Disappeared into the darkness

[Dashiell]

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What happened before:

Spaceship In The Dark

These events start where '€˜Spaceship In The Dark'€™ left off.

Note: this story is the mirror version to Stoats Wrack and............. ruin?
It tells the same story from a different perspective.

Read them both to get the full picture of what happened.

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Chapter 1

A possible companion in darkness

It has been a while since Damoclass and the Core battleship Eden have returned from their journey deep into unexplored Nomad space. During those events, Damoclass came into contact with nomads but this was never found out by other Core personnel. Damoclass and his crew kept it a secret, as Damoclass still has plans of his own with the Core and its future.

Back at Dabadoru, Damoclass returned to his normal tasks. After a while, he learned of the incident that happened to guildmaster Stoat. He was possibly contaminated by Nomads. Yet he was not running around trying to off people left and right. He may have had the very same experience Damoclass had back in unknown space. Stoat was still being prodded, probed and examined back in Omega 56. As Damoclass was unable to leave Dabadoru due to his responsibilities, he was unable to keep an eye on Stoat himself. Yet he wanted to see what was going on with the Bretonian Guildmaster. Maybe, in Stoat, he could find an ally to help him in his dark plans he had for the Core. All he needed was to have a chat with Stoat in person. But if Stoat was not as infected as Damoclass hoped, he would betray his plans to Stoat and that would be the end of Damoclass. So Damoclass had to figure out a way to keep tabs on Stoat, without attracting attention to himself. A simple solution came to him: his right hand man in crime, death and killing. The man who always did off-the-record jobs for Damoclass behind the scenes and who would obey his every command. A shadow no one knew who was Damoclass'€™ personal hitman and spy. Damoclass would send him to keep an eye on Stoat and report back to him and him alone.

Chapter 2

Man without a name

Years ago, Damian Damoclass was not yet Guildmaster. He was, however, already working for the Core. But in the department of '€˜You didn'€™t see, hear or smell ANYTHING, got it?'€™. That was why no one ever knew where Damian had come from, as his older brother took a suicide plunge with the Aeria Gloris into Ferosa orbit. As his older brother stepped out of life, Damian was forced to step out of the shadows. He was to be a Guildmaster of the Core and the commander of the Eden. Against his own will, he accepted. He preffered his backstage role, but in the position of Guildmaster, he would be able to pull more strings. Yet he needed someone to be his eyes, ears and hands back in populated space. Then an opportunity presented itself. An assassin was sent to eliminate Damoclass. Who sent him was a mystery, but obviously someone didn'€™t want Damoclass to gain more power. This only fueled Damoclass'€™ resolve to burn his own path into the Core.

The assassin came at Damoclass as he was in his office, trying to finish Donkey Kong XII. Yes, Damoclass took desk work very seriously and cared a lot for his responsibilities.

A man, wearing a shawl around his head, that also served as a mask to hide his face busted into the office and drew an ancient looking revolver on Damoclass and fired off 6 rounds. All which hit Damoclass in the chest and head. Damoclass fell backwards off his chair and lay down motionless. The hitman approached him, reloaded the cylinder of his ancient revolver and took aim to empty another six shots into Damoclass'€™ body.

'€˜you bloody twat... What was that all about?'€™

The hitman was so suprised at the calm tone of voice the suposed dead man spoke that he was stunned and didn'€™t react as Damoclass rolled over on his back and shot the hitman 3 times in the arm, shoulder and upper chest. The assasin was knocked back and fell down. But he wasn'€™t easily defeated and tried to get back on his feet. At this time, several Core agents busted into the office as they had heard gunfire. Damoclass, who was now back on his feet, made a hand gesture to the agents who were about to pepper the assasin with gunfire.

'€˜Stand down gents. Take this bloke to the... guest room. I want to have a chat with him as soon as I stop bleeding. And keep him alive, yes?'€™

The assassin was dragged off and Damoclass picked up the old revolver, set his chair up and took some very fancy written paperwork to wrap around his gunshot wounds. He was intrigued by his would-be murderer. Not only had the man, who looked quite suspicious at best, managed to sneak into the station undetected, he even managed to find Damoclass'€™ office in the lower decks of the station and had fired, from the hip, 6 clean hits. Any normal man would have died after the first 2 clean hits. This hitman was quite interesting.

Damoclass headed down to the cellblocks as soon as he had told everyone who bugged him about the encounter for various reasons to sod off. He entered the man'€™s cell alone and shut the door behind him. He then turned off the security camera that was hanging in the corner of the cell. The man was sitting still in a corner, wrapped in the cloak like outfit he had entered the office in. Damoclass looked at him for several seconds and then spoke.

'€˜That was quite cheeky of you. You made me loose my last life'€™

The man looked up at Damoclass. His face was still hidden behind a shawl-like mask.

