This is one of the one-shots I mentioned in a previous post. This particular one is intended to set-up the introduction of some of my new characters and deal with some of the more...
in-depth backstory stuff that couldn't really be covered in a bio. Apologies if the formatting seems a little strange, I typed this up in WordPad originally, then copypasta'd it into a post. Linked images are just to give you a basic idea of what things look like since I suck at describing appearances.
One thing I never really found an ideal time to mention. The mobile base Xhai's group uses now has a name, so if anyone refers to something you're not familiar with, that'll be it.
That said....
[spoiler]Mika wiped a thin layer of sweat off her forehead as the blast doors leading in to the research facility closed behind her. The group had been travelling through the Dry Dry Desert when she'd had the sudden urge to visit her father and catch up with her friends at the place she'd called home before setting out to explore the world. Xhai had agreed that a visit might be fun, and the two had made a quick detour. A short group discussion had led to them parking the
Bastion a distance away from the facility entrance and crossing the desert on foot to reach it. Turning to her friend, who was just now returning his jacket to its' regular position across his shoulders, she pouted at him.
"I don't get it. How can you stand heat like that?"
Xhai shrugged, but offered her a sympathetic smile anyway.
"I 'unno. Ask your dad, he made me this way."
They were met shortly afterwards by the head of the security team. After taking a moment to verify their identities, he waved them through and began escorting them to the recreation room. Xhai was interested to note that the corridors now had squads of armed guards patrolling them. Leaning in towards Mika and dropping his voice, he voiced his concern.
"I don't remember security being this tight when I left. You think something happened?"
Mika's expression told him she knew as much about this change as he did, but any further chance at discussion stopped when they reached the rec room doors. They slid open with a muted
hiss, and Mika's eyes went wide when she spotted the individual waiting on the other side. She was off like a shot and all-but tackled the dark-haired man as he stepped forward with a friendly grin on his face. Letting out a muted grunt at the sudden impact, he chuckled and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Good to see you too, Mika. You dyed your hair?"
Mika nodded, and looked up at him through teary eyes. Her voice, however, proved beyond doubt that they were tears of happiness. "Uh-huh. I always told you that I was going to, Dad. You don't need to sound so surprised."
Mika's father laughed again. "Sorry, sorry. It's just strange seeing my little girl with hair the same colour as the bubblegum she loves so much." Beaming, he moved his gaze upwards to meet Xhai's and waved with the hand that wasn't trapped beneath his daughter's hug. "Hello Xhai. How's the outside world treating you?"
Xhai matched the man's grin with one of his own. "Eh, you know. See the world, meet interesting people. Kick the bejeezus out of some less interesting people." He shook his head. "Man, the stories I have to tell you..."
Extracting himself from his daughter, her father chuckled again. "Well, it's good to see you both doing so well. Why don't we retire to my office and catch up? I have some important things to discuss with you, as well." Turning to another door on the far side of the room, he missed the questioning look that Xhai and Mika shared at that last statement.
The door closed behind them, and nobody missed the
click of a lock sliding into place. When he turned to face the two friends, Mika's father had a grave expression on his face, a far cry from the jovial look he'd worn on the way over. Motioning the two to a battered looking pair of couches surrounding a small coffee table in the corner, he sank heavily into one of them and waited for Xhai and Mika to seat themselves opposite him. Sighing, he seemed to take a moment to compose himself, and when he spoke again his voice was deadly serious. "I suppose in some ways it's fortunate the two of you arrived when you did. I have a favour to ask of you, but please, hear me out before you commit to a decision on this. I fear the consequences of what I'm about to ask could be dangerous to us all."
Xhai and Mika shared a look, and a brief, wordless conversation took place, ending when they nodded in unison and shifted their attention back to the man opposite them. Any trace of fun or relaxation was gone from their expressions, and they were both clearly wearing their serious faces. Mika's father studied them for a moment, then nodded, apparently satisfied with what he was seeing. "Good. I assume you've both noticed the increased security detail?" They nodded. "About three months ago we received new instructions from our backers. They were apparently pleased at the success of Project Xhaiden-" Xhai scowled at the mention of that. He hadn't liked the way some of the researchers had seen him as little more than an experiment. "-and had plans to advance things even further. I can honestly say, however, that I do not like where this change in direction is leading us. Shortly after this communication, the expedition teams brought in two new "specimens" and reactivated an old project as well."
