[IC] Eternal Galaxy: Shards of Starlight - Part I

[Kristia]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Mara graciously accepted the omelet and started eating it with ease "It is indeed a wonderful creation you have made, itīs taste is beyond what it looks like" she said taking a bite from the toast.

Aside from the good food she was eating, the bioroid had to drink too. Taking a cylinder from her backpack, she poured an almost transparent white liquid to the glass. Taking a sip from it, the bioroid sighed in relief

"Sometimes simplicity is one of the best too, lemon water, just water with half lemonīs content and thats it" the white haired said offering a glass of the lemon water to the chef

[Cucoo5]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

The guard looked at the pile of weapons. "To be able to carry that...is your armor a form of powersuit or are you not human, or more than just human?" He shook his head. "Judging by what you have here...and because of your strength...you might want to consider this..."

The guard opened a locker with what looked like a larger version of a Digital Bag, with a central orb attached to a hexagonal array of plates about two and a half inches thick by eleven inches in diameter. The guard placed the device on the table and tapped the core. Particles of energy originating from the red orb started to form a sort of cannon with an octagonal shaped barrel and large armor plates on one side. It was about ten feet long and one and a half feet in diameter. The armor plates on the side formed a sort hexagonal shield, which was currently folded. It was held suspended above the device by energy. The guard gestured for John to take it.

"This here is an experimental 'multi-weapon.' I would explain all of its features, but it pretty much has everything in that pile of weapons you have there, in a nice neat package. The only thing it has that isn't in your stash, is a Gatling Gun which you can see is one of the main parts inside the housing. The central opening is a rocket launcher designed to fire off long-range rockets. Multi-purpose, if it fits in the loading chamber, it can fire it. Ammo for that is of course limited, as typically weapons favor Aura Energy bursts which in most cases are more effective than a projectile."

"The end of the barrel has an aperture focused laser cannon, which can fire a beam four times the diameter of the cannon itself. Of course, this can be concentrated accordingly. the maximum beam takes about ten seconds to charge and would consume the entire crystal power source..." The guard pulled a lever on the cannon and the cartridge that housed a crystal about five inches in diameter popped out.

"This is an Aura crystal, capable of supplying a near infinite source of energy as long as it has energy still so that it can recharge itself." He placed the cartridge back into the cannon. "In addition, the shield can protect from most infantry and slightly larger energy blasts. The final feature is the array of hidden weapons concealed throughout the barrel's design, many of which are similar in function to what you have here..." He pulled another lever and a chainsaw folded out from the front of the barrel.

"And in close quarters, many use it in of itself as a weapon. And as such, it has earned the nickname of 'Behemoth' because of that." The guard then turned to the pile of weapons. "Also, we'll need to get you a bigger Digital Bag Device to carry all of that. For now..." He tapped the larger device and the cannon turned back into energy and went into the device. "You can have this, which you don't need a telepathic communicator to use."

"I could now guide you to the weapons development lab, which also handles battle armor suits. If you wish to see if there are any further augmentations capable of being performed on your suit, that is."

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

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Kiara shrugged. "The scientists are stubborn...even though many of them are Vatians, which have the entire timeline of the galaxy locked away in their brains..."
Aion however, wasn't listening, he was toying with the thoughts that kept surfacing about the riddle left for him to solve. He then turned to the group, interrupting his thoughts for a mere moment. "Hey...If you'd excuse me, I'm going to take a quick walk. Something about this riddle..." With that he walked off towards an elevator that led to the viewing deck of the ship, overlooking nothing but what lies out in space.
"He'll do that whenever he needs to think on something that troubles him." Joe explained. "He'll show up again when he's done tackling whatever his mind is on. ANYWAY! Who's hungry?"
"I am~!" Terrisa replied.

***
The chef grinned and held up a glass that was behind the counter. "Aye, good for clearing the palate. A good ole' lemonade does wonders har har har! Oi, how about you go run along and take a wander around? You might find some more Bioroids like yerself!"

[Kristia]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"Iīd love to, but this little guy needs some my assistance, I will check on lather though, thanks for the offer" Mara said gesturing her now opened device on the table

Finishing her plate, the bioroid thanked the chef for such splendid delicacy and continued working on her portal gun, some cables being replaced, other chips being cleaned, and so on.

[Koishi]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"Hungry? Well, I don't really think I can." Mima said.

---

Helios System
Black Market

---

The Reaper entered the main area of the inside of the comet, and looked down. Levels upon levels of shops and vendors, bustling with activity. It went down an elevator to the main floor, where as it walked out, stares could be seen, and people walked out of it's way. They all knew about The Reaper, and it was both feared, and respected. No one wanted to go after the bounty on it, mostly out of those same two reasons. It approached a large pillar in the middle of a square. It was a huge, spanning bounty board, reaching up to the top of the comet. The Reaper could find info here where it couldn't find nowhere else. It looked through the bounties, sifting through them like a filter, looking for those who were truly unjust.

