Raven
Rachel Roth is meditating in a secluded room of the Kamar-Taj. She floats above a magic circle, the dark room dimly illuminated by black candles that are lit with a calm purple fire.
She stays like that for an unknown amount of time, her floating body slightly moves up and down like she is in a calm ocean, her movements in synch with her breath pattern. Her half-open lips muttering her famous words under he breath, no one but her can hear.
Eventually, she slowly opens her eyes, still shining with a purple light, before looking at her visitor.
"For how long have you been there?" She asks with her usual flat voice, even more emotionless now that she has come back from her meditative trance.
"Who knows? Lost the notion of time admiring your beauty…" Eidolon shrugs casually before saying those words like it's not a big deal.
"..." Her expression didn't change, but her calm floating pattern got a little wobbly for a split second. "You are disturbing my peace." Raven closes her eyes so she won't look at him. She just wished that it would be as easy to close her ears so that she couldn't listen either.
"So cold… But if you want, I will go." He says in a joking tone first, but then looks resigned.
She is surprised that he is giving up on nagging her so quickly. Raven opened her eyes to look at his retreating form a little regretfully. Maybe she came out as much more rude thatn she intended. Not that she wants him to stay or anything.
"!" But when she opens her eyes, what she sees is Hector's face(mask and transformation removed), incredibly close to hers. She almost jumped in fright, recoiling slightly.
"Aw~ You care." He is smiling now, that infuriating cocky smile he shows to tease her. The one where he already made up his mind about how she feels or whatever and will not accept any explanation from her part… it works because he is right, but she will never admit that to him. "Don't worry, I will not hold you off for long. I came here because I remember you saying to me that you needed a favor or something, but you never reached out… I was around, talking with the Ancient One, and came to visit. I have time now before I travel again, so… what's up?"
"Forget about it…" She turns her face slowly, to hide her features from his perceptive eyes
When, with the corner of her eye, she saw his narrowing, it was then that she started dreading this conversation.
"Are you… embarrassed?" He asks "Why?"
"..." Now she is at a crossroads… She can try to explain and give him fuel for whatever delusions, or she can let him think by himself and sprout delusions that she can't even imagine… She doesn't know what is worse.
"Oooh…" His face changes into one of realization. "Are you gonna ask me something embarrassing and then you change your mind?"
"..." Bingo…
"Did you think better about it? Is it some favor? Is something that I can do, but you are too embarrassed to ask?" He starts guessing.
"..." Bingo. Bingo. Bingo!
"Raven… Rachel…" He shakes his head softly. "Don't worry, I will just make fun of you a little."
She turns to him, incredulous. "...isn't this the part where you would assure me that it's okay to share? And that you would never bully me or anything…"
He scoffs with a laugh "No, then I would be lying." His amusement slipped off from a second "Unless it is really serious… Is it serious? If you want, I can promise you that I will be serious."
"Ye-... no, it is not that serious." For a second, she was about to make him promise that. Raven at least knows that he is reliable like that, but seeing his earnest expression, the words caught in her throat, and she confessed. "It is silly and… Haah not important. Forget about it." She is ready to end the talk here, but Hector suddenly grabs her hand softly.
"Raven… I know you. You keep things to yourself the best you can, rarely depending on other people. That is what you are doing now… but if you came to me initially, that means it is important for you." He smiles reassuringly. "Tell me… please. I will help you in any way you can…"
"..."
"Do you want the moon or something… I can catch it for you." He makes a grab motion in the air, and she believes that he is really about to pull the moon to her in some way. "It works if it's one of Jupiter? We only have one, and it's kinda important to the world…" He pauses. What he said is even more outrageous. So outrageous that Raven can't help but release a small laugh.
"Okay, stop… I will tell you." She removes her hand from his fingers as she centers herself.
Raven looks at him, thinking that this is a bad idea, but after watching Hector patiently for her to gather her courage, she finally sighs and starts explaining.
"Look… Do you remember that the Ancient One recommended that I create my own spells? So that I could discover myself, create my own legacy, separate myself from my father or not…"
"Yes."
"I did some progress with that. Got a good idea of using my… inner selves to create a varied list of spells."
"Selves? Plural… Oh, those colorful Ravens." He catches on fast. "I think it was called Emoticlones."
"By dumb people." She immediately shuts out the name.
"Okay…"
She sighs and tries to get back on track. "Anyway, each other me carries an important part of my personality, so I thought if I am going to create some spells, what better source than myself? I would be able to use their powers without giving in to their… urges." She explains
"I see, extracting power from them like sorcerers from here that use magic from other beings like demons, gods…" He is really quick-witted
"That's right." She nods
"It is indeed a good idea." he nods "One of the... limitations I have in delving into magic from here is the lack of really good spells that don't have some strings attached or complications. The process of getting the power from someone else is also a hassle, not worth the effort when I have better options with meta-powers."
