Recorded Journal Entry:
Origins I - Archeological Research Vessel,
Marius Nostroff, Captain;

This is a tremendous occasion for all Humans, Cyborgs, and Genetics alike. My team has found new evidence in the Sol system that gives irrefutable proof that the desert planet, Terra is where our races originated. I do believe that this could be the discovery that unites us for the first time since we parted ways. Peace could finally permeate our Galaxy.

We have already sent five teams to the surface to investigate what appears to be the ruins of heavily populated cities. God willing they will bring back answers to our age old questions. I can only hope our mission continues as smoothly as... What the Hell is that?

Journal complete.

-----

Through the tiny window in his quarters, Tarx NQ5 studied the debris of the Human research vessel as he listened to the recovered log for the fifth time. It wasn't because he needed to commit it to memory, his hard drive had done that the first time he heard it. He just couldn't believe the audacity of the Human in the recording. The mere thought that his race, the Cyborgs could have anything in common with Humans, much less Genetics made his organic stomach churn.

With a thought, he shut off the offensive recording. He wasn't here for the ramblings of some inferior race, he was sent to investigate the strange energy readings picked up at the time of the ship's destruction. Sure enough, in the wreckage he had found radiation and plasma residue the Cyborgs had never encountered before. All evidence pointed to a weapon of sheer destruction though what it was doing in such a remote location, he couldn't fathom. It was too advanced to be Human and the Genetics had no reason to be here.

There had been one survivor, Tarx had found unconscious in an escape pod. A Human female who he had transferred to his ship's medical bay. Once she awoke he would extract any relevant information from her. He wasn't sure what he would do with her after but he had always wanted a pet.

An artificial intelligence watched from behind its cloak as the small Cyborg scout ship jumped into warped space. It sent the information it had gathered via an intergalactic carrier beam to its creators and jumped into warped space itself to complete its next objective.

--------------------

Background: The eternal feud between Cyborgs and Genetics is suffering through an uneasy cease fire. Both sides know that a lasting peace is impossible but to be perpetually would lead to both of their destruction. In this time of relative calm there is limited trade between them, mostly of Human slaves but there are a few cases when information has passed between their hands. The remote stations where these trades occur draw everyone from the most loathsome scum to the most powerful politicans.

An unknown entity has been destroying ships and colonies from both races. Because no one knows from where these attacks are originating, the Cyborgs and the Genetics have been blaming each other. It is clear as these tensions increase, the cease fire will not last much longer.

A small group of people from different backgrounds meet on the neutral trading station, S-981 where they discover that everything they believe may be a fabrication.

Races:

Genetics: By manipulating their DNA, they have been able to increase their physical and mental abilities. They have developed a form of telepathy and limited telekinetic abilities. An average Genetic is seven feet tall with a slim build. Their weapons and ships have biological components meaning that they can be interacted with telepathically. They believe that the Cyborgs are an affront to their purity. They live up to 200 years.

Cyborgs: A race that is part biological and part machine. Technically two separate entities, the biological and mechanical components supplement each other to create one single being. This also gives them strength on par with the Genetics. They are capable of interfacing with any technology including each other. There are vast amounts of information available to them at any moment from their cyber network. They view the Genetics as a virus that could corrupt their biological components. They live up to 150 years.

Humans: All of the free Humans left live in nomadic colonies waging a guerrilla war against the other two races. The technology of the free Humans is stolen and adapted from the other races or is of an ancient design from when the Humans were once a powerful force. A large portion of their race are slaves to the Genetics and Cyborgs. Their only advantage over the other races is their numbers and birth rate. They live up to 100 years.

Rules:
1: Read the Forum Rules before joining.
2: If you are already in more than three other RPs please don't join unless you are certain you will be able to contribute readily.
3: There is a lot of room to be creative here, don't take it so far that it contradicts the story.
4: Keep all out of character comments either as footnotes of a post or as PMs to the parties concerned.
5: If you do decide to leave the RP, make an effort to kill off your character. I will PM you after a month of inactivity and if you are inactive for another month I will kill your character or have someone else do it.
6: If the RP doesn't seem to be going anywhere for a while, you are allowed to get it going again as long as it makes sense.
7: PM your character sheet to me and I will add you or send it back with suggestions for improvement.

Character Sheet:

Name:
Race:(Cyborg, Genetic, Human)
Age:
Gender:
Occupation:(Be creative)
Appearance:(Make sure it suits the race)
History:(Be as detailed as possible. If you want something to be a secret, say it anyways but make it clear that it shouldn't come up.)
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities:(Describe them in detail. It should suit the race and occupation)

This message was edited by themanyouwanttobe on Feb 16 2008.

Due to some confusion from non-Latin speakers, I have changed the name to a more English-friendly phrasing.

This message was edited by themanyouwanttobe on Feb 24 2008.

themanyouwanttobe

Name: Tarx NQ5
Race: Cyborg
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Occupation: Scout
Appearance: The majority of his implants are sub-dermal except for one covering his left eye to his left ear, one on his left forearm, and one on the outside of his right thigh. The implant on his face has a black piece of glass covering his eye. His other eye is dark green. He has short brown artificial hair that always keeps its shape. He wears an armor suit that interfaces with his leg and arm implants when he is in dangerous situations but usually wears a pilot's jumpsuit with the left sleeve rolled up so he can access his implant.
History: Tarx was extracted from his growth chamber on a gunship during a battle with the Genetics. Even though his biological body was in its infancy, his CPU was already functioning at full capacity. He was connected to a turret and had his first kill before his first day was finished. As he matured his biological brain needed a greater challenge. He reprogrammed himself as an assault trooper and proved himself in close combat with the enemy and eventually commanded his own platoon. When the cease fire was called, most of the troopers were reassigned including Tarx. He was transferred to the tactical scouting branch of the military which suits him but he finds the solitude to be tedious at times.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: He has a pistol that fires charged radiation. A shot in the head or chest from this is deadly but most armours can lessen the impact. He also has a plasma carbine left over from his trooper days, this will cut through all but the thickest armours. His ship is a small tactical scout ship that sacrifices heavy weapons and shields for speed and agility. It's shaped like a water droplet with five nacelles around the pointed end. His left ocular implant allows him to see an increased spectrum of light including ultraviolet and infrared. It also gives him telescopic and limited x-ray vision.

