RP: 188604 Road Trip

Osman City Landing Field

Standing next to her ship, Aashi kicked at the dirt on the ground the Vekimen had dug up and poorly put back in place, then buried the dirt down with the heel of her thigh-high boot before looking up and smiling at the first to arrive for the trip to go get Corgan Garret's supplies.

"Oh, hello," she said smoothly to them, almost extending a hand but thinking better of it and kept both of them planted on her hips.

Corgan walked up to the ship slowly, looking at the dirt curiously. He had somehow missed the arrival of the new aliens, so he had no idea why the ground looked different. His attention quickly shifted to Aashi, or maybe just her hips. "Hello. Don't think we've properly met. I'm Corgan Garret." He said as he held out a hand to her.

Aashi took his hand into hers, the pale blue lines on her hand intersecting with the soft white of his, saying, "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Garret, or is Corgan preferred?"

"Maybe I will have a title soon. Corgan is fine until then. Hopefully, we'll become friends." He replied and shook her hand.

A small cloud of dust could be seen closing upon Aashi's ship, with Sammy the I'ee at its helm, scurrying as fast as he could on all six legs. The ambassador had a smile displayed on his LED mask, and a ridiculously large, wide-brimmed hat sitting on his head, flopping in the wind. "Miss! Miss! Sir! Miss!", the I'ee squeaked tirelessly as he closed in on them, skidding to a halt with his wings flapping. "Are you going into space? Where are you heading? Are you going to Nepleslia?!" Sammy seemed almost inordinately excited about the prospect of traveling to Nepleslia, hopping from one foot to the other as he stood to his full height.

"We're going into space, alright," Aashi said, giddy from this chance encounter with the type of creature she had only seen in passing before. "You want to come, don't you?"

"WOO! LETS GET GOING!" Uso shouted, walking past the group and onto the ship, wearing a boonie hat and aviators along with a pink and black tank top/workout shorts combination that was showing off the radiator fins along the exterior of her arms and legs.

Corgan looked at Uso and Sammy, then down at his own outfit, the usual brown duster, red shirt and camo combat pants. "I didn't know we were dressing for a vacation."

Aashi followed suit behind Uso before turning to hold her hand on the metal of the hatch, saying, "Everyone, this is The Pumpkin Eater. Pumpkin Eater, everyone." She then turned and walked down the hallway.

"Well, we're going to meet your mom! I'm super excited for it!" Uso said, already halfway in the ship.

Aashi simply smiled and shook her head, looking at Uso with admittedly small laugh lines spreading.

Sammy seemed to find Uso's disposition quite infectious, letting out an excited squeal as the neko strode by. "We can go to space!", he echoed Aashi's words, hopping up and down like an excited child. At the introduction of the ship's name, Sammy seemed a little baffled; still unused to the concept of naming a vehicle. "Hello... Mr. Pumpkin... Eater...?", he squeaked, glancing around to find the person he was talking to as he boarded the vessel.

Aashi knocked her knuckles against the hall surreptitiously before saying, "She says 'hi' right back to you," then added, "I didn't catch your name, or your species, for that matter."

The Nepleslian followed them onto the ship with a grin. The I'ee were becoming one of his favorite things about this planet. "Sammy's very excitable. He's the first I'ee that I met. I was pretty terrified of him at first if you can believe it." He said with a chuckle.

"Sammy, huh?" Aashi said. "I like Sammy's enthusiasm, already. Are you I'ee are all like this?"

"Um, my family is!", Sammy answered, removing his oversized hat from his head and clutching it against his thorax. "We like aliens!"

"I like aliens, too, Sammy the I'ee. I find it hard not to. Uso, already in the bridge, huh?" Aashi asked as she went through the double doors and sat in the plush green chair to the left of Uso to pilot.

Uso would point towards space as she leaned back in her chair, "ENGAGE!"

"Ah, alright," Aashi chuckled lightly as she turned systems on and got things up and running.

