The Silver Tongued Devil

Before i post Part 2, what do you guys think?

Quote from Huor

i am honest, it is lacking some eyecandy pictures and text structure to attract my attention
I appreciate the effort and idea to post fan stories, but i dont like plank text - especially if its more than a few lines - which is great - but deters me from reading more

So it's settled then. Youre volunteering to do the artwork then. I expect preliminary storyboards on my desk by monday

*Edit* i'm only joking, Huor. I do need to work on writing out setting at least. I've seen a lot of shows on TV that have 2 or 3 episodes in a row that are kind of slow. However it's still crucial to pay attention to as there could be important details that will make later acts make more sense. A focus on Character development as much as story.

Cantana Stared out the window of the shuttle as he descended through Planet Crete's atmosphere. The warm colors of red and orange were cast on the thunderhead clouds forming in the distance as the sun was setting in the West. There were two other people in the shuttle besides the pilot, Both Republic armed guards providing escort to The Silver Tongued Devil. They sat like statues, stoic and serious, alert to any threat that may arise. Republic Alliance's Crete safehouse coming up in the distance and Cantana began to compose himself. Tribbs had to know his cover was blown and was probably freaking out. The RA Safehouse was occasionally used by Corsairs as an advanced interrogation processing facility. It worked remarkably well as a blackout site due to the remote location in the southern hemisphere and would serve as a psy-op against Tribbs in order to get him to secretly work for him. He could see the safehouse coming into view. It was an old fashion cabin situated on top of a mountain cliff. The cabin was only accessible by aerial transport with a small clearing behind as a landing space. The transport gently touched down on the plnaet as the door opened up. Armed Corsair escorts stepped out followed by The Silver Tongued Devil and follow him into the cabin

Opening the cabin door, Cantana saw Tribbs on a chair with his hands tied behind him. His nose was broken presumably by the guard who watched over him while waiting for Focks to arrive.

"What the hell? Why is his face all messed up?" Cantana demanded
The guard pointed to a body in the corner. It was the other guard assigned to watch Tribbs. Cantana turned to him
"You did that?" Tribbs nodded slowly and he could make out a smile from his bloodied face "I see.." Cantana pulled out a pistol from his flight jacket and shot the other guard right between the eyes. Brain matter splattered all over the wall and the guards body cluttered to floor. "I can't tolerate failure." Cantana said smoothly as he holstered the gun back into his jacket. Tribbs had a look of slight shock on him. The Silver Tongued Devil had his attention. "The guards weren't to harm you however i don't think they got the message, wouldn't you agree?" Tribbs cautiously nodded.

"I bet youre wondering why and how you got into this position. After all, youre just a simple freelancer right?" Cantana felt like doing a monologue, but he didn't have the time, so he went right to the point.
"The Freelancers Union prohibits freelancers from working for more than one employer at a time. Youre not working for anyone else...are you?" He asked
"I Only have contacts for suppli-" started Tribbs, but Focks threw a punch right across his face and spit blood from his mouth. Cantana saw a tooth tumbled across the floor rug, onto the wood floor and finally sliding under a dresser. The Order's Briefing on Tribbs mentioned a tracking device in his tooth. It was only a matter of time before TSH Fleets showed up at his door, probably without a warrant or authority in general.

"Look, I aint got time for this, Dude. I know you work for the cops. The Steel Hearts actually. Isn't that right....Agent....Tribbs?" and Tribbs's face went pale
"A-a-are you going to kill me?" He ask nervously. The thought of impending death washed over him and began to contemplate how he got to this point. The look was universal for everyone and even The Silver Tongued Devil had to overcome this.
"Oh no, I need you alive I can't kill you. Besides, Killing cops just looks bad. See? TSH and other law enforcement do such a poor job of their duties, I'm placed in a pretty exciting position considering my semi-chosen profession." Tribbs became confused after that statement. "The point is," Focks continued "I need you to work for me. Your life just doesn't depend on it, but stopping people worse than me does. It's a pretty sweet gig actually, you'll have some protection from Focks Industries so Admiral Forlon doesn't figure it out and some other...erm...perks. Triple Agents are hard to control but you'll do alright, right Tribby ol' buddy?
"Who told you i was a cop? And what kind of 'other perks'?" Tribbs asked. Cantana explained there wasn't much but became very sarcastic and told Tribbs about all the Space Grass and Dom'Kavosh Babes he could want.
"So why work for you? Forlon will have me exiled to the Inner Core if he found i betrayed him!" Tribbs exclaimed
"So youre damned if you do and damned if you don't, right?"

