He awoke to the sound of his alarm and turned over in his bed. He had been slowly gaining his energy back every morning he woke up and today he finally felt as close to normal as he had when he first started this crazy job. He rolled over and snoozed a bit feeling safe and comfortable in the sheets of his bed. A few moments later his data pad went off alerting him to a message. He slid out of the bed onto the cold floors of his room and over to the desk where he had left his belongings. The message was from Thomas telling him his tasks for the day. He was scheduled for more simulator training today and for the first time since he got here was actually looking forward to it.

Stretching first he dressed and headed out into the halls of his communal hub and towards the lift. The halls of the hub were bare and dimly lit for aesthetic reasons as it was still early morning on the station. Thomas wanted him training from as many hours as possible though. He yawned again and looked out a window down to the planet the station orbited. The surface was red with lava flows surrounded by blackened scorched earth. He had heard it wasn’t habitable and wouldn’t even have a chance of being terra-formed for another millennium or three. He didn’t understand any of that science though. In fact any class he took he ended up doing dismal in which is what lent him to be forced into manual labor to begin with. His only saving grace was his reflexes which made him adept for piloting.

Cyrus made his way through semi empty halls of the station heading towards the lab he had trained at before. The trip for him wasn’t too long and he at least got some nice scenery along the way. The Caldari station had attempted of course to make the halls seem more alive with the different fauna and plant life. He enjoyed it and it reminded him of his home that he had before he joined Lolion’s crew. The ship yard job he did work at still wasn’t as good as working for him though, even if it did nearly cost him his life.

Cyrus found himself in front of a lab door number four hundred seventeen. Below the number was a screen displaying the name Lolion Reglo. He entered yawning and squinting at the bright lights of the lab. Tibiaus and Muna sitting discussing something at a table in the corner; they looked up at him, Muna smiled and Tibiaus looked emotionless as usual. “Good morning” Cyrus grumbled out rubbing his eyes trying to get the accustomed to the new environment he was now in. “Same thing as yesterday then?” He was referring to the pod in the back room that closed him off to outside stimulus and was about as spacious as a fighter cockpit. “Yup, your numbers are really starting to improve though and soon enough Thomas thinks we will start having you train on some of the smaller ships in the hangars.” Muna said somehow awake even though she must have been up a few hours before him getting the tests ready. Cyrus headed over to the pod and sat down in the seat, careful not to disturb the controls too much before the simulation started. Tibiaus had chewed him out for that before the first time he sat in it and lectured him how multimillion ISK technology wasn’t a toy. He closed the pod door and enjoyed the moment of black for a bit while he waited for them to start up the simulations.

A few hours later Cyrus squinted at the bright light entering the pod as the lid opened up. Dazed for a few seconds he sat there letting his eyes readjust to the environment. “Damn it Tibiaus I said wait till I get the lights turned down so we don’t blind him” He heard Muna chide Tibiaus though he still couldn’t see where they were. A few moments later his eyes were well enough that he slid out of the pod careful again after Tibiaus reminded him what seemed like the 20 time not to touch any of the controls on the way out.

Thoroughly annoyed with Tibiaus he ignored him and his tangent while he awaited the scores from Muna. “You’re definitely improving. Reflex time is still stellar and flight management skills are improving steadily as well. Give it a few more days and you’ll be done with simulator training and onto flying an actual ship.” She finished reviewing the sheet of paper with the statistic of his last test and smiled. “Good, finally means I can get off this station and spread my legs a bit.” Cyrus was itching to get back out in space, to really fly around. Being cooped up in this station was killing him. Nothing he could do about it till he got his full license from these two and Lolion came back however.

“Well that is all for you today so we will see you again same time tomorrow Cyrus, Tibiaus said, his attention only half on him. Cyrus left the room and headed back towards his own quarters, looking forward to sleeping again only to wake up for another 13 hour day tomorrow. “It never ends” he thought to himself as the lift door closed. He was beginning to grow tired of this training regime Tibiaus had him on. As far as he knew Lolion didn’t even say he needed it, but Tibiaus insisted. He wondered if Tibiaus was just trying to keep him busy and disinterested in the job to keep him away from his ultimate goal.

On the way down a corridor he saw several people guarding a set of doors leading to a windowless section of the station. His curiosity getting the better of him he headed over to have a look. “State your business.” A guard said as he walked up to the door. “Just exploring and seem to have lost my way, I think the way I want to go is this way, care to let me through?” He knew his rouse wasn’t going to work against what seemed to be well trained guards. “Only people with authorized clearance are allowed beyond this point.” The guard said curtly. “Use the biometrics scan at the door and you may enter.”

