I'm Looking For An Asshole

Rem checked the pistol, he hadn't normally carried in his existence, but now he felt the need to bring a weapon with him. It was a new sense of caution he'd picked up without the thirst distracting him and his new adversarial relationship with the boss. He figured before the day was out he'd need to use it, probably several times.

The task he'd been assigned was simple enough on its face. Find someone in the city. Rem happened to know the person The Boss was after and so it in theory made it easier to find the guy. In theory of course because since the Boss was looking for him he'd of course disappeared. So Rem was forced to tromp through the increasingly lawless underbelly of the town as it was falling apart. Rem also had to deal with not exactly being a popular person due to what he was and his previous jobs for the Boss.

"I'm not talking to you Rem." The fat man in front of Rem was behind six inch thick glass, he rented rooms by the hour and wasn't exactly the talks to you kind of guy, his name was Cham though Rem suspected that was not his given name.

"Cham come on, you can help me find Randolph before someone else does." Randolph was another magic eater like Rem, though he was always the runt of the group. He fed on the edges of Rem's usual crew of magic addicts, they normally called him the lost puppy for how he looked when someone got angry at him for whatever they normally did.

"Someone else from the Boss you mean? Rem I'm done with you scum bags, you just take and take and the rest of us are the ones you take from. You want to find your little puppy do it without my help, now leave before I call the authorities." It was an empty threat, but Rem left all the same, no use trying to get someone to talk who didn't want to talk. Still he was striking out everywhere, Randolph who he had never had any trouble finding, suddenly had become invisible. This didn't bode well for Rem who had already pissed off the Boss by being antagonistic, now he was going to have to come back empty handed which was worse.

Rem thought of leaving, but no ships were available due to the crisis above the planet and its not like he could out run the Boss anyway. So he went slinking back, making sure to check the pistol again, he'd definitely have to use it now.

Where Exactly Are We?

Destruction was everywhere. Ships that had been destroyed in various ways hung in space like some elaborate mobile. Rolando had no idea where they had just shown up at. He was surprised who ever had lost this battle hadn't come back to at least salvage all the materials. He could see the ships looked fairly old, just by the various different internal components he could see drifting.

"Beautiful isn't it? All this destruction left hanging here, like a memory frozen in time." Trezlan broke the silence next to Rolando.

"Where are we?"

"The end of the red war, or I should say where it was fought, the survivors treated this place as a bit of a sanctified ground, leaving it exactly as they found it. Me I've used it as a hideaway, building on to the wrecks, a place to run to when all others are exhausted." Rolando laughed at the absurdity of it. He knew little of the war, or his fathers place in it, but he did know the location of its final battle was a kept secret lost to time, aside from to his father apparently.

"Glad to see you have the same respect for this place as you do everywhere else." Rolando watched as Trezlan maneuvered the ship near a particularly large wreck and engaged docking procedures. He could see though the wreck looked destroyed there had been construction on it, including a state of the art airlock.

"If idiots want to hold reverence over something they didn't actually cause or resolve who am I to stop them. Besides to the victor go the spoils."

"You are hardly the victor..."

"Don't presume to know everything about a battle you were not at, but I was son. I let you deride me in all manner of ways, but you will not speak ill of my great triumph." Rolando could hear the real hurt in his fathers voice, he was ashamed.

"I'm sorry."

"No you aren't, you don't even know the first thing about it, but that's ok, I blame myself for your lack of empathy. No matter we are docked, settle in we'll probably be here for a bit." Trezlan left without looking at Rolando, and for the first time Rolando was worried he'd actually hurt his father in a way that would not be recoverable. And that made Rolando feel terrible for all the things he'd said to Trezlan, if only because his father seemed like one of the only people who actually cared, even if he did awful things to show it. It was still caring. It was enough for Rolando to wonder how to fix what he broke. He probably wouldn't have felt so bad if he had seen Trezlan smirk on his way off the ship, knowing full well he had caused the exact kind of discomfort in his son that was going on, but Rolando was still learning his father was a master manipulator, especially with regards to people who care.

