Shame

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be heroes, just for one day
Heroes - David Bowie

"Wait," Resika pulled away instinctively. Her lips felt numb as she turned away.

"I'm sorry,"

"No, I'm sorry. This is my fault," Resika smoothed his hair with her hand. She tilted her head to the side and leaned into his lips again.

_____________________________________________

"Hey, there's a Firetail out here. Oop, I just landed on him. Going for tackle," After a bit of silence Hallan's voice came through again, "Tackled, ooh wow, I think I can take him alone,"

"You sure you don't want help?" Persephone's voice broke through the gunfire.

"No I think," Another pause, this time longer, "I've got him,"

"Nice job!" The rest of comms lit up with laughter.

Hallan smiled.

_____________________________________________

"This is so wrong," Resika giggled.

"I know,"

"Again?" She asked.

"Yes,"

_____________________________________________

"Rupture tackled," Hallan sounded off in comms again.

"On my way," Persephone answered again.

"Oh he's got a Neut, this is going to be a short battle,"

"I'm getting there,"

"Ok, Hobgoblin's are out,"

"First Hob is down, working on second,"

"Ok Hallan, he's tackled,"

"Good Perseph, lets keep on these drones,"

"Roger that," she answered, "Hal that was my drone,"

"Sorry," Hallan offered back, "If you need to take off point, let me know, his Neuting has slowed down,"

"Good, my MWD is really killing my Cap. Oh crap, tell me you have point,"

"On now, thanks,"

"No problem,"

The two frigates orbited the larger cruiser swiftly. It tried in vain over the next few minutes to shake it's dogged killers, but it died just the same.

"Get the pod," Came a cry from Hallan.

"Missed it," Persephone replied.

"Ahh well, lets get the loot,"

"What was that you said about this being short?"

_____________________________________________

"So, what do we do now?" Resika stroked his hair lazily.

"I... I'm not sure," Korvan replied.

A Night

Just turn on with me and you're not alone,
Let's turn on and be not alone,
Gimme your hands cause you're wonderful,
Gimme your hands cause you're wonderful,
Oh gimme your hands.
Rock 'n Roll Suicide - David Bowie

"You found him?" Hallan rubbed his hands together over his empty glass.

"I found him," Korvan tipped his drink back and gulped it's contents.

"You know what I want right?"

"Unidentifiable, but alive,"

"Exactly. We'll edit the DNA records and..." Hallan looked up at Resika as she walked over to their table, "Hey babe," He reached out and took one of the drinks she carried.

Resika looked at the two men and raised her eyebrow, "Shop talk?"

"You'll be bored," Hallan said before sipping on his new glass.

"Try me," She said with a smile.

"Well, I'd just finished dueling an Omen in my Rifter," Hallan leaned back and looked at Korvan who just shook his head, "Ard calls out that he's narrowed down a Hulk inside an Arnstur wormhole, naturally I head over there and set up camp on the other side of the hole,"

"What does a wormhole look like?" Resika interupted, "My Bestower's never run into one,"

"It's really just a giant swirly thing," Korvan chimed in, "I found one myself up in Balginia,"

"Yeah, if you look really closely you can see what the system on the other side looks like," Hallan's glass was empty again already.

Resika looked at Hallan for a moment and then back at the glass, "I suppose you're going to be lazy again and go without,"

"Maybe," Hallan smiled at her as she stood and headed back to the bar.

"We'll change the DNA records to match this Torval Gumak charactor. He's wanted for what, rape?"

"He's a serial rapist," Korvan said with a frown, "Our guys grabbed him in Boundless yesterday,"

"And?"

"After a bit investigation, I put a bullet in his stomach and threw him in a fire,"

"Sounds about right," Hallan paused again as Resika returned with his drink, "You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it,"

"Uh huh, you finished your story already didn't you?" She took a drink from her own glass and leaned on the table.

"Nah, I was just talking to Korvan about how he likes working for me,"

Korvan laughed and said "Chief Security Officer has such a nice ring to it. I can almost forget what a total piece of shit I work for."

"That's it," Hallan said while looking at the ceiling, "You are now vice president in charge of... Waste Management,"

"Shouldn't your new COO have a say in that kind of thing," Resika said with mock anger.

"Babe, I own all the stock," He motioned to the bar, "I own the property. Good/Arms Inc. is Hallan Turrek,"

Resika stuck her tongue out at Hallan who did the same while crossing his eyes.

Korvan looked around, "So what happened inside the wormhole,"

"Simple in, simple out, We killed the Hulk, popped the pod, and stole all his ore,"

"Big payout?" Korvan asked.

"Could be huge," Hallan said with a yawn.

"Ugh," Resika said, "Ok you were right," She walked over to Hallan, and bent over to kiss him on the cheek, "I'll be at your place,"

"Alright babe, I'll wrap up things here and head over," He pulled her in for a kiss and she put up a mock struggle.

Korvan looked over at another girl that he'd been glancing at all night. She was looking at him and smiling.

"I'll see ya," Resika said before turning to walk away.

Korvan turned back to Hallan as his eyes wandered to Resika's departing form, "My god that's a nice ass,"

"I know!"

Korvan adjusted in his seat and put his elbows on the table, "Hal, Why not just kill this guy?"

"Because he'll suffer more in a Minmatar prison,"

"But it's a pretty elaborate setup for such a small payoff,"

"It's what I want done. Cut out his tongue, take his feet, face and teeth. I want his hands. Wipe his identity away. Tomorrow he's going to be serial rapist Torval Gumak, and no one will want to help him with the pain you leave him with. He made the mistake of putting out a contract on me, I want him to remember how much of a mistake that is," Hallan finished his drink and stood up to put his coat on.