King Bubsgonzola

Name: Starquake
Race: Cyborg
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Occupation: Bounty Hunter
Appearance: here
History: Became a bounty hunter at the age of 25. Has no emotions or feelings, which makes him the perfect killer. Was recently given a contract to take down a smuggling organisation on Mars.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: His weapons are the ones seen in the picture. He has a small spaceship which is only about the size of a car, and he uses it to travel between planets. When it lands it can convert into a small hover car with guns on it. His special suit has hover rings on the boots which enable him to fly.

Silver Mirror

Name: Choisul
Race: Genetic
Age: 72
Gender: Male
Occupation:Choisul is for lack of a better word a scientist. He specializes in strange and mysterious technology but is also a trained archaeologist, a analyst, a engineer and has even gone through basic firearms training
Appearance: Choisul is 7 feet tall as is normal for his race, he has silver hair which is combed back. He has matching eyes. He wears dark blue garments most of the time which are loose and billowy
History: Choisul is just leaving the hot bloodiness of youth by his races standards. He is intelligent and extremely careful as far as his work is considered. His parents were killed in a raid by the humans when he was just a toddler and has always held a slight grudge because of it. He has completed a course at the university for his kind and has made several major discoveries in the field of strange and ancient technologies.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: Choisul has a research vessel at his disposal capable of interstellar travel. He carries a short electrified knife, and a number of tools used for investigating and delving into various technologies. He is not a fighter but will not hesitate to defend himself

razda

Name: Malcador Sigilite
Race: Human
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Occupation: Self appointed defender of the Human race
Appearance: Black short hair, 6'2", Medium build, Cloak(more on that later), Plated ceramite chest piece and left shoulder pad with a number on, a pistol holster(also more on that), shadow grey canvas trousers and shirt, black leather boots and gloves the right one has eye piece known as an auspex (again more on that)
History: He has been helping the human race survive with his father until when he was 14 his father was killed in a orbital strike from the Cyborgs whilst they fought on a Human home world with the Genetics. He has travaled the galaxy seen horrors that would petrifies the most battle hardend cyborg. Made discoveries the would perplex the most academic genetic.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: A pistol from the dark age of technology that fires sub-atomic particles to reduce targets man and machine alike to vapour, a camo cloak which is not possible to see with the most advanced X-ray technology, the armour he wears is not particularly good but he believes it to be lucky, The auspex was supposedly designed so you couldn't lose the camo cloak but also sees other cloaking devices.

HaloAddict

Name: Dirk Trazzian
Race: Human
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Occupation: Jack Of All Trades
Appearance: Dirk's a big guy, at around 7 feet and built like a rock, he's someone you don't want to meet in a dark alley. He wears either a full heavy body armor suit, with or without a helmet, it's all in black (think black Halo armor). However when he's not in a combat situation, he wears black boots, black pants, acream colored shirt, and black utility vest (a la Han Solo), all lightly armored, not enough to withstand much beyond a pistol shot, but all helps, right?
History: Dirk grew up on a small cyborg colony, his size making him an ideal canidate for manual labor, and it was here that he developed his already solid stature. However he also was a very astute student of engineering and mechanics. When he was 17 the human slaves at the colony rioted, and overthrew the small colony of cyborgs. After that he spent 8 years flying freighters, and dealing with the hardships that come with being a freed slave. However when he participated in a raid against a rival smuggling outfit, his supervisors realized his natural abilities with a weapon were far ahead of some of their veterans. They put him up for jobs no one else would, or could, complete. He was everything from a mercenary to a bounty hunter to a enforcer. During a job he had taken in a different solar system, his outfit was attacked and destroyed by a genetic task force. Ever since then he's struck out on his own, and after winning a ship in a game of cards, he's been taking any and all odd jobs he's had come his way.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: Dirk has a virtual armory on his ship, but always carries around at least his duel customized blaster pistols, and a few other gadgets he's found useful, such as his binoculars, with multiple light spectrum settings. His ship, The Irrefutable, is 97 feet long, with two decks, four laser batteries, two missile pods, and several defensive measures.

Joseph Leito

Name: Xan Darkwolf
Race: Human
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Occupation: Smuggler (Ghost)
Appearance: Tall, snow-white hair, grey eyes.
History: After his parents were killed when a Cyborg ship destroyed a Human passenger vessel, Xan decided to enter the war. He now operates as a "Ghost" smuggler, hoping that the Genetics and Cyborgs will kill each other, while simultaneously coordinating guerrilla strikes against the Cyborgs.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: Two ancient swords of a mysterious beginning, as well as a variety of large rifles and guns, almost a dozen combat knives concealed throughout his body, a grenade belt, six pipe bombs along his belt and a few ration packs. He flies a small freighter, the Ark Angel, which is as heavily armed as he is, sporting eight missile cannons and twelve blaster cannons as well as four gattling guns and an auto turret.