Tribbs thought about it and nodded, agreeing to being Cantana's mole a TSH headquarters.
"So thats a yes?"
"Yeah...yeah whatever you want you crazy piece of sh-" Tribbs started but realized finishing that statement could get him hit again."
"Good. Return to the Sea of Shadows and make your report. If they ask, you lost your tooth in a barfight while trying to maintain your cover." Focks commanded "Welcome to the Republic Alliance."

The pair walked out of the cabin just as the sun was beginning to rise. The Silver Tongued Devil didn't realize he was there all night but felt much better about his situation. The walked across the clearing to the shuttle where the pilot began take off procedures.

"So what, I'm supposed to spy on TSH for you?" Tribbs asked?
"No, nothing like that. I need you to get Forlon to do his damn job." The shuttle took off for the nearest space port on Crete, which was a couple hours to ensure Tribbs returned safely to the Sea of Shadows. Hopefully, Tribbs was the opportunity he had to get his life back

Sitting above Earth in his new primary transport, a Soulforge Train, Cantana contemplated his next move. For some reason, he was unable to download Focks Industries navmap and trade data to this new navicomputer so he was forced to start from new in establishing trade routes. He was pretty content with following commercial regulations when it came to trade, going through customs, keeping proper documentation on the flight deck including commercial license, ship and cargo manifest and of course identification. This was tricky because the instant he reached Omicron Gamma, his ship would be flagged in TSH databases. Therefore obtaining legitimate documentation would be the best method for traveling Sirius undected.

He was currently waiting for authorization to enter the Mars sector of Sol. The Order had an HQ in orbit above the Red Planet and was rumored that Mars was being turned into a weapon capable of hitting hostile targets millions of light years away. The Silver Tongued Devil may be able to debunk this conspiracy theory. Cantana was on his way to report to his Order handler, Commander Jun'ko Zane, Section 0 of the Order. The Mars HQ was supposedly the home to the shadowy intelligence arm as well. Cantana received a ping from Order HQ Control granting clearance to dock with the warp buoy. He gunned the engines and slowly made his way to the dock point. He felt the sudden pull as his Ship engaged the warp buoy and began to speed towards Mars.

30 seconds later he was staring at the legendary Red Planet. Named after the Ancient Roman God of War was a fitting name for the barren and desolate planet currently used to test new technology created by house governments. Everything from civilian weapon systems to advanced military hardware for the next generation soldier or navy pilot. Suddenly, Fock's ship was blaring with override failure alarms as the ship's engines remotely engaged and began to guide the massive Soulforge Train to the mooring link. The Station was huge. It consisted of a main central hub and 2 wings that branched off the hub. The mooring link was just under the main hanger deck and there was at least 4 or 5 places where a large ship could dock. A dry dock was visible just branching off one of the wings.

Eventually, the ship came to stop and the familiar sounds of a mooring link established itself for a brief moment. Cantana stood up to stretch his legs as the comm panel pinged indicated a waiting call. He answered it to find the disembodied voice of Jun'ko Zane.

"Good Day, Mr. Focks." She knew he hated being called that. But he was on her turf right now and had to deal with it.
"Commander Zane. I assume you have what i need?"
"You're correct. You ship is being retagged as a commercial vessel on contract from Interstellar Commerce. The credentials being uploaded to your computer now will keep most local cops off your back, however there is a possibility private security firms will require more proof, depending on the firm." Cantana's stomach sank a little.
"Like who?" He asked aggressively. It wasn't like he had any reason to be mad. In fact, he should have assumed mostly legitimate paperwork would fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.
Commander Zane ignored his question and kept going as if she had better things to do.
"If you get caught with cargo you shouldn't, The Order will not be able to help you. We can reimburse your ship in the event it gets destroyed but we cannot bail you out of jail if you get incarcerated. Please note, there is no reimbursement for any cargo transactions."
"Ok i get it. I need to grab a bite before i head back to New London. You guys got a food court?" He hoped she would disengage the magna-lock on the skyway leading into the central hub of the HQ but Zane refused the request and indicated the Ship retag was almost complete.

