Galactic High

As the group eventually stumbled into the house, weary and worn down, they were greeted by the familiar comforting warmth of their home, which Jack instantly felt as the change in temperature sent shivers running along his skin, the wetness of sweat, blood and rainwater chafing as he shuffled in behind the others, all of them haggard from the harrowing weekend.

“Holy shit, you’re back!” Vanya called out, her voice happy as she got up from the sofa to greet them, but clearly edged with something as she hesitated to approach Jack, keeping her distance as she looked them all up and down. “Rough trip?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Nika muttered, rubbing her temples as she dragged herself inside. “What the hell’s going on?”

Beside Vanya sat Karzen, absentmindedly tapping her fingers on the armrest, and Jack noted the armadillo-like girl had a gun strapped to her back. She barely looked away from the TV as she replied, "You guys haven’t seen the news yet, huh?"

No, but we’re about to… Chiyo sighed as she floated towards them, with several of their housemates on the sofas shuffling to give them enough room.

Jack dropped heavily onto one of the available seats, his hand instinctively clutching his side as he winced, having not realized just how sore he still was, and looking to the others he could see many of them were in the same boat. “What are we looking at?”

“It’s on the hour, you’re just in time for the headlines…” Obeda quietly spoke up. “That will explain things better than we can, and perhaps you can confirm a few things for us.”

Vanya grabbed the remote and turned the volume up slightly.

“Good evening and welcome to the evening news! I’m Oudrie Ximmercon,” the female fish-like news anchor spoke up with a wide-eyed look on her face. “Our headlines tonight…”

There was a slight pause where a dramatic audio cue of a drum played.

“The bodies of twenty victims were discovered early this morning on a rooftop in Arkane Views, a district under the control of Myrodin Magitechnology. Investigators have confirmed that the cause of death and arrangement of the bodies is consistent with that of the serial killer known as ‘Chillwalker’, though no further information is available at this time…”

“Damn! Twenty!?” Vanya exclaimed, with a mixed expression of horror and amazement, and Jack remembered her interest in serial killers from a journalist's point of view. “Fuck! And it’s in the heart of Myrodin territory too! That’s bold!”

“The Red Legion has reported significant gains over the Vile Fleet in the Quexos System, purging three planets of undead presence,” the news anchor continued. “Vile Fleet losses are unconfirmed, but it is believed that at least two Dread Lords have been killed in action. Though the target of the Red Legion assault, it is not believed that Lucian Vile was present in the area, with rumours that the self-proclaimed Umbral Tyrant and his personal forces have retreated into darkspace.”

“About time!” Nika cheered. “Fuck those guys!”

I bet Luvia will be very happy about that! Chiyo agreed. The Red Legion have been on the back foot for the past year!

“The dating app ‘Fumble’ has issued an apology due to the actions of a rogue artificial intelligence trolling the users. Several users have complained that matches have turned out to be false, with many false dates and unwanted matches reported. The artificial intelligence has reportedly posted the humorous results on NetTube, where it has amassed over 1 million subscribers!”

“Kizzarith is still bedridden, isn’t he?” Jack asked, as a few of the others nodded.

“Yeah, he’d totally fall for that kind of stuff!” Karzen chuckled. “We’ve gotta get him laid when he gets out!”

“You gonna volunteer?” Sephy asked with a cheeky grin, as the armadillo-girl scoffed.

“Nope. Never gonna happen!”

“House Mal’Kar has declared a Bloodhunt on Commander Cocaine,” the news reporter continued. “Local Matriarch Izadora Mal’Kar has offered 50,000 Nethercoin to any who are able to eliminate the commander, with additional kill-bounties offered for key officers.”.

“Oh shit!” Nika chuckled. “They’re pissed!”

“Unsurprising,” Alora pointed out. “House Mal’Kar cannot afford to look weak, especially when they are gathering power. They may be getting ready to make a play.”

“Who is the Emerald King?” The reporter asked rhetorically. “Several followers have requested permission to sanctify a shrine at the Temple of Hope, but their requests have so far been rejected by temple officials.”

Cultists never learn. Chiyo sighed.

“And finally, our biggest story tonight. A border town has been viciously attacked by a well-armed group of attackers, though the circumstances are currently unknown.”

The group took in a collective hiss of breath.

