night” or whatever, as if I didn't have one before. To be fair, he and Jey didn't figure our my encounter with Rorik yet.
Aside from that, it was actually nice to chat with some people for oncem that weren't just those three. Some mechanics I talked to were fascinated by my modifications and such. Though aside from some tips, I couldn't help them. Not like I write down what I do. Its all stored in my head!
We stopped at a bunch of places. Stations, planets, even visiting a modern weapon, tech and equipment shop of sorts on the way. It was not just interesting for Jey and Tarry, but also me. Rorik cared more for explosives, so technology wasn't much his field. Either way, I got a gun of my own from it! It was a small thing, easy to handle, hardly any knock-back. It was more or less a simple self-defense weapon. We didn't use tasers anymore nowadays, but just those paralyzers I mentioned a few times. This one didn't require ammo. It had a automatic recharge and two charges at a time. If I had use for it, I could simply just whip it out and paralyze a attacker. Though I actually had other ideas than just keeping it the way it was. However, there was no need to tell you about it right now. Why? Well, once I got to work on it, Jey already called us together in the gathering-room again, so there was no time to care.
So we did, still with my high-tech screwdriver in hand, I stood there, waiting to see which of the two she was gonna take along this time. Of course, assuming it was another job. Well, I wasn't wrong about that to say the least...
“Alright, listen guys. We got a job! Some unusual fancy source for once. Its some sort of science institute. They asked us to retrieve data from a nearby planet. There is a laboratory and I have the necessary info on where to look and so on. It is supposedly abandoned, but they didn't guarantee there to be no danger. Regardless, I will have to ask you to come with me this time, Percy.” Jey explained, looking at me.
My heart skipped a beat at that. Me? On a job like that? “Wait, why me though? What use am I out there?” I wondered, crossing my arms.
“Easy: its a lab. Its broken down probably. We have to assume all the doors are dead and not even Rorik can carry that much TNT. Not to mention, laboratories have heavy doors and walls that may be protected against explosives. You know how to hack things and generally know your way around technology. … No worries, I gonna keep ya save!” She said with clear determination in her voice.
I shuddered a little at the thought of having to fight anything potentially, rolling my eyes as I replied: “Ugh, I mean, I guess... Lemme get ready, alright?”
The cat gave a nod in return: “Sure, we haven't landed yet anyway. I will look for a good spot near our target and you get ready. Tarry? Rorik? Stay ready for potential calls in case either of us needs support.”
As I left the room to get ready, I could see the two agreeing to Jey's orders. Well, this was happening...
In my room, it was finally time. … I picked out my recently acquired full-body suit! In the shop I mentioned earlier, I got this thing. It was a skin-tight, black, synthetic suit with minor chest-, back- and limb-plating, to protect against the most basic injuries. Of course, I used the time since to adjust it to my left arm. But what I also did, was modify it. I always planed on making this my sort of “emergency suit”. In case I ever had to fight or go anywhere with these guys that wasn't safe. It was designed to be modified by nature. On the back of the right arm, I planned to integrate the gun I bought. But sadly, there wasn't the time for that yet. I had to rely on the ability to draw my gun. Though thanks to the suit's integrated belt, I had enough space for a few devices, including my screwdriver and gun. On the biological upper half of my left arm: the force-field generator. I also equipped my recently built headset with goggles that allow me to use heat vision. I used these guy's scopes as a base for that. Though that was it's only function so far.
Once done preparing however, I went back out.
Not much longer and we had landed on the surface of the planet. It happened to be a very overgrown planet. Lots of flora. Lucky me I had no allergies... Though worth noting, was that the planet was smaller than average. It's gravity was slightly lower than normal. Though walking wasn't difficult regardless.
Tarry told me to be careful and then I headed out together with Jey. The first time I was out with her alone like that.
Together, we walked through the woods of the planet. Luckily it wasn't the hardest to traverse as we got on our way to the laboratory we were told about.
“So, what do we need to get exactly?” I wondered, just walking next to the heavily armed and tall cat-woman. In truth, she just wore high tech hand-guns of many different kinds. All ID locked, so no one else could use em without permission.
