Flames raging all around, screeching metal and the terrible screams of those around echoing throughout the empty space. Those are the first sensations felt upon waking up, the next is the dull ache of muscles in an attempt to stand then stumbling in the direction to the bridge. Slowly hobbling towards the goal, collapsing into unconsciousness dreams begin again with a simple one-word question.
RESTORE?
"Hey Lilith, has anyone ever encountered the console core asking them if they would like to restore it before?" Nial's curious question seemed to echo around the bridge.
"This is the first I've ever heard of it. Derelicts are only supposed to look like wrecks, not be actual ones. Definitely something you should be cautious of though." Lilith calmly advised him. However, her burning curiosity couldn't be hidden as her eyes eagerly glittered awaiting his choice.
Looking down at the screen that was displaying a simple query and requirement.
Action: Input Magic energy (375 Units) Restore?
Nial slowly begins to inject his magic into the machine. As his magic energy fills the machine the display begins to change and show new information.
Action: Magic input 100/375 Units injected compiling Restoration Map
Action: Magic input 200/375 Units injected allocating materials for Restoration
Action: Magic input 300/375 Units injected preparing containment for large scale shift
Action: Magic input 375/375 Units injected launching Restoration Ritual program
As the console showed this final display it released a largescale magic made of repair magic that was synchronized with the consoles plan and then amplified to extreme lengths. As the energy enveloped the ship the scorch marks on the hull seemed to melt away, the missing section of the Derelict was filled in with massive engines of liquid that seemed to grow from out of nowhere. Knitting itself back together as if it was alive the Derelict slowly repaired and restored itself to an operational Destroyer.
As the ship finished pulling itself together new messages displayed on the command console.
Incident Log: 200 Hours before ship deactivation encountered sub-zero shadow anomaly during transport of prisoners. Crew members were sent to investigate anomaly for any potential threats. Approximately 22 hours after encounter with anomaly systems begin shutting down. Sensors detected lowering concentrations of magic conducive particles in the power system. Engine failure occurred 48 hours before complete deactivation of ship systems. Crewmember bio-signs disappeared without a trace during 36-hour period after engine failure leaving only two weak bio-signs in the cellblock. 12 hours and 8 hours before shutdown bio-signs leave cells head towards engine room. System failure occurs reboot fails; unknown time passes before reactivation.
"Holy hell, a pre-derelict record made its way onto the main console that should not have existed when it was made. How the hell did that happen?" Lilith eyes sparkled with a combination of curiosity and greed at the information that was shown.
"Wait there are traces of an attempt to add more records onto the console. It looks like a non-crewmember was giving a description of what happened, but they were only able to introduce themselves a little. Their name is corrupted, but it says that they were one of the two prisoners onboard that the ship was transporting. After the anomaly started the other prisoner escaped and the record maker passed out for unknown reasons, the record cuts off there." Came Nial's quick concise recounting of the partial record that was available as he scanned the information on the console. "I've finished recording and transferring the data that was on the console." Blushing slightly at the feeling on his shoulders as Lilith looked over his head at the screen, he quickly informed her.
"Let's get back to the ship we'll review what we know and our options with your partner then make a decision on what to do with this extremely strange former Derelict." she suggested while adding a questioning inflection on the former.
"Probably a good idea let's also search for any remaining kobolds on the ship as we make our way back." quickly brandishing his knives he takes the lead going down a set of corridors they hadn't come down on their way into the ship. Carefully navigating the corridors listening for the sounds of anything moving Nial makes his way towards the ship. Suddenly flying against the wall on the other side of the corridor having not even registered the boot and leg that now occupied the space his chest had previously.
"Pup!" Breaking out into a worried shout Lilith immediately takes a defensive stance between the figure and Nial. With a groaning laugh Nial picks himself up off the ground, after placing his hand on Lilith's shoulder to reassure her he was alive he glares at the being who had kicked him.
"I thought we got rid of you four years ago you deadbeat egocentric moneygrubber." Nial spitefully spits through his teeth.
"You should know better little bro. If I can make money off of something I never let it go, and that custom frigate your parents left you is worth at least eighty billion. No way in hell am I going to let that go, also looks like you just found me another source of income this Derelict is going to sell for at least 200 billion even if it sells for a tenth of its price." Laughing in joy a middle-aged man in a well-worn mercenary suit states as if it was an already done thing. Without even readying a weapon he approached Nial attempting to intimidate him into his way.
With a motion to fast to see Nial kicked the man directly in the face using the flat of his foot with a satisfying crunch. Barely waiting to regain his balance Nial applies a gravity anchor to the man's arms to restrain him.
"You always talk too much Eddie. We told you when my parents died you won't get a single cred from us even if you said they owed you money. There was no debt contract or record in any database you and they were a part of."