No One Eats Crowe

"Mr. Crowe." Remle had been summoned. It hadn't been too long since he'd lost the thirst and Lorentino had blown up a fleet in orbit somehow, pieces of the fleet were still slamming into the planet. Most of the authorities in town were busy trying to keep the larger parts from hitting anything with population in it. Which meant the criminal underground was free to do as they pleased, like snatch Rem up off the street.  He didn't necessarily mind, he needed to talk to them anyway to tell them he was done with blood, he just hated how roughly they had grabbed him, after a hair cut even.

"Sorry I haven't been around I had a life changing experience." The boss was simply known as the Boss, Crowe never heard or cared for his name, he was an accountant looking guy who always wore a shirt with vest. There were three other people crowded in the small office, Rem had never noticed how small it was, he was normally coming down from a trip when he was in the office.

"So I've heard, did you get a vial of Lorentino's blood? I know that's the holy grail for you people." Boss always had a sneer in his voice when he spoke to Rem, most people did, they viewed magic eaters as a plague even for the none magical.

"I got something better." Rem was terrified at first of not having the thirst, but now he was seeing how much more clearly he could feel and be aware of his surroundings. It was like coming out of a fog and then seeing where you really were in the world, it was frightening and exhilarating at the same time. Like being newly alive.

"Right, so I need something Rem."

"You always need something, you're a needy person."

"And so are you Rem." He placed vials of blood on his desk, Rem could sense they were magical, but didn't have the desire to just grab and shoot them up like he once did. The Boss could sense this as well, his eyes narrowed when he looked at Rem.

"Not feeling it right now, if that's all..." Rem went to get up and one of the guards in the room forced him back down.

"I didn't say you could leave Rem, I have invested a lot in you, I have done a lot for you, shielded you, helped you, and now when you don't need me for a little bit you want to just leave me hanging? No Rem that is not how this works, now you'll do what I say, or I'll just kill you right here and get another one of your type to do my bidding, the list of people wanting to be my friend is a lot longer than the ones that will miss you." Rem heard the hammer hit back on a weapon behind him.

"Point taken Boss, what is it can I do for you?"

"Be less of a sass mouth for one, and listen to what I need for two Rem."

"All right sir, what is it that you need of me." The boss laid things out for Rem and Rem was almost wishing he'd killed him instead when it was all said and done.

Back to Sort Of Not Really At all Normal

"See everything worked out." The former Sun Stars ship was badly damaged, but still capable of space travel. Trezlan had set for a new destination far away from their current one, Rolando didn't even care he was still desperately fighting the corruption.

"I'm happy you're happy father."

"No need to be snarky Rolando, don't worry we'll catch up with Morley soon enough."

"I'm thrilled you're already planning your next atrocity."

"Ok be that way, just be that way quietly please." Trezlan was tired of Rolando, he forgot his son was such a wet blanket about survival.

"Done." It was the last thing Rolando said to Trezlan for the entire two week trip they were on. He only said something when they arrived at their next destination which almost defied explination to Rolando outside of "What have you done?"

All Bad Things In One Spot

Good things always happen too fast, and bad things seem to last forever. Its a universal belief. So it made sense when the Morlatech fleet arrived that time seemed to come at a stand still. There were fifty ships suddenly arriving, surrounding the planet they prepared to annihilate, standing in what would appear defiance to them was the Sun Stars lone ship.

"Commander Russ do you have my package?" Corlka decided to directly contact the mercenary commander, he wanted to see her face before they blew her ship to nothing.

"I'm sorry Commander Russ is unavailable Director Corlka, but I can arrange a deal with you and your men."

"Lorentino." Corlka said his name like the curse it was. He ordered his men to fire, but before the ships guns could come up to speed both Lorentino's were standing on his bridge.