Corgan walked into the bridge. "Uh, I have to warn you, I don't do well in space sometimes. If there's no gravity I get sick." He looked for a seat and jumped in it.

"Bullshit, you were great as Head Ambassador to the I'ee, you were in space the entire time" Uso quipped.

Following the others into the bridge, Sammy was again struck by Uso's enthusiasm, squeaking happily and hopping up onto the Neko's lap without a thought. "Engaaaaage!", he echoed, his mask displaying an open-mouthed grin as a surprised Uso grabbed onto his midsection to steady him.

Gravitation engines on, Aashi moved the spacecraft off of the ground and into the air. She turned thrusters on, almost overriding near maximum until thinking better of it. She maneuvered them up into the atmosphere and at about 7,000 m with atmothrusters, then turned those off in exchange for hydrothrusters to kick in and get them going. They reached the peak of where they were going to get before beginning to burst past the hill of 188604. Using the turbo plasma drive once in the system and out of the planet's pull, Aashi had the Pumpkin Eater cruising steadily for an odd number of minutes, perhaps more than forty or fifty, before it was possible to get them to FTL speeds and heading towards their destination, flying close to Neplesia's hill sphere and thus, into it.


As the Pumpkin Eater left the planet, a familiar message popped up from the I'ee Treasury Vessel in orbit: "Have a safe journey." It was the same message that was broadcast to every ship leaving the planet; the Ee'ith on board needed some way to occupy themselves, after all. Sammy, meanwhile, took Uso's grasp as permission to give her a hug, which he did so; reaching up with a clawed limb to place his large hat upon her head, letting out a cheeky, snorting laugh in the process.

Corgan looked at Uso and laughed. She looked pretty silly with a wasp on her lap and a huge hat.
After minutes almost exceeding an hour Aashi felt they were close enough to get out of FTL, talked through comms to get clearance, and brought them close enough to atmosphere to get thrusters down, inertial dampers up, and their craft, The Pumpkin Eater, onto the planet.

"Is everyone getting off or is it just me?" Aashi asked after systems were off and she was getting up.

"We should all go. Sammy's probably never been here, and Uso apparently wants to visit my mother's brothel. Maybe we can go out to eat too, show Sammy some real food." Corgan said. He stood up and stretched slowly.

"I want to visit your mother, seeing the brothel is just a fun added bonus!" Uso said, getting up and following Aashi, holding Sammy against her chest and taking the bug along with them, turning him around so he could get a better look at the approaching Nepleslian outdoors.

Sammy clung onto Uso, peering at the outside world with great interest. "Is this Nepleslia?", he asked with awe, an open-mouthed expression of surprise on his LED mask.

"So," Aashi said, swinging her feet forward as she walked, her violet dress whipping in front of her as almost all of the top of her legs protruded from it, "we're going to a brothel, hmmm? I'm not surprised, Uso."


Nepleslia

"What? I never pay for it." Uso said, holding Sammy up a bit as they reach the exit of the Pumpkin Eater, "... THIS IS IT SAMMY! NEPLESLIA!" From where they were parked, they could see the seemingly endless flat, concrete landing field for ships as well as the horizon spanning mass of brown buildings.

Corgan was right behind Uso and Sammy. "Yep, this is Nepleslia. I haven't been back here since I joined Ragnarok. Hopefully, they stopped looking for me. If not we might have law enforcement to deal with." He said with an obvious lack of concern.

"Oooh! Nepleslia!", Sammy squeaked with awe, glancing around at the cityscape with curiosity before tilting his head. "What will we be doing here, Miss Uso?"

"Corgi's introducing us to his mom! Apparently our relationship is getting serious." Uso said.
"So Uso, where are we going to pick up the salvage?" Corgan asked. "Let's go get something to eat on the way. I don't know what's good around here, I'm used to the uh.. bad side of town, you might say."