"In my case, I don't have those options." She only has her magic.
"You can have it if you ask me." He already offered some powers to her, but she refused.
"Not that interested… for now." She can't deny that having some convenient meta-ability is tempting, but Rave is still a little cautious about gaining sudden powers. She thinks she first needs to master her own abilities.
"Your call." He doesn't press the issue.
"Back to the topic… I had a talk with all other versions of me inside my mind, first trying to get an agreement to access my powers sealed together with them and…" She pauses again before deciding to bite the bullet for real "...and that is where I would need your help because… they… asked… for you…" Every word is inflicting physical pain in her; she is cringing every time she needs to open her mouth to say them.
"..." Hector's eyebrows shot up before going down as his eyes narrowed. "Oh… So… Do you mean…" The corner of his lips starts twitching upwards, and amusement glints in his pupils
"Don't make me say that…" She closes her eyes, expecting the teasing that is about to come…
"Okay." To her surprise, his voice goes back to a serious tone "If you want… I told you that I was pursuing you long ago, and that you can reach back when you are ready." He grasps her hand again. "This knowledge will not change anything. I will continue to be a fool in front of you till you are ready. Till you solve your issues. That will not change. In truth, it just gave me a boost of confidence… it means that what I was doing was right." He caresses his jaw cockily, and Raven can't help but give him a weak slap to humble him a little.
"That is why I don't want to tell you. I knew you were gonna get a big head." She turns around to hide the ghost of a smile on her lips.
"Huhu~ Too late, I'm already pretty sure of myself." He jokes "But how could I even help in this case?"
"They asked for you to visit." Raven turns back to him
"Only that? In your mind?" He frowns "Are you sure that is not a ploy? Maybe escaping your mind by invading mine or something like that."
"I… I haven't thought about that." He is really paranoid, but most of the time he makes a lot of sense.
"Well, it is not that easy to invade my mind. I don't think they can corrupt me that easily either, and without me noticing at least. Your thighs are my weakness, they can use that." He jokes with a serious tone that makes her want to banish him somewhere before he eventually shrugs. "If you are okay with me entering your mind, I accept."
"Really?"
"Yes, I still don't know how I can help, but I guess I can try convincing them of being cooperative or attending to their demands the best I can." He nods seriously before his face changes to a unserious one, "And I'm pretty skilled in satisfying multiple women, you know?" He even winks at her.
"..." Raven face dies, and she stares at him flatly
"You'd better get used to my jokes; if not, our married life can have problems."
"I haven't agreed to marry…"
"Yet…"
"Ugh, where did this confidence come from?" She rolls her eyes at him
"Do you want the list in alphabetical order?"
"..." She remains silent because deep down she knows that he can make a list.
......…..
After an embarrassing meditation together, where Raven had to hold Hector's hands and even touch foreheads(he insisted), she brought him inside her mind.
"A little bleak…" He comments while looking around the landscape.
It is a mostly empty space with some broken lands floating around.
"It is rude to stare." Raven says, trying to sound nonchalant, but for some reason, she is feeling bashful.
Someone is seeing the deepest part of her mind. How did she allow that?? This may prove that she trusts Hector a lot if she allows herself to linger on those thoughts.
Raven feels them coming even before she can see them. Her Emoticlones appear around them one by one. All looking like Raven but in different colors and attitudes, the red one in particular having four eyes.
"Oh my, I am having a sense of déjà vu, I think I have a dream exactly like that. Didn't like the tentacle part though… Woke up instantly." Hector jokes while looking around the many Ravens approaching like curious animals "Eight, huh? That explains the 8 out of 10 Relationship Loyalty…" The last part he mutters in a low voice
Raven ignores his stupidity and closes her eyes to calm herself and get ready for what is about to come. Her Emoticlones always have been difficult; now there is another Hector-shaped variable on the equation, she can predict at least 5 embarrassing situations, two dangerous, and she is rethinking her life choices to this point… if she is lucky.
"Okay, now that we are all here, let's- Hm?" She opens her eyes to address her Emoticlones, but she doesn't find them floating around.
The girly giggles make her look over he shoulder, and her jaw drops so low that it is almost comical.
The sight almost made her faint because her blood pressure went up and down a couple of times in one second.
There is Hector, suddenly sitting on a throne - from where he got that, she doesn't know - and surrounded by her emoticlones! They are all around him, touching, giggling, acting bashful… Like… Like his concubines or something.
