Battle-weary and profoundly grieving for our lost comrades, the remaining crew members gathered in the cargo bay to collect our thoughts. Acting captain, Joy, shared a few words on behalf of the fallen and asked us to share our thoughts as well. N.I.K.K. and Zen weren't always the easiest to sympathize with, but they were crew. And gosh darn it, that means something.
Joy knew the best way to deal with grief was to get busy and since we were still stuck on the wrong side of the Maelstrom there was plenty to do. She checked with Vicky on the remaining tasks that needed attending to. There were a lot of systems that Ash's Bio Mom sabotaged. Knowing there is more to Benny than just being a taxi driver, Joy asked him to help get us sailworthy. As the crew was ready to fire up the engines, the Invictus received a white-flag distress call. Some of the BioCybs from the destroyed pleasure cruise ship had made it to a liferaft. They were asking for a way out of this dimension, they were willing to do whatever it would take to earn our trust and work for their keep. Joy agreed to their terms if they would consent to removing the "hive mind" chip from their craniums. With that settled, we punched through the Maelstrom once more.
The Invictus was in rough shape from the ordeal. Benny had to steal from whatever was readily available. Several crew members no longer had their personal electronic equipment, bathrooms weren't working, and food replicators were on the fritz. It was going to be nearly impossible to make it to House Zeizerer without some immediate repairs at a reputable shop. Joy tried to negotiate the repairs, but she didn't speak mechanic. Being Captain was hard. She asked Benny to intervene, it took every last credit we had in order to get the repairs made. Well, every last credit except for the ones Chanty refused to share with us. Finally, we were up and running and ready to face House Zeizerer. We knew there would be consequences in bringing back two of their own in body bags. However, we also knew them to be people of their word and we could finally be out from under their thumb having completed the contract to acquire the Bleeding Edge Armor.
As we go to leave, there is a slight tapping, a quiet rapping at our cargo bay door. Tybar, being the muscles of the group was nominated to go check it out. He encountered a very small, very smelly creature. She introduced herself as, Goblina Luminares, a Paladin of Light. The only reason she made it aboard the Invictus was that she offered Tybar Goblin Brew and promised to make more for him if he allowed her to serve our crew. She had received a calling from her Goddess to come and pledge her protection and Paladin skills to us, for we had saved the universe twice over now. Chanty came to investigate what was happening. She grabbed Goblin's moving backpack and uncovered the fact that she had a live falcon in there. Goblina referred to the falcon as Goddess, but explained that the falcon also goes by Cherry. Chanty, not quite sure of what to do with a feathery creature, was paralyzed while Cherry took a nap in her hands. We were well on our way to House Zeizerzer before Goblina even had a chance to meet the rest of the crew.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by an assembly of soldiers, scientists, lab assistants, and more. Joy, having worked with the family for several decades was annoyed with all the hoopla their arrival caused. It was supposed to be a somber occasion with a funeral procession slowly making its way to the great house. Instead, the procession was rudely interrupted with questions about the Bleeding Edge armor. Tybar showed the scientists how to use it, but they pointed out that it was user-protected and wanted to know how to bypass the directive. Everyone was silent and looking at each other in confusion. The armor just had always worked for the Invictus crew, there was no trickery to it. Joy and Vicky were particularly quiet during the entire ordeal. One of their assistants tried to use the armor ignoring the armor's incorrect user warning and was electrocuted to death.
Eventually, we were allowed inside the great house, where we were then interrogated by Lord Zeizerer. He stood inside a protective field that shielded him from anyone trying to do him harm. He was cold and uncaring, or that is what he would have you believe. Joy felt belittled by his callous ways, she had been his daughter's personal assistant after all, she wasn't just some no-name person pulled from the secretary pool. Additionally, he was trying to tack on generational debt to Ash because of her parents. Luckily, Joy had done all the paperwork for this mission and reminded the Lord that this mission cleared, "ALL DEBT". He dismissed us so they could prepare for Zen's memorial and throw his ex-wife's body in the garbage heap. His current wife, Lady Valeria, summoned us for a private conference to take place later that evening. As the bodies of Zen and her mother were brought through the barrier, her mother sat up and assassinated Lord Zeizerer. We stood there in shock as we watched her cut throat mend itself. Nanites!
Join us next time for more exciting adventures as the Invictus crew tries to make heads or tails of this crazy universe.
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