[OOC: The last spot is open, but it’s preferred that the last member is either on the side of Saiyans or the Tuffles]
[Thread PL- 5,000]
A constant beeping pierced Taupien’s sleep. He groaned, stretching as much as he could in the confined space of the attack pod. He rubbed his eyes, looking at the machine that had rudely interrupted his nap. The sweeping radar showed nothing had gone astray. He had entered the Plant atmosphere and would be landing somewhere in the Saiba wastes.
It was somewhat inconvenient landing far away from established civilization, and even a little dangerous if you weren’t careful, but it was necessary. He didn’t want to risk being shot down if he landed too close to the Saiyans or the Tuffles, and most importantly he wasn’t actually sure who he was being employed by yet. The neutral territory would be a good place to seek offers from both sides.
Haupien braced himself, grimacing as the pod landed. While travel through space and even planetary descent wasn’t too uncomfortable, the landing always annoyed him. The pod hit the ground, leaving a small trail in the ground. The top opened, and Haupien stepped out unsteadily. The Konatsian looked around, searching for his ally. The Saiyan Mayze would have been landing around the same time as him, although he wasn’t sure if he had arrived before him or after.
Since losing his fight to Dolando, Onnio had been relegated to patrol duty. Whatever. Work was work. He spent his time seeing how far he could throw rocks. His best throw, according to the scouter readout on his helmet, was five hundred and forty seven clicks. Not bad. He thought that on a planet with lighter gravity than Plant, he might be able to throw over a thousand.
Reaching back with a yell, Onnio hurled another rock past the horizon, and waited for the readout as the scouter projected its landing. Suddenly, there was a flash and a puff of smoke in the distance.
Onnio blinked, looking at his hand, dumbfounded. Did he really throw it that hard?
"I've got to see this!"
Kicking up from the ground, Onnio flew, following the arc of the stone he'd launched.
Suddenly, his scouter chirped an alert.
➞ [5,000]
He blinked. There was a battle point about as strong as his own in the distance. He gave his fritzy helmet a gentle smack and had it rescan, getting the same result. Must not be a bug, or a reflection. There was a power out there, all right, in the dead zones of the Saiba Wastes.
Onnio put two and two together before he reached the pod. There was a lander. It was an alien Onnio had never seen before, one with pointy ears.
Cycling the energy coil on his arm cannon, Onnio landed in front of Haupien. "Welcome to Planet Plant, home of the Saiyans," He said politely, cryonic smoke rising from his arm cannon, its feeder hose glittering with frost as it came to a full starting cycle. "I'm Onnio, soldier of the Saiyan Army."
MP: 0/6 Mayze could see it in the distance. The red jewel gleamed in the darkness of space as the light from the system's star reflected off the planet’s surface. Clouds dotted Vegeta’s red atmosphere, and he could make out small swirling storms as he approached. A pit formed in his stomach. He’d rather be on the frigid steeps of Arocse freezing his ass off. He had left for a reason.
A sigh escaped his lips as his pod entered the atmosphere. A feeling of discontentment rose in his chest, and a weak part of him screamed to reverse course. He quashed that feeling, that weakness. He was a saiyan, running away from his problem was not how he dealt with them.
A poisonous thought crept into his mind, “Like you did before?”.
The sudden impact of his pod slamming into the earth tore him from his thoughts. Momentarily dazed, it took the saiyan a moment to come back to his senses. The saiyan felt around for the button to open the pod, cursing himself under his breath for his carelessness. It took him a moment, but he found it. He pressed the button, and gingerly stepped out after the top opened.
He surveyed his surroundings, noting that the terrain seemed to fit the description of the Saibamen Wastes. Neutral territory then. Even in the five years Mayze had been gone, neither side in the planetary conflict had tried to tame the wastes.
The warrior noted that his mercenary compatriot, Harupien, had not landed near him. The konatsian couldn’t be too far off if Mayze had to guess. He quickly searched for his friend’s ki. It took him merely a moment, but he found it, along with another, unfamiliar energy not too far away.
A blue aura flared into existence around him as he took off, and soared through the sky, leaving behind his pod. He was not worried about anyone taking it.
It took the saiyan only a minute or two to arrive at Harupien’s location. He gave Harupien a quick nod and wave as he descended next to him, “Yo.”