The pictures on the news showed scenes of utter devastation. Buildings that had until recently stood were now piles of rubble, as flames licked the remains of homes, and where there was once a market square the group could see the telltale sign of scorch marks from where there was heavy, indiscriminate gunfire. Though the smoke rose in thick black clouds, they all still recognised the great green glass-like obelisk that marked where this was, though the previous graffiti had been melted off.

Cypherport. The town where they were ambushed by The Redeemer.

“What the fuck!?” Nika exclaimed as they all stared wide-eyed at the mass-destruction. “That wasn’t us! We didn’t do all that!”

“You sure?” Vanya asked. “Images of all of you in action are spreading all over the DataNet! People think you did it!”

“Hell no we didn’t do that!” Sephy shook her head emphatically. “We were attacked, but we got the fuck out of there! It sure as hell wasn’t on fire when we did!”

“Vanya, do you seriously think we had something to do with all that?” Alora asked in shock, pointing at the wreckage as the rabbit-girl looked a little guilty.

“Hey, I don’t know!” Vanya shook her head. “All I know was that you were there, and rumours were spreading over the DataNet that there was a massive fight and a bunch of people were rushing to get there to chase up some bounties.”

“It was The Redeemer.” Jack confirmed. “He knew we’d be there and fucking ambushed us!”

“Oh shit!” The Chuna cursed. “He’s got a huge bounty on him too! Damn! It must have turned into a feeding frenzy over there!”

He had the Order of the Infernal Harmony with him too! Chiyo added. It was bad!

“Yes, but we had defeated them before we escaped,” Alora pointed out.

“Some of them were still alive by the end of it.” Nika shrugged.

“But could they have done all that?” Jack asked.

“Hell no.” Sephy shook her head. “Don’t forget we were followed all the way to the Corvin Outpost!”

“Who followed you?” Hessia asked, the insectoid perking up from where she was texting on one of the chairs.

Take your pick. Chiyo shrugged. We’ve managed to make a few enemies, but we don’t know who it was and we certainly didn’t want to stick around to find out after the ordeal we’d been through! Hopefully the response forces will catch them out and fix the problem for us!

Before she could continue, the TV switched to another reporter on the scene.

“Good evening, Oudrie. I am at the town of Cypherport amidst a scene of devastation, as relief efforts are still underway where a devastating attack from an unknown group has taken place, taking the lives of over 100 individuals. Forces belonging to Commander Cocaine are currently present on the scene to investigate, so our information is still limited at this time.”

“Good evening, Larrex,” Oudrie replied cordially from the studio. “We have seen footage of unknown armed individuals operating in that area. Do you have any updates at all for us on what has happened?”

“We do, Oudrie,” Larrex responded in a clearly rehearsed manner. “Local witnesses who were present on Frostday night have come forward and revealed that the Ogar former Inquisitor of Siros known as ‘The Redeemer’ was present at the bar locally known as ‘The Soggy Pussy’ for unknown reasons. Viewers may recall that The Redeemer assaulted our news station to broadcast a city-wide announcement several weeks ago.”

“Indeed, and I can confirm that a bounty of 30,000 EdaCash was placed on The Redeemer by our station due to his actions,” Oudrie dutifully added, before Larrex continued.

“Details are currently sparse, but we have learned that The Redeemer and his associates got into a conflict with a group of mercenaries who may have been seeking the bounty, though it is unknown if either of these groups were responsible for the destruction you see tonight-”

Larrex suddenly put a hand to their ear. “I’ve just been informed that forces from House Mal’Kar have just been spotted heading this way so we’re going to-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt Larrex, but we have breaking news!” Oudrie spoke up, as the screen cut to a shaky live feed of the city. “Something has just been spotted over the city moving fast, it’s unknown what it is but it could be an attack!”

The camera zoomed in as a large shape disappeared around a building. “We need cameras to the South! Have we got anyone there?”

The anchor looked to unseen staff behind the camera who must have nodded. “I have just been informed that we have a clearer recording from a few minutes ago! Whatever it is it’s moving fast, weaving between buildings! We advise everyone to stay indoors!”

The camera zoomed in on the figure, scanning the sky as a brief flash of dark red zipped past for just a moment.

“Ummm…” Alora began, but before she could finish her thoughts, a sudden deafening thud from outside shook the house.

Jack sat bolt upright, drawing his sidearm, eyes wide with sudden alarm. “What the hell was that?”

Before anyone could answer, the question was answered for them.

“Hi everyone!” Luvia’s voice cheerily rang out from the garden.