"Yeah, so what you were just a kid that should have been easy to extort some money out of." with gargantuan effort Eddie broke forth from the gravity restraints by channeling his own magic into the ground around him. "I've kept all my tricks to stay alive a secret from you two, didn't I? Guess I wasn't the best teacher to you and the pretty Samara. "
"Trial of Liberation magic, a somewhat rare but highly troublesome magic. Depending on the amount of magic the user has they can free themselves from any form of restraint." came the soft venom laced explanation from Lilith.
"Got it I'll take out this greedy worm so he can't move, then we can turn him so and cash in on his warrants for skipping out from a casino he was in massive debt to." Before even finishing his sentence, a gravity boosted fist made contact with Eddies face as Nial's patience ran out. Head flung back a metal boot launched a forceful kick towards Nial's chin. A swift step to the side into a sweeping kick took out Eddie's balance resulting in the older man staring at the ceiling flat on his back. Frothing from his mouth in fury at the young man Eddie jumped up from the floor while pulling a pistol from his waist and lining up a shot at Nial.
"Wrong move. Lethal force confirmed, authorization to kill in self-defense approved. Let's end this Pup." Wires sprouting from walls sliced the pistol into pieces faster than the eye could see. Lilith's predatory grin as she disarmed Eddie terrified him reminding him of a wolf tearing into a carcass. Following up immediately after her action Nial took his karambit knife and opened Eddies neck red spurting forth from the front of the former threat to Nial and Samara. With pure contempt Lilith watches as the color drains from the *thing* on the floor, carefully taking a record on her private personal computer she grabs Nial by the collar and drags him back to the ship and Samara. Nial barely registers that he was being dragged, shocked as he was at just how easily he had taken a life. The moment he was dragged onto the bridge he found Samara in front of him.
"It's okay Nial you did what you had to. He threatened your life as well as Lilith's nobody is going to blame you for defending yourself. Now what do you say to getting out of here and back to the station to figure out what to do with this Derelict, okay?" grasping his head between her hands Samara attempts to reassure him that what he did was the right thing. Then whispering under her breath in contempt. "As well as that scums personal fighter ship."
"Let's head back just give me some time I need to process what just happened." Nial agreed in a voice devoid of energy or emotion as he headed towards his bunk. Upon arriving in his quarters, he flopped onto his bed and fell asleep trying to forget what had happened while not being allowed too by his own body.
Several hours later the door opened and in strolled Lilith casually sitting down on the side of his bed waking Nial up, she began to talk seemingly about nothing, she started with days long past where she explored with her own friends. When one of those so-called friends betrayed her and her sister abandoning them in a system far away from home, her sister finding her own home and new family. Being alone when the person who betrayed her ended up at the other end of her gun barrel.
"Do you know what I did then while that traitorous scum sniveled and groveled at my feet so that I would spare his life? I did something I never thought I could let alone would, the trigger pressed in on itself so easily. The sight of scarlet running down his leg from the new hole opened in his leg sickened me, so I left him there on that planet of carnivorous beasts bleeding from his leg," a sorrowful expression crossed her face as she reminisced. A bittersweet frown followed as she continued. "I didn't kill him directly but as sure as hell I killed him. For years I agonized about whether he was truly dead or not, he had terrified my sister and I for a long time. At least you know you have closure. Do with it what you will but remember you didn't bring lethal force into it, he and I did, you just followed my orders off instinct." patting him on the shoulder and leaving the room she stops at the door and turns to say.
"Pull yourself together enough to let the little miss stop worrying about you, okay? We're about two hours away from the station."
With the door zipping shut Nial attempts to bring his leaden limbs into motion so that he can collect himself. Fifteen minutes pass until he is finally able to shed his blood-soaked gear and get into the shower, after cleaning himself and getting dressed he makes his way towards the bridge. As soon as the door opens, he finds himself wrapped in Samara's overly enthusiastic hug.
"Okay you two love birds break it up. We need to discuss our plans for the Derelict that we used to test you two. Also, good news you two both passed and are certified Reclaimers, I just have some formal deskwork left to make it nice and official. As for the Derelict we have a few options. Option one you keep it and use it as a mothership. Option two you leave it as is and abandon it for the next Reclaimer to come along. Option three sell it. Each option has its downside for example option one's downside is we don't have enough people to staff it yet. Can you guys tell the downsides of the other two options?"
"Hmm... well option two's downside is kind of obvious we get no rewards for just abandoning it."
"Yeah, but the benefit is that no responsibility will be force on us if we do. What is the downside and benefit of option three then?"
"Well, the main downside to trying to sell this massive ship is the buyers are rather limited if we want to get even a hundredth of its price. No individual will have 20 billion lying around to buy a massive ship. So that limits us a bit."
"If there are no individuals, we have to sell to an organization then. We are out a bit too far from the core systems of either empire to have a substantial government presence in this system. So, selling it to the military is out."
"Are there any mercenary companies out here with the capital and need to purchase a destroyer?"
"There are a couple of companies that meet those requirements. Once we make it back to my office, I'll put out some feelers to get meetings to sell the Derelict as a small fleet flagship. If we get any responses from companies that have a presence on the station, I'll set up a meeting as soon as possible so you can see if you want to sell to them." Lilith stated with a businesslike predatory smile dancing across her lips.