He turned his attention to the unknown, quickly noting the tail. A fellow saiyan, then and young too. That simplified things. The boy was outfitted with military equipment, -although it had seen some wear and tear- but that didn’t mean he was military.
The saiyan ran a hand through his hair, unsure on how to proceed. He had never been good with people, especially strangers. He gave a small sigh before speaking, “Name’s Mayze,” he pointed a thumb back at himself, “Sorry if you have to introduce yourself again, but it would be easier if I knew your name, ya know?”
Thread Power Level: 10,000 | Items: Scouter, H. Bean, B. Water
Patrol again. Dull as it was, sometimes the idle work helped one think. He'd split away from the squadron he'd been assigned to, investigating a crash picked up on their Scouters when he came across an interesting sight indeed. Not only had their indeed been a crash, but it seemed the site of impact was quite a popular place. A foreign warrior seemed to be in the crater, while a pair of Saiyans chatted just outside.
He recognized one of them. How annoying.
Sliding down the hillside he'd been watching from, Vocado came to a stop at the furthest edge of the crater, behind the trio of strangers. With a sigh, he clicked his scouter. Average Battle Points across the board, it seemed.
"Onnio," Vocado shouted from across the way, irritation audible in his tone. "Trying to mug someone again, or are you in a good mood today?"
Crossing the distance of the crater in a single bound, he landed between Onnio and the others, putting a gap between them just in case this street rat tried anything funny. In a way, Vocado and Onnio were kin. Fellow vagrants. Only difference was Vocado had risen above that, while the shrimp-like Saiyan had seemed to succumb to the nature of low-class stereotyping.
"You two are just arriving, I presume? Wouldn't have hurt to land at one of the spaceports, you know. Just because its a wasteland doesn't mean it's free real estate."
Unsurprisingly, a Saiyan arrived at the landing site shortly after. He nodded at the introduction, offering his own.
"Haupien, pleasure." Introductions out of the way, the Konatsian thought of bringing up potential employment, but asking random soldiers in the Saiyan army sounded like a good way to get a tiny paycheck. Maybe he could ask where their surperior officer was instead. Making things a bit simpler for Haupien, he spotted Mayze flying over.
"About time," he teased, looking back at Onnion to await his second introduction. He looked up, spotting yet another Saiyan. He supposed he must have landed near a Saiyan patrol with this much of a welcoming party, but the new Saiyan's words had no kind words for Onnion. Nevermind then.
"I suppose another round of introductions are due. I'm Haupien," he told the unknown Saiyan. He again considered bringing up his purpose on the planet, but considering the first Saiyan he had just met, maybe it was better to make sure there wasn't some fourth Saiyan ready to appear and acuse the third of some crime. Either way, he glanced at Mayze, trusting him to navigate their situation. Being from the planet, Mayze would know more than him about the best way to secure a job from the Saiyans.
Onnio decided he liked Haupien, this white-haired alien newly arrived on the pink-skied planet. He was polite, and had a cool sword, too. Onnio covetously wondered what kind of damage he could do with that sword. Probably, a lot.
When Captain Vocado descended from the sky, Onnio cringed in anticipation. Here we go! But there wasn't any punch this time, just some light-hearted banter. Onnio smiled and gave a light chuckle. He wished he could come up with witty banter, but his mind just wasn't fast enough half the time.
He puffed up some when Vocado took a protective stance near Onnio. Not that he needed it, Onnio could take care of himself. But maybe it meant that Vocado thought Onnio someone worthy of his protection! Maybe, I'm now worth in-vest-ment. He'd heard the phrase before from his boss Colcot, in the opposite context -- even though it was after a winning fight! -- that Onnio still wasn't worth much investment. But now, perhaps he'd found someone who rightly recognized his mettle.
Time to be a professional about this. No screw-ups or Buster Corps bluster. Pure polish only, like the surface of my new-ish space pod.
"I'm Onnio," Onnio said back to Haupien, forgetting due to bubbling nervousness that he has said this three times now. He'd never really been one for diplomacy, or knew the ins-and-outs of politics. Was it like making friends? He guessed so. It had to be kind of like that. There were dinners, parties, etcetera. That's what friends did. And that's what diplomacy was all about too, or at least, what he imagined.
Mayze shrugged his shoulders at Haupien’s teasing remark, “Must’ve been blown off course,” he simply replied.