When Transport 1 was newly christened as an Interstellar Commerce, he felt like he betrayed his father as well as his company. IC is Focks Industries main competitor however he found the logic to make sense to work under the guise of a competitor. The mooring links were disengaged and the autopilot began to move the hulking train back to the warp buoy. Cantana began to maneuver through the space debris above Earth and pondered if that would ever get cleaned up then began the trip back to New London starting with the Warp buoy to Jupiter. As he arrived at the gas giant known for it Great Red Spot a new signature had entered Sol. The ship was classified as a fighter uniquely signed as a a Steel Hearts Operative. Cantana was completely defenseless. He shunted power to engines and sped towards to the Saturn Warp Gate and continued towards the Hyperion gate. The ships long range sensors was still indicated the unknown TSH operative was tailing him. Once in Dublin he wanted to attempt to give him the slip by jumping into Leeds and disappearing into the Tau systems. The quiet system turned into chaos as 2 full squadrons of Bretonia naval forces appeared before Transport 1. It was clear that whoever that TSH pilot was steered him right into a trap. The sergeant hailed The Silver Tongued Devil ordering him to power down his weapons but stopped short as he realized the cargo ship was unarmed and instead, corrected himself mid-sentence to demand the engines be powered down.

"This is definitely not good." as the hum of the massive DSE engines powered off...

"Lower your shields and and prepare to be boarded!" The sergeant asserted over the radio channel. Focks couldn't believe they sent a sergeant for the work of an admiral...or a certain commissioner perhaps. Not to make a scene, Cantana complied. Moments later he heard a magnetic thud as elite soldiers attached themselves to Transport 1's hull. Within seconds, he was being handcuffed and lifted up. He was standing in front of who he assumed was the sergeant who stopped him. The whole outfit comprised of 2 BAF gunboats and 8 snub fighters outfitted with what looked like the latest in ship to ship weapon systems. They all had the unique yet identifying qualities of Bretonia Navy. Not the best in the world seeing as most government funding gets spent internally, particularly welfare and in federal mining operations. They were just inside the asteroid field leading to the Leeds Jump Hole and Transport 1 was surrounded.

"Pretty sure i didn't see a warrant when you knocked, Sergeant." Cantana chided. "But if it's that important to you, my papers are in the overhead bin." The sergeant looked up and around the flight deck "Over there" as he pointed with his chin due to his restained hands. The sergeant walked over to the cabinet and opened it. A Datapad inside a sleeve was pulled out and the soldier began swiping through the datapad. His hopes of not rotting in a Bretonian prison lie in the faux documents provided by The Order.

Cantana noticed the sergeant looking between the datapad and him. He asked "Frank Hodgskin?" Focks was confused, but for just a moment. In that moment, he realized he hadn't actually looked through the documents given to him by Section 0. So he went with it
"Yeah that's me. Interspace."
The sergeant looked puzzled, "Interspace Commerce...that's who i work for." The sergeant nodded before he muttered something into his headset. The sergeant thanked "Mr Hodgskin" and apologized for the confusion and left with his entourage of armed elite soldiers. Cantana was flabergasted. He couldn't believe his fake identity worked. Hopefully it would fool even the sharpest of cops.

The Bretonian navy ships left as quickly as they arrived and Cantana was alone in Dublin. He entered a destination within Kusari space and the computer took control of Transport 1 and continued on to the Leeds Jump Hole. He found that the number of station within Leeds that could not accommodate a ship of his size. It frustrated him so He decided to continue on to Planet Harris. He had heard there was some sort of space grass legalization protest happening on the barely terraformed planet. It wasn't so much a "protest" in the traditional sense. More like veterans and hippies getting together and smoking the enlightening and illegal plant. Planet Harris was the only venue that would put up with the spaced out spacers. He made it a notion not to smoke any space grass. He decided to go and attempt to recruit former Veterans to his cause and it seemed that his greatest reason to join was to dismantle the establishment and abolish civil servants such as police and council members. Views he didn't hold personally but it was enough.

At the rally, he got two veterans from the 2nd Nomad War to join his cause and signaled for a Corsair transport to take them to a Republic Alliance blackout site in Tau 23 for training. There were some half decent bands playing at this "rally" which seemed more like one giant stoner circle involving tens of thousands of people. Everyone from Kusari to Sovetskaya attended this event. Cantana had no idea Space Grass was this popular. It was years since Focks toked on a doobie of the finest space grass, way before he was recruited by Revan. He thought this one time wouldn't hurt.

