The House of God

[KodiaX987]

"Guys, you lookin' at the screens? We're taking off!"

"I can't see a damn thing... What kind of angle is this?"

"That's just the boosters, wait for a few seco-- oh, there!"

"Ahhhh, now that's better."

The three men were looking at a small, portable television. Around them were rusty layers of walls, several plastic and metal chairs, and what appeared to be the early formation of a bar. Outside, sirens were screaming the obvious takeoff warning.

"Is it going to stop shaking yet? I don't want the whole trip to be this way!" The shortest man said. The two others just shrugged.

"Leave the thing a few minutes; besides, I won't stand your complaining for the seven years to come!!"

Laughs.

The shaking stopped. The sirens went quiet. Everything had come to a halt.

"Annnnnd, it's space, folks!"

The three men cheered and hugged each other in joy.

"All right!" The tallest said. "Let's get this place polished up. I want to start doing business by next Thursday!"

-----------------------------------------------------

To think that The House of God was just a place for thugs and black market people was considered a sacrilege. As one of them said one day: "We may be black market guys, but at least we are refined."

It was true. I had never seen so much Erawten Ice in all my life. But how the heck did mom find herself in such a place?...

-----------------------------------------------------

"To Pioneer II!"

"Cheers, people!"

Anyone who wasn't an android downed a shooter. Four years had passed, and The House of God was among the most popular black market and stowaway hangouts of the ship. It had stayed in business because of one simple rule: Never conduct business in The House of God. Police men found it impossible to even think about trying to catch dealers in the act. The owners were clean of all crimes. The House of God was the biggest frustration of Pioneer II's guards. So close, yet so far.

What had first started as a bar made out of rusty pieces of metal soon improved into a place where colored lights, gold plating, and fancy decorations were the norm. Speakers blurted out disc after disc of hip, techno, and XtraBEAT music. Seats were plated in gold, or had golden velvet on them. Everything spelled Rich Spoiled Kid in there, but no one cared. After all, most of the things The House of God had as furniture was black market stuff. And it was comfortable as well. The owner never got any complaints.

Soon, the crowd began to diversify, and the bar was known under a slogan mostly known to its regulars: Drinks, dollars, amor: The House of God. Maybe House of Goddess too, as one could often see a customer walking into a private cubicle with a sexy and skimpily clad newman girl. Oftentimes, she wore nothing at all, despite being in the middle of a crowd of drinkers and drunks. We all got used to it.

Televisions informed us about sports and news. Hot chases were tuned on by the owner, who was a fan of race cars. If the customers knew the escapee, they cheered for him.

It was just a normal day in The House of God.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Stowaway bastards and bitches, coming through!"

"Shrike!" The owner shouted to a black and neon-green android. "Glad to see you today. Hey guys! Same old?"

"Same old!" The group said simultaneously.

Everyone sat down at a round table, next to the main bar. There, they had a good view of two television sets displaying a rather hot game of football. Back to the wall was Yndo, a rather fat ranger with black shoulder-length hair and a beard that looked more like peach fuzz than anything else. Going clockwise, there was Tamica, frustrated and jobless, an Alpha-Power addict who soon found out she just didn't have the capabilities to either fight like a normal person, or use any power techniques whatsoever. Next was Shrike, an outgoing and rather crazy android, who took pride in the fact that she was once intended as a Halloween prank, as seen by her set of sharp teeth held by a spinning buzzsaw chain. Next to her sat a shining white android hunter by the name of BWS-1. He was always quiet, and unnervingly stealthy despite his obvious white color. Last but not least was a man approaching his retirement: a hunter known as Wisco "Danger" Robertson.

"So what's new?" The owner said.

Everyone smiled.

"Well, who's first?" Shrike nudged BWS-1.

[KodiaX987]

The android shrugged in "Alright, alright" kind of motion, and turned to the owner, overly articulating each word.

"We. Sold. Five. Top-quality. Energy. Cylinders. To. Some. Idiot. Who. Paid. Twice. The. Normal... Price!"

"Amout?"

"Seventy-five thousand!!" Tamica announced in triumph.

"Good!" The owner replied. "You guys are just in time, since the prices have gone up. Twenty-five thousand each shooter; come on! Pay 'em up, pay 'em up!"

Everyone laughed. The owner went behind the bar to fetch the drinks.

Tamica's eyes opened wide.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah!" She screamed. "Herrre comes angel Gabrielle!"

"Hello, hello!" Said angel spoke.

She was most likely one of the most beautiful androids to hang out at the House. Top-quality white simu-skin, a minimum of blue protective plates, a tank top and a pair of shorts. Cherry on the sundae: a tiny pair of removable wings on her back, just for the cuteness factor.

Danger pulled a seat from another table and let her sit down. In the meantime, the owner had served the drinks.