Stunned at the change of stance the guards had towards him he decided to give his luck a shot and see if working for Lolion gave him access to this restricted area. Walking up to scanner he had his retina and palm scanned and waited for the result. Nothing happened. “Well I guess I’m not in the system yet” Cyrus said trying to laugh off the awkward pause of the door. “And probably for the best considering your knack for putting your nose into places where you don’t belong.” Cyrus turned trying to locate the new voice. Tibiaus Synth was walking up to the doors with a stern look on his face. “This as the guards said is a restricted area, as in you don’t belong here. Now leave before I have them lock you up for trespassing.” Cyrus didn’t hesitate to leave but he did glare at Tibiaus trying to display how much he loathed him. As he walked away he saw Tibiaus enter those forbidden doors and shut behind him silently. Cyrus headed back to his quarters beaten, but not defeated. He would find out what Tibiaus was working on in that area.

She was sitting a few meters from the ship leaning against a stack of boxes in the corner of the hangar when she was a familiar man walk past. Teodoro was also surveying the ship and was actually managing the repair job of the ship itself, much to the dismay of the dock master who typically was in charge of such jobs. Lidiya recalled how Teodoro had talked to him telling him he was going to oversee the project based on what Lolion had asked in that message he had sent everyone. She didn’t care what either of them did, so long as they stayed out of her way and let her be she was perfectly fine working for him. She picked up her data pad and checked a list of things she saw on the ship that she could tinker with, when Teodoro walked over.

“So what do you think?” He asked her still looking at the ship. “I honestly don’t care what your motives are for asking my opinion; the ship is fine, just a regular ship maintenance crew should be more than capable of handling the repairs and us being here to oversee it I believe is utterly pointless.” She said still reading off her list trying to find something she could fiddle with to keep herself entertained. “Unless you’re just looking for another opinion to pat yours on the head telling you your doing fine?” She said laughing at the end at how stupid he could be.

“You know you’ll only make enemies if you continue acting that way around the rest of the crew.” Teodoro said looking down at her obviously annoyed with her remark. “I don’t care if you don’t like me because I graduated a ship designer and not a mechanic as you. That’s why you’re the mechanic and I’m the engineer of the ship, we’re BOTH important.” The two stared at each other neither moving. Several dock workers looked over and started silently betting on who would win the fight if it broke out.

Lidiya still hadn’t looked up from her data pad and that only annoyed Teodoro even more. A few lines of black started to show on his face like a tattoo was slowly materializing on the surface of his skin. The black was gone as quickly as it came as Teodoro composed himself and walked away. Lidiya grew fed up with her attempt to find something to fix as it was a brand new ship after all. Nothing would need fixing until after its first real mission. Which by the sounds of it wouldn’t be for another few weeks, especially at the rate Lolion was going to be moving ships to the station. She stood up and headed for the hangar doors and decided to go take care of finding a place to live here instead of sitting around doing nothing.

A loud ring awoke him with a start.  It was his data pad alerting him to a new message.  This was from Lolion and informed him of his absence over the next few days.  He opened the file document attached to the message and scrolled down to his instructions.

Tibiaus, I need you to beginning researching the Blue prints I have in my warehouses on that station.  You and Muna will be working together on those and I expect a good deal of them started by the time I get back.  Shouldn’t be too hard as these are common blueprints and all we’re doing is just finding ways to process the jobs fast and more efficient.  Do some digging and see what you can find.

Tibiaus yawned and turned off his data pad.  He reclined back into the chair again and started to fall back asleep.  He would start the blueprints when he finished his experiments first.  After all his research was more pressing than figuring out minor details on basic blue prints.

A few hours later Tibiaus awoke to the lab now brightly lit by the Sun peaking through the glass of the station windows.  He squinted rubbing his eyes and sat up stretching after having fallen asleep again in the chair.  He was sore for having been in a fairly awkward position all night and he figured he would go get it worked out by a masseuse later.  For now he had his experiment to look in on.  Getting out of the chair he went over to the labs computer and noticed something was missing.  His experiment showed it had been paused, put on hold and a blueprint was running in its place.    He sat puzzled as to how this could have happened while he was sleeping.  No one else was in the lab that night and he knew he didn’t sleep walk.