'€˜I had almost killed the last boss of that ruddy game. Then you bust in and made me screw it up by shooting me without my prior consent.'€™

Damoclass stepped closer to the man and spoke again as the man did not reply.

'€˜I don'€™t kill easy. Whoever hired you neglected to mention that I no longer have my own skeleton. I have some fancy metal fabric coating over my bones that makes me quite resistant to impacts. Especially to outdated, low stopping power revolvers such as these'€™

Damoclass produced the assassin'€™s revolver from his coat pocket.

'€˜courtesy of getting shot at a lot during my previous job. No matter. That'€™s not important right now. What I would like to discuss is you. Someone sent you here to kill me, I'€™m sure. Quite a few folks want me dead. Frankly, I don'€™t give a damn who wants me dead or who sent you. They may try again, again and again. I don'€™t care. I do care, however, about your qualities.
Normally, You would be tortured for information and then offed. But I'€™d hate to waste such a capable man. So I'€™d like to employ you into my personal service. If you stop shooting at me, obviously. Here'€™s what I offer: You work for me. And for no one else. You report to me, and only to me. I'€™ll make it worth your while even. I hold no grudge to someone doing his job. Even if he mucks it up. If you refuse I'€™ll make sure the Cleaners have fun with you. What do you say?'€™

The man looked up at Damoclass and replied.

'€˜On 1 condition. I want to be able to collect weapons for my own use.'€™

'€˜Like this old piece of shyte?'€™ Damoclass replied, holding up the revolver.

'€˜You can keep that'€™ the man replied. '€˜consider it my token of trustworthy ness. I'€™ll take you up on your deal. I doubt my previous employer would want me back anyway. And I may just gets my hands on all kinds of fascinating toys if I work for you. I'€™m a real weapon nut, you see. I collect them.'€™

The man'€™s tone of voice became more and more exited as he spoke of guns and assorted weaponry. Damoclass spent several hours in the cell, talking with the man about weapons, ships, Donkey Kong XII and other things. Finally, the talk ended.

'€˜So, You'€™re Damoclass. My name is-'€˜

'€˜I don'€™t need to know your name. You start from scratch from here on. The old you is dead. You won'€™t be needing a real name anymore. You'€™re just Gilgamesh from here on out.'€™

'€˜Eh? Whatever. Fine by me. Just turn me loose so I can start collecting.'€™ The man replied.

Damoclass arranged for the '€˜disappearance'€™ of Gilgamesh from the station. No one knew what happened to the Guildmaster'€™s assassin. Guild personal figured he was dead, like so many failed hitmen before him and forgot about the man entirely. But that very man was sent to Liberty by Damoclass to keep tabs on the situation there. Liberty was hiding things, and Damoclass wanted to know what. So he sent his personal hound there to sniff out the truth.

Chapter 3

A cheap suit

Gilgamesh is currently operating in the TAUs, assisting the Colonial Remnant and IMG against the Outcasts under the guise of being a normal Bounty Hunter. He went there on orders to find out the relation between the Outcasts and Nomads. In the process, he collected some IMG guns, Some Kusari ones and a few of those fancy Krakens the Outcasts use. Gilgamesh was planning to get his hands on some of those fancy Gallic weapons those silly-accented Gallics used. But he never got the chance. The Zoners pissed off the Core by harboring the Order on Freeport 11. The Core, as a final remedy, openly attacked Zoner ships and blew several up to force the Zoners to reconsider their policy regarding Freeport 11. The issue was later resolved and hostilities towards the Zoners stopped. But the Colonials had withdrawn their permission for the Guild to claim bounties the Colonials had put up as a reprimant for the Core'€™s actions against Zoners. So Gilgamesh found himself without work and started freewheeling around Kusari and the TAUs, still keeping an eye out for intel. One day on planet Honshu, he found a ship made by a small Kusari ship builder. It was called a Wasupu. Gilgamesh was instantly in love with the ship and bought it after selling his Manta, which he deemed '€˜too plain'€™ as soon as he saw the Wasupu. Soon after buying it, Damoclass contacted him. It seemed the Bretonian Guildmaster had come into contact with Nomads and Damoclass wanted Gilgamesh to keep an eye on Stoat as long as Damoclass himself couldn'€™t come over personally.

'€˜Right. I'€™ll be over him like a cheap suit. Want me to off him if he turns out nasty?'€™

'€˜No... If the Unguided got to him, I want him alive. Use that creative thinking quality of yours to figure out how to keep him in 1 piece. That'€™s why I saved your ass in the first place. I'€™ll contact Stoat. Let him know a '€˜bodyguard'€™ will meet up with him. Stoat cannot and may not die before I get to him. Is that clear?'€™

'€˜You'€™re the boss, boss'€™ Gilgamesh replied.

He started up the engines of his new Wasupu and took off to meet up with the Bretonian Guildmaster

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