[S121]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

John thought an explanation was in order, so he decided to explain why he was able to carry the weapons with ease.

"I'm actually a Spartan-II super-soldier from the year 2557. My augmentations allow me to do things that would be considered.. unusual. For example, without my suit, I can lift around 20 metric tons. With it, I can lift tanks weighing in at 66 metric tons, possibly more.", John explained to the guard.

John then thought about the armor upgrades the guard was talking about and nodded. He didn't know how advanced his suit was compared to today's technology. His MJOLNIR armor was over 519 trillion years old. There was a chance that Dr. Halsey made a suit that could compete against today's technology, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"That would be a good idea.", John said to the guard, ready to follow him to the weapons development lab for armor upgrades.

[bookdragon2000]

Sol Inceneron
Near Inopia, alpha fleet

"I will not apologies for that, I have only lived this long on my own by being merciless. I minimise death on my operations, but this is not one I had time to plan for and avoid killing. And they destroyed one of my ships! I have little else left, no family, no nothing, only my ships." he responded. Seeing that the firing had stopped, he brought his fleet into a position where it was beyond the range of the all the other guns. He wanted to leave, but he felt obligated to stay after all that had happened, so he stayed but remained wary.

[Koishi]

Helios System
Black Market

---

The Reaper looked thorugh them until he saw a beacon amidst the darkness.

Bounty: Selarious Grinne
Crimes: Genocide, Fraud, Arson, Theft, Treason
Wanted: Dead
Bounty: 100,0000

The Reaper went up to the main kiosk, people moving out of it's way. A small man sat in the counter inside.

"Ah, if it ain't the bloody Reaper." the man spoke with a thick scottish accent. "Which one you up for this time, lad?"

"Selarious Grinne" The Reaper replied in a monotone voice.

"Ooo, a toughie. That rat bastard's been terrorizing the system for a couple weeks now. I would watch your back I' were you. Anyways, bounty's claimed. Good luck, lassie."

"Thank you." The Reaper then silently walked away silently, back towards his ship.

[Cucoo5]

Sol Inceneron
Near Inopia - Alpha fleet

Ember closed her eyes. "...I know..."
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to turn around and end everything.
She wanted to end the suffering she watched almost every other day.
She wanted to scream...
...but there would be no point.
...but there would be no reason.
The clock of fate wouldn't turn today.
The clock of fate wouldn't turn tomorrow.
The clock of fate wouldn't turn...
"This is the true curse." Ember whispered. "We're doomed to fight and die. We're doomed to all die in a war that is besmeared by the blood of trillions. In the end it is just survival...."
Ember snapped out of the trance. "No. In the end it is a question of who dares stand up against it all." She then turned her attention to Nhiome. "Find a resolve, darling. Your little game of survival might seem the only thing important to you but..."
Ember paused, her face grave. "Wake up. Everyone is fighting to survive. That's the reason the War of Eternity continues. Everyone is fighting to end a destruction that would consume everything. Even your 'family' won't survive if we lose the war. It's more than just your little world. You're a part of this Galaxy like anyone else. The Galaxy is your real home and family, so wake up."
She then took off for the warp gate with her squadron.

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

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

When the guard and John walked in, a red-haired Vatian girl who was in her early twenties wore a lab coat and a star shaped pendant. "You must be the one called Master Chief. I'm Starla Monroe, the head scientist here. If you could come over here, we have a machine that should be able to take off your armor and hold it so we can quickly analyze it on how it works in comparison to how our systems work. If you could at least take your helmet off so that we can place a little telepatch so that way you can tell the machine how to take your armor off, that would be much appreciated."

There was something about Starla that went beyond her perky personality and the slight bounce to her step...

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

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Joe stood up. "Well ladies, how bout we just go and find some grub, eh? C'mon...can't think on an empty stomach, hm?"
"True...it's been a while since I last ate. Care to join us, Mima?"
"C'mon Mima-chan!" Terrisa tugged at her sleeve.

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

[S121]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

"Okay.", John said to Starla as he stood on the platform and took his helmet off.

He then waited for the telepatch to be placed and for it to remove his armor. Cortana was still in the helmet and would most likely be found by the analysis, but it didn't really matter to Cortana or John.

"What do I do with the helmet? Do I keep it with me, so that the machine will analyse it?", John asked Starla.

[Kristia]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Working on her portal creator, Mara decided to make a small test for it with her remnant of the apple she just finished.

Sending the white portal to the table and the yellow just to her right, the bioroid led the fruit fall to the yellow portal. As the apple fell through it, the fruit jumped out from the white portal falling on the bioroidīs lap

With a look of success, the white haired mumbled "Its working.. and no blurriness at all! she was mentally jumping of happiness. Soon the portals started waning as they ran out of energy, they got smaller and disipated in space leaving no trace of what they were

[bookdragon2000]

Sol Inceneron
Near Inopia - Alpha fleet

Nhiome watched the squadron recede into the distance. But he was shaken from his thoughts about what the leader of the black roses has said when his alarm sounded. It wasn't a "problem" alarm sound, but the one he used to keep track of his weapons, like the gas bullets. He muttered, " well, the bugs should be gone by now. And come to think of it, I still don't know anything about that leader of the black roses, not even her name." In his trade, information was vital to Nhiome, it allowed him to predict how potential targets would react, and thus allowed him to form better plans.