"Well, I'm not sure there is a good side of town around here," Uso said, walking out of the ship and heading towards a waiting car, "I mean, we gotta stop by that junkyard to get your stuff right? There's a Neppies right nearby... though I suppose I'm a corporate sponsor of Akemi's nowadays so I have to plug their burgers.... not sure where they are."

He looked at her strangely on the way to the car. "Akemi's? Never been there before. Let's go! When did this happen anyway? I miss out on all the interesting deals."

"His mother?", Sammy asked with awe, and a bit of concern. "Why? Is it safe?"

"I Mean, as safe as Nepleslia can be, the whole planet is kinda a crapshoot." Uso replied.

Corgan nodded. "She's not lying. If a day goes by without at least five murders I would think I was on another planet. And I'm being generous by saying five"

"Sounds like a good place to be," Aashi chimed in, then in a softer, more muted and almost unhearable volume, she said, "Mmmm, burgers..." then, louder, said, "Those do sound nice."

"Oh. I hope she is safe...", Sammy mused sadly, a concerned frown on his mask. "Do five people really die here each day?" The I'ee ambassador continued glancing around, though now it was out of a perceived duty to watch for danger and ensure the safety of his friends.

"Don't worry Sammy, I grew up here. If we mind our own business no one will bother us. Unless someone from the gang I was in recognizes me, then we might be in trouble." Corgan replied. "Uso's with us anyway, no one's likely to attack a Nekovalkyrja. No one's that stupid."

"Uh, Hat!" Uso said, holding Sammy with one hand while pointing to her head with the other. The hat did cover her ears completely, "Far as anyone knows I'm just some green-haired... Wait... I completely forgot about my radiators.... Ok, so they'll totally know I'm a neko if they look too close. I'll pick up another hoodie next clothing store I see."

Aashi smiled, knowing no problems with Uso's appearance as she eyed Uso's radiators and thighs before handing over her long, draping jacket, she said, "It's fireproof and to some degree, shock proof, too, so don't be afraid to have fun with it."

Sammy seemed to relax a little at Corgan's reassurances, clinging lazily onto Uso with his arms while poking her cheek idly with an antenna. "Ok, Mister. If you say so.", he said to Corgan.

Corgan turned to Sammy. "Please, call me Corgan. We're friends aren't we?"

Uso would lift Sammy up a bit so he could respond, thanking Aashi with a slight nod.

"Ok, Mister Corgan!", Sammy replied, a happy smile displayed on his mask.

Corgan sighed and shook his head. He realized he would just have to get used to being called Mister. "Thanks, Sammy." He said, sounding slightly frustrated.

"You're all a very quaint," Aashi said, then rephrased, "cute team. Is this where we're going to eat?" Aashi asked, seeing the telltale signs for burgers surrounding the establishment's exterior.
"Does Corgan's Mom's place serve food?" Uso asked.

"All that I know is that Corgan's mom serves everybody," Aashi said, unable to hold her tongue as a sly smile spread across her lips. "Or am I wrong, Corgan?"

Clinging on tighter to Uso, the little I'ee listened to the conversation, buzzing his wings at the mention of food.

For a second it looked as if he was mad, but Corgan just laughed. "Yeah I guess you're right. But no, I don't think they serve food. Uso, where's this Akemi's at? Do we need to take a taxi?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, probably," Uso looked over at Aashi, tilting her head, "Aaassssshiiiii.... my hands are kinda full...."

Aashi hailed a cab for the lot of them and a few hours later they were sitting inside of a restaurant fit for a motley group such as themselves. Steam rose from the grills and waiters bounced around and out of sight as soon as they had taken their orders.

"I have to ask, what is it you need picking up, Corgan?" Aashi asked. "I should know by know, and naivete is never knowledge worth having."

"I'm planning on starting Ragnarok's first division of mechanized infantry. So, I spent my paycheck on a deal for two cargo holds full of random salvage from the Second Chance Salvage Company. One was guaranteed to be vehicle parts and related items. I just got the other one for the hell of it." Corgan answered with a shrug at the end.