dragon tamer666

Name: Terry
Race: Genetic
Age: 88
Gender: male
Occupation: biologist/genetic engineer
Appearance: terry has a very unique hair colour. Kind of a cherry-blonde colour. When brushed, you can see that in the middle of his head, their is red hair, and along the edges or that, blonde hair. He is 6ft tall, with blue eyes. He tends to wear any clothes that picture "dragons" on them. So he typically where's bluish purple garments with the ancient beast 's fighting, flying, or just looking cute on them.
History: has always loved the study of humans and cyborgs, as well as other life forms. During one of terry's earlier genetic experiments, he found he could use fast-reproducing bacteria to literally change the DNA of animals infected with it. He simply put the new DNA into a bacterium, and injected it into the spot he wanted infected, using a simple x-ray to keep the bacteria in one spot only. He then watched in amazement as the cells of his lab-rats tail, where eaten alive by the bacteria, which then BECAME the new cells. The end result: a lab rat with a sharp, spiky tail. He has now considered trying this on Human, and then hopefully Genetic specimens.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, and abilities: terry always brings his work with him. In a single suitcase ha holds a miniature x-ray, several needles, a small colony of his bacteria, and multiple genetic designs he personally made himself.
Terry also has a 100% organic space vessel he named Darwinia. Darwinia (or "Dar" as he sometimes calls her) is dark green in colour, with orange stripes along her top, in front of her are two gigantic mandibles witch she can use to salvage/eat other vehicles in space. She can also shoot acidic slime from four holes around her mouth. To travel in space, dar uses her limited psychic abilities to push herself forward, backward, or any other direction. For planetary travel, she opens up two "wings" at her side and uses thermal waves to glide anywhere she wants.
Terry doesn't have many weapons aside from his bacteria and needles. Although he is planning to inject the bacteria into himself, giving him giant arms covered in an exoskeleton, and perhaps the ability to spit the same acid as dar. But for now, terry must rely on others to protect him.

YumiVonShippo2

Name: Leya Xandram
Race: Genetic
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Occupation: Medic
Appearence: Leya has short, dark brown hair, sparkling green eyes and has a light tan skin tone. She wears a white, skin tight top and a blue vest to go over it. She also wears a black pair of pants and black combat boots.
History: Leya's father died when she was only 7 when a ship he was in exploded. Her poor mother, Gora, could not care for her, so she had no choice but to abandon her. She gave her $10.00 for food, then left her, never to be seen again. Because she lived in a crime infested area, she had to learn how to protect herself, which led to Leya becoming a skilled fighter.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: Leya carries a small scalpel with a blood red blade, and numerous needles and shots that inject poison. Leya drives a small ship that seats four people, and is normally used for medical purposes. She is also a skilled fighter, since she had to learn to protect herself when she was young.

Scorpia_Agent

Name: Lupia Extacthodens
Race:Genetic
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Occupation: Plant singer- She sings to plants in an odd tongue to lend them strength and helps them grow better. (Sero sono)
Appearance: Silver eyes, long black hair, just under 7 foot tall and she wears robes.
History: Her parents were killed by Cyborg, so she despises the race. (doesn't really come up) She was born on the Summer Solstice, and is young but powerful. She grew up on a planet covered in plants and learnt the art of Sero Sono from her aunt. She loves being around her plants.
Weapons, vehicles, accessories, abilities: Weapon: An odd form of gun that can only be fired telepathically and an odd ceremonial sword of Sero Sono that is made from a very rare plant. Vehicles: A small ship powered by light from stars. Controlled telepathically. Accessories: A wooden arm guard made from wood. Abilities: Sero Sono, powerful telekenesis.

This message was edited by themanyouwanttobe on Feb 25 2008.

"They call themselves the Ghosts. They secretly smuggle supplies from the Genetics and Cyborgs. If this goes on long enough, I'm afraid war is going to be declared. Their main base of operations is a small abandoned base on Mars. That's were they store the supplies until they get an order from either side. We need you, Starquake. You're the only one that can stop this" Starquake turned off the holo-message he had just recieved, and stood up. He was staying in a hotel on Bergan, a small planet in the Solar System next to Sol. He quickly geared up and put his huge gun on his back.

He walked down the stairs and passed the reception. "Erm.... excuse me, sir" said the receptionist, a small Human slave "It's 200 credits" Starquake just stared at the man and reached into his belt. The human shrieked and ducked behind the counter, expecting to be shot. However, a bag of money landed next to him and the Cyborg departed, leaving the human to be humiliated. Starquake walked down the busy streets of the planet's capital city, getting all sorts of strange stares. He was dresssed in his purple and yellow battle armour (Click the link in Appearance) with his huge gun on his back. Bergnan was a neutral planet, owned by both the Cyborgs and the Genetics. A Genetic police officer ran over to him and demanded some ID. After Starquake showed him his bounty hunter license, he was allowed on his way.

Eventuallly, he came to the local hangar where his ship was stored. He payed the shipmaster and climbed inside. It eas only a very small ship (It looks like a speed racer thing from Star Wars) but it could travel between planets and had some strong firepower. The roof of the hangar opened up and the small ship began to be lifted by a huge elevator. Starquake sat patiently as he was lifted out of the hangar. He looked out at the city, and could see hundreds of tiny people. He started the engine and began to lift off the concrete platform. He slammed his foot down and began flying through the air at super speeds. In a few minutes he was out of Bergnan's atmosphere and was on his way to Mars.

The explosion of colours that was warped space danced across the ship's main view screen. Tarx once had an appreciation for the display, made even more brilliant by his ocular implant, but his countless hours travelling made it just another daily routine. He switched off the viewer and left his small bridge to examine his prisoner.

Cyborg medical equipment was not designed for Humans. The majority of the various automated tools were designed to repair damaged mechanical components. There was of course antibiotics and surgical instruments to heal biological systems. The Human female was not injured to the extent that she needed extensive treatment, however a robotic arm was at work repairing a dislocated shoulder. A tube in the back of her hand was administering an anaesthetic, not for medical reasons so much as to keep her from wandering around. Tarx instructed the medical computer to remove the tube and revive her. It withdrew itself and slipped back into the table she was lying on. A small voltage shock woke her.