Even Gray(Timidity) is timidly caressing his forearm while Brown(Sloth) has her head resting on his lap! Red(Anger) from all of them is acting very familiar! She expected that from Pink(Hapiness) and Violet(Love)! Maybe Green(Bravery) and Orange(Rudeness), but not all of them! Even Yellow(Knowledge), her favorite, disappointed her…
"Girls, please… One at a time. Huhu~" Hector tries to act nonchalant and humble, but it is obvious that he is loving the attention.
"Join me, Hector. You are worthy." Red grabs his collar and forcefully pulls him to her. "Help me take control, and we can rule together!"
That is what she is fearing… Raven doesn't even have the time to interject before another Emoticlones speaks.
"No, Hector, choose me! We totally have our Happy Ending!" Pink grabs his hand between her two, talking excitedly. "We are, totally, made for each other!"
"I don't need to say much, Hector. You are smart. It's logical that you should choose me." Yellow says calmly, but still sneaking nervous glances at him
"I don't care… Just keep me around and spoil me a lot!" Brown, the slob, declares.
"Hector, I will let you hit every day and in every way…" It's when Violet does this embarrassing/bold declaration that Raven shakes herself from her stupor and decides to put order on this.
But Hector beat her to that.
"That is impossible and unfair, my dears. I can't choose because I love every aspect of Raven." He says smoothly, running a finger through each chin of the Emoticlones
"Own~~~~~" They all swoon like infatuated middle schoolers.
"..." Raven's own heart also skipped a beat, but she attributes that to those bimbos influencing her.
Hector continues, changing to a roguish smile. "And there's enough of me to everyone~" He says suggestively
And they all ate up like idiots, getting shy and giggling on their hands.
At least he didn't forget his tasks, taking advantage of the good mood to sell the idea of cooperation.
"You are all Raven. You all should work together to be more than what you are, part of a whole." He says softly to them
The worst part is that she can feel that he is convincing them that easier… people in love are dumb. She is obviously separating herself from them.
Raven guesses she can let him talk some sense to them…
"Why don't we practice this 'team work' with you?" But when Violet starts talking suggestively, hands roaming his chest, Raven has had enough.
Uooon
She can't let them do anything more, so she pushes Hector out of her mind. It was pretty easy because he didn't resist.
"Hey!"
"Not fair!"
"We want to enjoy more!"
"So close… almost at the good part…"
"Are you jealous?"
"Buzzkill…"
"If you are not gonna do shit in the real world, don't stop us from making some progress."
"Hmpf, coward."
They all turn to her in protest, and Raven can feel a migraine forming.
......…
Later, Raven leaves her Mindscape while ignoring her Emoticlones' exigencies of bringing Hector again or at least doing something real with him.
When she opens her eyes, she finds Hector waiting for her with too happy of a smile in her opinion.
"Not.A.Word." She speaks between gritted teeth.
He obeys, raising his hands in the air to placate her, but his smile shows that this is not over, and what happened here will haunt her for the days to come.
......
Hector P.O.V.
Haha, Raven is funny. I enjoy "courting" her even if it is not my style. She is too frightened to "relax", too used to things going wrong if she lets her guard down.
She also refuses therapy with Harley, so I can only wait till she believes that I'm not going away. That is why I'm clingy… She likes it too, even if she doesn't admit it ~
Maybe I should introduce her to Shiraori; I feel they can be friends.
Anyway, time to focus on a more important issue. After a little test to replicate my final attack on Asmodeus on the empty space, I discovered that it was not that easy to break the Universe.
I guess some factors like the accumulating energy, the anti-magic properties of the Thanagarian mace against a magic-built Realm, and the fact that it was only a pocket dimension helped create that destruction that surprised even me.
"Too bad… My upscale feat is not that impressive." I shake my head with humor before going back to the Zeta Space Station.
It's time to make a not-so-short trip.
Cortana went through the database of all space pirates that I captured in the last months and found the location of the Ul'lula'ns. It's not that far - relatively speaking - and still on the Milky Way Galaxy.
The Ul'lula'ns live on a planet called Ul'lula, and guess the name of the star system… Ul. Same name as their sun, by the way.
Hehe, imagine if we called Earth, "Huma" and our sun "Hu". Hmm… Now that I thought about that is not that bad… But I still prefer the real names that we barely use; the name of the planet is Terra, and our sun is Sol.
Because of our centrist mindset, most humans never cared to differentiate our sun from the others. Our moon is called Luna, by the way. Or Selene in some old cultures… Hm, did Selene Galio name it? Very narcissistic.