"One day you're going to have to let her in on all these horrible things you've done and have people do. She's a nice girl Hal,"

"That's why she can't know,"

A Day

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

"You have quite possibly the nicest ass I've ever seen," I laid in bed and watched Resika stand by the window. She covered the front of her with a blanket as she looked down at my hangar.

"This is where I'm supposed to giggle and tell you to shut up, right?" She backed away from the window and sat down on my bed, "I won't though, because you're right,"

I moved towards her on the bed, and brushed a strand of hair away from her mouth before I kissed her.

______________________

"Astarte on scan. No, Astarte is here!" Venom sounded a bit alarmed as the command ship came out of warp on top of her. I could hear her frustration and the familiar buzz of a warp scrambler activating over the comms.

"On my way," Nova spoke up on comms.

"I'll be there in a sec," Our Crusader pilot offered.

"I'm in warp," I said with a grin.

"Guys, I'm dying real fast,"

"He's got blasters, get away from them," My smile didn't last long as I heard the explosion.

"I'm dead guys, don't come in,"

"I'm landing," Nova's voice broke through her last comment.

"So'm I," I added hurriedly.

"Astarte Pointed," The Crusader said with a laugh.

"I'm pointed," Nova sounded concerned, "Oh wow guys, I'm going to die,"

Another explosion over the comms and in a minute two rupture were down.

"Hallan, Ravenesa, get out of there," Nova was concerned about the Crusader and my Ruptures.

"Yeah," I laughed out loud on comms, "That sounds like me,"

Ravenesa in his Crusader was having no trouble avoiding the Astarte's blasters, and the Hammerhead IIs were incapable of catching him. I was orbiting well outside of the Blaster range and was faster than the Command Ship. We were at a stalemate.

For minutes it continued on. He stopped running his speed mod, his capacitor must've been getting low because his armor started to trickle down. In a moment of brilliance he set his Hammerheads on me. I pulsed my MWD and set a full squad of Hobgoblins on one of them. It died swiftly and the remaining drones ran back to their bay.

Then the other shoe dropped and his backup finally arrived. A Falcon decloaked and jammed both of us. The Crusader pilot hung around but I aligned and warped away. As I left though, I noticed something curious. The other ships were leaving too.

Ravenesa laughed as he reported "They ran away,"

We scooped up our own loot and were amazed that we'd managed to scare a Command Ship and Falcon off fresh kills. Just another day in my life.

______________________

"Hal," Resika looked into my eyes as I lay with my head propped up and on my side, "What did you think about when he was cutting you,"

"Everything and nothing babe,"

She raised her eyebrow, "That doesn't make much sense,"

"Nothing about it did,"

She laid on her back and looked up at the ceiling, "Because some sanctimonious Minmatar leader called for a crusade against piracy?"

"You're Amarr babe, probably not best to be holding any pent up aggression against the Matar,"

"What we've done was more than enough to damn us for eternity. That'll be the punishment for the true believers," She shook her head and looked back at the ceiling, "I won't feel guilty for things I didn't do,"

"All I'm saying," I put my hand over hers, "Is that they're not bad. We're not good people. They have every right to want to put us away,"

"They'll do it again Hallan, and then what?"

"I've got plenty of contacts in the Republic. They like me. I've already found out exactly who in GIS put a contract on me, and I'll pay 'em a visit before this week is out,"

"What will you do then?"

I ran my hand down her side and smiled, "Live,"

Futility

It was cold blooded murder. But I can live with that.
Tom Doniphon - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Continued from Contentment

"Did you hear me Turrek?"

I look up with my one good eye and start to laugh, "I heard you,"

"So tell me , what are the defense strategies for the Evati branches of the Bastards,"

"Yeah, that's why I'm laughing. I mean come on, you think you're so smart. So regimented. Your trap didn't have to be so perfect you know. You'd have got me with half the effort.,"

"Flattery will get you nowhere. I'm taking your eyelids,"

"Oh great, so I get to look at your ugly face all day,"

____________________________

"I will know the answer,"

"You don't want the answer," I try to blink away the blood in my eye. The irritation is killing me now.

"I want to know!" He wields the bloody knife above his head.

"There aren't any," Water is coming from my eye now. I can't stop it anymore.

"Not good enough," He grins wider and puts the knife in my mouth.

____________________________

I can't talk anymore through the blood. He knows I can't talk. He chuckles to himself and puts the knife to my throat. This is it.

I've gotten them loose.

My head smashes into his nose. I stand up and grab his knife hand. He's not very strong. I rip his arm down and twist it behind him. The knife deftly slips from his fingers and I grab it just as quickly. His other arm begins to move wildly. I bring the knife to his throat and move it from ear to ear.

We both fall to the ground, his soft gurgling a welcome respite from his constant blathering. I roll away and wait for his friends to come.

No one comes.

I cry.

____________________________

"That's incredible. Who was he?" Mynxee cocks her head to the side and her braids sway freely.

"I have no idea. Probably an independant contractor for GIS," I take a sip of my Quafe.

"You don't look any worse for wear," She says with a grin.

"New clone," I say plainly.

"So you didn't tell him anything?" Her voice is soft at this point. She's curious.

I look up with a grin, "Are you kidding me? I told him everything I knew about our defense plans for this station,"

"We don't have any defense plans for this station," She smiles and sips her own drink.

I stand up and put on my hat, "I know,"

Contentment

We’re starting a book club? What, are you trying to torture me?
Malcolm Reynolds - Firefly

My eyes won't open. Why won't they open? Ahh there we go.

My eyes can survey the room but I can't move my head or my arms. Feet are a no go. They've got me bound up pretty good. This is uh, this is not good. The room is dark except for a bright light directly above me. I can see the walls are white, and extremely clean.

"Hallan Turrek," A voice from behind me says. It's a calm voice. Very cold. I try to turn my head even though I can't. My neck just wrenches and pain comes over me.