“According to the notes I was given, the data is kept in a general database. Very simple on that front. Apparently there were some risky studies going on in the place and after an accident, it was abandoned. With no one expecting to go back to it, the keys were lost.” Jey explained.
“So it should be just in, out, done?”
“Yes … but... Percy? If there are are dangers around: hide. … or just stay behind me. You aren't Tarry or Rorik, I don't want to put you in more danger than needed, since that's just not your job.”
“I will try, Jey. But keep in mind, I'm not entirely helpless anymore. … But if something happens, give Tarry and Rorik a hug from me, ok?” I asked, looking at her.
She just didn't reply for a moment, though eventually chuckled at it, poking me with a elbow: “Shut up, nothing is gonna happen to you! I will make sure of that. Not gonna end up having to hug those fools on my watch!”
I could tell from her enthusiasm that she was just teasing, but at the same time, determined and serious about protecting me.
Though with that, I held back on the chat for now. Focus was needed after all. This was a unfamiliar planet. Even if there may not be actual people, there could still be wild creatures roaming about.
Jey and myself kept on going. It was a good way to walk, but eventually, we finally reached the Laboratory! It was a noteworthy building and primarily out of metal. Very modern sight for the middle of a forest. “Nice! Lets get this done. Seems like it is safe.” Jey said, heading for the door. She wasn't careless, but didn't expect any attackers. Just a few steps after her though, I stopped. … I noticed something. “Wait a moment.” I called out, stopping her while heading behind one of the metal boxes near the building. Peaking behind it, I was mildly … disgusted. “Ugh, Jey, be careful...” I said with clear disgust in my voice, taking my eyes off of the intact half of a half destroyed, seemingly predatory creature. It was still bleeding into the dirt and grass, so this had to have happened not long ago. I headed back over to the cat, shaking my head a bit, trying not to think of the sight too much. “Its a carcass of a local animal. … With clear signs of bullet wounds and still bleeding. Someone is here...” I explained.
Jey sighs, gripping one of her high, caliber weapons and went right for the door, checking for potential ambushes. “Damn, that complicated things... Stay behind me and keep your shield generator ready!” she ordered me, all the while slowly taking the first few steps, making no noise whatsoever.
I nod and follow my friend and boss in a few steps distance, force-field activated, just in case. I had improved it enough to almost suit me like a skin tight suit, similar to the one I actually wore. Like that, it was hardly visible I even had a shield protecting me. Together, we went in further. But nothing showed up for quite a while. The lobby and most of the adherent corridors were empty, but the lights worked. … As in, they were on before we got there. It was almost certain there would be strangers around. Sure enough, Jey stopped me not too much later near a corner, just giving me a “shush” gesture.
Around the corner, at the other end of the corridor, a armed guard was just standing there, keeping watch. My partner seemed to recognize them immediately, whispering: “Dammit, these guys are no random bandits... See that armor? They are part of a freelance military unit. Basically like us mercenaries, but with a leader and ranks and … much more people than a average group of mercenaries. But … why are they here?”
Jey was clearly wondering about that and confused, not sure what this was about, but suddenly, and without any moment for me to even react, she drew another gun, a paralyzer, and pin-point accurately shot the guy before he got a chance to react. It was a higher caliber than Tarry used that one time, so it fully knocked him out.
She rushed through the hallway, making no noise and checked every corner to make sure no one was there, with me just following a moment later. Once the area was secure, we checked the guy and disarmed him entirely. Luckily they only had one gun. Though nothing they had showed any sign of note or anything that could tell us why they were here.
“Fuck, nothing... And this seems to be a dead end.” the tall woman said, though eventually spotting a blast door. Quite a thing that wouldn't open without a code. Not even explosives would scratch this door. She headed over to it and inspected it quickly, before waving me over: “Hey, Percy. Think you can get this open?”
Heading over, I checked the terminal for a sec and gave Jey a nod: “Give me a bit of time and its done.”