"Now I almost feel sorry for whichever poor company you get your hands on." Samara shivering in empathy with the for now unknown company.
"Let's sell the Derelict for as many credits as we can get. I refuse to put ourselves into any potential debt. We also need some crewmembers for our frigate, preferably a gunner, engineer, and some other Reclaimers to search Derelicts together." Nial put forth with little energy.
"Seems like the best option so that we can get the funds necessary to recruit some crewmates and register as a mobile Reclaimer company with active guild branch is to sell the Derelict and that scum's ship." Lilith agreed enthusiastically while planning future steps for the group.
"Wait for a while you've been saying we in relation to our future plans, meaning me and Nial's plans for the future weren't you just onboard as an examiner?" Samara seemingly bristled with agitation at the ease with Lilith had inserted herself into the pair's future. Greeted with a smile as wide as the sky Samara was astonished at the response that she got from the guild employee.
"Well... Didn't you say you needed a gunner for your ship? Also, wouldn't it be better to get information on new Derelicts directly to your ship instead of waiting for rumors to spread or always being near a guild branch. Not to mention I am an A-Class combat reclaimer that can help the direct exploration of the Derelict's and lowering the danger for Nial?" listing off all the benefits while grinning like a fool the woman kept battering at Samara's reasoning and selfish desires to say no. Hearing that the danger for her friend would be lowered the young pilot dropped her head in resignation.
"Those are all incredibly good points. So Nial what do you think? Do we let this lupine personality woman join us or do we send her packing?"
"She is the guild master for her branch, so she does have the authority to turn it into a mobile branch. Our ship is also big enough to store a substantial number of materials and resources to process for any delivery requests. Not to mention her powers fit well with mine on a strike team. For now, we'll say a probationary period until we sell the Derelict, Deal?" Nial offers with a bit more motivation than he had shown for the entire conversation. Suddenly the two younger members of the conversation find themselves wrapped tightly in a hug that only older sisters or mothers ever seem capable of.
"Don't worry pups I just love being on the big guns large ships have and fighting in the cramped halls of machinery that you can only find space side. It's why you found me way out in the sticks in this independent system running a tiny guild, all the planet side guild branches kicked me out for being too rowdy." Lilith's giant grin as she described her slightly worrisome past barely set the two at ease as she agreed readily to Nial's offer.
"Okay everyone we have reached docking range with the station so take your seats so we can land and start the procedures to finalize the test." Samara gently chided as she broke free from the hug and took her position in the pilot's seat. The other two quickly followed finding their seats on the bridge as she skillfully navigated between the vast and varied array of ships that were coming in and out of the multitudes of hangars on the station. Almost every small ship and frigate of a similar size to the Green Dawn bore one of two crests on their sides, the first crest on the largest portion of ships was a star breaking apart over a space station. The second crest was the head of an asp with its fangs dripping venom.
After reaching the hangar the trio left the ship and started walking through the crowds towards the public mercenary guild while continuing to converse.
"Looks like we have got two massive companies that just found a presence on this out of the way station. The Star Splitters must be in a middle of a supply relay to a distant high-class Derelict and may need another fleet ship. As for the Fangs of Asp we need to steer as clear of them, if possible, they are part of a few too many questionable businesses to be comfortable. Although worse case they do have the need for a small mothership for a patrol fleet." Lilith informatively continued in a somewhat hushed tone.
"Wouldn't either company become a perfect buyer for our destroyer class Derelict ship? They should both have the credits and manpower necessary to need and use it. Right?" Samara somewhat carelessly let slip in the crowded halls.
"We still need to conduct interview with any company who wants to buy it. If we don't, we won't know what kind of company we are taking our money from." Nial said in a somewhat quieter tone than the other two but still loud enough for an elegant elderly man wearing a suit to overhear, as well as another man that bore an uncanny resemblance to a pig stuffed into a tuxedo three sizes too small. On the cuffs of the pig were some gaudy emerald cufflinks shaped like a snake's fang. The elegant elder wore a simple badge of a broken star upon his collar. Both men cocked their heads in curiosity at the conversation of the passing trio, as he passed them the gentleman discretely slipped a business card into one of Nial's utility pockets. Twisting in unrestrained greed the pigs face formed something that could barely be called a smile, he quickly took a recording of the trio focusing on Samara and Lilith as he passed his tongue over his lips.
The trio arrived at the guild hall completely unaware of the two people who had set their eyes upon them and any plans that they had formed. Quickly registering the duo's examination results, entering her application to become a mobile branch, and sending out an add to sell the Derelict Lilith finished her guild duties and joined the two drinking at their table in celebration at the successful first Reclamation. Partying into the night the trio blissfully ignorant to the struggles of the future. Having all made their way back to their rooms they slipped into sleep so as to face the unexpected challenges and opportunities of a new day full of energy and motivation. Dreams of money filling the minds of more than just those three as night closed on this day.