We should be called Terrans instead of Earthlings… Much cooler, the latter looks like a slur.
"Maybe I should start popularizing using those terms…" Beep If Eidolon starts speaking this way, people would follow.
I press some more buttons on the armrest of my chair and get ready to hop bodies.
I'm, obviously, not going with my real body. It is an "in-verse" expedition, still on the same galaxy, but even so, I don't want to go through all that trouble of cleansing my body of any pathogen or similar trouble, and being careful not to be tracked back to Earth or anything.
I also want the ability to come back instantly while allowing the clone body to return in autopilot.
"Are you sure you are going alone, Master?" Cortana asks me.
"Unfortunately, yes. We haven't yet created a reliable communication channel that can span beyond our Solar System, so I'm going solo." I answer.
Communication is hard in space. The distances are too long, and the pre-established routes have owners, so… No. I'm not using them while I don't create good protection for my channels.
"The ship I will be using is pretty simple too…" I say absentmindedly while selecting my body and spaceship for this mission. The holograms appear from the armrest of my chair before disappearing, and Cortana and GLaDOS start preparing them.
"But what are you even trying to accomplish going there?" Nemesis asks
"Just more information… The deal that I messed up has three involved parties… Well, four… But two of them are together in being the middlemen. The Ul'lula'ns made a deal with the Spirit Flayers, that outsourced the collection of souls to the Leopard Twins, who made the deal with that group of demons." I explain "From what I saw in the memories of the Leopard twins, they are just (Un)lucky fellas that are about to die to the Spirit Flayers, but they overheard the deal and made a proposal. They will get the souls in exchange for their lives and a little reward. The Spirit Flayers saw no problem in such a low-risk deal and took it… But surprisingly, the Leopards really had connections and were able to pull the 2 billion souls after a lot of time."
"And you messed that up." Nemesis almost laughs
"Yes. Now, there is no connection between the Spirit Flayers and the demons…"
"Then they just lost their money/souls… They will not be happy with that." Nemesis continues to find it funny
"Exactly, but they will complain to whom? The Leopards are dead, Minos too… My identity is unknown to them, and Satana went to hide under her father's wing. They can just swallow their loss and maybe get some revenge in the future. The deal is lost to them. The Leopards, to keep some degree of control, never explained where and how to contact the Spirit Flayers." I smile, and she smiles even wider.
"But you got their memories…"
I get comfortable in my chair and get ready for the transition. "The real problem is that the deal is still up on the other side… The Spirit Flayers will still try to get 2 billion souls, maybe not humans, but probably innocent souls. The slim chances that they can attempt to get humans make me act. And the Ul'lula'ns seem to be very decided too… I need more information. Maybe I need to destroy the Spirit Flayers, maybe I need to destroy the Ul'lula'ns… So many 'maybes'. I need a clear picture before acting. Anyway, the Ancient One told me a little about Nebulon…"
My voice gets cold as I close my eyes. "An alien that messed with Earth… Terra's natural evolution. I don't want him free." With those words, I leave this body…
.......
…and open my eyes in another one.
Thanks to the preparations of Cortana and GLaDOs, the body is fully clothed and ready to go. The bed slowly moves to a vertical position…
Tsssssss
"You can stand up, Master." Cortana deadpans
"No… I want the dramatic slow rise of the bed like Darth Vader." I saw while slowly being raised.
"..." Don't judge me!
I'm using my Force User body! It's completely necessary to be dramatically raised by a slow and noisy bed! The smoke too!
"..." Watched by Cortana's amused stare, I finally stand up and take a step to the holographic mirror projection to check my outfit.
"The black never fails me… the drip is immaculate." I say while looking down on myself wearing the Sith Stalker Armor of Starkiller.
I walk to a small table on the side while thinking about the specs of this body. As usual, my favorites… Peak human physique with bulletproof skin and a healing factor. I don't know how much it will be effective in the great universe where any grunt has a weapon much better than the average human, but if the Chitauri is the "worst army of the galaxy", and this body can tank bolts from their hand weapons without a problem. I guess it will be usable.
Unless someone shoots me with a plasma railgun or something like that.
This body has no meta-powers, and the only "extra" key that makes me access a power system is the midi-chlorians. So this body doesn't have any other genetic modification that can be cloned.
From what I knew, cloning a Jedi is not that easy, even in the Star Wars universe, so I think here they don't have the knowledge to pull that shit either. I can always explode this body, too.
"Hm, my helmet, four lightsabers, some blasters, vibro adamantium knife…" I get the things on the table and put them on my belt while putting my helmet on.