“Good, do your thing, I will make sure no one interrupts.”
Sure enough, I went right to work. Using one of the screwdriver's functions and connecting it to my prosthetic, that by now had a integrated computer access, I began to try and hack the thing. Though my hacking skills weren't the best, I got very far. … With “far” being the key-word here. Upon breaching the code, the system suddenly blocked me out and the screen turned red. Just moments later, the lights turned red as well and a alarm went off! Apparently I fucked that up somehow. Knowing this was gonna go bad soon, there was only one other option.
“What is that, did you do something wrong?” Jay asked hastily, growing tense as she knew very well what this meant too.
“Just give me a sec...” I said, breaking the terminal open and went on with a more physical form of hacking! Short-circuiting it, I stopped the alarm and with some fiddling, I made the computer believe the code was imputed correctly. Just moments later, the door opened as I rushed through. “Done! Come!” I called out for Jay, but just when she caught up to the door, it suddenly crashed shut and the alarm went off again! I was shut off from her and could barely hear her talk. Though there was no helping it, I couldn't open it again. Also, I heard a lot of gun-shots from the other side not much later! Sure hope Jey was ok...
No helping it, I knew staying at the door wasn't safe. It wasn't gonna open, but maybe there were enemies on this side too? No one could be sure and I was not gonna get cornered for being careless. As my little stunt caused the whole facility to glitch out, eventually the lights also went out in some areas. In many cases, the bulbs simply got busted, but in others, they stayed in tact or flickered. Damn, I should have been more careful...
Rushing through the halls, peaking around the corners and avoiding potential attackers, I got a good idea of the layout of the place. Though at one point, I was ending up in another dead end. To make it worse, one of the guard patrolling the place, made it right towards me! Thanks to the heat-vision goggles, I could see anyone, no matter lighting or items that may be in the way. My only option? Hide! There was a box in the hallway with who knows what content. That didn't matter though. Hiding behind it, I waited for the guard to pass. Just when they did and their back was turned to me, I pulled my gun out! There was no choice, I had to knock this guy out or I was gonna be seen or alerted more of them.
I took aim, my paw somewhat shaky as I was nervous, but I took the shot! The paralyzer bolt hitting them right in the back and with a … somewhat feminine grunt, they fell to the ground. But not without turning! They had reactions and nerves of steal... With their gun drawn, I rushed to hold my own to their head, though … I wasn't fast enough. They shot first, right between my eyes... Which would have been bad, if it wasn't for my force-field generator. Though just when I was about to pull the trigger again to paralyze them completely, the gun suddenly lowered.
“P-Percival?!”
My first reaction: was it Jey? … Well, of course not. The light in this place was bright enough for me to see … and for them to see me. This wasn't a cat, but a Panda. Quite buff by the looks of it, but female regardless. Though … why do they know my name?
“W-what? Why do you know my name?!” I asked, growling a little, right on edge to pull the trigger. Though the stranger then proceeded to throw her gun away and outright lift her arms up, surrendering entirely: “Don't shoot! Percival, its me! We were on the same school! Even had classes together. Name is Talina, remember?” I thought for a bit, but … yes. There was someone like that back in school...
Back then … Talina … yes. She was a sporty girl in our school. … I don't remember her too well, but … it was a panda. So this was her? A random encounter like this in space is … ungodly unlikely. … There had to be some explanation for this. She was just about a year older than me, but the looks made her look like she could be my mother! Though just when I lowered my weapon, the girl got a call through her com-device.
“Coming, I can see you are not moving. Are you there?” the voice on the other end said. Talina then put her finger in front of her lips, gesturing me to be quiet: “Yes, I am here sir! Excuse me, there is a room here we have not checked and I took the liberty to unlock the door and fix that.”
“Of course, report to me if you find anything and don't waste time with it too much. Over.” they said, before the device shut up again and Tal let out a sigh. Clearly I could trust her at least a little, but I would stay on guard for sure.