Just then the door slid open to the lab.  A woman walked in holding a tray with two cups and the bitter but sweet aroma of coffee filled the air.  “Freshly brewed from the café a few floors up, figured since you’d been asleep here all night id get you a cup to help wake you up.”  The Woman said handing him a cup.  Tibiaus recognized her from somewhere but he couldn’t place her face yet.  The thought ate at him for a few seconds before it was shoved out of the way by his experiment.

“Would you happen to know anything about my experiment being put on hold and this blueprint being started for this lab?”  Tibiaus asked trying not to sound accusatory.  The woman who had turned away to look at a display turned back to him, “yes I paused your experiment and loaded the blueprints Lolion left for us to work on.  Or did you not get his message yet?  She said looking confused.  He took a sip of coffee before answering her.  “I got his message and I was going to start them after I finished my work, but who are you again?”  This time he didn’t bother to hide his annoyance with her.  She narrowed her eyes “I’m Muna Basira, the ship doctor and in the eyes of Lolion your senior.”  She walked over to him getting right in his face.  “Now if there is a problem with me overriding you experiment in favor of running the jobs he told us to run you can take it up with him when he gets back.  Until then we will be running HIS, jobs in this lab and NOT yours.  Understand?”  Tibiaus was taken aback, the realization of who she was dawned on him after she said her name.

Seeing he had made a mistake he nodded and waited until she got out of his face before he dared to move.  Her authority wasn’t there when he had first met her on the ship and he was surprised by how much control she created in the air around her.  Enough so that he didn’t even dare talk back to her.  “So where are we starting?”  He asked, trying to get the subject off his blunder and back onto work.  “Well I’ve checked the computers mainframe and all the slots for Material efficiency research are full up for the next few days but the time efficiency research slots are all open.  So I figured wed run all the Blueprints through that first and then when we see an opening for material research well grab it before anyone else does.”

Tibiaus mulled it over in his head for a second trying to see if he could do anything more.  “I know I can fit a few jobs running simultaneously to speed up the task he gave us, so let me put in the projects and you just figure out which ones need done first.”  He said recounting his particular skills in dealing with the research computers from his days back at his older jobs.  “I can get these done in no time flat.”  He grinned and Muna followed suit as well.  “Excellent.  Then we can work on some of the jobs I have been meaning to research as well.  And don’t you dare give me that look, we’ll finish your experiments before we start any of my stuff, so relax and go sit at the display.  I’ll give you the information for the blueprints here shortly.”

He had ordered a coffee that he hadn’t touched yet and was sitting in front of him.  Barely able to move his head though he kept it cradled in his elbow on the table trying to block out all the light and noise without much luck.  A few hours past and he mustered the strength to look up and survey his surroundings.  The coffee was gone, probably taken away by a waiter realizing it hadn’t been touched.  He looked and found the lunch crowd was eating and he suddenly grew hungry finally realizing that he hadn’t eaten since last night.

He flagged a waiter and ordered a sandwich and another cup of coffee.  “Going to be able to drink it this time sir?” the waiter kidded jovially as he punched in the order on his data pad.  The waiter walked away and Thomas rubbed his forehead.  It still ached but at least he was able to process light and sound now.  He thought of the day before and the mission he was on.  It was a good feeling to finally have a stable job to work at but being on a ship again made him uneasy.  He was always more of a soldier type, accustom to solid earth beneath his feet than the metal of a ship.

He surveyed the surroundings of the station and was impressed with the effort they had put into making it seem alive.  A waterfall was flowing down from the upper levels all the way down to the bottom of the station and there were fauna he had never seen before planted around to give life to the place.  Make it look not so much like a warehouse than an actual living space.  But in Thomas’s eyes it worked.  The subtle green of the plants mixed well with the steel gray and navy blues of the Caldari station.  After all it was designed by his kinsmen; he hadn’t lost all of his love for his race even after all the fighting he has done.

The waiter came back with his sandwich and coffee.  Thomas stared at it for a bit urging his stomach to calm down so he could eat.  He finally fought off the last remaining effects of the alcohol and took a bit.  He enjoyed the sandwich over the next few minutes until his data pad started vibrating.  HE set it on the table and continued to eat as it scrolled down the message he had just received.

