Into the Black

With us out of danger, for the moment, I walked into the rec area, to find the girl still clutching the armrests of her chair, looking like she was about to be sick. Sure, I pulled a couple maneuvers during the escape, but nothing so bad as that. She looked up at me when I walked in, her eyes wide, “What did you DO?”

“Oh, that? Just a bit of fancy piloting, and then a microjump to hyperspace. Just enough to get us near Jupiter. Now we’re coasting along on a ballistic course for the Choson Ring, so we’ve got…” I looked at my bracer to confirm the ETA, “two hours and forty-five minutes until I need to be back in the cockpit and talking with the local flight control. So you’ve got that long to tell me what the hell I stepped in by taking you on board.”

Sheila Vaughn

Level 20 Human Female

Faction: Terran Empire

Rank: Imperial Princess of House Vaughn

While the girl looked at me like I was a bloody lunatic, I took a moment to Analyze her. Crap. A princess. This was going to be ‘interesting’. I swear, if I see TIE Fighters…

I cleared those thoughts out of my mind, and got a good look at the Princess. She was pretty, no doubt. Long, raven-colored hair, and curves that were enhanced by her outfit, giving her a ‘Lara Croft’ kind of feel to her looks. In fact, I’m pretty sure one of the designers was playing those old games when they designed her.

Finally, the Princess shook her head. “You’re insane, you know that? But because of that, we’re free, for now. Anyways, my name is Third Princess Sheila Vaughn, daughter of his Imperial Highness, Alexander IX of House Vaughn, Emperor of the Terran Empire. Who might I thank for my timely rescue?”

“For now, you can call me Mirikon. Mirikon Mollen. A simple Nomad, looking for adventure. I’ve got business on the Choson Ring, and then I’ll probably be heading outward, see what’s out there.”

“A Nomad? And you already have a ship of this size? You work fast. Your kind have only been in the Empire for a couple weeks, correct?”

“Yeah, I had an opportunity to relieve a jackass of this beauty, and I took it. So now Raven and I are going to check out everything there is to do in this galaxy.”

“You… talk to your ship?”

“Why not? The Raven’s got an AI, so talking to her and making her feel like part of the team is just good sense. But we’ll get to what ‘normal’ people think about AIs later. Now, what was a Princess doing in a sleazy port, running from Imperial troops who looked ready to shoot her in the back?”

The Princess grimaced, and said, “I’m afraid that there’s been a coup. My brother, Travis, was Second Prince, and fourth in line for the throne, and always resented that Markus was born ahead of him. But Markus was always Father’s favorite, and well-liked by the military’s rank and file, as well, while it was only the more corrupt nobles and business leaders that supported Travis.”

“I was on Luna when it happened. I’m not clear on what happened, but it seems as though my brother used Nomads, knowing they could return after death, to launch suicide strikes on the Palace itself. I still don’t know the full extent of the damage, but I’m told that the explosion was enough that it could be seen from the orbitals. I am afraid that my father and brother, at least, are dead.”

“And you were being chased on Luna, why?”

She brightened up a bit at this, and said, “I was visiting the naval academy. I’d received a request to speak to some of the cadets that were graduating and were set to be going to the Fleet soon. Our House has always been big supporters of the Navy, so I was only too happy to speak to them. After I got on the base, one of the Commanders, Keene, I think, informed me that there was a ‘special project’ that was critical to the future of the Empire that I ought to see.”

Sheila paused, and then sighed, “But before I got the chance to go see it, there was a security breach. One of the Majors involved in the project was found dead outside the base, and they were questioning a Nomad who had apparently killed her during sex, thinking she had cheated him. They were investigating that, so I decided to return to my shuttle and head back to the Palace. The attack came while I was on my way to the docks.”

“The troops who were escorting me cursed about the timing, and opened fire on my personal guards! If they hadn’t sacrificed themselves in order for me to flee, I would have been killed then and there. Thankfully, I was able to find a ship that was set to take off, and get there before the traitors could catch me.”

I chuckled, and said, “Well, Princess, consider yourself lucky. It seems that there are at least a few of your brother’s cronies in the military, or at least his cronies have influence within the military. You were being set up. That top secret project you were going to see? It was a project to make chimeras, to be used as infiltrators and assassins.”

Sheila turned a shocked face to me, clearly not expecting me to know anything about top secret Imperial military projects. “What? That’s illegal! How did you discover this?”

“Well, I’m still low level because I’ve been having regular ‘talks’ with that Major that ended up dead. She was a hardass, but didn’t guard her thoughts too well while she was getting laid. Found out a lot while I was fucking her.”

The princess blinked, and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I did not know she was your lover.”

“HA! Lover? No, I was a convenient toy for her, and I enjoyed pumping her for information while I pumped her in other ways. But they were about to start the chimera’s first ‘mission’, so I killed her. Framing the former owner of this ship for her death was an afterthought, to cover my trail.”