Having already consumed his many servings of new and exciting fruit juices, and nibbled on a bit of offered meat, Sammy had promptly dozed off into a cozy nap. He snuggled up into Uso's lap, squeaking sleepily with a closed-eye face depicted on his mask.

"So we're here to pick up my new mechanized infantry division gear.... well, 'OUR'." Uso added, a half eaten burger infront of her as she gently held Sammy against her, "Then we get to put a bunch of guns on a bunch of trucks. It'll be fun!"

Aashi nodded after finishing off her burger, then said, "It will be."

Corgan nodded. "Yes, I'm hoping to get some sort of massive truck with saw blades mounted on the sides like I saw on the front of a tank once. Anyway enough about me. What brings a sexy Iroma out to the mudball we call 188604? I know Uso needed more pilots, but you seem.. different than the other pilots." He asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

"Different, hmmm?" Aashi said reflectively. "I would say I am. I heard about Uso while putting my feelers out in the criminal underworld. She's more well known among Nepleslian criminals than I am and, thus, you see me here. I'm less sexy that you should go presuming, trust me on that."

He raised an eyebrow. "The criminal underworld? I guess we have something in common, then. I did mention I was in a gang? Well, I mainly used to... acquire items for the gang. I don't mean to brag but I can pick almost any lock. Surprisingly Uso hasn't required me to steal anything yet." He said with disappointment. "I expected to be putting my skills to better use."

Corgan picked up his burger and took an ID-SOL sized bite, chewing it slowly. "Mmm. Feels like I haven't had a real burger in a year." He said after swallowing.

"We'll steal," Aashi said, putting a hand near him on the table, "tons of stuff together, Corgan. Just you wait."

His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "I think we'll be good friends. I'm not exactly experienced with having friends of the opposite gender... But I am starting to see the benefit of having them." Corgan quickly finished his burger and tried to suppress a belch. It didn't work. "Uh, excuse me.." He said, feeling his cheeks turn red.

Aashi's smile was inexplicably at once down and both turned upwards with a look of faux disgust. She then took a fry off her plate and put it into her mouth, then another, and took a long drink, letting the carbonation coat her throat, before trying to do her own form of a burp. A tiny popping sound came out of the woman's mouth as she opened it wide and she sat back in her chair, half-smiling.

"How was that?" Aashi asked.
He blinked, staring at her in confusion until he realized what the popping sound was. It was somewhere between cute and hysterical. He managed not to laugh out of fear she would be insulted. "That's not bad for a deer," Corgan said with a grin.

"Thank you," Aashi said with a sweeping of her arm.

"So we've still got some time to kill...." Uso said, grabbing a fry and dipping it in what was left of her milkshake, "You going to take us to meet mommy? I've been dying to tell her about her son's appointment to head-royal-ambassador."

Corgan sighed. He didn't really look forward to having Uso meet his mother. Aashi he didn't really mind, but he didn't really know her very well. It was Arccos that he wouldn't mind having around. The way things were she might mistake Uso for his girlfriend or something. "Fine, we can go now. It's a classy place, not really what you'd expect for that sort of establishment.."

He finished his burger and gulped down his Speed. "Let's go, then. She should be expecting us."

The strange group walked outside and this time, Corgan hailed a cab. The driver was a species he had never even seen before, some kind of alien that resembled a hairless cat. "Take us to Madam Claire's Secret Chamber." Corgan said as everyone filed into the car.

Madam Claire's Secret Chamber

After about thirty minutes they pulled up to what looked like a lavish mansion. There were statues of naked men and women of many different species along the rooftops. They even had a fountain out front of a large ID-SOL man, a stream of water coming out of a certain part of his anatomy which also happened to be quite large.

"Nice place," Aashi commented, putting one boot in front of the other as she walked towards the fountain. Gliding her fingers across the water, she looked to Uso, asking, "Everything you expected and more?"