To crew:

I will be gone for the period of a week as I am moving the rest of my fleet up to our new home.  I suggest you get to know the space your in now because we will be operating out of here for the foreseeable future.  You also will be met by one of my friends soon enough about 4 days from now.  I hope you come to like him as I have as he has been a great asset to me over the years we have worked together.  Of course I could understand if you don’t as well.  Either way the attached list are jobs for you while I’m gone so get cracking and I expect at least some of them done before I get back.  Until then enjoy this break and get set up in the station.

Lolion out

Thomas reviewed the message again to make sure he read everything right.  “So in other words the son of a bitch is going to do everything by himself again” he thought to himself.  “I swear I have to get it through to him one of these days he doesn’t need to do everything alone.”  He finished the sandwich and downed the rest of his coffee, paid his bill and left for the hangars.  Cursing his friend’s stubbornness the rest of the way.

“Sir I would like to inform you that your new clone is prepped and ready to go here and we look forward to doing business with you regularly now.” A scrawny old man was walking along side Lolion as he made his way back to his new clone. “No implants correct?” Lolion asked making sure his specifications were met. “Yes sir, we copied your clone level and added the requested modifications to your appearance as requested, though personally I don’t know why you would want to keep your scars. They seem fairly unsightly if you…” Lolion glared at him. “Never mind sir, I was merely rambling about my views is all, I apologize.” The man quickly stammered recoiling in fear at Lolion.

Lolion was always annoyed by the staff at the clone facilities. They always treated him like he would bite their heads off if they displeased him. “Good then I’ll be seeing the quality of your clones are soon enough.” Lolion mentioned walking out of the clinic away from the man. He was going to be traveling dangerous space, and couldn’t use his current body with his implants. He had too much invested in bionics and neuroscience to run the risk of losing this clone. “One last run out of null sec and I’ll be safe” he thought to himself as he rounded a corner heading towards his hangar again.

Along the way he had his data pad out and was dictating objectives for his crew to accomplish while he was away. After several minutes he completed his list and arrived at the hangar doors. Swiping his finger to verify his identity he entered and moved over to some lockers near the door he entered. He placed his gear inside one and locked it with a code for him to retrieve upon his return. He moved to the awaiting shuttle and boarded setting his course for Perimeter and the rest of his fleet.

————————————–

Upon reaching Perimeter he disembarked and headed again to the cloning facilities. He was directed to a back room where empty cases were kept for just a desire. Clone jumping after all took a lot of mental skill and wasn’t a favored way of travel for Capsuleers. That didn’t stop Lolion however. He laid himself down and let the sockets on his back connect with the system. He was disconnected from his body and instantly shot across the universe all the way back to I-MGAB.

In an instant he was aware of his body again. He had done this a few times before but never got used to the sensation of ripping his mind and then waking up in a new body. Being revived was similar but not as intense, at least you died that way. Lolion was aware of the fluid in his case. Still connected to the case itself he didn’t need to breathe as it was doing it for him he knew what was to come though. He felt the case drain of the fluid, slowly his body slid limply down till it was on the floor of the case. The door slid open and as it did the sockets detached. Instantly Lolion felt everything, a wave of sensations all over his body. The surfaces felt cold to the touch and the hum of the machines that he had heard before now were practically roaring a twisted serenade, causing his ears to ring.

Feeling the urge to vomit he threw up violently and coughed up the remaining fluid that was in his lungs. They had been supplying him with oxygen until he had been disconnected but now he didn’t need it. Having finished coughing up what he thought was his actual lungs Lolion slowly stood up trying not to fall over after the shock to his system. He made his way over to a wall where a robe was hanging waiting for him. As soon as he had put it on a nurse walked into the room with a data pad and a scanner. “You know, after such a destabilizing trip they shouldn’t send beautiful women in to the room. The patients could faint from lack of blood to the brain.” Lolion said winking to the nurse. She smiled and put the scanner up to his arm.

Lolion felt a sharp prick as the nurse took a sample of blood. “Payback for the comment maybe?” Lolion winced at the second prick as he was injected with something. “What was that for?” he asked curious this time. The nurse looked at him. “We took the blood sample to make sure everything is in order and the shot was to update the clone against current diseases going around the station. It’s easier to administer the shot after the clone is activated than before. Body takes it better and there aren’t any nasty side effects. You’ll also have to try harder than that if you want a date with me, I’ve heard that line before, though thank you.” She smiled again and left the room. Lolion chuckled as he chalked another loss up on his mental score board.