Shrike leaned over the table and motionned Yndo, Tamica and Danger to lean forward as well.

"You guys will love it." She said. "Each one of you give me a piece of gum and I'll spit out the new facts."

Yndo grumbled, but paid the price anyways.

"Thank you!" Shrike smiled and began chewing. "Okay, you two saw the girl who went in the cubicle two minutes ago? The one with fair skin and lavender hair? Short but pointed ears, new to the House, definitely a newman by the looks. And to top it off, lean closer my friends..."

BWS-1 could see Shrike closing a fist, extending the index finger, and slowly pointing it up and up, while mouthing some phrase over to her two male comrades. Wisco turned away in disgust. Yndo and Tamica, however, were grinning.

"So, what's the deal?" The white android asked.

"She's bi." Tamica replied. Everyone except BWS-1 erupted in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. It was needless to say that B was not following.

Gabrielle decided to lean over the table.

"Guys, I'm bringing you some great news. Know the guy you sold the energy cylinders to? He got into a car accident. Dead! Never going to rattle anything out to the police if it ever happens that we screwed the hell out of him."

"YUS!!!"

"Chip Group, coming through!" Gabrielle said back.

"Chip Group!" The others yelled; their black market business name. There may be the Blue Dragons, probably somewhere on the east side of Pioneer II some gang of punks called the Bullet Head, even close to the House a good number of people who were part of the Dog Pound, but the Chip Group was the best in the west, and the ones who were part of it dared anyone to prove otherwise. Of course, the others did. Black market always was a speed fight. Who found find the junk first, repair it, and sell it in the fastest time. To add some spice, who was the best in designing new, innovative, and overly illegal systems for hunters and androids. The head position changed each week. It was the fun of black markets. Competition was tough, and just too fun to give up.

Over the years, the Chip Group would keep on doing its business. Other gangs and groups may get some of their members caught, but no one in the Chip Group ever got taken away by the cops. And that was a good thing.

"By the way," Yndo said. "What will happen when we reach Ragol? We can't just carry the House of God down on the planet can we?"

"Ship's gonna land, city's gonna deploy." Shurikane simply replied.

"Okay, but what if something wrong happens at Ragol?"

"What do you think might go wrong?..."

-----------------------------------------------------

Shrike could only remember that long enumeration of possibilities that Yndo had told her three years ago. And one of them happened to come true. Everything had blown up.

She was looking at the ceiling of her appartment, lying on a couch, while all over the ship, people ran around in panic, demanding information.

She grabbed her photon chainsaw.

"Gabrielle, let's get moving!"

[Kupi]

An interesting style insofar. Considering that this is the first work of yours that I've read (ducks "omg u n00b" arrows), I'm impressed. It's an interesting interpretation of the Pioneer 2, or at least whatever part of it you describe. I'll say it, though I probably don't have to: keep up the good work! ^_^

[Moo2u]

Another KodiaX story? How sweet it is!

Neeed mooore!!

[Hikosaka]

I agree with Moo2U. More!

[M_BlackHawk]

I must concur wholeheartedly. Give us more, Kodi.

later

M_BlackHawk

[KodiaX987]

Both androids secured their weapons and went off walking on the sidewalks.

"I didn't get the news yet." Shrike said. "What's the score?"

"Energy release." Gabrielle replied with a sigh. "Killed all human life as we know it, no structural damage. Tyrell's dispatched a bunch of hunters to go see what's going on."

"We're gonna have new business coming in soon..."

"Shields?"

"No; swords. We need to find a lighter chainsaw prototype. The one I have is good for androids, but too heavy for humans."

The two turned to a back alley, entered a dark building through a small metal door, to find themselves into a tiny room.

"Do you have any coordinates for this thing?" Shrike asked. Gabrielle nodded.

"I stole a password and managed to get into the database. Got all the specifications for the teleporter, along with the channel codes. This way, regardless of position, you'll teleport to the exact same spot on the planet. Unfortunately, coming back will be through the main hunter sector. And that means shitloads of pipes to bring with you."

"It's all right. The hunters know me enough and they shut their trap. I'm just too good of a dealer." Shrike grinned, revealing her complete set of pointed teeth.

The teleporter came alive, and the room found itself bathed into a blue glow.

"It works." Gabrielle said. "No need to test out. If the codes are wrong, all of Pioneer II is wrong."

"Great. Let's go back to the House and tell the group about it. If there is any junk we can find on this planet, we need to go get it first. If what you say about structural damage is right, all we'll need to do is go down, break a few boxes, and we'll have enough to supply an army. I want Wisco to make a full report on this within the next hour. We need to get to all the stashes first."

Gabrielle picked up her cell and dialed the number.