"Well it is certainly classy for a Nepleslian joint..." She said, pressing herself up against Corgan from the side, "So mommy owns this whole place? She seems to be doing well for herself."

Corgan got out and was looking at the fountain, although mostly at the ID-SOL statue's face, which looked eerily familiar if they were paying attention. "I think it's more of a collective ownership, but she is definitely in charge." His shoulders stiffened a little when he realized Uso was pressed against him. Her proximity was giving him all sorts of lewd thoughts. "I guess we should go in and quit hanging around by my fath-.. the fountain I mean."

There was actually a short red carpet leading up to the entrance. A large wooden door with a gold handle stood at the end of the carpet. As Corgan walked up a large pale ID-SOL man in a security outfit walked up to the group. The guard was either wearing goggles or had cybernetics attached to his face. He had grey hair and his cheek was badly scarred, burn damage from the look of it. The nose was bent and crooked, clearly broken several times and not set properly. One arm was noticeably much larger than the other.

"Corgan, right? I'm the new head of security. Call me Steve. Madam Claire is expecting you." The man said in a booming voice. He looked towards Uso, Sammy, and Aashi. "They with you? Even the Neko?" Uso seemed to concern him even more than the insectoid he was unfamiliar with. "Give me a sec." Steve said, seeming to focus on Uso for a time and then Aashi.

After about a minute he grunted. "Just watch your girlfriends, make sure they don't walk out with anything they didn't come in with. And anyone harms one of the employees, you leave in a body bag, got it?" He walked up to the door and touched the wall beside the door. It swung open.

Aashi put a hand on Steve's chest and shoulder as she walked past him, smiling sweetly while looking ahead at all that the inside of the house had in store for them.

Sammy squirmed sleepily in Uso's arms as they approached the estate, but only truly awoke at the sound of the doorman's voice, which made him start awake with a squeak. "Wah?", he blurted, glancing around. "Where are we now? This place looks nice." He then turned his head towards Steve, displaying a smile on his mask. "Hello, Mister!", he greeted in his usual polite, upbeat tone.
"Hi Steve!" Uso added, holding Sammy up so he could get a good look at the Cyborg.

The ID-SOL nodded a greeting at the I'ee. Uso received another grunt and nothing more.

Corgan was the first to actually enter the building. The floor was a rich reddish mahogany with ornate rugs placed in high traffic areas. There were two hallways on either side and staircases leading up to the second floor. A balcony overlooked the large main room, though they couldn't actually see much of the second floor from here.

A young woman, not much older than Corgan, sat at a desk with a computer interface built into it. She was dressed in a fashionable pantsuit which was probably a couple sizes too small and she had her long blonde hair pulled into a braided mohawk.

The woman looked up and saw Corgan. Before anyone could blink she was running up to Corgan and throwing her arms around him. "Corgan! I've missed you. Your mother has been worried about you. Why haven't you contacted her until now? It's all she talks about. Will you be staying the night?" She said happily. Then she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "You can sleep in my room..."

Corgan looked like he was about to run out of the building screaming in horror. "U-uh, no, I just came to introduce her to my boss. Well she's not my boss but.. My boss works for her, so she kind of is. Uso, this is Astrid. We used to be uh... she was my girlfriend." He said as he slipped out of her grasp somehow. "Astrid, this is Uso Tasuki. The little guy she's carrying is Sammy. The lovely Iroma is Aashi." The terrified Nepleslian looked at Uso and Aashi pleadingly. Surely they would keep Astrid from having her way with him?

"OOOH, so is this the distinguished competition?!" Uso asked, leaning forward a bit as she closed the distance to the young woman, holding Sammy tightly, "Corgan's a real lady-killer at work. His talents even landed him a position as ambassador! Plus I think Aashi has been eager to get some hands-on time with him too... oh, I hope you've got some great stories about Corgi!"

