Never Say Nether

[The Major]

A planet.​

A plain.​

The Astral Tower. . .​

A short delay of a week turned into weeks. Weeks into months. Technicians and scientists working steadfastly under Rusty's company, make that Rusty and the Brand's joint operation had monitored the situation regarding a certain portal occupying a space in the room where Yoda's Chain-gun was recovered. Contrary to initial expectations the pulsating rift failed to dissipate completely and was instead slowly shrinking at a rate that would take years if it continued its energy bleed.

That all changed a day ago when the entire floor of workers were suddenly sucked in.

First of main trio who had agreed to return to investigate if need be -due to coincidently being in a nearby star system at the time- the operative known as the Major poured over the troubling security footage with whatever survivors were left of the surveying party. The Fallanassi had not come alone this time, deciding it might be best to have a few helping hands to tend to whatever gear or assist with procedures. Among these peers was a friend, a civilian, who the Major suspected might benefit from the study of otherworldly occurrences.

As for the Victorian woman the months had somehow refined her even further -if it was at all possible. Save for a rather garish amulet which now adorned the white ascot tied upon her neck. It appeared to be sprinkled with fresh blood that neither ran or rotted.

[member="Rusty"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Tez Bola"]​

 

[Rusty]

The Shard was once again on the planet of rolling green hills where he and his compatriots had done battle against the third strangest cult he had ever personally encountered. The gorgeous scenery did nothing to detract from the dull ache in his crystal heart. This was where Gertrude had sang her last song, and where she was laid to rest.

He had used some of his personal fortune to construct a small memorial some distance away from the tower. It was a simple affair, just a marble sarcophagus on a particularly scenic hilltop. She had been encased in a nigh-indestructible polymer before being interred. He had opted not to go for a funeral; even his closest friends, such as they were, would have found the spectacle too bizarre to take seriously. They could never understand their relationship.

A small, spiteful part of him resented that. They only saw Gertrude as a gun, the bastards. But she had been more than that, so much more. She had been his most constant and faithful companion. When the whole galaxy had stood against them, she alone had remained by his side, loyal to the end. He had loved, and had been loved in return. Their love had been achingly pure, devoid of any of the sordid biological drives that so contaminated organic relationships. For as long as he lived, Rusty knew he would never get over her death.

"Hey," he said as he approached her tomb.

He placed a mechanical hand on the marble. It was purest white, flecked through with veins of gold. A bit ostentatious, perhaps, but she had always been a bit of a showoff.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to visit. I meant to sooner, but..."

He trailed off. How could he possibly explain how much he missed her? He had never been the most articulate Shard.

"But...but I'm here now. I'd ask how you were doing, but, well...I guess that goes without saying. I wish you could see this place. Beautiful vantage points, clear fields of fire, you'd love it here."

This was exactly the sort of hilltop they'd held against impossible odds countless times. Some of their happiest memories were made on hills just like this one.

"I-I miss you." Rusty wished he had brought along his HRD chassis. He desperately wanted to cry, but this chassis simply wasn't capable of it. "I'll always miss you, and I love you, and I-"

Was it possible to choke up without the requisite biological hardware? Apparently so.

"I brought someone to meet you," he said after taking a few minutes to collect himself.

The gunsmith had hauled a large plastoid case with him to the memorial. It was easily two meters long, and a half meter wide. He set it reverently at the foot of the tomb, knelt down in front of it, and popped the latches.

"Gertrude, this is Shelby. She's, well, I guess she's your daughter."

Inside the case was a massive weapon. It wasn't quite accurate to call it a rifle; it resembled nothing so much as a sawed-off blaster cannon from a snubfighter.

"We took apart Yoda's chaingun, figured out what made it tick. Combined that with some of the tech I used to make you. She's got your temper," he said with a chuckle. "I think you'd like her. I'm sorry you couldn't meet her, you know, before. Before this."

He closed Shelby's case, then slid her out of the way and shuffled closer to the tomb. He rested his forehead on the cool marble, the fingers of his right hand absentmindedly tracing one of the gold veins.

"I promise I'll visit more often," he said quietly. "I just couldn't bring myself to set foot here again. I'm sorry, love. I'm not good at this. Anyway, I'll be back later. I love you."

