The Arcana Group: Discard and Draw

[Thexare]

Morning, or something approximating it, found Jacob in bed in one of the guest suites aboard the Rotella di Fortuna. For a long time he had dismissed such luxuries, but after all the time spent with the Seventeenth Star on autopilot and him napping in the pilot's seat it was appreciated. As he slowly woke up he noticed a familiar blue-and-black-haired woman in the doorway.

Well... the blue wasn't familiar.

"Mia..? What's with the hair?"

She laughed. "Do you Order types just have an issue with the color blue? I mean, I could understand if you do, it's kind of a problem out there."

"No, no, it looks good on you, it's just... a change, is all." His vision was focusing better now, and he noticed another change "You, um. You also seem to be, er... hiding. Hiding them."

"You're adorable when you're nervous, you know that right?" A distinctly exasperated 'please get on with it' expression was the only response, but she was used to that. "Yeah, I figured I'd experiment a bit with my look. Also I got tired of Corwin staring at my tits. I don't mind the attention, but seriously, try to control yourself."

Footsteps in the corridor drew their attention, and they looked up to see Oliver walking directly toward them. "Yes, terribly sorry about my utter twat of a brother. I love him, but he isn't exactly the most presentable chap." He shook his head and continued into the room. "I brought your friends, we should have a little talk."

"Well, it's your ship," Jacob replied, waving them in. The guest suites were generously sized, and easily had room for everyone to sit and be comfortable. Mia sat on the bed next to Jacob, Melissa sat down at the desk next to the bed, and the other four sat at the table by the refrigerator.

"Still haven't gotten a response," Alicia said to Jacob, leaving an unspoken implication in the air.

"There are protocols for this situation," he replied, "but they have an unfortunate tendency to backfire. Later, though, I think Oliver had something to say?"

"Yes, well, I'd like to know what your story is. What brought all of you here?"

As the leader of the group, so to speak, Jacob began. "A few years back, I led a small Zoner wing. We were explorers, seeing what wonders we could find in Sirius. We found Nomads. That was... rather less wonderful than we'd hoped. That's what got me mixed up with the Order. I knew the Nomads were a threat, and at the time they seemed best suited to fighting them."

"'At the time'?" Oliver repeated.

"Something to go over later. After my initial training, I was sent out to House space to find a location for a forward operational base. My Eagle suffered significant malfunctions enroute, and survival became top priority. Eventually I managed to establish a cover identity and remain completely beneath notice." He paused, trying to figure out how to not share details, and eventually gave up. "We were in Liberty, and the war with Rheinland provided an excellent distraction. Dropped a Nomad in New York, monitored the situation overall, everything went fine. The LSF started getting antsy though and seemed to be closing in on us... which I think now was actually them redirecting their efforts to the Gallic front. But, to be sure, we bailed. Here we are."

"I'm from Malta," Mia started, and noted Oliver's general lack of a reaction. "Real ass-of-nowhere place, too, dad loved his privacy. He had a private 'troubleshooting' squad," she continued, saying 'troubleshooting' with all the sarcasm she could muster, "and I worked with them for a while. I mean, my brother and sister were there, I had to look out for them. The thing is, though, that Maltese superiority nonsense never sit well with me, and neither did the slavery. I left. Eventually they joined me, but they're.. probably back on Malta now. I got in touch with Jake because of the nomad cults, and since then he hasn't been able to shake me off."

"I'm just an old friend of his," Lauren said, shaking her head. "No special story here. Born on Pittsburg, worked in private security and got in touch with Jake when he got back to Liberty."

"I'm from Honshu," Masayuki began, when it was clear Lauren had nothing else to say. "I worked as a freelancer for a while. In orbit of Manhattan one day I bought breakfast from a Sunbucks transport, and a slaver vessel passed nearby. LNS Ingham was present... and didn't do a thing. Along with a Xeno bomber, I tailed the slaver into the Jersey field where we assisted a Hellfire Legion unit in... correcting the situation. The Xenos would normally want me dead, but slavers are something of an overriding concern. Disgusted with the inaction of the Ingham, I joined the Legion's retaliatory strike, and then had to lay low for a while until the Navy forgot about my involvement... which was rather easy. I don't think they much cared for the Ingham's captain after that. Eventually, Jacob hired me for security work."

"Los Angeles," Alicia said, jumping right into her story, "LSF agents killed my cousin. He was a smuggler, but he was completely unarmed. I signed on with the Hackers to find my revenge. But it turns out that for all the hype, the Lane Hackers may as well have just been a bunch of angry theater nerds. Lots of talk, lots of fluff, no goddamned substance. I tried the Legion next, but... no. My first combat sortie ended with a Legion fighter firing indiscriminately at Manhattan. I immediately left. I will not be an accomplice to mass murder. I drifted for a while, and eventually some Hackers decided they wanted me dead. Jacob helped me deal with the hit squad, and I've been with him since."

Oliver was surprised. He'd thought Alicia was the sweet, gentle one. A palatable public face or a way to deflect suspicion. "Well, that's a lot of interesting stories. And Lauren," he said, looking around the room. "What about you... Melissa, was it?"

"Mm? Oh.. I was born on Los Angeles, I had some trouble finding a job. Jake hired me, taught me how to fly an escort fighter."

Oliver laughed. "Well that keeps it simple, doesn't it? Now, I didn't forget that 'at the time' thing. I can't let that one sit, what's on your mind?"

Jacob sighed and looked up at the ceiling, gathering his thoughts. "Do you remember what I said yesterday? 'The Nomads are the enemy. Human hostilities are a distraction.' I've been thinking about that. I don't completely share Alicia's opinion, but I do feel like the Order may have... lost its way."

"... Alicia's opinion?" Oliver repeated.

"Golanski's a paranoid megalomaniac with a hero complex," Alicia immediately said. "Seriously, Jake, he calls himself Grand Admiral. Come the fuck on."

"So you don't entirely trust the Order yourself. No wonder the Omicrons always end up at war. Well, I bet between the lot of us, and some contacts of mine, we can have a go of it. If you can't count on the Order, we'll have to do it ourselves. A worthy cause, at the least."

"Agreed. We'll go over the full details later." Oliver nodded and left the room. Alicia, Lauren, Melissa, and Masayuki also stood up and started toward the door, but Jacob spoke up to stop them. "Alicia, there's a message on here for Golanski," he said, fishing a memory stick out of the desk drawer. "It's my resignation." Alicia nodded and left the room with Masayuki, and Lauren and Melissa followed shortly after.

"Why not send it yourself?" Mia asked, digging through the cabinets to find a decent breakfast.

"Because this way if it doesn't get to him, it's not my fault. I made the necessary arrangements with our tech specialist."



A few minutes later, on their way to the shipboard gym and sports facilities, Masayuki finally let his curiosity get the better of him. "Are you actually going to send that message?"

"Of course not," Alicia replied, in a tone implying some very serious questions regarding Masayuki's intelligence.