“Gods damn it, Luvia!” Alora shouted out unamused. “You just gave the news people a scare!”

“Happens all the time! Thank the gods you’re all alright!” Luvia exclaimed as they opened the door for the dragon. Once she’d shifted back into her humanoid form she wasted no time as she bounded up to them. “You…are alright, right?

“We’re alive, but we’ve taken hits.” Alora sighed. “I know you’ve heard about what went down at Cypherport, but we went through a lot worse…”

“Good pay though!” Sephy quipped.

“I tried to call you on Frostday to warn you, but you’d gone dark!” Luvia continued, replying to Alora. “We’d heard chatter online that you’d been spotted at Cypherport and people were heading your way!”

“Yeah, we were operating and tried to be quiet but we had assholes already waiting there!” Nika growled. “Don’t know how they knew…”

Perhaps someone at Corvin Enterprises recognised us and sold the information? Chiyo suggested. A rival of our client or someone at the distribution centre?

“Well whoever it was, we’ll have plenty of time to find them and kill them.” Nika shrugged.

“We have a Lesser Lifestone we’re going to use with the hot tub that should give us the boost we need,” Alora added. “My healing magic could only take us so far.”

“We’re still calling a party though, right?” Sephy asked with a grin. “Gotta stick to Shadowrunning tradition! At least for us…”

“We’ll do that tomorrow.” Alora nodded with a warm smile. “We’ll sort out anything immediate now, get out of our armour and rest up…”

“Yeah…” Jack sighed, which quickly turned into a phlegmy cough. “I’m not in any shape to be doing much of anything…”

Immediately, Luvia’s head snapped around to properly look at him from where he was sat on the sofa, hunched over and staring at the ground.

“Oh hi, Jack! There you are!” Luvia loudly exclaimed, causing several of their housemates to chuckle as she immediately beelined towards him…

“Jack’s sick, so I wouldn’t get too close…” Alora weakly spoke up, barely suppressing a giggle.

Too late, Chiyo observed, covering her mouth.

“No…hell no…” Jack groaned, barely able to lift a hand in protest. But before Jack could muster any semblance of resistance, Luvia’s strong arms had wrapped around him, lifting him completely off the ground in a bone-crushing hug.

“I was so worried about you!” Luvia beamed, voice brimming with affection.

“I’m fine…” Jack sighed, his voice muffled from the dragon’s cleavage.

“Your armour holding up okay, Jack?” Nika chuckled as the dragon smothered him further, before she finally let him go after ruffling his hair.

We should get out of our armour and check in with everyone else, Chiyo spoke up after having a good laugh at Jack’s expense, though all of them had been prepared to intervene if things got too bad or Jack seemed uncomfortable. Sephy was staring at the dragon with daggers in her eyes, and the Ilithii had no doubt the Skritta had been about to do something about the horned-up dragon.

“Yeah, you’re all filthy!” Vanya giggled. “You guys need any help?”

“Jack and I definitely will, we’re wearing heavy armour.” Nika nodded. “And Sephy’s in medium.”

“Chiyo and I should be fine with light,” Alora confirmed. “But make sure you un-armour yourselves properly and don’t lose any parts, we want to wash these thoroughly for next time!”

“Not a problem!” Luvia exclaimed as she looked to Jack with the enthusiasm of someone about to unwrap a Christmas present as the human took a cautious step back. “I’ll help Jack with his…”

“The fuck you will!” Sephy snapped as she stepped in between them before Jack could say anything. “Obeda? Zayle? You two cool with helping Jack out?”

The two nodded.

“I’ll be fine with the battleskin afterwards…” Jack nervously laughed diplomatically, trying to diffuse the tension that had suddenly sprung up. “But the Clan Bharzum armourers set us up in the first place, and there’s parts I can’t reach even when I’m not feeling like shit.”

“Don’t worry, more drones on my to-buy list to help with that!” Sephy pointed out as she relaxed slightly when Jack headed towards the stairs leading up to his room, leaving Luvia standing where she was with an almost conflicted look on her face.

“You good?” The Skritta asked Jack quietly as they got to the stairs.

“...Yeah.” Jack finally nodded before descending into a few sickly coughs. “Sorry Sephy, I should have spoken up sooner. I’m not with it as it is and I’m certainly not used to anyone being that bold. What about you? Are you good?”

“...Yeah.” Sephy lied. “We’re both exhausted, I just overreacted before you spoke up.”