"The rest of the weapons have already been loaded on the ship, Master." Cortana informs me.
"Thank you, my love."
I immediately walk to the hangar while getting used to this body… I can still use Haki, Nen, and other techniques. I have more than 50 thousand midi-chlorians - not that numbers mean that much - but it gives me an even bigger potential than the "Chosen One".
This body is strong…
"Are you sure that you don't want to take with you powers like Intangibility, Teleportation, and Minor Telepathy?" Cortana suggests
Those are simple, but broken, powers that don't put a lot of burden on the body, and I'm very good at using them. People also rarely have a way to deal with those.
"Huhu, that is the thing, Cortana. I don't need them." I chuckle "The Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be… unnatural. Including all that you listed." The list of force powers goes well beyond telekinesis and electrokinesis.
Now… do I know how to use them? Not particularly.
With so many similar powers that I already mastered, why should I practise with The Force? Neither Darth Vader nor Starkiller are masters of it either… They are more like walking nukes. Palpatine also kept my boy Anakin nerfed so that he would not be killed by the Chosen One.
But knowing that the power exists and with my talent is enough. I will get the gist of it by practising now.
"I will practise on this mission." I say, while finally entering the hangar and getting face to face with the ship I'm gonna use.
It has a very common "spear tip" shape that many fighting starships would have. Eight meters in length, and most of it is the engine, weapons, and the storage(which was increased in size by me imbuing some spatial powers). Beyond that, it only has enough space for the pilot in the cockpit. Maybe someone else if I squeeze.
It is a fighter and stealth starship, as fast as I can make them, capable of making the "hyperspace jumps" that are used around here. I also got a map of the jump points from the pirates, so I'm ready to travel the galaxy.
"Mwah, beautiful. I don't even care if it's edgy." I say to the ship before smoothly jumping on top of it and entering the cockpit.
It is jet black with some metallic silver lines and details. On the side, the name is also written in silver bold letters.
Umbra Stalker. I thought about using Rogue Shadow, but I can't copy everything from my assimilations. I will make a "Rogue Shadow" later, too.
"Fuel? Check. Armory? Check. Towel? Check…" I press the buttons while getting ready to travel the galaxy.
One of the neat things about this ship is that it is connected with a neural chip installed in my body, so I can control it with my mind. More or less…
I thought about creating an A.I. to pilot it, but Cortana is a jealous girl. So I will be using a simple V.I.
The hull is made with adamantium, with sharp edges, so that I can ram into anything, and a layer of vibranium underneath to absorb kinetic energy and protect the machinery inside.
There are also some neat things like a force field, weapons with a variety of ammo, and some trump cards for the different situations.
"I almost feel bad for putting a self-destruct button on this one." I sigh. And it is not a simple exploding measure. No, the thing will implode and collapse on itself afterwards.
More effective to use it if someone tries to steal it, instead of a kamikaze tactic.
Tss
I close the cockpit and turn on the spaceship by pressing the Main Power button that brings the electric system online, the Core Startup to "rev the engine", after that is just enabling life and flight support, gravity dampener, and testing the other systems that I will not use for now, but will stay on standby.
Zwoooooooooon
The ship slowly floats from the ground, the air beneath trembling while the turbines make a low humming sound. For now, it is just using a very powerful sonic wave that creates a pressure field to push the ship upwards. Wankandian technology is similar to this.
"Ready to fly…" I say in the comm.
Forcefields appear around me, and the hangar door opens. Those force fields keep the artificial gravity on the rest of the hangar while a ship is leaving.
"I'm off… I will come back in a day."
"Safe travel, Master." Cortanas says on the comms.
"Bang some alien baby where you are at it." Nemesis says
"Safe will not be… But I can manage." I answer "And I don't want to contract space STDs."
"You can just discard this body afterwards… or study it! Do it for science!" She shouts
I ignore her with a shake of my head and turn my focus to my ship.
Ssssssssss
Pushing the right button and leaning the wheel forward is all I need to make the Umbra Stalker speed up almost silently before entering the void of space.
Let me state the obvious again… Space is big.
Everyone knows that, but people rarely can imagine how big it is.
Some examples… People think that the moon is close to us… Well, it is… relatively. But few know that 30 Eart- I mean, Terras can fit in a straight line from Terra to Luna.
Damn, it will be hard to remember words in my mind.
Many already know that the light of many stars that we see in the night sky is just remnants of a dead star very far away. But it also takes light a little more than 8 minutes to come from our Sun to reach us. Eight minutes at lightspeed. That is a lot.
The Universe is big… Heck, the Galaxy is too big to even imagine. There is a reason the Star Wars universe kept to just one galaxy(Mostly).
