*Beep, Beep*K - [Phoenix Hawk, this is Lieutenant Eligan. Come in, please.]

  "Hun?" John said, looking at his Link. He wasn't expecting the ship's radio to be transferring through it. He tapped a button, and a holographic image of Katrina in her cockpit appeared before him. "This is the Phoenix Hawk. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

  "Ahh, Captain, good to hear you. I just wanted to let you know that the clean-up is finished. I will be returning to the Phoenix Hawk shortly, then we can return to base." She said. She opened her visor, her red eyes looking into his through the hologram. "Also, I want to thank you again for this strategy. I have never seen the total annihition of a pirate base quite like this before."

  "No problem. I am just happy it worked out as well as it did." He replied, smiling back at her. "Shall we have another dinner date? My treat this time?"

  "Ah, I will be busy for the next couple of days, Captain. Perhaps another time. I will signal you in a few minutes when I am ready to dock. Eligan out." She said, turning down his offer and ending the call.

  Hmm, maybe I misunderstood the way she acted the other day. It would almost be refreshing if the women in one of these worlds didn't seem to be throwing themselves at me.

  "Ya should be careful around 'er Captain, some nobles 're a wee bit... crazy," Tanya said, her brother nodding beside her.

  "Hun? She seems okay... was a little insistent on me taking this contract, but according to the guild, it is a well-paid one." He replied, wondering what she meant.

  "Well, she is known to be a bit obsessive over certain things... like try'in to find dirt on other nobles. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but she tends to get blinded by 'er crusades and doesn't look at the bigger picture. Just be careful ya don't get dragged into one of 'er schemes." She said, then they stood up. "We're going to go check up with Chris. When we get back to the station, do ya want to join us at the guild to celebrate a successful job with a few drinks?"

  "I will think about it. It depends on what the INP needs from me when we return. This contract work is all still pretty new to me." He replied, standing as well.

  After a quick goodbye, John returned to the cockpit to await Katrina's return. He reflected on the conversation he had with the two dwarves.

  They seem like a good pair to get more information from. I should probably take them up on the offer. Just need to make sure my pill has worn off. Don't need another episode like in The Great Cleric.

  He leaned back in his command chair, leafing through his link for material prices while he waited. He had a significant amount of money, but if he was about to hire people, he wanted to be as prepared as possible.

  Back on Parrax Station"Hah, hah, hah."She was leaning on the wall, catching her breath after losing her pursuers. She had caught the eye of one of the gang leaders the other day and was now on the run, lest she become one of his new pythings.

  *Gurgle*

  Her stomach chose that time to begin growling. She just sighed, sitting down on the floor to save her energy. She hadn't had a bite to eat since she snatched those burgers from some guy who was daydreaming outside of the mercenary guild. She felt bad about stealing, but ever since she was made an IDS and left to roam the third ring to find employment, she had been constantly harassed by different gangs.

  They would threaten anyone who employed her, isoting her from anyone who would let her try to rebuild the life that had crumbled around her suddenly after her parents died. She tried to go to the police about it, but they ignored her pleas for assistance.

  "Just feel lucky a man is interested in you." The receptionist there said to her, thinking she was just compining about someone flirting with her.

  This is far from that! I don't want to become some gang member or some corrupt noble's side piece.

  She started to cry into her knees, not knowing why her life had turned out this way.

  John was walking towards the Mercenary guild... he thought. He was making his way through a series of back passageways from where he had docked this time, trying to find his way there. It was not going well.

  "God damn it, I think I have been down this alley before." He swore to himself.

  When they returned, he had to wait around for everyone to disembark. He then sold all the salvage, which took a significant amount of time, but netted him another two million GSC. Right now, he was sitting with just shy of five million credits, which, as far as he could tell, could keep him alive for the rest of his life and then some.

  I retired once, I am not ready to do it again... besides, I am in this world because of something that is going to happen, not to retire. DEN wouldn't be that nice to me.

  He got changed into his leathers and started making his way to the guild, intent on talking with Jahred about hiring some permanent crewmembers. He hoped Greg and Tanya would be there as well, as the two of them seemed to be a wellspring of information.

  The sounds of sobbing pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked around the passage he was walking in. A young woman was crying beside a dumpster, her arms and legs were scratched up, her clothing dirty and torn. Her hair was white, cut in a bob, her two white cat ears poking up from the sides of her head.

  "Hey, are you okay? Do you need a hand?" He asked her, offering her his hand.