Leaving the clone room he made his way down the hallway only to be stopped again by the doctor he had talked to before. “Back so soon sir?” He asked trying to keep pace with Lolion who had picked up his stride. Lolion stopped. And turned towards the doctor. “Look, I just clone jumped, I’m a little disoriented right now and I’m not looking for an ass kissing. If I wanted that id go find one of the many whores this station probably has and ask her for one. Besides I just don’t favor men anyway. So please, leave me alone for once?”

Lolion felt better and walked off leaving the doctor flabbergasted where he stood. Having reached the locker room in the facility he walked over to his and put on some of his clothes he had set aside for such an occasion. Finally happy to be his own clothes again he set out to the hangars once more. Along the way he stopped in for a drink to settle his stomach down and ease his frayed nerves from the jump. The alcohol hit his system immediately and he remembered that he had a new body, of which his old tolerance was gone. Grinning satisfactorily and buzzed now he made it to his hangar, grabbed the gear he had left and boarded one of his shuttles for Esa.

Lolion eyed the stars winking at him through the window as he lay there in the comfortable sheets of his bed pondering what all he would have to explore on the station today. He needed to download the schematics for the station to study them and its best routes to take to places, as well as keep tabs on his new crew and their activities for the week leave that he gave them after the near death experience. He wondered how well Cyrus and Eva were holding up as they were the ones who really saw what happened on the bridge yesterday.

He slid out of bed doing his best not to disturb the guest he had that night for some after hours fun and got dressed in his station clothes. The sockets on his back were painfully cold this morning with the cooler temperatures of the room. There were some downsides to having exposed metal to the air after all he remembered again as he quickly put on his shirt. He donned a comfortable pair of pants and moved towards the dresser for the rest of his effects. “Up so early? Come back to bed and tease me again hun.” the lady using the sheets to cover herself as she walked over to Lolion. “Sadly I have work I need to attend to so I need to be going.” He said hiding a hint of annoyance at her desire to lounge around all day. “Not to mention I actually need to find a place to stay on this station as a hotel won’t last me very long, so perhaps we will meet again sometime on the station.” Lolion hoped this would kill any more conversation as he finished strapping on his holsters for his handguns.

The woman pouted and moved for her clothes and began putting them on. That was the last Lolion would see of her he hoped. She was a cute girl and all but wasn’t his type at all. He left the hotel room and headed down the hall out into the crowded hotel lobby. A receptionist waved him over to the counter after she had seen him come out, obviously waiting for him to wake up. “Mr. Reglo, I just wanted to thank you for choosing us to host you for the night and as a special thank you the room is on us. We appreciate the business that you and your friends bring us every time you come around these parts.” She said bowing and then moving on to the next guest behind him.

Lolion never did get used to the attention of being a pod pilot and now being on this station more so than ever he was starting to feel the heat and pressure of the position he was in. Their corporation had recently purchased the station floating in the I-MGAB solar system and even though it was in a null sec region of space the crowds and patrons of the station weren’t your typical outlaws or pirates. This was one of the few open stations that Lolion knew of that people could come out here to live a life free of nation control. What really got to him however was the fact that being a part of the corporation that owns the station means he pretty much had the same if not more fame and glamour on this station as his old one. The thought irked him and he considered probably taking a leaf out of the Amarr books and buying a robe to disguise himself with.

Regardless of how well people knew him he decided to head out and explore what remained of the station he hadn’t seen yet. Preferring to lose himself in the crowd instead of the socially exclusive upper levels of the mezzanine he walked among the bazaar looking at the goods for sale. While he browsed for any new trinkets he could occupy himself with on long space voyages he sent a message out to his crew informing them of his decision to give them a week’s leave with pay so they could find residence on the station and plant some roots. As much as Lolion didn’t like attention he did like this station. It had everything he could want or need. All the old amenities Perimeter offered but with oddly enough an even better selection. Being cut off from the rest of the Nations had forced the local market here to improvise and adapt to sell what was in demand.

After browsing the markets for as long as his mind would allow he just decided to walk around to get a feel for the place. This was after all a Caldari designed station and the decor was simplistic as always keeping in line with the Caldara’s minimalistic taste. But the true hidden part of Caldari culture that was missing from their style was their determination for knowledge. The Endless pursuit of higher knowledge and the edge it gave them in life was what drove them to create stations like this one with large research facilities to facilitate their boundless appetite for knowledge. Lolion decided to go see what slots were open and boarded an empty lift to the lower levels. The lift slowed to a halt and the doors opened revealing rooms upon glass rooms of white laboratories and computers lined up, each its own separate entity controlled by some of the companies on the station. These weren’t what Lolion came to look for however. On every station there were specific laboratories that catered just to pod pilots and their needs. Huge facilities with several hundred people working on a single project, some with huge machines Lolion couldn’t even being to think of pronouncing. He was sure there was a particle collider somewhere on the station though. He always thought that was cool.