"And because it is too big that they learned how to travel through hyperspace." I say while pressing a button in the panel.
The sounds of beeps and a screen flicker into a red light…
One of the good things about space is that there is no friction or anything pushing anybody back; you can reach incredible speeds here. Infinite acceleration, more or less…
That is why, with my super-fast ship, Earth is already a single point behind me. But that is not enough…
Ding The red light becomes blue… I'm on the "Jump Zone".
"Entering spacetime curvature field… Activating Warp Core. Raising shields. Confirming route…" I say to myself because it's cool! I even made an unnecessary lever… it could have been a button, but… It's a man's romance to push a lever and… "Entering Hyperspace."
It's like all sounds get muffled when water enters your ears, and you receive a flashbang of all starts in your sight, stretching.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Even with the inertia dampeners, I'm being pushed back.
That is understandable, after all, it is recommended that you only go through 50 jumps if you are a baseline humanoid. More, depending on how strong you are.
I'm going through 80.000 jumps. No breaks. I'm speedrunning this shit.
My destination is relatively close… Practically a neighbour with our Solar System, but even so, it needs this many jumps, each one closing the distances bigger than the radius of our solar system at speeds faster than light.
It is not standardized by the way, some jumps are bigger and others smaller.
It takes 42 minutes to finally reach my destination. Very fast when compared with the distance between the two Systems, only 12.720 light-years.
When I said neighbours, I meant because we are in the same quadrant of the Galaxy. Put in perspective, I'm still inside North America if the galaxy were the size of Earth.
"Ugh, that is a little unpleasant." I shake my head, then I tighten and stretch my muscles with minimal movement to get rid of the numbness.
My body is very resistant, so I did not become a pancake. My experience was the equivalent of a jet pilot breaking the sound barrier two or three times
Umbra Stalked slowly entered Ul, and slowly approached Ul'lula, the second planet closest to the sun of this System. I read the information about the place while leisurely getting closer in stealth mode.
"84% of Earth's gravity, atmosphere is 67% nitrogen and 26% oxygen… It's habitable by humans." I nod, "Population of a little more than 4 billion…" I mutter to myself.
The Ul'lula'ns have pretty strong abilities… They are psionics with the basic package: telekinetics, telepathy, and even shapeshifting. They are very ugly, like a hybrid of a fish and an octopus… soft body, fish face, and six tentacles. The yellowish green of their gooey skin also doesn't help. Neighte the big red eyes and the lamprey teeth…
"Well, I always try not to judge people by their appearance… it is not because they have disgusting mind control powers and look like something from a horror space universe that feeds on people's brains that I will assume that they are evil." Let's be diplomatic first.
I'm a hero. Superman would not judge an alien like that, only for their actions… like the disgusting Skrulls…
I stop my ship a little outside the orange planet's atmosphere, out of the possible detection of their satellites.
And talking about their satellites… After locating some of them, I lock them on aim, change the configuration of the ammo, and shoot three shells.
They are not bullets, they are little homing balls that hit the satellites stealthily, slowing down before landing on them.
"Let's invade their equivalent of the internet." Like on cue, the balls open to allow tentacles to sprout from their shells. The little droids crawl on the satellite like an octopus feeling the bottom of the ocean.
I patiently wait while humming the Duel of the Fates, but it doesn't take long for the droids to find any port, or even create their own openings to invade the satellite system and consequently all of their information.
"Hmm, in hindsight, maybe I should have put Omnilingual Translation in this body…" I muse. I really went with a full purist clone, so no convenient exceptions. "I, at least, learned the language and have a translator chip."
I should have brought the Translating Glasses I made with Dauntless' power shard, but that was a gift I am giving to Isabella. I will remember to make others later.
My items enhanced with meta-powers are still a little too precious to bring in a mission where I can lose them. I still play by the rules of daily charges to use Dauntless' power.
"Let's see… I can still read it… They are not divided like humans, a little tribalist in their customs, but everyone follows a single philosophy of life in using minerals for everything." I analyze their years of history in record time. "These rocks produce energy? Naturally? Damn… Stark and Octavius would be jealous. What they work hard to create can be found on the ground here. " They are really resourceful with their resources, heh.
Their architecture is what I would imagine Earth would be if Atlantis dominated the planet. A hybrid of land and aquatic society. The Ul'lula'ns don't appear to need food like most aliens; they can feed on the energy of the rocks.
They have a very good space program, too. Geologists who travel the cosmos in search of more minerals.