But boy was he wrong...

Somehow, Cantana Focks, known as The Silver Tongued Devil under hushed tongues woke up in his personal suite on the Starforge. According to Universal Standard time, it was eleven thirty in the morning. His head was splitting and his mouth was dryer than California Minor's sub zero humidity levels. First thing he did was stumble up out of bed and did a shuffle that could be confused with a nomad parasitic infection over to the sink in the washroom and guzzled down what must have been the entire surface of Planet Frankfurt. Gathering his bearings he walked over to the lounge table where his datapad was sitting. Immediately he ran a scan for any signs of tampering on his datapad. Thankfully, the scan was clean and there was no physical evidence he had been brought unwillingly due to a lack of consciousness. He had assumed he fell asleep on his own free will.

The Silver Tongued Devil decided at that point he would figure out what happened during his Space Grass adventure later as 2 high priority messages topped his inbox. The first was a mysterious message from some veteran of one of the old legendary clans. The other was from his mercenary ally from Dark Phoenix: Known Only to Focks as 'The Whiskey Thief.' Cantana calls him Rayden from time to time when he's really in a pickle of a situation. The message itself stated he had a convoy on his way in from Altair was coming in under fire. This was dated roughly 7 hours ago so this only must have recently happened. Admiral Onasi did the pleasure of sending a wing of Corsairs to escort him in as noted in a response just after the original distress call came in. He walked over to the command console in the other room of his suite and pulled up a map of the region. Cantana's suite not only had full accommodations and State of the Art Safe Room Technology but a complete command and control console that was so advanced, government and military intelligence agencies around Sirius and Altair would be very willing to let Republic Alliance do it's pirate work with total impunity.

Rayden's Convoy was being repaired at Tripoli Shipyard and it was probably time to reacquaint with the real world. Cantana found the irony in all this; going from potentially life changing hallucination journey to having to deal with an emergency with an ally. After all...what are friends for and he chuckled. He radioed the bridge officer of the Reaper to make preparations to leave and he was on his way. Before long he was Looking at Tripoli Shipyards through the bridge of his Mighty Celestis Dreadnought. The Leader of the Republic Alliance boarded a shuttle and was soon standing 10 feet from The Whiskey Thief. The attitude in the air was tense: two men who have seen much of what the galaxy has to offer staring face to face in the hanger of a pirate shipyard. Rayden looked like he had gone to Hell and went back for more and Cantana knew he wasn't terribly excited to be here.

"It's been a little while..." Cantana called out.
"Yeah...I forgot to call..." The Whiskey Thief called back. The silence was deafening.
"What can i do you for, Rayden? The Silver Tongued Devil asked.
"I just wanna go home right now." Grumbled the bounty hunter.
"What were those files about? Ya know, the ones you were found clutching like your life depended on it?" The devil asked. Cantana's gazed pierced at Rayden. "People?"
"Couldn't tell you anyway." Rayden retored.
Focks pulled out his datapad. "Peter Stein: Age 36, Born Rheinland, works at a small tech firm in Liberty, lives with wife and kids on Planet Los Angeles. Funny," He looked up from his datapad "Mr. Stein looks...strikingly similar to Colonel Servok Buchares, Coalition Navy, who happens to be head of an intelligence division. Don't tell me. You got some work finally?" Rayden was silent.
Cantana went on, "Good for you buddy! I'm glad. Who gave you the names?" He asked with a smile that would be a snake shiver with fear
Rayden started to respond, but Focks cut him off, "Thats okay, I really don't care in the end. Admiral Onasi?" And the Commanding Officer of the Corsair Third Fleet appeared from nowhere.
"Yes sir?"
"Prepare transport for Mr. Rayden back to his home system, I'm sure you can get the details from him.
"Yes sir!"
"Oh and one more thing, Admiral" and Onasi turned around "Bring Mr. Rayden a bottle of your finest rum, The poor guy is running on empty. Please?"
"uuuhhh....My rum, sir?" Onasi questioned.
"You got it buddy!" Cantana cheerfully confirmed. Onasi shook his head then motioned for The Whiskey Thief to follow him.

Cantana began to walk back to the shuttle bay of Tripoli Shipyard. Journeying to the Reaper, he pulled out the message from a pirate claiming to be a former member of a long lost organization. After rereading the message several times out of disbelief, the moment he set foot on his flagship, he ordered the ship back to the Starforge.

