The Duality Wars: The Alien Wars 6

Key: S = Session. Sty = Story. M = Mini. (more may be added with time)

Part I: Ebb and Flow

Arc One:

4.25.5990 CE
Asarar gathers the team to explain to Max that the fund she's been depositing into for his sister has been hijacked. More troubling though is that it's never been accessed by his sister. Doing some research, she found that his sister is on Geyze and among the Naturalists, her letters to him and vice versa being intercepted.
From what she can tell, the girl is happy where she is but unaware that her brother is not getting her contacts, as he has the other way around. Agreeing to go see her before war possibly makes it unable for them to do so, the team piles into a shuttle and flies down to Geyze.

At the spaceport they meet a dragon rider with a green dragon who allows her dragon to be hired out to convey them to the Naturalist Capital city. The woman, Peaches, does not give them her name, but tells them if they meet a girl named Spira to apologize for her.

4.27.5990 CE
After two long days, an eternity for poor Asarar who turns out to have a deep flight phobia once exposed to height and winds at the same time, the group blessedly arrives in the city. Here they disembark and after a few nasty looks get some native clothing to change into. As they finish changing, they call out the aurit that's been stalking them, meeting Spira. Who at the same time is being intercepted by Neko and Neekito.

The girls offer to take them to an inn where they can rest. Once there they run into the Academy team, the two groups meeting for the first time. After Luci and Vyvy resolve that they can be friends, the rest of the group begins to mingle and Max learns that his sister is possibly the secretary of Chief Fairchild. As they sit to eat, the secretary comes to see them and it is indeed Helen, his sister.

The two get reacquainted as the rest go for a soak and to relax till morning. Luci and Ylva having a momentary spat because Luci has decided to make Max her first bond partner over her. With things resolved in terms of Max and Helen, the group can return home to deal with the hacker and get Max's money back. The next day also spells the time in which the Academy group will be sent back to the Academy for further training and orders, Sasha having worked out a deal to keep them all together.

Verse 2, M1

Luci and Vyvy learn more about each other, talking about dragoons and their abilities, and more in general. Asarar gives her club card to a few of them in case they want to come to the club sometime, and need a place to crash, telling them it's one of the safer places in the slums. Otherwise, things seem generally calm, and Asarar looks into the hotsprings, learning about them from Cherry and scanning the entire area for when they go back, giving Max a little time to make his peace with Helen and making sure she has a card as well.

Verse 3, S.2: Session 17: Runner Hunt

4.30.5990 CE
Having tracked down the thief, Asarar explains who "Hood" seems to be, a sort of Robin Hood figure using his money to start a corporation, buying out Fauna and Biotects. Max is ready to crush some skulls, and the group moves out to a safe house to observe Hood's activities and look for a good time to rob him back.

Before they leave, Asarar tells Kira Li in private that her old rival Tiger is putting out feelings to get ahold of a dangerous commodity, Kira Li's True Name.

After settling into the safe house near Hood's compound, the group plays witness to a corporate hit squad moving in on the base to take it. Their raid however doesn't go as planned when explosions begin to rip the place apart. The team investigates, spotting girls escaping via a pillar out during the confusion. Following them into the blackness, the group learns Hood's top priority is the girls and Ylva and Otto go undercover to infiltrate.

Once Hood is set up in his safe house, Max enters and after urging from a dragon, decides to try diplomacy. They learn that Hood has spent all of the money, but in the worthy cause of freeing slaves, Max begrudingly lets it go. The group forms a sort of treaty with Hood and lets bygones be bygones.

Verse 4, M2

As a strange Aurit girl with two tails enters the bar, giving it a look over as she does, Asarar is in the basement designing a hotspring for Kira, managing to finish it just when the Aurit arrives after many complications.

The Aurit, acting very obvious and spooked, draws the attention of many of the people around her as she sticks out with a sore thumb. Enter: Chelsea Sweet. Suspicious of everything and everyone, even the drinks and food despite it being a club that serves it, she draws the attention of many of the people there, and after coming into contact into many of the regulars there, including Asarar, she slowly begins to open up, though she never seems to eat or drink anything offered.

However, by a strange twist of fate, the kitchen stove seems to break down and threatens to cost Asarar and Barry a lot of coin and Chelsea offers to fix it, which Barry accepts and offers her coin and a meal. Accepting it, and a job fixing more stuff being an older building, Chelsea agrees to stay finally. However, at this point, Asarar remains unsure of her when it comes to the Tech Runner business side, and gives her a normal hotel room, striving to learn more about the Aurit.

During this, Su slowly begins to show signs of not returning until late at night and seems to be acting suspiciously.

Verse 5, S.3: Session 18: Run and Gun

5.3.5990 CE
The groups is relaxing when Asarar finds a large job, breaking into an import company used by the large corporations to move spirit fossils through, a plan being laid out for a proper heist, Otto, Riki, and Ylva infiltrating the facility as applicants for positions, while Asara, Kira, Max, and Luci are going to break in during the night the old fashioned way via a balcony to the bosses office. The group moves out, Ylva not joining at first as Otto assumes a disguise as a dog fauna like Riki as they move in first, getting applications from a sassy secretary named Chantilly, Ylva soon follows and does the same.

Meanwhile, the break in group is stake out the area and waiting for nightfall to break into the balcony to lessen the chance of being spotted. Otto, Riki, and Ylva all are hired for menial labour positions, given level 1 keycards and work a full day, being trained by a dog fauna named Aidi, after a long days work they are brought to the bunkhouse, where Riki sleeps, Otto waits, and Ylva sleeps with Chantilly. At the night Asarar's group climb to the balcony, using the floor plan she acquired they disable cameras and alarms, before moving to the terminal, hacking into it and learning where everything is stored and about the jewel that is also being stored in the facility. They realise they need a level 3 keycard to activate and call on Otto via his hidden coms to bring them his level 1 so they can upgrade it. Otto takes Riki with him, but leaves Ylva since her cover is safe, Otto sneaks past the guards and takes the elevator up, narrowly avoiding being caught on camera, the group, now with a level 3 card move to the storage facility, where they are confronted by two guards, which the group fights while Otto loads the fossils and components, though the alarm is unfortunately raised.