He then sent a message to the NGO cruiser, "So who am I suppose to talk to? That woman of those black roses, said I needed to speak to someone?"

Seeing the battle seemed to be over, he sent AkiKaze and FumeiKaze back to their respective bases. He sent FuyuKaze and NatsuKaze to his Sol Inceneron base to later replace ShiroiKaze and KuroiKaze while they underwent repairs. He would need to finish KamiKaze and conduct the repairs fast though, this base was already compromised.

[Koishi]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"Mima-chan? Oh fine, i'll join you. But i'm coming back here later to research." Mima said.

[Cucoo5]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

Each mechanical Arm held up each piece of John's armor. One last arm, which seemed to be slightly sentient, tapped John on the shoulder and seemed to be offering to hold his helmet.
"You can just place it on that arm there and then step off the platform." Starla said as she walked up and looked at a section of the armor. "It looks like an older model of MJOLNIR Armor..." She tried to pick up a section, but struggled with the weight. "Ooof! How...how old is this? I don't remember MJOLNIR armor being this heavy!"

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

Sol Inceneron
Near Inopia - Alpha fleet

The NGO officer was silent for a moment. "Why does the lieutenant want to see this boy..." He shook his head then answered Nhiome. "The Lieutenant of the NGO Fleet, Revere Exorco, wishes to speak with you. He has arranged a special means for your arrival. Please make your way to landing bay D-601."

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

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Kiara smiled. "I can help you with that."
"...and you can count me in." Nero sighed. "After everything, it's the least I can do. As Defense Coordinator, I have access to a few things that aren't in the Archives. My Study is the only place that can access this."

The five then proceeded to the Mess hall.

[S121]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

John handed his helmet over to the robotic arm and waited for the last of his armor to be removed.

John looked down at his hands, arms, and chest as the machine removed his undersuit. It had been a long time since he had seen his own skin. John could see the faint scars all over his body from his Spartan Augmentation procedures. The scars formed single lines along his fingers and traced his knuckles. They were on his wrists and stretched all the way down his forearms, stretching across his thighs, shins, feet, head, and chest. Seeing them reminded him of when he first received his Spartan-II augmentations, back when he was 14 years old...



John had woken up in a dark room with metal floors, walls, and ceiling. He was laying on a cold metal slab tilted at a diagonal position, letting him tilt forward with ease. As he began to wake up, a searing pain shot through his body. His feet, legs, chest, hands, arms, head,.. they all stung and yet felt numb from the intense pain. John raised his arms out and looked at his shaky hands, only to find them stitched back together, like some kind of patchwork monster.





..."Ooof! How...how old is this? I don't remember MJOLNIR armor being this heavy!"

John snapped back into reality as Starla spoke, still looking at his hands. Back then, the scars were large, visible streaks of red that covered his body, but now they were faint, but could still be seen if one looked closely.

John stepped off the platform and easily lifted up his armor piece with one hand, as if it were weightless. John was not one to talk much, but Starla did ask about the armor, and he would need to give her as much information as possible if he wanted her help.

"This is MJOLNIR Mark VII armor, weighing in at 1,000 pounds. It is supposed to be an older model, but it has been modified with GEN 2 armor parts. The entire suit was built in the year 2557, making this armor over 519 trillion years old.", John explained in a calm tone as he placed the armor piece where she was trying to place it.

[Cucoo5]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

Starla's eyes went wide, as though she had just received a Christmas present that she always wanted. She ran back to the table where the piece of armor was and took out a small microscope like device.
"By the goddess...it is..." She then ran over to the platform with the full suit of armor still being held. she moved it over to the table and had the arms place each piece onto it so that it formed the full suit. Then she tapped an orb in the side of the table and another suit of pure white armor materialized and was suspended above it. The new armor had a similar look to the original MJOLNIR Armor, but seemed thinner. "This is what we call the 'AETHER' Armor. Light, durable, and patterned off of MJOLNIR Armor. In short, it's the same as your older armor, except it has our current technology. However..." She grinned. "We could never perfectly replicate the systems of MJOLNIR Armor..." She pressed another button on the side of the work table and a holographic three-dimensional grid enveloped both suits of armor. "But now we can take the AETHER Armor and transcribe many of the systems of the MJOLNIR Armor to it and thus make it even better than its original design and the MJOLNIR. In theory it should be about two to four times more durable than MJOLNIR once the systems are transcribed." A panel of light kept passing through both suits, like a scanner. The AETHER suit slowly started to physically change as systems were modified inside according to the MJOLNIR Armor. When it was done, Starla picked up an arm brace and brought it over to John. "Here, put this on and see how it feels."