The Human looked around, confused, trying to comprehend her new setting. Her unfocused eyes saw Tarx and for a moment an expression of relief came over her face. It was short lived for as her vision cleared and she saw his implants the severity of her situation dawned on her. Her breath quickened and her eyes darted around looking for an escape. Still heavily drugged, she attempted to sit up but became dizzy and collapsed back down, looking helplessly at the ceiling.

Seeing that the female had settled down, Tarx began questioning her. "What is you name Human?"

She replied in a trembling voice. "Go fornicate with yourself scrapheap."

Tarx rolled his eye, he had heard of the petulance of Humans. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He activated the mechanical repair portion of the medical room. A tangle of dangerous looking arms tipped with blades and prongs came out of the wall. Tarx asked again, "What is your name?"

The girl, staring at the arms, replied quickly. "Elaine Nostroff."

The Cyborg smiled and sent the repair arms back into the wall. "See how easy it is to cooperate." He judged the human to be in her mid-twenties. "You are the offspring of Marius Nostroff."

A look of suspicion came over her face. "Yes, how did you know?"

"I analyzed your ship's logs."

"Then you must have seen the evidence that shows the third planet in the Sol system to be the birthplace of our races."

Tarx shook his head. "A few ruins and the theories of a Human are not enough to contradict five hundred thousand years of Cyborg history. Our race was borne of the stars and yours was created to serve us."

Elaine looked defiantly at the Cyborg. "No, my ancestors created you and the Genetics." A shock from the table made her body spasm painfully.

There was venom in Tarx's voice. "You will not speak such blasphemy." He turned off the electricity. "Tell me about the weapon that destroyed your vessel."

The Human was still twitching from the shock. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? There must have been some sign of another ship or a long range missile. It is unwise to withhold information from me."

"I don't know, there was the command to abandon ship, I went to the nearest escape pod and seconds after I jettisoned my father's ship exploded. I was knocked unconscious and then I woke up here."

Tarx opened his mouth to speak but his navigational computer relayed to him that they were about to drop out of warp. He connected the anesthetic back to Elaine's hand and once she was unconscious he made his way back to the bridge.

He turned the view screen back on in time to see the kaleidoscope of warped space fade to the black of real-space. An automated recording of a female voice chimed over the speakers. "Welcome to the neutral trading station S-981. Please power down your weapon systems or be neutralised by our automated defense array." Tarx complied and set a course for the indicated docking bay.

As Starquake entered the Sol system, he noticed that it was nothing like the last. There was not a single ship in space and the area in front of him was full of asteroids and debris. He could see why nobody went to Sol anymore. All the Major colonies were destroyed and it wasn't as rich in resources as the other systems. However, this made it the perfect place for pirates and criminals. Starquake would have to be careful.

He flew past Jupiter and entered the asteroid belt. After dodging and clearing a path, he finally made it out and looked upon Mars. Beyond that was nothing but floating space rocks, Earth had been destroyed many years ago. As he began to enter Mars' atmosphere, he spotted a small ship, barely larger than his own, come out of stealth mode. Starquake quickly activated stealth mode and turned off his engines, letting himself hover in the zero gravity. He peered out of his window and saw that the ship was leaving Mars. Maybe it was the Ghosts out on their smuggling run?.

Starquake acted quickly and fired a laser torpedo at the escaping ship. The torpedo hit and the enemy ship was sent flying off course and fires began to erupt on the outside. Starquake fired up his engines and charged towards the enemy ship. He just managed to see the face of a shocked human, dressed in a black jumpsuit. Then the ship exploded and pieces of debris whizzed past. That would weaken them, now he would have to take out the rest. Starquake quickly descended to the surface, to seek his other prey.

According to the briefing, the Ghosts were only a small group of about 10 humans. They were so small because they thought that it wouldn't attract attention, and nobody would care about 10 humans in Sol. But if 100 cyborgs were to be seen in Sol, the Genetics would wonder what was going on and probably declare war. Starquake touched down silently, about a mile from the Ghost warehouse. He hid his ship in a small cave and decided to travel on foot. He had a tracker on his wrist so he wouldn't lose the ship.

After walking for a few minutes, Starquake reached the top of a hill overlooking the base. It was only a small compound, with a concrete wall and a steel gate. 2 men with rifles stood in watchtowers just outside the gate. Behind the walls was a warehouse ,were they probably stored the supplies, a small barracks and a hangar. Starquake activated his cloaking device, and his suit blended in with the environment. He was able to crawl across the small stretch of desert and was now at the foot of one of the watchtowers. He quickly climbed the ladder and drew his pistol.

Too quick for anybody to notice, Starquake snapped the guard's neck. He then looked over to the man in the other watchtower and fired a silent bullet into his neck. The 2 men fell down, and Starquake activated his hover boots. He silently landed inside the compound and pulled out his main rifle from his back. He set it to silent semi-automatic bullet and walked over to the hangar's side door. He peered in through the window and saw 2 male humans crowded around a computer in the corner. Suddenly, a woman appeared from the other entrance and walked over. There was only one ship in the hangar, a transport ship about the size of a bus. It was probably used to get off the planet.

"It just went straight off our radar, ma'am. We think it got shot down" explained one of the male's, Starquake could hear with his advanced hearing. The woman looked shocked "Well? Have you seen any ships entering the atmosphere?" the woman asked. To Starquake's relief, the men shook their heads and the woman replied "Well, keep looking. Maybe the ship's power went down" and walked over to the door Starquake was behind. The Bounty Hunter pressed himself against the building and waited. The door opened and the woman walked out. Starquake saw that she too was wearing the black jumpsuit, and knew that destroying the ship was the right thing to do.