"It's very secure, if you were wondering," The man walks slowly and deliberately beside me. I can just see him in my peripheral vision now. He's tall, dark hair. The light shining above me is reflecting off the bald spot on his head as he leans down to my shoulder.

"So, why am I here?" I speak very slowly. My mouth doesn't want to move yet. The drugs are still coursing through my veins.

"Long story short, we needed some information. It always comes down to that doesn't it?" The man moves in front of me. He has a knife in his hand. It's a slender blade with a sharply angled hook at the end, "I want you to tell me everything you know about the Bastards defense plans of Kaalikoata's Evati branches,"

I roll my eyes as he leans in closer. I can smell his breath and see his rotten teeth as he smiles. "You know, it gives me great pleasure to say that I have no idea," My mouth moves so sluggishly again, but I say it.

His smiles widens, "I won't lie Hallan. Me too," He plunges the knife's hook under my skin at the inside of my right elbow and begins to drag it down my arm.

I scream.

Restraint

Let the wind take me away,
As cars go rolling past,
The sun is down at last,
I walk along and pray,
That the wind takes me away.

And the wind will make me fly,
Above the bustling crowds,
On past the soaring clouds,
Higher than birds and sky,
There the wind will make me fly.

Let the wind take me away,
I push against the night,
And imagine I'm in flight,
I walk the road and say,
Will you please take me away?
Hallan Turrek - Liberation

"Just go over and say hello," Korvan said before sipping on his drink.

"Yeah, that sounds like me," Hallan said while putting his head down.

The By Jove was bustling and Hallan nodded to the bartender again. He set a glass in front of him and poured out a yellowish drink.

Korvan shook his head, "What are you in high school? Quafe? Getting drunk will do wonders for your social life man,"

Hallan downed the glass and muttered "Whatever,"

"When's the last time you got laid anyhow?"

"A year ago I think. And only cause the Caldari Navy ordered me too,"

"Wow. No wonder you're depressed," Korvan stood up and walked over to the crowd of women that Hallan had been eyeballing all night. Hallan almost stood up to follow him but turned around and winced instead.

"Hey," Korvan said to one of them, "My friend over there thinks you're cute,"

The girl looked over at Hallan, who was turning redder by the minute, "Shy?"

"You have no idea," Korvan walked back over to Hallan with a smile on his face. The girl followed him and sat down on the bar stool next to him.

"So. What's your name, shy boy," She leaned over towards him.

"Hallan, uh, Hallan Turrek," He looked over at Korvan with a puzzled look on his face.

"I'm gonna go Hal. I'll be around tomorrow," Korvan waved for the Bartender. The man walked over as Korvan pulled out his Credichip.

Hallan put his own hand out and waved the bartender away, "You really think I'm going to let you pay at a bar I own? Seriously. Just be safe,"

Korvan chuckled and turned around, "Hey whatever man. I gotta offer," Korvan walked towards the door and chuckled to himself.

The girl looked at Hallan intently as he took a sip of his drink again. She tilted her head to the side and said "You own the bar?" She smiled softly, "My name's Resika,"

Hallan shot a look at his quickly departing friend "Dammit Korvan,"

___________________________

Hallan woke up and rolled over. She'd already left, and he picked up the note that she'd left him on the bed.

"Sorry, Have a new job I gotta get to. My number's on the back. Call me," Hallan smiled and stood up, looking out over his hangar.

Wanderlust - Part 1 of 2

'Cause you are not alone,
And I am there with you,
And we'll get lost together,
Till the light comes pouring through,
'Cause when you feel like you're done,
And the darkness has won,
Babe, you're not lost,
Michael Buble - Lost

Most of you have already heard the news. I'm glad to say I didn't know anyone on Seyllin One. For so many to die so quickly, it's almost unthinkable. I took the time to trek to the dead world.


The wormholes that've appeared all over New Eden are the most likely culprits. I've a working knowledge of astrophysics, enough to know that it's likely that a wormhole opened up near Seyllin that connected to the interior of a star. A bit of bad luck and that could've happened in where I live in Evati.

The best thing to do in such a situation is to get back to living, so I hopped into my Cheetah. I proceeded to hunt down a Radar site in Todifraun. After ripping off the Angel Cartel for about twenty million isk, I started running my probes again. In Akkio I found it.


I could not resist the urge, and traveled through. I came out in unknown and unexplored space. A ringing alarm that I'd never heard before started as my ship sensors adjusted. As my systems came back to life I checked the alarm. It was a gravitational anomaly alert. A black hole was only a few light years out.



I warped to a planet and made a bookmark between. I then doubled back to my bookmark and deleted it. Then I warped to another planet, repeating the process, but renaming this bookmark as a safe spot. I released four probes and cloaked.

I made sure to deactivate three of the probes, and took the other out to start my process of searching.

Very shortly I found an asteroid belt with some strange signatures coming from it. I order my Cheetah to warp to the location and the strange readings became stronger as I approached.

A sense of dread filled me as I came into visual range of the asteroids.

I Am Not What I Am - Part 3 of 3

Now I've said too much,
I thought that I heard you laughing,
I thought that I heard you sing,
I think I thought I saw you try.
REM - Losing My Religion

Part 1
Part 2

Kere was standing next to his comm officer and watched his weapons chief fire a volley of Artillery at his enemies, "Sir," The comm officer began, "The Slicers just finished off the Rupture escort. We've lost two of the Hurricane squads,"

"Just a little longer," Kere looked over the field of battle, his eyes brightening as a fleet came out of warp on his bottom flank.

Ronin started to speak first, "So sorry to crash the party ladies. Looks like we arrived in time to get in on the killing," Numerous comments came flowing through the comms as the pirates began to land.

RoninData's voice broke through, followed by silence, "Check check, Mynx, take our BC's and nail down some Arbitrators,"

"Roger that," A female voice said softly.