"Hello, Miss!", Sammy said, waving to Astrid, blissfully unaware of the sexual undertones in the conversation around him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Astrid," Aashi said as she stepped forward and held Corgan's arm around her bent one. She could tell he was perturbed by his ex's presence and wasn't there to do anything but make the crew comfortable, as well as get them in and out of the place as quickly as possible, so said, "Come on, Corg. Let's go meet who we really came to see."

Astrid glared at Aashi with her big blue eyes. "Is this horned slut why you didn't want to marry me?" She hissed at Corgan, refusing to acknowledge Aashi with even a glance.

Corgan turned to Astrid, pretending to be angry. "Don't call her a slut! She is a wonderful person. Unlike you she doesn't track my every move. Aashi trusts me. Now, where is my mother?"

The sound of laughter from the stairway attracted Corgan's attention. A woman with long red hair and jade green eyes stood at the bottom of the stairs wearing an outfit that looked like it belonged in a saloon on 188604. Her wide hips swayed seductively as she walked towards them. "Well, this is a surprise! I knew you were coming, Corgi, but you never mentioned the two gorgeous women." She said happily.

"And what is this?" She asked as she walked up to Uso. Her gloved hand reached out and rubbed Sammy's head gently. The little I'ee would be at eye level with her large bust. "It's adorable! " She almost squealed. "Dd you bring me a new pet? Awww, thank you! You always were such a thoughtful boy."

Corgan's cheeks turned a darker shade of red than Gut-Stripe's famous stripe. "Mother, you're embarrassing me in front of my boss. Please act normal."

"P-please don't be mean to each other!", Sammy squeaked out to Astrid and Aashi, a big frown displayed on his LED mask. "I-I'm sure Corgan can marry both of you! Right, Mister Corgan?" Clearly, wasps didn't marry, as Sammy didn't understand the concept. He was soon distracted by Corgan's mother, his artificial frown turning into a friendly smile as the woman approached and rubbed his head. "Hello, Miss!", he greeted politely. "My name is Sammy!" The I'ee leaned his head slightly into her hand, poking curiously at her arm with his antennae.

Aashi remained on Corgan's arm and smiled warmly to both of the women vying for Corgan's attention, playing the role she had chosen for herself well.

"How come you aren't afraid I'm going to marry Corgan?" Uso asked defensively, before turning her attention towards Corgan's mother, holding Sammy up so the Nepleslian woman could pet him.

Astrid had apparently wandered back to her desk the instant Corgan's mother appeared. She was angrily pressing buttons on the screen.

Corgan's mother gasped when Sammy spoke. "Amazing, he talks! Hello, Sammy, my name is Claire Chambers. I'm Corgan's mother. Tell me, is he treating these two ladies right, or do I need to spank him?" She said seriously. "Forgive me! I forgot my manners." Claire said. She took Uso's hand in her own. "It's a pleasure to meet you, dear. You're his boss, Uso, I believe? Steve sent me your information. You make sure my boy stays safe." The threat was left unspoken but the tone of her voice made it clear.

Sammy let out a soft, high-pitched gasp when Claire introduced herself. "Y-you are Corgan's mother?", he asked, sounding unusually awed. "It's nice to meet you! And yes, Mister Corgan is very nice!"

"The nicest," Aashi agreed, pulling Corgan close to her body before releasing his arm and putting her hand on her own hip, its rightful place.

Uso shifted Sammy about so that she could hold him with one hand, and hold Corgan's mom's hand in the other, "Corgi's been doing a great job of keeping himself safe. He's our ambassador to the I'ee people nowadays." Uso bragged.

The woman smiled at Uso. "I think I like you. If my son weren't here I would probably take you to my room." She winked and released Uso's hand to turn to Aashi. "You are Aashi. You don't need to pretend anymore, darling, I can tell you aren't a couple. Corgi looks too nervous being that close to you. Don't worry, Astrid is all bark. She wasn't good enough for my Corgi. The poor girl has a few screws loose."