Mika interrupted. "Sorry Dad, but...."specimens"?"
Her father nodded. "I do not know the details, as I was not assigned to either of those projects, but if they were anything like the one I was assigned then whatever-" he caught himself "-WHOever those specimens are, they must have been practically tortured..." He shuddered, his expression one of both sadness and regret, and squared his shoulders before continuing. "Our backers have decided that since Project Xhaiden was such a success, more potential is to be found in discovering new ways to further the human condition than in exploring our past. I was assigned to be part of the reactivated Project Siraj..." He stopped here and met Xhai's impassive gaze, his eyes hard. "The aim of Project Siraj is the advancement of humans through the application of cybernetics. It was one of the first things I, and this facility, ever attempted. Our first breakthrough, though, was deemed a failure and the project was abandoned, with the subject of our research being placed into a forced cold-sleep pending its'.....
disposal". Neither Xhai nor Mika missed the venom he injected into that last word, practically spitting it out.
Xhai blinked slowly and asked with a calm tone. "Is there a reason you maintained eye contact with me throughout that whole spiel?".
Mika's father nodded. "Yes, and before I tell you what that reason is, I want to say I am sorry I was ever involved in such a thing. If I were able to go back and refuse to participate, I would." Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself to meet Xhai's gaze again, and stated firmly "Project Xhaiden was an attempt at rebooting our initial failed attempt. Project Siraj is your direct predecessor". Xhai's eyes widened in shock, but the man continued before he could be interrupted. "I believe our backers though that with your success, our initial attempt might be salvaged, but I received a message last week informing me that the project has been declared an out-and-out failure and will be terminated within the next few days. I have heard rumours circulating amongst some of the other researchers here that the other two projects are also ending, with their specimens also scheduled for termination. There was nothing I could do about this on my own, but now that you're here, I feel like there may be a chance...."
Xhai closed his eyes, and voiced his thoughts aloud. "What you're telling me is that I essentially have an older brother who's going to die in the next few days, and there are two others who are ALSO going to die simply because these mysterious "backers" of yours decided they're not "useful" any more?"
Mika, however, had latched on to something different. "Dad, I can't believe you never told me about this-" She raised a hand to cut off his attempt at a response "-but it's okay, I forgive you. I worked on stuff here too, remember? Being sworn to secrecy is something I can understand, even if I don't like it."
Her father gave a wan smile at that, and some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared. Mika was shocked at how
old he managed to look at that moment, despite his relative youth. "Thank you, Mika. It makes me happier than you know when you say you don't hate me for keeping a secret like that from you. On a serious note, the termination procedures are due to commence in roughly two days, so there's not much time. I beg you, please save the ones we've abused in our desperate search for knowledge. You are the only ones I know who have the strength and intelligence to pull something like this off."
Mika frowned. "Even if we did, the
Bastion doesn't have room for any more passengers, even with the unique situations of some of our current ones."
Her father smiled again, some of the earlier warmth returning to his eyes. "I don't know who or what you're referring to, but I may have an answer for you. As part of the new heading, our expedition teams were granted the use of a new mobile base. It's an airship, and much larger than the landcrawlers we commonly use." He fished around in the breast pocket of his labcoat and pulled out a small flashdrive. "I asked a friend of mine in the maintenance section to acquire as much information about it as he could. I'm certain that you and Minty working together could easily crack the locks on one of the access ports." He reached over and pressed the drive into Mika's hand. She clenched her fingers over it and nodded, her expression one of pure determination.
Xhai still had his eyes closed as he attempted to process everything he'd just been told. "Let me see if I got this straight. You're asking us to infiltrate one of the most heavily guarded secret research facilities in the world, locate three seperate prisoners, who'd have no reason to trust us, spring them, convince them to leave with us, then hijack a goddamned airship from right under the noses of the entire security force and fly outta here?" Xhai opened his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, a cocky smirk adorning his face.
"Hell, why not?"