"Hello Director." Rolando moved quickly shifting and killing as he went, Corlka before he went down screamed at the ships computers to fire on every ship with the Lorentino's dna signatures. What followed was an ever expanding destruction of Morlatech ships as the Lorentino's moved from ship to ship and each ship's programming opened fire following Corlka's orders. Eventually all the ships were left in a burning wreckage and Trezlan and Rolando were back on the Sun Star's ship.

"See like I said son we could make it through this." Rolando was shaking a bit, the last few jumps he hadn't killed anyone and he could feel the corruption blowing up in his blood.

"Great, we're super murderers."

"Eh after you have killed your first million the next million is easier." Trezlan smiled, but Rolando did not. He could see a flashing alert on the console, the wreckage of the Morlatech fleet was effectively a fire wall of destruction and it was slowly trapping them in the Sun Star ship.

"Out of the frying pan into the fire dad."

"You're always so negative son, look at the bright side, if we die it'll be by our own dumb hand!" Rolando did not see that as the bright side.

I Fear Nothing, Especially Betrayers

"You're way too calm father." Rolando had been looking around their cell for hours, there was no obvious way out. The door was solid thick steel, magnetically locked and keyed to the guard outside, there were no windows or gaps in the walls. He had felt them leave the ground so he knew they were also probably in space. Trezlan spent the time just sitting patiently waiting, it was maddening to Rolando, usually his father was manic, at times even spastic, right now, he was just sitting frog legged with his eyes closed like he was in a trance.

"Getting angry fixes nothing, I am outraged, but I am not afraid, these people do not scare me."

"Well they scare the shit out of me, they mean to turn us over to Morley dad, you know that will not work out."

"They will not succeed, no one ever does, do not worry son I have an ace in this hole." Trezlan shifted his legs a little bit.

"And that is what? Forgive me father I do not trust your ace here." Trezlan shrugged again and pulled his formerly shackled hands from behind his back, there were burn marks from where Trezlan had clearly cooked the shackles off himself.

"How? You can't..."

"I made a deal with a god a long time ago, nothing in this world can contain my magic, so do not worry my boy, all these idiots have done is given us a ship with which to escape." Rolando was not convinced of any of it, especially some deal his father made with a god.

"I remain unconvinced father."

"Because you are cynical my son, but do not worry, we'll have these idiots soon, they've made their play, Morley has made his, and I, I will make mine." Trezlan closed his eyes again and Rolando saw he was also drawing out some ritual magic with blood from his finger. Which scared Rolando more than the mercenaries.

I love Working With Idiots

"The Sun Stars will have Lorentino in orbit for us to acquire." Director Corlka smiled. He had assumed someone would turn on the Lorentinos. That it was a professional mercenary company was all the better, made it easier to control the situation. Corlka felt this job was beneath him even if Morley wanted Lorentino dead, he valued his time and fleet more importantly then dusting a dirt water planet, but orders were orders especially from Morley.

"Excellent and their demands?"

"Large monetary reward they apparently recall a former Morley bounty they want to cash in on." Corlka smiled again, greed was always easy to work with, because it made people easy to manipulate and blind to traps.

"But of course, tell them we'll have the money available to them."

"Yes director, do you want to know the amount?"

"Not at all, we aren't paying it, we'll just get the Lorentinos and kill these mercenaries and then vape the planet anyway, I didn't come all the way out here for nothing."

"Yes sir."

****

"They agreed to pay Russ."

"I love corporate you give them a demand and then they just get it approved up the chain. They don't even care about how much money, because they aren't the one paying it." Russ knew this would be an easy job, She also knew this was her ticket to get the Sun Stars to the big time.

"And if they try and screw us?"

"Then we'll kill the shit out of them, that's what we do." Russ didn't think that would be an issue, corporate monkeys weren't known for outside the box thinking and she didn't think they'd start now.