She gestured me towards said door and with a bump of a shoulder, she broke it right open as I followed her inside, never not ready to strike if needed. I had somewhat paralyzed her, so she could only hardly keep herself upright and once inside, the panda just slumped to the ground against the wall. As she sighed and panted a little from exhaustion, I kept a safe distance, eventually replying to her. “... I do remember. … You were learning for a security carrier back then, if I remember right... It is hard to remember someone who changed so much visually. But why didn't you just give away I'm here? I cant take on a bunch of you guys...” I said, crossing my arms with notably skepticism.
“There is no time to tell you all of it, that's just too much right now. I could ask you the same after all. But for now: We are here for a piece of tech. We were promised a good amount of pay and scientific support in return for it.” she explained, still exhausted. So they had the same idea as we did, eh?
“Well, and apparently you did not find it, huh? … I don't know why I should trust you, Tal...”
Just when Talina wanted to answer, her radio went off again: “Talina! I can see you are not moving! Exploring the room looks different. What is going on? You know what? Never mind. I send someone over. Stay there.” her commander said.
“Oh fuck... P-Percy, I know I give you no reason to trust me so far, but please do right now. Its either you run and rush into someone randomly and get caught, you fight and it goes even worse or you trust me and let me help you! … I do not want to help these people... never did!”
I grumbled a little, thinking through my ideas. But she was right. It was too dangerous to just run. And with someone rushing here right now, I may even just walk into his arms. So instead, I let out a defeated sigh and nodded to the panda woman: “Ok, I will give it a shot...”
And with that, Tal gave me a agreeing nod.
We waited and just a few minutes passed, until suddenly someone opened the door. Though Talina called out right away, pointing to me on the other side of the room: “Over there, watch out!”
The stranger was as well trained as her, following her demand as I held up my gun in reflex, but before I could even accuse her of backstabbing me, she already attacked the guy from behind! After the quick take-down, she threw me a wink and showed me that the paralyzer had lost most its effect on her by now. “Told you, you can trust me! I dunno why you are here, but I will get you out. Even if I end up hunted by these people. … In fact, maybe that's just the escape I gonna get.” She explained, the tone in her voice sounded awfully sad. … And the escape part reminded me of myself. Its been just about three months since I got away from that lab.
“Ok, what now?” I asked, her having gained my trust for now. Though moments later, the radio went off again. This time in a general emergency transmission: “To everyone! Be on high alert! The intruder who activated the alarm is a heavily armed feline. She killed everyone she came across with incredible anger and aggression! Even when we shut a mechanical metal door on her, she literally kicked it open with a few attempts! We need to team up for this one!”
The panda woman just went wide eyed, looking at me in shock. She could tell that the cat they spoke of was with me.
I couldn't contain a minor smirk as I raised a brow at her: “Guess you guys pissed her off. She promised she wont let me get hurt, that's what she is doing.” Though I was somewhat smug and proud about it, … it also moved me. Seeing just how much they care, is much more effective than hearing it.
“Fuck, I gonna die, eh?” Tal asked, chuckling a little after, before she took her radio and broke it, as well as the head-piece that was transmitting her location. “Fuck it, I'm with you. Even if that girl shoots me on first sight. I'm sick of being a slave to these people! Lets get going!” she added with determination!
Though just when I agreed, my own communicator went off and I held up a finger to gesture her to wait.
Answering the call, a holo-screen came up from the device around my wrist. It was Tarry: “Percy! Oh thank god, I got through to ya! Took a bunch of time, I tell ya. Are you ok?”
I nodded to him, rather relieved to hear from him: “I am, but I just heard Jey is going wild around the place.”
“Yes, I noticed. She isn't picking up my calls anymore. She called us once you two got separated and riled herself up as she told me everything. She is convinced we couldn't contact you, because something happened to you and is now going berserk. I sent out Rorik to catch up to you guys and make sure she wont get overwhelmed. Its dangerous when she does this, even though she becomes a one-woman army. What happened to you though?”