The message was from veteran of the Dragon Corps who has resurfaced

Cantana was in shock and disbelief. It was rumored the Dragon Corps disbanded many years ago and many of the former members simply disappeared. Cantana had to take a break. With all that has been happening within the last couple weeks, He felt he earned it. So The Silver Tongued Devil boarded a shuttle bound for Cambridge to retrieve his first ship, A Clydesdale named the Outrider. The ship was given to him by his father when Cantana was a teenage. At the time, he was able to fly on terrestrial surfaces, but could not fly into space. Eventually, the Outrider wound up at a Focks Industries storage facility near the planetary capital where lay dormant, waiting for it's captain to return. He had almost forgotten about this old bucket of bolts as Focks hadn't been to Cambridge in so long due to a "misunderstanding" at the Cambridge Research Facility long ago. Due to that incident, Cantana Focks had to fly there through less than conventional methods and with the help of some Freelancers and a little luck, he was soon standing on the catwalks of the hanger which housed the dust covered ship.

Cantana climbed into the cockpit of the old freighter to find it just as he had left it. A few beer cans on the dash, the Kusari hula-girl next to the navigation console and even the poster he got when he went to the Mashigima concert on Planet Denver was hanging, just barely, onto the bulkhead. He punched the command in to open the hanger sky doors and moments later, the rumble and creak of the massive overhead doors split open to reveal the calm blue sky of Planet Cambridge. He prepped the computer and the rest of the ship for launch when a vidcall request chimed on his datapad. The signature of the call was encrypted but with the regularities of a Corsair officer,however there was no name, just marked as "unknown." Cantana was sure who it was, but couldn't be certain. He answered the call anyway and a static picture of the Corsair symbol popped up on Cantanas end of the datapad

"It's a nice day for walk." Cantana stated. If it was who he thought it was, they would answer back correctly."
"Yeah....I heard it was gonna rain later." Replied the disembodied voice.
There was a moment of silence. Cantana was now talking to a clandestine Corsair operative he had ordered to tail Rayden after his brief stay at Tripoli Shipyards. Focks was genuinely curious about the folder he had a death grip on during their encounter. "I Assume you have something to report?"
"Yes, Commander. It seems the folders he was clutching was regarding personnel files on various government officials. I was able to determine these files were to be used to identify public leaders for continuity of government. Essentially, if aliens were to enter Sirius and starting wiping everyone out, Dark Phoenix, The Bounty Hunters Guild and other mercenary organizations would be called upon to protect House leaders." The Spy explained "What was interesting, is that not only are Sirius and Altair politicians listed, but members of the Order as well." This piqued Cantana's interest. "What do you think this means sir?"
"It means that Humanity is trying to prepare themselves for a reality they know is going to end badly, or something even more sinister is going on. Were there files for Jun'ko Zane?" Cantana sked
"Yes, Commander." He stoutly responded as a ping for a file transfer came on Focks' Screen and he accepted. "Excellent. Did you find anything else?"
"Yes, Commander. It seems a Bretonian Military installation came under attack." Added the spy.
"So?" Focks said snidely.
"The Whiskey Thief was there and he seemed to be at the middle of all of it. Something to do with an important datapad."

Now Cantana was really interested in what Dark Phoenix was up to. "Who's datapad?"
"I cant confirm that, sir" The spy confided "but I believe it's Denne's."
"Where's the datapad? Cantana asked. As the spy was responding, he was activating OMNIFIND, Republic Alliance's advanced surveillance system.
The spy continued on "...security research facility."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I tailed the Bretonian lieutenant who as at the military installation. It's at a high security research facility."
"Which one?"

The spy explained he got as far as Stokes Mining facility before he was compromised by local police and last saw the lieutenants shuttle enter the asteroid field heading west from Stokes. The only thing that way, Focks thought, was LD-14, a mining facility and complex. Cantana commanded OMNIFIND to open the feed to LD-14's security cameras. Sure enough, a small holographic representation of the shuttle the spy followed was sitting in a holographic representation of LD-14's docking bay. An alert notified that the lieutenant was carrying a black datapad and was now actively tracking the datapad's signal.