"...And that's what we know." Mika paused to try and gauge the reactions to what she'd just told everyone once they'd said their farewells and returned to the
Bastion. Xhai had called a group meeting in her workshop as soon as they'd gotten back, and had been surprised to see Saden slip into the room once Bell had opened one of the hangar bays so Typhon could look in. She was pleased to note that practically everyone looked equal parts upset and angry. Leo was the first to break the silence.
"Despicable! I do not know who these "specimens" are, but we cannot leave them to die like this!"Xhai grinned. "That's why we wanted to ask you guys to help us out. This isn't me forcing you to help, it's purely a voluntary thing." A quick look around the room was enough to tell him no-one would be backing out of this. "Heh, thanks guys. Okay, here's the plan. Minty, you still have that map of the place?"
The android, currently under its' male shell, nodded. "Indeed. I've already taken the liberty of marking the most probable locations for both our intended targets and the airship you mentioned." He held up a palm and a large holographic map sprang into life in front of him. Two large red dots indicated the areas he'd mentioned, and he was already calculating the quickest and most efficient routes to each. "I believe these are the most likely places for the things we need. I assume we are splitting into teams?"
Mika stepped in again, her position as the group's unofficial leader allowing her the authority to make decisions such as this. She'd argued with Xhai about this, claiming she didn't have the knowledge or experience to lead anything, but he'd simply told her he was more comfortable following than leading and that had been that. "Yes, and I've decided on the formations already. Aaru, take Leo and find the people we need to rescue. You're the most skilled of us at sneaking into places like this." The silver-haired girl nodded, her expression determined. Mika shot her a smile and continued, "Leo, your job will be to convince these people that they can trust us and should come with us."
"I understand. I will not fail."Xhai took over here, his tone more serious than any the group had heard from him before. "Bell-" The blonde shot a bleary look in his direction "-I'm trusting you to get Mika to the airship. Minty will be with you, and they're the only ones who can get us in there and get it fired up ready for our escape." Receiving a tired smile and a thumbs-up, he turned to the other two members of the group currently present, though one of them was looking through an open hangar door. "Saden, Typhon, you're with me. The others are gonna need some sort of cover, so I figured we can go and raise a little hell to get the bulk of the guards off their backs." A digital grin flickered across the front of Typhon's mask, but Saden had a question.
"Are...you sure?"
Xhai's tone turned gentle as he responded. "I know you're worried about losing yourself again, but I trust you not to attack me. If it makes you feel any better, I've been told the guards are all mercenaries anyway, so don't feel bad about helping yourself to a drink if you're thirsty." A flash of crimson from beneath her hair told him he'd effectively squashed any doubts she'd had about participating. She often felt bad about having to kill people to prolong her own existence, but she had comparatively fewer issues killing other killers, which these guys likely were.
Leo voiced the one lingering question that no one wanted to ask.
"And what of...." She trailed off as her eyes moved to the large green cylinder resting at the back of the room. Mika was the one to answer her. "I've taken measures for that. We didn't want to leave this place undefended while we're away, so I set up some scanners in each of the major rooms. Anyone that's not already here sets foot in the
Bastion while we're away, the pod will open." She stopped there. Everyone already knew what the result of that would be.
Xhai spoke up one last time. "From what we know, the airship's hangars are big enough to accomodate the
Bastion with no problems, so assuming everything goes according to plan we can swing by and pick it up later. Then Mika can disable the scanners." He hefted Xhaiden over his shoulder. "Everyone knows what they're doing?" Nods all around the room. Xhai didn't bother to fight the smile that crept over his face.
"Well then. Time for a jailbreak."
Xhai twirled his scythe in front of him to deflect another hail of bullets, and narrowed his eyes, trying to pick out the shooter's position. Typhon's booming laughter easily drowned out the blaring sirens even as the dull
WHOOMPH of his flamethrowers signalled another wave of incoming guards. Saden had disappeared sometime shortly after they'd engaged, but given the way some of their assailants mysteriously stopped shooting after their arrival, Xhai assumed she was still active. Suddenly, the earpiece he'd been handed as they departed for the operation bleeped.