It is always fun to see those races that are oriented in only one direction. Like, humans have so much variety in interests and pretty much everything else…
"Hm, maybe war and sex are our interests…" After my social critique joke, I go back to study the Ul'lula'ns.
They are ruled by a council, but it is just to enforce the laws, which are incredibly strict and old. A very archaic system that works because those guys are like three steps from becoming a hive-mind or something. I would not be surprised if they evolved in this direction.
My eyes widen slightly when I find important information regarding the sealed guy that they want to release… Nebulon is not a "Champion" of their race, the opposite, really… The guy is basically their Hitler.
I recline on my seat and start thinking "So one of my first assumptions is mostly true… A small group of extremists and allies of Nebulon wants to bring him back, while the rest of the population despises him and calls him a traitor."
With this much info, I can almost picture the whole scenario…
Rigid laws that existed since ancient times…
Resources of the planet are depleting…
Strong guy that wants to make a big change to save their race…
People oppose his views, and he goes rogue, starts getting forceful and extremist with his actions.
"Now… What is my view of everything?" From an outside perspective, I can understand both sides.
Clinging to old customs while your people can die is dumb… But forgetting everything, including morals and ethics, to accomplish a goal is also wrong.
"Yeah… That guy tried to mind control entire populations, including the human race in the past, to alter them genetically, and at the same time get their resources. Thinking that is his Holy Mission to improve us… Who the fuck does he think he is? The Qu??"
Hmpf, he is just a greedy and narcissistic bastard. He didn't want to "improve" anyone… he wanted to manipulate other races' evolutionary path so that they would become like the Ul'lula'ns.
"He is really Space Squid Hitler." I scoff.
I can admit that the Ul'lula'ns have much better base abilities than most of the galaxy, but that doesn't mean they are superior… One special human can kill all of them. I'm not even talking about myself, by the way.
"If you want to change our genes, bring your women and make them shapeshift into Alexandra Daddario and Halle Berry… We would mix our genes without the need for mind control."
Reading again how he lost, I confirm that apparently he spread himself too thin and met someone who didn't like what he was doing.
"Of course, many races have Real Champions… Protectors that would not like an alien interfering with their business."
He was eventually sealed into an immaterial state, keeping him away from the minerals and genes he loves too much. Someone has a sense of humor. Apparently, it was a sorcerer of some race.
I put a little more thought into the next step.
"Maybe I should be more direct…" Normally, I would be a little more sneaky, be suspicious of them, "But what would Superman do? What would Himmel, The Hero, do? Try to talk first." Give the Ul'lula'ns the benefit of the doubt and not lump them together with Nebulon.
In comparison, the overwhelming majority of humans would be pretty happy if an alien appeared to warn them that some neo-nazis are making contracts with demons to bring Hitler back.
It's not even funny that there is a chance this can indeed happen in the future…
"Yeah, worth a shot… I can regret it, though, but if the majority is against Nebulon, that means his supporters are working in the shadows, bringing the danger to light would disrupt(or at least complicate) their plans for good."
Now, on a rare show of honesty, I drive the Umbra Stalker forward to enter the Ul'lula flight space and contact their ground control.
Their response is immediate.
"Here is Starkiller from Unbra Stalker. Asking permission to land and a meeting with your High Tribunal. It's important."
......….
Now, on the surface of Ul'lula, I remember why I don't do things properly…
Bureaucracy.
The Ul'lula'ns are pretty cordial with my request, but they are keeping me waiting for too long here in this office. The architecture is cool though, shiny rocks that reflect the light of the sun, almost like their solidified the ocean… It's not ice or anything like that; it is like someone sculpted water. It's a very trippy sight; if you move your head, it looks like there are waves inside the rocks. Like those tricks in sculpture that make the statues appear to always be looking at you.
But I have other things to do than watching the architecture in the ceiling or the engineering of the tunnels that go through land, air, and water, and are their main way of transportation.
Yeah… Now is the moment when I sneak in to find the important people.
But then I would put the first impressions in jeopardy… Haah~, I already made a decision to be upfront, I should stick to it. Doing the right things, in the right way, is not easy, Hector.
I confess my sense of urgency is also very low because it's kind of not my immediate problem. I would act differently on Earth.
My patience is tested multiple times in the next half an hour. I almost gave up and went to search for the leaders from here in a forceful manner, but in the end, it paid off.
I was finally led inside a room that is basically a feet pool and got face-to-face with someone who is important. I think… They all look the same to me… If I squint hard enough, I can maybe find some differences, but I don't want to waste the effort.
"(#############################)"
"Direct in my mind? I would prefer the standard way of talking." I say.
The 3-meter-long hybrid fish-octopus reaches with one of his six tentacles somewhere around his neck and presses something.
