The two ships launched as they went their separate ways. Adam and the twins went to the east. The cartel was everywhere but that wouldn't be the issue for them. They had one goal as they set out. Defeat those who enslave others.
Astral on the other hand with his fleet was far more aggressive, this drug, crippled his mind and reactions to near disability. Knowing others are suffering from this drug he needs to save them. Anders stayed on board making a cleansing drug for chronic users to take and clean their minds.
Astral was the poster boy and test subject for the drug. Being able to guide the research as his body made the cure for it in his blood. As they made their way to the spice capital Jaimie took the lead as they all couldn't trust Astral near amo. During the cleansing he got even more addicted and his antibodies couldn't overpower the drug.
"Achilles, are you and Airsoft ready for insertion? You need to clear out the hostile spots, I will be on the ground helping with evacuation of the slave miners. Then we can burn this planet into molten mush." Jaimie smiled.
"I will try to deploy my magic circle from here to you, I hold no promises." Astral talked from a radio as he was locked in his armor.
"I would be fine without it." Jaimie looked out the hangar as the cartel started to launch fighter ships to counter the Everlast and her mighty armor.
"Viper Leader, this is Viper two, permission to be headhunting?"
"Permission granted, All viper wings, launch and clear a way for our boys on the ground." Viper Leader pressed the launch button as they dropped and started engaging. "Viper Seventeen, this is your first taste of action, stay close!" Viper Leader broke off and started picking one on two dogfights as viper seventeen showed off and helped.
Airsoft, Achilles and Jaimie all took separate shuttles down to the planet. Jaimie's was hit early as she went on the outside hull and guided it to the ground with her wings as the viper squad escorted her and the others safely down as the cartel readied their ground troops.
Jaimie jumped up realizing one spark from her spear would be all it needed to light this planet like a gas bomb. Seeing the tethers and robotic suits on the slaves made her panic. "Make sure your helmets have the gas filter enabled." She pulled out a custom short bullpup submachine gun decaled with green and gold as she charged at the cartel with their gas masks.
Jaimie was shooting holes in their masks, making them inhale the very toxin they created. "Murphy, do a bioscan of this one and see if his brains are intact." Jaimie walked up to one of the slaves as the light turned red. It swung its pickaxe at her as she swatted it away.
"Nothing, no electrons are moving in his brain." Murphy called out to her as Airsoft and Achilles landed and started to engage the cartel with Jaimie's squad.
"New plan. Airsoft, Achilles. Charge their central tower and download the list of slaves here!" Jaimie sprinted around and snapped the necks of the cartel all around them as the two listened to her request. Taking the control tower. And working on the list of slaves as Jaimie gunned down the masses.
"Jaimie, we have the list, should we free all the slaves?" Airsoft hovered his hand over the button as the slaves started to claw into the door that Achilles held shut.
"NO! GET BACK TO THE SHUTTLES AND GET OFF THE PLANET!" Jaimie pulled out her spear as the cartel and slaves all backed up. "One move and we all die." Jaimie laughed as Achilles and Airsoft got their squads out of the area.
The cartel opened fire on her armor as the suit jiggled from the bullets. Jaimie saw everyone become clear as she jumped up onto a platform of light. She grasped her spear with both hands as an overwhelming feeling of guilt filled her body. Hesitation taking over.
"Listen up galaxy. There is no prompt, or no message to send. Look at what this drug has done to you all." Jaimie pointed her spear down at the masses, the lifeless slaves with aggressive movement at her.
"Their brains are completely gone from this drug, it has melted their minds." Jaimie looked up as the platform filtered the smokey drug away from her as her helmet faded away. "I'm just glad to still have my husband. As for the rest of you, be restful and ease your minds, we have created a counter chemical to cleanse your brain of all of it."
Jaimie twisted her spear into a circle as she thrusted it forward, sending a rod of fire through the planet and lighting it up like a matchbox. "Everyone who is on this planet will be listed as well, we offer our condolences and well wishes." Jaimie's helmet flicked back on as the platform lifted her away.
The planet burned into ash within hours, Astral was happy it could no longer be made, knowing that it would soon become scarce. Jaimie was hit by a depressive wave as she felt bad for all of those souls not able to live a proper life.
Astral and her sat together on a couch in the observation deck. The two did not get disturbed as they had the information to track down the last member of the cartel. This nightmare for the two of them was almost over. A soft knock was heard on the door. "Astral, you asked to see the two of us?" Airsoft spoke as Achilles waited, breath held for their response.
"Yes, we need to let you know the plan. We aren't going onto the ground." Astral opened the door as the other two sat down in time. Shocked, they looked at him in disbelief.
"Why wouldn't you lead us on the ground?" Airsoft asked softly, keeping that caring tone.
"Jaimie and I have to see what went wrong with one of my spells, in this case. Its the same one that you two fall under." Airsoft and Achilles became more in awe of what was happening.
"Wait, what's the issue?" Achilles became worried for himself and those under the spell.
"People keep coming back from the dead." Jaimie threw down a picture. "His name is Diddler, he was apart of the battle tournament and holds a special power from playing cards. Both of you can take him if you two work together or are at peak strength. The twins will be informed of him and sent to head hunt him instead."
"We need to head to the Red Merle and see what the issue is, it's not with any of you. Your lives should be fine." Astral stated as Airsoft didn't like the word 'should' being used.
"And if there aren't any issues with us. How does it affect us?" Airsoft was scared to ask as Astral pulled out the tome and flipped to the page the spell was on.
"It states here that the user must pull from a source in order to make one's self ageless. I chose me cause, duh." Jaimie smacked Astral's head at the comment. "The time will be accrued on the victim. If the victim dies, the age gets bounced back to the user."
"So if you die, we all die?" Achilles was ready to shit himself.
"No, I was able to tweak the spell. But it may have had a lot of unseen drawbacks." Astral and Jaimie stood up as they were leaving. "Don't tell Adam and tell the twins about Diddler and Nightmare, work together and take them down." Astral and Jaimie hopped out of the Everlast and went back to the Red Merle.