"This is Mika. We're in and getting the engines fired up now. Waiting on you guys."Xhai grit his teeth and slowly pushed forwards, Xhaiden cutting a bloody swathe through the grunts in front of him. Mika securing the airship was good news. He'd known that his group would be pressured, but he was beginning to wonder if these assholes were coming from some sort of clown car parked in one of the corridors. There seemed to be no
end to them. A curse from Typhon indicated that the pyromaniacal robot had run out of fuel and had been forced to switch to his laser blades. Xhai's earpiece bleeped again, Leo's voice sounded slightly distant, speaking through Aaru's earpiece as she was.
"Understood, Mika. We've just succeeded in convincing the last of the prisoners to follow us. We will reach your location soon. One of them had some....luggage....that needed to be brought with them."Mika chimed in again.
"Copy that, Leo. Xhai, pull back and head back to the Bastion, we'll meet you there." The line went quiet before Xhai could respond, not that he intended to. He trusted his friends to keep their promises.
Xhai blinked.
Luggage?. Shaking his head, he slowly edged towards Typhon. "We're pulling out! Aaru and Mika did their jobs, now we gotta get back to the Bastion!"
Typhon swore again, backhanding a guard with enough force to send him flying bodily across the room. "Fine. This was getting boring anyway." With that, the 'bot slowly started backing towards the hole he'd torn in the blast doors when the attack started.
Xhai stabbed his scythe through the gut of another attacker and spun, throwing the body off. "SADEN! WE'RE LEAVING!" A shadow dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of him, perched delicately on a pair of crystalline legs. Saden's armour was covered almost head to toe in shining crimson, masking the rust underneath, and her gemstone eye was glowing brightly. At Xhai's questioning look, however, she shook herself and the maniacal grin she was wearing slowly faded back to her normal frown.
"Understood....Let's...go."
They fell back together and rejoined Typhon, who had been holding the exit route for them. The bot's gaze flickered down to meet Xhai's. "Took you long enough."
Xhai smirked. "Sorry big guy, had to convince my date that this party was getting boring."
Saden darted through the hole and skittered off into the desert, Xhai hot on her heels. Typhon slowly backed through and turned, sprinting (for him, anyway) after his comrades.
They reached the
Bastion without incident, and it was a tired Xhai who looked up to see a large, indistinct mass heading towards them from the direction of the facility. As it drew closer and the clouds moved away, the moonlight allowed him to get his first look at the
airship he guessed he'd soon be calling home.
Loading the
Bastion on to the airship didn't take as long as Xhai had anticipated, and Mika rushed to meet him as he stepped off into the hangar. "Xhai! I'm glad you and the others are OK!"
Xhai didn't attempt to stop her from hugging him, though he didn't miss Typhon's eyes flicker in the closest approximation to an eyeroll that he could manage. Returning the embrace with his free arm, he asked, "Everyone alright? How are the rescuees?"
Mika stepped back. "Bell took a bullet to the shoulder, but all that did was [acid burst] her off. I don't think the guy that shot her will be walking again." She shuddered. An angry bell was
scary. "The people we rescued are fine. Though, I'll admit they're....not quite what I was expecting." At Xhai's questioning look, she pointed at something concealed in the shadows. Xhai's eyebrows almost shot off his face when he realised what it was.
"Is that a coffin?"
Mika nodded. "Yup. Like I said, not quite what I was expecting. They're waiting for you on the bridge along with everyone else. I gotta disable the scanners on the
Bastion, so I'll be up to join you soon."
Xhai smiled. "Thanks for everything, Mika. Your dad okay?" She nodded, explaining that he'd retired to his room after they left and had been feigning sleep during the whole ordeal. If anyone asked, he'd had no idea his daughter and their last project had been planning something so audacious. Xhai turned to his other two comrades. "You guys coming?"
Saden shook her head. "Need to...clean...my armour." Typhon didn't respond, the icon flashing on his visor indicating he'd gone into hibernation to recharge.
Xhai shrugged. " 'K. I'll see you later then." With that, he turned and headed for the elevator. He was looking forward to meeting his "brother".
Xhai hadn't been sure what to expect when he stepped onto the bridge. Mika's cryptic comments had left him curious. Sweeping his gaze across the room, Aaru was bandaging Bell's injured shoulder while miraculously managing to ignore the
violent string of expletives coming from the blonde's mouth. Leo was standing off to the side, her body slowly becoming less tangible as the night started to give way to dawn, and Minty was sat at a control panel at the front of the room, apparently steering the ship. That left the three people Xhai
didn't recognise.