“Sleep would be good.” Jack chuckled weakly, before grinning. “But do you think a pizza delivery would bring something up to the hot tub so we don’t have to get out?”

*****

“Jack’s taking his time isn’t he?” Alora asked the others as they settled themselves in the hot tub, the warmth of the Lifestone-blessed waters already beginning to soothe their weary muscles. “Is heavy armour hard to remove, Nika?”

“Wasn’t too bad for me once I walked Vanya through it.” The Kizun shrugged. “Though his is a bit heavier than mine and I’m more flexible.”

“Do you think he's okay?” Alora asked with some worry.

“If Luvia’s done something...” Sephy growled with anger.

“Luvia would never cross that line, Sephy, don’t worry.” Alora shook her head with a sigh. “There’s something she’s going through with her father that’s the reason why she’s acting so keenly, but I’ll need to talk to her about it privately if there’s any developments.”

Luvia’s downstairs, Chiyo confirmed. I suspect she’ll join us. Jack is in one of the upstairs bathrooms where he’s been for the past 20 minutes.

“Are you sure he’s alright?” Alora asked. “If he’s sick he might need help…”

I’ll check. Chiyo spoke up as she closed her eyes. He seems to be….oh….

Alora watched in confusion as Chiyo’s eyes suddenly went wide, as her skin quickly turned the darkest shade of blue she had seen in a while…before a sudden involuntary burst of psionic force sent water splashing over all of them….

The resulting screaming had Jack hauling ass running down the stairs to see what was up, with a very angry Alora complaining to the Ilithii about her hair being wet.

In a hot tub.

“Oh, there he is!” Nika called out with a laugh. “Nice of you to finally join us Jack!”

“What happened?” Jack called back from the kitchen doorway, hanging back a bit.

“Just some turbulence!” The Kizun called back.

“Come on!” Sephy called. “It’s great!”

“Sure…” Jack called back hesitantly, having been…interrupted during his…sacred bathroom time…

“Oh gods…” Alora muttered under her breath as Jack walked into view, though not from anything compromising or embarrassing.

Jack’s body was a roadmap of pain.

Deep, angry, purple bruises littered his skin. Some were larger than a fist, others smaller, but all of them were vivid and fresh. His broad shoulders, once unmarred, now looked like a canvas painted with varying shades of blue and black. Dark, swollen welts ran across his ribs and back, evidence of the blows that had been absorbed by his armour and battleskin but still transferred enough force to leave a mark. His midsection bore a brutal-looking bruise from when he took a vicious hit from the entity that attacked him in the Astral, the skin already stretched tight from the swelling beneath.

By the gods, what hit you!? Chiyo exclaimed.

Even Jack’s legs, tough with muscle, had patches of discolouration and swelling around his thighs and knees. The sheer volume of injuries was horrifying to behold. Though many of them had bruises and lacerations about them, Jack had by far taken the worst of it.

“Jack, get in here and heal up,” Alora called out, her concern palpable in her voice. “That’s bad!”

“Looks worse than it is.” Jack shrugged before he suddenly burst out in a series of violent coughs, his body riddled with goosebumps as the slight breeze of outdoors sent shivers running all along his body. “I’ll be fine.”

And the source of the breeze was right behind him.

“Fine or not, you’re getting in that tub,” Luvia told him, her worried tone leaving no room for argument. “And you’re not doing anything else until you heal up.”

“Alright…” Jack sighed as he stepped forward. “I’ll-WOAH!”

Suddenly Luvia slipped behind him and effortlessly lifted him, slumping him over her shoulder like he was little more than a bundle of feathers. “Luvia!” Jack started with a yell “I can walk there myself!”

“Nope!” Luvia replied cheerily as with a playful squeeze of his bottom, she started toward the hot tub, grinning as even Sephy couldn’t help but laugh.

Reaching the edge of the hot tub, steam rising invitingly from the surface, Luvia stepped into the warm, bubbling water, sitting down first next to Alora before lowering Jack onto her lap. “There we go, perfect spot!” The Dragon purred into his ear, wrapping her arms around him like a cherished prize as she leaned back into the warm jets of the tub, settling him against her.

After rolling his eyes at the others who for the most part just smirked at him, though Sephy still gave him a knowing look, Jack decided to just go with it, slumping against Luvia, his head lolling back, completely at her mercy.

‘There are worse hills to die on.’ Jack thought, as he closed his eyes with a resigned, but ultimately contented sigh.