Lolion soon found a few and linked up his data pad for their schedules. He forwarded the information to Tibiaus and instructed him to begin with the other side projects he had for him while they were on the station to keep him busy and to also earn his keep on his payroll. Satisfied with this area of the station, he moved back for the lifts that brought him down and headed off to his hangar to view his ships currently here on station. After several transit rides later he came upon the Hangar entrance he had come though the night before. Upon heading through the heavy blast doors he entered the main hall of the hangars.

The vast stretch of space where several ships should have been was bare. It wasn’t until Lolion looked at his data pad and checked his asset locations that he realized what was next on his list. All of his ships were tethered to Esa still, having moved his fleet from Perimeter to Esa the months before. Now he realized that all of the ships he would be using in this new area of operations he would have to move again, one by one. The only difference this time was the threat of losing his life or the life of his crew because he was traveling through null sec. He hated it. No matter how hard he tried something always needed moved or some sort of logistics needed managed. Eyeing the empty space a bit more he saw a few shuttles he had bought before still sitting half assembled sitting on the bay floor. He turned to a dock worker and told him to get every one of them ready to fly. He was going to need them all.

They both broke out laughing. “Fine I owe you a fucking drink but its not top shelf, only because half the bet only happened. Geez you’d think these damn Sansha would get the idea that we own this space already.” Lolion said looking out the bridge window showcasing the stations steel sub structure. “Either case this is our new home for several months now so might as well disembark and see what it has to offer.”

Both of them climbed aboard the cargo lift to get off so they could talk with the maintenance crew currently working to repair the armor damage. The lift reached the hangar floor and both of them stepped off turning almost immediately to take a look at the hull. Burns and marks could be found all along the armor where the Sansha’s guns and missiles had struck. “Well if I didn’t know any better you could probably resell this if you didn’t like it any more as a brand new Minmatar ship” Thomas said chuckling at the damage. Lolion wasn’t laughing though. He knew how much damage he took and knew it was only a matter of seconds that saved his life and his crews.

“How much for the repairs?” Lolion asked a foreman holding a clipboard looking on as his team welded new armor plate onto the hull. “For a holder? Wouldn’t even dream of charging you!” he said seemingly shocked that he would even have been asked. “Non sense, since when do repairs cost nothing in these parts?” Lolion asked confused at the generosity of the station. “Since we joined a space holding alliance and own a station.” A voice said from behind Lolion. He spun around and saw Jack walking towards them dressed casual as always wearing a blue and white t-shirt and denim blue jeans.

“What do you mean?” Lolion asked growing more curious and worried. “Don’t tell me were famous here because we own this station, I was hoping to finally find so god damned peace out here.” “Afraid so Lolion, anyway what kind of ship do you have here? This one of them new Tech III’s?” Jack asked looking up at the hull. “Yeah but I need to study it a bit more before I take it out again, the systems are close to older ship styles but with its modular… your not listening to me are you?” Lolion asked after seeing that jack was talking with a repair guy. “Huh? Oh I could care less what all it has, besides I just saved your ass I think you owe me a drink.” Jack said crossing his arms in amusement. “Besides did you see my new ship? I’ve been itching to get he dust off of it ever since I brought it out here and this was the perfect opportunity!” He was grinning from ear to ear. Lolion looked terse. “I was wondering how you came across a ship like that, I’m going to assume Navy issue? Because of the colors?” “Yeah, won it off an Amarrian Navy Commander, poor bastard was so drunk it would have been a crime to not to take it off his hands.” He laughed.

“I needed to get out of the station anyway, between the job and the wife I needed that little excursion, so thanks.” “We’ll I’m happy to oblige but next time lets not make it in a ship that cost me a fortune to get.” The three of them began walking towards the station entrance. Jack pulled a data chip out from a pocket and handed it to Lolion. “Here’s the data I picked up on what you requested by the way, seems they have been picking up only a little bit. But I’m sure with this new ship of yours you’ll be able to pick up some more.” Lolion took the chip and plugged it into his data pad. An image of the current system showed up and several dots appeared at random locations. “Yes I think this will help, thanks again.” He said putting the Data pad away. “Now I know I’m thirsty, and I owe you both drinks so beer is on me this time I guess.” All three of them laughed as they boarded a lift for the main level of the station.