Corgan shrugged. "Guess you know me too well, mother. I do have my eye on a woman, but she's a bit.. different than the usual women I've been with. A Freespacer. Maybe you can meet her if you come to visit me. Unfortunately, I don't think she feels the same way."

Claire walked up to Corgan and gave him a big hug. "I'm sorry, Corgi."

"Savage..." Uso whispered... commenting on the remarks towards Astrid.

With Corgan's mother moving to address her son, Sammy leaned back into Uso's grasp again, watching with a smile on his LED mask.

"So, Claire, what all do you do around here?! I've been dying to meet the mom of our local hero!" Uso said.

She let Corgan go and turned towards Uso. "I am retired from any of the escort work, if that's what you want to know. I would make an exception for you, though." Claire said in a sultry tone. "What I mostly do is decide who we will take on as clients and who can work. All the workers have a share in the company, but I have a controlling interest. Sometimes we buy slaves from slavers to free them, and then they owe us favors. Some decide to work for me in some capacity. Others decide to pay their debt in different ways."

Corgan nodded. "Mother used to be a miner, until slavers got ahold of her. My father met her when she was working for them. The pregnancy was a mistake. The slavers were going to end it, but she wanted to keep me. So she killed them and escaped. She said she didn't know exactly who he was. There were a few possible ID-SOL at the time. But that statue.." He trailed off.

Claire stayed silent for a minute. A sigh finally escaped her lips and she walked over to Corgan again. "I didn't want to tell you. I found him, He died in the Battle of Nepleslia. It was the man I always thought. Sergeant First Class John Garret."

Corgan looked like he might cry for a second. Instead, he just nodded. "He died fighting squids then. Good. Maybe I can get some payback on those abominations. Uso's helping Sammy's people fight them." He sighed. "Well, I am happy to see things are going well. Ragnarok has been profitable. You'd like my boss, Cyrus. The guy is a total badass."

Aashi put a hand on Corgan's shoulder and eased her voice into the conversation, "You have that right, Corgan, don't worry about what has past nor what will come, only what you can do."

He sighed and nodded. "Thanks, Aashi." The big man walked up to his mother and gave her a hug. "It was good to see you, mother, but we only stopped by for a short visit. I have some cargo waiting for me. You should come visit me next time. I'll send you the coordinates of the planet we're setting up as our HQ. I worried about you, but now that I've met Steve I won't worry."

Claire pulled back to look up at him. "Do you have to leave so soon? I have enough rooms for you and your friends. Astrid would like it if you spent the night, or I could get one of my girls that's less clingy. Diamond is great at giving massages, and Skye has an amazing singing voice. There's even a real Nekovalkyrja girl, she just started working last week. Her name escapes me.. Was it Makoto? No, Madoka. That's it."

Corgan turned a little red. "Mom, please don't talk to me about hooking up with your employees, it's a little bit weird to discuss with your mother. And yes, we have to go."

His mother squeezed him tight and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I will visit soon. Maybe set up a place there so I can keep an eye on you. Don't worry, I won't bring Astrid." She said with a giggle. "Next time I'm not going to let you leave so soon. You're going to spend a few days here and take your mother out to dinner. You can tell me all about this girl you've fallen for and what you've been doing lately." She sighed and let him go. "I love you son. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Corgan smiled. "Love you too, mother. I'll give you a call when we get back." He turned to Uso and the other two. "We better get going. Unless there's something you want to do here?"

Sammy let out a squeak as Corgan turned to leave, waving to Claire from the comfort of Uso's arms. "Goodbye, Corgan's mother! It has been lovely to meet you!", he called out cheerily.

"Look me up when you're ready to make the move to a new planet!" Uso added, waving along with Sammy.

As the group walked towards the door, Astrid blocked Corgan's path. She had her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. "It's not over, Corgan. This girl will break your heart and you'll come back to me. We belong together." She pulled Corgan close and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Then she walked off to her desk smirking. He rolled his eyes and kept walking.

Corgan walked out the door and past the fountain, looking up at the statue that he now knew was a tribute to his father as he walked by. He kept walking until they were back at the road.