And with that, he rose, slung Shelby's case over his back, and set off towards the distant tower on foot.

________________________________

About an hour later, the Rusty entered the command tent set up at the base of the tower.

"You know, I could have lived my whole life without ever setting foot in this place again," he commented to no one in particular. "What's the story?"

[member="The Major"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Tez Bola"]

 

[Aver Brand]

With the memory of their last trip alive and well, the merc was leaving nothing to chance.

This time around, she brought a complement of Clan soldiers with her, complete with a squad snatched straight from the Thousand. Busy as she was managing the other side of her business, Aver hadn’t taken a gun or a blade to lively flesh in a while.

Knowing this place, they’d be doing the galaxy a favor killing whatever was on the other side of that hole.

Aver dragged her gaze away from the gaping maw of concrete teeth and black stone. Her people’d stayed outside the tent, setting up for whatever was coming next.

“And what’s the pay?”

Sure, she’d meddle with space-magic karkery. Hell, half her body was inked with that shet.

But bet your ass she wasn’t doing it for free.

[member="The Major"] | [member="Rusty"] | [member="Tez Bola"]​

 

[Tez Bola]

A figure loomed behind the tall and excessively dressed woman, appearing upon first glance to be her pseudo shadow. This figure, a woman, was on guard in the presence of, for lack of better terminology, strangers. She wasn't exactly given any Intel on who she would be meeting or what their positions were in this scenario, and as such, exercising caution was best. Even she was questioning why she was here, as the situation appeared to be beyond her expertise. The relationship she had with her companion has so far been a short-lived tumultuous one, and she wondered how she had been invited here (and why she agreed) in the first place. While she may not feel comfortable yet in this building, she was positive that it would play out to be quite the learning experience.

Tez, the figure in question, took a step forward. She stole a glance at Sybil The Major, and stood with her hands behind her back.

"While I don't have an answer for either of you, I can offer an introduction," she said pleasantly. "My name is Tez Bola. I'm new to phenomena such as this and look forward to working with you all. But now that you bring it up... what are we looking at here, [member="The Major"] ?"

[member="Rusty"] [member="Aver Brand"]

 

[The Major]

As Tez introduced herself to a tent full some of the most lethal operatives in the galaxy she looked up from scrolling through security footage and internally winced. Both the Shard and Cyborg Assassin knew her given name, seeing as using a moniker picked up during her time within the First Order seemed a bit. . . unwieldy. No matter! Like the strange things they would be dealing with, they could improvise and move along.

However, these pleasantries brought up a more interesting topic. Each party had seemingly come equipped with an entourage and it all looked like kind of an expensive price tab. Who was paying for this undertaking?

"With respect, before we get into the particulars of the situation we should discuss liability. I did contact the Brand but Rusty's technicians notified me as we previously agreed. I of course will cover my assistants expenses but who's covering her group?" The Major waved a hand politely towards the Brand.

"On my behalf, I have a proposal of barter."

What else could be expected from a group of mercenaries? Mercenaries with style and affectation, of course. But credit hungry mercs nonetheless.

[member="Rusty"] | [member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Tez Bola"]​

 

[Rusty]

Rusty sighed in a long suffering sort of way, like a parent who had to once again clean up after toddlers who decided that peanut butter made the best wall paint.

"There used to be a fund at RCFC for stuff like this, but that ain't my bailiwick anymore."

Probably should have thought about the whole money thing beforehand. But, really, Rusty hadn't really paid much attention to the outside world here lately. This was the first time he'd left the shop in what, two, three months? He lost track. Work on Shelby had more or less consumed him. Without Koko to check on him, or to force him to get some fresh air from time to time, he'd become a recluse. A highly productive recluse, to be sure, but a recluse nonetheless.

He was unsurprised to see [member="The Major"] or [member="Aver Brand"] here. They had, after all, ventured into the tower with him the first time. [member="Tez Bola"] was a surprise. She was quite clearly an associate of Sybil's. He couldn't say why, exactly, but the idea of the huntress having associates struck him as odd. Maybe he had misread the situation? Who knows. People were far too complicated. Guns were almost always the safer bet.

"What sort of bargain do you have in mind?"