With time being limited the group must leave, but Otto makes a clone of himself which quickly rushes to steal the jewel whole the rest of the group leaves. Otto 2 rushes to the last unchecked room on the top floor and finds the jewel, smashing open the case and stealing it before dashing out, jumping off the balcony and stashing the jewel safely. Meanwhile on the shuttle, Asarar receives another cryptic message, with footage of the heist from the Tech Runner who wants to play a game, wagering that if he wins, he will get the business from Asarar.

Verse 6, M3

Asarar begins to chat more with Chelsea, finding herself being open with the girl about many things regarding her missing past and her thoughts on matters and life, including her views on what she wants and how to go about it, only keeping what she is aiming at from her. This leads to Chelsea being more open herself and when Ylva comes through with Chantilly, the cat fauna from the business they just put out of business, who speaks bluntlly and busts they might be tech-runners outloud in the lobby, thankfully only near a few people before Ylva gets her onto said elevator, Chelsea is one of those who hears it. Asarar, not denying it, pretty much is open about it and states why they do what they do, and Chelsea seems a little intrigued, and goes into why she does what she does as well.

While Ylva tries to win the bitchy Chantilly over, and at the same time brings her to meet Su, who happens to be in at that moment, not noticing her acting strange or out of character, Su tells Chantilly that she should accept a new things and people, because you never know what you can find, though she doesn't fully agree with everything Ylva says about the location either, strangely.

While Asarar shows Chelsea the top floors, Chelsea agrees to join the team and Asarar welcomes her aboard; in the background running scans on finding a higher grade gun mod for Otto and searching for the Tech-Runner harrassing them.

Verse 7, S.4: Session 19: Test

5.5.5990 CE
The team gathers as Asarar shows them the latest message from the Hacker after their business. Giving them a limited time to get to a specific location, he has challenged them to a game. Taking Chelsea, the newest member of the team with them, they rush to the location in the team van. Driven by Asarar, the team is forever traumatized, or thrilled. Arriving, they find a small room in an abandoned building with a single data port.

The doors close on the team and the hacker explains that they will have to use teamwork to navigate the "real world" and the world they are in to reach the top, where their data is being held. This hint at the hacker being a member of the Enlightened, the group splits up with Otto and Luci joining Asarar in virtual space while the rest navigate the real world.

Moving with each other's guidance, they navigate through puzzles and traps with some minor damage, but eventually take a short cut to skip several floors and navigate a final floor puzzle to reach the goal. Defeating a statue boss which they recover a damage increasing Gem mod from, they head to the top floor. There they are given two more mods and thier files back. The group chooses not to persue the man and they head out to go home with their prizes and information intact, but more cautious.

Verse 8, S.5: Session 20: Crash and Burn

5.7.5990 CE
For her own peace of mind, Asarar chooses to hunt down the man who threatened them anyway. Over the last two days she's searched and finally found him, and assembles the team. Informing them that she's found him, and what kind of man he is, the group agrees it would be better to take him down. Assembling, they head out, loaded for bear except for Otto who seems out on one of his side jobs. They are delayed in leaving as Su and Riki argue a bit, then Riki informs the others that they are moving out, the group tries to convince Riki to stay but she leaves with the Great Su. Also, Wolfe finally has returned the day before, and Bonnie seems to have too. Though she doesn't speak much unless spoken to.

The team find a destruction derby arena, abandoned and in a state of ruin, but with recent signs of restucture and shielding. The group works together, narrowly avoiding a shrapnel mine and blowing away other traps to get into the arena. Stepping into the "Thunderdome", the group finds the hacker standing confidently in the center, armed with a strange cybernetic coat and visor.

The group plays things cautious, attempting to avoid fire while drawing in. Luci uses her Dragon Form for the first time and starts to literally throw her weight--and ruined hovercars--around while the team closes in. After a series of coordinated attacks and some stumbling, they manage to overpower the man thanks to Ylva and Luci's distractions and the brute force of Max and Chelsea. With the man dead, the hidden other side of the battle in VR is also defeated, Ylva, in stasis on that side after the man's blaster fired her into VR Space, is saved by Asarar and pulled out.

The group decides to harvest the mods and tech from the man's body before turning him in for his 5000 credit bounty. After which they head to the Middle Sector to visit Su and Riki, who have moved into Hood's new compound to live. Su decideds that Riki would be happier back home, and Riki is moved back to the Club.

Verse 9, M4

5.8 - 5.30.5990 CE

The team finds itself in a strange state of flux. Ylva seems to hold hostile feelings toward Luci and Max, yet also has Riki counting on her and hugging onto her. Asarar seems to be trying to cheer Ylva up, and trying to bring the new Aurit into the fold, petting their ears and enjoying their softness, while dating Kira and having a special relationship with her that no one seems to be in on or a part of. Max and Luci have a personal relationship that everyone seems to know about. Chantilly has a personal judging relationship that she lets everyone in on but no one knows the parimeters. Otto sheds in the pool and might be on the way toward a hate fuck relationship with Wolfe, who comes and goes. And Bonnie seems to be a ghost lately.

Wolfe, on the path to justice and barely around anymore, seems to be butting heads with Otto, the two getting in each other's way a lot lately. No doubt Posco still following them both. This will be updated more as more stuff happens.