  She stopped crying then, her ears pinning backwards, her body going rigid. She looked up at him then, her crystal blue eyes filled with fear. "Ahhh.... 'Sniff'... I... I... I'm okay... just having an off day, you know." She said, a forced smile on her face. "Did you need something?"

  Okay, my ass... she looks exhausted... no, she looks hunted.

  "Well, not really. I just heard someone crying, so I thought I would check to see if they were okay. Do you want me to heal those wounds?" He asked, kneeling beside her.

  "Heal? Are you an Elf, Mister? No, of course you're not, you mean an Auto-Doc? Sorry, I don't have the money to use one of those." She said, rexing slightly. She was still watching him warily, ready to dart off at a moment's notice.

  "No, not an Auto-Doc. And it is free. Here. Heal! Cure!" He said, casting his magic. In this world, it flowed naturally, and even the weaker version closed all the scratches and scrapes on her body, leaving any dirt or impurities on her now healed skin. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and started to wipe her knees and hands that were now just covered in filth. He stopped when he realized that it might seem a bit awkward for him to just start cleaning a stranger up like that.

  "Sorry, here." He said, handing her the cloth. "You just reminded me of my daughter when she was younger. She would show up crying, scraped up knees and elbows, and tales of some adventure she got into. It was just... automatic."

  "No, it is okay, Mister. Thank you for healing me. Healing magic is amazing!" She said, her nervousness disappearing. Then her stomach gurgled.

  "Hungry?" He asked, and she nodded, embarrassment flushing her cheeks red. "Well, maybe you can help me, and I can help you. See... I am kind of lost. Can you bring me to the mercenary guild? There is a guy in front of it who makes some great food. If you bring me there, I'll get you a few burgers."

  He wasn't dumb, she was obviously homeless. He didn't want to pry into her situation, else his bleeding heart would make him try and fix her problems...and he had money enough right now, he could probably fix most people's immediate problems.

  She isn't my daughter. Just like in the slums of Meritoni, I need to harden my heart. I can't fix everything.

  "Umm... it is just down this passageway... You will come out right beside it." She said, pointing down the passage they were on.

  "Great! Let's go get you some food." He said, standing up and offering her his hand. She took it hesitantly, standing beside him.

  She was short, maybe five feet tall. Her rger breasts and thick ass were covered by a dirty and torn set of bck shorts and a tight blue t-shirt. Despite her situation, there was a very beautiful young woman hidden beneath the grime.

  "My name is John, by the way. Captain John Wayne." He said, releasing her hand.

  "Niki... I am... I was a student at Parrax University. Now, I am... an IDS." She said, her voice almost a whisper.

  John wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just nodded.

  Harden your heart, man.

  They made their way to the guild, and John made good on his promise, buying her a whole bag of those burgers. She clutched it to her chest, thanking him, then darted off back into the passageways of the station. He watched her go, wondering if she was going to be okay.

  Once she disappeared, he turned back to the guild. He needed to put her out of his mind and focus on his task at hand, hiring a few crew members.

  Unnoticed by John, the hamburger vendor watched him go, a frown forming on his brow.

  When John walked inside the guild, he was immediately assaulted by the noise of music echoing throughout the room. A band was pying on a makeshift stage on the far wall of the hall, the four dwarves pying something that sounded simir to hard rock. He was already regretting showing up.

  "John? Hey! Ya made it!" Someone said by his elbow. He looked down, and Greg was there beside him, holding a few mugs of ale.

  "Yeah, I did... what is all this?" he said, gesturing to the party.

  "It's Founding Day. This day, nine hundred and seventy-five years ago, the mercenary guild was founded. Honestly, I forgot about it when we took this job. It isn't like it is a national holiday or anything, the guild just puts on some entertainment and charges at cost fer food and drink just fer today." Greg replied, then gestured for John to follow him.

  "I was hoping to speak with Jahred about hiring people... I am going to guess that isn't happening." He said, speaking up over the crowd.

  "Yeah, naw. Unless it's an emergency, no actual work will be getting done this evening. So just come rex with us, 'ave a few drinks, make a fool of yerself with the karaoke."

  "Karaoke? They are not a professional band?" He asked, looking at the stage. He hadn't sung karaoke since his daughter left the house. Not that he was any good at it.

  "Nope, though to be fair, they 're pying their own music right now and not just singing along. Why? 're you interested in trying?"

  "Hah, might need a little more liquid courage to attempt that." John ughed. Greg joined him.They made their way over to a booth on the side wall. Tanya, Chris, and Ash were already seated, the two dwarves already having a stack of mugs around them. Ash appeared to just be nursing a single mug, her eyes and complexion much clearer than the first time they met here. They took their seats, and after John caused Ash to nearly jump out of her skin, they settled in for a bit.