"I'll run ahead." Shrike told her. "I don't want to lose a single second of this!!"

[KodiaX987]

All music had stopped at The House of God. People were gesturing, shouting, anything but eating their food.

Shrike went to her group.

"Grab your stuff guys, we're going on an excursion!"

Minutes later, everyone was down on planet Ragol. Each member of the team had brought his favorite trademark weapon. For Shrike, it was her usual chain saw. For Wisco, it was a double-barrel rifle. For Yndo, it was a pair of photon knives. Gabrielle had chosen a huge blade shaped like a pair of angelwing blades. BWS-1 carried an ancient katana. Tamica, being the weapon carrier of the group, had nothing.

The team already had some trouble avoiding the flurry of hunters that was running all over the place. They had quickly decided that Central Dome wasn't a good destination. So instead, they began searching for crates in some main building areas, where they found plenty.

They heard a crash; the sound of a dead dragon falling to the ground, and a piece of Central Dome's floor falling apart from the creature's uncoordinated landing. Right on cue, Tamica was full of weapons and items, and so was the rest of the team.

-----------------------------------------------------

The transition through the hunter grounds had been rather easy. People were so busy preparing themselves, no one paid attention to the group making its way, their bags and clips full of stuff. In minutes, they were at the Chip Group's headquarters.

Wisco looked at the record number of things on the table.

"Guys, from what I see here, we are in for some really good merchandise. I bet I could mod a few of these things as well."

"Well, you'll start with this!" Shrike slapped her chainsaw right in Wisco's face. "Here! Find a way to override the RPM limit on this thing, and add a cooler. Take the price off my share; I've got enough to get myself a new car anyways."

"What kind?"

"The best in the west. A Kasieri Wildsider T-5."

Oooohs among the group.

Yndo clapped his hands together.

"Let's get to work. The faster we mod the stuff, the faster we can make mucho money."

The Chip Group was in for one of the best selling sprees to be known across the black market.

-----------------------------------------------------

Shrike was pondering all this. All that past history. Outside her home was a shining black and neon-green sports car.

Everyone had made huge profit. Life was good.

The phone rang.

Gabrielle answered. She said nothing, and just hung up a few seconds later.

Turning to Shrike, she simply said:

"The ruins are open."

[KodiaX987]

"What's for today?"

"I'll have a dollar!"

Wisco and BWS-1 sat down, while the owner shouted the order over to the kitchen.

The selling spree had gone far better than usual. In an unexpected twist of fate, the government hunters happened to fall on a lab sector full of mechanical junk and cybernetics just waiting to be converted to android mods.

The Chip Group simply had to sneak in, and retrieve. With the hunters all fighting the security system, the whole operation was a piece of cake. And to top it off, the Blue Dragons had gone out of business: a few of them got caught in the mines, and one of them made the fatal error: panicking and telling everything.

The owner came back with that dish called "dollar". It was meat, mustard and dried spinash (some oriental food...) put into a crispy and leafy shell. All this was wrapped in a spinach tortilla. And for some reason, it tasted good.

BWS-1 looked around.

"Where in the motherfreakin' world is Indo?!"

Wisco chuckled.

"You were right without knowing it. He is motherfreakin' right now."

And just on cue came the human, followed by a (naked) newman female. He took a chair and sat down, with the girl on his lap.

"So," Wisco told him. "When's the wedding due?"

"Next Tuesday; everyone's invited to the orgy."

General laughter.

"I have never seen such a sick, sexually-obsessed group of people." BWS-1 declared in a snobbish tone.

"You kidding me?" Indo replied du tac-o-tac.

"Duh."

"I'll take it as an insult!"

Another burst of laughter.

"Why isn't your lover saying anything, by the way?" Wisco asked.

"She's mute." The other replied. "The only sound she can do is a moan."

Chuckle from the weapons modder.

"Oh, come on, I don't believe ya!"

"Oh yeah? Listen carefully. Tomi, say 'I love you' as an example."

The girl tried to speak, but no words would come out. Only air going in and out. However, they could distinctively hear some kind of "uh-uh" from the depths of her throat. It was faint, but hearable.

"I stand corrected!" Wisco said, following this by a good belch.

The next thing he knew, he was looking at a black and green face.

"Ruins are open, you lazy asses!" Shrike shouted at them. "Got your stuff? Good!! Come with me, we don't have a second to waste. You snooze, you lose!"

The three men got up.

"Why aren't you moving?! Come on!"

Shrike grabbed the hand of the newman by the name of "Tomi" and led her out of The House of God, despite the owner's shouts about her being employed there.

The Chip Group would have made it to the teleporter unseen, had Tomi been clothed. Shrike put the event down in her memory as one of the funniest and strangest things to happen in her life: as they ran through the streets, the richer people would throw the newman towels to cover herself.