As soon as the door closed, Starquake grabbed the woman and broke her neck before she could make a noise. He hid the body in a small crate, and quietly opened the door the woman had come out of. The 2 men were mmuttering to each other and too busy staring at the screen, to hear the door closing and Starquake aiming his rifle. Click. Click. Blood spattered the screen and the 2 men fell down onto the concrete. "4 more to go" Starquake muttered to himself.

After fixing explosive charges to the escape ship, the cyborg exited the hangar and checked out the barracks. He came across a sleeping guard and silently put a bullet in his brain. The remaining 3 must be in the warehouse. Starquake walked across the compound and spotted the huge double doors of the warehouse opening. A truck began to reverse, it was full of supplies. "OK" said a man in the warehouse to the driver "A Cyborg cargo ship should be coming in about an hour. So park this just outside the gates, and wait for the ship to land on the hill"

The man who gave the orders walked back into the warehouse and the doors closed again. The driver stopped the truck in front of the gates and shouted up to the watchtower "Hey man. Open the gate" There was no reply. And Starquake knew that the man was going to find out. He had an idea. He got to a safe distance and pressed a button on his wrist. Suddenly, the entire hangar exploded and the truck driver was flung to the ground. Starquake quickly shot him, and blended against the wall.

The 2 remaining Ghosts ran out the warehouse and looked at the remains of the hangar. "What the hell!" shouted the man who was giving orders to the driver. The other man said "Don't worry. That Cyborg cargo ship's coming, it'll get us off of here. Wait a minute, the guys were in there!." The 2 men ran around frantically, and found all the bodies. Meanwhile, Starquake had gone into the warehouse and cut off all of their communications. 1 of the men ran over to the communications unit, to try and call for help. But Starquake was already behind him, and put a bullet in the back of his head.

The only remaining Ghost charged in and spotted the Bounty Hunter without his cloaking device on. He reached for his weapon but Starquake whipped it out of his hand using his magnetic generator built ito the palm of the suit. He soon held the man's gun in his hand and aimed it. "Why, man?" asked the human "Why go through all of this when you probably could have just barged in and killed us?" Starquake shrugged his shoulders "I suppose I enjoy inflicting fear and despair. And that cargo ship that you were talking about? It belongs to my employer. He set up this entire deal so I could steal the supplies and bring them back safely" The man shook his head and asked "Who are you?" Starquake raised the pistol and replied "I'm your Exorcist"

Starquake was greeted by his employer on the hill just outside the compound. It was the same cyborg from the holo-message, a very powerful trader who the Ghosts had been stealing from. He also thought that they would trigger a war and stop all the trading to his planet. Whatever an employer's intentions, Starquake just wanted the money and collected a large sum of 50,000 credits. "I'll take the contents of the warehouse back to trading station S-981. Would you care to come along" asked the Trader. Starquake nodded and replied "I could use a few upgrades. Just let me fetch my ship" A few hours later, the cargo ship set off with a full hold, bound for trading station S-981.

Choisul walked to his ship with a grace which came naturally to his species. He passed the two guardians at the entrance to the spaceport with no hesitation. At first he had been scared of the guardians, genetics which had been modified at birth with a additional pair of arms to give them the upper hand in battle but now he barely noticed them. There was a job to do. And a new mystery to uncover, he had been hired by none other than the legislation themselves to perform a top secret investigation. As to what exactly he was to do yet he had no idea. All he knew was that he was to proceed to trading station S-981 and await instructions.

He was not worried about the veil of secrecy, such things were common in his line of work. He approached his ship and examined it carefully for any damage or sabotage. It was a beauty as far as Gentics ships go, there ships are not made like the other species craft but grown. Using a complex combination of genetics and electronics their ships were literally a biomolecular life form.

Satisfied the ship was in working order he pushed a button and a panel opened revealing a jelly like substance. He placed his hand in the gel and initiated the telepathic link with the ship. Communication with the ship was done to fast to sum into mere words but in the three second contact he told the ship to scan itself, release the slaves from there cabins, prepare for atmospheric take off, activate the ships temperature controls and even informed the ship of its destination.

Acknowleging the commands the ship lowered it's ramp, or rather the ramp molded itself out of the ships hull along with the hatchway. He climbed on board and proceeded to the cockpit, while it was not necessary to be there for take off he preferred the cockpit to his rather luxurious cabin. He initiated a telepathic link with the human slaves as he entered the foremost room of the ship. Such links were not usually possible but collars were fitted to the slaves necks in order to save time. All in all he had 4 slaves on board in order to assist him with his studies.

Sitting in the pilots chair he sent out a telepathic burst "prepare for planetary launch"

The huge cargo ship docked onto the even bigger trading station, and Starquake made his way to the hold. He thanked the trader and rode his ship to the hangar for smaller ships. He then walked into the main hall of the station, a huge room full of different stalls and shops. There were different platforms and stairs everywhere, the place was full of thousands of people, all different races. The noise was deafening, so Starquake had to turn down his hearing sensitivity. He made his way through the crowds of mercenaries, antique shop owners, soldiers, and all the other different characters.

After finally making his way to the stairs, he climbed 10 stories to the "Mercenary and Bounty Hunter floor". This floor was full of shops that sold guns, bullets, ship parts, fuel and torpedos. This wasn't the first time Starquake had been to S-981 and he was familiar with a store owned by a wealthy human named Drax. Starquake pushed past the huge Genetics and Cyborgs, armed to the teeth with state of the art weapons. But many people knew not to upset Starquake, who was a renowned Bounty Hunter, and most obligingly stepped out of the way.