I laughed as I saw the princess blanche at what I was saying. “Sorry to spoil your thoughts, Princess, but I’m not one of the ‘goodness and light’ types. I didn’t care to watch a pretty lady get shot up by troopers, but that doesn’t mean I’m a nice guy.” I paused, and then looked to a nearby screen. “Raven, can you check on the situation on Earth? If there has been a terrorist attack on the palace, then there’s gotta be some news coverage.”

“On it!” Raven seemed happy enough to have a task to do, but I made a mental note to have a chat with her and see if there wasn’t anything she might be wanting. Maybe some upgrades to the ship?

“Captain, the situation is still unstable. It seems that the attack was made with a shuttle belonging to Duke Wycome that was reported ‘stolen’, and was crashed into the Palace from orbit, essentially making it a kinetic strike. At the same time, the defense grid was apparently down for maintenance, and the fighters that are supposed to cover the palace during such times were not scrambled. Emperor Alexander and Crown Prince Markus are confirmed dead, and much of the capitol is on fire.”

Sheila sobbed at the news that her father and brother were dead, but I needed more information. “And the rest of the royal family?”

“Princess Vespa, who was second in line for the throne, was killed in an apparent act of treason by members of her own guard, who were then killed by soldiers loyal to one of the nobles. Princess Merida narrowly escaped a similar assassination attempt, thanks to the intervention of a group of Nomads who were passing by. Prince Travis has attempted to seize power, but with Merida still alive, it is likely that, without a civil war, she will be Empress.”

I looked over to Sheila, and said, “When we get to the Choson Ring, I’ll allow you to make a comm call to your sister, so she knows you’re alive. But I won’t be advertising our position until we’re safely docked. Your brother may have friends in a variety of places. And if word that an Imperial Princess is all alone and unguarded on a small freighter gets out, then we’ll have no end of scavengers looking to gobble you up for a ransom, or worse.”

The idea of her brother’s minions or syndicates trying to get hold of her evidently was enough for Sheila to keep from objecting. I considered her outfit, which was basically high-end traveling clothes, but not anything that screamed ‘royalty’ rather than ‘rich’, and nodded, “For now, your disguise is non-Princess-y enough that we can pass it off, especially if we have a cloak of some kind to hide your figure some. Raven! Is there an armory or similar on board?”

“Yes, Sir. Captain Trevellan kept a small armory in the rec area, in a concealed compartment. Captain Kickass never found it, and never thought to ask.”

“Excellent. Where is it, and how do we get in?”

I followed Raven’s instructions and found the compartment just where it was supposed to be, and it opened with the codes she gave me. After that, I had Raven scramble all security codes so that Lord Kickass couldn’t try to get back into her systems. That done, I turned to look at the goodies in the armory. In addition to a basic knife and a coat to match mine for Sheila, I also pulled out a pair of armored vests, a psyber shotgun, and two pairs of goggles.

Toronto Tactical Vest

Type

Armor Vest

Rank

Common

This vest is designed to provide lightweight armor for private security or police officers facing active shooting situations. It can be worn in layers with other clothes, though it is decidedly not subtle, so don’t try walking down the street with this on unless you want a lot of attention.

+20 Physical Armor

+20 Energy Armor

Shiawase Arms Psyber Monsoon

Type

Shotgun

Rank

Uncommon

Damage

40 – 50

Damage Type

Impact

The first of its kind sold to the civilian market, the Psyber Monsoon is a psyshot shotgun. Select fire allows for either solid psyslug rounds or for psyshot rounds. Psyslugs have increased armor penetration. Psyshot rounds cover an area, and ignore part of the target’s Physical Defense, but do less damage against armored foes.

Durability 40/40

10 shot magazine (costs 25 PP to recharge)

Psyslug – Ignores 20 Energy Armor.

Psyshot – Spreads up to 2m at range of 4m. Reduce target’s physical defense by 20 for defending against this attack. Treat Energy armor as being +20 current value.

Cybersteam Optics Goggles

Type

Eyes

Rank

Common

A stylish pair of goggles suitable for either cyberpunk or steampunk fashions. These googles offer a HUD interface with your bracers, as well as multiple vision enhancers, while at the same time enhancing the wearer’s appearance.

HUD Display

Thermal Vision – See in Infrared

Low-light Vision – See twice as far in low-light conditions

+5 CHA

Now that we were both kitted out for something more than running and gunning our way out of port, I nodded. “All right, Princess. That ought to keep anyone from recognizing you too quickly. I’m going back to the cockpit so I can run the docking sequence. When we get on board the station, contact your sister, see if she can arrange a pickup.”

Sheila nodded, and looked over to me. “And what happens then?”

“Then, I turn in my cargo, get paid, and we’ll lay low for a bit until we find out what’s going to happen next. I’ll probably do a bit of shopping, myself. Still need a crew moving forward.”