[KodiaX987]

"Teleporter's online. Eveeryone in! Go!!"

The surface of the planet was empty of people because of a thunderstorm. The group hurried over to Central Dome.

"Gabrielle and me will be the mappers." Shrike said. "Uhh, Wisco, did you get the location of the gate?"

The weapons modder nodded.

"Great. Let's grab our weapons and avoid contact with monsters as much as we can. We need to get as far as possible into the ruins before the rest of the hunters do."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Dammit, this place is full of people!"

The team had arrived at the gates, only to find out some hunters were already placing boxes of supplies for the others.

Wisco reached for his com unit. A beep was heard, and the hunters suddenly dashed into the ruins.

"What was that?"

"Fake emergency signal. Let's get in there."

The interior of the ship was impressive. The floors were cold and smooth, most of the machinery still worked, and the air didn't smell as recycled as it was on Pioneer II. There were two paths, either east or west.

"I'm getting photon signals from the east." Gabrielle toned. "Methinks there's a good stash of stuff there."

And so it was: the small room contained nine boxes, full of high-tech weaponnry. One of them also had a couple of armor suits...

"Grab this." Shrike ordered Tomi. She handed to the newman a swimsuit-like plate. "Careful, 'cause this was made for androids and has sharp edges." Closer inspection of the boxes also revealed a pair of matching leg armors. As for the sharpness, Yndo gladly contributed a piece of his old suit to put in-between the skin and the plates.

Wisco's eyes suddenly opened wide.

"Guys, that room was a trap!!"

BWS-1 turned around.

"Waddya mea-- oh shit!"

The doors leading to the main corridor were still opened, and in said corridor was a dozen monsters, patiently waiting.

"What are those?" Shrike queried.

"Uhh, looks like the demi-organisms the database was talking about." Wisco said while looking at his info pad. "I'm getting signals everywhere; the damn ship is crawling with these things!!!"

Gabrielle shrugged while reaching for her wing blades.

"So what? No problem. Everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

"Go!"

The following carnage was brief and rather too close according to Wisco's opinion. It was a fact: those monsters were much tougher that what they knew from the surface.

"And the worst thing," Yndo added "Is that we still don't know what kind of thing we might encounter. I mean, if these things do exist, anything can come right up in our faces!"

The team moved to the next room (Tomi was lagging behind, due to the fact that she felt like using the purple monster blood as paint for her new suit) which was fortunately empty, except for a huge crystal at the far right end.

"There's some characters engraved..." BWS-1 declared as he took a look. "Does it look like anything we know?"

Everyone took his turn to look, but no one knew what those characters were. Probably something from whatever ancient civilization. Anyways it wasn't Chip Group business. They were hunting for weapons and armors to sell and mod. Not for fancy writing styles.

The next room featured a bunch of windows that let the team see what they really were into. It seemed like a space version of an ancient boat: the front and the back were raised, while the middle was a large flat platform. It was quite a beautiful thing to look at. That ship had been well conserved through the years.

They turned around to proceed to the next room, but soon found out it was already full of monsters.

"How the hell did they get here?!" Yndo yelled as he parried a Dimenian's strike. No one answered, they were all too busy with fights of their own. Fortunately, those critters were no match for the Chip Group's modded weapons, and eventually everyone killed his share of monsters...

...Except for Shrike.

The black and green android was busy with one of the tougher types of monsters: a blademaster-like entity, with the standard sword as right hand, but its form was slightly taller and slimmer. Whereas the Dimenians looked like futuristic thugs, this one only had skin over bones, and even that wasn't enough... It just seemed like some dark grinning skeleton.

Shrike backed away just in time to avoid a swipe from the creature's huge bladed left hand. She found an opening and swung her cainsaw back, but her attempt was too slow; the monster grabbed the weapon in order to stop the chains, but changed his mind and pushed the weapon away.

Both enemies circled each other, looking for a break in each other's guard, but an android against a killing machine was too perfect a combo. This fight would last forever, and no one dared attempt a shot, because the opponents were moving too fast.

"Hunters coming!" Wisco yelled as he peeked at his radar. "Finish this thing and let's hide somewhere!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do here?!"

Wisco looked at his radar in panic. They couldn't afford to be seen by hunters here. Who knows, they might just end up on some zealous and lawful guy who'd recognize them and send them straight to jail for unauthorized access.

Time was up. Wisco quickly placed a quick-port pipe in a corner of the room and activated it.

"It's taking too long; run back to Pioneer!"

Shrike dashed for the teleporter field, but the monster caught up with her, and used its hand-shield to slam her on the wall. She managed to push the critter away with her right foot, but it charged again. Both were still fighting when Shrike suddenly stepped on the pipe, activating the field.

Both enemies vanished.