Eventually, Starquake reached Drax who was being threatened by a large Genetic with an energy blade. "I'm sorry friend" explained Drax "But you didn't pre-order anything" The Genetic growled and said "I paid in advance last week. I want my armour, now!" Starquake stood next to the Genetic and asked "Is there a problem here" The Genetic suddenly went quiet and walked away, not wanting any trouble. Drax thanked Starquake and said "So how can I help you?" Starquake bought an extra torpedo for his ship, as he had used it on the Ghost stealth ship, which was put on a conveyor belt and delivered straight to the hangar.

He also had an extra stealth upgrade put into his suit which wold enable him to blend in longer and quiet his footsteps more. At the end of it all, he had spent 10,000 credits. It wasn't cheap being a Bounty Hunter and there wasn't really much time to buy a big house and stay there. Starquake descended to the ground floor, and on the way saw a familiar face. "Excuse me" Starquake said "Are you Tarx? I was once hired by the Cyborg army to fight the Genetics. You used to be a soldier, right?"

The airlock hissed closed behind Tarx. With a hand on Elaine's back, he led her down the narrow docking corridor into the main area of S-981. He had induced a sedative before bringing her off his ship and affixed a small electrical device to the back of her neck should she become unruly. In the short time Tarx had known the Human, he had grown somewhat fond of her. It was a difficult decision to sell her, he could have used a bit of company on his extended missions, even if it was from a lesser being, but he knew he needed the money more. He watched her as she looked around, dazed by the drugs in her veins and took her through another airlock and into the main plaza.

The crowds, the noise, the smell, and the heat combined, nearly overloaded Tarx's senses. It had been years since he had seen more than five people together at the same time and even then he had kept his distance. Now he was completely immersed in the most foul amassing of civilisation the galaxy could generate. He didn't remember this level of debauchery the last time he had been here, shortly after the cease-fire had been called. Hawkers roamed the crowds selling everything from narcotics to high-powered weapons. Simultaneously, three fights broke out around him, he tensed, but before they could escalate into all out brawls, individual force fields surrounded the perpetrators and they disappeared in a flash as their bodies were vaporised. The crowd didn't seem at all fazed, as if this was a common occurrence.

Remembering his ward, who was now rolling her head and humming off key, he accessed the station's layout which was displayed via his ocular implant. According to the image, the slave auctions were held on the lowest level. He checked the location of the nearest lift and switched the map off. Pushing Elaine in front of him, he made his way carefully to the large pillar that housed the station's transport system. As he neared the sliding door, a heavily armoured Cyborg caught his eye. The crowd gave the intimidating figure a wide berth as he walked purposefully towards Tarx.

The Cyborg stepped through the doors just before they shut and confronted Tarx. "Excuse me, are you Tarx? I was once hired by the Cyborg army to fight the Genetics. You used to be a soldier, right?"

Tarx wasn't in the mood for whatever this mercenary wanted. "Just because I don't wave a gun around like some hormonal Human doesn't make me any less of a soldier."

The chide didn't faze the armoured cyborg. "I suppose a soldier like you needs to make a living chasing humans."

"Spoils of war, comrade. I got her from a destroyed vessel."

"Did you destroy it?"

"Umm, no. I'm not authorised to attack without provocation." With his mechanical eye, Tarx saw the outline of a smile behind the other's helmet.

Xan's freighter tore through the open air of Mars.

"Computer, lock on to the energy readings from the base. What the hell is going on? Why can't I get anyone?" The computer scanned, and then said in a female voice:

"No life-signs detected. Both outer guards are dead, it appears there was a confrontation. Also, the wreckage of the Big Time has been detected.

"Damn! The Big Time is Sonry's ship! Someone hit the base. Which means I need to clear it out before someone else does." Xan piloted the ship with expert skill to the courtyard of the base, where he got out, examining the bodies of the guards. He pulled a data pad, turning the recorder on.

"Log, I've entered the base. One guard with snapped neck, one guard with bullet in the neck. I'm removing all goods. Any Ghosts who find this, meet me at our base on Titan. They shouldn't know of that one yet. Xan, over and out."

Xan loaded as many goods as he could, taking off in the freighter.

OoC: Hate to double post, but I'm impatient.
IC:
"Computer, head to Station-981. I got a good deal there last time, hopefully we can do the same now." The Ark Angel sped toward the station, loaded with various laser cannon cores, ration packs, Cyborg repair parts, adrenal shots, and other miscellaneous goods. After a few hours, the ship came out of warp, auto-pilot kicking in.

"Attention, incoming Freighter. This is Neutral Station 981. Shut down all weapons and beam your transponder codes."
Xan powered down all weapon systems except the secret gattling cannons, activating a fake ID.

"Attention, Freighter Journey's Reward. Docking request accepted, prepare to dock."

Xan pulled the ship into an open hangar, where a team of Cyborgs inspected the goods. Luckily, they didn't notice the less legal goods in the secret holds. They finished the non-thorough inspection and sent cargo haulers for the goods. Xan followed them to the auction block. There, he passed multiple slave auctions. The sight of humans traded like beans sickened him, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Even if he had an army, his freighter wouldn't hold more than a few.

As he moved through, however, one caught his eye. It was an extremely attractive young woman, who looked dazed from some drug used by the Cyborgs. Her captors appeared bored, as the auction wouldn't move here for another hour. Xan formulated a plan. He picked up a rock, walking behind a Genetic. He through the rock at a Cyborg nearby. The Cyborg went ballistic, charging the Genetic, and a fight broke to an all-out brawl. Suddenly, force-fields appeared around the two and vaporized them.

Xan read the frequencies of the field, inputting them into his jamming field. Now to test it. He tripped a Genetic, who fell into another Cyborg. Again, a fight broke. Fortunately, the jamming prevented the vaporizing fields. Guards rushed out, taking aim at the two brawlers. Cyborgs and Genetics scattered away, and the excessive moving provoked more fighting. Soon, two dozen Cyborgs and Genetics were fighting each other. Unfortunately, the captors of the woman just looked on in amusement.