Cantana decided he was gonna get that datapad. But since LD-14 is also a top-secret military research facility, he decided it would be better to sneak in and retreive the Denne's datapad. He checked the registry of the Outrider and saw it was in good standing with BMM. The Order must have changed the registry on this ship as well. So the Silver Tongued Devil bought new mining equipment at a second hand price to deliver to LD-14 as a cover.

The Silver Tongue Devil powered up his old freighter and was amazed at how well it still ran. He headed towards the docking ring and realized that this is the first time the Outrider had flown into space since the ship was purchased on Cambridge and was used but only twice a year for a month. The moment was fleeting as Cantana had to mentally prepare to steal Administrative Clan Leader Denne's personal datapad.

Authors Note: Sorry for the two-parters, Hope they're not annoying. Part 2 will have more action, i promise...

The Outrider, Cantana Focks' first ship, shook slightly as it entered the Trade lane to Kensington Shipyard in New London. He was on his way to LD-14, A top secret Bretonian military research facility in Leeds. It was disguised to look and function as a commercial mining complex to harvest the rich minerals that surrounded the facility. Cantana knew this was gonna be a risky mission, so he contacted Admiral Carth Onasi, Commander of the Corsairs 3rd fleet, to have an assault group ready to attack LD-14 to cover Focks escape, hopefully in possession of Administrative Clan Leader Denne's personal datapad. This was a pretty risky mission as Dark Phoenix and Republic Alliance were allies and uncovering any secrets on that datapad might ruin that alliance. Cantana was less fearful of being caught by DP or the Bretonians and terrified of learning terrible truths.

After a brief jump into Leeds, a Message pinged back from Admiral Onasi notifying the assault group was ready and enroute to a rendezvous outside the asteroid field encompassing LD-14. Cantana acknowledge and docked with the Trade Lane on the way to Stokes Mining Facility. Upon exiting the trade lane, Cantana was stopped by 3 police Cavaliers.

"This is Sergeant Adams of the Bretonia Police Department. Power down your ship and prepare to be scanned." Sergeant Adams announced over the comms channel."
"Just delivering a shipment to LD-14 sir." Cantana complied as he cut the power to the reactor and the dull hum of the Outrider ceased into the vacuum of space. "Manifest sending, sir."
"Acknowledged and received uuuhhh...Outrider," As Sergeant Adams read the manifest. "Mining equipment?"
"Yes sir." Cantana Replied. Given the the mechanics of the galatic economy, some of which Focks Industries helped pioneer and establish, Joe citizen with the right credentials can purchase, load and deliver cargo to anyone or anywhere without the need to go through a company liason. The manifest Cantana transmitted as well as the cargo in the hold, was legitimate.
The sergeant broke the silence "Okay Mr. Jones, You're not hauling what I'm looking for." And the communication between Sergeant Adams and Cantana was cut. Focks brought power back to the Outrider and continued to LD-14.

Cantana Focks checked on his datapad to confirm the location of Denne's datapad prior to finishing the trade lane sequence. It was sitting in an office on a secure level near the storage container transfer section. This section was where all the raw ore is stored before being transferred to the massive storage containers to await transport to a refinement center. The trick to getting would be to sneak past the locked door which required a keycard to open as indicated by OMNIFIND. OMNIFIND was powerful and had the capability to open that door, however certain failsafe's were implemented to keep the digital footprint OMNIFIND had as little as possible. Occasionally, these failsafes can be bypassed in an emergency.

The Outrider was cleared to dock and Cantana navigated the Clydesdale into the hanger. He complete post-flight diagnostics and exited the rusted ship to find the deck officer and two guards behind him. He demanded to see the manifest and Cantana obliged. Having scanned the manifest for all of 10 seconds, the deck officer practically threw the manifest back at Focks and punched some buttons on his wrist-mounted datapad, then disappeared behind a door next to the hallway that led to the bar. Suddenly, automated robots scooted from the side of the hanger and gathered at the Outriders cargo bay door. Focks pushed a button his datapad and the cargo bay door hissed and shuttered before opening ever so gently. The automated robots began scurrying up the ramp and began unloading the mining equipment. The Silver Tongued Devil was notified that the he had 10 minutes before the unloading of his ship. OMNIFIND calculated at least 20 minutes to find and retrieve the datapad. So Cantana decided to signal the Corsair assault group to begin their attack.