I looked at Tal for a sec, who waited patiently. I wasn't sure if I should mention her right now. “I went deeper into the facility upon the blast door shutting down. I got stuck in a room, hiding from some soldiers. I can move on, but will probably run into a fight sooner or later. What should I do?” I asked, not quite sure what my next step should be.
“Well, we are here for the tech... try to find it if you can, but don't risk anything!” tarry said, about to hang up.
Though I just thought about something. The whole situation was fishy, wasn't it? They got hired to do the same thing we did... “Tarry, gimme a sec.” I said, hanging up and turning my attention to the panda: “What were you told about intruders and encounters?”
Talina thought for a second to get the details right: “We were ordered to find a piece of technology that this facility worked on before the forced abandonment. There was apparently talk about pirates or bandits who wanted the tech for themselves, so we were told to just shoot, or preferably, capture anything that shows up. I dunno why capturing now that I think about it...”
Upon hearing her info, my suspicions were confirmed and I called Tarry again: “Hey, I think there is no tech... The whole thing was a set up!” Tarry was shocked went in closer to the screen: “What?! Why do you think so?”
“These guys are here for the same reason and were ordered to capture anyone else who shows up. Specifically capture, not shoot.”
“How do you know that, Percy? Did you listen in on them?”
“Well … kinda.” I started, turning the holo-screen towards Talina: “This one is trying to help me.”
“Tarry was visibly unhappy about my trust, growling at the panda: “Oi! Touch the wolfo and you wont be recognizable by whoever finds your remains! … Percy, I don't know about her... But I know you are stubborn, just watch out, promise me.” the fox said, concerned about me.
“Gonna tell you the details later. I guess I will try to get out of here?” I asked.
“Yes, but send us a quick emergency signal if something does happen. I will personally fly this ship into the building if I have to!”
Moments later, my partner hung up again and I let out a chuckle at his aggressive side. Talina was arguably amused too: “Gosh, those guys really care about ya! … Not something I can say about these people...” Getting up in front of the door, I just cocked a brow at her: “All the more reason to make a run for it, isn't it? Lets not waste time.”
With that, we got ready and left the room. The facility had mostly calmed down, but many lights were broken. Once outside, I briefly checked the hallways and kept my pistol in hand. It was gonna be a dangerous task to get out of here. Though I thought Talina was trustworthy enough. Once having secured the hallway, I turned to check on how she was doing. To my surprise, I spotted her rushing to her gun in a hurry that suggests she had desperate need for it. Being understandably paranoid, I readied my gun, but it took no time before the muzzle of her machine-gun was already pointed towards me. Growling and clenching my teeth, I was ready to fire, but then she whispered: “Don't move, trust me.”
The good in me made me hesitate enough for the panda to pull the trigger! Though … my shield didn't take any hits. Tal shot a salve right past me! Just moments later, I could hear the groans of another soldier as he fell to the floor a moment later.
“Heh, thought I was gonna fool ya there for a moment, eh?~ Even if I wanted to, I doubt I had the ability to be that kind of person. But you do well not trusting me! Its not reasonable to do. I take the lead! So you always have me in view, those guards may hesitate and if things go south … well, at least I gonna be your shield! Not gonna have your bud come back just to turn me into mush.”
Her jokes were awfully comforting. Though … things seemed to look … very familiar. She was forced into this, just like I was forced into slavery. What was this all about?
Me and Talina made our way along the hallways. I couldn't handle a machine-gun myself, or I would have picked one up. But I found a good old magnum on the soldier Tal just shot. I may not like killing, but perhaps I wont have a choice at some point. Though with her by my side, I felt a bit more safe. Still... finding a old schoolmate out here... I guess this is still the same sector of the galaxy, so its not as much of a miracle. Though what is she gonna do if we make it out of here? There is no way she could join us. Not only is there no chance any of the others would ever trust her, but to mention, the lack of a room for her. I guess, this is a bad place to think of such things, but it came to mind. … Well, we will have to see! Not like there is a guarantee we will make it to begin with. This is a dangerous situations and even Jey is having trouble with soldiers like these. … Nothing to do, we got to try! I have to try … for my friends if not for myself!
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