  John decided to use this time to learn more about this world and hopefully make a few connections with these four. After watching them in action, Tanya was probably the least skillful, which would still put her above Katrina's pilots. He didn't count Chris, as she was a non-combatant, but she seemed to figure out how to use the Phoenix Hawks' systems in moments.

  If I can hire these four, then that would solve some of my issues. I'll wait until everyone is sober to pop that question, though.

  The conversation jumped around a few different subjects, but was mostly about how well that recent raid on the pirate base went. Usually, mercs didn't deal with pirate bases directly, unless they were part of a company or one of the odd times the INP hired extra personnel for an operation. Generally they were escorts or guards, watching over transports coming to and from different mines, or if you had a death wish, you would be scouting on the Javarian border, watching to see if the bugs were encroaching on human territories.

  "I need to thank ya again for saving me dumbass brother. I wasn't looking forward to expining to his boyfriend that he was killed by a two-hundred-year-old relic." Tanya said when Greg was away, grabbing yet another round of drinks for the table. He thought of trying to keep up at first, but at the speed the trio of dwarves were knocking the ales back yet seemingly still sober, he decided discretion was the better part of valour.

  "It's fine, don't worry about it too much... I have a ship capable of doing some real bullshit maneuvers, apparently. If I thought about it more, I would have fired the MAG from where I was, but I was worried about the shot getting fouled by a stray pirate vessel." He replied, taking a sip of his beer. It was decent, but it reminded him more of one of the fruity drinks Bazan and the Linage of the White Wolf would feed him while healing in the slums. Maybe there were slums here he could go practice his healing at? He would check ter.

  After I am done with this dive in Infinite Frontiers, I am going to unlock the rest of the worlds first to get the bonus stats. Then, providing it is unlocked, I am going back to The Great Cleric. It just seemed the most normal for me, although it is in medieval times.

  "Bullshit is a word. How are you so nonchant about it?" Ash asked him. She had been drinking somewhere in between the amount the Dwarves were and what he was drinking, with several empty mugs stacked beside her as well. "You showed up out of nowhere in a big fancy ship, then scared the hell out of everyone even before we boarded with that stereotypical Captain's attitude. You even picked on me for our first meeting, which was an accident!

  Then we heard you dressed down Katrina for a dumbass pn, threatening to kick us all off the ship even before we started. You then came up with this crazy idea, where we were just along for the ride as you walked right in the front door and opened up with your torpedoes. Then, to top it all off, you rescued Greg from being melted by the only real capital ship the pirates had. Who are you really, John?"

  "I am just a guy who got lucky. What do you mean by Stereotypical Captain's attitude? I was just annoyed at Katrina's poor pnning... not to mention my suit still smelled of beer at the time, so I was annoyed with you too." John said, ughing a little to take the edge off his words. He was annoyed with them, but a lot of time had passed since then, so he had a chance to cool off.

  "Did you not notice how everyone's attitude changed when they boarded your vessel? Do you not know what it means to be a Captain in the Kestrel Empire?" Ash asked him, gesturing with her half-full mug.

  "Not really. I know my word is w on the ship, but that doesn't expin why everyone suddenly turned so deferential." He said, thinking that it might be like navy ships back on Earth. Not that he had any experience with that other than stories or movies.

  "That is one way to describe it. On board your ship in any human-controlled territory, the word of the captain IS the w, not the nation they are in. If you wanted to take someone as an IDS or sve for insulting you, you are within your rights to do that. It is one of the reasons most civilian ships are owned by companies and run by a commander instead. No one wants to risk being killed or ensved by a crotchety Captain." She said, tapping the table to emphasize her points.

  "Really? That is insane! What happens when I dock? What about pirates? I have so many questions." John was fbbergasted.

  Is this why Katrina turned down dinner? Did I scare her when I got angry? I need to talk with her soon to clear this up.

  "You really did lose your memories, didn't ya? Well, pull up a seat, Captain. Let the three of us expin to you what exactly it means to be a Captain in our Empire, and why it is a heavy responsibility despite the liberties and freedoms you have." Tanya interjected. She moved to his and Ash’s side of the booth, pinning him between the two of them. Chris was giggling across from them, apparently finding her sister's antics amusing.

  With that opening, John's understanding of this world was expanded over the next few hours, lubricated liberally with the nearly free-flowing drinks Greg and Chris kept bringing back to the table.

  Juia_Darkcrest