Within moments, the whole station was thrown into Chaos. And explosion knocked Cantana back 5 feet and off his feet. His ears were ringing and his sight was a little blurry but he shook off the shellshock effects and began sprinting towards the door the deck office had go through. Cantana signaled OMNIFIND to function in Limited AI mode to allow for a quick mission as the station was being brought down around him. The Corsairs had about 5 more minutes before the authorities showed up so OMNIFIND began making an easy path for Focks to run. He stuffed a handfree receiver into his ear so he could concentrate on not getting blown up. OMNIFIND notified him that he was in a Restricted and security forces were on their way. Cantana pulled out a handgun from his pants wasteband that was hidden underneath his flight jacket and readied it. OMNIFIND continued to guide Focks to Denne's Datapad. He rounded the corner and found two security guards looking right at him. The guards shouted at Cantana and began to raise their weapons, but Cantana shot the two as an active of reflex, A habit he managed to form since The Order "asked" him to be a pirate. Without hesitating, he continued to the corridor being guided to his goal.

Soon, he had arrived at a hallway and OMNIFIND Indicated the datapad was approximately 20 meters away. He opened the door to the room the datapad was in to find the Lieutenant who had originally taken the Datapad away from Rayden with two bullet holes in his chest. He was dead just a few feet from the desk in this office Focks had assumed was the lieutenants. The top of a head was seen from the chair, but the chair was facing away from Cantana. He aimed the blaster at the head.

"Who are you?!" He shouted. A calm, female voice replied
"Mr. Focks, come now. We can't let you get that datapad." Just then, the battle taking place outside ceased as OMNIFIND relayed the Corsair assault group was retreating since two Military wings entered the battle. The chair swung around to reveal Commander Jun'ko Zane holding Denne's black Datapad "At least, not without consulting me." She was staring right at Cantana Focks as he held the gun at her

Just then, 4 armed soldiers came out and pointed their rifles at Cantana with one of them demanded he drop his gun. Cantana sighed, rolled his eyes and threw his pistol on the floor about 10 feet to the side. "Can't we ever meet without you having to point a gun at my head?" as he surrended once again at gunpoint then sat down in the standard issue Bretonia Armed forces arm chair opposite of Commander Zane.

(It is a season finale, so do the best you can)

Focks was absolutely fuming. Here he was about to wiggle his way from under The Order's thumb, but for the third time, Cantana Focks was too late and was beaten by Commander Jun'ko Zane. The personal datapad for Denne, the Administrative Leader for Dark Phoenix, a loyal clan to Repulic Alliance, sitting but 5 meters from his grasp and he knew that any sudden movements would result in a bullet lodged in his temple.

"You wanna see what's in there, huh?" Commander Zane taunted. The Silver Tongued Devil hated it when he's taunted. Every fiber in his being wanted to try and shoot his way out, but in the back of his head, a small but faint voice told Cantana to be patient and wait. As stubborn as he was, even in his own mind, Cantana listened to the voice. He would reason it later.
"I was hoping we can renegotiate our deal." Cantana offered. His instinct was telling him to stall the conversation...at least...he thought it was his instinct. The Silver Tongued Devil was calmer and more focused than ever, given the circumstances of his imminent death. "I mean the whole pirate thing was fun and all, but Forlon and his crew seems to be getting their act together. In fact they're becoming almost a nuisance for my business in the edgeworlds."
"We know, Mr Focks. Who do you think influenced Commander Forlon?" Zane looked at Cantana dead in the eyes and suddenly, everything made sense. Everything was connected and Focks knew that The Order was behind everything. Absolute rage consumed The Silver Tongued Devil and he completely lost his calm. The instant Cantana Focks's muscles twitched to make a move on Jun'ko Zane the power on LD-14 was cut and the medium sized office went completely black and as quiet as a tomb.

What happened next was beyond anyone's comprehension. The room echoed with the sound of every bone in a full size adult breaking into a thousand pieces. Followed with the shadowy image of another body flying across the 8 foot room smashing into the bulkhead as creaking of hardened steel bounced a thud across the mining station. After 10 standard seconds, the red glow of the emergency light beamed into the room. The remaining two Order soldier were standing in the light surrounded by blackness back to back with their weapons readied, visibly shaking. No solider in any Sirius or Altair army has ever faced someone like this. And the Silver Tonged Devil knew of only person who could put fear into the even the most hardened and veteran of soldiers such as the personal escort to the Commanding Officer of Section 0, The Order...