A hint of recognition slipped onto Mayze’s face when Onnio mentioned the Buster Corps. He had heard of the group before. He had never met anyone from the corps personally, but his father had worked with them from time to time in military operations. The group had a reputation for effectiveness and combat prowess. Onnio must be an effective warrior to be recruited at his age.
“The Co-,” before he could really start speaking he clammed up, sensing an approaching power level, and a strong one at that. A Saiyan Elite? He frowned. It seemed their arrival had alerted more people than he expected. Mayze thought his landing spot would go unnoticed as it was plenty far from civilization last he checked, but it had been five years. It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if either side of the planetary conflict had started to encroach on and tame the wastes. He hoped no one else would show.
The newcomer yelled at Onnio, so it seemed the two were familiar with one another, although he seemed annoyed with the teen. Mayze almost laughed when Vocado placed himself between the duo and Onnio. Protective, much? It occurred to him that the two may be brothers, but he quickly threw that thought away. The two didn’t resemble each other much.
Vocado addressed the duo, and Mayze waited a second for Harupien to respond in greater detail. However, the konatsian only introduced himself, and Mayze wagered that his friend wanted him to steer the conversation. It made sense, he had grown up here after all.
Mayze sighed, he hated talking, “Well, spaceports sound like bureaucracy, and I could do without that. Seems like a gigantic waste of time to me, and last I checked the wastes were unsettled,” he mockingly scanned the horizon, “Yup, still looks that way. Don’t think we disturbed anyone.”
He was about to continue, but was interrupted as Onnio, for whatever reason, introduced himself again. Mayze chuckled for a moment, however, he stopped cold when Onnio mentioned throwing an arrival party. He was dumbfounded by the out of the blue comment.
After a moment, Mayze finally spoke, “Uhhhhh…. wait what?”
So Onnio wasn't mugging them, he was just stupid. Was this some attempt at poaching new members for whatever defunct squadron he worked for? Perhaps. If they were at all interested in joining this so-called Buster Corp, then they were of no use to Vocado. Even so, he did feel a slight twinge of jealousy. Maybe he'd need to show off a little today to make sure they knew which group was the strongest among the riff-raff.
"Very funny. You're lucky you ran into just us out here." There were a million things he could've said to chastise the two, but he imagined they'd find some clever quip or another to retort with.
Moving a way just a tad, he gave Onnio a curious glare. Arrival party? Some old tradition from the Buster Corps glory days, no doubt. Self-aggrandizing praise for not dying on impact with the planet. He'd have found it funny if it weren't so sad. Whatever the case, he needed to keep the conversation on track. These two weren't on Plant for the fun of it.
"So then, you two must be mercenaries, am I right? Looking for work, or just on vacation?"
He didn't have many expectations for what would happen when they first landed, but this certainly wasn't it. Onnio identified himself for what was the third time now, and then offered... an arrival party? He frowned, not sure what to make of this, and glanced at Mayze in case this was some odd Saiyan tradition he had never heard of. Mayze seemed just as confused as he was, if not more, and with all this in mind Haupien came to a conclusion- Onnio is weird.
He shifted his attention to the more serious of the two foreign Saiyans, who had seemingly been involved with a little bit of- he decided to think of it as Mayze's 'diplomacy.' Then the Saiyan finally brought up their purpose here- mercenary work. He wasn't entirely sure that in the middle of the wastelands was the best place to deal with business with this weird group, but he would never find a job if he walked around acting like it was some kind of secret.
"Yea, you've guessed correctly, we're mercenaries. We've come to your lovely planet for work, from whoever is the highest bidder." He wasn't actually entirely sure about that last part- while they were both mercenaries, he wasn't sure if Mayze was willing to work against his own people. They could talk about it later if they receieved such an offer, but for now it worked as a bargaining tool.
Onnio zipped to Vocado's side after it was made clear, after some internal confusion on Onnio's part, the Mayze -- a Saiyan -- was also a mercenary, and in cahoots with this alien.
Were there lots of Saiyan mercenaries at the Mercenary Outpost? You bet, that's why it was named so. But they were usually folded into the Saiyan Army in some fashion. These two seemed like independent contractors. And straight from the alien's mouth, they were looking for the highest bidder.