"Don't get hung up on such things," Uso said, walking out behind Corgan, "You can choose how you feel, so feel how you want."
A few seconds later Corgan flagged down a taxi. "I'm not, just wish I had a chance to meet the guy. I might have turned out different. Anyway, tell the driver where your warehouse is Uso." He replied before getting in the back of the cab.

The I'ee ambassador in Uso's arms seemed confused by Astrid's behavior, buzzing his wings when the woman kissed Corgan, unsure if this was an assault of some sort. The others did not treat it as such, though, so he eventually relaxed into Uso's grasp again, letting out little squeaks.

Uso would have a quick conversation with the cab driver before returning her attention to Corgan, "You're your experiences. If he had taught you how to be a man you wouldn't be you."

"Knowing is always something my people and I strive towards. In this case, knowing may have led to becoming a different person than you are, now, as Uso said. Find out more about him, though, by finding out more about yourself," Aashi added.
"That makes sense, I guess," Corgan said, as Uso cut him off.

"Of course it makes sense!" She said, "That guy is only a part of your life as a wishful memory. He has as much meaning to you as Phalanx Philip. Letting him get you down is fucking stupid."

"Shit, I almost forgot. Arccos wanted us to get some kind of package for her. Where was that supposed to be.." He felt around in his pocket for his DataJockey and pulled it out. A few taps on the screen and he found the message from Arccos.

I ordered a package, need you to pick it up between the Neppies and Gubtubb building on 97th in Ertrecht district. Tell them Obletand sent you.

He wasn't sure what the Gubtubb building was but everything else was familiar. "Hey, cabbie I need you to take us to 97th in the Ertrecht district, between the Neppies and the Gubtubb building before we go to the place my boss told you about."

There was a sound from the front that could have been an affirmation but it was hard to tell. The car moved into another lane and a few minutes later they pulled into a seedy alley complete with a group of homeless people standing around a burning trash can.

As the cab pulled in, a couple of the derelicts moved over to peer inside. Whether to beg for change or to mug those inside was hard to tell. But as a few windows were made grimier through the efforts of one of them hoping to get something in exchange for ineffectual honest labor, one approached the window at the back. Knocking on it with a cybernetic knuckle. A huge man, in a filthy coat. Stained and patched. Seemingly blind, with two empty eye sockets gazing blankly into the cab.

Corgan lowered his window to talk to the guy. "Hey, um.. Obletand sent me." He said cautiously.

The rancid cyborg turned his head to blindly look this way or that. Secure... Somehow in the knowledge that they weren't being watched, he reached into his coat and dumped a somewhat grimy brown paper bag into the window. Straight into Corgan's lap.
"Tell Obletand that next time we're on forty ninth schema." He said mysteriously, then ambled off down the alleyway.

The strange response just left Corgan looking confused as he raised the window again. He looked down at the dirty bag, almost afraid to touch it. "Well, that was weird as hell. I am curious, but better not open it. She didn't say anything about looking, though." He decided he would rather not take the risk of making Arccos angry and picked the bag up with his cyborg hand. "Anyone want to take a look in the bag? I won't stop you."

Uso picked up the bag and had a look inside, "OH grow a pair." She said, "If Arccos didn't want anyone snooping around she would have done it herself...."

"..."

Uso closed the bag, and handed it back to Corgan.

Corgan looked at Uso, then back at the bag. "Well, what is it?" He asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Uso said.

"You realize that only makes me want to know more. " He replied. "Gess I will just have to look." Corgan leaned down and opened the bag, peering inside cautiously. He closed the bag slowly and sat up looking terrified. "Let's never speak of this again." He said seriously.

The freaked out Nepleslian yelled to the cab driver. "Hey Jeeves, take us to the warehouse." Strange gurgling sounds from the driver's seat accompanied the usual engine sounds as the car pulled out of the alley and headed for Uso's warehouse at the spaceport.