The Tengu came out of warp at the fourth asteroid belt in the system, finally letting himself breath out Lolion called down to engineering for a damage report. “Shields at 34% and slowly climbing, we almost hit the threshold but Cyrus got us out of there in time.” Teodoro said. “She is holding up fine but anything more than that and we won’t last long.” Lolion nodded Just then 2 ships uncloaked less than 5 kilometers away from the Tengu. “2 ships just targeted us and we’re jammed!” Eva yelled her hands moving furious over the display in front of her. “Thomas take off those safeties you’ve got targets, Lolion said bringing up his own display to get information on the two ships. “They’re cloaker freaks but they should pop fast enough to… they’re not firing.” Lolion said confused at their inaction. “Cyrus set a course for the next belt, Eva get jack on an open channel tell him our location, this is where he needs to be now.

Jack waited patiently for Lolion’s signal telling him where he was at and within a few minutes he received a hail from him. It was a quick message. Only containing a grid coordinates and a note saying hurry here. Inputting the coordinates into his computer he aligned and initiated warp when the drives warmed up enough. He opened a link with Lolion’s Tengu to see how he was fairing. “SHIT am I glad to see you!” Lolion yelled. There wasn’t a video with this message but just the audio link. I’m getting hit hard and my shields are about to give way. Come in firing I almost have the tacklers destroyed. Rest are for you if you want their bounties.

Lolion was sitting in his chair with a headset on talking to Jack. The lights were red now not the usual white light. All power had been diverted to the shields to try and hold them till jack got there. Lolion watched the status bars on the enemy ships slowly drop as his guns took out their shields, then armor and tore into their hulls. There was one tackler ship left in the immediate space just as the first ships of the gate camp were starting to appear. Damn it jack my shields are still stable but I need you here now… I won’t last long against those battleships.

Jack’s Apocalypse finally appeared in the asteroid belt, gleaming reddish gold with the sun. Lolion was thankful he finally had his backup here. “Target these ships I’m sending you. They have me warp jammed and I just killed the last one that had us webbed. After that you’re free to kill what you like.” Jack targeted the ships with his mind as he received that data and trained his lasers on them. He felt that capacitors drain as the lasers locked onto their targets began charging to fire. Cutting through space several arcs of energy tore into the frigates Lolion had pin pointed. the massive power from his battleships lasers tore through the shields, armor and hull of the ships leaving a massive scar in the ship’s hull. A few more directed blasts yielded a heap of scrap floating in the spot where there was once a frigate. Jack bookmarked the location to come back to salvage the wrecks for any nice loot that might be on board.

Suddenly a shockwave drew his attention. A cruise missile had struck his port side and jack was relieved that the shields had taken the brunt of the impact. The battleships had started to target him leaving the Tengu more time to get out while it still could. Jack loaded his x-ray crystals into his lasers and began targeting the battleships in the area.

Lolion checked the status of his ship one more time. He had taken armor damage but his shields were now holding solid now that the battleships had shifted their fire onto Jack’s ship. “Eva how is our warp core doing?” “After that last ship got killed our warp drive has been coming back online. We’ll have warp in 30 seconds.” Eva said pulling up a diagnostic of their warp drive. Lolion looked at Cyrus. “Align us towards the station in this system. And put in an emergency docking order. Well need cover as we enter so also let them know they need to have the station guns online and on full alert. We might bring along company with us if the Sansha aren’t happy with targeting my friend here.

Lolion got on the communications line again. “Jack, we just got warp back up and are bugging out. Rest are yours if you want them but I have a feeling soon as I get out of here they’ll leave as well.” Lolion said to Jack through his headset. “Right then, I’ll follow you in once you get there. You’ll have to give me a tour of this new ship of yours anyway.” He replied, the sound of missiles explosions heard in the background. Cyrus aligned for the station and initiated the warp appearing a few minutes later in front of a Caldari Outpost. “Never have I been so glad to be entering a station before in my life” Lolion said under his breath, drawing confused looks from Cyrus and Eva. “Dock us and let’s get off this ship and to a bar, I need a drink” Cyrus let the harbor drones take over and in less than a minute they were in the station safe and sound.