"We'll take on the battleship squad with everything else, Kere you focus everything you've got left on those Harbingers. Hallan, take the frigate squad and bring me back some Navy Slicer killmails,"

"Can do Ronin," Hallan added before laughing, "'Amarr Navy Slicers,' Bad infomercials called, they want their knives back,"

Kere looked at his comm officer, whose face was aghast, "You heard the man, focus on the Harbingers,"

_________________

"You know, I've half a mind to take that pretty little Fleet Tempest away from you," Ronin said over comms, "You never mentioned that half the bloody Amarr fleet would be here,"

"I appreciate your help man,"

"Yeah yeah. We'll be looting," Kere heard a click, and knew the conversation was over.

"Set a course for the nearest Republic Fleet Station," Kere said with a sigh, "I've got to bury a friend."

I Am Not What I Am - Part 2 of 3

That's me in the corner,
That's me in the spotlight, I'm,
Losing my religion,
Trying to keep up with you,
And I don't know if I can do it,
Oh no, I've said too much,
I haven't said enough.
REM - Losing My Religion

"Hey," Kere looked unsteadily into the view screen as the image of RoninData appeared.

"My favorite blue pass holder," Ronin said with a smile.

"Heh, best thirty five million I ever spent. You guys feel like coming over to Ofstold and cleaning up a mess?"

"How big of a mess?"

"Pretty big," As he spoke a conduit behind him exploded in a shower of sparks.

Ronin's eyes went wide as he continued on, "Are you already in a battle?"

"Uh, no." Kere ignored the smoke that now filled his bridge.

"Then what was that explosion?" Ronin leaned into his camera.

"Uh, ambiance, I'm Minmatar, wouldn't feel right if something didn't blow up every once in a while,"

"Whatever, we'll be there. Same terms as before?"

"All loot is yours, even from my fleet. Reimbursement for any losses, and the five hundred million is already in your corp account,"

"Good enough, hold on," Ronin turned away from the camera, "Flash put that drink down, we've got some targets. Rest of you, be in a ship in five minutes or we leave without you," Ronin turned back to the camera, "Anything else?"

"Are you drunk?" Kere squinted his eyes to make out the background.

"Uh no," Ronin said with a smile.

"Then why're you in a bar?"

"Ambiance. I'm Minmatar. Wouldn't feel right if I wasn't drunk,"

I Am Not What I Am - Part 1 of 3

Oh, life is bigger,
It's bigger than you,
And you are not me,
The lengths that I will go to,
The distance in your eyes,
Oh no, I've said too much,
I set it up.
REM - Losing My Religion

"Jared. Wow, nice to see a familiar face out here, and that is a nice ship," Kere Hanon spoke from his seat on the bridge of his own vessel. The man on the view screen smiled back at him.

"Navy Apoc is a fine vessel, but you're doing pretty good yourself,"

"Yeah, a Fleet Tempest isn't anything to sneeze at," Kere cocked his head to the side and adjusted in his seat.

"I hear they made you an Admiral now,"

"Vice-Admiral. You've got Admiral stripes too,"

"Yeah," Jared's face lost expression for a moment.

"What're you doing out here in Ofstold old friend?" Kere looked into the eyes of the other man and picked up a flash of insight just as the man spoke.

"I'm on a mission from the Empress. I'm supposed to take you back,"

"You're the one that let me go in the first place. You're one of the most moderate nobles in the empire, why would..." Kere looked up at his friend and sighed, "She wants you gone Jared,"

"I know Kere. She expects me to fail. And you know what happens to my family if I desert or fail,"

"I'm sorry,"

"So'm I. So, you want to surrender or...?"

"You only outnumber us three to one, I'll take my chances,"

The Amarrian stood up and moved towards the camera, "No matter what happens then, I'll see you in heaven,"

The Minmatar stood up as well and turned away, "No, you won't,"

The view screen flashed off and Kere turned to his comm officer, "Get the Firetail wing and Ruppys on that Navy Apoc. Tell the 'Canes and Maelstroms to get some range on the Harby's and Abbadons. We'll arty them to death. This whole thing's going to hing on that Navy Apoc going down fast. Once that's done, tell them to switch to the Slicers and Arbi's. We can't take them down without the frigate support." Kere looked around at his bridge officers, most of whom were listening to him instead of their consoles, "Lets make the Republic proud,"

"Sir," Came the voice of his comm officer, "We've got a problem,"

"What's up," He said as he threw himself into his chair.

"The Apoc has smartbombs,"

The Rest Is Silence

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it,
Had offers but don't know which one to take,
Please don't tell 'em how you found me,
Don't tell 'em how you found me,
Gimme a break, give me a break.
Albert Hammond - It Never Rains In Southern California

Angel Creo-Mining Station - Gusandall

"Richard?" The pitch of the voice was high, but soft. The sound of the rushing water almost drowned out the voice. The two men were up to their waists in water. The first tapped the other on the shoulder again.

"What do ya want Barney?" The man turned around and looked down at the man following him.

"I was just thinking," Barney spoke over the water, "Maybe we could get out of here?"

"Oh yeah, they're just going to let us go," Richard turned around and started struggling to turn the valve again, "Give me a hand will ya?"

Barney stepped forward and grabbed the uppermost part of the lever, and the two of them slowly turned it. The water stopped flowing, and except for the drips from them and the pipe, the room was silent again.

"I wasn't talking about them letting us go Rich, I was talking about leaving,"

"So you were talking stupid. Glad we cleared that up," Richard began to trudge through the water towards the ladder.

"Rich, you and me got alot of freedom here. We could steal a ship and never look back."