Xan came up behind the auction stage, killing two guards with flicks of his wrist, the un-confiscated knives protruding from the flesh of their necks. He moved the bodies out of the open, hoping the guards were relatively incompetent, and thanking God that Cyborgs and Genetics were easily provoked.

Xan ran up the steps, taking the two Cyborgs, who were speaking with each other, by surprise. It wore off quickly though, and they attacked. Xan pulled two knives, whirling them toward the Cyborgs. One hit the arm of a Cyborg, the other missed entirely.

"Sorry, gotta run!" He said, snatching the cuff-keys off of the unwounded Cyborg. He grabbed the woman, picking her up and running. He dodged into the still raging brawl, allowing him to avoid the gaze of even the Cyborg X-Ray eyes. Xan awkwardly carried the woman back to the hangar, only able to dodge guards.

As he passed the last two blocks, the captors of two male slaves lost concentration, and the slaves smashed them over the heads with hand-cuffed hands. They fell in step behind Xan, firing stolen stun-guns with their cuffs on. When they reached the Angel, Xan put the woman down just inside the ship. He glanced over at the two men, looking at him expectantly.

"Mind giving us a ride?" One asked. Xan hesitated, but realized that he could actually man more Gattlers on the way out.

"Sure. Hop on, I have cuff removers inside, but it might hurt a bit." They all three climbed onboard, Xan moving the woman to a cot in the passenger deck.

"You two man the guns." He said, opening secret panels into the gun bays. Guards were swarming, firing guns at the ship. Obviously, the riot had been quelled.

"Brace yourself, it's gonna be a rough takeoff!" Xan shouted, firing engines. He pulled out of the station roughly, and ran straight into a blaze of lasers.

"Hit those station batteries!" He shouted, watching bullets from the two guns blaze into the turrets. He activated the other two on auto, watching as a pursuit craft burst into flames under a torrent of fire.

"You wanna power the rest of these guns?" One of the escapees yelled.

"Nah, it'll take too long and drain engine power. By the time they charge we'd be outta this mess!" Xan risked an uncalculated warp, jumping only about a light-year, and coming out in the outskirts of an asteroid field. He performed another jump, this time calculated, to Titan.
-----------------

"I'm Ender." The smaller of the two fugitives said as Xan cut the cuffs off.

"And I'm Elijah." The burlier one said. "We were on a military vessel, but we were attacked by Genetics."

"Well, make yourselves at home, it's gonna be a three-day journey with a damaged warp. Shit!"

"What?!?" Ender cried.

"I had only sold 80% of the goods, I lost six-hundred credits in goods." Xan darted back to the passenger deck, unlocking the cuffs of the unconscious woman. At some point, probably when the riot started, she had taken a hit on the head, and probably had a concussion. Xan administered minor care, ensuring she would wake up, and sat to wait.

From a high orbit around the neutral gathering place, the artificial intelligence studied the activity on board. Its cloaking capabilities were far beyond those of these uncivilised hominids and feared no chance of detection. A small vessel, piloted by a single Homo Sapien came out of warp. This was no unusual event but the AI made note of it nevertheless. The craft did, however, draw a more scrutiny examination when it failed to heed the station's warning and neglected to power down one of its weapon systems. They were easily concealed to the station's mundane sensors but it was an obvious sign of defiance to the AI.

The ship docked, remaining unharmed by the defence systems. Fearing that this Human's brash actions may disrupt its directive, the AI monitored his movements more carefully. Sure enough, within minutes the man had overridden the station's internal security safeguards and had incited a riot. If the artificial intelligence had biological eyes, they would have been rolled. As it had predicted, the hominid had caused problems. Accepting that it had no alternative than to carry out its objective ahead of schedule, before the station locked down to repair. There was no sign of danger as the AI charged its weapon. The small craft sped away from the station in a hail of weapons fire, now with four Homo Sapiens on board. The ship jumped into warped space just as the first stage of the weapon was primed. A wave of ionized energy shot from the cloaked AI and enveloped the station.

-----

A small voice in Tarx's biological psyche felt a sense of relief to see Elaine safely in the hands of her own kind. Overall, however, he felt an annoyance at the loss of a rather large profit and a new deflector shield. He turned to the bounty hunter, who was inspecting a small divot in his armour caused by the Human's knife. "Whatever you had to say will have to wait. I have to go make a living."

He sprinted back to his ship, not wanting to allow the Human too much of a head start. Just as he powered up the ship's nacelles, a powerful shock wave rocked the entire station. Warning lights flashed throughout the bridge, all defensive systems had been rendered inoperable. His weapons, shields, even his deflectors had been shut off. Not waiting for a diagnosis, Tarx gunned the engines and tore away from the docking port just as a brilliant flash overloaded the view screen and set off even more warning lights. Knowing that the situation was only going to get worse, he sped frantically away from the station. A massive shock wave sent the small craft rolling, blind and defenseless, through space.

The systems slowly repaired themselves and when the viewer came back on, Tarx saw the full extent of the destruction. There was nothing left of S-981 but shards of metal and clouds of vapour. A few ships hovered around the wreckage, having either escaped from the blast or arrived since. Finally his sensors came back online and he scanned the debris. He wasn't entirely surprised to find the same weapon's residue as from the Human research vessel. Without a doubt there was a dangerous entity a work.

A voice crackled through his communications station. He recognised it as the bounty hunter from the station. "Tarx NQ5, it is fortunate you escaped. However, it is necessary that we speak face to face."

Tarx didn't have time to play into the bounty hunter's hands. "I've got a slave to catch but if you really want, you can tag along. I may need a bit of help as it is."

