There was nothing to take from Namek but Namek itself, K5 suspected his role here was that of a scout. But for whom was he gathering intel on the galaxy's least interesting planet? The Namekian Encyclopedia Project payed just well enough for him not to care.
Holo-notepad in hand, the cyborg followed the slow march of a Dragon Clan caravan. The forty novices were on a gift-giving pilgrimage through the Maima Fields, supposedly to renew bonds with their more dirt-minded peers. Why should clerics care for peasants?, asked K5 during a cabbage-measuring ceremony. "This," responded the lead novice, a young lad of seventy, "shouldn't really need explaining..." After that exchange, the namekians were more hesitant in their talks with the machine man. They still answered his endless questions, just with less proselytizing and smiles. This went unnoticed by their researcher, naturally.
"Qu3ry."
"Porunga's holy balls, WHAT!?" the lead novice struck his bruised forehead against the bulb of his staff, a tic brought about by five long days of dealing with the cyborg.
"4r3 7h3 f3m4l35 0f y0ur 5p3c13 blu3."
"What are females?"
The cyborg just pointed at the figure flying in the distance, only now did he notice she hadn't come alone.
"50m3 0f 7h3m 4r3 f3m4l35." but not all of them were blue. How curious.
K5 has come online.
ITEMS & RESOURCES Overdrive, Endless Energy Core, Absorber Module Antisense, Avenger, Battle Armor, Arm Blaster
Post by Captain Salvo on May 21, 2022 18:10:13 GMT -5
SALVO'S PL: 13,000
PL MULTIPLIERS: None
Sometimes, it was just too easy.
A caravan full of religious artifacts and gifts, traveling through a remote region of Namek, entirely unguarded aside from some Dragon Clan members (who, in Salvo's experience, were by far the biggest pushovers of the three Namekian clans)? It was like Christmas had come early. Namek as a whole had been, in a word, disappointing. In spite of how weak its populace was, there was always, always some stupid non-Namekian sitting around the corner with some ridiculous power level that would send Salvo and her crew 'blasting off again' to try their hand at another bounty, only to meet the same fate.
Frankly, they were just lucky these heroic types never actually killed any of them, because that would be a rather large inconvenience on top of a bunch of other already not insignificant inconveniences.
But Salvo had a good feeling about this one! At least, that's what she had told her crew as they barreled through the air towards the caravan. As per usual, her main muscles, Romaine the Earthling and Seiggev the Saiyan were behind her, while the others had stayed back at the ship this time - Salvo really didn't need to risk that thing getting damaged again.
The three landed before the caravan in the blink of an eye, and all three quickly drew their weapons - good old fashioned flintlock pirate pistols. "Alright, ye landlubbers!" Salvo declared with a devilish grin. "This here is what we call a pillagin'! Now, you slugs can either 'and over all yer loot, or we can take it from yer bullet-riddled corpses. Think it over for a second, aye?"
K5 didn't need his positronic brain, or use his saiyan brain in full, to understand that these were not, in fact, namekians. Perhaps not even Namekians, of Namek. He watched with mild interest as the pilgrims froze before the pirates, the words of the leader terrifying to them. Personally, the cyborg couldn't see the threat flintlocks could pose to a lifeform capable of limb regeneration. Was this a correct assessment? "Qu3ry—"
"Aren't you going to save us?" the lead novice cut him off.
"1 d0n'7 und3r574nd." The rare uncounted variable. It was to deal with this sort of thing that K5 kept his organic neurons, wary as he was of evanescence. "Wh47 15 y0ur r3450n1n6."
"You're an alien!" the relative young man seized him by the arm, his grip strong for someone that had never thrown a punch. "You're supposed to fight for us- like the saiyan or the demon!" for emphasis he pointed at the saiyan outlaw. Did that make the blue one the demon? Her biometrics read as heran to the cyborg, maybe he was missing something. Or being tricked into other people's problems.
"1 4m n07 601n6 70 f16h7 f0r y0u." he said plainly.
"What?"
"1 h4v3 n0 r3450n 70 f16h7 f0r y0u."
The pilgrim stood silent, moss-green fingers clutching at the gnarled protuberence of the staff.
"We... need your help." he said at last, in a voice so piteous that it beckoned something in the man K5 had been. Kalabas Strongbone, Heir to the Duchy of Strongbone, hated weakness. "You're strong! We're weak! They mean to steal the gifts for our brothers!"
That did get K5 to think. What was it about the pottery baubles that made them so enticing to the pirates? He looked at the captain, hardly seemed the sort that could appreciate the artform. Organics sometimes develop incongruent fancies, he knew this.
"l37 7h3m." a flash of emotion, arms crossed in impatience.
"NO! NEVER! THE DRAGON CLAN PROTECTS NAMEK'S SOUL!" squeaked one of the younger novices, full of life and too ready to throw it away. He launched himself at the pirates with a jump, spurring his brothers to battle. Even their leader chased after, swinging his staff like a club, leaving K5 so puzzled that he dropped the holo-notepad.
ITEMS & RESOURCES Overdrive, Endless Energy Core, Absorber Module Antisense, Avenger, Battle Armor, Arm Blaster
Apr 6, 2024 1:21:15 GMT -5
Lottus: Friendly reminder for new folks to check the rules regarding art claims - AI Art is not accepted on Sparking for character sheets.
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:28 GMT -5
Lottus: Hey folks, got a new phone, but verification is preventing me from downloading Discord for now
Apr 17, 2024 14:43:57 GMT -5
Lottus: I won't be available until I get home from work!
Apr 17, 2024 14:44:58 GMT -5
Lottus: Feel free to dm me if needed!
Apr 17, 2024 21:13:47 GMT -5
Dingo: I'll post what you've said here up in the discord so it doesn't get missed!