Onnio didn't have a whole lot of money. In fact, lately, he was starting to owe people money. He'd borrowed some of Dolando's victory credits for food. And then his boss had loaned him an advance for space pod repairs after his crash into the ruins. And then there was his monthly shower rental costs, that was coming up soon, and he made it a policy to bathe once a month, whether he needed it or not. You didn't want to show up on a job reeking. Teammates didn't like that.
Onnio inspected the arrivals carefully, in case this didn't turn out well. They might think he was a fool, a doofus, and he kind of was. But he also had a keen battle intellect, from his years on the burgeoning Saiyan warfront.
The newly arrived Saiyan, Mayze, was a good foot taller than Vocado. In fact, he was one of the larger Saiyans that Onnio had met. He had a battlepoint similar to Onnio's own. So did the new arrival. That meant that Vocado could probably comfortably defeat them both, if he had to. But strength wasn't everything. If one of them got in a cheap shot, or a surprise attack, the tables might turn.
Onnio smiled. He was getting ahead of himself again. They were still in the diplomacy stage of things, which sounded a lot like the street haggling of the Outpost, which he was intimately familiar.
"If it's money your after, the Tuffles have a lot of it," Onnio said. "But if it's spoils of war you're after, you're looking at the winning side right here. We're gonna mop them up. We Saiyans have got the power, the talent! All the Tuffles got is a bunch of trickery that can only last so long."
Onnio pointed at Mayze. "You know what I'm talking about. You've the pride and strength of a Saiyan warrior."
Vocado’s words shook Mayze from his confusion. The saiyan was about to respond, but Haupien beat him to the punch. He somewhat cringed at the ‘highest bidder’ comment. It wasn’t exactly hidden knowledge that the Tuffles possessed more wealth than the saiyans. It could be implied that the duo would sign with the Tuffles, considering the wealth advantage. If Vocado came to that conclusion, well, there wasn’t anything stopping him from killing the two now.
Besides that, Mayze hadn’t said anything to Haupien yet, but the saiyan was hesitant about signing with the Tuffles. First of all, he is a Saiyan, and he wagered that the Tuffles wouldn’t exactly be comfortable with employing him in the first place. Second of all, he wasn’t really sure if he wanted to sign with the Tuffles. That would be a betrayal to his race, his family, and his very name. He wasn’t sure he could make peace with that.
Fortunately, Onnio offered an out, and Mayze quickly seized on it, “You’re right. Strength and pride is the essence of a Saiyan warrior’s spirit. I’m not a stranger to that,” he paused for but a moment, choosing his words carefully, “I also know the wealth the Tuffles possess, and,” he glanced at Haupien, “that the shared spoils from their defeat would be more than any contract they’d offer us,” Of course, Mayze didn’t really care about the money at all. Mercenary work was just something to do, to fill the time. He needed the money to survive, of course, and extra cash was nice, sure, but his motivation? No, he just went with the flow.
He did take an opportunity to crack a joke, to quell any potential tension, “Of course, if that doesn’t work out… well,” he anxiously ran a hand through his hair and smiled, “I’m sure we could get some great deals on real estate out here. Make it a tourist destination, start a saibamen zoo,” he gave Vocado a small wink, “It’d be a vacation and party hotspot.”
That solved it, then. Rough and tumble, the mercenaries that visited Plant were no stranger to either side of the war. Usually the greedy stuck to Tuffle, but the stronger ones often sided with the Saiyans. Didn't matter much in the long run, though, as most either wound up dead. Killed in some drunken brawl at the outpost, or pierced by a stray blast on the frontlines. It all blended together in the funeral pyres.
"For once, I agree with the rat here." He clapped Onnio on the back. Perhaps too harshly for a supposed friend. "In all honesty, though, I don't really care which you pick. Tuffle or Saiyan won't matter much for a while longer. War's on pause, I'm afraid. Both sides came down with a case of fractured hierarchy."
Subtly, he hoped the two of them would pick his side. He'd hate to kill a fellow Saiyan in battle, even if this one was getting on his nerves just a tad. Snark was never his favorite, much less from what could be a deserter. Mayze's sudden arrival could be a way to repay diching some years ago. Not that Vocado would pry into his past, though.
"Suffice it to say, I won't be trying to butter the two of you up. Either you join the right side or you dig yourselves some graves. The choice is yours." He smiled, winking back at Mayze. "Might do you good to check in at the Mercenary Outpost before you sign up, though. Its a sort-of neutral ground. Everyone hates everyone equally inside the walls of that cesspit."