"How do you intend to find the Humans?"

"Oh, I've got my ways," Tarx said activating his ship's long range scanners. The bolt he had stuck to Elaine's neck doubled as a subspace beacon. It transmitted her location with less than a millimeter's variance. He powered up his nacelles and without waiting to see if the bounty hunter was following him, jumped into warped space after the Humans.

Starquake pushed through the crowds and sprinted towards the hanger, where his ship was. 2 Genetic guards were standing at the doors "I'm sorry sir, we cannot let you go until the fighting sto-" Starquake grabbed the 2 men and slammed them into the hangar door, causing it to be knocked down. He then threw the Genetic guards back outside and ran over to his ship. He quickly loaded the torpedo he had bought and climbed inside. Sirens began to blare and Starquake spotted the 2 Genetics standing back up.

All around him the hangar began to shake and pieces of metal crashed all around him. With a push of a button, he fired his newly bought torpedo at the hangar roof. The entire roof exploded and Starquake fired up his engines. Bullets whizzed past his ship, as he lifted himself out of the gaping hole in the roof. Once he had made it out, he saw the entire hangar collapse which crushed the ships inside. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from within the wreckage and the station shook violently. Once a safe distance away, Starquake looked down and saw the entire station explode.

"Damn" the Cyborg muttered to himself "That kinda thing could trigger a war" Starquake saw a small Cyborg scout ship in the distance and patched himself through. It was the Cyborg from earlier on, Starquake said "Tarx NQ5, it is fortunate you escaped. However, it is necessary that we speak face to face. I examined the knife that the Human threw at me. It was imprinted with the word 'Ghosts' on the handle. I fear that this smuggling organisation is still at large. And if we are to find it, we must follow that ship. A former employer offered me more money if i took down the remaining group"

Tarx nodded and said "Good, I have a slave to catch anyway" and he dissapeared into warped space. Starquake tracked his coordinates and followed him.

Terry gawked at the destruction that just occurred before him. He was moments away from landing on S-981... when it exploded. He leaned back in the chair Dar had made for him, and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Great... now how am I supposed to test my bacteria?" he thought to himself. Dar then emitted a small growl from in front of terry. In a "please?" kind of tone.

Terry sighed. "Fine" he said. "Eat whoever you want. But survivors come at top priority. If you see someone who is still alive, stop everything and save them. I don't care what age, race or gender. And if you find any reason as to why this happened... salvage that too" Dar made a happy chirp and began devouring the bodies of the dead.

Terry however stood up out of his chair, and walked away as his seat melted back into Dar's skin. "Guess there isn't much to do now but wait" he thought to himself. He lay himself down on a bed that had just emerged from Dar's floor. He was about to close his eyes and fall asleep when a small raider screen popped up in front of him. "What is it Dar?" he asked sitting upright. He looked into the monitor of the raider screen. Two cyborg ships where in pursuit of a human ship. Terry sighed again. "Any reason we should care?" terry asked. Dar gave out a quick series of clicks, whistles and growls. Telling him she was full, and no life signs or causes could be found in the area. Terry nodded. he got off the bed as it and the raider melted back into Dar, and walked over to a newly formed chair back at the front of Dar. "Well, id hate to resort to this but... we need to test the bacteria on something larger then a simple rat. Chase after em Dar" the ship gave another happy chip, turned around, and with terry's help, opened a warp hole in space, and chased after the three ships.

Xan sped toward the thin atmosphere of Titan, landing quickly.

"Everyone pack up and prepare to bug out, our location's been compromised!" He shouted.

"What? How?" The manager of the base asked.

"My own damn fault, I forgot that the Junk piles aren't as stupid as they look. They tracked me with a slave I freed. Irrelevant, just get the hell out of here!"

"Sir! Long-range scanners picking up two, no three ships incoming! All are moderately armed, and will be here in less than five minutes!"

"Damn! Forget anything not extremely valuable, arm weapons on the freighters and get OUT!" Xan knew that the other ships were nowhere near his level of armament. He armed every weapon he had.

"Wha... what's going on, where am I?" The woman had awoken and had wandered to the cockpit.

"I freed you from the scrap heaps, but they're on our tails. You know how to man a gattling gun?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah... point and shoot. I can do that. I'm-"

"Introductions later, or they may be never!" Xan flew the ship off Titan just as the first two ships came out of warp.

"Ender, Elijah, and... well all three of you open fire on anything Cyborg!" Xan himself activated the rest of the guns, with the exception of the perma-auto on top, redirecting control to the cockpit.

"Computer, link weapon fire to two cannons per shot, missile fire to one!" The ship linked, and he swung toward the two oncoming ships. He opened fire, joining the guns of the other three. The two ships scattered, returning fire.

"All Ghost ships, scatter and head to a neutral star base! Do not engage, I can handle these wimps." Fortunately, neither ship was heavily armed, and Xan's could take everything thrown at it. Xan pounded fire upon the other two ships, not sure what it was doing. Suddenly, a third ship came from warp, this one a strange genetic.

"That's our cue guys, that'll give distraction. Make for somewhere in middle of nowhere computer." The ship blasted away.
----------------

Xan walked back to the passenger deck, taking the woman by the shirt. He tugged her to a chair, inspecting her.

"Ouch, you insensitive little..." She shouted.

"Shut up for a minute! This would explain them following us..." He dug into her skin, feeling that the bolt was deep.

"I'm going to have to put you under, which means you need to calm down. This thing needs to come out or we never get these metal brains off us."

"Hang on, you, first I want to know who you are!" She said. "Now, let's do this right. I'm Elaine Nostroff."

"I'm Xan Darkwolf. I pulled you away from those bastards, but apparently they didn't approve. Now, can we do this?"

"Alright, but no funny business while I'm out."