"And you want me to give that up Barn? You'll get us both killed. Or worse. Now shut up and lets go," Richard started to climb the ladder and stopped before opening the hatch to look back down at Barney, "Look, you're my friend so trust me when I say this. I've seen better men than us try it and fail," Richard looked Barney in the eyes and pointed at him with one hand as he continued, "You said it. We've got alot of freedom here. We get caught running, we're stuck for good. Give it time, and maybe, just maybe we'll find an opening. Until then, stop talking about it,"

"Rich, this isn't where I want to be,"

"It ain't where any of us want to be, even them," Rich looked down at Barney and motioned him towards the ladder, "Come on,"

_______________________

"Barney!" The woman who yelled his name was clad in a miniskirt and a blouse that showed her bellybutton. He looked over and she ran to his table.

"Hey Trixie. How you been?"

"Pretty good now baby," She sat down in his lap and ran her hands through his hair.

"Heh, Good,"

The girl looked him in the eyes, "What'd you do today?"

"We had to lock down a water pipe on level fifty six," He grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it softly before looking back up at her, "This place is falling apart,"

Her expression turned stern for a moment, "This is my home as much as yours,"

"Yeah,"

"Oh god, not this again," She leaned back and rolled her eyes.

"Yes that again. I have a degree in molecular physics and they've got me working on pipes,"

"You're working on pipes because that's the best job they could find for you,"

"I'm working on pipes because the Cartel and Serpentis have no use for anyone that doesn't know drugs,"

"You know, you might want to lay off the 'woe is me' bullshit while you're talking to the doxy,"

"I'm sorry Trix,"

"So am I," She turned her head as someone walked into the bar, "Look babe, I gotta go to work, I'll meet you after. Your place this time," He nodded and she jumped up.

Barney looked into his drink before he cradled his face into his hands.

_______________________

Evati VII - Moon 1 Kaalakiota Corporation Warehouse - The 'By Jove' Bar and Restaurant

"What?" Hallan was looking over his maps again from his back office. His recently acquired bar gave him a bit of solace to conduct his business away from The Hub.

"We let them build it. They're working for us," Alfroren Karsteinn was talking to him from Balginia over comms.

"Why?"

"Because the only ones who can run a mining outpost in Minmatar low-sec space is the Cartel,"

"Look, whatever. I just need the coordinates,"

"Yeah. I'm uploading them now. What're ya going to do?"

"I'm gonna steal some shit, then run like I stole something,"

"Very, logical," Alfroren laughed and looked down at his keypad, "It's done man," He looked back up at Hallan, "Try not to kill anyone,"

"I always try," Hallan clicked off the comms before standing up and walking over to the wall of his office. He grabbed a pistol and held it up to the light. He'd recently come into a huge cache of Guristas firearms. They all bore the mark of Fatal and the Rabbit. He put the gun into his holster and hefted a huge rifle from the wall, "Never seem to manage it though,"

_______________________

Eight Years Ago - New Caldari Prime - Prime City - Mindclash Arena

"I can do this!" Barney was chuckling as he concentrated on the vision in front of him.

Hallan was taken aback for a moment and the zombies on his side of the field began to degrade. He steadied himself and closed his eyes. Suddenly in the middle of the field gravestones began to rise. From underneath them numerous zombies began to crawl out and onto the field. They advanced past Barney's tentacled monster defenders as he stood stunned and reached forward to grab him.

"Enough!" Came a computerized voice as the crowd that had gathered cheered.

The two participants climbed down from the playing field and met on a walkway along the arena.

"Thanks for the match," Hallan said reaching out his hand, "You put up one hell of a fight,"

"Hal, we both knew what was going to happen before we started. I'm glad you agreed to a match though," Barney reached out and shook Hallan's hand, "I'm going out for a meal. You wanna come? It's my treat,"

Hallan nodded and they walked off, with Barney patting Hallan on the back.

_______________________

"So you're going into Molecular Physics?" Hallan asked with a mouth full of food.

"Yeah," Barney said, sipping his Quafe, "I figure I'll do a nice six year stint with the Academy, then head out and find a job,"

"Head out?"

"Yeah, NCP is a horrible place to find a job in any kind of research,"

"Where ya going to go?" Hallan looked out the window and into the street, which was, as it always was, locked with traffic.

"Probably Alliance space, the Capsuleer corps pay very generously,"

"You sure that's safe?"

"Of course it's safe,"

Hallan grabbed his bookbag and stood up from the booth, "I appreciate the meal Barney, If ya want to go another round, you know my number,"

"No problem Hal,"

_______________________

Now - Angel Creo-Mining Station - Gusandall

The alarms outside the room made it hard to hear anything but the beat of his own heart. Barney looked dumbfounded at the commander as he spoke.

"Just do it!" The commander was screaming at Barney now. He hated it when the commander screamed. He put up his hands to protect his face as the man hit him between the shoulders with the butt of the rifle, "Get to docking bay five and shoot that fucker,"

Barney fell to the floor as the commander threw the rifle down beside him. He reached over and picked it up. He stood up and looked at the commander. The commander stopped and they looked at each other.

"Just go," The commander started, "The guards outside will come in at even the--"

Barney fired the rifle twice into the Commanders chest. He let out a wheeze and slumped onto his desk. Barney stepped against the wall beside the door just as it slid open and both guards rushed in. Barney kicked the second guard that came in into the first, and unloaded a clip into both of them before he ran out the door. He loaded another clip into his rifle and began to run down the halls.

The alarms already blared loudly as he sprinted through the deserted halls. He made his way to the fourth level, where his own quarters resided. The door wouldn't open. He banged his rifle against it but it wouldn't open. He wondered silently if Trixie was alright, but right now he had to get himself safe.

He turned around and saw a familiar face.

"Hallan?" Barney's eyes lit up with suprise.

"Barney Mullen?" Hallan raised his eyebrow.

"We have to find some kind of way out of here," Barney said banging on the door again.

"I gotta go," Hallan turned around.