 

[Aver Brand]

“Sure.”

The merc found the nearest stable stack of crates and promptly sat her ass down. If they were bandying words, Aver wasn’t gonna stand for it.

She leaned back against stencils that spelled ‘MUNITIONS’ in bold black letters. Made her lips twitch into a smile behind that faceplate.

“Let’s hear it then.”

[member="Rusty"] [member="The Major"] [member="Tez Bola"]

 

[Tez Bola]

The inexperienced newcomer, arms now akimbo, took a good look around. This was indeed an unusual group of peers. She didn't know what to call them, as names had yet to be exchanged. She briefly wondered if that came with the mercenary and/or bounty hunter territory. No names, no histories, only the job and the payout at the end of the day. Tez hadn't pressed Sybil for much information prior to their arrival, and it seemed she’d have to once this conversation had concluded.

Tez fully turned to Sybil, giving her full attention, and smiled a half cocked grin. She had an idea what Sybil was getting at, and knew the lengths she would go to get what she wanted.

[member="The Major"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Aver Brand"]

 

[The Major]

Attention now focused in the proper place, the Fallanassi agent wasted no time with long, meandering explanations in the form of a pitch. From the experience of watching [member="Rusty"] and [member="Aver Brand"] discuss their business in that strange restaurant some time ago, the Major could tell these mercenary mooks liked their deals to the point. Deciding not to take off her eyes from the security feeds as a matter of style, she spoke.

“Simple. Warehouse space under RCFC, to be used to store anything of paranormal significance. In addition, I’d want this space to be completely free of any government interference. And I mean any government. No Order. No Alliance. No Empire. Just us. I’d bring a team of specialists to study under my credit, and anything that could be weaponized we can develop with the master weaponsmith over here.” She thumbed in the Shard’s direction. “Anything that can be refined and twisted for use by Nadir we’ll give to the Brand.” The other hand waved to the Cyborg Assassin. “Whatever else that doesn’t fit those categories, [member="Tez Bola"] and my associates will keep.” Finally the Major brushed her hand backwards to indicate the apparent civilian with the curly mane of hair.

“What do you say? Let’s make this collaboration official.”

 

[Rusty]

"Works for me," Rusty said after a few moments to consider.

It wasn't like he needed the credits, after all. As usual, [member="The Major"] had managed to come up with an inventive, if unconventional, solution to the problem at hand. He could see why Eralam had been a little less displeased than normal when he asked about her.

The Shard looked over to [member="Aver Brand"] and [member="Tez Bola"] and shrugged.

"If anyone has any better ideas I'm all ears, but that seems fair. If it turns out that there's nothing here, I'll front the credits for the expedition. Standard RCFC merc prices, though I suppose what used to be standard might not be anymore. Standard for when it was my problem, I guess."

 

[Aver Brand]

The mercenary unfolded her arms and brought up the datalogger on her forearm. After a cursory scan, she killed the the blue screen and gave a single click of the tongue.

“Well. R&D always whine about needin’ new ideas for tech.”

Aver pushed off the crates and leaned out the flap of the tent. “Sadrov!”

“Boss?”

“Set up camp. You’re staying.”

If the trandoshan had any complaints, he didn’t voice them. A sharp nod later, and the soldiers swarmed like ants. Chop chop.

“What does she do?” As she stepped back inside, the merc jabbed a finger in the direction of [member="Tez Bola"]. The only unknown in the room.

The Brand didn’t appreciate unknowns.

[member="Rusty"] | [member="The Major"]​

 

[Tez Bola]

"Me?" Tez inquired, pointing at herself. She took a moment to consider whether she should try her luck with two presumably heavily armed individuals with their entourage within ear shot. But then again, even if things got heated she knew she could count on [member="The Major"] to continue keeping things interesting.

Eh, what the hell. Her first impression didn't exactly turn heads with either [member="Aver Brand"] or [member="Rusty"] . Let's see how good their sense of humor was. After all, how can a mission be fun if she couldn't make snide off handed remarks in the face of turmoil?

"Why, I'm the arm candy, of course," Tez replied with a wink. "I'm here to make our old girl look good, and maybe even learn a thing or two about gun-slinging."