Haupien made a mental note to thank Mayze, who had acted quickly to save the two from his faux pas with a glance at Haupien that he speculated to be a warning. He wasn't very familiar with the Saiyan culture, and he typically didn't do the negotiating himself. He quited up, allowing the others a moment to continue the conversation without him in fear of another social misstep. While they talked, he thought on Onnio's argument. He wasn't very convinced by it- while it was true that a shared loot may prove more profitable, the benefit decreased the longer the war raged, and there was no gurantee that the war would end in their favor. From what he know both of their reputation and from Mayze, the Saiyans were powerful, but technology and wealth could certainly make up for that. A higher contractual pay was a safer path, but one obvious thing stood in the path of that route. He looked again at Mayze, wishing he could read his mind. If it came down to it, he doubted he would stand on the opposite of his ally even with a substantially higher paycheck.
He focused his mind back on the conversation. He'd have time for contemplation later. The unknown Saiyan's words didn't intimidate him- if he heared such a fate, he wouldn't be finding work as a mercenary. It was unfortunate that the war had come to a standstill however- he had still heard tales of conflict, so perhaps there were some off the books fighting still happening. Either way, he doubted the peace would last.
He couldn't stop himself from letting out a chuckle at Mayze's remark, before responding to the unknown Saiyan. "Thanks for the advice. The name's Haupien." He doubted this would cause anymore trouble, although considering his previous remark he wasn't so sure. If this proved not to be another diplomatic blunder, he'd hoped to finnd out the Saiyans name. Whether the man was a future ally, or an enemy, knowing who he was could prove useful.
Onnio beamed proudly as Vocado complimented and clapped him on the back. Even the way he said, rat it was almost affectionate. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship!
Buoyed by this, Onnio decided he liked this new alien named Haupien. But there was just one problem. He didn't know what they were! "So... what kind of alien are you?" He blurted. "I mean," He added, "I've never seen your kind before. And your sword! It looks so great. Do you have any more of them to spare?" Onnio hoped that he did, that he was some kind of sword-seller from the faraway stars.
He liked Mayze, too, and belly-laughed at the Saiyan Warrior's joke. "Saibaman zoo!" He chortled, throwing his head back in laughter. Lifting his visor to wipe his eyes and beaming, he looked around at everyone arrived. "Well, what's next? Should we show them to the Outpost? You both can be registered as mercenaries, like me!" He thumbed his breastplate. "Though technically, I'm on retainer with the Buster Corps," He flushed. "...But I already said that."
Flying up into the air and making excited circles, Onnio waited for their decision. He decided he liked diplomacy! It wasn't as much fun as fighting, sure. But it was full of its own victories, all the same.
On pause? Mayze’s eyes widened at the news. The saiyan hadn’t really kept up with happenings in the war, instead preferring to ignore any shred of news, information, or battle reports on the conflict. He hated being reminded of this place.
A fractured hierarchy could mean many different things, but Mayze knew the previous saiyan ruler was a strong man, and held the loyalty of most troops. If there was a succession crisis it would be reasonable to assume that the saiyan leader had perished. As for the Tuffles, he hadn’t a clue.
He was pleased to see his joke go over well with the kid at least. Vocado… well, he seemed a little rough around the edges. Most saiyans were. Hell, Mayze was too if he was being honest with himself. Still, he found himself liking the saiyan.
“Thanks for the advice, we’ll keep that in mind,” he nodded towards Vocado. He wanted to ask the saiyan more about recent events, but he was interrupted by Onnio’s excitement. Mayze was annoyed for a moment, but it gave way to a small smile. “Well, I have no idea where it is. If you want to lead us there, I’m not opposed,” he replied to Onnio. The saiyan began to ascend, and looked towards Vocado, “Maybe you could fill us in on recent events while we fl-” a realization suddenly hit him. He almost wanted to slap himself for forgetting. He was such a moron, how could he forget that Haupien couldn’t fly.
He descended back to the ground, giving a small sigh whilst shaking his head, “Well, there is one problem with flying there…” he glanced over at Haupien.
Figured I should try to get something out tonight. Sorry for delay.
Apr 6, 2024 1:21:15 GMT -5
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