"Wait," Barney called after him, "How'd they get you too?"

"They didn't, Man. I just stole something valuable and now I gotta leave. If you wanna come with me, I suggest you hurry," Hallan broke into a sprint as Barney followed after him.

Docking bay five had twenty or so guards stationed to guard the ship he'd brought in. As Hallan ran around the corner, half of them turned around to look in his direction. His assault rifle came alive and the men fell jittering to the floor.

He ran past their bodies and keyed a code into the door. It opened with a hiss and Barney came from around the corner. Hallan looked behind him and smiled for a moment before gunfire erupted behind Barney, and he fell to the ground.

Hallan quickly jumped inside the ship airlock as his old friend crawled in his direction leaving a bloody trail as he did so. Hallan keyed another code into the door and it hissed shut. He turned to his ship's door, put in another code and as it opened he hopped inside. He hit the pad on the other side and that door closed too.

Hallan looked through the two windows, sighed and ran to his pod. He hopped in, jacked in, engaged his engines and broke away from the docking clamps which had him locked down. The airlock and part of the docking bay stayed attached to his ship as he engaged warp to the Republic Justice Tribunal station. He turned his cameras behind him once to see the bodies flailing in the darkness before looking back out into the stars.

The One Where I Lose 70 Million

Dealin' cards with the old men in the club car
Penny a point, ain't no one keepin' score
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
And feel the wheels rumblin' neath the floor
Alro Guthrie - City of New Orleans

Jorge Belda, Mynxee, Myself, Sarvic and another unnamed patron sat at a table in the Hub, the Bastards favorite haunt. I leaned back and pushed another pile of chips into the center of the table. The rest of the players looked around a bit and put down their hands in turn, except the man I didn't know, who was sitting directly across from me, next to Mynxee and Sarvic.

"That's fifteen million," He said raising his eyebrow.

"I'm glad you can count, I'd hate for you to not know how much I'm taking from you," I quipped with a chuckle. Mynxee couldn't contain her giggle and his face turned red.

"I'm in," He said with a huff.

"Call," I flipped my hand down, "Full house,"

"Crap," he muttered, throwing his hand down, showing the two pair he'd been betting on.

The man flagged down a waitress and whispered in her ear, softly patting her behind as he leaned back down to the table. She glared in his direction and started walking to the bar. She pointed in our direction as the Bartender looked up and nodded to the man sitting across from me.

"Good hand Hallan," Jorge Belda said before taking the cards for another deal. Before he dealt the hand, the waitress dumped a load of chips onto the table next to the man.

"Lets play for real this time," He said with a chuckle.

_______________________________

I hadn't fared well after that, and after losing seventy million isk I was feeling the hurt. I stood up and began to leave the table but the man grabbed my sleeve as I passed. He was obviously drunk.

"There's that little matter of the Rifter you threw in that last pot," He stood up and looked into my eyes, "I wanna see it."

"You a pod pilot?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, or I'd already have one of those rinky dink things," the waitress from earlier passed by to give Sarvic his drink as the guy pointed in her direction and spit out, "I'll be back in a few for you sweet cheeks,"

I looked over at Mynxee who had a mix of amusement and irritation on her face and mouthed "Sweet Cheeks?!". She shrugged and laughed, and I looked up at the gambler again.

"Lets go get you that ship,"
_______________________________

"It looks like Bruzen shit," The man was leaning against the frame of the door as he observed one of the many Joker's Wilds that was sitting assembled in my hanger.

"So do you, but I had the good sense not to mention it," I said with a chuckle, interrupting him before he could complain, "How's about we take it for a spin?"

"Yeah sure, where do I ride?" He almost fell over as he wobbled towards the ship.

"Oh you know, anywhere," I said with a smile, before climbing aboard myself.

You know, he never did make it back for that date with the waitress.

EVE Blog Banter #1: Ambulation

I wonder if they'll ever understand
The trials of a freedom seeking man
So have a round on me my friend
What else can we do
You know I always love ya
But I think it's time that we flew
Lindsey Buckingham - Dancing Across the USA

From CrazyKinux's blog:
Welcome to the first installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's topic comes to us from PsycheDiver: Ambulation: What are your hopes for your avatar and new functionality of stations?

The whole world went black.

Reloading.

Hallan Turrek felt the warm liquid draining around him. The neural shunt released and he let his head lean forward. He reached behind his head and rubbed the hole.

"Never gonna get used to that," he muttered to himself.

The capsule's top opened and he reached for the ladder in front of him. The station control had warned him the hangar he was docked in would have no gravity, due to a malfunction on that deck.

"That's alright," he'd said.

He propelled himself lightly towards the hole above him and grabbed the edge of his pod as he exited. His body jerked a moment, and his iron grip pulled him down along the side of the pod. He pushed away and floated against the wall. He grabbed a length of railing that ran along the entire wall. Using the railing, he worked his way through the ship to his shower.

The fine mist of water impacted on his skin and bounced off for a moment before it was sucked through the walls. The slime was always annoying to clean. It found it's way into your ears, nose, under your fingernails, and any place that would hold it. After what seemed like an hour, he went into the next room and changed into his station clothes. Like any pod-pilot who wanted to go unnoticed, he wore a hat, a wide brimmed "cowboy hat". His blue-jeans were well worn, and he donned a simple t-shirt emblazoned with the Quafe logo. He put a leather jacket on, one made from the hide of a particularly annoying Bruzen he'd met planet side in Nourvukaiken.

The Bruzen are stand about as tall as a human on four legs, and are primarily meat eaters. Before humans came to Nourvukaiken, they were the dominant species, and they've longed for that place again for a thousand years. He'd met one in a camping trip on leave from the navy. The thing decided he belonged in it's food chain, and tracked him for a few days before Hallan had to put a bullet in it. The meat was tender.