"Is this better?" he asks politely. Translator chips are pretty common in the universe. A necessity, really. I also already activated mine.
"Much better. Thank you." I nod "Before starting, is a handshake a customary greeting here?" I extend my hand to him.
He seems amused, or hungry. By his face alone I can't tell... "No, we greet each other by using a specific psych frequency, and we touch antennae if we are really close." He says, wiggling his antennae a little. "But we understand that a limb shaking is how most bipeds greet each other." And he also extended a wet tentacle to me.
My face doesn't change even when the hand(tentacle)shake leaving my palm sticky.
I could be wrong, but I feel like that was a test to see if I would be disgusted, and I passed.
"Now that the pleasantries are over, let me begin…" I will not beat around the bush
"I hope you requested this audience with information worth the trouble." He says, maybe admonishing or warning me.
"Some of you people are trying to reign back Nebulon." I really don't beat around the bush.
His wiggling antennae stop, he looks frozen for a moment, and then…
"WHAT?! BeepBeepBeepBeepBeep"
Oh, I forgot to regulate my translator to the adult version. It censored his swearing. Damn, and here I wanted to learn some alien slurs.
......…..
Okay, I talked a lot of bad things about their bureaucratic system, but those guys are really serious about rules and the law.
After a little talk to make sure that I know what I'm declaring and after more important Ul'lula'ns appear to do some empathic reading to see if I'm lying, those guys jumped immediately to the gun.
Right now, I'm in the middle of an operation where they've mobilized a lot of their forces to surround the residence of someone called Supernalia. Apparently, the partner of Nebulon, wife, I mean.
Those guys did not even go for any proof(maybe they know something I don't), and not even bother with a warrant before pointing fingers at her. They are really not taking chances.
"Better ask for forgiveness than permission…" I mutter at the side of the Ul'lula'ns while watching the one that I talked to (which has a very complicated name for a human to say, and that is translated as Bora) lead the operation.
Nebulon and Supernalia are also kinda "localized" versions of names, too.
With the force, I can feel a psych battle of words floating around in the "psych plane". Concentrating, I can make sense of their feelings and even what the messages convey.
There is a big discussion between Bora and Supernalia.
It is an impasse that was broken when Bora appeared not to give two extra fucks and ordered everyone to be arrested inside Supernalia's isolated "villa" and search the whole place.
Really, damn, the guy is standing on business…
"!!" Oh, it seems this will not end peacefully.
BOOM
I immediately extend my arms to pull Bora and his associates back before an explosion engulfs the place they are. I can see some sort of forcefield shimmering, covering Supernalia behind all the dust.
Chaos erupts immediately, and another group of Ul'lula'ns emerges from the water nearby and starts attacking the "police" Ul'lula'n.
I think I just started a civil war. As I get ready to help and end this as fast as I can, I'm suddenly attacked by someone who is obviously not an Ul'lula'n.
BamCrack
It hits the ground with great strength, creating a small shockwave and spreading cracks like a spider web on the ground.
I dodged the attack from what is now clear to be a blunt weapon user by only stepping back a little.
I couldn't even get a clear view in all this dust before I felt another attack incoming. The enemy is pulling his blunt weapon from the ground and angling it to hit me.
Pow
I stopped his momentum by stepping on the weapon with my right foot and stopping the attack. The shockwave creates a wind that clears the dust, and I can finally see my opponent.
"I knew by the smell… You are dangerous!" Her lips spread in a wide smile while she stares at me unblinking.
"..." I know her…
My luck is really… Sigh Isn't she a Big Shot somewhere? Why is she doing here? Is it because she is young and at the beginning of her career?
Man… Another "Hell-surname" lady.
I said that the universe is incredibly big, but even so, here she is…
"Mercenary work, Lady Hellbender?" I ask the muscle mommy in front of me while looking at her biceps… Nice~
"You know me?" She asks, surprised
We don't move. Some sort of respect between warriors created a small moment of fair play; we just stared at each other with our faces barely one foot apart.
"Just a little… How much for you to abandon Supernalia?" I ask
"Hah! It seems it is just a 'little' indeed… Because if you really knew me…" She puts more strength into her arms and pulls her mace from the ground, throwing me into the air. "You would know that I don't abandon a contract like that." She smiles confidently and proudly, while resting her mace on her shoulder.
I spin on myself in the air and land gracefully on the ground. My battle skirt flows in the wind while I straighten myself to look at her. The battle is imminent. Not that I expected the day to end without me pulling my weight.
"You shouldn't care about your contract… Now that I'm here, it is bound to fail anyway."
......
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