Now Hadorix found himself at a loss for what to do. The situation in Anvilmar would be resolved, far faster than he would have been able to do so on his own. The quests he had left, were a matter of waiting. There was nothing he could currently do. He could not yet join the Galactic Society. In part because he did not have a spaceship that he could be seen in, in part because all his forces were otherwise occupied.
While considering the state of things, Hadorix had an epiphany. Pax was currently under control. Alice, The Shadow Armory, and Anubis would be exploring the Galaxy soon. Hadorix decided he would join in. Alexus could manage things in his absence and if he were truly needed, he could teleport back at any time, after all Deviant Home resided in his Land Grant. If he took a ship from the first batch of criminals they came across, nothing could be simpler right?
Now he only had to consider which group to leave with. While he pondered this, Alice interjected, "If you're going to leave, go with the Shadow Armory. Their ship will draw the least attention and they are more likely to hide than Anubis or me. There are coordinates in the ship for many areas of known pirate activity. Shadow 1 will likely head to one of those areas first. Separate as quickly as you can. It might be best if you can be taken as a slave. A slave getting free and claiming the slave ship he was captured on would make a rather compelling story. If you manage to be taken captive, let me know and I will take over whatever ship you end up on. If the AI isn't higher than Grade S it will be easy to claim. If you prefer, I can try to recruit the AI of the ships we take. While they make be weak, if bound to Deviant Home they will still be impenetrable. Do not mention the Deviant faction. Until you have gained some fame in the universe, that name will get you killed." Alice had taken to calling those of the Shadow Armory by Shadow and then their number. She thought just calling someone a number seemed rude.
Alice knew far more about the galaxy than Hadorix did. In this case he felt it wise to heed her advice. While the others were freeing slaves on Pax, Hadorix would ride out into the universe with Shadow 1. Now that it was decided, Hadorix went straight to the ship. It was much smaller than Hadorix had expected it to be. It looked like a living thing. The hull was made from a wood like that of the World Tree with vines all over. As Hadorix approached the vines in one area began to separate, revealing an opening. Hadorix climbed in and admired his surroundings. At most the ship would only fit 3 people. "Since you are so insistent on leaving, Shadow 1 will be joining you in a moment. I suggest you abandon the ship as soon as you can. It is after all still tied to the Galactic Tree." Exclaimed Alice.
Hadorix had not considered this possibility. If the Galactic Tree could track the ships movements, this meant he would have to either abandon it, or send it directly back to the Land Grant as soon as they landed. While this complicated things, it also excited Hadorix quite a bit. Within minutes, Shadow 1 arrived and climbed into the spaceship. It did not take him long to get the ship in the air. He had been trained by the Spider to fly all sorts of spaceships.
Shadow 1 began heading towards one of the small pirate settlements Alice had notified him of. She said they would recognize the pirate ships by the emblem of red pigeon on the sides. The small ship moved incredibly quickly. The location Shadow 1 had in mind was several galaxies away, and yet the trip took a mere 3 days. During that three days, Shadow 1 taught Hadorix quite a bit about the ship they were flying in.
When they arrived at their destination, Hadorix and Shadow 1 were rather confused. They expected to see a small group of pirates. Instead, they arrived at a bustling planet. There were even massive spaceships sitting in space. The largest had multiple docking bays and appeared as though it could easily fit 1,000 of the small craft that Hadorix and Shadow 1 flew in. All the ships they could see clearly had red pigeon emblazoned on the side. Shadow 1 moved toward the largest ship. Fortunately, their ships size worked in their favor. They had yet to be detected.
Hadorix considered what could have gone wrong, then he recalled, Alice had not been in the galaxy for centuries. With that realization, Hadorix was surprised the pirates still existed. He found himself wondering if that is truly what the owners of these ships were. After all, if they were not committing illegal activities, if Hadorix took the spaceships, they would become the pirates. Hadorix found himself in a bit of a pickle due to a vast lack of information.
While Hadorix considered the situation they now found themselves in, Shadow 1 landed the ship in the hangar. When they landed, Hadorix transferred the spaceship back to his Land Grant and summoned the rest of the Shadow Armory. The 250 members looked around the hangar in which they had landed. There were a great many ships of all shapes and sizes. None of them knew anything about the varieties of ships they could see in the hangar. As such they each approached a ship and entered. When they first touched the doors to the ships, alarms began to sound. Alice extended her presence into each of the ships and began to take control of the AI's present. As soon as she started each of the engines, a Grade S AI locked down the bays and began fighting Alice for control. This was far beyond Alice's expectations. With the engines running and the Shadow Armory in the drivers' seats, Alice teleported each of them back to planet Nebula. This would allow her more time to attempt to fight the other AI.
Unfortunately, this left Hadorix in the hanger of the ship alone. While he could have easily teleported back, he was far to curious. Instead, he activated his hide in shadows skill and moved to a dark corner. As soon as Hadorix got in his hiding space hundreds of guards flooded the hangar from every conceivable entrance. They quickly spread out to look for the intruders. Hadorix could see all manner of beings among them. There were animals of all kinds, each walking on two legs, there were elves and cyborgs, he even saw creatures that looked like bugs. This further peaked Hadorix curiosity. He felt if he were able to sneak in among them he may be able to gather some valuable information on who they were and what kind of organization they represented.