He picked up his holster and pistol and ran his hand down the smooth leather. He pulled the gun out and pointed it at the wall. He pulled the trigger, and the hammer refused to fall. Despite it's appearance as a standard six-shooter, it was a high tech piece of equipment, and it wouldn't work on a station. He put the belt on and put his gun back in it's holster. He turned to the door and made his way to the cargo ramp.

He laughed out loud as the workers fumbled around outside. He smiled as his shoes gripped the floor. He'd spent enough time in partially built stations to know, always have a pair of MagnaBoots™ on hand.

He knew where he was headed before he exited the ship. A Jovian he knew owned a little bar here, and he needed to be there. The Jovian's trade in information, and that was something he sorely needed right now. The drinks were good though, and the atmosphere was unbelievable. The Jovian's apparently had access to long forgotten music from the past, because Hallan could never place the songs, and the proprietor wouldn't say where they were from. It was among the finest pilot's lounges he'd visited.

He walked into the promenade with a bit of relief. A lot of pod pilots can be recognized on sight, Roc Wieler, Mynxee, Ka Jolo, Kane Rizzel, he pitied them sometimes. Sure, billions knew who Hallan was, but trillions knew who those pilots were, and it sometimes made it hard to walk around freely. Hallan was relatively fresh to the scene, and unknown in this neck of the woods, so he was enjoying his anonymity for now.

He walked past the flashing lights and the doorman of the "By Jove" without even looking at them. At least one person knew who he was, which wasn't a bad thing sometimes. The Jovian at the bar smiled in his direction and Hallan walked to the bar.

"My friend!" The bartender said over the music.

"Who sings this?" Hallan said, pointing upwards for no reason other than that it seemed like the thing to do.

"Procul Harum," The bartender answered, still smiling.

"Never heard of 'em," Hallan said with a chuckle.

"I know," The bartender said, matter of factly, "Are you here for business?"

"Yes I am,"

"What do you need?"

"The Caldari Navy's got a job for me, and while I'm loath to run it, they've told me if I do it, I'm off the hook with them, forever,"

"You know, my assistance comes with a cost," The bartender said, his grin widening.

"Of course, and they gave me this for you," Hallan passed him a datachip. The bartender slid it into the compstation he'd installed next to his register. It looked like it'd seen more use.

The bartender looked over the screen and stated quickly, "This will do," he typed something up on the station and switched the datachip for another. After a few short minutes he handed it back to Hallan, "A gift, from me,".

"So, about that information," Hallan began, taking the datachip from the bartender.

"Oh, the Gallente lady you're looking for is in that booth over there," He interrupted, while pointing, "She's waiting for her blind date with a Caldari Achura that roughly matches your description." The bartender, his grin fading, turned around and began pouring a couple of bottles into a glass.

"How'd you know that's what I was coming in here for?" Hallan asked, his eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"I'm Jovian, it's my job to know," He held two drinks as he turned around and spoke, "This one is for her," he said handing one to Hallan, "And this one is for you," he said, handing the other to Hallan as well.

"Thanks," Hallan said, as he made his way over to the booth.

The Gallente was extremely attractive by any measure, but her face was pale. It betrayed a lifetime spent on stations. Hallan sat down and handed her a drink. She smiled and put her hand out. Hallan shook it and smiled back.

"So, I heard you work for Combined Harvest," He said, sipping his drink.

____________

Hallan's eyes were open in the darkness. She'd fallen asleep an hour ago, but he hadn't wanted to risk waking her. He slowly removed himself from her embrace and slid to the floor. His clothes took a bit more time to put on than they took getting off, but he managed it fairly quickly. He walked over to her personal compstation and inserted a special datachip. The encryptions took several minutes to break, but eventually he was in. He downloaded all of the available information back onto the chip and put it into his pocket. The Caldari software, if he was correctly informed, had just erased any indication of the data breach. Unless someone went digging for it at this compstation, no one would know. He looked down and then up at the door. He walked over to the door and opened, it, and as the light shined through from the outside onto her nude form, he panicked.

He shut the door immediately and creeped back over to the bed. He reached out and grabbed his hat off her head as she smiled in her sleep. A minute later he was gone.

____________
OOC:

And so it was later,
As the miller told his tale,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.
Procul Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale

Until I started on this blog post I had no idea what the hell Ambulation was. I'd seen one video a month ago. It took a bit of digging to find out what it was about. Apparently we're gonna get to amble about. I enjoy roleplay, and anything to help my writing about this universe is going to be welcome. What would I like to see? I want boarding parties, I want person to person station combat, I want games to play, I want real interaction with agents, I want full immersion in a universe that is already a lot of fun to be in.

That is what it does come down to, it's already a lot of fun, so I hope whatever they do doesn't hurt that. It seems they have it in mind already not to force this change on anyone who doesn't want it. That is good to hear, but I definitely do want it. I want to see my character outfitted how I like, and bit more freedom with his portrait. I want, when I have time, the ability to walk into the repair bay, to haggle a price for the hull repairs on my rifter. I want to see the repairman's surprised face when I haul that baby in full of holes. I want to go to the pilot's lounge and play a game with some other pilots. I want to beat someone within an inch of his life, only to have him medivac'd at the last second and healed to full health.

I'm gonna have fun no matter what.

Good day.