The emergency light in the office dimmed out and the silence became deafening. Cantana Focks witnessed a red beam of pure energy materialize from the pitch darkness and move with a lethal quickness, almost as if slicing through the precise middle of every oxygen molecule in it's path. The Power came back on and the two soldiers who were standing were now crumpled in a heap cut into 2 halves. The men were cut right through the abdomen and the could on the men was seared black and cauterized. The wretched smell of crispy flesh filled the room quickly, but was quickly overwhelmed by a cold rushing over Cantana that made every hair on his body stand on end. A fear so dark that a lesser man than him would break down completely. Cantana Focks turned and saw the...dark presence of Revan. Returned from the furthest reaches of deep space to rescue the Silver Tongued Devil. Cantana looked at her as if she was coming back from the dead. Cantana had gotten pushed against a wall during the massacre Revan had just committed on the Elite Soldiers of Section 0 and a pistol lay before him neatly, as if it was calling to him. He picked it up and briefly examined it before pointing it at Zane's Head. She was trying to get out of the way but she was pinned to the chair but he could see no restraints binding her. He looked around and saw Revan standing in the corner calmly standing with her hands behind back, almost innocently. However she was looking at The Silver Tongued Devil with patient attentiveness and could tell, behind her mask, was judging what he would do next.

Cantana Focks walked up to Jun'ko Zane and pushed the barrel of the pistol against her forehead from across the small, standard manager's office desk. He wanted to do it. Zane wasted millions of Focks Industries credits with this pirate adventure he was forced into. Millions that could have been invested in other business ventures. Dozens of Corsair pilots killed in these pointless raids and rescues. It's not that The Silver Tongued Devil was remorseful for killing people as the scum of the galaxy, it's that doing it served no purpose. Politicans and corporate executives alike, Cantana knew it was still senseless killing. But a man has to do what he has to do from being dead or worse...broke. The Silver Tongued Devil hated it when his time is wasted. However, It just didn't seem fair to kill her like this. Frozen by Revans crazy magic, the woman who caused him so much stress at the end his barrel and he couldn't do it. So The Silver Tongued Devil mandated that Commander Zane Resign, sell off all her assets and donate all her money to charity. Just like that, Commander Jun'ko Zane that she's going to retire and give back to the communities that's she's helped ruin, Starting with the Edgeworlds. He lowered his weapon and turned to leave the door. Revan moved toward Zane with her arm outstretched toward the Commander and Focks turned his head to Revan. Before he could Object, she turned and looked at him, immediatly silencing Focks and kept walking. He knew she wasn't going to kill zane, but uncertain of her fate regardless. Revan walked behind Zane, then leaned in close and whisper something he couldn't distinguish. She began walking toward the airlock door and motioned for Cantana to keep going.

Just before the hanger airlock door where Revans ship, The Ebon Hawk, was docked, Cantana stopped dead in his tracks.

"Okay! What the hell is going on, Revan? Focks demanded answers and he wouldn't go any futher until he got them from Revan.
"You're getting rescued." Revan replied bluntly.
"I can see that...What are you doing here though?"
Revan was being a smartass "Rescuing you."
"I had that under contr-" Focks began but Revan cut him off."

"In about 2 minutes, Half the Bretonian Navy will be kicking down the door to this place, probably to kill the two us. Now, i just spent 3 years in cryosleep coming back from somewhere beyond Canis. I'm grumpy as shit, especially since the first thing I had to do was save your stupid ass. Siding with The Order? Real smart dude...real smart..."
Cantana interjected "I had no CHO-" but was silenced by Revan again
"You can either get on that ship and we can go on the fastest trip to Omicron Gamma you'll ever make or stay here and die because, i'm in no mood to argue."

He found that Revan made a good Point. Crysosleep and suicidal rescue missions would make anybody cranky. So the pair entered into the Hanger and boarded the Ebon Hawk.

Once the freighter cleared the asteroid field surrounding LD-14, Cantana decided he need to rest. Revan assured all would be explained and recommended to get something to eat as well. The Silver Tongued Devil opted out of synthesized rations and proceed to the barracks on the port side of the vessel. It would be a few days before they'd get to the StarForge so indeed, he passed out the moment his head hit the pillow too exhausted to process the previous 30 minutes of his life.

Revan was right...all would be explained...

Revan's a Chick, yo....lady parts..

Certainly aint me. Not sure how Cantana could impregnate someone who is millions of light years away.