The first was
wearing a baggy-sleeved red shirt and a pair of black and gold shorts, coupled with a pair of black and gold boots. She was also wearing kneepads that appeared to have silk sleeves hanging off them, covering her shins. What really caught his attention, however, was the blue-green tinge to her skin and the paper tag attached to forehead, adorned with characters he didn't recognise. Her hair was tinged a deep blue as well, and tied into a long braid down her back.
The
second was an intimidating sight, to be certain. He stood a good head-and-a-half taller than Xhai, and most of his skin was covered in gleaming bronze scales. A wicked looking pair of curved horns sprouted from somewhere underneath his hairline, and a vicious looking spiked tail hung behind him, lashing the deck beneath his clawed feet every so often. The wings sprouting from his back twitched as Xhai approached but he was completely still otherwise, his eyes closed in deep thought.
The third and final member of this little group was an uncomfortable sight for Xhai. He stood about the same height as Xhai, but that was where the similarities ended. Brown hair framed a pale face marred by mismatched skin. Xhai fought back a wince. Visible cybernetics were
never comfortable, exposed as they were to the elements. If the rest of his body was like that....Xhai cut that train of thought off before it reached the station. Most of this other cyborg's body was hidden underneath a large greatcoat and a pair of black jeans. with a pair of untied boots completing the ensemble.
Xhai approached the group and tried to paste a friendly smile on his face. "Hey there. I'm Xhai. It's nice to meet you all.....I'm...I'm glad we could get you all out of that place."
The girl was the first to respond, giving Xhai what he thought was a rather stiff-looking salute. Her voice was light and cheery, but had a strange....echo-y quality to it. "
Ni hao! My name's Shu-Fang! Thanks for rescuing me from those jerks back there. I swear some people have no manners!" She paused, eyes going wide as the first rays of the sun began to peek over the horizon. "Whoops! Sorry, but there's somewhere I gotta be! I'll talk to you tonight, 'kay?" With that she turned and....
hopped?...out of the room. Xhai blinked. Maybe there was some sort of problem that meant her legs couldn't move properly?
The draconic-looking man was the next to speak, regarding Xhai through a pair of narrowed, reptilian eyes. His voice was a deep, growling baritone that only served to increase his intimidation factor even more. Unfolding his arms to reveal that his fingers were also tipped with razor sharp claws didn't help any. "And a pleasure to meet you too, Xhai. You have my thanks for freeing me from that accursed prison. It would appear not all humans are as untrustworthy as I perhaps thought. My name is Cadmus. I would talk more at length, but I find myself growing weary, so I believe I shall save my questions for another time." With that, he left, his tail still moving as he disappeared down the hallway.
The cyborg regarded Xhai silently for a long moment. When he did speak, his voice sounded distorted, as though coming from a malfunctioning voicebox. "So....you're the one the scientists were all raving about when they woke me up?" Xhai nodded, not able to find his voice. Then, the cyborg broke out into a wide grin and embraced the stunned brunette. "Good to finally meet you, little brother! Call me Siraj, yeah?" Xhai could only nod dumbly as Siraj let him go and strolled out of the room, whistling a jaunty tune. Mika passed him as she entered the room, and couldn't help but giggle at Xhai's dumbfounded expression.
"See. I told you they weren't what I expected."
Xhai finally found his voice. "Y'know, it just hit me that we might have made a very powerful enemy today. I don't know who these "backers" are, but I get the feeling they're gonna be pretty pissed off at us for wrecking their stuff. Still, I'm glad we could help those three. Think they'll stick around?"
Mika shrugged. "Maybe. First thing we need to do is find a quiet place to land this thing so me and Minty can make sure everything's working properly. Minty's headed to a place he thinks might be suitable now, if that's OK?"
Xhai nodded, and moved over to stand next to Minty, staring out at the brightening blue sky. He was joined by Mika, Aaru (carrying Leo's sword, the knight having returned to the ether while Xhai was introducing himself to the new arrivals) and a still-cursing Bell. Suddenly, a thought struck him.
"Hey Mika, this ship have a name?"
She nodded. "Yup.
The Halcyon"Xhai smiled.
"I like it."[/spoiler]