It was at this time one of the tigers like creatures yelled across the hangar, "You can stop hiding now idiot. Yaa I am talking to you crouching in the corner. Did you really think we wouldn't see a Grade D super? Your buddies have cost us a ton of credits. Looks like you get to find a way to pay us back for the mess y'all caused. 240 lightly armored ships and 10 stealth's are missing. Lucky for you Dmitri got to them before your buddies escaped. I expect they will be showing back up any minute. There is no way you crew could withstand the infiltration of a Grade S AI. Otherwise, you would have to pay for more than our inconvenience. We can chat while we wait. Who are you and how did they escape?"
Hadorix embarrassedly stood up and began walking towards the speaker. He spoke while he walked. "Your wrong. They won't be back. A Grade S AI is an amazing thing, but if they managed to teleport out, he is already disconnected. I'm just a Grade D super like you said. Losing me is no skin off their back. What do you intend to do with me now?"
The tiger laughed until Dmitri verified the information that Hadorix supplied. As soon as the ships disappeared from the hangar, he lost all contact with them and the AI's that ran them. He did manage to lock down the engines, but if they were able to break his connection, he was sure they would be able to get the ships back in running order. Hearing this the tiger began to curse and walk toward Hadorix with an evil glare in his eyes. The power he exerted was far beyond Hadorix capabilities. From the analysis of Hadorix system, he was a high-powered Grade A. One punch would break Hadorix into dust. He picked Hadorix up with a single hand and threw him like a ragdoll. Once Hadorix left his hand he angrily growled, "What pirate group do you belong to and where did you get the technology to teleport? Don't get this wrong, the ships you stole were a mere pittance to us. But no one steals from the Pigeons."
Hadorix laughed as he smashed into the wall. "Your group is called the Pigeons? What do you guys do, deliver letters?"
This response enraged the tiger. "Bill, get over here, teach this guy a lesson one Grade D to another."
A massive Gorilla stepped out from the troops by the spaceships. He weighed at least 1,100 kg. He began to charge at Hadorix. He moved incredibly fast.
Hadorix stood up and called his daggers to his hands. He began throwing them at Bill one after another. His hands moved so fast they were a blur to most of the people present. The daggers hit Bill one after another. They hit with such a tremendous amount of force that they knocked him backwards. No one expected that outcome. Bill didn't even make it to Hadorix. He died before he even hit the ground. The daggers had formed a smiley face. One in each eye, one in his nose, and several pinned his mouth in a permanent grin.
The room was silent enough that you could hear a pin drop. A bright light left the body of Bill and began to move toward Hadorix. He now had enough control over his ability that it no longer made him convulse. He stood still and enjoyed the feeling of gaining so much power at a rapid pace.
· Strength +100
· Intellect + 20
· Wisdom + 20
· Dexterity + 50
· Constitution + 100
· Charisma + 20
· Luck + 25
· Energy +500
· Gained ability Gorilla body. Strength and Constitution +100.
· Earth Affinity +25
· Gained Soul of Bill
Hadorix recalled his daggers back to their sheathes and walked over to where Bill had been. He began to look through his gear. In Hadorix's mind, you keep what you kill. He earned those weapons, and no one would stop him from keeping them. To his surprise, Bill had an extremely large gatling gun. Hadorix could see no ammo belt, nor could he figure out how he could easily carry it out. But he didn't really need to, he figured he would give the Pigeons another reason to fear him. He touched Bill's gear and Had Alice move it into the armory of Deviant House. He also gave her Bill's soul and asked her to create a body to house it the same way she did for Cato. If Bill had any skills at all with that gatling gun, he could be a real asset to Deviant House.
The tiger was the first to speak. "What happened to Bill's body and gear?"
Hadorix laughed again and exclaimed, "Bill's dead and I absorbed his body and soul. You asked who I am? You can call me Senani. I don't belong to a pirate group. In fact, we thought you guys were pirates. The emblem on your ship fit the information we were given. My people would never steal from law abiding citizens. I do apologize for that, and I will be glad to work to pay you back for your loss." Hadorix decided to call himself Senani as he did not want his real name to be attached to the thievery of 250 spaceships. He felt having an alter ego may come in rather handy.
The tiger was more confused after hearing Hadorix explanation. Absorbed his body? What kind of ability was that? He carefully replied, "Few know the origins of our symbol. Some opportunistic adventurers destroyed the pirates that ran those original fleets long ago. As they could not afford to repaint the fleet, they gained from eliminating the pirates, the symbol of the red pigeon began to herald the arrival of their newly formed mercenary group. Eventually it became easier to just adopt the symbol and make it their own than to debate. Now the Pigeons are one of the largest mercenary groups in this sector. Most of our missions involve keeping the peace for one area or another. There are few pirates that exist these days. Those that do are generally found in the outskirts of space. Far away from the inhabited planets. Clearly you have your own secrets. The ability you have displayed is something that I have never heard of and I have never seen or heard of the technology your group possesses that enabled your allies to teleport away with my ships. Do you have any suggestions on how you will pay us back?"