Participants:

• CrazyKinux's Musing: Exotic Dancers, Corporate Meetings & more
  
• The Wandering Druid of Tranquility: Ambulation - what I hope to see
  
• Semper EVE: Ambulation and Me
• Roc's Ramblings: Blog Banter #1 - Ambulation
• The Ralpha Dogs: Ambulation/Walking in Stations: A "Second Life" for EVE?
• Drunk in Space: Look at how much weight he put on…
  
• Diving into PsycheDiver's Psyche: Ambulation and Her
  
• Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah: Eve Blog Banter - Ambulation
• I am Keith Neilson: Going For A Stroll Through EVE
• Life in Low Sec: Ambulation Fantasies
• Shahirs Journey: Hopes for Ambulation
  
• A Mule in EVE: Ambulation
• Protosolus: EVE: Gawking in Stations
• One Man, One Ship: Ambulation
• Achernar: Avatars in a spaceships game
  
• The Shard: Ambulation
• Mad Rant: Saturday Night Fever
• I May Find Peace Within The Emptiness…: Walking Around…
• Ombeve: Ambulation

A Mountain Exists

Cold winds on the moors blow.
Warm the enemy's fires glow.
Like the harvest of Culloden,
Pain and fear and death grow.
Deanta - Culloden's Harvest

The wind was cold.

I find the wind to be a comfort at times. There is something in knowing that something so immaterial is stronger than you. Stronger than anyone.

Stronger than me.

I stood with the wind at my face, I hunched over into the cold and hiked further up the mountain. I could already see the lights from the house. The snow was coming down hard now, I didn't have much time. I almost missed the tripwire at my feet. I wasn't particularly happy with myself for almost triggering a trap, but I stepped over it and kept hiking. The man I searched for was a few minutes away, just a little bit more. Just a little bit more time, that was all she'd needed. All I'd wanted.

She wasn't mine. Dolivia Hurst belonged to an Amarr master. She was resigned to her fate from birth. She was to service her master in any way he wished. She wouldn't talk about the things he made her do, and I learned not to ask. A week after liberating her from her master's compound out in Eifer, I took her to Ivar. The Brutors promised me they'd take care of her. She was so bright and so happy. I went back to Evati and was happy with myself for doing a bit of good. I was out for another week before Alfroren Karsteinn, a good friend of mine in the Brutor Tribe let me have the news.

Vitoc.

Vitoc is among the horrible methods the Amarr use to control their slaves. Without an antidote, they die slowly and painfully. I... I didn't know. Dolivia, a bright, beautiful, and wonderful friend, was already dying when I left her in Ivar.

I had to make it right.

I knocked three times on the door. There was a rustling in the cabin and it opened. There stood, almost defiantly, an Amarr slavemaster.

"I've been expecting you," He said softly.

"You probably should've been running then," I said, putting my hand on the pistol at my hip.

"Look, my family is upstairs. You won't kill me here. Just walk away," He began to close the door.

I put my hand on the door and forced it open, pulling my gun from it's holster.

The wind was cold.

I Get the Gist.

Well, maybe there's a god above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
It's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah.
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

I moved back into Balginia after setting up a jump clone in Gusandall, I felt the urge to see some action again. The Cartel's still strong as ever, and the tribes still can't figure out who's winning the galactic pissing contest. I decided I was going to put a few warships down, so I headed to my old agent, Alfroren Karsteinn.

"Hey, Hallan,"Alfroren said as I walked up, "Last time I saw you was on the news for blowing up somebody in one of the belts,"

"What in the hell are you talking about Karsteinn?" One less miner usually didn't reach the level of system wide news.

"Apparently," He offered as he handed me a datapad, "The owner was the son of one of the Cartel's commanders,"

I looked down at the image on the datapad, the face matched the frozen corpse I had back in my cargo holds. "I killed somebody trying to go straight," I said while holding my forhead.

"Don't sweat it, if you weren't an amoral monster, you wouldn't be good at your job,"

"You're not helping,"

"Maybe this will cheer ya up then, I've got a job for you. Real nice one, lots of explosions. Got a Cartel patrol making it's way through the system. Kill them all and get back to me as soon as you can," He smiled and turned back to his computer station.

I muttered as I dialed up the info on the datapad.

"Try not to kill any miners while you're out," He said as I walked away.

I headed into my hangar and eyeballed my Drake. It always strikes me as such a sleek ship. The damn thing's kitted out with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos to help it recharge it's shields. I climbed inside and walked it's empty halls towards the pod. I went up the ladder, jumped into the pod, sat down, and leaned my head back against the neural shunt. The rest would happen automatically for me. Suddenly I could see the outside of my ship.

I gave the commands to undock, and slipped into the cold. I activated my warpdrive and headed towards the last known location of the Cartel patrol.

I wasn't out of warp more than three seconds before the first one targeted me. I returned the favor and banked hard to the right as the first volley of missiles came in hard and fast. They struck the port side of my shields as I kicked my engines on full blast and burned for the targets. The first Gistii Haunter exploded in a cloud of evaporating metal. I had the time to take a count of my targets, twenty four to one. Not bad odds really. Make that twenty three.

As the Shatterer shattered, a Crusher came into range and began to hammer away with it's missiles as well. My shields were still holding steady at eighty-four percent. I got off another volley of Scourge missiles just before it happened.

My overview lit up, and a massive fleet of Angel Cartel ships warped in. I aligned to warp back to the station and kept chucking missiles at my targets. One of the Vipers caught up to me and threw on a webifier and warp scrambler. As my speed slowed to a crawl I launched a full compliment of Warrior IIs and tossed them against the Viper. Suddenly my ship was rocked by a Paradise cruise missile.

A freakin' Saint, they brought a freakin' Saint. I focused all my missiles on the Viper, but his massive speed beat most of them. The drones were still tearing him apart, but the other two vipers wear gaining on me, not to mention the cruise missiles and heavy missiles the rest of the fleet was throwing. Then, very quietly my drones did their job and the viper exploded, I called them back in and gave the command to warp to the station. The next few moments were a bit scary as the ship struggled to enter warp. Then I was gone, and the battle faded into the background.

I docked at the station and climbed out of my pod. I walked out of my ship and into my personal hangar to hear a beeping coming from my office. I opened the door and sat down. There was a message on my vid mail.

"We're not done,"